Solar System (Page 9)

The top news about what's going on in the cosmic neighborhood—from planet nine to the sun, and everything in between.

Latest in Solar System

A blue-colored cliff on Mars.

Marsquakes reveal the red planet is way more radioactive than we thought

By Leto Sapunar

Volcanoes, not alien life, might explain Venus’s weird atmosphere

Volcanoes, not alien life, might explain Venus’s weird atmosphere

By Kate Baggaley

An artist's interpretation of the Europa Clipper spacecraft as it orbits Jupiter's frozen moon Europa.

NASA’s next Jupiter mission will hunt for life’s ingredients under Europa’s frozen shell

By Leto Sapunar

A Brief History of the Apollo Hoax

A Brief History of the Apollo Hoax

a skyscraper against a green background with rays of light beaming off of it onto the ground

Some skyscrapers are so shiny they turn into death rays

By Popular Science Team

flood water under park bench

Why we’re going to see a rapid rise in sunny day floods

By Sara Chodosh

How A Sundial Lets Curiosity See Mars in Living Color

How A Sundial Lets Curiosity See Mars in Living Color

By Rebecca Boyle

The 123,000 MPH Plasma Engine That Could Finally Take Astronauts To Mars

The 123,000 MPH Plasma Engine That Could Finally Take Astronauts To Mars

By Sam Howe Verhovek

nasa-mariner-2-venus

These scientists spent decades pushing NASA to go back to Venus. Now they’re on a hot streak.

By Megan I. Gannon

An image of the surface of Venus showing it's 'crustal blocks,' which are similar to but distinct from tectonic plates on Earth.

Jostling in Venus’ crust could reveal clues about Earth’s early geology

By Leto Sapunar

A large, yellow moon rises over the branches of a tree.

The Strawberry Moon, explained

By Erin Fennessy

Microbes Will Be Essential For Human Survival On Mars

Microbes Will Be Essential For Human Survival On Mars

By Kate Baggaley

How NASA Found The Lost ExoMars Lander So Quickly

How NASA Found The Lost ExoMars Lander So Quickly

By Kate Baggaley

Global Warming Could Be The Best Way To Terraform Mars

By Mary Beth Griggs

Here’s our original coverage of Apollo 11

Here’s our original coverage of Apollo 11

To find life on Mars, we’ll need new orbiters, more advanced rovers, and humans

To find life on Mars, we’ll need new orbiters, more advanced rovers, and humans

A close-up of Jupiter's moon Ganymede.

NASA’s Juno orbiter captured striking close-ups of Jupiter’s biggest moon

By Leto Sapunar

A mockup of the DAVINCI+ which will release a metal probe to fall through Venus’s atmosphere and measure its makeup.

NASA is finally going back to Venus. Here’s what its twin missions hope to uncover.

By Charlie Wood

An artist's rendering of Saturn's moon Enceladus

Is something burping methane on Saturn’s ocean moon?

By Charlie Wood

Two Zebro robots

‘Robot swarms’ could one day build underground shelters for humans on Mars

By Leto Sapunar

A composite image of the planet Venus.

NASA hasn’t been to Venus since the ’90s. Now it’s planning two trips to our smoking hot neighbor.

Super Moon rise over a valley

How to photograph the moon like a pro

By Stan Horaczek

solar panel factory on the moon

Solar Panels Grown On The Moon Could Power The Earth

View of the dome of the HI-SEAS facility against the background of Mauna Loa.

These astronauts are preparing for life on Mars by living in Hawaiian lava tubes

In all likelihood, someday the sun will knock out the grid

In all likelihood, someday the sun will knock out the grid

By Sarah Scoles

The Mars Jezero crater

Life could be hiding deep under Mars

By Leto Sapunar

Curiosity Rover takes a self portrait

Most Missions To Mars Don’t Survive

By Sara Chodosh

An image of a tardigrade.

What you need to know about the tardigrade cannon

Why does NASA keep launching Wright brothers’ stuff into space?

Why does NASA keep launching Wright brothers’ stuff into space?

Apply Now For A One-Way Trip To Mars

By Rose Pastore

NASA’s Twin Orbiters Will Crash Into The Moon On Monday

By Rebecca Boyle

This Is the Food We’ll Eat on Mars

How You’ll Die On Mars

How You’ll Die On Mars

Why Thousands Of People Are Willing To Die On Mars

Why Thousands Of People Are Willing To Die On Mars

By Daniel Engber

"Mars spiders," formations caused by underground carbon dioxide fizzing to the surface in springtine.

