Space

Science

Short Answers To Big Questions: Exploring Atoms In Space

6:47pm August 09, 2016

by Adam Frank

You've got science questions — we've got answers! Or our astrophysicist, Adam Frank, does. So ask your big questions, and we'll give you short answers. Today he explores atoms in space.

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Sixteen companies are competing to land robots on the moon before the end of next year.

Florida Company Gets One Bureaucratic Step Closer To Landing On The Moon

10:31pm August 04, 2016

by Rae Ellen Bichell

A Florida company has been given the green light to send a robot off the planet, aiming for the moon. It's a milestone in the effort to privatize space exploration.

The Mystery Of The Fireball That Lit Up The Western Sky

3:59pm July 28, 2016

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

A mysterious fireball seen in the sky over the American West on Wednesday night turned out to be Chinese rocket falling through the atmosphere.

The re-entry of a Chinese rocket stage lit up the sky over Utah, Nevada and California on Wednesday night.

Science

Western U.S. Saw An Amazing Light Show Last Night, Courtesy Of China

12:55pm July 28, 2016

by Bill Chappell

The bright object — part of a Chinese rocket — appeared in skies over the western U.S. around 9:30 p.m. Pacific Time, sparking a flurry of reports and a number of striking videos.

How Jupiter's Red Spot Makes Things High Above It Hot, Hot, Hot

4:07pm July 27, 2016

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Think summer's hot on Earth? Space physicists tracking weather on Jupiter say the roar of the raging storm we call the Great Red Spot heats the outer atmosphere above it by more than 1,000 degrees F.

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Neil deGrasse Tyson, the famous astrophysicist, is also a great oenophile and lover of food.

Science
Arts

Astrophysicist, Wine Lover, Foodie: The Neil deGrasse Tyson You Didn't Know

7:00am July 22, 2016

by Beth Lebwohl

He's the man with a seemingly endless stream of science fun facts at his command. He's also a great gourmet. We talk to the famed scientist about how his two great passions collide in the kitchen.

Members of the New Horizons team celebrated last year with a blown up image of the postage stamp when the probe made its closest approach to Pluto.

Spacefaring Stamp Sets World Record

7:59pm July 18, 2016

by Jason Slotkin

The "Pluto: Not Yet Explored" stamp has traveled farther than any other stamp, hitching a ride on the New Horizons space probe, which accomplished its closest flyby of the dwarf planet last summer.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 and Dragon spacecraft lift off on the CRS-9 mission to bring a new docking adapter and other cargo to the International Space Station.

SpaceX Rocket Sends A New Door To Space Station

12:55pm July 18, 2016

by Bill Chappell

A new standardized docking port is bound for the International Space Station, in a mission that caused a sonic boom over Central Florida early Monday morning.

An illustration of NASA's Juno mission to Jupiter.

NASA's Jupiter Probe Sends First Pics Of Planet From Orbit

4:11pm July 13, 2016

by Joe Palca

The color image shows Jupiter's giant red spot and three of its moons: Io, Europa and Ganymede.

Science

NASA's Juno Probe Enters Jupiter's Orbit

4:30pm July 05, 2016

NPR's Robert Siegel talks to Fran Bagenal, a member of the science team on NASA's historic Juno mission to Jupiter.