News Archive / Missions

• Astronauts release Kounotori 7 from space station

  Derek RichardsonNovember 7th, 2018

  After a six-week stay at the ISS, the Kounotori 7 cargo ship was unberthed and commanded to depart the vicinity of the orbiting outpost.

• A spaceflight era closes with end of Dawn and Kepler missions

  Laurel KornfeldNovember 3rd, 2018

  The Kepler and Dawn spacecraft both ran out of fuel, marking the end of an era that transformed our understanding of both our solar system and others.

• Mars Express observes curious cloud near Red Planet volcano

  Jim SharkeyNovember 2nd, 2018

  A strange cloud formation has been discovered on Mars by ESA's Mars Express spacecraft. Where did it come from?

• Dawn’s voyage of discovery comes to a close

  Jason RhianNovember 1st, 2018

  After 11 years and 4.3 billion miles, NASA's Dawn mission has come to an end. How has the spacecraft revolutionized our understanding of the solar system and space hardware?

• Kepler Space Telescope concludes mission that discovered thousands of far-flung worlds

  Jason RhianOctober 30th, 2018

  The Kepler Space Telescope has been on duty for more than nine years. Its mission(s) came to an end when the spacecraft expended the last of its fuel. It leaves behind a wealth of data about exoplanets that has revolutionized humanity's understanding of our galaxy.

• Parker Solar Probe becomes closest spacecraft to Sun

  Derek RichardsonOctober 30th, 2018

  Just 11 weeks after launch, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has already beaten the record for the closest spacecraft to the Sun—and it’s only going to get closer.

• A single mission could orbit Pluto and explore the Kuiper Belt

  Laurel KornfeldOctober 30th, 2018

  While the New Horizons' mission is still exploring the Kuiper Belt a new mission could accomplish what the spacecraft has - and much more.

• Hubble: You can’t keep a good telescope down – for long

  Jason RhianOctober 27th, 2018

  The Hubble Space Telescope is back in action.

• New Horizons team previews Ultima Thule flyby

  Laurel KornfeldOctober 27th, 2018

  With the Ultima Thule flyby just 10 weeks away, the New Horizons team detailed plans for the spacecraft's trajectory and science gathering mission.

• Chandra X-Ray Observatory back in service after anomaly

  Jason RhianOctober 25th, 2018

  With the potential loss of two of the Great Observatories, NASA and the teams working on the space-based telescopes have demonstrated their resilience in the face of adversity, bringing one back into service and closing in on doing the same for the other.

• Birthing place of stars captured in recent Spitzer Space Telescope imagery

  Laurel KornfeldOctober 25th, 2018

  NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope - has taken a peek into a nursery for stars.

• Backup Hubble gyroscope encounters anomaly during recovery efforts

  Jason RhianOctober 23rd, 2018

  Engineers encountered a slight hiccup in bringing the Hubble Space Telescope out of safe mode and back to conducting scientific operations.

• Why are SpaceX and Boeing’s Commercial Crew Program spacesuit designs different?

  Derek RichardsonOctober 23rd, 2018

  Boeing and SpaceX could be just months away from the first flights of their crew-rated spacecraft. In the past NASA has had a uniform standard for their spacesuits. Why has this changed on their Commercial Crew Program?

• A new family of Stratolaunch vehicles being developed to expand competition

  Lloyd CampbellOctober 21st, 2018

  The Stratolaunch system has recently seen an array of new launch vehicles proposed to fly on the massive aircraft - including one that might launch more than just cargo.

• NASA contracts with Astrobotic to develop software for icy moon landings

  Laurel KornfeldOctober 18th, 2018

  Astrobotic has been given the nod by NASA to produce software that is planned to land spacecraft on the distant moons in the outer solar system.

• ULA sends AEHF-4 screaming through the atmosphere on powerful Atlas V

  Jason RhianOctober 17th, 2018

  Another star has been placed on orbit with the flight of an Atlas V rocket and its payload of the AEHF-4 satellite.

• Environmental Defense Fund develops methane-hunting satellite

  Tomasz NowakowskiOctober 16th, 2018

  A new commercial effort has opened up a new means to combat climate change.

• Cassini’s final close orbits of Saturn providing new data on ringed world

  Jim SharkeyOctober 15th, 2018

  More than a year after it concluded its 20 year voyage of discovery, the Cassini mission is still providing details about Saturn.

• NASA’s Chandra X-ray telescope enters safe mode

  Derek RichardsonOctober 12th, 2018

  NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory entered into safe mode, according to a statement from the U.S. space agency. An investigation is underway.

• Soyuz MS-10 abort: What happened and how will it affect the International Space Station?

  Jason RhianOctober 11th, 2018

  The Soyuz launch system is out of service due to an accident that occurred during the flight of the MS-10 mission. What this means in terms of access to the International Space Station - might surprise you.