
Elizabeth Howell
Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., was a staff writer in the spaceflight channel between 2022 and 2024 specializing in Canadian space news. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years from 2012 to 2024. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House, leading world coverage about a lost-and-found space tomato on the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, flying parabolic, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, "Why Am I Taller?" (ECW Press, 2022) is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams.
Latest articles by Elizabeth Howell

North Korea launches nuclear-capable missile into space over Japan: reports
By Elizabeth Howell published
The test on Tuesday (Oct. 4) marked the first time a North Korean missile overflew Japan in five years, according to media reports.

Blue Origin will return husband-and-wife passengers to suborbital space
By Elizabeth Howell published
A launch date hasn't been set yet for the next flight carrying Sharon Hagle and Marc Hagle, who last flew in March.

NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter spots debris on its leg on latest flight
By Elizabeth Howell published
NASA's Ingenuity drone on Mars had a piece of debris stuck to its leg during a recent flight. While it finished the flight without incident, engineers are assessing what happened.

Behold! Our closest view of Jupiter's ocean moon Europa in 22 years
By Elizabeth Howell published
NASA's Juno spacecraft skimmed close above the surface of icy Europa Thursday (Sept. 29), capturing a view of the crust that is just the start of our new study of this ocean world.

Earth From Another Sun space MMO is an amazing homage to Starfield and Halo
By Elizabeth Howell published
Earth From Another Sun offers a Starfield- and Halo-inspired approach to a space-based, first-person shooter.

Ingenuity Mars helicopter notches 33rd Red Planet flight
By Elizabeth Howell published
NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter has taken flight again, staying aloft for nearly a minute this past weekend on its 33rd extraterrestrial sortie.

Astronaut looks inside eye of Hurricane Ian from space as storm weakens over Florida (photos)
By Elizabeth Howell last updated
An International Space Station astronaut photographed Hurricane Ian as the powerful storm battered Florida. NASA, SpaceX and others have postponed launches from the Space Coast.

You can watch 3 Russian cosmonauts return to Earth from International Space Station today
By Elizabeth Howell last updated
Expedition 67 cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveev and Sergey Korsakov will come back to Earth on Thursday (Sept. 29), and you can watch the undocking and landing live.

European woman takes command of International Space Station for 1st time
By Elizabeth Howell published
A Russian cosmonaut made a hopeful reference to the end of war while handing command of the ISS to Samantha Cristoforetti, the first European woman in charge of the orbiting lab.

SpaceX's Crew-5 mission will carry Native American woman to orbit for 1st time
By Elizabeth Howell published
NASA astronaut Nicole Mann will head to the space station aboard SpaceX's Crew-5 mission for NASA, which is slated to lift off on Oct. 4.

As Hurricane Ian closes in, NASA weighs options for Artemis 1 moon rocket launch
By Elizabeth Howell published
The agency says an October launch is unlikely, but it won't "take anything off the table" after the storm comes through.

Startup Vast Space wants to take artificial gravity station concept for a spin
By Elizabeth Howell published
Vast Space, which is backed by a cryptocurrency billionaire, says it is in the early stages of looking at artificial gravity space stations, but few details are available..

China launches three more satellites after recent rocket doubleheader
By Elizabeth Howell published
China launched three new satellites atop a Long March 6 rocket on Monday (Sept. 26), following two recent launches just 40 hours apart.

Listen live today as NASA discusses Artemis 1 moon rocket's hurricane rollback
By Elizabeth Howell published
NASA officials will be discussing the rollback of Artemis 1 Tuesday (Sept. 27) to shelter from Hurricane Ian. The livestream starts at 2 p.m. EDT.

Artemis 1 will roll off launch pad to ride out Hurricane Ian
By Elizabeth Howell last updated
Artemis 1 will begin rolling back from the launch pad on Monday (Aug. 26) to seek out shelter in NASA's nearby Vehicle Assembly Building in Florida.

Moon's best friend: Robot dogs could be future lunar explorers
By Elizabeth Howell published
Future lunar robots could fetch incredible science by borrowing from thousands of years of dog evolution. These companions can dig, jump and flip items over on the moon.

How to watch NASA's DART spacecraft crash into an asteroid live online today
By Elizabeth Howell last updated
NASA's Double Asteroid Redirect Mission (DART) aims to move a space rock from its orbit in a safe planetary defense test Sept. 26, and you can watch the action live.

SpaceX rocket launch with Starlink fleet thrills stargazers along US East Coast
By Elizabeth Howell published
SpaceX's launch of 52 more Starlink satellites was visible all along the East Coast of the United States, generating footage of Saturday's sunset launch.

Why DART is a mover and shaker in asteroid planetary defense: NASA science chief
By Elizabeth Howell published
NASA will slam the DART spacecraft into an asteroid for target practice to get ready for the next big hit, but don't worry: nothing big is set to come at us for the next 100 years.

Waves Washing Through Blue 'Supergiant' Stars Change Their Brightness
By Elizabeth Howell last updated
A new study shows that blue supergiants — a rare type of supermassive star — change brightness because of waves breaking on their surfaces.

Blue Stars Sparkle in Spectacular Deep Space Star Cluster (Video, Photos)
By Elizabeth Howell last updated
A new image of a well-known star cluster in the southern sky, shows off hot blue stars sparkling amid red giants.

High roller: Dungeons & Dragons launches a die, space 'pilot' into stratosphere
By Elizabeth Howell published
The iconic 20-sided Dungeons and Dragons die soared close to the 'Astral Plane' to advertise a new space campaign for the role-playing game.

Space junk worries prompt new action by NASA, Congress
By Elizabeth Howell published
Recent work by NASA and Congress seeks new solutions for space debris, which has been a U.S. government priority amid anti-satellite testing and the rise of satellite megaconstellations.
Get the Space.com Newsletter
Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!