News Archive / Missions

• ‘I’ve got a bad feeling about this…’ Space Wars might be just around the corner

  Jim SiegelOctober 26th, 2019

  Excitement is building as Star Wars aficionados are already rushing the virtual box office to buy tickets for the Dec. 20 release of the long-anticipated final episode of the Star Wars saga, The Rise of Skywalker. But how close are those not in a galaxy "far, far away" away from experiencing actual wars in space?

• Second group of names approved for features on Pluto

  Laurel KornfeldOctober 24th, 2019

  A second set of names for features on Pluto, already used informally by members of NASA's New Horizons mission, has received formal approval by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the organization that names celestial objects and their features.

• Motel Rooms and Gas Stations: How to Leave Mars

  Jay GallentineOctober 24th, 2019

  One day in the future, humans might actually land on the surface of Mars. After collecting rock samples, taking photos and performing all the other tasks demanded by this mission, the intrepid explorers will then face a daunting challenge, one often overlooked by most - leaving.

• Cameras on Mars 2020 rover confirmed to have perfect vision

  Laurel KornfeldAugust 7th, 2019

  Tests conducted on several of the cameras that have been installed on the Mars 2020 rover have confirmed that they have perfect, 20/20 This is one of the more critical aspects of the mission as it will help guide the vision.

• NG-11 Cygnus released to begin multi-month post-ISS mission

  Derek RichardsonAugust 6th, 2019

  Northrop Grumman’s NG-11 Cygnus departed the ISS after a 109-day stay aboard the outpost to begin a multi-month free-flying secondary mission.

• Installation of MEDLI2 on Mars 2020 entry vehicle begins

  Jim SharkeyAugust 5th, 2019

  Entry, landing and decent (EDL) is one of the most challenging phases of any Mars mission. Engineers recently began installing hardware on the entry vehicle of NASA's Mars 2020 rover mission that will help increase the safety of future missions to the Red Planet.

• NASA teaming up with commercial companies for return to the Moon

  Laurel KornfeldAugust 5th, 2019

  To achieve the goal of returning humans to the Moon by 2024, NASA announced it is teaming up with commercial companies to develop new technologies for landing on and taking off from the lunar surface.

• Progress MS-12 makes fast-track flight to ISS

  Derek RichardsonJuly 31st, 2019

  Two orbits after launching from Kazakhstan, Russia’s Progress MS-12 cargo spacecraft rendezvoused and docked with the International Space Station.

• I have the power! Mars 2020 rover completes critical milestone

  Laurel KornfeldJuly 29th, 2019

  With just one year to go before the Mars 2020 rover's scheduled launch, work is commencing on the Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) that will serve as the rover's power source.

• CRS-18 Dragon arrives at ISS with new docking adapter

  Derek RichardsonJuly 27th, 2019

  Days after threading the needle with weather to launch, SpaceX’s CRS-18 Dragon spacecraft rendezvoused and berthed with the International Space Station.

• Conference keeps focus on Pluto following New Horizons flyby

  Laurel KornfeldJuly 23rd, 2019

  LAUREL, MD. -- A four-day science conference organized by the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI), Universities Space Research Association (USRA), and Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL) held July 14-18 focused on findings obtained by the New Horizons spacecraft as it flew by the Pluto system in 2015 and Kuiper Belt Object Ultima Thule in 2019.

• OneWeb and Airbus open facility for mass production of communication satellites

  Laurel KornfeldJuly 23rd, 2019

  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- OneWeb Satellites, a joint-venture company started by OneWeb and Airbus in 2016, has opened the first facility that will mass produce communication satellites, with the goal of providing broadband Internet access worldwide.

• ISRO joins exclusive club with launch of Chandrayaan-2 mission

  Jason RhianJuly 22nd, 2019

  A GSLV Mk III rocket lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre SLP today, carrying the Chandrayaan-2. It places the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) into the 'big leagues' of space flight organizations.

• From Lunar to LEO, MS-13 trio blasts off toward ISS

  Jason RhianJuly 20th, 2019

  Fifty years is a long time. In the past half-century NASA has gone from launching men to the Moon to being dependent on the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, for access to low-Earth orbit. The latest flight under the agreement took place 50 years to the day NASA achieved what was once believed to be impossible.

• MRO captures photo of Curiosity rover from Martian orbit

  Laurel KornfeldJuly 13th, 2019

  NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) captured an image of the Curiosity rover in a photo of Mount Sharp's Woodland Bay region taken from orbit on May 31, 2019.

• New technique can spot failing bridges from orbit

  Jim SharkeyJuly 13th, 2019

  Bridges are a critical but vulnerable component of transportation infrastructure. Age, structural damage or design flaws can result in a bridge collapse. A group of researchers, led by  Pietro Milillo, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), have developed a new technique to examine bridges for sign of decay using satellite data. The team's study was recently published in the journal Remote Se...

• NASA officials at Glenn Symposium address recent leadership overhaul

  Michael ColeJuly 12th, 2019

  CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The reassignment of long-time NASA Associate Administrator for Human Explorations and Operations, Bill Gerstenmaier, came as a shock to most everyone in the space flight community. Such was made clear at the Glenn Symposium which was held July 10-12.

• Report: Major shakeup at NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate

  Patrick AttwellJuly 10th, 2019

  NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate has undergone a significant change in leadership. According to a tweet posted by Marcia Smith of Space Policy Online, the changes involved two key personnel either being replaced - or relieved.

• Virgin Galactic merges with Social Capital Hedosophia

  Cullen DesforgesJuly 10th, 2019

  In an unprecedented move for the commercial space flight industry, Virgin Galactic (VG) and Social Capital Hedosophia (SCH) have announced a merger which is expected to become effective once the transaction closes this year.

• Voyager team working to keep 42-year-old probes operational

  Laurel KornfeldJuly 9th, 2019

  To keep NASA’s Voyager probes, launched 42 years ago to study the solar system’s gas giant planets, operational in interstellar space for as long as possible, mission scientists are making tough decisions to propel the spacecraft even further.