NASA (Page 4)

The latest on the US space agency's crafts, missions, and discoveries—from low-Earth orbit to deep space.

Latest in NASA

The Ingenuity helicopter sits on the surface of Mars on February 4, 2024.

NASA’s Perseverance Rover spots damaged, lonely Ingenuity helicopter in the ‘bland’ part of Mars

By Laura Baisas

Face-on spiral galaxy, NGC 628, is split diagonally in this image: The James Webb Space Telescope’s observations appear at top left, and the Hubble Space Telescope’s on bottom right. JWST’s observations combine near- and mid-infrared light and Hubble’s showcase visible light. Dust absorbs ultraviolet and visible light, and then re-emits it in the infrared. In JWST’s images, we see dust glowing in infrared light. In Hubble’s images, dark regions are where starlight is absorbed by dust.

JWST images show off the swirling arms of 19 spiral galaxies

By Laura Baisas

The full moon rises, with clouds below and behind it.

The moon is shrinking (very slowly)

By Laura Baisas

Ingenuity rotocopter on Mars

RIP Mars Ingenuity, the ‘little helicopter that could’

A top-down view of the OSIRIS-REx Touch-and-Go-Sample-Acquisition-Mechanism (TAGSAM) head with the lid removed, revealing the remainder of the asteroid sample inside. The picture was taken using manual high-resolution precision photography and a semi-automated focus stacking procedure. The result is an image that can be zoomed in on to show extreme detail of the sample. The remaining sample material includes dust and rocks up to about 0.4 inch in size.

This is what’s inside NASA’s previously stuck asteroid sampler

By Laura Baisas

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter concept art above moon

NASA bounced a laser off a cookie-sized device on the moon

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx curation engineer, Neftali Hernandez, attaches one of the tools developed to help remove two final fasteners that prohibited complete disassembly of the Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism head that holds the remainder of material collected from asteroid Bennu. Engineers on the team, based at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, developed new tools that freed the fasteners on January 10.

NASA finally pries open stuck Bennu asteroid sampler

By Laura Baisas

NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft atop launches the agency’s Artemis I flight test on November 16, 2022. The Artemis I mission was the first integrated test of the agency’s deep space exploration systems.

NASA delays two crewed Artemis moon missions

By Laura Baisas

NASA plans to unveil experimental X-59 supersonic jet on January 12

NASA plans to unveil experimental X-59 supersonic jet on January 12

Smoke billows out of two engines as United Launch Alliance's Vulcan Centaur, lifts off from Space Launch Complex 41d at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on January 8, 2024. The new rocket is carrying Astrobotic's Peregrine Lunar Lander.

Peregrine lunar lander experiences ‘critical loss of propellant’ following successful launch

By Laura Baisas

Rendering of Astrobotic Peregrin lunar lander on moon's surface

NASA is headed for the moon next week, and it’s bringing lots of weird stuff

A reddish moon on a black background, dotted with several gray marks that are volcanoes. Jupiter's moon Io is one of Jupiter’s several moons. This image was taken on December 30, 2023 during the Juno spacecraft’s flyby of this volcanic Jupiterian moon.

See the most volcanic world in our solar system in new NASA images

By Laura Baisas

Black and white aerial shot of Mars Ingenuity helicopter in flight

NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter set a new flight distance record on Mars

Screenshot of cat video sent from Psyche spacecraft to NASA

Taters the cat stars in first ‘ultra-HD’ video sent from deep space

This image from the Near-Infrared Camera instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope shows the central portion of the star cluster IC 348. The wispy curtains filling the image are interstellar material reflecting the light from the cluster’s stars. The bright star closest to the center of the frame is actually a pair of type B stars in a binary system, which are the most massive stars in the cluster. Winds from these stars may help sculpt the large loop seen on the right side of the field of view.

Record-breaking ‘failed star’ spotted by JWST

By Laura Baisas

Artist art of Voyager space probe against purple cosmic background

Voyager 1 is sending back bad data, but NASA is on it

Apollo 16 lunar landing mission commander John W. Young leaps from the lunar surface as he salutes the United States flag. The flag is located at the Descartes landing site during the first Apollo 16 extravehicular activity.

