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An artist's impression of the MBR Explorer spacecraft approaching an asteroid.

UAE to send its first mission to solar system’s main asteroid belt

Following its mission to Mars, the United Arab Emirates plans to send spacecraft to the asteroid belt to investigate the history of the solar system.
iSpace's Hakuto-R Series 1 lander.

Crater confusion caused Japan’s Hakuto lunar mission to fail

After examining all the data, Japanese startup ispace believes it now knows why its privately funded lunar mission ended in failure last month.
The Axiom Mission-2 and Expedition 69 crew members pose for a portrait together during dinner time aboard the International Space Station. In the center front row, is Expedition 69 crew member and UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi flanked by (from left) Axiom Mission-2 crew members Commander Peggy Whitson, Mission Specialist Ali Alqarni, Pilot John Shoffner, and Mission Specialist Rayyanah Barnawi. In the back (from left) are, Expedition 69 crew members Roscosmos cosmonaut Dmitri Petelin, NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen, Roscosmos cosmonauts Andrey Fedyaev and Sergey Prokopyev, and NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg. Not pictured is NASA astronaut Frank Rubio.

How to watch the Axiom-2 mission depart from the ISS on Tuesday

This Tuesday, the crew of the second ever all-private mission to the International Space Station will be returning to Earth. Here's how to watch the departure.
This image reveals the fine structures of a sunspot in the photosphere. Within the dark, central area of the sunspot’s umbra, small-scale bright dots, known as umbral dots, are seen. The elongated structures surrounding the umbra are visible as bright-headed strands known as penumbral filaments. Umbra: Dark, central region of a sunspot where the magnetic field is strongest. Penumbra: The brighter, surrounding region of a sunspot’s umbra characterized by bright filamentary structures.

Horrifying up-close images of a sunspot captured by the Inouye Solar Telescope

A new set of images from the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope shows the surface of the sun -- including frankly disturbing images of sunspots seen up close.
james webb chandra images chandrawebb2 1

See stunning images combining James Webb and Chandra X-ray data

NASA has shared a new view of some famous space images, by combining infrared data from Webb with X-ray data from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory.
Virgin Galactic's space plane heading to the edge of space.

Virgin Galactic shares footage of final space tourism flight test

Thursday's successful mission paves the way for Virgin Galactic's first commercial space tourism flight, which is currently scheduled for next month.
NASA scientists used microwave observations to spot the first polar cyclone on Uranus, seen here as a light-colored dot to the right of center in each image of the planet. The images use wavelength bands K, Ka, and Q, from left. To highlight cyclone features, a different color map was used for each.

Astronomers spot cyclones at Uranus’ pole for the first time

Uranus is usually portrayed as a generally featureless blue ball, but when seen using radio telescopes, the pole reveals a swirling cyclone. 
A Hubble Space Telescope image of the globular star cluster, Messier 4. The cluster is a dense collection of several hundred thousand stars. Astronomers suspect that an intermediate-mass black hole, weighing as much as 800 times the mass of our Sun, is lurking, unseen, at its core.

Hubble goes hunting for elusive medium-sized black holes

There's something odd about the black holes discovered to date. We've found hardly any black holes in the intermediate mass range, and it's not clear why.
Virgin Orbit rocket

Virgin Orbit rocket company shuts down

Virgin Orbit's bid to compete with the likes of SpaceX and Rocket Lab has ended in failure after the company officially closed down on Wednesday.
iSpace's Hakuto-R Series 1 lander.

NASA lunar orbiter locates debris from Japan’s failed lander

NASA has released new images that appear to show the broken remains of Japan’s Hakuto lander, which crashed on the moon in a failed mission last month.
The ISS crew on May 22, 2023.

The space station is getting crowded again

Four more crewmembers have just arrived at the International Space Station where they'll work alongside the current inhabitants for the next eight days.
SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft.

How to watch NASA’s private mission arrive at space station

How does a spaceship dock with the ISS 250 miles above Earth and enable its crew to transfer to the ISS? NASA's live stream on Monday will reveal all.
An illustration of Blue Origin's lander on the lunar surface.

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin finally gets coveted moon contract

NASA has selected Blue Origin to build a human landing system for its moon missions, giving it two options for crewed landings after signing up SpaceX in 2021.
The all-private Ax-2 mission launches from the Kennedy Space Center.

Watch NASA successfully launch all-private mission to ISS

Watch the highlights of SpaceX and Axiom Space's successful launch as NASA’s second all-private mission to the International Space Station.
A snippet of the mosaic of Belva Crater taken by the Perseverance rover.

See a 3D view of a martian crater captured by the Perseverance rover

The Perseverance rover recently used its Mastcam-Z instrument to collect over 150 images of Mars' Belva Crater, which have been stitched into a mosaic.
The two young, low-mass proto-stars HR 5999 and HR 6000 illuminate nearby dust, creating the reflection nebula Bernes 149. These stars grew out of the dusty dark cloud of Lupus 3, part of a larger complex of as many as nine dark clouds.

Image of darkness and light shows new stars being born in Lupus 3 nebula

A gorgeous new image of a nebular 500 light-years away gives a peek into the process of star formation.
SpaceX's rocket on the launch pad for the crewed Ax-2 mission.

