technical updates

Mercury, the tiniest and least-explored planet in the inner solar system, is hiding mysteries far larger than itself — and finally, scientists will soon be getting not one but two spacecraft designed to decode the strange world. That's thanks to the BepiColombo mission, a joint project of the European Space Agency (ESA) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) that launched in October 2018. After a harrowing journey through the inner solar system, the mission is tackling a crucial maneuver on Thursday (Sept. 3) : separating its science equipment from the transport that carried it all that way. By April 2027, scientists hope the mission's two instrument-heavy probes will be gathering a slew of observations that could help solve puzzles about Mercury — and maybe even the solar system we call home. "I think being able to see new data come out about Mercury is going to be so fan...

A mysterious giant 10-sided pattern of clouds has recently formed around Saturn's south pole, a new study finds. This newfound "decagon" joins the bizarre colossal hexagon seen for decades at Saturn's north pole. Saturn's hexagon — a cloud pattern about 20,000 miles (32,000 kilometers) wide — was first discovered in 1988 by scientists reviewing data from NASA's Voyager flybys of Saturn in 1980 and 1981. Despite decades of observations, no similar structure was seen anywhere else on Saturn  — until now, as scientists have discovered an even larger structure on Saturn . The newfound decagon is about 104,250 miles (167,820 kilometers) wide, with each of its 10 sides measuring about 10,425 miles (16,782 km) long. "This is a very unusual atmospheric phenomenon that is helping us to advance our understanding of meteorology in general," study lead author Agustin San...

Another reusable Chinese rocket has taken to the skies. Pallas-1, a launcher developed by the Beijing-based company Galactic Energy , flew for the first time ever on Monday (Aug. 31), lifting off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 10 p.m. EDT (0200 GMT and 10 a.m. Beijing time on Sept. 1). Everything went well on the mission, according to Galactic Energy. Galactic Energy's Pallas-1 rocket launches for the first time ever, on Aug. 31, 2026. (Image credit: CCTV) "The rocket successfully entered its predetermined orbit," the company said via social media on Monday about 30 minutes after liftoff (translation by Google). "This successful maiden flight marks Galactic Energy's official entry into a new development stage of combining solid and liquid propellants, driven by a dual-engine approach." The company — which also operates Ceres-1, a small...

Famed author Thomas Wolfe coined the phrase "You Can’t Go Home Again" with the title of his classic 1940 novel, and while that actually might be true in some cases, " The Mandalorian and Grogu " gets its homecoming as it arrives on Disney+ for fans today, Sept. 2, 2026. Honestly, this is probably where the $166 million "The Mandalorian" spinoff movie should have premiered in the first place, but Disney decided to test the big screen waters with its charismatic clansman and Baby Yoda. Sadly, it came up a bit short when all the tickets were tallied, but everyone loves second chances, and we're pretty psyched to see the space fantasy back where it belongs: in the vast streaming universe. " The Mandalorian and Grogu " was directed by Jon Favreau from a script co-written by Lucasfilm President and CCO Dave Filoni and Noah Floor ("The Book of Boba Fett...

The BepiColombo mission is finally getting ready to arrive at its exotic destination. BepiColombo launched in October 2018 and took a long, looping and highly circuitous route toward Mercury our solar system's innermost planet. That journey is now nearly over, and the mission is gearing up for arrival. BepiColombo's two science orbiters — one run by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the other by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) — will separate from their power and propulsion module on Thursday (Sept. 3) at around 8 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT). You can watch that milestone live here at Space.com, courtesy of ESA, starting at 7:45 a.m. EDT (1145 GMT). Artist's impression showing the Mercury Transfer Module (at bottom) separate from the BepiColombo Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO) composite spacecraft. (Image credit: ESA/ATG medialab) E...

Studying 75 meteorites falling to Earth, scientists have identified the seven stages a space rock goes through as it crashes through our atmosphere, each of which is determined by different physical processes. The research found that there are more factors than mere evaporation that determine how fragments of asteroids and comets lose mass and speed passing through the atmosphere before slamming into the ground as meteorites. As well as just "burning up" in the atmosphere, space rocks also go through periods of melting and fragmentation that occur at different altitudes. Aside from shining light on the life cycles of meteorites, the team's research could help us better understand what would happen if a large, potentially hazardous asteroid were to enter Earth's atmosphere. "We used to think that solid rocks would evaporate from the enormous heat and brilliant light gene...

The first dedicated mission to another star will launch before the end of the decade, if all goes according to plan. A nonprofit called the Fermi Explorer Mission announced today (Sept. 1) that it plans to send a small probe toward Alpha Centauri by 2029. But none of us will live to see the interstellar spacecraft 's historic arrival; its journey is expected to take about 80,000 years. "We hope to be both the first to leave and the last to arrive at Alpha Centauri," Philip Johnston, co-founder and president of the Fermi Explorer Mission, said in a statement today. "None of us will be here when this journey ends, and that is the point. It's about taking the first achievable step and inspiring future generations to keep pushing beyond the limits we inherited." Artist's impression of the planned Fermi Explorer Mission spacecraft, which is targeted to launch toward Al...