False-color image of Venus taken by Japan's Akatsuki spacecraft in 2018. Is there life in those clouds?

How To Announce the Discovery of Extraterrestrial Life (and Be Taken Seriously)

Proposed new guidelines could be helpful, or they could be a form of scientific censorship.

The National Academies panel didn't go for the LUVOIR telescope as proposed, but endorsed its basic purpose and many of its elements.

Academy Panel Recommends that NASA Focus on Finding Life in the Galaxy

Large telescopes are the key.

Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge died at 8:10 p.m. on September 17, 1908, never having regained consciousness after the crash. Orville Wright suffered severe injuries, remaining hospitalized for almost two months.

After Thomas Selfridge

Many people know who the first aircraft fatality was. But who was the next, and the next?

The alien in E.T. seemed spiritual enough. Might we have something in common?

The Science of Aliens, Part 6: Would They Be Religious?

Belief in a higher power is widespread on Earth, but what about the rest of the galaxy?

Let’s keep it clean: NASA’s Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter had to scrub down before heading to Mars.

Planetary Protection Rules for Mars Could be Relaxed

But spacecraft searching for life will still have to be sterilized.

In this 1994 photo, the author rebuilds the B-29’s cowl flap motors. After many repairs made over a period of three years, the old warbird was destroyed in a fire.

Return of the Caribou

The B-29 stayed in Greenland, but the caribou made it (barely) home.

Ian Simpson’s fellow planespotter Matt Smart also photographed the sparks from the F-15E Strike Eagle.

How an F-15 Pilot’s Life Was Saved by a Photographer

When danger is more apparent from far away.

A Pipistrel Taurus G4 won an all-electric race in Santa Rosa, California in 2011, but has not yet entered the 2022 Pulitzer race.

And the Pulitzer Goes to….the Fastest Electric Airplane

A century-old prize is revived for a new age.

FUTURES, opening in the Smithsonian’s Arts and Industries Building, will display a concept for living in the future—Oceanix City, potential population, 10,000, designed by architecture firm BIG. The city is a floating archipelago, designed to withstand a Category 5 hurricane.

A Peek at the Future

From the Acting Director of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum

The blackened “laser-scarring” on the hull of this full-scale Star Wars prop is an example of the kind of camera-friendly damage conservators take pains to preserve.

The ‘Star Wars’ Starfighter Will Soon Be a Museum Piece

This full-size movie prop helped the Rebel Alliance defeat the Galactic Empire.

An F-15C flies over Iraq in August 2020.

Eagles Over Iraq

Flying the F-15 to victory in Desert Storm.

John Glenn’s crisp white shirt is sharp against a soft-focus control center. He’s watching the unpiloted Mercury-Atlas 4 flight in September 1961, just months before he would climb aboard the Friendship 7 spacecraft and ride an Atlas rocket on the same profile to orbit.

NASA’s First Photographer

Bill Taub created an intimate historical record of the first Americans in space.

The partial disk of the northern hemisphere of Venus, as revealed by radar data from the Magellan orbiter. In the 1990s, Magellan saw patches of rugged terrain called tessera. A future lander could analyze its composition and possibly explain its formation.

Journey to the Surface of Venus

Despite its caustic personality, the planet closest to Earth has answers these scientists want.

With few airports in the Yukon, pilot Andrew King landed the 1940 Waco he was ferrying at gravel strips to refuel. Running out of gas is a frequent cause of general aviation crashes.

These College Students Want to Make Sure No Pilot Ever Runs Out of Gas

It’s more common than you think, and as dangerous as you might expect.

This year's meeting was held at the University of Duisburg-Essen.

Highlights from the German Astrobiological Society Meeting

The first major face-to-face get-together in almost two years.

Last March, during a flight from Beta Technologies’ test facility in Plattsburgh, New York, the all-electric ALIA 250 quietly crossed over Providence Island, Lake Champlain, and the state line to land in Burlington, Vermont.

How Far Away Is Your Air Taxi?

The new electric, vertical-lift designs might mean it’s closer than you think.

The new Nation of Speed gallery, shown here in an artist’s rendering, celebrates speed on land, sea, and air. Mario Andretti’s Indy 500-winning race car qualified at 168.9 mph; Jon Sharp’s DR 90 Nemesis, the most successful aircraft in racing history, set a 1996 record of 283.7 mph.

A New Gallery Explores the American Fascination With Speed

From Glenn Curtiss’s motorcycle to the SR-71 Blackbird.

Hybrid Air Vehicles’ prototype AirLander 10 airship embarks on a test flight over Cardington, England, in August 2016. The company hopes to have production models flying in 2025.

Airships Rise Again

Zero emissions and a million pounds of lift renew the appeal of these century-old giants.

The shape of Otto Aviation’s portly Celera was a design decision to minimize drag. A bonus: Its commodious cabin accommodates six passengers, who—because of a six-foot, two-inch ceiling—will be able to stand.

The Celera 500L Just May Revolutionize Business Aviation

Its unusual shape helps it travel more miles on a single tank of gas.

A full-scale model of the JWST put in an appearance at the World Science Festival in New York City in 2010, where it posed for this high-dynamic-range photo.

The Telescope That Will Change Astronomy

After years of delay and frustration, the James Webb Space Telescope is ready to launch.

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