To date, we know of over 5,000 planets outside the solar system. And astronomers suspect that there may be *checks notes* around a trillion more in our galaxy alone. The search for exoplanets is one of the hottest topics in astronomy, with expensive telescopes and giant collaborations all searching for the holy grail of the 21st century: an Earth 2.0, a habitable world like our own.
The NASA and SpaceX Crew-2 mission launched on Friday, April 23 at 5:49A ET from the NASA Launch Complex 39A. This historic milestone marks the second operational mission of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. Onboard was NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough, NASA astronaut Megan McArthur, ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, and JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide. After a 23-hour journey, Crew-2 successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on April 24 at 5:08A ET. Here's everything that happened from launch day to the Crew-2's arrival at the ISS. (Updated April 24, 2021)
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.
On Sunday, July 11, around 11:30A ET, Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Galactic, soared to the edge of space as a passenger aboard Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity. The space plane then landed safely at Spaceport America in New Mexico, making Branson's space tourism dream come true.
There’s more to NASA than space. The agency’s full acronym stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration. I’ve covered plenty of interesting stories in the space sector, so it’s time to the aeronautics side some love too.
A few years ago, after the successful deployment of the Curiosity rover on Mars, the folks at NASA envisioned a bold new plan to send another mission to the red planet. The mission was scheduled to depart in the then-futuristic year of 2020.
Below are some exciting space exploration highlights!
From "Space Selfies" and birthday celebrations, to beautiful images of Earth, NASA Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley shared tons content while up at the International Space Station.
The last time Jupiter appeared this large and bright in the sky was in October 1963.
On Wednesday, NASA announced the Hubble telescope broke a new record– detecting the most distant star ever seen.
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.
One NASA astronaut and two Roscosmos cosmonauts of Expedition 64 are scheduled to launch to the ISS on Wednesday, October 14 at 1:45AM ET for a six month stay. Let’s learn the details!
Astronauts on long-term space missions can experience bone loss equivalent to two decades of aging. New research suggests more weight-bearing exercises in space could help offset that decline.
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.
NASA’s new James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was recently hit by a micrometeoroid. One of the 18 golden mirror segments on the telescope was hit, causing some minor damage.