NASA prepares to land a rover on Mars designed specifically to detect signs of ancient life. Local astronomer and space exploration enthusiast Mark Hammergren tells us more about the mission.
Mark Hammergren

From the first-ever image of a black hole to growing concern over climate change, we review some of the year’s top science stories with three of our regular science contributors.

Adler Planetarium astronomer Mark Hammergren explains how a space-based sentry can help detect asteroids that will pass near Earth.

It took six months, a voyage of 300 million miles and a final “seven minutes of terror,” but NASA’s InSight spacecraft on Monday touched down on Mars in a landing the craft’s chief engineer called “flawless.”

The president proposes a new branch of the military for space defense. Local experts weigh in on Space Force.

For the next several days, the celestial event calendar includes some stellar highlights for observers in Chicago and around the globe.

A tantalizing discovery suggests that life could once have existed on Mars – and may still exist today. We get the latest on the red planet with Adler Planetarium astronomer Mark Hammergren.

A fireball streaked across the Midwestern sky Tuesday night, creating a sonic boom. An Adler Planetarium astronomer tells us more about this rare celestial fireworks display.

It might sound like an episode of “The X-Files,” but a story reported Saturday by the New York Times sheds light on an official Pentagon program that researched and investigated unidentified flying objects.

Viewers on four continents will watch a virtual presentation hosted by Adler Planetarium in early November to learn about the possibility of life on other planets.

The Cassini mission has completely transformed our understanding of Saturn and identified two moons that could potentially harbor life. On Friday morning, the journey will come to a fiery end.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk wants to create a colony on Mars. Assessing the challenges–and his chances of success.

Juno is set to uncover what Jupiter has been hiding. After a five-year, 1.75 billion mile voyage, NASA's spacecraft named after a Roman goddess successfully entered into orbit around the largest planet in our solar system Monday night.

Pluto finally got a visitor from Earth, 85 years after the dwarf planet’s discovery. Completing a nine-year, 3-billion-mile voyage, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft reached the former ninth planet of our solar system on Tuesday. We'll discuss the milestone flyby with astronomers from the Adler Planetarium.

NASA scientists go wild after the Mars rover's successful landing on the red planet early today. An Adler Planetarium astronomer tells us what happens next.