IEEE Spectrum: Aerospace

There's Water on the Moon, but Making Use of it Won't be Easy

The lunar soil is as wet as desert sand, but that's more moisture than expected

Why the Evidence of Water on the Moon is Bad News

Three independent measurements confirmed the presence of widespread lunar water, but it's not enough to make space exploration easier.

A New Contest For LEGO Lunar Robots

There's a new challenge, called MoonBots, that anyone can participate in. Announced this week, the contest asks six-member teams of children and adults to design a LEGO Mindstorms robot suitable for the moon.

A Robot To Mine the Moon

In a Brooklyn warehouse, Honeybee Robotics is developing a lunar excavator that may help us colonize the moon

Robotic Arms Help Upgrade International Space Station

Three advanced manipulators execute a space ballet in outer space

Astrobotic Technology Reveals Robot Design To Survive Moon's Extreme Heat

For the company vying for the Google Lunar X Prize, it's all about keeping the (robot's) head cool

Mars Satellite Spies Signs of Ancient Lakebed on Red Planet

Images from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter offer glimpse into planet's watery past

Under the Red Spell

Steve Squyres, the principal scientist in charge of Spirit and Opportunity, explains how he fell in love with Mars and why humans need to go

Researchers Propose InterGalactic Positioning System (IGPS)

Lost in space? Use signals from four pulsars and you can determine your exact location

One Team's Plan to Win the Google Lunar X Prize

RACE TO THE MOON

Astrobotic team members [from left] Nisarg Kothari, James Lee, Ross Finman [in foreground], Ethan Minogue, and Charlie Munoz gather for a test run of the Red Rover.

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For the Carnegie Mellon team vying for the Google Lunar X Prize, failure to launch--and land--is not an option

India Joins League of Lunar Nations

G. Madhavan Nair, head of the indian space agency, talks about his country's first robotic lunar mission and plans for landing an Indian on the moon and mars

Mars For The Rest Of Us

Better cameras, greater bandwidth, and bigger displays put Mars within reach of armchair explorers

A Russian Return to a Martian Moon

Russia hopes to reignite its deep-space program with a mission to Phobos

Russians Prepare to Go to Mars Without Leaving the Ground

500 days in suburban Moscow

NASA's Phoenix Mission to Mars Launches

Its search for life starts in May

The New Search for E.T.

Night watch

The new telescope at Oak Ridge Observatory, in Harvard, Mass., waits patiently for nanosecond light pulses that a distant civilization might be sending our way.

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If extraterrestrials are trying to communicate with us, they're probably using lasers, not radio waves

Titanic!

Wish You Were Here

Spacecraft Converge on Mars

Issue of life on the planet could be resolved