Some parts of the Moon are more interesting than others, especially when searching for future places for humans to land and work. There are also some parts of the Moon that we know less about than others, such as the Irregular Mare Patches (IMPs) that dot the landscape. We know very little about how they were formed, and what that might mean for the history of the Moon itself. A new mission, called the LUnar Geology Orbiter (LUGO), aims to collect more data on the IMPs and search for lava tubes that might serve as future homes to humanity. 

IMPs are a set of "enigmatic volcanic landforms", according to a new paper from Petr Bro¸ of the Czech Academy of Sciences and his co-authors. Ninety-one of these features have been found so far, and they are typically characterized by a topographical depression that can range from a few hundred meters to a few kilometers in width. They have two main features - a relatively smooth mound surrounded by a "hummocky and block floor". 

Interestingly, they have significantly fewer impact craters than the surrounding area, suggesting they are either really old or really young, depending on the processes that created them. Understanding those processes is one of LUGO's primary mission objectives.

Fraser discusses how to explore lava tubes.

The other primary mission objective is to gather more data about lunar lava tubes. These features of the lunar landscape are also hotly debated, but they could potentially be critical to the future human settlement of the Moon. Estimates of their features, such as size and depth, vary widely and could dramatically differ on whether they will be helpful to lunar colonists or not.

Enter LUGO—the proposed orbiter that will collect more data than ever before on these features. In its current suggested form, it has four instruments, each of which will contribute unique data to its scientific mission.

According to the paper, the first and most important instrument is a ground-penetrating radar. This instrument will look through the lunar surface to map out the subsurface domain of both the IMPs and lava tubes. For IMPs, it can detail the interface between bedrock and regolith and show the subsurface structure of the feature. Similarly, it can detect differences in dielectric properties between open cavities underground and the surrounding rock in lava tubes, creating a subterranean picture unlike anything ever captured on the Moon.

How will we be able to explore lava tubes? Fraser tries to answer that question.

A hyperspectral camera will help collect age-related data on the regolith surrounding lava tubes and inside IMPs. It can also perform some basic spectroscopy, allowing scientists to estimate the composition of the regolith in the areas of interest.

The last two instruments, a narrow-angle camera (NAC) and a LiDAR sensor, will combine to create an accurate topographical map of the features of interest. The NAC, in particular, can provide very high-resolution images of the features, helping to determine their age and potentially their formation mechanisms.

The mission plan calls for multiple passes over the six largest IMPs, all of which are over 1,000m in diameter. Other, smaller IMPs and lava tubes are considered secondary targets, as are other interesting lunar geological features such as lunar domes and "floor-fractured craters." 

LUGO could provide crucial data for the design of ground-based lava tube explorers, like the one Fraser discusses in this video.

LUGO won't be acting alone, though - three other missions are slated in the next few years that would complement its scientific objectives. NASA's DIMPLE lander is planned to take radioisotopic measurements of the age of regolith at its landing site. LunarLeaper, scheduled for launch by ESA around 2030, would also carry a ground-penetrating radar, but would be based on the surface rather than in orbit, and therefore would have a relatively limited range. Trailblazer, another orbital mission, could also help fine-tune the spectra and signals analysis required by LUGO's operators.

Ultimately, LUGO has yet to be funded, and therefore, it has a long way to go until launch. But if it is funded, it seems well-placed to provide lots of additional insight into the geological formation process and features of the Moon at a level of detail we've never had before. If we do end up using some of that data to plan the location of future lunar bases, the people living in them will surely be thankful.

Learn More:

• P Bro¸ et al - LUnar Geology Orbiter concept to study lunar Irregular Mare Patches and lava tubes from orbit
• UT - The Entrance of a Lunar Lava Tube Mapped from Space
• UT - It's Time to Study Lunar Lava Tubes. Here's a Mission That Could Help
• UT - Mapping Lava Tubes on the Moon and Mars from Space

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. That truism, now known as the "Sagan standard" after science communication Carl Sagan, has been around in some form since David Hume first published it in the 1740s. But, with modern-day data collection, sometimes even extraordinary evidence isn't enough - it's how you interpret it. That's the argument behind a new pre-print paper by Luis Welbanks and their colleagues at Arizona State University and various other American institutions. They analyzed the data behind the recent claims of biosignature detection in the atmosphere of K2-18b and found that other non-biological interpretations could also explain the data.

We previously reported on the detection of dimethyl sulphide (DMS) in the atmosphere of K2-18b, a sub-Neptunian exoplanet orbiting a star about 124 light-years away in the constellation Leo. The finding was initially reported in September 2023, with more recent data from April seeming to back up the claim.

