Space research and astronomy

Artemis II mission concludes after astronauts travel to the Moon and safely return to Earth

Sat, 11 Apr 2026 03:39:30 GMT

The mission unfolded in the shadow of the Trump administration's war against Iran and his genocidal threat that “a whole civilization will die tonight.”

Project Hail Mary—a hopeful (but somewhat wishful) adventure

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 02:14:42 GMT

The overall result is a charming but cartoonish pastiche that, while broadly appealing, falls short of its ambition to be a truly insightful film

NASA’s Artemis II completes lunar flyby

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 03:48:49 GMT

The new aspects of spaceflight being carried out by Artemis II largely concern the impacts of radiation on the spacecraft and the astronauts themselves.

NASA’s Artemis II launches crew to the Moon for first time in 54 years

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 03:53:28 GMT

The mission, despite the scientific and engineering achievements, is driven primarily by geopolitical conflict with China.

NASA closes Goddard Space Flight Center library as it dismantles astronomy infrastructure

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 02:48:25 GMT

The closure of NASA's largest research library at Goddard Space Flight Center represents a deliberate attack on scientific infrastructure and marks another step toward the privatization of space exploration.

Former NASA administrator discusses the catastrophic impact to basic science in Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill”

Fri, 11 Jul 2025 23:26:57 GMT

Dan Weedman was a senior official at NASA and the National Science Foundation from 1992 to 2002, including serving as the head of NASA’s Astrophysics Division from 1993 to 1995 and as a program director for the National Science Foundation from 1999 to 2002.

SpaceX Starship explodes during test amid string of other failures and explosions

Sat, 21 Jun 2025 03:24:56 GMT

While the Apollo program represented American capitalism at its height, the string of disasters of the Starship program represents American capitalism in its death spiral.

James Webb Space Telescope produces most detailed signature of the atmosphere of a planet beyond the Solar System

Thu, 24 Apr 2025 03:07:48 GMT

The boundless potential of astronomical discovery contrasts sharply with the backwardness and reaction promoted by Trump and the entire American oligarchy.

Leaked documents reveal Trump’s proposal to halve NASA’s science budget

Wed, 16 Apr 2025 01:22:45 GMT

The attack on NASA is particularly focused on research into climate change and continues the trend of subordinating science to private profit.

Orbital: Samantha Harvey’s award-winning novel about problems of climate and social change

Wed, 11 Dec 2024 01:01:37 GMT

The Booker Prize winner has struck a popular chord in a world poised between the immense potential of scientific advances and the threat of military and ecological catastrophe.

Failure of Boeing spacecraft strands 2 astronauts on the International Space Station

Wed, 28 Aug 2024 03:49:30 GMT

It should be asked why NASA continues to trust Boeing, the airplane manufacturer which developed the MAX 8 jets responsible for the deaths of 346 men, women and children in two separate crashes in 2018 and 2019.

I.S.S.: War in space without—for a change—anti-Russian xenophobia

Thu, 16 May 2024 01:39:23 GMT

Directed by American Gabriela Cowperthwaite (Blackfish, 2013) and scripted by Nick Shafir, I.S.S. defies tropes so plentiful in Cold War (and contemporary) fiction and film.

Auroral display dazzles millions around the globe

Mon, 13 May 2024 04:05:28 GMT

Vivid displays of the aurora borealis and aurora australis were visible to millions of people around the world on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.

Scientific—and social—dimensions of the 2024 total solar eclipse

Mon, 08 Apr 2024 03:12:10 GMT

The second total eclipse across North America in seven years has drawn the interest of millions across the continent.

Latest privately-owned Moon mission ends abruptly after botched landing

Wed, 28 Feb 2024 04:08:06 GMT

The failure of the Odysseus lander, built and launched by Intuitive Machines, is a further demonstration that the exploration of outer space is incompatible with the profit motive.

OSIRIS-REx spacecraft successfully returns asteroid sample to Earth

Wed, 27 Sep 2023 01:40:01 GMT

The next mission for the spacecraft will be orbiting the near-Earth asteroid Apophis starting in April 2029.

On the first year of astronomical discoveries by the James Webb Space Telescope

Sun, 16 Jul 2023 22:32:50 GMT

Rho Ophiuchi is the nearest star-forming region to Earth and includes dozens of young stars, the majority of which are estimated to be less than 1 million years old.

