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Incredible Technology

At the center of space exploration beats a heart of incredible technological marvels and innovation that inspires scientists and engineers to reach for the stars. See some of the wildest space tech concepts here, as well as technologies needed to ensure humanity's expansion across the solar system.

Related Topics: 3D Printing, Curiosity Mars Rover Mission, SpaceX, International Space Station 

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Will future lunar homes be made with the help of human urine?

Astronauts could use their own urine to build moon bases one day

By Chelsea Gohd

When humans return to the moon to stay, where will they live? Well, it turns out they might stay in buildings made out of astronaut pee.

NASA will work with Universities to develop small satellite tech.

NASA is working with university teams to develop tiny tech for space trips

By Elizabeth Howell

While NASA has big plans to return humans to the moon in 2024, the agency is also thinking small by working to support the development of tiny robots and satellites.

A view of Astra's Rocket 3.0 on the launch pad at the Pacific Spaceport Complex in Alaska on March 2, 2020. The day's planned launch attempt was scrubbed, ending Astra's chance to win the DARPA Launch Challenge.

Astra's bid to win $12 million DARPA Launch Challenge comes up short

By Mike Wall

Spaceflight startup Astra scrubbed a planned orbital launch attempt of its Rocket 3.0 on Monday (March 2), meaning the company will not win the $12 million DARPA Launch Challenge.

Photographs taken by MarCO-B as it approached Mars in November 2018.

RIP, MarCO! The world's first cubesats to Mars are gone for good

By Meghan Bartels

In September 2019, NASA started the second half of an epic game of Marco Polo; early this month the agency declared it over for good.

Artist's illustration of Relativity Space's Terran 1 rocket lifting off.

Relativity Space will 3D-print rockets at new autonomous factory in Long Beach, California

By Mike Wall

The company aims to revolutionize rocketry via 3D printing and intelligent automation.

The Earth is a stunning backdrop to the Intelsat 901 communications satellite in this view from the MEV-1 satellite serving spacecraft during docking operations on Feb. 25, 2020.

Two private satellites just docked in space in historic first for orbital servicing

By Elizabeth Howell

In a historic first for satellite operations, one spacecraft "helper" docked with a working satellite to provide life-extension services.

orbex's scotland rocket factory

In photos: First look inside Orbex's Scotland rocket factory

By Samantha Mathewson

The private space company Orbex recently allowed cameras into its rocket factory for the first time, offering a glimpse at where the commercial orbital rocket called Prime is being built.

The so-called quiet X-59 QueSST.

Trump's 2021 NASA budget request supports X-59 experimental supersonic jet development

By Chelsea Gohd

NASA renews funding support for their Lockheed Martin-built experimental supersonic X-plane, which the agency says will make its inaugural flight in 2022.

An illustration of the X-59 supersonic plane landing on a runway.

NASA's experimental X-59 supersonic jet could be built by the end of 2020

By Chelsea Gohd

NASA's experimental, supersonic X-plane is on a fast track to flying.

NASA robots called Assemblers could help build the infrastructure needed to land astronauts on the moon in 2024.

'Assembler' robots could build solar arrays and more on the moon

By Elizabeth Howell

Could robots help power NASA's quest to return humans to the moon?

The ESA's Technology Development Element (TDE) recently signed a contract to begin a new initiative known as Trailer, which will test a pair of rovers and how they might work collaboratively on the lunar surface.

These twin rovers might explore the moon together one day

By Chelsea Gohd

Astronauts aren't the only ones who will have to work together on future crewed missions.

An artist's depiction of the Exodus Space Corp.'s AstroClipper space plane separating after launch.

Fancy a ride on a space plane? Maybe AstroClipper will be what you're looking for.

By Elizabeth Howell

Startup Exodus Space Corp. plans to build a space plane to ferry cargo around Earth. Eventually, that cargo could include people, if the spacecraft is deemed safe enough.

Artist's illustration of Tethers Unlimited's "Terminator Tape" de-orbit module, which interacts with the space environment to rapidly drag a satellite out of orbit.

'Terminator Tape' did its job in space-junk test — and it will be back

By Mike Wall

One technique that could help alleviate the space-junk scourge just passed a key off-Earth test.

An image captured by the ASTERIA spacecraft, with the stars of Orion's belt in the lower left corner.

How the tiny exoplanet-hunting ASTERIA satellite showed scientists what cubesats can do

By Meghan Bartels

A tiny satellite studying alien worlds may be gone for good, but during the two years the spacecraft operated, it laid the foundation for what may become a new way of finding exoplanets.

The space startup SpinLaunch is developing a novel kinetic energy-based launch strategy.

Stealth space startup SpinLaunch snares another $35 million from investors

By Mike Wall

The company's total investment haul is now $80 million.

Bricks produced using fungal mycelium, yard waste and wood chips as a part of a NASA-funded myco-architecture project. Similar materials could be used to build habitats on the moon or Mars.

Moon 'shrooms? Fungi eyed to help build lunar bases and Mars outposts

By Mike Wall

A light sail using diffractive gratings, as depicted in this artist’s conception, generates sideways forces that could keep it aligned with a laser beam or allow it to be steered toward a target.

Beam Rider: New 'Self-Centering' Laser Sail Could Enable Interstellar Travel

By Charles Q. Choi

Spacecraft could fly to distant stars using sails with surfaces similar to those of CDs and DVDs to help them stay centered on laser beams, a new study finds.

The Ops-Sat cubesat is a new ESA satellite designed explicitly for experimentation.

Europe Challenges Amateurs to be the First to Catch a Signal From Brand New Satellite

By Chelsea Gohd

You could be the first to catch a signal from the European Space Agency's (ESA) brand new experimental satellite.

NASA is looking to artificial intelligence to aid in the search for alien planets and potentially dangerous asteroids.

How A.I. Could Help Find Alien Planets and Asteroids

By Samantha Mathewson

Using artificial intelligence could aid in the search for life and detection of nearby asteroids.

A photo captured by the LightSail 2 satellite on Sept. 28, 2019.

Planetary Society's LightSail 2 Paves Way for Future Solar Sail Missions, Bill Nye Says

By Elizabeth Howell