Space Archives

Tess Finds Mars-Sized Planet That is Dense as Iron

Find May Point to Entire System of Habitable Exoplanets

Christopher Plain·December 3, 2021

Researchers using the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) have discovered a relatively nearby (at least in astronomical terms) exoplanet that is the size of Mars, but as dense as pure iron. Plus, the team behind the discovery notes, this planet...

Mysterious Area in Space Causes Spacecraft to Slow Down

Christopher Plain·December 2, 2021

A mysterious area of outer space directly above the Earth’s atmosphere causes spacecraft to slow down, and researchers are trying to figure out why. This same area has foiled GPS and other technologies, causing NASA to launch the latest fact-finding...

Wormholes May Actually Work If We Change Our Understanding of Gravity

Raquel Santos·December 1, 2021

A physicist is creating a stable, traversable wormhole but its only possible if we change the way we look at gravity.

Europa Becomes Next Target in NASA’s Hunt for Life

Christopher Plain·December 1, 2021

NASA’s hunt for extraterrestrial life has a new target, Jupiter’s icy moon Europa. According to researchers involved, a new, dedicated mission will peer miles below Europa’s icy surface to determine if the sea of water hidden underneath is capable of...

Pair of Supermassive Black Holes Closest to Earth

Christopher Plain·December 1, 2021

Astronomers have spotted a pair of supermassive black holes that are not only huge, but are also the closest black holes to Earth. And according to the researchers who made the discovery, the two black holes are close enough to...

Earth ‘On Course’ for Saturn-Like Ring of Space Junk

Christopher Plain·November 30, 2021

Space Junk is filling Earth’s orbit so rapidly that one researcher recently said he believes we are on course to develop our own Saturn-like ring system made purely of orbital trash. Fortunately, the scientist behind the shocking claim believes he...

TRAPPIST-1 Exoplnets’ Orbital Harmony May Aid Habitability

Christopher Plain·November 30, 2021

The orbital harmony of the seven exoplanets spotted in the TRAPPIST-1 star system may indicate that they endured significantly fewer impact events after their original formation than our own solar system. This less hostile formation environment may have increased the...

Yep, We Can Weaponize an Asteroid

With a bit of planning, time, and a giant amount of money, we could theoretically hurl space rocks into anything.

Raquel Santos·November 30, 2021

NASA's recent DART launch and with Season 6 of The Expanse coming out, we wanted to know if you can turn an asteroid into a weapon.

New Telescope to Search Alpha Centauri for ET’s Home

Christopher Plain·November 30, 2021

A new telescope will search Alpha Centauri, Earth’s closest stellar neighbor, for planets capable of supporting extraterrestrial life

The Bizarre History of the Nazi Spaceplane Built to Bomb New York and A Botched Russian Kidnapping

A Russian spy took a piss and discovered secret Nazi plans for a spaceplane that could bomb New York. They then tried to kidnap the inventor...

Graeme Rendall·November 27, 2021

In 1945, a Russian spy needed to take a piss, and as a result, discovered the plans to a Nazi spaceplane designed to blow up New York City.

DART, NASA’s New Planetary Defense Mission, Has Launched Aboard a SpaceX Rocket

Micah Hanks·November 26, 2021

A mission to test technology that may one day be used to defend our planet against potentially deadly asteroids and other near-Earth objects was successfully launched on Wednesday, according to NASA.

How Much Oxygen is Already on the Moon?

Analysis Shows There May Be Enough to Support Earth’s Entire Population for 100,000 Years

Christopher Plain·November 26, 2021

How much oxygen is on the moon, you may ask? A recent analysis indicates that the top layer of rock and dirt, known as regolith, that covers the Moon’s entire surface has more than you probably think.

Videos Show What Happens if You Enter a Black Hole

Christopher Plain·November 25, 2021

What happens when you enter a black hole? It is a question posed by scientists and science fiction writers alike, but not one that can be easily tested in the real world.

NASA Wants Battelle to Put a Nuclear Reactor on the Moon

Christopher Plain·November 23, 2021

NASA wants Battelle to put a fission based nuclear reactor on the moon, and is asking anyone and everyone to submit ideas. The request for proposals is being coordinated through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory, (INL) the...

New Propulsion System Flies in Space

Christopher Plain·November 22, 2021

A new propulsion system that uses electric power and iodine to create thrust has been successfully tested in space, marking a first for such systems. Having proven that low cost, Iodine-based systems are a viable alternative to the expensive xenon-based...

Most Rocky Exoplanets are Probably Nothing Like Earth

But They Are Still the Best Places to Search for Extraterrestrial Life

Christopher Plain·November 22, 2021

Rocky exoplanets are widely considered the best places to search for extraterrestrial life. However, a first of its kind study by a geologist and an astronomer has determined that the vast majority of these alien worlds are probably no place...

