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Space Travel

This grapefruit-sized object is Vanguard TV-3, an exact replica of Vanguard 1 that failed to launch into orbit. It's now on display at the National Air and Space Museum.

The World’s First Solar-Powered Satellite is Still Up There After More Than 60 Years

This tiny grapefruit-sized satellite will still be up there well into the 2100s if we don’t take it down

As part of his survival plan, Watney uses vacuum-packed potatoes to start his own farm on Mars.

Scientists Successfully Grow Potatoes in Mars-Like Soils

Can potatoes grow on the red planet? The International Potato Center is on the case

Take in the spectacular view with a new VR simulation of the International Space Station.

Virtual Travel

Take a Virtual Trip to the International Space Station

New VR simulation turns you into an orbiting astronaut

An artists rendering of how a solar sail might be powered by a radio beam from the surface of a planet

New Research

Are Fast Radio Bursts from Alien Spacecraft? It’s Unlikely, but Possible

A new paper raises the (distant) possibility that the unusual high-energy bursts from the cosmos are from intergalactic ships

Brr.

Cool Finds

Why (Part of) the International Space Station Will Soon Be the Coldest Place in the Universe

An icebox-like lab will help scientists get a grip on a phenomenon that’s hard to spot on Earth

Space weather may look cool, but it could hurt astronauts.

New Research

When it Comes to Predicting Solar Storms, Space May Not Be the Place

A new study shows that earth-based observations can get warnings out sooner

Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space. This photo was taken in 1969.

Happy Birthday to the First Woman in Space

She spent almost three days in space on her first flight

What thorny ethical issues await us once we make it to Mars? A composite image of the red planet, composed by processing about 1000 Viking Orbiter red- and violet-filter images have been to provide global color coverage at a scale of 1 km/pixel.

Think Big

When Humans Begin Colonizing Other Planets, Who Should Be in Charge?

The biggest threat humans pose to other worlds is what we don’t know—or what we think we know, but don’t

Unlike the Apollo spacecraft, Orion will have solar panels to help power longer space journeys, as shown in this concept art of the spacecraft orbiting Earth.

Ask Smithsonian 2017

What’s Really Changed—and What Hasn’t—About Getting Humans to the Moon

NASA’s Orion will combine vintage tech with massive advances in computing power and electronics we’ve made since 1972

After orbiting the moon, Columbia made a nationwide tour that ended in 1971 when the command module came to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C.

Apollo 11 Command Module Makes Another Journey

The command module “Columbia” will visit four U.S. museums, leaving DC for the first time in 46 years.

This approximate true-color image of the Gusev Crater is one of the three potential landing sites for the Mars 2020 rover.

Life in the Cosmos

Check Out NASA’s Three Options for the 2020 Mars Rover Landing

Scientists have narrowed down potential sites for the next rover to set wheel on the red planet

Clocking in at 2.4 billion year old, this space rock is unlike the others.

New Research

A Martian Volcano May Have Continuously Erupted for Billions of Years

A space rock found in Northwest Africa provides new clues to volcanic activity on Mars

Astronaut Twin Study Shows How Hard Space Is on the Body

The study’s first results suggest that space travel can cause changes on the molecular level

Visit Kennedy Space Center, the Closest Thing to Space on Earth

Israeli-based SpaceIL is one of five teams given the green light for the Google LunarX Prize.

Cool Finds

One of These Five Finalists Could Make It to the Moon in 2017

The clock is ticking for a trip to the moon and a $20 million prize

From left to right, the astronauts of Apollo 1: Virgil I. Grissom, Edward H. White II, and Roger B. Chaffee.

The Legacy of the Apollo 1 Disaster

Fifty years after a fire killed three astronauts and temporarily grounded U.S. space exploration, a new exhibit honors the fallen crew

Get a Front Row Seat to This Year’s Rocket Launches at Kennedy Space Center

This year, up to 20 launches could take off from Florida’s Space Coast

The doormouse hibernates to conserve resources in harsh conditions. Similarly, scientists envision humans hibernating to endure long-distance space travel.

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Can Humans Ever Harness the Power of Hibernation?

Scientists want to know if astronauts can hibernate during long spaceflights. First, they need to understand what hibernation is

Apollo 17 mission commander Eugene Cernan inside the lunar module on the moon after his second moonwalk of the mission. His spacesuit is covered with lunar dust.

Trending Today

Eugene Cernan: The Last Man on the Moon and So Much More

His experience helped make spaceflight safer

A special fish tank designed for experiments aboard the International Space Station.

New Research

Fish Don’t Do So Well in Space

The International Space Station’s resident fish shed light on life in microgravity

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