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Space News

Fly across Nili Fossae with Mars Express.

Fly over the trenches of Mars in stunning video of Nili Fossae

A new video from the European Space Agency (ESA) was constructed using data from the Mars Express mission and shows a flyover of Mars's Nili Fossae trenches.
Boeing Space's Starliner spacecraft heading back to the launchpad.

Watch Starliner heading back to the launchpad at Kennedy

Boeing has shared a short video showing its Starliner spacecraft heading back to the launchpad ahead of the spacecraft's first crewed flight on Saturday.
The first of two CubeSats for the PREFIRE mission sits on a launch pad in Māhia, New Zealand, shortly before launching on May 25, 2024 at 7:41 p.m. NZST (3:41 a.m. EDT).

Two tiny NASA satellites are launching to study Earth’s poles

NASA has launched the first part of a two-satellite mission called PREFIRE to study Earth's poles, with the second satellite set to launch this Saturday.
JADES (NIRCam Image with Pullout). The NIRCam data was used to determine which galaxies to study further with spectroscopic observations. One such galaxy, JADES-GS-z14-0 (shown in the pullout), was determined to be at a redshift of 14.32 (+0.08/-0.20), making it the current record-holder for the most distant known galaxy. This corresponds to a time less than 300 million years after the big bang.

James Webb discovers the most distant galaxy ever observed

Researchers using James Webb have discovered the most distant known galaxy to date. It existed just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams arrive back at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, May 28, ahead of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test.

NASA confirms readiness for highly anticipated crewed mission

NASA and Boeing Space have confirmed their readiness to proceed with Saturday’s first crewed launch of the Starliner spacecraft to the ISS.
Artist's view of EarthCARE on board a Falcon 9 launch vehicle. Equipped with four instruments, the Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) satellite mission has been designed to make a range of different measurements that together will shed new light on the role that clouds and aerosols play in regulating Earth’s climate.

How to watch Europe launch a new Earth observation satellite tonight

The European Space Agency will launch a satellite called EarthCARE to observe clouds and aerosols in the atmosphere tonight. Here's how to watch the launch.
The world's most powerful rocket on the launchpad.

SpaceX reveals target date for next test of Starship megarocket

SpaceX has for the first time named a specific target date for the fourth test launch of the Starship, the most powerful rocket ever to fly.
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft at the space station during an uncrewed test flight.

NASA now aiming to launch Starliner astronauts flight next month

Following multiple delays over the last month, NASA has announced a new target launch date for the first crewed flight of the Starliner capsule.
This image is released as part of the Early Release Observations from ESA’s Euclid space mission. All data from these initial observations are made public on 23 May 2024 – including a handful of unprecedented new views of the nearby Universe, this being one. This breathtaking image features Messier 78 (the central and brightest region), a vibrant nursery of star formation enveloped in a shroud of interstellar dust. This image is unprecedented – it is the first shot of this young star-forming region at this width and depth.

Euclid space telescope captures stunning images of far-off galaxies

New images from the European Space Agency's Euclid telescope show a range of cosmic objects, from bustling stellar nurseries to enormous galaxy clusters.
TOI-1798, a system that is home to two planets. The inner planet is a strange Super-Earth so close to its star, one year on this alien world lasts only half an Earth day.

Exoplanet catalog details over 100 worlds beyond our solar system

A new catalog of exoplanets from two telescopes shows the incredible variety of planets that exist beyond our solar system.
SpaceX's Cargo Dragon approaching the space station.

SpaceX spacecraft looks amazing in this new museum display

A SpaceX Dragon capsule that’s been to orbit and back twice has gone on display at the Henry Crown Space Center in Chicago.
A SpaceX Raptor rocket engines explodes during testing.

Watch this SpaceX Raptor engine blow up during testing

A SpaceX Raptor engine of the type used by the company's Starship megarocket exploded during a test firing on Thursday.
This artist’s concept depicts NASA’s Psyche spacecraft headed to the metal-rich asteroid Psyche in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The spacecraft launched in October 2023 and will arrive at its destination in 2029.

Why the Psyche spacecraft’s futuristic electric thrusters glow blue

NASA's Psyche mission is on its way to visit a metal asteroid between Mars and Jupiter, and it recently kicked on its new blue-glowing electric thrusters.
Gliese 12 b, which orbits a cool, red dwarf star located just 40 light-years away, promises to tell astronomers more about how planets close to their stars retain or lose their atmospheres. In this artist’s concept, Gliese 12 b is shown retaining a thin atmosphere.

Astronomers discover rare ‘exo-Venus’ just 40 light-years away

Astronomers have discovered a rare type of planet called an exo-Venus with a similar temperature to Earth, located in our cosmic back yard.
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft at the space station during an uncrewed test flight.

First crewed test flight of Boeing Starliner delayed again, with no new launch date set

NASA had been hoping to perform the first crewed launch of the troubled Boeing Starliner capsule this weekend, but now the launch has once again been delayed.
Arianespace's animation showing the launch of its next-gen Ariane 6 rocket.

New rocket on course for maiden flight this summer

Europe has been without a heavy-lift rocket since the Ariane 5's final flight in July 2023, so the ESA is keen to start testing the Ariane 6.
A Starlink dish.

