After three attempts, NASA's Curiosity rover reached a Martial ridge believed to have been partly formed by ancient muddy landslides around three billion years ago, the space agency announced this week.
Why it matters: The ridge likely contains some of the youngest evidence of liquid water in the rover's part of Mars, as it was among the the last geographic features to form in the area.
NASA released a highly detailed photo of the interior of a large lunar crater that's permanently shadowed in the moon's south pole region on Tuesday.
Why it matters: The new mosaic, created by two different NASA cameras orbiting the moon, gives an uncanny look at terrain that could host future lunar missions.
Funding for research that could help NASA keep astronauts healthy and safe while living sustainably in space needs a major boost, according to a landmark report.
Why it matters: NASA plans to send astronauts to far-afield destinations like the Moon and Mars, but to make that happen, the space agency needs to figure out how to mitigate any risks they might be exposed to during their time in space — from radiation to the effects of zero gravity.
Astronaut Ellen Ochoa, the first Hispanic woman to travel to space, tells Axios Latino she hopes having her life story featured in a video game can motivate more Latinos to explore a STEM career.
Driving the news: Ochoa was added last week as a character in the Minecraft Education suite, a learning version of the block-building game. Other characters include Gloria Estefan and civil rights activist Monica Ramirez.
A run of alien-related news last week didn't present proof that extraterrestrial life exists. But it didreveal how distorted, misrepresented and hyped the search for life beyond Earth can become.
Why it matters: Unscientific claims of alien life and far-from-confirmed findings illustrate alien illiteracy that risksundermining the possible moment when life somewhere in the universe is discovered.
Electric aircraft maker Joby Aviation announced plans Monday to build its first scaled production plant to produce "flying taxis" in Dayton, Ohio.
Why it matters: Dayton is regarded as the home of aviation as brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright invented and flew the first powered aircraft, lived and worked in the city, opening the first airplane factory in the U.S. there in 1910 — something Joby paid homage to in its announcement.
