Space and astronomy
Everything we have published on Space and astronomy, newest first. Background, research and plain explanation — not only the headline of the day.
Whose conservation, whose development? The Maasai struggle over land in northern Tanzania
Conservation has become a tool for “green grabbing”: The taking of community land in the name of environmental protection while opening space for tourism, hunting, and investment interests.
Taxi drivers rarely die of Alzheimer’s – how complex mental maps and spatial reasoning protect your brain
Working with and living in spatially complex environments may help delay cognitive decline, though more research is needed.
SpaceX aims to use rockets to quickly transport cargo across the Earth and into orbit – moves that would expand the global cargo system
Point-to-point rocket delivery could cut down on transportation times. But engineers will need to figure out how to integrate rockets into current transportation systems.
Spaceflight could change how astronauts swallow, eat and drink in subtle ways
A speech-language pathologist on how complex swallowing is – and how small changes from gravity can complicate the process.
Sensing the Poles’ Hidden Heat
New animations from NASA’s PREFIRE mission reveal two years of seasonal temperature swings at the Arctic and Antarctic.
Philadelphia’s failing air quality hits hardest in neighborhoods near industry and highways, where asthma rates soar
Greater Philadelphia earned failing air quality grades. A new study finds higher asthma rates near industry and major roads, especially where green space is scarce.
NASA’s SkyFall Helicopters at Work (Artist’s Concept)
Description This artist’s concept depicts NASA’s three SkyFall Mars helicopters collecting data while flying over the surface of the Red Planet. The green frequency waves emanating from the helicopter
NASA’s Lunar Development and Test Facility Prepares Artemis Hardware for Moon
Before astronauts return to the Moon’s surface through NASA’s Artemis program, the hardware they depend on must first prove it can survive the unforgiving lunar environment. At NASA’s Johnso
Legal access in a shrinking space: Building ecosystems to end statelessness
Durable ecosystems of support are not a supplement to legal strategy; they are the strategy, from community to clinic to court and back again.
Educators & Teens Get Hands-On With TEMPO Data to Help Investigate Local Air Quality
The NASA Science Activation Program’s Cosmic Storytelling with NASA Data (CosmicDS) project, led by Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, works to bring authentic NASA data into the hands of
2026 IGARSS Hyperwall Schedule
IGARSS 2026 Join NASA in the Exhibit Hall (Booth #100) for Hyperwall Storytelling by NASA experts. Full Hyperwall Agenda below. MONDAY, AUGUST 10 3:00 PM Technology Enabling the Future of Earth Scienc