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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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Artist's illustration of Radian Aerospace's planned Radian One space plane in orbit.

Radian Aerospace raises $27.5 million for new orbital space plane

By Mike Wall published

Washington-based Radian Aerospace announced today (Jan. 19) that it has raised $27.5 million to aid the development of Radian One, its crew-carrying single-stage-to-orbit space plane.

China's "artificial sun," the Tokamak reactor, has reached plasma temperatures five times hotter than the sun in a new record.

China's $1 trillion 'artificial sun' fusion reactor just got five times hotter than the sun

By Ben Turner published

China's "artificial sun" has set a new world record after reaching temperatures five times hotter than the sun.

An illustration of a hovering-rover concept.

This 'UFO' rover could hover on the moon and asteroids one day

By Doris Elin Urrutia published

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) want to engineer a new kind of hovering spacecraft that can operate without air.

A knot and a graph representing the problems that the artificial intelligence program DeepMind tackled.

DeepMind cracks 'knot' conjecture that bedeviled mathematicians for decades

By Stephanie Pappas published

The artificial intelligence (AI) program DeepMind has gotten closer to proving a math conjecture that's bedeviled mathematicians for decades.

The Infinite, a VR experience offering interactive, immersive tours of the International Space Station, is now open in Houston, Texas, marking its premiere in the United States.

Houston, you are go for a spacewalk: 'The Infinite' launches VR space station tours

By Robert Z. Pearlman published

"You look down you see planet Earth, you look around, you see the gigantic space station and the astronauts — there's something vertiginous about it."

NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter acquired this image of its own shadow during its 17th Red Planet flight, on Dec. 5, 2021.

NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity passes 30 minutes of total air time

By Elizabeth Howell published

The helicopter finished its 17th flight on Dec. 5, and is getting ready for an 18th as soon as Wednesday (Dec. 15).

View looking downstream of a flight model of the NPT30-I2 iodine electric propulsion system firing in a vacuum chamber.

Promising new electric iodine thruster passes key test in orbit

By Charles Q. Choi published

A new electric thruster that blasts out iodine just passed a key test in orbit, a milestone that could help lead to smaller, cheaper and higher-performance spacecraft engines.

Rocket Lab used a helicopter to capture a falling Electron booster test article during a recovery test in early March 2020, as this screenshot from a company video shows. The company plans to try the maneuver during an orbital launch for the first time in the first half of 2022.

Rocket Lab aims to catch a falling Electron booster with a helicopter in early 2022

By Mike Wall published

Rocket Lab plans to pluck the falling first stage of one of its Electron launchers out of the sky with a helicopter on its next recovery mission.

The NEXT-C thruster being tested in a vacuum chamber.

NASA's asteroid-slamming mission will test new ion drive system

By Rahul Rao published

NASA's mission DART will test our ability to redirect an asteroid by quite literally crashing into it — but the spacecraft will also test a new type of propulsion system for the agency.

A LightSail 2 image shows the Himalayas, Tibet and India on Jan. 31, 2020.

LightSail 2 solar sail is still soaring above Earth more than two years after launch

By Tereza Pultarova published

An experimental spacecraft testing solar sail space propulsion is still riding the sunbeams in Earth's orbit more than two and a half years after its launch.

NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter conducts its 13th Red Planet flight in this image captured by the Mastcam-Z camera system on NASA’s Perseverance rover.

Watch Ingenuity Mars helicopter soar in amazing new videos from Perseverance rover

By Mike Wall published

Stunning new videos show NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity soaring through the Red Planet skies like never before.

Alternative launch company SpinLaunch's spin chamber is seen at Spaceport America in New Mexico. The system flings rockets toward the sky with a spinning arm.

Startup SpinLaunch completes first test flight with wild rocket-flinging launch system

By Elizabeth Howell published

SpinLaunch performed the test flight of its novel kinetic-energy-based launch system in New Mexico on Oct. 22.

NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity captured this photo of its own shadow during its 15th Red Planet flight, on Nov. 6, 2021.

Mars helicopter Ingenuity aces 15th Red Planet flight

By Mike Wall published

NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity completed its 15th Red Planet flight on Saturday (Nov. 6), staying aloft for more than 2 minutes.

This photo from NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity shows the drone's shadow on the Martian surface during its 14th flight, which occurred Oct. 24, 2021.

Watch NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity take its 14th flight in this full video

By Elizabeth Howell published

A new video shows NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity as it completed its latest daring brief flight hop in the thinning atmosphere of the Red Planet.

China conducted a test launch of a hypersonic vehicle in August 2021 using a Long March rocket, according to an Oct. 17, 2021, report in The Financial Times. This photo shows a Chinese Long March 7 rocket launching the Tianzhou-2 cargo ship to the country's Tianhe module, the core of the new Tiangong space station, from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan Island on May 29, 2021.

China's hypersonic weapon test no cause for panic, experts say

By Mike Wall published

China's mysterious recent space-tech test is not a sign that the sky is falling.

Japanese carmaker Honda has been developing a small, reusable rocket since late 2019.

Honda test-fires prototype engine for reusable rocket

By Mike Wall published

Honda began working on the rocket in late 2019 and already has some serious hardware to show for it — a brand-new engine.

Illustration of the SPS-ALPHA ("Solar Power Satellite by means of Arbitrarily Large Phased Array") system beaming energy to Australia.

Space solar power's time may finally be coming

By Leonard David published

The idea of harvesting solar energy via power-beaming satellites has long intrigued researchers — and recent advances may help make it a reality relatively soon.

Hubble took pictures of the oldest galaxies it could – seen here – but the James Webb Space Telescope can go back much farther in time.

The most powerful space telescope ever built will look back in time to the dark ages of the universe

By Chris Impey published

Some have called NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope the "telescope that ate astronomy."

Moscow-based automotive designer Andrew Fabishevskiy has come up with this novel concept for a moon motorcycle.

This moon motorcycle concept by a Russian automotive designer is just wild

By Scott Snowden published

A Moscow-based automotive and industrial designer has come up with a novel, new way of navigating the lunar surface.

An artist's illustration of astronauts mining water on Mars.

Microbes could help future Mars explorers make rocket fuel and oxygen on the Red Planet

By Charles Q. Choi published

Future Mars astronauts could make rocket fuel on the Red Planet using air, water and sunlight, a new study finds. The technology could fuel the astronauts' flights back to Earth.