Most of The Universe is Invisible: Here’s What You Need to Know about what You Can’t See

Matt Bothwell·November 19, 2021

Most of the universe is invisible, but when we look at it through different 'eyes,' suddenly the dark void of space seems much less empty.

Can We Mine the Moon? The Top Five Things Humanity Needs to Survive In Space

Raquel Santos·November 18, 2021

What if we could take advantage of all the resources the Moon has to offer? Here are five ways we can mine the Moon, and thrive.

Recent Pattern of Behavior Shows Russia Is The ‘Mad Dog’ of Outer Space

This isn't the first time Russia has played fast and loose with its space assets.

Raquel Santos and MJ Banias·November 18, 2021

A pattern of reckless behavior indicates Russia may no longer be a "white hat" in the global space community.

Invasion Scientists Sound Alarm on Planetary Biosecurity

Potential Contamination of Earth from Extraterrestrial Environments Seen as Existential Threat

Christopher Plain·November 18, 2021

Invasion scientists concerned about the threat of potentially invasive microbiological organisms from somewhere other than Earth have written a paper describing how their emerging field can help protect our planet. Specifically, the authors draw on their expertise in how organisms...

Theory Says Black Holes May Offer Space/Time Shortcut

Christopher Plain·November 18, 2021

Black holes may indeed be shortcuts through space and time, just like science fiction always promised. And unlike those sci fi stories where interstellar travelers jump from place to place using Einstein-Rosen bridges, (the scientific name for such constructs) this...

Colonists in Off-World Simulations Show Independence

Christopher Plain·November 16, 2021

Colonists living in a pair of off-world simulations designed to mimic life on Mars and other potentially habitable environments reduced their communication frequency with mission control over time, signaling a growing independence from Earth. This reduction in total communications also resulted...

Space Travelers Might Use Mushrooms as Radiation Shields

Christopher Plain·November 16, 2021

Space travelers and off-world colonists may use mushrooms as radiation shields thanks to a special type of fungus known for its unique ability to absorb radiation. And based on recent experiments aboard the International Space Station, (ISS) this plant actually...

International Space Station Moves to Avoid Collision with Exploded Satellite

Christopher Plain·November 15, 2021

The crew of the International Space Station (ISS) fired maneuvering rockets last week to avoid being struck by a chunk of a previously destroyed Chinese weather satellite. Smashed to bits by an anti-satellite missile test nearly fifteen years earlier, the...

Near-earth asteroid may be broken off chunk of the moon

Christopher Plain·November 12, 2021

A team of astronomers believe that a near earth asteroid could actually be a lost fragment of Earth’s moon. Named Kamo’oalewa, the asteroid is between 150 and 190 feet in size, and regularly comes to within about 9 million miles...

Can Kinetic Launch Send Satellites to Space without Bulky Rockets?

Christopher Plain·November 12, 2021

A Pentagon sponsored launch services company has completed the first successful test of their kinetic launch system. Designed to use accumulated speed while still on the ground, this breakthrough launch system could soon become the fastest and cheapest way to...

Astronomers Find Possible Evidence of First Exoplanet Detected Beyond Our Galaxy

Candy Chan·November 12, 2021

For the first time, astronomers say they have discovered signs of a planet transiting a star outside of our galaxy.

Tatooine exoplanet orbiting two suns, Tatooine-style planet, Star Wars-style planet

Astronomers Develop Technique to Spot Exoplanets Orbiting Two Suns

Christopher Plain·November 11, 2021

A team of astronomers has developed a new technique designed to quickly and accurately identify exoplanets orbiting two suns. Known as circumbinary planets, this type of alien world first came to prominence in the 1977 film Star Wars, where viewers...

“We don’t understand everything that we’re seeing”: Group Convenes in Washington to Discuss Space, the Future, and Extraterrestrials

Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines and a range of panelists gathered to address the "Final Frontier," and humankind’s search for the unexplained.

Micah Hanks·November 11, 2021

Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines and a range of panelists gathered to address space, the future, and humankind’s search for the unexplained.

Alternative Propulsion Conference to Showcase Live “Anti-Gravity” Experiments

The Three Day In-Person Event Features Livestream on Saturday, November 13th

Christopher Plain·November 11, 2021

The Alternative Propulsion Energy Conference (APEC) will livestream a range of anti-gravity related experiments online this Saturday, November 13th, 2021. Part of the conference’s one year anniversary celebration, the experiments are part of a larger three-day in-person conference. “We’re gonna...

