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International Space Station

The International Space Station is a $100 billion research outpost in low-Earth orbit. It was built by 15 different countries and overseen by 5 space agencies, among them NASA, Russia's Roscosmos agency, the European Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Construction began in 1998 and rotating astronaut crews have lived on the ISS continuously since 2000. Today, the ISS is the largest human-built structure in space. See the latest news, photos and videos from ISS missions here.

Related Topics: Falcon Heavy, Incredible Space Tech, NASA, SpaceX, Interstellar Travel

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NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity took flight for the first time Monday (April 19), with data confirming the flight beaming back down to Earth later that morning. This photograph of Ingenuity the day of its first flight was captured by NASA's Perseverance rover, which carried the helicopter to Mars and released it onto the planet's surface. As Ingenuity makes its 5 total flights, Perseverance will watch from nearby, providing valuable imagery to mission teams back on Earth.

Pictures from space! Our image of the day

By Space.com Staff

NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity took flight for the first time Monday (April 19), with data confirming the flight beaming back down to Earth later that morning.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft are seen at sunset on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Crew-2 mission, on April 19, 2021, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

SpaceX, NASA delay Crew-2 astronaut launch to Friday due to weather

By Amy Thompson

SpaceX and NASA have delayed the Crew-2 launch of four astronauts to the International Space Station.

The crew for SpaceX's upcoming Crew-2 mission is all smiles as we get closer to launch. The four astronauts are set to launch to the International Space Station April 22 and there will meet up with the Crew-1 astronauts who have been living up on the orbiting laboratory. From the left is European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet, NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough and JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide.

SpaceX's Crew-2 astronaut mission for NASA: Live updates

By Space.com Staff

From left to right: ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, NASA astronaut Megan McArthur, NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough and JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide sit inside the SpaceX Crew Dragon "Endeavour."

SpaceX's Crew-2 astronauts will conduct more than 200 science experiments in space

By Amy Thompson

The astronauts will launch on the Crew-2 mission to the orbiting lab in a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft this Thursday (April 22).

The Crew-2 astronauts smile as they bid farewell in a walkout dress rehearsal on April 18 for their launch on a SpaceX Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 rocket on April 22, 2021. From left to right they are: Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency, Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur.

These 4 Crew-2 astronauts are ready to ride a SpaceX rocket into orbit

By Amy Thompson

NASA's next crew of astronauts are ready to strap into a SpaceX Dragon capsule and blast off into space.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket test fires its nine first-stage engines atop Launch Pad 39A of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on April 17, 2021. The rocket will launch NASA's Crew-2 astronaut mission for NASA on April 22.

SpaceX test-fires rocket ahead of Crew-2 astronaut launch for NASA

By Amy Thompson

SpaceX has fired up the rocket that will ferry its next crew of astronauts to the International Space Station next week.

The fully assembled International Space Station.

The top space stories of the week!

By Doris Elin Urrutia

These are the top space stories this week from Space.com.

SpaceX's second operational astronaut flight, Crew-2, is set to launch to the International Space Station on April 22. Crew-2 includes NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and  Megan McArthur, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut  Akihiko Hoshide, and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Pesquet. Crew-2 is scheduled to lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 6:11 a.m. EDT (1011 GMT) on April 22 aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour, carried by a Falcon 9 rocket.

SpaceX's Crew-2 mission to the International Space Station in photos

By Samantha Mathewson

SpaceX's Crew-2 mission will launch to the International Space Station on April 22. See photos of the crewmembers and their preparations for launch.

Sixty just-launched SpaceX Starlink satellites circle Earth prior to being deployed.

SpaceX agrees to steer Starlink internet satellites clear of space station, NASA spacecraft

By Amy Thompson

SpaceX recently inked a deal with NASA to move any of the company's Starlink internet satellites out of the way if they stray too close to the International Space Station or other agency spacecraft.

