Articles

Imagine growing up with a single, unwavering dream: to live in space. Decades later, after pushing through every obstacle, you finally achieve it: a one‑way ticket to become one of the first colonists on a base carved into a Martian crater. But now you’re faced with a new reality as you need to share a cramped sleeping pod with the crew member who annoys you constantly. It’s the central paradox of life in space: you’re pressed close to people you never chose, yet impossibly d

If you’ve followed my writing over the years, you’ll know that I tend to delve into the grand questions on space exploration, such as the potential of finding life on the icy moons of Jupiter or Saturn or the arrival of new players into this field, such as China. But with an issue in my left foot that now needs surgery, I found myself wondering how something as ordinary as a shoe would evolve once you leave Earth altogether. On the International Space Station (ISS), the conce

As I’m spending time in Hong Kong this month, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to finally share a project I had intended to cover a while back but never got around to. It is a cool story: Hong Kong, a city not necessarily associated with planetary science, is preparing to launch its first lunar orbiter, Yueshan, in 2028 to continuously monitor meteoroid impacts on the Moon, an essential step when considering plans for a permanent lunar research station. In effe

For decades, our exploration of other worlds has been dominated by images. We picture distant planetary objects through panoramas, mosaics, and false-colour maps; an achievement that I cover in great detail in my second book here . However, there is another way to experience some of these worlds: by listening to them. Although several planets and moons possess atmospheres dense enough to transmit sound, only a small number of space missions have carried microphones. The most

In what feels like a rapid succession of blows, after last month’s post questioning Titan’s status as an ocean world, a new study now suggests that Europa lacks the internal energy required to remain geologically active, with implications for other ocean worlds. For decades, Europa has occupied one of the most prominent places in the scientific imagination. Many have wondered whether the moon has a geologically active seafloor hosting hydrothermal vents that, on Earth, sust

For anyone who has known me over the years, you’ll know I’ve spent a large amount of time talking about the five moons in our Solar System that harbour subsurface oceans of liquid water: Europa, Enceladus, Callisto, Ganymede, and Titan. I explored this topic in depth in my first book, Exploring the Ocean Worlds of Our Solar System ( now in its second edition ), where I examined every line of evidence for these remarkable oceans. In the process, I had the privilege of speakin

I began the year predicting it would be the year of Starship (see my January post ). It turned out not to be. A string of early-year setbacks slowed the program’s momentum, and SpaceX's behemoth took longer than expected to find its stride. Although Starship notched two successful test flights in August and October, it has yet to launch a commercial payload into orbit. Enter New Glenn, another heavy-lift, reusable, launch system, this one from Blue Origin. On November 13, it

What if I told you that the past 65 years have been a continuous replay of 1492? Through the robotic exploration of our Solar System, we've turned what were specks of light in the night sky into tangible new worlds: Mars, Ceres, Pluto, etc. As such, our Solar System teems with targets that beg investigation. The Moon's South Pole holds reserves of permanent water ice, while Venus, shrouded in its runaway greenhouse atmosphere, could reveal further insights about the processes

When a meteorite slammed into what is now western Finland some 77 million years ago, it left behind more than just a scar. The Lappajärvi crater, a 23-kilometre-wide basin, became a geological time capsule, and, as it turns out, a biological one too. We often think of impact events as extinction-level catastrophes, such as what happened with the extinction of all non-avian dinosaurs 66 million years ago. And they certainly can be. But they also create something else as an im

It is hard to believe that 3I/ATLAS, the third confirmed interstellar object to enter our solar system, was only discovered two months...

For centuries, science has gradually eroded the notion of our exceptionalism—from Darwin’s revelations about our biological kinship with...

The Trifid and Lagoon nebulae. The first released image from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. Credit:NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory...

The current landscape of space exploration is incredibly dynamic, with numerous developments taking place. I could have covered various...

Ever since I learned about the concept of Planet 9 proposed by Mike Brown, an astronomer at the California Institute of Technology, and...

