Astronomy (Page 19)

Latest in Astronomy

In a distant star system, two fully-formed exoplanets crashed into each other, leaving an unusual trail of space dust and debris in their wake.

Two Exoplanets Collided, Leaving a Trail of Planetary Gore

By Dan Robitzski

NASA is working with Caterpillar on Moon mining rocks from the Moon's surface to be used as raw materials on the space agency's planned lunar base.

NASA’s Collaborating With Caterpillar on Moon Mining Machines

By Dan Robitzski

The European Space Agency is about to test if an astronaut on board the International Space Station is capable of taking control of Moon rovers from space.

Astronauts Are About to Take Control of a Mars Rover, From Space

By Victor Tangermann

The China Lunar Exploration Program has released a new photo of the mysterious "gel-like" and "colored" substance found by its Moon rover.

China Releases New Pic of Weird Substance Its Moon Rover Found

By Victor Tangermann

One of the mockup Moon habitats NASA is considering is a 55-foot-long inflatable tent that reaches a height equivalent to a two-story building.

NASA’s Considering Giant Inflatable Tents for Moon Habitats

By Kristin Houser

Congress still isn't ready to approve a budget increase to support a 2024 crewed Moon mission — but it isn't quite ready to deny it either.

Congress Is Preparing to Kill 2024 Moon Mission

By Kristin Houser

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is well aware of a potentially fatal flaw in the company's plan to use a Moon base as a refueling station.

Here’s What Worries Elon Musk About a SpaceX Moon Base

By Kristin Houser

NASA has designed two new spacesuits to support its 2024 mission to the Moon, and the suits are better than their predecessors in almost every way.

NASA Unveils Spacesuits for Next Moon Mission

By Kristin Houser

UK-based startup SpaceBit's Moon rover is not only the smallest ever, but it also has legs instead of the typical wheels.

2021 Moon Rover Will Have Legs Instead of Wheels

By Kristin Houser

Professor Lewis Dartnell, professor at the University of Westminster, has an ingenious plan as to how to build a human colony on the Moon.

Check Out This Beautiful Design for a Moon Habitat

By Victor Tangermann

The idea of colonizing exoplanets if Earth becomes uninhabitable is "completely crazy," according to Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist Michel Mayor.

Nobel-Winning Astrophysicist Says We’ll Never Colonize Exoplanets

By Kristin Houser

Former NASA scientist Gilbert Levin argues we already discovered we're not alone in the universe during NASA's Viking mission to find life on Mars in 1976.

Former NASA Scientist “Convinced” We Already Found Life on Mars

By Victor Tangermann

Scientists discovered 20 more tiny moons orbiting Saturn, meaning the gas giant is the new record holder within the confines of our solar system.

Astronomers Just Found 20 More Moons Around Saturn

By Dan Robitzski

A team of researchers found traces of organic compounds in plumes that burst from Saturn's moon Enceladus. A sign of life if all the conditions are right.

Scientists Find Building Blocks of Life on Saturn’s Icy Moon

By Victor Tangermann

China just revealed the spacecraft it wants to use to ferry astronauts to the Moon. In other words, a new Space Race is heating up.

China Reveals Spacecraft Built to Ferry Astronauts to the Moon

By Victor Tangermann

NASA's Mars InSight lander just detected some "peculiar sounds" thanks to its onboard seismometer that's capable of picking up on the tiniest of vibrations.

NASA Mars Lander Detects Creepy “Dinks and Donks” Sounds

By Victor Tangermann

Newly-shared pictures of the cotton plant China briefly grew on the Moon shows that it fared a little bit better than previously thought before freezing.

China Shares Photos of Its Doomed Moon Plant

By Dan Robitzski

Chief scientist at NASA Jim Green believes that were mere years away from finding life on Mars thanks to the next generation of future Mars rovers.

NASA’s Chief Scientist is Oddly Terrified By Finding Life on Mars

By Victor Tangermann

A new paper argues that the “primary colonists” of Mars should be microbes like the ones which support life on Earth in order to terraform the Red Planet.

Contaminating Mars With Microbes Could Kickstart Colonization

By Natalie Coleman

If signs of alien life or civilization ever crashed into the Moon, they're likely still up there waiting to be discovered.

Harvard Prof: The Moon Could Have Caught Alien Organisms, Tech

By Dan Robitzski

To feed colonists on Mars, we'll need to find a way to produce food there — and a team of researchers thinkgs it knows the best wait to go about it.