NASA Announces New Climate Mission to Study Unexplained Weather Phenomena

Micah Hanks·November 10, 2021

NASA’s new earth science mission, the Investigation of Convective Updrafts (INCUS), will explore little-understood climate phenomena.

New NASA Video Highlights How Often Asteroids Hit Earth

Christopher Plain·November 10, 2021

After an asteroid the size of a small refrigerator recently whipped by Earth at an altitude of only 1,800 miles, significantly closer than the ring of communication satellites in geostationary orbit and only five times the average orbit of the...

New Exoplanet Hunting Tool Begins Search for Alien Worlds

Supercomputer Based System Uses Advanced Spectroscopy to Spot Earth Sized Planets

Christopher Plain·November 10, 2021

A new instrument named NEID, the NN-explore Exoplanet Investigations with Doppler spectroscopy, has come online, providing a powerful new tool to exoplanet hunting researchers looking for alien worlds. Using a spectrograph connected to the WIYN 3.5m telescope at the Kitt...

“Critical to Life” Signs of Water Found in Distant Galaxy

Christopher Plain·November 9, 2021

Researchers studying the galaxy SPT0311-58, which is over 12.8 billion light years away, say they have found signs of water. The finding is significant because it shows that water was present less than a billion years after the universe was...

Scientists Successfully Measure Exoplanet’s Atmosphere

First of it Kind Detection Seen as a Key Milestone in Search for Extraterrestrial Life

Christopher Plain·November 9, 2021

Using the Gemini South Telescope in Chile, an international team of scientists have successfully analyzed the chemical makeup of an exoplanet’s atmosphere. This measurement is the first of its kind, which astronomers say is a key milestone in the search...

This Asteroid No One Saw Coming Almost Hit Earth

Christopher Plain·November 8, 2021

An asteroid the size of a small refrigerator nearly collided with Earth on October 24th, and no one knew it was there until it was already gone. Dubbed Asteroid 2021 UA1, the hefty piece of space rock hurled over Antarctica...

Blue Origin’s Orbital Reef: A Business Park in Space?

Matt Staples·November 4, 2021

Blue Origin, founded by entrepreneur and former CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, has recently announced plans to develop a commercial space station known as "Orbital Reef."

Sadly, That Technosignature From Proxima Centauri Was a False Alarm

Jazz Shaw·November 2, 2021

One of the strongest candidates to date for an alien technosignature most likely originated from a source much closer to home than Proxima Centauri, new research says.

Ultra-High Energy Experiments Move Nuclear Fusion Closer to Reality

Christopher Plain·November 1, 2021

Meet the man who wants to take us to the outer reaches of our solar system, and the software he designed to build the engine that can do it.

Biofuel to Power Martian Return Missions Can Be Made on Site, New Research Says

Christopher Plain·October 28, 2021

Researchers have proposed a method of creating biofuel on Mars using only sunlight, CO2, and ice on the red planet’s surface.

Breakthrough Plasma Thruster will Cannibalize Zombie Satellites for Fuel

Christopher Plain·October 27, 2021

This new plasma engine will cannibalize dead satellites for fuel and help reduce the amount of space junk in Earth's orbit.

Deep Space Food Challenge Winners awarded $450,000 by NASA

Raquel Santos·October 25, 2021

The 18 challenge winners were recognized for their creative ideas for sustainable and reliable food systems that can generate healthy and safe meals.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson Discusses Asteroids and Pilot Encounters with UAP

"They know they saw something, and their radars locked on to it," Nelson said during a recent live-stream event that touched on UAP, asteroid defense, and a variety of space-related issues.

Micah Hanks·October 23, 2021

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson recently spoke with the University of Virginia about defending Earth from asteroids, and pilot reports of encounters with unidentified aerial phenomena.

This New Deep Space Propulsion System Rides Like A Leaf on the Solar Wind

Plasma Magnet Propulsion can revolutionize interplanetary travel, we just need to ride the wind.

Christopher Plain·October 20, 2021

Wind Rider, also called a Plasma Magnet, is a solar wind catching sail that can reach the outer solar system quickly without chemical fuel.

We Might Be Able to Nuke an Asteroid to Save the World After All, Study Says

Jazz Shaw·October 19, 2021

A recent study by a team of scientists says that under the right conditions, a nuclear blast actually could be used to save the Earth from an incoming asteroid.

Russian Thruster Malfunction Caused ISS To Lose Control, And It’s Happened Before

The ISS is falling apart due to age and tech glitches. The Debrief explores the last 5 major incidents aboard the space station.

Raquel Santos·October 18, 2021

The ISS lost control recently when a Russian thruster accidentally fired. The Debrief examines the last 5 incidents on the station that put it at risk.