However, we've also reported plenty of other explanations for that signal, including explanations of the signal's non-biological creation and overarching discussions about whether the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which first collected the data, could even detect life on other planets. Obviously, claims such as finding life on an exoplanet will garner a lot of skeptics, and this new paper continues in that tradition.

Fraser discusses the latest discoveries on K2-18b's atmosphere.

It takes a more statistical approach to its criticism, though. It rightly claims that detecting individual chemicals in the atmosphere is hard. Doing so with the limited data that even instruments like JWST can provide requires comparing potential models of the atmosphere to the data and seeing which one best represents it.

Unfortunately, this requires a lot of statistical guessing. To simplify the process, astronomers typically eliminate entire classes of models to conform to "Occam's Razor"—the philosophical principle that the simplest explanation is the most likely. To do so, they use the Bayesian model comparison technique, which compares the relative fit of two separate models to the data and selects the one that fits better as the more likely scenario.

This practice leads to two problems. First, if all the models are poor representations of reality, the one that comes out on top of the Bayesian analysis is simply the "least inadequate" one. That doesn't engender much confidence in the model's accuracy. On the other hand, if multiple models fit the data well, even if one fits better, it doesn't necessarily mean that the others are inaccurate. 

Fraser and Pamela discuss one of the most interesting exoplanets we've found so far - and what it means for the search for life.

To prove their point, the authors reanalyzed the dataset used in the original biosignature detection paper through multiple other models that were discarded as part of that paper. They found good fits for models that abiological processes could entirely explain. One particular model that included the hydrocarbon propyne (C3H4) fit the data better than the model containing DMS and its cousin, dimethyl disulfide (DMDS), which was described in the paper in April.

The ongoing scientific debate around the interpretation of the data is warranted. After all, claiming to have found signs of life on an alien planet would mark it as one of the biggest discoveries in human history. One of the best things about the scientific method is how it handles disagreements like this one - more data is needed to address the concerns in the recent pre-print and the other papers we've been reporting on. And as scientists collect that data, even if it takes another generational advance in space telescopes, we'll get closer to understanding the truth of the composition of K2-18 b's atmosphere - and maybe whether we're not alone in the universe after all.

Learn More:

• L Welbanks et al - The Challenges of Detecting Gases in Exoplanet Atmospheres
• UT - Why Webb May Never Be Able to Find Evidence of Life on Another World
• UT - Another Explanation for K2-18b? A Gas-Rich Mini-Neptune with No Habitable Surface
• UT - Is There Life on an Alien Planet? Fresh Findings Revive the Debate

Headquartered in Japan, the commercial space company ispace is dedicated to creating robotic spacecraft and other technology to support the discovery, mapping, and harvesting of natural resources on the Moon. One of the main tools in their arsenal is the RESILIENCE lander, a small, lightweight uncrewed spacecraft designed for low-cost, high-frequency transportation of instruments and other supplies to the lunar surface. Earlier today, the company announced that their second mission with the RESILIENCE lander (SMBC x HAKUTO-R Venture Moon) entered lunar orbit.

According to a company statement, the orbital injection maneuver was completed by 5:41 a.m. JST (1:41 p.m. PST; 4:41 p.m. EST) on May 7th, 2025. This marks the successful completion of the mission's seventh Mission Milestone, which included completing the first lunar orbit insertion maneuver and reaffirming "the ability of space to deliver spacecraft and payloads into stable lunar orbits." The orbital maneuver consisted of the longest thruster burn during Mission 2, lasting approximately 9 minutes. The team at the Mission Control Center in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, confirmed that RESILIENCE is now maintaining a stable attitude above the lunar surface.

On April 24th, 2025, RESILIENCE completed the maneuvers to transition the lander from deep space and closer to the Moon to complete the orbital injection. Before that, RESILIENCE completed a lunar flyby that verified the spacecraft's propulsion, guidance, control, and navigation systems. Following the flyby, the lander spent about two months in a low-energy transfer orbit. Mission specialists are now preparing for the final orbit maneuvers in preparation for a lunar landing, which is scheduled to take place no earlier than June 5th, 2025.

RESILIENCE was launched on January 15th, 2025, at 12:44 p.m. PST (03:44 p.m. EST) atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. This constituted the successful completion of the first two Milestones, followed by the mission team establishing communications and confirming that its solar panels were drawing power (Milestone 3) and completing the first orbital maneuver that placed it on a course towards the Moon (Milestone 4). For this mission, the RESILIENCE is transporting several payloads for commercial customers.

These include the TENACIOUS micro rover by ispace-EUROPE, which will be deployed on the surface to explore the landing site, collect lunar regolith, and relay data back to the lander. Other payloads include a water electrolyzer, a food production experiment, a deep space radiation probe, a commemorative alloy plate, and a "Moonhouse," a model house created by Swedish artists to be placed on the surface. The mission also carries a UNESCO memory disk, a cultural artifact containing data on humanity's linguistic and cultural diversity.

