Space Exploration

Latest about Space Exploration

An artist's depiction of a Mars sample-return mission.

NASA will announce update to Mars sample return plans today. Here's how to listen in

By Tariq Malik last updated

NASA's beleaguered Mars Sample Return program currently faces extreme costs of up to $11 billion and a timeline that could reach 2040.

Missions
an endless darkness filled with curved dots and specks of light shining into foreverness.

James Webb Space Telescope spots record-breaking collection of stars in far-flung galaxy

By Sharmila Kuthunur published

The James Webb Space Telescope captured images of 44 individual stars in a gorgeous portrait of a distant galaxy.

James Webb Space Telescope
Galileo was an Italian philosopher, mathematician, physicist and astronomer

On this day in space! Jan. 7, 1610: Galileo discovers 3 moons of Jupiter

By Hanneke Weitering last updated

On Jan. 7, 1610, the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei discovered three of Jupiter's moons: Callisto, Europa and Io.

Space Shuttle
Blue Origin's first New Glenn rocket on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Blue Origin to launch its 1st New Glenn rocket on Jan. 10

By Mike Wall published

Blue Origin plans to launch its New Glenn heavy-lift rocket for the first time ever in the wee hours of Friday morning (Jan. 10).

Launches & Spacecraft
An illustration of two Indian satellites nearing each other in orbit.

India delays 1st space docking of SpaDeX satellites, 'further validation' needed

By Tariq Malik published

India postponed its first attempt to dock two SpaDex satellites in Earth orbit from Jan. 6 until Jan. 9, to allow more time for tests.

Missions
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 24 Starlink internet satellites to orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Jan. 6, 2025.

SpaceX launches 1st Starlink satellites of 2025 (photos)

By Robert Z. Pearlman last updated

SpaceX launched the first batch of its internet satellites this year from Florida's Space Coast today (Jan. 6).

Launches & Spacecraft
a lot of rocket launch images stacked in rows and columns.

US Space Force broke its launch record in 2024 with 93 liftoffs

By Samantha Mathewson published

An impressive 93 launches lifted off from Florida’s coast in 2024, setting a new Space Force record for the second year in a row.

Missions
an illustration of a white rocket in orbit above earth

BluShift Aerospace hopes to launch 1st suborbital rocket from Maine in 2025

By Meredith Garofalo published

Maine-based bluShift Aerospace is planning for its next big milestone: a suborbital flight test toward the end of 2025.

Launches & Spacecraft
A SpaceX Starship spacecraft on a test stand with the setting sun for Flight 7

SpaceX's Starship Flight 7 test flight will deploy simulated Starlink satellites for 1st time

By Andrew Jones published

SpaceX aims to launch the seventh Starship flight test on Jan. 10. It will mark the first time the company attempts to deploy a payload during the flight.

Launches & Spacecraft
a triple-core rocket blasts off under a sunny, partly cloudy blue sky. smoke expands below next to an obscured launch tower, near a long white hanger with SPACEX written on the side. To the left, a bird flies away.

Rocket launch today: Is there a rocket launch and what time?

By Tariq Malik last updated

Follow Space.com's rocket launch blog for the latest on when the next rocket launch will be and how to follow it live.

Launches & Spacecraft
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