NASA

Artemis II astronauts brace for fiery return to Earth

The Artemis II crew, flying in their Orion capsule since launching from Florida last week, are due to splash down off the Southern California coast on Friday.

The NASA Artemis II crew, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, Commander Reid Wiseman, and Pilot Victor Glover, embrace inside the Orion spacecraft on their way home following a flyby of the far side of the Moon on April 7, 2026.
NASA ASTRONAUT and Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch peers out of one of the Orion spacecraft's main cabin windows, looking back at Earth, as the crew travels towards the Moon April 2, 2026.

WATCH: Artemis makes lunar flyby as moon mission breaks record for human distance from earth

NASA's Artemis II mission to fly by the moon, comprising of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion crew capsule, lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, US, April 1, 2026

NASA’s Artemis II mission takes off with four astronauts for historic lunar journey

General view of the moon on March 30, 2026

Countdown to a lunar comeback: NASA readies astronauts for Moon journey


The space race is back in 2025 - opinion

Recent years have seen a significant rise in private investments in space, with institutional investors and family offices recognizing the economic and scientific potential of space technologies.

 View from the International Space Station.

This week in Jewish history: Israel's first astronaut, invention of cardioverter-defibrillator

A highly abridged weekly version of Dust & Stars.

 ILAN RAMON in front of an F16 aircraft.

Asteroid 2024 YR4 rises to the top of NASA's risk chart

The next close approach of asteroid 2024 YR4 is projected for December 22, 2032, when it may pose a potential danger, with an estimated 1.2% chance of impact.

 Asteroid 2024 YR4 rises to the top of NASA's risk chart. Illustration.

NASA's Bennu samples contain life's building blocks, including amino acids and DNA/RNA nucleobases

Samples contain all five nucleobases of DNA and RNA, supporting theory that asteroids may have seeded Earth with life's essential ingredients.

 NASA's Bennu asteroid samples reveal building blocks of life, including amino acids and all DNA and RNA nucleobases.

Trump tasks SpaceX with rescuing 'stranded' NASA astronauts

President Donald Trump has called on Elon Musk to rescue two NASA astronauts stuck on the International Space Station, with the pair blaming the Biden administration for leaving them 'stranded.'

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk speaks on-screen during a central election campaign event of the AfD in Halle (Saale), Germany, January 25, 2025.

110 million people come together: World's largest human gathering captured from space

NASA astronaut Don Pettit shared a view of the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 from the vantage point of the International Space Station.

 World’s largest human gathering.

Elon Musk's Falcon 9 rocket launches two private moon landers

Simultaneous launches signal growing private interest in lunar exploration, traditionally dominated by governments.

 SpaceX CRS-8 Falcon 9 rocket launch.

Anthropologists push for cataloging Martian debris as valuable artifacts

Justin Holcomb and colleagues argue that Mars' remnants, like crashed landers and rover tracks, are valuable heritage, not "space trash."

 Anthropologists push for cataloging Martian debris as valuable artifacts.

From Moon to Mercury: Key space missions planned for 2025

2025 promises to be pivotal for space exploration, with major Moon and celestial missions by the U.S., China, Japan, and ESA.

 From Moon to Mercury: Key space missions planned for 2025.

Former NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao recalls sighting mysterious metallic spheres over Texas

Chiao speculates objects may be military drones, saying 'if it's not that, then it gets a little more scary.'

 Leroy Chiao at the world premiere of "The Astronaut Farmer."