Space

How Humans Will Design the First Full-Time Habitat on the Moon

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM), in partnership with the ESA and MIT, wants to accommodate research and maybe even tourism on the moon.

  • By Nicole Javorsky, CityLab

The Pentagon is Investing in Space Robots to Repair Satellites

The robots would service military, government and commercial spacecraft more than 22,000 miles above the Earth.

  • By Jack Corrigan

New Technology May Soon Require a Dedicated Space Force

Whether a Space Force exists or not, the Pentagon's research arm is looking at space strategically.

  • By John Breeden II

IARPA is Investing in AI That Constantly Analyzes Worldwide Satellite Images

The IC envisions a system that can stitch together archived and real-time data from satellites, and link it to footage from planes, drones and other aircraft.

  • By Jack Corrigan

What Spy-Satellite Companies Can Teach NASA About Climate Change

The space agency is exploring what three Earth-observation start-ups can teach it about the planet.

  • By Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic

Scientists Predict Weak Sun Activity During Next Solar Cycle

Low solar activity should mean relatively calm space weather for the next 11 years.

  • By Frank Konkel

Another Launch Startup Gets Work from the Air Force

New Zealand-based Rocket Lab will orbit a trio of satellites as Pentagon hunts for cheap ways to put sensors in space.

  • By Patrick Tucker, Defense One

Why Trump Wants to Go to the Moon So Badly

The administration has vowed to return Americans to the lunar surface in 2024 “by any means necessary.”

  • By Marina Koren, The Atlantic

The Original Sin of NASA Space Suits

They were never designed to fit everyone.

  • By Marina Koren, The Atlantic

Space Force’s Projected Size Drifts Upward, Drawing Concern on Capitol Hill

Despite “lean” pledges, aides are skeptical about the size of the proposed branch and the number of generals who will lead it.

  • By Marcus Weisgerber, Defense One

The Mysterious Exploding Asteroid

A NASA spacecraft reached a space rock and found it orbited by tiny moons—a phenomenon that “has never been seen before in any solar-system object.”

  • By Marina Koren, The Atlantic

What Would a Dog Do on Mars?

New art from NASA imagines a rosy but unrealistic future of canines on the distant planet.

  • By Marina Koren, The Atlantic

NASA Could Go to the Moon Next Year

The agency is willing to ditch its own billion-dollar rocket in favor of a commercial one, to meet a very tight deadline.

  • By Marina Koren, The Atlantic

On the Brink of a New Era of Spaceflight

After years of relying on Russia to get to space, NASA astronauts might soon fly on American-made launch systems.

  • By Marina Koren, The Atlantic

NOAA Celebrates Weather Satellite Removal From GAO’s High Risk List

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration successfully navigated a major challenge to one of its weather satellite systems that could have derailed U.S. weather forecasting.

  • By Frank Konkel

What’s So Special About the Next SpaceX Launch

Elon Musk’s company is on the edge of a new era in American human spaceflight.

  • By Marina Koren, The Atlantic

Legislative Hurdle Delays U.S. Space Command Stand-Up

Pentagon can’t move ahead until Congress repeals a provision in the 2019 defense authorization act.

  • By Marcus Weisgerber, Defense One

Pentagon Wants Satellites That Can Dodge Incoming Fire

As China and Russia move to weaponize space, the U.S. military is working to give its constellations a “fighting chance.”

  • By Patrick Tucker, Defense One

Trump Officially Directs Pentagon to Create Space Force, Within Air Force

If Congress approves, Space Force would exist like the Marine Corps within the Navy Department.

  • By Marcus Weisgerber, Defense One

Space Exploration, Radicalization and Other R&D Highlights in the Spending Bill

Here are some of the interesting projects Congress funded at civilian agencies.

  • By Frank Konkel