ESA's Mars Express orbiter captured an image of the Thyles Rupes region near Mars' south pole, showing coral pink and pearly white terrain with a blue-white glacier, a crater containing ice, frost-covered dunes, and dark volcanic material. The colors result from soft morning light and Martian dust accentuating the surface features.
Astronomers discovered signs of Elias 2-24 b, potentially the youngest exoplanet ever found. The world orbits within a gap in a disk of gas and dust around its host star and would be approximately one million years old with a mass roughly equal to Jupiter's.
NASA may not provide a key instrument for the Envision spacecraft, a European mission to Venus planned to launch as soon as 2031. Anne Grete Straume, Envision's project scientist, stated that NASA is unlikely to deliver the promised instrument.
The Nancy Grace Roman Telescope, which launched on Aug. 30, may operate for a full 22 years instead of the originally planned five-year primary mission with a possible five-year extension. The extended lifetime results from the spacecraft being lighter than expected and an extremely precise launch and engine burn.
Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover, commander and pilot of Artemis II, recently announced their retirement as astronauts. Jeremy Hansen, the mission's specialist from the Canadian Space Agency, retired in July. Christina Koch remains the only active astronaut among the original Artemis II crew.
NASA may deactivate two instruments aboard the New Horizons spacecraft due to budget pressures as it explores the Kuiper Belt. Planetary scientist Kirby Runyon warned of the scientific cost of partially disabling the active mission.