Space Exploration Stories

Explore the sci-fi and fantasy universe with The Portalist.

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Space Opera Meets Arrival in Samuel R. Delany's Babel-17

A famous poet must decipher a strange alien language before it becomes a weapon of mass destruction.

15 of the Weirdest Things People Have Left on the Moon

Golf balls, an original Warhol, and bags of poop — humans have left a lot of strange things on the lunar surface. 

Jack Parsons: A Pioneer of Rocket Science and His Bumpy Road to Fame

Author George Pendle explores the fascinating and unorthodox life of a brilliant scientist in his book "Strange Angel."

Alan Shepard, the Apollo 1 Disaster, and the Race to the Moon

On January 27, 1967, a fire broke out during a launch simulation of the Apollo 1 aircraft, killing the men inside and changing NASA forever.

Colonizing Mars: Comparing the Facts and the Fiction

Here’s how the most popular of today’s Mars-set science fiction stories line up with today’s science.

What Happens When an Old Woman Steals Your Story?

In celebration of the re-release of "A Matter of Oaths," the author reveals how her space opera found an unexpected protagonist.

[CLOSED] Enter to Win An Unkindness of Ghosts, by Rivers Solomon

This beautifully written space opera explores race, class, and history.

9 Space Opera Books Featuring Powerful Heroines

Double the X chromosomes, double the badassery.

The Voyager Golden Record: Humanity's Message to the Stars

In 1976, NASA and a crack team led by Carl Sagan had a message for aliens — and the people of Earth.

Elon Musk: "Until People See Robots Going Down the Street Killing People, They Don't Know How to React"

The SpaceX founder says the need to regulate artificial intelligence is now more urgent than ever.