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CAPSTONE satellite is trial running an orbit for NASA's 'Gateway' space station

NASA launches mini satellite in Moon return bid

NASA has blasted a nanosatellite barely bigger than a microwave oven into outer space, part of a landmark mission to return humans to the Moon.

Science • 28 Jun 22

Boeing launches Starliner from Cape Canaveral

Boeing's troubled Starliner launches for ISS

American aerospace giant Boeing has launched its Starliner capsule for the International Space Station in a critical uncrewed test flight that followed years of failures and false starts.

Boeing • 20 May 22

Plants were successfully grown in just 12 grams of lunar soil

Scientists grow plants in lunar soil

Scientists have for the first time grown plants in lunar soil brought back by astronauts in the Apollo programme.

Science and Technology • 13 May 22

The capsule re-enters the Earths' athmosphere. Courtesy: ESA/NASA

NASA's Crew-3 astronauts splash down safely

The four members of NASA's Crew-3 mission returned to Earth today after having spent six months on board the International Space Station (ISS).

News Lens • 06 May 22

Engineers and technicians assemble the James Webb Space Telescope at NASA's flight centre in Greenbelt, Maryland

Webb telescope deploys sunshield in mission milestone

The James Webb Space Telescope has fully deployed its tennis-court sized sunshield, a critical milestone for the success of its mission to study every phase of cosmic history, NASA said.

World • 05 Jan 22

The James Webb Space Telescope is about 100 times more sensitive than Hubble

Launch of NASA space telescope delayed until Christmas

Liftoff of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, designed to peer farther than ever into the universe, has been delayed until Christmas Day at the earliest, due to poor weather at the launch site on South America's northeastern coast, the US space agency said.

World • 22 Dec 21

Astronauts Thomas Marshburn and Kayla Barron had been due to venture outside the space station (File)

NASA postpones spacewalk citing 'debris notification'

A spacewalk planned for today to repair a faulty antenna on the International Space Station has been postponed indefinitely, NASA said, citing a "debris notification" it received for the orbiting research laboratory.

World • 30 Nov 21

An illustration of NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft approaching the Dimorphos and Didymos asteroids

NASA launches spacecraft to kick asteroid off course

A NASA mission to deliberately smash a spacecraft into an asteroid - a test run should humanity ever need to stop a giant space rock from wiping out life on Earth - blasted off last night from California.

World • 24 Nov 21

The Orion spacecraft has been fully assembled at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral

NASA aims for uncrewed Moon missions next February

NASA is aiming to launch its uncrewed lunar mission Artemis 1 in February next year, the space agency said, the first step in America's plan to return humans to the Moon.

World • 23 Oct 21

An image released by NASA shows a sample of Mars rock inside the tube shortly after the coring operation

NASA's Mars rover collects first piece of rock

NASA has confirmed that its Perseverance Mars rover succeeded in collecting its first rock sample for scientists to pore over when a future mission eventually brings it back to Earth.

World • 07 Sep 21

Blue Origin's New Shepard crew, Oliver Daemen, Jeff Bezos, Wally Funk, and Mark Bezos, after flying into space in the Blue Origin New Shepard on July 20, 2021

Blue Origin sues NASA over SpaceX Moon contract

Blue Origin, the space company owned by Jeff Bezos, is suing the US government over its decision to award a massive Moon exploration contract to its competitor SpaceX.

Business • 17 Aug 21

Russia's Nauka Multipurpose Laboratory Module docks with the International Space Station

Module misfire leaves ISS briefly out of control - NASA

The International Space Station was thrown briefly out of control yesterday when jet thrusters of a newly arrived Russian research module inadvertently fired a few hours after it was docked to the orbiting outpost, NASA said.

World • 30 Jul 21

NASA's rover begins hunt for ancient life on Mars

NASA's Mars rover Perseverance is about to begin its historic hunt for signs of ancient life on the Red Planet.

News Lens • 22 Jul 21

The interacting galaxies named ARP-MADORE2115-273 and ARP-MADORE0002-503. Courtesy: NASA/ESA/STSCI/Julianne Dalcanton/Alyssa Pagan

Hubble Space Telescope back in business

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope returned to full science operations this week and captured images of two unusual galaxies, NASA said.

News Lens • 21 Jul 21

Jupiter's ice-encrusted moon Ganymede. Courtesy: NASA

NASA's Juno spacecraft flies past Ganymede and Jupiter

NASA's Juno spacecraft flew closer to Jupiter's ice-encrusted moon Ganymede than any spacecraft in more than two decades, less than a day later, Juno made its 34th flyby of Jupiter. This animation provides a "starship captain" point of view of each flyby.

News Lens • 15 Jul 21

An artist's rendering shows OSIRIS-REx descending towards Bennu to collect a sample of the asteroid's surface

NASA craft on return after collecting asteroid samples

A NASA spacecraft, which scientists believe has collected samples from an asteroid, has begun its two-year journey back to Earth.

World • 11 May 21

A handout image from NASA shows the shadow of the Ingenuity helicopter during its first test flight on Mars

NASA launches first controlled flight on another planet

NASA has made history when the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter successfully attempted the first powered, controlled flight on another planet.

World • 19 Apr 21

A high-speed test of the helicopter's rotors ended earlier than expected due to an alert of a potential issue

NASA delays Mars helicopter flight for tech check

NASA has delayed by at least several days the first flight of its mini-helicopter on Mars after a possible tech issue emerged while testing its rotors, the US space agency said.

World • 11 Apr 21

The Ingenuity helicopter on Mars (Pic: NASA)

Mars helicopter ready for first flight

The helicopter that NASA has placed on Mars could make its first flight over the Red Planet within two days after a successful initial test of its rotors, the US space agency has said.

World • 10 Apr 21

Ingenuity is due to take flight on Mars later this month

NASA helicopter survives first night alone on Mars

NASA's Ingenuity mini-helicopter has survived its first night alone on the frigid surface of Mars, the US space agency said, hailing it as "a major milestone" for the tiny craft as it prepares for its first flight.

World • 06 Apr 21

An illustration by NASA of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter

NASA's Mars helicopter to take flight in early April

NASA is targeting early April for the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter to make the first attempt at powered, controlled flight on another planet.

News Lens • 24 Mar 21

The asteroid was roughly five times as far away as the Moon is

Huge asteroid passes 'close' by Earth at 124,000km/hr

The largest asteroid to pass by Earth this year has made its closest approach, posing no threat of a cataclysmic collision but giving astronomers a rare chance to study a rock formed during the beginning of our solar system.

News Lens • 22 Mar 21

NASA says the asteroid will pass by Earth at about 124,000 kilometres per hour (File pic)

Large asteroid to pass 'close' by earth

An asteroid some 900 metres in diameter will have what in astronomical terms is deemed a 'close encounter' with earth today. While it will pass some 2 million kilometres from earth, in astronomical terms it is deemed a close encounter.

Asteroid • 21 Mar 21

NASA says that the Perseverance rover is operating as expected so far

NASA releases first audio from Mars, video of landing

The US space agency NASA has released the first audio from Mars, a faint wind sound captured by the Perseverance rover.

World • 23 Feb 21

A shot from a camera on the rover's 'jetpack' captures it in midair, just before touchdown (Images: NASA)

NASA Perseverence Mars Rover sends new colour images

NASA has released stunning new photographs from Perseverance, including one of the rover being gently lowered to the surface of Mars by a set of cables, the first time such a view has been captured.

World • 19 Feb 21