Planetary science job announcements

The Sun is one of the fundamental benchmarks in astronomy, and there is ever growing interest in precise and accurate determinations of its chemical composition. We present the current state-of-the-ar...

PlanetVacTM is a pneumatic sampling technology designed to acquire and transfer regolith from planetary surfaces to instruments for in-situ analysis or storage on sample return missions. PlanetVacTM e...

Long-term solar magnetic variability governs the space climate conditions. These variations also modulate the galactic cosmic ray influx reaching Earth and subsequently regulate the production of cosm...

MOONS has captured its first light, almost one thousand objects in ...

BepiColombo is a joint mission between the European Space Agency, ESA, and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA, to perform a comprehensive exploration of Mercury. Launched on 20 th $20^{\m...

The advancement of space exploration into an era of sample return missions from Mars, asteroids, and icy moons raises the potential for biological contamination either to or from Earth. We consider th...

Seismology is crucial for the geologic and interior exploration of planetary bodies. High signal-to-noise (SNR) instruments are required to record low amplitude seismic events such as deep moonquakes....

We are the official body that deals with astrometric observations and orbits of minor planets (asteroids) and comets.

Identified as the planetary science top highest-priority objective for the next NASA decadal survey, the exploration of the Uranian planetary system requires advanced multispectral instrumentation to ...

We present the scientific highlights and status from years 9-12 of NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission, with its Curiosity rover. A thermochemolysis-based sample analysis revealed a variety of orga...

China has postponed its planned ambitious Chang’e-7 lunar mission. The mission was set to search for water ice on the moon.

Magnetic reconnection has recently emerged as an important process in the Martian space environment. In contrast to Earth, Mars lacks a global intrinsic dipole field and possesses an induced magnetosp...

Due to an ongoing commercial spacecraft attitude control issue, NASA and Katalyst Space announced Wednesday the LINK spacecraft will not capture or boost an

Most of the physical information about astrophysical objects is obtained via the analysis of their electromagnetic spectra. Observed data coupled with radiation transfer models in physical conditions ...

Spectral retrieval is a key computational tool for interpreting spectroscopic observations of exoplanets. As data quality has dramatically improved with the launch of JWST, so the complexity of retrie...

Astronauts face multiple physiological challenges during spaceflight, including exposure to microgravity, ionizing radiation, altered circadian rhythms, and psychological stress due to confinement. Among these hazards, microgravity is a significant disruptor of gastrointestinal homeostasis. This review synthesizes evidence from human spaceflight missions, ground-based analogue studies, and preclinical models to characterize microgravity-induced gut dysbiosis and its downstream effects on central nervous system function via the gut–brain axis. Consistent findings across studies include shifts in the Firmicutes-to-Bacteroidetes ratio, depletion of beneficial commensal bacteria (notably Akkermansia muciniphila, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, and Bifidobacterium species), and enrichment of potentially pathogenic taxa. These compositional changes correlate with reduced production of short-chain fatty acids and other neuroprotective metabolites, compromised intestinal barrier integrity, and systemic low-grade inflammation. Through immune, neuroendocrine, and vagal pathways, these peripheral perturbations propagate to the central nervous system, contributing to neuroinflammation, blood–brain barrier dysfunction, and altered neurotransmitter metabolism. We critically evaluate the mechanistic pathways linking microbial changes to neurocognitive outcomes, address methodological limitations and confounding factors in current research, and propose candidate countermeasures and priorities for future evidence based. Understanding these gut–brain interactions are essential for developing interventions to protect astronaut cognitive performance and psychological well-being during long-duration space exploration.