Ben Burress
KQED Public Media
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Past articles by Ben:
See Photos of This Week's Strawberry Supermoon From Around the World
It's a super moon: a super-sized, super-bright, strawberry supermoon, hanging low in the sky near you, in mid-June. → Read More
By Making Oxygen on Mars, NASA Lays Groundwork for Human Visit
The only helicopter on Mars has completed another roundtrip sojourn. The Perseverance mission has included not only the first flights of an aircraft on another planet, but the manufacture of oxygen by heating carbon dioxide from the Mars atmosphere. → Read More
Did Earth Receive a Radio Transmission From Proxima Centauri?
A team of astronomers is working to analyze an unusual radio signal detected early in 2019 with characteristics more typical of an artificial broadcast than a natural source. → Read More
Jupiter and Saturn Conjunction: How to See It on Monday
On December 21 Jupiter and Saturn will appear closer together than in almost 800 years, one fifth the width of the full moon. → Read More
NASA’s Been Social Distancing Astronauts and Spacecraft for Decades. Why? Just in Case...
NASA has engaged in 'social distancing' and quarantine practices on an interplanetary scale for decades. → Read More
How We Got a Leap Year, With Its Opulence of Time
February 29, the rarest of days, gives us an extra 24 hours of winter. → Read More
NASA Plans to Send a Woman to the Moon ... and Really Soon
NASA's Artemis mission will send the next man and first woman to the moon — and only four years from now. → Read More
Nine Major Innovations You Can Thank Space Program For
The technology we use every day originated from some extraordinary challenge -- like NASA's effort 50 years ago to put humans on the moon. → Read More
How We Made It to the Moon With Less Powerful Computers Than You Carry In Your Pocket
Considering how primitive early space age technology was during the Apollo missions, how did we ever get to the moon? → Read More
What's Left for Us to Do on the Moon, Anyway? Plenty, It Turns Out
As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Apollo moon landing, the world is looking forward to a return to the moon. → Read More
Greatest Discoveries of the Best Space Telescope You've Never Heard Of
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope will retire in January, after 15 years of stunning observations of the universe. → Read More
This Asteroid Won't Hit Earth, But It's Coming Pretty Dang Close
The Potentially Hazardous Asteroid called Apophis will narrowly miss Earth in 2029--so narrowly you'll be able to see it with your own eyes. → Read More
We're Sending a Helicopter to Mars
The Mars 2020 rover mission's Mars Helicopter has passed its flight tests and is now cleared to fly Martian skies. → Read More
How Did Life Form 4 Billion Years Ago? NASA Thinks It Might Know
Scientists have reproduced in the lab how organic materials may have originated on Earth. → Read More
Turn Around, It's a Total Eclipse of the Super Moon
On Sunday night, a total lunar eclipse will transform a full moon into a three-hour-plus celestial extravaganza. → Read More
New Horizons Kicks Off 2019 With Ultima Thule Encounter
Minutes into 2019, New Horizons made a historic fly-by of the most distant object visited, Ultima Thule. → Read More
The Geminids Return Late Tonight! Where, When and How to Watch
Look up! It's almost time to be dazzled by one of the year's best meteor showers, the Geminids. → Read More
NASA to InSIGHT: Brace for Landing
NASA's InSIGHT spacecraft is scheduled to land on Mars Monday, November 26, on a mission to look within the Red Planet. → Read More
Voyager 2 Heads Beyond Our Solar System
On the heels of Voyager 1's historic 2012 breakout into interstellar space its twin, Voyager 2, has begun to detect signs that it too may be on the verge. → Read More
Someone's Kid is Gonna Name the Next Mars Rover. Why Not Yours?
The Mars 2020 rover needs a better name, and NASA will soon be holding a contest to determine what that is. Students 18 or under qualify. All the Mars rovers to date have been named by pre-teens. → Read More