Here’s How We Could Feed a Million People on Mars

By Kristin Houser

NASA's InSight Lander on the surface of Mars detected a series of strange magnetic pulses that occurred exactly at midnight.

NASA’s Mars Lander Detects Mysterious Magnetic Pulses

By Victor Tangermann

China's Yutu-2 lunar lander just sent back images of a strange new substance it found near a small crater on the far side of the Moon.

Here Are New Pics of That Weird Substance China Found on the Moon

By Victor Tangermann

On Jupiter's moon Io, the strongest volcano in the solar system is likely about to erupt within the next couple of days, according to new calculations.

A Giant Volcano on One of Jupiter’s Moons Is About to Erupt

By Dan Robitzski

LifeShip will send your DNA to the Moon for $99 — a whimsical undertaking that could also ensure humanity lives on even if Earth becomes uninhabitable.

This Startup Will Send DNA From Your Spit to the Moon for $99

By Kristin Houser

An Indian newspaper quoted an ISRO official as saying that the country's lunar lander landed in one piece. The report has yet to be confirmed.

Indian Official: Moon Lander May Have Survived in One Piece

By Victor Tangermann

Scientists are suggesting that the methane-filled lakes on the surface of Saturn's largest moon Titan could have been formed by massive explosions.

Huge Explosions May Have Formed Lakes on Saturn’s Moon Titan

By Victor Tangermann

China claims its Yutu-2 lunar rover has stumbled upon an unsually colored "gel-like" substance on the bottom of an impact crater on the Moon.

China Claims Its Moon Rover Found a Colorful “Gel-Like” Substance

By Victor Tangermann

India may have lost all communication with its Vikram lunar lander after making its approach last week — but not all may be lost.

India Finds Lost Moon Lander, Tries to Establish Contact

By Victor Tangermann

On Friday afternoon, India's Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft will attempt to land on the Moon. If it works, India will be the fourth country to ever do so.

India Is About to Attempt a Moon Landing

By Dan Robitzski

NASA just attached its new semi-autonomous helicopter drone to the rover it's sending to Mars next year. Pending a few more tests, it should be ready to go.

NASA Installs Autonomous Mini-Helicopter on Its Next Mars Rover

By Dan Robitzski

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.

SpaceX Working With NASA to Find Mars Landing Sites for Starship

By Victor Tangermann

A newly proposed type of space elevator called the Spaceline could theoretically be built out of materials that exist today, hinting at easier space travel.

These Researchers Want to Run a Cable From the Earth to the Moon

By Dan Robitzski

This Roomy, Inflatable Habitat Could One Day Take You to Mars

This Roomy, Inflatable Habitat Could One Day Take You to Mars

By Victor Tangermann

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk suggested that "thousands of solar reflector satellites" could be used to warm up the surface of Mars.

Elon Musk: “Thousands of Solar Reflector Satellites” Could Warm Up Mars

By Victor Tangermann

Newt Gingrich proposed a $2 billion contest for private companies to set up a settlement on the Moon. Elon Musk wants in.

Elon Musk Wants Newt Gingrich’s $2 Billion Moon Payout

By Dan Robitzski

India's Chandrayaan 2 space probe is now orbiting around the Moon, putting it in position to attempt a landing in early September.

India’s Space Probe Is Now Orbiting the Moon

By Dan Robitzski

NASA has announced it's completing the final designs and planning for constructing and testing a spacecraft that will visit Jupiter's icy moon Europa.

NASA is Sending a Probe to Jupiter’s Icy Moon to Look for Life

By Victor Tangermann

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich is proposing to award a $2 billion prize to the first private space company to land Americans on the Moon.

Newt Gingrich Proposes $2 Billion Prize to Land on the Moon

By Victor Tangermann

Elon Musk's proposal for terraforming Mars through sustained nuclear blasts would require detonating 3,500 bombs every day, with no margin for error.

Sorry, Elon: Terraforming Mars Would Take 3,500 Nukes per Day

By Dan Robitzski

Elon Musk tweeted "Nuke Mars!" on Thursday, likely to double down on his ill-advised dream of terraforming the Red Planet through nuclear strikes.

Elon Musk Really, Really Wants to Nuke Mars

By Dan Robitzski

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk estimates the cost of building a self-sustaining city on Mars to be anywhere "between $100 billion and $100 trillion."

Elon Musk: Mars City Could Cost Up to $10 Trillion

By Victor Tangermann

NASA's mobile Kilopower mobile fission nuclear power generator could be sent off to Mars by 2022, according to team members.

