NASA May Pay $1 Billion to Destroy the International Space Station. Here’s Why
The International Space Station—larger than a football field and weighing almost 450 tons—must eventually fall to Earth. It’s a delicate, dangerous process
SpaceX Starship’s Second Flight Was an Explosive Milestone
SpaceX’s Starship—the most powerful rocket ever built—experienced a “rapid unscheduled disassembly” in its otherwise successful second full-scale launch, triggering a federal investigation into what went wrong
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New Map Reveals Secrets of Io, the Solar System’s Most Volcanic Moon
The best-yet map of active volcanoes on Jupiter’s moon Io hints at a hidden magma ocean—and more
Leonid and Geminid Meteor Showers Bring Bonanza before Year’s End
Two unusual annual meteor showers come at the end of the year, and each can spark astonishing celestial fireworks
Can a Private Space Mission Pierce Venus’s Clouds?
Amid uncertainty over space agencies’ plans for future Venus exploration, enthusiasm for a private-sector mission grows
Can We Even Have Babies in Space? Why We’re Not Ready for Life Off-Planet
Reproducing in space is just one of many reasons we should delay settlements beyond Earth
‘Dinky’ Asteroid Is Three Space Rocks, Not Two, NASA Flyby Finds
The Lucy spacecraft’s encounter with asteroid Dinkinesh has revealed a bizarre “contact binary” double-moon companion
NASA Asteroid Mission Discovers Tiny Surprise Moon with ‘Really Bizarre’ Shape
NASA’s Lucy mission flew past an asteroid nicknamed Dinky, only to discover an even smaller space rock orbiting it
Did Dusty Skies Doom the Dinosaurs?
Fine particles kicked up by the Chicxulub asteroid impact could have blocked out the sun for years, resulting in global cooling and disastrous consequences for ecosystems
Strange Blobs near Earth’s Core May Be Relics of Moon-Forming Collision
An impact with a protoplanet called Theia 4.5 billion years ago seems to have left remnants deep inside Earth
Mars Has a Surprise Layer of Molten Rock Inside
Fresh investigations find that the Red Planet’s liquid-metal core is smaller than scientists thought
What Happens to a Werewolf on the Moon?
As space agencies turn their gaze to the moon, we need to consider what werewolves might mean for lunar exploration—and vice versa