Space Time

Space Time is an Inverse series that remembers the most important moments in humanity’s exploration of outer space.

Buzz Aldrin and the U.S. Flag on the Moon, 1969. Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, lunar module pilot of the fi...
Heritage Images/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
First
50 years ago: Mars 3 taught us to turn failure to success on Mars

Mars 3 accomplished the first soft landing on Mars. Then it died.

Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone/Getty Images
Space Anniversary

40 Years Ago, NASA Tested Out a Radical Rehaul of an Iconic Technology

ByAllie Hutchison

Witness the reinvention of the humble EVA suit.

Space Anniversaries

50 Years Ago, NASA Sent an Ambitious Mission to Saturn — and To Interstellar Horizons

ByJon Kelvey

The Pioneer 11 probe would serve as a metaphorical blueprint for the Voyager missions.

Space History

15 Years Ago, Exoplanet Astronomers Made a Breakthrough in the Hunt for Life

ByJon Kelvey

Detecting methane on a distant exoplanet paved the way for the hunt for organic chemistry in the cosmos.

Space Anniversaries

75 Years Ago, an Astronomer Found the Weirdest Moon in the Solar System

ByAllie Hutchison

The high cliffs of Miranda barely scratch the surface of why Uranus' moon is so unique.

Science

5 Years Ago, SpaceX Launched Its Silliest Payload Yet — And It's Still in Orbit

ByJon Kelvey

The space-faring Tesla roadster set a speed record unlikely to ever fall to another car, even another Tesla.

Space History

60 Years Ago, Astronomers Cracked the Mystery of the Brightest Objects in the Universe

ByAllie Hutchison

No one was sure what quasars were and how they connected to galaxies. Then it all changed.

Science

65 Years Ago, America Launched Its Most Pivotal Space Mission Ever

ByJon Kelvey

Explorer 1 marked the entry of science into what had been a military affair.

Science

40 years ago, NASA launched the space telescope that proved JWST could work

ByJon Kelvey

IRAS is a sometimes forgotten spacecraft that proved that infrared astronomy had a bright future.

Science

15 years ago, a spacecraft swung by Mercury to beat the Sun's gravity

ByAllie Hutchison

The MESSENGER mission needed a few gravitational assists to enter orbit around the smallest planet.

Inverse Awards

Inside NASA's monumental effort to deliver the first Webb Telescope images

ByJon Kelvey

After 20 years and $10 billion, here’s how the NASA team scrambled to make the first images happen.

Space Time

50 years ago, NASA’s final Apollo mission left the Moon — are we ready to return?

ByAllie Hutchison

Can the Artemis mission pick up where Apollo 17 left off?

Science

60 years ago, one space mission crushed hopes for life around Earth's twin planet

ByAllie Hutchison

The Mariner 2 mission proved Venus was too hot to have present-day life.

Science

65 years ago, a street dog paved the way for human spaceflight — with a grim outcome

ByAllie Hutchison

A Soviet street dog went up to space, but the USSR was ill-prepared for her stay in space.

Science

55 years ago, Russia changed spaceflight forever — and lied about it a little

ByAllie Hutchison

The Venera 4 mission sent a probe into Venus' atmosphere, but played loose with whether or not it actually survived a landing.

Science

65 years ago, astronomy's most colorful character made a bold interplanetary claim

ByAllie Hutchison

Did Fritz Zwicky's ballistic experiment reach solar orbit, or was it all a bunch of hot air?

SpaceTime

65 Years Ago, “Simple Satellite” Sputnik Redefined Space Science — And Sent A Sinister Message

ByAllie Hutchison

There was more to this launch than met the eye.

Go deeper

Space

Look! Our Galaxy’s Supermassive Black Hole Resembles A Cruller Donut In This New Image

ByDoris Elín Urrutia

This space donut is packed with science.

Space

This Map Shows Exactly What You’ll See During April’s Eclipse From Everywhere in the United States

ByDoris Elín Urrutia

More than 300 million people in the US will see a partial eclipse on April 8, 2024.

Space

Ghost Particles Could Help Untangle Quantum Gravity

ByKiona Smith

Physicists look to neutrinos for clues about how gravity works at tiny scales.

Science

The Science of Eclipses Is Full Of Miscalculations, Bonfires, And Bad Weather

ByThe Conversation and Barbara Ryden

For centuries, astronomers have sought to learn more from eclipses — but it hasn’t always worked out.

Science

Can Space Tourism Give You Cancer?

ByThe Conversation and Chris Rees

In a decade or two, journeys into space could become as normal as transatlantic flights. But there’s a lot of radiation that high.

Space

NASA Only Has One Spacecraft to Get to Space — Boeing’s Starliner Could Be the Second

ByDoris Elín Urrutia

Two astronauts are testing the Boeing Starliner in a few weeks.

Space

The First Full Moon of Spring Will Appear this Weekend With A Hidden Surprise

ByKiona Smith

Think of it as the opening act for the solar eclipse on April 8.

Space

Forget Betelgeuse! This Star Is Actually About to Explode

ByKiona Smith

Any day now...

Space

NASA Was Watching SpaceX’s Starship Flight Closely — Here’s the Reason Why

ByDoris Elín Urrutia

Meet HLS Starship.

Space

The Solar Eclipse May Include A Rare Comet If You Look In Just the Right Spot

ByKiona Smith

The comet might be bright enough to see with the unaided eye during the eclipse, but only if it erupts at the right time.