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Space Travel

Streaks of light from Venus and satellites

An Aerospace Startup Just Got Approval to Test Beaming Sunlight to Earth. Here’s Why Experts Are Worried—and Petitioning

By 2035, Reflect Orbital aims to launch up to 50,000 satellites equipped with mirrors to provide sunlight to Earth-based solar panels. Critics are concerned about impacts on wildlife, astronomy research and human health

An artistic conception of one of the Voyagers speeding through space

NASA Completes Daring ‘Big Bang’ Fix on the Voyager 2 Probe, Allowing It to Keep Studying Interstellar Space

Scientists swapped three of the probe’s heating devices for ones that use less energy, and they might do the same with Voyager 1. Both spacecraft launched almost 50 years ago

The Falcon 9 rocket's upper stage left its mark on the moon's surface. 

A SpaceX Rocket Part Just Slammed Into the Moon, Creating a Dust Plume and Crater. Here’s What Some Scientific Instruments Saw

The Korea Aerospace Research Institute captured before-and-after images of the impact site, and a telescope in Chile detected signs of the plume. However, no one was able to watch the collision live

The pen and the broken circuit breaker switch sold at auction.

Buzz Aldrin Used This Humble Felt-Tip Pen to Save the Apollo II Astronauts. It Just Sold for More Than $850,000

In July 1969, a quick-thinking Aldrin used the writing instrument to rearm the engine arm circuit of the lunar module “Eagle” after the switch broke off during the moon landing

Strange, metallic-looking spheres recently washed ashore in Queensland, Australia.

Strange Spheres Washed Ashore on an Australian Beach. Authorities Say They’re Probably ‘Space Balls’—Empty Fuel Vessels From a Rocket

The shiny objects—each roughly twice the size of a basketball—began to appear on July 3. Authorities initially worried that they were hazardous but have since determined that they’re likely safe bits of space junk

An image of Skylab captured by its final crew as they departed. During launch, one of the solar array wings broke off, and the gold sheet at the center was quickly manufactured afterward to serve as a makeshift sunshield and control the internal temperature.

America’s First Space Station Proved Humans Could Live and Work in Orbit for Months. Now, the Public Can See What It Looked Like in Person for the First Time in Eight Years

A backup version of Skylab was displayed when the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum opened 50 years ago. After renovation of the building, the artifact is once more on view in a new gallery

The southern lights curve above the Earth as the ISS orbited above the Indian Ocean southwest of Perth, Australia.

See a Stunning View of the Southern Lights Dancing Across the Earth Captured by a NASA Astronaut

Jessica Meir, commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission, shared photos and videos of a green aurora she shot while sheltering in a capsule outside the International Space Station

At a press conference on June 9, NASA announced the crew of its upcoming Artemis 3 mission to low-Earth orbit. Commander Randy Bresnik, pilot Luca Parmitano and mission specialists Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas will make up the four-person crew.

NASA Announces the Crew of Artemis 3, Four Astronauts Who Will ‘Take Calculated Risks’ in Low-Earth Orbit and Pave the Way for a Future Moon Landing

The mission, expected to launch next year, will practice meeting and docking with lunar landers developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin

A 235-foot-tall Delta IV takes off with 2.1 million pounds of thrust from its three RS-68A booster main engines, creating a magnificent light show in the sky.

See 15 Inspiring Images of Americans’ Accomplishments in Space Exploration That Will Have You Reaching for the Stars

These photographs from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest show the many ways that the nation’s brightest minds explore the great beyond with crewed spacecraft, rockets and space stations.

An illustration of all 726 solar systems depicting planets confirmed as of October 30, 2018, the end of Kepler’s life span. The colors represent each planet’s temperature, ranging from chilly dark blue to fiery red. The mission yielded so much data that scientists are still announcing new planets years later.

