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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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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

A team of citizen scientists from Project PoSSUM has completed an important set of tests with a spacesuit from Final Frontier Design.

Citizen Scientists Team Up with Canadian Space Agency to Test Commercial Spacesuit

By Chelsea Gohd

Thanks to a Canadian collaboration, a team of citizen scientists has completed an important set of tests with a commercial spacesuit.

Made In Space, which 3D-printed this wrench (and many other objects) in orbit, aims to help establish an off-Earth economy. Its sister company, Made In Space Europe, is working toward the same goal by developing mass-market robotic-arm technology for spacecraft.

Mass-Market Robotic Arms for Spacecraft May Be Just Around the Corner

By Mike Wall

Made In Space Europe is working on the tech, which the company thinks could greatly aid exploration.

The Tesla Cybertruck was rolled out in November.

Love It or Hate It, Tesla Cybertruck Is Revolutionary

By Michael D. Mehta

The so-called Cybertruck is an angular, stainless steel, all-electric pickup truck that quickly became polarizing. Here's why it's revolutionary.

The CIMON 2 (Crew Interactive MObile companioN) robot is a new robotic companion for astronauts on the International Space Station.

New, Emotionally Intelligent Robot CIMON 2 Heads to Space Station

By Mike Wall

The little droid can assess astronauts' emotional states.

SpaceX's first batch of Starlink satellites head to orbit after launching on May 23, 2019.

5G from Space Won't Solve All Slow Internet Problems, Analysts Warn

By Elizabeth Howell

New phones will get faster internet than ever before thanks to improved 5G technology, but don't expect to get blazing-quick speed overnight, a panel of analysts warned.

Kat Coderre, the principal investigator for Lockheed Martin’s Stemrad vest, wears the radiation-blocking vest inside NASA’s Orion spacecraft. Orion will carry two dummies on the Artemis I mission, and the dummies will test out the new vest.

'Phantom' Vest-Wearing Dummies to Fly Around the Moon

By Elizabeth Howell

"Phantom women" dummies will make a trip around the moon in 2020 or so on a special mission: to protect all astronauts from radiation.

The Sphero RVR All-Terrain Programmable Coding Robot.

Sphero's RVR Programmable Coding Robot Car Is $50 Off This Holiday Season

By Tariq Malik

Amazon has slashed the Sphere RVR price by 20%.

Best Buy is slashing the price of the Oculus Go VR headset by 25% for Black Friday.

Explore Space in VR with $50 Off the Oculus Go This Black Friday

By Evan Kypreos

Best Buy has slashed the price if the Oculus Go to by $50 for Black Friday.

California-based startup Leo Aerospace is developing a small-satellite launch system employing a rocket and a big hot-air balloon. The system will be mobile, capable of launching off the back of a semitruck.

Space Startup Aims to Launch Cubesats on Balloon-Lofted Rockets

By Mike Wall

Balloons could help the small-satellite revolution reach new heights.

An artist's depiction of a NASA lunar rover called VIPER, which is designed to map where ice lurks under the moon's surface.

NASA Eyes a New Moon Rover for Astronauts and Robot Lunar Explorers

By Elizabeth Howell

NASA is considering developing an unpressurized rover that astronauts could drive remotely on the moon alongside a suite of robotic lunar explorers as part of the Artemis program.

An artist's depiction of Nanoracks' Outpost demonstration mission.

Nanoracks Books SpaceX Rocket to Launch Space Habitat Demo in 2020 (Cubesats, Too!)

By Meghan Bartels

Nanoracks wants to expand from hosting experiments on board the International Space Station to running their own mini stations built from used rockets, with a first launch scheduled for next year.

A prototype undersea rover called BRUIE being tested in Alaska in 2015.

NASA's Undersea Robot Crawls Beneath Antarctic Ice in Test for Icy Moons

By Meghan Bartels

It's going to take a lot more than a doggy paddle to explore the oceans hidden below the icy surfaces of some of the solar system's most intriguing moons.

Rocket Lab's Electron rocket is staged to launch from the company's Launch Complex 1, located on the Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand.

Rocket Lab's 'Rosie' the Robot Can Build a Booster in Just 12 Hours

By Samantha Mathewson

The private spaceflight company Rocket Lab unveiled a new rocket-building robot designed to speed up manufacturing of Electron launch vehicles.