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This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features Arp 122, a peculiar galaxy that in fact comprises two galaxies – NGC 6040, the tilted, warped spiral galaxy and LEDA 59642, the round, face-on spiral – that are in the midst of a collision.

Hubble images a pair of galaxies caught in the process of merging

The two galaxies shown in the image, NGC 6040 and LEDA 59642, are so close that they are interacting and have a shared name as a pair, Arp 122.
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx curation engineer, Neftali Hernandez, attaches one of the tools developed to help remove two final fasteners that prohibited complete disassembly of the TAGSAM (Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism) head that holds the remainder of material collected from asteroid Bennu. Engineers on the team, based at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, developed new tools that freed the fasteners on Jan. 10.

NASA cracks open its first sample from an asteroid, foiling two sticky screws

NASA returned its first sample of an asteroid to Earth last year, but getting at the full sample proved difficult due to a couple of troublesome fasteners.
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is pictured docked to the space-facing port on the International Space Station’s Harmony module.

How to watch the Axiom 3 mission launch on Thursday

This coming Thursday, January 18, will see the third launch to the International Space Station by private company Axiom. Here's how to watch.
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft sits on the apron outside Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility at dawn in Palmdale, California. The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which seeks to address one of the primary challenges to supersonic flight over land by making sonic booms quieter.

NASA shows off its experimental, quiet supersonic aircraft, the X-59

Created along with Lockheed Martin, a new aircraft is designed to reduce the sonic boom created by traveling faster than the speed of sound to a sonic thump.
Like Kepler-10 b, illustrated above, the exoplanet HD 63433 d is a small, rocky planet in a tight orbit of its star. HD 63433 d is the smallest confirmed exoplanet younger than 500 million years old. It's also the closest discovered Earth-sized planet this young, at about 400 million years old.

Astronomers discover extremely hot exoplanet with ‘lava hemisphere’

An Earth-sized orbits a star similar to our sun, but much, much closer - meaning it has surface temperatures of nearly 2,300 degrees Fahrenheit.
Astrobotic's Peregrine lander.

Astrobotic’s Peregrine keeps on flying, but for how much longer?

Despite a damaging propellant leak, Astrobotic's Peregrine spacecraft continues to operate and gather data. But it doesn't have long left.
A photo from the Peregrine spacecraft showing Earth in the top right.

Astrobotic’s Peregrine snapped a special photo on its doomed moon mission

Astrobotic, operator of the failed Peregrine lunar mission, has confirmed that the spacecraft managed to snap a rather special photo on its journey.
SpaceX's Starship rocket lifting off in November 2023.

SpaceX reveals anticipated date for third Starship test flight

SpaceX has said the main aim of the next Starship mission is to increase its performance and get the spacecraft to orbit – and it could take place soon.
NASA's Ingenuity helicopter.

NASA’s Mars helicopter forced to cut short latest flight

NASA's Mars helicopter, Ingenuity, only managed to fly a third of its planned distance during its second flight, and its team back on Earth says it knows why.
The first image of Astrobotic's Peregrine spacecraft.

Astrobotic thinks it knows what caused propellant leak on Peregrine moon lander

Astrobotic says it thinks it knows what caused Monday's propellant leak that dashed hopes of its Peregrine lander reaching the lunar surface.
An illustration showing astronauts on the moon.

NASA delays first crewed Artemis missions to the moon

NASA is delaying the Artemis II and III crewed missions to the moon to give its teams more time to ensure everything is ready for the ambitious flights.
The first image of Astrobotic's Peregrine spacecraft.

Check out the first image from Peregrine lunar lander

The first image beamed back by Astrobotic’s Peregrine spacecraft provides the first visual evidence of a propulsion system anomaly.
The launch of Peregrine Mission 1 by a new ULA rocket, the Vulcan Centaur.

Historic moon mission launches successfully from Kennedy

A mission to send the first U.S. lander to the moon in five decades, and the first to put a privately built lander on the lunar surface, has launched safely.
SpaceX's Starship rocket lifting off in November 2023.

Five rocket launches to look out for in 2024

This year promises to be an exciting one for fans of rocket technology. Here are some of the notable launches to look out for over the coming months.
A ULA Vulcan on the launchpad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

How to watch the first U.S. commercial moon mission launch tonight

Tonight will see a ULA rocket launch the first U.S. commercial mission to the lunar surface. Here's how to watch a live stream of the event.
This image revealing the north polar region of the Jovian moon Io was taken on October 15 by NASA’s Juno. Three of the mountain peaks visible in the upper part of image, near the day-night dividing line, were observed here for the first time by the spacecraft’s JunoCam.

See the dramatic, volcanic moon Io in new Juno images

NASA's Juno spacecraft recently made a close flyby of the solar system's most volcanic body, the Jovian moon of Io.
Voyager 2 took this image as it approached the planet Uranus on Jan. 14, 1986. The planet's hazy bluish color is due to the methane in its atmosphere, which absorbs red wavelengths of light.

Neptune isn’t really dark blue, new study demonstrates

Most people think of Uranus and Neptune as pale greenish blue and royal blue. But a new study shows the two planets are actually a very similar color.
This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope features a richness of spiral galaxies.

