Using NASA’s Goldstone Solar System Radar and NSF’s Green Bank Telescope, astronomers from the University of California, Los Angeles, confirmed that the icy surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa scatters radio energy in an unusually strong and complex way not seen on rocky worlds.
The post Radar Observations Reveal New Clues about Europa’s Hidden Interior appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.
A Chinese spacecraft has arrived at one of Earth's temporary "quasi-moons" and will soon attempt to land on the space rock to scoop up samples that will be returned to our planet next year. The ambitious mission could help researchers uncover secrets about Earth's main moon and provide clues that may benefit space exploration and planetary defense, experts say.
The Chinese National Space Agency (CNSA) probe, named Tianwen-2, launched from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southern China on May 28, 2025, Live Science's sister site Space.com reported at the time. The car-sized spacecraft sent back its first images a few weeks later, giving us our first glimpse of its secretive design, followed by a selfie with Earth a few months later.
The mission's primary target is 469219 Kamo'oalewa — also known as 2016 HO3 or simply Kamo'oalewa — a near-Earth asteroid discovered in 2016 by astronomers at Hawaii's Haleakala Observatory. It likely spans somewhere between 130 and 330 feet (40 to 100 meters) across and is a "quasi-satellite" of our planet, meaning it's orbiting the sun right alongside Earth in a temporary partnership. (Kamo'oalewa means "oscillating celestial fragment" in Hawaiian.)
Tianwen-2 is predicted to have arrived at Kamo'oalewa on June 7 and inserted itself into an orbit alongside the asteroid, according to an unverified timeline shared by freelance journalist Andrew Jones, a leading expert on China's space program. Around a month later, on July 4, the probe is expected to descend upon the space rock to collect samples from its surface, potentially employing a never-before-seen drilling technique to do so. (The CNSA has not released an official timeline for the mission or shared any recent updates about its progress.)
If successful, the samples are expected to be returned to Earth on Nov. 29, 2027, according to the same timeline. At this point, Tianwen-2 will then slingshot around our planet and head farther out into the solar system for its secondary mission: to rendezvous with and study 311P/PanSTARRS — a peculiar object beyond Mars, which displays characteristics of both comets and asteroids — in 2035.
Samples from Kamo'oalewa could help answer many interesting questions, including the true origin of the object, which some experts believe may have broken off from the moon.
"What makes [this mission] extraordinary is that we don't yet know [the object's] composition or origin," Li Chunlai, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Sciences' National Astronomical Observatories and chief commander of Tianwen-2's ground application system, said in a state-sanctioned video translated to English. "We'll only obtain definitive answers after completing our exploration."
There are currently eight known quasi-moons orbiting the sun alongside Earth, following the most recent quasi-moon discovery in September 2025. Unlike the similarly named "minimoons," which are asteroids that are briefly captured by Earth's gravity for a few months or years at a time, quasi-moons are temporary satellites that slowly circle our planet but are never gravitationally bound to it.
This relationship can last decades, or even centuries. For example, experts think Kamo'oalewa has been accompanying our planet for at least 100 years and could remain alongside it for another 300 years before it starts to fall out of sync with our solar orbit.
"The way Kamo'oalewa moves with Earth is kind of like a dog that might tag along with you for a while on a long walk through the woods, but it's not your dog," Richard Binzel, a planetary scientist and asteroid expert at MIT, told Live Science in an email.
The Ferris-wheel-size space rock is one of the closest quasi-moons to us, with a minimum distance of around 2.9 million miles (4.6 million kilometers) from Earth, or around 12 times farther away than our actual moon. It is also one of the fastest-spinning quasi-moons, rotating around its axis every 30 minutes. But unlike other quasi-moons, which likely originate from the solar system's main asteroid belt, between Mars and Jupiter, our current best guess is that Kamo'oalewa is actually a piece of the moon.
This hypothesis is based on observations from 2021 that showed Kamo'oalewa absorbs and reflects light similarly to the moon, hinting that the space rock may be a chunk of lunar material ejected by a long-ago meteor strike. More recently, in 2024, researchers narrowed down the most likely impact crater from which the asteroid originated: the 13.6-mile-wide (22 km) Giordano Bruno crater, located on the far side of the moon. However, there is still a chance that Kamo'oalewa is a main-belt asteroid that just happens to look an awful lot like lunar material.
"I am curious to find out the answer about its origin, since the debate on its [potential] lunar origin is still very open," Marco Fenucci, a mathematician at the European Space Agency's Near-Earth Objects Coordination Centre who has co-authored multiple studies on Kamo'oalewa, told Live Science. This mission should "definitely give us an answer to this matter," he added.
