Australian Space Agency
In Australia, space defence gets billions of dollars in funding, and commercial projects get hundreds of millions. Space science gets only $2 million a year.
SpaceX
There has never been a dedicated mission sent to the “ice giants”, Uranus and Neptune. But there may be one on the horizon.
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How will they bring the structure back safely? And where will the surviving components crash?
ISAS / JAXA
The Hayabusa2 mission brought a piece of asteroid Ryugu back to Earth, where it has helped scientists resolve a long-standing puzzle.
Where 2020 XL5 would appear in the dawn sky if we could see it with the naked eye from Chile.
NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. da Silva
There may be many more asteroids in the same orbit as Earth, some of which we might be able to mine.
Artist’s conception
NASA
Webb is NASA’s largest and most powerful ever space telescope – set to investigate the formation of the furthest galaxies from Earth.
Grand ideas of extraterrestrial colonisation are hardly new. In the 1940s, the nascent Space Age set in motion calls for a new wave of colonisation – directed outwards into space.
from www.shutterstock.com
Humanity as a whole owns the Solar System in a shared fashion. It cannot be claimed by one person, or one country, or one company.
We have only sent people to the Moon six times so far.
Design Projects/Shutterstock
A space station on the Moon could be built out of lunar concrete.
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International space law doesn’t explicitly prohibit anti-satellite missile tests — which makes uproar over Russia’s actions all the more significant.
This image of the Earth from a distance, known as the Blue Marble, was taken by Apollo 17 astronauts.
NASAMarshall/Flickr
Photographing the full Earth from space could provide a profound and timely reminder of its vulnerability in the face of climate change.
ispace
A 10kg rover, due to land on the Moon by 2024, will be fitted with an advanced robotic arm design and manufactured in Australia.
Musk’s rivalry with Bezos might be a publicity stunt.
ALEXANDER BECHER/EPA
Many Silicon Valley entrepreneurs cooperate closely behind the scenes.
Potential conflicts in space over resources can be prevented by a commitment to peaceful collaboration.
(Shutterstock)
As the space race is resumed, and expanded to include private corporations, it is more important than ever to lay the groundwork for peaceful collaboration.
Artist’s impression of BepiColombo during a swing-by of Mercury.
ESA/ATG medialab
What did Mercury look like as BepiColombo swung by?
It’s important to understand sex and eroticism in space.
(Photo by Nong Vang on Unsplash)
As space exploration takes off, it will become increasingly important to study and understand sex, intimacy, desire and pleasure off-Earth.
An artist’s rendition of a future space colony.
(Shutterstock)
Billionaires Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are in a space race, but their endeavours reflect a colonial mentality. This comes at the expense of finding solutions for our current environmental challenges.
Recent space flights by multi-billionaires highlight the extreme economic inequality in America.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
In 1970, Gil Scott-Heron penned a spoken word song called ‘Whitey on the Moon’ that criticized the 1969 Moon landing. A hip-hop scholar explains why the song still reverberates today.
Chinese astronauts Tang Hongbo, Nie Haisheng, and Liu Boming during ceremony before heading to Tiangong.
ROMAN PILIPEY/EPA
China’s space programme is going from strength to strength.
Mars northern polar cap, photographed by the NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter mission.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
New results show why and how water is disappearing from Mars atmosphere.
Sara Webb
More than 60 images capturing huge expanses of sky are sent to us from Chile. Within them we can see thousands of bright spots. What do we find when we look closer?