SPACE

The Challenges of Building a Colony on Mars

In this series, mental_floss will examine the engineering problems associated with humanity’s most extreme endeavors, from mining asteroids to colonizing the ocean, and explain how engineers plan to solve them.

15 Secrets of Space Suit Design

We talked space fashion with Lindsay Aitchison, Space Suit Engineer at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

15 Secrets of Space Suit Design

We talked space fashion with Lindsay Aitchison, Space Suit Engineer at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

Carl Sagan’s Unmade Second Show

Cosmos: A Triumphant Reboot

There are so many ways a reboot of Cosmos could have gone wrong.

Namit Malhotra, the Man Who Helped Make 'Gravity' 3-D

Though lauded for its groundbreaking use of 3-D, the lost-in-space blockbuster 'Gravity' was actually filmed in two dimensions. It was up to the conversion experts at Prime Focus World—in collaboration with the VFX masters at Framestore—to change all that

9 Unusual Things That Astronauts Brought to Space

Over the span of human spaceflight, some pretty weird things have made the trip. Here are a few of them.

During the First Lunar Landing, the Soviets Crashed Into the Moon

While Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were concluding humanity's first Moonwalk, the Soviets made a surprise appearance.

The 7 Longest Messages Sent into Space

Of course, we’re always spitting out random garbage into space—radio and TV signals, mostly. But the signals on this list are intended specifically to attract aliens.

15 Ambitious Plans to Colonize the Moon

Back in 1638, clergyman John Wilkins wrote an entire science fiction book devoted to the prospect of a lunar voyage. Since Wilkins’ radical proposal, many others have followed in his footsteps by dreaming of ways we could live on the moon.

Why Do We Call Our Galaxy the Milky Way?

There are two questions that have haunted wannabe astronomers for decades: “Why is our galaxy called the Milky Way?” and “Does it have anything to do with the delicious candy bar?”

5 Unlucky Things That Were Hit by Meteorites

According to some estimates, several thousand tons of meteorites hit the earth each year—and a few chunks have managed to collide with some rather peculiar targets.

How Do Astronauts Scratch Their Noses on Space Walks?

Astronauts can use the microphone in their helmet, or sometimes they attach patches of velcro to the inside of their helmets, so they can scratch their nose.

There’s Poop on the Moon

Twelve astronauts have been on the surface of the Moon. On it, they’ve left behind some American flags, some equipment, golf balls, a small statuette to commemorate fallen astronauts and some other, er, artifacts.

Voyager 1 Has Left the Solar System!

More On the Apollo Guidance Computer from 1965

Watch: One Year on Mars

6 Angry Letters Kids Sent Neil deGrasse Tyson About Pluto

When Pluto was demoted, elementary school students flipped out.

David A. Aguilar/Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

The Terrible Weather on 6 Exoplanets

Of the more than 900 exoplanets discovered to date—planets outside our solar system—none, not a single one, appears to be a nice place to visit or live.

There are Giant Clouds of Alcohol Floating in Space

Go home, universe. You're drunk.

The Night Sky: 6 Hours of Stars

Chris Hadfield Plays Games in Space

How Giraffes Helped Human Space Travel

Should human space-travelers ever execute the long-awaited trek to Mars or another distant planet, they'll have baby giraffes to at least partially thank for their voyage.

What Two Dead Stars Reveal About Earth's Origins

A couple of white dwarfs + space garbage = possible planet formation

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