LATEST NEWS
Controversy erupts over mock lunar lander contest
23:03 30 October 2009 | 21 comments
A rival team is crying foul after a competitor's mock lunar lander was allowed to make an extra flight in a $1 million competition
Voices of long-dead stars haunt the galaxy
IN BRIEF: 14:35 30 October 2009 | 9 comments
Mysterious radio blips from apparently empty regions of space may be traces of an army of stellar corpses
Universe's quantum 'speed bumps' no obstacle for light
19:20 28 October 2009 | 30 comments
The prospect that light is slowed by quantum-scale graininess in space-time seems to be fading, thanks to observations by NASA's Fermi telescope
Multiplying universes: How many is the multiverse?
THIS WEEK: 18:00 28 October 2009 | 96 comments
Imagine 10 to the power of 10 to the power of 10 million universes – oh, sorry, quantum physics says you can't
Space shuttle successor completes crucial flight test
15:43 28 October 2009 | 28 comments
NASA has successfully launched a test version of the Ares I rocket it is developing to replace the space shuttle
Images of space transformed by chips
GALLERY: 11:55 28 October 2009
Long before digital cameras hit the shops, their technology was used in astronomy. A gallery of images shows how CCDs showed us space as never before
Static electricity worry halts NASA rocket test flight
17:19 27 October 2009 | 19 comments
The threat of 'triboelectrification' forces NASA to postpone the first scheduled launch of the Ares I-X, a prototype of the rocket intended to replace the space shuttle
Space debris threat to future launches
16:49 27 October 2009 | 21 comments
Rocketing volumes of space debris are going to add significantly to the complexity of future space flights
Monster supernovae may explain galaxy's mystery haze
IN BRIEF: 11:46 27 October 2009 | 24 comments
The "WMAP haze" – a mysterious microwave glow at the Milky Way's centre – may be explained by amplified cosmic rays from large supernovae
Asteroid blast reveals holes in Earth's defences
22:54 26 October 2009 | 124 comments
An explosion over Indonesia, equivalent to a 50-kiloton nuclear bomb, was not spotted before impact
Contenders square up in battle of the lunar landers
13:15 26 October 2009 | 16 comments
Rocket teams will compete this week in back-to-back trials for $1.65 million in a long-running NASA challenge
Seven questions that keep physicists up at night
23:58 23 October 2009 | 179 comments
From the nature of matter to that of reality itself, physicists are pondering the big questions at a 10-day physics festival in Canada
White House panel sees little point to new NASA rocket
00:45 23 October 2009 | 60 comments
The Ares I rocket meant to replace the space shuttle will not be ready until two years after the space station is scheduled to be abandoned, says a blue-ribbon panel
Found: first 'skylight' on the moon
23:54 22 October 2009 | 141 comments
A hole in the lunar surface has been found that could lead to a vast underground tunnel – it could one day provide shelter for human settlers
Laser microscope aims to uncover alien life
FEATURE: 18:06 22 October 2009 | 11 comments
A rugged holographic microscope could be transported to an alien world like Europa to look for life in its icy underground seas
Jeff Greason: NASA must invest in human space flight
INTERVIEW: 16:39 22 October 2009 | 38 comments
The US human space programme is in trouble: the space industry mogul has some ideas for how to fix it
What's the point of a fake 500-day Mars mission?
14:47 22 October 2009 | 29 comments
Volunteers are being asked to play astronauts on a simulated Mars mission – but it's not the only way to learn how long-haul spacefarers will cope
Sun's rain could explain why corona heat is insane
00:01 22 October 2009 | 11 comments
Simulations of rain on the sun hint at the process that could be heating the corona to much higher temperatures than would be expected
Rethinking relativity: Is time out of joint?
THIS WEEK: 18:00 21 October 2009 | 107 comments
An analysis of ancient light from distant galaxies suggests that gravity once distorted time more than space. That's not the way Einstein saw things
Where will NASA send its astronauts next?
GALLERY: 18:16 20 October 2009
A White House-appointed panel has rated five visions of the future of US human space flight. New Scientist added up the numbers
Why the universe may be teeming with aliens
Hunting for a planet that can support life? There's more to it than looking for Earth's distant twin, says David Shiga
'Interplanetary internet' passes first test
Images were sent between a NASA probe and Earth in the first test of an internet-like data transmission system for space
SPECIAL FEATURE
The most extreme life-forms in the universe
These creatures set records for surviving in the most inhospitable environments on Earth - their existence bodes well for finding extraterrestrial life
SPECIAL FEATURE
Moving the Earth: a planetary survival guide
The Sun is slowly heating up, and in a billion years the oceans will begin to evaporate - moving the Earth is our only hope for survival
