Exploring bleeding edge experiments, oddities, new and bizarre dicoveries, and fact-checking conspiracy theories since 2008. No question is out of bounds and no topic is too strange for a deep dive.
# space
After decades of neglect, space agencies are starting to listen to planetary scientists interested in studying Venus. Here's why they want to explore an alien hellscape.
# podcast
Far from being just a slightly bigger rocky sphere than our planet, Super-Earths are a fascinating class of worlds ranging from Earths with a few extra tons to failed seeds of gas giants.
# podcast
Of all the worlds to which humanity may travel, the most typical one would require our colonists to live under a sky in which the sun never rises or sets because it physically can’t.
# podcast
Humanity seems to be in a rut. Left bored, aimless, and engaging in self-destructive behaviors, we’re looking for the next big thing. And the best place to find it might be off this planet.
# space
If you want to explore our solar system, you need to prepare for multi-year journeys. But a new discovery in nanoscale engineering could help cut the travel time between worlds.
# space
NASA appears to be sick and tired of having to wait until the mid-2020s to return to the Moon on a future rocket that will be inferior to the private ones already flying, and easily lapped by ones currently being built.
# space
It may be tempting to use our nuclear warheads to save the planet from rogue space rocks instead of pointing them at each other, it would be a waste of perfectly good nukes.
# space
Now that Opportunity’s mission is complete, many wistfully lament about “bringing our robot home.” There’s just one problem: it’s already home.
# space
Buckle up steampunk enthusiasts, it turns out that not only are steam-powered space probes possible, they might be perfect for hopping between comets and asteroids on research and mining missions.
# space
Super-Earths are often thought of as just bigger version of our own planet on steroids. But these worlds offer us amazing insights into everything from plate tectonics to planetary formation and classification.