Deep Space
Stories about missions throughout solar system and beyond.
NASA Punts Mars Sample Return Decision
After more than a year of review, there’s no concrete plan to retrieve scientific samples from Mars.
Intuitive Machines Will Build A Lunar Communications Network
“We sell minutes on the network, something like a million minutes a year, to NASA.”
Europa Clipper’s Chips Are Good Enough For Jupiter
JPL launched a Tiger Team to assess if the $5B spacecraft could survive its Jovian voyage as-is.
AstroForge Raised $40M To Race For An Asteroid
“We’re going to mine asteroids or go f*****g bankrupt.”
Interstellar Lab Wins Deep Space Food Challenge
NASA and CSA joined together to address this problem with The Deep Space Food Challenge, a competition that’s tapped industry to put forward novel ideas and new technologies to keep astronauts fed on extended journeys to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
Spaceline Wants to Solve Your Trajectory Problem
Ascending Node Technologies (ANT) launched its Spaceline 3D mission visualization software to help mission operators plan and optimize their flight paths.
AstroForge Unveils New Spacecraft for Deep Space Mission
With just seven months to launch, the LA-based asteroid mining company decided to toss out its mission 2 vehicle, named Odin, and build a new bus in house mostly from scratch.
Asteroid Watchers Fret About Politicians Facing Dangerous NEOs
“I know what I would prefer [to do], but Congress will tell us to wait,”
Smithsonian Unveils First Bennu Sample to the Public
A small piece of the asteroid Bennu can now call a very ritzy neighborhood home, alongside many meteorites and just next door to the Hope Diamond.
NASA Extends New Horizons Through Late 2020s
NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, hurtling through space in the outer solar system, just got a new lease on life. The agency announced Friday that it will be extending the mission until the late 2020s. “The New Horizons mission has a unique position in our solar system to answer important questions about our heliosphere and provide…