Scientists are also unsure whether Kamo'oalewa is a "solid monolithic rock," like the $100,000 quadrillion asteroid Psyche (the target of NASA's ongoing Psyche mission), or a "rubble-pile-like asteroid," such as Bennu or Ryugu, both of which have been explored by sample-return missions in recent years, Fenucci said.
Having arrived at Kamo'oalewa, Tianwen-2 will spend the next few weeks mapping the asteroid's surface at altitudes between 1,000 feet and 12.5 miles (300 m to 20 km) above its surface, according to limited mission details revealed by Chinese scientists in a January study. The resulting map will allow researchers to estimate the asteroid's density and work out the best landing spot.
On July 4, the probe is expected to swoop down and scoop up around 3.5 ounces (100 grams) of surface material, or regolith, from the asteroid, which is slightly less than what NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission managed to grab from Bennu. However, there are multiple ways this sampling process could play out.
If the asteroid is a pile of rubble, the probe will utilize a touch-and-go approach, which involves hovering just above the surface and using a robotic arm to reach out and grab the sample. This method was also used by OSIRIS-REx for Bennu and by Japan's Hayabusa2 mission, which scooped up samples from Ryugu.
But if Kamo'oalewa has a more solid surface, Tianwen-2 will attempt to land directly on the space rock and anchor itself in place before drilling into the asteroid. This has never been attempted before and could allow for longer contact time and "more controlled sampling," according to The Planetary Society.
After collecting samples, the probe will remain alongside the asteroid and conduct further analysis of its size, shape and trajectory.
In late April 2027, Tianwen-2 will depart Kamo'oalewa and begin the six-month journey back to Earth, where it will dump its samples in a return capsule that will fall to our planet's surface as the probe begins its long journey to rendezvous with 311P/PanSTARRS.
The return capsule will reenter Earth's atmosphere at around 27,000 mph (43,500 km/h), researchers wrote in the January study. That's slightly faster than the Orion capsule carrying the Artemis II astronauts traveled as it fell back to Earth in April.
In addition to ending the debate over Kamo'oalewa's origin, samples from Tianwen-2 could reveal more about the solar system and our place within it.
For example, previously returned asteroid samples have helped to "tell us where Earth's water came from, how complex organic molecules were distributed in the early solar system, and how surface processes like space weathering alter asteroid properties over time," Fenucci said. These samples can also be used to "establish a link to known meteorites found on Earth" and help us learn more about these space rocks, he added.
The proximity of quasi-moons and minimoons to Earth also makes them valuable assets for future space exploration missions. Some researchers have proposed using them as temporary bases or refueling stations that could serve as stops on the way to Mars or other faraway destinations. These objects "could become literal stepping stones for human missions to practice what it is like to leave the Earth-moon cradle," Binzel said.
One particular idea that scientists want to explore is whether water can be extracted from these objects. And if Kamo'oalewa is a piece of the moon, that could have implications for NASA's planned moon base. "Someday, it might be possible to extract that water to provide resources for thirsty astronauts or even generate usable rocket fuel from the hydrogen," Binzel said.
Some near-Earth objects also pose a potential risk to our planet. And while Kamo'oalewa will likely never hit us (and would probably only cause localized damage if it did), there are much larger nearby space rocks that could trigger global catastrophes if they were to impact our planet.
"Over the time scale of centuries, these kinds of objects have a chance of striking the Earth," said Binzel, who invented the Torino scale used to measure the impact potential of near-Earth objects. Therefore, a better understanding of space rocks like Kamo'oalewa "can prepare us in how to deal with a threatening object if one were ever discovered," he added.
Finally, this mission will likely provide another opportunity to assess China's space exploration capabilities, which could hint at whether the country could overtake the U.S. as the top nation in space, as some experts predict.
One of the United States' most storied space launch sites has been cleared of its decades-old support towers, making way for modern rockets to use the pad. Space Launch Complex-6 (SLC-6) at Vandenberg Space Force Station is arguably better known for what did not lift off from there than for what did.
A series of demolition charges on Tuesday (June 16) brought down the access tower, mobile service tower, and what remained of the assembly building at SLC-6—pronounced "slick-six"—in Southern California. Once the location for the US Air Force's first effort to put humans into space and later, the West Coast launch site for the space shuttle, SLC-6 will next be used by SpaceX in support of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy missions.
Vandenberg Space Force Base personnel watch as the assembly building at Space Launch Complex-6 (SLC-6) is toppled on June 16, 2026, to make way for SpaceX's use of the site.
