SETI pioneer Frank Drake, of 'Drake Equation' fame, dies at 92 By Mike Wall published 2 September 22 Astronomer Frank Drake, who pioneered the modern search for intelligent life in the universe, passed away Friday (Sept. 2)at the age of 92.
Why pummeled planets may be promising abodes for alien life By Charles Q. Choi published 30 August 22 Cosmic impacts can make planets and moons more porous than previously thought, potentially boosting their ability to host life, a new study finds.
Possible water world spotted orbiting an alien star By Keith Cooper published 25 August 22 A potentially habitable water-rich world just 100 light-years away from Earth could be one of the best places to search for life.
Photobombing exoplanets might thwart search for extraterrestrial life By Stefanie Waldek published 21 August 22 Exoplanet images might be contaminated by the light from their neighbors, a new study suggests, but scientists are learning how to remove the effects of these photobombers.
Rocket Lab planning to launch private Venus mission in May 2023 By Leonard David published 19 August 22 Rocket Lab aims to send a probe to Venus soon, and a new paper lays out the details of the ambitious mission.
Probing the Red Planet: Finding past life at Jezero Crater By Leonard David published 10 August 22 Perseverance Mars rover is gathering up samples of Martian rock and soil that could help tease out an answer concerning past life on Mars.
Perseverance Mars rover bags 12th Red Planet rock sample By Mike Wall published 5 August 22 NASA's car-sized Perseverance Mars rover drilled out and sealed up its 12th rock sample on Wednesday (Aug. 3), its fourth such operation in less than a month.
The Curiosity rover has been exploring Mars for 10 years. Here's what we've learned. By Stefanie Waldek published 5 August 22 Curiosity landed on Mars on Aug. 5, 2012, with one main goal: to determine whether the planet was once habitable. In 10 years, it has answered that question and many others.
Celebrate 10 years of NASA's Curiosity rover with these incredible images (gallery) By Daisy Dobrijevic published 4 August 22 NASA's Curiosity rover has been exploring Mars for 10 years, taking incredible photos as it goes. We take a look at some of its best images here.
Just how big can a super-Earth get while staying 'habitable'? By Paul Sutter published 4 August 22 But could these giant, rocky planets actually sustain the conditions for life? Or is life limited to smaller planets like our own?
Super-Earth planet zips through the habitable zone of red dwarf star By Robert Lea published 3 August 22 Low mass and dim red dwarf stars account for 75% of stars in the Milky Way and astronomers are attempting to discover planets that orbit them.
Curiosity rover: The ultimate guide By Elizabeth Howell, Daisy Dobrijevic published 2 August 22 Reference NASA's Curiosity rover is still exploring the Martian surface and looking for signs of life on Mars. We explore the rover in more detail here.
Early life on Earth and beyond may have been ocean dwellers By Keith Cooper published 28 July 22 The genetic tree of life suggests that the first life on Earth may have lived underwater, shielded from harmful ultraviolet light from the sun.
Mars sample return mission adds 2 helicopters, scraps 'fetch' rover By Elizabeth Howell published 27 July 22 The redesigned NASA-European campaign will task the Perseverance rover with delivering Red Planet samples to a rocket, with the drones as backup retrieval options.
Alien hunters should look for city lights from 'urbanized planets,' study suggests By Leonard David published 26 July 22 Scientists searching for signs of extraterrestrial technology should keep an eye out for city lights on exoplanets, a new study suggests.
Mars sample return details coming next week, NASA and European Space Agency promise By Elizabeth Howell published 21 July 22 NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have new details to share on how they will bring pieces of Mars to Earth, and they'll share their plans next week.
To search for alien life, astronomers will look for clues in the atmospheres of distant planets — and the James Webb Space Telescope just proved it's possible to do so By Chris Impey, Daniel Apai published 20 July 22 Scientists who study exoplanets explain how the James Webb Space Telescope will study exoplanet atmospheres.
How big a deal is NASA's new UFO study? By Leonard David published 18 July 22 Space.com reached out to UFO groups and leading experts in the field to get their thoughts on NASA's new endeavor.
Could we eavesdrop on aliens by detecting signals relayed around the sun? By Stefanie Waldek published 17 July 22 Researchers suggest we may be able to use gravitational lensing to amplify radio waves, allowing us to listen in on communication signals passing through our solar system.
Europe ending cooperation with Russia on life-hunting Mars rover By Mike Wall published 13 July 22 It's official: Russia will no longer be a partner on Europe's life-hunting Mars rover mission, which is scheduled to launch in the late 2020s.
