SpaceX plans to launch its second mission in a span of seven hours on Friday morning (May 19), and you can watch the action live.
Space News & Blog Articles
Mars Has a Thick Crust. Its Internal Heat Mainly Comes from Radioactivity
How thick is the crust of Mars? This question is what a recent study published in Geophysical Research Letters attempted to answer as it reported on data from a magnitude 4.7 marsquake recorded in May 2022 by NASA’s InSight lander, which remains the largest quake ever recorded on another planetary body. As it turns out, this data helped provide estimates of Mars’ global crustal thickness, along with a unique discovery regarding the crust in the northern and southern hemispheres, and how the interior of Mars produces its heat.
Live coverage: SpaceX counting down to midnight-hour Starlink launch
Watch our live coverage of the countdown and launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on the Starlink 6-3 mission at 12:41 a.m. EDT (0441 UTC) on May 19 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. Follow us on Twitter.
Could We Resurrect the Spitzer Space Telescope?
NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope served the astronomy community well for 16 years. From its launch in 2003 to the end of its operations in January 2020, its infrared observations fuelled scientific discoveries too numerous to list.
Senate Republicans criticize NASA for its climate change and diversity efforts
Following recent diversity and climate change initiatives by NASA, two Senate republicans accused the space agency of straying from its core space exploration mission.
Fatty Acids Might Exist in Space
A team of physicists have discovered that the environment of a molecular cloud in interstellar space can support the existence of fatty acids, a key component of life on Earth.
The History of the US Space Program
The history of the US space program is rich and spans several decades. Here is a brief overview of its major milestones:
A Few Interstellar Objects Have Probably Been Captured
When Oumuamua travelled through our Solar System back in 2017, people around the world paid attention. It was the first Interstellar Object (ISO) astronomers had ever identified. Then in August 2019, Comet 2I Borisov travelled through our Solar System, becoming the second ISO to cruise through for a visit. Together, the visiting ISOs generated a wave of inquiry and speculation.
SpaceX rolls rocket to pad for Sunday's Ax-2 private astronaut launch (photos)
SpaceX rolled its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule out to the launch pad on Thursday (May 18) ahead of Sunday's (May 21) planned Ax-2 private astronaut launch.
100 black hole jets aimed at Earth unleash controversial physics theory
A flavor of black hole known as a blazar often exhibits behavior that defies explanation. A new study of 106 supermassive black holes may shed some light.
Save 15% with this Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 102AZ telescope deal
Bag a discount on the Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 102AZ refractor telescope.
SpaceX rolls next Starship prototype out to pad for engine test (photo)
SpaceX rolled the Ship 25 Starship upper-stage prototype out to the launch pad early Thursday morning (May 18) to test-fire its six Raptor engines.
Supernova explosion's weird leftovers may contain a super-dense star
A young NASA mission spotted strange movements of X-rays in the supernova remnant known as Cassiopeia A, which may include an extremely dense and small star.
“Rogue Supermassive Black Hole” Could Be Something Much Simpler
An unusual streak of stars thought to have formed in the wake of a wandering supermassive black hole might just be a spiral galaxy seen edge-on.
Earth is safe from a devastating asteroid impact for 1,000 years (probably)
Earth probably won't get hit by an asteroid at least 0.6 miles (1 kilometers) wide in the next 1,000 years, a new study finds.
Astronomers Find an Earth-Sized World That May Be Carpeted in Volcanoes
Astronomers think they’ve found an extrasolar planet covered in volcanoes like Jupiter’s moon Io, but this world is about the same size as Earth. Designated LP 791-18 d, the planet is probably tidally locked around a small, red dwarf star about 90 light-years away in the constellation Crater. There are two other more massive planets in the system, and their tidal interactions could cause enough tidal flexing that it unleashes planet-wide volcanoes on LP 791-18 d.
Saturn's Rings are Much Younger Than the Planet
The rings of Saturn are an amazing sight. They are so iconic that it is hard to imagine Saturn without its rings. But throughout most of Saturn’s history, it didn’t have rings. The rings are much younger than the planet itself, and we now have good evidence to prove it.
Watch SpaceX launch 22 next-gen Starlink satellites to orbit early Friday
SpaceX plans to launch another batch of its Starlink broadband satellites to orbit early Friday morning (May 19), and you can watch the action live.
China launches BeiDou navigation satellite to orbit (video)
China launched a satellite for its BeiDou navigation system system on Tuesday night (May 16), the first time it had done so in nearly three years.
Don't mess with Mars. It has a crust made of 'heavy armor,' scientists say
NASA's InSight mission spotted a marsquake that probed the thick Mars crust and confirmed why the north and south of the Red Planet are so different.
What happened to the missing stars at the heart of our Milky Way galaxy?
The stellar companions of more than a dozen stars orbiting the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy have gone missing — and astronomers want to know why.