Press Releases & Feature Stories Archive - Solar System Exploration Division

Laser Beams Reflected Between Earth and Moon Boost Science

08.10.2020

After launching laser beams for years to NASA's Moon orbiter, scientists receive signal back for the first time

NASA’s MAVEN Observes Martian Night Sky Pulsing in Ultraviolet Light

08.06.2020

Vast areas of the Martian night sky pulse in ultraviolet light, according to images from NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft. The results are being used to illuminate complex circulation patterns in the Martian atmosphere.

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx is One Rehearsal Away from Touching Asteroid Bennu

08.06.2020

NASA’s first asteroid sampling spacecraft is making final preparations to grab a sample from asteroid Bennu’s surface.

NASA Scientists Leverage Carbon-Measuring Instrument for Mars Studies

08.05.2020

Insights and technology gleaned from creating a carbon-measuring instrument for Earth climate studies is being leveraged to build another that would remotely profile, for the first time, water vapor up to nine miles above the Martian surface, along with wind speeds and minute particles suspended in the atmosphere.

NASA’s Lucy Mission Passes Critical Mission Milestone

08.03.2020

NASA’s Lucy mission's critical components, and subsystems, scientific instrumentation, electrical and communication systems, and navigation systems are coming together.

Hubble Sees Summertime on Saturn

07.23.2020

Saturn is truly the lord of the rings in this latest snapshot from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, taken on July 4, 2020, when the opulent giant world was 839 million miles from Earth. This new Saturn image was taken during summer in the planet's northern hemisphere.

Radar Points to Moon Being More Metallic Than Researchers Thought

07.01.2020

The Moon’s subsurface might be richer in metals, like iron and titanium, than researchers thought.

NASA Scientist Simulates Sunsets on Other Worlds

06.22.2020

A NASA simulation shows vibrant, colorful sunsets around the galaxy.

Are Planets with Oceans Common in the Galaxy? It’s Likely, NASA Scientists Find

06.18.2020

NASA scientists decided to explore whether — hypothetically — there are ocean planets in the Milky Way galaxy that are similar to the watery solar system moons Europa and Enceladus.

$A series of panels showing exfoliation features (fractures) on a cliff face on Bennu$

NASA's OSIRIS-REx Discovers Sunlight Can Crack Rocks on Asteroid Bennu

06.09.2020

Asteroids get bombarded by meteoroids, blasted by space radiation, and now, for the first time, scientists are seeing evidence that even a little sunshine can wear them down.

MAVEN Maps Electric Currents around Mars that are Fundamental to Atmospheric Loss

05.25.2020

NASA’s MAVEN mission has created a map of electric current systems in the Martian atmosphere. These currents play a fundamental role in the atmospheric loss that transformed Mars from a world that could have supported life into an inhospitable desert.

NASA’s Webb Will Study the ‘Building Blocks’ of Our Solar System

05.21.2020

With James Webb, researchers will observe far-flung asteroids, some with moons, to learn more about the makeup and history of our solar system.

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Finds Clues to Chilly Ancient Mars Buried in Rocks

05.19.2020

Data collected by Curiosity rover suggests that Martian climate change is recorded in rocks

Telescopes and Spacecraft Join Forces to Probe Deep into Jupiter's Atmosphere

05.07.2020

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the ground-based Gemini Observatory in Hawaii have teamed up with the Juno spacecraft to probe the mightiest storms in the solar system, taking place more than 500 million miles away on the giant planet Jupiter.

AAS Names 29 NASA-Affiliated Legacy Fellows

04.30.2020

Twenty-nine scientists working at or affiliated with NASA have been named Fellows of the American Astronomical Society (AAS), the major organization of professional astronomers in North America.

NASA Scientists Tapped to Mature More Rugged Seismometer System to Measure Moonquakes

04.29.2020

NASA hasn’t measured moonquakes since Apollo astronauts deployed a handful of measuring stations at various locations on the lunar surface and discovered unexpectedly that Earth’s only natural satellite was far from seismically inactive.

Nine Reasons We’re Grateful to Live on Earth

04.21.2020

On this 50th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22, we reflect on nine reasons Earth is the best place to live.

Interstellar Comet Borisov Reveals Its Chemistry and Possible Origins

04.20.2020

On Aug. 30, 2019, when amateur astronomer Gennady Borisov gazed upward with his homemade telescope, he spotted an object moving in an unusual direction.

NCCS-Enabled Gravity Models Reveal Density of Moon’s Crust

04.17.2020

NASA Goddard and university scientists built high-resolution models of the Moon’s gravity field using NCCS supercomputers and data from GRAIL and LRO, revealing detailed structure of the lunar crust.

Paper by Goossens et al. (2020) in J. Geophys. Res.-Planets that presents these results.

One Step Closer to Touching Asteroid Bennu

04.15.2020

Yesterday, OSIRIS-REx performed the first practice run of its sample collection sequence.

New NASA Podcast Helps Listeners Explore Our ‘Curious Universe’

04.06.2020

NASA’s newest podcast is taking listeners on an adventure to explore the wonders of Earth and help unravel the mysteries of the universe.

NASA Science Keeps the Lights On

04.02.2020

Across NASA’s many missions, thousands of scientists, engineers, and other experts and professionals all over the country are doing what they do best, but now from home offices and via video conferencing. With most personnel supporting missions remotely to keep onsite staff at a minimal level in response to COVID-19, the Agency is moving ahead strongly with everything from space exploration to using our technology and innovation to help inform policy makers.