Earth’s atmosphere is critically important to all of us. In addition to providing us with air to breathe, it protects us from temperature extremes, harmful space radiation, and vast numbers of incoming meteoroids.
A recently completed analysis of data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft suggests that Saturn's moons and rings can best be described as gently worn vintage goods from around the time of our solar system's birth.
NASA scientists have determined that electrically charged lunar dust near shadowed craters can get lofted above the surface and jump over the shadowed region - essentially bouncing back and forth between sunlit areas on opposite sides.
The European Space Agency is teaming up with NASA for a mission that will take human beings beyond Earth orbit for the first time in 40 years - and eventually, it says, further than ever before.
NASA's twin Grail probes have revealed the surface of the moon in unprecedented detail, showing unbelievably deep cracks, craters and tectonic structures.
If equipment breaks down on the moon, ordering a replacement part through the mail isn't exactly an option. But what if astronauts could simply print out what they need, using local materials?
It's long been theorized that the moon was created when a Mars-sized proto-planet slammed into the Earth. Unfortunately, though, the chemistry of the two bodies has stubbornly failed to bear this out.
The water found locked inside soil on the moon's surface derives from hydrogen in the solar wind - meaning there could be water on other apparently-dry bodies in the solar system too.
Carnegie Mellon University spinoff Astrobotic Technology has now completed a full-size prototype of a solar-powered robot designed to search for water ice at the moon's poles.
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has acquired stereo images of the moon in high resolution (0.5 to 2 meters/pixel) that provide highly detailed 3D views of the surface.
NASA scientists will next week test whether a heat shield made from the soil of the moon, Mars or an asteroid could stand up to a plunge through Earth's atmosphere.
