Space News & Blog Articles

The four SpaceX Crew-10 members and the seven Expedition 72 crew members join each other for a welcoming ceremony shortly after the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft docked to the International Space Station and the hatches opened. Image: NASA

The Crew 10 Dragon capsule caught up with the International Space Station and moved in for a textbook docking early Sunday, bringing four fresh crew members to the lab and clearing the way for the Starliner astronauts to return to Earth after nearly 300 days in space.

Gravitational slingshots are now a common part of space missions where the trajectory of a spacecraft is altered using the gravity of another body. These often bring fabulous opportunities for an extra bit of bonus science such as that demonstrated by ESA’s Hera mission on its way to asteroid Dimorphos. It’s following up on the DART 2022 impact but to get there, it’s used the gravity of Mars. It came within 5,000 km of the red planet and on its way, was able to take a look at Mars’ smaller moon Deimos from its far side.

Supernova explosions are powerful enough to cause mass extinctions if they're close enough. But can we tie supernovae to any of Earth's five mass extinctions? New research shows supernovae could be responsible for the Late Devonian and Late Ordovician mass extinctions.

When Betelgeuse goes off, it's going to be the show of a lifetime. But it’s not going to hurt us.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off at sunrise to begin the Starlink 12-16 mission on March 15, 2025. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now

Update March 15, 8:41 a.m. EDT: SpaceX confirmed deployment of the 23 Starlink satellites.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 39A to begin the Crew-10 mission. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now

Update March 14, 8:30 p.m. EDT: Dragon Endurance is making its way to the space station.

A streak shot of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as it soared away from Florida’s Space Coast. The launch of the Starlink 12-21 mission was captured next to a riverboat about 47 miles away in St. Cloud, Florida. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now

Update March 12, 11 p.m. ET: B1069 landed on the droneship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas.’

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket first stage booster, tail number B1086, lands on the droneship, ‘Just Read the Instructions,’ amid the Starlink 12-20 mission on Sunday, March 2, 2025. Shortly after touchdown, a fire broke out in the engine section and caused the loss of the booster. Image: SpaceX via livestream

SpaceX is preparing for the return to flight of its Falcon 9 on Monday evening following week without flying its workhorse rocket after a booster caught fire and exploded after landing. Two missions are on tap if the weather cooperates: one in California and the other in Florida.

Biomass

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Vandenberg Space Force Base to begin NASA’s SPHEREx and PUNCH missions on March 11, 2025. Image: SpaceX

Update March 12, 1:52 a.m. ET: NASA confirms acquisition of signal.

Planet Profile: Venus

1. Basic Facts

Venus, the second planet from the Sun, is often called Earth’s twin due to its similar size, mass, and composition. However, beyond these similarities, Venus is an incredibly hostile world with scorching temperatures, crushing atmospheric pressure, and toxic clouds. It has a diameter of 12,104 km (7,521 miles), making it slightly smaller than Earth. Unlike Earth, Venus has a thick, dense atmosphere composed mostly of carbon dioxide, trapping heat and creating the hottest planetary surface in the Solar System. Venus has no moons or rings, and its surface is dominated by vast volcanic plains, mountains, and deep craters. Despite its extreme conditions, Venus has fascinated astronomers for centuries and remains an important target for future exploration.

Whether President Donald Trump still supports returning astronauts to the lunar surface remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain: the moon no longer has a place in his White House.

Video: 00:06:40

A group of volunteers is spending two months lying in bed—with their feet up and one shoulder always touching the mattress—even while eating, showering, and using the toilet. But why? This extreme bedrest study is helping scientists understand how space travel affects the human body and how to keep astronauts healthy on long missions.

File: A Falcon 9 stands ready for the Starlink 8-10 mission at Cape Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 40. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now.

Update 1:30 a.m. EST (0630 UTC): SpaceX has delayed the launch to Tuesday.

Scientists say AI has crossed a critical 'red line' after demonstrating how two popular large language models could clone themselves.