Articles by Elizabeth Howell, Staff Writer, Spaceflight

Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 covering diversity, education and gaming as well. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years before joining full-time, freelancing since 2012. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House and Office of the Vice-President of the United States, an exclusive conversation with aspiring space tourist (and NSYNC bassist) Lance Bass, speaking several times with the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, "Why Am I Taller?", is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams. Elizabeth holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, a Bachelor of Journalism from Canada's Carleton University and a Bachelor of History from Canada's Athabasca University. Elizabeth is also a post-secondary instructor in communications and science since 2015. Elizabeth first got interested in space after watching the movie Apollo 13 in 1996, and still wants to be an astronaut someday. Mastodon: https://qoto.org/@howellspace

Articles by: Elizabeth Howell

astronaut holds a spacesuit and poses next to it in the international space station. books and hardware are attached to the walls behind, including a model space shuttle

International Women's Day: Female astronauts keep making strides off Earth

By Elizabeth Howell published 8 March 23

The past year saw the first long-duration flight by a woman Black astronaut along with the first spaceflight by a female Native American, among other milestones.

four astronauts with their heads together, floating in a circle on the space station

SpaceX Crew-5 astronauts hope to leave space station March 9 as NASA watches weather

By Elizabeth Howell published 8 March 23

The splashdown date for Crew-5 may shift according to weather, NASA and SpaceX said.

rocket soaring to space as a minecraft block format

NASA and Minecraft want you to build and launch rockets in new Artemis missions worlds

By Elizabeth Howell published 8 March 23

Soar to the moon and back in a new Minecraft adventure targeted for space fans 8 and older.

New VR game 'Journey to Foundation' channels galactic chaos of Asimov novels

By Jeff Spry published 8 March 23

A new interactive VR adventure gaming experience called "Journey to Foundation" invites players into the space opera of Isaac Asimov's classic novels.

crew dragon with hatch open berthed with canadarm2 at international space station

Russians will fly on SpaceX's Crew-7, Crew-8 astronaut missions: report

By Elizabeth Howell published 7 March 23

NASA and Roscosmos plan to fly two more Russian cosmonauts to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX missions this year and in 2024.

astronaut floating beside lockers in space with his arm stretched out

UAE's 1st long-duration astronaut sets sights on moon and Mars

By Elizabeth Howell published 7 March 23

Sultan Al Neyadi blasted off March 2 as part of the SpaceX Crew-6 mission, and says his International Space Station mission will get the UAE ready for the moon and Mars.

illustration of a woman with a shotgun aiming at a flying alien with pterodactyl-like wings, blurry, in the background. fire shoots from the area underneath the alien

Alien & Star Trek fandoms forged the world of new space game Scars Above

By Elizabeth Howell published 7 March 23

Scars Above pits a scientist against numerous, mysterious aliens on a rich world.

Artist's conception of the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) spacecraft next to Earth on the right and the boundary of the heliosphere on the right (represented by a bubble of gas).

NASA's IBEX spacecraft bounces back from glitch to study edge of solar system

By Elizabeth Howell published 6 March 23

NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) is back to normal operations after controllers successfully reset its computer March 2, NASA said.

Watch the Full Worm Moon rise in free telescope webcast on March 7

By Elizabeth Howell published 6 March 23

The Virtual Telescope Project will feature the Worm Full Moon shining over Rome on Tuesday (March 8), starting at 1:30 p.m. EST (1830 GMT).

person at a spacesuit aiming at a large alien in the background. a star rises above the scene

5 mysteries we want to see unraveled in Mass Effect 4

By Elizabeth Howell published 6 March 23

Space games Mass Effect 4 is in development, and fans are eager for a fresh face to the decade-old trilogy. Here's what we would like to see explained in the sequel to this incredible space game series.

astronaut in a spacesuit and helmet gives the thumbs-up

This former NASA astronaut steered a space shuttle to safety after overcoming gender discrimination

By Elizabeth Howell published 6 March 23

Former NASA astronaut Susan Kilrain recently discussed her eventful 1997 space shuttle mission and talked about gender discrimination in the aerospace field.

The Lunar rover "Max," from Clearpath Robotics, is being tested in a moon-like facility in Ottawa, Canada. The small company Mission Control is readying software systems in its facility for lunar exploration and beyond.

I drove a rover on a moon-like landscape and felt like an Apollo astronaut (video)

By Elizabeth Howell published 5 March 23

An ordinary office door opened before me, exposing a portal to the moon. When I stepped inside, I felt a strange connection with explorers of all ages.

rocket lifting off in kerbal space program illustration with launch equipment behind

The sounds of Kerbal Space Program 2: How an emotional real-life rocket launch transformed the game

By Elizabeth Howell published 4 March 23

An audio engineer for Kerbal Space Program 2 attended his first-ever rocket launch in 2022 while recording audio, which you can hear over and over again in the brand-new game.

An image of Astra's LV0010 rocket launching the NASA TROPICS mission.

Astra rocket lost 2 NASA satellites due to 'runaway' cooling system error

By Elizabeth Howell published 3 March 23

The company is no longer flying the flawed Rocket 3 line that made its last flight in June 2022, when it failed to deliver two NASA cubesats to orbit after a second-stage failure.

screenshot of rocket lifting off with plumes of steam surrounding. the launch is at night, so the sky is dark and the plumes are orange

Europe's Vega C rocket launch failure caused by nozzle flaw, investigators say

By Elizabeth Howell published 3 March 23

The Vega C failed Dec. 20, 2022 while carrying two spacecraft for Airbus' Pléiades Neo Earth-imaging constellation.

shadow of helicopter on ground of mars in black and white

Mars helicopter Ingenuity soars between Red Planet airfields on 46th flight

By Elizabeth Howell published 2 March 23

The helicopter flew a third of a mile on the surface on Feb. 25, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory announced yesterday (March 1).

apollo astronaut on the moon with a rake. to the side of him is his shadow. in the back are low hills. moon dust covers his boots and lower legs

Artemis astronauts may be able to spray away sticky moon dust

By Elizabeth Howell published 2 March 23

Apollo astronauts struggled with moon dust during short excursions in the 1960s and 1970s, and NASA would like to solve the problem before sending people back.