Last week, something unusual was detected moving through the Solar System, a small object which didn't seem to behave like any known comets or asteroids. In fact, its behaviour suggested that it originated from outside of our Solar System. So what was this mystery interloper? While not 100 percent identified yet, it seems to be an interstellar asteroid or some similar rocky body.

One of the first sci-fi books I ever read was Rendevzous With Rama by Arthur C. Clarke. I was only about twelve years old, and it left a lasting impression. My imagination has been running overtime for the better part of twenty years because of it; after all, what would it be like to have an extraterrestrial object ploughing through our solar system? What would that mean for mankind?

There was some big astronomy news this week, as astronomers announced the first direct observation of gravitational waves produced by the collision, or merging, of two neutron stars. This collision even produced some heavy elements, such as gold. It sounds like science fiction, but is very real. Gravitational waves have been seen before, but those ones were caused by the collision of two black holes. This was also the first time that such an event (known as GW170817 in this case) had been detected in both visible light and gravitational waves.

Right now, Mars is waiting for our bootprints, its dust drifting on the light Martian breeze in anticipation of its settling over our habitats, coating them in red.

These are my greetings from one hologram to another. No really, according to science there’s a strong possibility that you and I are nothing more but encoded information spread on a flat 2-dimensional surface throughout the universe. As a matter of fact, this theory is becoming somewhat of a fan favorite and the universe, quite obviously, has an unlimited number of fans. Yes, you already read it before and you stumbled over the occasional ‘are we living in a simulation’ videos on YouTube or Vimeo. However, do you believe it and what’s the purpose of all of that?

On September 15, 2017, the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn will culminate in a dramatic and fiery collision with the planet's upper atmosphere. NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Italian Space Agency teamed up for the groundbreaking mission that has changed what we know about planetary science and space travel itself.

In the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, astronomers have come across a variety of unusual phenomena in the universe; while natural explanations have been found for them, so far at least, some of these phenomena can be very bizarre. Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are one such example, and one for which an explanation has not yet been found—very brief (milliseconds), but powerful radio emissions from outside of our galaxy. Now, a new detection of 15 repeating radio bursts has been made by astronomers, adding a new piece to the puzzle and posing more questions.

Space. The final frontier. It just got a little more interesting. Here's why:

One of the most iconic phrases in Science Fiction is Star Trek’s original opening line, “Space, the final frontier.” Space may be the final frontier, but first, we have to be able to survive the cold vacuum of vast open nothingness that makes up the unimaginable distance between our solar system and our nearest stellar neighbor. Or, even just make it to our nearest stellar neighbor that has a potentially habitable planet.

"Free trader Beowulf to Deimos flight control, I am beginning my final approach."

NASA's Cosmic Ray Energetics And Mass for the International Space Station, aka ISS-CREAM, got underway August 14, 2017 by hitching a ride to the ISS with the SpaceX Dragon rocket in a successful launch. CREAM will be installed in Kibo, the Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility. The experiment is designed to probe the mysteries of cosmic rays, or cosmic rain.

One of the most fascinating technologies to be birthed out of the turn of the millennium is additive, or 3D, printing. And like many other scientific discoveries and inventions, it doesn’t take a ton of imagination to see how something like that might be useful in space. In fact, I would argue that in order for something like a colony/generation ship to be successful, it would absolutely need to have the ability to manufacture new parts on the spot.