Nasa's Psyche mission is set for launch – here's how it could unveil the interior secrets of planets

The asteroid is interesting from a scientific perspective as well as a commercial one.

Ian Whittaker, Senior Lecturer in Physics, Nottingham Trent University • conversation
Oct. 12, 2023 • ~6 min

Astronomers have learned lots about the universe − but how do they study astronomical objects too distant to visit?

Controlled experiments are impossible in astronomy, as are direct measurements of physical properties of objects outside our solar system. So how do astronomers know so much about them?

Luke Keller, Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Ithaca College • conversation
Oct. 12, 2023 • ~7 min

A Nasa spacecraft is on course to deliver material from an asteroid to Earth – here's what we could learn

Missions to asteroids are opening up the secrets of the Solar System

Monica Grady, Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences, The Open University • conversation
Sept. 21, 2023 • ~8 min

Flowering plants survived the dinosaur-killing asteroid – and may outlive us

The fossil record tells conflicting stories about what happened to flowering plants after the asteroid.

Jamie Thompson, Postdoctoral Evolutionary Biologist, University of Bath • conversation
Sept. 13, 2023 • ~8 min

Have we really found the first samples from beyond the Solar System? The evidence is not convincing

Could spherical metallic fragments be from a nuclear test?

Monica Grady, Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences, The Open University • conversation
Sept. 6, 2023 • ~8 min

NASA's Psyche mission to a metal world may reveal the mysteries of Earth's interior

Liftoff to the distant asteroid is scheduled for Oct. 5, 2023 – the beginning of a six-year journey to one of the most unusual objects in the solar system.

Jim Bell, Professor of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University • conversation
Aug. 17, 2023 • ~6 min

Most Americans support NASA – but don't think it should prioritize sending people to space

A new survey catalogs Americans’ expectations about the future of space, from NASA to SpaceX. Two space policy experts describe how these results stack up against the current state of space affairs.

Teasel Muir-Harmony, Curator of the Apollo Collection, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and Affiliate Adjunct, Georgetown University • conversation
Aug. 3, 2023 • ~10 min

Physicist who found spherical meteor fragments claims they may come from an alien spaceship – here's what to make of it

There is a very large scientific leap from observing a fireball to claiming it as an alien spaceship.

Monica Grady, Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences, The Open University • conversation
July 7, 2023 • ~8 min

A brief history of the UK's Winchcombe meteorite

In 2021, searchers recovered a meteorite that fell over the UK just hours earlier. Scientists have now reconstructed its story.

Dr Martin D. Suttle, Lecturer in Planetary Science, The Open University • conversation
March 10, 2023 • ~7 min

NASA successfully shifted an asteroid's orbit – DART spacecraft crashed into and moved Dimorphos

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test successfully showed that it is possible to crash a spacecraft into a small asteroid and change its orbit. This technique could save Earth from asteroids in the future.

David Barnhart, Professor of Astronautics, University of Southern California • conversation
Oct. 11, 2022 • ~7 min

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