Samantha Mathewson

Rocket debris from a recent China satellite launch fell to ground near inhabited areas, where bystanders apparently caught the fiery touchdown on video.

NASA astronauts practiced using a SpaceX Starship elevator to send cargo and other items into the spacecraft. Starship is targeted to land humans on the moon in the 2020s.

From long-awaited rocket launches and lunar landers to crewed flights around the moon, here are a few exciting spaceflight missions to look forward to in 2024.

The space agency shared a new video showcasing its 2023 achievements, ranging from its first asteroid sample return project to its outline of how to send humans to Mars — and beyond.

The night sky of 2023 delivered many amazing views of the moon, comets, meteors and even space debris. Here are this year’s most memorable skywatching sights.

The "forbidden" light of the spiral galaxy MCG-01-24-014 is captured in a new image from the Hubble Space Telescope, suggesting the galaxy contradicts common rules of quantum physics.

The Hubble Space Telescope photographed NGC 2814, an irregular galaxy that belongs to a group of four "late-type galaxies" collectively called Holmberg 124.

A recent study suggests the aurora-like STEVE and "picket fence" phenomena are generated by low-altitude electric fields parallel to Earth's magnetic field.

Humpback whale "conversations" provide valuable insight on how humans may one day communicate with life beyond Earth.

European astronaut Andreas Mogensen captured amazing photos of giant icebergs floating in the South Atlantic from his perch aboard the International Space Station.

The Australian Space Agency has named its first lunar rover Roo-ver, which will launch to the moon as early as 2026 in partnership with NASA's Artemis program.

Former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino shares lessons learned during his career and how they can be applied in his new book, "Moonshot: A NASA Astronaut's Guide to Achieving the Impossible" out Dec. 5.

New images from NASA's Mars Odyssey Orbiter capture what the Red Planet would look like from the vantage point of a spacecraft orbiting the Red Planet.

The European Southern Observatory shared a mesmerizing new photo of the Milky Way shining above Valle de la Luna, meaning "Valley of the Moon," in Chile's Atacama Desert.

The world's largest iceberg, known as A23a, has broken loose and is moving past the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula in new satellite images from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission.

The Hubble Space Telescope has observed a double whammy — two independent galaxy clusters grouped together in the same view.

A new photo from the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope captures the Vela supernova remnant, the result of a stellar explosion that happened 11,000 years ago.

The final four names are "Coolamon," "Kakirra," "Mateship" and "Roo-ver." The public can vote for their favorite through Dec. 1.

SpaceX shared incredible photos from the second test flight of its Starship megarocket over the weekend, including views of its 33 first-stage Raptor engines igniting for liftoff.

Satellites observed a coronal mass ejection on Wednesday (Nov. 15), capturing a bright burst of super-hot plasma that warped the sun's magnetic field.

A new calibration technique allowed the ALMA radio telescope to capture its highest-resolution image ever, featuring a star in the final stages of its evolution.

NASA has simulated the environmental effects of landing on the lunar surface as the space agency prepares to send astronauts back to the moon on its upcoming Artemis missions.

The Hubble Space Telescope has captured a striking new view of a distant spiral galaxy whose star-studded arms are all tangled up.

NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson and the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) team have been awarded this year's Michael Collins Trophy for their achievements in space.

NASA's first robotic moon rover is ready for final assembly and testing, and you can watch engineers bring the lunar explorer to life.