Sediments from the Curiosity rover and experiments using tanks of gas and laser beams helped reveal how water continued to flow on Mars after the planet lost its atmospheric carbon dioxide.
spacecraft
Posted inOpinions
Rest in Peace, Spirit and Opportunity
A scientist on the rover team offers a remembrance of two intrepid explorers.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Scientists, Explorers Keen to Locate Water-Bearing Asteroids
Hydrated minerals on near-Earth asteroids offer both scientific revelations and economic incentives for companies looking to refuel satellites with material from nearby space.
Posted inNews
First Privately Developed Lander En Route to the Moon
The lander, built by an Israeli company, will survive on the surface for just a few days. It will capture magnetic field data and conduct an experiment with a lunar orbiter.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Windy Weather in the Thermosphere
The weather in the thermosphere includes winds that buffet spacecraft as they orbit the Earth, but how well can these winds be modeled?
Posted inNews
Opportunity Rover Mission Complete
The rover explored Mars’s surface for nearly 15 years and discovered ample evidence of the planet’s wet history.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
New Hints About How Martian Moons Formed
A new study finds that Phobos includes chunks of Martian crust.
Posted inNews
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.
Posted inNews
Lander Gives First Look at Moon’s Farside
The mission aims to explore this relatively unstudied hemisphere and learn about its age, composition, and geologic history.
Posted inNews
Martian Crater Will Be the Landing Site for a Future Rover
The impact crater is a dry lake bed that contains evidence of ancient water flows and perhaps signs of ancient microbial life.