Space

A rocket lifts off from its launch pad with clouds of smoke billowing around it, set against a blue sky.

The New Space Race

Reusable rockets are real, the internet is in orbit, and we’re heading to Mars. With space manufacturing, asteroid mining, and lunar bases, the new space race has just begun, transforming life on Earth forever.
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T-Minus: Counting down the top 10 space stories of 2024
A look back on the 10 greatest space stories of 2024, from SpaceX’s “Mechazilla” to a first-of-its-kind civilian spacewalk.
T-minus
T-Minus: Kessler Syndrome
Experts answer 10 big questions about the nightmare scenario that could send us back to the pre-Space Age.
T-Minus: 10 milestones in commercial spaceflight
T-Minus looks back at 10 major milestones in the commercial space industry — including several SpaceX triumphs.
T-Minus: 10 space startups to watch
Today’s aerospace industry includes hundreds of startups, all vying to be the next SpaceX. Here are 10 that could actually do it.
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NASA lays out the path to space-based solar power
A NASA study found that space-based solar power is likely far too expensive, but it also details what would need to happen to make it work.
Researchers release open-source space debris model
The MIT Orbital Capacity Assessment Tool lets users model the long-term future space environment to map space debris.
T-Minus: NASA cracks asteroid capsule, Japan joins exclusive moon club, and more
Freethink’s weekly countdown of the biggest space news, featuring Japan’s moon landing, NASA’s asteroid sample, and more.
Ice plumes could reveal signs of life on Europa and Enceladus
A new study shows how we could study the icy plumes of Europa and Enceladus without damaging any complex organic molecules in the process.
T-Minus: NASA’s Artemis update, a rocket’s maiden flight, and more
Freethink’s weekly countdown of the biggest space news, featuring NASA’s Artemis update, the maiden launch of Vulcan Centaur, and more.
Space Force pays Microsoft $20 million for a space simulator
Microsoft is building an advanced space simulator for the US Space Force so that its members can train in VR.
T-Minus: SpaceX’s direct-to-cell satellites, XRISM’s first images, and more
Freethink’s weekly countdown of the biggest space news, featuring SpaceX’s direct-to-cell satellite launch, XRISM’s first images, and more.
The 21 most exciting space missions of 2024
2024 is expected to deliver huge wins for the space industry, including 10 moon missions, more Starship launches, and a historic sun swoop.
Google’s quantum computer suggests that wormholes are real
Until recently, wormholes were considered a mathematical curiosity, but Google’s quantum computer suggests that wormholes might be real.
T-Minus: SpaceX’s spaceplane launch, Jupiter’s “pizza moon,” and more
Freethink’s weekly countdown of the biggest space news, featuring SpaceX’s spaceplane launch, a new image of Io, and more.
Scientists rule out a popular alternative theory to dark matter
A passionate minority deny the existence of dark matter and embrace MOND (Modified Newtonian Dynamics) to explain the observations.
“Singularities don’t exist,” claims black hole pioneer Roy Kerr
Using a powerful mathematical argument, black hole expert Roy Kerr argues that singularities shouldn’t physically exist. He may be right.
NASA beams home cat video from 19 million miles away
In a history-making demonstration, NASA used invisible lasers to send a cat video to Earth from deep space.
T-Minus: Counting down the 10 greatest space stories of 2023
Freethink’s countdown of the biggest space news of 2023, featuring major rocket launches, groundbreaking astronomy discoveries, and more.
T-Minus: Missing space tomato found, a stellar remnant revealed, and more
Freethink’s weekly countdown of the biggest space news, featuring NASA’s missing space tomato, Webb’s new stellar remnant image, and more.
T-Minus: A river of stars, NASA’s next moon landing, and more
Freethink’s weekly countdown of the biggest space news, featuring a newly discovered stellar stream, NASA’s next moon mission, and more.
NASA’s Webb telescope finds methane in far-off “warm Jupiter”
Astronomers have spotted methane — a molecule linked to the presence of life — in the atmosphere of a “warm Jupiter” exoplanet.
World’s largest robots will help airlines cut carbon emissions
Norwegian startup Avinxt is building massive AI robots to help airlines reduce their emissions, save water, and inspect their planes.
T-Minus: Starship’s big flight, an alien-hunter’s gift, and more
Freethink’s weekly countdown of the biggest space news, featuring Starship’s second test flight, a new “dark mysteries” telescope, and more.
Amazon’s satellites ace first tests in space
Amazon’s Project Kuiper prototypes have aced their first tests in space, putting the company a major step closer to competing with Starlink.
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