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.

Related Topics: Expert Voices - Don Lincoln, Expert Voices - Leroy Chiao, Expert Voices - Paul Sutter, Expert Voices - Robert Lawrence Kuhn, Expert Voices - The Kavli Foundation 

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An artist's impression of a Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite in orbit.

How the space race started a technological revolution in agriculture (op-ed)

By Al Savage published

GPS is integral in bringing new technology to farms, such as autonomous tractors, smart sprayers with AI and better tools for data collection.

a metal dome seen on a reddish rocky surface

For the 1st time, Mars robots found meteorite impact craters by sensing seismic shock waves

By Katarina Miljkovic published

In new research, we used data from InSight to detect and locate four high-speed meteoroid collisions, and then tracked down the resulting craters.

an orange cloud across the bottom of image with blue starry background above

How massive stars steal planets

By Richard Parker published

Our new paper shows how massive stars in such stellar nurseries can steal exoplanets away from each other — and what the signs of such theft are.

astronaut holding a long structure over cloudy Earth

Pregnancy in space: Studying stem cells in zero gravity may determine whether it's safe

By Joanna Bridger, Emmanouil Karteris published

An artist's illustration of a super-Earth with liquid water and white clouds.

Super-Earths are more common and more habitable than Earth. Astronomers are finding more of the billions out there.

By Chris Impey published

Astronomers now routinely discover planets orbiting stars outside of the solar system — they're called exoplanets.

Milky Way Fermi Bubbles extending above and below the Milky Way

Gamma rays from a dwarf galaxy solve an astronomical puzzle

By Roland Crocker published

A glowing blob known as "the cocoon" has puzzled astronomers since it was discovered in 2012.

starry night sky spiraling into bright center

What are wormholes? An astrophysicist explains these shortcuts through space-time

By Dejan Stojkovic published

A wormhole is like a tunnel between two distant points in our universe that cuts the travel time from one point to the other.

shiny object on dark reddish surface

Mars is littered with 15,694 pounds of human trash from 50 years of robotic exploration

By Cagri Kilic published

The spiral galaxy M74 imaged by the NASA/ESA JWST.

The Drake equation for alien intelligence is more important than ever

By David Rothery published

In 1961, the US astrophysicist Frank Drake, who passed away on Sept. 2 at the age of 92, came up with an equation to estimate the number of intelligent civilizations in the Milky Way right now.

Four images of an alien planet in blue, red, purple and yellow colors

The James Webb Space Telescope has released its very first exoplanet image – here's what we can learn from it

By Jonti Horner published

The new images reveal JWST will be a fantastic tool for astronomers aiming to improve their knowledge of exoplanets.

the silhouette of a space shuttle against earth's atmosphere in twilight

Outer space is not the 'Wild West': There are clear rules for peace and war

By Kuan-Wei Chen, Bayar Goswami, Ram S. Jakhu, Steven Freeland published

Our increasing reliance on space infrastructure makes modern economies increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of accidents and unlawful or irresponsible acts in space.

A young girl looks at a model of the solar system.

A new way to teach science (op-ed)

By Robert Zubrin published

A new way of teaching science can give students a chance to learn how science really makes its way forward and offer them a chance to mix it up themselves.

Making territorial claims in space is illegal under international law.

Moon mining claims fall into gray area of international law, so how to avoid conflict?

By Michelle L.D. Hanlon published

It's been 50 years since humans last visited the moon, and even robotic missions have been few and far between. But the Earth's only natural satellite is about to get crowded.

spacecraft against black background

After 45 years, the 5-billion-year legacy of the Voyager 2 interstellar probe is just beginning

By Alice Gorman published

The iconic Voyager spacecraft seen through the eyes of an archaeologist.

an artist's depiction of a rocket with the moon in the background

NASA's Artemis 1 mission to the moon sets the stage for routine space exploration beyond Earth's orbit — here's what to expect and why it's important

By Jack Burns published

astronaut kneeling on moon

NASA is launching the 1st stage of the Artemis mission — here's why humans are going back to the moon

By Gretchen Benedix published

With the Artemis program, Earth as a global community has the opportunity to participate and push back the frontiers of human knowledge and innovation.

giant rocket on launch pad with clouds at sunrise

Artemis 1 is the 1st flight of spacecraft set to take humans back to the moon — here's what needs to go right

By Gareth Dorrian published

What does success look like for the Artemis 1 mission?

a telescope dish against a space background

Scientists are turning data into sound to listen to the whispers of the universe (and more)

By Jeffrey Cooke published

Data sonification has powerful applications in research, education and outreach, and also enables blind and visually impaired communities to understand plots, images and other data.

illustration

Astronomers have detected one of the biggest black hole jets in the sky

By Luke Barnes, Miroslav Filipovic, Ray Norris, Velibor Velović published

Spanning more than a million light years from end to end, the jet shoots away from a black hole with enormous energy, and at almost the speed of light.

Private companies have launched dozens of imaging satellites — like the two small boxes in the middle of the photo — into orbit in recent years.

War in Ukraine highlights the growing strategic importance of private satellite companies — especially in times of conflict

By Mariel Borowitz published

Satellites owned by private companies have played an unexpectedly important role in the war in Ukraine.