Stories by Alexandra Witze

Hundreds of people at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have received layoff notices, and work at many federal laboratories has been suspended

Space scientists look back on three decades of exoplanet discoveries—from rows of massive ‘super-Earths‘ to worlds with perfectly synchronized orbits

Lunar minerals can rust when bombarded with high-energy oxygen particles, experiments show

A declaration of dissent from past and present NASA employees warns that science and safety are at risk and joins similar documents from staff at other federal science agencies

In 2008 scientists reported that rocks in Canada were the world’s oldest. New data appear to confirm this contested claim

The White House’s budget plan for NASA would be woefully inadequate for achieving near-term human voyages to Mars, experts say

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope detected an intriguing compound in the atmosphere of the exoplanet K2-18 b, but scientists are divided about what the chemical means

Leaked budget documents indicate that key NASA and NOAA research projects, such as crucial climate research and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, are at risk of being defunded in 2026

Swarms of satellites launched by SpaceX and other companies are disrupting astronomical observations. Here's how scientists are coping

The intriguing chemistry of a rock collected by the Perseverance rover could trace to microbial activity—or not

Top advisers in NASA’s Office of the Chief Scientist are among the first to go amid a government-wide downsizing effort

Scientists and supporters rallied in cities across the U.S. and Europe to protest dramatic funding cuts and other attacks from the Trump administration

The Trump administration has acted fast to attack science with a range of funding and policy tactics

Space scientists within NASA and outside it feel betrayed by the Trump administration’s changes at the agency, which was known for promoting inclusion in science

Earth’s core is transforming, which could affect the length of our 24-hour day, Earth’s magnetic field, and more

The Thirty Meter Telescope and Giant Magellan Telescope might need to compete for survival in the face of federal spending limits

Fresh investigations find that the Red Planet’s liquid-metal core is smaller than scientists thought

The Greenland Ice Sheet could experience runaway melting if the world overshoots climate targets, but even then quick action could stabilize it

Thirty years ago, astronomer Carl Sagan convinced NASA to turn a passing space probe’s instruments on Earth to look for life — with results that still reverberate today

NASA’s Perseverance rover has collected valuable samples, but a new report says the plan to fetch them is unworkable

Observations from the James Webb Space Telescope suggest that TRAPPIST-1 c, the second world in a seven-planet system, lacks an atmosphere

The huge watery cloud spurting from Enceladus could carry the ingredients for life farther into space than previously known

TRAPPIST-1b is probably an airless rock, but the same may not be true for its six Earth-sized siblings

New studies have revealed the spacecraft’s final moments and the remarkable aftermath of its impact