Spacecraft

AstronomyApril 22, 2026

NASA’s Roman Space Telescope will begin its revolutionary mission in September

Ahead of schedule and under budget, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will launch in early September. The mission aims to map the universe in unprecedented detail

Dan Vergano

An artist's depiction of a Voyager spacecraft in outer space.

SpacecraftApril 20, 2026

NASA shuts down one of Voyager 1’s instruments to try keep the spacecraft alive

This iconic spacecraft launched nearly 49 years ago and is running perilously low on power

Meghan Bartels

May Issue: Your Heart in Flames. Read Now!

Taken 36 minutes before Earthset, our home planet is visible in the blackness of space off the limb of the illuminated Moon. Earth is in a crescent phase, with sunlight coming from the right. Orientale mare basin, with its dark floor of cooled lava and outer rings of mountains, covers nearly the lower third of the imaged lunar surface. Different colors in the mare hint at its mineral composition. The lines of small indentations above Orientale are secondary crater chains, formed by material ejected during a violent primary impact. Both of the new craters that the Artemis II crew has suggested names for – Integrity and Carroll – are in full view. The edge of the visible surface of the Moon is called the “lunar limb.” Seen from afar, it almost looks like a circular arc – except when backlit, as in other images captured by the Artemis II crew.

Space ExplorationApril 16, 2026

How far from humanity were the astronauts of Artemis II? The answer will surprise you

Artemis II’s crew went farther from humanity than anyone has been before. Here’s how one scientist determined whom, specifically, they were farthest from

K. R. Callaway

A large tube-like pointed spacecraft docked to a smaller canister spacecraft with four black wings.

SpacecraftApril 14, 2026

Artemis III sets up a high‑stakes test of rival moon landers

In 2027’s Artemis III mission, the space agency aims to test two challengers, SpaceX and Blue Origin, for a lunar landing mission

Dan Vergano

A dimensional spacecraft inside a cutout of a suitcase against a blue background.

SpacecraftApril 14, 2026

Space hotels are coming soon

With the rise of private orbital habitats, vacations in space are becoming a real possibility for the ultrawealthy

Jonathan O'Callaghan

Two Artemis II astronauts, NASA's Victor Glover and Christina Koch, pose together onboard the USS John P. Murtha after a successful splashdown.

Space ExplorationApril 11, 2026

Artemis II reveals why humans still love the moon

The triumph of NASA’s first crewed lunar mission in a half-century is a reminder of what the moon really means for Earth—and why we’re going back

Lee Billings

A large silvery robotic octocopter, NASA's Dragonfly drone, flies over orange dunes against a pale sky.

The UniverseApril 10, 2026

NASA’s Dragonfly will explore the air, land and seas of Titan, Saturn’s most mysterious moon

NASA plans to launch a wildly ambitious nuclear-powered octocopter to Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, in 2028

Phil Plait

An image of half of Jupiter's disk turned on its side, with its distinctive stripes running vertically and the Great Red Spot to the left.

SpacecraftApril 9, 2026

White House budget seeks to scrap 54 major NASA science missions

Experts found that the White House budget request for the upcoming fiscal year could defund 54 NASA science missions, including a spacecraft currently studying Jupiter and two planned Venus missions

Meghan Bartels

The four astronauts of NASA's Artemis II mission pose together for a photograph inside their Orion spacecraft

Space ExplorationApril 9, 2026

NASA’s Artemis II moon mission preps for its last full day in space

The moon is now far in the rearview after a near-flawless spaceflight, but the crew of Artemis II aren’t home safe yet

Lee Billings

A Chinese Long March 10 rocket soars through a clear blue sky on a fiery exhaust plume

Space ExplorationApril 9, 2026

How China could still win the new moon race

China is working toward its own moon landing. Could it put astronauts on the moon before NASA’s Artemis program does?

Andrew Jones

Screengrab from a short animation of NASA's Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, roaming the surface of the moon.

Space ExplorationApril 8, 2026

Is this the year the U.S. finally lands a robotic rover on the moon?

A hidden milestone lurks in the U.S.’s Artemis-focused lunar ambitions—the nation’s first-ever successful robotic moon rover

Christopher Cokinos

A cratered view of the far side of the moon, separated by a large crater from the smoother surface of the near side visible in the top half the disk.

MathematicsApril 7, 2026

NASA’s Artemis II ‘free return’ trajectory lets gravity do the work

An elegant mix of math and gravity powers the Artemis II “free return” trajectory from Earth to the moon and back

Dan Vergano