Space Exploration Technologies
What’s the Most Effective Way to Explore our Nearest Stars?
It was 1903 that the Wright brothers made the first successful self-propelled flight. Launching themselves to history, they set the…
NASA’s Next Solar Sail is About to Go to Space
Everyone knows that solar energy is free and almost limitless here on Earth. The same is true for spacecraft operating…
What a Swarm of Probes Can Teach Us About Proxima Centauri B
You've likely heard of the Breakthrough Starshot (BTS) initiative. BTS aims to send tiny gram-scale, light sail picospacecraft to our…
What Could We Build With Lunar Regolith?
It has often been likened to talcum powder. The ultra fine lunar surface material known as the regolith is crushed…
Why is it so hard to drill off Earth?
Humans have been digging underground for millennia - on the Earth. It's where we extract some of our most valuable…
NASA is Working on Zero-Boil Off Tanks for Space Exploration
No matter what mode of transportation you take for a long trip, at some point, you'll have to refuel. For…
NASA is Done Setting Fires Inside its Doomed Cargo Spacecraft
Fire on a spacecraft can be catastrophic. It can spread quickly in a confined space, and for trapped astronauts, there…
Exploring the Solar System with Swarms of Microprobes
It's satisfying to sit back and take stock of all the places in the Solar System that we've explored. The…
What Future Propulsion Technologies Should NASA Invest In?
Researchers consistently complain about how difficult it is to fund breakthrough research. Most funding agencies, especially governmental ones, think funding…
Solar Electric Propulsion Systems are Just What we Need for Efficient Trips to Mars
There are many different ways to get to Mars, but there are always tradeoffs. Chemical propulsion, proven the most popular,…