As UNESCO describes it, the disk "serves as a repository of cultural heritage," which will be preserved for millions of years in case human civilization collapses someday:

"Language serves as the connective tissue of humanity, facilitating interaction, collaboration and shaping our perceptions of the world. Its preservation in all its diversity is essential to safeguarding human identity... This initiative comes as we enter the second year of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages 2022-2032 and the release of the World Atlas of Languages in its Beta version where Focal Points from 127 countries actively contribute language data. By incorporating a variety of languages, including indigenous languages, the Memory Disc embodies an invitation to celebrate humanity’s cultural richness and embrace a future that cherishes linguistic diversity."

The TENACIOUS rover is also a technological demonstration for mobility on the lunar surface and regolith extraction. The lessons learned will help pave the way for Mission 3, which is expected to launch in 2026 and will be the debut of the APEX 1.0 lunar lander. The fourth mission, which is scheduled for launch in 2027, will utilize the Series 3 lander currently being designed. These missions are part of the company's long-term goal of helping space agencies and commercial space companies create fuel stations and habitats on the Moon that could lead to a permanent human presence (see video above).

Per the company's statement, ispace Founder and CEO Takeshi Hakamada expressed great pride in this latest accomplishment:

"First and foremost, we are extremely pleased that the RESILIENCE lander successfully reached lunar orbit as planned today. We have successfully completed maneuvers so far by leveraging the operational experience gained in Mission 1, and I am very proud of the crew for successfully completing the most critical maneuver and entering lunar orbit. We will continue to proceed with careful operations and thorough preparations to ensure the success of the lunar landing."

Further Reading: 

• ispace.com

The Fermi Paradox, named after physicist Enrico Fermi, highlights a contradiction in our understanding of alien life: despite billions of stars with potentially habitable planets and the vast age of our Galaxy providing ample time for civilizations to develop and spread, we've detected no evidence of their existence. This absence of contact is particularly puzzling considering that a technologically advanced civilisation could theoretically colonise the entire Milky Way within a few million years—a brief moment in cosmic timescales.

Enrico Fermi, Italian-American physicist,

(Credit : Department of Energy-Office of Public Affairs)

One factor for consideration of course is the number of potential civilisations out there. The Drake equation is a mathematical formula developed by astronomer Frank Drake to try and estimate the number of active, communicative extraterrestrial civilizations in the Milky Way. It multiplies several factors, including the rate of star formation, the fraction of stars with planets, the number of habitable planets per star, the fraction of those planets where life arises, the fraction where intelligent life develops, the number of civilizations that develop detectable communication technologies, and the average lifespan of such civilizations.

The Drake equation suggests there should be many civilisations out there yet searches like SETI have not detected any signals. This raises questions about whether SETI is a valuable scientific effort. A paper authored by Matthew Civiletti from the University of new York doesn't directly answer this question but instead offers a way to assess how likely it is that we would have detected a signal by now if a certain number of civilizations were broadcasting. If the chance is low, the lack of detection may not be surprising; if it’s high, the silence could be meaningful. The paper also shows how these probabilities can help narrow down the possible values in the Drake equation.

Frank Drake

(Credit : Amalex5)

The paper begins by exploring the geometric aspects of the problem, then calculates the probability of detecting a single signal and extends this to the probability of at least one detection. Building on previous studies, it offers an exact solution in two dimensions and a practical approximation for single observations, showing that Earth’s position doesn't affect the detection chances in simple cases. This makes it easier to apply the model to more complex scenarios. The key contribution is linking these results to the Drake equation, showing how a lack of SETI detections can help narrow down its parameters.

The paper presents a model to explore the Fermi Paradox and assess the value of SETI in the search for intelligent life. Despite its limitations, the model suggests that the absence of detected electromagnetic signals from alien civilizations can place limits on how many such civilizations exist. Under certain assumptions, the model predicts a 99% chance of detecting at least one signal if the estimated number of civilizations (based on the Drake equation) is around 1. Although this is a basic model, it shows that even a lack of results from SETI can help rule out certain combinations of the number and lifespan of civilizations, potentially aiding in solving the Fermi paradox.

Studies like Civiletti's offer valuable tools for understanding the Fermi Paradox more rigorously. By combining modeling with the Drake equation, the paper highlights how even the absence of evidence can be scientifically meaningful. As SETI efforts continue and models improve, we may increasingly be able to use non-detections not as dead ends, but as data points that refine our understanding of the cosmos and our place within it. Ultimately, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence is not just about finding others—it’s also a way to better understand ourselves and the conditions that make intelligent life possible.

