Q&A: John Richardson and John Belcher on Voyager 1’s crossing and interstellar exploration
Beyond the solar system, a probe launched in 1977 is likely to find a cold, dense sea of cosmic rays.
Inflatable antennae could give CubeSats greater reach
Design inflates with a powder that turns into gas.
Terramechanics research aims to keep Mars rovers rolling
Simulations predict safest path for rovers to travel.
An answer to why our galaxy’s black hole is a finicky eater
Researchers find material ejects itself before black hole can devour it.
Detecting DNA in space
Researchers, in a step toward analyzing Mars for signs of life, find that gene-sequencing chip can survive space radiation.
An answer to a lunar mystery: Why is the moon’s gravity so uneven?
Simulations based on GRAIL data show how gravitational anomalies developed early in lunar history.
3Q: Enectali Figueroa-Feliciano on possible hints of dark matter
MIT physicist explains how new results from an underground experiment add intrigue to the hunt for dark matter.
New five-planet system contains two that are in the ‘habitable zone’
Potentially habitable planets are slightly larger than Earth.
NASA selects MIT-led TESS project for 2017 mission
$200 million project will launch telescopes to perform full-sky search for transiting exoplanets.
Mapping the early history of the moon
In 41st annual Killian Lecture, Maria Zuber describes looking deep into the moon’s interior to chart its early history.
GRAIL reveals a battered lunar history
Twin spacecraft create a highly detailed gravity map of the moon, finding an interior pulverized by early impacts.
MIT-developed ‘microthrusters’ could propel small satellites
As small as a penny, these thrusters run on jets of ion beams.