Strange stacked stones spotted on Mars | Space photo of the day for May 21, 2026

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has stumbled across an unusual sight: a stack of rocks on the Martian surface.

Scientists find a hidden route to the moon that saves fuel

An international team of researchers say they’ve found a more efficient route from Earth to the moon using advanced computer modeling.

Where did Neptune’s mysterious moon Nereid come from? It may be the only survivor of the planet’s violent history

Neptune’s moon Nereid might be the only satellite surviving from the planet’s original system, researchers report in a new study.

NASA satellite images uncover dramatic changes in Earth’s nighttime lights

Using nearly a decade of satellite observations, NASA’s Black Marble project reveals a constantly shifting portrait of human nighttime activity visible from space.

Lasers in moon craters could create a lunar GPS system

Scientists are exploring how lasers stabilized in the moon’s coldest, darkest craters could enable a GPS-like network to help future Artemis astronauts and spacecraft navigate the lunar surface with far greater precision. …

Watch NASA’s new Mars helicopter rotor break the speed of sound (video)

NASA is testing the limits of future Mars aircraft as it works to develop a next-generation fleet of helicopters that will fly through the thin atmosphere of the Red Planet.

Watch an asteroid the size of a blue whale hurtle towards Earth live online TODAY

The livestream will begin at 3:45 p.m. EDT on May 18, bringing near real time views of the asteroid from robotic telescopes in Italy, weather permitting.

Astronomers find interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS hiding in images taken before its official discovery

Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS was almost called 3I/Rubin, after researchers found that the giant survey telescope coincidentally spotted this visitor from the stars over a week before it was officially discovered.

Mars orbiter captures striking images of ‘chaos and craters’ carved by ancient floods

ESA’s Mars Express orbiter captured dramatic new views of a rugged Martian landscape shaped by catastrophic floods billions of years ago.