Articles tagged as Space Travel | Smithsonian Magazine

Space Fence, a radar system sponsored by the U.S. Air Force and built by Lockheed Martin, should help the U.S. detect and track more of the estimated 500,000 pieces of space debris.

Cool Finds

U.S. Air Force Builds New Radar for Space Junk

It’s called Space Fence and should help us track the estimated 500,000 pieces of debris that orbit Earth

January 9, 2015

An artist's rendition of Kepler, on the hunt for planets like our own.

Cool Finds

Visit Kepler’s Exoplanets—And Don’t Worry About the Natives (At Least for Now)

NASA has made a set of travel posters themed to exoplanets while a nonprofit searches for life among them

January 8, 2015

Cool Finds

Never Mind Mars, What About a Trip to Venus First?

There’s a serious proposal to send astronauts to a floating cloud city in Venus’s atmosphere before heading to Mars

December 23, 2014

Cool Finds

If You Looked Out the Window While Returning From Space, Here’s What You’d See

The bright glow of friction in Earth’s atmosphere

December 15, 2014

One of the line items in the new budget is funding for a mission to Jupiter's moon Europa.

The pending budget will give NASA even more money than they asked for

December 12, 2014

The United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy Rocket lifts off with the Orion spacecraft for its first test flight

American spaceflight enters a new era

December 5, 2014

The Orion capsule idles on the pad atop a Delta IV Heavy rocket just minutes after the launch was canceled.

Orion’s quest for space will have to wait until tomorrow

December 4, 2014

A still under construction Orion space capsule at the Michoud Assembly Facility in 2012.

NASA’s long-distance crew capsule, Orion, will get its first test flight tomorrow

December 3, 2014

Mmm, space coffee

November 24, 2014

When Scott Kelly (right) goes to the International Space Station in 2015, he and his twin brother Mark (left) will participate in tests to study how spaceflight affects the body.

With An Eye To Mars, NASA is Testing its Astronaut Twins

Scott and Mark Kelly, the only twins to have traveled in space, are embarking on a mission to help NASA prepare for Mars

December 2014

Cool Finds

One Idea to Get to Mars: Fill the Walls of a Spaceship With Water

The insulation from radiation would also be drinkable

November 21, 2014

Marsha Ivins takes a nap on the Space Shuttle Atlantis.

Cool Finds

Astronauts Nap on the Launchpad While Waiting for a Ride to Space

There’s not much to do while NASA goes through its pre-launch checks

November 20, 2014

An artist's interpretation of the Philae lander separating from Rosetta and landing on the comet.

Researchers hope the finding sheds light on how organic molecules might have first arrived on Earth

November 19, 2014

Your reward: a spot in a digital time capsule buried beneath the lunar surface

November 19, 2014

The action starts bright and early

November 11, 2014

The few remaining scientists at NASA are hard at work on Earth trying to "solve gravity."

Think Big

Would Astronauts Survive an Interstellar Trip Through a Wormhole?

Well, it depends on your definition of “wormhole” …

November 7, 2014

Matthew McConaughey on a stark landscape. The real star of the film, says Lewis, are the panoramic vistas.

Why “Interstellar” Belongs in the Pantheon of the Best “Realistic” Science Fiction Films

The film follows a well-trodden path, says Smithsonian space historian Cathleen Lewis, who gives it a thumbs up

November 6, 2014

Virgin Galactic unveils SpaceShipTwo, the world's first commercial manned spacecraft at the Mojave airport on December 7, 2009.

The company hopes to resume flying with a new ship by summer 2015

November 6, 2014

Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo is seen gliding back to Earth after its first test flight in 2010.

Past Transit Tragedies Point to a Way Forward for Virgin Galactic

From a fatal Apollo fire to the sinking of the Titanic, history has a few lessons following last week’s spaceflight disasters

November 4, 2014

Billionaire Richard Branson is interviewed after unveiling Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo in Mojave, California December 7, 2009.

Private spaceflight may see tighter federal regulation

November 3, 2014