Space technology

Space-based laser

The Pentagon’s drive to field a workable missile defense shield has produced a $10 billion flop

Technology

The Pentagon spent billions of dollars and years of effort trying to field a missile defense system. What it go was a bunch of disparate parts that sort of work — but nothing that really does what it set out to do.

A vista from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity

That one-way ticket to Mars you were hoping for may not be such a good idea

Science
NASA's Mars rover, Curiosity, is pictured in this February 3, 2013 handout self-portrait.

The Curiosity rover uncovers evidence that Mars once had a massive lake

Science
An artist's rendering of the Lunar Mission One probe.

Kickstarter is going to the Moon in a new crowdfunded space mission

Science
Sheriffs' deputies look at wreckage from the crash of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo near Cantil, California November 2, 2014. A suborbital passenger spaceship being developed by Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic company crashed during a test flight on Fr

As businesses enter the space race, the need to make a buck leaves questions about safety

Business
An unmanned Antares rocket is seen exploding seconds after liftoff from a commercial launch pad in this still image from NASA video at Wallops Island, Virginia, on October 28, 2014.

These kids watched their science project disappear in the Antares rocket explosion

Science

Four Canadian students were ecstatic to have their science experiment headed to the International Space Station aboard the Antares rocket. So they gathered to watch the launch on Tuesday — only to see it explode live on TV.

Ross Lockwood. Photo by Lucie Poulet.

What would life on Mars be like? A Canadian scientist spent months in a NASA-built dome to find out

Science

Ross Lockwood went on a space journey to Mars — without leaving Earth. He spent 120 days living in a NASA-built dome on the slopes of a dormant volcano in Hawaii.Ross Lockwood went on a space journey to Mars — without leaving Earth. He spent 120 days living in a NASA-built dome on the slopes of a dormant volcano in Hawaii.

NASA’s Voyager Now First Human-Made Object to Leave the Solar System

Elvis has finally left the building. In 1977, a little spacecraft named Voyager 1 was launched, leaving our world for a long journey.  Voyager is NASA’s little Elvis–and now it has finally left the Solar System. In doing so, the spacecraft has become the first human-made object to reach interstellar space. The 36-year-old probe is […]

Microbes below Earth’s surface could be potential link to Mars rover discovery

Environment

Carbon compounds found in a drill sample from Mars and microbes found below the Earth’s surface could be related to one another according to researchers at the Deep Carbon Observatory. Though they’re learning more about deep microbial life, some researchers say it could be the link to previous life on Mars.

NASA’s outreach efforts around rover landings capture new attention

Environment

Among the most popular videos on YouTube in 2012 there was music, an angry dad and even a guy jumping out of a space capsule. But among the hits, was an 11-minute, animated depiction of what it was like for the Mars Curiosity rover to land on Mars.