Russia’s Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft lands in Kazakhstan from the International Space Station with cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos and NASA astronaut Kate Rubins on Saturday, April 17, 2021.

Soyuz MS-17 crew returns to Earth after 185 days on space station

By Robert Z. Pearlman

Two cosmonauts and an astronaut landed safely from the International Space Station after spending 185 days aboard the orbiting laboratory.

(from left) Flight Engineers Kate Rubins, Victor Glover and Soichi Noguchi, Commander Sergey Ryzhikov and Flight Engineers Michael Hopkins, Shannon Walker and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov. Rubins, Glover, Hopkins and Walker are all NASA astronauts. Noguchi is a JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut. Ryzhikov and Kud-Sverchkov are cosmonauts representing Roscosmos

In photos: The Expedition 64 mission to the International Space Station

By Christine Lunsford

See photos of the astronauts and cosmonauts of International Space Station Expedition 64.

From left to right, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, and European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet pose for a photo after arriving at the Launch and Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on April 16, 2021. The quartet will go to the space station on SpaceX’s Crew-2 mission, which is scheduled to launch on April 22.

Crew-2 astronauts arrive in Florida ahead of SpaceX launch next week

By Amy Thompson

A crew of four astronauts arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida Friday (April 16) in advance of SpaceX's second operational astronaut launch for NASA under its commercial crew program.

SpaceX's Crew-2 astronauts. From the left, ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough and JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide.

Meet Crew-2: The 4 space-bound astronauts launching aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon

By Amy Thompson

Expedition 64 Flight Engineers Kate Rubins of NASA and Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos, seen here inside the International Space Station's Japanese Kibo laboratory, are scheduled to depart the outpost on April 16, 2021.

You can watch a NASA astronaut and 2 cosmonauts return to Earth in a Soyuz capsule tonight

By Elizabeth Howell

A NASA astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts will head back to Earth on a Soyuz spacecraft tonight (April 16), and you can watch the whole thing live online.

The Crew Dragon "Endeavour" is lifted and mated to its Falcon 9 rocket at NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A , on April 13, 2021.

NASA, SpaceX are 'go' to launch Crew-2 astronauts to space station on Earth Day

By Hanneke Weitering

Mark your calendars for April 22!

The crew for SpaceX's upcoming Crew-2 mission. From left: European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet, NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough and JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide.

SpaceX's next astronaut launch for NASA lifts off April 22. How to watch online.

By Elizabeth Howell

NASA and SpaceX are preparing to send the second operational commercial crew mission to the International Space Station, and you can watch the preparations, launch and arrival live.

The reality show competition "Space Hero" hopes to send private citizens to the International Space Station.

'Space Hero' reality show competition signs space act agreement with NASA

By Chelsea Gohd

A hopeful spaceflight reality show competition called "Space Hero" has signed a Space Act Agreement with NASA, but that doesn't mean they're launching to space.

Nora AlMatrooshi and Mohammad AlMulla have been selected as the new astronaut candidates for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) corps. They will train at NASA's Johnson Space Center.

UAE names two new astronauts, including first woman candidate

By Robert Z. Pearlman

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has selected two new trainees for its burgeoning astronaut corps, including its first female candidate.

Russia’s Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft, the "Yu.A. Gagarin," launches for the International Space Station from Site 31/6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, on April 9, 2021.

Soyuz MS-18 crew launches to space station 60 years after first human spaceflight

By Robert Z. Pearlman

Three astronauts embarked for the International Space Station just three days shy of the 60th anniversary of the first human spaceflight. The trio launched on Soyuz MS-18, named the "Yu.A. Gagarin."

The Russian Soyuz rocket carrying the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft stands atop its launchpad at Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan ahead of an April 9, 2021 launch.

You can watch a Soyuz rocket launch a US-Russian crew to the International Space Station early Friday

By Elizabeth Howell

A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and two cosmonauts toward the space station early Friday (April 9) on a last-minute mission. Here's how you can watch it live.