Space Exploration
Filmmakers Find Section of Destroyed Space Shuttle Challenger on Ocean Floor
Divers working on a television documentary were searching for a downed World War II aircraft when they instead discovered the NASA artifact
Stories by Robert Z. Pearlman
Space & Physics
Michael Collins, Apollo 11 Astronaut Who Orbited Moon, Dies at 90
Collins piloted the command module while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin touched down in 1969
Space & Physics
Axiom Space Names First Private Crew to Visit Space Station
The four men will voyage to orbit in 2022 aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft
Space & Physics
Mark Kelly Becomes 4th Astronaut Elected to Congress
After a special election in Arizona, the veteran spacefarer is set to become a senator
Space & Physics
Apollo 13 at 50 Years: Looking Back at the Mission’s Lost Lunar Science
Its commander Jim Lovell and pilot Fred Haise reflect on their fateful, flawed voyage to the moon
Space & Physics
Solar Sailing Success: Planetary Society Deploys LightSail 2
The spacecraft is set to harness the power of sunlight alone to alter its orbit around Earth
Space & Physics
Pioneering NASA Astronaut Don Peterson Dies at 84
In 1983, Peterson performed the first spacewalk from a space shuttle
Space & Physics
Kickstarter Project Seeks to Resurrect Pioneer Plaques
The crowdsourced effort intends to build replicas of the famed "galactic greeting cards," which are traveling out of the solar system on the Pioneer 10 and 11 space probes
Space & Physics
Apollo Astronaut Eugene Cernan Dies at 82
As commander of the final Apollo mission in 1972, Cernan was the last human to walk on the moon
Space & Physics
John Glenn, First American to Orbit Earth, Dies at 95
The last of NASA’s original seven astronauts to die, Glenn circled the planet three times in 1962
Space & Physics
British Astronaut Tim Peake Sets Off-World Record Running Marathon in Space
European Space Agency astronaut used an International Space Station treadmill to march 26.2 miles (42.2 kilometers) to the “finish line”
Space & Physics
Engine Used on Penultimate Space Shuttle Flight Relit for New NASA Rocket
NASA wants the rocket engine to help launch astronauts on the agency's first crewed mission beyond Earth’s orbit since the last of the Apollo moon missions
The Sciences
SpaceX May Try Land-Based Rocket Landing This Month, NASA Official Says
Recovering and reusing rocket stages could significantly reduce launch costs
Space & Physics
International Space Station Is 15 Years Old: First Commander Remembers
NASA astronaut Bill Shepherd recalls leading the first mission to the space station on November 2, 2000
Space & Physics
Astronauts Take First Bites of Lettuce Grown in Space
Hydroponic farming is one small step toward self-sustaining space habitats
Space & Physics
NASA Apollo Mission Control Room Turns 50
This 'cathedral' to the U.S. space race, dormant for 23 years, will be restored in time to commemorate the first moon landing's half-century anniversary
Space & Physics
Iconic Apollo 8 "Earthrise" Photo Re-created 45 Years Later [Video]
A new video simulation helps viewers experience the moments when the image was captured and what it was like inside the spacecraft at the time
Space & Physics
Crowdfunding Raises $1 Million for Asteroid Miners' Public Space Telescope
More than 11,000 supporters donated to Planetary Resources' asteroid-hunting, publicly accessible telescope program
Space & Physics
Details in Death of Yuri Gagarin, First Man in Space, Revealed 45 Years Later
An accident is revealed as the true cause of Gagarin's crash during a test flight in 1968
Space & Physics
Space-Flown Spider Dies in Smithsonian
Nefertiti lived on the International Space Station for 100 days this summer as part of an onboard science experiment
