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Air & Space Magazine

Skyknights were Navy birds, but the one he flew in wore Army livery for special duty.

My Week With Willie the Whale

Armed with a copy of the 1954 pilot handbook, I climbed into the F3D Skynight’s cockpit.

We know that Elmo Pickerill, here with a Curtiss JN-4H Jenny, was a U.S. Army Air Service lieutenant in 1918. About his claims to earlier flights, we’re not so sure.

The Lies of Elmo Pickerill

Fake dates, fake radio messages: What else did this early aviator make up?

Pilotless air taxis are already being tested in Dubai.

It May Take 20 Years, But Your Air Taxi Is On the Way

Vikas Prakash wants to move cab riders off the ground and into the air.

Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket reached orbit on its second test launch, from New Zealand’s North Island.

Small Rockets Aim for a Big Market

Rocket Lab debuts its Electron launcher from New Zealand.

This view of a balloon touching down in Portage, Michigan won in the Reader’s Choice Category.

Fifth Annual Photo Contest Winners

The best shots from this year’s competition.

Boron, California, consecrated its ties to test pilots with a town museum.

Where the Wild West Meets the Cosmos

On the far side of Edwards Air Force Base, a quirky museum of flight.

Against the pure white snow of Antarctica, an Emperor penguin colony appears in a QuickBird satellite image as a half-mile-long stain.

Penguin Spotting, and Other Cool Satellite Tricks

You’d be surprised what you can see from 300 miles up.

The Hadean period, during which life likely originated on Earth, was extremely active in terms of volcanism.

Life May Have Begun in Ocean Sediments, According to New Theory

Trying to pinpoint the origin of life on Earth.

"Total Eclipse of the Sun," by E.L. Trouvelot, 1881, color lithograph.

A New Exhibition of Rarely Seen Astronomical Lithographs

E.L. Trouvelot’s 150-year-old images are going on display in California this April

Homo neanderthalensis, artist.

Neanderthal Cave Art Suggests They Were Smarter Than We Thought

Does that mean a second human lineage could have developed technology?

Vision of a future lunar base--will it happen this time?

It Takes a (Moon) Village

Let the lunar lobbying begin.

Flying in Winter Weather? Don’t Let Your De-Icing Spray Expire

A new system aims to end costly delays on the runway during ice storms.

Harry Brooks and the flying Flivver at Ford Airport in December 1927.

The Crash That Doomed Henry Ford’s Flying Car

The death of pilot Harry Brooks 90 years ago ended dreams of an “air Flivver.”

Vahana, airborne on January 31.

Vahana on Video

Your air taxi is on the way, but arrival may be delayed.

Sampling in the Atacama Desert during the 2015 field campaign.

A Temporary Habitat in the Driest Place on Earth

Martian microbes may rely on the same survival strategies as desert dwellers on our own planet.

Bruce McCandless flying solo during mission STS-41B in 1984.

Bruce McCandless and His Flying Machine

The astronaut who pioneered the MMU jetpack recounts the history of one of NASA’s greatest inventions.

BB-8 in (unrealistic) action.

Sorry, That Cute Robot From the Star Wars Movies Is Totally Impractical

Rolling isn’t the best way to move around a sandy planet. Flying is okay, though.

Artist's conception of a Titan-exploring submarine.

A Submarine for Titan’s Seas

Researchers simulate alien lakes to learn how difficult they’d be to explore.

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The Flying Farmhand

This agricultural drone requires no human supervision at all.

Mountains on Mars, as seen by the Curiosity rover. Finding mountains on exoplanets won't be as easy.

This Astronomer Wants to Hunt for Exomountains

Future telescopes may be able to tell how smooth or rugged alien landscapes are.

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