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Two images taken by NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft show the sampling arm touch the surface of asteroid Bennu.

NASA's first attempt to sample an asteroid in space made a mess. It's the best mess ever, scientists say.

By Tariq Malik

A NASA spacecraft has really made a mess of things on the asteroid Bennu, and scientists are thrilled. OSIRIS-REx performed well in its sampling attempt.

The Operational Land Imager on Landsat 8 captured this image on Sept. 26, 2020, showing the extent of the wildfire damage.

Severe burn damage from California wildfires seen from space

By Stephanie Pappas

New satellite imagery of California reveals not just the extent of its wildfire damage, but the depth of the loss.

A Rocket Lab Electron booster will launch 10 Earth observation satellites into space from New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula, one of four big space events on Oct. 21, 2020.

Watch a rocket launch, spaceship landing, asteroid update and more live today

By Meghan Bartels

If you're looking for more space in your life, look no farther: The stars have aligned to bring your four separate space events today (Oct. 21).

The Dragonfly 44 galaxy looks like a smear across space.

Astronomers claimed galaxy was 98% dark matter. They were wrong.

By Rafi Letzter

Back in 2016, researchers claimed Dragonfly 44 was a "failed" Milky Way — a galaxy with a huge dark matter mass but almost no stars. Now, on closer examination, that claim has fallen apart.

Members of NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample-return mission team celebrate after receiving word that the probe completed an attempt to collect samples of asteroid Bennu 207 million miles from Earth on Oct. 20, 2020.

NASA spacecraft makes historic attempt to snag samples of asteroid Bennu

By Mike Wall

For the first time ever, a NASA probe has performed a sample-snagging operation on an asteroid in deep space.

An artist's depiction of a supermassive black hole.

The 2020 Nobel Prize in physics awarded for work on black holes. An astrophysicist explains the trailblazing discoveries

By Gaurav Khanna

Black holes are perhaps the most mysterious objects in nature.

A mosaic of 12 images captured by NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on Dec. 2, 2018.

NASA's about to scoop up some asteroid dirt on the space rock Bennu. Scientists are thrilled.

By Meghan Bartels

NASA will touch a space rock tomorrow in a milestone event for what the agency considers a crucial field of study: asteroid science.

These NASA graphics show the trajectories of two near-Earth asteroids, 2020 UX and 2020 TF6, which flew closer to Earth than the moon on Oct. 19, 2020.

2 small asteroids zip by Earth closer than the moon today

By Tariq Malik

Two small asteroids will zip by Earth today (Oct. 19) at a range that's closer than the moon, in a double flyby that comes as NASA gears up to sample a space rock of its own.

An artist's depiction of NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft approaching asteroid Bennu for its sampling attempt.

NASA's OSIRIS-REx probe will snag a piece of an asteroid Tuesday! Here's how to watch.

By Elizabeth Howell

NASA will broadcast an epic "touch and go" on Tuesday as a spacecraft descends toward asteroid Bennu to pick up a precious sample of dust.

An artist's depiction of a near-Earth asteroid.

The strange story of 2020 SO: How an asteroid turned into rocket junk and the NASA scientist who figured it out

By Meghan Bartels

As soon as he saw the data, Paul Chodas knew something was strange about the near-Earth object that had been designated 2020 SO.

China's Chang'e 4 lander on the far side of the moon, as seen by the mission's Yutu 2 rover.

China unveils ambitious moon mission plans for 2024 and beyond

By Andrew Jones

China is operating a mission on the far side of the moon and is preparing to launch another this year to collect lunar samples — and it's already planning a new set of bold lunar missions.

The first ever direct image of a black hole, with yellow ring surrounding black circle

Physicists keep trying to break the rules of gravity but this supermassive black hole just said 'no'

By Rafi Letzter

A new test of Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity has proved the 20th Century physicist right again, this time using a supermassive black hole.

An artist's depiction of a supermassive black hole with a web of galaxies trapped in its orbit.

'Spider's web' traps six galaxies around supermassive black hole

By Elizabeth Howell

Six galaxies were trapped in orbit around a supermassive black hole during the early history of the universe, new observations reveal.

The Bobcat wildfire burns the hills about Los Angeles on September 15.

Earth just had its hottest September on record

By Yasemin Saplakoglu

Every year, a warming planet is shattering heat records.

international space station expedition 62

Without gravity, the fluid around an astronaut's brain moves in weird ways

By Doris Elin Urrutia

The fluid that cushions the human brain redistributes in the skull during spaceflight, according to a new study.

A roughly 12-inch (30 centimeters) rock to be analyzed by Yutu 2.

China's moon mission robots wake up for a 23rd lunar day as team snags major award

By Andrew Jones

China's Chang'e 4 spacecraft have awoken for another lunar day on the far side of the moon, while on Earth the mission received a prestigious international award for its accomplishments.

The sun rises over the Mount Wilson Observatory in Southern California on Sept. 18, 2020, the morning after the Bobcat Fire came dangerously close to the facility.

Historic Mount Wilson Observatory was ready for its close call with the Bobcat Fire

By Doris Elin Urrutia

Several months ago, the historic Mount Wilson Observatory in southern California made an extraordinary observation.

The European-Japanese BepiColombo Mercury mission captured this view of the planet Venus during a flyby on Oct. 15, 2020, its first of two by the planet on the mission's way to orbit Mercury.

BepiColombo spacecraft swings past Venus on long road to Mercury

By Meghan Bartels

It's a long, looping journey from Earth through the inner solar system to reach Mercury, but scenery can make any circuitous trip more exciting.

Bill Nye hosts Why With Nye, a web series about the Juptier-bound Juno spacecraft.

Bill Nye to flat Earthers and science deniers: 'It affects all of us'

By Chelsea Gohd

"The flat earthers, the anti vaxxers, the anti maskers are not on board with the progress of science. And the thing is, it affects all of us," Bill Nye said.

The snowcapped mountains of Pluto's Pigafetta Montes and Elcano Montes and the Alps on Earth are seen side by side in this view.

The mountains on Pluto have super weird methane ice snowcaps

By Charles Q. Choi

Mountains on Pluto have snowcaps that may have formed from the top down as opposed to the bottom up, the reverse of how snow caps form on Earth, a new study finds.