Comment

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.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine damaged or compromised astronomical facilities and has prompted the displacement of researchers. A plan to restore Ukrainian astronomy, rooted in a deeper integration with the international community, is now being developed.

The ethos of the International Astronomical Union’s Office of Astronomy for Development is to direct astronomy towards addressing urgent societal needs. It does this by funding and managing hundreds of projects across the world.

As part of Black Space Week 2025, two cosmologists and an astroparticle physicist share information about their scientific interests, research projects and personal motivations for working in astronomy.

As part of Black Space Week 2025, six (exo)planetary scientists share information about their scientific interests, research projects and personal motivations for working in astronomy.

Black In Astro is a grassroots organization that offers support and networking for Black people working in or studying astronomy and space-related fields across the globe. Now five years old, it is established and looking to grow the range of support it offers.

As part of Black Space Week 2025, six extragalactic astronomers share information about their scientific interests, research projects and personal motivations for working in astronomy.

As part of Black Space Week 2025, five stellar astrophysicists and solar physicists share information about their scientific interests, research projects and personal motivations for working in astronomy.

Generative AI and large language models like ChatGPT are reshaping how we do science, including astronomy. These tools can play major roles in transforming data processing, research proposal evaluations, and even administrative tasks, potentially reducing the need for human intervention in areas like programming and peer review. This rapid technological evolution shouldn’t be accepted blindly, however, but instead calls for a multidisciplinary examination of its scientific, sociological, and cognitive impacts.

For the first time in 2024, the Astronomical Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting was held as an online-first conference, incorporating unprecedented use of immersive spatial venues. This Comment presents findings from this experiment in accessible conferencing and reflects on their implications in the current academic climate.

During February–June 2024 we conducted four surveys among researchers regarding the likely existence of basic, complex, and intelligent extraterrestrial life. Our results offer a snapshot of community opinion and reveal a significant degree of consensus that extraterrestrial life is likely to exist.

In August 2024, the International Astronomical Union General Assembly was held for the first time on the African continent, as a fully hybrid and open-access conference. This opportunity to approach such a traditional and historical event from a new perspective encouraged a spirit of innovation enabled by emerging technologies.

The XXXII IAU General Assembly, held for the first time on the African continent from 6–15 August 2024, marked a historic milestone in the global astronomy community. Driven by a bold vision, the event highlighted Africa's growing scientific capacity, and embodied the African spirit of Ubuntu, emphasizing accessibility, impact, and sustainability.

Humans first reached Mars in 1971, initiating the record of human activity on the Red Planet. As planetary scientists plan for future planetary protection procedures for Mars, they should also consider the developing archaeological record on one of our nearest planets.

The sample numbers required to achieve a 95% confidence, with high precision, that Martian environments are lifeless can exceed many hundreds. This might not be achievable by sample return only and might require human explorers.

In hyperarid environments, life can obtain water through salts that draw moisture from the atmosphere. These salts, then, should be a focus of searches for life on Mars. The experiments performed by NASA’s Viking landers may have accidentally killed Martian life by applying too much water.

A survey of astronomy and geophysics professionals has revealed prevalent bullying and harassment within the sector, with women and marginalized groups most likely to suffer. It is time for the community to face up to the issue and discuss ways of tackling it.

In response to concerns raised by the Navajo Nation on treating the Moon as a grave, NASA has a unique opportunity to advance the conversation with Indigenous communities regarding how we interact with space environments, and who gets to decide.

Is the scientific status of astrobiology undermined by the lack of evidence for alien life, the problematic influence of science fiction, or the use of ‘astrobiology’ as a buzzword for attracting funding? Here we defend the emerging discipline.

The search for life elsewhere involves variables across multiple scales in time and space, often nested hierarchically. We suggest that the emergence of artificial intelligence learning systems offers critically important ways to make progress.