Small Steps, Giant Leaps

Currently, flying faster than the speed of sound over land is prohibited for commercial flights because it creates disruptive sonic booms. NASA's experimental X-59 plane will research how to turn those booms into "sonic thumps," about as loud as a slamming car door. Lead pilot Nils Larson explains how the X-59 could usher in the next era of commercial supersonic flight.

A solar sail uses light particles from the Sun to move through space without needing a single drop of fuel. NASA is demonstrating the lightweight technology that could open doors to low-cost missions to deep space.

Dr. Jennifer Edmunson explains what it takes to simulate Moon and Mars dust on Earth, and lessons learned from preparing to build habitats on other worlds.

There’s a program at NASA that taps into the power of the public to solve some of the toughest problems in space exploration. It’s called Centennial Challenges, a prize competition that has awarded more than $24 million to hundreds of people ranging from academics, startup founders, small business owners, and independent inventors from across the U.S. and 86 countries.

On September 17, 2025, NASA announced that the number of exoplanets, planets outside our solar system, tracked by NASA has reached 6,000. In the three decades since the groundbreaking detection of exoplanet 51 Pegasi b, the first confirmed planet orbiting a Sun-like star, astronomers have concluded that exotic worlds are everywhere.