Articles by: Tariq Malik

Tariq Malik

Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001 as a staff writer, and later editor, covering human spaceflight, exploration and space science. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times. He is also an Eagle Scout (yes, he has the Space Exploration merit badge) and went to Space Camp four times as a kid and a fifth time as an adult. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter.

Articles by: Tariq Malik

NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity sees its shadow on the Martian surface during its 10th flight on July 24, 2021.

NASA's Mars helicopter soars past 1-mile mark in 10th flight over Red Planet

By Tariq Malik

The Mars helicopter Ingenuity flew its 10th flight on Saturday (July 24) to pass its first 1-mile marker.

NASA is beaming into Comic-Con@Home 2021 to talk space exploration, science fiction and where they intersect.

NASA beams into Comic-Con@Home this weekend to talk space travel and more

By Tariq Malik

NASA is beaming into Comic-Con@Home 2021 to talk space exploration, science fiction and where they intersect.

SpaceX's Super Heavy prototype Booster 3 fires up three Raptor engines in a brief "static fire" test at the company's Starbase facility near Boca Chica Village in South Texas on July 19, 2021.

SpaceX test fires massive Super Heavy booster for Starship for 1st time (video)

By Tariq Malik

SpaceX fired up the massive booster rocket for its new Starship spacecraft for the first time Monday night (July 19).

These two images of strange galaxies are some of the first views from the revived Hubble Space Telescope taken on July 17, 2021 after science operations resumed following a month of work to resurrect the observatory from a computer glitch. At right: the three-armed spiral galaxy ARP-MADORE0002-503. Left: An interacting galaxy pair called ARP-MADORE2115-273.

See the first photos from the Hubble Space Telescope after a major computer malfunction

By Tariq Malik

After more than a month offline in orbit, the famed Hubble Space Telescope is back in action and snapping photos of the cosmos.

French astronaut Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency celebrated France's Bastille Day holiday in space with festive shirts and a meal with friends on July 14, 2021 aboard the International Space Station.

Here's how a French astronaut celebrated Bastille Day 2021 in space

By Tariq Malik

French astronaut Thomas Pesquet pulled out all the stops in orbit for a Bastille Day on the International Space Station.

Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity launches billionaire Richard Branson and a crew of five others to suborbital space and back in a flight from Spaceport America, New Mexico on July 11, 2021.

Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo Unity 22 launch with Richard Branson. See video and photos of the flight.

By Tariq Malik

Here's everything you need to know about Virgin Galactic's launch of Richard Branson and his crew on SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity Sunday, July 11.

Virgin Galactic founder Sir Richard Branson (third from right) will launch on the company's first fully crewed flight on July 11, 2021 as part of a six-person crew. They are (from left): Pilot Dave Mackay; Coplin Bennet, lead operations engineer; Beth Moses, chief astronaut instructor; Branson; Sirisha Bandla, vice president of government affairs and research operations; and pilot Michael Masucci.

Virgin Galactic slightly delays launch of Richard Branson and crew due to bad weather

By Tariq Malik

Virgin Galactic has slightly delayed the launch of its Unity 22 mission with billionaire founder Richard Branson due to bad weather.

This Hubble Space Telescope image shows the brilliant open star cluster NGC330 in the Small Magellanic Cloud based on archived observations from 2018.

Hubble telescope spots red, white and blue stars in sparkly cluster

By Tariq Malik

The Hubble Space Telescope has captured a dazzling new view of a distant star cluster, one filled with stars that sparkle in red, white and blue.

The sun erupts with a powerful X1.5-class solar flare on July 3, 2021, the most powerful in 4 years, in this view from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. The flare appears at the top right of the view.

Sun erupts with biggest solar flare in 4 years in early Fourth of July fireworks (video)

By Tariq Malik

The sun erupted with a surprise solar flare on Saturday (July 3), the largest since 2017, in an early explosion of cosmic fireworks ahead of the Fourth of July.

A used SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 88 small satellites for the Transporter 2 rideshare mission stands atop Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida for a planned June 29, 2021 launch.

