Elizabeth Howell

Elizabeth Howell

Elizabeth Howell, Ph.D., is a contributing writer for Space.com (opens in new tab) since 2012. As a proud Trekkie and Canadian, she tackles topics like spaceflight, diversity, science fiction, astronomy and gaming to help others explore the universe. Elizabeth's on-site reporting includes two human spaceflight launches from Kazakhstan, and embedded reporting from a simulated Mars mission in Utah. She holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc (opens in new tab). in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, and a Bachelor of Journalism from Canada's Carleton University. Her latest book, NASA Leadership Moments, is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams. Elizabeth first got interested in space after watching the movie Apollo 13 in 1996, and still wants to be an astronaut someday.

Articles by: Elizabeth Howell

The Obi-Wan Kenobi Fortnite skin was released May 26, 2022.

This Obi-Wan Kenobi Fortnite outfit is the Star Wars skin you're looking for

By Elizabeth Howell published

Obi-Wan Kenobi, decked in his Jedi glory from the new Disney Plus series, is available for a brief time in the Fortnite shop.

Brown and green Africa against the blue oceans

Imagining early Earth as an exoplanet can help us search for alien life, scientists say

By Elizabeth Howell published

What if we thought of our ancestors as a form of alien life?

A crater surrounded by streaks of blue-grey

New Mars study traces erosion history on the Red Planet in search for water

By Elizabeth Howell published

A new Mars study attempts to find periods of intense erosion to find when water flowed on the Red Planet.

A time-lapse image of asteroid 7335 (1989 JA) passing by Earth on May 27, 2022.

Mile-wide asteroid 7335 (1989 JA), the largest yet of 2022, flies safely by Earth

By Elizabeth Howell published

There were no worries whatsoever about the space rock, which passed by at a very safe distance.

Asteroid flybys are common, and we usually can see them coming.

You can watch a huge, mile-wide asteroid fly safely by Earth today

By Elizabeth Howell published

A huge asteroid more than a mile wide will zoom safely by Earth today and you can watch it live today in a free online webcast.

This photo, captured by Maxar Technologies' WorldView-2 satellite on April 11, 2022, shows the deployment of troops, tents and vehicles west of Soloti, Russia, near the border with Ukraine.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine: Astronauts share their unique perspective

By Elizabeth Howell published

Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine has effects that are visible from space, as astronauts have recently noted.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

NASA chief Bill Nelson urges action after 'heavy weight' of recent mass shootings

By Elizabeth Howell published

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson added his voice Wednesday (May 25) to the chorus urging action to prevent mass shootings.

SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk.

Elon Musk endorses tight background checks on gun buyers: report

By Elizabeth Howell published

Elon Musk said he believes that the right to bear arms is necessary to guard against tyranny, but he called for stricter background checks on gun sales.

NASA's Psyche spacecraft is seen in early 2022 on its way to the vacuum chamber at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

NASA's metal asteroid mission's launch delayed 7 weeks by software glitch

By Elizabeth Howell published

NASA's Psyche asteroid probe will wait several more weeks for launch.

Image of the moon near Venus.

Watch the moon and Venus snuggle up together in a live webcast

By Elizabeth Howell published

Venus and the moon will meet up in the sky Thursday (May 26) and you can catch their greetings online.

Artist's illustration showing the CAPSTONE cubesat near the moon.

NASA-funded CAPSTONE moon mission seeks to go where no cubesat has gone before

By Elizabeth Howell published

CAPSTONE, which will launch no earlier than June 6, aims to verify the stability of the lunar orbit that will be used by NASA's Gateway space station.

InSight's 'final selfie' of April 24, 2022, shows a solar-powered lander caked in Martian dust.

NASA's Mars InSight lander snaps dusty 'final selfie' as power dwindles

By Elizabeth Howell published

NASA's InSight lander is completely caked with a thick layer of Martian dust in its latest selfie, which the agency says will likely be the last of the mission.

