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RocketSTEM@RocketSTEMOct 6

Why don't people use binoculars to gaze at the stars? Telescopes are not inherently better at looking into space than binoculars as both rely on the same optical principles to do the job. rocketstem.org/2026/10/06/wh…

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RocketSTEM@RocketSTEMOct 1

Starship’s first orbital flight put its heat shield to the test. Whether SpaceX's vision of extremely low-cost launches comes to fruition largely depends on the dark ceramic tiles covering the spacecraft's underside. rocketstem.org/2026/09/30/st…

Starship’s first orbital flight put heat shield to the test – how it fares may determine if...

SpaceX’s Starship, the most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, reached Earth orbit for the first time on Sept. 28, 2026. This mission, the rocket’s 14th test flight, also marked the first time...

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RocketSTEM@RocketSTEMSep 24

The Roman Space Telescope will use gravitational microlensing to detect planets around other stars without seeing the planets themselves. rocketstem.org/2026/09/24/ro…

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RocketSTEM@RocketSTEMSep 18

Worrying about the Sun becoming a black hole doesn’t need to be on your list of anxieties. Whatever happens to the Sun will happen very slowly, over billions of years. By that time, you’ll be long gone. rocketstem.org/2026/09/17/do…

Do we need to worry about the Sun becoming a black hole?

“Do I need to worry about the sun turning into a black hole?” — Anonymous, age 7, Chicago, Illinois At the end of their lifespans, some massive stars collapse under their own weight until they turn...

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RocketSTEM@RocketSTEMSep 10

In this edition of Curious Kids, we’re asked why Venus is the hottest planet in our solar system, even though Mercury is closer to the Sun. rocketstem.org/2026/09/10/wh…

Why is Venus hotter than Mercury, when Mercury is closer to the Sun?

“Why is Venus the hottest planets, whereas Mercury is closer to the Sun?” — Sejal M., age 7, Bangalore, India When the solar system had just formed, 4.5 billion years ago, Venus was probably a...

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RocketSTEM@RocketSTEMSep 8

On the 60th anniversary of the premiere of the original Star Trek series, we look at the usage of wormholes to travel to strange new worlds. rocketstem.org/2026/09/08/st…

Star Trek used wormholes to traverse space – what’s the science behind them?

Since Star Trek began sending its crews out to explore strange new worlds 60 years ago on September 8, 1966, the franchise has both imagined and inspired new concepts for travel across the vast...

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RocketSTEM@RocketSTEMSep 1

Nancy Grace Roman's career stands as a testament to persistence against institutional barriers and to the outsized impact that scientific vision can have. All astronomers continue to benefit from her extraordinary legacy. rocketstem.org/2026/09/01/na…

Nancy Grace Roman’s legacy lives on in NASA’s newest space telescope

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope successfully launched August 30, 2026 aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. When it becomes operational early next year,...

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RocketSTEM@RocketSTEMAug 30

Astronomers are eagerly awaiting the astronomical discoveries that the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope and its ultra-sensitive infrared detectors will produce. rocketstem.org/2026/08/29/na…

NASA is gearing up to launch its next flagship space telescope

NASA plans to soon launch a new space telescope that will survey a billion galaxies to trace how the universe evolved over time, all courtesy of America’s spy program and decades of research into...

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RocketSTEM@RocketSTEMAug 14

There is no one way to be an astronaut – you can’t get an astronaut degree. You need to pick up skills along the way before applying to be an astronaut candidate. The good news is there are many pathways to becoming an astronaut. rocketstem.org/2026/08/14/do…

Do you want to be an astronaut? Career routes that can take you to space

In 2024, I flew on a microgravity, or zero G, parabolic flight with the European Space Agency (ESA). The aeroplane flew big arcs up and down in the sky. At the top of the arc I experienced 22 seconds...

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RocketSTEM@RocketSTEMAug 7

Curious Kids: Mars is a very dry planet with very little water in its atmosphere and hardly any clouds, yet lightning and thunder do occur on the Red Planet. rocketstem.org/2026/08/06/ar…

Are there thunderstorms on Mars?

“Are there thunderstorms on Mars?” — Cade, age 7, Houston, Texas Mars is a very dry planet with very little water in its atmosphere and hardly any clouds, so you might not expect it to have storms....

