Missions

Latest about Missions

2 NASA missions will carpool on a SpaceX rocket this weekend to help map the cosmos

By Monisha Ravisetti published

NASA's PUNCH and SPHEREx missions are scheduled to launch no earlier than Tuesday (March 4). Here's what each is built to do, and why they could yield some terrific results for astronomers.

Missions
a black marble sign beside a city street reading "mary w. jackson nasa headquarters"

NASA tells employees to ignore Trump administration's 'What did you do last week?' email

By Andrew Jones published

NASA employees have been told they are not required to respond to a Trump administration email request to list achievements or potentially face termination.

Missions
a rectangular spacecraft floats in front of a colorful space background

NASA picks SpaceX rocket to launch asteroid threat hunter NEO Surveyor in 2027

By Mike Wall published

NASA has selected SpaceX to launch its NEO Surveyor spacecraft, which will hunt for asteroids and comets that could pose a threat to Earth.

Missions
In this photo, technician Brenda Estavia is installing the innermost layer of the sunshade onto the deployable aperture cover structure of NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.

NASA installs 'bulletproof' sunshade on powerful Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (photos)

By Victoria Corless published

Technicians have installed the sunshade on NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which is scheduled to launch in Spring 2027.

Missions
a large silver cone-shaped spacecraft in a white cleanroom

NASA's 'SPHEREx' infrared space telescope is launching soon. Here's why it's a big deal

By Sharmila Kuthunur published

Scientists aim to answer some of the most fundamental questions about the universe using NASA's newest space telescope, SPHEREx, which is set to launch March 4.

Missions
a spacecraft with a large gold hexagon on top in deep space

'It's extremely worrisome.' NASA's James Webb Space Telescope faces potential 20% budget cut just 4 years after launch

By Tariq Malik published

Such a dramatic cut to a flagship space telescope still in its prime will be felt across the mission's entire operations, affecting science.

James Webb Space Telescope
The International Space Station, photographed by Expedition 56 crew members in 2018 from a Soyuz spacecraft after undocking.

The ISS should be deorbited 'as soon as possible,' Elon Musk says: 'Let's go to Mars'

By Mike Wall published

The International Space Station "has served its purpose" and should be deorbited "as soon as possible," SpaceX chief and close Trump adviser Elon Musk said today (Feb. 20).

International Space Station

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover discovers evidence of ripples from an ancient Red Planet lake (images)

By Stefanie Waldek published

Rippled textures in a shallow lake bed on Mars indicate that ice-free liquid water once pooled here.

Mars Rovers
Hubble Space Telescope image of the colorful clouds of gas and dust near the Tarantula Nebula, located in the Large Magellanic Cloud about 160,000 light-years from Earth.

Hubble Telescope sets its eyes on cosmic cotton candy near the Tarantula Nebula (photo)

By Samantha Mathewson published

The Hubble Space Telescope captured the ​​colorful, wispy clouds near the Tarantula Nebula, one of the most luminous and active star-forming regions in our galactic backyard.

Hubble Space Telescope
This high-resolution image captured by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft combines blue, red and infrared images to show a bright expanse on Pluto known as Sputnik Planum, which has been found to be rich in nitrogen, carbon monoxide and methane ices.

Leaving Pluto in the dust: New Horizons probe gearing up for epic crossing of 'termination shock'

By Leonard David published

NASA's New Horizons Pluto probe is gearing up to cross the "termination shock," an exotic boundary in the outer solar system, as early as 2027.

New Horizons
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