Space

An artist's rendition of Juno in orbit around Jupiter. The craft is powered entirely by the sun's rays.

Space Hub

It's Official: We Are Now in Orbit Around Jupiter

After a nerve-wracking entry, NASA spacecraft Juno successfully entered the gas giant's orbit

Scott Kelly works on the International Space Station during a nearly eight-hour spacewalk in November 2015.

Space Hub

Space: News and Features About Astronomy and Spaceflight

Get your daily fix of astronomy and spaceflight, from Smithsonian.com and Air&Space magazine

The Bullet Cluster, originally detected using weak lensing

Think Big

“Weak Lensing” Helps Astronomers Map the Mass of the Universe

By making galaxies a little bit brighter, it points the way to elusive galaxies and lets us detect that most mysterious of substances: dark matter

In this artist's conception, a carbon planet orbits a sunlike star in the early universe.

Think Big

Diamond Planets Might Have Hosted Earliest Life

A new study pushes back the earliest date that extraterrestrial life might, maybe, could appear; if so, it'd be on planets made of diamond

An artist’s conception of the LISA Pathfinder spacecraft in orbit at Lagrange Point 1.

Life in the Cosmos

A Spacecraft Just Measured Movement Less Than the Width of an Atom

The successful results pave the way for a future mission that could detect low-frequency gravity waves

This artist's concept depicts select planetary discoveries made to date by NASA's Kepler space telescope.

Think Big

How Would You React If We Discovered Alien Life?

Experts weigh in on what the detection of other life forms might mean to the human race

Telescope array

Think Big

The Hunt for High-Energy Photons Takes Place From a Mountaintop in Mexico

A new telescope built from water tanks might help answer some of the biggest questions in astronomy

Brother Guy Consolmagno, a staff astronomer and the curator of meteorites at the Vatican Observatory

Think Big

Guy Consolmangno, the Vatican’s Chief Astronomer, on Balancing Church With the Cosmos

The MIT graduate speaks to how he ended up studying the stars for the Catholic Church

An artists' conception of a dust storm on Mars. New research may explain why the truly massive dust storms seem to occur irregularly on the Red Planet.

Mars Weather Forecast Calls for Massive Dust Storms -- Here's Why

Planetary-wide dust storms on Mars, lasting for months, may be linked to the motion of the Red Planet around the solar system.

Why Do Humans Have Canine Teeth and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

The Orion spacecraft could one day take astronauts to Mars.

Radiation Remains a Problem for Any Mission to Mars

Engineers have yet to find ways to protect astronauts from cosmic rays and solar radiation

David Eagleman

Think Big

Neuroscientist David Eagleman on What Is Possible in the Cosmos

The author tackles where the human brain and astronomy intersect

"Science fiction is so important to our culture, because it allows us to dream," said Jim Green, director of NASA's planetary science division, at the "Future is Here" festival.

Future Is Here Festival

The Future Is Here Festival Considers Extraterrestrial Life and the Essence of Humanity

In the festival's final day, speakers turn to the cosmos and our place within it

Future is Here festival attendees heard from visionaries in a wide range of fields.

Future Is Here Festival

How to Make Science Fiction Become Fact, in Three Steps

Speakers at <em>Smithsonian</em> magazine's "Future is Here" festival said be patient, persistent, but never, ever pessimistic

Jekan Thanga (right) and students holding FemtoSats

The Innovative Spirit fy17

These Tiny Satellites Can Be Launched Into Space for as Little as $1,000

Researchers at Arizona State University may be paving the way for consumer satellite flight

The model arrived at the Smithsonian in 1974 lacking most of its lights, and replacements burned hot and gave off damaging ultraviolet light. Specialists Will Lee (left) and David Wilson work on ways to deploy new LEDs, which give off little heat and no UV light.

The Starship Enterprise Is Coming in for a New Landing at the Smithsonian

This artifact in the Air and Space Museum collections boldly returns to public view

Engineers have been working on improving Orion’s heat shield since the vehicle successfully traveled to space for the first time last year.

Inside the Grand Plan to Send Humans to Mars

NASA's innovative deputy administrator Dava Newman explains just how close we are to sending astronauts far, far away

The NASA Robot That Failed to Do Its Job

A cautionary tale about the android who just wasn't suited for the task at hand

Your Questions for Astronaut Tom Jones, Answered

Just a sampling of what we can learn from those who have been to space

Avalanches may have triggered the jets of material spewing from Comet Hartley 2.

Avalanches on Comets May Help Make the Icy Bodies Visible

Tumbling rocks may have lit up Comet Hartley 2, allowing its discovery in 1986

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