Space & Spaceflight

This Eerily Festive Scene on Mars Is Genuinely Unnerving

A European satellite has spotted an unbelievably realistic angelic figure—complete with wings, halo, and heart—in the southern polar region of Mars. It looks as if some Martian artist painted the scene to wish us peace and joy for the holiday season, but there’s a perfectly good scientific explanation for the surreal display. This festive scene…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

Lunar Samples Land on Earth, Completing China’s Most Challenging ‘Space Adventure’

For the first time in 44 years, a spacecraft has brought lunar samples to Earth. With the Chang’e 5 mission complete, China now joins a very exclusive club, reinforcing the country’s role as a major player in space exploration. China is now only the third country to collect samples from the Moon and bring them…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

Japanese Probe Returned More Asteroid Than Expected—Including Pebbles and Gas

It looks like coffee beans in a grinder, but it’s actually bits of dust and pebbles scooped up from the surface of asteroid Ryugu. The Japanese space agency confirmed the presence of these precious samples earlier today, following the recent return to Earth of its Hayabusa2 spacecraft. For only the second time in history, a…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

Virgin Galactic Aborts New Mexico Launch Because of Rocket Motor Issues

Nearly two years after its last flight, Virgin Galactic—the space tourism venture founded by Richard Branson, another billionaire who loves space—aborted the scheduled test launch of its SpaceShipTwo commercial aircraft into suborbital space today because of an issue with its rocket motor. The moment, which was caught on a Twitch livestream by the outlet NASASpaceFlight,…

Space & Spaceflight Jody Serrano

NASA Announces Team of 18 Astronauts Who Will Train For Artemis Moon Landings

NASA announced on Wednesday the team of 18 astronauts — nine men and nine women — who have been selected to participate in the upcoming Artemis Moon landing missions. The team includes astronauts of diverse backgrounds and experience levels, and counts among its ranks the first woman and the next man to walk on the…

Space & Spaceflight Brianna Provenzano

Watch Live: SpaceX Tries Again to Launch a Starship Prototype to High Altitude [Update: It Exploded]

Update 6:15 p.m. ET: The Starship prototype launched and ascended to high altitude, but it crashed while attempting the landing, creating a massive fireball. The vehicle was absolutely obliterated in the explosion. The launch seemed to be going well at first, but it appears that one of the rocket’s three Raptor engines cut out, followed by…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

Artemis Astronauts Will Be Doing Some Serious Science on the Moon

NASA has released its science priorities for the first crewed Artemis lunar landing, scheduled for 2024. Prior to planting their boots on the lunar regolith, however, the next man and woman to visit the Moon will have to go back to school, as mission planners prepare their tools for the upcoming mission. “The Moon holds…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

Watch Live: SpaceX Attempts a High-Altitude Test of Its Starship Rocket

It’s a big day for SpaceX, as the Elon Musk-led company is planning to conduct a high-altitude test of its much-anticipated Starship rocket. You can watch the test flight live right here. Update: 5:45 p.m. ET: SpaceX just put out this tweet: Update: 5:39 p.m. ET: Well, Starship is still on the launch pad, as…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

NASA and SpaceX Launch a Shiny New Airlock and a Christmas Feast to the ISS

Crew supplies, a new airlock, some spare parts, and a bunch of science experiments are currently en route to the International Space Station, following yesterday’s successful launch of an upgraded SpaceX Dragon resupply vehicle. The CRS-21 mission launch happened yesterday at 11:27 a.m. EST, as a SpaceX Falcon 9 lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

Japan’s Hayabusa2 Probe Has Sent Bits of the Ryugu Asteroid Back to Earth

After six years of traveling and exploring, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Hayabusa2 probe on Saturday sent a capsule back to Earth filled with what scientists hope is at least a 100 milligram-sample of the asteroid Ryugu, which is located about 186 million miles (300 million kilometers) from Earth. Hayabusa2 has made history by bringing…

Space & Spaceflight Jody Serrano

Let’s Ruin the Moon

The Moon taunts us. It is very far away, which has historically protected it from the human species’ innate desire to desecrate it. Fortunately, NASA announced on Thursday it has now selected the four companies it will contract with to jump-start capitalism on the Moon, thereby eliminating its unfair and unearned advantage over hollering primates.…

Space & Spaceflight Tom McKay

Astronomers Confirm Mystery Object as NASA’s Lost Rocket Booster From the 1960s

An incoming object spotted by astronomers this past August has been confirmed as the upper stage of a Centaur rocket, which NASA launched in 1966 during an ill-fated mission to the Moon. It’s a neat achievement, but the confirmation took some doing. After months of speculation, a team led by Vishnu Reddy, an associate professor…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

Image: Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images

Drone Video Shows Dramatic Moment of Arecibo Observatory Collapse

Video of the recent collapse at the Arecibo Observatory, taken from two different perspectives, show the dramatic moment when a main cable failed, causing the 900-ton instrument platform to fall onto the large radio dish below. The first of the two videos was taken from the Arecibo Observatory control room, where radio astronomers normally do…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

Voyager Probes Spot Previously Unknown Phenomenon in Deep Space

NASA’s Voyager spacecraft may be billions of miles away and over 40 years old, but they’re still making significant discoveries, as new research reveals. A paper published today in the Astronomical Journal describes an entirely new form of electron burst, a discovery made possible by the intrepid Voyager probes. These bursts are happening in the…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

Gut-Wrenching Photos Show Damage at Arecibo Observatory Following Collapse

Photos of the scene are revealing the extent of the damage at the famous facility.

