Even before the official dawn of the Space Age – that is, before the launch of the Sputnik and Explorer spacecraft in 1957-1958 – many investigators around the world were engaged in space physics research. Using sounding ...

Why did we go to the Moon? Why does the Vatican support an astronomical observatory? These questions mask a deeper question: why do individuals choose to spend their lives in pursuit of pure knowledge? The motivation ...

The Cassini mission’s findings have revolutionized our understanding of Saturn, its complex rings, the amazing assortment of moons and the planet’s dynamic magnetic environment. Cassini’s Grand Finale begins in April ...

We explore because exploration has been written in the human heart. The exploration of space is mankind’s greatest adventure. Today, given the social and environmental needs of the world, how can the existence of space ...

Steve Squyres is the face and voice of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover mission. Squyres dreamed up the mission in 1987, saw it through from conception in 1995 to a successful landing in 2004, and serves as the principal ...

The twin Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft are exploring where nothing from Earth has flown before. Although the primary mission was completed in 1989, these spacecraft are expected to obtain useful interplanetary, and possibly ...