Researchers have detected a rogue planet roughly 0.2 times the mass of Jupiter using a rare microlensing event. The find is significant because it’s the first planet spotted in the so-called “Einstein desert,” a puzzling gap in detection sizes that might explain how rogue planets form.
NASA’s SPHEREx space telescope has finished its first scan of the entire night sky in just six months of operations. The mission creates a groundbreaking 3D map across 102 infrared wavelengths, data that will help scientists investigate the first moments after the Big Bang.
K2 Space, a startup building large, high-power satellites, has secured $250 million in new funding. The company is valued at $3 billion and plans its first major demo mission for March 2026.
Researchers analyzing Perseverance rover recordings believe they’ve detected electrical discharges on Mars. The crackling sounds occurred during dust storms and dust devils, marking a potential breakthrough in understanding Martian weather.
The government shutdown delayed NASA’s press conference on mysterious interstellar object 3I/ATLAS, but when it finally happened, Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb wasn’t happy. NASA insisted it’s a comet, while Loeb maintains we should consider the alien spacecraft possibility. The scientific debate high
Two former NASA administrators have sounded the alarm about Artemis’s current trajectory, warning that SpaceX’s Starship-based approach cannot beat China to the moon. Their calls for urgent changes highlight a growing space race crisis.
What was once a NASA luxury is becoming a commercial necessity. Satellite servicing costs have dropped from hundreds of millions to potentially under $50 million per mission, creating a new orbital economy.
