Space & Earth Science

1. Farewell, Gaia! Spacecraft operations come to an end

   The European Space Agency (ESA) has powered down its Gaia spacecraft after more than a decade spent gathering data that are now being used to unravel the secrets of our home galaxy.

2. Rocket carrying European orbital vehicle crashes after launch

   The first orbital rocket launched from continental Europe crashed seconds after blast-off Sunday, dealing a blow to the continent's bid to build a new space economy.

3. When glaciers roamed Mars

   The surface of Mars is known for being an extremely cold, desiccated, and irradiated place. But as its many surface features attest, the red planet was once a warmer, wetter place with flowing water and glaciers. Today, most of the remaining water on the surface is largely confined to its polar regions in the form of ice caps, permafrost, and subsurface glaciers. Nevertheless, the seasonal melting and freezing of this ice still impacts the Martian environment and offers clues about glacial activity in the past.

4. Supernova archaeology: Finding clues in the ruins of an ancient dead star with Chandra

   People often think about archaeology happening deep in jungles or inside ancient pyramids. However, a team of astronomers has shown that they can use stars and the remains they leave behind to conduct a special kind of archaeology in space.