China’s Shenzhou-18 crew arrive at Tiangong space station
Thursday, 25 April 2024 20:10

NASA's Deep Space Optical Communications demonstration transmits data over 140 million miles
Thursday, 25 April 2024 20:00
Riding aboard NASA's Psyche spacecraft, the agency's Deep Space Optical Communications technology demonstration continues to break records. While the asteroid-bound spacecraft doesn't rely on optical communications to send data, the new technology has proven that it's up to the task. After interfacing with the Psyche's radio frequency transmitter, the laser communications demo sent a copy of engineering data from over 140 million miles (226 million kilometers) away, 1.5 times the distance between Earth and the sun.
NASA astronauts arrive for Boeing's first human spaceflight
Thursday, 25 April 2024 19:36
The two NASA astronauts assigned to Boeing's first human spaceflight arrived at their launch site Thursday, just over a week before their scheduled liftoff.
NASA Mars Analog Crew Approaches Mission Conclusion
Thursday, 25 April 2024 16:21
Japan's SLIM survives 3rd lunar night, surprising designers
Thursday, 25 April 2024 16:21
Chang'e 7 mission set for lunar south pole survey in 2026
Thursday, 25 April 2024 16:21
China's Chang'e 7 lunar mission will host international instruments
Thursday, 25 April 2024 16:21
China expands Space Station Program to include international astronauts
Thursday, 25 April 2024 16:21
The Mars Sample Return mission has a shaky future, and NASA is calling on private companies for backup
Thursday, 25 April 2024 15:30

A critical NASA mission in the search for life beyond Earth, Mars Sample Return, is in trouble. Its budget has ballooned from US$5 billion to over $11 billion, and the sample return date may slip from the end of this decade to 2040.
The mission would be the first to try to return rock samples from Mars to Earth so scientists can analyze them for signs of past life.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said during a press conference on April 15, 2024, that the mission as currently conceived is too expensive and too slow. NASA gave private companies a month to submit proposals for bringing the samples back in a quicker and more affordable way.
As an astronomer who studies cosmology and has written a book about early missions to Mars, I've been watching the sample return saga play out.
China launches 3-member crew to its space station as it seeks to put astronauts on the moon by 2030
Thursday, 25 April 2024 15:09
China launched a three-member crew to its orbiting space station on Thursday as part of its ambitious program that aims to put astronauts on the moon by 2030.
The Shenzhou-18 spacecraft lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on the edge of the Gobi Desert in northwestern China atop a Long March 2-F rocket at 8:59 p.m. (1259 GMT).
The spacecraft's three-member crew will relieve the Shenzhou-17 team, which has been staffing China's Tiangong space station since last October.
First Ariane 6 booster gets lift to launch zone
Thursday, 25 April 2024 13:17
Young Professionals’ YPSat headed to Ariane 6
Thursday, 25 April 2024 12:38
ESA’s YPSat has been shipped to Arianespace. Following a series of successful tests confirming its readiness for deployment, the payload is now headed to Europe’s Launch Site in French Guiana. The goal of YPSat is to capture all the key phases of Ariane 6's inaugural flight.
NASA planning September launch of Mars smallsat mission on first New Glenn
Thursday, 25 April 2024 10:34

Russia vetoes U.N. resolution on nuclear weapons in space
Thursday, 25 April 2024 09:46
