SpaceExplained
Why the aurora changes color
Green, red, blue and pink are clues to the gases above us — and to what happens when those gases receive energy from space.
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Strange skies, distant worlds, and the people who took us beyond Earth.
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SpaceExplained
The engineering behind the Apollo–Soyuz handshake
Before two crews could greet each other in orbit, engineers had to connect different docking systems, different cabin atmospheres and different ways of working.
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SpaceExplained
Apollo 8 and Earthrise: the journey behind the photograph
Why NASA sent three people around the Moon, how Earth rose into their window, and what it took to bring the crew and their photographs home.
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SpaceExplained
Astronaut Training: Why the Freezing Forest?
Winter camps, underwater rehearsals and cave expeditions prepare astronauts for different parts of a mission. The key is knowing what each exercise can teach—and what it cannot reproduce.
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SpaceExplained
Why NASA ended Cassini’s mission at Saturn
Cassini still worked when it entered Saturn’s atmosphere. Its planned ending protected the moons, used a dwindling resource, and opened a final window into the planet.
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SpaceExplained
Gemini 8: the first docking, the dangerous spin, and the engineering behind both
How Armstrong and Scott met Agena in orbit, why a faulty thruster made separation dangerous, and what the original flight report reveals about the rescue.
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SpaceExplained
How a tiny mirror flaw blurred Hubble—and how it was fixed
The mirror stayed in orbit. Corrective optics restored a sharp view. Here is what went wrong, how the repair worked, and how to read the before-and-after images.
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SpaceExplained
How ISSpresso Made Coffee Work in Space
An espresso machine, a sealed pouch and a capillary cup solved three different problems aboard the space station. Here is what each one did—and what the million-dollar comparison leaves out.
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SpaceExplained
Why did spaceships lose their wings?
Shuttle, Dragon and Orion solve different problems. Explore how mission design, heat shields, lift, launch escape and recovery determine the shape of a spacecraft.
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SpaceExplained
How the Sun Can Disrupt a Railway Telegraph
A Victorian train delay, a disputed date, and the invisible electrical chain that connects solar storms to signals on Earth.
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SpaceExplained
Voyager’s Golden Record: What We Sent and How It Works
A child’s greeting, music from Earth, and pictures stored in a groove. Explore the real record, its playback instructions, and the gap between decoding a signal and understanding a world.
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SpaceExplained
How Voyager 1 took the Pale Blue Dot photograph
A tiny Earth, a television camera in deep space, and sunlight scattered through the optics. Follow the physics behind the photograph with four explanatory diagrams.
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SpaceExplained
How do X-37B and Buran land without a pilot?
From orbital energy to the final flare: how sensors, guidance, ground teams and years of testing make an automatic runway return possible.
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Why NASA ended Cassini’s mission at Saturn
Cassini still worked when it entered Saturn’s atmosphere. Its planned ending protected the moons, used a dwindling resource, and opened a final window into the planet.
How ISSpresso Made Coffee Work in Space
An espresso machine, a sealed pouch and a capillary cup solved three different problems aboard the space station. Here is what each one did—and what the million-dollar comparison leaves out.
Apollo–Soyuz: When Cold War Rivals Opened the Hatch
The handshake in orbit depended on years of cooperation and hardware designed to meet in the middle.
Gemini 8: Docking, Then a Dangerous Spin
Follow a pioneering orbital docking and the emergency that cut the mission short.
The Tiny Mirror Flaw That Blurred Hubble
A telescope, an optical mistake and the mission to correct its view.
Voyager 1 and the Pale Blue Dot
Look back at Earth through Voyager's camera and consider what a tiny point of light can show.
X-37B and Buran: Returning Without a Pilot
Compare two spacecraft and the problem of bringing a winged vehicle back from orbit.
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Why Did Spaceships Lose Their Wings?
Explore why different spacecraft use different shapes to return to Earth.
Apollo 8 and the View Back at Earth
Follow the Apollo 8 crew to lunar orbit and the photograph that turned their attention home.
How the Sun Can Disrupt a Railway Telegraph
A railway message, a restless magnetic field and the engineering problem we now call space weather.
Why Are the Northern Lights Different Colors?
Trace an aurora's greens, reds and purples to collisions high in the atmosphere.
What's Inside This Hole on the Moon?
Explore the Marius Hills pit and the questions scientists ask about the space beneath the lunar surface.
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Finding a Moon Crater Without Seeing the Impact
See how comparing orbital images can reveal a change no one watched happen.
How Chandra Found Hidden Cosmic Sources
Discover what X-ray observations can uncover beyond the view of visible-light telescopes.
Astronaut Training: Why the Freezing Forest?
Winter camps, underwater rehearsals and cave expeditions prepare astronauts for different parts of a mission. The key is knowing what each exercise can teach—and what it cannot reproduce.
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Video links are not available yet.
Voyager’s Golden Record: What We Sent and How It Works
How Earth’s sounds and pictures fit into a phonograph groove, and how an unknown finder might decode them.
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Video links are not available yet.