When it comes to deep space exploration, the United States has been reigning supreme. From the Apollo missions that took us to the Moon...

We live in extraordinary times. Not a month goes by without a new terrestrial exoplanet getting its shiny entry in the NASA Exoplanet...

In last month's post, I began the year with an optimistic outlook for human spaceflight. This month, I plan to bring a dose of realism...

Over the past few years, as I've been jotting down my thoughts on policy events, noteworthy spacecraft launches, and recent discoveries...

Mars has been keeping me busy! This is the fourth article I have written on the red planet in twelve months and who knows how many I will...

And we're off! Watching the Falcon Heavy launcher effortlessly lift the 6-ton Europa Clipper spacecraft into the sky on the 14th of...

My latest book on ocean worlds is barely off the press and already a new study has surfaced shedding light on one of the ocean world...

Finally, after over a year of hard work, the second edition of my first book is out! I’m thrilled about this new edition—essentially a...

Let me put this out in front: Carl Sagan is a hero of mine. How could he not be? He was a scientific communicator par excellence. His...

In October of last year, I shared my insights on the significance of sample return missions, with a particular emphasis on the OSIRIS-REx...

At some junctures in life, one often reevaluates their deeply ingrained beliefs. This introspection might involve spiritual reflection,...

In this month's post, we review one of the most exciting discoveries made in our Solar System: the detection of methane gas on Mars. This...

Within the field of astrobiology, Earth-based analogues of habitable environments found in space (e.g., early Mars) can provide deep...

Building on the November post about the trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) and the remarkable observations made by the James Webb Space...

Planetary exploration missions are journeys of epic endurance, stretching across many years and, more often than not, decades. Even after...

The year 2023 has been exceptional in many regards, from the avalanche of JWST scientific papers covering many fields of astronomy to the...

Luck had it that as soon as I had decided to write an article for my October post on the importance of sample return missions on the back...

When the James Web Space Telescope (JWST) was launched almost two years ago now—time flies—one of the key observations I was looking...

After travelling for over 160 million kilometres in space, the OSIRIS-Rex spacecraft whizzed by Earth on the 24th of September to release...

Having written about the ups and downs of India’s past Chandrayaan missions in my second book – Imaging Our Solar System – it was with...

Interstellar space, this vast region of space that lies between stars, is a very empty place with an average density of only about one...

Is there anybody out there? The question of whether or not there is another life or even intelligent life in the universe is one of the...

I have always been fascinated by the Kuiper Belt and the worlds that lay beyond it. The Kuiper Belt, home to Pluto and Arrokoth, is...

A few weeks ago, a booming sound rumbled throughout the lush jungles of French Guiana as Ariane V took off for its penultimate launch,...

When Voyager 2 whizzed past Uranus in January 1986, it encountered a system tilted by 97.7 degrees, as if lying on its side. Such a...

In May last year, I shared with you (here) my initial thoughts on the 782-page Planetary Decadal Survey published by the US National...

Last week, I gave a talk at a local astronomy club on the topic of my latest book: the evolution of space mission cameras and instruments...

Remarkable, don’t you think, that we have made it through another year in the amazing story of humanity, so terrific, so tremendous, but...

Just a few weeks ago, on the 16th of November to be precise, I woke up at 5h45 in the morning (UK time) and went to my living room in my...

It seems that not a month goes by without some fantastic images being returned from an imaging instrument somewhere in space. Of all the...

How lucky we are to live during the era of the James Webb Space Telescope! Webb has merely begun its decades-long mission (hopefully, it...

When considering life in outer space, we have been bathed – dare I say conditioned - for over a century now with stories that mainly...

I was recently commissioned to write an article on the European space tech industry. Through my research into this topic, I discovered a...

As a person who is passionate about space as well as prehistory, and having recently moved near Avebury Stone Circle, I had to experience...

As you read these lines, something exciting is happening; and it might change our perception of life in our Universe - no less! Indeed,...

So, here it is finally! The day planetary science nerds like yours truly have been waiting for so long occurred on the 19th of April. On...