Press Releases & Feature Stories Archive - Solar System Exploration Division

Beresheet Impact Site Spotted

05.15.2019

SpaceIL, a non-profit organization, attempted to land its spacecraft in this ancient volcanic field on the nearside of the Moon. After a smooth initial descent, Beresheet made a hard landing on the surface. As soon as its orbit placed NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter over the landing site on April 22, 2019, LRO imaged Beresheet’s impact site.

Shrinking Moon May Be Generating Moonquakes

05.13.2019

The Moon is shrinking as its interior cools, causing the brittle surface crust to break as the Moon shrinks, forming faults where one section of crust is pushed up over a neighboring part. A new analysis gives the first evidence that these faults are still active and likely producing moonquakes today.

Martian Dust Could Help Explain Water Loss, Plus Other Learnings From Global Storm

05.02.2019

Scientists are still analyzing reams of data from the 2018 global dust storm, but preliminary reports include insights on how massive dust storms could have affected ancient Martian water, winds, and climate, and how they could affect future weather and solar power.

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Celebrates 60 Years

04.29.2019

On May 1, 1959, the Beltsville Space Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, was renamed NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in honor of Robert H. Goddard, widely considered the father of modern rocketry. Thus began a 60-year boom in science and technological innovation.

Next-Generation NASA Instrument Advanced to Study the Atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune

04.25.2019

A NASA scientist and his team at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, are taking advantage of advances to mature a smaller, more capable net flux radiometer to examine the atmospheres of Neptune and Uranus.

NASA Scientist to Discuss “Apollo at 50: The Lasting Effect of Exploration of the Lunar Surface” at Library of Congress Lecture

04.22.2019

The public is invited to a free talk called ‘Apollo at 50: The Lasting Effect of Exploration of the Lunar Surface on Our Current Exploration of the Moon,' with Dr. Noah Petro, Project Scientist for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter or LRO mission.

A Closer Look at Mercury’s Spin and Gravity Reveals the Planet’s Inner Solid Core

04.17.2019

Mercury’s inner core is indeed solid and that it is very nearly the same size as Earth’s inner core.

Meteoroid Strikes Eject Precious Water From Moon

04.15.2019

Streams of meteoroids striking the Moon infuse the thin lunar atmosphere with a short-lived water vapor, according to researchers using data from NASA’s LADEE spacecraft. The findings will help scientists understand the history of lunar water.

Moon’s South Pole in NASA’s Landing Sites

04.15.2019

Water is a critical resource for long-term exploration, and that’s one of the main reasons NASA will send astronauts to the Moon’s South Pole by 2024.

Meet Veronica Allen, Observational Astrochemist at NASA Goddard

04.08.2019

Scientist Veronica Allen talks about her life and career.

Laser Blasts Show Asteroid Bombardment, Hydrogen Make Great Recipe for Life on Mars

03.25.2019

A new study reveals asteroid impacts on ancient Mars could have produced key ingredients for life if the Martian atmosphere was rich in hydrogen. An early hydrogen-rich atmosphere on Mars could also explain how the planet remained habitable for a while after its atmosphere thinned.

Patrick Whelley - Don't Wake the Volcano

03.19.2019

Patrick Whelley, a planetary geologist and volcanologist, knows better than to wake the volcano.

NASA Mission Reveals Asteroid Has Big Surprises

03.19.2019

A NASA spacecraft that will return a sample of a near-Earth asteroid named Bennu to Earth in 2023 made the first-ever close-up observations of particle plumes erupting from an asteroid’s surface.

NASA Invites Media to 57th Annual Robert H. Goddard Memorial Symposium

03.15.2019

Media are invited to the 57th Robert H. Goddard Memorial Symposium on March 20-21.

A Region of Bennu’s Northern Hemisphere Close Up

03.14.2019

These images were taken on February 25 while the spacecraft was in orbit around Bennu, approximately 1.1 miles (1.8 km) from the asteroid’s northern hemisphere.

NASA to Host Media Teleconference on Asteroid Sample Return Mission

03.14.2019

NASA is hosting a media teleconference at 1:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday, March 19, to announce new science from the agency’s first mission to return to Earth an asteroid sample that may contain unaltered material from the very beginning of our solar system.

NASA Selects Teams to Study Untouched Moon Samples

03.11.2019

NASA selected nine teams to continue the legacy of the Apollo missions by studying Moon pieces that have been stored and untouched for nearly 50 years.

NASA Goddard Teams to Study Unopened Apollo Samples

03.11.2019

Two proposals submitted by teams led by scientists from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, have been selected to analyze unopened Apollo samples.

NASA’s LRO Sheds Light on Lunar Water Movement

03.08.2019

Scientists using an instrument aboard LRO observed water molecules moving around the dayside of the Moon.

“Goldilocks” Stars May Be “Just Right” for Finding Habitable Worlds

03.07.2019

Scientists searching the vastness of space for alien worlds that might support life face major challenges, one of which is that most stars are different from our Sun. Each type of star has different characteristics than can affect the chances of finding a habitable planet around them.

Kelsey Young Dives Into Fieldwork With Aplomb

03.05.2019

Feature on Kelsey Young, a Geologist in the Planetary Geology, Geophysics and Geochemistry Lab.

Five Teams Win NASA DALI Awards to Advance Future Lunar Missions

02.27.2019

The agency’s Development and Advancement of Lunar Instrumentation, or DALI, program recently awarded 10 teams funding to mature spacecraft-based instruments for use in future lander missions, including those offered by commercial ventures through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) contract.