Expert Voices

SPACE.com invites experts in space exploration, science & technology to provide insightful commentary and informed perspective on news, current events, innovations, big ideas and ongoing research. Expert Voices includes Op-Ed analysis and opinion as well as interesting observations from the field and space exploration efforts around the world.

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The brain is deeply affected by the change of gravity.

Astronauts on Mars missions could suffer cognitive and emotional problems, new research suggests

By Elisa Raffaella Ferrè

Deep space missions to Mars will be much more physically and mentally demanding than the journeys we’ve made so far during 60 years of human space exploration.

Imagery captured by the European Space Agency's Sentinel-1 satellite on March 19, 2019 shows the extent of flooding (depicted in red) around Beira, Mozambique, after Cyclone Idai made landfall.

Integrating diverse satellite images sharpens our picture of activity on Earth (op-ed)

By Amanda Ziemann

A new mathematical application provides a more complete picture of our changing world by drawing on data from several kinds of sensors.

Artist's illustration of Planet Nine, a world about 10 times more massive than Earth that may lie undiscovered in the far outer solar system.

What if Planet Nine is a baby black hole?

By Paul Sutter

The hypothetical Planet Nine may not be a planet but rather a small black hole that might be detectable from the theoretical radiation emitted from its edge, so-called Hawking radiation.

Curious Kids: We have been trying to contact aliens – but do they want to contact us?

By Jacco van Loon

This is a great question – and the truth is that we don’t know the answer.

How scientists found rare fireball meteorite pieces on a driveway — and what they could teach us

By Monica Grady

As people in the UK were settling down to watch the late evening news on February 28, a fresh news story, quite literally, appeared in the night sky.

Thousands more satellites will soon orbit Earth. We need better rules to prevent space crashes.

By Lauren Napier

In recent years, satellites have become smaller, cheaper, and easier to make with commercial off the shelf parts.

'Black holes' with Planck hearts would lack a true event horizon (like the one illustrated in this image).

Black holes could be dark stars with 'Planck hearts'

By Paul Sutter

Black holes may not be black or holes, a new theory proposes.

A billion years from now, a lack of oxygen will wipe out life on Earth

By Matthew Warke

Earth will not be able to support and sustain life forever.

Artemis: How ever changing US space policy may push back the next moon landing

By Gareth Dorrian

History shows just how vulnerable space programmes, which require years of planning and development spanning several administrations, are.

How did NASA's Martian rover come to land in a crater named after a tiny Balkan village?

By Robert Greenberg

The villagers apparently first dismissed this as fake news.

The Perseverance rover may be on Mars, but there's a lot we already know about from meteorites on Earth

By James Scott

NASA’s Perseverance rover successfully touched down on Mars Feb. 18, and has already begun beaming back images.

The galaxy cluster Abell 383 (at the center of this image) is so massive that it bends the light from objects behind it, acting as a cosmic magnifying glass.

The search for dark matter gets a speed boost from quantum technology

By Benjamin Brubaker

Nearly a century after dark matter was first proposed to explain the motion of galaxy clusters, physicists still have no idea what it’s made of.

Scintillating discovery: These distant 'baby' black holes seem to be misbehaving — and experts are perplexed

By Kathryn Ross, Natasha Hurley-Walker

Radio images of the sky have revealed hundreds of “baby” and supermassive black holes in distant galaxies, with the galaxies’ light bouncing around in unexpected ways.

Europe is recruiting astronauts. Here’s what it takes to become one

By Elisa Raffaella Ferrè

For the first time in 11 years, the European Space Agency (Esa) is recruiting new astronauts.

Perseverance Mars rover: how to prove whether there's life on the red planet

By Samantha Rolfe

We'll soon be able to properly start asking the question: "Are we alone in the universe?"

Mars InSight: why we'll be listening to the landing of the Perseverance rover

By Benjamin Fernando

As I write this, NASA's Perseverance Rover is hurtling toward Mars at a speed of more than 80,000 km/h and is set to land at the Red Planet on February 18.

'7 minutes of terror': A look at the technology Perseverance needs to survive landing on Mars

By Chris James

This month has been a busy one for Mars exploration. Several countries sent missions to the red planet in June last year, taking advantage of a launch window.

A view of Mars on Sept. 25, 2020, as seen from the Philippines.

How Mars became the prize for a new space race — and why China is hellbent on winning it

By Steffi Paladini

Looking at its achievements over the past decade, nobody would doubt China is aiming to win the new space race, this one aimed at Mars.

Abstract illustration of the early universe and quantum physics.

Superpowerful 'oscillon' particles could have dominated the infant universe, then vanished

By Paul Sutter

A weird, super-powerful particle that's not truly a particle could have dominated the universe when it was just a second old, releasing a flood of ripples that permeated all of space-time.

As new probes reach Mars, here's what we know so far from trips to the Red Planet

By Tanya Hill

Three new spacecraft are due to arrive at Mars this month, ending their seven-month journey through space.

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