Mike Wall

Mike Wall

Michael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com (opens in new tab) 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.

Articles by: Mike Wall

Maxar Technologies' Worldview-3 satellite captured this image of burning apartment buildings in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol on March 22, 2022.

Russia's devastation of Mariupol, Ukraine visible from space in satellite photos

By Mike Wall published

Russian forces continue to destroy apartment buildings and other civilian infrastructure throughout the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol, new satellite imagery shows.

People watch a TV at the Seoul Railway Station showing a file image of a North Korean missile launch on March 24, 2022 in Seoul, South Korea. North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) toward the East Sea on Thursday, South Korea's military said, a move sharply escalating tensions in the region.

North Korea launches most powerful missile yet in 1st ICBM test since 2017: reports

By Mike Wall published

North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile on Thursday (March 24), its first test of a long-range weapon-delivery system since 2017, according to media reports.

Artist's illustration of an Artemis astronaut stepping onto the surface of the moon.

NASA wants another moon lander for Artemis astronauts, not just SpaceX's Starship

By Mike Wall published

Multiple private spacecraft will be ferrying NASA astronauts to the surface of the moon just a few years from now, if all goes according to plan.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 143 small satellites into orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Jan. 24, 2021 on the Transporter-1 rideshare mission.

SpaceX raises launch and Starlink prices, citing inflation

By Mike Wall published

SpaceX just raised prices for its launch and Starlink internet services, citing the inflationary pinch that the rest of us are feeling as well.

NASA's Raja Chari (left) and the European Space Agency's Matthias Maurer are scheduled to conduct a roughly 6.5-hour spacewalk outside the international Space Station on March 23, 2022.

You can watch 2 NASA astronauts will take a spacewalk outside the International Space Station today

By Mike Wall published

Two astronauts will conduct a spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Wednesday morning (March 23), and you can watch the off-world action live.

NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter captured this shot of its own shadow during its 22nd Red Planet flight, on March 20, 2022.

Mars helicopter Ingenuity soars on 22nd Red Planet flight

By Mike Wall published

NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity has done it again, soaring successfully on its 22nd Red Planet flight.

Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia.

Russia launches military communications satellite: reports

By Mike Wall published

A Soyuz rocket topped with the Meridian-M satellite launched today (March 22) from Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northwestern Russia.

SpaceX's Starship is stacked atop its Super Heavy for the first time in August 2021 during tests of the new, giant reusable rocket.

Elon Musk says SpaceX's huge Starship rocket will 'hopefully' launch on 1st orbital flight in May

By Mike Wall published

SpaceX's huge Starship rocket could go orbital for the first time just two months from now, if all goes according to plan.

Blue Origin employee Gary Lai, the chief architect of the company's New Shepard vehicle, will replace "Saturday Night Live" star Pete Davidson on the upcoming NS-20 mission, which is scheduled to launch on March 29. Lai joins five paying customers on the flight.

Pete Davidson's spaceflight replacement is Blue Origin's Gary Lai

By Mike Wall published

Blue Origin is going with one of its own as Pete Davidson's spaceflight replacement — Gary Lai, chief architect of New Shepard, the vehicle that will take him to the final frontier on March 31.

The Russian space agency Roscosmos takes a Soyuz rocket topped with 36 OneWeb internet satellites down from its launch pad at Baikonur Cosmodrome on March 4, 2022. OneWeb announced on March 21 that it has signed a launch deal with SpaceX.

SpaceX to launch OneWeb's internet satellites, replacing Russian Soyuz rockets

By Mike Wall published

Russia's invasion of Ukraine made OneWeb's previous launch deal untenable, so the London-based company turned to SpaceX, a competitor in the satellite internet business.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches on March 19, 2022, from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station with 53 Starlink internet satellites aboard. It was the record-setting 12th launch for this Falcon 9's first stage.

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches record 12th mission, lands on ship at sea

By Mike Wall published

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket flew for a record-setting 12th time early Saturday (March 19) and came back down to Earth for yet another successful touchdown.

Cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveev and Sergey Korsakov float aboard the International Space Station after arriving on a Soyuz spacecraft on March 18, 2022. The trio donned bright yellow and blue flight suits as they joined seven other crewmates on the station.

A message to Ukraine? Cosmonauts wear yellow and blue flight suits for trip to space station

By Mike Wall published

The fashion choices of three cosmonauts who just arrived at the International Space Station are raising some eyebrows.

