NASA cleared Starliner to launch on the uncrewed OFT-2 mission to the International Space Station, which will assess the capsule's ability to get safely to and from the orbiting lab.
Space News & Blog Articles
Smarter satellites: ESA Discovery accelerates AI in space
Could we capitalise on the Earth-based digital revolution to make our satellites smarter?
InSight Just Detected a Record-breaking Marsquake: Magnitude 5!
This spectrogram shows the largest quake ever detected on another planet. The marsquake struck the Red Planet on May 4 , 2022 and measured magnitude 5 . Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech/ETH/Zurich.
NASA managers clear Boeing’s Starliner for second try to reach space station
Artist’s illustration of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft in orbit. Credit: Boeing
NASA officials cleared Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule for launch next week in a flight readiness review Wednesday, moving a step closer toward a critical unpiloted demonstration flight to attempt docking at the International Space Station and check off other test objectives left unaccomplished on a problem-plagued mission two-and-a-half years ago.
Facing rocket supply crunch, Northrop says it has backup options for ISS resupply
File photo of two Russian-built RD-181 engines powering an Antares rocket off its launch pad in Virginia. Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani
Northrop Grumman says it has a backup plan to fulfill the company’s contract to resupply to the International Space Station if the war in Ukraine continues to disrupt the supply of Russian engines and Ukrainian booster cores for the company’s Antares rocket.
‘The Clocks are Telling Lies:’ A New Book from Universe Today Writer Scott Alan Johnston
Scott Alan Johnston (that’s me!) joined the Universe Today team just over a year ago. Since then, I’ve written over 50 space news stories for the website – time flies when you’re having fun! But when I’m not writing articles here on Universe Today, I’m a historian of science, and I recently released a new book about the history of timekeeping.
Water may have been on Mars much more recently than scientists thought, China's rover suggests
Evidence is growing that Mars, now cold and dry, had liquid water running on its surface much more recently than previously thought.
Martian Dust is Starting to Darken Ingenuity’s Solar Panels
Like every solar-panel-powered vehicle on Mars, maintaining electrical power always becomes an issue at some point in the mission. Last week, mission controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory lost contact with the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter. While they were able to re-establish communications, which is done through the Perseverance rover, engineers know that keeping Ingenuity’s batteries charged is going to be increasingly difficult as the dark winter is on the way to Jezero Crater.
These are the Best Places to Search for Habitable Exomoons
Our Solar System contains eight planets and more than 200 moons. The large majority of those moons have no chance of being habitable, but some of them—Europa and Enceladus, for example—are strong candidates in the search for life.
Artemis 1 Probably won't Launch Until August
On March 17th, the Artemis I mission rolled out of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VLB) and was transferred to Launch Complex 39B at the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This was the first time that a fully-stacked Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft were brought to the launchpad in preparation for a “wet dress rehearsal.” To mark the occasion, NASA released a video of the event that featured a new song by Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder (“Invincible”).
Vega C prepped for maiden flight in June
The P120C first stage for the inaugural Vega C launch was transferred to the launch pad in French Guiana on April 15. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace
Europe’s new Vega C launcher is on track for its inaugural flight from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, during the second half of June, according to officials managing final phases of integration.
China's Mars rover Zhurong is hunkering down for its 1st Red Planet winter
China's Zhurong Mars rover is adjusting to its first winter on the Red Planet while its companion orbiter continues to map the world from above.
SpaceX's Crew-3 astronauts dish on their action-packed 6 months in orbit
From dodging space debris to welcoming the first-ever fully private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, SpaceX's Crew-3 mission had a very eventful six months off Earth.
Scientists peer inside a Mars meteorite to check for signs of a habitable world
Liquid water once shaped the rock inside a meteorite from Mars, but likely did not support any microbial life, a new study finds.
The Chandrasekhar limit: Why only some stars become supernovas
The Chandrasekhar limit determines whether a star ends its life as a smoldering white dwarf or explodes in a supernova becoming a neutron star or black hole.
Save $120 on the Anycubic Photon Mono X 6K 3D printer
Grab a huge discount on a 3D printer that features top-quality specs that are sure to impress.
Cretaceous asteroid armageddon ignites TV screens in 'Dinosaur Apocalypse'
'Dinosaur Apocalypse,' a PBS NOVA special narrated by Sir David Attenborough, attempts to reconstruct the day Earth was hit by an asteroid 66 million years ago.
The Tonga Eruption Reached Space!
What a massive volcanic eruption looks like from space. The GOES-17 satellite captured images of an umbrella cloud generated by the underwater eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano on Jan. 15, 2022. The Tonga eruption sent crescent-shaped bow shock waves through the atmosphere, as well as numerous lightning strikes. Credits: NASA Earth Observatory image by Joshua Stevens using GOES imagery courtesy of NOAA and NESDIS
Get the Terraforming Mars video game for free right now from Epic Games
The PC version of "Terraforming Mars" for free right now from Epic Games, but act fast.
When a White Dwarf Turned into a Thermonuclear Fireball
Astronomers have spotted the X-ray flash that precedes a nova. The brief flare is the first sign of a white dwarf erupting into a nuclear-fusion fireball.