Space news

"I can say we’re weeks away from launching on Vulcan."

On 9 October, astronauts on the International Space Station begin supporting the final decommissioning of ESA's Fluid Science Laboratory (FSL), one of the longest-serving scientific facilities inside Europe's Columbus laboratory.

From the ESA Blogs.

APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 October 9… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss   APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. Stickney Crater Explanation: Stickney […]

Heavy rains since mid-September have caused widespread flooding that has affected millions of people across the country.

NASA’s Crew-12 mission splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California this morning, bringing the 237-day mission to an end. Their replacements on Crew-13 arrived a week […]

Media are invited to join NASA for a media teleconference at 4 p.m. EDT, Thursday, Oct. 15, to preview the agency’s contributions to JAXA’s (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission. The mission is scheduled to launch from JAXA’s Tanegashima Space Center in Japan on Monday, Oct. 19 EDT (Tuesday, Oct. 20 JST). […]

NASA is launching two new science and technology initiatives to deepen scientific understanding and accelerate the innovation that will shape America’s future in space. The initiatives are announced in conjunction with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy’s (OSTP) “Golden Age Summit” in Washington on Thursday with top U.S. agency leaders. The programs […]

A new NASA-supported spacecraft will get up close to satellites that are no longer in service, demonstrating technologies that could support future in-space repairs and reduce orbital debris. The Small Spacecraft Propulsion and Inspection Capability (SSPICY) mission launched Oct. 1 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The mission is a technology demonstration where an […]

The SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft is seen moments before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California in this Oct. 8, 2026, photograph. Aboard were NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 members NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. The four spent […]

NASA’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer) space telescope is shedding light on brown dwarfs, celestial objects that blur the line between stars and exoplanets. New findings published in The Astrophysical Journal show that these dark and cloudy worlds have chemically rich atmospheres not unlike the giant […]

First discovered in 2007, fast radio bursts are enigmatic, millisecond-long flashes of radio emission from the distant universe. Their origin remains uncertain, particularly since most are seen once and never again. Astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have pinpointed the host galaxy of the most distant fast radio burst (FRB) seen to date. Their […]

After more than seven months aboard the International Space Station, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission safely splashed down Thursday in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Los Angeles. The crew members will discuss their science mission during a news conference at 3:30 p.m. EDT, Thursday, Oct. 15, at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. […]

The loose copper hairs of Project West Ford fell back within a few years. The clumps that never came apart are another story: two public satellite catalogues still list about three dozen in orbit. The post MIT built a ring of copper wire around Earth in 1963, and more than 20 clumps of it are still in orbit appeared first on Space Daily.

ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot returned to Earth with Crew-12 after her nearly eight-month εpsilon mission to the International Space Station, splashing down off the coast of California, USA, at 15:34 GMT/17:34 CEST on 8 October 2026.

As the Golden Age of deep-space exploration begins, NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy are advancing the development of safe, reliable, next-generation nuclear technologies for space. Together, the agencies will supercharge civil space exploration, unlock bold scientific discovery, and solidify American leadership in space nuclear power and propulsion.  “We are entering the ‘Nuclear NASA-era,’ […]

At 11:34 a.m. EDT (8:34 a.m. PDT), the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, carrying Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev splashed down off the coast of Los Angeles, California. Teams aboard the recovery ship, including two fast boats, are securing the SpaceX Dragon and ensuring the spacecraft is safe for the recovery effort. As the fast […]

NASA has taken the next step in the process of developing a new all-glass telescope for the LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) mission, a space observatory designed to detect ripples in space-time called gravitational waves. L3Harris Technologies will design, assemble, and integrate the new telescope for NASA. Called the Engineering Test Unit, this contribution represents […]

"If this was easy, everybody else would be doing it."

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev completed its deorbit burn as expected ahead of splashdown.  Four minutes before splashdown, the drogue parachutes will deploy at about 18,000 feet in altitude while Dragon is moving approximately 350 mph. Less than a minute later, at about […]

The Exploration Company has announced it will test a lunar hopper demonstrator called ONEIROS in the United Arab Emirates in 2027. ONEIROS is a privately funded initiative focused on validating technologies that could eventually support lower-cost access to the lunar surface. The company plans to build a one-tonne demonstrator that will use a throttleable methane-fuelled […] The post The Exploration Company to Test Lunar Hopper Demonstrator in 2027 appeared first on European Spaceflight.

Live coverage is underway as NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev are almost an hour away from splashing down aboard their SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. The deorbit burn is scheduled to begin around 10:46 a.m. EDT. Splashdown remains targeted for approximately 11:34 a.m.. […]

In this episode, a panel of industry experts discuss what’s needed to build a moon base. During a live event at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center, leaders Astrolab, Firefly […] The post What will it take to build a moon base? appeared first on SpaceNews.

Just two weeks after it was launched, the Copernicus Sentinel-3C satellite returned its first images and measurements from two of its key instruments – a major milestone that confirms the satellite is working well and on the road to monitoring the health of Earth’s oceans, land, cryosphere and atmosphere.

From the ESA Blogs.

The European Space Agency-led Solar Orbiter spacecraft has flown through an S-shaped kink known as a ‘switchback’ in the solar wind’s magnetic field. By fingerprinting the elusive particles within the switchback, Solar Orbiter has traced its origin back to the Sun’s surface and revealed more about solar magnetism – the unruly instigator of dangerous solar storms.

