Nike Vaporflys are one type of tech that’s garnered controversy.
Hiroto Sekiguchi/The Yomiuri Shimbun via AP Images
When tech makes an athlete perform beyond their natural ability, you might call that “technological doping”. How can we make it fair for everyone?
Cole Davis (Channing Tatum) and Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson) in Fly Me to the Moon.
Sony Pictures
You could argue that this film itself is something of a promotional vehicle for Nasa at a time when such publicly funded projects are viewed with scepticism.
An artist’s illustration of what a terraformed Martian landscape might look like.
Mark Stevenson/Stocktrek Images via Getty Images
Liquid water, breathable air and a sustainable food supply are three of the essentials Mars would need for people to live comfortably there.
NASA
The spacecraft’s return has been delayed while experts study helium leaks and thruster problems.
Artist’s impression of a white dwarf star orbiting a pulsar and producing a gravitational time delay.
Carl Knox / Swinburne / OzGrav
Neutron stars contain some of the universe’s most exotic states of matter – but there’s no easy way to peek inside.
Visualisation of the Shackleton crater at the Moon’s south pole.
Nasa Scientific Visualization Studio
China wants to build a lunar base with international partners, just as the US does.
Support for science has traditionally been bipartisan, but fights over spending have affected research funding.
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
Research funding is down in recent years despite promises made with the CHIPS and Science Act.
The Orion capsule from NASA’s Artemis I mission splashes down.
NASA via AP
Safely landing a spacecraft that’s falling from the sky very quickly is easier said than done.
NASA/Liam Yanulis
There’s intense competition between the US and China to establish bases on the Moon.
The Hubble Space Telescope is nearing its 35th birthday.
NASA via AP
Hubble’s technical issues continue. But through some clever engineering, the telescope can continue operations with just 1 gyroscope.
Collecting the OSIRIS-REx sample return capsule.
NASA/Keegan Barber
Scientists don’t often have the time to get all their equipment set up to study incoming meteors from space. Instead, they can study capsules from space missions as ‘artificial meteors.’
An artist’s depiction of the heliosphere, the Sun’s region of influence in space. Little is known of the actual shape of the heliosphere.
NASA
An interstellar probe could help scientists answer fundamental questions about how the Sun influences Earth, space and other planets in the solar system.
Nasa/Swift/Cruz deWilde
Analysis of two major cosmic blasts deepens the mystery of where the universe’s ‘heavy’ elements come from.
A lunar base on the Moon would include solar panels for power generation, and equipment for keeping astronauts alive on the surface.
ESA - P. Carril
The best spots on the Moon for lunar bases are the same spots where scientists want to build telescopes − can these two interests coexist?
“Cosmic cliffs” in the Carina nebula, captured by the James Webb Space Telescope.
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI
You have the US space program to thank for some of the technology in your phone and laptop.
NASA
Solar storms can play havoc with electrical grids, satellites and railway lines.
Keith J Fink / Shutterstock
Starliner is only the second vehicle to launch astronauts from US soil since the retirement of the shuttle in 2011.
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on approach to the International Space Station during an uncrewed test in 2022.
Bob Hines/NASA
The Starliner launched June 5 after several delays, making it the first commercial crew craft that’s not SpaceX’s Dragon to lift off.
Nasa/JPL-Caltech
New ideas will be key to making the mission happen after a report criticised its timescale and cost.
The equipment planned to help bring samples back from Mars.
NASA/JPL
It’s not easy to collect rocks on a budget when the rocks are 140 million miles away.