The dawn is breaking on a new era of space exploration, with moon bases and Mars colonies potentially only decades away. Live Science tracks the researchers, companies and countries setting their sights on the stars to bring you the biggest stories in space. Whether it's reporting on concerns that alien organisms could hitch a ride on our spacecraft and contaminate Earth, explaining what 11 billion people means for space travel, sharing a glorious photo of Earth during a total solar eclipse snapped by Japan's lunar lander, or compiling a list of the weirdest things we have launched into space, our expert writers and editors will ignite your sense of interstellar adventure with the latest space exploration news, features and articles.
Discover more about space exploration
—Here's every spaceship that's ever carried an astronaut into orbit
—How long could a person survive in space without a spacesuit?
Latest about Space Exploration
US company to use giant spinning cannon to blast hundreds of pancake-like 'microsatellites' into space
Rocket start-up SpinLaunch wants to catapult hundreds of flattened "microsatellites" into space at once, using a cannon-like machine that accelerates objects by spinning them. The first orbital demonstration is scheduled for next year.
Secretive Russian military satellites release mystery object into orbit
The classified Kosmos satellite trio has sparked intrigue in space-tracking circles.
Watch a private German rocket explode during 1st orbital launch attempt from European soil (video)
A dramatic video shows Isar Aerospace's first orbital launch attempt, which ended with a fiery crash into the frigid sea about 30 seconds after liftoff.
NASA signs new contract to use SpaceX's Starship — even though it keeps blowing up
SpaceX's Starship has been awarded a NASA contract that will allow it to be considered for future missions. However, recent explosive tests have shown the supersized spacecraft is still far from mission-ready.
NASA's SPHEREx telescope 'opens its eyes on the universe', taking stunning debut image of 100,000 galaxies and stars
SPHEREx's first images — containing roughly 100,000 points of light stars, galaxies and nebulae — have confirmed that the telescope is working according to its design.
'A notch above a gimmick': Experts question scientific merit of billionaire's Fram2 'space adventure' around Earth's poles
The recently launched Fram2 mission, which is funded and led by cryptocurrency billionaire Chun Wang, will attempt to grow mushrooms, test out hormone diapers and X-ray civilian astronauts. However, experts say that these novel experiments are unlikely to yield meaningful results.
China now has a 'kill mesh' in orbit, Space Force vice chief says
"That capability gap is significantly narrowed, and we've got to change the way we're looking at space, or that capability gap may reverse and not be in our favor anymore."
Dying SpaceX rocket triggers giant spiral of light above UK and Europe during secret mission
A giant whirlpool of light, known as a "SpaceX spiral," was recently spotted swirling across the night sky over Europe as a Falcon 9 rocket prepared to reenter Earth's atmosphere after deploying top-secret cargo.
NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore spent 286 days stuck in space — is that a new record?
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams spent 286 consecutive days aboard the International Space Station after their Boeing Starliner spacecraft returned to Earth empty. Is their extended spaceflight record-setting?
Futuristic, 'alien-like' nuclear fusion rockets developed in total secret could revolutionize space travel — if they actually work
U.K. start-up Pulsar Fusion has unveiled plans to build a fleet of reusable nuclear fusion-powered rockets, known as Sunbirds, that could cut journey times across the solar system in half. But not everyone is convinced.