SpaceX rocket launch carrying 88 satellites delayed by a wayward plane

By Tariq Malik

SpaceX postponed the launch of dozens of satellites just seconds before liftoff today (June 29) when a wayward plane crept inside the mission's safety zone.

China's Mars rover Zhurong poses for a self portrait with its lander in this photo from Utopia Planitia released on June 11, 2021.

Hear the 1st sounds from China's Mars rover Zhurong and watch it drive in new video

By Tariq Malik

China's first Mars rover has captured its first sounds of the Red Planet and beamed back stunning views of a drive on the dusty world.

Estes' Nike-X model rocket (left) and Mars Ascent Vehicle rocket are on sale for Prime Day 2021.

I bought these Estes model rockets for Prime Day so I can launch all summer long

By Tariq Malik

Estes' Nike-X and Mars Ascent Vehicle model rockets are on sale for Prime Day for a summer of rocket launches at home.

Twilight Imperium, a cosmic board game space opera, is 36% off for Prime Day

By Tariq Malik

Twilight Imperium is a sweeping board game that has thrilled space fans for more than 20 years and its 36% off for Prime Day.

Blast off to Planet Nine with 'The Crew' space card game for 31% off this Prime Day

By Kasandra Brabaw, Tariq Malik

If you love a fantastic space-themed game, now is the perfect time to snatch up "The Crew," which is on sale for Amazon Prime Day for 31% off (now $39).

Ubisoft unveils 1st trailer for 'Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora'

By Tariq Malik

"Avatar" will get the chance to explore the movie's lush moon Pandora for themselves in Ubisoft's new game "Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora."

A new SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the the CRS-22 Dragon cargo ship rolls out to its Pad 39A launchpad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 1, 2021.

SpaceX Dragon 'go' to launch NASA cargo to space station Thursday

By Tariq Malik

A brand-new SpaceX booster is ready to launch a fresh cargo ship to the International Space Station for NASA on Thursday (June 3).

Former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, shown here on the International Space Station during the Expedition 50 mission in 2016, will return to the station in command of the private Ax-2 mission by Axiom Space..

Former astronaut Peggy Whitson will return to orbit in command of private Axiom Space mission

By Tariq Malik

Former astronaut Peggy Whitson will return to orbit as commander of a private mission to be launched by Axiom Space.

The lander for China's Mars rover Zhurong is seen from the Martian surface for the first time in this image from the rover's rear hazard avoidance camera on May 21, 2021.

China's Zhurong Mars rover rolls onto the Martian surface (photos)

By Tariq Malik

China's first Mars rover Zhurong rolled onto the Red Planet's surface late Friday (May 21) to begin exploring its Utopia Planitia home.

A Rocket Lab Electron booster launches on the company's 20th mission, Running Out Of Toes, from Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula on May 15, 2021. Telemetry from the rocket was reported lost 4 minutes after liftoff.

Rocket Lab Electron booster launch fails to reach orbit, 2 satellites lost

By Tariq Malik

A Rocket Lab Electron booster carrying two commercial satellites failed to orbit Saturday (May 15) after suffering an anomaly just minutes after liftoff.

SpaceX's Starship SN15 prototype, as photographed by @SpacePadreIsle.

SpaceX will try to launch its Starship SN15 rocket in Texas today (updated)

By Tariq Malik

SpaceX may launch its latest Starship prototype from its Starbase test site in Texas on Wednesday (May 5).

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks with NASA astronaut Victor Glover to celebrate his mission to the International Space Station in a February 2021 video call.

Vice President Kamala Harris to lead National Space Council under Biden administration

By Tariq Malik

The National Space Council will continue in a new form under the Biden White House with Vice President Kamala Harris at the helm.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft "Resilience" is seen docked to the Harmony module's forward docking adapter at the International Space Station on Jan. 27, 2021. The spacecraft will return to Earth with its four-astronaut crew on May 2.

A SpaceX Dragon will make the 1st nighttime splashdown with NASA astronauts in 53 years. Watch it live.

By Tariq Malik

The four astronauts of SpaceX's first operational crewed flight for NASA are ready to come home and you can watch their return to Earth live this weekend.