
Leonard David
Leonard David is an award-winning space journalist who has been reporting on space activities for more than 50 years. Currently writing as Space.com's Space Insider Columnist among his other projects, Leonard has authored numerous books on space exploration, Mars missions and more, with his latest being "Moon Rush: The New Space Race" published in 2019 by National Geographic. He also wrote "Mars: Our Future on the Red Planet" released in 2016 by National Geographic. Leonard has served as a correspondent for SpaceNews, Scientific American and Aerospace America for the AIAA. He has received many awards, including the first Ordway Award for Sustained Excellence in Spaceflight History in 2015 at the AAS Wernher von Braun Memorial Symposium. You can find out Leonard's latest project at his website and on Twitter.
Latest articles by Leonard David

Top-secret X-37B space plane has been in orbit for more than 1 year
By Leonard David published
In case you forgot it was still up there.

Asteroid Bennu may be 'a fragment of an ancient ocean world', 1st sample analysis suggests
By Leonard David published
Scientists are working hard to analyze samples of the potentially hazardous asteroid Bennu, with early results suggesting it may even be a chunk of an ancient water world.

New Chinese space telescope will 'outdo Hubble', researchers claim
By Leonard David published
China's Xuntian space telescope is scheduled to launch in 2024 and was designed to outdo NASA's Hubble.

Life may already exist on the moon — and NASA's next mission could find it
By Leonard David published
Astronauts on NASA's Artemis moon missions might look for signs of life in shadowed polar craters — life that could have traveled with people from Earth.

2022 could be a turning point in the study of UFOs
By Leonard David published
UAP will get more attention from both the scientific community and the federal government in 2022, according to experts.

Air Force's X-37B robotic space plane wings past 500 days in Earth orbit
By Leonard David published
That enigmatic U.S. military X-37B robotic space drone has now chalked up more than 500 days circling the Earth.

Mars on the cheap: Scientists working to revolutionize access to the Red Planet
By Leonard David published
An increasing number of researchers are blueprinting low-cost and novel ways to further explore the Red Planet.

Skies alive with UFOs? Government report on mysterious sightings due soon
By Leonard David published
The U.S. government is set to release a UFO report soon, perhaps sometime this week. What will it say?

Is war in space inevitable?
By Leonard David published
What conditions could lead to clashes in space? Is such a situation a given, or can conflicts be short-circuited ahead of time? Space.com asked experts for their thoughts.

Spotting UFOs: Do-it-yourself sky surveillance comes online
By Leonard David published
If you are perplexed by reports of unidentified aerial phenomena and possible visitations of alien spacecraft, you can take action with do-it-yourself sky-monitoring gear.

Defending Earth against dangerous asteroids: Q&A with NASA's Lindley Johnson
By Leonard David published
Space.com caught up with NASA Planetary Defense Officer Lindley Johnson to discuss recent events and what's on the planetary-defense agenda in the coming year.

China plants its flag on the moon with Chang'e 5 lunar lander (photo, video)
By Leonard David published

Scientists call for serious study of 'unidentified aerial phenomena'
By Leonard David published
There's a rising call for "unidentified aerial phenomena" to be studied scientifically, perhaps even using satellites to be on the lookout for possible future events.

Is Earth-moon space the US military's new high ground?
By Leonard David published
U.S. military officials have increasingly flagged a new role in guarding American assets and interests in Earth-moon space.

What does the Pentagon's new UFO task force mean? Experts weigh in.
By Leonard David published
The Pentagon just announced the creation of a task force to analyze and understand the "nature and origins" of UFOs. Here's what the much-hyped news means.

Ready, SETI, go: Is there a race to contact E.T.?
By Leonard David published
Researchers using China's huge new FAST radio telescope are piecing together a technological strategy to carry out a major and sweeping search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI).

China wants a piece of the moon. Here's how it plans to handle lunar samples.
By Leonard David published
A glimpse into China's readiness to handle samples from the moon reveals steps to be taken for storage, processing and preparation of the specimens.

What can the coronavirus outbreak teach us about bringing Mars samples back to Earth?
By Leonard David published
A new virus called SARS-CoV-2 is a coronavirus that has caused an outbreak of a disease called COVID-19. But what does that have to do with Mars?

UFOs May Be Piloted by Time-Traveling Humans, Book Argues
By Leonard David published
The great distances covered by visiting "aliens" may be ones of time rather than space, a recent book argues.

An Astronaut Got a Blood Clot in Space. Here's How Doctors on Earth Fixed It.
By Leonard David published
An unidentified astronaut aboard the International Space Station had a deep vein thrombosis — or blood clot — in the jugular vein of their neck, according to a new case study.

China's Farside Moon Rover Breaks Lunar Longevity Record
By Leonard David published
China's farside rover, Yutu 2, has broken the longevity record for working on the surface of the moon.

Will 2020 Be the Year We Find Intelligent Alien Life?
By Leonard David published
Is 2020 the celestial payoff year, in which astronomers finally confirm a "technosignature" coming from an advanced alien civilization?

Here's What Neil Armstrong Saw When He Landed Apollo 11's Eagle on the Moon
By Leonard David published
See the moon through the eyes of the legendary moonwalker for the first time.
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