planetary science

  • Asteroid Samples Brought to Earth Contain Key Molecules for Life

    Asteroid Samples Brought to Earth Contain Key Molecules for Life

    Japan’s education ministry says that more than 20 types of amino acids were detected in samples of an asteroid that were brought to Earth in December 2020, The Japan Times reports. The detection is the first evidence that amino acids exist on asteroids in space and has implications for understanding how such vital organic molecules…


  • InSight Mars Lander Records Largest Marsquakes Yet

    InSight Mars Lander Records Largest Marsquakes Yet

    Researchers studying seismic wave data from NASA’s InSight Lander have reported the planet’s largest ‘marsquakes’ yet, at magnitudes of 4.2 and 4.1. According to a NASA release, the larger quake was five times as energetic as the previous record-holder, a magnitude 3.7 event detected in 2019.