We describe how the ESA Comet Interceptor mission, which is due to launch in 2028/29 to a yet-to-be-discovered target, can provide a conceptual basis for a future mission to visit […]
Comets and Asteroids
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Comets and Asteroids, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
SPHERE’s Debris Disk Gallery: Tell-tale Signs Of Dust And Small Bodies In Distant Solar Systems
Observations with the instrument SPHERE at ESO’s Very Large Telescope have produced an unprecedented gallery of “debris disks” in exoplanetary systems. Gaël Chauvin (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy), project scientist […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
SPHEREx Pre-Perihelion Mapping of H2O, CO2, and CO in Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS
From 01- to 15-Aug-2025 UT, the SPHEREx spacecraft observed interstellar object 3I/ATLAS. Using R=40-130 spectrophotometry at λ=0.7-5μm, light curves, spectra, and imaging of 3I were obtained.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release
SwRI Researchers Use PUNCH To Track Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS
A Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) project is using data from NASA’s Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) spacecraft to track the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
Hubble Space Telescope Revisits Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope reobserved interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS Nov. 30, with its Wide Field Camera 3 instrument. At the time, the comet was about 178 million miles (286 million kilometers) […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Moon, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Sample Return, Status Report
NASA Astromaterials Sample Deadlines Approaching
The next sample request deadline for Antarctic Meteorites is December 5, 2025. Requests received by this deadline will be reviewed in the Fall meeting by the Antarctic Meteorite Allocation Panel. […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Missions & Hardware, Status Report
Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Shows Activity In ESA Juice Navigation Camera Image
During November 2025, ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) used five of its science instruments to observe 3I/ATLAS. The instruments collected information about how the comet is behaving and what […]
Posted inArtemis & Lunar Exploration, Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Career Opportunities, Comets and Asteroids, Courses, Mars, Meteorites & Asteroids, Moon, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Sample Return, Status Report
ETMA: Extraterrestrial Materials Academy
The Extraterrestrial Materials Academy (ETMA) is scheduled for June 8–August 15, 2026, at the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) in Houston, Texas, in partnership with the University of Houston–Clear Lake […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Icy Worlds, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Origin & Evolution of Life, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return
Sugars And Stardust Found In NASA’s Asteroid Bennu Samples
The asteroid Bennu continues to provide new clues to scientists’ biggest questions about the formation of the early solar system and the origins of life.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Interstellar, Status Report
Spectrophotometric Evidence For A Metal-bearing, Carbonaceous, and Pristine Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS
3I/ATLAS is only the second confirmed cometary object known to enter the Solar System from interstellar space.