Space Is Not Just for Scientists

Public and Private Partnerships Built Our New Space Age—Which Should Include All Aspects of Human Endeavor

Launching objects into orbit has never been so affordable nor has space ever been so accessible. As a result, humanity’s expansion into the universe is accelerating—and with it, the opportunity to correct some of the errors of our earthbound development. New collaborative approaches—public and private, interdisciplinary, and more—will be imperative for humanity to survive and thrive beyond Earth.

In the last decade, the cost of launching objects into space has plummeted 20-fold and attracted a surge of interest and capital which, alongside new technologies, are enabling innovations in commercial satellites, space …

The Poetic Clarity of That ‘Pale Blue Dot’ | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

The Poetic Clarity of That ‘Pale Blue Dot’

Through Photography, Science Has Given Humanity a Sense of Itself

When the Voyager 1 space probe was launched in 1977, it was equipped with a camera to chronicle its travels through the cosmos. One of the images that astronomer Carl …

Who Should Be Our Alien Liaison?

If Extraterrestrials Make Contact, Science Fiction Has Some Advice for Selecting Humanity’s Spokesperson

On May 25, 2015, a radio telescope in Zelenchukskaya, Russia, picked up a signal coming from star HD164595 in the Hercules constellation. We don’t know much about this star located …

NASA’s Other Moonshot Helped Revolutionize Marketing

The Apollo Moon Landing Wasn't Supposed to Be Broadcast, Until a Team of Ex-Reporters Pushed for Live TV

On July 20, 1969, an estimated 600 million people watched and listened in real time as astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin touched down on the surface of the moon. …

What Do Raindrops Look Like in Outer Space?

How Arizona’s Monsoons Got Me Chasing Storms on Titan

Living in Tucson, Arizona—a Sonoran desert city surrounded by tall mountains—can make you obsess about rain. In 1993, I had just moved into a new office at the University of …