Michael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, 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

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.

Private German rocket will try to make history on March 25: Watch it live
By Mike Wall last updated
Isar Aerospace's Spectrum rocket will try to become the first vehicle ever to reach orbit from European soil on Wednesday (March 25), and you can watch the action live.

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.

Vast raises $500 million to keep developing 'Haven' private space stations
By Mike Wall published
Vast has raised $500 million in new funding, which the California startup will put toward its goal of getting private space stations up and running in Earth orbit.

Japan's private Space One Kairos rocket explodes after launch failure during 3rd test flight
By Mike Wall last updated
The Japanese company Space One launched its Kairos rocket for the third time ever today (March 4). The rocket failed, as it did on its first two attempts.

NASA repairs Artemis 2 moon rocket in hopes of an April lunar launch
By Mike Wall published
NASA has repaired its Artemis 2 rocket, apparently keeping things on track for a possible April launch of the first crewed moon mission in more than 50 years.

Watch Firefly Aerospace's Alpha rocket launch tonight for 1st time in 10 months
By Mike Wall published
Firefly Aerospace plans to launch its Alpha rocket for the first time in 10 months on Wednesday night (March 11), and you can watch the action live.

'Pushing this competition': SpaceX's Starship might not fly on NASA's newly revamped Artemis 3 mission
By Mike Wall published
NASA's Artemis 3 mission will no longer land astronauts on the moon — and it might not involve SpaceX's Starship megarocket, either.

NASA shakes up leadership of human spaceflight program in wake of critical Starliner report
By Mike Wall published
NASA has replaced two bigwigs in its human spaceflight program, just a week after releasing a report criticizing how the agency handled the first crewed flight of Boeing's Starliner astronaut taxi.
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