Why alien hunters have spent 60 years finding new solutions for the Drake EquationNovember 30, 2021 – Astronomer Frank Drake came up with the famous formula as he prepared for a last-minute meeting in 1961. It still guides the search for intelligent life beyond Earth.
Why the U.S. once set off a nuclear bomb in spaceJuly 15, 2021 – The results from the 1962 Starfish Prime test serve as a warning of what might happen if Earth’s magnetic field gets blasted again with high doses of radiation.
How people viewed the Moon before Apollo and ArtemisSeptember 06, 2022 – Centuries before any lunar missions, human reverence for the Moon's beauty influenced civilizations and religions, aided timekeepers and farmers, and inspired scientific inquiry.
Odd Martian meteorites traced back to largest volcanic structure in the solar systemNovember 19, 2021 – The rocks were most likely ejected from Tooting crater more than a million years ago and are now helping scientists piece together the red planet's turbulent past.
SpaceX takes 4 passengers to orbit—a glimpse at private spaceflight’s futureSeptember 16, 2021 – The Inspiration4 crew will spend three days circling the planet on a mission that aims to raise $200 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Where earthbound travelers can search for extraterrestrial lifeJuly 19, 2021 – Here’s where believers and skeptics alike can see U.S. scientists at work.
This asteroid is one of the most likely to hit Earth. Here’s what it means for our future.August 11, 2021 – New ultraprecise measurements show that the asteroid Bennu has a higher chance than thought of impacting our planet sometime in the next 300 years, NASA says.
Ripples in Saturn's rings reveal the planet's giant, slushy coreAugust 16, 2021 – Saturn’s core is an unexpectedly immense mixture of ice, rock, and gas, surprising scientists who are trying to figure out how the planet formed and evolved to the enigmatic world we see today.
Hellish Venus poses many mysteries. New spacecraft aim to solve them.October 06, 2021 – A flurry of upcoming missions may uncover whether the harsh world was once an Earth-like oasis that could have harbored life.
Core of Mars is shockingly big, NASA’s InSight mission revealsJuly 22, 2021 – Looking inside the red planet will help scientists better understand how Mars formed and became the hostile, rusty desert we see today.
Mars rover grabs first rock sample, a major step in hunt for alien lifeSeptember 07, 2021 – NASA’s Perseverance rover will cache this pristine sample and others for return to Earth, which will “change everything for Mars science.”
One of the largest comets ever seen is headed our waySeptember 29, 2021 – Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein offers a rare opportunity for a generation of astronomers to study an object from the extreme edges of the solar system.
Planet circling a burned-out star offers a glimpse at the solar system's fateOctober 13, 2021 – The Jupiter-size world narrowly avoided destruction as its star ballooned during its death throes—just as our sun is expected to do in about five billion years.
Signs of an extreme planet found in another galaxyOctober 25, 2021 – An odd x-ray signal hints that a Saturn-size world could be the first known planet lurking in the Whirlpool Galaxy 28 million light-years away.
Making the MoonJune 17, 2019 – Learn how to make a model of a 3D lunar crater, plus find out how to draw the moon.
NASA's OSIRIS-REx secures asteroid sample after surprise leakOctober 29, 2020 – The spacecraft grabbed so much of the asteroid Bennu, its sample-collection device got jammed. Now the material is safe and sound.
