On this day in space! Aug. 24, 2006: Pluto loses its planet status
On this day in space! Aug. 24, 2006: Pluto loses its planet status

On Aug. 24, 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) decided that Pluto wasn’t a planet anymore.

It’s been 20 years since Pluto lost planet status. Will it ever get its title back?
It’s been 20 years since Pluto lost planet status. Will it ever get its title back?

The reclassification of Pluto as a dwarf planet continues to stir up a hornet’s nest of controversy and debate, as Space.com meets one astronomer who believes the decision to have been a mistake.

How a huge fleet of 17 spacecraft discovered something surprising about solar eruptions
How a huge fleet of 17 spacecraft discovered something surprising about solar eruptions

Taking measurements of the same CME from different vantage points in the solar system revealed the true extent of a solar eruption.

Japan unveils Mars moon sample-return spacecraft ahead of Oct. 19 launch (photos)
Japan unveils Mars moon sample-return spacecraft ahead of Oct. 19 launch (photos)

Japan recently gave the world a look at the spacecraft of its MMX mission, which will launch on Oct. 19 to grab pieces of the Mars moon Phobos and haul them back to Earth.

China’s Chang’e 7 moon probe will launch this weekend on the most ambitious lunar mission in history
China’s Chang’e 7 moon probe will launch this weekend on the most ambitious lunar mission in history

China aims to launch its Chang’e 7 moon mission on Aug. 24 to send a lander, a rover, a hopper and a wide range of science experiments to the lunar south pole.

Microbes from Earth may survive on the moon, scientists find

“Even a bootprint or a rover’s tread may create a habitable area.”

Mars Express orbiter captures detailed new video of the crater where Mark Watney was stranded in ‘The Martian’
Mars Express orbiter captures detailed new video of the crater where Mark Watney was stranded in ‘The Martian’

Europe’s Mars Express orbiter has captured stunning telemetry to create a new flyover visualization of the Red Planet’s Southern Highlands and Schiaparelli Crater in magnificent detail.

A SpaceX rocket slammed into the moon this month — and a NASA spacecraft has spotted its lunar grave (photos)
A SpaceX rocket slammed into the moon this month — and a NASA spacecraft has spotted its lunar grave (photos)

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has spotted the crater gouged out on the moon by a SpaceX rocket on Aug. 5, finding it to be about 60 feet (18 meters) wide.