Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com based out of our New York City office and joined the team in 2001, first as an intern and staff writer, and later as an editor. He covers human spaceflight, exploration and space science, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. In October 2022, Tariq received the Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting from the National Space Club Florida Committee. In June 2025, the National Space Society awarded him the Space Pioneer Award for Excellence in Mass Media at the International Space Development Conference in Orlando, Florida.
Hailing from Stockton, California (where he attended the same high school as NASA astronaut Jose Hernandez), Tariq studied print journalism and astronomy at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, earning a bachelor's degree in journalism in 1999 along with a minor in astronomy. He then served as a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra and Fullerton in Orange County for the Our Times sections.
In 2000, Tariq became the city reporter for the Huntington Beach Independent, a weekly publication of the Los Angeles Times, covering local politics and events, crime, business and environmental issues. He left the Los Angeles Times in 2001 to study science journalism at New York University, where he earned a master's degree in 2002 from NYU's Science and Environmental Reporting Program (now the Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program) under the direction of space reporter William Burrows.
Tariq first joined Space.com as an intern in September 2001 while also serving as a research assistant for nutrition writer Gary Taubes and writing freelance projects, where his work appeared in The Scientist and Laboratory Equipment Magazine. He became a full-time reporter covering spaceflight in 2004, with this first launch being NASA's STS-114 Return to Flight mission in July 2005.
Tariq 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. When not writing about space, you can find Tariq watching the latest Star Trek TV series, sci-fi movies and reading about hippos, his favorite animal. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast with space historian Rod Pyle on the TWiT network. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik.
Latest articles by Tariq Malik

By Tariq Malik Published
A huge sun eruption combines with speedy solar wind from a "coronal hole" for a weekend aurora show, experts predict.

By Tariq Malik Published
NASA astronaut Don Pettit captured this stunning long-exposure view of Earth and stars from space at night from the International Space Station.

By Tariq Malik Published
The stunning comet C/2024 G3 lights up the sunset sky over Chile's Very Large Telescope in this spectacular photo.

By Tariq Malik Published
The Dragon capsule will launch atop a SpaceX rocket to carry 4 astronauts to space on March 12.

By Tariq Malik Published
The new Neutron rocket includes a "hippo" mouth fairing that deploys upper stages by spitting them out from inside.

By Tariq Malik Last updated
For the second time in two years, a private Intuitive Machines lander fell over on the moon.

By Tariq Malik Last updated
SpaceX is poised to launch Flight 8 of its Starship megarocket on Thursday (March 6). Here's how to watch the action live.

By Tariq Malik Published
President Donald Trump told lawmakers that U.S. astronauts will one day carry the American flag to Mars and beyond during a speech before the joint session of Congress.

By Tariq Malik Published
Acting NASA administrator made the comments just before Firefly Aerospace's private Blue Ghost 1 landed on the moon for the agency.

By Tariq Malik Last updated
Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost probe is expected to land no earlier than Sunday, March 2, 2025 in the wee hours before dawn. Here's what we know.

By Tariq Malik Published
The company AstroForge is working to try and recover the asteroid probe before time runs out.

By Tariq Malik Published
Perry and a celebrity female crew will launch on Blue Origin's NS-31 mission this spring.

By Tariq Malik, Josh Dinner Published
A new SpaceX rocket launched a pristine batch of Starlink internet satellites into orbit late Wednesday (Feb. 26) in a dazzling nighttime liftoff.

By Tariq Malik Published
Such a dramatic cut to a flagship space telescope still in its prime will be felt across the mission's entire operations, affecting science.

By Tariq Malik Published
If you saw something strange in the evening sky over California on Feb. 10, we can explain.

By Tariq Malik Published
The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 1:53 p.m. EST (1853 GMT), less than 24 hours after another Starlink flight from California.

By Tariq Malik Last updated
Blue Origin's NS-29 New Shepard rocket is scheduled to launch Feb. 4 after a weeklong delay. Here's what to know

By Tariq Malik Published
The space agency's planetary science analysis groups must pause while NASA checks if they comply with Trump's orders.

By Tariq Malik Published
The discovery of a new asteroid this month has turned out to be Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster launched by SpaceX in 2018.

By Tariq Malik Published
A SpaceX Starlink internet satellite fell from space in a blaze of glory overnight, lighting up the Midwest U.S. sky with a brilliant fireball.

By Tariq Malik Published
"Americans are explorers, builders, innovators, entrepreneurs and pioneers. The spirit of the frontier is written into our hearts," Trump says.

By Tariq Malik Published
The Habitable Worlds Observatory is a flagship NASA telescope that could answer the ultimate question.

By Tariq Malik Last updated
SpaceX's seventh Starship test flight will now launch no earlier than Thursday, Jan. 16, at 5 p.m. EST (2200 GMT).
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