Space

NASA to unveil first newly returned near-Earth asteroid sample

NASA was set on Wednesday to provide a first peek for the public at what scientists found inside a tightly sealed canister that was returned to Earth last month carrying…

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Elon Musk’s SpaceX postpones debut flight of Starship rocket system

Elon Musk's SpaceX ha scalled off a highly anticipated launch of its powerful new Starship rocket, delaying the first uncrewed test flight of the vehicle into space. The two-stage rocketship,…

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WATCH: NASA names woman, Black astronauts to Artemis II crew in lunar first

NASA on Monday named the first woman and the first African American ever assigned as astronauts to a lunar mission, introducing them as part of the four-member team chosen to…

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WATCH: Japan’s new rocket fails after engine issue, in blow to space ambitions

Japan's new medium-lift rocket failed on its debut flight in space on Tuesday after the launcher's second-stage engine did not ignite as planned, in a blow to its efforts to…

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Britain’s groundbreaking satellite launch ends in failure

Britain's attempt to become the first European nation to launch satellites into space ended in bitter disappointment early on Tuesday when Virgin Orbit said its rocket had suffered an anomaly that…

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Richard Branson must face lawsuit in U.S. over Virgin Galactic space travel problems

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Monday said British billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson must face shareholder claims he concealed problems in Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc's spaceship program, and…

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WATCH: NASA’s next-generation megarocket set for debut test launch to moon

NASA's colossal next-generation rocketship was set for its long-awaited debut launch on Monday on an uncrewed, six-week test flight around the moon and back, marking the first mission of the space agency's…

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Russia has not signaled space station withdrawal to NASA, U.S. official says

Russia's new space chief on Tuesday signaled his country's intent to withdraw from the International Space Station after 2024, but a senior NASA official told Reuters Moscow has not communicated…

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WATCH: First all-private astronaut team aboard space station heads for splashdown

The first all-private astronaut crew to fly aboard the International Space Station (ISS) headed for splashdown Monday off the coast of Florida, wrapping up a two-week mission that NASA has…

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EU lays out $6.8 billion satellite communication plan in space race

The European Commission on Tuesday set out a 6 billion-euro ($6.8 billion) satellite communications plan, part of a push to cut the European Union's dependence on foreign companies and protect key communications…

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Citing debris risk, NASA delays spacewalk to fix space station antenna

A spacewalk planned for Tuesday to repair a faulty antenna on the International Space Station was postponed indefinitely, NASA said, citing a "debris notification" it received for the orbiting research laboratory. Two U.S.…

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VIDEO: SpaceX crew splashes down after return from International Space Station

Four astronauts strapped inside a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule splashed down safely in the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast on Monday, capping a six-month NASA science mission aboard the International…

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Jeff Bezos, world’s richest man, carries out inaugural space voyage

Jeff Bezos, the world's richest man, and three crewmates soared high above the Texas desert aboard his space venture Blue Origin's New Shepard launch vehicle on Tuesday and returned to Earth,…

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SpaceX’s Starlink expects it can provide global coverage around September

Starlink, the satellite internet unit of Elon Musk's SpaceX, expects to be able to provide continuous global coverage by around September but will then need to seek regulatory approvals, its…

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Amazon’s billionaire founder Jeff Bezos to fly to space next month

Amazon's billionaire founder Jeff Bezos said on Monday he and his brother Mark will fly on the first crewed space flight from his rocket company Blue Origin. "Ever since I…

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A giant piece of space junk is hurtling towards Earth. Here’s how worried you should be

A large piece of space debris, possibly weighing several tonnes, is currently on an uncontrolled reentry phase (that’s space speak for “out of control”), and parts of it are expected…

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Space entrepreneur Max Polyakov acquires South Africa’s Dragonfly satellite maker

Max Polyakov, an ultra-wealthy entrepreneur with ambitions of building a space transportation empire, has acquired South African satellite maker Dragonfly Aerospace, he told Reuters. The deal gives Polyakov an anchorpoint in the booming…

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Astronauts arrive at International Space Station

(Reuters) - A four-astronaut team arrived at the International Space Station on Saturday aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule Endeavour, NASA said, after becoming the first crew ever to be…

