Marina Koren
When a Mars Simulation Goes Wrong
A recent mission atop a Hawaiian volcano shows humans still have much to learn before they set foot on another world.
-
![]()
NASA / JPL-Caltech NASA Declares a Beloved Mars Mission Over
The space agency will stop trying to contact the Opportunity rover, which was sent to Mars to search for evidence of water.
-
![]()
Johnson Space Center / NASA A Very Relatable Moment on the International Space Station
Even astronauts have to deal with plumbing problems.
-
![]()
Kevin Mazur / Getty Images A Space Nerd’s Reading of Ariana Grande’s ‘NASA’ Song
The singer says she’s a star. But what kind?
-
![]()
NASA / JPL-Caltech A Window of Opportunity Closes on Mars
It could be time to say goodbye to a beloved rover.
-
![]()
Tim Kopra / NASA How Do Plants Grow in Space?
For humans to survive off Earth, we’ll need vegetables to eat and flowers to admire.
-
![]()
Susan Walsh / AP Trump’s Space Ambitions Are Too Big for One President
The reality of space travel squashed his impulsive desire to reach Mars in his first term rather than in the 2030s.
-
![]()
Mark Peterson / Getty When a Harvard Professor Talks About Aliens
News about extraterrestrial life sounds better coming from an expert at a high-prestige institution.
-
![]()
NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute The Massive Mystery of Saturn’s Rings
Astronomers have produced the best measure yet of the planet’s signature bands.
-
![]()
Mike Blake / Reuters Don’t Blame the Government Shutdown for SpaceX Delays
The impasse in Washington hasn’t yet threatened a significant milestone in the American space program.
-
![]()
Sloan Digital Sky Survey Astronomers Glimpse a Luminous Object Born From a Star’s Death
It was unusually bright and evolving fast.
-
![]()
Bettmann / Getty The Chill of U.S.-Russia Relations Creeps Into Space
Bungled plans between the U.S. and Russia highlight how hot-and-cold international relations mess with space exploration.
-
![]()
NASA / ESA / STScI What’s Better Than One Mysterious Cosmic Signal?
Two mysterious cosmic signals
-
![]()
ESO / S. Brunier The Milky Way Could Crash Into Another Galaxy Billions of Years Earlier Than Predicted
Mark your calendars for a rendezvous with the Large Magellanic Cloud.
-
![]()
John William Draper / Wikimedia Photos: A Collection of Lunar Firsts
Investment in lunar exploration is growing once more—humanity has achieved many lunar firsts, but others are still to come.
-
![]()
NASA / JPL Why the Far Side of the Moon Matters So Much
China’s successful landing is part of the moon’s long geopolitical history.
-
![]()
NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory ... A Close Look at the Most Distant Object NASA Has Ever Explored
In the icy reaches of the solar system, NASA discovered a snowman-shaped object.
-
![]()
Tim Clayton / Corbis / Getty Imagine Giving Birth in Space
A start-up wants a woman to deliver a child 250 miles above Earth. The first question: Why?
-
![]()
NASA / Lauritta / Shutterstock / The Atlantic NASA Hits Its New Year’s Target at the Edge of the Solar System
As partygoers downed champagne, a spacecraft swept past a mysterious object 4 billion miles from Earth.
-
![]()
Melissa Coffey via Reuters An Ancient Tradition Unfolds in New York
The recent light show over the city tapped into a deep vein in human culture.
-
![]()
Anthony Wallace / AFP / Getty Who Gets to Look Out to the Edge of the Universe?
For years, more men than women were allowed to use the world's most powerful telescope—until the system changed.
