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Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore left Earth on June 5. The two astronauts were expecting a short flight on NASA’s new Starliner spacecraft. They’d fly to the International Space Station, or ISS (see “Space Station”). Successfully docking there would certify…
When Heman Bekele was 6, he got a chemistry set. He used it to mix “potions.” Only his parents paid attention. Heman is 15 now. He’s a 10th grader at Woodson High, in Fairfax, Virginia. And he’s used to a…
Sixty-six years ago, there was one human-built object in Earth’s orbit: Sputnik, the world’s first satellite. It was launched in October 1957. Try to guess how many human-made objects are circling the planet now. Ready? The answer is 100 trillion.…
Nicole Mann is a member of the Round Valley Indian Tribes. She treasures her dream catcher. Her mother gave it to her. Mann has had it since she was a girl. It’s a small hoop with a feather. It’s said…
Mission managers at NASA sent a refrigerator-size craft 7 million miles into space. Its job was to punch an asteroid in the nose. We should be glad NASA did this. Earth feels a little bit safer now. The spacecraft is…
For 26 years, the NASA scientists behind the James Webb Space Telescope asked for three things: patience, time, and money. In 1996, a group of astronomers suggested a space telescope. It would be able to see more than 13 billion…
Around 4 billion years ago, Mars had oceans and a thick blanket of air. These conditions could have supported life. For nearly 10 years, NASA’s Curiosity rover has been exploring the planet’s Gale Crater. Long ago, the crater was probably…
How do you fly a SpaceX Crew Dragon? Climb aboard, strap yourself in, close the hatch, and fly into space. The Dragon takes care of everything, so relax and enjoy the ride. Unless something goes wrong. And in space, something…
Three people will travel with Jared Isaacman on the Inspiration4 mission. Find out below who they are and what they hope to achieve. Sian Proctor Sian Proctor, 51, is a professor of geosciences at South Mountain Community College, in Phoenix,…
On February 18, NASA’s Perseverance rover landed on Mars. Its mission: to seek evidence of past microbial life. Something may have thrived on the planet billions of years ago. The rover’s 300 million–mile journey to Mars’s orbit took nearly seven…
