Science

Have they been here?

When we look for extraterrestrials, we often peer into the depths of space. But alien life might be closer than you think

Ravi Kopparapu & Jacob Haqq Misra

How the Moon became a place

For most of history, the Moon was regarded as a mysterious and powerful object. Then scientists made it into a destination

Danny Robb

The rarely told story of the fruit flies, primates and canines that preceded us in space

12 minutes

The rhythms of a star system inspire a pianist’s transfixing performance

5 minutes

The abyss at the edge of human understanding – a voyage into a black hole

4 minutes

Alien life is no joke

Not long ago the search for extraterrestrials was considered laughable nonsense. Today, it’s serious and scientific

Adam Frank

The history of astronomy is a history of conjuring intelligent life where it isn’t

34 minutes

Mind-bending speed is the only way to reach the stars – here are three ways to do it

5 minutes

Capturing the cosmos

When self-replicating craft bring life to the far Universe, a religious cult, not science, is likely to be the driving force

Jay Olson

The skyhook solution

Space junk surrounds Earth, posing a dangerous threat. But there is a way to turn the debris into opportunity

Angelos Alfatzis

The final ethical frontier

Earthbound exploration was plagued with colonialism, exploitation and extraction. Can we hope to make space any different?

Philip Ball

Panspermia

It’s possible that frozen worlds with subterranean oceans are incubators of organic life. But then how did life get here?

Balazs Bradak

Uncertain contact

The detection of alien life won’t be obvious. It’ll be partial and inconclusive: a perfect task for the scientific method

Jaime Green

Would children born beyond Earth ever be able to return to humanity’s home planet?

5 minutes

In the search for life, might alien ocean worlds be a better bet than Earth-like planets?

5 minutes

What are you really seeing when you see magnificent images of space?

5 minutes

Cosmic vision

By showing us a new cosmos, the discoveries of the James Webb Space Telescope will ripple through our moral universe

Claire Isabel Webb

Burning ice, metal clouds, gemstone rain – tour the strangest known exoplanets

31 minutes

There’s no planet B

The scientific evidence is clear: the only celestial body that can support us is the one we evolved with. Here’s why

Arwen E Nicholson & Raphaëlle D Haywood

Thriving on Mars

Dust storms, long distances and freezing temperatures make living on Mars magnificently challenging. How will we do it?

Simon Morden

Telescopes on the Moon

Our future in space relies on settling the Moon and using it as a base to probe the deepest questions in the cosmos

Joseph Silk

An interstellar voyage explores the ‘paradox’ of twins separated by light years

6 minutes

Dark horses in the cosmos

Could primordial black holes from the beginning of time explain ‘dark matter’, the mysterious missing mass in the Universe?

Briley Lewis