Do look up: NASA’s skywatching tips for May
NASA is back with its monthly roundup up of celestial treats to spy in the sky. Mercury, a lunar eclipse, and the Coma star cluster are all featured.
Watch SpaceX’s Crew Dragon thrusters guide it to space station
SpaceX has shared a cool video showing the Crew Dragon’s Draco engines nudging the spacecraft toward the International Space Station.
Space station’s new robotic arm springs to life
Two spacewalkers at the International Space Station activated the facility's new robotic arm for the first time on Thursday, April 28.
Startup hopes to attract top developer with offer of space flight
Santa Monica startup PaeDae is looking for a new developer to join its ranks, and in an effort to attract the very best talent will offer the new employee a chance to take a very special trip that's quite literally out of this world.
NASA developing ‘sensor badge’ to aid psychological stability on Mars mission
In an effort to ensure astronauts on a Mars mission retain their sanity, NASA is investing $1.3 million in the development of a special sensor badge designed to monitor the psychological health of those who wear it.
Raspberry Pi takes a trip to space, snaps photos of Earth, comes back again
It may have been one relatively small step for Brit Dave Akerman, but it was definitely one giant leap for his Raspberry Pi computer.
Interplanetary payments? ‘PayPal Galactic’ initiative to prep space-based payment system. No, really.
Marketing gimmick or serious effort to prep a space-based payment system? PayPal will on Thursday provide more details about how it intends to become "the preferred money transfer system off Earth – in space and between space and Earth."
Boeing shows off interior of next-gen space capsule
Boeing has opened the hatch to the interior of its next-generation space capsule, the CST-100, set to transport astronauts to the International Space Station within the next 10 years.
Kirobo, the world’s first talking ‘robot astronaut’, heads for International Space Station
Kirobo, the world's first talking 'robot astronaut', is heading for the ISS after blasting off from Japan on Sunday. The knee-high android is set to conduct the first ever space-based communication experiments between a robot and a human.
Stunning view of Andromeda – 2.5 million light years away – captured by super telescope
A team of astronomers has captured a remarkable view of the Andromeda galaxy using an ultra-high-resolution camera attached to its Subaru super telescope in Hawaii. The feat will pave the way for an ambitious 'cosmic census' project.
First satellite designed and built by high school students sent into space
Students at Thomas Jefferson High School in Virginia have become the first to design and build a fully functioning satellite, load it onto a rocket, and send it into space. Science class clearly ain't what it used to be!
SpaceX unveils Dragon V2 spacecraft, complete with 3D-printed engines
SpaceX has unveiled the latest version of its Dragon spacecraft, which could go into service as early as 2016. According to SpaceX boss Elon Musk, the Dragon V2 will incorporate the first “fully printed” engine, making it the first such engine to see flight.
Elevator into space: Japanese firm determined to proceed with bold engineering project
Japanese construction giant Obayashi said this week it hasn't given up on its ambitious plan to build an elevator into space. However, those riding it will need to be patient types, as the terminal station will take seven days to reach.
This is what happens when you push a GoPro into a floating water blob – in space
Astronauts may indeed conduct some important and groundbreaking experiments during their space missions, but this probably wasn't one of them. Still, sticking a GoPro into a blob of water sure looks like fun.
This amazing timelapse footage from ISS shows you what Earth looks like from space
No, this isn't some Hollywood studio production using CGI. This is real imagery captured over a period of three years by astronauts aboard the ISS and lovingly pulled together by a French filmmaker to create a remarkable supercut video. Enjoy.
HoloLens in space! NASA to send Microsoft’s AR headset to ISS this weekend
NASA and Microsoft have partnered to take HoloLens into space. Arriving on the International Space Station this weekend, the space agency says the hologram-based AR technology could one day help it to take on missions deeper in space.
What’s for dinner? NASA funds research for turning poop into astronaut meals
This news may be hard for astronauts to swallow, but NASA recently announced a number of research grants for university-led projects, one of which involves looking at ways to turn human poop into food for space travelers on missions into deep space.
SpaceX shows off new ‘Crew Dragon’ interior for manned flights to ISS
A new video released by SpaceX Thursday shows that astronauts traveling to the ISS on board its Crew Dragon capsule will be riding in some style when the craft is put into use in the next couple of years.
This hotel lets you ‘spend a night in space’ with new moon-themed rooms
Like hotels? Love space? Then the Kameha Grand's new "Space Suite" is certain to fire your rockets. Better start saving though – a night in this uniquely themed room will set you back $2,000.
