Space Archives

Second Interstellar Visitor Borisov Is The Most Pristine Comet Ever Observed

Tim McMillan·March 30, 2021

New research released today suggests the second interstellar object ever detected, 2I/Borisov, was likely the most pristine comet ever observed. Based on observations made using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), a team of astronomers now believe Borisov...

New Warp Drive Model Requires No ‘Exotic Matter,’ Scientists Say We Can Build It

Christopher Plain·March 30, 2021

Researchers in Sweden have come up with a design for an entirely new version of Warp drive that may actually work.

New Clues Emerge in the Hunt for Answers to Mysterious Fast Radio Bursts

Micah Hanks·March 29, 2021

Scientists may be closing in on the mystery of fast radio bursts, with the help of new time estimates obtained by a team of researchers.

Meteor Shower? Strange Lights Over the Pacific Northwest Had Another Explanation

Micah Hanks·March 27, 2021

Stargazers throughout the Pacific Northwest were treated to a striking aerial display on Thursday night, but this bizarre light show was no meteor shower.

Technosignatures of Intelligent Aliens Could Be “Lurking” Nearby, Study Says

A group of researchers propose searching for "unusual signatures or phenomena" on the Moon, and even around Earth.

Micah Hanks·March 25, 2021

A new study proposes searching for unusual technosignatures or phenomena on the Moon, and even around Earth.

Old Radioactive Russian Spy Satellites Fall to Earth, and More Will Soon Follow

Chris Rutkowski·March 25, 2021

In 1978, the Russian spy satellite, Cosmos 954, fell onto Canada, and it carried a nuclear reactor. More will be on the way soon.

Spacecraft Seen Over the Northeast Last Week Led to UFO Reports

Micah Hanks·March 22, 2021

Dozens of people in the U.S. reported seeing a Falcon 9 spacecraft streaking through the early morning sky shortly after 6 AM EDT on March 14.

Exoplanet Spotted by Astronomers Appears to be Regrowing Its Atmosphere

Ryan Sprague·March 22, 2021

GJ 1132 b, an exoplanet about forty-one light years from Earth, appears to be re-growing its atmosphere after having lost it in the past.

‘Oumuamua Not an Alien Spaceship, Likely a Piece of an Exoplanet, New Study Says

Tim McMillan and Micah Hanks·March 19, 2021

Two scientists from the University of Arizona believe they have solved the mystery behind ‘Oumuamua, suggesting its a piece of an exoplanet.

Incredible Winds on Jupiter Stun Researchers in Astronomical First

Micah Hanks·March 19, 2021

Astronomers have obtained measurements of the winds in Jupiter’s middle atmosphere with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array.

Russia and China’s Lunar Turf War with NASA Continues

Christopher Plain·March 19, 2021

Russia is Teaming with China on a Future Lunar Base, in a Move that May Signal the End of Similar Plans with NASA.

Seeing Other Worlds with the Giant Magellan Telescope

Ep. 1: Debriefed with Cristina Gomez - This week Cristina tackles the future of Space Exploration via Space & Earth based telescopes

Cristina Gomez·March 18, 2021

Debriefed, Digging Deeper, with Cristina Gomez – Episode 1 Seeing Other Worlds with the Giant Magellan Telescope- Premiering Thursday, March 18th at 2pm EST Welcome to Debriefed, Dig Deeper, with Cristina Gomez. This week Cristina tackles the future of...

Bacteria Strains Recovered From ISS Are New to Science, Study Says

Micah Hanks·March 18, 2021

Scientists have found that bacteria recovered from the International Space Station were previously unrecognized by science.

Scientists Want to Build an ‘Ark’ on the Moon In Case of Humanity’s “Total Collapse”

A "Lunar Ark" will store Earth's biological material on the Moon.

MJ Banias·March 17, 2021

A researcher has proposed that humanity build a "lunar ark" on the Moon to store over 6.7 million samples of seeds, spores, sperm, and eggs.

Lightning Sparked the Origin of Life, According To Recent Study

Tim McMillan·March 16, 2021

Could lightning be responsible for the origin of life on Earth? According to a new study published by researchers at Yale and the University of Leeds, yes. In their study, published today in the journal Nature Communications, researchers contend that...

Tiny Wormholes May Be Usable for Interstellar Communication

Brandon Q. Morris·March 16, 2021

In a new study, physicists have now shown that tiny wormholes could be used for communication and by using a standard model of physics.

