Planetary science articles from across Nature Portfolio

Pluto’s atmosphere varies dramatically over a solar orbit but is challenging to monitor. Thermal emission by haze in Pluto’s atmosphere was detected with JWST and could be used to track the atmosphere’s evolution.

Intriguing signals have been detected by the Perseverance rover from the floor and fan top of the Jezero crater on Mars. Laboratory investigations provide insight into the origin of these signals, identifying aromatic organic molecules — polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons — preserved in sulfates.

A shallow subsurface layer of hydrated minerals in Elysium Planitia may represent fluvial sediments laid down during a warmer, humid Martian climate, according to a joint inversion of seismic and seismoacoustic coupling data from the InSight lander

Fresh ice grains from Enceladus’s plume were analysed during the highest-speed fly-by of the Cassini spacecraft. Organic compounds with a range of chemical structures were discovered, suggesting comprehensive subsurface chemistry on Enceladus.

A revised ‘Doughnut’ providing a visual assessment of trends in social deprivation and planetary degradation over the past two decades shows more than doubling of global GDP accompanied by accelerating ecological overshoot but only a modest reduction in human deprivation.

Basalt clasts returned by Chang’e-6 suggest a lunar farside mantle potential temperature that is approximately 100 °C cooler than the nearside mantle, according to a petrologic study combined with thermobarometric modelling and remote sensing data.

Metallic hydrogen environments exist in the cores of gas-giant planets. Here the authors study the solubility of light elements in metallic hydrogen and predict the formation of “hypermolecules” from hydrogenation of normally saturated molecules.

The products and dynamics in mutual neutralisation of \({{{{\rm{O}}}}_{2}}^{+}\) with O⁻ occurring in atmospheric sprites are unknown. Here, the authors reveal a dissociative two-step mechanism via intermediate Rydberg states and a dependence on the \({{{{\rm{O}}}}_{2}}^{+}\) vibrational state.

Lunar construction is advancing rapidly, yet its environmental implications on Earth remain largely overlooked. Emissions, material scarcity, and supply chain impacts associated with lunar development indicate the need for early evaluation within the frameworks of Earth’s planetary boundaries.

Lunar minerals generate the rust mineral haematite when bombarded with high-energy oxygen particles, experiments show.

The Chinese Tianwen-2 mission will perform a double fly-by of two small bodies, sampling a near-Earth asteroid and returning samples to Earth before continuing towards a main-belt comet.

Pluto’s atmosphere varies dramatically over a solar orbit but is challenging to monitor. Thermal emission by haze in Pluto’s atmosphere was detected with JWST and could be used to track the atmosphere’s evolution.

Intriguing signals have been detected by the Perseverance rover from the floor and fan top of the Jezero crater on Mars. Laboratory investigations provide insight into the origin of these signals, identifying aromatic organic molecules — polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons — preserved in sulfates.