Elizabeth Howell

Read the latest articles by Elizabeth Howell at Seeker

Getty Images: Science Photo Library - SCIEPRO

Space & Innovation

While harsh radiation and a "weightless" environment make International Space Station microbes mutate, there's no danger of them turning into superbugs resistant to antibiotics, a new study shows.

Superbugs in Space? New Study Gives Reassurance for Astronaut Health

Getty Images: Ron Miller/Stocktrek Images

Primitive life might exist on a large, rocky planet that is relatively nearby Earth, according to a team of scientists who presented their work at an astronomy conference last week.

Newly Found Planet Could Host Primitive Life, Study Suggest

Getty Images: Eugen Wais/EyeEm

Flying in space can be a bit like growing old, because without exercise and proper nutrition astronauts on weeks- or months-long missions would come back to Earth with difficulties staying balanced, with weaker bones and muscles, and with other health problems that are usually confined to seniors or those with disease.

Rodents in Space Will Show How Genes Are Affected by Microgravity

Getty Images

Astronomy

When the sun dies, it’s going to turn into crystal.

Our Sun Will Turn Into Crystal Before It Dies

NASA/SpaceX

NASA has confirmed that the first test flight of SpaceX’s human-rated Crew Dragon spacecraft won’t take place in January, announcing on Thursday that the launch would occur “no earlier than February.”

NASA Says SpaceX Crew Dragon Launch Will Occur in Feb. at the Earliest

Exploration

After making history by becoming the first nation to land on the far side of the moon, China’s new spacecraft transmitted haunting pictures back to Earth of this mysterious lunar landscape as its rover began to explore the surface.

Chinese Lunar Rover Sleeps After Rolling on Far Side of the Moon

NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

A special delivery of data from deep in the solar system arrived on Earth this week, as details begin trickling in about a little world known as MU69.

NASA's New Horizons Promises a Treasure Trove of Data on Ultima Thule

Far out in the solar system, just as Earth was ringing in the New Year, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft flew by a distant little world that looks a red snowman.

NASA's New Horizons Arrives at the Farthest World Ever Visited

NASA

Just a few days after Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques launched to the International Space Station on Dec. 3, the first-time space flyer faced a considerable challenge: learning how his perception is altered by spaceflight.

Astronauts Are Using Virtual Reality to Study Perception in Space

NASA has an asteroid hunter ready to snag precious cargo from the surface of a space rock.

Here's How NASA Will Collect Asteroid Samples to Bring to Earth

ESO/M. Kornmesser

Planets

A team of astronomers has found strong indications of a cold super-Earth orbiting Barnard’s Star, the second-closest star system to our sun.

A Frozen Super-Earth Has Been Found in a Neighboring Star System

NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of space seismology on Mars.

Superbugs in Space? New Study Gives Reassurance for Astronaut Health

A team analyzing bacteria on the ISS discovered different genes in space bacteria than similar bacteria on Earth.

Newly Found Planet Could Host Primitive Life, Study Suggest

It's an exciting find given the planet is only six light-years away from Earth, making it one of closest worlds outside of our solar system.

Rodents in Space Will Show How Genes Are Affected by Microgravity

Space is tough on an astronaut's bones, muscles, blood flow and much more.

Our Sun Will Turn Into Crystal Before It Dies

A new astronomical study is the first to find direct evidence of aging white dwarf stars solidifying into crystals.

NASA Says SpaceX Crew Dragon Launch Will Occur in Feb. at the Earliest

The space agency confirmed the delay after Elon Musk tweeted that it was "about a month away."

Chinese Lunar Rover Sleeps After Rolling on Far Side of the Moon

China is the first to successfully land an explorer on the side of the moon that never faces Earth.

NASA's New Horizons Promises a Treasure Trove of Data on Ultima Thule

It will take 20 months to receive all of the spacecraft's data on the distant world, which could offer insights into the formation of our solar system.

NASA's New Horizons Arrives at the Farthest World Ever Visited

The spacecraft flew by a distant little world dubbed “Ultima Thule” that looks like a red snowman.

Astronauts Are Using Virtual Reality to Study Perception in Space

Vection is a VR experience that's helping scientists learn more about how astronauts estimate the size and motion of objects in space.

Here's How NASA Will Collect Asteroid Samples to Bring to Earth

The OSIRIS-Rex mission is preparing to retrieve material from the asteroid Bennu using a special robotic arm.

A Frozen Super-Earth Has Been Found in a Neighboring Star System

The discovery provides greater evidence for rocky worlds in our galaxy.

NASA's Mars InSight Lander Will Soon Begin Studying Marsquakes

The spacecraft is set to bring seismic science back to the Red Planet when it arrives this month.