Suggested Searches

Jet Propulsion Laboratory – Latest News

Read the latest news and discoveries from JPL’s dozens of active space missions exploring Earth, the solar system and worlds beyond.

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Scientists Find Intriguing Mars Rock
7 min read

The six-wheeled geologist found a fascinating rock that has some indications it may have hosted microbial life billions of years ago, but further research is needed. A vein-filled rock is catching the eye of the science team of NASA’s Perseverance…

Article
UPDATED: 10 Things for Mars 10
4 min read

Scientists from around the world are gathering this week in California to take stock of the state of science from Mars and discuss goals for the next steps in exploration of the Red Planet. In the spirit of Mars 10,…

Article
NASA-Funded Studies Explain How Climate Is Changing Earth’s Rotation
6 min read

Researchers used more than 120 years of data to decipher how melting ice, dwindling groundwater, and rising seas are nudging the planet’s spin axis and lengthening days. Days on Earth are growing slightly longer, and that change is accelerating. The…

Article
NASA’s Curiosity Rover Discovers a Surprise in a Martian Rock
5 min read

Among several recent findings, the rover has found rocks made of pure sulfur — a first on the Red Planet. Scientists were stunned on May 30 when a rock that NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover drove over cracked open to reveal…

Article
Here’s How AI Is Changing NASA’s Mars Rover Science
6 min read

Artificial intelligence is helping scientists to identify minerals within rocks studied by the Perseverance rover. Some scientists dream of exploring planets with “smart” spacecraft that know exactly what data to look for, where to find it, and how to analyze…

Article
NASA’s Planetary Radar Tracks Two Large Asteroid Close Approaches
4 min read

The Deep Space Network’s Goldstone planetary radar had a busy few days observing asteroids 2024 MK and 2011 UL21 as they safely passed Earth. Scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California recently tracked two asteroids as they flew…

Article
NASA’s ECOSTRESS Maps Burn Risk Across Phoenix Streets
3 min read

Roads and sidewalks in some areas get so hot that skin contact could result in second-degree burns. Researchers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California have mapped scorching pavement in Phoenix where contact with skin — from a fall,…

Article
NASA’s NEOWISE Infrared Heritage Will Live On
5 min read

NASA’s near-Earth-object-hunting mission NEOWISE is nearing its conclusion. But its work will carry on with NASA’s next-generation infrared mission: NEO Surveyor. After more than 14 successful years in space, NASA’s NEOWISE (Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) mission will end…

Article
NASA Parachute Sensor Testing Could Make EPIC Mars Landings
4 min read

Landing rovers and helicopters on Mars is a challenge. It’s an even bigger challenge when you don’t have enough information about how the parachutes are enduring strain during the descent to the surface. Researchers at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center…

Article
NASA’s Mars Odyssey Captures Huge Volcano, Nears 100,000 Orbits
5 min read

The 23-year-old orbiter is taking images that offer horizon-wide views of the Red Planet similar to what astronauts aboard the International Space Station see over Earth. NASA’s longest-lived Mars robot is about to mark a new milestone on June 30:…

Article