Solar System

The top news about what's going on in the cosmic neighborhood—from planet nine to the sun, and everything in between.

Latest in Solar System

sunspot trace
Science

What Is A Sunspot?

By

Researchers Mix Up Batches Of Martian Concrete
Mars

Researchers Mix Up Batches Of Martian Concrete

By Sarah Fecht

Congress Wants NASA To Create A Deep Space Habitat By 2018
Mars

Congress Wants NASA To Create A Deep Space Habitat By 2018

By Sarah Fecht

Drones Could Scope Out Martian Real Estate
Mars

Drones Could Scope Out Martian Real Estate

By Erik Sofge

Jade Rabbit
Moons

After 40 Years, New Results From The Moon’s Surface

By Mary Beth Griggs

NASA Releases New High-Res Earthrise Image
Moons

NASA Releases New High-Res Earthrise Image

By Lindsey Kratochwill

Second Lunar XPrize Project Officially Headed For Space
Moons

Second Lunar XPrize Project Officially Headed For Space

By Lindsey Kratochwill

Inside an Orion mock-up
Mars

A Peek Inside The Orion Spacecraft That Will Fly Us To Mars

By Sarah Fecht

We Rode In The Car Astronauts Could Drive On Mars
Mars

We Rode In The Car Astronauts Could Drive On Mars

By Sarah Fecht

Under The Right Conditions Our Sun Could Produce An Enormous Superflare
Science

Under The Right Conditions Our Sun Could Produce An Enormous Superflare

By Mary Beth Griggs

Falling Phobos Will Eventually Put A Ring Around Mars
Moons

Falling Phobos Will Eventually Put A Ring Around Mars

By Sarah Fecht

A Human Face Transplant, Saturn’s Beautiful Moons, And Other Amazing Images Of The Week
Animals

A Human Face Transplant, Saturn’s Beautiful Moons, And Other Amazing Images Of The Week

By Lydia Chain and Nicole Lou

What We’ve Learned From The Pluto Flyby
Best of What's New

What We’ve Learned From The Pluto Flyby

By Edited and condensed by Sophie Bushwick

What Happens If the Curiosity Rover Finds Life on Mars?
Mars

What Happens If the Curiosity Rover Finds Life on Mars?

By

Watch Scientists Test New Jetpack Tech For Exploring Asteroids
Mars

Watch Scientists Test New Jetpack Tech For Exploring Asteroids

By Sarah Fecht

Inside The Z Machine, Where Scientists Turned Hydrogen Into Metal
Physics

Inside The Z Machine, Where Scientists Turned Hydrogen Into Metal

By Matt Giles

Phobos
Moons

Mars’s Moon Phobos Is Falling Apart

By Mary Beth Griggs

Pluto’s Surface ​May Be Alive Thanks To Planetary Antifreeze
Pluto

Pluto’s Surface ​May Be Alive Thanks To Planetary Antifreeze

By Sarah Fecht

Why Can’t We Live On Mars? Blame The Sun
Mars

Why Can’t We Live On Mars? Blame The Sun

By Sarah Fecht

Why Did Apollo Lunar Samples Have Amino Acids In Them?
Moons

Why Did Apollo Lunar Samples Have Amino Acids In Them?

By Sarah Fecht

Russia Plans A Crewed Mission To The Moon By 2029
Moons

Russia Plans A Crewed Mission To The Moon By 2029

By Mary Beth Griggs

The Most Interesting Place On Europa
NASA

The Most Interesting Place On Europa

By Sarah Fecht

Interview With A Sarcastic Mars Rover
Mars

Interview With A Sarcastic Mars Rover

By Shannon Stirone

If Humans Go To Mars, Where’s The Best Place To Land?
Mars

If Humans Go To Mars, Where’s The Best Place To Land?

By Charles Q. Choi

httpswww.popsci.comsitespopsci.comfilesimages201510jocelyn_headshot.jpg
Mars

Meet A Real-Life Martian

By Lydia Chain

A Look Back At George Mueller’s Contributions To Manned Space Missions
Moons

A Look Back At George Mueller’s Contributions To Manned Space Missions

By Lindsey Kratochwill

Russia and Europe Prepare For Joint Lunar Mission
Moons

Russia and Europe Prepare For Joint Lunar Mission

By Mary Beth Griggs

Matt Damon leans against a rover
Mars

5 Exciting Technologies NASA’s Developing So We Can Make It To Mars And Back

By Sarah Fecht

Ancient Mars Crater Had Huge Lakes
Mars

Ancient Mars Crater Had Huge Lakes

By Mary Beth Griggs

Pluto Has Red Ice And Blue Skies
Pluto

Pluto Has Red Ice And Blue Skies

By Sarah Fecht

Acidalia Planitia
Mars

These Are The Real-Life Settings Of Scenes From ‘The Martian’

By Mary Beth Griggs

How Microbial Farming Could Help Terraform Mars
Mars

How Microbial Farming Could Help Terraform Mars

By Jason Tetro

Concept drawing of the first human explorers on Mars
Mars

Should We Search For Life On Mars Before Sending Astronauts?

