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A data visualization showing the mountainous area west of Nobile Crater and the smaller craters that litter its rim at the moon’s south pole. The Nobile region — the landing site for NASA’s ice-hunting VIPER rover — features areas permanently covered in shadow as well as areas that are bathed in sunlight most of the time.

NASA unveils landing site on the moon for ice-hunting VIPER rover

By Mike Wall

The ice-hunting Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) will land just west of Nobile Crater, which sits near the moon's south pole, NASA officials announced today (Sept. 20).

The new Space 220 restaurant, part of the Mission: SPACE pavilion at Walt Disney World's Epcot Center in Florida, provides guests the chance to dine on a space station in Earth orbit.

Disney opens Space 220 restaurant with (g)astronomical menu, views

By Robert Z. Pearlman

Disney is now serving up its own take on "space food," and to try it all you need to do is take a quick trip off the planet.

Fireworks on Sept. 19, 2021, mark the Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, in Wuxi, China.

What is the Moon Festival? A scholar of Chinese religions explains.

By Mario Poceski

With the arrival of September and hints of cooler temperatures also comes one of most important traditional festivals in the Chinese calendar.

SpaceX's all-civilian Inspiration4 crew speak out on historic space mission in 1st interview since splashdown

By Elizabeth Howell

The Inspiration4 crew says they hope the diversity of their astronauts helped inspire others and told NBC News that the spaceflight experience changed them forever.

Artist's illustration of a Mars with Earth-like surface water. The Red Planet was a wet world in the ancient past.

Mars was always too small to hold onto its oceans, rivers and lakes

By Mike Wall

Mars was doomed to desiccation by its small size, a new study suggests.

How frequent is the full Harvest Moon?

By Joe Rao

The Harvest Moon is always the full moon closest to the time of the autumnal equinox.

The Inspiration4 crew poses for a selfie in the Crew Dragon cupola.

Inspiration4 crew celebrates return to Earth after 3-day SpaceX mission

By Chelsea Gohd

Inspiration4's crew of civilian astronauts is sharing their joy after returning to Earth from their three-day mission in orbit.

The Inspiration4 crew posing inside the Dragon Crew cupola against the backdrop of Earth.

Pictures from space! Our image of the day

By Space.com Staff

Inspiration4 crew members posed for this group selfie in front of the dome window of their Dragon Crew capsule during their historic three-day all-civilian space trip.

The crew of SpaceX's Inspiration4 mission speak with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital patients from space during their mission.

SpaceX's private Inspiration4 astronauts had some toilet trouble in space

By Amy Thompson

After spending nearly three days in space, the Inspiration4 crew may have more appreciation for the facilities here on Earth — namely, the toilets.

An artist's depiction of the VIPER rover at work on the lunar surface.

NASA to reveal moon landing site for ice-lunar rover today. Here's how to follow it live.

By Elizabeth Howell

NASA will hold a press conference Monday as part of its Artemis program.

A full moon, known as a Harvest Moon, rises over Washington, D.C., on Sept. 19, 2013.

The full Harvest Moon of 2021 rises tonight: Here's what to look for

By Tereza Pultarova

The full Harvest Moon rises tonight, accompanied by brightly shining planets Venus and Jupiter.

A Chinese Long March 7 rocket launches the Tianzhou 3 automated cargo ship to the country's Tiangong space station module Tianhe on Sept. 20, 2021 from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan Island.

China launches Tianzhou 3 cargo ship to new space station

By Mike Wall

China has launched a cargo mission to its new space station, just days after astronauts departed the orbiting outpost.

Luna 16 was launched toward the Moon from a preliminary earth orbit and entered a lunar orbit on September 17, 1970. On September 20, the spacecraft soft landed on the lunar surface in Mare Foecunditatis (the Sea of Fertility) as planned.

On This Day in Space! Sept. 20, 1970: Luna 16 lands on the moon

By Hanneke Weitering

On Sept. 20, 1970, the Soviet Union's Luna 16 moon probe landed on the moon to retrieve a soil sample. See how it happened in our "On This Day In Space" series!

Gravitational waves are giant ripples in the fabric of space-time.

New gravitational wave detector picks up possible signal from the beginning of time

By Adam Mann

Physicists turned on a new type of gravitational-wave sensor and saw two intriguing results, but they aren't yet ready to claim a discovery.

A view of Centaurus A, which includes an active galactic nucleus at its heart.

Scientists watch a galaxy's supermassive black hole shoot out the galaxy's gas

By Rahul Rao

There comes a time in every galaxy's life, astronomers think, when the galaxy ejects a large part of its gas, but scientists aren't certain what drives this "mid-life crisis."

Astrophotographer Anthony Lynch sent in this photo of the Harvest Moon, September 2013, taken at Phoenix Park in Dublin, Ireland.

Harvest Moon 2021: When and how to see September's full moon

By Jesse Emspak

The full moon of September 2021 also carries the title of the Harvest Moon for those living in the Northern Hemisphere.

Inspiration4 crewmember Hayley Arceneaux gives a double thumbs' up after exiting SpaceX's Crew Dragon Resilience after a successful splashdown on Sept. 18, 2021.

SpaceX's Elon Musk donates $50 million to Inspiration4 spaceflight fundraiser for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

By Tariq Malik

SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk has pledged to donate $50 million to benefit childhood cancer research by the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

An artist's depiction of a swirling vortex beam.

1st 'atom tornado' created from swirling vortex of helium atoms

By Ben Turner

Physicists have created the first-ever atomic vortex beam — a swirling tornado of atoms and molecules with mysterious properties that have yet to be understood.

The four private astronauts of SpaceX's Inspiration4 mission smile after returning to Earth on Sept. 18, 2021 to end their historic three-day spaceflight on a Dragon spacecraft.

SpaceX's Inspiration4 mission just opened a new era of private spaceflight

By Mike Wall

Inspiration4 may be over, but many other missions are poised to follow in its pioneering footsteps.

SpaceX's all-civilian Inspiration4 astronauts are all smiles after splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean to end their historic three-day trip to orbit on the Crew Dragon Resilience.

SpaceX's Inspiration4 private all-civilian orbital mission: Live updates

By Space.com Staff

The first all-civilian mission to orbit Earth on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to launch on Sept. 15, and you can follow all the action live here.