Astronomy (Page 16)

Latest in Astronomy

NASA has powered up the core stage of its Space Launch System (SLS), a heavy lift rocket that's meant to one day allow Americans to return to the Moon.

NASA Is Gassing Up Its Big, Pricy Moon Rocket

By Victor Tangermann

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said that he is "highly confident" that his space company will land humans on the Martian surface as soon as 2026.

Elon Musk “Highly Confident” SpaceX Will Land Humans on Mars Within 6 Years

By Victor Tangermann

The Chinese space agency instructed part of the Chang'e-5 spacecraft to crash back into the Moon after its job was done so it wouldn't become space junk.

China Crashed Spacecraft Into the Moon so It Wouldn’t Become Space Junk

By Dan Robitzski

NASA just published a detailed report on the upcoming Artemis Moon missions, including information on the planned lunar base camp.

NASA Releases Detailed Plan for 2024 Moon Base Camp

By Dan Robitzski

NASA is paying startups for any Moon dust they collect on missions scheduled for the next few years, but the payment is largely symbolic.

NASA Will Pay This Startup $1 to Collect Moon Dust. Wait, What?

By Dan Robitzski

China's lunar lander Chang'e-5 just beamed back color photos of the surface of the Moon — and they're a lot more beige than what you'd expect.

Chinese Lander Sends Back Color Pictures of the Moon

By Victor Tangermann

China's robotic Chang'e-5 space probe successfully gathered up lunar samples and is poised to be the first successful lunar retrieval mission since 1976.

Chinese Robot Mission Successfully Collects Moon Rocks

By Dan Robitzski

China's Chang'e-5 spacecraft successfully landed on the Moon, where it's expected to bring the first lunar samples back to earth in almost 50 years.

China Lands on Moon Before Returning to Earth With Lunar Rocks

By Dan Robitzski

Musk elaborated on his vision of establishing a permanent foothold on Mars, claiming that "life in glass domes" will come first — and then terraforming.

Elon Musk: First Mars City Will Start With Glass Domes

By Victor Tangermann

Scientists identified massive ripples on the surface of Mars likely formed by an ancient megaflood and planet-covering storm clouds.

NASA Data Shows Evidence of Ancient “Megafloods” on Mars

By Dan Robitzski

In a recent report, NASA admitted that landing the first astronauts on the Moon since the Apollo era in 2024 might be a bit of a stretch.

NASA Admits It Probably Won’t Be Able to Land Moon Astronauts by 2024

By Victor Tangermann

Metalysis, a UK-based engineering firm, has signed a contract with the European Space Agency to investigate ways to extract breathable air from Moon dust.

New Technique Claims to Extract Breathable Oxygen From Moon Dust

By Victor Tangermann

In July, a NASA launch will send vials of human cremains and DNA samples to their final resting place on the surface of the Moon.

Upcoming Mission Will Fly Human Remains to the Moon

By Dan Robitzski

A team of astronomers have brought a wild concept back from the grave: a liquid-mirror telescope, 100 meters in diameter, built on the surface of the Moon.

Astronomers Propose Giant “Liquid Mirror” Telescope on the Moon

By Victor Tangermann

An independent review board assembled by NASA urged the space agency to proceed with an amibitous plan to gather Mars samples and bring them to Earth.

Experts Urge NASA to Return Mars Samples to Earth

By Dan Robitzski

NASA is now accepting contractor proposals for its plan to power lunar and Martian outposts with small nuclear fission reactors.

NASA Is Looking for Someone to Put Nuclear Reactors on the Moon

By Dan Robitzski

The European Space Agency just signed off on two years worth of feasibility studies, clearing an exoplanet-studying space telescope for launch in 2029.

Upcoming Space Telescope Will Study the Atmospheres of Distant Exoplanets

By Victor Tangermann

When Joe Biden takes office, he may shift NASA's priorities away from space exploration and toward a renewed focus on climate change.

Biden May Slow Down Moon Program to Focus NASA on Climate Change

By Dan Robitzski

NASA commissioned Nokia to build a 4G network on the Moon, but doing so could spell doom for radio astronomers trying to filter out all the noise.

That 4G Network on the Moon Could Ruin Astronomy

By Dan Robitzski

There's a mysterious asteroid stuck in Mars' gravitational pull, and astronomers suspect it might be the Moon's long-lost twin.

A Stolen Chunk of Earth’s Moon Seems to Be Orbiting Mars

By Dan Robitzski

Upon digging through Starlink's terms of service, eagle-eyed beta testers discovered they were signing up for a lot more than they might have thought.

