What we know—and what we don’t—about NASA’s Artemis III mission
NASA is starting to paint in some of the details of its planned 2027 Artemis III mission, but key questions, such as who its astronauts will be, are yet to be answered
This startup wants to make drugs in orbit. If it succeeds, it could transform the space economy
Varda’s plan to develop medicines in microgravity has its advantages, but it requires a big up-front cost
Are astronomers ignoring some of the cosmos?
There are parts of the universe, and of the electromagnetic spectrum, that we’re not covering with our telescopes—but not as many as you might think!
NASA’s Psyche mission is snapping photos of Mars on its way to an asteroid
The Psyche spacecraft is bound for a metal-rich asteroid that it will examine up close starting in 2029. But first, it needs to swing past the Red Planet
The next quantum revolution may require a helium ‘gold rush’ on the moon
The rare isotope helium-3 is one of Earth’s most precious commodities—so precious, in fact, that it might prove profitable to mine from the moon
Almost half of the objects in Earth’s orbit are junk—and that’s only the stuff we know about
Debris is a growing threat to orbital infrastructure, and it’s only going to get worse as the number of launches increases
This baby galaxy is a ‘missing link’ in the quest to glimpse the universe’s first stars
Seen just 800 million years after the big bang, an object called LAP1-B is a galactic building block that seems to hold some of the first stars to ever shine
Each atom in the universe might be unique
Long-held assumptions tell us that atoms with the same number of protons, neutrons and electrons are indistinguishable, but one physicist wants to put this idea to the test
See SpaceX Starship V3 megarocket on the launchpad as it gears up for its next test flight
This test flight comes at a pivotal moment for Elon Musk’s SpaceX as the company pushes to go public this year and show it’s ready for NASA’s planned 2027 Artemis III mission
NASA’s Apollo moon missions relied on this computer scientist and differential equations
Margaret Hamilton designed safety features for NASA inspired in part by her four-year-old
Rubies and opals on Mars? The real treasure in the planet’s gemstones may not be what you think
NASA’s Mars rovers have found traces of minerals akin to those that make up precious gems on Earth. But their appearance and abundance on Mars is likely very different, experts say
Strange crystals found inside wreckage from the first nuclear bomb test
The Trinity bomb test left behind a unique form of matter, and now, scientists have discovered a new chemical structure inside it