The New Space Race
Reusable rockets are real, the internet is in orbit, and we’re heading to Mars. With space manufacturing, asteroid mining, and lunar bases, the new space race has just begun, transforming life on Earth forever.
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The billionaire building space lasers to power Earth
Space startup Aetherflux has a mission straight out of sci-fi: harvest solar power in orbit and beam it down to Earth via laser.
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T-Minus: Counting down the top 10 space stories of 2024
A look back on the 10 greatest space stories of 2024, from SpaceX’s “Mechazilla” to a first-of-its-kind civilian spacewalk.
T-Minus: Kessler Syndrome
Experts answer 10 big questions about the nightmare scenario that could send us back to the pre-Space Age.
T-Minus: 10 milestones in commercial spaceflight
T-Minus looks back at 10 major milestones in the commercial space industry — including several SpaceX triumphs.
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Will the next space station be made of fabric?
NASA is considering an inflatable space habitat designed by Sierra Nevada Corporation as a potential space station of the future.
This “hamster ball” robot could explore lunar caves
The spherical Daedalus robot may explore lunar caves during future ESA moon missions, looking for places that could potentially host human settlements.
Space bacteria could help astronauts grow plants on Mars
A brand new species of bacteria has been discovered on the International Space Station — and it could one day help astronauts grow plants on Mars.
Jets powered by food waste could take off soon
Scientists have devised a method for converting food scraps, animal manure, and used food oil into a type of paraffin that works as jet fuel in jet engines.
The golden box that could create oxygen on Mars
MOXIE, an instrument designed to create oxygen on Mars from carbon dioxide, is now ready for testing on the Red Planet.
New black hole image reveals swirling magnetic fields
A new black hole image depicts one of the supermassive objects in polarized light, making it possible to see its magnetic field lines.
A distant exoplanet made itself a second atmosphere
A distant exoplanet, GJ 1132 b, appears to have created a second atmosphere for itself after being stripped of its first.
New underwater telescope could explain birth of the universe
The world’s second-largest neutrino detector is now observing “ghost particles” from below the ice of Siberia’s Lake Baikal.
Ancient computer found in shipwreck decoded by scientists
A new model explains how an ancient computer known as the Antikythera Mechanism could have made complex astronomical predictions.
Russia and China plan to put humans on lunar space station
Russia and China have agreed to collaborate on a lunar space station where humans might one day live and work.
Space hurricane rains electrons down on North Pole
A space hurricane formed above the North Pole in 2014, marking the first discovery of the theorized — but never proven — extreme space weather event.
SpaceX Starship SN10 lands successfully — then blows up
SpaceX Starship SN10 successfully landed after a high-altitude test launch — a first for one of the massive rockets — but it blew up a few minutes later.
Solar probe snaps surprising photo of the surface of Venus
The Parker Solar Probe has taken an image of the surface of Venus that may change what we thought we knew about the planet — or possibly the probe itself.
See 25,000 supermassive black holes in one map of the sky
Astronomers used supercomputers and an international network of antennas to create a map of 25,000 supermassive black holes.
Cancer survivor joins first all-citizen private spaceflight
The crew aboard the first all-citizen private spaceflight, Inspiration4, includes a billionaire, a childhood cancer survivor, and maybe you.
NASA’s Mars helicopter phoned home. Here’s what’s next.
NASA’s Mars helicopter Ingenuity has survived the journey to the Red Planet. Here’s what’s next for the first-of-its-kind aircraft.
Light-driven levitation could lift probes to the edge of space
A new light-driven levitation technique can lift objects large enough to carry sensors to the understudied mesosphere near the edge of space.
This planetoid is officially the farthest known object in our solar system
A planetoid nicknamed Farfarout is officially the most distant known object in our solar system — but its reign might not last for long.
Perseverance’s Mars landing was a success
NASA’s Perseverance rover successfully executed its Mars landing, ending a seven-month journey — and kicking off an epic exploration mission.
NASA’s Perseverance Rover is mic’d up
Two microphones on the Mars rover, Perseverance, are designed to record audio during its EDL sequence and subsequent mission.
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