Space exploration news, features and articles
The dawn is breaking on a new era of space exploration, with moon bases and Mars colonies potentially only decades away. Live Science tracks the researchers, companies and countries setting their sights on the stars to bring you the biggest stories in space. Whether it's reporting on concerns that alien organisms could hitch a ride on our spacecraft and contaminate Earth, explaining what 11 billion people means for space travel, sharing a glorious photo of Earth during a total solar eclipse snapped by Japan's lunar lander, or compiling a list of the weirdest things we have launched into space, our expert writers and editors will ignite your sense of interstellar adventure with the latest space exploration news, features and articles.
Discover more about space exploration
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This 'crawling' robot rolled around the moon and took a historic photoA morphable moon robot operated for 100 minutes in 2024, allowing investigators to get images of an upside-down spacecraft on the lunar surface.
By Elizabeth Howell Published
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Artemis III crew revealed: NASA announces astronauts for 'one of history's most complex missions'NASA's Artemis III crew has been revealed. The astronauts will launch into low Earth orbit next year to test docking with commercial lunar landers being developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin.
By Patrick Pester Last updated
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NASA astronauts briefly shelter in 'safe haven' procedure following worsening leaks on Space StationA brief leak scare on the International Space Station complicates NASA and Congress' plans to extend the station's lifespan to at least 2032.
By Ben Turner Published
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NASA confirms MAVEN spacecraft is officially dead after loss of signal behind MarsNASA has confirmed its MAVEN spacecraft is officially dead after losing contact with the probe in December. An anomaly in the probe's rotation speed led to an unexpected loss of power, though the exact cause remains unknown.
By Brandon Specktor Last updated
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China launches new Long March 12B rocket, reportedly without any safety warningChina's Long March 12B rocket has blasted off on its maiden voyage carrying more Qianfan "Thousand Sails" satellites, during a surprise launch for which there were reportedly no airspace notices.
By Patrick Pester Published
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'Very rough day': Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket explodes in gigantic fireball, days after being selected for NASA moon missionsThe rocket explosion, a contender for the largest in American history, is a significant setback for Jeff Bezos and NASA.
By Ben Turner Published
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'The sun would all but disappear, and the moon would always look full': A radio astronomer shares her mind-bending view of the universeINTERVIEW Radio astronomer Emma Chapman explains why the radio view of the universe is so crucial to space exploration, astronomy, and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence
By Brandon Specktor Last updated
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NASA administrator hails 'Golden Age' of lunar exploration as Moon Base plans unveiledThe space agency described the moon base as a sprawling city-like lunar outpost stretching over hundreds of square miles.
By Pandora Dewan Published
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China launches 'human artificial embryos' to space for the first timeChina's Tianzhou-10 mission just delivered embryo-like structures made from living stem cells to the Tiangong space station. Experiments could shed light on how radiation and microgravity affect human reproduction.
By Harry Baker Published
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