Space Telescopes of the Future: NASA Has 4 Ideas for Great Observatory to Fly in 2030s By Hanneke Weitering NASA still hasn't launched its new James Webb Space Telescope, but the agency is already preparing for an even bigger and better space observatory to succeed it.
DigitalGlobe Loses WorldView-4 Satellite in Orbit Due to Gyroscope Failure By SpaceNews Staff DigitalGlobe announced Monday that its WorldView-4 satellite has malfunctioned.
Laser-Blasted Plasma Is Cooler Than Deep Space...Literally By Mindy Weisberger Laser-cooled plasma has all the chill.
NASA's Mars 2020 Rover Is Unique. And So Is Its Paint Job. By Kasandra Brabaw Before NASA's Mars 2020 mission is ready to launch toward the Red Planet, they have to paint the new rover — a task more challenging than it sounds.
Apollo Spacesuits Survive Today — in the Roofs Over Your Head By Nola Taylor Redd The strong material found in stadium roofs across the globe originated in Apollo spacesuits.
Humanity Will Slam a Spacecraft into an Asteroid in a Few Years to Help Save Us All By Meghan Bartels Humans are preparing to punch the solar system — but in self-defense, not anger.
US Air Force Releasing More Data on Orbits of Military Satellites By Jeff Foust As the Commerce Department works on plans to take over civilian space traffic management responsibilities, the U.S. Air Force is making more data available on the positions of military satellites.
NASA Data Breach Highlights Agency Cybersecurity Problems By Jeff Foust A cyberattack that may have compromised information about current and former NASA employees is only the latest sign of ongoing information security problems that have plagued the agency for years.
Wild 'Tunnelbot' Designs Could Crack Secrets of Icy Jupiter Moon Europa By Meghan Bartels The icy shell encasing Jupiter's moon Europa is both a promise and a problem, since it blocks scientists from getting a good look at what's going on under the ice.
Track NASA's New Horizons Flyby of Ultima Thule with Free Pluto Safari App By Sarah Lewin The free Pluto Safari app let New Horizons fans track the probe's flyby of Pluto in 2015, and now it's set to follow the journey past the distant body Ultima Thule on New Year's Day.
Virgin Orbit's Rocket-Launching Plane Keeps Taking Test Flights with LauncherOne By Elizabeth Howell The dazzling first trip to space by Virgin Galactic's crewed SpaceShipTwo Unity may have grabbed headlines last week, but another Virgin space launch company recently hit a milestone of its own.
NASA Looks to Private Companies for Help Building Reusable Moon Landers for Astronauts By Samantha Mathewson NASA has serious plans to send astronauts back to the moon by 2028, and the agency is looking for help from U.S. companies to develop technology to accomplish this feat.
Time Travel Is Possible — But Only If You Have an Object With Infinite Mass By Gaurav Khanna Who wouldn't want to travel in time, glimpsing the dinosaurs or peeking at humans 2,000 years from now? Now physicists have designed a time machine that seems deceptively simple.
Scientists Proposed a Nuclear 'Tunnelbot' to Hunt Life in Europa's Hidden Ocean By Rafi Letzter A group of scientists wants to send a nuclear-powered "tunnelbot" to Europa to blaze a path through its thick shell of ice and search for life.
NASA Lunar Orbiter Now Supporting Commercial and International Missions By Jeff Foust A NASA spacecraft originally built as part of the previous effort to return humans to the moon is now playing a key role in the new effort at human lunar return, including aiding commercial landers.
Mars InSight's 'Mole' Should Start Burrowing into the Red Planet Next Month By Meghan Bartels NASA's Mars InSight lander has settled into its new home on Elysium Planitia and is preparing to deploy its instruments — and if all goes well, one device's work should be complete by March.