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Mars helicopter flight test promises Wright Brothers moment for NASA

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - NASA hopes to score a 21st-century Wright Brothers moment on Monday as it attempts to send a miniature helicopter buzzing over the surface of Mars in what would be the first powered, controlled flight of an aircraft on…

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Three astronauts return from International Space Station

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Three members of the International Space Station's crew returned safely to Earth on Saturday on a Russian Soyuz craft, Russia's Roscosmos space agency reported. The Soyuz MS-17…

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Mars rover Perseverance takes first spin on surface of red planet

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - NASA's Mars rover Perseverance has taken its first, short drive on the surface of the red planet, two weeks after the robot science lab's picture-perfect touchdown…

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How did NASA’s Martian rover come to land in a crater named after a tiny Balkan village?

The world was excited by the news last week that NASA’s Perseverance rover had successfully landed in a Martian crater. The rover will now set about collecting samples from what scientists say…

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Mars rover sends home movie of daredevil descent to landing on red planet

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - NASA scientists on Monday unveiled first-of-a-kind home movies of last week's' daredevil Mars rover landing, vividly showing its supersonic parachute inflation over the red planet and…

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UAE’s Hope Probe enters orbit in first Arab Mars mission

DUBAI, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates' first mission to Mars reached the red planet and entered orbit on Tuesday after a seven-month, 494 million-km (307 million-mile) journey,…

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NASA’s crucial engine test for moon rocket forced to end prematurely

WASHINGTON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - NASA's deep space exploration rocket built by Boeing briefly ignited all four engines of its behemoth core stage for the first time on Saturday, cutting short…

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The Great Conjunction Earthlings treated to rare alignment of Jupiter and Saturn

NEW YORK (Reuters) -The evening sky over the Northern Hemisphere treated stargazers to a once-in-a-lifetime illusion on Monday as the solar system's two biggest planets appeared to meet in a…

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Japan retrieves asteroid samples in hunt for origins of planets

TOKYO/MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Japan has retrieved a capsule of asteroid dust from Australia's remote outback after a six-year mission that may help uncover more about the origins of the planets…

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China to launch moon probe, seeking first lunar rock retrieval since 1970s

China plans to launch an unmanned spacecraft to the moon this week to bring back lunar rocks in the first attempt by any nation to retrieve samples from Earth's natural…

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SpaceX Dragon capsule docks with the International Space Station

Four astronauts riding a newly designed spacecraft from Elon Musk's SpaceX docked with the International Space Station Monday night, in the first crewed mission on a privately built space capsule purchased by…

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Astronomers discover most inhospitable planet ever

Astronomers have discovered the most inhospitable planet ever that rains rocks, with 60 mile deep lava seas and winds of more than 3,000 mph. The Earth size planet has winds…

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There’s a lot of water on the moon – NASA

Scientists on Monday said lunar water is more widespread than previously known, with water molecules trapped within mineral grains on the surface and more water perhaps hidden in ice patches…

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Photo Story: The Soyuz MS-16 space capsule lands in Kazakhstan

Photos made available by the Russian State Space Corporation ROSCOSMOS on its official website shows the Soyuz MS-16 space capsule at the site of landing in a remote area outside…

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Nokia to build mobile network on moon

Finland's Nokia has been selected by NASA to build the first cellular network on the moon, the company said on Monday. The lunar network will be part of the U.S.…

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Standards for building settlements on the moon take shape as eight nations sign Artemis moon agreements

Eight countries have signed an international pact for moon exploration called the Artemis Accords, NASA announced as the U.S. space agency tries to shape standards for building long-term settlements on…

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UAE plans to land a spacecraft on the moon by 2024

The ruler of the Emirate of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum has announced a plan to land a spacecraft on the moon and study its surface by 2024.…

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International Space Station air leak in above-normal volumes

The International Space Station is leaking air in above-normal volumes, but the leak presents no danger to the Russian-American crew, the Russian space agency Roscosmos said on Tuesday. The leak…

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European space agency signs deal for asteroid defence mission

The European space agency (ESA) signed a deal worth 129 million euros ($154 million) on Tuesday to make a spacecraft for a joint project with NASA looking at how to…

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Potential sign of alien life detected on inhospitable Venus

