Mars isn't dead — recent volcanic activity reveals it's just sleeping

space.com Nov 4, 2026

Mars isn’t dead — recent volcanic activity reveals it’s just sleeping

Curated by Shubham · TechCapsules · Nov 4, 2026

AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication

ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter detected hydrogen chloride gas escaping from fissures in Mars’ Alba Mons region, indicating dormant volcanic activity beneath the planet’s surface. The gas, typically associated with Earth’s magma vents, suggests that Mars retains enough internal heat to support recent volcanism. Observations confirm that the planet’s largest volcanoes, including Olympus Mons, may still be active, challenging the long‑held view of Mars as geologically dead. The findings highlight potential hydrothermal systems that could have supported past microbial life.

💡 Why It Matters

· Revealing active volcanism reshapes our understanding of Mars’ thermal evolution and its capacity to host habitable environments, offering new targets for future life‑search missions.

Capsules Space

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NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins is the 1st Black woman to command a…

NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins became the first Black woman to command a crewed space mission when she led SpaceX’s Crew‑13 launch to the International Space Station on Oct. 1, 2026. The six‑month mission carried Watkins, a geologist, aquanaut, former rugby player, and seasoned astronaut, alongside three other crew members. Her command follows a 2022 flight on Crew‑4, bringing her total space time to over 200 days. NASA confirmed the historic milestone in an official email, noting her experience and leadership.

💡 Watkins’ leadership spotlights the growing inclusion of women of color in high‑profile STEM roles, challenging long‑standing industry stereotypes. Her visibility may encourage broader participation and inspire future generations to pursue space exploration.

space.com · Nov 5

NASA’s Voyager 1 probe bounces back from communications glitch in interstellar space

NASA’s Voyager 1 probe, the most distant human‑made object, briefly lost contact with Earth from Oct. 18–20 due to a communications glitch that resolved itself. Engineers observed the spacecraft enter a safe mode, with one thruster group shutting down and backups activating automatically. The probe, now nearly one light‑day away, will reach that milestone on Nov. 18. The incident is being investigated, but the mission remains active, continuing to transmit scientific data from interstellar space.

💡 The glitch demonstrates Voyager 1’s autonomous fault‑tolerance, a critical feature for deep‑space probes operating far beyond human reach. It also underscores the ongoing reliability of NASA’s long‑duration missions, which continue to deliver valuable science as their power supplies dwindle.

techcrunch.com · Nov 5

‘You Can See Everything’ is getting an outer space release and it…

A24 confirmed NASA’s request to screen the documentary “You Can See Everything” on the International Space Station, marking the first time the film will be shown outside Earth. The film, directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, opened in North America with a limited release and quickly topped the box‑office charts, sparking global demand. Sony Pictures will distribute the movie in Germany, Latin America, South Korea, and other territories, while the UK and France will see releases on November 20 and December 30, respectively.

💡 The ISS screening underscores the documentary’s cultural reach, illustrating how a film can influence audiences even beyond terrestrial borders. It also signals a growing trend of media partnerships with space agencies, expanding the audience for cinematic content into new frontiers.

space.com · Nov 5

2 astronauts will finish upgrading ISS solar arrays during spacewalk today: Watch…

NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk will complete the installation of the International Space Station’s eighth Roll‑Out Solar Array (iROSA) during a seven‑hour spacewalk on November 5. The EVA, scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. EST, will raise the station’s power capacity from 160 kW to roughly 215 kW, a 30 % increase. The pair previously installed the seventh iROSA on October 29, marking the 100th U.S. EVA on the ISS and the first Canadian EVA since 2019. The crew currently includes five other astronauts aboard the ISS.

💡 The upgraded solar arrays will extend the ISS’s operational life by providing more reliable power for experiments and future missions, ensuring continued scientific output from the orbiting laboratory.

space.com · Nov 5

China lays out plans to land astronauts on the moon ‘before 2030.’…

China’s space agency unveiled a four‑mission roadmap to land astronauts on the Moon “before 2030” at the 7th Manned Space Symposium in Beijing. The plan begins with a 2027 Long March 10A launch of the uncrewed Mengzhou cargo capsule to low‑Earth orbit, followed by a 2028 Long March 10 flight carrying the Lanyue lander for a lunar descent‑ascent test. In 2029 two Long March 10 rockets will launch Mengzhou and Lanyue for a full lunar‑orbit rendezvous rehearsal. The final dual‑launch mission, slated for late 2030 at the latest, will send a crewed Mengzhou and an uncrewed Lanyue to dock in lunar orbit, after which three astronauts will transfer to Lanyue for a three‑day surface stay. The schedule aligns with China’s 80th‑anniversary milestone and pressures NASA’s Artemis timeline, which targets a crewed landing in 2028 using Orion and commercial landers.

💡 A successful Chinese crewed landing before 2030 would give Beijing its first deep‑space human achievement, reshaping geopolitical prestige in space and forcing the United States to accelerate or rethink its Artemis commitments.

space.com · Nov 5

On this day in space! Nov. 4, 2015: A rail-launched Super Strypi…

On 4 November 2015 the U.S. Air Force attempted the inaugural flight of the rail‑launched Super Strypi from the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii. The three‑stage solid‑motor vehicle lifted off at 9:45 p.m. local time but began tumbling within seconds, crashing less than a minute after launch. The failure destroyed the primary payload, the ORS‑4 (HiakaSat) Earth‑observation satellite, and twelve secondary payloads, including eight cubesats for NASA’s Edison Demonstration of Smallsat Networks and four university experiments. Investigators traced the anomaly to a likely first‑stage motor defect. The mishap ended the Super Strypi program, and the Air Force has since relied on commercial launch providers for rapid‑response missions. The loss halted a planned demonstration of swarm‑technology capabilities that could have validated satellite concepts.

💡 The failure forced the service to abandon its own quick‑launch capability, accelerating its shift to private providers that can deliver notice‑level turnarounds.