To intercept the ISS, the capsule must match the station’s speed, altitude and inclination.
India’s Chandrayaan-2 Moon mission blasts off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India, on 22 July 2019.
Indian Space Research Organisation/EPA
Nicholas Borroz, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
India’s Moon shot isn’t just about prestige. As launch costs fall, the space economy is poised to boom. A lengthening list of nations is eyeing the sky.
‘Mad’ Mike Hughes stands beside his rocket in his roadside launch area near Amboy, California in November 2017.
PAUL BUCK/EPA
Even if we can prevent a global warming apocalypse, our planet won’t be safe forever – the sun will one day expand. So should we try to move the Earth to a wider orbit?
BepiColombo MPO at Mercury,
Spacecraft ESA, Mercury NASA
We’ve launched rockets from Woomera in South Australia, but in reality Australia could support multiple launch sites. And the closer to the equator, typically the better.
The SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket takes off from Cape Kennedy in Florida, USA on 06 February 2018.
Cristobal Herrera/AAP
The launch of Elon Musk’s Falcon Heavy rocket is undoubtedly a spectacular feat of engineering - but the release of a sports car into orbit also says something about our values as human beings.
Falcon Heavy’s first payload will be a Tesla Roadster, set to become the world’s fastest car following its launch into a heliocentric orbit.
spacex/flickr
SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy could propel two fully loaded city buses more than 50 times the height of Mount Everest at 32 times the cruising speed of a Boeing 747.
Between the Earth and the moon: An artist’s rendering of a refueling depot for deep-space exploration.
Sung Wha Kang (RISD)
To get us to Mars and beyond, a team of students from around the world has a plan involving lunar rovers mining ice and a space station between the Earth and the moon.
The discovery of the year was the first detection of gravitational waves.
LIGO/T. Pyle