Asteroid 2001 FO32 Will Pass the Earth Later This Month Without Incident

Micah Hanks·March 15, 2021

The near approach of asteroid 2001 FO32 follows on the coattails of a recent close encounter Earth had with 99942 Apophis.

Gliese 486b, a Newly-Discovered “Super Earth,” Heats Up Exoplanet Studies

Micah Hanks·March 12, 2021

A gigantic, stony Earth-like world with rivers of lava and almost no atmosphere, Gliese 486b is lighting a fire under current exoplanet studies.

“Unmistakably of Extraterrestrial Origin,” IceCube Detects Rare Particle Event

Micah Hanks·March 11, 2021

A rare event predicted by a Nobel Laureate has been confirmed by scientists with the IceCube South Pole Neutrino Observatory.

Winchcombe Meteorite That Lit Up UK Skies May Contain Building Blocks of Life

Micah Hanks·March 11, 2021

A brilliant fireball that lit up the UK skies last month has been recovered on UK soil, and its chemical makeup makes it one of the rarest of its kind.

Russia and China Plan to Build a Moon Base, Russian Space Agency Says

Micah Hanks·March 10, 2021

Russia and China have announced plans to collaborate on building a moon base for future lunar research, according to the Russian space agency Roscosmos.

Betelgeuse Mystery May Be Solved with Help from a Stellar “Monster”

Micah Hanks·March 10, 2021

The mysterious dimming of Betelgeuse, observed since 2019, may have been solved with new data from Hubble's Space Telescope.

Robotic Dog “Zeus” Spotted At Recent SpaceX Crash Site

Micah Hanks·March 9, 2021

A robotic dog made a surprise appearance as it was seen lurking around the crash site of SpaceX's SN10 prototype.

Fireball Over the Northeast Produced a Loud Sonic Boom, Witnesses Say

Micah Hanks·March 8, 2021

A brilliant fireball lit up the northeastern sky on Sunday afternoon, producing a sonic boom heard by residents in the U.S. and Canada.

“DearMoon” To Give 8 Random People a Free Ride To The Moon

Japanese billionaire plans to send 8 members of the public "further than any human has ever gone from planet earth."

Tim McMillan·March 3, 2021

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa has invited the public to join him on a six-day trip to the moon as part of SpaceX’s “dearMoon” project. Bankrolling the mission, Maezawa says he intends to select eight members of the public on SpaceX’s under-development...

Space Hurricanes Confirmed by Scientists Studying Mysterious Plasma Phenomena

Micah Hanks·March 3, 2021

Scientists have confirmed the existence of "space hurricanes" that produce showers of electrons instead of water and wind.

Mysterious New Warp Drive Patent Surfaces Online

Christopher Plain·March 2, 2021

After appearing for decades in science fiction, then moving into an actual theory, a new patent for an updated warp drive was published last year to no fanfare. Like many other false starts in cutting-edge research, the patent may represent the next step...

Perseverance Brought a “Family Portrait” to Mars, Continuing a NASA Tradition

Micah Hanks·March 1, 2021

Perseverance arrived on Mars with a "family portrait," continuing a long NASA tradition of sending images to space detailing life on Earth.

UK Fireball: Historic Meteor Lights up the Sky over Great Britain

Experts Pinpoint the Area They Believe Meteorite Fragments Landed

Tim McMillan·March 1, 2021

UK Fireball: A historic meteor lit up the United Kingdom’s skies on Sunday at 9:56 PM (local time). The American Meteor Society (AMS), which monitors and tracks meteor sightings worldwide, said the UK fireball was one of the most significant meteor...

Is Terraforming Mars Ethical?

Jazz Shaw·February 19, 2021

Terraforming Mars would create an atmosphere, water, and sustainable sources of food. But if life does exist on Mars, terraforming would destroy it.

Perseverance Makes Historic Touchdown on Mars

Micah Hanks·February 18, 2021

Perseverance has successfully landed on Mars, and begins its mission to help scientists learn more than ever before about our rocky red neighbor.

Finding Alien Fossils Is NASA’s Goal on Mars, says Astrobiologist

NASA Astrobiologist Dr. Svetlana Shkolyar Hopes The Mars Perseverance Rover Captures Evidence of "Dead Stuff in Rocks."

Christopher Plain·February 18, 2021

NASA's Perseverance rover will collect and store soil samples that could contain fossils and evidence of alien life, and NASA is ready.

