March 05, 2026

IRON AND ICE Amino acids in Bennu asteroid hint at icy radioactive origin Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 10, 2026 Amino acids discovered in samples from the Bennu asteroid may have formed in an icy, radioactive environment in the early solar system, according to a new study led by Penn State researchers. The findings challenge long-held assumptions that these building blocks of life on asteroids formed primarily in the presence of warm liquid water. The team analyzed a small amount of Bennu material, delivered to Earth in 2023 by NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission, using specialized instruments that can measure isotop ... read more

ESA signs Ramses spacecraft and cubesat deals for Apophis flyby Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 16, 2026 On 10 February 2026 the European Space Agency signed a contract with OHB Italia to develop the Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety, known as Ramses, securing the next phase of Europes dedicated m ... more ExLabs taps SpacePilot autonomy for Apophis asteroid mission Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 05, 2026 ExLabs has selected CUS-GNC's SpacePilot onboard autonomy software to provide guidance, navigation, and control for its planned Mission to Asteroid Apophis, a commercial deep-space campaign that wil ... more ExLabs and ChibaTech team up to land student CubeLanders on asteroid Apophis Sydney, Australia (SPX) Jan 21, 2026 ExLabs has partnered with Japan's Chiba Institute of Technology and its Planetary Exploration Research Center to deliver university-led payloads to the surface of asteroid Apophis during its close a ... more Asteroid metals harden under extreme particle blasts London, UK (SPX) Jan 09, 2026 Physicists at the University of Oxford have contributed to a study showing that iron-rich asteroids can withstand much higher energy inputs than expected without breaking apart, a result that affect ... more

NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory spots record-breaking asteroid in pre-survey observations Washington DC (SPX) Jan 08, 2026 As part of the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory First Look event in June 2025, Rubin announced that it had observed thousands of asteroids cruising about our Solar System, about 1900 of which have ... more Iron rich asteroids show surprising resilience in impact simulation study London, UK (SPX) Jan 08, 2026 Physicists at the University of Oxford have contributed to a new experimental study that shows iron rich asteroids can withstand far more energy than previously estimated before breaking apart. The ... more Micro X ray method reads ancient meteorite impact scars Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Dec 14, 2025 Researchers from China, Canada, and Japan have established a quantitative method to read the impact histories recorded in enstatite chondrites using micro X ray diffraction measurements. Enstatite c ... more ICE-CSIC leads a pioneering study on the feasibility of asteroid mining Madrid, Spain (SPX) Dec 11, 2025 Much remains to be known about the chemical composition of small asteroids. Their potential to harbour valuable metals, materials from the early solar system, and the possibility of obtaining a geoc ... more OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft completes Earth flyby on its journey to explore Apophis Los Angeles CA (SPX) Nov 26, 2025 NASA's OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft has completed a precisely targeted Earth flyby, using the planet's gravity to bend its trajectory toward a close encounter with the near-Earth asteroid Apophis in 2029. ... more

Lunar impactor Theia originated near Earth and Sun analysis reveals Berlin, Germany (SPX) Nov 21, 2025 A new study published in Science has traced the origin of Theia, the body that collided with Earth around 4.5 billion years ago and triggered the creation of the Moon. Led by the Max Planck Institut ... more 40 000 near-Earth asteroids discovered! Paris, France (ESA) Nov 21, 2025 Astronomers recently discovered the 40 000th near-Earth asteroid! These space rocks range from a few metres to a few kilometres in size and are on orbits that bring them relatively close to Earth. E ... more ESA pinpoints 3I/ATLAS's path with data from Mars Paris, France (ESA) Nov 14, 2025 Since comet 3I/ATLAS, the third known interstellar object, was discovered on 1 July 2025, astronomers worldwide have worked to predict its trajectory. ESA has now improved the comet's predicted loca ... more Largest modern crater identified in Chinas Holocene geology Los Angeles CA (SPX) Nov 13, 2025 A scientific team in China has confirmed the discovery of the Jinlin crater in Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province. This impact structure, which has been preserved in a thick granite weathering crust, prov ... more Halloween fireballs could signal increased risk of cosmic impact or airburst in 2032 and 2036 Albuquerque NM (SPX) Oct 30, 2025 Every year, the Taurid meteor shower lights up the night sky from late October through early November. Sometimes called the 'Halloween fireballs', they are named for the constellation Taurus-the bul ... more

Southern Taurid meteor shower to peak this week with bright fireballs Washington DC (UPI) Nov 4, 2025 The Southern Taurid meteor shower, known for its swarm of bright fireballs shooting through the night sky, is expected to peak Tuesday and Wednesday nights as the Earth passes through dust left by a comet. The meteor shower is active between September and November when debris left in the wake of the Comet Encke falls into the Earth's atmosphere at high speeds, according to the American Meteor Society. The shower will become most active at the same time the Northern Taurids and Orionids a ... read more Europe advances asteroid defense as GomSpace secures operational support contract Berlin, Germany (SPX) Oct 27, 2025 GomSpace has entered into an 8.4 million SEK agreement with SPACEBEL to implement the Juventas Operations segment for the European Space Agency's Hera mission. The partnership will utilize HOOP Miss ... more

Asteroid with Second-Fastest Orbit Discovered Hidden in Sunlight Berlin, Germany (SPX) Oct 21, 2025 A newly discovered asteroid has been found racing around the Sun in just 128 days, making it the Solar System's second-fastest known orbiting asteroid. Designated 2025 SC79, the object was detected ... more Asteroid near Earth detected hours after it passed the planet Washington DC (UPI) Oct 8, 2025 International space agencies say an asteroid zipped by Earth closer than a large number of satellites currently in orbit, but was not detected until hours later. ... more Gaia data uncovers hidden link between asteroid collisions and chaotic spin states Berlin, Germany (SPX) Oct 07, 2025 Whether an asteroid spins smoothly or tumbles chaotically depends on how often it has collided with other objects, according to new findings presented at the EPSC-DPS2025 Joint Meeting in Helsinki. ... more China's Tianwen 2 probe marks halfway milestone en route to asteroid target Beijing (XNA) Oct 06, 2025 China's Tianwen 2 spacecraft has reached the halfway point of its journey to near-Earth asteroid 2016 HO3 after more than four months in interplanetary flight, according to the China National Space ... more Water once persisted on Ryugu parent asteroid long after formation Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Sep 22, 2025 A research team led by the University of Tokyo has discovered that liquid water flowed on the ancient parent body of near-Earth asteroid Ryugu more than a billion years after its birth. The finding, ... more

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