NASA’s New Asteroid Sample Is Already Rewriting Solar System History
Scientists have scarcely begun studying pristine material from asteroid Bennu that was brought back to Earth by the OSIRIS-REx mission, but they have already found several surprises
Earth Has More Than One Moon
Quirks of orbital mechanics make a cadre of sun-orbiting asteroids appear to be moons of Earth
‘Interstellar’ Meteor Signal May Have Been a Truck—So What Was Collected from the Ocean Floor?
New analyses cast doubt on claims that a meteor witnessed over the South Pacific in 2014 came from another star system and raise questions about a high-profile expedition to recover the fireball’s fragments from the seafloor
The Great Debate: Could We Ever Travel through Time?
Our space and physics editors go head-to-head over a classic mind-bending question.
Most Astronauts Get ‘Space Headaches.’ Scientists Want to Know Why
Headaches are a common and recurring problem in space, even for astronauts that don’t experience them on Earth
SpaceX’s Starship Rocket Reached Record Heights before It Was Lost
SpaceX lost both the booster and vehicle in a test launch of its massive Starship rocket. But the third try was the charm for Starship, which smoothly separated in its most successful flight to date
In NASA’s Push for the Moon, Commercial Partners Soar—And Stumble
NASA’s partnership with private industry to accelerate the U.S.’s return to the moon is delivering lunar payloads—and mixed results
Voyager 1’s Immortal Interstellar Requiem
NASA is reaching across more than 15 billion miles to rescue its malfunctioning Voyager 1 probe—but this hallowed interstellar mission can’t live forever
Japan’s Lunar Landing Was Lopsided—And Transformative
Japan’s SLIM lander has sparked a new era of precision landings, with big implications for lunar science and exploration
The Scale of Space Will Break Your Brain
The scale of the cosmos exceeds the bounds of human comprehension. But that doesn’t mean the universe is beyond our understanding
We Need Small Astronomy as Much as Big Astronomy
In an era of budget-busting mega-telescopes, we shouldn’t forget the importance of smaller telescopes, more focused missions and the unexpected surprises they reveal about the universe
‘Ring of Fire’ Rocket Engines Put a New Spin on Spaceflight
Rotating detonation engines developed by NASA and others could spark a rocketry revolution