https://phys.org/space-news/space-exploration en-us Space exploration news and updates. Space missions and science news. Planet exploration and more. Earth's city lights streak by in this long-exposure photo taken by NASA astronaut Don Pettit on Oct. 24, 2024. The green glow of Earth's atmosphere is also visible on the horizon. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-image-astronaut-captures-photo-earth.html Space Exploration Thu, 07 Nov 2024 15:39:28 EST news650216363 The Hubble Space Telescope was carried to space inside the space shuttle Discovery and then released into low-Earth orbit. The James Webb Space Telescope was squeezed inside the nose cone of an Ariane 5 rocket and then launched. It deployed its mirror and shade on its way to its home at the sun-Earth L2 Lagrange point. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-space-robot-giant-telescope.html Astronomy Space Exploration Thu, 07 Nov 2024 14:37:04 EST news650212621 A new generation of space materials left Earth on November 5 as they head to the International Space Station (ISS) to undergo testing in the brutal conditions of low Earth orbit. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-generation-space-materials-blast-iss.html Space Exploration Tue, 05 Nov 2024 12:26:36 EST news650031991 The first human tissue samples from Oxford's Space Innovation Lab (SIL) have been launched and are on their way to the International Space Station, where they will be used to study the effects of space microgravity on the human aging process. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-space-lab-international-station.html Space Exploration Tue, 05 Nov 2024 10:04:53 EST news650023488 As ESA's Hera mission for planetary defense departed its homeworld, it looked back to Earth to show the moon orbiting around it. In this sequence of images the terrestrial disk gradually shrinks as the spacecraft recedes away from it, and the moon moving around Earth changes from a half to full moon. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-moon-goodbye-hera.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Tue, 05 Nov 2024 10:04:05 EST news650023442 NASA's Voyager mission launched in the 1970s. Today, it's making history as it conducts new science. But how are two spacecraft from the '70s not just surviving, but thriving farther out in space than any other spacecraft has been before? https://phys.org/news/2024-11-kickin-70s-nasa-voyager-mission.html Space Exploration Tue, 05 Nov 2024 09:10:01 EST news650020046 SpaceX sent up 6,000 pounds of cargo on a resupply mission to the International Space Station on Monday night with the rocket booster's return trip bringing a sonic boom to parts of Central Florida. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-spacex-space-station-resupply-mission.html Space Exploration Tue, 05 Nov 2024 09:09:47 EST news650020182 Recent findings from the International Space Station address wound healing, fine motor control in space, and radiation resistance by the station's Glowbug gamma-ray telescope. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-latest-space-station-science-reveals.html Space Exploration Tue, 05 Nov 2024 03:59:13 EST news650001549 The world's first wooden satellite has blasted off on a SpaceX rocket, its Japanese developers said Tuesday, part of a resupply mission to the International Space Station. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-world-wooden-satellite-space.html Space Exploration Tue, 05 Nov 2024 03:54:22 EST news650001252 The European Space Agency has given the go-ahead for initial work on a mission to visit an asteroid called (99942) Apophis. If approved at a key meeting next year, the robotic spacecraft, known as the Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety (Ramses), will rendezvous with the asteroid in February 2029. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-apophis-european-space-mission-large.html Space Exploration Mon, 04 Nov 2024 12:40:01 EST news649944545 In 1969, Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon's surface—a momentous engineering and science feat marked by his iconic words, "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." Three years later, Apollo 17 became NASA's final Apollo mission to land humans on the brightest and largest object in our night sky. Since then, no humans have visited the moon or traveled past low Earth orbit (LEO), largely because of shifting politics, funding, and priorities. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-communications-user-terminal-historic-moon.html Space Exploration Mon, 04 Nov 2024 10:41:08 EST news649939262 Japan launched a defense satellite aimed at speedier communication and military operations on a new flagship H3 rocket on Monday and successfully placed it into orbit, as the country seeks to build up its military capability amid growing tension in the region. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-japan-defense-satellite-flagship-h3.html Space Exploration Mon, 04 Nov 2024 04:23:14 EST news649916590 Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Monday after a six-month stay on the Tiangong space station, part of China's effort to be a global leader in space exploration. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-chinese-space-station-crew-months.html Space Exploration Sun, 03 Nov 2024 15:14:00 EST news649869236 Two sister meteor showers are already flashing across night skies—and will peak a week apart. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-taurid-meteor-showers-peak-week.html Space Exploration Sun, 03 Nov 2024 15:08:53 EST news649868913 Blue Origin hauled the immense first stage booster for its upcoming debut launch of its New Glenn rocket to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on October 30th. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-blue-hauls-massive-glenn-1st.html Space Exploration Sat, 02 Nov 2024 09:10:01 EDT news649671014 In the past, spaceflight was the preserve of government-funded astronauts who had to meet stringent physical, cognitive, psychological and social requirements for selection. But in recent years, that has all been changing. