Space Exploration

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An aerial view of NASA's Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field, Cleveland, Ohio.

On this day in space! Jan. 20, 1978: 1st Progress cargo delivery ship launched

By Hanneke Weitering last updated

On January 23, 1942, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) founded the Aircraft Engine Laboratory, which was renamed Lewis Research Center after NASA was established in 1958.

Space Shuttle
Graphic illustration with 'space calendar' in large blue neon letters and 2023 below it in smaller white letters. Below the title are four neon images depicting a meteor or comet, a telescope, a rocket launch and an astronaut's helmet. There is a starry background to the entire image.

Space calendar 2025: Rocket launches, skywatching events, missions & more!

By Space.com last updated

Reference Keep up with all the rocket launches, astronomical events and mission milestones for 2024 with our space calendar.

Reference
A CERES-1 carrier rocket carrying five satellites blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on January 20, 2025 in Alxa League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China. The rocket blasted off at 6:11 p.m. on January 20, successfully sending a group of satellites including the Yunyao-1 37-40 and JTX-A-05 models into their planned orbits.

Chinese commercial Ceres-1 rocket launches 5 weather satellites to orbit (video)

By Andrew Jones published

Chinese company Galactic Energy launched five satellites atop a Ceres-1 four-stage rocket on Jan. 20, 2025.

Private Spaceflight
the sun reflects off of metallic surfaces wrapped in gold foil. in the background, nothing can be seen but the blackness of space

Watch Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost moon lander witness an eclipse from space (video)

By Brett Tingley published

Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander is healthy on its way to the moon, and even witnessed a solar eclipse from space when Earth passed in front of the sun as seen from the spacecraft.

Launches & Spacecraft
A Shenzhou 19 astronaut works outside the Tiangong space station during a spacewalk on Jan. 20, 2025.

Chinese astronauts install debris shields on Tiangong space station during 8.5-hour spacewalk (video)

By Andrew Jones published

Two Chinese astronauts completed an 8.5-hour spacewalk on Jan. 20, a sojourn that installed debris shielding outside the Tiangong space station.

Human Spaceflight
Artist's illustration of Europe's ExoMars rover, named Rosalind Franklin, on the surface of the Red Planet.

Europe plans to launch advanced Mars lander in 2035

By Andrew Jones published

The European Space Agency (ESA) wants to develop key technologies for a Mars surface lander by the mid-2030s.

Missions
a triple-core rocket blasts off under a sunny, partly cloudy blue sky. smoke expands below next to an obscured launch tower, near a long white hanger with SPACEX written on the side. To the left, a bird flies away.

Rocket launch today: Is there a rocket launch and what time?

By Tariq Malik last updated

Follow Space.com's rocket launch blog for the latest on when the next rocket launch will be and how to follow it live.

Launches & Spacecraft

Beam me to the stars: Scientists propose wild new interstellar travel tech

By Victoria Corless published

"Chemical rockets that we use today, even with the extra speed boost from flying by planets, or from swinging by the sun for a boost, just don't have the ability to scale to useful interstellar speeds."

Tech
a white rocket fires flames from its engines as it flies above a curve of the Earth into space.

SMILE! Europe and China move toward 2026 launch of space weather mission

By Andrew Jones published

The European Space Agency is set to launch a joint space science mission with China in early 2026 after a long collaboration.

Satellites
Graphic showing the the artemis accords logo above white text reading "the artemis accords", the surface of the moon is seen in the lower portion of the image and a distant Mars peeks out from the surface of the moon.

Artemis Accords: What are they & which countries are involved?

By Robert Lea last updated

Reference As the Artemis program aims to return humanity to the moon and beyond, the Artemis Accords lay out a framework for nations collaborating in this effort.

Reference
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