The Binar-1 mission is the first in a series that will hopefully culminate in a mission to the Moon, with satellites developed using know-how gained from designing tough instruments for the WA outback.
New research suggests that Venus’ crust is broken into large blocks – the dark reddish–purple areas – that are surrounded by belts of tectonic structures shown in lighter yellow–red.
Paul K. Byrne/NASA/USGS
Researchers used decades-old radar data and found that some low-lying areas of Venus’ crust are moving and jostling. This evidence is some of the strongest yet of tectonic activity on Venus.
Two new NASA missions hope to answer important questions about Venus’ past.
NASA/JPL/USGS
Two new NASA missions – VERITAS and DAVINCI+ – are headed to Venus. The missions will use radar and a probe to learn about Earth’s hard-to-study and potentially prophetic neighbor.
Sara Webb, Swinburne University of Technology and Rebecca Allen, Swinburne University of Technology
China has fast-tracked its way onto the red planet, almost matching NASA’s capability in a fraction of the time. Its Zhurong rover will become the first to measure Mars’s magnetic field.
You might think lots of meteorites ultimately come from comets. Turns out, you’d be wrong, according to a new study that tracked meteors hurtling through the sky to find out where they came from.
The fireball.
Ben Stanley, processed by Markus Kempf, the AllSky7 network
Researchers have long suspected there’s water - or ice, to be precise - on the Moon. New research now confirms it, and suggests it lurks in sun-starved nooks and crannies called ‘cold traps’.
Following on from the 2019 International Year of Indigenous Languages, 2020 has seen 5 asteroids given new names recognising the contribution of illustrious Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
NASA’s InSight lander has recorded the first evidence of earthquake-like tremors on Mars. The discovery opens a new chapter in our understanding of the geological processes at play on another world.
Mars landslide. The blue area represents the landslide debris.
New research on landslides on Mars could help protect against devastating landslides on Earth.
This Hubble Space Telescope image of Saturn and a few of its moons shows how hard it can be to spot the gas giant’s tiny orbiting companions.
NASA / ESA / Hubble
The 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics went to a cosmologist who helped unlock the secrets of the Big Bang’s aftermath, and two astronomers who found a “hot Jupiter” orbiting a nearby star.
The red planet. It may hold no life, but is it dead?
NASA/JPL
NASA has released a sound recording from Mars. So what do these literally otherworldly sounds tell us about the processes at play inside the red planet?
Ever since the Parkes dish helped broadcast the Moon landings, Australia has been hiding its light under a bushel when it comes to space science.
AAP Image/Mick Tsikas
Australia played a vital role in beaming the Apollo 11 Moon landing to the world. But since then we’ve passed up the opportunity to cement our place in exploring outer space.
Pluto in enhanced color, to illustrate differences in the composition and texture of its surface.
NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute