EurekAlert! News by Subject: Space & Planetary - News by Subject: Space & Planetary

Space & Planetary

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 9-Dec-2025 00:11 ET (9-Dec-2025 05:11 GMT/UTC)

AI advances robot navigation on the International Space Station

Stanford University
Reports and Proceedings

Stanford researchers have become the first to demonstrate that machine-learning control can safely guide a robot aboard the ISS, laying the groundwork for more autonomous space missions.

Meeting: 2025 International Conference on Space Robotics (iSpaRo)

Conclusive tests for the RISTRETTO exoplanet explorer

Université de Genève
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The RISTRETTO project, dedicated to observing Proxima b –the closest exoplanet to the Solar System — is reaching a new milestone: several key components of this high-precision spectrograph have been prototyped and successfully tested by the workshops of the Department of Astronomy at the University of Geneva (UNIGE). In addition, comprehensive simulations of the instrument indicate that RISTRETTO will be able to detect Proxima b, along with potential signs of oxygen or water in its atmosphere — a planet similar in size and temperature to Earth. These findings are detailed in two studies published in Astronomy & Astrophysics.

Journal: Astronomy and Astrophysics

HKU researchers discover new tectonic regime of terrestrial planets, offering new insights into the evolution of Earth and Venus

The University of Hong Kong
Peer-Reviewed Publication

An international team led by researchers from the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at The University of Hong Kong (HKU), including postdoctoral fellow Dr Tianyang LYU, Professor Man Hoi LEE (also with the Department of Physics), and Mok Sau-King Professor Guochun ZHAO, has made a significant breakthrough in understanding the tectonic evolution of terrestrial planets. Using advanced numerical models, the team systematically classified for the first time six distinct planetary tectonic regimes and identified a novel regime: the “Episodic-Squishy Lid”. The study not only provides crucial clues to the origin of Earth’s plate tectonics but also offers a robust theoretical framework for deciphering the enigmatic geological features of Venus. The findings have been published in the journal Nature Communications.

Journal: Nature Communications

US Naval Research Laboratory wins best paper award at international space robotics conference

Naval Research Laboratory
Grant and Award Announcement

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A U.S. Naval Research Laboratory’s (NRL) space robotics team received the Best Paper Award in Orbital Robotics at the 2025 International Conference on Space Robotics (iSpaRo) in Sendai, Japan, on Dec. 3. The recognition spotlights NRL’s leadership in autonomous space systems and artificial intelligence–enabled operations.

Close-up images show how stars explode

Georgia State University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Working with the CHARA Array, astronomers have captured images of two stellar explosions — known as novae — within days of their eruption and in unprecedented detail. The breakthrough provides direct evidence that these explosions are more complex than previously thought, with multiple outflows of material and, in some cases, dramatic delays in the ejection process.

Journal: Nature Astronomy

Shaping quantum light unlocks new possibilities for future technologies

University of the Witwatersrand
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The study surveys rapid progress in techniques capable of creating, manipulating and detecting quantum structured light. These include on-chip integrated photonics, nonlinear optics, and multiplane light conversion, which now form a modern and increasingly powerful toolkit.

Journal: Nature Photonics

A speed camera for the universe

University of Tokyo
Peer-Reviewed Publication

There is an important and unresolved tension in cosmology regarding the rate at which the universe is expanding, and resolving this could reveal new physics. Astronomers constantly seek new ways to measure this expansion in case there may be unknown errors in data from conventional markers such as supernovae. Recently, researchers including those from the University of Tokyo measured the expansion of the universe using novel techniques and new data from the latest telescopes. Their method exploits the way light from extremely distant objects takes multiple pathways to get to us. Differences in these pathways help improve models on what happens at the largest cosmological scales, including expansion.

Journal: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Funder: NASA Exoplanet Science Institute, Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, U.S. National Science Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, JSPS KAKENHI

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