A Chinese spacecraft enters the moon’s orbit and prepares to be the first to land on its far side. Rabiah Mayas joins us with stories making headlines in the world of science.

It took six months, a voyage of 300 million miles and a final “seven minutes of terror,” but NASA’s InSight spacecraft on Monday touched down on Mars in a landing the craft’s chief engineer called “flawless.”

The president proposes a new branch of the military for space defense. Local experts weigh in on Space Force.

Next week, the retired University of Chicago astrophysicist, 91, will watch as a probe named in his honor is launched from the Kennedy Space Center and catapulted to the sun’s corona.

For the next several days, the celestial event calendar includes some stellar highlights for observers in Chicago and around the globe.

Scientists are preparing to launch a rocket in New Mexico that’s equipped with a new high-powered device that will capture unprecedented images of astronomical objects. 

Later this month, the red planet will be just 35.8 million miles away – the brightest and closest it’s been to Earth since 2003.

A tantalizing discovery suggests that life could once have existed on Mars – and may still exist today. We get the latest on the red planet with Adler Planetarium astronomer Mark Hammergren.

Meet the authors of a new tell-all book that reveals the incredible story behind the little spacecraft that was the first to explore Pluto.

The Apollo 8 astronauts reunite in Chicago as a new book by local author Robert Kurson celebrates the historic first human flight to the moon.

Rabiah Mayas, one of our favorite explainers of all things scientific, shares some of the latest top science news from Chicago and around the world.

Could a new space race led by private entrepreneurs take humans to Mars and beyond? Futurist and best-selling author Michio Kaku talks about humanity’s destiny to colonize the solar system and reach for the stars.

Starting Friday, planetarium visitors will have another chance to explore the ever-evolving way humans view the universe.   

If the skies over Chicago cooperate over the next 12 hours, the moon will offer a very rare triple feature. 

Wednesday’s “super blue blood moon” marks the convergence of three lunar events, but it will hardly be visible to viewers in Chicago. 

A fireball streaked across the Midwestern sky Tuesday night, creating a sonic boom. An Adler Planetarium astronomer tells us more about this rare celestial fireworks display.