Credit:
Space Launch Delta 30/Tech. Sgt. Draeke Layman
"Space Launch Complex-6 represents six decades of American innovation and our unwavering commitment to securing space superiority," Col. James T. Horne III, commander of Space Launch Delta 30 at Vandenberg, said in a statement. "By modernizing this historic footprint in partnership with our defense industrial base, we are building directly upon the foundation of our pioneers."
© Space Launch Delta 30/Staff Sgt. Daekwon Stith
One of the United States' most storied space launch sites has been cleared of its decades-old support towers, making way for modern rockets to use the pad. Space Launch Complex-6 (SLC-6) at Vandenberg Space Force Station is arguably better known for what did not lift off from there than for what did.
A series of demolition charges on Tuesday (June 16) brought down the access tower, mobile service tower, and what remained of the assembly building at SLC-6—pronounced "slick-six"—in Southern California. Once the location for the US Air Force's first effort to put humans into space and later, the West Coast launch site for the space shuttle, SLC-6 will next be used by SpaceX in support of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy missions.
Vandenberg Space Force Base personnel watch as the assembly building at Space Launch Complex-6 (SLC-6) is toppled on June 16, 2026, to make way for SpaceX's use of the site.
Credit:
Space Launch Delta 30/Tech. Sgt. Draeke Layman
"Space Launch Complex-6 represents six decades of American innovation and our unwavering commitment to securing space superiority," Col. James T. Horne III, commander of Space Launch Delta 30 at Vandenberg, said in a statement. "By modernizing this historic footprint in partnership with our defense industrial base, we are building directly upon the foundation of our pioneers."
© Space Launch Delta 30/Staff Sgt. Daekwon Stith
In the relentless quest to uncover signs of life beyond Earth, scientists have turned their gaze towards the mysterious realms of ocean worlds—icy moons like Enceladus, Europa, and Titan. These celestial bodies harbor vast, hidden oceans beneath their frozen crusts, creating environments that could potentially support life. Yet, the challenge remains daunting: distinguishing genuine biological signatures from complex abiotic processes that could mimic these signals. A groundbreaking study recently published in Nature Astronomy proposes a sophisticated quantitative framework designed to rigorously evaluate these abiotic baselines on ocean worlds, shedding new light on how future life detection missions might navigate this delicate terrain.
Ocean worlds have captivated astrobiologists not merely because they contain liquid water, a fundamental criterion for habitability, but also because they offer diverse chemical environments where life as we know it might exist. However, confirming the presence of life requires more than spotting chemicals commonly associated with biology; it demands a nuanced understanding of how non-biological processes could generate similar signals, muddying the interpretative waters. The novel framework developed by Higgins, Chen, Warr, and colleagues provides an unprecedented approach to dissect this ambiguity, employing Enceladus as a primary example to demonstrate its utility.
At the heart of the study lies the challenge of interpreting isotopic measurements, particularly of methane (CH₄) and carbon dioxide (CO₂), molecules widely regarded as potential biosignatures due to their roles in Earth’s carbon cycle. The study scrutinizes the isotopic ratios of these molecules, expressed as δ¹³C values, which reflect the ratio of carbon-13 to carbon-12 isotopes. Traditionally, biological processes tend to prefer lighter isotopes, leading to distinctive fractionation patterns. However, the researchers highlight that uncertainties inherent in abiotic chemistry within Enceladus’ ocean and vent systems can produce isotopic signatures overlapping with those produced by biological activity, thereby defying straightforward interpretation.
The implication is profound: future missions that might measure δ¹³C in carbon-bearing molecules emanating from Enceladus’ plumes could misinterpret data, either falsely declaring a biosignature or overlooking subtle hints of life concealed beneath abiotic noise. The framework thus urges caution against over-reliance on isotopic biosignatures without a comprehensive assessment of the abiotic baseline. This is a pivotal insight that recalibrates how missions might prioritize scientific instruments and analytical strategies aboard orbiters or landers.
Complementing isotopic analysis, the study explores amino acid chirality as an alternative biosignature. Chirality, the “handedness” of molecules, is a hallmark of terrestrial biology, as living organisms almost exclusively synthesize left-handed amino acids. Nevertheless, the researchers caution that abiotic synthesis of amino acids on ocean worlds, influenced by factors such as radiation, mineral surfaces, and catalytic processes, could yield racemic mixtures or even chiral excesses unrelated to life. This ambiguity necessitates robust characterization of abiotic organic chemistry before interpreting chirality as a definitive biosignature in extraterrestrial contexts.
