Space Exploration

The moon is covered with little glass beads, each containing a tiny bit of water, which could add up to huge reserves for future missions.

By Jesslyn Shields

It's been more than 50 years since humans first landed on the moon. Pull up a lunar module and let's see how much you know about Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins and the adventure that immortalized them.

By Mark Mancini

He was responsible for some of humanity's greatest achievements, and his name now graces a massive NASA project. But how did a law degree lead to being a space pioneer?

By Nathan Chandler

Those eager beavers who want to sign up for the one-way ticket to Mars had better read this first. You might appreciate how special – and rare – life on Earth really is!

By Patrick J. Kiger

Fling away your Fodor's! Toss your TripAdvisor! We have the only guided tour of outer space you'll need -- a foray into the final frontier so ambitious it will make the Voyager probes' Grand Tours look like daytrips.

By Nicholas Gerbis

Do you know what that spacecraft is? It's one of the old Soviet space shuttles, and it never would have gotten built without the help of one the tiny countries on our list. Can you guess which one?

By Nicholas Gerbis

Human beings have only gone as far as the moon and back -- and that's certainly an accomplishment in and of itself. But what other methods do scientists use to learn about our galaxy and beyond? What have we achieved so far in our exploration of the final frontier?

By Rick Mayda

Two mission scientists working with the Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter give us the breakdown of the historic achievements the two Martian ships have made in the months on the Red Planet.

By Melissa Rice & Briony Horgan

NASA's DART spacecraft hit its mark Monday, Sept. 26 after years of planning. The bullseye was asteroid Dimorphos. Here's what NASA hopes to learn now.

By Patrick J. Kiger

An unplanned rocket booster crash into the surface of the moon will hopefully shed some light on the mysterious physics of planetary impacts.

By Paul Hayne

Before humans can go to Mars, NASA needs to know how to prepare for the challenges. So, they're looking for a few brave men and women to live in isolation for a year at the Johnson Space Center. Want to join them?

By Valerie Stimac

One of the three-man crew of Apollo 11, the mission that first set foot on the moon, Michael Collins was a true American hero.

By Mark Mancini

Using the Chandra X-ray Observatory, a team of scientists discovered what could very well be the first exoplanet outside the Milky Way. It's massive and might even orbit a black hole.

By Valerie Stimac

SETI is the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, and it's dedicated to discovering signals sent to Earth from far, far away. Find out what would happen if an extraterrestrial were to make contact.

By Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D.

Don't worry. We still love you, Earth, but we've been wondering about the possibility of life on other worlds for centuries, and now we have the tools to do some exploring. What have astronomers found so far?

By Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D., Patrick J. Kiger & Nicholas Gerbis

The Hubble Space Telescope is one of the most amazing machines in orbit right now. Learn more about the Hubble Space Telescope and how it works.

By Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D. & Sarah Goddard

Mars Odyssey is NASA's latest Mars spacecraft, and it's going to the red planet in search of water. Learn how this orbiter could pave the way for manned missions to Mars!

By Kevin Bonsor

How can I track the NASA's Starshine satellite?

Apollo astronauts left a lot of stuff behind on the moon. Can you see any of that from Earth, even with a telescope?

By Valerie Stimac & Sascha Bos

If you take cosmic dust and add plasma ... do you get life? Findings suggest that plasma crystals may be the key to one of the universe's greatest mysteries: Is there life out there?

By Jacob Silverman

The hunt for exoplanets, planets orbiting sun-like stars, is on! Thanks to new equipment, NASA has spotted thousands of them. But which ones might be able to handle life?

By William Harris & Jacob Silverman

Martians, there's a spiffy, new rover in town. If you want to meet this nuclear-powered, laser-toting monster truck of science, head on over to the Gale Crater to get a glimpse.

By Nicholas Gerbis

If the Earth is struck by calamity, will survivors find salvation in the proposed Doomsday Ark? The lunar-based vault will contain information that could help jumpstart a new civilization.

By Julia Layton

You probably self-identify as an Earthling, right? What if we told you that a few seed-bearing meteorites from Mars may have changed that little fact?

By William Harris

Have you met the driving force behind the U.S. space program for the foreseeable future? Take a second to get acquainted with the proposed blasting behemoth.

By Nicholas Gerbis