Source : 

• Quantifying the Fermi paradox via passive SETI: a general framework

Despite being cold, desiccated, and having a thin atmosphere, Mars is similar to Earth in many ways. For instance, both planets have polar ice caps, a similar day/night cycle, and tilted axes. At one time, Mars had a thicker atmosphere and warmer temperatures that allowed water to flow across its surface. Despite the transition that led to its becoming the inhospitable place we see today, there are also indications that Mars' climate is shaped by the same kind of dynamic forces that Earth is.

In a new study, a team of international researchers led by the University of Rochester found another curious similarity while examining soil features on Mars. According to their analysis, these features look similar to wave-shaped soil patterns known as solifluction lobes. On Earth, these same patterns have been observed in the planet's coldest regions and are caused by freeze-thaw cycles. These findings offer new insights into geological processes on Mars and clues about Mars' past climate and potential habitability.

The study was led by JohnPaul Sleiman, a PhD student with the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (DEES) at the University of Rochester. He was joined by Rachel Glade, an Assistant Professor with the DEES; Andreas Johnsson, a Senior Lecturer with the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Gothenburg; James Wray, a Professor with the School of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences (SEAS) at Georgia Tech; and Rachel Glade, an Assistant Professor with the DEES and the Deparment of Mechanical Engineering. The paper describing their findings was recently published in the journal Icarus.

Their researchers used satellite images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). Using this data, they analyzed nine craters on Mars and compared them to sites on Earth. This revealed that the wave-like landforms on Mars were similar in shape and geometry to solifluction lobes found on Earth. As Glade explained in a University of Rochester press release, these patterns "are large, slow-moving, granular examples of common patterns found in everyday fluids, like paint dripping down a wall."

She added that these features grow (on average) 2.6 times taller on Mars before they collapse. According to the team's analysis, this difference is consistent with the physical properties of Martian regolith and the planet's weaker gravity (roughly 38% of Earth's gravity). On Earth, these features are found in the Arctic, the Rocky Mountains, and other cold, mountainous regions and form when frozen soil partially thaws, which loosens the soil enough for it to move downhill slowly over time.

Since Mars also experiences seasonal variations in temperature and solar exposure, it likely experiences similar freeze-thaw cycles. However, due to Mars' thin atmosphere, these cycles are likely driven by sublimation, where the ice instantly turns to vapor rather than thawing into liquid water. Nevertheless, this suggests that Mars may have once had icy conditions similar to Earth's that shaped its surface. This offers additional information on the evolution of the Martian climate, when it was once warm and watery.

It could also inform existing and future astrobiology missions searching for signs of past (or even present) life! But as Sleiman explained, additional research is required:

"Understanding how these patterns form offers valuable insight into Mars' climate history, especially the potential for past freezing and thawing cycles, though more work is needed to tell if these features formed recently or long ago. Ultimately, this research could help us identify signs of past or present environments on other planets that may support or limit potential life."

Further Reading: 

• University of Rochester, 
• Icarus

Orbital decay, where planets eventually fall into their stars and are consumed, is a major aspect of how planetary systems evolve. Before the first exoplanet orbiting a Sun-like star was observed in 1995, astronomers only had the Solar System to inform their models. Since then, surveys by ground-based and space-based telescopes have detected thousands of exoplanets. Thanks to next-generation telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers can also characterize them.

Among the exoplanets observed, thousands of short- and medium-period planets have been observed around many different types of stars, giving astronomers the chance to study orbital decay. But so far, there have been very few direct detections of exoplanets that support this theory. According to a recent NASA-supported study, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (RST) will be a game-changer, providing astronomers with many more opportunities to study planets with decaying orbits directly.

The research was led by Kylee Carden, a graduate student in the Department of Astronomy at The Ohio State University (OSU). She was joined by B. Scott Gaudi, the Thomas Jefferson Professor for Discovery and Space Exploration and a University Distinguished Scholar at OSU, and Robert F. Wilson, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Maryland and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The study was part of Carden's graduate work at Ohio State and is currently under review for publication in The Astronomical Journal.

As noted, previous studies have found indirect evidence that planets are consumed in young star systems, ultimately shaping their planetary distribution. This has been noted with Hot Jupiters, which are quite common in the current exoplanet census. These gas giants that orbit closely with their stars have been the subject of immense curiosity to scientists since it was believed that gas giants could only form at greater distances from their stars. As Carden told Universe Today via email, these findings suggest that young systems are shaped by planetary migration:

"First, several studies have found that stars hosting close-in, massive planets (hot Jupiters) are younger than average. This hint could suggest a hot Jupiter destruction mechanism. Second, hot Jupiters are found less frequently around subgiant stars than main sequence stars. Since orbital decay is expected to be more rapid for planets orbiting subgiants, this is another hint that orbital decay could be acting as a destruction mechanism."

