Life in Space

Carbonate rocks from northern China that were analyzed in the lab.
Science

800 Million Years Ago, One Crucial Element Led to an Explosion in Complex Life

It could also help us search for life on distant planets.

Science

Key Ingredients for Life Found in Sample Retrieved from Near-Earth Asteroid

We may owe a debt of gratitude to the primordial asteroids that visited Earth billions of years ago.

Spaceship flies near the amazing blue planet earth, view from the window. Travel and tourists in spa...
Space

A Coolant Leak Stranded Three Astronauts in Space — and a New One has Appeared

Two months ago, a coolant leak left three spacefarers stranded aboard the orbiting laboratory.

Number 9

Lucy mission: NASA goals, mission updates, and Beatles Easter eggs

Plus: two Beatles Easter egg are coming along for the ride.

Far, far away

Look: Scientists just discovered an Earth-sized planet that could host life

It’s not the only potentially habitable world in the TOI-700 system.

Moon bounce

NASA’s Artemis: Mission goals and next steps for the ambitious lunar program

These are the crucial hurdles NASA needs to clear in order to send humans back to the Moon in 2024.

Science

One unexpected Solar System moon could be key to finding alien life

It’s frigid and strange and orbits its home planet backward.

Out of this world

Beyond the ISS: A new wave of stations could redefine science in space

Extraterrestrial labs are getting a facelift.

Science

7 years later, the best film about humans on Mars ever still resonates

Before we send humans to Mars, we must consider all probabilities. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

Science

Scientists discover a potential new oxygen source on exoplanets — but it doesn’t guarantee aliens

Volcanoes may be involved.

Is There Life on Mars?

“Tantalizing” Mars rocks strengthen the idea the Red Planet once hosted life

News from Mars has NASA "whetting our appetite for what’s next."

RNA world

Essential molecules for life discovered near the center of the Milky Way — again

Scientists have found more of the ingredients for life as we know it in a gaseous cloud toward the center of the Milky Way.

Space Time

25 years ago, NASA landed its first rover on Mars — and catalyzed the search for life

Pathfinder brought the first rover to the Martian surface.

Seeing red

Behold! Curiosity discovers Martian rocks contain an essential ingredient of life

Mars may be more like some areas of Earth than we think.

Science

The best defense for humans against radiation on Mars may be a rustic mix of ice and dirt — study

Radiation may be the biggest threat to humans living on another planet.

HORIZONS

Human settlements on the Moon will depend on answering two fundamental questions

“We need to get our brains wrapped around the potential damage we’re facing.”