A rendering of a Sunbird rocket detaching from its station to dock onto an approaching spacecraft.

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

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover spotted a large dust devil (on the right) consuming a smaller, fainter twister (on the left in the foreground).

Watch a Spinning Martian Dust Devil ‘Consume’ Another in a New Video Captured by NASA’s Perseverance Rover

Tracking dust devils helps researchers learn more about Mars’ atmosphere, wind and weather conditions

For the first time, the "Mission MushVroom" experiment on SpaceX's Fram2 mission will attempt to grow mushrooms in space.

SpaceX Astronauts Will Try Growing the First Mushrooms in Space on Upcoming Fram2 Mission Over Earth’s Poles

Described as the “perfect space crop,” the nutritious and ready-to-eat fungus could be a key stepping stone toward fueling crew members during long-term spaceflight

In 2013, the Curiosity rover drilled this hole, which measures about 0.6 inches wide and 2.6 inches deep, into martian rock. The sample is now thought to contain long-chain organic molecules.

Curiosity Rover Discovers Largest Organic Compounds Ever Found on Mars, a Possible Sign of Ancient Life

The molecules may be remnants of fatty acids, which form cell membranes in Earth’s organisms, though they might have formed through a non-biological process

Mars and Deimos viewed by Hera's Hyperscout H

Check Out These Rare Images of Deimos, One of Mars’ Mysterious Moons

The spacecraft Hera’s photographs are some of the few visuals ever captured of the Martian moon’s dark side

Researchers used a miniaturized laser mass spectrometer to identify signs of fossils in a gypsum quarry in Algeria. They suggest the same tool could find early fossils on Mars.

Scientists Hope This Tool Could Identify Tiny Fossils on Mars, Revealing Hints to Potential Early Life on the Planet

If Mars ever hosted microorganisms in its bygone oceans, their fossils might still be preserved in minerals—and now, we have a new potential way to find them

A planet alignment photographed on June 23, 2022, featuring the moon as the brightest object

Seven Planets Will Gather in the Night Sky This Weekend. Here’s What to Expect During the Rare Alignment

While such a lineup is uncommon, the event might not look exactly how you’re imagining it

Mars, known as the red planet, might have gotten its hue from a different mineral than scientists once thought.

The Red Dust on Mars Might Be a Different Mineral Than Scientists Thought, Shedding Light on the Planet’s Past

A new study suggests the iron oxide responsible for the red planet’s distinctive hue is ferrihydrite, pointing to the bygone presence of water, an important ingredient for life

SATED can cook a perfectly crisp pizza in a low- to no-gravity environment.

Could This Space Oven Allow Astronauts to Finally Cook in Space?

An aerospace engineer has invented an appliance that can whip up quiches, pizzas and more in a zero-gravity environment

A self-portrait of NASA's Curiosity rover, taken on June 15, 2018

Curiosity Rover Spots Ancient Water Ripples on Mars, Hinting at a Past With Shallow, Ice-Free Lakes

The 3.7-billion-year-old formations in the planet’s Gale Crater suggest the presence of long-gone bodies of liquid water, with no ice covering the surface

Find your nearest dark-sky site and mark your calendars for these stunning astronomical spectacles in 2025.

11 Dazzling Celestial Events to See in 2025, From a Total Lunar Eclipse to Rare Planetary Alignments

Keep your eyes on the sky this upcoming year for a chance to spot breathtaking meteor showers, a special view of Saturn and a blood-red moon

A Hubble Space Telescope portrait of Jupiter, captured in August 2019, shows the gas giant's cloud bands and storms in detail, including its iconic Great Red Spot.

Look Up for a Dazzling View of Jupiter This Weekend as It Shines Its Brightest of the Year

On December 7, the “king of planets” will line up with the Earth and sun in an event known as opposition. It will be visible all night and offer prime viewing, especially through binoculars or a telescope

The Super Heavy booster returning to the launch tower.

SpaceX Launches Starship Mega-Rocket and Catches Its Booster in Midair on First Try

The success is a giant leap toward the company’s goal to take humans and cargo all the way to Mars on the world’s biggest and most powerful launch vehicle

A rendering of the 3D-printed rounded hotel rooms

Workers Just Started Building the World’s First 3D-Printed Hotel in the Texas Desert

In the dusty landscape surrounding the city of Marfa, a huge 3D printer is constructing 43 new rooms and 18 residential homes as part of an expansion of El Cosmico

Jared Isaacman takes the first commercial spacewalk.

Astronauts Achieve First-Ever Private Spacewalk on Polaris Dawn Mission

This morning, tech billionaire Jared Isaacman opened the hatch on a SpaceX Dragon capsule in Earth orbit, as cheering erupted on a livestream

Mars might host an ocean of water within porous rocks miles beneath its surface, according to a new study.

Mars Hosts a Giant Reservoir of Water Underground, We Just Can’t Easily Reach It, Study Finds

The water is enough to cover the Martian surface in a mile-deep ocean, but it’s beyond the reach of drills for now, according to researchers

Humans couldn't survive outdoors on Mars for a number of reasons, including its extremely low temperatures. Scientists are studying ways to terraform the planet to make it more hospitable.

Humans Could Warm Up Mars for Space Travelers by Spraying Tiny Metal Rods Into Its Atmosphere

Researchers propose a new technique for making the Red Planet more habitable by engineering heat-trapping nanoparticles from Martian dust

NASA's Perseverance rover took this selfie next to "Cheyava Falls," the rock in the center of the photo that might hold evidence of ancient life on Mars.

Cool Finds

Mars Rover Finds Three Possible Signs of Ancient Life on a Single Rock

Scientists were cautiously optimistic about Perseverance’s discovery, though they indicated further research is needed before drawing definitive conclusions

After Curiosity unexpectedly cracked open a Martian rock, it revealed yellow crystals that scientists determined were elemental sulfur.

Cool Finds

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Accidentally Discovers Sulfur Crystals on Mars

The rover’s wheel cracked open a rock and revealed pure elemental sulfur, which researchers have never seen on the Red Planet before

Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum in Fly Me to the Moon, a new movie directed by Greg Berlanti

Based on a True Story

How ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ Pokes Fun at Moon Landing Conspiracy Theories

The new Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum film presents an alternative history in which government officials prepared to fake the moon landing before NASA pulled off the feat for real

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