Space Exploration

Latest about Space Exploration

a tall silver rocket upright in a hangar

SpaceX stacks Super Heavy booster ahead of Starship megarocket's 12th test flight

By Mike Wall published

SpaceX recently stacked the giant Super Heavy booster that will help launch the upcoming 12th test flight of the company's Starship megarocket.

Launches & Spacecraft
A time lapse panorama of the Martian landscape, showing blue/gray dirt with a sunset to the left and a close up of Curiosity in the bottom right of the image

NASA's Curiosity rover sends stunning new panorama from high on Mars' Mount Sharp

By Samantha Mathewson published

The image was captured in November 2025, showing how lighting changes throughout the day on Mars.

Mars Rovers
the full moon hangs in frame with the orion, inside its payload shell atop the SLS rocket.

NASA may be 1 month away from historic Artemis 2 astronaut launch around the moon

By Josh Dinner published

Artemis 2, NASA's next astronaut mission to the moon, is gearing up for a launch that could occur as soon as Feb. 6.

Artemis
NASA's famous "meatball" logo.

Congress rejects President Trump's deep NASA budget cuts, proposes $24.4 billion for the agency

By Mike Wall published

Congress plans to allocate $24.4 billion to NASA for fiscal year 2026, nearly $6 billion more than President Trump had proposed.

Space Exploration
two satellites float in space orbiting Earth

‘Space particle’ slams into Spain’s new communications satellite high above Earth

By Josh Dinner published

Spain's latest military communications satellite suffered a debris impact while headed to its orbital destination. The extent of the damage is still unknown.

Launches & Spacecraft
U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) speaks at a news conference in the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 1, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Kelly held the event to address what he described as intimidating actions by President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, following a video in which Kelly and several other lawmakers urged U.S. troops to refuse “illegal orders.”

Trump administration censures former NASA astronaut Mark Kelly over 'illegal orders' video

By Mike Wall published

The Department of Defense is taking administrative action against former NASA astronaut and current U.S. Senator Mark Kelly over remarks he made in a 90-second video in November.

Human Spaceflight
A close up of Earth in space

How did life begin on Earth? New experiments support 'RNA world' hypothesis

By Keith Cooper published

The new findings strengthen the "RNA world" hypothesis that describes how the first life on Earth could have used RNA instead of DNA.

Search for Life
a timelapse photo of a rocket launch causes the appearance of a bright beam of light extending from the ground into the night sky

SpaceX launches 1st Starlink satellites of 2026 on new Falcon 9 rocket (video)

By Robert Z. Pearlman published

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 29 Starlink satellites launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.

Launches & Spacecraft
An illustration showing a metal satellite floating above Earth with metal debris strewn about it in space with the sun at the top of the image

The risk of falling space junk hitting airplanes is on the rise, experts warn

By Kiona N. Smith published

Space debris falling to Earth is a growing threat to aircraft, and experts are trying to reduce the risk.

Satellites
illustration of debris in orbit around Earth

The next frontier in space is closer than you think – welcome to the world of very low Earth orbit satellites

By Sven Bilén published

But as more and more satellites are launched into LEO...the region's getting a bit crowded.

Satellites
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