Behold, the moon(s)!

JWST has helped researchers understand three Kuiper Belt Objects. The powerful space telescope set its sights on the outermost Solar System, collecting spectral data from Sedna, Gonggong, and Quaoar, three small bodies in the Kuiper Belt. JWST’s observations found ices and complex organics on their surfaces, expanding our understanding of this kind of distant object. Pictured: An artist’s impression of Sedna. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

NASA is considering budget cuts for the Hubble and Chandra space telescopes. The director of NASA’s astrophysics division said this week that they may have to reduce the operating budgets of the two long-standing missions because of cuts to the overall astrophysics budget. The agency has not said what these cuts would mean for the missions but has emphasized that both are still performing well and are likely to continue to generate world-class science throughout the next half-decade.

Nature’s tiniest flowering plants might be important to the future of space travel. New research from Mahidol University in Thailand has found that watermeal, a tiny flowering plant that grows floating on water, may be an ideal source of both oxygen and protein for future human spaceflight. It is one of few plants that is typically consumed in its entirety, as it has no roots, stems, or leaves, making it an efficient crop.

Psyche has launched. The spacecraft successfully took off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Oct. 13, beginning its six-year journey to the metallic asteroid, also named Psyche. Asteroid Psyche may be the exposed core of a planetesimal that had its outer layers stripped off by collisions. The mission will help determine whether this is indeed a rare example of a planetary building block used in the formation of planets and other worlds.

The Moon entered the planetary scene with a bang. This still from a NASA Ames simulation shows what the scene might have looked like shortly after a Mars-size world named Theia struck early Earth about 4.5 billion years ago. Molten debris, seen here streaming out from the collision, is believed to have formed the Moon. Learn more about how this set the stage for the Moon’s volcanic history. Image credit: NASA's Ames Research Center.

Japan’s SLIM mission aims to nail Moon landings like never before. The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) is currently on its way to the Moon and is scheduled to attempt a highly precise landing early next year. Our guide to the mission explains how SLIM could advance humanity’s ability to stick the landing.

Mars' rotation appears to be speeding up. Data from the NASA InSight Mars lander, which operated from 2018 until 2022, suggests that the planet is spinning faster than it used to. The InSight RISE instrument's principal investigator, Sebastien Le Maistre, from the Royal Observatory of Belgium, joins this week’s Planetary Radio to get into the details.

Want to test your space knowledge? Planetary Society members can take part in a new weekly space trivia contest in our online member community. Answer a new trivia question every Wednesday for a chance to win awesome space prizes! Pictured: An Apollo board game that was awarded as a trivia prize.

Check out the latest live events. If you missed our most recent virtual events you can still catch the video recordings. Planetary Society members had the chance to chat directly with Society co-founder Louis Friedman in our latest book club meeting, where he discussed his new book “Alone But Not Lonely.” Members also got a special update on the LightSail solar sailing missions and the next chapter for that groundbreaking, crowdfunded space exploration program.