Karl Tate

Scientists believe conditions may be right for life, under Europa's icy crust.

Ceres, orbiting between Mars and Jupiter, has almost no gravity, warmth or atmosphere.

Mars would not be an easy home for human colonists. See how its lower gravity, thin atmosphere and lack of a magnetic field could make it challenging for a colonist in this Space.com infographic.

Life on the moon would be very different for explorers than life on Earth. See how in this Space.com infographic.

ESA's tiny suborbital testbed vehicle could pave the way for later orbital space planes.

Crushing atmospheric pressure and temperatures of hundreds of degrees make survival on Venus rather challenging. Find out why in our infographic.

Conditions on the planet Mercury would make living there a challenge. See what the days and nights might be like on the closest planet to the sun in our infographic.

SMAP, or the Soil Moisture Active Passive satellite, will measure groundwater content and frozen/thawed state, all over the world every three days.

In a first for space flight, SpaceX will attempt to fly its Falcon 9 booster rocket to a safe landing aboard an offshore platform.

Although methane had been discovered before from space, NASA's Curiosity rover made the first in-situ discovery of rapid changes in methane concentration from the surface of Mars.

The second in the Hayabusa series will drop probes on and take samples from asteroid 1999 JU3.

When the Philae attempted touchdown on comet 67P, it bounced off with nearly enough force to drift away into space.

The European Rosetta spacecraft's Philae lander aims to be the first probe ever to safely land on a comet. Here's how to land on a spinning ice mountain in space.

In the film 'Interstellar,' astronauts use a variety of spacecraft to cross the universe and explore alien worlds. See how they work in this Space.com infographic.

Virgin Galactic's first SpaceShipTwo spacecraft broke apart in mid-flight on Oct. 31, 2014, killing one pilot and injuring another. See the sequence of events as determined by the NTSB.

NASA's plan is to bring a distant asteroid nearer to Earth, but a competing idea would send humans to one or more asteroids in their native orbits.

Astronomers have detected the signatures of hundreds of comets disintegrating in a distant, chaotic solar system 63 light-years away.

In a rare celestial event, a comet will pass closer to Mars than the moon is from Earth on Oct. 19, 2014. See how the Comet Siding Spring flyby of Mars works in this Space.com infographic.

SpaceX's fourth cargo mission to the International Space Station includes some mice, the first 3D printer in space and other weird science. See our take on the cargo in this Space.com infographic.

Stars are giant fusion reactors, smashing protons together to produce energy.

SpaceX's Dragon Version 2 capsule is designed to carry seven astronauts to the International Space Station. See how it works in this Space.com infographic.

NASA's Mars 2020 mission will send a car-size rover to the Red Planet to collect samples. See how the Mars 2020 rover will work in this Space.com infographic.