APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 October 17… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating…
The astronauts of SpaceX's Crew-12 mission to the International Space Station wish that we could all see Earth as they just did. An orbital view reveals the immense beauty of our blue planet, the only world we know of that hosts life. But…
Photo of Stephen Cash NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has named Stephen Cash director of the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, effective Monday, Oct. 19. Cash, a veteran NASA engineer and aerospace executive…
I used to think being interested in the night sky meant I had to try every meteor shower. If a calendar said "peak," I interpreted that as an instruction. I'd set an alarm, find several layers of clothing and go outside at around 2:00 a.m.…
Using data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers have unraveled some of the atmospheric secrets of a bizarre, blisteringly hot world that has the consistency of marshmallow. The extrasolar planet, or exoplanet , under the…
If you love watching meteors, 2026 has given you plenty to enjoy. This summer, the annual Perseid meteor shower peaked on the day of a new moon — and a solar eclipse — so moonlight stayed out of the way. And there's more to look forward…
Well, that was a memorable debut. Tesla unveiled its highly anticipated new Roadster last night (Oct. 16) with a spectacular stunt, using SpaceX thrusters to make the vehicle "fly." "This is not necessarily a safety-optimized car, OK?"…
On Oct. 16, 1975, NASA launched the first operational GOES satellite! GOES-A was the first in a series of weather satellites that NASA jointly operated with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The name is short for…
The eighth episode of Apple TV's "Dark Matter" season 2 has just dropped, and we're all on the edge of our seats trying to guess how the strange saga of Jason (Joel Edgerton) and Daniela (Jennifer Connelly) Dessen is going to finish up.…
US Navy Shortly after NASA’s Artemis II mission splashed down on April 10, 2026, U.S. Navy divers captured underwater imagery of the Orion spacecraft’s heat shield. In the months after, the agency measured whether the thermal protection…
I know perfectly well that the moon comes out during the day. I have known this for decades. Yet whenever I spot it in a blue afternoon sky, some primitive part of my brain still thinks it has turned up early. I'm certainly not the only…
Your invitation to revisit the Space Age has arrived. Whether you miss the days when people got dressed up to fly or you wish your "other" ride was a rocket , Mission: 60s has a *space* reserved for you. "This is a three-day celebration of…
I've spent years chasing the northern lights across the Arctic, from the mountains of Swedish Lapland to the dramatic Norwegian fjords. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that choosing where to see the northern lights is about much…
Whether you are a seasoned astronomer or a newcomer to the hobby, the best stargazing apps have the potential to seriously enhance your skywatching experience. But it's easy to overlook just how useful these portable programs can be.…
3 Min Read I Am Artemis: Allison Mjoen As the supercooled propellant flowed into the core stage, and NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket roared to life, Allison Mjoen and her family watched with awe and pride. Mjoen, NASA’s operations…
The "treble clef" galaxy cluster is an unusual source of radio waves, the Chandra X-ray observatory has found. (Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/INAF-IRA/A. Botteon et al.; Infrared: UKIDSS-GPS ; Radio: ASTRON/LOFAR; Image processing…
NASA has begun replacing references to artificial intelligence with "super intelligence" following an executive order from President Donald Trump, which directs government agencies not to acknowledge the terminology change in their…
Explore Hubble Hubble Home Overview About Hubble The History of Hubble Hubble Timeline Why Have a Telescope in Space? Hubble by the Numbers At the Museum FAQs Impact & Benefits Hubble’s Impact & Benefits Science Impacts Cultural Impact…
We'll have to wait a bit longer to see Rocket Lab's next-gen launcher fly. The California-based company just announced that it's pushing the debut of its powerful, partially reusable Neutron rocket from late 2026 into 2027 due to a…
Two leading space scientists say there is a need to redefine the edge of the solar system by presenting a theory which states that measurements of the Milky Way's gravitational field, including its dark matter, redraws the sun's frontier.…
APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 October 16 –… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our…
Earth Observatory Science Earth Observatory Isaias Dims the Gulf Coast Earth Earth Observatory Image of the Day EO Explorer Topics All Topics Atmosphere Land Heat & Radiation Life on Earth Human Dimensions Natural Events Oceans Remote…
Join us for a conversation on how machine learning is transforming the GEOINT mission across different markets The post Oct. 29: Applying AI to the GEOINT Mission appeared first on SpaceNews .
