Solar storms that caused pretty auroras can create havoc with technology — here’s how

Solar storms can play havoc with electrical grids, satellites and railway lines.

Jim Wild, Professor of Space Physics, Lancaster University • conversation
May 14, 2024 • ~7 min

Starliner: Boeing prepares to launch its first crewed spacecraft as it chases after SpaceX

Starliner is only the second vehicle to launch astronauts from US soil since the retirement of the shuttle in 2011.

Gareth Dorrian, Post Doctoral Research Fellow in Space Science, University of Birmingham • conversation
May 3, 2024 • ~8 min

Boeing’s Starliner launch – delayed again – will be an important milestone for commercial spaceflight

The Starliner’s planned crewed test on May 6, 2024, was scrubbed after a technical issue with the rocket taking it up to orbit.

Wendy Whitman Cobb, Professor of Strategy and Security Studies, Air University • conversation
May 2, 2024 • ~8 min

Boeing’s Starliner is about to launch − if successful, the test represents an important milestone for commercial spaceflight

The Starliner has had delays and issues. The May 2024 launch will put its capacity to carry crew to the International Space Station to the test.

Wendy Whitman Cobb, Professor of Strategy and Security Studies, Air University • conversation
May 2, 2024 • ~8 min

Nasa’s planned mission to retrieve rocks from Mars is in trouble – but it’s a vital step to sending humans to the red planet

New ideas will be key to making the mission happen after a report criticised its timescale and cost.

Yang Gao, Professor of Robotics, Head of Centre for Robotics Research, King's College London • conversation
April 30, 2024 • ~7 min

The Mars Sample Return mission has a shaky future, and NASA is calling on private companies for backup

It’s not easy to collect rocks on a budget when the rocks are 140 million miles away.

Chris Impey, University Distinguished Professor of Astronomy, University of Arizona • conversation
April 25, 2024 • ~9 min

A Nasa rover has reached a promising place to search for fossilised life on Mars

The Perseverance rover has arrived at what’s thought to be an ancient shoreline on Mars.

Sean McMahon, Chancellor's Fellow in Astrobiology, The University of Edinburgh • conversation
April 23, 2024 • ~7 min

Nasa to overhaul mission returning samples from Mars – here’s why it must and will go ahead

There’s anxiety among space scientists following Nasa’s decision to rethink sample return mission from Mars.

John Bridges, Professor of Planetary Science, University of Leicester • conversation
April 22, 2024 • ~7 min

Saturn’s ocean moon Enceladus is able to support life − my research team is working out how to detect extraterrestrial cells there

Saturn’s moon Enceladus has geysers shooting tiny grains of ice into space. These grains could hold traces of life − but researchers need the right tools to tell.

Fabian Klenner, Postdoctoral Scholar in Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington • conversation
April 17, 2024 • ~8 min

Could a telescope ever see the beginning of time? An astronomer explains

Now out in space for more than two years, the James Webb Space Telescope is a stunningly sophisticated instrument.

Adi Foord, Assistant Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Maryland, Baltimore County • conversation
April 8, 2024 • ~9 min

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