Michael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, 'Out There,' was published on Nov. 13, 2018.
The US really wants a nuclear reactor on the moon by 2030. 'Achieving this future requires harnessing nuclear power,' NASA chief says100 years after Robert Goddard's 1st liquid-fueled rocket launch, NASA is using the technology to send astronauts back to the moonLower-cost space missions like NASA's ESCAPADE are starting to deliver exciting science – but at a price in risk and trade‑offsFrom a new flagship space telescope to lunar exploration, global cooperation – and competition – will make 2026 an exciting year for spaceBreaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsSign up to our monthly entertainment newsletter to keep up with all our coverage of the latest sci-fi and space movies, tv shows, games and books.
Discover this week's must-see night sky events, moon phases, and stunning astrophotos. Sign up for our skywatching newsletter and explore the universe with us!Space.com's Sci-Fi Reader's Club. Read a sci-fi short story every month and join a virtual community of fellow science fiction fans!Skyfall is happening, and it will get to Mars in a totally new way.Today , NASA announced that it will develop Skyfall for a 2028 launch, and that the mission will journey to the Red Planet on a spacecraft that uses nuclear electric propulsion — what NASA is referring to as"the first nuclear powered interplanetary spacecraft."The US really wants a nuclear reactor on the moon by 2030. 'Achieving this future requires harnessing nuclear power,' NASA chief saysNEP systems operate like nuclear power plants here on Earth, relying on an onboard fission reactor. NEP is a fundamentally different technology than radioisotope thermoelectric generators Freedom.Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors "SR-1 Freedom will establish flight-heritage nuclear hardware, set regulatory and launch precedent, and activate the industrial base for future fission power systems across propulsion, surface and long‑duration missions," NASA officials said today in aThat statement features a wealth of other exploration news and updates. For example, NASA also announced today that it's pausing its long-plannedmoon-orbiting space station to focus on building a base on the lunar surface — and some of Gateway's hardware will go into the construction of that outpost. That statement doesn't reveal many details about the planned Skyfall mission, but AeroVironment gave us some during the unveiling last summer. "Skyfall is designed to deploy six scout helicopters on Mars, where they would explore many of the sites selected by NASA and industry as top candidate landing sites for America's first Martian astronauts," AeroVironment said in arover in February 2021. Ingenuity became the first helicopter ever to operate on a world beyond Earth, making a whopping 72 flights between April 2021 and January 2024. Whereas Ingenuity was a technology demonstrator, however, the Skyfall fleet will have concrete science and exploration tasks. "While exploring the region, each helicopter can operate independently, beaming high-resolution surface imaging and sub-surface radar data back to Earth for analysis, helping ensure crewed vehicles make safe landings at areas with maximum amounts of water, ice, and other resources," AeroVironment representatives said in last summer's statement."The data Skyfall collects could also advance the nation’s quest to discover whether and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life,"Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.The US really wants a nuclear reactor on the moon by 2030. 'Achieving this future requires harnessing nuclear power,' NASA chief saysWatch all your favorite sci-fi content like 'For All Mankind' and 'Star City' anywhere with this exclusive deal and get a free $50 Amazon Gift Card and 77% off NordVPNThe best Amazon Big Spring Sale deals for 2026: Sizeable savings on drones, Lego, streaming, star projectors and much more
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