How awesome would it be if the sun could take on a spooky green glow for Halloween? It turns out that scientists have discovered that our star may indeed go green, but only billions of years from now after its death — and only if it then…
NASA is playing an important role in JAXA’s (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) MMX (Martian Moons eXploration) mission, to advance our understanding of Mars’ moons and build on the agency’s long history of exploring the Red Planet. The…
On Oct. 15, 1997, NASA launched the Cassini spacecraft on a mission to explore Saturn and its moons. It lifted off aboard a Titan 4B rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. It took almost seven years for the Cassini…
SpaceX launched a classified mission for the U.S. Space Force from California this evening (Oct. 15). A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base today at 8:01 p.m. EDT (5:01 p.m. local time; 0001 GMT on Oct. 16), rising…
6 Min Read NASA Satellites Observe Historic 2026 El Niño This visualization compares three ocean data products, sea surface temperature anomaly, apparent visible wavelength, and sea surface height anomaly, over the same months in 2025 and…
Vaonis has just announced its new generation of smart telescope technology, known as Atlas. Less of a single smart telescope and more of a new optical system, Atlas was designed with interchangeability and adaptability in mind. Its new…
2 Min Read Power Up: Roll Out Solar Arrays Boost Space Station Power Supply From the International Space Station’s unique position 250 miles above Earth, the Sun is a vital source of energy. Solar power supports the station’s life support…
A NASA Dynamic Aviation A200 aircraft will conduct low-flying research flights over farmland near Transit, Texas, from Thursday, Oct. 22, through Monday, Nov. 9. These flights will measure gaseous and particulate emissions from animal…
Registration is open for the 2026 NASA Space Apps Challenge, a two-day global event on Saturday, Nov. 14 and Sunday, Nov. 15, where teams work to create solutions inspired by NASA’s most ambitious exploration goals and making use of the…
NASA is accelerating the development of three helicopters that will be deployed into the sky above Mars after a voyage aboard NASA's Space Reactor‑1 Freedom spacecraft. Slated for launch in 2028, SR-1 Freedom is the first fission…
3 Min Read NASA Awards Enable Research, Technology to Build Future Workforce An illustration of a suited Artemis astronaut looking out of a Moon lander hatch across the lunar surface, a Lunar Terrain Vehicle and other surface elements.…
In this episode, SpaceNews’ Mike Gruss talks with NASA’s Shatel Bhakta, the principal systems engineer for Moon Base, about what’s needed between now and 2028 and the incremental steps to […] The post How NASA is thinking about a moon base…
A post‑mission comparison of the Orion spacecraft heat shields from Artemis I (left) and Artemis II (right) are shown after removal from their crew modules. Both heat shields are seen rotated for inspection inside the Operations and…
X-ray: NASA/CXC/INAF-IRA/A. Botteon et al.; Infrared: UKIDSS-GPS ; Radio: ASTRON/LOFAR; Image processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk A formation of radio waves looks remarkably like a treble clef in this Oct. 14, 2026, image from NASA’s Chandra…
A new image from the Mars Express spacecraft reveals windblown ridges known as yardangs, seen here as wrinkled sections on the left and right sides of the image. (Image credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin) A new image from the European Space…
Light pollution is the astronomer's biggest enemy, especially if you're gazing into deep space. And while some of the best telescopes can make a difference, there's no way to eliminate it. That's why, if you want to observe the cosmos…
Methanol, coming as part of the 'chemical starter kit' around young stars, has produced some unexpected surprises that could ultimately reveal some of the conditions in which planets and potentially life form around protostars. The…
BELLEVUE, Wash., Oct. 15, 2026 — Agile Space Industries, a leading provider of in-space chemical propulsion solutions, has expanded into the Seattle metropolitan area with the opening of a new […] The post Agile Space Industries Expands to…
SpaceX wants to start flying its Starship megarocket a lot more often. The company has requested permission to launch Starship from its Starbase site in South Texas up to 456 times per year. That's a big jump from the currently allowed…
A Dragon has settled into its nest after a more than two-day-long orbital pursuit. SpaceX's cargo Dragon , flying the CRS-35 (35th Commercial Resupply Services) mission for NASA , rendezvoused with the International Space Station (ISS)…
APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 October 15 – The… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our…
Earth Observatory Science Earth Observatory Fires Arrive in the Amazon… Earth Earth Observatory Image of the Day EO Explorer Topics All Topics Atmosphere Land Heat & Radiation Life on Earth Human Dimensions Natural Events Oceans Remote…
You can tell a lot about how a child will age by looking at their parents, and it turns out that this could be true for planetary systems, too. Scientists have performed cosmic genealogy on planetary systems in the Milky Way, finding two…
