Tariq Malik

Tariq Malik

Editor-in-Chief

Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com based out of our New York City office and joined the team in 2001, first as an intern and staff writer, and later as an editor. He covers human spaceflight, exploration and space science, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. In October 2022, Tariq received the Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting from the National Space Club Florida Committee.

Hailing from Stockton, California (where he attended the same high school as NASA astronaut Jose Hernandez), Tariq studied print journalism and astronomy at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, earning a bachelor's degree in journalism in 1999 along with a minor in astronomy. He then served as a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra and Fullerton in Orange County for the Our Times sections. 

In 2000, Tariq became the city reporter for the Huntington Beach Independent, a weekly publication of the Los Angeles Times, covering local politics and events, crime, business and environmental issues. He left the Los Angeles Times in 2001 to study science journalism at New York University, where he earned a master's degree in 2002 from NYU's Science and Environmental Reporting Program (now the Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program) under the direction of space reporter William Burrows.

Tariq first joined Space.com as an intern in September 2001 while also serving as a research assistant for nutrition writer Gary Taubes and writing freelance projects, where his work appeared in The Scientist and Laboratory Equipment Magazine. He became a full-time reporter covering spaceflight in 2004, with this first launch being NASA's STS-114 Return to Flight mission in July 2005.

Tariq is also an Eagle Scout (yes, he has the Space Exploration merit badge) and went to Space Camp four times as a kid and a fifth time as an adult. When not writing about space, you can find Tariq watching the latest Star Trek TV series, sci-fi movies and reading about hippos, his favorite animal. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast with space historian Rod Pyle on the TWiT network. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik.

Latest articles by Tariq Malik

An image of Astra's LV0010 rocket launching the NASA TROPICS mission.

Astra rocket suffers major failure during launch, 2 NASA satellites lost

By Tariq Malik last updated

An Astra rocket carrying two small hurricane-tracking satellites for NASA failed to reach orbit Sunday (June 12) after a major malfunction.

Satellites
Star map of Dschubba and the moon on June 12, 2022.

The moon will block a bright double star tonight. Here's how to see it.

By Tariq Malik published

The nearly full moon will block a bright double star in the night sky tonight (June 12). Here's how to see it.

Stargazing
Sky map of the locations of Venus and Uranus on June 11, 2022.

Spot Uranus near Venus in the predawn sky on Sunday

By Tariq Malik published

The brilliant planet Venus will shine near Uranus before sunrise early Sunday (June 12). Here's how to see them.

Solar System
A view of the Mars rover Perseverance's pet rock in its left front wheel on Feb. 6, 2022.

NASA's Perseverance rover on Mars has a 'pet rock' along for the ride

By Tariq Malik last updated

NASA's Perseverance rover on Mars has picked up a "pet rock" hitchhiker that has held on for months.

Mars Rovers
Three different views of the Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 by astrophysicist Gianluca Masi, Bellatrix Observatory, Virtual Telescope Project.

How to watch the potential tau Herculids meteor storm live online tonight

By Tariq Malik published

A free Virtual Telescope Project webcast will stream live views of the potential meteor storm from the tau Herculids meteor shower overnight on May 30-31.

Meteors & Meteor Showers
An artist's depiction of NASA's MAVEN spacecraft in orbit around Mars.

A navigation glitch on NASA's Mars orbiter MAVEN has stalled its science work

By Tariq Malik published

A navigation system glitch on NASA's MAVEN orbiter at Mars earlier this year has hobbled science.

Satellites
The sun unleashed a major X1.1 class solar flare from an active sunspot cluster on its eastern limb on April 17, 2022 GMT. This view was taken by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.

Huge explosion on sun unleashes major solar flare on Easter

By Tariq Malik last updated

The sun unleashed a major solar flare over the Easter holiday weekend, likely setting the stage for more solar storms to come.

The Sun
A SpaceX rocket launch tracking camera view of the moon.

These SpaceX moon and sunrise Starlink satellite launch photos are just incredible

By Tariq Malik published

A stunning SpaceX Starlink satellite fleet launch on May 18 included amazing views of the moon and sunrise.

Satellites
Photo of Boeing's Starliner approaching the ISS by astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti.

Boeing's 1st Starliner to visit space station looks spectacular in these astronaut photos

By Tariq Malik published

Astronaut photos of Boeing's first uncrewed Starliner spacecraft to visit the station capture its Friday docking in stunning detail.

International Space Station
Boeing's Starliner OFT-2 spacecraft and its Atlas V rocket at the launch pad on May 18, 2022.

Boeing's Starliner rolls to launch pad on Atlas V rocket for critical NASA test flight

By Tariq Malik published

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft rolled out to its Florida launch pad Wednesday (May 18) for a crucial test flight.

International Space Station
Lego Ulysses solar probe set.

Lego's exclusive Ulysses space probe set returns for VIP members May 17!

By Tariq Malik published

Lego will re-release its Ulysses solar probe set exclusively to VIP members on May 17, 2022 while supplies last.

