missions
10 posts
Voyager 1 and 2 in Interstellar Space: What They Found Beyond the Heliosphere
Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 are the most distant human-made objects in existence. Both have crossed into interstellar space and are still transmitting data. What they found at the edge of the solar system has surprised scientists.
Jun 17, 2026 · 8 minExoplanet Atmospheres: How Webb Reads the Chemistry of Alien Worlds
When an exoplanet passes in front of its star, a fraction of starlight filters through the planet's atmosphere. Different molecules absorb different wavelengths, leaving a chemical fingerprint. JWST is already detecting water, CO2, and methane in worlds dozens of light-years away.
Jun 16, 2026 · 7 minWhat James Webb Has Already Taught Us About the Early Universe
The James Webb Space Telescope has been operating for less than three years and has already rewritten our understanding of the early universe — detecting galaxies from within 300 million years of the Big Bang and challenging the standard timeline of cosmic structure formation.
Jun 15, 2026 · 7 minWater Ice on the Moon: The Resource That Makes Lunar Settlement Possible
For most of the 20th century, astronomers assumed the Moon was completely dry. That changed when NASA's LCROSS mission in 2009 confirmed water ice in lunar craters. Lunar water ice is now one of the most strategically important resources in the solar system.
Jun 13, 2026 · 7 minNew Horizons at Pluto and the Wonders of the Kuiper Belt
When NASA's New Horizons flew past Pluto in July 2015, it transformed a fuzzy dot into a world — mountains of water ice, a vast nitrogen plain, and an active geology. The outer solar system has not looked the same since.
Jun 9, 2026 · 8 minThe Europa Clipper Mission and the Search for Life in an Alien Ocean
Under Europa's icy crust lies a global ocean of liquid water — more water than in all of Earth's oceans combined. Europa Clipper, launched in 2024, will make 49 close flybys measuring the ocean's depth, chemistry, and whether it could support life.
Jun 8, 2026 · 7 minNASA's Artemis Program: Building a Permanent Presence on the Moon
More than fifty years after Apollo 11, NASA is sending humans back to the Moon — but this time with the explicit goal of staying. Artemis aims to land the first woman on the lunar surface and create infrastructure for permanent human presence and eventual Mars missions.
Jun 7, 2026 · 7 minThe Perseverance Rover: Drilling Into Mars for Signs of Ancient Life
NASA's Perseverance rover has been operating on Mars since February 2021, crawling through Jezero Crater — an ancient lake delta — drilling rock samples that may contain fossilized microbial life for a future return mission to Earth.
Jun 6, 2026 · 7 minFuture Giant Space Telescopes Beyond James Webb
James Webb is the largest and most powerful space telescope ever built, but its successors are already being planned. The Habitable Worlds Observatory and Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope would push astronomy into territory Webb cannot reach — directly imaging Earth-like exoplanets.
Jun 5, 2026 · 7 minBreakthrough Starshot and Laser-Pushed Lightsails to Alpha Centauri
In 2016, a coalition of scientists and billionaires announced a project to send a thumbnail-sized spacecraft to Alpha Centauri within a generation. The plan: accelerate a tiny sail to 20% the speed of light using a ground-based laser array. The physics works. The engineering is the challenge.
Apr 24, 2026 · 4 min