Latest articles by Hanneke Weitering
On this day in space! Sept. 1, 1979: NASA's Pioneer 11 probe becomes 1st spacecraft to visit Saturn
On Sept. 1, 1979, NASA's robotic space probe Pioneer 11 became the first spacecraft to fly by Saturn. Here's why it mattered.
On this day in space! Aug. 31, 1965: NASA's ginormous Super Guppy carrier plane takes 1st flight like a flying whale
On August 31, 1965, NASA's Super Guppy cargo plane took its first test flight. like a flying whale. Here's why it mattered for the space agency.
On this day in space! Aug. 30, 1992: Astronomers discover 1st Kuiper Belt object out beyond Pluto
On Aug. 30, 1992, astronomers spotted an object orbiting the sun beyond Pluto for the very first time. Here's why the discovery of 1992 QB-1 mattered.
On this day in space! Aug. 29, 1965: NASA's Gemini 5 breaks spaceflight duration record after 2 astronauts spent '8 days in a garbage can'
On Aug. 29, 1965, two NASA astronauts returned to Earth after spending eight days in space on the record-setting Gemini 5 mission, setting the stage for longer trips to the moon.
On this day in space! Aug. 28, 1993: Galileo spacecraft flies by asteroid Ida on the way to Jupiter only to find a tiny moon!
On Aug. 28, 1993, NASA's Galileo spacecraft flew by the asteroid Ida on its way to Jupiter. Here's why it mattered.
On this day in space! Aug. 27, 1962: NASA launches Mariner 2 to Venus for ambitious flyby
On Aug. 27, 1962, NASA launched Mariner 2, the world's first spacecraft to successfully visit another planet: Venus.
On this day in space! Aug. 26, 1978: Sigmund Jähn becomes 1st German in space
On Aug. 26, 1978, cosmonaut and pilot Sigmund Jähn became the first German to fly in space. Here's why it mattered.
On this day in space! Aug. 25, 1997: NASA launches Advanced Composition Explorer to track solar wind and so much more
NASA's Advanced Composition Explorer, or ACE satellite, studies energetic particles traveling through space.
On this day in space! Aug. 24, 2006: Pluto loses its planet status
On Aug. 24, 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) decided that Pluto wasn't a planet anymore.
On this day in space! Aug. 23, 1961: Ranger 1's botched space launch
On Aug. 23, 1961, NASA launched the Ranger 1 robotic spacecraft on a precursor mission to test new technologies for later moon missions.
On this day in space! Aug. 22, 1963: X-15 sets world altitude record
On this day in space! Aug. 22, 1963: U.S. Air Force Captain Joe Walker flew an X-15 rocket plane higher than any pilot had ever flown before.
On this day in space! Aug. 21, 1914: Total solar eclipse expedition crashed by WWI
On Aug. 21, 1914, a total solar eclipse temporarily darkened skies across Europe and Asia.
On this day in space! Aug. 20, 1977: Voyager 2 launches to the outer planets
On this day in space! Aug. 20, 1977: NASA launched the Voyager 2 spacecraft on a mission to explore the outer planets.
On this day in space! Aug. 19, 1997: 1st Filipino satellite launches into orbit
On Aug. 19, 1997, the Philippines launched its own satellite for the first time.
On this day in space! Aug. 18, 1868: Total solar eclipse leads to discovery of helium
On this day in space! Aug. 18, 1868: Total solar eclipse leads to discovery of helium
On this day in space! Aug. 17, 1877: Asaph Hall discovers the Martian moon Phobos
On this day in space, Aug. 17, 1877: American astronomer Asaph Hall discovered Mars's moon Phobos.
On this day in space! Aug. 16, 1963: Wingless M2-F1 completes 1st glide flight
On this day in space Aug. 16, 1963: NASA's M2-F1 aircraft prototype makes its first glide flight.
On this day in space! Aug. 15, 1977: Mysterious 'Wow!' Signal boosts search for E.T.
On Aug. 15, 1977, astronomers using Ohio State University's Big Ear radio telescope detected the famous "Wow!" signal, which remains unexplained to this day.
On this day in space! Aug. 14, 1992: Meteorite shower hits Uganda
On Aug. 14, 1992, a space rock entered the atmosphere over Mbale, Uganda and exploded into hundreds of pieces!
On this day in space! Aug. 13, 2014: Game-changing WorldView-3 Earth-observing satellite launches to orbit
The WorldView-3 Earth-observing satellite.
On this day in space! Aug. 12, 2005: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter launched
On Aug. 12, 2005, NASA launched its Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) mission.
On this day in space! Aug. 11, 1960: 1st object successfully recovered from orbit
President Eisenhower inspects the Discoverer 13 capsule after its return to Earth.
On this day in space! Aug. 10, 1972: A 'Great Daylight Fireball' lights up the sky over North America
On Aug. 10, 1972, an Earth-grazing fireball burst through the sky over North America. Here's what happened.
