NASA missions, budgets, astronaut news, and developments from America's space agency.
Caltech Names Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman as NASA JPL Deputy
Reid Wiseman, commander of the Artemis II lunar flyby mission, has been named Caltech associate vice president and deputy director of NASA's Jet Propu…
NASA’s Artemis I mission reveals surprising radiation levels near the Moon
NASA's Artemis I mission collected radiation measurements near the Moon using experimental detectors made from lithium fluoride crystals aboard the Or…
How a Johnson Mentor Shapes the Next Generation of NASA Talent
Daniel Cohen, a Guidance, Navigation and Control engineer at NASA's Johnson Space Center, has become a quiet architect of the agency's future workforc…
Solar Cells Inspected on NASA’s NEO Surveyor
NASA's Near-Earth Object Surveyor spacecraft entered a critical manufacturing phase this summer as technicians at BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems …
NASA SEES Interns Tackle Real-World Challenges in Lunar Exploration
# NASA SEES Interns Tackle Real-World Challenges in Lunar Exploration High school students enrolled in NASA's STEM Enhancement in Earth Science (SEES…
On this day in space! Oct. 27, 1961: NASA launches Saturn I rocket on 1st test flight from Florida to set stage for the mighty Saturn V moon rocket
NASA's Saturn I rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral on October 27, 1961, marking the first test flight of a vehicle that would become foundational t…
NASA’s Perseverance Offers Clues to Protect Crews From Mars Dust
NASA's Perseverance rover has completed nearly four years of direct measurements on Mars, analyzing how fine Martian dust damages spacesuit materials …
NEO Surveyor’s Sunshade Gets Inspected
NASA's NEO Surveyor spacecraft continues assembly progress with a critical inspection of its large sunshade component at BAE Systems Space & Mission S…
NASA Invites Media to Moon Landing Simulation Experience in California
NASA opened its doors this week at Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California to demonstrate a sophisticated lunar landing simulator built for …
NASA’s X-59 Aircraft and Test Pilot
# NASA Test Pilot Mike Lippert Begins Flying X-59 Quiet Supersonic Research Aircraft NASA test pilot Mike Lippert has begun flying the X-59, the agen…
NASA, USDA Sign Agreement Advancing Earth Science, Agriculture
NASA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture formalized a partnership this week that channels the space agency's Earth observation satellites and data …
This Week In Space podcast: Episode 233 — The Artemis Generation
# The Artemis Generation Enters the Space Workforce NASA's Artemis program stands not merely as a technological endeavor but as a generational employ…
RS-25 Engine Tests at NASA Stennis
NASA's Stennis Space Center has successfully tested RS-25 engine No. 10001, advancing the propulsion systems that will carry astronauts to the Moon un…
NASA, Virginia Launch Power Partnership for Energy Security
NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, entered a partnership with the Virginia Department of Energy to strengthen the state's power infr…
NASA Invites Media to 2026 von Braun Space Exploration Symposium
NASA will host the 2026 von Braun Space Exploration Symposium at the University of Alabama in Huntsville from October 26 to 28. The agency has extende…
NASA’s Artemis III Mission to Test Future Moon Lander Operations
NASA plans to launch Artemis III in 2027 with a crew of four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft to test critical lunar landing systems before huma…
NASA’s Swift Mission Ends, Leaves Behind Scientific Bonanza
NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory concluded its groundbreaking science operations in October after nearly two decades of transformative observatio…
NASA to Conduct Low-Altitude Flights Over Texas Farmland
