Space News & Blog Articles

Solar system comets are often at their brightest as they draw close to the sun

Both NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory caught these two galaxies in a close embrace.

Video: 01:30:00

Josef Aschbacher, Director General of the European Space Agency, briefed journalists on the main milestones for 2026, such as the launch of Smile, a mission that will give humankind its first complete look at how Earth reacts to streams of particles and bursts of radiation from the Sun. Later in 2026 should also see the arrival of BepiColombo at Mercury after its eight-year trip, where it will gather data to answer many perplexing questions about the least-explored planet of the inner Solar System. Many more exciting missions are expected, with ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot launching for the International Space Station, and various Earth Observation and Navigation launches from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

"This was many times more energetic than any similar event and more than any known explosion powered by the collapse of a star."

Video: 00:06:21

As a new year begins, let’s take a look at what’s ahead for the European Space Agency in 2026. From Earth to the farthest reaches of the Solar System, 2026 marks a year of firsts that continue to shape the future of space.

NASA is evaluating its options for dealing with an astronaut health issue in orbit, one of which is an early end to SpaceX's Crew-11 mission to the International Space Station.

Often called Earth’s green lungs, tropical forests pull down massive amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, release oxygen and help regulate the global climate. While the threat of large-scale deforestation is well known, new findings reveal a surprising culprit – the clearance of small areas of forest accounts for more than half of net carbon losses across the Tropics.

File: A Falcon 9 rocket stands in the launch position at Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station ahead of the planned liftoff of the Starlink 6-61 mission on Oct. 22, 2024. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now

SpaceX is set to launch its Falcon 9 rocket on an early afternoon flight to deliver more of its Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

So let’s say you set up an experiment to measure a quantum property of subatomic particles. Like, I don’t know, spin.

All of physics rests on causal determinism. It’s like…how we do physics. It IS physics.

At center, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut and Expedition 74 Flight Engineer Kimiya Yui assists NASA astronauts Zena Cardman (left) and Mike Fincke (right), the station’s flight engineer and commander respectively, during spacesuit checks inside the International Space Station’s Quest airlock. Image: NASA

Update Jan. 8, 12:30 a.m. EST (0530 UTC): Adding new statement from NASA.

Predator: Badlands has landed on digital platforms ahead of the February 4K Blu-ray release, but still no word on the Hulu streaming release date.

The galaxy cluster appears hotter and more mature than it should for its young age, challenging what we think we know about how these cities of galaxies form.

Over the last 25 years, a lot of Lego Star Wars sets have come and gone. These are the ones we wish would make a return.

NASA astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman will conduct a historic spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Thursday morning (Jan. 8), and you can watch the action live.

Jared Leto's sci-fi flick hits the Disney+ streaming grid starting January 7.

Jupiter's having a special moment! Don't miss the giant planet at its best when it reaches opposition this week.