However, direct evidence of this destruction mechanism has been lacking, with only two candidates supporting this theory. These include WASP-12b, a hot Jupiter that orbits so close to its parent star that it is being torn apart, as indicated by its oblong shape, and Kepler 1658b, another hot Jupiter with a very close orbit to its star and a very short orbital period. However, this is expected to change shortly, thanks to the deployment of the RST in 2027, which will conduct a series of Core Community Surveys, including the Galactic Bulge Time Domain Survey (GBTDS).

"The Roman Space Telescope's GBTDS is going to observe towards the Galactic Bulge, a region dense with stars near the center of our Galaxy," said Carden. "It has been estimated that Roman will detect ~100,000 transiting planets alone. With all of these planets and an exquisite dataset, we can search for orbital decay, and our baseline estimate is that roughly 5-10 instances of orbital decay will be detectable."

The GBTDS will leverage Roman's Wide Field Instrument (WFI, 2.4-meter (7.87 ft) aperture primary mirror and broad near-infrared (NIR) sensitivity to conduct high-precision observations towards the center of the Milky Way. The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and Kepler Space Telescope could detect exoplanets 150 and 2,000 light years from Earth. However, the RST will be sensitive enough to detect planet candidates up to 26,000 light years away. Specifically, the GBTDS will look for microlensing events, which occur when objects come into near-perfect alignment with a background star.

The gravitational force of these objects alters the curvature of spacetime around them, causing light from the background star to become distorted and magnified. These rare alignments act as a "lens," causing a spike in brightness that alerts astronomers to microlensing events. This will allow the RST to detect exoplanets up to 65,230 light-years away (∼20 kpc) in unexplored regions of the Milky Way. As Carden indicated, this will create a new census of exoplanets that is far more complete:

"Roman will detect exoplanets far outside the Solar neighborhood, showing us what the Galactic population of exoplanets looks like. Roman will illuminate whether orbital decay is a common phenomenon and whether it is typically the ultimate destiny of close-in planets to spiral into their stars. Roman will also help us better understand the physics of tidal dissipation in stars."

These findings could revolution our current models for how systems form and evolve, including our own! For many years, astronomers have speculated that the early Solar System looked vastly different from what it looks like today. This could also inform astrobiology studies, allowing scientists to learn how planets settle into a star's habitable zone (HZ), potentially giving rise to life.

Further Reading:

• arXiv

RELATED VIDEOS

The Juno spacecraft circling in Jovian space is the planetary science gift that just keeps on giving. Although it's spending a lot of time in the strong (and damaging) Jovian radiation belts, the spacecraft's instruments are hanging in there quite well. In the process, they're peering into Jupiter's cloud tops and looking beneath the surface of the volcanic moon Io.

Members of Juno's science team talked about the craft's discoveries at a meeting in Vienna, Austria, on April 29th. “Everything about Jupiter is extreme," said Juno principal investigator Scott Bolton. "The planet is home to gigantic polar cyclones bigger than Australia, fierce jet streams, the most volcanic body in our solar system, the most powerful aurora, and the harshest radiation belts. As Juno’s orbit takes us to new regions of Jupiter’s complex system, we’re getting a closer look at the immensity of energy this gas giant wields.”

Artist's concept of the Juno spacecraft at Jupiter.

Courtesy NASA.

The recent studies the team reported on were conducted with several instruments, including the Microwave Radiometer (MWR), the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM), and the Radio and Plasma Wave Sensor (WAVES). Because Juno is in a variable orbit, scientists can get continued information about all aspects of the planet and its moons. “One of the great things about Juno is its orbit is ever-changing, which means we get a new vantage point each time as we perform a science flyby,” said Bolton. “In the extended mission, that means we’re continuing to go where no spacecraft has gone before, including spending more time in the strongest planetary radiation belts in the solar system. It’s a little scary, but we’ve built Juno like a tank and are learning more about this intense environment each time we go through it.”

Probing Jovian Clouds

The MWR and JIRAM essentially provide temperature probes of the clouds on Jupiter and the maelstrom of volcanic activity on Io. Early in 2023, Juno's radio instruments began sending radio signals between Earth and Juno through Jupiter's clouds. As the radio signals passed through, the atmospheric layers "bent" the waves. Scientists measure the "bending" and get precise information about the temperatures and densities of the gases in the Jovian atmosphere.

