For centuries, astronomers were limited to ground-based observations of the planets, but now we use spacecraft to capture close-up views of our neighboring worlds. Excitingly, our views of solar system planets have been getting progressively better over the decades, as these images attest.
As we turn the page on November, let’s embark on a visual journey through the stars and beyond, revisiting the intriguing and groundbreaking moments that defined the past month in space exploration.
In mid-July, viewers hoping to catch a glimpse of a SpaceX rocket launch were stunned to see it followed by a bright aurora-like phenomenon over Arizona. The rocket had formed a hole in the upper atmosphere, evinced by a red glow captured by photographers on the ground.
Thales Alenia Space and the Italian Space Agency (ASI) are embarking on a pioneering venture to construct the first permanent human outpost on the Moon, a critical component of NASA’s Artemis program.
Six California lawmakers wrote to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson last week to oppose the agency’s recent cuts to the Mars Sample Return mission, which aims to bring samples collected by the Perseverance rover on Mars to Earth.
After a few short trips to the edge of space, Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity spaceplane is set for retirement, making room for a worthy successor. The company’s Delta class vehicle is gearing up for its debut in 2025, promising to bring in some profit with weekly suborbital flights.
Nearly a year after an uncrewed Orion splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, NASA anticipates it still needs a few more months to resolve a lingering issue with the capsule’s heat shield before a crew can ride on board.
It boggles the mind to think of all the wondrous things that NASA has achieved since its inception in 1958, but it’s equally astounding to think about all the projects that could’ve been. Here are seven impressive concepts that died on the vine, whether because of huge cost, technological intractability, or just being…
The surface of the Moon is littered with defunct hardware from past missions that are now buried amongst the lunar regolith. A recent crash site left a distinct and curious mark, creating two impact craters of equal size. Scientists examining the collision believe that there may have been an undisclosed object that…
NASA has produced thousands of images over its illustrious 65-year history, but some images have had a far greater impact than others. Among this vast portfolio, certain images stand out for having reshaped our understanding of space and our place within it, capturing moments that have both ignited the collective…
