Off-World(Page 18)

Latest in Off-World

Debris created by India's anti-satellite test are still circling the Earth four months later, putting spacecraft and other satellites in danger.

Debris From the Satellite India Blew Up Still Polluting Orbit

By Victor Tangermann

Canada is accepting proposals for ways to remove space junk, the dangerous bits of old satellites and rockets currently orbiting the Earth.

Canada Wants Your Help Cleaning up Space Junk

By Kristin Houser

During the closest encounter we've ever had with the Sun, NASA's Parker Solar Probe took an impressive picture of the solar corona.

Here’s the Closest Picture We’ve Ever Taken of the Sun

By Victor Tangermann

The Planetary Society's LightSail 2 satellite has successfully unfurled its massive boxing ring-sized solar sail on Tuesday.

LightSail 2 Spacecraft Officially Unfurls Massive Solar Sail

By Victor Tangermann

Giving birth in space might cause changes to the human body, including new skin tones and bigger heads, predicts evolutionary biologist Scott Solomon.

Biologist: Babies Born in Space Might Not Be Fully Human

By Kristin Houser

Elon Musk: Starhopper Survived Massive Fireball, Will Fly Again Soon

Elon Musk: Starhopper Survived Massive Fireball, Will Fly Again Soon

By Victor Tangermann

Nickelodeon is sending a batch of its iconic slime to the astronauts aboard the ISS to be used for experiments, which will be filmed and later broadcast.

Astronauts on the ISS Are About to Get Slimed — for Science

By Kristin Houser

New computer simulations upend our understanding of how distant space rocks called trans-Neptunian objects formed during the solar system's earliest days.

Space Rocks Near Neptune Could Reveal the Solar System’s Origins

By Dan Robitzski

To some, collecting resources from other planets or asteroids instead of using up the Earth could be the key to ensuring that we — and our planet — survive.

Billionaires Are Dead Serious About Moving Factories to Space

By Victor Tangermann

A scientist argued that more dogs should be sent to space, both to serve as companions but also to improve microbiome diversity in orbit.

Scientists Are Calling for More Dogs in Space

By Dan Robitzski

The most extravagant Fourth of July fireworks can't hold a candle to the stunning cosmic fireworks display the Hubble telescope has captured.

Stunning Cosmic Fireworks Display Captured by Hubble, Right on Time

By Kristin Houser

A massive new survey is designed to determine how the general public feels about aliens and what humans should do if ET ever reaches out.

Scientists Want Your Input on Our Alien Response Plan

By Kristin Houser

SpinLaunch, a company that specializes in a space katapult launch system, just signed a contract with the U.S. Department of Defense's Innovation Unit (DIU).

Hypersonic Space Catapult Startup Signs Military Contract

By Victor Tangermann

Later this week, NATO officials are expected to announce the a strategy for militarizing outer space as individual nations ramp up weapons programs.

NATO Plans to Launch Its Strategy for Militarizing Space This Week

By Dan Robitzski

The Indian government just announced a new research agency that will develop new space weapons for any future off-world warfare.

India Just Announced That It’s Developing Space Weapons

By Dan Robitzski

State-owned media network Russia Today reports that the head of Russian space agency Roscomos Dmitry Rogozin has no interest in hiring SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

Russian Space Chief: We Would Never Hire Elon Musk

By Victor Tangermann

Russian scientists want to study reproduction and fertility in space, but cosmonauts are refusing to provide some crucial biological samples.

Cosmonauts Refuse to Provide Semen Samples in Space

By Dan Robitzski

The European Space Agency just placed a piece of satellite in an extremely hot plasma wind tunnel to melt it into a ball of liquid metal.

Watch a Satellite Piece Melt Into a Puddle of Metal

By Victor Tangermann

In an apparent dig at Elon Musk, scientists from Russia sent a tiny toy car with a cutout of Roscosmos' Dmitry Rogozin in the driver's seat into space.

To Mock Elon Musk, Russia Just Launched a Toy Car Into Space

By Kristin Houser

Watch This Breathtaking, Close-Up Clip Of The Surface of A Distant Comet

Watch This Breathtaking, Close-Up Clip Of The Surface of A Distant Comet

By Victor Tangermann

Beneath the Pacific Ocean, at the point farthest from any landmass, lies a mass grave where used spacecraft and decommissioned space stations go to rest.

A Look Inside the Deep-Sea Graveyard for Dead Spacecraft

By Dan Robitzski

On August 13, ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano will make history by delivering the first ever DJ set from space for promoters BigCityBeats.

