NASA’s Troubled Mars Sample Mission Has Scientists Seeing Red
NASA’s Mars Sample Return program is the agency’s highest priority in planetary science, but projected multibillion-dollar overruns have some calling the plan a “dumpster fire”
Stories by Leonard David
Leonard David is author of Moon Rush: The New Space Race (National Geographic, 2019) and Mars: Our Future on the Red Planet (National Geographic, 2016). He has been reporting on the space industry for more than five decades.
Can a Private Space Mission Pierce Venus’s Clouds?
Amid uncertainty over space agencies’ plans for future Venus exploration, enthusiasm for a private-sector mission grows
Space Junk Is Polluting Earth’s Stratosphere with Vaporized Metal
Defunct satellites and other pieces of orbital debris are pumping metals into Earth’s fragile upper atmosphere, with effects unknown
OSIRIS-REx’s Asteroid Samples Are Finally Down to Earth
OSIRIS-REx—the first U.S. mission to attempt a sample return from a space rock—has successfully sent materials from asteroid Bennu back to Earth
This Is How the First-Ever U.S. Asteroid Sample Return Will Unfold
Scientists are gearing up for a high-stakes finale to OSIRIS-REx, the first U.S. mission to snare a sample from an asteroid
Bad Data, Not Aliens, May Be behind UFO Surge, NASA Team Says
More and better data are required to solve the mystery of strange apparitions in the air, the sea and space, according to NASA’s Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Independent Study team
Can NASA's Artemis Moon Missions Count on Using Lunar Water Ice?
How realistic is it to expect to find enough ice on the moon to support human habitation?
Did the Pentagon Shoot Down a Harmless Ham Radio Balloon?
Surging numbers of small research balloons increase the odds of airborne mistaken identity—and harsher regulations
Scientists Try to Get Serious about Studying UFOs. Good Luck with That
New dedicated observatories and crowdsourced smartphone apps will study strange sightings in the sky. But questionable data quality and a lack of shared research standards remain key challenges
Is Space-Based Solar Power Ready for Its Moment in the Sun?
Around the world, researchers are betting that beamed power from space could be the next big thing for clean energy on Earth
Don’t Fear China’s Falling Rocket—Fear the Future It Foretells
Long considered trivial, the effects of rocket launches and reentering space debris on global warming and ozone loss could soon become too large to ignore
Controversy Grows Over whether Mars Samples Endanger Earth
Planetary scientists are eager to bring Red Planet rocks, soil and even air to Earth, but critics fear the risk of contaminating our world’s biosphere
Europe Cancels Joint Moon Missions with Russia
Russia will move forward with lunar exploration without its European partners
Russia’s War in Ukraine Threatens Joint Missions to Mars, Venus and the Moon
Interplanetary voyages are among several space science collaborations delayed or doomed by the ongoing conflict
Mars on the Cheap: Scientists Are Working to Revolutionize Access to the Red Planet
The concepts include souped-up Mars helicopters and inexpensive orbiters and landers
Can the U.S. and China Cooperate in Space?
China’s meteoric rise in space science and exploration—along with its new partnership with Russia—is spurring U.S. experts to reconsider a long-standing prohibition on bilateral collaborations
Experts Weigh In on Pentagon UFO Report
The vast majority of examined incidents were not caused by U.S. advanced technology programs, the forthcoming report concludes. So what’s going on?
Falling Uncontrolled from Space, Giant Chinese Rocket Highlights Risk of Orbital Debris
The Long March 5B rocket’s core stage could plummet to Earth as early as May 9
Space Junk Removal Is Not Going Smoothly
Despite promising technology demonstrations, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for the growing problem of taking out the orbital trash
As Perseverance Approaches Mars, Scientists Debate Its Sampling Strategy
The car-sized rover is the first step in an ambitious effort to bring pieces of the Red Planet back to Earth, but some crucial details remain undecided
Arecibo Observatory to Close Its Giant Eye on the Sky
After suffering severe damage from broken cables that cannot be readily repaired, the observatory’s enormous radio telescope is now slated for “controlled decommissioning”
An Underappreciated Danger of the New Space Age: Global Air Pollution
As private launches increase dramatically, so will emissions of CO2, particulates and other noxious substances
Water Found in Sunlight and Shadow on the Moon
Observations by NASA’s SOFIA telescope and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter reveal signs of water in sun-baked lunar soil, as well as in small, dark craters
Is There Life on Venus? These Missions Could Find It
Following a tantalizing discovery, these spacecraft could be headed to Earth’s twisted twin in search of the truth