Space exploration news, features and articles
![an illustration of the Juno spacecraft orbiting Jupiter](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/EYqQnU4fqLkQZD6vtm4wXb-1200-80.jpg)
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.
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![A blurry photo of the ISS taken from Earth](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/LkGNvPkjcDcjm6Vbv86ySD-320-80.jpg)
'Stranded' NASA astronaut Suni Williams photographed from Earth during record-breaking spacewalk. Can you spot her?
By Harry Baker published
A photographer on Earth has captured an incredible telescope image of NASA astronaut Suni Williams outside of the International Space Station, as it passed by roughly 250 miles overhead.
![streaks of fire in the evening sky](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/gXdDhX8KnrDYQWCyjqKfAH-320-80.jpg)
How much did SpaceX's Starship Flight 7 explosion pollute the atmosphere?
By Tereza Pultarova published
Scientists are not sure how much metallic dust remained in the atmosphere after the most recent SpaceX rocket 'disassembly.'
![China's Tiangong space station with Earth in the background](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/EV5ctdHdFVqMQ5gTPMapmh-320-80.jpg)
Chinese astronauts make rocket fuel and oxygen in space using 1st-of-its-kind 'artificial photosynthesis'
By Harry Baker published
Astronauts on board China's "heavenly palace" space station have demonstrated a new way of making rocket fuel products and breathable oxygen by mimicking a chemical reaction in plants. The technology could be utilized in China's planned moon base.
![SpaceX Starship lifts off from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, for its sixth flight test on November 19, 2024.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/NsvPZj9rpJDJHcsNJNfwdU-320-80.jpg)
Watch SpaceX rocket explode over Grand Turk island in dramatic stream of fire and smoke
By Pandora Dewan published
Debris from the rocket's explosion was caught on camera by a family vacationing on Grand Turk island.
![Radio images of 1ES 1927+654 reveal emerging structures that appear to be jets of plasma erupting from both sides of the galaxy’s central black hole following a strong radio flare.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/o8w22tJKVBCdj4MoMZCFog-320-80.gif)
'It was very fortunate timing': Astronomers watch 1st black hole to 'shut off' blast back to life
By Sharmila Kuthunur published
The first black hole that astronomers observed "turning off" just turned back on, releasing jets of hot gas into the cosmos.
![A Chinese Long March 5 rocket launches the China National Space Administration's Tianwen-1 Mars rover, lander and orbiter from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan Island on July 23, 2020.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/g2zXqitnZ56eamjm7JTqkb-320-80.jpg)
China plans to build enormous solar array in space — and it could collect more energy in a year than 'all the oil on Earth'
By Ben Turner published
China has announced plans to build a giant solar power space station, which will be lifted into orbit piece by piece using the nation's brand-new heavy lift rockets.
![Around Earth, an invisible magnetic field traps electrons and other charged particles.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/tQtZxvDJ9i6wwifKchQBS-320-80.jpg)
New NASA robot with X-ray vision will watch Earth 'breathing' from the moon
By Ben Turner published
NASA's LEXI instrument is set to land on the moon's surface sometime this month. Using X-ray sensors, the device will watch Earth's atmosphere "breathing out and breathing in" to uncover key space weather mysteries.
![Illustration of a wooden square satellite as it orbits the earth.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/RXXRwmqk3fnvGktkbWRVhP-320-80.jpg)
NASA and Japan launch world's 1st wooden satellite into orbit. Here's why it could help solve a huge problem for our planet.
By Ben Turner last updated
NASA and Japan's space agency (JAXA) have officially launched the world's first wooden satellite into Earth orbit. The magnolia wood LignoSat is an attempt to make space junk biodegradable, potentially solving the growing problem of orbital debris.
![An artist's illustration of the James Webb Space Telescope.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/cCqGefh7QQXxuaGGNPt52m-320-80.jpg)
James Webb Space Telescope quiz: How well do you know the world's most powerful telescope?
By Ian Stokes published
The James Webb Space Telescope can look deeper (and earlier) into the cosmos than any telescope before it. How much do you know about this wonder of technology and its incredible findings?
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