ISS Astronaut Will Deliver First DJ Set From Space

By Kristin Houser

The U.S. in engaged in space warfare, according to CNN's Jim Sciutto, who argues in a new book that Russia and China have already deployed space weapons.

New Book: The US Is in a “Shadow War.” Space Is the Battlefield.

By Kristin Houser

The European Space Agency is about to test Vega, a new "satellite dispenser" that will cut space launch costs by stacking satellites like Legos.

Europe Is Starting a “Ride-Share” for Small Satellites

By Dan Robitzski

A massive 164-foot asteroid called 2006 QV89 has a one in 7,000 chance of bashing into the Earth on the morning of September 9, according to the ESA.

It’s Unlikely, but a 164-Foot Asteroid May Hit Earth in September

By Victor Tangermann

New Experiment Will Test EmDrive That Breaks the Laws of Physics

New Experiment Will Test EmDrive That Breaks the Laws of Physics

By Kristin Houser

China's rocket launch from a barge in the Yellow Sea on Wednesday makes it just the third nation to successfully complete an offshore launch.

Watch China Launch a Rocket From Sea for the First Time

By Kristin Houser

Professor Diana Pasulka sees the growing human belief in aliens as mirroring what happens when a religion begins to take shape.

Professor: Belief in Aliens Could Replace Traditional Religion

By Kristin Houser

Astronomers just got their first complete observation of a star outside of our solar system erupting plasma out into the cosmos.

A Star Just Coughed Something Up and Scientists Want to Know Why

By Dan Robitzski

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover took a break from studying the surface of Mars to look at the clouds floating in the Red Planet's atmosphere.

See Pics of Martian Clouds Snapped From the Planet’s Surface

By Kristin Houser

The universe is speckled with voids that are totally empty, except for the dark energy that's pushing galaxies apart. That's where scientists should look.

Dark Energy Could Be Hiding In The “Cosmic Void” Between Galaxies

By Dan Robitzski

The buyer of a $85 million penthouse in Manhattan will get a slew of perks to go with it, including a Hamptons mansion, a yacht, and two tickets to space.

This Luxury Apartment Comes With Two Free Tickets to Space

By Kristin Houser

NASA scientists report that Jupiter's Great Red Spot is shrinking and that it could totally dissipate within the next 20 years.

Jupiter’s Great Red Spot Is Dying

By Dan Robitzski

For the first time ever, astronomers have discovered a "forbidden planet" in an orbit previously thought to be impossible.

Astronomers Find Distant “Forbidden Planet” In “Neptunian Desert”

By Victor Tangermann

Next-Gen Spacesuit Helmet Has an “Iron Man” Heads Up Display

Next-Gen Spacesuit Helmet Has an “Iron Man” Heads Up Display

By Dan Robitzski

Astronauts aboard the ISS used CRISPR in space for the first time, making edits in yeast's genome to mimic radiation-caused damage.

Astronauts Use CRISPR in Space for the First Time Ever

By Kristin Houser

About 10 second after launch, a massive bolt of lightning struck a Russian Soyuz 2-1b rocket — a remarkable sight captured on video by numerous spectators.

Watch Lightning Strike a Rocket as It Launches

By Kristin Houser

New York Times: Navy Pilots Baffled by UFO Encounters

New York Times: Navy Pilots Baffled by UFO Encounters

By Victor Tangermann

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on Twitter that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' idea for giant off-world space colonies "makes no sense."

Elon Musk Ridicules Jeff Bezos’ Plan For Space Colonies

By Jon Christian

A Chinese rocket failed to successful launch a satellite into orbit Thursday morning, marking the second failed rocket launch in the nation this year.

Chinese Rocket Fails Spectacularly, Raining Debris Back to Earth

By Kristin Houser

Harvard professor Avi Loeb thinks finding signs of dead aliens could help humanity know what not to do if it wants to survive indefinitely.

Harvard Prof: Finding Dead Alien Civilizations Could Save Humans

By Kristin Houser

A team of students from the University of Southern California just successfully launched a 13-foot tall rocket called Traveler IV to past the Kármán line.

For the First Time, a Student-Built Rocket Just Reached Space

By Victor Tangermann

Scientists now know that subjecting people to microgravity affects eyesight and perception. A new study will attempt to uncover the extent of the effects.

A Zero-G Jungle Gym Will Test How Microgravity Affects the Brain

By Dan Robitzski

A new study found that liquid-water subsurface oceans on Pluto are kept from freezing over thanks to an insulating layer of gas hydrates.