A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying three cosmonauts approaches the International Space Station on March 18, 2022.

3 Russian cosmonauts arrive at space station after 3.5-hour orbital chase (video)

By Mike Wall published

Three Russian cosmonauts arrived at the International Space Station today (March 18), wrapping up a brief orbital chase.

The Ax-1 crew performs microgravity training ahead of their launch to the International Space Station, which is now targeted for April 3.

2 SpaceX astronaut launches to the space station delayed by a few days

By Mike Wall published

We'll have to wait a little longer to see SpaceX's next two astronaut missions take flight.

Russia's Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft, specially decorated to be filmed for a movie, launches toward the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, on Oct. 5, 2021.

Russia will launch 3 cosmonauts to the International Space Station today. Here's how to watch.

By Mike Wall published

Three Russian cosmonauts will launch toward the International Space Station on Friday (March 18), and you can watch the action live.

NASA’s Space Launch System rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is seen through the windows of the Rocco A. Petrone Launch Control Center as it rolls out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center toward Launch Complex 39B for the first time on March 17, 2022.

Photos: NASA rolls Artemis 1 moon mission to the launch pad for 1st time

By Mike Wall published

On March 17, 2022, NASA rolled out the Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule that will fly the agency's Artemis 1 mission. See photos here.

Marking 50 years of service, NASA's historic crawler-transporter 2 rolls out to Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39B in Florida on Monday, Feb. 23, 2015.

Artemis 1 moon rocket rollout: Meet the NASA crawler carrier doing the heavy lifting

By Mike Wall published

NASA's crawler-transporter 2 is the size of a baseball infield and weighs more than 6 million pounds.

SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk is cheered after his company launched NASA astronauts for the first time in May 2020. This week, Musk challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin to a duel over Russia's Ukraine invasion.

Elon Musk challenges Vladimir Putin to a duel

By Mike Wall published

On Monday (March 14), the SpaceX founder and CEO offered a simple way to bring Russia's invasion of Ukraine to an end.

Astra's Launch Vehicle 0009 lifts off from Alaska's Pacific Spaceport Complex on March 15, 2022. The rocket successfully delivered satellites to orbit, a huge first for Astra.

Astra aces return-to-flight mission, deploys satellites for 1st time

By Mike Wall published

Astra bounced back from last month's launch failure with a groundbreaking success, deploying satellites in Earth orbit for the first time ever.

SpaceX Crew-3 commander Raja Chari and mission specialist Kayla Barron are the first two members of NASA's 22nd class of astronauts, nicknamed "The Turtles," to fly into space.

Two NASA astronauts are taking a spacewalk outside the International Space Station and you can watch online

By Mike Wall published

Two NASA astronauts will conduct a spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Tuesday (March 15), and you can watch it live.

NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and two Russian cosmonauts will return to Earth on March 30 on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft.

American astronaut will return to Earth on Russian spacecraft despite Ukraine invasion, NASA says

By Mike Wall published

Geopolitical tensions won't keep an American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts from returning to Earth together as planned this month, NASA says.

Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket lifts off from the company's West Texas launch site on July 20, 2021, carrying company founder Jeff Bezos and three other people.

SNL's Pete Davidson will fly to space next week with Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin

By Mike Wall published

The "Saturday Night Live" star and five other people are scheduled to fly to suborbital space aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard vehicle on March 23.

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket takes off from Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 6, 2018. It was the first-ever liftoff for the powerful rocket.

The 20 most memorable SpaceX missions from its 1st 20 years in photos

By Mike Wall published

SpaceX has launched about 150 missions in its first 20 years. Here's a look at 20 of the most important and memorable of them.

NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter conducts its 13th Red Planet flight, on Sept. 4, 2021, in this image captured by NASA’s Perseverance rover. Ingenuity just aced its 21st Mars sortie, NASA officials announced on March 11, 2022. (Photos from the flight were not immediately available.)

Mars helicopter Ingenuity aces 21st Red Planet flight

By Mike Wall published

Ingenuity traveled 1,214 feet (370 meters) and stayed aloft for 129 seconds on its latest sortie.

An artist's illustration of Canada's Radarsat-1.

Canadian radar satellites to help Ukraine fight off Russian invasion

By Mike Wall published

The radar imagery will inform intelligence reports for Ukrainian officials.