Space and Astronomy News Headlines

Life is good for NASA's "Mohawk Guy." He became world famous after helping NASA's huge Curiosity rover make a dramatic landing on Mars, and now he'll sit with first lady Michelle Obama during Tuesday's State of the Union address.

Forecasting when stars will die in giant explosions may one day be possible by looking for the warning outbursts they release beforehand, researchers say.

This story was updated at 3:40 p.m. EST.

If you've ever wanted to leave your mark on the heavens, here's your chance.

An asteroid half the size of a football field will buzz close by Earth on Friday, coming closer than many weather satellites, but there is absolutely no chance the space rock will hit the planet, NASA says.

NASA's latest Earth-observation satellite blasted off today (Feb. 11), continuing a storied four-decade effort to track environmental change and resource use across the planet.

A Russian Soyuz rocket launched an unmanned cargo freighter to the International Space Station Monday (Feb. 11) to deliver nearly 3 tons of fresh food, water and equipment to the six men living on the orbiting outpost. 

The United States and the Soviet Union pushed each other to new heights during the Cold War space race, and now something similar appears to be unfolding across Asia.

NASA's latest Earth-observation satellite is set to blast off today (Feb. 11), continuing a venerable program that has been monitoring environmental change and resource use for more than four decades.

When NASA's Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) launches on Monday (Feb. 11), it will deliver to orbit the latest and most capable Earth-observing satellite in a four-decade long project to study the surface of our planet.

A long-lasting solar flare erupted from the sun early Saturday (Feb. 9), triggering an intense sun eruption aimed squarely at Earth. The solar storm, however, should not endanger satellites or astronauts in space, but could amplify auroras on Earth, NASA says. The solar eruption —called a coronal mass ejection —occurred …

An astronaut on the International Space Station beamed festive messages to Earth Saturday (Feb. 9) to mark Chinese New Year celebrations across the planet.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - The Mars rover Curiosity drilled into the Martian surface for the first time as part of an effort to learn if the planet most like Earth in the solar system ever had conditions to support microbial life, NASA said on Saturday. Pictures beamed back to Earth on Saturday showed a hole about …

A satellite in orbit captured the birth of mega-snowstorm Nemo Saturday (Feb. 9) as the blizzard dumped feet of snow on New England and other parts of the Northeast.

NASA's Curiosity rover has drilled into a Martian rock and collected samples, marking the first time any robot has ever performed this complicated maneuver on the surface of another planet.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - For the first time, NASA's rover Curiosity used its on-board drill to collect a sample of Martian bedrock that might offer evidence of a long-gone wet environment, the U.S. space agency reported on Saturday. Drilling down 2.5 inches into a patch of sedimentary bedrock, Curiosity collected the rock …

An unmanned Russian cargo ship undocked from the International Space Station Saturday (Feb. 9) to make way for a fresh delivery of supplies for the six astronauts living on the orbiting laboratory next week.

HOUSTON — The last man to walk on the moon made an unexpected call to the most recent men to live in space this week during a visit to NASA's Mission Control room.