The detection of the Universe’s background gravitational wave radiation: a scientific triumph

Tue, 04 Jul 2023 02:07:48 GMT

The same confident optimism which organized thousands of scientists towards the successful detection of high-frequency gravitational waves in 2015 now has produced its first fruit with another detector technology and strategy in seeing the background of long-wavelength, low-frequency gravitational waves permeating the Universe.

Uncrewed SpaceX rocket Starship explodes after launch

Fri, 21 Apr 2023 01:55:33 GMT

The company’s CEO, Elon Musk, claims the spacecraft will one day ferry humans to Mars.

Orion spacecraft splashes down, completing Artemis I mission

Mon, 12 Dec 2022 04:40:18 GMT

The landing was the final major milestone of the Artemis I mission, which is being hailed by the Biden administration and the corporate media as the precursor to new crewed missions to the Moon and possibly Mars.

Successful launch of Artemis I: In the footsteps of Apollo, but no further

Mon, 21 Nov 2022 00:26:57 GMT

Artemis lays the ground work for further militarization of space, as well as promoting commercial interests.

Engine problems delay launch of NASA’s Artemis I mission to the Moon

Tue, 30 Aug 2022 02:56:09 GMT

The goal of the Artemis project is to develop a spacecraft capable of once again landing humans on the Moon.

NASA releases first images and data from the James Webb Space Telescope

Wed, 13 Jul 2022 04:45:44 GMT

The initial images and accompanying data released by the JWST are a first glimpse of the full capabilities of the new astronomical observatory and mark a major step forward in humanity’s ability to understand the Universe and our place within it.

The imaging of Sagittarius A*: A monumental scientific achievement

Sat, 14 May 2022 04:53:37 GMT

The imagery of the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy is a brilliant demonstration of the possibilities engendered by human labor coordinated on an international and scientific basis.

Astronomers publish first imagery of Milky Way’s central supermassive black hole

Fri, 13 May 2022 04:14:52 GMT

The latest black hole image from the Event Horizon Telescope is further evidence that globally organized observational astronomy involving vast quantities of data and their coordination is becoming increasingly routine.

James Webb Space Telescope completes second month of commissioning, accomplishing many key steps

Fri, 25 Feb 2022 02:18:31 GMT

The JWST is also slated to join a survey of nearby galaxies involving the Atacama Large Millimeter Array in Chile and the Hubble Space Telescope.

James Webb Space Telescope successfully launches

Tue, 28 Dec 2021 03:36:52 GMT

The spacecraft, when fully operational, will peer deeper into the Universe than any previous astronomical instrument.

Lucy spacecraft begins 12-year mission to study asteroids and the origins of the Solar System

Mon, 18 Oct 2021 03:19:42 GMT

The probe is slated to study eight asteroids in the main asteroid belt and among Jupiter’s trojans as part of a campaign to more closely study the origins of Earth and the other planets in the Solar System.

The enduring significance of the Hubble Deep Field

Thu, 05 Aug 2021 01:29:59 GMT

NASA is this week celebrating the advance enabled by the Deep Field and its subsequent scientific results.

After space flight, “Moneybags” Bezos acknowledges workers “paid for all this”

Thu, 22 Jul 2021 03:33:34 GMT

The claims that the Amazon founder’s space flight was historic, and that he is obsessed with climate change and “saving the world” need to be seen in the proper context. Nonetheless, something revealing did emerge out of the sordid excursion July 20.

Richard Branson’s flight and the privatization of space travel

Thu, 15 Jul 2021 02:18:40 GMT

In reality, on Earth or in space, Richard Branson’s flight has no connection to the democratization of space or the progress of humanity. It is to further enrich himself and to make outer space the playground of the very rich.

The Billionaire Space Race

Thu, 08 Jul 2021 01:59:48 GMT

Since the dawn of time, man has looked to the sky and wondered: Who will be the first billionaire in space? The wait is over.

China successfully lands rover Zhurong on Mars

Fri, 21 May 2021 02:59:35 GMT

The China National Space Administration achieved a new landmark in planetary exploration—having a successful orbiter, lander and rover as part of the agency’s first mission to Mars, an immense scientific and technical achievement.

