
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

Elon Musk says SpaceX will launch its biggest Starship yet this year, but Mars in 2026 is '50/50'
By Mike Wall published
SpaceX plans to launch the new "Version 3" of its Starship megarocket by the end of 2025 and is working to send the vehicle to Mars a year later, Elon Musk said.

SpaceX launches advanced GPS satellite for US Space Force in record-short turnaround
By Mike Wall published
SpaceX launched an advanced GPS satellite for the U.S. Space Force today (May 30), less than three months after getting the official go-ahead.

SpaceX aiming for record-breaking 170 orbital launches in 2025
By Mike Wall published
SpaceX is targeting a whopping 170 orbital liftoffs in 2025, which would shatter the record the company set just last year.

Sampling a 'quasi-moon': What's next for China's newly launched Tianwen 2 asteroid-sampling mission
By Mike Wall published
China's Tianwen 2 spacecraft launched on Tuesday (May 28), kicking off a bold mission to grab a sample of one of Earth's "quasi-moons" and then journey on to a mysterious comet.

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin targeting May 31 for 12th space tourism launch
By Mike Wall published
Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos' aerospace company, is targeting Saturday (May 31) for its 12th human spaceflight mission.

SpaceX launches 27 Starlink satellites from Florida, lands rocket on ship at sea
By Mike Wall published
SpaceX launched 27 more of its Starlink internet satellites from Florida's Space Coast today (May 28) and landed the returning rocket on a ship at sea.

SpaceX reached space with Starship Flight 9 launch, then lost control of its giant spaceship (video)
By Mike Wall last updated
SpaceX launched its Starship megarocket for the ninth time ever today (May 27), on a bold test flight that featured the first-ever significant reuse of Starship hardware.

Private Japanese moon probe snaps photo of lunar south pole ahead of June 5 landing
By Mike Wall published
Japan's private Resilience lunar lander captured a nice photo of the moon's south polar region. The probe is gearing up for a June 5 touchdown try.

SpaceX gets FAA approval for Flight 9 of Starship megarocket
By Mike Wall published
The FAA has greenlit Flight 9 of Starship's giant rocket after wrapping up a safety review of the mishap that occurred on the vehicle's most recent launch.

Virgin Galactic on track to start launching customers again in 2026, but seat prices will rise
By Mike Wall published
Virgin Galactic remains on track to bring its new "Delta-class" space plane into commercial service next year, company representatives said.

Mark Rocket, a former ambassador and more: Blue Origin reveals passengers for 12th space tourism launch
By Mike Wall published
Blue Origin has revealed the identities of the six passengers who will fly on the company's 12th human spaceflight mission. A target date has not yet been announced.

Starfish Space's 'Otter' satellite will attempt 1st-ever commercial docking in low Earth orbit this year
By Mike Wall published
Starfish Space's Otter Pup 2 mission will launch atop a SpaceX rocket this June to perform the first-ever commercial satellite docking in low Earth orbit.

Perseverance rover rolls onto 'Crocodile' plateau on Mars to hunt for super-old rocks
By Mike Wall published
NASA's Perseverance rover is exploring a new Mars region called Krokodillen, which is thought to harbor some of the oldest and most intriguing rocks on the Red Planet.

SpaceX launches 23 Starlink satellites to orbit on brand-new Falcon 9 rocket after abort (video, photos)
By Mike Wall published
SpaceX launched another batch of its Starlink broadband satellites late Tuesday night (May 20), atop a Falcon 9 rocket that was flying for the first time ever.

SpaceX gets updated Starship launch license but still awaits Flight 9 approval
By Mike Wall published
The FAA has greenlit license modifications ahead of Flight 9 of SpaceX's Starship but has not yet approved the launch itself.

Indian rocket launch fails, Earth-observation satellite lost (video)
By Mike Wall, Robert Z. Pearlman published
India attempted to launch an Earth-observing radar satellite on Saturday (May 17) but a problem with the mission's rocket resulted in a failure.

Rocket Lab launches private Japanese Earth-observing satellite
By Mike Wall last updated
Rocket Lab launched an Earth-observing satellite for the Japanese company iQPS early Saturday morning (May 17).

Watch India launch its 2nd space mission of the year tonight
By Mike Wall published
India will launch an Earth-observing radar satellite tonight (May 17) on the nation's second mission of 2025, and you can watch the action live.

SpaceX launches 26 Starlink satellites to orbit from California (video)
By Mike Wall published
SpaceX launched another batch of its Starlink internet satellites from California today (May 16).

Launch of Australia's 1st homegrown orbital rocket delayed indefinitely due to payload fairing issue
By Mike Wall published
Australian company Gilmour Space stood down from the debut launch of its Eris rocket today (May 15), and it's unclear when the pioneering vehicle will take to the skies.

SpaceX's next private astronaut launch to ISS, Ax-4, delayed to June 8
By Mike Wall published
Houston company Axiom Space's next astronaut launch to the International Space Station, a mission called Ax-4, has been pushed back by 10 days, to June 8.

Perseverance Mars rover becomes 1st spacecraft to spot auroras from the surface of another world
By Mike Wall published
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover made skywatching history in March, becoming the first robot to witness auroras from the surface of another planet.

Here's why the private Athena lunar lander toppled over on the moon
By Mike Wall published
We now know why Intuitive Machine's Athena moon lander fell on its side shortly after touching down on March 6.
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