Solar Orbiter, a new collaborative mission between ESA and NASA to study the Sun, launched at 11:03 p.m. EST Sunday on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

At 12:24 a.m. Monday, mission controllers at the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, received a signal from the spacecraft indicating that its solar panels had successfully deployed. ... See more

Solar Orbiter, a new collaborative mission between ESA (European Space Agency) and NASA to study the Sun, launched at 11:03 p.m. EST Sunday on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. ... See more

NASA awarded a contract to SpaceX Feb. 4 for the launch of an Earth science mission that has successfully staved off cancellation several times.

NASA announced it selected SpaceX to launch the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) spacecraft on a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in December 2022. The agency said the contract is valued at $80.4 million, covering the launch and related services. SpaceX separately said the launch will use a “flight-proven” Falcon 9, one where the rocket’s first stage has previously launched one or more missions. ... See more

NASA awarded a contract to SpaceX Feb. 4 for the launch of an Earth science mission that has successfully staved off cancellation several times.

“Houston We Have a Podcast” is the official podcast of the NASA Johnson Space Center from Houston, Texas, home for NASA’s astronauts and Mission Control Center.

NASA.gov brings you the latest images, videos and news from America's space agency. Get the latest updates on NASA missions, watch NASA TV live, and learn about our quest to reveal the unknown and benefit all humankind. ... See more

Every season has its characteristic star constellations in the night sky. Orion – one of the most recognisable – is distinctly visible on crisp, clear winter nights in the northern hemisphere. The constellation is easy to spot even in light-polluted cities, with its bright stars representing the shape of a person.

Betelgeuse, marking Orion’s top left shoulder, is often its brightest star. Red in colour, this star is usually the 12th brightest in the entire sky. But it has recently dimmed dramatically to an all time low of 21st brightest star in the sky. As a result, many have started speculating about whether it could be about to explode. But could it? And what would that look like? ... See more

If Betelgeuse explodes, it will become as bright as the full moon in a matter of days and be visible during day time.

NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has discovered its first Earth-size planet in its star's habitable zone, the range of distances where conditions may be just right to allow the presence of liquid water on the surface. Scientists confirmed the find, called TOI 700 d, using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and have modeled the planet's potential environments to help inform future observations.

TOI 700 d is one of only a few Earth-size planets discovered in a star's habitable zone so far. Others include several planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system and other worlds discovered by NASA's Kepler Space Telescope. ... See more

The planet, TOI 700d, is the first Earth-size habitable-zone planet discovered by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. It was confirmed by the Spitzer Space Telescope.

Make sure you look for the moon and planets in the night sky as we approach the end of the year!

Astronomy? Skywatching? Daily sky sights for the unaided eye, binoculars, and telescopes, from Sky & Telescope magazine.

A billion miles sounds impossibly far, but in planetary terms, “You can get there,” said Elizabeth Turtle.

In Turtle’s lifetime, she’s seen human technology reach Uranus and Neptune, quick flybys that completely transformed our understanding of the solar system.

That’s why she is leading the hunt for rocks on Titan — one of Saturn’s moons that, surprisingly, could tell us a lot about Earth’s early days. ... See more

Planetary scientist Elizabeth "Zibi" Turtle breaks down NASA's upcoming mission to Saturn's moon, Titan, to learn about how early life may develop.

Boeing’s new Starliner capsule ran into trouble and went off course in orbit minutes after blasting off on Friday on its first test flight, a crucial dress rehearsal for next year’s inaugural launch with astronauts.

Initially everything went flawlessly as the Atlas V rocket launched with the Starliner shortly before sunrise. But half an hour into the flight, Boeing reported that the capsule had not got into the position needed to get to the International Space Station. ... See more

Officials say spacecraft is in stable orbit but problem may delay mission to carry Nasa astronauts

ClearSpace-1 is planned for launch in 2025 and will be the first mission to remove an item of space debris from orbit. After a competitive bid process, the European Space Agency has awarded a service contract to a consortium led by the Swiss startup company ClearSpace, which is staffed by space debris experts from the École polytechnique fedérale de Lausanne (EPFL) research institute. ... See more

Space agency commissions €100m ClearSpace contract after competitive bid process

Nearly a year and a half into its mission, Parker Solar Probe has returned gigabytes of data on the Sun and its atmosphere. Following the release of the very first science from the mission, five researchers presented additional new findings from Parker Solar Probe at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union on Dec. 11, 2019. Research from these teams hints at the processes behind both the Sun's continual outflow of material — the solar wind — and more infrequent solar storms that can disrupt technology and endanger astronauts, along with new insight into space dust that creates the Geminids meteor shower. ... See more

Nearly a year and a half into its mission, Parker Solar Probe has returned gigabytes of data on the Sun and its atmosphere. Following the release of the very first science from the mission, five researchers presented additional new findings from Parker Solar Probe at the fall meeting of the American... ... See more

NASA has completed the giant rocket that will take US astronauts back to the Moon, the space agency's head announced Monday, pledging the mission would take place in 2024 despite being beset by delays. ... See more

NASA has completed the giant rocket that will take US astronauts back to the Moon, the space agency's head announced Monday, pledging the mission would take place in 2024 despite being beset by delays. ... See more

Saturn's icy moon Enceladus is of great interest to scientists due to its subsurface ocean, making it a prime target for those searching for life elsewhere. New research led by Carnegie's Doug Hemingway reveals the physics governing the fissures through which oceanwater erupts from the moon's icy surface, giving its south pole an unusual "tiger stripe" appearance. ... See more

Saturn's icy moon Enceladus is of great interest to scientists due to its subsurface ocean, making it a prime target for those searching for life elsewhere. New research led by Carnegie's Doug Hemingway reveals the physics governing the fissures through which oceanwater erupts from the moon's icy su... ... See more

There are just three moons in our solar system that measure more than 5,000km across. Of these, Jupiter’s moons Ganymede and Callisto are airless and have ancient heavily cratered surfaces. But Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, abounds in landscapes that are eerily Earth-like – and it may even harbour life.

But we have had a rather limited view of what’s lurking beneath the thick atmosphere of this mysterious world. A new study, published in Nature Astronomy, however, unveils the first geomorphologic map to cover the whole of Titan. This is important because it shows how Titan’s various kinds of terrain relate to each other. ... See more

Saturn's largest moon has been fully mapped for the first time.

When gigantic stars run out of fuel they collapse under their own gravity and, in a last hurrah, send out a blast of light and matter in the most violent known explosions in the universe.

Now astronomers have discovered that these cataclysmic events, known as gamma ray bursts, release roughly twice as much energy as previously thought.

The rethink comes after an international team registered a record-breaking observation of the highest-energy radiation ever measured from gamma ray bursts. ... See more

Astronomers note record-breaking observation of highest energy ever measured from gamma ray bursts