How much of Venus's atmosphere is coming from volcanoes?

There's a lot we don't know about the planet nearest to us. Venus is shrouded in clouds, making speculation about what's happening on its surface a parlor game for many planetary scientists for decades. But one idea that ...

If Europa has geysers, they're very faint

In 2013, the Hubble Space Telescope spotted water vapor on Jupiter's moon Europa. The vapor was evidence of plumes similar to the ones on Saturn's moon Enceladus. That, and other compelling evidence, showed that the moon ...

What could we build with lunar regolith?

It has often been likened to talcum powder. The ultra fine lunar surface material known as the regolith is crushed volcanic rock. For visitors to the surface of the moon it can be a health hazard, causing wear and tear on ...

Why is it so hard to drill off Earth?

Humans have been digging underground for millennia—on the Earth. It's where we extract some of our most valuable resources that have moved society forward. For example, there wouldn't have been a Bronze Age without tin ...

What's the earliest the moon could have formed?

Astronomers are pretty sure they know where the moon came from. In the early solar system, a Mars-sized object dubbed Theia smashed into Earth. This cataclysmic collision knocked a huge mass of material into orbit, which ...

A robot hopper to explore the moon's dangerous terrain

Intuitive Machines recently had a major breakthrough, successfully becoming the first non-governmental entity to land on the moon in February. At least the landing was partially successful—the company's Odysseus lander ...

Mapping lava tubes on the moon and Mars from space

Sometimes, all you need for a new discovery is some creative math. That was the case for a new paper by Edward Williams and Laurent Montési of the University of Maryland's Department of Geology. They released a brief paper ...

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