China’s Shenzhou-20 spacecraft took a hit^[1] from a piece of space debris floating through orbit, causing Chinese officials to delay the spacecraft’s return from its Tiangong space station in early November 2025.

In addition to stranding the three Chinese astronauts – called taikonauts – who were set to return to Earth, this incident...

In the most talked-about film from the final year of the 20th century, “The Matrix^[1],” a computer hacker named Neo finds that the world he lives and works in isn’t real. It’s a virtual reality, created by artificial intelligence.

At the time, the idea seemed like science fiction. In the years since, however, that concept has...

Envision a time when hundreds of spacecraft are exploring the solar system and beyond. That’s the future that NASA’s ESCAPADE^[1], or escape and plasma acceleration and dynamics explorers, mission will help unleash: one where small, low-cost spacecraft enable researchers to learn rapidly, iterate, and advance technology and science.

The ESCAPADE...