1. News
  2. Space Exploration

More Space Exploration Stories

This artist’s concept shows what exoplanet K2-18 b could look like based on science data. K2-18 b, an exoplanet 8.6 times as massive as Earth, orbits the cool dwarf star K2-18 in the habitable zone and lies 120 light-years from Earth.

Are there signs of life on alien planet K2-18b, or is it just a lot of hot air?

The James Webb Space Telescope may have detected life-associated gas in the atmosphere of a far-off planet. The news is being greeted with both enthusiasm and skepticism.

Rogue Theatre's "Marjorie Prime" creates a conversation about what it means to be human in the age of AI.

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Understanding canyons on the moon; and more voices from The Class of 2024.
NASA's SPHEREx observatory undergoes testing in August 2024. The mission will make the first all-sky spectroscopic survey in the near-infrared, helping to answer some of the biggest questions in astrophysics.

Searching the entire sky for the secrets to our universe

A new telescope could launch as early as late February. SPHEREx will look into deep space and also search for organic molecules.
Two grand canyons on the moon radiating from the Schrödinger impact basin, from a view that looks obliquely across the lunar surface, like an astronaut in an approaching spacecraft.

The moon's grand canyons were carved in the blink of an eye

The Earth's Grand Canyon took millions of years to carve, but the moon's grand canyons took about ten minutes.
A team of astronomers sifted through James Webb Space Telescope data to compile one of the largest samples of "little red dots." The team started with the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) survey before widening their scope to other extragalactic legacy fields, including the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES) and the Next Generation Deep Extragalactic Exploratory Public (NGDEEP) survey.

James Webb Space Telescope's 'little red dots' come into focus

When the cosmic oddballs first showed up in some of JWST's early observations, in December of 2022, it was a surprise.
Artist rendering of Blue Ghost and Tenacious rover on the lunar surface.

Latest private moon landing venture begins this week

Blue Ghost designed to carry a dozen scientific experiments to the lunar surface

Remembering the historic Rosetta space flight to a comet 10 years ago

The European-built robotic explorer orbited and landed on the chunk of ice and rock in 2014.
Images show the size difference between a supermoon (at left) and a mini-moon.

Lunar surface science literally hit-or-miss in 2024

But scientists expect more high profile attempts to land on the moon later this year.
New observations of the Great Red Spot on Jupiter have revealed that the planet’s atmosphere above and around the infamous storm is surprisingly interesting and active. This graphic shows the region observed by Webb — first its location on a NIRCam image of the whole planet (left), and the region itself (right), imaged by Webb’s Near-InfraRed Spectrograph (NIRSpec).

New findings about Jupiter revolve around Great Red Spot

Data from James Webb Space Telescope adds to giant planet's mystery.
The Hubble Space Telescope in orbit in 1999, just after a servicing mission by astronauts.

Hubble will change how it points, but NASA says 'great science' will continue

Officials say they are shifting into a new way of pointing the telescope in order to work around a piece of hardware that’s become intolerably glitchy.
12P/Pons–Brooks is a Halley-type periodic comet with an orbital period of 71 years. It was discovered in 1812 and later recovered during passages in 1883 and 1954. It is expected to brighten to an apparent magnitude of 4.5 (visible to the naked eye) during its upcoming passage in April 2024.

The 'devil comet' is visible in the night sky, and is sticking around for the eclipse

A rarely-seen comet with a reputation for colorful flare-ups is once again visible from Earth.
Illustration of IM-1 lunar spacecraft.

South Pole moon landing sets up new exploration goals

Lunar scientists and engineers are facing the challenge of getting water from the surface.
A view of the outside of the OSIRIS-REx sample collector. Sample material from asteroid Bennu can be seen on the middle right. Scientists have found evidence of both carbon and water in initial analysis of this material. The bulk of the sample is located inside.

OSIRIS-REx brings home largest carbon rich sample

NASA revealed its preliminary findings Wednesday morning.
Illustration of Psyche spacecraft in orbit.

Psyche asteroid mission ready to launch

The latest flight to a space rock will explore an asteroid with an exposed metallic core.
The sample return capsule from Osiris REx after parachuting into the Utah desert.

The Buzz: OSIRIS-REx delivers its payload

The decades-running space mission dropped a sample from the asteroid Bennu Sunday, kicking off the next phase of the project.
The sample return capsule from Osiris REx after parachuting into the Utah desert.

OSIRIS-REx successfully returns sample capsule to Earth

The landing ended a seven year mission to the asteroid Bennu and back.

Selected Archive Filters

Space Exploration
Back to Top
AZPM is a service of the University of Arizona and our broadcast stations are licensed to the Arizona Board of Regents who hold the trademarks for Arizona Public Media and AZPM. We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples.
The University of Arizona