The Solar System

Asteroids
Goddard Space Flight Center
Lucy
Missions
NASA Centers & Facilities
NASA Directorates
Planetary Science
Planetary Science Division
Science & Research
Science Mission Directorate
The Solar System
Trojan Asteroids
Even small asteroids lead complex lives. During its flyby of the asteroid Donaldjohanson last year, NASA’s Lucy spacecraft revealed the asteroid to be a wobbly, peanut-shaped body that has undergone a lot of activity in its relatively short history.
Posted June 18, 2026
Skywatching
Skywatching Tips
The Solar System
Venus and Jupiter meet after sunset, the Moon passes in front of Venus, summer begins, and deep-sky treasures rise into view.
Posted June 1, 2026
Goddard Space Flight Center
Mars
MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN)
The Solar System
In December 2023, scientists looking at Mars data stumbled across something completely unexpected — observations of an atmospheric effect never before seen in the Red Planet’s atmosphere.
Posted May 18, 2026
Skywatching
Skywatching Tips
The Solar System
Shooting stars before dawn, a brilliant meetup between the Moon and Venus and a rare blue moon to end the month.
Posted April 30, 2026
Curiosity (Rover)
Astrobiology
Mars
Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)
Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS)
The Solar System
After years of lab work, the results are in: A rock that NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover drilled and analyzed in 2020 includes the most diverse collection of organic molecules ever found on the Red Planet. Of the 21 carbon-containing molecules identified in the sample, seven of them were detected for the first time on Mars. […]
Posted April 21, 2026
Artemis
Artemis 2
Earth's Moon
Goddard Space Flight Center
Johnson Space Center
Johnson's Mission Control Center
Lunar Science
Planetary Science Division
Science Mission Directorate
The Solar System
NASA’s first Artemis II science officers—Kelsey Young, Trevor Graff, and Angela Garcia—are pioneering a new era of mission operations by integrating advanced lunar science directly into Mission Control. Their work will shape how future Artemis crews observe, analyze, and deepen our understanding of the Moon.
Posted April 3, 2026
Skywatching
Skywatching Tips
The Solar System
Mercury shines at its brightest for the year, the Lyrid meteor shower peaks, and a bright new comet makes an appearance in April’s night sky.
Posted March 26, 2026
Astrophysics Division
Comets
Goddard Space Flight Center
Hubble Space Telescope
Planetary Science
Small Bodies of the Solar System
The Solar System
Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have found evidence that the spinning of a small comet slowed and then reversed its direction of rotation, offering a dramatic example of how volatile activity can affect the spin and physical evolution of small bodies in the solar system. This is the first time researchers have observed evidence […]
Posted March 26, 2026
Astrophysics
Astrophysics Division
Comets
Goddard Space Flight Center
Hubble Space Telescope
Small Bodies of the Solar System
The Solar System
In a happy twist of fate, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope just witnessed a comet in the act of breaking apart. The chance of that happening while Hubble watched is extraordinarily minuscule. The findings published Wednesday in the journal Icarus. The comet K1, whose full name is C/2025 K1 (ATLAS)—not to be confused with interstellar comet […]
Posted March 18, 2026
Skywatching
Skywatching Tips
The Solar System
What are some skywatching highlights in March 2026? A total lunar eclipse blood moon takes centre stage, Venus and Saturn cozy up for a conjunction, and we celebrate the vernal equinox.
Posted March 2, 2026
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