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Space exploration

Essays and videos exploring physics, evolution, cosmology and other frontiers in science

Astronomy Biology Biotechnology Chemistry Complexity Computing and artificial intelligence Cosmology Deep time Earth science and climate Ecology and environmental sciences Engineering Evolution Genetics History of science Human evolution Human reproduction Illness and disease Mathematics Medicine Oceans and water Palaeontology Physics Quantum theory Space exploration

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Photo of an ocean sunset seen through a round window with a warm sepia tone across the sky and water.

essayLanguage and linguistics

The grammar of a god-ocean

To truly explore alien languages, linguists must open themselves to the maximum conceivable degree of cosmic otherness

Eli K P William

A man looking up from the driver’s seat of a yellow vehicle with an open window and side mirror visible.

essayPhilosophy of language

Extraterrestrial tongues

Imagining how aliens might communicate prepares us for first contact and illuminates the nature of our own languages

Nikhil Mahant

Enhanced image of Ceres’ surface showing a bright crater and stars in space.

essaySpace exploration

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

Black-and-white photo of the Moon’s surface with craters, with a distant Earth visible on the horizon in space.

essaySpace exploration

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

A chimpanzee in a space suit inside a capsule with human hands assisting, suggesting space exploration preparation.

videoSpace exploration

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

12 minutes

A man playing a piano in a dark room with animated planets and stars floating around him, illuminated by soft light.

videoPhysics

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

5 minutes

Artistic depiction of a black hole with light bending around its event horizon. A bright swirl of light contrasts against the dark background, illustrating the gravitational pull and bending of light.

videoPhysics

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

4 minutes

An image shows the earth horizon at night seen from space. The lights of a city glow beneath the vast starry night of space

essayAstronomy

Alien life is no joke

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

Adam Frank

Futuristic illustration of two astronauts in red spacesuits above a moon-like surface. One astronaut points towards an illuminated city inside a crater.

videoAstronomy

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

34 minutes

The astronaut Ed Dwight in an orange jumpsuit smiles while holding a white helmet against a clear blue sky background.

videoBiography and memoir

Passed over as the first Black astronaut, Ed Dwight carved out an impressive second act

13 minutes

A circular space station with solar panels and lights orbiting above a planetary surface.

videoSpace exploration

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

5 minutes

Spacecraft approaching a large, rocky asteroid in the dark expanse of outer space, with a distant star shining in the background.

essaySpace exploration

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 International Space Station is seen at an angle through a window against the darkness of space

essaySpace exploration

The skyhook solution

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

Angelos Alfatzis

Human figures beneath a glass dome watch the launch of a rocket from the surface of Mars

essaySpace exploration

The final ethical frontier

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

Philip Ball

Dark, craggy surface of a moon or planet with bright geysers or plumes of light erupting into space from its horizon, against a dark background.

essayAstronomy

Panspermia

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

Balazs Bradak

Silhouetted figures stand beside a car looking up at a starry night sky

essaySpace exploration

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

Illustration of a foetus inside a red orb, floating in space with a small satellite nearby against a starry galaxy background.

videoSpace exploration

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

5 minutes

A blue planet with visible ice formations and rings, resembling a view of an icy gas giant from space.

videoSpace exploration

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

5 minutes

A vibrant image of the Ring Nebula in narrowband, featuring a central blue core surrounded by green, yellow and red rings against a dark background.

videoSpace exploration

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

5 minutes

Deep space showing numerous galaxies, stars, and cosmic phenomena in varying colours, taken by the James Webb Space Telescope.

essaySpace exploration

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

Image of Saturn’s rings and its largest moon, Titan, with cloud cover, as captured from space.

videoSpace exploration

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

31 minutes

People in protective suits walk through a dense, tropical forest with tall trees and lush greenery.

essaySpace exploration

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

A Martian landscape with a rover, rocky terrain, and distant mountains, with the foreground featuring rover equipment under a blue and yellow sky.

essayAstronomy

Thriving on Mars

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

Simon Morden

Illustration of Earth, the Moon with structures, a bridge between them, and a large satellite dish on the Moon.

essaySpace exploration

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