SpaceX’s Starlink internet service reaches milestone

Since launching a beta internet-from-space service in 2020, SpaceX's Starlink system has grown rapidly and now has more than 3 million customers globally.
SpaceX's Starship rocket on the launchpad.

SpaceX photos show important Starship preflight rehearsal

SpaceX is another step closer to the fourth test flight of the world’s most powerful rocket after engineers conducted a prelaunch rehearsal on Monday.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 booster launching for the 21st time in May 2024.

A SpaceX rocket just set a new flight record

SpaceX's ability to launch and land the same first-stage booster multiple times has revolutionized access to space due to the lower costs that it brings.
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft at the space station during an uncrewed test flight.

Boeing’s Starliner won’t fly on Tuesday after all

The launch of the Starliner spacecraft's first crewed flight has been delayed by another four days, with NASA now targeting May 25 for launch.
This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image captures a triple-star star system.

Hubble catches a baby star pulsating in a triple star system

A gorgeous new image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows a triple star system, including HP Tau, that's less than 10 million years old.
NS-25 astronauts during training at Launch Site One. (May 18, 2024)

First Black astronaut candidate finally reaches space at age 90

NASA's first Black astronaut candidate, Ed Dwight, was selected for training in 1961 but never got the chance to travel to space -- until now.
Jupiter’s moon Europa was captured by the JunoCam instrument aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft during the mission’s close flyby on Sept. 29, 2022. The images show the fractures, ridges, and bands that crisscross the moon’s surface.

Stunning images of Jupiter’s moon Europa show it has a floating icy shell

NASA's Juno mission has imaged Jupiter's intriguing moon Europa, a top target of habitability research due to its liquid water ocean beneath a thick icy crust.
An artist's impression of the Rosalind Franklin rover on Mars.

NASA to help with the launch of Europe’s unlucky Mars rover

Europe's unlucky Mars rover, known as Rosalind Franklin, has gotten a boost thanks to a new cooperation agreement with NASA.
NASA astronauts training in Arizona.

NASA conducts ‘moonwalks’ in the Arizona desert for Artemis lunar mission

Being an astronaut isn't always glamorous, as years of training and research are carried out on terra firma prior to a crewed mission.
SpaceX's Starship rocket being stacked for its fourth test flight.

Watch SpaceX stack Starship rocket ahead of fourth test flight

SpaceX chief Elon Musk shared a video on Thursday showing the mighty Starship rocket being stacked on the launchpad ahead of its fourth test flight.
A coronal aurora appeared over southwestern British Columbia on May 10, 2024.

How your aurora photographs are helping NASA study solar storms

The most dramatic solar storm in decades wasn't only notable for the gorgeous colors seen in the sky -- it's also a way for scientists to learn about the sun.
Artist concept of novel approach proposed by a 2024 NIAC Phase II awardee for possible future missions depicting lunar surface with planet Earth on the horizon.

NASA eyes levitating robot train for the moon

NASA is considering building a railway on the moon that uses levitating robots to move payloads around the lunar surface.
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft at the space station during an uncrewed test flight.

First crewed flight of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft delayed again

The first crewed flight of the Starliner spacecraft has been delayed again while engineers fix an issue with the Boeing-made vehicle.
SpaceX's Super Heavy and Starship.

Elon Musk reveals when he expects Starship megarocket to fly again

SpaceX boss Elon Musk has shared a time frame for when he believes its powerful Starship rocket will embark on its fourth test flight.
SpaceX's Starship rocket lifting off in November 2023.

SpaceX facing FAA review of Starship launches from Kennedy

SpaceX will have to pass an environmental review before it can launch its powerful Starship rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare – as seen in the bright flash toward the middle of the image – on May 10, 2024. The image shows a subset of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares and which is colorized in gold.

Extreme solar storms create gorgeous views of auroras across the planet

The sun has been unusually active this week, leading to stunning views of auroras across Europe and parts of the U.S. this weekend.
This cloudy, ominous structure is CG 4, a cometary globule nicknamed ‘God’s Hand’. CG 4 is one of many cometary globules present within the Milky Way, and how these objects get their distinct form is still a matter of debate among astronomers. This image was captured by the Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera on the U.S. National Science Foundation Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, a Program of NSF NOIRLab. In it, the features that classify CG 4 as a cometary globule are hard to miss. Its dusty head and long, faint tail vaguely resemble the appearance of a comet, though they have nothing in common. Astronomers theorize that cometary globules get their structure from the stellar winds of nearby hot, massive stars.

Dark Energy Camera captures the gorgeous ‘God’s Hand’ globule

A stunning new image from the Dark Energy Camera shows an unusually shaped structure in the Gum Nebula called a cometary globule.
This artist’s concept shows what the exoplanet 55 Cancri e could look like. Also called Janssen, 55 Cancri e is a so-called super-Earth, a rocky planet significantly larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune, which orbits its star at a distance of only 2.25 million kilometres (0.015 astronomical units), completing one full orbit in less than 18 hours. In comparison, Mercury is 25 times farther from the Sun than 55 Cancri e is from its star. The system, which also includes four large gas-giant planets, is located about 41 light-years from Earth, in the constellation Cancer.

James Webb telescope peers at the atmosphere of a rocky hell world

The James Webb Space Telescope recently investigated an exoplanet that could have the first atmosphere of a rocky planet discovered outside the solar system.