Latest images released by NASA’s New Horizons probe show Pluto’s most identifiable feature has snow on its peaks. Scientists say what they see as snow, is actually frozen methane condensed on Pluto’s “Cthulhu” (pronounced kuh-THU-lu) peaks. “Cthulhu” is one of the most notable on the tiny world, stretching nearly halfway around Pluto’s equator. Its appearance is characterized... 

Avatar fans prepare yourself for disappointment as we’re afraid you may never get to live on Pandora. A new study has shown that Earth truly is one of a kind with nothing coming close to life on this planet. Astronomers in Sweden used computer simulations to model the known universe from existing data and then applied the laws of physics to advance the model 13.8 billion years. Out of the 700 quintillion... 

The earth, humans’ only ship in the cosmic ocean, is engulfed by millions of space junk, which can cause serious damage to any national satellite, a signal which might be misconstrued as an attack launched by an adversary and provoke an armed conflict. In an article published by journal Acta Astronautica, Russian scientist Vitaly Adushkin argues that possible impacts from orbital debris, even tiny... 

For decades in history space was the giant playground – but only for NASA and the USSR. Now, many nations strive to reach and explore the last frontier. With the enormous costs for the venture, will cooperation prevail over national interests? Are there benefits in the near future – for all of us – in spending so much to get to the orbit? We touch upon all these questions with Director-General... 

It’s almost the New Year, and while 2016 doesn’t come coated with the same doomsday paranoia that accompanied 2012, it never hurts to be prepared. A new year means another 365 days (in 2016’s case, 366) which, if you are inclined to be fatalistic, could lead to humanity’s doom. In the event of a catastrophic meteor collision, suffocating nuclear winter, or solar storm capable of knocking... 

The US government’s recent order of Russian rocket engines shows that America has become inferior to Russia in space technology, says an American analyst and former US Army officer. United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing, said Wednesday it had ordered 20 new RD-180 rocket engines from Russia on top of 29 engines it ordered last year. The Russian engines will... 

Scientists studying the Red Planet have for the first time detected nitrogen, a component crucial to the existence of life, extracted from nitrate molecules as a result of heating surface sediments, adding evidence that Mars could once have sustained life. Carbon-based life is not possible without nitrogen. The element is required for the shaping of molecules such as DNA and RNA, both of which carry... 

The launch of Angara-A5 heavy booster at Plesetsk Cosmodrome on December 23, 2014 in Arkhangelsk Region, Russia. Russia says it is planning to build a permanent manned base on the moon in 2030 while the US has set its sights on Mars, the most habitable planet in our solar system after earth. The European country is hoping to launch a lunar probe in 2024 to examine colony locations before its goes ahead... 

In this artistic rendering, the planet Kepler-438b is shown in front of its violent parent star as it is being regularly irradiated by huge flares, which renders the planet uninhabitable. (University of Warwick) Located some 470 light years away from the Earth in the constellation Lyra, Kepler-438b has been dubbed the most Earth-like exoplanet since its discovery by NASA earlier this year. Orbiting... 

Scientists believe they have figured out why rocks on Mars are eroding. They say an acidic fog created by volcanic eruptions on the red planet is the probable culprit. Planetary scientist Shoshanna Cole came up with the theory after studying a 100-acre area on Husband Hill in the Columbia Hills of the Gusev Crater on Mars using data gathered by a number of instruments on the 2003 Mars Exploration... 

NASA has uploaded satellite images of ancient earthworks that were discovered by a Kazakh archaeologist. Ancient geoglyphs discovered by Kazakh archaeologist Dmitriy Dei have sparked the interest of NASA, which published satellite images of the earthworks on its website earlier this month. Dei uncovered the geoglyphs, which can only be seen from the air, by studying images from Google Maps of the... 

If life on comets was possible, Lovejoy would be a popular destination – scientists have found it releases alcohol and sugar in crazy amounts. But jokes aside, the finding is important as it backs the idea that comets could have seeded life on Earth. This is the first discovery that has witnessed a comet releasing ethyl alcohol in such amounts – 500 bottles of wine every second. “We found that... 

US President Barack Obama may become the biggest obstacle to NASA’s Mars colonization plans in the next 15 years, Texan congressman, chairman of the House Science Committee Lamar Smith, told the Daily Caller website, Pravda.Ru reports. “Every year, the Obama administration proposes funding cuts to the programs that will eventually take American astronauts to Mars – the Space Launch... 

A photo of the Sun from NASA’s orbiting Solar Dynamics Observatory reveals an enormous coronal hole, a gap in the Sun’s outer layer and magnetic field. Images released by NASA show a massive hole in the Sun, 50 times the size of Earth, which is blasting an ultrafast solar wind towards our planet. The image of the Coronal hole was taken be NASA’s orbiting Solar Dynamics Observatory... 

New photos from NASA’s Cassini satellite orbiting Saturn has sent back the best-ever photos of its subterranean sea-harboring moon Enceladus. Cassini came within 1142 miles of the Enceladean surface Wednesday on its 20th flyby of the moon since it began to orbit Saturn in 2004. The most recent images sent back were captured during the Enceladean summer in the Northern hemisphere, showing heretofore...