UNCOVERED: Asteroid news topic - The Untold Story

Earth Has Captured a Tiny New Mini-Moon, but 2026 QQ8 May Leave Its Temporary Orbit by Early 2027

Asteroid 2026 QQ8 became a temporary mini-moon in April, astronomers say, but orbital calculations suggest it will leave Earth's gravitational hold in December or January.

International Business Times UK · 4h ago

How UK scientists are helping the MMX space mission grab the best sample of soil from Mars’ moon Phobos

Mars has two small moons, Phobos and Deimos, but their origins remain uncertain. Were they asteroids captured by Mars’ gravity, or did they form from debris following a giant impact on the planet?

The Conversation · 9h ago

Europe's Hera spacecraft begins close inspections of asteroid in planetary defence mission

The European Space Agency’s Hera mission is studying how the asteroid Dimorphos’ course was affected following NASA’s 2022 mission to ram it as they explore planetary defence solutions.

Euronews · 11h ago

About 65 million years ago, after dinosaurs died, fungi may have proliferated as forests filled with dead plants left behind by the mass extinction

Fossil evidence from the Denver Basin indicates a significant fungal bloom after the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction. This increase in fungal remains coincided with the devastation caused by the asteroid impact. Researchers found high fungal abundance prior to the event as well, related to climatic cooling and volcanic activity. Evidence from…

The Times of India · Oct 20

Japan takes aim at the moons of Mars with French and German technology

Japan has launched a spacecraft to Mars’s two small moons in a mission that could shed light on their mysterious origins. With French and German technology on board, the MMX probe aims to collect material from Phobos and deliver it to Earth in 2031.

Radio France Internationale · Oct 20

Japan’s MMX mission aims to swipe soil samples from Mars’ moon Phobos

A Japanese space mission is about to launch towards Mars. But it will not land on the planet itself. Instead, the Martian Moons Exploration (MMX) mission will focus on Phobos, the bigger of Mars’s two small moons.

The Conversation · Oct 16

How did Mars get its moons? Japan’s MMX space mission aims to solve the puzzle

The Earth got its Moon when a celestial object collided with our planet more than four billion years ago. This impact hurled molten rock into space, which eventually coalesced to form the satellite we can see every night from across our planet.

The Conversation · Oct 15