Syntrichia caninervis: Moss that survives deep freeze and radiation could live on Mars

Syntrichia caninervis in Hackberry Canyon, Colorado Lee Rentz / Alamy A hardy moss found in desert…

Time ticks faster on the moon by 57 microseconds per Earth day

With lunar exploration ramping up, NASA has been tasked with defining a time zone for the…

‘Little red dot’ galaxies are breaking theories of cosmic evolution

This red blob is a distant galaxy with strange properties NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI The…

Why you should feel comforted, not scared, by the vastness of space

Some people find the scale of the universe existentially frightening, but here’s why you should take…

This mind-blowing map shows Earth’s position within the vast universe

This story is part of our Cosmic Perspective series, in which we confront the staggering vastness…

Why our location in the Milky Way is perfect for finding alien life

CrackerClips Stock Media/Alamy All the life we know of in the entire universe is squeezed onto…

How big is the universe? The shape of space-time could tell us

NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI In a sense, we are at the centre of the universe…

What would happen if Earth was the centre of the solar system?

Dead Planets Society is a podcast that takes outlandish ideas about how to tinker with the…

China’s Chang’e 6 returns with first rocks from far side of the moon

The Chang’e 6 probe being retrieved in Siziwang Banner in Inner Mongolia, China Xinhua/Shutterstock China’s Chang’e…

Mercury may have a layer of diamond beneath its grey surface

Does Mercury have a sparkling secret? NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington A…