NASA will conduct low-altitude research flights over farmland near Amarillo, Texas, between October 22 and November 9. A Dynamic Aviation A200 aircraf…
NASA to Host News Conference Previewing US Spacewalks 100, 101
NASA will hold a news conference on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 2 p.m. EDT to preview the upcoming 100th and 101st spacewalks at the International Space Stat…
Born from fire
NASA's Perseverance rover has detected a cloud formation near Arsia Mons, a massive volcano on Mars. The rover observed the phenomenon as part of ongo…
Arctic Sea Ice Shrinks to Its 2026 Minimum
Arctic sea ice has declined to its 2026 minimum, according to satellite records from NASA. The data reveals that Arctic sea ice coverage has contracte…
Flying by and diving deep
NASA explores using drones to explore subsurface environments on both Titan and the Moon, according to reporting from The Planetary Society. The agenc…
NASA Astronaut Christina Koch to Join NFL Fans in Philadelphia
NASA astronaut Christina Koch will attend the Philadelphia Eagles versus Los Angeles Rams game on Sunday, Oct. 4, as part of NASA's Inspiration Tour. …
NASA Opens 2027 Human Lander Challenge for Lunar Communications
NASA is launching a competition that puts the future of lunar communications directly into the hands of college and university students. The 2027 Huma…
NASA Awards Orbital Safety Analysis Support Services Contract
NASA has contracted Omitron Inc. to deliver orbital safety analysis services protecting spacecraft and astronauts from collision hazards in Earth orbi…
NASA Features Exploration, Science at International Space Conference
NASA will showcase its lunar and Mars exploration programs at the 77th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Antalya, Türkiye, October 5-9. Th…
NASA Opens Applications for Second Season of ORBIT Student Challenge
NASA has opened applications for the second iteration of its ORBIT student challenge program, seeking university and college teams to develop innovati…
NSTGRO 2026
NASA's NSTGRO initiative has selected thirteen research teams from leading universities to develop transformative technologies for deep space explorat…
NASA Armstrong Celebrates 80 Years of Flight Innovation
NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center marks eight decades of aviation breakthroughs this year, tracing its origins to September 1946 when five Nationa…
NASA Celebrates as Artemis Accords Surpasses 75 Signatories
NASA announced that the Artemis Accords framework has reached 76 signatories, with four new countries, Albania, Croatia, Côte d'Ivoire, and San Marino…
Meet NASA’s Artemis II Crew During Houston Public Event
NASA's Artemis II crew will meet the public at the University of Houston in what marks their first Houston-area event since completing their lunar mis…
House Appropriators advance key NASA funding bill
# House Appropriators Advance Key NASA Funding Bill With Significant Science Cuts The House Appropriations Committee approved NASA's fiscal 2025 budg…
Nurseries, names, and nominations
# How Celestial Objects Get Named, and Why the Process Matters for Space Science The International Astronomical Union, not corporations or government…
“Shortchanging NASA is simply not smart.”
# The Case for Sustained NASA Funding in an Era of Cosmic Discovery The Planetary Society has made a direct argument about federal spending prioritie…
Artemis II hit Taylor Swift levels of fame. Now what?
# Artemis II Hit Taylor Swift Levels of Fame. Now What? NASA's Artemis II mission captured public attention at a scale rarely seen in human spaceflig…
Big impacts
# Big Impacts: Asteroid Discoveries and NASA's New Direction Shape Space Exploration NASA's organizational restructuring and a wave of new asteroid d…
What we know about Artemis III: NASA announces crew
# NASA Names Artemis III Crew, Setting Course for Lunar Return NASA has selected the astronauts who will fly Artemis III, the mission that will retur…
What's actually new about NASA's Artemis missions?
