Bon Voyage and Farewell, Atlantis

Staff / Truthdig May 14, 2010 The space shuttle Atlantis is prepped and ready to launch into space one last time, the first of three final flights for each of NASA’s soon-to-be-retired shuttles. She will carry with her six veteran astronauts, a Russian module bound for the International Space Station and a heap of unanswered questions about the future of the manned space program. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Why Stephen Hawking Is Worried About Aliens

Staff / Truthdig Apr 26, 2010 The famed physicist is certain that there is alien life, but he's not convinced we would get Alf: "If aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn’t turn out very well for the Native Americans." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

First Stunning Images From NASA’s Solar Observatory

Staff / Truthdig Apr 22, 2010 Nobody told NASA scientists they weren't supposed to look at the sun, so they launched a spacecraft at our nearest star to capture images with 10 times the resolution of HD television. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Virgin’s Spaceship Survives Test Flight

Staff / Truthdig Mar 23, 2010 After collecting roughly $45 million from aspirational space tourists, Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic is just in the testing phase. That's OK. At $200,000 a ticket, you don't want to skimp on safety. So how much to check a bag? Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Scientists Find Huge Quantities of Water Ice on the Moon

Staff / Truthdig Mar 2, 2010 There may be more than 600 million metric tons of water ice sitting in craters at the moon's north pole. The discovery, made by an Indian spacecraft, could mean big things for human colonization of our nearest neighbor. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

NASA Needs More Moonage Daydreamers

Staff / Truthdig Feb 9, 2010 A lot of people have said in recent weeks that the space agency simply lacks the chutzpah that put a man on a moon. Figure out global warming? Boring, they say. The Onion has come up with a satirical solution that just might blow your minds: Project Spaceman, the David Bowie-inspired Glam Space Program. (continued) Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Obama Shifts Gears on Moon Plans

Staff / Truthdig Feb 1, 2010 As if there wasn't enough to attend to on Earth at the moment, President Barack Obama also has to focus on US plans in space As members of his administration announced Sunday (continued). Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Virgin Galactic Gears Up for Space Flights

Staff / Truthdig Dec 8, 2009 As if his plan for global domination weren't enough, Virgin Group honcho Richard Branson is taking to space with his new commercial spacecraft, SpaceShipTwo, which will grant six paying customers at a time the experience of weightlessness for six minutes. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

And on the Eighth Day, God Created Aliens

Staff / Truthdig Nov 11, 2009 The Vatican used to burn people for talking about aliens. Now it holds conferences on the subject. After presiding over such an affair, the director of the Vatican Observatory explained "we cannot put limits on God's creative freedom." (continued) Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

One Step Closer to Mars

Staff / Truthdig Oct 29, 2009 George W. Bush’s dream of Americans on Mars got a little bit closer to reality Wednesday as NASA successfully launched its prototype Ares I-X rocket. A version of the new rocket is planned to launch Orion, NASA's replacement craft for the aging space shuttle, as America’s preferred method of getting off-planet. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Moon Landing [A Cartoon From United Arab Emirates]

Paresh Nath, The Khaleej Times, UAE Jul 22, 2009 Dig deeper

Astronauts and Obama Have Different Worlds in Mind

Staff / Truthdig Jul 21, 2009 The crew of Apollo 11, the NASA mission that 40 years ago Monday first put a man on the moon, marked the occasion with President Obama at the White House. The president hailed their accomplishments as a boon to the home planet. But astronauts of the Apollo series aren't satisfied with such earthbound praise -- they want a national commitment to send Americans to Mars. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )