Possible volcanic activity on Mars & Swift telescope returns to Earth - Space News (Nov 5, 2026)

Mars may not be as geologically quiet as it appears. A gas detected above cracks near one of the planet’s enormous volcanoes could be rising from a warm system hidden below the surface. Welcome to The Automated Daily, space news edition. The podcast created by generative AI. I’m TrendTeller, and today is November 05th, 2026. Coming up, we’ll examine that intriguing signal from Mars, mark the fiery end of a remarkably productive NASA telescope, and look at a new way to find planets already hiding in James Webb data. We’ll also cover a major milestone aboard the International Space Station, a fresh method for mapping the universe, and a close encounter in orbit that is drawing attention from military space analysts.

Possible volcanic activity on Mars

We begin at Mars, where observations from the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter point to possible volcanic seepage near Alba Mons. The spacecraft detected seasonal increases in hydrogen chloride, a gas associated with volcanic systems on Earth. Researchers then traced the signal to an area containing relatively young fissures and surface changes that may have been left by escaping material. Their leading explanation is that gas from a dormant underground magma system becomes trapped during the Martian winter, then escapes when seasonal ice sealing the cracks disappears. No eruption has been observed, so this is not proof that lava is moving beneath Mars today. Other explanations still need to be tested. Even so, the finding strengthens the case that the planet retains meaningful internal heat. That matters beyond geology. Warm underground systems interacting with water could create small, protected environments with energy and chemistry useful to microorganisms. The fissures around Alba Mons may therefore become compelling targets in the continuing search for habitable places beneath the Martian surface.

Swift telescope returns to Earth

Back near Earth, NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory has reached the end of its mission. The telescope reentered the atmosphere over northern Sumatra on Wednesday after 22 years in orbit. Most of the spacecraft was expected to burn up, and no damage or injuries were reported. Swift was designed for a two-year mission focused on gamma-ray bursts, the immense flashes produced by some of the universe’s most violent events. It remained scientifically productive for roughly a decade longer than that original target, detecting bursts and quickly directing other observatories toward their fading afterglows. It also studied supernovas, feeding black holes, comets and asteroids. A privately built servicing spacecraft was launched this year in an attempt to lift Swift into a higher orbit. Technical problems prevented that rendezvous, leaving the observatory without a way to resist atmospheric drag. Swift’s fiery return closes an unusually successful mission and also shows why future telescopes may need practical plans for servicing or controlled disposal.

Station power upgrade nears completion

At the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk are scheduled to conduct a spacewalk today to install the station’s eighth and final roll-out solar array. The operation is expected to complete a power upgrade that began in 2021. The newer arrays supplement the station’s aging original solar wings and should increase the electrical power available to the complex by about one-third. That added capacity supports scientific experiments, life-support equipment and the station’s other systems during its remaining years of operation. The work also closes a long-running construction effort rather than beginning a new expansion. With the International Space Station approaching retirement around the end of the decade, the goal is to keep the laboratory productive and reliable through the final phase of its mission.

Software reveals hidden exoplanet

Astronomers have found more science hiding inside observations already collected by the James Webb Space Telescope. A team led by Northwestern University developed a new computational method that models the telescope and removes the overwhelming glare of a star more precisely. When the researchers applied it to two-year-old Webb images, the known giant planet 51 Eridani b became visible where standard processing had failed to separate it from the leftover starlight. Depending on the observation, the new approach improved sensitivity to faint planets by between two and fifteen times. This was not the discovery of a previously unknown world. Instead, it was a demonstration that planets can remain concealed inside existing data until better analysis brings them out. That could allow researchers to revisit Webb’s archive for colder and fainter objects without launching a new telescope. It may also help astronomers examine planetary atmospheres at wavelengths where both the planet and its chemical signatures are especially difficult to see.

Hydrogen maps the cosmic web

On a much larger scale, the MeerKLASS collaboration has taken an important step toward mapping the structure of the universe using neutral hydrogen. Working with South Africa’s MeerKAT radio telescope, the team detected how hydrogen was clustered across a broad region of the sky about four and a half billion years ago. Rather than identifying every individual galaxy, the method gathers the combined radio glow of hydrogen over large areas. That reveals the wider pattern of matter known as the cosmic web. Extracting it is difficult because signals from our galaxy and other foreground sources are thousands of times stronger, but the team recovered a statistically convincing pattern that appeared consistently across independent observations. The result is significant because this approach could eventually map huge volumes of space far more quickly than surveys that catalogue galaxies one at a time. Those maps would help cosmologists study how cosmic structure developed and test ideas about dark matter, dark energy and the expansion history of the universe.

Russian satellite raises security concerns

Finally, a close approach between spacecraft is raising questions about security in low Earth orbit. Reuters reports that Russia’s Cosmos 2612 military satellite moved to within less than a kilometer of X36, a radar-imaging satellite operated by the Finnish company ICEYE. X36 supplies imagery to Western governments and militaries, including Ukraine. One American military space analyst described the October encounter as looking like an attack rehearsal, arguing that such proximity was unnecessary for routine observation. A United States official separately called the behavior consistent with on-orbit weapons operations. Two related Russian spacecraft are now moving toward the orbital path of another ICEYE satellite. Those descriptions remain interpretations, not established facts about Russia’s intent. Germany’s space commander cautioned that publicly available tracking data cannot reveal whether the maneuver was intended for inspection, interference or something more aggressive. Still, the episode highlights how commercial satellites have become part of military infrastructure and how actions that might once have seemed experimental can now carry serious geopolitical risk.

That’s the space news for November 05th, 2026. From possible heat beneath Mars to hidden planets and increasingly crowded orbits, today’s stories show how much can change even when space appears quiet. You’ve been listening to The Automated Daily, space news edition. I’m TrendTeller. Thanks for joining me, and until next time, keep looking up.

Possible volcanic activity on Mars & Swift telescope returns to Earth - Space News (Nov 5, 2026)

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