This composite image, derived from data collected in 2017 by the JIRAM instrument aboard NASA’s Juno, shows the central cyclone at Jupiter’s north pole and the eight cyclones that encircle it. Data from the mission indicates these storms are enduring features.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/ASI/INAF/JIRAM

The radio occultation soundings showed that the area of Jupiter's north polar stratospheric cap is a pretty balmy 11 degrees Celsius (about 51 F). The region is surrounded by high-speed winds that clock a decent 161 km/hour (100 mph). In addition, Juno's JunoCam and JIRAM have observed the motion of a giant polar cyclone, along with eight smaller ones that circle around it. These seem to stick to the polar region, although they tend to drift and migrate toward the poles in a cycle. As they move together, these interact and slow down over time. On Earth, most cyclones also drift to the poles, but break up as they lose access to moist air and warm temperatures that normally sustain them. Atmospheric modeling based on the Jovian cyclonic actions could well help explain how similar storms work on Earth and other planets.

“These competing forces result in the cyclones ‘bouncing’ off one another in a manner reminiscent of springs in a mechanical system,” said Yohai Kaspi, a Juno co-investigator from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. “This interaction not only stabilizes the entire configuration, but also causes the cyclones to oscillate around their central positions, as they slowly drift westward, clockwise, around the pole.”

Digging Into Io

Everybody knows about Io, the most volcanically active world in the solar system. It orbits Jupiter embedded inside the strong Jovian radiation belts, and its volcanoes spew out materials that end up in those belts. So, it makes sense that the Juno team uses everything at its disposal to learn more about that volcanic activity. That includes the MWR and JIRAM instruments, which combine to take infrared imagery and temperature measurements of Io on and beneath the surface.

“The Juno science team loves to combine very different datasets from very different instruments and see what we can learn,” said Shannon Brown, a Juno scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “When we incorporated the MWR data with JIRAM’s infrared imagery, we were surprised by what we saw: evidence of still-warm magma that hasn’t yet solidified below Io’s cooled crust. At every latitude and longitude, there were cooling lava flows.”

A massive hotspot — larger than Earth’s Lake Superior — lies just to the right of Io’s south pole in this annotated image taken by the JIRAM infrared imager aboard NASA’s Juno on Dec. 27, 2024, during the spacecraft’s flyby of the Jovian moon.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/ASI/INAF/JIRAM

Io seems to rearrange itself over time through its intense volcanism. The activity fractures the surface and coats it with lava, often described as "turning itself inside out." Planetary scientists need more information about this constant churning. The Juno data shows that about 10 percent of the surface has remnants of slowly cooling lava lying just below the solid surface and that it acts like a car radiator, moving heat from the interior to the surface before it cools down. In addition, the JIRAM data show evidence for the most energetic eruption Io has experienced to date. It occurred in late 2024 and continues to belch lava and ashes out across the surface. Upcoming observations on May 6th should reveal whether or not the eruption is ongoing.

Juno Continues

The Juno mission has been probing the Jovian system since 2016. It was originally planned to end in 2017. However, it's now in an extended mission through September 2025. Eventually, its orbit will degrade under the strong pull of Jupiter's gravity. That will pull the spacecraft in, and eventually it will disappear into the Jovian atmosphere. Data from this mission will help guide future visits to Jupiter by spacecraft such as the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) and the Europa Clipper, which is scheduled to arrive at its target in 2030.

For More Information

• NASA’s Juno Mission Gets Under Jupiter’s and Io’s Surface
• Juno Mission

Video: Juno measurements of Io's volcanic hotspots and the most energetic eruption ever measured.

What are the best methods to explore Valles Marineris on Mars, which is the largest canyon in the solar system? This is what a recent study presented at the 56^th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference hopes to address as a team of researchers investigated how helicopters could be used to explore Valles Marineris, which could offer insights into Mars’ chaotic past. This study has the potential to help scientists and engineers develop new methods for studying Mars’s history and whether the Red Planet once had life as we know it.

For the study, the researchers conducted a field investigation using unmanned aerial vehicles at the Alvord Hot Spring within the Alvord Desert in Oregon from July 27 to August 3, 2024. The goal of the field investigation was to ascertain the effectiveness of using UAVs for collecting scientific data regarding soil moisture, geologic outcrops, and topography. In the end, the researchers successfully collected spectral data and microwave radiometry data for soil moisture changes throughout the day, spectral data for outcrops that identified plagioclase phenocrysts (crystals formed from volcanism), and producing digital elevation models of Mickey Buttes, which is approximately 600 meters (2,000 feet) high.

The study concludes with, “Two more field deployments are planned for summer of 2025 and 2026. Year 2 field work will focus on collecting additional data about the temporal variability of the AHS plume, spectral properties of the plagioclase-rich basalts, and testing of autonomous navigation over Mickey Buttes. Year 3 field work will focus on collecting any additional required science data and testing science operations strategies.”