Humanity’s Enduring Fascination With Mars

Micah Hanks·February 17, 2021

Our fascination with Mars has endured for centuries, and recent days have shown that we are closer than ever to unlocking the many mysteries of the Red Planet.

Roboticist Behind Mars Helicopter Ingenuity Says First Flight Is “A Wright Brothers Moment”

Christopher Plain·February 17, 2021

The Debrief was given the chance to sit down with NASA’s Jaakko Karras, the roboticist who built the Mars Helicopter Ingenuity.

Did We Find Life on Mars in 1976?

NASA Wasn't Convinced Back Then, But All Subsequent Missions Prove Mars Was Habitable Once

Christopher Plain·February 16, 2021

Since 1976, scientists have continuously found hints that Mars is habitable and even harboring forms of life deep under the planet's surface.

Aliens May Pollute and That Will Help Us Find Them

MJ Banias·February 12, 2021

A new study hypothesizes that one of the best ways to find evidence of possible alien technology on exoplanets is to look for their pollution.

William Shatner Says We’ll Find Life on Mars and That We Are Not Alone

The Debrief sat down with the actor to talk about his TV show, extraterrestrials, and the mysteries he finds compelling.

MJ Banias·February 10, 2021

The Debrief interviewed the most famous science fiction icons, William Shatner, and his belief that there is life on Mars and that we are not alone.

UAE’s Hope Probe Successfully Enters Mars Orbit Making History in the Process

Christopher Plain·February 9, 2021

Everything went right on Tuesday, February 9th, as the UAE joined a small list of nations with its Hope Probe by entering Mars' orbit.

The Wow! Signal: Did We Receive an Alien Message in 1977?

Ryan Sprague·February 8, 2021

In 1977, a radio astronomer in Ohio detected a signal so strange that he couldn't help but scribble one word next to the data; "Wow!"

NASA Will Build Artemis Base on the Moon’s South Pole

Location, Location, Location...

MJ Banias·February 5, 2021

NASA's Artemis lunar base camp will house astronauts, rovers, and scientific equipment on the Moon's southern pole.

Europe’s Space Agency Wants to Clean Up Old Satellites and Space Junk

Ryan Sprague·February 3, 2021

Earth's orbit is starting to get congested with satellites and space junk. Is time to start calling for preventative measures?

New Plasma Propulsion System Generates A Helluva Lot of Thrust

MJ Banias·February 2, 2021

A new engine uses plasma propulsion to generate thrust, making crewed missions to distant planets significantly more manageable and cheaper.

The Fermi Paradox: Where Are All The Aliens?

Christopher Plain·January 29, 2021

The Fermi Paradox asks "where is everybody?" Or, in more modern parlance, "where are all the freakin' aliens?"

Dyson Spheres Could Help Us Find Advanced Alien Technology

Christopher Plain·January 28, 2021

Could Dyson Spheres lead SETI astronomers to find alien life? This Sci-fi plot device may help answer one of our greatest mysteries.

Does ‘Oumuamua Prove Science Doesn’t Want To Find Aliens?

Tim McMillan·January 27, 2021

The debate over whether or not 'Oumuamua was an artificial alien object is far deeper than most realize and speaks of science as a whole.

James Webb Telescope Targets Trappist-1 for ET Life in Milky Way Galaxy

Christopher Plain·January 27, 2021

After the James Webb Telescope has reached orbit in October 2021, one of its missions will be to search for ET life in the TRAPPIST-1 system.

Methane May Be The Best Way to Find Extraterrestrial Life

Christopher Plain·January 26, 2021

It is likely that Methane gas, and not Oxygen, will represent the first chemical sign of life on another planet, according to new study.

China’s SETI Program Will Find Alien Life First, Says Chinese Astronomer

Ryan Sprague·January 26, 2021

Zhang Tongjie, a Chinese cosmology professor, believes that China's SETI Program will be the first to find an alien transmission.

Oumuamua ‘Alien probe’ may be the way to search for life, according to Harvard astrophysicist

Essay argues interstellar objects may be ‘message in a bottle.’

Mike Damante and The Debrief Staff·January 25, 2021

Avi Loeb's recent essay challenges scientists to expand their search for extraterrestrial life beyond signals to also look for alien probes.

The James Webb Telescope Will Change the Way We See The Cosmos

Christopher Plain·January 25, 2021

The James Webb Telescope is scheduled for launch in October 2021. It will give us the ability to see the cosmos like we never have before.