The asteroid sample return spacecraft Hayabusa, hit by a series of hard luck over the years, has restarted its ion engines, and is headed back to Earth carrying a bit of an asteroid (probably). Learn more

Several large moons in the outer solar system are thought to contain seas of liquid water beneath their icy, airless exteriors.

Next month marks the tenth anniversary of the launch of the Stardust mission, which successfully returned samples from a comet to Earth. Now the ambitious mission has been extended to explore a second comet. Learn more

Russia plans to return to robotic space exploration later this year with the Phobos-Grunt mission to the largest moon of Mars. Learn more

One year on Pluto lasts 248 Earth years. This particular Plutonian year will bring a milestone: the first visitor from Earth. Learn more