SpaceX’s Dragon 2 will carry humans for the first time in 2020.
NASA/SpaceX
From alien life to human spaceflight, 2020 may deliver some exciting news.
Shoot for the skies, but do it sustainably.
SpaceX/EPA/AAP Image
The opportunities in space are limitless. But without a sustainable approach to the space industry, our ability to exploit them won’t be.
An artist concept of the Starship following separation from the first stage Super Heavy.
SpaceX/flickr
Musk’s plans have potentially dire consequences for alien life, astronauts and the environment.
A composite image showing the distribution of dark matter, galaxies and hot gas in a merging galaxy cluster taken with NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and with the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in Hawaii.
NASA
The Canadian Long Range Plan 2020 for astronomy and astrophysics builds on Canadian research’s previous success to extend Canada’s role.
Earthrise.
NASA
Current plans for lunar exploration may end up destroying ancient, genetic samples from Earth that have ended up on the moon.
Much of Mars’s surface is covered by fine-grained materials that hide the bedrock. The above bedrock is mostly exposed and it is in these areas that micrometeorites likely to accumulate.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
It’s established Mars was once a planet with surface-level water. So with multiple MARS missions starting next year, the key to seeking out martian life may instead lie in the contents of its ‘dust’.
Artist concept of lunar flashlight.
NASA
NASA and the European Space Agency are planning a series of lunar missions using tiny ‘CubeSats’ to map the moon for resources.
Enigmatic Europa.
NASA
NASA’s Europa Clipper mission just got the green light - here’s what it could achieve.
The Deep Space Gateway.
NASA
By 2069, we could be seeing the start of regular journeys from the moon to Mars.
The fifth episode of the To the moon and beyond podcast series explores where we will be travelling in 2069.
Artist’s impression of a lunar base.
NASA
Any base on the moon would need very thick walls.
Ever since the Parkes dish helped broadcast the Moon landings, Australia has been hiding its light under a bushel when it comes to space science.
AAP Image/Mick Tsikas
Australia played a vital role in beaming the Apollo 11 Moon landing to the world. But since then we’ve passed up the opportunity to cement our place in exploring outer space.
A Sept. 20 citizen “raid” on Area 51, a secretive military installation long fancied to hold alien remains, has drawn worldwide interest.
Fer Gregory/Shutterstock.com
As more than a million people have indicated plans to partake in a citizen ‘raid’ on the famed Area 51 to ‘see them aliens,’ a scholar on the search for extraterrestrial life weighs in on the hype.
One giant leap for robotkind? Future space travel will only be possible through extensive advances in space robotics.
Shutterstock
The future of lunar exploration and space travel will be possible only through advances in robotic design and implementation.
This second era of space exploration will include a diverse corp of astronauts.
studiostoks/Shutterstock.com
The new era of space exploration is characterized by an emphasis on diversity and international cooperation. But there’s a lot of work to do before there’s gender equality in STEM fields and at NASA.
David Bowie in the film clip for Space Oddity: the song would become an anthem for space exploration with an enduring appeal.
YouTube
Fifty years ago, on July 11, 1969, David Bowie released Space Oddity. With its adventurous orchestration, unsettling harmonics and melancholy narrative, the now classic song captured a moment.
Artist’s impression of the Dragonfly landing.
NASA
Titan may host primitive lifeforms and could tell us how life arose on our own planet.
Artist’s impression of the NanoSail D satellite in orbit with solar sail.
NASA
Scientists are hoping to turn tiny spacecraft into starships by coupling them with large solar sails.
A new podcast series from The Conversation exploring the last 50 years of space exploration and the 50 years to come.
Varied terrain on Europa.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/SETI Institute
Whether anything could live in Europa’s subsurface ocean depends on what kind of salt it contains. Now scientists have found out.