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.
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Latest about Space Exploration
Doomed Soviet satellite from 1972 will tumble uncontrollably to Earth next week — and it could land almost anywhere
The lander section of the Kosmos 482 probe was launched in 1972 and designed to survive on Venus. Now it's due a fiery reentry to Earth.
China saves 2 doomed satellites with novel 'gravitational slingshot'
Chinese engineers have rescued two satellites that were stuck in the wrong orbit using a novel 'gravitational slingshot' method.
Can you burp in space?
Gravity plays a big role in burping, so could an astronaut burp in space?
US company to use giant spinning cannon to blast hundreds of pancake-like 'microsatellites' into space
Rocket start-up SpinLaunch wants to catapult hundreds of flattened "microsatellites" into space at once, using a cannon-like machine that accelerates objects by spinning them. The first orbital demonstration is scheduled for next year.
Secretive Russian military satellites release mystery object into orbit
The classified Kosmos satellite trio has sparked intrigue in space-tracking circles.
Watch a private German rocket explode during 1st orbital launch attempt from European soil (video)
A dramatic video shows Isar Aerospace's first orbital launch attempt, which ended with a fiery crash into the frigid sea about 30 seconds after liftoff.
NASA signs new contract to use SpaceX's Starship — even though it keeps blowing up
SpaceX's Starship has been awarded a NASA contract that will allow it to be considered for future missions. However, recent explosive tests have shown the supersized spacecraft is still far from mission-ready.
NASA's SPHEREx telescope 'opens its eyes on the universe', taking stunning debut image of 100,000 galaxies and stars
SPHEREx's first images — containing roughly 100,000 points of light stars, galaxies and nebulae — have confirmed that the telescope is working according to its design.
'A notch above a gimmick': Experts question scientific merit of billionaire's Fram2 'space adventure' around Earth's poles
The recently launched Fram2 mission, which is funded and led by cryptocurrency billionaire Chun Wang, will attempt to grow mushrooms, test out hormone diapers and X-ray civilian astronauts. However, experts say that these novel experiments are unlikely to yield meaningful results.
