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Science

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

Space exploration

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

5 minutes

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essay

Space 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
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essay

Space 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
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essay

Space exploration

The final ethical frontier

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

Philip Ball

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essay

Astronomy

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
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essay

Space 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

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video

Space exploration

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

5 minutes

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video

Space exploration

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

5 minutes

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video

Space exploration

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

5 minutes

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essay

Space 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

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video

Space exploration

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

31 minutes

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essay

Space 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

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Astronomy

Thriving on Mars

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

Simon Morden

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essay

Space 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

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video

Physics

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

6 minutes

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essay

Cosmology

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

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video

Astronomy

From zero to 5,000 – music and visuals express 30 years of exoplanet discoveries

1 minute

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essay

Space exploration

Decolonising the cosmos

Instead of treating Mars and the Moon as sites of conquest and settlement, we need a radical new ethics of space exploration

Ramin Skibba

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essay

Cosmology

The search for alien tech

There’s a new plan to find extraterrestrial civilisations by the way they live. But if we can see them, can they see us?

Corey S Powell

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video

Physics

How would a piano sound on Mars? Embark on an interplanetary sonic journey

20 minutes

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essay

Space exploration

Riches in space

Asteroids could pay for so much space exploration. We just need to mine those valuable resources – and duck a direct hit

Martin Elvis

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Astronomy

Contact

An alien-made artefact or just interstellar debris? What ʻOumuamua says about how science works when data is scarce

Matthew Bothwell

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Animals and humans

Thanks for all the fish

The search for dolphin intelligence and the quest for alien life have moved in historical lockstep. What does the future hold?

Thomas Moynihan

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video

Space exploration

Spacewalks above, pandemic below – how one ISS crew member experienced 2020

15 minutes