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Air & Space Magazine

New Horizons’ speedy fly-by of Pluto has revealed fascinating terrain and an unusual atmosphere. What more is in store from the mission data?

Pluto, So Far

New Horizons has finally sent down all its data from the fly-by. What have we learned about the far-away dwarf planet system?

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Milky Way Relic

This strange cluster, called Terzan 5, is unique in the Milky Way. It contains stars as old as the galaxy, but also many new, young stars. Astronomers believe that Terzan 5, imaged here by the Hubble Space Telescope, can help them understand the “complicated history” of the Milky Way.

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Denali Pass

A crew from the U.S. Air Force 41st Airlift Squadron flies in a C-130J Super Hercules past Denali, the tallest mountain in North America, to train for operating in challenging terrain.

Mr. Green’s ascent in the Royal Vauxhall, circa 1836, is one of several illustrations found in William Upcott’s scrapbook of early aeronautica.

Crowdsourcing History

Smithsonian volunteers transcribe everything from Apollo stowage lists to reports on early balloon ascensions.

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Barents Bloom

A plankton bloom in the Barents Sea, just off the Arctic Circle on the northern shores of Norway and Russia, as seen by ESA’s Sentinel-2A.

A Brazilian Air Force AMX with birdstrike damage. Birds are feathers and bone—no bets what metal and plastic would do.

Can a Tiny Drone Take Down an Airliner?

There’s only one way to find out…

From the airRx home screen.

Is There a Doctor with a Phone Onboard?

A new smartphone app will give doctors responding to in-flight emergencies basic instructions in how to treat 23 common conditions.

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Quela Selfie

NASA’s Curiosity rover took this self-portrait on Mars’ Mount Sharp in the drilling location named Quela. It’s made from 60 images taken on September 17 and 18 with the rover’s mast arm (which was removed from the final image) and shows the rest of Mount Sharp on the right, and the drill-hole in front.

Representing North American Aviation, Hoover first appeared on the airshow circuit in the 1950s flying a Mustang.

R.A. “Bob” Hoover Dies at 94

Aviation fans lose one of the greatest pilots who ever flew.

“AAF POW’s Delight”: Gloopy and extremely sweet, but certainly preferable to POW rations.

A Dessert Only a POW Could Love

In a cook-off between aviators and astronauts, who would win?

Zipline drones will soon be a common sight over western Rwanda.

Rwanda Gets Medical Delivery by Drone

But how practical is it?

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Strato-flyover

A U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress flies over during a demonstration at Adazi Military Base, Latvia.

Want to see the view from the left seat of a C-5 transport? Just keep staring at that blue circle.

Matterport Makes VR Navigation Easy

Look around inside a C-5 transport, or roam the bridge of the USS Midway.

Dive Preparation

This view from Cassini shows Saturn’s rings nearly edge on. Next April, during the last few months of its mission, the spacecraft will dive in and out of this gap between the planet and rings. Read more about Cassini’s final days in our feature story.

Schiaparelli did fire its thrusters to brake its fall, but not for long enough.

ExoMars Lander Goes Silent at the Last Minute

The good news: The Trace Gas Orbiter arrived as planned and is running flawlessly.

Follow me, Mavic.

The Drone You Command With a Wave of Your Hand

The Mavic Pro introduces point and click control, minus the click.

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Rescue Helo

The Alaska Air National Guard trains for a mass casualty evacuation near Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson last summer.

The San Andreas fault near San Francisco Bay is visible as a distinctive trough in this false-color radar image. And there's life nearby.

Marsquakes May Point the Way to Life

Fault zones could make good habitats, according to recent research.

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Crater and the Continental Collision

This image from ESA’s Copernicus Sentinel-2A satellite shows the Ouarkziz crater in the Anti-Atlas mountains bordering the Sahara Desert in western Algeria. The crater can be seen in the center of the image, and was created around 70 million years ago.

A DJI Phantom, one of the most common drones in the air for hobbyists and professionals alike.

A Pilot’s Take on Drone School

Getting a commercial drone license shouldn’t be too difficult, if you already fly airplanes.

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