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Space Travel

Silly humans, Pluto is a dog, not a planet.

Of Course Some People Think NASA’s Pluto Pictures Are Fake

Or at least doctored to exclude evidence of alien life.

Mission operations manager Alice Bowman shares the real secret behind the Pluto flyby in December 2014.

These Pictures Give a Rare Glimpse Into the Heart of the Pluto Flyby

Spanning the full 9.5 years of the mission to date, the images by Michael Soluri capture the people behind the epic close encounter

Exaggerating the colors on Pluto and Charon helps mission scientists see distinct terrains on each icy world.

Where Will the New Horizons Probe Go After Pluto?

The historic flyby may be over, but the spacecraft should still go on to study even smaller bodies on its path through the Kuiper belt

Pluto as seen by New Horizons on July 13, when the spacecraft was about 476,000 miles from the surface.

The New Horizons Probe Has Made Its Closest Approach to Pluto

Mission scientists have received the confirmation signal that the pre-programmed event went as planned and the craft is healthy

Hello, Pluto! We <3 you, too.

New Research

Pluto Probe Finds Surprises Ahead of Its Close Encounter

From dark poles to weird “whales”, New Horizons is giving us a taste of the historic science we can expect from its visit to Pluto

Trending Today

SpaceX Failure Puts Dozens of Satellites on Hold

Recent losses have left other SpaceX customers in limbo

An artist’s illustration of the Prandtl-m flying above the surface of Mars

Cool Finds

This Boomerang-Shaped Aircraft Could be the First to Fly on Mars

The lightweight glider would search for potential landing spots to be used by a future manned mission to Mars

An iconic remnant of the space shuttle Challenger disaster, this flag-covered piece of fuselage was hidden away in storage until NASA's new memorial launched on June 27, 2015.

NASA’s Memorial Honors Lives Lost on the Challenger and Columbia Missions

The permanent exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida displays remnants of the shuttles and items from fallen astronauts

NASA is starting to brainstorm where humans should land on Mars.

Cool Finds

Where Should Humans Land on Mars? NASA Wants to Hear Your Suggestions

In October, the agency will hear proposals on where to put a Mars base

This artist's rendering shows New Horizons encountering Pluto and its largest moon, Charon.

Seven Surprises From the First Flybys of Each Planet in the Solar System

As the New Horizons probe approaches Pluto, find out what wonders were uncovered by the first spacecraft to zip past other worlds

Trending Today

Six “Crew Members” Just Emerged from a Simulated Eight Months on Mars

They celebrated with a skydiving trip chaperoned by the U.S. Army Parachute Team

Trending Today

Engine Misfire Jolts the ISS, Shifting its Position

Unexpected engine firing on a Soyuz capsule pushed the station into a different orbit

Cool Finds

This is What it Looks Like When a GoPro Falls From Space

SpaceX put a camera in a payload fairing for its Falcon 9 rocket

An artist’s concept of NASA’s Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator

Trending Today

NASA Will Launch a Flying Saucer Soon

Weather has kept the test vehicle, designed to land softly on Mars, grounded for the moment but the launch window is still open

Graphic design student Oskar Pernefeldt envisions a blue and white flag to symbolize Earth's presence on far off planets like Mars.

Does Planet Earth Need Its Own Flag?

Some think we need a universal flag to stake our claim in space

New Research

60 NASA Scientists are Trying to Build a Better Parachute

The Supreme Council of Parachute Experts wants to construct a parachute that can help a heavier craft land on Mars

The Galileo spacecraft's view of the crazy cracks and brown gunk on Europa.

These Instruments Will Help NASA Figure Out If Life Can Thrive on Europa

The space agency has announced the suite of experiments that will fly on a mission to the icy moon of Jupiter

Trending Today

Today’s Google Doodle Honors Sally Ride

Five animations show the first American woman astronaut’s sense of fun

The "South Pacific Ocean Uninhabited Area" or spacecraft cemetery, as it's affectionately dubbed, is located in the middle of nowhere, thousands of miles off the coast of New Zealand.

There’s a Spacecraft Cemetery in the Pacific

The middle of the Pacfic Ocean is one of the two places spacecrafts are laid to rest

From the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center

The Ill-Fated History of the Jet Pack

The space-age invention still takes our imaginations on our wild ride

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