Starlink Terms of Service Demands That Users “Recognize Mars as a Free Planet”

By Victor Tangermann

The European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter just spotted something unusual on the surface of the Red Planet: a "triplet" crater.

On Mars, a Crater on Top of a Crater on Top of a Crater

By Victor Tangermann

Using the ALMA radio telescope in Chile, a team of NASA scientists spotted a highly unusual molecule in the atmosphere of Titan, Saturn's largest moon.

NASA Scientists Spot “Really Unexpected” Molecule in Atmosphere of Saturn’s Largest Moon

By Victor Tangermann

NASA and the ESA have formally partnered up to develop the Gateway space station that will orbit the Moon as part of the Artemis program.

NASA and Europe Officially Sign Deal to Build Orbital Moon Base

By Dan Robitzski

Scientists took the closest look yet at Psyche, a massive asteroid orbiting our Sun that's thought to be a planetary core that got destroyed.

New Images Show Leftover Planetary Core Floating Between Mars and Jupiter

By Dan Robitzski

Finding evidence of water on the Moon is a tantalizing prospect — but only meaningful insofar as we're able to actually make use of it.

There’s One Big Problem With NASA’s Moon Water Announcement

By Victor Tangermann

NASA’s Big Moon Surprise Is That Lunar Soil Contains Water

NASA’s Big Moon Surprise Is That Lunar Soil Contains Water

By Victor Tangermann

In a recent interview, SpaceX president and COO Gwynne Shotwell laid out the company's plans to bring its Starlink broadband satellite technology to Mars.

SpaceX Will Build Starlink-Like Constellation Around Mars, Its President Says

By Victor Tangermann

NASA just paid Bell Labs $14.1 million to develop a 4G network — on the Moon.

The Moon Is Getting Cell Service

By Dan Robitzski

NASA is funding research toward a camera that can detach from a spacecraft and film it landing from the surface of another world.

NASA Wants a Moon Camera to Film Landing Spacecraft From the Lunar Surface

By Dan Robitzski

Speaking at the Mars Society's convention last week, Elon Musk claimed that SpaceX has a "fighting chance" to send a Starship to Mars in 2024.

Elon Musk Wants to Send First Starship to Mars in 2024

By Victor Tangermann

Mars was in opposition while passing near Earth this week, so space photographers had a field day with the rare occurrence.

Mars Was so Close This Week That You Can See Its Surface From Your Backyard

By Dan Robitzski

NASA is now running underwater tests for the spacesuits it plans on using for the upcoming series of Artemis missions to the Moon.

NASA Is Now Testing Its Artemis Moon Landing Spacesuit

By Dan Robitzski

NASA's four-wheeled rover called DuAxel can split into two separate two-wheeled rovers, and is intended to explore hard to reach places in faraway places.

NASA Shows Off Transforming Rover for Exploring Steep Cliffs on Mars

By Victor Tangermann

Astronomers suggest checking the surface of the Moon for ancient rocks that could have been blasted away from Venus during asteroid strikes.

The Moon Might Be Littered With Ancient Shrapnel From Venus

By Dan Robitzski

Scientists identified 24 distant exoplanets that all seem to have even better conditions for hosting life than Earth does.

Astronomers: These 24 Exoplanets May Be Better for Life Than Earth

By Dan Robitzski

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency just handed out a $14 million dollar contract to develop a nuclear thermal propulsion system in space.

DARPA Is Considering a Nuclear Rocket for Moon Missions

By Victor Tangermann

China just showed off a rocket that could send astronauts to the Moon — but when is still a big question mark.

China Reveals Rocket to Send Astronauts to Moon

By Victor Tangermann

It may be many years away — but the Space Force is already considering the possibility of putting the first troops into space and establish a base there.

US General: Space Force May Build a Moon Base

By Victor Tangermann

Earth will likely capture a new minimoon in its orbit later this year. But signs suggest that it's actually a hunk of space garbage.

Earth Appears to Be Capturing a Tiny New Moon

By Dan Robitzski

Japan Outlines Plan to Power Spacecraft With Moon Ice

Japan Outlines Plan to Power Spacecraft With Moon Ice

By Victor Tangermann

The Italian scientists who found an undergound lake beneath the south pole of Mars revisited their data — and uncovered three more.

Scientists Just Found Three More Reservoirs of Liquid Water on Mars

By Dan Robitzski

For the first time, scientists say they've ascertained how radioactive the Moon is — a finding that could have implications for the future of space travel.

