Earth & Planetary Sciences

Ingenuity Helicopter Successfully Makes First Flight On Mars

IEEE Spectrum: Earlier today, at about 11am Mars time, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter successfully completed its very first flight on Mars. The little helicopter, which is about the size of a box of tissues, did exactly what it was supposed to…

There Might Be Remnants of an Ancient Planet Buried Inside Earth? Yup

Discover Magazine: Researchers are fairly certain that we gained our favorite satellite, the moon, after a planet, Theia, collided with the proto-Earth 4.5 billion years ago. What’s not certain are the details surrounding Theia’s fate. Was it a hit-and-run, or did…

NASA’s next lunar rover will run open-source software

Technology Review: In 2023, NASA will launch VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover), which that will trek across the surface of the moon and hunt for water ice that could one day be used to make rocket fuel. The rover will…

Iceland’s Eruptions Reveal the Hot History of Mars

Quanta Magazine: After 15 months of increasingly intense and disruptive earthquakes on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula, the region finally let off some pressure. On March 19, lava roared out of the ground in the uninhabited valley of Geldingadalur, marking the first time…