NASA astronaut Jonny Kim and cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky safely returned to Earth Tuesday after an eight-month mission aboard the International Space Station, landing on the Kazakh steppe. The Soyuz MS-27/73S undocked Monday evening, endured re-entry temperatures of 2,500°F, and parachuted to a precise landing at 12:03 a.m. EST. Russian recovery crews quickly extracted the crew, conducted medical checks, and prepared them for … Continue reading NASA astronaut, two Russian cosmonauts return to Earth from space station

The Department of the Air Force has approved SpaceX’s plan to convert the former Delta 4 launch site, SLC-37 at Cape Canaveral, into a Starship launch complex. The approval followed completion of an environmental impact statement, which found no major environmental concerns aside from significant noise and overpressure during launches and landings. An early plan to build an additional Starship site, SLC-50, was dropped due … Continue reading SpaceX gets approval to build Starship launch complex at Cape Canaveral

SpaceX launched 29 new Starlink satellites on Dec. 7 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 12:58 a.m. EST and reached low Earth orbit about nine minutes later, with the satellites deployed roughly an hour after launch. The rocket’s first stage, B1088, completed its 12th flight and landed on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You in … Continue reading SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches Starlink satellites from Vandenberg in California

The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, the third known object from outside our solar system, is departing the inner solar system after months of high-speed travel at roughly 130,000 mph (210,000 km/h). Discovered in June and confirmed in July, it made close approaches to Mars and the Sun in October and will pass about 170 million miles from Earth on December 19. NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and … Continue reading ESA images show 3I/ATLAS getting active ahead of its close encounter with Earth

For the first time in its history, all eight docking ports on the International Space Station (ISS) are fully occupied, NASA announced. The crowded station required NASA’s robotic Canadarm2 to temporarily move the Northrop Grumman Cygnus-23 cargo spacecraft to make room for the Thanksgiving Day arrival of the Soyuz MS-28 crew carrying Chris Williams, Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, and Sergei Mikaev for an eight-month mission. Other spacecraft … Continue reading For the 1st time ever, 8 spacecraft are docked to the International Space Station

Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev has been removed from the upcoming Crew-12 mission to the International Space Station after allegedly photographing restricted SpaceX materials at the company’s Hawthorne training facility. Artemyev reportedly used his phone to take images of sensitive engines and documents and attempted to remove them from the site, prompting an interagency investigation, according to Russian media. Roscosmos announced that 43-year-old Andrey Fedyaev, who … Continue reading Russia replaces cosmonaut after alleged security breach at SpaceX facility

Chinese company Landspace’s first test flight of its Zhuque-3 rocket successfully reached orbit but ended with the first stage exploding during reentry. Launched on December 2 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, the 66-meter reusable rocket placed its expendable second stage into orbit before its first-stage booster lost an engine during landing, caught fire, and crashed. Despite the fiery failure, Landspace called the flight a … Continue reading China’s 1st reusable rocket explodes in dramatic fireball during landing after reaching orbit

Samples from asteroid Bennu are providing new insights into the origins of the solar system and the beginnings of life. Since NASA’s Osiris-REx spacecraft returned the material to Earth in 2020, scientists have identified sugars and a previously unseen “gum-like” substance in the asteroid samples. Three new studies, published in Nature Geosciences and Nature Astronomy, detail these findings: one highlights sugars as essential building blocks … Continue reading “Space gum” and sugars discovered in asteroid Bennu samples, NASA reveals

December marks the closest approach of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS to Earth, giving astronomers a rare opportunity to observe it. The comet, composed of planetary material from another star, has captured both scientific and popular attention. While some conspiracy theories speculate it could be alien technology, astronomers and space agencies confirm it is not a spaceship. This event represents a rare chance to study an … Continue reading 3I/ATLAS to make its closest approach to Earth in December

Twenty-nine new Starlink satellites were successfully deployed into low Earth orbit by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on December 2 from Cape Canaveral. The launch occurred at 5:18 p.m. EST, and the satellites were released 1 hour and 5 minutes later. The Falcon 9’s first stage, Booster 1077, completed its 25th flight and landed on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic. … Continue reading SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 29 Starlink satellites

A powerful X1.9-class solar flare erupted from a newly emerged sunspot (AR4299) on Sunday, November 30, prompting a geomagnetic storm watch. The flare briefly disrupted radio communications in Australia and parts of Southeast Asia. A coronal mass ejection (CME) accompanied the flare, which could affect power grids, navigation systems, and spacecraft, though major impacts on Earth are not expected. The CME may cause minor technological … Continue reading Geomagnetic storm watch issued after powerful solar flare is seen erupting from sun

A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying two cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut successfully docked with the International Space Station despite damage to the launch pad in Kazakhstan. Roscosmos reported that several elements of the Baikonur Cosmodrome pad were damaged during liftoff but said repairs would be made quickly. The crew—cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikaev, and NASA astronaut Chris Williams—will spend eight months aboard the ISS. … Continue reading Russian cosmodrome damaged after Soyuz launch to ISS

Scientists may have recorded electrical activity—nicknamed “mini lightning”—in Mars’ atmosphere for the first time, using audio and electromagnetic data from NASA’s Perseverance rover. The discharges were linked to dust devils and dust storm fronts in the Jezero Crater region, suggesting Mars can generate atmospheric electricity. The findings, analyzed over 28 hours of recordings spanning two Martian years, have implications for Martian chemistry, climate, habitability, and … Continue reading Lightning detected on Mars for the first time, scientists say