In 2025, to celebrate thirty years of satellite navigation in Europe, the European Space Agency (ESA) commissioned a documentary to capture the history of Galileo, Europe’s satellite navigation system. Finding Our Way: Inside the Galileo Project will premiere on YouTube on 15 October 2026 at 18:30 CEST. Here, we sit down with Design & Data’s Johannes Walden, who directed the documentary.

For thousands of years, the night sky has inspired humanity, guided explorers and helped scientists unlock the mysteries of the Universe. As the number of satellites in orbit grows, their reflected light and radio frequency interference become a challenge for both professional astronomy and simple stargazing.

APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 October 8 – The… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss   APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. The Saturn […]

Drought and an ailing aquifer were major topics of conversation when NASA scientists visited with farmers in the Texas High Plains.

NASA and SpaceX are targeting 6:33 a.m. EDT, Tuesday, Oct. 13, for the next launch to deliver science investigations, supplies, and equipment, including the final set of International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays, to the space station. This is the 35th SpaceX commercial resupply services mission to the orbital complex for NASA. NASA also will […]

NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than Tuesday, Oct. 13 to launch scientific investigations, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station.

Description This artist’s concept depicts the proposed design for NASA’s PRobe far-Infrared Mission for Astrophysics (PRIMA), which was selected by the agency in September 2026. The PRIMA observatory is the first in a new class of NASA astrophysics missions, called Probe Explorers, within the agency’s longstanding Explorers Program. By observing far-infrared light, PRIMA will enable scientists to study cosmic […]

Description NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover captured this view looking back at the floor of Gale Crater, with the crater’s rim visible in the distance, on Sept. 5, 2026, the 5,006th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Just nine days prior, on Aug. 26 (Sol 4,996), Curiosity set a mission milestone by reaching 1 kilometer […]

Description NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover captured this panorama of sunrise illuminating distant, wind-carved features called yardangs on Aug. 11, 2026, the 4,982nd Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Scientists are eager to learn more about how the yardang layer formed. Figure A is a crop zooming in on the distant yardangs. Since 2014, Curiosity […]

A visualization of a dark Moon eclipsing the Sun is marked with handwritten notes in this April 6, 2026, screenshot from an Artemis II crew member’s tablet. NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman (in blue) and Victor “Ike” Glover (in green) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) Jeremy Hansen (in red) observed impact flashes and their locations, which […]

Scientists using the European Space Agency's Mars Express, in combination with a state-of-the-art meteorological model of the Red Planet, have found that there may be some very exotic physics behind Mars’s most curious cloud.

The future of European exploration and the decisions ahead took centre stage during ESA’s third day at IAC 2026. ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher joined representatives of ESA Member States to discuss Europe's ambitions in low Earth orbit, around the Moon and beyond. The day also saw ESA Director of Space Transportation Géraldine Naja receive the 2026 WIA-Europe Outstanding Achievement Award in recognition of her contribution to the European space sector.

From the ESA Blogs.

Meet the 43 leaders and accomplishments that exemplified excellence across the industry over the last 12 months The post Announcing the finalists for the 2026 SpaceNews Icon Awards appeared first on SpaceNews.

At 8:05 a.m. EDT, NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev undocked from the space-facing port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.

Launched two years ago today, the European Space Agency’s Hera mission for planetary defence has been hurtling away from Earth ever since. The small-car-sized spacecraft is now preparing for its single most challenging activity since lift-off: the sustained braking manoeuvres to slow it down to approach its target asteroids.

Launched two years ago today, the European Space Agency’s Hera mission for planetary defence has been hurtling away from Earth ever since. The small-car-sized spacecraft is now preparing for its single most challenging activity since lift-off: the sustained braking manoeuvres to slow it down to approach its target asteroids.

At 11:05 a.m. EDT, NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev undocked from the space-facing port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.

Meet Hera, our very own asteroid detective. Together with two CubeSats – Milani the rock decoder and Juventas the radar visionary – Hera is off on an adventure to explore Didymos, a double asteroid system that is typical of the thousands that pose an impact risk to planet Earth.

NASA is streaming live coverage as it prepares for the undocking and departure of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission from the International Space Station.

At 9:20 a.m. EDT, the hatch closed between the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and the International Space Station, marking the start of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 return operations.

NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev will close the hatch at approximately 6:20 a.m. EDT between the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and the International Space Station.

The European Space Agency announced that ArianeGroup and Swedish Space Corporation completed a second wet dress rehearsal of the Themis reusable rocket demonstrator at Esrange in Sweden. ESA announced the completion of the latest rehearsal on 7 October, saying that the test had taken place on 29 September. As with the first wet dress rehearsal, […] The post ArianeGroup Completes Second Themis Wet Dress Rehearsal appeared first on European Spaceflight.

The European Space Agency’s Hera planetary defence mission team is preparing to light a fire in the sky. On the early morning of 15 October the small-car-sized spacecraft will burn its Orbit Control Thrusters in the direction of its target asteroid system for a total of 93 minutes continuously. This braking manoeuvre will bring it near to matching the orbital velocity of the Didymos binary asteroids.