Space

Latest 'Star Wars' Movie Is Out Of This World

5:52am December 15, 2017

NASA plans to screen Star Wars: The Last Jedi to the International Space Station astronauts. The movie marks the return of actors Mark Hamill, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver and the late Carrie Fisher.

A photographer looks at the night sky to see the annual Geminid meteor shower in northern Italy in December 2015. This year's shower coincides with a close-range visit by its parent asteroid.

An Asteroid Gets Its Close-Up As Geminids Light Up The Sky

6:50pm December 12, 2017

by Laurel Wamsley

The Earth's encounter with asteroid 3200 Phaethon on Saturday will be its closest since 1974 — and the closest it will be until 2093. The flyby means good gazing for amateur astronomers.

An artist's illustration of 'Oumuamua, a cigar-shaped interstellar object discovered in October. Now, astronomers want to know if this interloper might harbor life.

Science

Astronomers Want To Know: Does This Interstellar Visitor Have A Message For Us?

5:08pm December 12, 2017

by Colin Dwyer

'Oumuamua is the first of its kind: an object from outside our solar system, observed by astronomers. Now, a group of researchers is trying to find out if it is transmitting any signs of life.

President Trump Is Sending NASA Back To The Moon

4:23pm December 11, 2017

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

"Space Policy Directive 1," which Trump signed Monday, sees Mars as the ultimate destination. But analysts wonder whether money will follow to support the plan.

WATCH: N.J. Dashcam Captures Brilliant Nighttime Streak

8:49pm December 07, 2017

by Amy Held

A police officer on patrol in the pre-dawn hours saw a meteor and managed to record it, which has lit up social media.

An artist's rendering of ripples in space-time.

Science

Strange Parallels: Alternative Histories In Physics And Culture

1:14pm December 07, 2017

by Paul Halpern

Ideas of parallel universes and alternative histories, once confined to mere rumination about lost opportunities and fictional scenarios, are now a part of science, says guest writer Paul Halpern.

An artist's conception of the most-distant supermassive black hole ever discovered, which is part of a quasar from just 690 million years after the Big Bang.

Science

Massive Black Hole Reveals When The First Stars Blinked On

1:42pm December 06, 2017

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Scientists have detected a black hole thought to be about 800 million times as massive as our sun that is helping to reveal when the universe filled with starlight.

Science

Making Pizza In Space

5:17am December 05, 2017

Astronauts at the International Space Station sent down video of pizza night. Without gravity, they made pizza tossing look like a slow game of Frisbee.

Economy

Planet Money Goes To Space

6:12pm December 01, 2017

by Elizabeth Kulas, Robert Smith, Stacey Vanek Smith

No really, we are going into low Earth orbit.

Queue Listen Now

The Planet Money Mission Patch

3:05pm December 01, 2017

No space mission is complete without a patch. We made our own.