Space Exploration

Latest about Space Exploration

The first stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket comes down for a landing on a ship at sea on Sept. 20, 2024 (left) while the rocket's upper stage carries 20 Starlink internet satellites to orbit (right).

SpaceX launches 20 Starlink satellites, lands rocket at sea (video)

By Mike Wall published

SpaceX launched yet another batch of its Starlink internet satellites to orbit today (Sept. 20), sending the spacecraft aloft from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

Launches & Spacecraft
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 last updated

On Sept. 20, 1970, the Soviet Union's Luna 16 moon probe landed on the moon to retrieve a soil sample.

Space Shuttle
a large white boxy object sits in the cargo bay of a plane

Europe's Hera probe to launch Oct. 7 to inspect asteroid NASA smacked in 2022

By Sharmila Kuthunur published

Europe's Hera mission to the asteroid Dimorphos, which NASA's DART probe hit in September 2022, has arrived at its launch site in Florida ahead of its planned Oct. 7 liftoff.

Asteroid & Comet Missions
A white and black SpaceX rocket launches into the twilight sky.

SpaceX blasts proposed FAA fines in complaint letter to Congress

By Mike Wall published

SpaceX has sent a letter to high-ranking Senate and House committee members contesting the $630,000 fine proposed by the FAA for alleged launch violations.

Private Spaceflight
a four-wheeled rover drives in red dirt on a construction site

Europe's Mars 'fetch rover' nails sample pick-up test in the field (video)

By Tereza Pultarova published

Europe's Mars Sample Fetch Rover showcased its sample-picking skills in field tests for the first time this month.

Mars Rovers
A spacecraft over Europa, Jupiter is in the background.

NASA's Europa Clipper on track for Oct. 10 launch to Jupiter's icy moon despite radiation worries

By Sharmila Kuthunur published

The Europa Clipper will determine whether Jupiter’s icy moon has the right conditions for life as we know it.

Missions
SpaceX conducts a static fire test with the Starship upper stage that will perform the vehicle's sixth test flight. The test occurred on Sept. 18, 2024.

SpaceX fires up 6th Starship to prep for test flight (video, photo)

By Mike Wall published

SpaceX fired up the engines of its sixth Starship vehicle on Wednesday (Sept. 18) to gear up for a test flight that's probably still several months away.

Private Spaceflight
a blue and white planet next to a dark grey moon set against the blackness of space

Jupiter-bound JUICE probe snaps photo of Earth, the moon and Uranus

By Samantha Mathewson published

The European Space Agency's (ESA) Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) mission photographed the Earth, moon and Uranus as it heads toward Venus for a gravity assist next year.

Launches & Spacecraft
An astronomical image marred by trails caused by satellites of SpaceX's Starlink megaconstellation.

Radio pollution from SpaceX's new Starlink satellites poses threat to astronomy, scientists say

By Tereza Pultarova published

SpaceX's new Starlink satellites are so radio noisy that they could blind radio astronomy observatories to the universe's most intriguing phenomena, scientists say.

Satellites
A pair of interacting galaxies. The larger of the two galaxies is slightly right of centre, and is composed of a hazy, bright, white centre and a ring of gaseous filaments, which are different shades of red and orange. Toward the bottom left and bottom right of the ring are filaments of gas spiralling inward toward the core. At the top left of the ring is a noticeable gap, bordered by two large, orange pockets of dust and gas. The smaller galaxy is made of hazy and white gas and dust, which become more diffuse further away from its centre. To this galaxy’s bottom left, there is a smaller, more diffuse gas cloud that wafts outward toward the edges of the image. Many red, orange, and white galaxies are spread throughout, with some being hazier in appearance and others having more defined spiral patterns.

James Webb Space Telescope witnesses a 'smiling' galactic collision (images)

By Robert Lea published

The James Webb Space Telescope has imaged a collision between two galaxies that appears to have created a beaming smile in space.

James Webb Space Telescope
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