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Elizabeth Howell
Elizabeth Howell

Elizabeth Howell, Ph.D., is a contributing writer for Space.com 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. 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

A Hubble Space Telescope image of a nebula called N44.

This bizarre 'superbubble' spotted by the Hubble Space Telescope has scientists scratching their heads

By Elizabeth Howell published

Scientists aren't exactly sure how it formed.

matthias maurer crew-3

This astronaut is spending his SpaceX launch delay cleaning up a Florida beach

By Elizabeth Howell published

A German astronaut is showing his love for Earth during a few extra days on the planet's surface before his first space mission.

A selfie taken by NASA's Perseverance rover, which landed on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021.

You can help NASA train Mars rovers for the Red Planet

By Elizabeth Howell published

You can help NASA make its Mars rovers even better explorers.

An artist's depiction of what the surface of the potentially habitable exoplanet Proxima b might be like,

NASA scientists propose new 'alien life evidence' scale

By Elizabeth Howell published

As the search for alien life heats up, scientists may need to step up their reporting game a bit.

space tacos

Astronaut makes zero-g tacos with 1st chile peppers grown in space. They look delicious.

By Elizabeth Howell published

An astronaut declared the feast her "best space tacos yet."

"Star Wars" is only the beginning when it comes to space and sci-fi stuff to watch on Disney Plus.

The best sci-fi movies and TV shows to stream on Disney Plus in November

By Elizabeth Howell published

Here are the best space and science fiction movies and TV shows to watch on Disney Plus in November.

Jupiter’s banded appearance is created by the cloud-forming “weather layer.” This composite image shows views of Jupiter in (left to right) infrared and visible light taken by the Gemini North telescope and NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, respectively.

NASA's Juno probe reveals secrets of Jupiter's atmosphere in 3D

By Elizabeth Howell published

We've got more information than ever on how the gas giant's cyclones and water operate, deep in the atmosphere.

Elon Musk

Elon Musk: Revolutionary private space entrepreneur

By Elizabeth Howell, Ailsa Harvey published

REFERENCE Elon Musk is an entrepreneur best known in space circles for launching SpaceX, the first private company to launch a mission to the International Space Station.

The crewmembers of the Apollo 13 mission step aboard the USS Iwo Jima, after splashdown and recovery operations in the South Pacific Ocean on April 17, 1970. Exiting the helicopter from left to right are Fred Haise, James Lovell and John Swigert.

Apollo 13: The moon mission that dodged disaster

By Elizabeth Howell, Kimberly Hickok published

Reference The Apollo 13 mission was an example of NASA's ingenuity under pressure.

The Juno spacecraft captured the north pole region of Europa for the first time, from a distance.

A NASA spacecraft just saw the north pole of Europa, the icy moon of Jupiter, for the first time

By Elizabeth Howell published

NASA's Juno snapped the first photo of the north pole of Europa, Jupiter's icy moon.

"Star Trek Online" is getting spooky in its first-ever Halloween event.

'Star Trek Online' first Halloween event follows The Old Ones

By Elizabeth Howell published

Players of "Star Trek Online" are facing down the game's first Halloween event, which is a battle for lives, souls and possibly the universe itself.

Do you see Godzilla in this picture? This image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows an infrared view of a nebula in the Sagittarius constellation that may resemble the sci-fi monster.

'Godzilla' monster spotted in colorful nebula by zombie space telescope

By Elizabeth Howell published

A dead space telescope's data reveals a gas cloud that looks like the iconic sci-fi monster Godzilla.

The Hubble Space Telescope unveiled this spooky photo of the dying red giant star CW Leonis just in time for Halloween.

This creepy photo of a dying star looks like a portal to the underworld

By Elizabeth Howell published

Just in time for Halloween, the long-running Hubble Space Telescope has captured a creepy image of a star surrounded by soot.

Orson Welles rehearsing a radio broadcast of H.G. Wells' classic, The War of the Worlds on October 10, 1938. The broadcast, which claimed that aliens from Mars had invaded New Jersey, terrified thousands of Americans.

