Space Exploration

It was a crazy idea on the face of it — sending a $2.5 billion robot to another planet with a complex rocket sled contraption to get it safely to the surface. It worked, though, and Curiosity began its exploration of the red planet six years ago. As the rover …

Mars has long been seen as a potential second home for humanity, but it won’t be a comfortable place to hang your hat until we’ve addressed the lack of breathable air. According to NASA, fantasies about terraforming the red planet are premature. A new analysis of Mars and its composition …

After its successful launch in April, NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission has started collecting data. It took a little longer than expected to get the spacecraft fully tested and ready for action, but the agency says it began data collection on July 27th. We won’t get the first …

Space agencies have successfully studied asteroid and comets up close on several occasions, but capturing one for mining is also in the works. A group of Chinese scientists is looking to go a step further. Their ambitious plan involves not just capturing an asteroid, but bringing it down to the …

Very young galaxies are dim, making them difficult to study. However, astronomers from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee have used the recently improved W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawaii to take a look at a galaxy called Q2343-BX418. The team thinks the gas halo around Q2343-BX418 could reveal a great deal …

It seems like everyone is racing to get you into space, and all you need is some patience and a huge pile of disposable income. Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic has been working on a rocket-powered space plane for years that will eventually transport passengers to the edge of space and …

The Hubble Space Telescope got off to a rocky start back in the early 90s, but it’s been a real trooper ever since. After more than 25 years, it’s still capturing stunning photos of far-away astronomical objects and advancing human knowledge. It can also take a peek at objects in …

Mars has a well-deserved reputation as the dustball of our solar system. Currently, a humongous dust storm has completely encircled the planet, and this isn’t the first time. That happens every couple of years. Scientists studying the Martian dust now think they know how it all got there. According to …

In just a few days, Mars will make its closest approach to Earth in 15 years. It won’t be quite as close as the 2003 approach but close. In fact, based on the current conditions on Mars, you may have a better than usual chance to spot the planet with …

It’s possible that life in our solar system is not confined to Earth. Scientists speculate that places like Mars or Enceladus could provide evidence of present or past life, but Europa has understandably gotten the most attention thanks to our wealth of knowledge about Jupiter and its moons. In a …