compiled by Arlene & David Kaplan

What Does SpaceX’s Reusable Rocket Mean for Space Travel?
This week a major milestone in spaceflight took place. SpaceX, the private company with big dreams for manned spaceflight, launched a partly used rocket into orbit at a lower cost than building a brand new one…more

Impact crater linked to Martian tsunamis
Scientists have located an impact crater linked to powerful tsunamis that swept across part of ancient Mars. The team believes an asteroid triggered 150m-high waves when it plunged into an ocean thought to have existed on northern Mars three billion years ago…more

Most of Mars’ air was ‘lost to space’
It is clear now that a big fraction of the atmosphere of Mars was stripped away to space early in its history.

A new analysis, combining measurements by the Maven satellite in orbit around the Red Planet and the Curiosity rover on its surface indicate there was probably once a shroud of gases to rival even what we see on Earth today…more

Europa: Our best shot at finding alien life?
Europa holds a vast, salty ocean beneath its fractured ice shell. After two decades of development and “heartbreak”, scientists are on the verge of sending missions to explore the ocean world of Europa. Could this be our best shot at finding life elsewhere in the Solar System?…more