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Asteroids, Comets & Meteors

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Don’t let the name fool you. Our solar system’s small bodies—asteroids, comets and meteors—pack big surprises. Asteroids and comets—and the meteors that sometimes come from them—are leftovers from the formation of our solar system 4.6 billion years ago. While the planets and moons have changed over the millennia, many of these small chunks of ice, rock and metal have not. They are a lot like a fossil record of planetary evolution.

There are currently known asteroids and known comets.

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Small Bodies News

'Oumuamua, the first known interstellar object to travel through our solar system, got an unexpected boost in speed and shift in trajectory last year, a new study shows.

Our Solar System's First Known Interstellar Object Gets Unexpected Speed Boost

Our Solar System's First Known Interstellar Object Gets Unexpected Speed Boost

Asteroid 2018 LA entered Earth’s atmosphere at about 9:44 a.m. PDT (12:44 p.m. EDT, 16:44 UTC), and later disintegrated in the upper atmosphere near Botswana, Africa.

Tiny Asteroid Discovered Disintegrates Hours Later

Tiny Asteroid Discovered Disintegrates Hours Later

Recently analyzed data from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission has revealed water locked inside the clays that make up its scientific target, the asteroid Bennu.

NASA's Newly Arrived OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Already Discovers Water on Asteroid

NASA's Newly Arrived OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Already Discovers Water on Asteroid

For the second time in history, a human-made object has reached the space between the stars.

NASA's Voyager 2 Probe Enters Interstellar Space

NASA's Voyager 2 Probe Enters Interstellar Space

NASA's InSight has provided the first ever "sounds" of Martian winds on the Red Planet.

NASA InSight Lander 'Hears' Martian Winds

NASA InSight Lander 'Hears' Martian Winds

OSIRIS-REx observations of asteroid Bennu will improve predictions of which asteroids could be on a trajectory that could pose a risk to Earth.

Planetary Defense: The Bennu Experiment

Planetary Defense: The Bennu Experiment

Now unstowed, the spacecraft's robotic arm will point a camera located on its elbow and take images of the surroundings.

NASA's Mars InSight Flexes Its Arm

NASA's Mars InSight Flexes Its Arm

Twenty-five years ago this week, the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) was installed on the Hubble Space Telescope to correct a devastating error in the telescope's primary mirror.

The 'Camera That Saved Hubble' Turns 25

The 'Camera That Saved Hubble' Turns 25

After traveling through space for more than two years and over two billion miles, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft arrived at its destination, asteroid Bennu.

OSIRIS-REx arrives at Bennu

OSIRIS-REx arrives at Bennu

With InSight safely on the surface of Mars, the mission team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, is busy learning more about the spacecraft's landing site.

Mars New Home 'a Large Sandbox'

Mars New Home 'a Large Sandbox'

Nine U.S. companies now are eligible to bid on NASA delivery services to the lunar surface through Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) contracts, as one of the first steps toward long-term scientific study and human exploration of the Moon and eventually Mars.

NASA Announces New Partnerships for Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Services

NASA Announces New Partnerships for Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Services

A pair of tiny, experimental spacecraft fulfilled their mission yesterday, relaying back near-real-time data during InSight's landing.

NASA Hears MarCO CubeSats Loud and Clear from Mars

NASA Hears MarCO CubeSats Loud and Clear from Mars