Trump’s nomination for NASA leader boasts business and commercial spaceflight experience during a period of uncertainty for the agency

Billionaire CEO Jared Isaacman has worked closely with SpaceX. He expressed an interest in sending missions to both the Moon and Mars if confirmed.

Wendy Whitman Cobb, Professor of Strategy and Security Studies, Air University • conversation
April 10, 2025 • ~9 min

Nasa and Esa want to bring Martian rocks to Earth. Here’s what will happen to the samples once they get here

Scientists will have to check whether the samples contain living microbes before they can be safely studied.

John Bridges, Professor of Planetary Science, University of Leicester • conversation
April 7, 2025 • ~8 min

Nasa’s Curiosity rover has found the longest chain carbon molecules yet on Mars. It’s a significant finding in the search for alien life

A rock from a presumed ancient lakebed contains complex organic molecules.

Megan Argo, Senior Lecturer in Astronomy, University of Central Lancashire • conversation
March 28, 2025 • ~7 min

Modern spacesuits have a compatibility problem. Astronauts’ lives depend on fixing it

Making spacesuits compatible with different spacecraft could protect astronauts during an emergency evacuation.

Berna Akcali Gur, Lecturer in Outer Space Law, Queen Mary University of London • conversation
March 25, 2025 • ~7 min

Modern spacesuits have a compatability problem. Astronauts’ lives depend on fixing it

Making spacesuits compatible with different spacecraft could protect astronauts during an emergency evacuation.

Berna Akcali Gur, Lecturer in Outer Space Law, Queen Mary University of London • conversation
March 25, 2025 • ~7 min

Long, unplanned stay in space will have taken a toll on minds and bodies of stranded astronauts

The astronauts were due to spend eight days on the ISS but ended up staying for nine months.

Craig Jackson, Professor of Occupational Health Psychology, Birmingham City University • conversation
March 18, 2025 • ~8 min

Radioisotope generators − inside the ‘nuclear batteries’ that power faraway spacecraft

When a spacecraft is too far from the Sun to use solar panels, it needs a different reliable source of power.

Benjamin Roulston, Assistant Professor of Physics, Clarkson University • conversation
March 14, 2025 • ~9 min

3D printing will help space pioneers make homes, tools and other stuff they need to colonize the Moon and Mars

3D printing in outer space and on alien planets comes with otherworldly challenges.

Sven Bilén, Professor of Engineering Design, Electrical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering, Penn State • conversation
March 13, 2025 • ~9 min

Asteroid has a very small chance of hitting Earth in 2032, but a collision could devastate a city

The chances of asteroid 2024 YR4 hitting Earth are small but fluctuating.

Maggie Lieu, Research Fellow, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham • conversation
Feb. 24, 2025 • ~8 min

How to find climate data and science the Trump administration removed from government websites

Several groups are working to preserve webpages, tools and data – some of which have already gone missing from government webpages since the start of the Trump administration.

Alejandro Paz, Energy and Environment Librarian, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) • conversation
Feb. 14, 2025 • ~10 min

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