As solar max approaches, new tech is on call.
ESA
Galaxy Mapper Tracks Asteroids Closer to Home
The Gaia mission’s asteroid survey will help dig deeper into the solar system’s rocky history.
Wanted for Grand Theft Galaxy: The Milky Way
Several dwarf galaxies orbiting the Milky Way were likely stolen from the Large Magellanic Cloud.
Future Mars Rover Named for DNA Pioneer Rosalind Franklin
The rover will explore a once water rich region on Mars’s surface and search for evidence of current and past life.
Mercury Mission Will Map Morphology and Measure Magnetics
BepiColombo may launch as early as this weekend. It seeks to unravel the mysteries of Mercury’s geologic and magnetic past and map the small planet’s cratered surface.
Reducing Errors in Satellite-Derived Arctic Sea Ice Thicknesses
Salty snow throws off satellite-based estimates of Arctic sea ice thickness by up to 25%. A new method seeks to fix that.
More Discoveries in the Cards from Defunct Comet Mission
A year after the end of the Rosetta mission, the real scientific fun begins.
Schiaparelli Lander Likely Crash-Landed on Mars
After its thrusters shut off prematurely, the European Space Agency's newest lander probably crash-landed from 2–4 kilometers above the surface.
Rosetta Spacecraft Death-Dives into Comet Companion—On Purpose
On the way to its demise, the probe intimately viewed a dust-spewing pit and measured close up the gravity field, temperature, and other features of the comet.
Comet Lander Makes a Hard Discovery
The Philae probe, dropped onto a comet by the Rosetta spacecraft, has made contact with a surface thought too hard to be on a comet and has detected a few organic molecules new to comet exploration.