Former NASA astronaut Mark Kelly represents the state of Arizona in the U.S. Senate.

Former astronaut Mark Kelly urges action on gun control after Texas school shooting

By Elizabeth Howell published

Arizona senator and former NASA astronaut Mark Kelly said he and his wife are heartbroken by a tragic school shooting in Texas.

A plume of discolored water surrounds the Kavachi Volcano in the Solomon Islands in this satellite image taken May 14, 2022.

'Sharkcano' undersea volcano eruption spotted from space in satellite photo

By Elizabeth Howell published

Superheated, acidic water surrounds an underwater volcano dubbed "sharkcano" in fresh imagery from the Landsat 9 satellite.

Artist's illustration of a meteor shower.

Potential new meteor shower is 'all or nothing event,' says NASA astronomer

By Elizabeth Howell published

A blast of new meteors may emerge during a tau Herculid meteor shower on May 30 and 31, but that's not a sure thing.

Artist's concept of the Gateway moon-orbiting space station.

Japan will send an astronaut to the moon with NASA, President Biden says

By Elizabeth Howell published

A Japanese astronaut will visit NASA's planned Gateway space station, and perhaps the moon's surface, as part of a larger interagency agreement.

The James Webb Space Telescope will observe targets near and far after its commissioning period.

James Webb Space Telescope practices tracking an asteroid for the 1st time

By Elizabeth Howell published

The James Webb Space Telescope successfully watched a moving asteroid as the telescope inches toward the end of its commissioning period.

Artist's illustration showing the CAPSTONE cubesat near the moon.

The NASA-funded launch of CAPSTONE, a tiny cubesat for the moon, delayed to June 6

By Elizabeth Howell published

The little CAPSTONE spacecraft will have to wait a bit longer for its big lunar launch.

Artist’s illustration of a crewed outpost on Mars.

NASA shows off early plans to send astronauts to Mars for 30 days

By Elizabeth Howell published

We now have an early glimpse of NASA's latest vision for its first crewed Mars mission.

An oddly shaped, bluish-white cloud in the upper right corner is surrounded by gold, white and blue bright spots.

Hubble Space Telescope spots streams of star formation flowing between galaxies

By Elizabeth Howell published

Stars from colliding galaxies flow together in a newly upgraded image from NASA's venerable space telescope.

Hubble Space Telescope photo of part of the spiral galaxy Needle’s Eye (NGC 247 and Caldwell 62).

Hubble telescope looks deep into the Needle's Eye in this dwarf spiral galaxy photo

By Elizabeth Howell published

A fresh image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows a deep view of the eye of a galactic needle.

NASA's first Space Launch System, the Artemis 1 moon rocket, stands atop Launch Pad 39B during sunrise in this photo taken March 23, 2022.

NASA unveils Artemis 1 moon mission launch windows through mid-2023

By Elizabeth Howell published

NASA has released all of its Artemis 1 launch windows through 2022, with more dates through June 2023.

This image collection based on Hubble Space Telescope data features galaxies hosting both Cepheid variables and supernovas. Such objects help to chart the universe's expansion.

There's a mystery in our universe's expansion rate and the Hubble Space Telescope is on the case

By Elizabeth Howell published

Scientists have a new, more accurate, measurement of the expansion of the universe thanks to observations by the Hubble Space Telescope.

A SpaceX rocket launch tracking camera captured this amazing view of the moon just ahead of the company's launch of a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 53 Starlink satellites from Pad 39A of NASA's Kennedy Space Center on May 18, 2022.

Space photos: The most amazing images this week!

By Elizabeth Howell published

See the best photos on Space.com this week.

Boeing's Starliner capsule nears touchdown at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico on May 25, 2022.

The top space stories of the week!

By Elizabeth Howell published

Starliner touches down, a former astronaut speaks out about gun safety, and wealthy nations create inequality in space.