NASA’s New Horizons Spacecraft Wakes from Hibernation in Good Health
3 min read
Following its longest hibernation period ever of nearly a year, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has emerged in good health and is ready to begin transmitting science data gathered in the distant Kuiper Belt far beyond Pluto. On June 23, flight…
NASA’s CAPSTONE Completes Extended Mission Testing Lunar Technologies
5 min read
As NASA prepares for a sustained human presence on the Moon, missions will increasingly require spacecraft that can navigate and communicate without a direct connection to Earth. NASA’s Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment, or CAPSTONE, validated…
What’s Up: July 2026 Skywatching Tips from NASA
3 min read
A predawn Moon-and-planets meetup, a returning comet, a great chance to see the Milky Way, and Saturn’s rings at a new angle. Skywatching Highlights Transcript An early morning hangout with the Moon and planets, a comet swings by, prime time…
Northwest Earth and Space Science Pathways Project Celebrates Student Innovation Through ROADS from Earth to Venus National Challenge
4 min read
The Northwest Earth and Space Science Pathways (NESSP) project recently concluded its 2025–2026 ROADS (Rover Observation And Discoveries in Space) from Earth to Venus National Challenge, a NASA Science Activation program student challenge that engaged more than 500 students on…
NASA Selects Rocket Lab to Launch Sun, Earth Science Missions
3 min read
NASA has selected Rocket Lab to provide the launch service for both the agency’s PolSIR (Polarized Submillimeter Ice-cloud Radiometer) and Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor-2 (TSIS-2) missions. The two selections are part of NASA’s Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and…
Playing the Moon Game
4 min read
Apollo astronauts previewed their roles as lunar field geologists in Alaska’s Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes.
NASA’s Webb Finds Clues to Ancient, Distant Origin of Comet 3I/ATLAS
4 min read
As interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS began moving away from the Sun in December 2025, astronomers took the opportunity to turn NASA’s powerful James Webb Space Telescope in its direction and capture detailed measurements of its chemical components. The comet was freshly…
NASA Testing Advanced Capabilities for Moon, Mars Rovers
6 min read
On a bleak stretch of the Colorado Desert in Southern California, a compact four-wheeled rover recently trundled about 16 miles (26 kilometers) with minimal intervention from the team of engineers trailing it. Called ERNEST (Exploration Rover for Navigating Extreme Sloped…
NASA’s Lucy Reveals Wobbling, Peanut-Shaped Asteroid
6 min read
Even small asteroids lead complex lives. During its flyby of the asteroid Donaldjohanson last year, NASA’s Lucy spacecraft revealed the asteroid to be a wobbly, peanut-shaped body that has undergone a lot of activity in its relatively short history.
NASA’s Artemis II Moon Mission Research Continues on Earth
5 min read
Results from Artemis II's science investigations will help support safe human exploration of deep space and provide a blueprint for how future missions will conduct science on the lunar surface as NASA builds a Moon Base and develops an enduring…