Few places in the solar system are better suited to a balloon than Titan. The combination of low gravity and high atmospheric density makes Saturn’s largest moon ideal for a lighter than “air” vehicle, and the idea to put one there has been around for at least two decades. So why haven’t we yet? The simple answer is the size of the necessary balloon is too large for the existing launch platforms. But a team from Boeing, the prime contractor on the Space Launch System (SLS), believes their new launch platform will be capable of getting a large balloon into orbit, along with its necessary scientific payload – and start unlocking the mysteries of this intriguing moon.
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Food grows better on the moon than on Mars, scientists find
Scientists expect the moon to have better soil for growing food than the red planet
ESA Director General’s Annual Press Briefing
Video: 01:22:54
Watch the replay of ESA's start-of-the-year press briefing looking ahead to 2025.
Top three images from BepiColombo's sixth Mercury flyby
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.
Live coverage: SpaceX to launch Starshield satellites for the NRO on Falcon 9 rocket from California
File: The Falcon 9 at sunrise Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024 as final preparations were made for the NROL-167 mission. Image: SpaceX.
SpaceX is preparing for its first West Coast Falcon 9 launch of the year, which will feature the latest batch of Starshield satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office.
SpaceX launches 21 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to begin the Starlink 12-11 mission on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now
Update Jan. 8, 11:37 a.m. EST (1637 UTC): SpaceX confirms successful deployment of the 21 Starlink satellites.
SpaceX launches first dedicated Starlink mission of 2025
SpaceX launches the Starlink 6-71 mission from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, its first dedicated Starlink flight of 2025. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now
Update Jan. 6, 4:54 p.m. EST (2154 UTC): SpaceX confirms deployment of the 24 Starlink satellites.
SpaceX to attempt first payload deployment, engine reuse during Starship Flight 7
The Starship upper stage on a test firing mount ahead of a static fire demonstration in December 20204. It’s the first Block 2 Starship that will be launched by SpaceX. Image: SpaceX
SpaceX is launching into 2025 with what is poised to be a blistering pace of launch for its super heavy lift rocket, Starship. The company is angling for as many as 25 launches of the nearly 40-story-tall rocket, if approved by federal regulators.
'Silo' Season 2: Steve Zahn sees his enigmatic character Solo as a 'curious, delightful kid' (exclusive)
Accomplished actor Steve Zahn lifts the layers of his Solo character, how he got the job on Silo, and what it's like working with Rebecca Ferguson.
New Study Explains How Mars Dust Storms Can Engulf the Planet
Mars is well-known for its dust storms, which occur every Martian year during summer in the southern hemisphere. Every three Martian years (five and a half Earth years), these storms grow so large that they are visible from Earth and will engulf the entire planet for months. These storms pose a significant threat to robotic missions, generating electrostatic charges that can interfere with their electronics or cause dust to build up on their solar panels, preventing them from drawing enough power to remain operational.
Sun erupts with powerful X1.2 solar flare, causes radio blackouts (photo)
The sun fired off an X1.2-class solar flare on Friday (Jan. 3), triggering radio blackouts throughout parts of the South Atlantic ocean, Africa and South America.
How to watch SpaceX launch its 1st Falcon 9 rocket of 2025 tonight
SpaceX is targeting Friday, Jan. 3 for its first Falcon 9 mission of 2025 as it launches the Thuraya 4 communications satellite from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
See and hear three years of solar fireworks
Video: 00:01:14
At the start of this new year, we look back at close-up pictures and solar flare data recorded by the ESA-led Solar Orbiter mission over the last three years. See and hear for yourself how the number of flares and their intensity increase, a clear sign of the Sun approaching the peak of the 11-year solar cycle.
Rare string of 'cosmic pearls' dance together in the universe
A rare group of aligned, star-birthing dwarf galaxies resemble a cosmic string of pearls.
Supercharged auroras possible this weekend as colossal 'hole' in the sun spews solar wind toward Earth
Aurora alert — a coronal hole is spewing fast solar wind toward Earth, potentially boosting geomagnetic activity and supercharging northern lights Jan. 4 to Jan. 5.
Can NASA's troubled Mars Sample Return mission be saved?
An independent review team is delivering a final report to NASA leadership to determine if the agency's Mars Sample Return mission is salvageable after facing scrutiny for its $11 billion budget.
Live coverage: SpaceX to launch Thuraya 4-NGS telecommunications satellite on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral
A rendering of the Thuraya 4-NGS satellite on orbit. Graphic: Space42
SpaceX is preparing for its first Falcon 9 launch of 2025, which will launch a telecommunications satellite designed to serve regions in Africa, Central Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
India launches its first on-orbit docking demonstration in 5th and final launch of 2024
The Indian Space Research Organization’s PSLV-C60 rocket lifts off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre to begin the SpaDeX mission. Image: ISRO
India made another important leap forward in its space program with the launch of its first on-orbit docking demonstration mission on Friday, Dec. 30.
Dead stars can celebrate 2 New Years every second with nearby cosmic fireworks
Celestial fireworks that erupt all year long but last a fraction of a second, fast radio bursts, may have traced them to the immediate surroundings of extreme and highly magnetic dead stars.
NASA's Parker Solar Probe beams home 1st detailed update after record-breaking approach to the sun
This New Year's Day, NASA's Parker Solar Probe added to the festive cheer by sending home its first detailed telemetry data soon after its record-breaking closest-ever approach to the sun.