We're lucky enough to live on a planet where it's comparatively easy to design and build aeroplanes that work: our atmosphere and the Earth's gravitational pull are kind in that respect. But what would happen if you tried to fly a regular plane around another planet or moon? Read More >>
To build and supply a lunar base, astronauts will need heavy-duty space trucks for transporting gear. There's just one problem: no roads. That's why NASA engineers designed the rover they call ATHLETE (All-Terrain Hex-Limbed Extra-Terrestrial Explorer)-to handle any terrain, whether dusty, rocky, or crater-y. Read More >>
Featured comment by Chris Mills:
"This is a good point -- but the Hellfire was first designed hand-in-hand with the Apache programme, which is why it was designed to be launches from h..." More »
The idea of mining in space surely can't be anything more than a massive tax dodge by the richest people on the planet, but... a second space mining company has announced plans to mine asteroids for valuable minerals. It's really going to happen. Read More >>
Featured comment by toonarmy:
"I'd like to take a guess that when a probe attaches itself to an asteroid, the company that owns the probe, also owns the rights to mine the asteroid...." More »
Being an astronaut is hard. Risk your life every day, work long hours, complete tasks lists with military precision, and having to poop in space. But it definitely has its perks, like the breathtaking view and throwing your fellow astronauts across a hatch. [Twitter] Read More >>
We've seen a lot of DIY space balloons, and they're all usually pretty similar to look at. Balloon goes UP. Balloon comes DOWN. Sorta-outer-space in between. Caleb Anderson's looks a little different. Because he sent a bunch of cameras up, and because they caught the balloon exploding like a wad of pudding and dispersing into the stratosphere. Read More >>
Aliens? In 2013? Could this be the year we finally make contact with extra-terrestrial beings, who are going to enslave the entire human race, or just blow up our planet to make room for an interstellar highway? Maybe, if this video of a UFO flying round our Moon is real. Read More >>
Don't you wish your office cubicle was like this? A nice wooden desk and a comfortable chair in a peaceful, fresh garden, just a few steps away from your kitchen and bedroom. I can imagine working there, sipping some lemonade on a perfect spring day, going to the big chair by the fountain to read something or have a cat nap from time to time. Read More >>
Featured comment by solublepeter:
"Its working outside with a laptop or iPad that is the hardest thing to solve.
I have this pop-up tent for my laptop screen, but its still not ideal..." More »
Hundreds of sci-fi movies have depicted hyperspace travel, where stars appear as streaks of light as the spacecraft in question surges forward. But according to a team of physicists, that's bullshit — and hyperspace travel would look a whole lot fuzzier. Read More >>
Remember that US government petition, that asked for a Death Star, with a straight face and all. Well, surprise! It's not happening, and here's why: Read More >>
The idea of firing objects into space from a cannon was first hinted at by Newton, and has been seized upon by many a sci-fi writer since. But what's the science behind the idea like — and could we ever launch payloads into space using the technique? Read More >>
The universe is a big, ancient place, and we've barely scratched the surface of what it contains. We've also found some real gems, like this one: a star that's almost as old as the universe itself. Read More >>
Featured comment by Sabashe_to_the_MAX:
"It could also be 14.6 billion years old :0
Went to space camp a few years ago and one of the tasks was to use images of galaxies to estimate the ag..." More »
These are NASA's GRAIL twin spacecraft's final videos before crashing straight into the Moon. Ebb and Flow — as the spacecraft's were affectionately known at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory — turned on their video cameras for one last time three days before impact. The footage is truly beautiful. Read More >>
Featured comment by audaxero:
"Tsk tsk NASA, shooting portrait format video? ;)
It's the beginning of the end:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bt9zSfinwFA
But seriously, that..." More »
The deadly asteroid Apophis is safely passing by Earth today, at more than 9 million miles (14.5 million kilometres) from our home planet. Next time we won't be so lucky. On April 13, 2029, Apophis will come so close that it may destroy satellites in orbit. Read More >>
Featured comment by OhMyGodICantBelieveItsNotButter:
"Guns are deadly, they don't have to have actually killed merely have the potential.
Should it hit populated land it would most certainly be very de..." More »
Astronomers have a mind-blowing new theory: there are 17 billion Earth-sized planets in our galaxy. They don't yet know how many of these worlds are in habitable zones, of course, but the implications of this discovery are amazing. So much that some claim the "quest for a twin Earth is heating up." Read More >>
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