Was the 'War of the Worlds' radio broadcast an early deepfake?

By Elizabeth Howell published

A new podcast argues the 1938 Martian invasion story foreshadowed the problems of media creation today.

What would happen if the worst-case asteroid scenario really happened? This is an artist's depiction of the dinosaur-killing asteroid, which left a 124-mile-wide crater in the planet's surface.

What would happen if an asteroid were going to hit Earth? A NASA scientist explains.

By Elizabeth Howell published

NASA has a plan that includes telescope partnerships and a brand-new spacecraft mission launching this year.

A view of Earth from the moon's south pole according to NASA visual artists.

This is what Earth looks like from the moon's south pole (video)

By Elizabeth Howell published

The weird motions of planet Earth and its sun will be a fun sight for astronauts at the south pole of the moon, a NASA video shows.

Juno spacecraft over Jupiter's great red spot. Jupiter is a gas giant, but could a spacecraft pass through a gas planet?

NASA to reveal new Jupiter atmosphere discovery Thursday. How to watch live.

By Elizabeth Howell published

The agency's Juno spacecraft has a starring role.

A Russian Soyuz 2.1a rocket carrying the uncrewed Progress 79 cargo ship launches into orbit from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan in the pre-dawn hours of Oct. 28, 2021 (late Oct. 27 EDT).

'Perfect launch' of Soyuz rocket sends Russian Progress 79 cargo ship to space station

By Elizabeth Howell published

A Russian Soyuz rocket launched a new robotic cargo ship to the International Space Station late Wednesday (Oct. 27) to deliver tons of fresh supplies for astronauts in orbit.

A Chinese Kuaizhou-1A rocket launches the commercial Jilin-1 Gaofen 02F remote sensing satellite into orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert on Oct. 27, 2021.

China launches 40th orbital rocket mission of 2021, a new record: report

By Elizabeth Howell published

China's set a new national record for rocket launches today (Oct. 27) with a satellite launch from the Gobi Desert.

A Chinese Long March 3B rocket launches the military space debris mitigation satellite Shijian-21from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center on Oct. 24, 2021.

China launches military satellite that will take aim at space junk

By Elizabeth Howell published

The launch was a 'complete success', although we don't know much about its mission yet.

This image from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory shows an active solar region (visible at top-middle left) on the left limb of the sun as it rotated into view on Oct. 26, 2021.

A new sunspot is firing off solar eruptions and here's what it looks like on video

By Elizabeth Howell published

Our otherwise quiet sun had a stormy five-hour fiesta during the early hours of Tuesday (Oct. 26).

Space Shuttle Columbia launches on mission STS-62.

Space shuttle Columbia: NASA's first shuttle in space

By Elizabeth Howell, Daisy Dobrijevic published

Reference Space shuttle Columbia was the first shuttle in space and performed 28 flights. Columbia's final flight ended in disaster as it broke apart during re-entry.

SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule Endeavour, with four astronauts aboard, arrived at the International Space Station on April 24, 2021.

Elon Musk's SpaceX now valued at $100 billion: report

By Elizabeth Howell published

SpaceX's valuation has topped $100 billion, making the company even more of a rich rarity in a fast-growing industry.

A direct image captured by the Subaru Telescope of the newfound exoplanet 2M0437b, a gas giant that circles a star 417 light-years from Earth. The extremely bright host star has been mostly removed by image-processing techniques; the four "spikes" are artifacts produced by the telescope's optics.

Newfound baby exoplanet photographed from more than 400 light-years away

By Elizabeth Howell published

An amazing new image shows one of the youngest alien worlds yet found, giving scientists more clues about how planets form.

A Japanese H-2A rocket launches the QZS-R1 navigation satellite into orbit from the Tanegashima Space Center.

Japanese H-2A rocket launches advanced new GPS satellite into orbit

By Elizabeth Howell published

Japan's H-2A rocket launched a new navigation satellite into orbit from the Tanegashima Space Center on Monday (Oct. 25).