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-world-disabled-astronaut-doesnt-space.html Space Exploration Fri, 01 Nov 2024 11:41:04 EDT news649680061 A parking spot shuffle coming up this weekend more than 250 miles above Earth will mark a unique feat for a pair of NASA astronauts who will become the first to fly in both Boeing's Starliner and SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-nasa-starliner-astronauts-feat-technically.html Space Exploration Fri, 01 Nov 2024 09:11:15 EDT news649671067 SpaceX may have contributed to an overall Space Coast record with its previous launch last weekend, but a Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral on Wednesday marked the most launches Elon Musk's company has ever sent up from Florida in one year. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-spacex-company-69th-space-coast.html Space Exploration Thu, 31 Oct 2024 08:15:28 EDT news649581325 Over 100 space researchers signed a letter urging the federal government to perform an environmental review before allowing SpaceX to continue launching thousands of satellites for its internet service, Starlink. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-musk-tens-thousands-starlink-satellites.html Space Exploration Wed, 30 Oct 2024 20:50:02 EDT news649511437 The Perseverance rover lurks in the quiet, cold, desolate landscape of Jezero crater on Mars, a place masked in shadows and haunted by past mysteries. Built to endure the planet's harsh conditions, Perseverance braves the thin atmosphere and extreme temperature swings. Its microphone captures the eerie whispers of martian winds, sending shivers down your spine, and records ghostly dust devils swirling across the barren terrain. Has the microphone caught the sound of a skeleton rattling its bones? We'll leave that up to your imagination. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-martian-landscape-spooky-soliday.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Wed, 30 Oct 2024 15:56:06 EDT news649522563 Three Chinese astronauts including the country's only woman spaceflight engineer entered the Tiangong space station on Wednesday following an early morning launch into orbit. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-person-crew-china-tiangong-space.html Space Exploration Wed, 30 Oct 2024 05:57:56 EDT news649486665 China's only woman spaceflight engineer will be among a crew of three astronauts blasting off on a "dream" mission to the Tiangong space station in the early hours of Wednesday. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-person-crew-blast-china-tiangong.html Space Exploration Tue, 29 Oct 2024 14:14:40 EDT news649430067 Over the span of two projects, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign investigated using a propulsion concept known as multimode propulsion to get spacecraft to the moon and developed a technique to design optimal multimode transfers. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-multimode-propulsion-efficient-space.html Space Exploration Tue, 29 Oct 2024 11:28:03 EDT news649420081 Though there are no firm plans for a crewed mission to Mars, we all know one's coming. Astronauts routinely spend months at a time on the ISS, and we've learned a lot about the hazards astronauts face on long missions. However, Mars missions can take years, which presents a whole host of problems, including astronaut nutrition. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-astronaut-nutrition-barriers-duration-spaceflight.html Space Exploration Tue, 29 Oct 2024 10:56:04 EDT news649418161 A team of space researchers with the IAU Center for the Protection of Dark and Quiet Skies from Satellite Constellation Interference, working with a colleague from Belgian Working Group Satellites, has found that the satellites making up China's "Thousand Sails" project exceed brightness limits that have been proposed by astronomical groups wanting to prevent satellites from blocking the view to space. The paper describing their findings is posted to the arXiv preprint server. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-satellites-china-thousand-exceeding-brightness.html Astronomy Space Exploration Tue, 29 Oct 2024 10:20:01 EDT news649415379 China said all systems are ready to launch the next crew to its orbiting space station early Wednesday, the latest mission to make the country a major space power. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-china-ready-crew-orbiting-space.html Space Exploration Tue, 29 Oct 2024 03:45:24 EDT news649392313 The two CubeSat passengers aboard ESA's Hera mission for planetary defense have exchanged their first signals with Earth, confirming their nominal status. The pair were switched on to check out all their systems, marking the first operation of ESA CubeSats in deep space. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-hera-asteroid-mission-cubesat-passengers.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Mon, 28 Oct 2024 15:51:10 EDT news649349465 A SpaceX launch from Cape Canaveral on Saturday evening marked the 73rd launch from the Space Coast in 2024, the most ever in one year. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-spacex-space-coast-year.html Space Exploration Mon, 28 Oct 2024 10:05:59 EDT news649328756 Boeing is exploring a possible sale of its space business as its new CEO seeks to improve the embattled company's financial position, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-boeing-exploring-sale-space-business.html Space Exploration Sat, 26 Oct 2024 06:17:15 EDT news649142232 A NASA astronaut who just returned from the International Space Station has been hospitalized for an unspecified medical condition but remains stable, the US space agency said Friday. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-nasa-astronaut-hospitalized-iss.html Space Exploration Sat, 26 Oct 2024 04:19:33 EDT news649135169