Space Exploration

Millions of human-made objects travel at high speeds in low-Earth orbit, polluting space and increasing the chance of collision with satellites and other spacecraft

Facing budgetary pressure for its Mars Sample Return program, NASA has turned to private industry for ideas—perhaps with one specific company in mind

How long can humanity’s artifacts endure on the lunar surface? A new installation from artist Jeff Koons is inadvertently putting this question to the test

When astronauts return to the moon later this decade, they’ll bring along science experiments to study moonquakes, lunar water ice and extraterrestrial agriculture

As the Event Horizon Telescope pursues ambitious upgrades, the project’s latest results reveal the magnetic fields around our galaxy’s supermassive black hole

Three years ago astronauts threw out the largest piece of trash ever tossed from the International Space Station. Now some of it has punched a hole through a house in Naples, Fla.

To make the most of any total solar eclipse, put down your gadgets and bask in one of our solar system’s most glorious spectacles

Scientists have scarcely begun studying pristine material from asteroid Bennu brought back to Earth by the OSIRIS-REx mission, but have already found several surprises

Quirks of orbital mechanics make a cadre of sun-orbiting asteroids appear to be moons of Earth

New analyses cast doubt on claims that a meteor witnessed over the South Pacific in 2014 came from another star system and raise questions about a high-profile expedition to recover the fireball’s fragments from the seafloor

Our space and physics editors go head-to-head over a classic mind-bending question.

Headaches are a common and recurring problem in space, even for astronauts that don’t experience them on Earth