Hubble captures a busy frame of four overlapping spiral galaxies

This week's image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows a host of galaxies all overlapping each other in a complex swirl.
An illustration of NASA's Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) on the lunar surface.

Fly your name to the moon as part of historic NASA mission

NASA is giving everyone the chance to add their name to the historic VIPER mission featuring its first-ever robotic lunar rover.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 engine burns against an orbital sunset.

Watch SpaceX Falcon 9 engine burn against orbital sunset backdrop

SpaceX has released remarkable footage showing one of its rocket engines burning against the beautiful backdrop of an orbital sunset.
This is an artist’s impression of the exoplanet WASP 121-b, also known as Tylos. The exoplanet’s appearance is based on Hubble data of the object. Using Hubble observations, another team of scientists had previously reported the detection of heavy metals such as magnesium and iron escaping from the upper atmosphere of the ultra-hot Jupiter exoplanet, marking it as the first of such detection. The exoplanet is orbiting dangerously close to its host star, roughly 2.6% of the distance between Earth and the Sun, placing it on the verge of being ripped apart by its host star's tidal forces. The powerful gravitational forces have altered the planet's shape.

See the weather patterns on a wild, super hot exoplanet

Planet WASP-121 b has a surface temperature of 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which researchers predict would lead to some wild weather phenomena.
This deep dataset from Chandra of the remains of a supernova known as 30 Doradus B (30 Dor B) reveals evidence for more than one supernova explosion in the history of this remnant. Unusual structures in the Chandra data cannot be explained by a single explosion. These images of 30 Dor B also show optical data from the Blanco telescope in Chile, and infrared data from Spitzer. Additional data from Hubble highlights sharp features in the image.

Four telescopes work together to create a gorgeous image of a supernova remnant

A stunning new image of a supernova remnant combines data from four different telescopes to show a colorful, detailed picture of a busy region of space.
An image from the Quadrantid meteor shower.

How to watch the Quadrantid meteor shower hit its peak tonight

Tonight will see the peak of the Quadrantid meteor shower, one of the lesser-known meteor showers of the year. Here's how to watch it in person or online.
SpaceX tests the engines on its Super Heavy booster.

Watch SpaceX wrap up 2023 with spectacular Super Heavy rocket test

SpaceX wrapped up a busy 2023 with a blast of all 33 Raptor engines on its Super Heavy rocket – the most powerful in the world – ahead of its next test flight.
London welcomes in 2024 with a display of drones and fireworks.

Watch London ring in 2024 with drones, and a LOT of fireworks

London has just welcomed the New Year with a massive fireworks display that also deployed drones during the 15-minute extravaganza.
This photo of Saturn was taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope on October 22, 2023, when the ringed planet was approximately 850 million miles from Earth. Hubble's ultra-sharp vision reveals a phenomenon called ring spokes. Saturn's spokes are transient features that rotate along with the rings. Their ghostly appearance only persists for two or three rotations around Saturn. During active periods, freshly-formed spokes continuously add to the pattern.

Hubble snaps an image of dark spokes in Saturn’s rings

The Hubble Space Telescope is investigating something strange about the beautiful rings around Saturn.
Curiosity rover

See the passing of a day on Mars with the Curiosity rover

On a quiet day the Curiosity rover captured the view around it using its forward and rear cameras, showing the progression of a Martian day.
This image revealing the north polar region of the Jovian moon Io was taken on October 15 by NASA’s Juno. Three of the mountain peaks visible in the upper part of image, near the day-night dividing line, were observed here for the first time by the spacecraft’s JunoCam.

NASA’s Juno spacecraft to pass within 1,000 miles of volcanic moon Io

NASA's Juno spacecraft, current in orbit around Jupiter, will soon be making a close flyby of one of the planet's most dramatic moons, Io.
Two NASA astronauts test an elevator for the Artemis III lunar mission.

NASA tests moon elevator for Artemis III mission

NASA has been testing an elevator that will transport the Artemis III astronauts from the Starship HLS lander to the lunar surface.
SpaceX launches the USSF-52 mission on December 28, 2023.

Watch the highlights of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket launch on Thursday night

SpaceX has successfully launched its triple-booster Falcon Heavy rocket on a mission to deploy an experimental space place for the U.S. Space Force.
NASA's SLS rocket launching at the start of the Artemis I mission.

NASA video looks ahead to an exciting 2024

With 2023 pretty much a wrap, NASA has shared a video highlighting some of the exciting endeavors that it has planned for next year.
SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

SpaceX eyeing weather for Thursday’s Falcon Heavy launch. Here’s how it looks

SpaceX needs favorable weather conditions on Thursday for the fifth attempt at getting the USSF-52 mission off the ground. Here's how the forecast looks ...
A Falcon 9 booster coming in to land.

SpaceX loses record-setting rocket booster, but not in the way you think

It turns out that for SpaceX, landing a rocket booster upright on a droneship in the ocean upright is the easy part. It’s getting it back to land that’s tricky.
The Falcon Heavy rocket on the launchpad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

SpaceX gears up for 5th try at launching Falcon Heavy rocket

Following four scrubbed attempts to launch the Falcon Heavy earlier this month, SpaceX is preparing to try again this week.