SPACE

OUR SOLAR SYSTEM

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Neptune

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Featured news

Artemis II Stacking Operations Update

Currently, six of the 10 segments are secured atop mobile launcher 1 with the right forward center segment as the latest addition. Teams will continue integrating the booster stack – the left center center segment adorned with the NASA “worm”.

The right and left forward assemblies were brought to the VAB from the spaceport’s Booster Fabrication Facility on Jan. 14. The forward assemblies are comprised of three parts: the nose cone which serves as the aerodynamic fairing; a forward skirt, which house avionics.

NASA Invests in Artemis Studies to Support Long-Term Lunar Exploration

NASA awarded new study contracts Thursday to help support life and work on the lunar surface. As part of the agency’s blueprint for deep space exploration to support the Artemis campaign, nine American companies in seven states are receiving awards.

The Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships Appendix R contracts will advance learning in managing everyday challenges in the lunar environment identified in the agency’s Moon to Mars architecture.

Study Finds Earth’s Small Asteroid Visitor Likely Chunk of Moon Rock

As described in a study published Jan. 14 in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, researchers have collected further evidence of 2024 PT5 being of local origin: It appears to be composed of rock broken off from the Moon’s surface and ejected into space after a large impact.

NASA’s Pandora Mission One Step Closer To Probing Alien Atmospheres

Pandora, NASA’s newest exoplanet mission, is one step closer to launch with the completion of the spacecraft bus, which provides the structure, power, and other systems that will enable the mission to carry out its work.

Missions

Science Missions

Peering into the creation of the universe and traversing Mars

The James Webb Space Telescope is an orbiting infrared observatory that will look to the beginning of time and to hunt for the unobserved formation of the first galaxies, as well as to look inside dust clouds where stars and planetary systems are forming today.

Much closer to home, NASA has sent five robotic vehicles, called rovers, to Mars. Rovers help scientists in their quest to understand what different parts of the planet are made of.

BE THE ASTRONAUT!

Ever wondered what it’s like to step into an astronaut’s boots? Interact with our 3D astronaut model—rotate, and explore every detail of the suit that protects astronauts in the harshest conditions of space.

Vaš preglednik ne podržava 3D modele. Pokušajte u Google Chrome ili Microsoft Edge.

Astronaut selfies

At the space station

Anne C. McClain

Anne C. McClain was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2013. On her first spaceflight, McClain spent 204 days as a flight engineer during Expeditions. Most recently, McClain launched as commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission on March 14, 2025

Nichole Ayers

Nichole Ayers was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2021. For her first spaceflight, Ayers launched as pilot of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission on March 14, 2025, to conduct research, technology demonstrations, and the microgravity laboratory.

Takuya Onishi

Takuya Onishi is a Japanese astronaut selected for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in 2009. He spent four months on board the International Space Station in 2016. In March 2025, he arrived at the ISS as part of Expedition 72/73.

Kirill Peskov

Kirill Alexandrovich Peskov is a Russian cosmonaut who is serving as a flight engineer as part of the long-duration Expedition 72 and 73 missions to the International Space Station flying aboard SpaceX Crew-10.

  • A day on Venus is longer than its year — it takes Venus 243 Earth days to rotate once but only 225 Earth days to orbit the Sun.
  • There are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on all the Earth's beaches combined — that’s over a septillion stars!
  • Neutron stars, the remnants of massive stars, can spin up to 600 times per second and are so dense that a teaspoon of their material would weigh a billion tons.
  • Space is completely silent because there is no atmosphere to carry sound waves.
  • The largest known galaxy, IC 1101, spans over 6 million light-years across and contains over 100 trillion stars.

  • 1957 – Sputnik 1: The Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite, marking the beginning of the space age.
  • 1961 – Yuri Gagarin: Became the first human to travel into space and orbit the Earth aboard Vostok 1.
  • 1969 – Apollo 11: Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon.
  • 1998 – ISS: The construction of the International Space Station began, creating a permanent human presence in low Earth orbit.
  • 2021 – Inspiration4: SpaceX completed the first all-civilian orbital mission, opening doors for private space travel.

Telescopes collect light and magnify distant objects to help astronomers observe stars, planets, and galaxies far beyond our reach. There are two main types: refracting telescopes, which use lenses, and reflecting telescopes, which use mirrors.

Modern space telescopes, like Hubble and James Webb, operate outside Earth's atmosphere, giving us clearer and more detailed views of the universe. Infrared telescopes like James Webb can even peer through cosmic dust and detect heat emitted by celestial bodies.