Space ExplorationMarch 31, 2026
Can NASA launch a nuclear mission to Mars by 2028?
The U.S. space agency’s Skyfall project calls for sending robotic helicopters to Mars on a nuclear-powered spacecraft before the end of Donald Trump’s presidency
Stories by David W. Brown
David W. Brown a writer based in New Orleans. His next book, The Outside Cats, will be published by Mariner Books. Follow him on Twitter.
Space ExplorationApril 17, 2024
How Jeff Koons’s Lunar Artwork Could Outlast All of Humanity
How long can humanity’s artifacts endure on the lunar surface? A new installation from artist Jeff Koons is inadvertently putting this question to the test
Space ExplorationJanuary 27, 2022
NASA’s ‘Nuclear Option’ May Be Crucial for Getting Humans to Mars
After decades of false starts, a new push for nuclear-powered rocketry could make or break the space agency’s plans to send astronauts to the Red Planet
Space & PhysicsFebruary 14, 2020
NASA’s Next Low-Cost Planetary Science Missions Will Visit Venus or the Outer Solar System
With its selection of four candidates for its coveted Discovery class of interplanetary missions, the space agency seeks to handle some unfinished business
Space & PhysicsMarch 27, 2019
Mission to Europa Gets New Instrument to Look for Signs of Habitability
Amid technical and political hurdles, a veteran planetary scientist takes charge of a key part of Europa Clipper, a spacecraft targeted at the solar system’s most intriguing moon
Space & PhysicsDecember 19, 2018
Getting the Dirt on Creation—inside OSIRIS-REx's First Close Look at Bennu
NASA’s first sample-return mission to an asteroid is a voyage into the genesis of our solar system—and, perhaps, the precursors to life’s origins on Earth