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Space exploration

Images that capture our timeless obsession with the moon

Lunar: A history of the moon in myths, maps and matter tells the story of the coexistence between humanity and the celestial body through striking images and detailed maps

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Space

Maybe NASA鈥檚 SLS should be cancelled 鈥� but not by Elon Musk

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Space

The physicist trying to build humanity’s lunar future with moon dirt

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Space

Incredible images show the moment SpaceX’s Starship exploded

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Space

The physicist on a mission to understand Mercury’s epic solar storms

Features
n 2025 BepiColombo image1 Top three images from BepiColombo's sixth Mercury flyby 09/01/2025 619 views 4 likes ESA / Science & Exploration / Space Science / BepiColombo On 8 January 2025, the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission flew past Mercury for the sixth time, successfully completing the final ?gravity assist manoeuvre? needed to steer it into orbit around the planet in late 2026. The spacecraft flew just a few hundred kilometres above the planet's north pole. Close-up images expose possibly icy craters whose floors are in permanent shadow, and the vast sunlit northern plains. At 06:59 CET, BepiColombo flew just 295 km above Mercury's surface on the planet's cold, dark night side. Around seven minutes later, it passed directly over the Mercury's north pole before getting clear views of the planet's sunlit north. European Space Agency (ESA) Director General Josef Aschbacher revealed the first image during his Annual Press Briefing on 9 January. As during BepiColombo's previous flybys, the spacecraft's monitoring cameras (M-CAMs) did not disappoint. This flyby also marks the last time that the mission's M-CAMs get up-close views of Mercury, as the spacecraft module they are attached to will separate from the mission's two orbiters ? ESA?s Mercury Planetary Orbiter and JAXA?s Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter ? before they enter orbit around Mercury in late 2026. Celebrating the M-CAMs' final hurrah, let's explore the best three images from BepiColombo's sixth close encounter with the little planet, and what they reveal about mysterious Mercury.

Space

BepiColombo snaps Mercury’s dark craters and volcanic plains

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Kelly and Zach Weinersmith
Space

Why Kelly and Zach Weinersmith are sceptical about a future on Mars

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T85947 Space elevator, illustration

Space

How a space elevator could make trips to the moon affordable for all

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Space

A new life on Mars? Expect toxic dust, bad vibes and insects for lunch

Features

Space

Astronauts could hitch a ride on asteroids to get to Venus or Mars

Asteroids that regularly fly between Earth, Venus and Mars could provide radiation shielding for human missions to explore neighbouring planets

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Space

New Scientist recommends Brian Cox’s new series, Solar System

Culture

Space

Bacteria on the space station are evolving for life in space

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Space

Current laws cannot protect civilians in space if something goes wrong

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Chemistry

How to turn most of the CO2 an astronaut exhales into fresh oxygen

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