
Mike Wall
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

SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule 'Endeavour' arrives at pad ahead of July 31 astronaut launch (photos)
By Mike Wall published
The Crew Dragon capsule that will fly SpaceX's Crew-11 astronaut mission to the ISS for NASA has arrived at Kennedy Space Center ahead of its planned July 31 launch.

SpaceX Crew-11 mission to the ISS: Live updates
By Mike Wall, Josh Dinner last updated
Read the latest news about SpaceX's Crew-11 mission to the International Space Station.

European Vega C rocket launching CO2-mapping satellite and 4 Earth-observation spacecraft tonight: Watch live
By Mike Wall published
A Vega C rocket is scheduled to launch the MicroCarb carbon dioxide mapper and four Earth-observation satellites tonight from South America, and you can watch it live.

Russia launches satellite for Iran toward orbit alongside 2 space weather probes (photos)
By Mike Wall published
A Russian Soyuz rocket launched the Ionosfera-M 3 and 4 satellites, along with an Iranian spacecraft and 17 cubesats, toward orbit early Friday morning (July 25).

SpaceX launches 2 powerful internet satellites, lands rocket on ship at sea (video)
By Mike Wall published
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched two of SES's O3b mPOWER communications satellites toward medium-Earth orbit today (July 22), then aced its landing on a ship at sea.

Makenzie Lystrup stepping down as director of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
By Mike Wall published
Makenzie Lystrup will step down as head of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center on Aug. 1. She'll be the second NASA center director to depart in just a two-month span.

Crypto billionaire Justin Sun will fly on Blue Origin's next space tourism launch
By Mike Wall published
Justin Sun, the billionaire founder of the blockchain platform Tron, is one of the six people who will fly to suborbital space on Blue Origin's next tourist mission.

SpaceX aborts satellite launch 11 seconds before liftoff (video)
By Mike Wall published
SpaceX aborted the planned launch of two of SES' O3b mPOWER communications satellites just before liftoff on Monday evening (July 21). The company will try again tomorrow (July 22).

South Korea wants to build a moon base by 2045
By Mike Wall published
South Korea just laid out its long-term space exploration road map, which features the planned construction of a moon base two decades from now.

Twin NASA Mars probes will fly on 2nd-ever launch of Blue Origin's huge New Glenn rocket
By Mike Wall published
Blue Origin's powerful New Glenn rocket now has a payload for its second-ever flight — NASA's ESCAPADE Mars mission.

Europe working to launch 'Invictus' hypersonic space plane by 2031 (video)
By Mike Wall published
The European Space Agency is funding the development of a hypersonic space plane pathfinder, which will start flying by 2031, if all goes according to plan.

SpaceX launches 3rd batch of satellites for Amazon's Project Kuiper megaconstellation (video)
By Mike Wall last updated
SpaceX launched 24 of Amazon's Project Kuiper broadband satellites early Wednesday morning (July 16), the 56th anniversary of the Apollo 11 liftoff.

SpaceX will launch next Starship flight in 'about 3 weeks,' Elon Musk says
By Mike Wall published
SpaceX plans to launch the 10th test flight of its Starship megarocket about three weeks from now, according to company founder and CEO Elon Musk.

China launches new spacesuits, other supplies to Tiangong space station (video)
By Mike Wall published
A Long March 7 rocket lifted off this evening (July 14), sending China's Tianzhou 9 cargo spacecraft toward the Tiangong space station.

Private Ax-4 astronauts heading back to Earth early July 14: Watch it live
By Mike Wall published
The private Ax-4 astronaut mission will undock from the International Space Station on Monday morning (July 14), and you can watch the action live.

SpaceX launches mystery satellite to geostationary transfer orbit (video)
By Mike Wall published
SpaceX launched a mystery satellite to geostationary transfer orbit from Florida's Space Coast early Sunday morning (July 13).

Billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman donating $15 million for Space Camp programs
By Mike Wall published
Jared Isaacman, the billionaire private astronaut who until recently was on track to lead NASA, is donating $15 million to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center for its Space Camp programs.

Who is Sean Duffy, NASA's new interim chief? From champion lumberjack, reality TV star and Cabinet secretary to space
By Mike Wall published
President Donald Trump has tapped Transportation Secretary and former reality TV star Sean Duffy to lead NASA on an interim basis. Here's what we know about the man.

'I was a good, visible target': Jared Isaacman on why Trump pulled his NASA chief nomination
By Mike Wall published
President Donald Trump says he withdrew the nomination of Jared Isaacman for NASA administrator after learning of his donations to Democratic political candidates.

Space auction: Sally Ride memorabilia collection sells for $145,000
By Mike Wall published
A collection of more than 50 pieces of memorabilia previously owned by Sally Ride, the first American woman to reach space, sold at auction last week for more than $145,000.

'We are proud to serve our country, both on Earth and in space': NASA astronauts beam home July 4 message from ISS (video)
By Mike Wall published
NASA astronauts Nichole Ayers, Jonny Kim and Anne McClain marked Independence Day with a few heartfelt words for their compatriots here on Earth.

Russia launches Progress 92 cargo ship toward the ISS
By Mike Wall last updated
A Russian Progress cargo spacecraft launched toward the International Space Station this afternoon (July 3), hauling several tons of cargo to the orbiting lab.

SpaceX launches advanced European weather satellite, lands rocket at sea (video, photos)
By Mike Wall published
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the MTG-S1 weather satellite for EUMETSAT today (July 1), then came back down to Earth for a landing on a ship at sea.

US set new record with 21 commercial launches in June, FAA says
By Mike Wall published
American companies launched 21 commercial space missions in June 2025, which was a new record for a single month, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Watch Blue Origin to launch 6 people to suborbital space today on NS-33 spaceflight
By Mike Wall last updated
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin plans to launch six people to suborbital space on the NS-33 mission June 29, after local weather conditions in West Texas delayed previous attempts.
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