Space Science
SpaceX capsule with world's first all-civilian orbital crew splashes down off Florida
The quartet of newly minted citizen astronauts comprising the SpaceX Inspiration4 mission safely splashed down in the Atlantic off Florida’s coast on Saturday (Sept 18), completing a three-day flight of the first all-civilian crew ever launched into Earth orbit.
What life is like aboard the SpaceX Dragon capsule
The first space tourism mission by Elon Musk's SpaceX blasted off from Florida on Wednesday and the four crew members -- a billionaire and three other Americans -- have already seen more than 25 sunsets and sunrises. SpaceX has released few details about their adventure since they reached an orbit that is more distant than that of the International Space Station. Here's what we know about their life on board:
SpaceX capsule with world's first all-civilian orbital crew set for splashdown
The quartet of newly minted citizen astronauts comprising the SpaceX Inspiration4 mission were due to splash down in the Atlantic off Florida on Saturday, completing a three-day flight of the first all-civilian crew ever launched into Earth orbit.
Mars rocks collected by Perseverance boost case for ancient life
Both samples, slightly wider than a pencil in diameter and about six centimeters long, are now stored in sealed tubes in the rover's interior.
NASA confirms Perseverance Mars rover got its first piece of rock
NASA confirmed Monday that its Perseverance Mars rover succeeded in collecting its first rock sample for scientists to pore over when a future mission eventually brings it back to Earth.
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin sues NASA over Moon lander contract
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin sued the U.S government over NASA's decision to award a $2.9 billion lunar lander contract to Elon Musk's SpaceX.
Bezos offers NASA $2 billion in exchange for moon mission contract
Fresh off his trip to space, billionaire businessman Jeff Bezos on Monday offered to cover up to $2 billion in NASA costs if the U.S. space agency awards his company Blue Origin a contract to make a spacecraft designed to land astronauts back on the moon.
Chinese researchers propose deflecting 'Armageddon' asteroids with rockets
Chinese researchers want to send more than 20 of China's largest rockets to practice turning away a sizable asteroid - a technique that may eventually be crucial if a killer rock is on a collision course with Earth.
Dwarf planet boasts organic compounds, raising prospect of life
A NASA spacecraft has detected carbon-based materials, similar to what may have been the building blocks for life on Earth, on the Texas-sized dwarf planet Ceres that orbits between Mars and Jupiter in the main asteroid belt, scientists says.
New weather satellite sends first images of earth
GOES-16, the first spacecraft in NOAA’s next-generation of geostationary satellites, sends the first high-resolution images from its Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) instrument, according to a report published in the website of NASA.
SpaceX poised to launch for first time since Sept blast
SpaceX is poised to launch a Falcon 9 rocket, marking its first return to flight since a costly and complicated launchpad explosion in September.
Work begins on observatory in Tibet
The observatory will focus on primordial gravitational waves.
Nasa's Mars rover finds new clues about life on the Red Planet
Nasa's Mars rover Curiosity finds evidence of ancient lakes and wet underground environments on the Red Planet that changed billions of years ago.
China’s new weather satellite can study lightning, pollutants
China launches a new-generation weather satellite that can improve weather forecasting as well as help study lightning and air pollutants, including PM2.5.
Planet in star system next door may have ocean: study
A rocky planet discovered in the "habitable" zone of the star nearest our Sun may be covered with oceans, according to a new study.
India launches PSLV-C35 with 8 satellites
India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle has launched three satellites each from India and Algeria, and one each from Canada and the United States, from one rocket into two different orbits.
UK astronaut Tim Peake returns to Earth
UK astronaut Tim Peake is back on Earth after a historic six-month stay on the International Space Station.
Tiny asteroid now Earth’s constant companion
The Earth gets a small companion. NASA scientists discover a small asteroid in an orbit around the Sun that keeps it as a constant companion of Earth and it will remain so for centuries to come.