Space

NASA's Artemis 1 mission notched up a new record today, when the uncrewed Orion spacecraft reached the farthest distance from Earth achieved by a human-rated spacecraft, breaking the previous record set by Apollo 13 on April 15, 1970.

NASA has confirmed that the uncrewed Artemis 1 mission has achieved lunar orbit. After an orbital maneuvering engine burn lasting 88 seconds, the Orion spacecraft will travel at an altitude of around 40,000 miles (64,374 km) above the lunar surface.

After a lift-off from the Kennedy Space Center last Wednesday and a close fly-by of the Moon earlier this week, it had been pretty smooth sailing for NASA’s Artemis I mission so far. Mission control has now experienced a small hiccup, however.

The James Webb Space Telescope has provided the most detailed look at an exoplanet atmosphere ever. Studying data from four instruments astronomers compiled a complete molecular and chemical profile of the planet, including signs of active chemistry.

NASA's Artemis 1 deep-space mission reached a major goal today as the uncrewed spacecraft successfully completed its powered flyby of the Moon that brought it within 81 miles (130 km) of the lunar surface.

Astronomers at Johns Hopkins University have created an interactive map of the universe, charting the positions and colors of 200,000 galaxies stretching from here to the very edge of the observable universe.

After three years circling the Earth, the Planetary Society’s LightSail 2 mission has come to an end following a fiery reentry. The satellite was an important tech demo for solar sailing, which could eventually propel spacecraft to other stars.

The James Webb Space Telescope has already begun to reshape our perspective of the universe in some spellbinding ways. The latest image from the instrument’s infrared cameras continues this theme with a dramatic look at early star formation.

The most powerful rocket in the world, NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) successfully lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center at 1:47am EST this Wednesday. It proceeded to carry the uncrewed Orion spacecraft into orbit, as part of the Artemis I mission.

NASA is pressing ahead with a launch attempt for Artemis I this week, with the Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule in need of only minor repairs after being exposed to the forces of Hurricane Nicole out on the pad.

With a reported sonic boom, the US Space Force's open-secret X-37B spaceplane returned to Earth on Saturday. The robotic craft touched down at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 5:22 am EST after a record-breaking 908 days in orbit.

Planets have been born, lived and died long before Earth even existed. Now astronomers have detected the ruins of ancient planets around two unusual white dwarf stars, including an Earth-like world that existed almost 10 billion years ago.

Stars are hot balls of plasma, but astronomers have now spotted a super strange one that may have a solid surface. Its intense magnetic field is strong enough to overcome its blistering temperatures and “freeze” its outer layers into a solid crust.

Astronomers have discovered three new near-Earth asteroids, including the closest known to the Sun. Another is one of the largest known asteroids considered potentially hazardous to Earth, measuring almost a mile wide with an orbit close to our own.

SpaceX has today fired up its mighty Falcon Heavy rocket, the most powerful in operation today, for the first time since 2019 to successfully lift a set of satellites into orbit for the US Space Force.