NEW: On Oct 20, Japan will launch its most audacious space mission. It’s going to fly to Mars, land twice (!) on Phobos (“fear”), and steal pieces of that alien moon.

That’s right: to pull of this heist, Japan must confront fear itself. @ScienceMagazine

science.org/content/articl…

Our Hera spacecraft can now see Didymos and Dimorphos as two separate asteroids!

Coming closer, it will study the effects of NASA's 2022 DART impact and help advance asteroid deflection as a planetary defence technique.

The first detailed images of Dimorphos are expected on 25 s journey with the Hera Space Companion 👉 hera.esa.int

🔗esa.int/Space_Safety/H…

NEW: How, exactly, did Earth and Mars form? A new study suggests they have very different origin stories: Mars was mostly built by giant space rocks colliding, while Earth was pieced together by a self-assembling swarm of pebbles. 🌎 ☄️ 💥

Me @NYTScience nytimes.com/2026/10/22/sci…

NEW: How, exactly, did Earth and Mars form? A new study suggests they have very different origin stories: Mars was mostly built by giant space rocks colliding, while Earth was pieced together by a self-assembling swarm of pebbles. 🌎 ☄️ 💥

Me @NYTScience nytimes.com/2026/10/22/sci…

In just a few seconds, gamma-ray bursts unleash the same energy as 1,000 suns blazing for 10 billion years. They're cosmic superweapons—and scientists thought they understood them.

But then along came Dynamite, Bonfire, the BOAT, and Lucifer.

Me @sciam scientificamerican.com/article/these-…

NEW: On Oct 20, Japan will launch its most audacious space mission. It’s going to fly to Mars, land twice (!) on Phobos (“fear”), and steal pieces of that alien moon.

That’s right: to pull of this heist, Japan must confront fear itself. @ScienceMagazine

science.org/content/articl…

In just a few seconds, gamma-ray bursts unleash the same energy as 1,000 suns blazing for 10 billion years. They're cosmic superweapons—and scientists thought they understood them.

But then along came Dynamite, Bonfire, the BOAT, and Lucifer.

Me @sciam scientificamerican.com/article/these-…

H3ロケット10号機による火星衛星探査機「MMX」の打ち上げ、平塚の自宅から観察できました。左側が分離直後の第1段、右側が燃焼中の第2段です。噴煙が太陽の光に照らされ、まるで彗星の尾のような姿でした。

LET’S GO MMX!

An ancient collision may have left three galaxies without dark matter. That spells trouble for alternative gravity theories. @squigglyvolcano reports: quantamagazine.org/triplet-of-gho…

NEW: The US wants to put a base on the Moon. So does China. Both could develop into small cities.

One problem: the Moon is a comically dangerous place. It will do its best to try and kill you.

So: can it be done?

A deep dive: @technologyreview technologyreview.com/2026/10/12/114…

NEW: The US wants to put a base on the Moon. So does China. Both could develop into small cities.

One problem: the Moon is a comically dangerous place. It will do its best to try and kill you.

So: can it be done?

A deep dive: @technologyreview technologyreview.com/2026/10/12/114…

My favourite bit of reporting for this story was finding out ISS astronauts were growing little gardens in their quarters in secret—and only this summer have NASA explicitly permitted them to do this.

Astronauts are, in many ways, just regular, hopeful humans. 🌱

NEW: Yesterday, a Russian drone struck Ukraine's National Academy of Sciences in Kyiv. For @NYTScience, I looked into the institution, & found out that it was (is) a powerhouse of research—yes, militarily, but also in astronomy, nuclear physics & more. nytimes.com/2026/09/29/sci…

NEW: So, the US military has (weirdly casually) mentioned that it’s got space weapons in orbit around Earth.

For @NatGeo, I dig into the deets: a short history of space weapons, what the new weapon may be, and (!) where it might be found.

nationalgeographic.com/science/articl…

NEW: In Spring 2024, an asteroid perhaps as small as 30 feet across slammed into the Moon with the force of an atomic bomb, carving out a Coliseum-sized pit and blasting debris 60 miles away.

Moon bases beware. The Moon’s trying to kill you.

Me @nytimes nytimes.com/2026/09/21/sci…

Quite enjoy getting this sort of alert.

An asteroid has just been discovered before it’ll hit Earth! It’ll enter the atmosphere just northwest of Australia.

(Don’t worry: it’s ~1m long, so it’ll just make a cool, brief fireball. We aren’t all about to die.)

NEW: So—did we just catch a glimpse of a dark matter particle? Are we about to find out what invisible glue holds the universe together?

Maybe! For @NatGeo, I looked into the super cool finding, and the amazing experiment designed to hunt for answers. nationalgeographic.com/science/articl…

NEW: So—did we just catch a glimpse of a dark matter particle? Are we about to find out what invisible glue holds the universe together?

Maybe! For @NatGeo, I looked into the super cool finding, and the amazing experiment designed to hunt for answers. nationalgeographic.com/science/articl…

Happy Asteroid Day, to those who celebrate!

Want to know how @NASA, @esa and a global team of scientists and engineers are racing to save the world from killer asteroids?

Then buy my book, HOW TO KILL AN ASTEROID—now available in paperback! ☄️ 💥 ☠️

wwnorton.com/books/how-to-k…