Mars robot helicopter completes first rotor-powered flight on another world

Tue, 20 Apr 2021 02:22:34 GMT

Now that Ingenuity’s basic capabilities have been validated, several more flights will be attempted, the first as early as Thursday.

Perseverance rover returns videos from its descent to the Martian surface

Wed, 24 Feb 2021 23:33:42 GMT

The rover also returned the first audio recorded on Mars.

The Mars rover and the Texas catastrophe: Scientific possibility vs capitalist reality

Sat, 20 Feb 2021 04:55:51 GMT

If society operated on the principle of rationality and human need, not the insatiable greed of the rich, the scientific advancements that made possible the Mars rover would be used to end the many ills that plague humanity.

Perseverance rover begins three-year mission on Mars

Fri, 19 Feb 2021 05:16:06 GMT

Alongside seven primary instruments to study Mars, Perseverance brought along a small helicopter, which will attempt the first powered flight on another world, and will leave behind sealed samples of Martian rocks and soil as the first step for future attempts to return samples of Mars to Earth.

Third data release from Gaia spacecraft maps 1.8 billion stars in the Milky Way

Thu, 18 Feb 2021 02:41:52 GMT

The spacecraft has provided a trove of data that will be studied for years as well numerous jumping off points for further research.

UAE and Chinese spacecraft safely enter Martian orbit

Fri, 12 Feb 2021 03:10:35 GMT

The orbital insertion is an important stage in the process of solar system exploration.

The collapse of the Arecibo radio telescope

Wed, 16 Dec 2020 01:56:15 GMT

Far from being an unforeseeable disaster, the loss of Arecibo directly flows from decades of impoverishment of all activities that do not most directly channel the riches of labor into the overflowing coffers of the ruling class.

OSIRIS-REx spacecraft touches an asteroid, attempts sample collection

Fri, 23 Oct 2020 01:35:33 GMT

High drama unfolded to a worldwide audience Tuesday as the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft made a safe and seemingly successful “touch and go” sample collection from its target, asteroid 101955 Bennu. It will return a sample from the asteroid to Earth in September 2023.

Challenger: The Final Flight: A four-part docuseries on the 1986 disaster

Fri, 02 Oct 2020 05:00:00 GMT

Challenger: The Final Flight, a docuseries on Netflix, deals with the tragic explosion of NASA’s Space Shuttle Challenger in January 1986, which killed seven crew members.

Three missions to Mars are now under way

Fri, 31 Jul 2020 05:00:00 GMT

Spacecraft from China, the United Arab Emirates and the United States have been successfully launched on trajectories that will take them to Mars by next February.

SpaceX launch of astronauts marks new stage of the privatization of space exploration

Tue, 02 Jun 2020 05:00:00 GMT

The fact that the event was so heavily promoted by SpaceX founder and billionaire Elon Musk, the American media and President Donald Trump should give the excitement around the launch pause.

Thirty years of the Hubble Space Telescope

Sat, 02 May 2020 05:00:00 GMT

While it has been a public relations boon for NASA, Hubble’s true importance lies in its continued and vast contributions to astronomy.

Trump executive order asserts US property rights in outer space

Fri, 10 Apr 2020 05:00:00 GMT

The assertion of property rights follows the creation of the US “Space Force” branch of the military, as capitalism demands a return on investment in space.

Hubble Space Telescope detects water vapor on habitable-zone exoplanet

Fri, 13 Sep 2019 05:00:00 GMT

The discovery is another step toward finding a world with an environment, and possibly life, on a planet outside our Solar System.

Preparing for great-power war, France creates space command

Wed, 31 Jul 2019 05:00:00 GMT

The implication, covered over by the media and political establishment, is that the French ruling class is preparing for war against militarily-advanced, nuclear-armed powers.

Fifty years since the first Moon landing

Sat, 20 Jul 2019 05:00:00 GMT

The first Moon landing remains an epoch-making scientific, technical and organizational achievement.

First imagery of black hole by the Event Horizon Telescope

Thu, 11 Apr 2019 05:00:00 GMT

The results from the planet-wide array of radio telescopes are the first direct measurements of the structure of a black hole and its surrounding environment.