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An artist's depiction of ispace's HAKUTO-R lander on the surface of the moon.

Japanese ispace lander to carry UAE moon rover to lunar surface in 2022

By Mike Wall

The United Arab Emirates' robotic Rashid moon rover will be delivered to the lunar surface in 2022 by HAKUTO-R, a lander built by the Japanese company ispace.

This view from Northrop Grumman's MEV-2 spacecraft shows the IS-10-02 satellite as it approaches to dock.

A Northrop Grumman robot successfully docked to a satellite to extend its life

By Chelsea Gohd

Satellites could live longer lives thanks to new technology being tested by Northrop Grumman.

Spaceflight

Artist's illustration of Phantom Space's Daytona rocket, which the company aims to start flying in 2023.

Startup Phantom Space aims to launch 1st orbital mission in 2023

By Mike Wall

Phantom Space aims to start launching orbital missions in early 2023, and the company just secured $5 million in seed funding to help it meet this goal.

Blue Origin's first upgraded New Shepard rocket and crew capsule launches on an uncrewed suborbital flight from the company's West Texas test site on Jan. 14, 2021.

Watch live now! Blue Origin launching New Shepard rocket @ 11:56 am ET

By Space.com Staff

Blue Origin will launch its New Shepard rocket on a test flight from its West Texas site today (April 14) during a window that opens at 9 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT; 8 a.m. local time). Watch it live!

Science & Astronomy

The PolyCam camera on NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft took this picture of Bennu on March 4, 2021 about 186 miles (300 km) away from the asteroid. A portion of the asteroid's equatorial ridge and its northern hemisphere are visible here.

NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft begins its farewell tour of near-Earth asteroid Bennu

By Doris Elin Urrutia

A spacecraft carrying pristine asteroid samples and 4,000 megabytes of data recently flew away from the space rock Bennu.

Glaciers in modern-day Antarctica. The early oxygenation of Earth may have triggered ice ages that covered the surface of the Earth with glaciers like these.

Earth nearly lost all its oxygen 2.3 billion years ago

By Stephanie Pappas

The permanent oxygenation of Earth's atmosphere took twice as long as previously believed and finally finished up to 100 million years later than expected.

Search For Life

An image of Saturn's moon Enceladus taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft.

Enceladus may have ocean currents like we see around Antarctica

By Elizabeth Howell

The ocean of the water-spurting moon Enceladus might be more active than scientists realized.

Features called recurring slope lineae (RSL) are found on some Martian slopes in warmer months. Red arrows point out an RSL in this image taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera system on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Mars' dark streaks are probably caused by dry landslides

By Mike Wall

A recent study found that these dark marks, known as recurring slope lineae, surged following the massive 2018 dust storm that killed NASA's Mars rover Opportunity.

A 2007 image from the APL-built STEREO B spacecraft of the moon crossing in front of the sun. A new conceptual study proposes to observe the Earth in a similar way, to learn if the transit method can determine a planet’s habitability.

How to spot aliens? Look at Earth, scientists propose.

By Mindy Weisberger

Revisiting how Earth looks from space could offer scientists clues for finding alien life on distant worlds.

Skywatching

Lyrids meteors streak aross the night sky over Burg auf Fehmarn on the Baltic Sea island of Fehmarn, in northern Germany, on April 20, 2018.

Lyrid meteor shower 2021: When, where & how to see it

By Jesse Emspak

In late April, skywatchers in the Northern Hemisphere will get a view of the Lyrid meteor shower, the dusty trail of a comet with a centuries-long orbit around the sun.

This illustration (made using real images and data) shows the moon in shadow during the "new moon" lunar phase.

April new moon 2021: Planets become more visible before the moon occults Mars

By Jesse Emspak

The new moon occurs Sunday, April 11, at 10:30 p.m. EDT (0230 GMT on April 12), a week before our natural satellite passes in front of Mars.

An image of asteroid 2021 GW4 taken on April 12 as the object was nearing its closest approach to Earth.

A small, car-sized asteroid just gave Earth a close shave

By Meghan Bartels

A newly spotted asteroid about the size of a car flew harmlessly past Earth this morning (April 12).

Entertainment

The Firefly Artbook from Titan Books showcases amazing art of the beloved science fiction franchise.

Salute the enduring spirit of the 'Verse with this shiny new 'Firefly-Artbook'

By Jeff Spry

Mal and the rest of the Serenity crew take center stage in this premium format hardback celebrating the world of "Firefly."

The Death Star from Star Wars will make sure you're never late with this $150,000 Star Wars Death Star Tourbillon watch line from Kross Studios.

Embrace your Dark Side with this official $150K 'Star Wars Death Star' watch

By Jeff Spry

Swiss designers Kross Studios are selling an epic $150,000 "Star Wars" wristwatch that comes with an authentic movie prop from "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story."

Auroras dance in the night sky in director Tom Lowe's documentary "Awaken," which debuted on Dust April 9, 2021.

'Awaken' documentary captures natural beauty of Earth and our night sky

By Elizabeth Howell

A new documentary by award-winning astrophotographer Tom Lowe is showcasing humanity's relationship to the natural world, including the sky above our heads.

Watch live: Blue Origin to launch New Shepard spacecraft on suborbital spaceflight

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