Bad News: The Moon Is Surprisingly Radioactive

By Jon Christian

Cosmonaut Sergei Kud-Sverchkov, who's heading to the International Space Station next month on a Soyuz rocket, says he would be nice to any aliens he met.

Space-Bound Cosmonaut: If I Meet Aliens, I Will Be Nice to Them

By Jon Christian

A team of scientists claim they have determined a way to figure out if there's life living underground on faraway places, including the Moon and Mars.

Harvard Study: We Shouldn’t Rule Out Underground Life on the Moon and Mars

By Victor Tangermann

By digging through infrared images of Saturn's icy moon Enceladus, scientists have found "strong evidence" of "fresh ice" in its northern hemisphere.

NASA Finds Evidence of “Fresh Ice” on Saturn’s Moon Enceladus

By Victor Tangermann

NASA and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory are launching a spacecraft to the far side of the Moon so it can listen to extremely faint radio signals.

NASA Is Heading to the Far Side of the Moon to Study the Ancient Universe

By Dan Robitzski

NASA is yet on another budget crunch in its efforts to realize the Trump administration's ambitious plans to return astronauts to the Moon by 2024.

NASA Unveils Flabbergasting Budget For Moon Missions

By Victor Tangermann

NASA has built a system that could make landing on the Moon or Mars a whole lot less risky — and it already has plans to test it out on an upcoming mission.

NASA Has Figured Out a New Way to Safely Land on the Moon

By Victor Tangermann

A team of researchers are suggesting we could use one of the most common organic polymers on Earth to construct shelters on Mars.

Scientists: We Could Build Mars Shelters Out of Insect Polymers and Martian Soil

By Victor Tangermann

According to new research, acidic fluids may have long destroyed evidence of past biological life inside Martian clay on the Red Planet's surface.

Acids May Have Destroyed Evidence of Life on Mars

By Victor Tangermann

Japan's space agency has announced it's planning to film Mars's mysterious moons with cameras that can shoot in 8K ultra-high-definition.

Japanese Spacecraft Will Shoot Martian Moons in 8K Resolution

By Victor Tangermann

NASA announced it's soliciting commercial companies to collect space resources, including Moon "dirt," an effort to create a marketplace for space rocks.

NASA Wants to Pay Private Companies to Bag Moon Dirt

By Victor Tangermann

NASA is using a kind of heavy-duty metallic glass to develop rovers that can explore colder environments than ever before.

NASA Is Making Moon Rover Parts Out of Metallic Glass

By Dan Robitzski

During a virtual summit on Monday, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk elaborated on his ambitions of building a self-sustaining city on Mars — and the dangers involved.

Elon Musk: “Good Chance You’ll Die” On Mars

By Victor Tangermann

NASA's Orion spacecraft just completed its System Acceptance Review and Design Certification Review. In other words, it's fit for flight.

NASA’s Moon-Bound Orion Spacecraft is Officially Fit for Flight

By Victor Tangermann

The team behind NASA's Curiosity Mars rover have uploaded a fascinating GIF video of a dust devil rolling over the Red Planet's Gale crater.

NASA Shows Off GIF of a Dust Devil on Mars

By Victor Tangermann

Researchers in Japan say bacteria could survive on the outside of a spacecraft for the entire duration of a trip to Mars.

Scientists: Bacteria Could Survive Trip to Mars on Outside of Spacecraft

By Jon Christian

In order to protect the Moon from destructive lunar mining operations, one scientists suggests granting the Moon legal personhood.

Scientist: We Should Grant the Moon Legal Personhood

By Dan Robitzski

NASA warns that harvesting lunar ice for future settlers' drinking water could make it impossible to study the ice down the road.

Mining Lunar Ice Could Irrevocably Damage the Moon’s Environment

By Dan Robitzski

Blue Origin just delivered an engineering mockup of a lander that could one day carry American astronauts down to the surface of the Moon to NASA.

Blue Origin Engineers Deliver Full-Scale Prototype Moon Lander to NASA

By Victor Tangermann

NASA just powered up its Ingenuity Mars helicopter for the first time — not on the Martian surface, but in the middle of interplanetary space.

NASA Just Powered Up Its Mars Helicopter

By Victor Tangermann

The "mole" attached to NASA's InSight Mars lander is officially "in" according to an update by the German Aerospace Center (DLR).

NASA’s Mars Mole is Officially “Dug In”

By Victor Tangermann

NASA’s Mars Helicopter Could Revolutionize Off-Planet Exploration

NASA’s Mars Helicopter Could Revolutionize Off-Planet Exploration

By Victor Tangermann