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Articles on Space exploration

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Cassini makes the first radio occultation of Saturn’s rings producing this simulated image with green for particles smaller than 5cm and purple where particles are larger. NASA/JPL

The beauty and mystery of Saturn’s rings revealed by the Cassini mission

The Cassini space probe took us up close and through the beautiful rings of Saturn. It captured some amazing images, and even the sound of the rings during its mission.
A Cassini portrait of five of Saturn’s moons. Janus (179km across) is on the far left, Pandora (81km across) orbits between the A ring and the thin F ring, Enceladus (504km across) is centre, Rhea (1,528km), is bisected by the right edge of the image and the smaller moon Mimas (396km) is seen beyond Rhea also on the right side of the image. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

What Cassini’s mission revealed about Saturn’s known and newly discovered moons

The Cassini space probe discovered several new moons on its mission to Saturn, and revealed fresh views of the moons we already knew about.
A view from the ‘Kimberley’ formation on Mars taken by NASA’s Curiosity rover. The strata in the foreground dip towards the base of Mount Sharp, indicating flow of water toward a basin that existed before the larger bulk of the mountain formed. NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

The new space race: why we need a human mission to Mars

We could learn a lot from any mission to send people to Mars, such as whether there’s life elsewhere in the universe or even the technology for new household appliances.
This enhanced-color image of Jupiter’s south pole and its swirling atmosphere was created by citizen scientist Roman Tkachenko using data from the JunoCam imager on NASA’s Juno spacecraft. NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Roman Tkachenko

Juno mission unveils Jupiter’s complex interior, weather and magnetism

We may need to re-think our models of Jupiter’s formation thanks to the first results from Juno probe orbiting the planet, and new observations from Earth.
Between the Earth and the moon: An artist’s rendering of a refueling depot for deep-space exploration. Sung Wha Kang (RISD)

Mining the moon for rocket fuel to get us to Mars

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.
Saturn and its rings backlit by the sun, which is blocked by the planet in this view. Encircling the planet and inner rings is the much more extended E-ring. NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Water, weather, new worlds: Cassini mission revealed Saturn’s secrets

With the probe now on its ‘Grand Finale,’ a Cassini team member describes the amazing discoveries it made about the ringed planet and its many moons.
Eugene Cernan inside the lunar module after his second moonwalk of the mission. His spacesuit is covered with moondust. NASA

‘Peace and hope for all mankind’: the stellar legacy of the last moon landing

Often eclipsed by Apollo 11, the final manned moonshot left far more than bootprints in the dust. In these troubling times, it also left us with a lasting message of hope.
The idea that there’s a moral imperative for humans to expand beyond Earth is echoed by influential proponents of space exploration. Tamara Craiu/Flickr

To boldly go toward new frontiers, we first need to learn from our colonial past

Technology had enabled humans to explore the deep sea, the Earth’s poles, and outer space. But we shouldn’t forget historical lessons about frontiers in the process of traversing them.

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