Scientists brought ‘Mars spiders’ to Earth—here’s how

A fissure in the Cerberus Fossae formation on Mars.

Mars may have had recent volcanic eruptions—which is great news for finding life

By Leto Sapunar

CubeSats Are Paving Mankind’s Way Back To The Moon, And Beyond

CubeSats Are Paving Mankind’s Way Back To The Moon, And Beyond

By Shannon Stirone

The Keeper Of The Maps Of Mars

The Keeper Of The Maps Of Mars

By Shannon Stirone

Planetary Deep Drill piecing rocks

A Drill To Tunnel Miles Below The Surface Of Mars

By Shannon Stirone

The planet Venus

Radio signals detected on Venus weren’t sent by aliens

Venus Crater Farm image taken by the Magellan spacecraft for NASA

The hellish Venus surface in 5 vintage photos

By Amy Shira Teitel

An illustration of the Mars Perseverance rover in the background and the Ingenuity helicopter in flight in the foreground.

Ingenuity flew on Mars. Now NASA will push it to the brink of destruction.

By Charlie Wood

exploring moon caves

We could live in caves on the moon. What would that be like?

Astronaut Scott Kelly taking a selfie in space

Spending time in space could shrink your heart

If The Sun Went Out, How Long Would Life On Earth Survive?

If The Sun Went Out, How Long Would Life On Earth Survive?

By Holly Otterbein

NASA Is Trying To Figure Out What A Mysterious Object Near Pluto Is

NASA Is Trying To Figure Out What A Mysterious Object Near Pluto Is

By Christine Jun

This view of Jupiter’s turbulent atmosphere from NASA’s Juno spacecraft includes several of the planet’s southern jet streams.

Researchers just measured Jupiter’s stratospheric winds for the first time—and they’re a doozy

By Leto Sapunar

Perseverance rover SHERLOC

Was there ever life on Mars? Perseverance’s SHERLOC laser sniffs for microscopic clues

By Charlie Wood

PXLR, Perseverance Mars rover camera instrument

Perseverance’s giant ‘hand lens’ will scour Mars for signs of ancient life

By Charlie Wood

A SpaceX Starship rocket falls through the air horizontally during a test.

SpaceX Starships keep exploding, but it’s all part of Elon Musk’s plan

The MOXIE instrument before it was lowered into NASA's Perseverance Rover, which is currently settled on the surface of Mars.

With MOXIE, Perseverance will try to make oxygen on Mars

By Charlie Wood

microbes being sent into Earth's atmosphere.

Some of Earth’s tiniest living things could survive on Mars

By Ellie Shechet

Mars' surface, in high-resolution and color, as captured by the Hazcams on NASA's Perseverance rover.

See Mars through Perseverance’s eyes

11 eye-opening images from NASA’s Mars missions

An artist's interpretation of Perseverance, NASA's newest Mars rover, parachuting down from orbit.

Watch the Perseverance rover complete its dramatic landing on Mars

By Charlie Wood

The Jezero Crater as captured from orbit.

Your ancestors might have been Martians

By Charlie Wood

An overhead view of Mars featuring peculiar dark streaks.

Mars’s mascara-like streaks may be caused by slush and landslides

By Charlie Wood

Masha Krasnova-Shavaeva illustration

How NASA kept its Mars rovers alive long past their expiration dates

By Charlie Wood

An artist's impression of the Ingenuity helicopter on the surface of Mars.

NASA’s Mars helicopter may soon be the first to fly on another planet

By Paola Rosa-Aquino

This image was taken by Voyager 2, and features its Great Dark Spot and a bright moving spot colloquially called Scooter.

Neptune’s bumpy childhood could reveal our solar system’s missing planets

By Charlie Wood

A close-up view of Tithonium Chasma, which is feature of Valles Marineris, the solar system's largest canyon.

Peer inside the solar system’s largest canyon

By Jessica Boddy

The moon’s surface is a chaotic mess of craters of all sizes. Now algorithms are smart enough and kind enough to sort through that mess for us.

Astronomers made a poor bot count 100,000 moon craters

By Charlie Wood

The best books about the moon

The best books about the moon

By Eleanor Cummins

An exoplanet orbits two stars in this artist's interpretation

This alien world could help us find Planet Nine in our own solar system

By Paola Rosa-Aquino