The Double Asteroid Redirection Test successfully showed that it is possible to crash a spacecraft into a small asteroid. Whether the approach could save Earth from a future threat remains to be seen.
Flying into Hurricane Harvey aboard a a P-3 Hurricane Hunter nicknamed Kermit in 2018.
Lt. Kevin Doreumus/NOAA
The meteorologist leading NOAA’s 2022 hurricane field program describes flying through eyewalls and the technology in these airborne labs for tracking rapid intensification in real time.
Illustration of DART before impact.
NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben
Crashing the 1,340-pound DART probe into the small moonlet orbiting the asteroid Didymos should redirect its trajectory – and could be a model for how to save Earth in the future.
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.
Astronomers think the most likely place to find life in the galaxy is on super-Earths, like Kepler-69c, seen in this artist’s rendering.
NASA Ames/JPL-CalTech
Newly discovered super-Earths add to the list of planets around other stars that offer the best chance of finding life. An astronomer explains what makes these super-Earths such excellent candidates.
A scholar of Greek mythology explains the naming of NASA’s missions after mythological figures and why the name Artemis is indicative of a more diverse era of space exploration.
Artist’s concept of an Artemis astronaut picking up lunar dust.
NASA's Advanced Concepts Laboratory
When the Orion Crew Capsule orbits the Moon there will be no one on board. But the mission will mark a key step in bringing humans back to Earth’s dusty sidekick.
Artemis-1 on the launch pad at Kennedy Space Centre.
NASA
The era of lunar resource use is quickly approaching. But with legal and practical issues still looming, nations are starting to think about sustainable ways to mine and protect the Moon.
Private companies have launched dozens of imaging satellites – like the two small boxes in the middle of the photo – into orbit in recent years.
NASA/Steve Jurvetson
Private satellite companies have boomed in recent years, and many experts have wondered what role they would play in a conflict. They have proved to be invaluable to Ukraine in recent months.
The kiss aired one year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned laws banning interracial marriage.
CBS via Getty Images
The head of the Russian space agency announced that the country will withdraw from the International Space Station after 2024. A space policy expert explains what this means and why it’s happening now.
The Yellow River in China winds past aquaculture and an oil and gas field on its way to a newly formed channel.
NASA
With decades of images and data from the same locations, these satellites can show changes over time, including deforestation, changes in waterways and how loss of trees corresponds to urban heat.
NASA released five new images from the James Webb Space Telescope, revealing incredible details of ancient galaxies, stars and the presence of water in the atmosphere of a distant planet.