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

Image: Gianluca Masi, an astronomer with the Virtual Telescope Project 2.0

Astronomer Captures Possible Image of NASA’s Long-Lost Centaur Rocket Booster

A tiny mystery object is zipping past the Earth today, providing astronomers with an excellent opportunity to finally confirm it as being the upper stage of a Centaur rocket that was launched by NASA in 1966. Is it or isn’t it? This is the question that astronomers have been asking since September, when scientists with…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

Iconic Dish at Arecibo Observatory Has Collapsed

The 1,000-foot radio dish at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico has collapsed, according to officials and local reports. Meteorologist Deborah Martorell tweeted an image of the site this morning that appears to show the 900-ton platform no longer suspended above the 57-year-old dish, suggesting it had fallen. The platform was in a precarious situation…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

Why Europe’s Space Agency Is Spending $103 Million to Remove a Single Piece of Space Junk

The European Space Agency has signed a historic deal with Swiss startup ClearSpace to remove a single item of space debris in 2025. The $103 million price tag is steep, but this mission—involving an orbiting, mouth-like net—could herald the beginning of an entirely new space industry. The new contract, announced late last week, is unique…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

Exposure to Outer Space May Accelerate Aging, New Evidence Suggests

A fascinating batch of new research papers are highlighting the various health risks associated with long-duration space missions, including troublesome observations having to do with the aging process and radiation-induced DNA damage. Space, as we’re learning, really sucks for us puny humans. Without gravity perpetually pulling us downward, and without a protective atmosphere to shield…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

SpaceX Starship Plans To Make Its First High Altitude Test Flight Next Week

SpaceX fired the engines on its Starship SN8 prototype on Tuesday evening, with billionaire CEO Elon Musk tweeting that the resultant “good static fire” produced during the final test had likely paved the way for the vehicle to take its first test flight sometime next week. The proposed 5km (50,000 feet) test flight would exceed…

Space & Spaceflight Brianna Provenzano

This Eerily Festive Scene on Mars Is Genuinely Unnerving

Lunar Samples Land on Earth, Completing China’s Most Challenging ‘Space Adventure’

Japanese Probe Returned More Asteroid Than Expected—Including Pebbles and Gas

Virgin Galactic Aborts New Mexico Launch Because of Rocket Motor Issues

NASA Announces Team of 18 Astronauts Who Will Train For Artemis Moon Landings

Watch Live: SpaceX Tries Again to Launch a Starship Prototype to High Altitude [Update: It Exploded]

Artemis Astronauts Will Be Doing Some Serious Science on the Moon

Watch Live: SpaceX Attempts a High-Altitude Test of Its Starship Rocket

NASA and SpaceX Launch a Shiny New Airlock and a Christmas Feast to the ISS

Japan’s Hayabusa2 Probe Has Sent Bits of the Ryugu Asteroid Back to Earth

Let’s Ruin the Moon

Astronomers Confirm Mystery Object as NASA’s Lost Rocket Booster From the 1960s

Drone Video Shows Dramatic Moment of Arecibo Observatory Collapse

Voyager Probes Spot Previously Unknown Phenomenon in Deep Space

Gut-Wrenching Photos Show Damage at Arecibo Observatory Following Collapse

Astronomer Captures Possible Image of NASA’s Long-Lost Centaur Rocket Booster

Iconic Dish at Arecibo Observatory Has Collapsed

Why Europe’s Space Agency Is Spending $103 Million to Remove a Single Piece of Space Junk

Exposure to Outer Space May Accelerate Aging, New Evidence Suggests

SpaceX Starship Plans To Make Its First High Altitude Test Flight Next Week

Artemis 2 Live Updates: Countdown to the Moon 🔴

The Films and Shows You Should Be Streaming in April 2026

Chinese Startup Debuts Super-Bendy Robotic Arm for Orbital Repairs

Your Devices Are Targets. Bitdefender Shields Them All — For Less Than You Think

Of Course, ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ Post Credit Scene Is Another Big Cameo

Proton Just Launched Meet, and It Makes Zoom Look Like a Privacy Nightmare

America’s Latest Unfounded Health Panic: ‘Vaccinated’ Blood Donations

SpaceX Files Confidentially for IPO, Reports Say

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

Let us help find what you are looking for...