Another layer of complexity arises from the physical and geological attributes of the ocean worlds themselves. The study emphasizes that factors like internal temperature gradients, rheology (the deformation behavior of the icy shell and underlying materials), and lithology (rock types beneath the ocean) significantly influence abiotic chemical pathways. Understanding these properties with finer precision could narrow the range of isotopic and chemical signatures attributable to non-biological processes, thereby enhancing the confidence in detecting life.
Central to reducing the abiotic baseline uncertainty is the challenge of constraining the internal temperatures of ocean worlds. The framework points out that if internal temperatures can be pinpointed within a range of about 10 to 100 degrees Celsius, models of abiotic chemistry become markedly more predictive. Doing so would help delineate which molecular signals likely stem from hydrothermal activity and mineral interactions rather than biogenic outputs. This underscores the vital role of geophysical observations, such as gravity mapping, heat flux measurements, and ice shell thickness determinations, in complementing chemical analyses.
Transport timescales within the ocean and the overlying ice shell also feature as critical parameters. The timeframe over which molecules or small organic compounds travel from the ocean floor to the surface can alter their chemical and isotopic signatures dramatically. For instance, longer transport times may lead to isotopic exchanges or degradation processes that obscure the original biosignature signal. Hence, understanding ocean circulation patterns and ice shell permeability is integral to accurately interpreting any detected anomaly.
Expanding beyond Enceladus, the framework’s holistic approach is applicable to other ocean worlds such as Europa and Titan, each with their distinct environments and chemical contexts. On Europa, for example, the ocean’s interaction with a silicate seafloor and potential radiolysis-driven chemistry creates a different abiotic baseline compared to Enceladus. Titan’s complex organic-rich atmosphere and potential subsurface oceans add further layers of chemical diversity. The framework enables tailoring of life detection strategies and biosignature interpretations to these distinct habitats.
The study’s methodology can also inform future mission design, influencing instrument selection, sampling strategies, and data interpretation pipelines. By anticipating where abiotic ambiguity is most pronounced, mission planners can prioritize measurements that either better constrain abiotic baselines or provide multiple independent biosignature lines of evidence. This may include coupling isotopic data with mineralogical, geophysical, and molecular chirality information to build a more integrated and less ambiguous picture of habitability.
Furthermore, the framework embodies a precautionary principle against false positives and false negatives. Past and ongoing searches for life beyond Earth have grappled with ambiguous signals, from Viking’s methyl chloride controversy on Mars to debates over methane on the Red Planet. The ocean worlds’ complex chemistry and challenging environments elevate this problem, making a rigorous, quantitative approach like that offered by Higgins et al. indispensable in the life detection toolkit.
Importantly, this work illustrates the multidisciplinarity essential in astrobiology. Geochemistry, planetary science, biology, and physics converge to piece together the puzzle of extraterrestrial biosignatures. The framework’s integrated perspective exemplifies the collaborative spirit needed to interpret subtle clues from distant worlds and avoid the pitfalls of isolated or oversimplified analyses.
Looking ahead, technological advancements in both remote sensing and in situ exploration promise to enhance constraints on ocean world environments, thereby sharpening the framework’s applicability. For instance, sophisticated flyby missions or landers equipped with mass spectrometers, isotopic analyzers, and chiral detection capabilities may provide richer datasets. Simultaneously, laboratory simulations and terrestrial analog studies will refine models of abiotic chemistry and kinetics under relevant conditions.
The impact of this research extends beyond ocean worlds to the broader quest for life in the cosmos. The principles of robustly addressing abiotic baselines and embracing interdisciplinary data fusion can guide biosignature evaluation on exoplanets and other planetary bodies where life’s chemical fingerprints, if present, might be similarly elusive or confounded by non-biological processes.
In conclusion, the study spearheaded by Higgins and colleagues fundamentally reshapes our approach to biosignature interpretation on ocean worlds. By proposing a quantitative, comprehensive framework that weighs biosignature potential against carefully characterized abiotic backgrounds, it sets a new standard for rigor in the search for extraterrestrial life. As humanity’s exploration of the Solar System’s ocean realms advances, this framework will be pivotal in ensuring that claims of discovering life are grounded in unambiguous, scientifically defensible evidence.
Subject of Research: Evaluation of biosignature potential versus abiotic baselines on ocean worlds in the Solar System.
Article Title: A framework for evaluating biosignature potential against the abiotic baseline on ocean worlds.
Article References:
Higgins, P.M., Chen, W., Warr, O. et al. A framework for evaluating biosignature potential against the abiotic baseline on ocean worlds. Nat Astron (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-026-02893-8
Login