For the first time, magnetic switchbacks—zigzag-shaped kinks in plasma previously only seen near the Sun—have been detected in Earth’s magnetic field. Physicists Emily McDougall and Matthew Argall discovered these structures while analyzing data from NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, finding that solar plasma interacting with Earth’s local magnetic fields caused the switchbacks. Switchbacks form when open magnetic field lines from the Sun reconnect with closed loops, … Continue reading Unexpected ‘Zigzag’ Structures Discovered in Earth’s Magnetic Field

Astronomers have now cataloged over 40,000 near-Earth asteroids (NEAs), ranging from a few yards to several miles wide, enhancing both scientific knowledge and planetary defense. NEAs are closely monitored because even small asteroids can cause serious regional damage if they impact Earth, with software predicting their paths decades or centuries in advance. Discovery rates surged in the 1990s and 2000s and continue to grow with … Continue reading Astronomers confirm 40,000 near-Earth asteroids within striking distance

The Voyager spacecraft, launched in 1977, are the farthest human-made objects from Earth, traveling over 12 billion miles at speeds of 38,000 mph. Originally tasked with studying the outer planets, they now journey into interstellar space, providing insights into the solar system’s boundary. Both spacecraft encountered a “wall of fire” at the heliosphere’s edge, where temperatures reached up to 90,000°F, marking the transition from solar … Continue reading At The Edge Of Our Solar System, NASA’s Voyager 1 Found A ‘Wall Of Fire’

Over northern Italy, a rare atmospheric phenomenon known as an “elve” appeared as a glowing red ring above the Alps, captured by photographer Valter Binotto on November 17. Elves are brief, disk-shaped flashes caused by powerful electromagnetic pulses from lightning striking the ionosphere, lasting less than a thousandth of a second and spanning hundreds of miles. The event Binotto photographed was triggered by a massive … Continue reading Photographer captures eerie red halo hovering over the Italian Alps

Comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) has begun breaking apart after its close approach to the sun on October 8, with images showing multiple fragments of its icy nucleus. Astronomer Gianluca Masi captured animations from stacked exposures taken between November 11 and 18, revealing three, possibly four, distinct pieces. Earlier observations from Italy’s Asiago Observatory showed two fragments about 1,200 miles apart, with hints of a smaller … Continue reading Comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) breaks apart in incredible telescope photos

A new study from Hokkaido University found that moss spores survived nine months in outer space on the exterior of the International Space Station. Despite harsh exposure to radiation, vacuum, extreme temperatures, and UV light, more than 80% of the spores remained viable, though their chlorophyll degraded. Different moss species showed unique stress-resistance traits, including protection against UV radiation and intense heat. After returning to … Continue reading Moss survived 9 months in space, could still reproduce after return to Earth

NASA released close-up images of the interstellar comet 3I/Atlas, which is making a brief pass through the solar system. The comet, only the third confirmed interstellar object, recently passed 18 million miles from Mars, where multiple NASA and ESA spacecraft observed it. Ground-based telescopes and the James Webb Space Telescope are also tracking the comet, which will come closest to Earth—167 million miles away—in mid-December … Continue reading Nasa releases close-up pictures of comet flying by from another star system

China plans to launch the uncrewed Shenzhou-22 spacecraft on Nov. 24 to serve as a backup lifeboat for the Shenzhou-21 crew aboard the Tiangong space station. The mission follows damage to the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft by space debris, which prevented its safe return to Earth. Shenzhou-22 will carry supplies for the astronauts and equipment for Tiangong but will launch without a crew, ahead of its originally … Continue reading China to launch Shenzhou-22 spacecraft Nov. 25 to provide lift home for astronauts

SpaceX launched the Sentinel-6B ocean-mapping satellite from Vandenberg Space Force Base early Monday, marking the company’s 500th orbital mission using a reused Falcon 9 rocket. The satellite continues the Copernicus program’s mission to precisely measure global sea surface heights and monitor rising oceans, a key indicator of climate change. Sentinel-6B carries a radar altimeter from the European Space Agency and a NASA microwave radiometer to … Continue reading SpaceX launches Sentinel-6B ocean-mapping satellite to orbit

Blue Origin successfully launched its New Glenn rocket from Cape Canaveral, carrying two NASA Mars orbiters called Escapade, marking the rocket’s second flight and the first successful booster recovery on a barge. The orbiters will spend a year near Earth before using a gravity assist to reach Mars in 2027, where they will study the planet’s upper atmosphere, magnetic fields, and interaction with solar wind … Continue reading Blue Origin launches rocket carrying twin Nasa spacecraft to Mars

Three Chinese astronauts returned from the Tiangong space station Friday after a nine-day delay caused by damage to their original Shenzhou-20 return capsule, likely from space debris. They instead returned in the newly arrived Shenzhou-21, which had delivered a replacement crew, completing China’s longest space station stay at 204 days. The capsule landed in the Gobi Desert, where the crew was safely recovered, along with … Continue reading Chinese astronauts return from space station after delay blamed on space debris damage

Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket launch was postponed Wednesday due to intense solar storms, which were also creating spectacular auroras across the U.S. The rocket, carrying two NASA Mars orbiters from Florida, had already faced delays from poor weather. NASA delayed the liftoff over concerns that heightened solar radiation could affect the spacecraft. No new launch date has been announced, the AP has reported. This … Continue reading Solar storms delay the launch of Blue Origin’s big new rocket with Mars orbiters for NASA