A Martian moons mission, a plethora of private lunar landers, probes to Venus and Jupiter, and reusable heavy-lift rocket tests are among the many highlights we’ll be watching in the coming 12 months, in what looks to be an extraordinary year in spaceflight. Here’s your 2024 calendar. Zillow Says You’ll Buy Your Next House With… … Read more
Left: Pioneer 10’s view of Jupiter in March 1973. Right: Webb Telescope’s view of Jupiter in July 2022. Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, Jupiter ERS Team; image processing by Judy Schmidt For centuries, astronomers were limited to ground-based observations of the planets, but now we use spacecraft to capture close-up views of our neighboring worlds. Excitingly, … Read more
In mid-July, viewers hoping to catch a glimpse of a SpaceX rocket launch were stunned to see it followed by a bright aurora-like phenomenon over Arizona. The rocket had formed a hole in the upper atmosphere, evinced by a red glow captured by photographers on the ground. “Even AI Rappers are Harassed by Police” | … Read more
After a few short trips to the edge of space, Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity spaceplane is set for retirement, making room for a worthy successor. The company’s Delta class vehicle is gearing up for its debut in 2025, promising to bring in some profit with weekly suborbital flights. Inspiration Behind the Reality-TV Style for The … Read more
Nearly a year after an uncrewed Orion splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, NASA anticipates it still needs a few more months to resolve a lingering issue with the capsule’s heat shield before a crew can ride on board. China’s Plan to Land Astronauts on the Moon During a recent meeting, NASA officials revealed that … Read more
An illustration of space debris littering Earth orbit.Illustration: ESA Earth’s orbit can be a chaotic place, with defunct spacecraft darting aimlessly across the dark skies. In order to tackle the growing issue of space debris, Airbus created a new device designed to keep satellites from tumbling around after they’re no longer of use. Astronomers Could … Read more
After landing back to Earth from Virgin Galactic’s latest suborbital flight, planetary scientist Alan Stern and science communicator Kellie Gerardi received a ton of text messages from other researchers asking, “How do I get to do that?” The M3 MacBook Pro: Made Dark for Halloween The pair were part of the Galactic 05 mission, which … Read more
Dream Chaser, built by Sierra Space, is being prepped for transport to a NASA facility in Ohio, where it will undergo a series of tests to make sure the spaceplane can survive its heated reentry through Earth’s atmosphere. Starting these tests is crucial, demonstrating Dream Chaser’s readiness for flights and potentially transforming commercial space travel. … Read more
NASA is considering alternative ways to bring back samples from Mars after its budget and schedule for the sample return mission was deemed unrealistic in a recent report by an independent review board. China’s Plan to Land Astronauts on the Moon During a meeting of the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group held earlier this week, … Read more
Three leading space companies told Congress this week that the industry needs time to mature before federal regulators introduce new safety guidelines for human spaceflight — but that existing regulatory processes for launch are in dire need of improvement. SpaceX, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic were all in agreement that the 20-year moratorium on federal … Read more