space habitats week

A Space Lawyer Explains How We’ll Forge a Civil Society Off Earth

Without even looking a century or so ahead when we’ll take a Virgin Galactic flight to spend our summers on Europa, there are many legal issues that are already confronting humanity in space. That’s why space lawyers are plenty busy today examining the particular economic and societal challenges found where Earth ends and space begins.…

Space & Spaceflight Alissa Walker Jun 20

Are Any of These Fictional Space Habitats Actually Possible?

Humanity’s future in space is very much in the planning stages. Will we float among the stars in crazy spaceships? Will we set up small camps that sprawl into townships that grow into cities, or is an orbital mothership more human friendly? While scientists, physicists and experts are asking these starbound questions about how we…

Space & Spaceflight Darren Orf Jun 19

Why Space Is The Scariest Place To Encounter The Supernatural

A wise tagline once said “In Space, no one can hear you scream”. And it’s no surprise that space horror is a popular genre, since space is already kind of terrifying by itself. Space madness! But you know what’s really scary? Encountering a supernatural force in space, where there’s no place to run. Above: The…

io9 James Whitbrook Jun 19

What It Will Take for Humans to Live on the Moon

The last time we put a human on the moon was 1972, over four decades ago. Since then we’ve learned a lot about it. Our probes and robots have revealed it’s a harsh, barren space boulder with a nightmarish environment. But, you know what else we’ve learned? In the last 40 years we’ve also learned…

Space & Spaceflight Bryan Lufkin Jun 19

What’s Stopping Us from Building Cities in Space? No, It’s Not Tech.

The US has a plan for Americans to live in space. In 2012, the National Research Council was commissioned by Congress to roadmap the future of human space exploration. Last June, the team published its findings in a massive report, which called for several action steps to be taken immediately. One year later, are we…

Space & Spaceflight Alissa Walker Jun 19

Should We Terraform a New Planet Or Fix Our Own?

Before we talk about terraforming another planet like Mars, we have to talk about Earth—and whether we should be spending our resources trying to save it, or moving on to another pale blue dot. It’s a grim debate that some scientists say it’s time to have. Terraform This We’ve been imagining how to create a…

Tech News Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan Jun 19

NASA: We Are Going to Europa

Jupiter’s moon Europa is covered in a thick layer of constantly-shifting ice which appears to be floating atop a deep, warm ocean. Scientists have long suggested that it’s the most likely place that life might have evolved beyond Earth. And now, at last, NASA has confirmed our first mission to Europa has entered the development…

Space & Spaceflight Annalee Newitz Jun 18

A NASA Expert Is Here To Answer Your Questions About Orbital Settlements

It’s Space Habitats Week here at Gizmodo and io9. Planetary settlements have garnered a lot of attention lately, from caves on the Moon to eventual outposts on Mars (we’re not going to talk about Mars One). Today, you can ask Al Globus, an expert on orbital settlements, about why humanity’s future is in orbit rather…

Space & Spaceflight Kiona Smith-Strickland Jun 18

Your Children Won’t Be Able To Live In Space, Without A Major Upgrade

We all dream of journeying (or living) among the stars. But space is a spectacularly awful place for humans, and we’re not suited for life there at all. And yet, it doesn’t have to be that way. Here are all the ways we’ll need to re-engineer the human body, in order to make space our…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 18

6 Horrible and Doomed Space Missions, Brought to You By Crowdfunding

Government funding for space travel ain’t what it used to be. Private organizations are our best hope for exploring beyond Earth’s increasingly noxious atmosphere, and to get your cash they’re turning to Indiegogo and Kickstarter to fund ambitious space missions. Unfortunately, most of the projects are bonkers messes doomed to fail. Reach for the moon,…

Space & Spaceflight Kate Knibbs Jun 18

The Most Important Thing We Will Need to Survive In Space

None of us would be alive today without plants, and if humans want to survive beyond Earth long-term, we’ll need to bring our leafy greens with us. Eventually, astronauts are going to have to become space farmers. There’s an obvious argument for growing plants in space: unless we want to pack enough shrink-wrapped protein bars…

Tech News Maddie Stone Jun 18

A Galaxy of Gorgeous Space Habitats

Art allows us to see beyond the boundaries of what’s currently possible. On sites like DeviantArt and Tumblr, artists share their stunning visions for life in space. Let’s take a trip through the wormhole to a future of space stations, colony ships and distant living quarters on dusty planets. Space Habitat by Lyno3ghe on DeviantArt…

Space & Spaceflight Kaila Hale-Stern Jun 17

Astronauts Have Done So, So Much With Duct Tape And Electrical Tape

You’ve heard the story of how duct tape saved Apollo 13*, but that’s not the only time tape has come to the rescue in space. Here are some of the ridiculously cool ways tape makes life far, far better in low Earth orbit and beyond. First Things First: Which Tape Is Best? Duct tape, right?…

Tech News Mika McKinnon Jun 17

Interplanetary Spacecraft, Ranked

We may be dirty monkeys at heart, but humans have done some pretty astonishing things in outer space over the past 50 years. We’ve launched dozens of interplanetary spacecraft, and explored most of the solar system with space robots who sent back pictures and scientific data. Here are our favorite of those craft, ranked for…

Space & Spaceflight Annalee Newitz Jun 17

Why Do So Many Science Fiction Stories Take Children Into Space?

