Space

A rocket lifts off from its launch pad with clouds of smoke billowing around it, set against a blue sky.

The New Space Race

Reusable rockets are real, the internet is in orbit, and we’re heading to Mars. With space manufacturing, asteroid mining, and lunar bases, the new space race has just begun, transforming life on Earth forever.
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T-Minus: 10 milestones in commercial spaceflight
T-Minus looks back at 10 major milestones in the commercial space industry — including several SpaceX triumphs.
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T-Minus: 10 space startups to watch
Today’s aerospace industry includes hundreds of startups, all vying to be the next SpaceX. Here are 10 that could actually do it.
T-Minus: 10 space stations of the future
The International Space Station may be nearing retirement, but 10 new space stations are just preparing for launch.
T-Minus: Counting down 10 upcoming moon missions
A countdown of 10 upcoming moon missions, all leading up to the one expected to return NASA astronauts to the lunar surface.
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Biggest aircraft since the Hindenburg cleared for test flights
Pathfinder-1, a massive airship developed by Google cofounder Sergey Brin’s LTA Research, has begun flight testing.
Is the Universe infinite?
The limits to which we can observe the Universe are set by three things: the rate of expansion, the time since the Big Bang, and the speed of light.
T-Minus: NASA’s surprise asteroid, China’s reusable rocket, and more
Freethink’s weekly countdown of the biggest space news, featuring a surprising asteroid discovery, a new reusable rocket, and more.
Explore JWST’s deepest views ever for yourself
If you want to observe the Universe more deeply than ever before, simply point your high-powered observatory at the same region of sky.
Mouse embryos grown in space for the first time
A mouse experiment on the International Space Station suggests humans might one day be able to reproduce in space.
T-Minus: Stranded space drugs, a new moon lander, and more
Freethink’s weekly countdown of the biggest space news, featuring a stranded space factory, Jeff Bezos’ new moon lander, and more.
NASA spends $50K on liquid metal spacesuit material
NASA-backed engineers are developing a new spacesuit material that will use liquid metals to repel lunar dust on demand.
Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites are “leaking” signals
Starlink satellites are emitting signals that interfere with our most sensitive radio telescopes, interfering with radio astronomy.
NASA funds AI lasers to zap space junk
NASA is funding the development of AI space lasers to protect its spacecraft and astronauts from potentially deadly space junk.
T-Minus: SpaceX’s wild pace, a marsquake mystery solved, and more
Freethink’s weekly countdown of the biggest space news, featuring SpaceX’s launch problem, a marsquake mystery, and more.
The 2023 annular eclipse will have huge consequences 6 months later
Only twice a year are the conditions right for the Sun, Earth, and Moon to align in space: creating conditions for either solar or lunar eclipses.
There’s an entire solar system hiding inside Sweden
The Avicii Arena in Stockholm is the world’s largest spherical building and the center of the world’s largest scale model of our solar system.
T-Minus Weekly: Psyche launches, NASA unveils asteroid samples, and more
Freethink’s weekly countdown of the biggest space news, featuring the launch of the Psyche, the reveal of NASA’s asteroid samples, and more.
SpaceX’s Starlink is now available across the entire US
SpaceX’s Starlink has expanded its satellite internet coverage to include the entire US and announced an upcoming “Direct to Cell” service.
Baby star reveals new phase of planet formation for the first time
Astronomers have discovered a newborn star on the brink of planet formation, revealing a part of the process we’ve never seen before.
NASA’s Psyche mission is on its way to a metal asteroid
NASA has successfully launched its Psyche mission, sending a spacecraft on a 2.5-billion-mile journey to a metal-rich asteroid.
T-Minus Weekly: A first for Europe, Musk’s Starship update, and more
Freethink’s weekly countdown of the biggest developments in space, featuring a first for Europe, Musk’s Starship update, and more.
Chandrayaan-3’s measurements of sulfur open the doors for lunar science and exploration
Data from Chandrayaan-3’s rover showed the lunar soil contained the expected metal elements, but also an unexpected surprise – sulfur.
NASA’s asteroid sample contains an abundance of carbon and water
On October 11, NASA shared its first update on the Bennu asteroid sample brought to Earth by the OSIRIS-REx mission.
This massive autonomous cargo plane could slash shipping costs
A UK startup has an ambitious plan to slash the cost of air freight by shipping goods in a massive autonomous cargo plane.
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