Why scientists think it’s time to declare a new lunar epoch

By Laura Baisas

Close-up of SpaceX Starship Falcon rockets igniting during liftoff

Another SpaceX Starship blew up

NASA Psyche spacecraft surrounded by engineers in lab

NASA’s Psyche wins first deep space laser relay

Computer simulation of Apollo 12 lunar lander effects on lunar surface

Watch NASA’s supercomputer simulation of the Apollo 12 lunar landing

NASA ISS toolbag floating away above Earth

This tool bag is floating in space

NASA's Super Guppy rocket transport prop plane landing on tarmac in Alabama

Watch NASA’s bizarre and bulbous Super Guppy cargo plane touch down in Alabama

Three moons and Jupiter, plus the NASA probe Juno.

The Juno spacecraft spotted evidence of a salty ocean on Jupiter’s biggest moon

By Briley Lewis

Astronomers found the most distant black hole ever detected in X-rays (in a galaxy dubbed UHZ1) using the Chandra X-Ray Observatory and the James Webb Space Telescope. X-ray emission is a telltale signature of a growing supermassive black hole. This result may explain how some of the first supermassive black holes in the universe formed. These images show the galaxy cluster Abell 2744 that UHZ1 is located behind, in X-rays from Chandra and infrared data from JWST, as well as close-ups of the black hole host galaxy UHZ1.

Farthest black hole ever recorded by astronomers is nearly as old as our universe

By Laura Baisas

A sample of Asteroid Bennu is put on public display for the first time at the Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC, on November 3, 2023. A sample collected from the 4.5-billion-year-old asteroid Bennu contains abundant water and carbon, NASA revealed, offering more evidence for the theory that life on Earth was seeded from outer space. The small black rock is located in a glass viewing pain.

Smithsonian unveils a very small sample of the 4.5-billion-year-old Bennu asteroid

By Laura Baisas

Screenshot of star from NASA+ show 'Space Out'

NASA’s free streaming platform launches this week. Here’s what to watch.

A large asteroid with a smaller asteroid orbiting it. This image shows the “moonrise” of the satellite as it emerges from behind asteroid Dinkinesh as seen by the Lucy Long-Range Reconnaissance Imager. This image was taken by NASA’s Lucy spacecraft at 12:55 p.m. EDT on November 1, 2023, within a minute of closest approach, from a range of approximately 270 miles. From this perspective, the satellite is behind the primary asteroid. The image has been sharpened and processed to enhance contrast.

First NASA images from Lucy’s flyby reveal that ‘Dinky’ is not alone

By Laura Baisas

yeah! caption is A size comparison of Dinkinesh (shown in blue) and other main asteroid belt objects Bennu and (2867) Steins.

NASA spacecraft Lucy says hello to ‘Dinky’ asteroid on far-flying mission

By Laura Baisas

The Milky Way galaxy shines above a dark space telescope in the foreground.

What astronomers learned from a near-Earth asteroid they never saw coming

By Briley Lewis

The gold mirrors of JSWT sit in front of an extremely large, circular door in a vast room with scientists working.

This NASA photographer documented the 30-year journey to build the James Webb Space Telescope

By Abby Ferguson

Man holding HULC lunar camera in rocky outdoor environment

A sneak peek at the lunar camera destined for the Artemis missions

Artist rendition of Voyager 1 in space

Voyager probes get virtual tune-up to keep decades-long missions going and going

NASA astronaut Harrison Schmitt is standing on the moon’s surface next to a large split lunar boulder, with a roving vehicle on the other side of the boulder.

The moon is 40 million years older than we thought, according to crystals collected by Apollo astronauts

By Laura Baisas

Pale craters on the moon's lunar surface, with dark shadows below.

This private lander could be the first US machine on the moon this century

Red-capped Hall effect thrusters being attached to a spacecraft body by two engineers.

NASA’s Psyche spacecraft will blaze an unusual blue trail across the solar system

By Briley Lewis

The metal capsule containing asteroid samples of Bennu.