Space Games & Toys
The blood moon is seen during a total lunar eclipse in Santiago, Chile on May 15, 2022

Amazing photos of the Super Flower Blood Moon lunar eclipse of 2022

By Tariq Malik, Elizabeth Howell published

The Super Flower Blood Moon of May saw the first total lunar eclipse of 2022 overnight on May 15 and 16 and the view was simply spectacular in these photos.

Eclipses
China Launch March 7 rocket with Tianzhou 4 cargo ship.

Watch live at 1:56 pm ET: China to launch Tianzhou 4 cargo ship to Tiangong space station

By Tariq Malik last updated

China plans to launch the robotic Tianzhou 4 cargo craft to its Tiangong space station today (May 9) at 1:56 p.m. EDT. Watch live here.

Satellites
The four astronauts of SpaceX's Crew-3 mission for NASA float in a space "waltz" on the International Space Station in this still taken during spacesuit fit checks ahead of the astronauts' return to Earth in May 2022. Maurer shared the video on Twitter on May 2, 2022.

Watch SpaceX Crew-3 astronauts 'waltz' in space in fun spacesuit video

By Tariq Malik published

A fun video by SpaceX Crew-3 astronauts on the International Space Station reveals the lighter side of space travel.

Human Spaceflight
People in a railway station in Seoul, South Korea watch a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test on May 7, 2022. North Korea launched a submarine-based ballistic missile test earlier that day.

North Korea launches ballistic missile from submarine in latest test: reports

By Tariq Malik published

North Korea launched a new ballistic missile test from a submarine on Saturday (May 7).

Tech
The word Go appears in clouds near Chile as seen by a satellite in space.

Earth tells us to 'GO' in weird cloud message seen from space (photo)

By Tariq Malik published

A surprising new photo from the GOES East satellite has revealed what appears to be the word "Go" written in the clouds as seen from space.

Earth
The SpaceX Crew-3 astronauts (from left to right), ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer and NASA astronauts Thomas Marshburn, Raja Chari and Kayla Barron.

Watch SpaceX's Crew-3 astronauts return home from International Space Station early Friday

By Tariq Malik published

A SpaceX spacecraft carrying four astronauts will return to Earth before dawn on Friday (May 6) and you can watch it live online.

International Space Station
Two views of Rocket Lab's Electron booster on its launch pad on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula ahead of the company's first mid-air recovery attempt launch set for May 2, 2022.

Rocket Lab delays Electron booster launch and recovery test to Monday

By Tariq Malik published

Rocket Lab has postponed the launch of an Electron rocket it hopes to recovery with a helicopter to no earlier than Monday (May 2).

Launches & Spacecraft
SpaceX's Crew Dragon Freedom is seen docked at the space-facing port on the International Space Station's Harmony module after a smooth arrival with four Crew-4 astronauts aboard on April 27, 2022.

SpaceX just flew its fastest Dragon astronaut trip to the space station ever

By Tariq Malik last updated

SpaceX just set a new record for its fastest Dragon astronaut trip yet.

International Space Station
Elon Musk shared this view of a batch of SpaceX Raptor 2 engines awaiting integration into a Starship rocket at the company's Starbase facility near Boca Chica, Texas on April 26, 2022. Twitter fans saw an eerie resemblance to the Doctor Who villians, the Daleks.

Elon Musk shows off new SpaceX rocket engines for Starship. Twitter fans see Daleks.

By Tariq Malik published

Elon Musk seems pretty proud of his company SpaceX's new rocket engines. Twitter fans fear they're Daleks.

Launches & Spacecraft
A Chinese Long March 11 rocket launches five small satellites into orbit from an ocean platform in the East China Sea on April 29, 2022.

China just launched a rocket with 5 satellites to orbit from a platform at sea

By Tariq Malik published

China launched five satellites into orbit on a rocket that lifted from a platform at sea on Saturday (April 30), marking the country's farthest liftoff from shore yet.

Satellites
This artist's concept shows NASA's Space Launch System atop its Florida launch pad.

The World's Tallest Rockets: How They Stack Up

By Tariq Malik last updated

From the mighty Saturn V to NASA's new Space Launch System, see how the biggest rockets on Earth compare.

Human Spaceflight
Building the Lego NASA Apollo Saturn V rocket.

Space.com Builds: Lego NASA Apollo Saturn V Rocket (Video)

By Tariq Malik last updated

Watch Space.com managing editor Tariq Malik and his 8-year-old daughter Zadie build the towering Saturn V moon rocket set from LEGO released in 2017.

Space Games & Toys
NASA astronaut Victor Glover celebrates after returning to Earth on SpaceX's Crew-1 Crew Dragon capsule Resilience with a splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico near Panama City, Florida on May 2, 2021.

Watch NASA astronaut Victor Glover talk life in space and more from the Smithsonian

By Tariq Malik last updated

Today (April 28), astronaut Victor Glover will host a live discussion from the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Human Spaceflight
Russian comonaut Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos waves to a camera during a spacewalk outside the International Space Station on April 18, 2022.

Watch 2 Russian cosmonauts spacewalk outside the International Space Station today

By Tariq Malik published

Two Russian cosmonauts will spend hours spacewalking outside the International Space Station. Watch it live

International Space Station
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