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New look at Mercury’s peaks and valleys
First global topographic map of Mercury shows the whole surface of our solar system's innermost planet. MESSENGER mission scientists used 100,000 images to create it.
May 14, 2016
Do no harm to life on Mars? Ethical limits of Prime Directive
A philosopher argues that now is the time to figure it out, before we make the inevitable discovery of extraterrestrial life.
May 14, 2016
Old under-ice volcanoes on Mars
An oddly textured region of southern Mars is not ice-covered today. Yet landforms here - and now certain minerals - are associated with under-ice volcanoes.
May 12, 2016
Ride along as a rocket lands
A rocketcam gives you a ringside seat on the view from space, as Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket plummets earthward for an upright landing.
May 12, 2016
Kepler confirms 1,284 new planets
The announcement more than doubles Kepler's confirmed exoplanets and suggests that, somewhere out there, we'll discover another Earth.
May 11, 2016
Watch SpaceX Dragon depart ISS May 11
The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft, carrying valuable science research, will depart from the International Space Station (ISS) and return to Earth. Watch it live.
May 10, 2016
Why Planet 9 shouldn’t exist
Earlier this year, scientists presented evidence for a Planet Nine in the far outer solar system. Scientists think it exists, but - if so - how did it get there?
May 9, 2016
Mars and Saturn in 2016
Video of this year's oppositions of Mars and Saturn, in front of the constellations Libra and Scorpius. Notice Mars appearing larger around its May 22 opposition!
May 8, 2016
Watch Mercury inch closer to the sun
Mercury is getting ready to transit the sun on May 9. This video from the SOHO sun-watching camera shows Mercury inching closer to the sun's disk, day by day.
May 7, 2016
Rare time-lapse of Webb mirror rollover
Inside the world's largest clean room at Goddard Space Flight Center, the James Webb Space Telescope team lifted and turned the telescope for the first time last week.
May 7, 2016
