Space Exploration

Space Exploration

ring nebula hubble jwst nircam miri
More than two years after JWST began science operations, our Universe now looks very different. Here are its biggest science contributions.
A panoramic image of the Milky Way galaxy, with an inset showing a zoomed view of distant galaxies, tells a cosmic story. This region, highlighted in textured detail, echoes the exploration themes of the Euclid mission.
What are dark matter and dark energy? The large-scale structure of the cosmos encodes them both, with ESA's Euclid mission leading the way.
Silhouette of NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft with antennas poised against a colorful planetary surface, sparking dreams of alien life.
Could life be widespread throughout the cosmos, in the subsurface oceans of ice-covered worlds? NASA's Europa Clipper mission investigates.
Rocky, reddish Martian landscape with scattered boulders and a hazy sky.
Caption:“At this time in Mars’ history, we think CO2 is everywhere, in every nook and cranny, and water percolating through the rocks is full of CO2 too,” Joshua Murray says.
Book cover titled "Infinite Cosmos" with a vibrant galaxy and stars. Includes "National Geographic" logo and the text "Visions from the James Webb Space Telescope." Introduction by Brian Greene.
National Geographic's first James Webb Space Telescope book shows us the cosmos like never before.
A starry sky with a magnified view highlights an orange, cloud-like structure representing one of the youngest astronomical objects in the Milky Way, shimmering as it subtly rotates.
The earliest Milky Way-like galaxy, REBELS-25, was spotted rotating about its axis. It's only 700 million years old: 5% of our present age.
Collaged image of text and a black-and-white scene with a dinosaur and mountainous backdrop. The year "1950" is visible in the bottom left corner.
Dinosaurs and other beasts were once thought to be the “undisputed masters” of Venus.
A clock face with moon phases as numbers, set against a blue sky with scattered clouds, creates a whimsical portrayal of lunar time.
Physicists recently created Coordinated Lunar Time, a time zone for our Moon.
A large telescope observatory under construction at dusk with a visible moon and stars in the sky. Cranes and construction equipment are present around the structure.
Comet A3, also known as Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, has sprung to life since 2024's last equinox. Here's how to catch the show for yourself.
Aerial image of a Martian landscape with rough, textured surface featuring blue and reddish-brown hues marked by undulating ridges and valleys.
Scientists might be looking for Martian life in the wrong place.
dark matter substructure intracluster light
In theory, dark matter is cold, collisionless, and only interacts via gravity. What we see in ultra-diffuse galaxies indicates otherwise.
A spacecraft travels at the fastest spacecraft speed record through bright, yellow-orange streaks of plasma and solar wind near the Sun.
The Parker Solar Probe is about to undergo its seventh encounter with Venus on its journey toward the Sun. Here's how fast it'll go.
Two views of the same celestial object: the fiery orange-blue image on the left and a cooler blue-pink image on the right, showcasing an hourglass-shaped cloud of gas and dust in space.
Just 460 light-years away, the closest newborn protostars are forming in the Taurus molecular cloud. Here are JWST's astonishing insights.
Parker Solar Probe
It would get rid of our hazardous, radioactive, and pollutive waste for good, but physics tells us it's a losing strategy for elimination.
View of Earth from a spacecraft window with "T-MINUS" displayed in bold text overlaying the image.
These startups, space agencies, and aerospace giants are building humanity's next off-world homes.
Image of Mimas, one of Saturn's moons, partially illuminated. The large Herschel crater is prominently visible on the right side of the moon's surface.
The existence of another watery world in the outer solar system may offer clues to how such seas form — and hope for another spot to search for life.
A detailed image of two galaxies in space, one with spiral arms on the left and the other, more elliptical, on the right, surrounded by distant stars.
Galactic activity doesn't just arrive when supermassive black holes feast on matter. Before, during, and after all create fascinating signs.
uap ufo UAPs UFOs
Although a great many unidentified sights have been seen in the skies, none have conclusively demonstrated the presence of aliens. So far.
A detailed image of the moon with visible craters and surface textures, set against a dark sky filled with numerous stars.
Finding life beyond our Solar System requires understanding its host planet.
A room simulating a Martian landscape with red sand, rocky walls, a green tent, and NASA equipment.
"When you feel the isolation setting in at times, you have to reframe your mindset."
JWST deep field vs hubble
The "little red dots" were touted as being too massive, too early, for cosmology to explain. With new knowledge, everything adds up.
Comparison of weight on Earth and Mars for a 1 kg mass. On Earth: gravity = 9.81 m/s², weight = 9.81 N. On Mars: gravity = 3.72 m/s², weight = 3.72 N; demonstrating that weight and mass are not the same across different planets due to varying gravitational forces.
Here on Earth, we commonly use terms like weight (in pounds) and mass (in kilograms) as though they're interchangeable. They're not.
A black and white image of a curled fern leaf is centered on a black background with faint, star-like specks, capturing an ethereal beauty reminiscent of Sara Walker's scientific explorations.
In "Life As No One Knows It," Sara Imari Walker explains why the key distinction between life and other kinds of "things" is how life uses information.
A colorful, abstract scientific illustration with a central glowing sphere, circular patterns, and various lines and circles suggesting quantum connections or uncertainty data points, on a dark background with blue accents.
No matter how good our measurement devices get, certain quantum properties always possess an inherent uncertainty. Can we figure out why?
first contact
Life arose on Earth early on, eventually giving rise to us: intelligent and technologically advanced. "First contact" still remains elusive.
A wide shot of a man walking down an aisle between tall stacks of server racks in a data center filled with computer hardware.
We need more data centers for AI. Developers are getting creative about where to build them.
Six images of lunar craters including Centra Mare Fecunditatis, Mare Tranquillitatis, Mare Ingenii, Southweast, Schlieter Crater, Highland 1, Highland 2, and Mare Smth.
The recent discovery of a large cave on the Moon highlights the importance of caves not just for future space explorers but astrobiology as well.
A vast expanse of outer space densely populated with numerous stars, including the typical star, and celestial objects of varying brightness against a dark background.
Most stars in the Universe are located in big, massive, Milky Way-like galaxies. But most galaxies aren't like ours at all.
A worker in a hard hat and safety vest adjusts equipment in a facility alongside large red machinery labeled "Jefferson Lab." The scene fades into concentric circles, as if drawn by the powerful collider, leading to a bright light.
The largest particle accelerator and collider ever built is the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. Why not go much, much bigger?