# What's Actually New About NASA's Artemis Missions NASA's Artemis program returns humans to the Moon using hardware that sits at the intersection of…
The consensus problem
# The Space Budget Paradox: Science Goals and Exploration Funding Never Align The space industry confronts a structural disconnect that shapes every …
The right stuff
# The Right Stuff: What It Takes to Put Humans in Space Launching humans beyond Earth's atmosphere requires far more than powerful rockets. The Plane…
NASA Welcomes San Marino Signing the Artemis Accords
# NASA Welcomes San Marino as 76th Artemis Accords Signatory The Republic of San Marino formally joined the Artemis Accords during a ceremony in Rimi…
NASA Tests Dual Mode Propulsion CubeSat Ahead of Launch
NASA engineers at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama have completed comprehensive testing on an experimental CubeSat equipped wit…
Quite the journey
# A Billion-Mile Passenger: How Your Name Rides the Solar System Your name is traveling across the solar system right now, etched onto a spacecraft h…
2026-2027 DWU: Middle School Design Challenge
NASA is launching a nationwide middle school design competition for 2026-2027 centered on sustainable aviation technology. The challenge, titled "Fuel…
How Diffractive Solar Sails Could Stop a Killer Asteroid at 100 km/s
NASA's DART mission proved that crashing a spacecraft into an asteroid can alter its trajectory. Now scientists propose a radically different approach…
Explosive Intensification for Hurricane Polo
Hurricane Polo underwent a dramatic intensification in the eastern Pacific Ocean near Mexico, rapidly strengthening into one of the basin's most power…
NASA Welcomes Côte d’Ivoire as Newest Artemis Accords Signatory
Côte d'Ivoire became the 75th nation to sign the Artemis Accords, a landmark agreement that establishes principles for peaceful and responsible space …
NASA’s Machines for Mars Make Beer Bubbly
# NASA's Carbon-Capture Technology Transforms Brewing Industry NASA technology developed for Mars exploration missions has found an unexpected commer…
NASA to Study Human Health, Performance During Crew-13 Mission
NASA will launch an extensive human health research campaign during the SpaceX Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station, testing how spacefl…
Cloudy Cloak Over the Northwest
# Cloudy Cloak Over the Northwest NASA satellites captured a striking atmospheric phenomenon across the Pacific Northwest in autumn, revealing how ma…
NASA Welcomes Croatia as Newest Artemis Accords Signatory
The Republic of Croatia formally joined the Artemis Accords framework on Wednesday, becoming the 74th nation to commit to a set of principles governin…
Shannon Lucid’s Record-Setting Mission Aboard Mir
Shannon Lucid spent six months aboard the Russian space station Mir in 1996, setting a record for the longest spaceflight by an American astronaut at …
FFA 2026 Hyperwall Schedule
# NASA's FFA 2026 Hyperwall Schedule Advances Mission Planning Infrastructure NASA has released the FFA 2026 Hyperwall schedule, a planning document …
NASA’s Hubble Seeks Lensed Supernova, Marks 200,000 Orbits
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope reached a historic landmark on September 19, completing its 200,000th orbit around Earth. The aging observatory, now in …
Risks of Decompression Sickness and Venous Thromboembolism during Spaceflight and Patent Foramen Ovale Implications
NASA assembled a specialized working group in August 2026 to investigate three interconnected health threats facing astronauts on deep-space missions.…
NASA Astronaut to Answer Questions from New Hampshire Students
NASA Astronaut Anil Menon will conduct an in-flight question-and-answer session with students from New Hampshire on Thursday, September 24, starting a…
An Epic View of the Seasons
NASA's camera aboard the DSCOVR spacecraft, positioned nearly one million miles from Earth at the Lagrange Point 1 (L1), has captured an extraordinary…
NASA Welcomes Albania as Newest Artemis Accords Signatory
Albania became the 73rd nation to sign the Artemis Accords on Monday, joining a coalition of countries committed to responsible space exploration unde…
NASA Kicks Off Nationwide Effort to Prepare Tomorrow’s Space Workforce
NASA launched its State Hubs for Skilled Technical Workforce initiative on September 15, 2026, marking the agency's most comprehensive effort to build…
NASA Astronaut Reid Wiseman Attends Ravens vs. Saints Game
Reid Wiseman, commander of NASA's Artemis II mission, attended a Baltimore Ravens game against the New Orleans Saints on September 20, 2026, at M&T Ba…
Johnson Space Center Sparks Curiosity at Houston’s 33rd Annual Japan Festival
NASA's Johnson Space Center brought space exploration to Houston's cultural calendar this fall, participating as an exhibitor at the 33rd annual Japan…