Scientists: Pluto May be Hiding Alien Life in Buried Oceans

By Victor Tangermann

China's lunar rover just analyzed samples of the Moon's mantle, revealing new information about how the Moon may have formed.

China’s Rover Collects First-Ever Samples From Under Lunar Crust

By Dan Robitzski

During a Senate hearing, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) argued that a Space Force is necessary to ward off space pirates and protect exploration efforts.

This US Congressman Is Seriously Worried About Space Pirates

By Victor Tangermann

If any humans are alive in 5 billion years, they'll see the dying Sun engulf the Earth. Space Engineer Matteo Ceriotti suggests some possible escape plans.

Space Engineer: We Could Move Earth’s Orbit to Escape a Dying Sun

By Dan Robitzski

Small, densely-packed exoplanets are most likely to survive when their stars die. The findings give astronomers new places to look for new planets.

These Are the Planets That Survive the Deaths of Their Stars

By Dan Robitzski

Something punched gigantic holes through the Milky Way. There's little evidence at the cosmic crime scene, but scientists suspect it was dark matter.

A “Dense Bullet of Something” Blasted Holes in the Milky Way

By Dan Robitzski

The U.S. Navy is working on new guidelines for its personnel to report UFO sightings and other mysterious aerial phenomena.

The U.S. Navy Will Start Taking UFO Sightings Much More Seriously

By Victor Tangermann

Scientists suspect that one of the stars in the Big Dipper isn't native to the Milky Way. Instead, it likely got sucked up in a galactic collision,

This Star Drifted Into the Milky Way From Another Galaxy

By Dan Robitzski

The ISS is about to test a new algae bioreactor that turns carbon dioxide to food and breathable oxygen. If it works, it could allow deep space missions.

The ISS Now Has an “Algae Bioreactor” Generating Oxygen and Food

By Dan Robitzski

Hubble scientists just assembled a dizzying composite image made of 16 years of Hubble Space Telescope observations that includes 265,000 galaxies.

Tiny Specks Zoom Into Beautiful Galaxies In Amazing Hubble Image

By Dan Robitzski

Asteroid samples gathered by the Japanese space probe Hayabusa contain water-rich minerals, suggesting that asteroid impacts could bring water to planets.

A Japanese Probe Just Found Water on an Asteroid

By Dan Robitzski

In 2024, China may launch a robotic space probe to gather and return samples from a nearby asteroid. The mission aims to learn how asteroids form.

China Is Planning a Mission to Deep Space

By Dan Robitzski

It's about to be Winter on Pluto. When it is, scientists predict that Pluto's entire atmosphere will condense into a layer of frost.

In 11 Years, Pluto’s Atmosphere Will Be Completely Frozen Solid

By Dan Robitzski

In 2029, the asteroid 99942 Apophis will fly past Earth close enough to look like a shooting star. NASA is planning ahead to learn as much as possible.

When This Asteroid Zips by Earth, Scientists May Hitch a Ride

By Dan Robitzski

Scientists Plan to 3D Print Muscular Tissue on the Space Station

Scientists Plan to 3D Print Muscular Tissue on the Space Station

By Dan Robitzski

To reconcile the recently-confirmed, faster rate of universal expansion, researchers suggest that the cosmos may be younger than they previously assumed.

The Universe Might Be a Billion Years Younger Than We Thought

By Dan Robitzski

A scientist argues that the sheer volume of potentially habitable planets and moons coupled with the existence of water in space makes life inevitable.

Scientist: “Alien Life Now Seems Inevitable and Possibly Imminent”

By Dan Robitzski

Next week, the European Space Agency will live-tweet an exercise where volunteers play out how a hypothetical asteroid impact might unfold.

The European Space Agency Will Live-Tweet a Mock Asteroid Impact

By Dan Robitzski

New data from the Hubble Space Telescope all-but confirms past findings that the rate of the universe's expansion has accelerated over time.

Hubble Data: The Universe Is Expanding Faster and Faster

By Dan Robitzski

A lawyer argues that we should set up international agreements that would let us nuke an incoming asteroid before it's too late.

Lawyer: Make a Rule Saying We Can Nuke Apocalyptic Asteroids

By Dan Robitzski

DARPA announced plans to invest in space-traveling droids that could repair high-altitude satellites, which would drive down the cost of new satellites.

The Pentagon Wants to Build Satellite-Repairing Droids

By Dan Robitzski