Latest from Space

Sun to 'flip upside down'

The sun is set to “flip upside down” within weeks as its magnetic field reverses polarity in an event that will send ripple effects throughout the solar system.

Asteroids may have shot life to Mars - scientists

Asteroids like the one that wiped out the dinosaurs on Earth could have shot life to Mars or the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, US scientists have said.

Opening doors far into space and close to home

NZ Science Media Centre staff and their Oz counterparts put together their 10 top picks for the world's biggest science stories of 2013.

Comet ISON pronounced dead: Sun is chief suspect

Comet ISON, once optimistically called the comet of the century, is dead, the victim of a brush with the sun that was way too close. It was barely a year old.

Rover finds evidence Mars once habitable

Plan to use moon for solar power

A Japanese construction company is proposing to solve the energy problems facing Japan, and ultimately the entire planet, by turning the moon into a solar power plant.

Comet no match for the sun

Once billed as the comet of the century, Comet ISON apparently was no match for the sun.

Comet ISON's dance with sun gives mixed signals

Comet ISON is teasing the solar system as it dances with the sun and it's giving astronomers mixed signals.

One-tonne satellite to hit Earth

A one-tonne satellite operated by the European Space Agency has run out of fuel and will fall back to Earth in an unknown location sometime in the next few days.

Russian fireball shows meteor risk may be bigger

Scientists studying the terrifying meteor that exploded without warning over a Russian city last winter say the threat of space rocks smashing into Earth is bigger than they thought.

Gwynne Dyer: India's Mars trip as vain as the rest

The Curse of Mars also applies to Asian countries, writes Gwynne Dyer. About two-thirds of the attempted missions to Mars have failed, many of them even before leaving Earth's orbit.

India launches first mission to Mars

India has launched its first spacecraft bound for Mars, a complex mission that it hopes will demonstrate and advance technologies for space travel.

Milky Way rife with planets in habitable zone

The Milky Way galaxy is teeming with Earth-like planets that are not too hot and not too cold for liquid water to exist at their surface - and so be capable of supporting life.

8.8 billion Earth-sized planets

Space is vast, but it may not be so lonely after all: A study finds the Milky Way is teeming with billions of planets that are about the size of Earth, orbit stars just like our sun, and exist in the Goldilocks zone.

India vies for elite role in space with Mars trip

India is aiming to join the world's deep-space pioneers with a journey to Mars that it hopes will showcase its technological ability to explore the solar system while seeking solutions for everyday problems on Earth.

Iran to send another monkey into space - reports

An Iranian newspaper is reporting that the Islamic Republic plans to send another monkey into space within a month.