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

Space & Planetary

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 16-Dec-2025 00:11 ET (16-Dec-2025 05:11 GMT/UTC)

X-raying a satellite

Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

It is rare for satellites to return to Earth intact after their mission in space – one example is the European satellite EURECA. Empa researchers have studied the satellite using various non-destructive X-ray methods. These could be used in future in the development of reusable space technologies, as well as in aviation and the automotive industry.

Journal: Acta Astronautica

UH astronomers decode a star’s secret past

University of Hawaii at Manoa
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The star’s “alpha-rich” makeup, packed with heavier elements typically found in ancient stars, was the biggest surprise for UH researchers.

Journal: The Astrophysical Journal

Looking inside icy moons

University of California - Davis
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The outer planets of the Solar System are swarmed by ice-wrapped moons. Some of these, such as Saturn’s moon Enceladus, are known to have oceans of liquid water between the ice shell and the rocky core and could be the best places in our solar system to look for extraterrestrial life. A new study sheds light on what could be going on beneath the surface of these worlds.

Journal: Nature Astronomy
Funder: NASA Headquarters, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research

International cooperation helps advance the frontiers of Earth observation

University of Houston
Peer-Reviewed Publication

To predict sea level changes, a University of Houston scientist has teamed with international partners to deliver an unprecedented view of the massive glaciers in Antarctica and to examine how they are shifting.

Journal: Scientific Data

Building breath, layer by layer: 3D printing with living lung cells in extreme environments

Texas A&M University

Researchers at Texas A&M University model extreme conditions using 3D bioprinting, revealing insights that could make flight and space travel protocols safer while driving new breakthroughs in respiratory disease research and drug discoveries.

Journal: Biomimetics

UAlbany researcher developing radio frequency interference solutions for U.S. weather satellites

University at Albany, SUNY
Grant and Award Announcement

Mustafa Aksoy, an associate professor in the University at Albany’s College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering, is part of a large research team that was awarded a two-year, $1.1 million grant to develop radio frequency interference detection and mitigation strategies for future U.S. weather and climate satellites.

Scientists identify strongly cohesive behavior of Chang'e-6's far-side lunar samples

Chinese Academy of Sciences Headquarters
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A research team led by Prof. QI Shengwen from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IGGCAS) conducted fixed-funnel and rotating-drum experiments to measure the angle of repose, a key parameter reflecting the flowability of granular materials. The results showed that Chang'e-6 soil has a substantially higher angle of repose than near-side samples, exhibiting flow behavior characteristic of cohesive soils.

Journal: Nature Astronomy

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