Scientists Race to Map Dangerous Ultrasmall Space Junk
An ambitious U.S. government program is working to detect and track millions of tiny space junk pieces—down to the size of a sand grain—throughout low-Earth orbit and beyond
This Is the Most Exciting Rock Ever Found on Mars
Mysterious “leopard spots” on a Martian rock could be evidence of extraterrestrial life—or of mere lifeless chemistry. Finding out the truth may require bringing the rock back to Earth
NASA May Spend $800 Million to Not Send This Revolutionary Rover to the Moon
The VIPER lunar rover promised a revolution in our understanding of the moon’s precious deposits of ice. Then NASA cancelled the mission
After Falcon 9 Rocket Anomaly, SpaceX Seeks Rapid Return to Flight
SpaceX has filed a request with the Federal Aviation Administration to determine whether the company can resume launches of its recently grounded workhorse rocket
Europe Announces New Mission to Infamous Asteroid Apophis
ESA’s Ramses spacecraft will scout out Apophis before and after the asteroid’s super-close flyby of Earth in 2029
A New, Deadly Era of Space Junk Is Dawning, and No One Is Ready
A Saskatchewan farmer’s near miss with potentially lethal debris falling from orbit highlights the skyrocketing risks and murky politics of space junk
The Face on Mars and Other Cases of Cosmic Pareidolia
The human brain loves seeing patterns, even when they aren’t really there
Will NASA Pay Damages for Space Junk that Crashed into Florida Home?
Florida family files claim against NASA to compensate them after space debris crashed through their home in March
JWST’s ‘Little Red Dots’ Offer Astronomers the Universe’s Weirdest Puzzle
The James Webb Space Telescope’s search for the earliest stars and black holes has yielded a very weird, very red, puzzle
How Worried Should We Be about Starliner’s Stranded Astronauts?
On its first crewed flight, troubling technical glitches with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft have left two astronauts in limbo onboard the International Space Station
Mars Rocks Will Change How We See Life on Earth
Despite an eye-watering price tag, bringing pieces of Mars back to Earth promises to revolutionize our understanding of life’s place in the early solar system
China Makes History with First-Ever Samples from the Moon’s Far Side
China’s Chang’e 6 mission has successfully returned samples from the moon’s far side, opening a new phase of the nation’s lunar space race with the U.S.