How to watch NASA’s all-private crew launch to the ISS on Sunday

Four private citizens are about to blast off from the Kennedy Space Center for a spacecraft ride to the International Space Station. Here's how to watch.
This illustration of Comet 238P/Read shows the main belt comet sublimating—its water ice vaporizing as its orbit approaches the Sun. This is significant, as the sublimation is what distinguishes comets from asteroids, creating their distinctive tail and hazy halo, or coma. It is especially important for Comet Read, as it is one of 16 identified main belt comets found in the asteroid belt, as opposed to the colder Kuiper Belt or Oort Cloud, more distant from the Sun. Comet Read was one of three comets used to define the class of main belt comets in 2006.

James Webb investigates mystery of where Earth’s water comes from

The first water may have been brought to our planet by a comet. Now, James Webb is investigating comets to see if they could carry water vapor.
Saturn during Equinox

Saturn takes the crown for planet with the most moons

Previously, Jupiter was the champion with its 95 known moons, but Saturn has pulled into the lead thanks to the recent discovery of 62 new moons there.
Exoplanet LP 791-18 d, illustrated in this artist’s concept, is an Earth-size world about 90 light-years away. A more massive planet in the system, shown as a small blue dot on the right, exerts a gravitational tug that may result in internal heating and volcanic eruptions, like on Jupiter’s moon Io.

Astronomers discover Earth-sized exoplanet covered in volcanoes

Astronomers have discovered an Earth-sized planet that is highly volcanically active, which means it could possibly support life.
virgin galactic sets date for final test of rocket plane vss unity flight

Virgin Galactic sets date for first fully crewed rocket trip since 2021

Watch the space tourism company’s cinematic video previewing what should be its final test flight before a commercial launch this summer.
NASA's Artemis II astronauts.

NASA’s moon astronauts are ready to start training

The four astronauts set to perform a flyby of the moon next year are about to begin training for their groundbreaking mission.
NASA preps one of its high-altitude balloons for launch.

NASA forced to ditch ‘football stadium-sized’ balloon in the ocean

NASA had to ditch one of its huge high-altitude science balloons in the sea recently when it developed a fault 36 hours after launch.
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover captured this mosaic of a hill nicknamed “Pinestand.” Scientists think the tall sedimentary layers stacked on top of one another here could have been formed by a deep, fast-moving river.

Perseverance rover finds evidence of an ancient river on Mars

The Perseverance rover has identified evidence of what was once one of the deepest and fast-flowing rivers yet discovered on the planet.
Artist’s impression of a black hole accretion.

Astronomers just spotted the largest cosmic explosion ever seen

Astronomers recently observed the largest cosmic explosion ever seen, believed to be caused by supermassive black hole devouring a large cloud of gas.
Axiom Space's Ax-2 crew.

NASA readies for its second all-private mission to ISS

The second all-private mission to the International Space Station is expected to blast off from U.S. soil later this month.
This image shows the IRAS 11051-7706 object in the Chamaeleon constellation. New stars are born in the colourful clouds of gas and dust seen here. The infrared observations underlying the image reveal new details in the star-forming regions that are usually obscured by the clouds of dust. The image was produced with data collected by the VIRCAM instrument, which is attached to the VISTA telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile. The observations were done as part of the VISIONS survey, which will allow astronomers to better understand how stars form in these dust-enshrouded regions.

1 million images get stitched together to form an atlas of star birth

Stars are born in dense clouds of dust and gas called, adorably enough, stellar nurseries. Now, researchers have created an atlas of five of these regions.
This artist’s concept depicts the planet GJ 1214 b, a “mini-Neptune” with what is likely a steamy, hazy atmosphere. A new study based on observations by NASA’s Webb telescope provides insight into this type of planet, the most common in the galaxy.

James Webb telescope gets a view of the ‘white whale’ of exoplanet research

Located 50 light-years away, the planet GJ 1214 b has defied 15 years of attempted observations due to its hazy nature.
This image of the dusty debris disk surrounding the young star Fomalhaut is from Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). It reveals three nested belts extending out to 14 billion miles (23 billion kilometers) from the star. The inner belts – which had never been seen before – were revealed by Webb for the first time.

James Webb gets a stunning view of a far-off planetary system

As well peering back at the earliest galaxies in the universe, the James Webb Space Telescope is also letting astronomers learn more about how planets form.
How Vast's space station will look in orbit.

SpaceX and Vast aim to be first to deploy a private space station

As the International Space Station nears the end of its life, SpaceX and LA-based Vast have unveiled a plan to launch the first commercial space station.
ClearSpace's debris-catching spacecraft.

Space junk cleanup mission secures a ride to space

A startup geared toward clearing up space junk now has a chance to test its technology after securing a ride to orbit aboard an Arianespace Vega-C rocket.
JPL's EELS robot.

Check out the latest version of NASA’s slithering snake robot

NASA’s team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory has offered a look at the latest version of its remarkably versatile EELS robot.
Virgin Galactic's space plane heading to the edge of space.

Virgin Galactic announces first fully crewed flight since 2021

The space tourism company will blast its rocket-powered space plane and four passengers toward the Kármán line later this month.
SpaceX's Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft.

Four space station astronauts just took Crew Dragon ‘for a spin’

Four crewmembers at the International Space Station successfully completed a mission on Saturday to move the Crew Dragon Endeavour to a new docking port.