There are billions of dollars in it for companies able to kickstart mining operations, even if such returns are still years away.

The race to mine the moon is on – and it urgently needs some clear international rules

NASA's new chief Jared Isaacman said controversial proposal to move the space shuttle Discovery to Texas from its current home in a Smithsonian Air and Space Museum hangar in Virginia, may end with a different spacecraft entirely landing in Houston.

NASA chief Jared Isaacman says Texas may get a moonship, not space shuttle Discovery

"It's really not a question of robotic exploration or human exploration," Ehlmann said. "It is an 'and' — it's robotic and human exploration and how we do these best together."

Scientists are getting our robotic explorers ready to help send humans to Mars

Business Insider reached out to more than 75 major employers, including Walmart and Google, about their efforts to support aging workers.

How Google, Microsoft, Walmart, and other corporate giants are preparing for an aging workforce

Your complete guide to the brightest planetary moments of 2026.

What to expect from the planets in 2026 — key dates and sky events

Catch the wolf supermoon and Quadrantid meteor shower as January’s night sky puts on a celestial double feature.

January’s full wolf supermoon and the Quadrantid meteor shower will start off the new year

Our 2026 skywatching guide includes a total solar eclipse, a "blood moon" and a festive supermoon. Here are the dates you need to know.

15 skywatching events you won't want to miss in 2026

With a little guidance and a lot of practice, even you can make stone tools the way our oldest ancestors did – and learn to recognize the signs of a deliberately made tool.

Was it a stone tool or just a rock? An archaeologist explains how scientists can tell the difference

Big Bear glows with big stars | Space photo of the day for Dec. 31, 2025

Human beings don’t have a thick coat of fur like many other mammals do. Scientists think it has to do with something else that comes out of skin: sweat.

Why don’t humans have hair all over their bodies? A biologist explains our lack of fur

Meteor showers, eclipses, a planetary parade and 13 full moons will be visible in the night sky in 2026. Here’s when to see them.

All the eclipses, supermoons, meteor showers and planets to spot in 2026

The 2026 lunar calendar begins with a wolf supermoon, a celestial event during which the full moon appears significantly larger and brighter than average due to its proximity to Earth.

The wolf supermoon will kick off 2026 with a celestial bang. Here's when and how to see it.

The test is designed to prepare satellites for one of the most complex tasks in space: safely approaching another object.

Golden satellite insulation sparkles during test | Space photo of the day for Dec. 30, 2025

From auroras at 36,000 feet to comet flybys and eclipses, these are the standout images our readers shared with Space.com in 2025.

Our 10 favorite Space.com reader astronomy photos of 2025

This year will conclude as the second hottest on record, surpassed only by 2024. It continues a recent trend of exceptional, unexplained warming. The last three years have been, by a wide margin, the hottest ever recorded.

2025 Was Another Exceptionally Hot Year

The Arctic endured a year of record heat and shrunken sea ice as the world’s northern latitudes continue a rapid shift to becoming rainier and less ice-bound due to the climate crisis, scientists have reported.

Sea Ice Hits New Low in Hottest Year on Record for the Arctic

Here are the best lunar events to see in 2026, including eclipses, supermoons and conjunctions.

13 must-see moon events in 2026: Eclipses, supermoons, conjunctions and more

The image offers a rare look at how Earth's surface and atmosphere interact after sunset.

ISS astronaut snaps stunning nighttime photo of Florida and Cuba | Space photo of the day for Dec. 29, 2025

At first glance, it seems like our understanding of physics forbids free will.

Does physics say that free will doesn't exist?

This low-cost mission is still only getting started, and it's taking bigger risks than typical big-ticket NASA missions.

Lower-cost space missions like NASA's ESCAPADE are starting to deliver exciting science – but at a price in risk and trade‑offs

The moon and sun share top billing in 2026.  Kicking off the year’s cosmic wonders is the moon, drawing the first astronauts to visit in more than 50 years as well as a caravan of robotic lunar landers including Jeff Bezos’ new supersized Blue Moon.  A supermoon looms on Jan. 3 and an astronomical blue moon is on the books for May.

The moon and sun figure big in the new year's lineup of cosmic wonders

We asked our staff to choose their favorite Space.com stories of 2025. Here's what we got.

Our favorite Space.com stories of 2025

Here are eight of the most spectacular astronomical discoveries of 2025.

The top astronomical discoveries of 2025

Searches for dark matter particles have come up empty so far, driving theorists to get more creative with their ideas.

Dark matter may be made of pieces of giant, exotic objects — and astronomers think they know how to look for them

While space is often referred to as a vacuum, it isn't completely empty.

Most normal matter in the universe isn't found in planets, stars or galaxies – an astronomer explains where it's distributed

It's the 12 days of Spacemas, fa la la la la la la la la (sorry).

The 12 biggest space stories of 2025 — according to you

When a piece of debris hits another object in space, it can also create more space debris, adding to the problem.

Space debris: will it take a catastrophe for nations to take the issue seriously?

NASA’s plans to launch astronauts to the moon in early 2026. The Artemis II mission is expected to carry a crew around the moon — though not to the lunar surface.

2026 will be the year NASA astronauts fly around the moon again — if all goes to plan

Scientists working to solve human evolution’s biggest mystery made a big breakthrough in 2025.

Human evolution’s biggest mystery has started to unravel. How 2025 tipped the scales

New discoveries and fresh looks at familiar worlds show how far exoplanet science has come — and how much remains unknown.

The most exciting exoplanet discoveries of 2025

Don't miss the moon cozy up to Saturn on Dec. 26.

See the moon shine with Saturn in the southern sky after sunset Dec. 26

When Marc and Cristina Easton’s son was diagnosed with autism at 20 months, the Baltimore couple left the doctor’s appointment in confusion. Their toddler - who was very social - didn’t resemble the picture of the condition they thought they knew. And the specialists could offer little clarity about why or what lay ahead. It wasn’t until four years after their child’s diagnosis that the Eastons finally began to get answers that offered them a glimmer of understanding. This summer, a team from Pr

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