NASA’s trusty Curiosity rover, which has been exploring the so-called red planet for years, just unearthed something huge — a stash of carbon-rich carbonate minerals indicating that the spinning object of Elon Musk’s affection may have once had the goods to host human life. “It tells us that the planet was habitable and that the models for habitability are correct,” said Ben Tutolo, lead study author and associate professor at the University of Calgary, in a matter-of-fact statement. Carbonate minerals typically form when carbon dioxide reacts with water and rock...

Over the past 13 years, the four-wheeled Curiosity rover has traveled approximately 21 miles (34 kilometers) across the Martian surface to gather clues about the possibility of ancient life on the Red Planet. A recent discovery by the metallic explorer could provide an answer to the longstanding question of what happened to Mars’ atmosphere billions of years ago, and how the planet may have transformed from a wet, life-friendly world to a dry and arid desert. The Curiosity rover recently uncovered large deposits of carbon within sulfate-rich layers of Mount...

NASA’s Lucy spacecraft just pulled off its second asteroid flyby and imaged a frankly tasty-looking rock: a peanut-shaped asteroid named Donaldjohanson. The oblong asteroid is a fragment of a long-destroyed space rock that formed roughly 150 million years ago, and Lucy swooped within 600 miles (960 kilometers) of it on April 20, 2025, capturing some seriously wild close-ups. “These early images of Donaldjohanson are again showing the tremendous capabilities of the Lucy spacecraft as an engine of discovery,” said Tom Statler, NASA program scientist for the Lucy mission, in an...

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s Lucy spacecraft will swoop past a small asteroid this weekend as it makes its way to an even bigger prize: the unexplored swarms of asteroids out near Jupiter. It will be the second asteroid encounter for Lucy, launched in 2021 on a quest that will take it to 11 space rocks. The close approaches should help scientists better understand our early solar system when planets were forming; asteroids are the ancient leftovers. The upcoming flyby is a dress rehearsal for 2027 when Lucy reaches its...

It wasn’t just the heavens weeping. A jaw-dropping discovery by NASA may lend cosmic credibility to one of the Bible’s most dramatic moments — the crucifixion of Jesus Christ — and the spooky sky show that followed. The space agency’s astronomical models suggest that a lunar eclipse turned the moon red over Jerusalem on Friday, April 3, 33 AD — a date many scholars tie to Jesus’ death. And that eerie celestial event? It sure sounds familiar. “From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land,”...

NASA Worldview allows you to see real-time visualization of Earth based on satellite images from different sources. You can also select a historical view and explore the planet in different details or apply different information layers. With NASA Worldview, you can add different environmental and atmospheric information to the Earth map and watch, track, or study global weather changes as they occur or change over time. You have over 1000 scientifically accurate data layers you can use, which makes it the perfect tool for students, teachers, casual users, or climate...