From roughly 60 miles above the Earth's surface to farther than light has traveled during the entire age of the universe, space has captured human imagination for millennia. Explore the final frontier with the best resources curated from across the internet.
Hours of research by our editors, distilled into minutes of clarity.
Originally built for a four-year mission, Voyagers 1 and 2 used a rare planetary alignment and gravity assists to reach interstellar space. With limited power and aging systems, they will continue to send data until the mid-2030s.
As a public agency, NASA's goals aren't just in space, but for life on Earth, too. That's why so many everyday objects including memory foam, cordless tools, and golf balls are rooted in research first developed by space-faring engineers and scientists. Peruse this quirky list of some of those everyday objects destined for space that are also probably somewhere inside your home.
Theoretical candidates, like sterile neutrinos, axions, and WIMPs from supersymmetry, may open the door to a new branch of particle physics that shapes the cosmos through gravity. Some of these particles may constantly pass through us, but interact too weakly for detection.
Astronomy is the only science that is purely observational: meaning, scientists can't study stars in a lab. Here's a breakdown of how modern researchers use new tools to understand objects billions of light years away. As it turns out, the rules of science allow us to identify, categorize, and experiment with phenomena light years away.
The images and videos include close-ups of Uranus, Jupiter's Great Red Spot, Saturn's ring system, and Neptune's Great Dark Spot. The Pale Blue Dot color image of Earth is included as part of the solar system's family portrait.
When planning to land on the moon, knowing the topography matters. This map of the lunar surface was created by using 6 billion measurements from NASA's Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter, a type of lidar. Check out the technically accurate depths of craters and ancient oceans on our beloved lunar neighbor with this fun, impressive map.
Space diplomacy has become the new frontier of global politics
Rooted in Lemaître’s 1927 idea of a growing universe and confirmed by Hubble’s redshift data, the theory is backed by evidence like cosmic microwave background radiation—remnants of the universe’s fiery birth detected in the 1960s. The radiation was first misidentified as interference from pigeon droppings inside a telescope antenna.
The Earth is teeming with life while all the other exoplanets and planets aren't. A very specific set of aligned factors forms the habitability of our planet, and without just one of these fortunate factors, we might not be here. This piece lists...
An analysis of the atmosphere of an exoplanet called K2-18b identified the presence of biosignatures—molecules that are created by living things on Earth. This discovery may indicate life exists beyond Earth, but the lack of environmental data complicates the interpretation of results.