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The Moon May Soon Face an American Frontier-Era Land Rush

Private firms like SpaceX and Bigelow Aerospace, along with a growing number of national space agencies, are eyeing a manned return to the moon, with an emphasis on settlement rather than exploration.

Tim Robustelli & Dennis Wille

Newly restored Apollo Mission Control Room at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

Social Justice

The First Moon Landing Was Achieved With Less Computing Power Than a Cell Phone or a Calculator

It is often said that we now have more computing power in our pocket than the computer aboard Apollo 11 did 50 years ago. But is that true? And, if so, how much more powerful are our phones?

Graham Kendall

Education

How an Autodidact Astronomer Became the First American to Discover a Comet

Maria Mitchell was the only widely recognized and respected female astronomer of her time—something she fought to change.

Laetitia Meyrueix

NASA astronaut Christina Koch gestures from inside a bus shortly before her expedition launched at the Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on March 14th, 2019.

NASA Says It Hopes to Accommodate Smaller Sizes in a New Space Suit Planned for the Mid-2020s

Though the agency eliminated the extra-small and small in previous space suits, NASA's lead spokesperson says sizing will factor into new designs.

Emily Moon

NASA astronaut Anne McClain reacts as her space suit is tested prior to the launch onboard the Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft at the Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on December 3rd, 2018.

Why NASA Canceled the First All-Female Space Walk

Can the space suits of tomorrow overcome the gender disparities of today?

Emily Moon

A Long March 3B rocket lifts off from the Xichang launch center in Xichang in China's southwestern Sichuan province early on December 8th, 2018.

News in Brief

What Will the Success of China’s Space Program Mean for NASA?

China's achievements continue to accumulate, leading some to wonder if this could be the start of a new space race.

Wendy Whitman Cobb

After nine years in deep space collecting data that indicates our sky to be filled with billions of hidden planets, NASA's Kepler space telescope has run out of fuel needed for further science operations.

Environment

As NASA’s Kepler Mission Comes to an End, Planetary Research Moves Forward

The Kepler telescope has run out of fuel and officially entered retirement. Luckily, there is a replacement on the way to continue our observation of the stars.

Jason Steffen

Environment

Spotting the Hardware in the Heavens

It's tricky to get a good estimate for how many satellites are in the skies above us, but if you've ever looked up at the night sky you've probably seen one orbiting the Earth.

Christopher Palma