Archaeology is the study of human prehistory, so it seems incongruous to use its methods to study how humans behave in space. But that’s what astronauts aboard the International Space Station are doing.
Space News & Blog Articles
The 1st Milky Way black hole image was groundbreaking — the next could be even better
By demonstrating the ability for joint observations at the short radio wavelength of 0.87mm, the Event Horizon Telescope has improved its observational acuity by half.
BepiColombo Mission Returns to Mercury for Best Flyby Views Yet
The BepiColombo mission has completed its fourth and closest pass yet of Mercury, giving us brand-new views of the planet's south pole region.
NASA astronauts can't wear Boeing Starliner spacesuits in SpaceX's Dragon. Here's why
NASA's Starliner astronauts will temporarily have an emergency spot available on a SpaceX Crew Dragon, but they can't wear spacesuits there. That will change in a few weeks.
Used SpaceX rocket launches 7,001st Starlink satellites (and 20 others), lands at sea (video)
A SpaceX rocket carrying the 7,001st Starlink internet satellite launched into orbit from Florida today (Sept. 5), then aced its landing at sea.
Meet Phaethon, a weird asteroid that thinks it's a comet – our new research may explain what's going on
Meet Phaethon, a "rock comet" that blurs the definitions between asteroid and comet, and learn why it will be worth paying attention to this fascinating object in the coming years.
The Andromeda Galaxy glows rosy red in gorgeous new Hubble Telescope image
The reddish structures of our neighboring galaxy glow brightly in a new image from the Hubble Space Telescope.
New Galileo satellites operational after successful in-orbit testing
The two new Galileo satellites launched in April have entered service, completing the second of three constellation planes. With every addition to the constellation, the precision, availability and robustness of the Galileo signal is improved. The next launch is planned in the coming weeks and the remaining six Galileo First Generation satellites will join the constellation in the next years.
Is the Sagittarius constellation a teapot or an archer?
Although officially known as the celestial archer, the zodiacal constellation of Sagittarius is far better recognized as a teapot. Here's how to see it this season.
Astronaut watches a meteor explode over Earth in a bright green fireball in stunning video from ISS
A new video from an astronaut's vantage point in space captures a bright green burst over Earth as a meteor exploded in the night sky.
BepiColombo's best images yet highlight fourth Mercury flyby
The ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission has successfully completed its fourth of six gravity assist flybys at Mercury, capturing images of two special impact craters as it uses the little planet’s gravity to steer itself on course to enter orbit around Mercury in November 2026.
Listen to the eerie sounds of an exploded star in new NASA video
To commemorate the 25th anniversary of NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, scientists have rereleased new "sonified" images of nearby objects, including the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A.
Lucky alignment of 2 spacecraft reveals how solar wind gets a magnetic push
Energy-packed plasma waves pump enough energy into streams of solar wind to propel them to their unexpectedly high speeds, observations by two sun-studying spacecraft suggest.
Solved: The Case of the Universe’s “Extra” Light
Astronomers may have finally solved the mystery of how dark space really is.
Explaining Different Kinds of Meteor Showers. It’s the Way the Comet Crumbles
The Universe often puts on a good show for us down here on Earth but one of the best spectacles must be a meteor shower. We see them when particles, usually the remains of comets, fall through our atmosphere and cause the atmosphere to glow. We see them as a fast moving streak of light but a new paper has suggested that the meteor showers we see can explain the sizes of the particles that originally formed the comet from where they came.
Boeing Starliner astronauts have years of medical studies helping them with longer stay in space
Starliner's astronauts will spend at least 8 months in space, longer than a typical ISS crew. But numerous other astronauts have safely spent a year on the ISS, or even longer.
Sentinel-2C launch highlights
Video: 00:14:09
The Copernicus Sentinel-2C satellite lifted off on 5 September at 03:50 CEST (4 September 22:50 local time) aboard the last Vega rocket, flight VV24, from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.
Sentinel-2C joins the Copernicus family in orbit
The third Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite launched today aboard the final Vega rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Sentinel-2C will continue providing high-resolution data that is essential to Copernicus – Europe’s world leading Earth observation programme.
Dark Oxygen Could Change Our Understanding of Habitability
The discovery of dark oxygen at an abyssal plain on the ocean floor generated a lot of interest. Could this oxygen source support life in the ocean depths? And if it can, what does that mean for places like Enceladus and Europa?
Chinese astronauts study ancient microbes aboard Tiangong space station (video)
Chinese astronauts aboard the Tiangong space station are studying microbes, to help determine if some of Earth's early lifeforms can handle a simulated cosmic environment.
Hubble Telescope spies a very sparkly mini-galaxy (image)
The Hubble Space Telescope has imaged one of Andromeda's dwarf galaxies. It's named Pegasus.