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The HI-SEAS habitat during a night Marswalk.

A sweet surprise and a bittersweet farewell — Commander's report: sol 14

By Michaela Musilova published

Commander Musilova admits to being deeply moved by her crew when they prepare a surprise gift and celebration in her honor, commemorating their extraordinary time on Mars as well.

A volcanic eruption on Jupiter’s moon Io.

On This Day in Space! March 8, 1979: Volcanoes spotted on Jupiter's moon Io

By Hanneke Weitering published

On March 8, 1979, NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft discovered active volcanoes on Jupiter's moon Io. See how it happened in our On This Day In Space video series.

A secondary impact crater discovered in southeast Wyoming.

This long-lost asteroid impact was so big its debris left more than 30 craters

By Elizabeth Howell published

The resulting debris created several dozen craters, the largest nearly 230 feet across.

This image from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) shows dust trapped in the disk surrounding the system Oph-IRS 48.

Astronomers spot tantalizing large molecule near star with 'comet factory'

By Elizabeth Howell published

Astronomers spotted the largest molecule yet found in a planet-forming disk, which they say will tell us more about the origin of life.

Asteroid 2022 AE1, discovered in January 2022, seemed to be on a trajectory to collide with Earth.

It seemed like the most dangerous asteroid in a decade, but it definitely won't hit Earth

By Tereza Pultarova published

A recently discovered asteroid seemed to be on a trajectory to hit Earth next year, but orbit recalculation eventually revealed it will miss our planet.

A 40-mile-long Russian military convoy seen from space approaching Ukraine's besieged capital Kyiv.

Russia's Ukraine invasion and space impacts: Live updates

By Space.com Staff published

The Russia-Ukraine war has already stretched into space, with satellites providing internet and intel and longstanding international relations in outer space shifting rapidly.

Teams have retracted two of 20 platforms around the Space Launch System rocket (left) and Orion spacecraft (close-up at right) for the Artemis 1 mission. Preparation is ongoing at the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA gearing up for rollout of Artemis 1 mission next week

By Elizabeth Howell published

Platforms are retracting around the huge SLS rocket at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin speaks virtually at the 71st International Astronautical Congress on Oct. 12, 2020.

Russian space chief, former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly trade barbs on Twitter

By Mike Wall published

Roscomos head Dimitry Rogozin has fired off a number of incendiary tweets recently — including some aimed at former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly.

The Crew Dragon capsule Endeavour with four astronauts aboard is departing the International Space Station against a backdrop of Pacific coral atolls.

NASA orders 3 more SpaceX Crew Dragon flights to space station

By Tereza Pultarova published

NASA has awarded a nearly $3.5 billion contract to SpaceX to provide three additional Crew Dragon launches to the International Space Station.

Jupiter and the shadow of its moon Ganymede, in a 2022 image based on a May 2019 flyby of the Juno spacecraft.

Jupiter's big moon Ganymede casts giant shadow in stunning Juno photo by citizen scientist

By Elizabeth Howell published

A powerful new picture of Jupiter posted by a citizen scientist shows the planet looming large with the shadow of its biggest moon Ganymede blanketing its clouds.

Astra's Launch Vehicle 0008 launches from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Feb. 10, 2022, carrying four tiny cubesats on the ELaNa 41 mission for NASA. The rocket failed to deliver the satellites to orbit as planned.

Astra rocket launch failure traced to issues with payload fairing, software

By Mike Wall published

Astra thinks it knows what went wrong during last month's failed flight, which was the company's first-ever mission with operational payloads onboard.

This illustration shows NASA’s NuSTAR X-ray telescope in space.

NASA space telescope uses 'nuisance light' to peer at neutron star

By Elizabeth Howell published

After 10 years in space, a NASA space telescope now has a way to use "nuisance light" to potentially increase its science productivity.

The globular cluster Messier 92 located in the constellation Hercules as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2006.

The James Webb Space Telescope will show us more stars than we've ever seen before

By Stefanie Waldek published

The data provided by Webb will be a boon to astronomers around the world. Here's what they hope to learn.

Artist's illustration of asteroids headed for Earth.

Too much of a good thing: Early impacts delivered iron to Earth but almost wiped out life

By Paul Sutter published

A recent study has found that the hazards posed by large impactors far outweighed their benefits for life on Earth.

A supernova explosion can be seen as the bright white dot in the lower left corner of the image on the right.

Pictures from space! Our image of the day

By Space.com Staff published

Astronomers have spotted a new supernova explosion in a distant galaxy.

The International Space Station as pictured from a SpaceX Crew Dragon during a November 2021 fly around. The White House has directed NASA to extend space station operations through 2030.

Watery graves: Should we be ditching big spacecraft over Earth's oceans?

By Leonard David published

Is dumping space junk over the South Pacific a good idea? Or can we do better?

Commander Musilova collecting astrobiological samples during a Marswalk.

The curse and silver lining of Martian dust storms – Commander's report: sol 10

By Michaela Musilova published

Valoria 3 crewmembers have been successfully dealing with the challenges bad weather has thrown at them during their mission, both inside and outside the HI-SEAS habitat.

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly gave himself a flu shot in orbit in 2015.

How do viruses affect astronauts in space? Here's what we know so far.

By Rebecca Sohn published

Viruses can affect astronauts in space, even if they quarantine before launch.

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has successfully deployed its giant primary mirror, putting the new observatory one big step closer to being ready for launch in 2021. The entire 256-inch (6.5 meters) primary mirror assembly unfurled into the same configuration that it would be after deploying in space. This critical test took place in early March, right before NASA's centers shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. Work on the Webb telescope was temporarily halted on March 20.

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope mission: Live updates

By Space.com Staff published

Read the latest news about NASA's James Webb Space Telescope.

The red line indicates the path of NASA's Parker Solar Probe across the face of the Sun, as seen from Earth, from Feb. 24-27, 2022.

When NASA's Parker Solar Probe flew close by the sun, telescopes were watching from Earth and space

By Elizabeth Howell published

Telescopes on Earth and in space caught the sun in their view as the Parker Solar Probe made its 11th daring close flyby Feb. 25.