NASA Updates Next Steps for Commercial Swift Boost Mission
Due to an ongoing commercial spacecraft attitude control issue, NASA and Katalyst Space announced Wednesday the LINK spacecraft will not capture or boost an agency satellite to a …
Human-Related Microbes May Survive Moon’s South Pole, NASA Finds
Lee esta historia en español aquí. Some of Earth’s microbes likely to hitch a ride to space with human explorers could survive in the shaded nooks and crannies of the Moon’s South…
Dark matter could magnify the jets of a ravenously feeding supermassive black hole
A jet erupting from a distant supermassive black hole-powered blazar is being gravitationally lensed by an unseen clump of dark matter, and that could tell us about the source of …
A SpaceX rocket slammed into the moon this month — and a NASA spacecraft has spotted its lunar grave (photos)
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has spotted the crater gouged out on the moon by a SpaceX rocket on Aug. 5, finding it to be about 60 feet (18 meters) wide.
Ancient Milky Way Merger
This artist’s concept, released on Aug. 17, 2026, depicts a collision between our Milky Way galaxy and a dwarf galaxy known as LKH that happened about 12 billion years ago. A stud…
Mysterious Russian 'space activity' causes US Air Force flight to Antarctica to turn around: report
A mysterious incident over the South Pacific forced a U.S. Air Force aircraft to turn around on Aug. 18, due to a possible space debris hazard.
NASA Establishes State Hubs to Grow Technical Aerospace Workforce
NASA has awarded approximately $10.5 million to seven institutions to help strengthen and streamline state-based pathways for students into skilled technical jobs in the aerospace…
Fastest known Milky Way star offers new test of supermassive black hole's spin
Astronomers have discovered the fastest known star in our galaxy, the Milky Way, orbiting the black hole at its center. The star, named S301, was detected with the European Southe…
13 sci-fi books that inspired our favorite shows and movies
These are the books that inspired our favorite science fiction worlds on the big and small screens, including novels from Andy Weir, Emily St. John Mandel and Mary Shelley.
VR supports research into spaceflight-related mental health
As humanity gets closer to the possibility of long-term interplanetary travel, psychologists have started raising concerns about astronauts' mental health. Researchers at Texas A&…
On this day in space! Aug. 19, 1997: 1st Filipino satellite launches into orbit
On Aug. 19, 1997, the Philippines launched its own satellite for the first time.
My 5 favorite sights to see in the night sky with binoculars
Here are our top picks on what to look for when using binoculars to explore the night sky.
Perseverance rover watchs alien solar eclipse on Mars | Space photo of the day for Aug. 19, 2026
What a view.
Career Spotlight: Mechanic (Ages 14-18)
What does a mechanic do? Machines and engines are all around us. They power everything from cars and boats to airplanes and even rockets. Mechanics are experts who know how machin…
I sailed to Greenland for a total solar eclipse — what I saw left me speechless
I understood the science and had seen thousands of eclipse photographs, but nothing prepared me for the emotion of watching totality unfold above the icebergs and fjords of East G…
Astronomers catch hot birth of galaxy cluster more than 11 billion light-years away
Astronomers have detected an enormous cloud of gas tens of millions of degrees hot surrounding one of the most extreme structures known in the early universe. The study offers one…
Astronomers discover a giant, rocky 'mega-Earth' 23 times more massive than our planet
"This isn't what we expected at all."
China recovers rocket stage on land for first time, after earlier recovery at sea
China has successfully recaptured the first stage of a rocket on land for the first time, state media reported Wednesday, as the country seeks to advance its space program.
Behind the Lens: Meet NASA Johnson’s Photographers
Photographers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston have documented some of the most defining moments in human spaceflight. From astronaut training and engineering tests to m…
APOD: 2026 August 19 – The Case of the Mysterious Maybe Meteor
APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 August 19 – The… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the c…
Touchdown! Private Chinese rocket aces landing on 2nd-ever flight
The Beijing-based company LandSpace landed its Zhuque-3 rocket this evening (Aug. 18), notching a huge milestone for commercial Chinese spaceflight.
Mars attacks: How much dust from the red planet is safe to breathe?
NASA has released a report recommending an initial health standard for the Martian dust that astronauts could inhale during future missions. Although sending people to Mars is sti…
Dying radio galaxies suggest a shorter, more dynamic afterlife for black hole jets
Astronomers have uncovered a previously underexplored population of faint, rapidly fading remnant radio galaxies, offering new insights into what happens after supermassive black …
NASA's LRO images Falcon 9 crater on moon, learns new details
Between Aug. 11–12, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) captured a series of images of a new crater on the moon. The crater formed Aug. 5, when a SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage…