Michael Wall is the Spaceflight and Tech Editor for Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers human and robotic spaceflight, military space, and exoplanets, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.
Latest articles by Mike Wall

NASA's Artemis 2 moon astronauts are 'fortunate' to have a private space toilet — Apollo crews pooped in plastic bags
By Mike Wall published
The Apollo astronauts peed into roll-on cuffs and pooped into plastic bags in the presence of their crewmates, but the Artemis 2 spaceflyers will have access to a bona fide bathroom.

Private German company scrubs history-making launch attempt from Norway
By Mike Wall last updated
Isar Aerospace's Spectrum rocket aims to become the first vehicle ever to reach orbit from European soil. The company tried to launch on Wednesday (March 25) but scrubbed the attempt.

1 week away! NASA gearing up to launch Artemis 2 astronauts around the moon on April 1
By Mike Wall published
The launch of the first crewed moon mission since the Apollo era is just a week away! NASA is preparing to launch its Artemis 2 flight on April 1.

Rocket Lab launch of Europe's 1st 2 'Celeste' navigation satellites scrubbed due to weather
By Mike Wall published
Rocket Lab had planned to launch the first two satellites for Europe's Celeste navigation constellation early Wednesday morning (March 25), but Mother Nature didn't cooperate.

Wild new 'Skyfall' Mars mission would drop 6 scout helicopters onto the Red Planet from the air
By Mike Wall published
NASA plans to launch its first nuclear-powered interplanetary spacecraft in 2028, a probe called Space Reactor-1 Freedom that will carry a fleet of tiny helicopters to Mars.

NASA announcing update to Artemis moon plans today: Watch it live
By Mike Wall published
NASA will hold a series of events today (March 24) that update us on the agency's plans for the moon and more, and you can watch them live.

2nd-ever test flight of NASA's 'quiet' X-59 supersonic jet cut short by glitch
By Mike Wall published
NASA's "quiet" supersonic X-59 jet took to the skies for the second time ever on Friday (March 20), but it didn't stay up for long.

Russian cargo spacecraft suffers glitch after launching toward International Space Station
By Mike Wall last updated
Russia's Progress 94 cargo spacecraft did not deploy one of its docking antennas as planned after launching toward the ISS on Sunday (March 22), complicating plans for its arrival.

US Space Force moves GPS launch to SpaceX Falcon 9 due to Vulcan rocket glitch
By Mike Wall published
The U.S. Space Force has swapped rockets for an upcoming GPS satellite launch, moving to a SpaceX Falcon 9 while the investigation into an anomaly with ULA's Vulcan Centaur continues.

Rocket Lab launches private Japanese 'Strix' satellite
By Mike Wall last updated
Rocket Lab launched an Earth-observing radar satellite for the Japanese company Synspective to orbit on Friday (March 20).

'A great relief!' Europe's Proba-3 solar-eclipse satellite phones home after a month of silence
By Mike Wall published
One of the two spacecraft that make up Europe's Proba-3 solar-eclipse mission just reestablished contact with its handlers after being incommunicado for a month.

Watch NASA roll out Artemis 2 moon rocket tonight ahead of April 1 launch
By Mike Wall published
NASA will roll its Artemis 2 moon rocket out to the launch pad on Thursday (March 19) ahead of a planned April 1 liftoff, and you can watch the action live.

SpaceX fires up next-gen 'V3' Starship for 1st time ahead of April launch (photos)
By Mike Wall published
SpaceX conducted a static fire test with the first stage of its V3 Starship on Monday (March 16), a milestone moment for this bigger, more powerful megarocket variant.

Watch live today: NASA astronauts conducting spacewalk delayed by ISS medical evacuation
By Mike Wall published
Two NASA astronauts will conduct a spacewalk today (March 18) that was delayed by the first-ever medical evacuation of the ISS, and you can watch the action live.

How risky is the Artemis 2 astronaut launch to the moon? NASA would rather not say
By Mike Wall published
NASA's Artemis 2 mission, which will launch astronauts to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years, comes with undeniable risk. But quantifying that risk is a tall order.

Northrop Grumman's 1st 'Cygnus XL' cargo spacecraft departs the space station
By Mike Wall last updated
Northrop Grumman's first "Cygnus XL" cargo ship departed the International Space Station Thursday morning (March 12), and is scheduled to deorbit and burn up in Earth's atmosphere this weekend.

Will Artemis 2 launch toward the moon next month? Watch NASA's mission update today
By Mike Wall published
NASA will give an update about its Artemis 2 moon launch plans today (March 12), and you can watch it live.

Incoming! 1,300-pound NASA satellite crashes back to Earth over eastern Pacific Ocean
By Mike Wall last updated
NASA's Van Allen Probe A crashed to Earth on Wednesday morning (March 11) after nearly 14 years in orbit, according to the space agency. Most of the spacecraft likely burned up in the atmosphere.

'The future of the space economy': Colorado startup Lux Aeterna raises $10 million to develop reusable satellites
By Mike Wall published
The Colorado company Lux Aeterna wants to help open up the space economy with a fleet of fully reusable satellites, and it just raised to some money to help make that happen.

SpaceX launches 15,000-pound TV satellite to orbit on its 30th mission of the year (photos, video)
By Mike Wall published
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 15,000-pound EchoStar XXV TV satellite to orbit from Florida's Space Coast just after midnight on Tuesday (March 10).

Congress wants the International Space Station to keep flying until 2032. Here's why
By Mike Wall published
Congress is pushing to extend the International Space Station's life by two years, to give commercial outposts more time to step into its shoes.

Japan's 1st HTV-X cargo craft leaves the International Space Station (photo)
By Mike Wall last updated
Japan's new HTV-X cargo spacecraft departed the International Space Station today (March 6) after a four-month stay.

Rocket Lab launches mystery satellite for 'confidential commercial customer' (video)
By Mike Wall last updated
Rocket Lab launched a mystery satellite for a confidential commercial customer this evening (March 5). It was the company's 83rd liftoff to date.
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