spaceflight
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Then and Now: Our Earliest Close-Ups of the Planets Compared to Today’s Best Shots
For centuries, astronomers were limited to ground-based observations of the planets, but now we use spacecraft to capture close-up views of our neighboring worlds. Excitingly, our views of solar system planets have been getting progressively better over the decades, as these images attest. The dawn of the Space Age finally made it possible for humankind…
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Could This—Finally—Be Humanity’s First Permanent Lunar Base?
Thales Alenia Space and the Italian Space Agency (ASI) are embarking on a pioneering venture to construct the first permanent human outpost on the Moon, a critical component of NASA’s Artemis program. NASA’s Gemini and Apollo missions, and the Cold War space race in general, understandably expanded the horizons of science fiction writers, who began…
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What to Expect from Virgin Galactic’s Upgraded Spaceplane
After a few short trips to the edge of space, Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity spaceplane is set for retirement, making room for a worthy successor. The company’s Delta class vehicle is gearing up for its debut in 2025, promising to bring in some profit with weekly suborbital flights. Richard Branson’s space venture launched its commercial…
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16 Iconic NASA Photos That Changed Everything
NASA has produced thousands of images over its illustrious 65-year history, but some images have had a far greater impact than others. Among this vast portfolio, certain images stand out for having reshaped our understanding of space and our place within it, capturing moments that have both ignited the collective imagination and further driven our…