NASA is backing four commercial space station projects. The newcomers may find they have much to learn about how people really live in space.
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Articles on Space
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Megaconstellations of satellites will visually clutter the night sky, disrupting astronomical research. And the environmental damage caused by these satellites is still unknown.
An asteroid that landed in Russia in 2013 injured 1,500 people – and was just 20 metres in diameter. What could we do if a major threat was detected?
Studying the extreme environment of the Virgo Cluster — which comprises thousands of galaxies — helps us learn what factors can affect and start or stop star formation.
We have to look back to the Big Bang to find out.
Activities in space today are far more numerous and complicated compared to 1967, before humans had landed on the moon or Elon Musk had been born. Two experts explain the need for better laws to keep space peaceful.
Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune and Uranus all have rings.
Russia’s testing of an anti-satellite weapon risked the life of astronauts on the International Space Station and could have astronomical impacts on Earth.
A Russian satellite has been destroyed in a missile strike, creating a vast amount of debris that joins the tens of thousands of pieces already in orbit around the Earth.
Russia destroyed one of its old satellites during a successful test of an anti-satellite weapon. A space security expert explains what this weapon was and the dangers of the expanding debris field.
International space law doesn’t explicitly prohibit anti-satellite missile tests — which makes uproar over Russia’s actions all the more significant.
The fastest things ever made by humans are spacecraft, and the fastest spacecraft reached 330,000 mph – only 0.05% the speed of light. But there are ways to go faster.
A close call for the International Space Station highlights the growing problem of space junk putting satellites at risk.
On the ultra-hot exoplanet WASP-76b, metal is vaporized in the heat. Studying the atmosphere of extreme planets will reveal more wild and weird weather.
Photographing the full Earth from space could provide a profound and timely reminder of its vulnerability in the face of climate change.
Such a mission could be developed soon, allowing astrophysicists to take selfies of the solar system and use the Sun’s gravity as a lens to peer deep into space.
Stay-at-home and quarantining orders have led to increasing isolation. Virtual reality may help alleviate some of the negative feelings of isolation, and this has potential implications for space travel.
The sky on other planets doesn’t look the same as the sky on Earth does. And that’s because of the different gases in Earth’s atmosphere.
There are vast quantities of water ice on the moon that represent the potential for extraction and use in rocket fuel. But there are no practical reasons to mine this water.
The James Webb Space Telescope is set to launch into orbit in December 2021. Its mission is to search for the first light to ever shine in the universe.
Top contributors
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Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences, The Open University
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University Distinguished Professor of Astronomy, University of Arizona
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Associate Professor in Archaeology and Space Studies, Flinders University
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Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland
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Professor of Strategy and Security Studies, Air University
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Emeritus Professor of International Law, Western Sydney University
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Associate Professor in Astronomy, Monash University
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Senior Lecturer in Physics, Nottingham Trent University
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Sterrenkenner, History & Philosophy of Science, The University of Melbourne
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Reader in Astrophysics, Keele University
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Andrew Dempster is a Friend of The Conversation.
Director, Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research; Professor, School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, UNSW Sydney
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Space Plasma Physicist, Imperial College London
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Lecturer in Astronomy, Nottingham Trent University
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Associate Professor of International Affairs, Georgia Institute of Technology
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Professor of Hypersonic Aerodynamics, The University of Queensland