NASA’s first asteroid-return sample is a goldmine of life-sustaining materials

Parker Solar Probe in front of sun concept art

The fastest ever human-made object keeps breaking its own speed record

Close up of Axiom Space Prada lunar spacesuit glove

Moon-bound Artemis III spacesuits have some functional luxury sewn in

A spacecraft in a white room as technicians wearing cleanroom suits look on.

NASA’s mission to a weird metal asteroid has blasted off

Inside the small world of simulating other worlds

Inside the small world of simulating other worlds

By Sarah Scoles/Undark

Rendering of Firefly Space's Blue Ghost lunar lander on moon surface

Why astronomers want to put a telescope on the dark side of the moon

A NASA illustration of its boxy OSIRIS spacecraft touching an asteroid.

NASA’s OSIRIS mission delivered asteroid samples to Earth

Iridescent Running Chicken Nebula with glowing gases and stars

31 award-winning astronomy photos: From fiery horizons to whimsical auroras

By Annie Colbert

A weather balloon against blue sky

NASA wants to use AI to study unidentified aerial phenomenon

This US astronaut will have spent an entire year in orbit

This US astronaut will have spent an entire year in orbit

By Sara Kiley Watson

Concept art of Artemis lunar base with astronauts

Poppyseed-sized nuclear fuel cells might power a NASA moon base

Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) captured this detailed image of SN 1987A (Supernova 1987A). At the center, material ejected from the supernova forms a keyhole shape.

See the stunning Supernova 1987A in a whole new light

By Laura Baisas

Illustration of laser communication satellite array and the ISS above Earth

Space lasers could beam information to Earth by the end of the year

A portion of the far side of the Moon looms large just beyond the Orion spacecraft in this image taken November 21, 2022, by a camera on the tip of one of Orion’s solar arrays. The darkest spot visible near the middle of the image is Mare Orientale.

You might be able to plant a tree from seeds NASA flew by the moon

By Laura Baisas

An illustration of two NASA astronauts in a lunar crater.

Why do all these countries want to go to the moon right now?

The white Boeing Starliner capsule above a blue Earth.

Boeing’s struggling Starliner craft won’t fly astronauts until at least 2024

Two astronauts walking in spacesuits in a desert

How do you keep a spacesuit clean? One answer is antimicrobial fabric.

Two NASA lunar CADRE rovers parked on the ground

NASA gears up to send a trio of rovers to the moon in 2024

NASA astronaut Buzz Aldrin walking across Tranquility Base with equipment after the Apollo 11 moon landing. Black and white photo.

Space junk is a precious treasure trove to some archaeologists

space shuttle endeavour blasts off

What it takes to display a 176,000-pound space shuttle in a launch configuration

A rotor in the middle of a large wind tunnel.

How epic wind tunnels on Earth make us better at flying through space

By Briley Lewis

Orange, fire-like clouds extend from a central star.

Astronomers spy cosmic dust, with a twist, from the very early universe

Hubble space telescope deep field view of ancient galaxies that helps answer the question: How old is the universe?

How old is the universe? Our answer keeps getting more precise.

By Charlie Wood

three electric vehicles for nasa parked in a row

Check out NASA’s fun new electric vans

By Harry Guinness

JWST composite image of barred spiral galaxy NGC 5068, showing its core and part of a spiral arm. Clumps and filaments of dust, represented in a mossy green color, form an almost skeletal structure that follow the twist of the galaxy and its spiral arm.

15 remarkable JWST images that reveal the wonders of our vast universe

VIPER moon rover coming down a ramp during a test at the NASA Ames Research Center

NASA’s quirky new lunar rover will be the first to cruise the moon’s south pole

Europa Clipper Propulsion Module

How to get your name engraved on a NASA spacecraft bound for Europa

Astronaut on ISS holding up water system filter replacement

Onboard the ISS, nothing goes to waste—including sweat and pee

NASA kills its electric plane’s flight plan, citing safety concerns

NASA kills its electric plane’s flight plan, citing safety concerns