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Space Travel

The new SPHEREx telescope and PUNCH satellites took off aboard a Falcon 9 rocket on March 11.

NASA’s New Space Telescope Launches to Explore the Origins of the Universe After a Series of Delays

Called SPHEREx, the instrument will map 450 million galaxies and search for water molecules that may be clinging to space dust

Researchers used a miniaturized laser mass spectrometer to identify signs of fossils in a gypsum quarry in Algeria. They suggest the same tool could find early fossils on Mars.

Scientists Hope This Tool Could Identify Tiny Fossils on Mars, Revealing Hints to Potential Early Life on the Planet

If Mars ever hosted microorganisms in its bygone oceans, their fossils might still be preserved in minerals—and now, we have a new potential way to find them

Blue Ghost captured its first lunar sunrise, marking the beginning of its operations.

See the Striking New Images From the Blue Ghost Lunar Lander, Now the Second Private Spacecraft to Touch Down on the Moon

Firefly Aerospace’s lander reached lunar soil early Sunday morning, after a 2.8-million-mile journey lasting 45 days

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Aki Hoshide uses a vacuum cleaner aboard the ISS. A new study suggests the space station's sterility may be harmful to astronauts' health.

Is the ISS Too Clean for Astronauts’ Health? New Study Finds the Space Station Lacks Microbial Diversity

Humans have evolved alongside microbes in Earth’s environment that help strengthen our immune systems. But sterile living conditions can reduce that beneficial exposure

Athena launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday.

Athena Spacecraft Launches to the Moon, as Intuitive Machines Aims for Historic Second Lunar Landing

The American company achieved the first successful moon landing by a private spacecraft last year. Now, it has sent a new mission to the south pole, carrying science instruments for NASA

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches on November 18, 2024. Debris that recently landed in Europe came from a Falcon 9 launch this month.

SpaceX Rocket Stage Burns Up Over Europe and Crashes in Poland, While Blue Origin Debris Washes Ashore in the Bahamas

The SpaceX rocket failed to deorbit properly, and the Blue Origin debris had already landed as planned in the ocean

European Space Agency astronaut John McFall tests his prosthesis fit in simulated microgravity.

The World’s First Astronaut With a Physical Disability Is Cleared for Long-Duration Space Missions

Paralympian John McFall has passed all the required medical exams and is now eligible for future travel to the ISS with the European Space Agency

Apollo Lunar Sample Container No. 1008, triple-sealed, in which the Apollo 12 astronauts transported invaluable samples of moon back to Earth.

The Otherwise Unremarkable ‘Rock Boxes’ That Brought Pieces of the Moon Back to Earth

Far from ordinary, it took a cutting-edge NASA design to safeguard these treasures during the Apollo missions

Are humans the only species to drive another to extinction?

Are Humans the Only Species to Drive Others to Extinction? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

Blue Ghost captured an Earth "selfie" from its orbit.

See the First Stunning Images Taken by the Blue Ghost Lunar Lander on Its ‘Scenic Route’ to the Moon

The lander built by Firefly Aerospace has captured incredible views as it orbits Earth. Its next phase is an engine burn that will propel it toward lunar orbit

NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams in June 2024. The duo took their first spacewalk together on January 30, 2025.

NASA’s Starliner Astronauts Take Their First Spacewalk Together After Roughly Eight Months on the ISS

The nearly 5.5-hour feat set a record for astronaut Sunita Williams, who became the woman with the most time spent on spacewalks in history

A self-portrait of NASA's Curiosity rover, taken on June 15, 2018

Curiosity Rover Spots Ancient Water Ripples on Mars, Hinting at a Past With Shallow, Ice-Free Lakes

The 3.7-billion-year-old formations in the planet’s Gale Crater suggest the presence of long-gone bodies of liquid water, with no ice covering the surface

Starship lifts off on January 16, before undergoing a "rapid unscheduled disassembly" roughly eight and a half minutes into the flight.

SpaceX’s Starship Explodes in Its Seventh Test Flight, With Falling Debris Putting on a Fiery Show

The Super Heavy booster, meanwhile, was successfully caught in the launch tower’s mechanical arms for only the second time

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on January 15, carrying two lunar landers built independently by private companies Firefly Aerospace and Ispace.

Two Private Landers Launch on a SpaceX Rocket, Aiming to Touch Down on the Moon

Built by Firefly Aerospace and Ispace, the pair of spacecraft will land separately in the moon’s northern latitudes, conduct science experiments and test new technology

Craters at Mercury's poles contain permanently shadowed areas that are some of the coldest sites in the solar system, despite their proximity to the sun.

New, Stunning Images of Mercury’s North Pole Will Help Scientists Study the Planet’s Mysterious Permanent Shadows

The BepiColombo spacecraft captured the photographs during its last flyby of Mercury, a maneuver necessary to propel the mission into orbit around the planet

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams inspect safety hardware aboard the ISS in August 2024.

NASA’s Starliner Astronauts Face Another Delay in Their Return Home, Drawing Out Their Unexpectedly Long Mission

Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore were supposed to stay at the ISS for a little over a week. It’s now been more than six months, and the end date has been pushed again

The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds were recently captured by NASA astronaut Don Pettit aboard the ISS.

NASA Astronaut Shares Breathtaking Photos From the ISS, Featuring Galaxies and Glowing ‘Star Trails’

On his fourth flight, Don Pettit is once again sharing the art of astrophotography, capturing and posting pictures of Earth, satellites and space

The Orion spacecraft during the fifth day of the Artemis 1 mission on Nov 20, 2022

NASA Pushes Back America’s Return to the Moon to 2027, With the Next Artemis Program Flight Slated for 2026

The space agency’s decision comes after an investigation into the Orion spacecraft’s heat shield, which suffered damage during the Artemis 1 test mission in 2022

A stock illustration of an asteroid near Earth. Astronomers believe our "mini-moon" originated from the Arjuna asteroid belt.

Earth Bids Goodbye to Its ‘Mini-Moon’ as Astronomers Investigate Where Our Planet’s Asteroid Companion Came From

Preliminary research suggests asteroid 2024 PT5, which stuck around Earth for almost two months, has lunar origins

The BYU research team at Boca Chica Beach, Texas.

Here’s What a SpaceX Starship Rocket Launch Sounds Like, According to New, Detailed Data

Just six miles away from the mega-rocket’s fifth test flight, the noise level was equivalent to a rock concert, researchers found

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