Wanna be an astronaut? NASA has just opened application process
If you're looking for a career change and have more qualifications than you know what to do with, then how about becoming an astronaut? NASA posted the job ad on Monday in its quest to build a team of astronauts "to take the next giant leap in exploration."
Receiver of astronaut’s wrong-number call thought it was a sloshed partygoer
It's emerged that the recipient of a wrong-number call from ISS astronaut Tim Peake on Christmas Eve was 79-year-old Brit Betty Barker. The senior said she put the phone straight down because she thought it was a prank call from a sloshed partygoer.
‘Hello, is this planet Earth?’ Astronaut Tim Peake calls wrong number from space
A woman on Earth received a surprise call from space on Christmas Day. The call came from recent ISS-arrival Tim Peake, who took to Twitter to apologize for his wrong-number blunder.
SpaceX and two others score major NASA contracts
With all the publicity SpaceX has gotten recently, you'd be forgiven for thinking it was the only private space company out there. In reality, there are many more, and two of them, along with SpaceX, have just scored a big NASA contracts to resupply the ISS.
Flower blooms in space for first time, bringing deep-space travel a step closer
For long missions into deep space, astronauts will need a "space garden" on board their craft. They've already grown lettuce on the ISS, but now they're making serious progress with flowers, opening the up the possibility of food from other kinds of plants.
So, how do space toilets work? Astronaut Tim Peake answers ‘the big question’
It's "the big question" that everyone asks astronauts, apparently, and ISS inhabitant Tim Peake has kindly taken the time to give us an answer. The question? How do astronauts use a space toilet?
Blue Origin becomes first to achieve second landing with same rocket
Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin space company has successfully landed the same rocket twice, a feat SpaceX is yet to achieve. While Blue Origin's mission may have been less complex than SpaceX's, it still marks a major step forward for reusable rocket projects.
A record number of Americans applied to become NASA astronauts
A total of 18,300 people applied to become an astronaut during NASA's most recent call for new space travelers, smashing the previous record of 8,000 set back in 1978. Now the agency just has to whittle them down to the best 14....
SpaceX successfully launches satellite but rocket crash lands on drone ship again
SpaceX has failed in its fourth attempt to land a Falcon 9 rocket on a barge floating in the sea. After a flawless launch on Friday that saw it put a communications satellite into orbit, the rocket exploded as it came down too heavily onto the platform.
Blue Origin’s reusable rocket nails its third landing
Blue Origin has done it again, successfully launching and landing its New Shepard rocket for the third time in five months. CEO Jeff Bezos said last month he hopes to start manned missions using the reusable launch system as early as next year.
SpaceX: Rocket’s own camera captures historic barge landing
SpaceX has finally managed to land its Falcon 9 rocket on a drone ship – without it falling over and exploding. A camera fixed to the rocket provides some pretty remarkable footage of the historic touchdown.
Bezos outlines Blue Origin plan for space tourism, and it includes somersaulting
Blue Origin boss Jeff Bezos says he hopes to have space tourists enjoying suborbital adventures in the next two years, adding that he wants passengers to be able to "float around, do somersaults, [and] enjoy the microgravity”
Astronaut Tim Peake just ran the London Marathon – in space
Despite a complex harness system that threatened severe chafing, astronaut Tim Peake successfully completed the London Marathon from the confines of the International Space Station on Sunday, helped along the way by the RunSocial mixed-reality app.
This is what it looks like if you strap a GoPro to a rocket
GoPro's Hero4 camera has seen some action in its life, but surely nothing quite like this – a rocket launch at speeds of 3800 mph to an altitude of 396,000 feet. So hold onto your seat and prepare to be dazzled....
With masses of hazardous space junk orbiting Earth, Japan offers a solution
Right now there are countless fragments of space junk orbiting Earth that are big enough to cause serious damage to working satellites or even the ISS. Japan's space agency is close to testing an innovative solution it hopes can make space safer.
NASA’s high-flying scientific balloon has just set a world record
NASA has recently started using a high-flying Super Pressure Balloon (SPB) to help it explore the universe. Altitude issues forced the space agency to cut the balloon's latest mission short, but not before it set a new record for flight duration.
SpaceX is getting really good at these rocket landings
SpaceX is really getting the hang of these rocket landings, on Sunday night scoring its fifth flawless landing in eight months. This latest success takes the team yet another step toward its dream of creating a reliable reusable rocket system.