mission Archives

In a cleanroom at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, on April 3, 2026, (from left) Sean Gazarik, Tyler Radomsky, Amber Dubill and Emory Toomey complete a “fit check” of Dragonfly’s top deck on the rest of the rotorcraft lander’s body. NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Cryobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Origin & Evolution of Life, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Saturn, Titan, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Astrobiology Exploration: Dragonfly Rotorcraft Hardware Integration and Parachute Test

by Keith CowingApril 24, 2026April 24, 2026

NASA’s Dragonfly rotorcraft is beginning to take shape – literally – with the delivery of the panels that make up the rotorcraft lander’s body. Built from ultra‑lightweight honeycomb panels designed […]

Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release

Space-based Sunshade Helps In The Search For A Second Earth

by Keith CowingMarch 12, 2026March 12, 2026

An international research team including Stefan Kimeswenger, astrophysicist at the University of Innsbruck, has tested a new approach to studying Earth-like exoplanets. The idea is to combine a large, earth-based […]

Sketch of the MT strategy, highlighting the dynamical models used in the distinct phases of the tour. -- math.DS

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Dione, Enceladus, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mimas, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Rhea, Saturn, Tethys, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Low-Energy and Low-Thrust Exploration Tour of Saturnian Moons with Full Lunar Surface Coverage

by Keith CowingMarch 11, 2026March 11, 2026

This study presents the trajectory design for a mission touring Saturn’s Inner Large Moons (Rhea, Dione, Tethys, Enceladus, and Mimas) engineered to meet observational requirements, including full surface coverage, while […]

The 0.6-GHz data are much brighter due to reflected synchrotron emission and are, therefore, shown with a different colour scale. The terminator was at approximately 10° W longitude, with the right-hand side in sunlight for these maps. The approximate sounding depth (50% contribution for pure, solid ice) is shown in the lower right of each map, and a typical beam size is shown in the lower left of each map. -- Nature

Analog Studies, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Europa’s Ice Thickness And Subsurface Structure Characterized By The Juno Microwave Radiometer

by Keith CowingJanuary 5, 2026January 2, 2026

Jupiter’s moon Europa is thought to harbour a saltwater ocean beneath a variously disrupted ice shell, and it is, thus, one of the highest priority astrobiology targets in the Solar […]

Comet Interceptor Spacecraft And Instruments (ESA)

Comets and Asteroids, Interstellar, Missions & Hardware, Status Report

Intercepting Interstellar Objects

by Keith CowingDecember 11, 2025December 10, 2025

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 […]

Enceladus, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Status Report

Adaptive Science Operations in Deep Space Missions Using Offline Belief State Planning

by Keith CowingNovember 17, 2025November 17, 2025

Deep space missions face extreme communication delays and environmental uncertainty that prevent real-time ground operations.

A Mars Sample mission begins its return to Earth -- Grok via Astrobiology.com

Mars, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return

Sample Science Traceability Matrix for Perseverance’s Mars Sample Return Collection

by Keith CowingNovember 17, 2025November 17, 2025

The Mars Sample Return (MSR) Campaign aims to retrieve a set of carefully selected and documented samples collected by NASA’s Perseverance rover in and around Jezero Crater on Mars and […]

PIXL Micro Context Camera (MCC) images of the three regolith targets. (a–c) False color images of each target in the near-infrared (NIR; 735 nm), green (G; 530 nm), and blue (B; 450 nm) channels, flat-fielded and enhanced. (d–f) MCC ratio images of NIR/G reflectance values. Note that distinct classes of grains with similar spectral signatures are distinguishable within and between targets. The black, white, and orange arrows point to examples of the dark-, light-, and intermediate-toned grains, respectively. Rectangles show the extents of PIXL's XRF measurements. -- JGR Planets

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Missions & Hardware, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Status Report

Mineralogically Diverse and Salt-Rich Regolith in Jezero Crater Characterized Using X-Ray Spectroscopy

by Keith CowingOctober 11, 2025October 11, 2025

The Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry (PIXL) onboard the Perseverance rover has characterized the composition of Martian regolith at a scale of hundreds of microns using micro-focus X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy.

Europa, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Venus

Astrobiology Droid Update: Juice Team Resolves Anomaly On Approach To Venus

by Keith CowingAugust 26, 2025

The European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) is on track for its gravity-assist flyby at Venus on 31 August, following the successful resolution of a spacecraft communication anomaly […]

The Pacific Ocean As Seen From Space -- NASA

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Career Opportunities, Conferences and Meetings, Courses, Education and Outreach, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Exploration Gear & Tech, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

2025 Astrobiology Mission Ideation Factory – The Search For Life On Ocean Worlds

by Keith CowingJune 3, 2025June 3, 2025

Call for Applicants The NASA Astrobiology Program is hosting a Mission Ideation Factory focused on the search for life on Ocean Worlds. NASA would like to provide early career researchers […]

mission

Astrobiology Exploration: Dragonfly Rotorcraft Hardware Integration and Parachute Test

Space-based Sunshade Helps In The Search For A Second Earth

Low-Energy and Low-Thrust Exploration Tour of Saturnian Moons with Full Lunar Surface Coverage

Europa’s Ice Thickness And Subsurface Structure Characterized By The Juno Microwave Radiometer

Intercepting Interstellar Objects

Adaptive Science Operations in Deep Space Missions Using Offline Belief State Planning

Sample Science Traceability Matrix for Perseverance’s Mars Sample Return Collection

Mineralogically Diverse and Salt-Rich Regolith in Jezero Crater Characterized Using X-Ray Spectroscopy

Astrobiology Droid Update: Juice Team Resolves Anomaly On Approach To Venus

2025 Astrobiology Mission Ideation Factory – The Search For Life On Ocean Worlds

Opportunity to Contribute to NASA DARES Community White Paper on Phototrophic Biosignatures

NASA Establishes Mars Forward Operational Risk and Contamination Evaluation (M-FORCE) Tiger Team to Shape Mars Planetary Protection Protocols

Miraflores Butte On Mars

Ocean World Exploration: 2026 American Samoa ROV + Mapping Exploration

Development Of An Adaptive Optics Testbed At MPIA For The ELT/Planetary Camera And Spectrograph (PCS)