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Four women serving together on the International Space Station on April 14, 2010, represented the highest number of women in space simultaneously. Clockwise from lower right are NASA astronauts Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, Stephanie Wilson, both STS-131

Women in space: A gallery of firsts

By Space.com Staff

Here's a run-through of the trailblazing women who achieved major firsts in space.

Underneath the stands of the University of Arizona’s football stadium, engineers with the school’s Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab manufacture the world's largest and most lightweight telescope mirrors. At the center of the process is a giant spinning furnace, the only one of its kind.

Giant Magellan Telescope project casts sixth mirror

By Mike Wall

The GMT keeps coming together.

The Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, which collapsed in December 2020, is seen from space in this satellite image captured Feb. 23, 2021.

Arecibo Observatory has more science to do despite iconic radio telescope's collapse

By Meghan Bartels

For decades, the words "Arecibo Observatory" was shorthand for the facility's massive radio telescope, one of those rare instruments that reached icon status beyond its core science community.

'Black holes' with Planck hearts would lack a true event horizon (like the one illustrated in this image).

Black holes could be dark stars with 'Planck hearts'

By Paul Sutter

Black holes may not be black or holes, a new theory proposes.

Artist’s illustration of the exoplanet Proxima b, the Earth-size world that orbits in the "habitable zone" of the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri. Proxima b is likely tidally locked, always showing the same face to its host star.

Can super-rotating oceans cool off extreme exoplanets?

By Paul Sutter

New research suggests a way to move heat around "tidally locked" alien planets: ocean currents whipping around the worlds faster than they rotate.

NASA's first Orbiting Solar Observatory spacecraft launched on March 7, 1962 to study the sun.

On This Day in Space! March 7, 1962: NASA launches Orbiting Solar Observatory

By Hanneke Weitering

On March 7, 1962, NASA launched the first Orbiting Solar Observatory. See how it happened in our "On This Day In Space" series!

Tech

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How It Works magazine covers

Read a free issue of How It Works magazine!

By Jeanna Bryner

Our sister publication is the action-packed magazine that’s bursting with the answers to your curious questions

sky hub

Spotting UFOs: Do-it-yourself sky surveillance comes online

By Leonard David

If you are perplexed by reports of unidentified aerial phenomena and possible visitations of alien spacecraft, you can take action with do-it-yourself sky-monitoring gear.

Spaceflight

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NASA's first Orbiting Solar Observatory spacecraft launched on March 7, 1962 to study the sun.

On This Day in Space! March 7, 1962: NASA launches Orbiting Solar Observatory

By Hanneke Weitering

On March 7, 1962, NASA launched the first Orbiting Solar Observatory. See how it happened in our "On This Day In Space" series!

Illustration of the lunar gateway.

Artemis: How ever changing US space policy may push back the next moon landing

By Gareth Dorrian

History shows just how vulnerable space programmes, which require years of planning and development spanning several administrations, are.

Science & Astronomy

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earth

A billion years from now, a lack of oxygen will wipe out life on Earth

By Matthew Warke

Earth will not be able to support and sustain life forever.

We're giving away two prizes — a Perserverance mission patch and a commemorative rover-landing coin — to one lucky winner.

In the Space.com forums this week: Perseverance prizes, exploration and breaking theories!

By Mohamed Mohammed

This week, the Space.com forums kicked off our Perseverance Prize giveaway, talked space exploration and more. See what's up here.

Search For Life

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This still from a White House video shows U.S. President Joe Biden watching NASA's broadcast of the successful Mars landing by the Perseverance rover on Feb. 18, 2021.

NASA's Perseverance rover landing on Mars was a giant leap for America, President Biden says

By Mike Wall

The reverberations from the epic touchdown of NASA's Perseverance Mars rover will extend far beyond the science and spaceflight communities, President Biden said.

China's Tianwen-1 Mars rover is pictured at the "Mars yard," a simulated Red Planet testing ground at the China Academy of Space Technology in Beijing, China.

Here's what we know about planetary protection on China's Tianwen-1 Mars mission

By Meghan Bartels

In anticipation of China's first Mars landing attempt, scientists are wondering whether the Tianwen-1 rover may carry Earthly contamination with it to the surface.

A portion of the panorama captured by the Mastcam-Z camera system aboard NASA's Perseverance Mars rover. The full panorama consists of 142 images taken on Feb. 21, 2021.

Perseverance rover snaps gorgeous HD panorama of Mars landing site

By Mike Wall

Perseverance has captured a high-definition, 360-degree panorama of its surroundings on the floor of Mars' Jezero Crater, which harbored a lake and a river delta billions of years ago.

Skywatching

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See Mercury with Jupiter and Saturn this Saturday (March 6) in the early morning sky.

Mercury meets up with Jupiter (Saturn and the moon, too!) in the morning sky this week

By Joe Rao

If you look low in the east-southeast sky at around 5:45 a.m. local time, you'll see them: the biggest planet in our solar system passing unusually close to the smallest planet in the solar system.

Asteroid Apophis seen on Jan. 9, 2013, from Slooh's remotely operated observatories in Chile and the Canary Islands.

Watch live tonight: Join Slooh's live webcast of asteroid Apophis flyby

By Space.com Staff

The Slooh online observatory will broadcast live views of the near-Earth asteroid Apophis tonight (March 5) at 8 p.m. EST (0100 GMT on Saturday).

An image of the asteroid Apophis captured by the Virtual Telescope Project, which is based in Rome, on March 2, 2021.

Huge asteroid Apophis will safely fly past Earth tonight. Here's where to watch live online.

By Elizabeth Howell

At least two astronomy broadcast services plan to showcase the asteroid Apophis as it flies by Earth safely on Friday (March 5).

Entertainment

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We're giving away two prizes — a Perserverance mission patch and a commemorative rover-landing coin — to one lucky winner.

In the Space.com forums this week: Perseverance prizes, exploration and breaking theories!

By Mohamed Mohammed

This week, the Space.com forums kicked off our Perseverance Prize giveaway, talked space exploration and more. See what's up here.

Fridays at 1 p.m. EDT (17000 GMT), Space.com staff writer Chelsea Gohd will host the brand new series "Space Chat."

Space Chat with Space.com: Tune in Fridays for science, space and more!

By Chelsea Gohd

This Friday (Mar. 5), Space Chat will explore commercial space initiatives like Inspiration4, which aim to send commercial astronauts to space.

Netflix is bringing back the giant mechs with "Pacific Rim: The Black" available now.

Netflix launches 'Pacific Rim: The Black' anime series

By Jeff Spry

When Kaiju ravage Australia, two siblings pilot a Jaeger to search for their parents in this new teaser for Netflix's "Pacific Rim: The Black" anime series available now.