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RocketSTEM@RocketSTEMJul 30

Curious Kids: Could the Earth and everything on it – and even the whole universe – be a simulation running on a giant computer? rocketstem.org/2026/07/30/is…

Is the whole universe just a simulation?

“Is the whole universe just a simulation?” — Moumita B., age 13, Dhaka, Bangladesh How do you know anything is real? Some things you can see directly, like your fingers. Other things, like your chin,...

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RocketSTEM@RocketSTEMJul 21

Magnetic fields are a fundamental part of the universe, governing how the building blocks of planets and stars move through space. We still don’t know how magnetic fields came to exist, but we do know they’re everywhere rocketstem.org/2026/07/21/se…

See the largest and most detailed map of universe’s magnetic fields

Magnetic fields are a fundamental part of the universe. They govern how small particles – the building blocks of planets, stars, and ultimately galaxies – move through space. We still don’t know how...

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RocketSTEM@RocketSTEMJul 17

Creating a black hole in a lab would be an amazing opportunity to learn more about how the universe works. But is it even possible? rocketstem.org/2026/07/16/co…

Could we create a black hole in a laboratory on Earth?

“Can anyone make a black hole in a laboratory?” — Sohini B., age 13, Kolkata, West Bengal, India A black hole is an object so massive and dense that even light cannot escape its gravity. They occur...

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RocketSTEM@RocketSTEMJun 26

How do scientists hunt for dark matter? A physicist explains why the mysterious substance is so hard to find. rocketstem.org/2026/06/24/ho…

How do scientists hunt for dark matter?

“Can we generate a way to interact with dark matter with current technology?” — Leonardo S., age 13, Guanajuato, Mexico That’s a great question. It’s one of the most difficult and fascinating...

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RocketSTEM@RocketSTEMJun 12

100 years ago, Robert Goddard launched the first liquid-fueled rocket. Thus began a century of both innovations and challenges for spaceflight. rocketstem.org/2026/06/12/go…

Goddard launched first modern rocket 100 years ago

Apollo 11 first landed astronauts on the Moon in 1969, but the journey to the lunar surface actually began 43 years before, in snowy Massachusetts. One hundred years ago, on March 16, 1926, Robert H....

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RocketSTEM@RocketSTEMJun 11

The idea of a multiverse is one that science fiction fans love to explore. But does the multiverse actually exist? rocketstem.org/2026/06/10/ar…

Are multiverses real? It depends on how you define ‘real’

“Are multiverses real? If so, what do they look like? How do you get there without disturbing time?” — Emily, age 9, Pune, Maharashtra, India The idea of a multiverse – a hypothetical collection of...

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RocketSTEM@RocketSTEMJun 1

Blue Origin's largest rocket exploded on its launchpad, throwing the near-term future of NASA’s Artemis program into question. rocketstem.org/2026/05/31/ar…

Artemis timeline faces questions after Blue Origin rocket explosion

During an evening test fire on May 28, 2026, a Blue Origin New Glenn rocket exploded, engulfing the launchpad in a massive fireball. The spectacular fire, caught on video, not only destroyed the...

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RocketSTEM@RocketSTEMApr 24

Although Project Hail Mary is fictional, the attitude displayed by Ryland Grace is exhibited by real astronauts, engineers, astronomers and other space professionals. rocketstem.org/2026/04/23/pr…

‘Project Hail Mary’ shows how intellectual humility can be a guiding force

Early in Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s science fiction blockbuster “Project Hail Mary,” middle school teacher Ryland Grace, played by Ryan Gosling, is tasked by an international coalition to...

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RocketSTEM@RocketSTEMApr 13

A century before the Moon landing, Jules Verne understood that a moonshot would not be an act of pure and abstract science. It would exist within a political, social and economic context. rocketstem.org/2026/04/13/ar…

Artemis II moonshot reflects a spacefaring vision of Jules Verne’s 1865 novel

With the launch of NASA’s Artemis II mission on April 1, 2026, human beings have finally returned to the Moon for the first time in 50 years – since the age of Apollo. When Apollo 11 first landed on...

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RocketSTEM@RocketSTEMApr 8

First hand account of watching Artemis II lift off — and witnessing the first humans to venture to the Moon since 1972. rocketstem.org/2026/04/04/wi…

Witnessing lift off of first humans to venture to the Moon since 1972

Even from a distance of several kilometres, the Artemis II rocket looked huge. Then, there was a moment that felt like an eternity, as around 2,600 metric tons of spacecraft lifted off. I was...

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