Science fiction is filled with kids in space. This makes sense; if the future has us in space, children will be there, too. But if there are children in a spaceship, a number of things can go very wrong, both for the characters and the audience. The biggest pitfall is that putting children in space…

io9 Katharine Trendacosta Jun 17

Why On Earth Would You Want To Live In Space?

io9 and Gizmodo have launched Space Habitats Week, and all I can think is, “Why?” Oh, I understand the scientific challenge, and I don’t begrudge the goal, but there’s absolutely nothing about space that’s tempting to me, and here’s why. Space: The Ultimate Nightclub I’ve read about Dyson spheres and floating environments, and I’ve thought…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Jun 16

People Pretended This Dome Was on Mars For Eight Months, God Bless ‘Em

Looking through the dome’s small porthole, the only view was of a barren field of red rocks. The astronauts ate freeze-dried food and shared cramped quarters for eight months to further space exploration, only venturing out to the alien landscape wearing spacesuits. At the end of the claustrophobic mission, they were greeted with a “Back…

Tech News Kate Knibbs Jun 15

Humanity’s Future Will Be In Caves … On the Moon

While I talked with the legendary roboticist Red Whittaker in his lab at Carnegie Mellon, a half-moon shaped remnant of a Lifesaver was resting on his knee. He nibbled on it as we talked about sending autonomous robots to explore the Moon. That’s when he told me about the Moon caves that could be humanity’s…

Space & Spaceflight Adam Clark Estes Jun 15

We Don’t Have a Moon Base Because You Don’t Need One to Nuke Moscow

Why doesn’t the United States have a base on the Moon? Because getting to the Moon was a matter of national security. Setting up a permanent base there? Not so much. Through the fog of history it’s really, really easy for Americans to forget why we went to the Moon in the first place. It…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 15

Get Your Ass to Space

This week on Gizmodo and io9, we’re escaping the gravity well of Earth. We’ll be exploring every aspect of humanity’s future space habitats—from how we’ll grow ecosystems in space vessels and build our first Moon base, to what physicists think are the most realistic space structures you’ve seen in movies. Pop culture has always been…

Space & Spaceflight Annalee Newitz Jun 15

space habitats week

A Space Lawyer Explains How We’ll Forge a Civil Society Off Earth

Are Any of These Fictional Space Habitats Actually Possible?

Why Space Is The Scariest Place To Encounter The Supernatural

What It Will Take for Humans to Live on the Moon

What’s Stopping Us from Building Cities in Space? No, It’s Not Tech.

Should We Terraform a New Planet Or Fix Our Own?

NASA: We Are Going to Europa

A NASA Expert Is Here To Answer Your Questions About Orbital Settlements

Your Children Won’t Be Able To Live In Space, Without A Major Upgrade

6 Horrible and Doomed Space Missions, Brought to You By Crowdfunding

The Most Important Thing We Will Need to Survive In Space

A Galaxy of Gorgeous Space Habitats

Astronauts Have Done So, So Much With Duct Tape And Electrical Tape

Interplanetary Spacecraft, Ranked

Why Do So Many Science Fiction Stories Take Children Into Space?

Why On Earth Would You Want To Live In Space?

People Pretended This Dome Was on Mars For Eight Months, God Bless ‘Em

Humanity’s Future Will Be In Caves … On the Moon

We Don’t Have a Moon Base Because You Don’t Need One to Nuke Moscow

Get Your Ass to Space

Two Songs We Really Wish Were the Anime Outros for ‘Steel Ball Run’

AI Training Data Giant Mercor Is Reportedly Looking to Buy the Work You Did at Your Old Job

Utah Is Giving Dr. AI the Power to Renew Drug Prescriptions

Here’s the Perfect Excuse to See ‘Project Hail Mary’ Again

US Airlines Are Hiking Bag Fees Amid Iran War Oil Crisis

This Ridiculously Simple Trick Might Stop Gulls From Nabbing Your Lunch

‘Starfleet Academy’ Season 3 Could Have Done the ‘Voyager’ Sequel Episode of Robert Picardo’s Dreams

Judge Kills Lawsuit Against Infamous Study That Might Have Increased Teen Suicides

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

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

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