With NASA planning more missions to space in the future, scientists are studying how to mitigate health hazards that come with space flight.
AP Photo/John Raoux
Space can damage everything from your cardiovascular and nervous systems to your mental health – long voyages can feel isolating for many.
Is there life beyond our world?
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Planetary analogues are sites on Earth that are so extreme that they replicate those of celestial bodies in our solar system.
An artist’s depiction of two astronauts on Mars.
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If an astronaut were to die on Mars, neither cremation nor burial would be good options.
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There’s a limit to the amount of oxygen we can carry with us in space – particularly if we want to do long-haul journeys to the Moon and Mars.
Occator crater, Ceres.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA
If we could go sightseeing across our cosmic neighbourhood, these would be some of the best highlights.
Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, launched from a spaceport in Texas.
AP Photo/Eric Gay)
The launch of a new rocket is always an exciting event. SpaceX’s ‘go fast and fail’ approach means that even though the test ended with engineers blowing up the rocket, it was a valuable first flight.
Io has volcanism.
NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
Jupiter’s moon Io has more than 400 active volcanoes on its surface.
Eight planets, including Earth, revolve around our Sun.
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It all starts with a cloud of gas and dust.
Scientists think Mars rovers may have some blind spots when it comes to finding signs of life.
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Our Mars rovers might not be sensitive enough to detect signs of life. But lessons from Antarctica might make future missions more successful.
Growing food in space will rely on innovative agricultural technologies.
(NASA)
Agricultural technologies to grow food on Mars can help address climate change, sustainability and food scarcity challenges.
A towering dust devil casts a serpentine shadow over the Martian surface.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
The first ever sound recording of a dust devil on Mars reminds us that there is a lot to learn about how they sculpt the landscape.
Three taikonauts rode aboard the Shenzhou 15 mission on their way to China’s new Tiangong space station.
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China has completed construction of the Tiangong space station, and science projects are now underway. The station is an important piece of China’s ambitious plans for space activity in coming years.
Going to space requires more than just rocket science.
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Spacecraft are just a small part of what it takes for humans to become an interplanetary species. A political science professor explains how there is much more to creating a spacefaring society.
InSight’s dusty solar panel.
NASA/JPL
A team of scientists have found a surprising amount of water ice on Mars.
Artist’s view of what Mars would have looked like a billion years ago.
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A study has found that microorganisms living on Mars billions of years ago may have left the planet uninhabitable.
Concept illustration for research robots that could bring samples of Mars rocks to Earth-based labs.
(NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Sophisticated equipment on the Perseverance rover is helping answer some of the many questions researchers have about Mars’ geology over time.
Peter Thiel: his plan to build a bunker-type lodge in remote NZ was stymied.
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Douglas Rushkoff’s Survival of the Richest is less about tech billionaires and their ‘bonkers’ escape plans than it is an entertaining primer on the various ills of late capitalism.
NASA/JPL
Some scientists are keen to send humans to Venus on a flyby.
Rovers on Mars frequently come across debris – like this heat shield and spring – from their own or other missions.
NASA/JPL-Caltech
Discarded pieces of landing gear, crashed spacecraft and wear and tear have produced a lot of debris that is now scattered around the Martian surface.
NASA / JPL-Caltech
In an extraterrestrial first, scientists have linked seismic waves on Mars to meteorite impact craters spotted via satellite.