Space

NASA Has Announced Plans for the Next Decade of Space Missions, And It’s Awesome

Article

Personally speaking, I feel like we’ve been focusing on Mars a little bit too much recently. Sure, the Red Planet is all sorts of awesome – so awesome it may have once been a home for life – but with more than half a dozen orbiters, landers, and rovers, it’s certainly got its due.

It’s the Edge of Space for Virgin Galactic

Article

On May 22, Virgin Galactic’s first human spaceflight successfully launched into space from Spaceport America, New Mexico. Mothership, VMS Eve, the carrier and launch platform for the VSS Unity SpaceShipTwo spacecraft, carried VSS Unity to 44,000 feet in the air and then released it as the spaceship began a rocket powered flight to the edge of space.

What You Need to Know About Blue Origin’s Launch into Space with Billionaire Jeff Bezos

Article

The countdown has begun for Blue Origin’s first crewed spaceflight. On Tuesday, July 20, 2021, at 9:00A ET, Jeff Bezos and three crewmates are lifting off into space from Blue Origin’s Launch Site near Van Horn, Texas. Watch SPACE LAUNCH LIVE: BLUE ORIGIN & JEFF BEZOS GO TO SPACE on Discovery and Science Channels at 8:00A ET or at washingtonpost.com.

NASA’s DART Mission Launches: Defending our Planet from an Asteroid

Article

NASA’s first mission to test asteroid deflection technology launched yesterday. DART, or Double Asteroid Redirection Test, is a mission to slam a rocket into an asteroid… hopefully altering its path.

This Year, James Webb will Take a Close Look at a Lava World

Article

The James Webb Space Telescope is gearing up to be an exoplanet extraordinaire. Among many other missions and targets, astronomers plan to use the observatory, now in its final stages of preparations to study…well, a world where it might rain lava.

James Webb Space Telescope Successfully Reached Its Final Destination

Article

Nearly a month after the James Webb Space Telescope launched from French Guiana on December 25, the telescope has reached its final destination–almost a million miles from Earth.

SpaceX Crew Dragon Undocked and Ready to Return

Article

NASA Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley return to Earth somewhere in the ocean near Florida after just over two months at the International Space Station. The first step was completed today at around 7:30 P ET, with a successful undocking from ISS. Follow the journey on SPACE LAUNCH LIVE: SPLASHDOWN on Discovery on August 2 starting at 1P ET.

The 5 Greatest Robotic Space Explorers

Article

Our little silicon friends have been exploring the harshest environments in the universe - space itself - in humanity’s name for decades. And while tales of their robotic exploits could fill an entire book, let’s count down the top five.

A Galaxy’s Love-Hate Relationship with Black Holes

Article

You all have that person in your life. One minute they have you in stitches. The next they’re driving you nuts. You want to let go of this person but you just can’t…and the next day, you wish you never had the thought.You’re not alone, and what happens at the human level also happens at the cosmic level.

Voyager 2 is Really Far Out There, Man

Article

Currently Voyager 2 is about 11 billion miles from the Earth, and has been traveling at speeds of tens of thousands of miles per hour since its launch in 1977. Read more to see where it is now and what we've learned.

28 Billion Light-Years Away: The Most Distant Star Ever Discovered

Article

On Wednesday, NASA announced the Hubble telescope broke a new record– detecting the most distant star ever seen.

How Common are Water Worlds in the Galaxy?

Article

If Kevin Costner wanted to make a sequel, he’s got plenty of opportunities. Water is by far the most common molecule in the universe. It’s made of two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen. Hydrogen is element number 1 (both on the period table and in abundance), and has been hanging around since the first 15 minutes of the Big Bang. Oxygen is forged in the hearts of sun-like stars, and spreads around when those stars die and turn themselves inside out. And since sun-like stars are also very popular, oxygen gets quite a boost.

The Perseid Meteor Shower Reaches its Peak

Article

Stargazers rejoice! The annual Perseid meteor shower is upon us. Here's what you need to know...(updated August 11, 2022)

Success! NASA and SpaceX Crew-1 Complete Early Morning Splashdown

Article

(Updated: May 2, 2021) NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, and JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi completed a successful splashdown on Sunday, May 2, after a 165-day space research mission aboard the International Space Station. Here is what we know about their return to Earth.

Water Molecules Found on Sunlit Surface of the Moon!

Article

Breaking News! At 12P ET today, October 26, NASA announced a new discovery about the Moon. Here are the agency’s findings resulting from the world’s largest airborne observatory, SOFIA.

Billionaire Buys SpaceX Orbital Flight for a Good Cause

Article

Jared Isaacman, US billionaire and the founder of payment processing tech start-up Shift4 has purchased the first all-civilian mission to space with SpaceX--but it isn't just a joyride.