America at 250: The Revolutionary Spark

A Blip on a Telescope in a Colorado Parking Lot Bolstered a Space Mission That Has Found Thousands of Planets … and Counting

The Kepler telescope changed how we saw the sky. It’s just one of the devices we’ve sent out beyond the reach of humans to search our solar system

From left: replicas of the Blue Origin lander, Astrolab rover, Lunar Outpost rover and the Firely orbiter. 

NASA Unveils New Details About the Future Moon Base and the Missions Laying the Groundwork to Build It

The first three missions are targeted to launch this year. They’ll involve lunar landers developed by several aerospace companies, including Blue Origin, and deliver scientific instruments and a rover

Rhys Ifans (standing in second row) as the chief designer in "Star City," a spinoff of Apple TV's "For All Mankind" 

Based on a True Story

Soviet Cosmonauts Trained at Star City as They Raced to Beat America to the Moon. Now, a New TV Series Imagines What Happened Behind the Base’s Walls

Apple TV’s “Star City” takes place in a world where the space race never came to an end. A spinoff of “For All Mankind,” the show is told from the Soviet perspective

A shell that protected the Perseverance rover during its descent to Mars in a clean room at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

This Microscopic Fungus Survived NASA’s Sterilization Protocols—and Is Potentially Hardy Enough to Contaminate Mars

The microbe was gathered from the agency’s clean rooms, where experts build spacecraft in carefully controlled environments. The findings reveal gaps in the agency’s procedures to prevent durable hitchhikers

A crescent Earth floats beyond the moon in a gorgeous role reversal captured during the Artemis 2 mission. Photo ID ART002-E-21106

NASA Just Uploaded More Than 12,000 Stunning Photos From the Artemis 2 Mission. Here Are a Few of Our Favorites

Although the mission’s four astronauts sent a few photos to Earth while in space, most needed to be delivered via physical memory cards once they returned to the planet

Left: Experimental setup of some chickpeas growing in artificial lunar dirt. Right: A chickpea root covered in the simulated moon soil, which is sharp and glass-like. 

Hummus Made From Moon-Grown Chickpeas Might Be on the Menu for Future Lunar Residents

Researchers successfully grew and harvested chickpeas in simulated moon dirt—with a little help from worm poop and a beneficial fungus. However, they’re still testing whether the legumes are safe to eat

Mission engineers have shut down Voyager 1's Low-energy Charged Particles experiment.

To Keep the Voyager 1 Spacecraft on Its Interstellar Journey, NASA Turned Off One of Its Few Remaining Instruments

The probe launched almost 50 years ago and is the farthest human-made object from Earth. Shutting down one of its scientific devices will help it conserve energy and continue traveling toward the edge of the solar system

Astronauts struggle to adapt to weightlessness, even after months on the International Space Station, a study suggests.

Astronauts’ Memories of Earth’s Gravity May Influence How They Move and Hold Objects, Even After Months in Space

Examining the fine motor skills of space travelers can help improve safety for future missions, scientists say

On Thursday, Artemis 2 astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen gave their first press conference since splashing down. Here, Hansen holds Rise, the crew’s mascot and zero-gravity indicator, which visually demonstrated when they had entered space.

After Rounding the Moon, Artemis 2 Astronauts Reflect on the Magnitude of the Experience: ‘We as Countries and as Humans Did This’

In their first press conference since returning from space, the four-person crew described feeling small but united with people on Earth and said the mission was an achievement by all of humanity

A red aurora over Engaru, Hokkaido, Japan, similar to those documented throughout history, which helped the researchers reconstruct past solar activity

Medieval Writings and Tree Rings Helped Researchers Track a Solar Storm From 800 Years Ago and Reconstruct Past Solar Cycles

Diary entries by the Japanese poet Fujiwara no Teika, along with other historical sources from across Asia and Europe, played pivotal roles in a new study

Artemis 2's Orion capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego.

Artemis 2 Astronauts Successfully Return to Earth After Completing a Historic Mission Around the Moon

The crewmembers splashed down Friday after breaking a space-faring record and viewing lunar features never seen by human eyes during their ten-day trip. It marks the first time anyone has left Earth’s orbit in more than 50 years

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