Through the looking glass: Observations from NASA's Kepler mission ended in 2018, but scientists are still pouring over what it recorded. That data can include information about new solar systems and exoplanets waiting to be discovered, not unlike the seven-planet system NASA uncovered in 2017.
Forward-looking: The US space agency will soon send a new, experimental laser communication technology into space that is expected to show potential data transmission rates that are 10 to 100 times the speed of current state-of-the-art radio systems. The device is installed aboard the Psyche spacecraft, which is scheduled to launch no earlier than October 5, 2023.