Outer Space

Artist's rendering of "Futures," an upcoming exhibition at the Smithsonian's Arts and Industries Building

From Floating Cities to Biodegradable Burial Pods and Flying Cars, the Smithsonian Envisions a Multitude of Futures

The Arts and Industries Building will reopen this November with a thought-provoking exploration of what lies ahead for humanity

Researchers in France are testing which fish eggs are best suited to being launched to the moon. So far, European seabass are among the leaders.

Could Astronauts Rear Fish on the Moon?

Researchers in France aim to boldly farm fish where no one has farmed fish before

NASA's Perseverance rover will store rock and soil samples in sealed tubes on the surface of Mars.

Perseverance Kicks Off Elaborate Effort to Bring Mars Rocks to Earth

The decade-long mission requires dozens of glass tubes, two rovers and three more rocket launches, including the first from another planet

The orbits of the Extreme Trans-Neptunian Objects (ETNOs) were tilted and elongated towards the sun, leading researchers to suspect the ETNOs were bunched together because of Planet Nine's gravitational pull.

New Study Knocks Theory of Planet Nine's Existence Out of Orbit

It was previously thought the object's gravitational pull was responsible for the strange orbits of six dwarf planets that whiz beyond Neptune

An illustration of NASA's Perseverance rover on the surface of Mars.

NASA's Perseverance Rover Lands on Mars

The technically complex landing marks the fifth successful U.S. bid to reach the Martian surface

An artist's illustration imagines the newly discovered Farfarout (lower right), now confirmed to be the most distant object ever observed in our solar system. Farfarout is 132 times the distance of Earth to the sun (upper left) and is estimated to be around 250 miles across.

Meet Farfarout, the Most Distant Object in the Solar System

The new planetoid unseats Farout, which held the title for about two years

Once Pathfinder bounced to a stop, the cushioned covering deflated and Sojourner rolled out to explore the other-worldly surface like no mission before it.

Recalling the Thrill of Pathfinder's Mission to Mars

Almost three decades ago, Americans were awed by the pitch-perfect airbag-assisted landing and the deploying of the rover Sojourner

Tianwen-1 is now officially in orbit around Mars.

China's Tianwen-1 Mission Successfully Begins Mars Orbit

After a few months of observing Mars from orbit, the mission will attempt to land a rover on the planet's surface

Engineers working on the Hope space probe prior to launch.

The United Arab Emirates' Hope Probe Enters Into Mars Orbit

The spacecraft's successful transit makes the UAE the fifth nation to reach the Red Planet

An illustration of the Perseverance rover on Mars

Exploring Mars

Space agencies are launching new missions outfitted with revolutionary technologies, including the Perseverance rover, to learn more about the Red Planet

Hundreds of critical events must execute perfectly and exactly on time for the Perseverance rover to land safely on Mars.

What to Know Before You Watch Perseverance's February 18 Landing on Mars

Experts describe how they plan to land the rover, what could go wrong and what they hope to learn

Titan's largest lake, Kraken Mare, is larger than the five Great Lakes combined.

Titan's Largest Methane Lake May Be One Thousand Feet Deep

NASA's Cassini probe flew just 600 miles above Saturn's largest moon to gather the data

An artist's rendering of the five-planet system that orbits star HD 108236, or TOI-1233. In the foreground is a hot, rocky planet that resembles Earth.

Balancing Homework and A.P. Classes, These High Schoolers Discovered Four Exoplanets

Thanks to a Harvard-Smithsonian mentoring program, high school students Kartik Pinglé and Jasmine Wright helped discover new worlds

German aviation company Lilium promises its future fleet of air taxis will be inaudible from the ground when flying above 400 meters.

A Fleet of Air Taxis Is Coming to Central Florida by 2025

For future trips from Orlando to Tampa, consider the high road

Artist's rendering of blue jet lightning blasting from a storm cloud towards space. The International Space Station solar panels can be seen in the foreground.

Mysterious Blue Jet Lightning Seen From Space

Researchers captured an instance of this poorly understood type of lightning using instruments aboard the International Space Station

The SpaceX Cargo Dragon capsule separating from the International Space Station after undocking from the Harmony module’s international docking adapter.

Case of Bordeaux Wine Returns to Earth After a Year in Space

Last week a dozen bottles splashed into the Gulf of Mexico inside SpaceX’s Dragon capsule after a year aboard the International Space Station

Astronomers have discovered the oldest and most distant quasar in the universe. The quasar, named J0313-1806, formed just 670 million years after the Big Bang some 13 billion light years away.

This 13-Billion-Year-Old Supermassive Black Hole Is the Oldest Ever Found

Huge black hole is so old it offers a glimpse into the early universe, and so big it challenges ideas of how black holes form

In theory, the wood would burn up upon re-entering Earth's atmosphere. But wooden space junk is still space junk.

Japan Hopes to Send a Wooden Satellite to Space in 2023

The group hopes the cube-shaped wood orbiter will help reduce space waste

This Project Blue Book chart shows the frequency of unidentified flying object (UFO) reports during the months of June through September 1952.

You Can Now Explore the CIA's 'Entire' Collection of UFO Documents Online

Thousands of pages of declassified records are available for anyone to peruse

A Perseid meteor burns up against the night sky over Big Bend National Park.

Ten Celestial Events to Look Forward to in 2021

Eclipses, meteor showers and dazzling views of planets will excite amateur and professional astronomers alike in North America

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