Latest articles by Leonard David
What happened to the flags Apollo astronauts left on the moon?
Astronauts placed six different American flags on the moon during the Apollo program. What became of those flags in the years since, and why were they controversial?
China plans to plant a waving flag on the moon in 2026. Here's how
China's Chang'e 7 moon-landing mission will apparently include a flag that can flutter in the moon's thin and tenuous atmosphere.
Space Force's secretive X-37B space plane soars past 1 year in orbit
The U.S. Space Force X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV-7) has silently slipped past one-year of flight time.
How NASA and Sierra Space are preparing for Dream Chaser space plane's 1st flight to ISS
Sierra Space and NASA's Johnson Space Center are conducting simulations to prepare for the Dream Chaser space plane's first flight to the International Space Station.
Can NASA's troubled Mars Sample Return mission be saved?
An independent review team is delivering a final report to NASA leadership to determine if the agency's Mars Sample Return mission is salvageable after facing scrutiny for its $11 billion budget.
Space debris crash in Kenya village believed to be from leftover rocket hardware
Kenya Space Agency officials report a large, “red-hot” metallic ring roughly 8 feet (2.5 meters) in diameter fell from the sky, crashing into Mukuku village.
Understanding UFOs: What has to happen in 2025 to move the UAP story forward?
What should happen in 2025 to move the UAP/UFO story forward? Are we at a dead-end? Conversely, is the coming year one of "full disclosure?"
Planes, drones or UFOs: What are people seeing in the New Jersey sky?
Recent sightings of unidentified aircraft in New Jersey and other states have triggered another round of unanswered questions — and fueled conspiracy theories.
Meet Endurance, a pioneering NASA moon rover designed to survive the frigid lunar night
NASA has begun blueprinting the Endurance rover to traverse the gigantic South Pole–Aitken (SPA) basin, a wonderland of promising geological surprises.
NASA's Mars exploration plans need 'paradigm shifts' to succeed, report finds
NASA has released a new document that highlights planned programmatic paradigm shifts in Mars exploration over the next 20 years.
The yearning for Uranus: A far-out world with a tale to tell
A proposed mission known as Uranus Orbiter and Probe would conduct a multiyear orbital tour to yield knowledge of ice giants in general and the Uranus system in particular.
Will the International Space Station's 2031 death dive cause pollution problems?
The International Space Station will be steered to a controlled destruction in Earth's atmosphere in 2031, if all goes to plan. Should we be worried about the pollution this death dive will cause?
How amateur radio is connecting astronauts in space with kids on Earth
The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) aims to inspire and educate youth in STEM through connecting astronauts in orbit with people on the ground.
'Lunik Heist:' A real-life CIA rocket kidnapping goes to Hollywood
"At a time like this, we need to find more stories from the days when Americans outsmarted the bad guys and planted our flag on the moon."
UFOs 'not attributable to foreign adversaries," new Pentagon report says
"Analyzing and understanding the potential threats posed by UAP is an ongoing collaborative effort involving many departments and agencies."
China's space station experiments are back on Earth
Space specialists in China have begun to assess experiment samples brought back by the Shenzhou-18 crew that touched down November 4 in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
Will China return Mars samples to Earth before the US does?
China has moved up its timeline for bringing Mars samples to Earth, aiming to do so as early as 2028 — long before the U.S. is slated to achieve this same ambitious goal.
NASA faces tough decisions on Orion capsule's heat shield for Artemis moon missions
NASA remains in an ongoing test mode to determine what’s behind the ablative thermal protective material that chipped away unexpectedly from the Artemis 1 Orion heat shield during its reentry.
'First tree on Mars:' Scientists measure greenhouse effect needed to terraform Red Planet
What is the amount of greenhouse warming required to heat up the cold climes of Mars enough so that trees can grow on the Red Planet?
'NASA at a crossroads:' Budget woes, aging infrastructure and hard choices ahead
The next few years are likely to be pivotal ones for NASA, according to a hard-hitting report by the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.
Blowing up: Inflatable space habitats could be key to exploring the solar system
Private companies are making progress on expandable habitats, which could help humanity keep its foothold in Earth orbit and settle the moon and Mars.
NASA extends tiny CAPSTONE probe's moon mission to December 2025
NASA has extended its CAPSTONE moon mission through December 2025, allowing the cubesat to continue its pioneering exploration work.
US needs 'space rescue service' to help astronauts in distress, experts say
The lessons of Apollo, Skylab and the space shuttle appear to have been forgotten: The US needs a plan for how to deal with human spaceflight emergencies, experts say.
