An artist's concept of the ESA's Solar Orbiter and NASA's Parker Solar Probe as they undertake missions to explore the sun
Solar Orbiter: ESA / ATG medialab; Parker Solar Probe: NASA / Johns Hopkins APLSpecial Report
Future of Space Exploration
From groundbreaking launches of new telescopes to missions to the sun and other planets, Smithsonian Magazine details upcoming efforts to understand the universe.
Why the Tibetan Plateau Might Be the Ideal Spot for the Telescope of the Future
A team in China has identified a location that could give the Eastern Hemisphere its first major observatory
The Five Big Ways the James Webb Telescope Will Help Astronomers Understand the Universe
The highly awaited observatory is set to break new ground in many areas of astronomical research
With Two New Missions, NASA Announces Return to Venus by 2030
The projects, DAVINCI+ and VERITAS, will explore the planet's past and Earth's similarities with its sister planet
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
Space Travel
NASA Engineers Revive Long-Dormant Thrusters on Voyager 1, the Farthest Spacecraft From Earth, in a ‘Miracle Save’
In the nick of time, NASA teams addressed clogging issues in the probe’s backup roll thrusters, before the only antenna capable of sending commands to it went offline
NASA’s Lucy Spacecraft Just Flew by a Strange, Peanut-Shaped Asteroid. See the New Images From the Approach
The close-up views of asteroid Donaldjohanson are a preview of what’s to come for Lucy on its 12-year quest to study Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids
Fusion Rockets Could Theoretically Cut Our Travel Time to Mars in Half. This U.K. Startup Wants to Give It a Try
The company’s ambitious new Sunbird design aims to harness nuclear fusion in space, despite the fact that commercializing such energy on Earth remains a faraway dream
In the 1980s, This Special Camera Helped Turn Astronauts Into Cinematographers to Shoot the First Imax Movie Ever Filmed in Space
The groundbreaking work, “The Dream Is Alive,” celebrates its 40th anniversary this year
The Moon’s Far Side Is Strangely Dry—Lunar Samples Suggest It’s Much More Parched Than the Side That Faces Earth
Chinese researchers analyzed the first-ever soil samples returned from the far side of the moon, but further samples will be needed to verify their findings