NASA astronaut Anil Menon conducts a spacewalk on Aug. 6, 2026, to prepare the International Space Station for future upgrades to its power system. Credit: NASA NASA will preview two upcoming spacewalks to complete solar array installation…
Fall has officially arrived, and as autumn leaves blaze in vivid colors, there is no better time to plunge into the imaginative world of New York Times best-selling author Matt Dinniman's "Dungeon Crawler Carl", the wildly addictive…
NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins assists NASA astronaut Luke Delaney as he practices suiting up in a spacesuit in an International Space Station airlock simulator on May 5, 2026, at the agency’s Johnson Space Center Space Vehicle Mockup…
Starship just reached orbit for the first time, carrying satellites for SpaceX's Starlink program. Analysts disagree on whether that's a detour or the destination — and what of the company's plans for the Red Planet? Ten years ago, Elon…
A protein is a chain of amino acids held together by what are called peptide bonds. On their own, those bonds are extremely stable; they're estimated to have a half-life of several hundred years. But in Earth's environment, most proteins…
X-ray: NASA/CXC/INAF-IRA/A. Botteon et al.; Infrared: UKIDSS-GPS ; Radio: ASTRON/LOFAR; Image processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk Astronomers have used NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory to break down the cause of a remarkable formation of…
On Oct. 14, 1947, Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier for the first time! Chuck Yeager was a test pilot for the U.S. Air Force who made history by flying an aircraft faster than the speed of sound. Yeager made his historic flight in a…
Don't expect any of the Artemis II moon astronauts to fly again soon. On Tuesday (Oct. 13), NASA announced that Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch will become the agency’s acting deputy chief engineer, effective Nov. 1. "With…
NASA/John Kraus Sunlight illuminates the exhaust plumes of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company’s Dragon spacecraft on Oct. 13, 2026. This visual phenomenon is known as a “jellyfish”; it happens near sunrise or sunset when the…
5 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Yi Lin, SPEARS testing and research lead at NASA Langley, holds one of the small coin-cell batteries that had just undergone thermal vacuum testing. NASA/Ryan…
As the Artemis II crew members came close to passing behind the Moon and experiencing a planned loss of signal, they captured this image of a crescent Earth setting on the Moon’s limb on April 6, 2026. The edge of the visible surface of…
When the European thermal-imagery company constellr began working with Space Inventor on its next generation of satellites, some of the most important details of the spacecraft had yet to be […] The post How mini-constellations could more…
APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 October 14 – Mars… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our…
Earth Observatory Science Earth Observatory Hurricane Simon Lurks Off the… Earth Earth Observatory Image of the Day EO Explorer Topics All Topics Atmosphere Land Heat & Radiation Life on Earth Human Dimensions Natural Events Oceans Remote…
NASA astronaut Christina Koch stands inside Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building on July 14, 2021, in front of the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that ultimately powered the Orion spacecraft on the Artemis I mission.…
1 Min Read Comparing Off-World Rover Driving Distances PIA26814 Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech Photojournal Navigation Science Photojournal Comparing Off-World Rover… Photojournal Home Photojournal Search Latest Content Galleries Feedback RSS…
1 Min Read NASA’s Record-Setting Perseverance Rover Team PIA26813 Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech Photojournal Navigation Science Photojournal NASA’s Record-Setting… Photojournal Home Photojournal Search Latest Content Galleries Feedback RSS…
1 Min Read Perseverance Navcam Image Marks Record Drive PIA26812 Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech Photojournal Navigation Science Photojournal Perseverance Navcam Image… Photojournal Home Photojournal Search Latest Content Galleries Feedback RSS…
SpaceX Three NASA-supported small spacecraft, along with many commercial payloads, are shown before being encapsulated in a SpaceX Falcon 9 ahead of launch on Oct. 1, 2026. The ASCENT Propulsion Dual Mode CubeSat, the Supernova Remnants…
When it comes to deciding the fate of the planet, Colleen Golja always thought science and reason would have a seat at the table. That was until one morning last September in London, when the climate researcher took part in the first in a…
Credit: Ramirez-Esquivel et al 202 Credit: Ramirez-Esquivel et al 202 Honey bees are known to leave their stingers embedded in tender flesh once they sting you and fly away. Scientists have now determined that the stinger is able to…
MDA Space, a global leader in communications satellites, Earth and space observation, space exploration and infrastructure, will utilize Jena-Optronik’s ASTRO HP star sensor on a LEO mission. This milestone underscores […] The post…