By Sarah Fecht

Nuclear weapons test, 1952
Mars

Elon Musk Clarifies His Suggestion To Terraform Mars By Nuking It

By Sarah Fecht

Why The Deadly Sandstorm In ‘The Martian’ Is Impossible
Mars

Why The Deadly Sandstorm In ‘The Martian’ Is Impossible

By Sarah Fecht

This Is What Traveling To Mars Does To Your Brain
Health

This Is What Traveling To Mars Does To Your Brain

By Alexandra Ossola

Mars Has Flowing Water, New Evidence Indicates
Mars

Mars Has Flowing Water, New Evidence Indicates

By Sarah Fecht

Pluto’s ‘Dragon Scales’ Revealed In Latest New Horizons Images
Pluto

Pluto’s ‘Dragon Scales’ Revealed In Latest New Horizons Images

By Sarah Fecht

The First Supermoon Eclipse In 32 Years Happens This Sunday
Moons

The First Supermoon Eclipse In 32 Years Happens This Sunday

By Lindsey Kratochwill

Could Foods Taste Better On Other Planets Than They Do On Earth?
Deep Space

Could Foods Taste Better On Other Planets Than They Do On Earth?

By Jamie Flook

Shooting The Martian
Mars

Talking To The Martians

By Erik Sofge

Europa Or Bust: Searching For Life In Jupiter’s Orbit
NASA

Europa Or Bust: Searching For Life In Jupiter’s Orbit

By Corey S. Powell

New Pluto Images Hint At Alien Weather Cycle
Pluto

New Pluto Images Hint At Alien Weather Cycle

By Sarah Fecht

Concept for a 3D-printed Martian shelter
Mars

8 Printable Martian Habitat Designs That We Want To Live In

By Sarah Fecht

Petrified Sand Dunes On Mars, A Pink Dolphin, And Other Amazing Images Of The Week
Pluto

Petrified Sand Dunes On Mars, A Pink Dolphin, And Other Amazing Images Of The Week

By Steph Yin

Can We Detect A Nuclear Weapon In Space?
Mars

Can We Detect A Nuclear Weapon In Space?

By Kelsey D. Atherton

See A Glorious New Image Of Mars’ South Pole
Mars

See A Glorious New Image Of Mars’ South Pole

By Mary Beth Griggs

Fly By Pluto In This New NASA Video
Pluto

Fly By Pluto In This New NASA Video

By Sarah Fecht

mars colony
Mars

Should Mars Be Independent, Or Just A Colony Of Earth?

By Sarah Fecht

Why NASA Helped Ridley Scott Create ‘The Martian’ Film
Mars

Why NASA Helped Ridley Scott Create ‘The Martian’ Film

By Ryan Bradley

The Sun Briefly Built An ‘Eiffel Tower’ Larger Than Our Whole Planet
Science

The Sun Briefly Built An ‘Eiffel Tower’ Larger Than Our Whole Planet

By Mary Beth Griggs

Watch The Moon Photobomb The Earth From 1 Million Miles Away
Moons

Watch The Moon Photobomb The Earth From 1 Million Miles Away

By Mary Beth Griggs

See The Winning Photos From Our Blue Moon Instagram Contest
Moons

See The Winning Photos From Our Blue Moon Instagram Contest

By Rebecca Harrington

Fly Over Mars In This Breathtaking New Animation
Mars

Fly Over Mars In This Breathtaking New Animation

By Sarah Fecht

This is our best image of Pluto yet
Pluto

Pluto Has An Atmosphere, Moons, And Maybe Geological Activity. Can We Call It A Planet Now?

By Sarah Fecht

Huggy Snakes, More Pluto, And Other Amazing Images Of The Week
Pluto

Huggy Snakes, More Pluto, And Other Amazing Images Of The Week

By Dave Gershgorn

Latest Pics From New Horizons Reveal Flowing Ices And Pluto’s Dark Side
Pluto

Latest Pics From New Horizons Reveal Flowing Ices And Pluto’s Dark Side

By Sarah Fecht

‘Windbot’ Probes Designed To Explore Gas Giants
Science

‘Windbot’ Probes Designed To Explore Gas Giants

By Sarah Fecht

Fuller Moons
Pluto

Zooming In On Pluto And Its Moons

By Sarah Fecht and Carl Franzen

Colonizing The Moon May Be 90 Percent Cheaper Than We Thought
Moons

Colonizing The Moon May Be 90 Percent Cheaper Than We Thought

By Sarah Fecht

Pluto's surface is covered by young, icy mountains
Pluto

Pluto Has Young, Icy, Mountains On Its Surface

By Sarah Fecht and Carl Franzen

It’s Official: New Horizons Made It To Pluto And Beyond
Pluto

It’s Official: New Horizons Made It To Pluto And Beyond

By Sarah Fecht

We Made It To Pluto! What’s Next For New Horizons?
Pluto

We Made It To Pluto! What’s Next For New Horizons?

By Sarah Fecht

What We’ve Learned From Pluto So Far
Pluto

What We’ve Learned From Pluto So Far

By Sarah Fecht

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