This Nuclear Reactor Could Be Shipped to Mars by 2022

By Victor Tangermann

While the recent tardigrade spill on the Moon is bad news, it may not be the first time the resilient little creatures made their way to the lunar surface.

Hipster Asteroids Spilled Tardigrades on the Moon Before It Was Cool

By Dan Robitzski

A new study reveals that cosmic radiation is even more dangerous than we thought. Mice exposed to Mars-journey levels developed dementia-like symptoms.

Mars-Journey Levels of Radiation Seriously Damaged Mouse Brains

By Dan Robitzski

Israeli lunar lander Beresheet crashed onto the surface of the Moon on April 11 spilling thousands of dehydrated "water bears" or tardigrades.

Crashed Moon Lander Splattered Live Organisms Onto Lunar Surface

By Victor Tangermann

New evidence suggests that Mars may have had a liquid ocean on its surface, and that meteor impacts caused a planet-sized tsunamis.

Ancient Meteor Strike Deluged Mars With Planet-Scale Tsunami

By Dan Robitzski

There's no short supply of aspirational, bold claims about how we'll colonize Mars. Unfortunately, none of them are realistic.

Reality Check: It Would Take Thousands Of Years To Colonize Mars

By Dan Robitzski

NASA astronaut Jessica Meir hopes she's the next Moonwalker — but she isn't thrilled with NASA's emphasis on putting a woman on the Moon.

Retired Astronaut: Sending a Woman to the Moon “Sounds Like a Stunt”

By Kristin Houser

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk bragged that his company could reach the Moon within two years. But NASA CFO Jeff DeWit isn't buying it.

NASA Official: SpaceX’s Moon Chances Are “Slim”

By Dan Robitzski

NASA's plans to get to the Moon by 2024 are turning up the pressure to find a suitable replacement for spacesuits that date back to the 1970s.

NASA Really, Really Needs a New Spacesuit for 2024 Moon Mission

By Victor Tangermann

A team of researchers at the University of California found that there could be way more ice water on the surface of the Moon than we initially thought.

Study: There’s Way More Water on the Moon Than We Thought

By Victor Tangermann

Unrestored tapes of the first Moon walk just sold for more than $1.8 million at auction — more than 8,000 times the price paid by their owner in 1976.

Someone Just Paid $1.8 Million for Videos of the First Moon Walk

By Kristin Houser

A Puerto Rican startup called Instarz plans on building a self-assembling, self-sustaining Moon habitat that can support eight astronauts for a year.

Puerto Rican Startup Plans to Launch Self-Sustaining Moon Habitat

By Dan Robitzski

India successfully launched their first ever lunar lander as part of its Chandrayaan-2 mission early Monday morning local time.

India Successfully Launches Lunar Lander Toward The Moon

By Victor Tangermann

A new study suggests resveratrol, a compound found in red wine, could preserve the muscle mass and strength of astonauts exposed to Mars' microgravity.

Red Wine Compound Could Keep Astronauts Strong on Mars

By Kristin Houser

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk told TIME he thinks "we could land on the Moon in less than two years" — but that "we" might not include NASA.

Elon Musk: We Could Land on the Moon In “Less Than Two Years”

By Kristin Houser

A team of astronomers just saw for the first time a gas giant planet actively forming new moons out of a cloud of gas and dust.

Scientists Spot Distant Gas Giant Still Forming New Moons

By Dan Robitzski

India officially called off the launch of its first mission to the Moon on Sunday a mere hour before launch due to a "technical snag."

India Calls Off Moon Mission One Hour Before Launch

By Victor Tangermann

NASA just dropped an astonishing elaborate map of the over 4,003 exoplanets that we know to exist outside our Solar System.

NASA Just Released an Incredible Map of All Known Exoplanets

By Victor Tangermann

New research suggests that some moons may escape their host planets' orbits to become "ploonets" — and Earth's own Moon could eventually join their ranks.

Our Moon Could Escape Earth’s Orbit and Become a “Ploonet”

By Kristin Houser

India is getting ready to launch its first-ever lunar lander mission called Chandrayaan 2 on Sunday, including an orbiter, lander, and rover.

India Is Launching a Moon Mission This Weekend

By Victor Tangermann

Russia space agency Roscosmos confirmed that it's planning to 3D print structures on the moon to protect astronauts from the harsh environment by 2040.

Russia is Planning to 3D Print a Moon Base

By Victor Tangermann

Scientists 3D printed skin and bone samples upside down to see if astronauts on Mars could use the technology in low-gravity environments.

3D-Printed Human Skin and Bone Could Save Astronauts on Mars

By Victor Tangermann