Space Technology - Space Exploration Technologies

Tokina atx-i 11-20mm f/2.8 CF review

By Jason Parnell-Brookes published 18 February 22

Review An ultra-wide, ultra-sharp Nikon-fit crop sensor lens, the Tokina AT-X 11-20mm f/2.8 AF Pro DX is almost unbeatable in its class thanks to its rugged build, and minimal distortion

Review

Meade telescopes and binocular deals: discounts & what's in stock

By Gemma Lavender published 18 February 22

Deals We're keeping our eyes peeled for Meade telescopes and binoculars deals.

Deals

NASA's Perseverance rover acquired this image of the Ingenuity Mars helicopter on the floor of Jezero Crater.

1 year later, Ingenuity helicopter still going strong on Mars

By Mike Wall published 18 February 22

A year after arriving on the Red Planet, NASA's Ingenuity helicopter continues to push the limits of off-Earth flight.

NASA opens Nighttime Precision Landing Challenge to help future moon missions

By Elizabeth Howell published 17 February 22

The designs aim to land moon spacecraft safely in the dark.

An artist's depiction of NASA's Dragonfly mission on the surface of Saturn's moon Titan.

Soar over the desert in footage from drone practicing for mission to Saturn's strangest moon

By Elizabeth Howell published 17 February 22

The team tested images and sensors ahead of flying to the moon of Saturn.

An artist's depiction of the James Webb Space Telescope at work.

James Webb Space Telescope has locked onto guide star in crucial milestone

By Elizabeth Howell published 17 February 22

The fine-guidance instrument is key to keeping the space telescope pointed in the right direction.

Celestron telescope & binocular deals you can still get: Discounts & what's in stock

By Gemma Lavender published 17 February 22

Deals Hunting for a discount on a Celestron telescope or binocular? Here's what's in stock.

Deals

An illustration of a clock spiraling into space-time.

New atomic clock loses only one second every 300 billion years

By Elizabeth Howell published 16 February 22

A group of physicists has announced one of the highest performance atomic clocks ever made.

PSVR 2 details: News, rumors, release date, price, and specs

PSVR 2 details: Everything we know about the PS5 VR headset

By Georgina Young published 16 February 22

Feature We've got the lowdown on the PSVR 2, the upcoming PS5 VR headset from Sony.

Feature

The Blast Moonstruck wristwatch by Ulysse Nardin

Luxury watchmaker Ulysses Nardin unveils 'Blast Moonstruck' watch that charts moon phases

By Elizabeth Howell published 16 February 22

You can keep track of the moon's behavior on your wrist.

China's robotic arm is pictured outside of the Tiangong space station.

See a large robotic arm 'crawl' across China's space station (video)

By Andrew Jones published 15 February 22

Footage from China's space station shows how its large robotic arm can "crawl" along the outside of the spacecraft.

A special lens within the James Webb's Space Telescope NIRCam instrument allowed the telescope to take a selfie in space.

'Holy cow!' How the James Webb Space Telescope took a selfie in space

By Elizabeth Howell published 11 February 22

A special lens shows the telescope getting ready for work in the coming months.

Geoengineering is the use of technology to alter Earth's climate. This can take place on Earth or in space

Space geoengineering: Can we control the weather?

By Ailsa Harvey published 11 February 22

Reference Geoengineering is the use of technology to alter Earth's climate. This can take place on Earth or in space.

Reference

This NASA image shows the deployment of the James Webb Space Telescope's secondary mirror out in front of its main mirror assembly.

Paint it black: behind the James Webb Space Telescope's signature color

By Chelsea Gohd published 8 February 22

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has to stay super cool to observe the cosmos. How does it beat the heat? Black paint.

NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity captured this image of its own shadow using its navigation camera on Feb. 8, 2022, during the chopper’s 19th Red Planet flight.

Mars helicopter Ingenuity aces 19th flight after historic Red Planet weather delay

By Mike Wall published 8 February 22

Ingenuity aced a 100-second sortie on Tuesday (Feb. 8), its 19th Red Planet flight overall but its first since Dec. 15. A dust storm pushed the liftoff date back by more than a month.

An artist's depiction of a rocket launching Mars samples off the planet's surface for the journey to Earth.

NASA picks Lockheed Martin to build rocket to carry Mars samples back to Earth

By Mike Wall published 8 February 22

Lockheed Martin will build the Mars Ascent Vehicle, a small rocket that will launch pristine Red Planet samples back toward Earth a decade or so from now.

The problem of "space junk" continues to grow.

US Space Force's 'Orbital Prime' project aims to attack space debris by recycling or removing junk

By Elizabeth Howell published 6 February 22

A new U.S. Space Force video "demands action" on space debris and asks the private sector for their help cleaning up the growing space mess.

Why Mars helicopters like Ingenuity could glow in the dark

By Elizabeth Howell published 5 February 22

You can blame dust in the wind.

The South African array of the Square Kilometer Array Observatory will consists of nearly 200 dish antennas carefully arranged over a remote desert region.

Megaconstellations like SpaceX's Starlink may interfere with search for life by world's largest radio telescope

By Tereza Pultarova published 3 February 22

The search for traces of life on distant planets will be more difficult for the world's largest radio telescope because of interference from megaconstellation satellites.

Large observatories such as the Square Kilometer Array require a lot of electricity to peer into the distant universe.

The mission to reduce the carbon footprint of astronomy

By Tereza Pultarova published 2 February 22

Astronomy is one of the most power-hungry science disciplines, but astronomers are committed to curb their large carbon footprint to survive in the climate-anxious future.