As noted, Valles Marineris is the largest canyon in the solar system, measuring more than 4,000 kilometers (2,485 miles) long, 200 kilometers (124 miles) wide, and 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) deep. For context, its length is equivalent to the United States coast-to-coast, and its depth is more than half the distance of the deepest oceans on Earth. Given Mars’ size, Valles Marineris stretches approximately one-quarter of the planet’s circumference.

The exact processes responsible for the formation and evolution of Valles Marineris have been debated for decades and are ongoing to this day. While early hypotheses proposed liquid water carving out the massive canyon, more recent hypotheses propose crustal spreading, with the East African Rift used as an Earth analogy. Hundreds of millions—potentially billions—of years ago, intense volcanism formed the Tharsis Bulge, which consists of the Red Planet’s largest volcanoes, some of whom are the largest volcanoes in the solar system (Olympus Mons). The total weight of Tharsis allegedly caused a massive crack in the crust, resulting in the formation of Valles Marineris.

Due to the exposed geologic and volcanic layers stretching in multiple directions throughout Valles Marineris, this provides a unique opportunity for scientific collection that could help scientists gain enormous insight into the geologic and volcanic history that contributed to the formation of Valles Marineris. This recent study demonstrates that helicopters or UAVs could be used to conduct this scientific analysis given the extreme difficulty of using traditional rovers, which the study notes as being “impossible”.

This study comes after NASA successfully landed and tested its Ingenuity helicopter, which was the first spacecraft to conduct a powered flight on another world. After landing inside the undercarriage of the Perseverance rover, Ingenuity proceeded to exceed expectations regarding flight duration and distance in both altitude and from the rover. This includes 72 total flights, approximately 129 minutes of flight time, approximately 17 kilometers (11 miles) of distance flown, 24 meters (79 feet) maximum altitude, and max ground speed of 10 meters per second (22.4 miles per hour).

How will helicopters help explore Valles Marineris in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!

• As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!

What kind of spacecraft can be used to explore and study the subsurface lunar environment? This is what a recent study presented at the 56^th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) hopes to address as an international team of researchers discussed the benefits of a mission concept called LunarLeaper, which will be designed to traverse and analyze the various aspects of the lunar subsurface environment, including moon pits and lava tubes.

Here, Universe Today discusses this incredible research with Dr. Anna Mittelholz, who is a lecturer in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at ETH Zurich and lead author of the study, regarding the motivation behind the study, significant takeaways, next steps in developing LunarLeaper, and the importance of exploring the subsurface lunar environment. Therefore, what was the motivation behind the study?

Dr. Mittelholz tells Universe Today, “The primary motivation behind LunarLeaper was to enable agile and versatile access to challenging lunar terrain—particularly regions that traditional rovers struggle to reach, like steep slopes, rugged ejecta fields, and skylights leading to lava tubes. Paired with this outstanding science questions around subsurface lava tube was motivation enough!”

For the study, the researchers discussed several aspects of the LunarLeaper mission concept, including mission objectives, detailed breakdown of data collection, and how LunarLeaper could lay the foundation for future lunar exploration missions. For mission objectives, LunarLeaper will explore and analyze lunar lava tubes for their robotic and human exploration potential, specifically regarding if they could be used for human habitation. Additionally, LunarLeaper will investigate lunar volcanic and geologic history and how the lunar regolith (dust) played a role in the Moon’s evolutionary history.

Most importantly, the researchers analyzed how LunarLeaper could operate on the Moon, specifically navigating the uneven subsurface terrain of lava caves. While the lunar surface has uneven regions from craters, boulders, volcanic fields, and mountains, the environment of lava caves is even more unpredictable from collapsed channels, loose rocks, or sharp edges. This occurs when lava cools and is frozen in place in awkward locations, creating an environment that is difficult to navigate for humans or robots. Therefore, what are the most significant takeaways from this study?

“One key takeaway is that legged locomotion—or in our case, leaping—on the Moon is not only feasible but potentially game-changing for planetary exploration,” Dr. Mittelholz tells Universe Today. “Our simulations show that a hopping robot can navigate uneven terrain much more effectively than wheeled systems. Additionally, we’ve highlighted our specific mission architectures where this approach could provide unique scientific returns, especially in subsurface exploration.”

Mission concepts often take years to go from an idea to reality, comprised of a myriad of steps to ensure all mission aspects are fully operational and capable of performing in a space-based environment. This includes designs, tests, re-designs, more tests, system integrations to ensure each system can communicate with each other, more tests, countless meetings regarding funding and timetables, even more tests, until it’s finally ready for launch. NASA uses their Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) system to gauge progress on a mission plan and rate this progress, accordingly. Therefore, what are the next steps in developing LunarLeaper?