Scientists said on Monday they have detected in the harshly acidic clouds of Venus a gas called phosphine that indicates microbes may inhabit Earth's inhospitable neighbor, a tantalizing sign of potential life…

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Photo Story: Perseid meteor shower over Austria

A digital stacked combination of long-time multiple exposures shows satellites and Perseid meteors crossing the sky over a chapel near the town of Herrnleis during Perseid meteor shower, Austria. The…

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Photo Story: The International Space Station passes in front of the Sun

The International Space Station (ISS) flies in front of the Sun as seen from the vicinity of Lieskovec, Slovakia, 08 August 2020. Next to it is the sunspot AR2770 is…

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SpaceX Crew Astronauts ‘splash down’ safely

Two NASA astronauts, Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley, splashed down safely in the SpaceX Crew Dragon “Endeavour” in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, at 2:48…

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NASA set to launch robotic rover to seek signs of past life on Mars

NASA is set to launch an ambitious mission to Mars on Thursday with the liftoff of its next-generation Perseverance rover, a six-wheeled robot tasked with deploying a mini helicopter, testing…

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UK Defence Secretary to boost ability to handle space threat from Russia, China

Britain will boost its ability to handle threats posed by Russia and China in space as part of a foreign, security and defence policy review being conducted by the UK…

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China launches attempt to land rover on Mars

China successfully launched an unmanned probe to Mars on Thursday in its first independent mission to another planet, a bid for global leadership in space and a display of its…

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Ceremony to mark the 45th anniversary of Apollo-Soyuz docking

A series of photos during a ceremony to mark the 45th anniversary of the docking of a US Apollo space module with a Soviet Soyuz space capsule, at the Museum…

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Photo Story: Comet NEOWISE seen from the International Space Station

A handout picture made available by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shows Comet NEOWISE (short for C/2020 F3 NEOWISE) viewed from the International Space Station (ISS) on 05…

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First images from Solar Orbiter Mission

A handout picture made available by the European Space Agency (ESA) shows a view of the Sun taken by the Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager (PHI) Full Disc Telescope on ESA's…

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Photo Story: Comet NEOWISE above Prague

The Comet NEOWISE or C/2020 F3 is seen above Prague Castle with St. Vitus Cathedral, in Prague, Czech Republic, 13 July 2020. The comet passed closest to the Sun on…

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Photo Story: Comet NEOWISE over Hungary

The Comet NEOWISE or C/2020 F3 is seen above Salgotarjan, Hungary, early 10 July 2020. It passed closest to the Sun on 03 July and its closest approach to Earth…

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Rocket Lab vehicle fails to reach orbit, loses payload of satellites

A rocket from small-satellite launch firm Rocket Lab failed to reach orbit minutes after a successful liftoff from New Zealand on Saturday, the company said, losing its payload of seven…

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NASA names HQ building after first African American female engineer at NASA

A handout picture made available by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shows Mary Winston Jackson, the first African American female engineer at NASA, at work at NASA Langley…

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Ocean in Jupiter’s moon Europa could hold life

The interior ocean in Jupiter's moon Europa may be able to sustain life, NASA scientists believe. Their work is based on computer simulations of the reservoirs below the ice-shell…

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Virgin Galactic, NASA to develop program for private missions to space station

Billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc announced it has signed up with NASA to develop a program to promote private missions to the International Space Station (ISS), sending the…

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Photo Story: Annular Solar Eclipse in Taiwan

The annular solar eclipse in Chiayi city, Taiwan, 21 June 2020. During this annular solar eclipse – the first of the decade – the moon appears to cover the sun,…

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Rare ‘ring of fire’ solar eclipse to dim Africa, Asia

Skywatchers along a narrow band from west Africa to the Arabian Peninsula, India and southern China will witness on Sunday the most dramatic "ring of fire" solar eclipse to shadow…

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SpaceX NASA mission astronaut capsule set to dock with space station

US astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken will dock to the International Space Station (ISS) later. The men are making their way up to the orbiting platform after their launch…

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SpaceX set for historic astronaut mission

Entrepreneur Elon Musk's SpaceX is set to launch two American astronauts to the International Space Station on Wednesday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, ending the U.S. space agency's nine-year hiatus…

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