Space Travel

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft is seen docked at the ISS. After helium leaks and thruster issues, the craft will make an uncrewed return to Earth.

NASA's Starliner Astronauts Will Return on SpaceX Craft in February, Turning an Eight-Day Mission Into Eight Months on the ISS

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft no longer meets safety standards after experiencing technical issues in June, and it will return to Earth uncrewed, the space agency announced

The Polaris Dawn crew at the Kennedy Space Center, from left to right: Anna Menon, Scott Poteet, Jared Isaacman and Sarah Gillis.

Groundbreaking Mission Attempting the First Private Astronaut Spacewalk Will Target Tuesday Launch

Polaris Dawn is set to be the farthest humans have traveled from Earth since the Apollo program and will test new technology in a "radiation belt" surrounding our planet

A view of the lunar south pole, with Shackleton Crater at the center, assembled from images taken by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Scientists Suggest Freezing Endangered Animals' Cells and Preserving Them on the Moon

Shadowed areas in lunar craters may be cold enough to safeguard species' DNA amid "climate disasters and social disasters" on Earth, according to Smithsonian-led research

Humans couldn't survive outdoors on Mars for a number of reasons, including its extremely low temperatures. Scientists are studying ways to terraform the planet to make it more hospitable.

Humans Could Warm Up Mars for Space Travelers by Spraying Tiny Metal Rods Into Its Atmosphere

Researchers propose a new technique for making the Red Planet more habitable by engineering heat-trapping nanoparticles from Martian dust

NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on the International Space Station on June 13.

NASA Astronauts Launched on Eight-Day Mission Might Have to Remain on the ISS Until February

After technical issues on Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, the space agency says it's considering bringing the astronauts back to Earth on a SpaceX Crew Dragon instead

After Curiosity unexpectedly cracked open a Martian rock, it revealed yellow crystals that scientists determined were elemental sulfur.

NASA's Curiosity Rover Accidentally Discovers Sulfur Crystals on Mars

The rover’s wheel cracked open a rock and revealed pure elemental sulfur, which researchers have never seen on the Red Planet before

Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum in Fly Me to the Moon, a new movie directed by Greg Berlanti

How 'Fly Me to the Moon' Pokes Fun at Moon Landing Conspiracy Theories

The new Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum film presents an alternative history in which government officials prepared to fake the moon landing before NASA pulled off the feat for real

One of Cassini's last looks at Saturn and its main rings from a distance, produced by combining images taken in October 2016

Here’s What We’ve Learned About Saturn Since Cassini Entered Its Orbit 20 Years Ago

The Cassini-Huygens mission increased our understanding of the planet’s rings and moons

The International Space Station, as seen from the Space Shuttle Discovery in 2007.

NASA Will Pay SpaceX Up to $843 Million to Destroy the International Space Station

After the end of this decade, the company will guide the aging laboratory into the Pacific Ocean, where many retired spacecrafts have been deposited

Could different backyard birds, such as a robin and a bluebird, produce viable offspring? 

Could a Robin and a Bluebird Have Babies? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

An illustration of debris and satellites in the geostationary ring around Earth.

ISS Astronauts Forced to Briefly Take Shelter as Russian Satellite Suddenly Breaks Up in Orbit

Officials are unsure why the satellite fractured unexpectedly, splintering into nearly 200 pieces

The return capsule of the Chang'e-6 probe lands in China on June 25, 2024, with lunar samples inside.

China Brings Samples From the Moon's Far Side to Earth in First-Ever Feat

The China National Space Administration retrieved more than four pounds of lunar soil samples, which scientists hope will shed light on the early history of Earth and the moon

An illustration of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, currently docked to the International Space Station as engineers troubleshoot helium leaks and thruster issues.

Starliner Astronauts Will Remain on Space Station Until July Amid Technical Issues

NASA and Boeing have delayed the crewed mission's return to Earth again, as engineers assess helium leaks and a thruster issue on the spacecraft's service module

Geoscientist Sian Proctor (left) and physician assistant Hayley Arceneaux (right) on the Inspiration4 mission, a three-day tourist trip to Earth orbit in 2021.

Scientists Release Largest Trove of Data on How Space Travel Affects the Human Body

A collection of 44 new studies, largely based on a short-duration tourist trip in 2021, provides insight into the health effects of traveling to space

SpaceX's Starship launches on its fourth test flight on Thursday morning.

SpaceX's Starship Lands Successfully for the First Time in a Test Flight

Three previous uncrewed test flights ended with Starship being destroyed, but both the booster and the spacecraft splashed down on the fourth try

Ed Dwight celebrates after landing back on Earth following Sunday morning's ten-minute flight to space.

Ed Dwight, the First Black Astronaut Candidate in the U.S., Finally Travels to Space at 90 Years Old

The former Air Force pilot trained to become an astronaut in the 1960s but was never selected by NASA. On a Blue Origin flight Sunday, he became the oldest person to go to space

Bruce McCandless floats freely in space with Earth 170 miles beneath him.

The Inside Story of the First Untethered Spacewalk

On February 7, 1984, astronaut Bruce McCandless ventured out into space and away from shuttle Challenger using only a nitrogen-propelled, hand-controlled backpack

Ellen Ochoa was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House last week, becoming the tenth astronaut to receive the country's highest civilian honor.

Ellen Ochoa, Former NASA Astronaut and First Hispanic Woman in Space, Receives Presidential Medal of Freedom

The former Johnson Space Center director logged four space shuttle flights and 1,000 hours in orbit over her 30-year career

The U.S. Navy works to recover the Orion spacecraft following its 2022 test flight to the moon.

NASA's Orion Capsule Heat Shield Wore Away in More Than 100 Places During 2022 Test Flight, Posing 'Significant Risks'

A new report highlights safety issues that NASA must address before using the spacecraft to send astronauts to the moon, and the agency is already working on fixing the problems

Astronauts could run around the interior walls of cylindrical homes on the moon.

Could Running Around a 'Wall of Death' Help Astronauts Stay in Shape on the Moon?

Short sprints on these cylindrical structures, long used by daredevil motorcycle riders, might promote muscle mass and bone density in low-gravity conditions

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