Space & PhysicsNovember 13, 2019
Meet Arrokoth: Ultima Thule, the Most Distant Object Ever Explored, Has a New Name
The small body beyond Pluto visited by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is now officially known as Arrokoth
Stories by Mike Wall
Mike Wall has been writing for Space.com since 2010. His book about the search for alien life, “Out There,” was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Space & PhysicsOctober 17, 2019
SpaceX’s Starlink Constellation Could Swell by 30,000 More Satellites
The company’s constellation could eventually consist of 42,000 spacecraft
Space & PhysicsSeptember 17, 2019
Saturn’s Rings May Be Ancient After All
Against earlier studies estimating an age of just 100 million years, new research suggests the planet’s rings could be as old as the solar system itself
Space & PhysicsAugust 28, 2019
Newfound Alien Planet Has a Bizarre Looping Orbit
Astronomers have never seen a world quite like HR 5183 b before
Space & PhysicsAugust 28, 2019
SpaceX Starhopper Rocket Prototype Aces Highest (and Final) Test Flight
Starhopper is passing the test-flight torch to orbital prototypes
Space & PhysicsJuly 15, 2019
Silica Blankets Could Make Mars Habitable
Thin layers of lightweight aerogel might be the main ingredient for making regions of the Red Planet more Earth-like
Space & PhysicsMay 21, 2019
What Prevents Pluto’s Ocean from Freezing?
Layers of ice-like gas hydrates may insulate frigid ocean worlds across the cosmos
Space & PhysicsApril 2, 2019
Mars Has Methane—But Does It Have Life?
Multiple lines of evidence suggest the gas occasionally surges into the Red Planet’s atmosphere. Could it be a sign of a subsurface biosphere?
PolicyMarch 18, 2019
Is NASA’s Golden Age of Space Telescopes Ending?
For the second year in a row, the White House is seeking to cancel one of the space agency’s top-priority astrophysics projects, the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope
Space & PhysicsMarch 8, 2019
SpaceX Crew Dragon Splashes Down after Historic Test Flight
Splashdown occurred at 8:45 am Eastern time about 230 miles off the Florida coast
Space & PhysicsMarch 5, 2019
"Mole" on InSight Mars Lander Begins Burrowing, but the Going Is Rough
Small stones have impeded progress on landmark efforts to study the Red Planet’s subsurface activity
Space & PhysicsFebruary 1, 2019
NASA’s Curiosity Rover Weighs a Mountain on Mars
Gravitational measurements may solve the long-standing mystery of how Mount Sharp formed
Space & PhysicsJanuary 3, 2019
China Makes Historic First Landing on Mysterious Far Side of the Moon
The milestone marks a turning point for China’s space exploration, and may unlock deep secrets of lunar history
Space & PhysicsDecember 13, 2018
NASA’s InSight Mars Lander Snaps Selfie, Surveys Workspace
The Red-Planet-probing spacecraft is on course to deploy its instruments in early 2019
Space & PhysicsNovember 30, 2018
Success of Tiny Mars Probes Heralds New Era of Deep-Space Cubesats
Two pint-sized spacecraft, MarCO-A and MarCO-B, served as communications relays for NASA’s InSight lander
Space & PhysicsNovember 19, 2018
NASA’s InSight Mars Lander Touches Down Next Week
The $850 million mission will be the first to land on the Red Planet in more than 6 years
Space & PhysicsNovember 4, 2018
Russia’s Soyuz Rocket Returns to Flight with Crewed Launch in Early December
The rocket’s next launch comes less than a month after a major mishap endangered the lives of crewmembers bound for the International Space Station
Space & PhysicsOctober 30, 2018
Kepler, NASA’s Revolutionary Planet-Hunting Telescope, Is Dead
After running out of fuel, the mission leaves behind a legacy of thousands of exoplanets and a new understanding of Earth’s cosmic context
Space & PhysicsOctober 30, 2018
NASA’s Kepler Mission May Have Found Fewer Habitable Exoplanets Than Thought
New data from the European Gaia space telescope could lead to a downward revision to tally of Earth-like worlds
Space & PhysicsOctober 29, 2018
Hubble Space Telescope Returns to Action after Gyroscope Glitch
The workhorse orbital observatory has resumed normal science operations, NASA says
Space & PhysicsOctober 23, 2018
Hubble Space Telescope Almost Back in Action
The famed orbital observatory has recovered from a glitch that suspended its operations earlier this month
Space & PhysicsOctober 8, 2018
Europa’s Equator May Be Covered in Perilous Ice Towers
Jagged ice spikes called ‘penitentes’ on Jupiter’s ocean-bearing moon could pose grave risks for robotic landers
Space & PhysicsOctober 3, 2018
Success! Hopping, Shoebox-Size Lander Touches Down Safely on Asteroid Ryugu
The European-built MASCOT lander successfully deployed from Japan’s Hayabusa1 spacecraft to begin its ambitious-but-brief mission
Space & PhysicsOctober 2, 2018
Newfound World, "The Goblin," May Lead to Mysterious Planet Nine
Drifting far past Pluto, the orbit of the dwarf planet 2015 TG387 appears to have been sculpted by the gravity of something far larger lurking in the solar system’s outer limits