Space Time
Space Time is an Inverse series that remembers the most important moments in humanity’s exploration of outer space.
Space Time is an Inverse series that remembers the most important moments in humanity’s exploration of outer space.
Mars 3 accomplished the first soft landing on Mars. Then it died.
40 Years Ago, NASA Tested Out a Radical Rehaul of an Iconic Technology
Witness the reinvention of the humble EVA suit.
50 Years Ago, NASA Sent an Ambitious Mission to Saturn — and To Interstellar Horizons
The Pioneer 11 probe would serve as a metaphorical blueprint for the Voyager missions.
15 Years Ago, Exoplanet Astronomers Made a Breakthrough in the Hunt for Life
Detecting methane on a distant exoplanet paved the way for the hunt for organic chemistry in the cosmos.
75 Years Ago, an Astronomer Found the Weirdest Moon in the Solar System
The high cliffs of Miranda barely scratch the surface of why Uranus' moon is so unique.
5 Years Ago, SpaceX Launched Its Silliest Payload Yet — And It's Still in Orbit
The space-faring Tesla roadster set a speed record unlikely to ever fall to another car, even another Tesla.
60 Years Ago, Astronomers Cracked the Mystery of the Brightest Objects in the Universe
No one was sure what quasars were and how they connected to galaxies. Then it all changed.
65 Years Ago, America Launched Its Most Pivotal Space Mission Ever
Explorer 1 marked the entry of science into what had been a military affair.
40 years ago, NASA launched the space telescope that proved JWST could work
IRAS is a sometimes forgotten spacecraft that proved that infrared astronomy had a bright future.
15 years ago, a spacecraft swung by Mercury to beat the Sun's gravity
The MESSENGER mission needed a few gravitational assists to enter orbit around the smallest planet.
Inside NASA's monumental effort to deliver the first Webb Telescope images
After 20 years and $10 billion, here’s how the NASA team scrambled to make the first images happen.
50 years ago, NASA’s final Apollo mission left the Moon — are we ready to return?
Can the Artemis mission pick up where Apollo 17 left off?
60 years ago, one space mission crushed hopes for life around Earth's twin planet
The Mariner 2 mission proved Venus was too hot to have present-day life.
65 years ago, a street dog paved the way for human spaceflight — with a grim outcome
A Soviet street dog went up to space, but the USSR was ill-prepared for her stay in space.
55 years ago, Russia changed spaceflight forever — and lied about it a little
The Venera 4 mission sent a probe into Venus' atmosphere, but played loose with whether or not it actually survived a landing.
Go deeper
Six Asteroids — One Considered Potentially Hazardous — Flew Past Earth In Less Than 24 Hours
Asteroids large and small safely fly near Earth all the time.
Rare “Black Hole Triple” Discovered! A Ghost Star Haunted Its Sibling Stars After It Perished
This black hole triple is fascinatingly weird.
A Meteorite the Size of Four Mount Everests Hit Earth — It Left This Strange Aftermath
Simple life found a way to survive.
Inside the Extreme Workout Regimen of An Astronaut Stuck at the International Space Station
Feel the (orbital) burn.
Comet Watch! Don’t Miss This Visitor From The Oort Cloud On Thursday
On October 24, look low in the eastern sky just before sunrise.
Earth Is Rapidly Heading Towards Solar Maximum — How Many Auroras Will There Be in 2025?
The peak of Solar Cycle 25 will be in July 2025.
Scientists Just Identified A Key Location On Mars Where Life Could Thrive
These pockets are little icy havens.
An Unusually Shaped Space Object Long Puzzled Astronomers — What It Turned Out to Be Was Truly Uncanny
Where there was one, there were actually two.
