All Spacebound
First LookSpace Center University trains a growing crowd of aspiring astronautsA five-day space education program hosted by Space Center Houston has been opening its doors to curious high schoolers since 2000. Now, the center is expanding enrollment to middle school students as well.
First LookInSight spacecraft has a deep mission in Martian soilNASA will soon deploy the Mars InSight spacecraft from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in central California. The goal of the mission is to bore 16 feet into the Red Planet to investigate its geological composition.
First LookNASA's Tess spacecraft on a mission to find new planetsSet to lift off next week, the spacecraft's 'mission for the ages' will see Tess exploring other galactic neighborhoods for planets outside our solar system in the most extensive survey of its kind.
First LookNASA continues exploration of unknown planets orbiting stars outside our solar systemNASA will be launching a surveying satellite into space to search for exoplanets that could sustain life. Discoveries will be explored with larger telescopes which will search for water and atmospheric gases that are indicative of life.
First LookBrazil emerges as partner for US satellite industryThe market for low-cost satellite launches is expanding rapidly and US companies are eyeing the Alcantara space center in Brazil. Launching near the equator dramatically cuts fuel costs, a fact the Latin American country emphasizes to draw new commercial contracts.
First LookRemote Oman desert serves as stand-in for MarsThe Dhofar desert's resemblance to the landscape on Mars, with similar riverbeds and salt domes, makes it a perfect location for more than 200 scientists from 25 nations to test out technology for a manned mission to Mars.
First LookSpaceX sports car now racing toward asteroid belt between Mars and JupiterSpaceX's latest rocket was launched into orbit Tuesday with a sports car on board. 'You can tell it's real,' SpaceX chief Elon Musk said, 'because it looks so fake.'
First LookAs an asteroid approaches, NASA carries out a cosmic fire drillNASA is using the approach of a small asteroid to test the International Asteroid Warning Network. The test, involving scientists all around the world, has proven successful and could be used could be used to track any asteroids on a collision course with planet Earth.
First LookSpaceX designs smaller rocket in continued effort to put humans on MarsTo keep his deadline of humans on Mars by 2024, Elon Musk has announced a sleeker rocket design. NASA, Blue Origin, and Lockheed Martin are also part of the growing effort to colonize the red planet in the next decade.
First LookMars simulation ends after eight months of isolationSix astronauts have emerged after living more than half a year isolated in a Mars simulation laboratory at the base of the Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii. The data will help NASA select the best candidates for the planned mission to Mars in 2030.
Cover StoryRinging success: How Cassini brought Saturn's swirling mysteries into focusCassini embarked on an auspicious quest to increase our knowledge of enigmatic Saturn. Today, 13 years later, the craft is about to end its mission as one of the most successful planetary probes in the history of space exploration.
The ExplainerHunt for other worlds: 3,500 exoplanets and countingSince the first planet beyond our solar system was discovered almost 30 years ago, the search for exoplanets has turned up thousands of fascinating worlds.
First LookKepler telescope discovers new batch of 'just right' planets that could foster lifeNASA's planet-hunting telescope offers up even more evidence that Earth-like planets orbiting sun-like stars are 'not rare.'
First LookIndia surges in space race as its most powerful rocket launches satellite into orbitThe successful launch of the GSAT-19 satellite, the heaviest India has attempted to put in orbit yet, is being heralded as the nation's next step toward broader launch capabilities.
Where are all the space hotels? Why smart people make terrible forecasts.Virgin Galactic is in good company when it comes to aerospace organizations over-promising on their ability to deliver new technology, suggesting that accurate project management may actually be harder than rocket science.
First LookProbe spots massive cyclones at the poles of JupiterThe nature and scale of the storms are causing scientists to rethink what they thought they knew about the gas giant.
First LookCritical repairs completed on International Space StationA relay box had to be replaced by astronaut Peggy Whitson after it abruptly failed.
To colonize space, start closer to EarthSpace X's Martian ambitions are making people think seriously about colonizing space. But the Red Planet may not be the best place to start the first space settlement.
Enceladus ocean jets spew hydrogen: Hint of life?NASA's discovery of molecular hydrogen on one of Saturn's moons is encouraging scientists to rethink their understanding of where else in our solar system could support life.
First LookLost in space: Astronauts lose grip on key shield componentA piece of shielding was lost, but Mission Control worked with two veteran astronauts to save the day.
