Why listen from the Moon’s far side?
The Moon can block a noisy direction. A quiet observatory still needs darkness, power and a way to talk home.
5 min read
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/Arizona State University · NASA media guidelines
Read
Original reports, explanations and news from their publishers.
Explore Learn
Why drill below the surface of Mars?
ESA’s Rosalind Franklin rover is planned to launch in 2028 with a drill that can reach up to two metres below Mars’s surface. The aim is to examine material whose chemistry has been better protected from the surface environment. What can that sample tell us that a photograph cannot?
6 min read
NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS · NASA media guidelines
What are Lagrange points, and why is Webb at L2?
The view starts with choosing where to look from.
2 min read
NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI
How to watch a rocket launch live
Find mission coverage, read the launch target correctly, and prepare for a delay without losing track of the mission.
1 min read
NASA / Keegan Barber
Launch window vs launch time
The launch time is the target moment. The window is the interval in which a mission can lift off.
1 min read
NASA
Why rocket launches get delayed
A hold pauses the countdown. A scrub ends the attempt. Check the revised target and reported reason before making new plans.
1 min read
NASA / Keegan Barber
Where to watch a rocket launch in Florida
Compare Kennedy, Banana Creek, the Gantry, Playalinda and Jetty Park by launch pad, view and access. Includes place maps and a launch-day checklist.
1 min read
National Park Service
Why leave part of the rocket behind?
Rosalind Franklin is planned to leave Earth on Falcon Heavy in 2028. Its launcher will not travel to Mars as one intact stack: stages perform different jobs, and the spacecraft remains attached until its own separation.
6 min read
NASA/Aubrey Gemignani · Credited NASA informational/editorial use; no endorsement
Why satellites use different orbits
Connect an orbit’s altitude, inclination and shape to the job a satellite is designed to do.
1 min read
NASA
Add rocket launches to Google, Apple or Outlook Calendar
Step-by-step launch-calendar subscriptions for Google Calendar, iPhone, Mac and Outlook, with feed URLs and fixes for missing or outdated launches.
1 min read
NASA
Regional launch schedules for your website
Build a Florida, Vandenberg, Starbase or worldwide launch widget for a club, museum or tourism website.
1 min read
NASA
Falcon 9: one rocket, two different flights
A few minutes after liftoff, the stack splits. One stage must deliver the payload. The other may return to Earth. Follow the hardware that makes those two flights possible.
6 min read
NASA / Keegan Barber