Space Exploration

Latest about Space Exploration

two images; on the left an umbrella-shaped solar panel on a black background. on the right, a fuzzy white dot on a dark blue speckled background

China's Tianwen 2 spacecraft sends home 1st photo as it heads for mysterious 'quasi-moon' asteroid

By Andrew Jones published

China has revealed the first image from its Tianwen 2 asteroid sample return mission, which is now more than 3 million kilometers (1.9 million miles) from Earth.

Missions
three astronauts in Apollo era spacesuits

'In our spacesuit collection for movies, we have replicas of pretty much every historic spacesuit that's been into space.' How the son of an aerospace machinist built some of Hollywood's most iconic astronaut looks (exclusive)

By Jeff Spry published

"I've had a number of NASA personnel come up and think that the one that was theirs was ours, and they're shocked."

Human Spaceflight
SpaceX conducts a static fire test with the Flight 10 Starship Super Heavy first-stage booster at its Starbase site in South Texas on June 6, 2025.

SpaceX fires up Super Heavy booster ahead of Starship's 10th test flight (video)

By Mike Wall published

SpaceX conducted a static-fire test with one of its Super Heavy boosters today (June 6), part of the prep work for the next test flight of the Starship megarocket.

Launches & Spacecraft
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches the SXM-10 satellite for SiriusXM from Florida on June 7, 2025.

SpaceX launches Sirius XM radio satellite to orbit, lands rocket on ship at sea (video, photos)

By Mike Wall published

SpaceX launched the SXM-10 satellite for SiriusXM early Saturday morning (June 7), adding another spacecraft to the company's broadcasting constellation.

Launches & Spacecraft
Artist's illustration of an Artemis astronaut stepping onto the moon.

Saving Gateway, SLS and Orion? Sen. Ted Cruz proposes $10 billion more for NASA's moon and Mars efforts

By Leonard David published

Sen. Ted Cruz's newly unveiled legislative directives for Senate Republicans’ budget reconciliation bill would dedicate almost $10 billion to win the new space race with China.

Space Exploration
an intricate circular labyrinth inside a metal enclosure with a circular glass window

Why does NASA's Perseverance rover keep taking pictures of this maze on Mars?

By Stefanie Waldek published

NASA's Perseverance rover regularly images a Sherlock Holmes–themed maze to calibrate its chemical-hunting SHERLOC instrument.

Mars Rovers
A Japanese ispace moon lander fires its thrusters in a simulation of its moon landing.

Private Japanese spacecraft crashes into moon in 'hard landing,' ispace says

By Mike Wall last updated

Japan's private Resilience lunar lander went dark just before it was scheduled to touch down on the moon today (June 5), raising doubts about the venture's success.

Missions
A pale man wearing a blue suit and red had with orange face paint purses his lips toward another, taller pale man, pursing his lips in the direction of the first man, wearing all black. A blurry man behind them awaits the inevitable.

Elon Musk says SpaceX could begin 'decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft' after Trump threat to cancel contracts

By Josh Dinner published

Elon Musk and President Donald Trump are having a very public disagreement at the moment, and NASA could get caught in the crosshairs.

Space Exploration
A man works with a scientific instrument aboard a spacecraft

Marc Garneau, 1st Canadian astronaut to fly into space, dies at 76

By Robert Z. Pearlman published

The first Canadian astronaut to fly into space, Marc Garneau, died on June 4, 2025 at the age of 76. In addition to his three launches, Garneau also led the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

Human Spaceflight
The brand-new SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule that will fly the private Ax-4 astronaut mission to the ISS is seen inside the hangar at Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Brand-new SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule arrives at pad for June 10 astronaut launch (photo)

By Mike Wall published

The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule that will fly the Ax-4 astronaut mission has arrived at its pad ahead of a planned June 10 launch.

Private Spaceflight
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