Dr. Mittelholz tells Universe Today, “We just passed our mission concept review and are now mostly focused on increasing the TRL of key systems, such as the locomotion and autonomous navigation.”

While NASA’s Apollo program proudly conducted the most in-depth surface exploration of the Moon, robotic and human exploration of the Moon’s surface began with missions conducted by NASA and the Soviet Union with the Luna and Ranger missions, respectively. As NASA geared up for Apollo, they conducted the Surveyor missions to better understand landing on the Moon’s surface.

After Apollo 17 in 1972, NASA entered a decades-long lull in lunar surface exploration but has still successfully conducted orbital exploration that has helped scientists gain immense insight into the Moon’s formation and evolution, and specifically its geologic and volcanic history. These orbital missions have identified more than 200 moon pits that could potentially lead to lava caves on the Moon while enabling future missions to explore the subsurface lunar environment. But what is the importance of exploring the subsurface lunar environment?

“From an exploration perspective, subsurface lava tubes are of incredible importance as they provide natural shelter for humans, protecting against harsh lunar conditions such as extreme temperature fluctuations, solar radiation, and micrometeorite impacts,” Dr. Mittelholz tells Universe Today. “These environments could serve as safe havens for long-duration missions, offering a potential foundation for sustainable lunar habitation. From a science perspective, the pits provide direct access to the Moon’s subsurface stratigraphy, potentially exposing pristine geological layers that have remained unaltered for billions of years. Studying these layers could yield critical insights into the Moon’s volcanic history, thermal evolution, and the broader processes that shaped the early solar system.”

How will LunarLeaper help scientists better understand the subsurface lunar environment in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!

As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!

Links:

• LPSC Abstract - https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2025/pdf/1957.pdf
• Dr. Anna Mittelholz Personal Website - https://www.annamittelholz.com/
• LunarLeaper - https://www.lunarleaper.space/

The Solar System consists of our star, the Sun, and everything bound to it by gravity; the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, along with dwarf planets like Pluto, dozens of moons, and millions of asteroids and comets. The planets orbit the Sunin elliptical paths, with the inner four being rocky terrestrial worlds and the outer four being gas and ice giants many times larger than Earth.

Artist impression of our Solar System

(Credit : Cacti Staccing Crane)

Our fascination with hunting down more planets in the Solar System has until now not revealed any strong candidates. With Pluto having been classed as the 9th planet for many years, the hunt was on for Planet X. With the demotion of Pluto in 2006, the idea of Planet Nine was first proposed in 2016 by astronomers Batygin and Brown. Its existence is inferred from unusual orbital clustering of several trans-Neptunian objects, suggesting they're being influenced by a large, unseen planetary body. Despite extensive searches using powerful telescopes, Planet Nine has remained theoretical as direct observation has proven elusive.

In a study led by Terry Long Phan and published in Cambridge University Press, the team searches for Planet Nine candidates by using two far-infrared all-sky surveys, IRAS and AKARI, whose 23-year separation allows detection of Planet Nine’s expected orbital motion (~3′/year). The search uses the AKARI Far-Infrared Monthly Unconfirmed Source List (AKARI-MUSL), which is better suited for identifying faint, moving objects than the standard AKARI Bright Source Catalogue. Researchers estimated Planet Nine’s expected flux and motion based on assumed mass, distance, and temperature, then applied positional and flux criteria to match sources between IRAS and AKARI. They identified 13 candidate pairs with angular separations corresponding to heliocentric distances of 500–700 AU and masses of 7–17 Earth masses.

Infrared Astronomical Satellite in space simulator at JPL

(Credit : NASA)

After a rigorous analysis and selection process, including visual inspection of images, the team identified one strong candidate pair, where the IRAS and AKARI sources showed the expected angular separation (42′–69.6′) and were not detected at the same position in each survey. The AKARI detection probability map confirmed the candidate’s consistency with a slow-moving object, showing two detections on one date and none six months earlier. However, IRAS and AKARI data alone are insufficient to determine a precise orbit so there will need to be follow-up observations with DECam, which can detect faint moving objects within about an hour of exposure, are suggested to confirm the candidate and fully determine its orbit, aiding in understanding the solar system’s evolution and structure.

The search for Planet Nine continues to push the boundaries of astronomical discovery using advanced survey techniques and paring it with careful analysis. While the identification of a promising candidate is an exciting step forward, confirmation will require further observations and continued collaboration across the astronomical community. If Planet Nine is ultimately detected, it would mark a monumental addition to our understanding of the Solar System.

Source :

•  A Search for Planet Nine with IRAS and AKARI Data

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