Sofas that self-assemble when you heat them up? How 4D printing could transform manufacturing

This unsung research area involves 3D-printing smart materials that can change shape when they come into contact with stimuli like heat or light.

Mahdi Bodaghi, Associate Professor of Smart Materials & Manufacturing, Nottingham Trent University • conversation
Feb. 12, 2025 ~8 min

Will the US get to Mars quicker if it drops or delays plans to visit the Moon?

There’s been speculation that Donald Trump may cancel the Space Launch System rocket, which Nasa intended to use to get from the Moon to Mars.

Ian Whittaker, Senior Lecturer in Physics, Nottingham Trent University • conversation
Jan. 29, 2025 ~8 min


As the US and China race to the Moon, these loopholes in space law could cause conflict

Nations will need to tread carefully on the Moon in order to avoid conflict.

Gbenga Oduntan, Professor of Law, University of Bradford • conversation
Jan. 3, 2025 ~8 min

Human settlement of Mars isn’t as far off as you might think

Could humans expand out beyond their homeworld and establish settlements on the planet Mars? The idea of settling the red planet has been around for decades. However, it has been seen by sceptics as a…

Sam McKee, Associate Tutor and PhD Candidate in Philosophy of Science, Manchester Metropolitan University • conversation
Dec. 12, 2024 ~7 min

What does the NASA administrator do? The agency’s leader reaches for the stars while navigating budgets and politics back on Earth

NASA administrators have hard choices to make, but the outcomes are often out-of-this-world exciting.

Wendy Whitman Cobb, Professor of Strategy and Security Studies, Air University • conversation
Dec. 6, 2024 ~7 min

Trump may cancel Nasa’s powerful SLS Moon rocket – here’s what that would mean for Elon Musk and the future of space travel

The Space Launch System is a crucial part of America’s plans to return to the Moon.

Yang Gao, Professor of Robotics, Head of Centre for Robotics Research, King's College London • conversation
Dec. 2, 2024 ~9 min

Apophis: a new European space mission could get up close with a large asteroid that’s set to brush by Earth

Ramses, a European space mission to study the asteroid Apophis, has been approved for perparatory work.

Or Graur, Associate Professor of Astrophysics, University of Portsmouth • conversation
Nov. 1, 2024 ~8 min

The US is now at risk of losing to China in the race to send people back to the Moon’s surface

Nasa’s Moon programme has been hit by delays, while China aims to land by 2030.

Jacco van Loon, Reader in Astrophysics, Keele University • conversation
Oct. 25, 2024 ~8 min


NASA wants to send humans to Mars in the 2030s − a crewed mission could unlock some of the red planet’s geologic mysteries

Before sending humans to Mars, NASA will first return humans to the Moon’s surface to test its technology and train astronauts.

Joel S. Levine, Research Professor, Department of Applied Science, William & Mary • conversation
Oct. 7, 2024 ~7 min

Nasa’s Europa Clipper spacecraft will investigate whether an icy moon of Jupiter can support alien life

The mission will investigate the potential for life at the icy moon of Jupiter.

James O'Donoghue, Research Associate Professor in Planetary Astronomy, Meteorology, University of Reading • conversation
Oct. 4, 2024 ~7 min

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