Space NPR coverage of space exploration, space shuttle missions, news from NASA, private space exploration, satellite technology, and new discoveries in astronomy and astrophysics.
The Joint European Torus, a European fusion project in the U.K., gets most of its funding from the EU. Brexit may change that, and the even larger ITER fusion project. EUROfusion hide caption
Brexit's Impact Stretches From Deep Space To Nuclear Fusion
June 29, 2016 • Scientists are worried about how Britain's departure from the European Union would hurt the continent's mega-projects and its researchers. Scientific collaboration "should know no borders," says one.
The meteorite is 3.1 by 2.6 by 0.8 inches large. It is surrounded by a gray reduction halo, in the otherwise red limestone. Oxygen was consumed when the meteorite weathered on the seafloor. The coin in the image has a diameter of just under 1 inch. Nature Communications hide caption
Scientists Say They've Unearthed A Completely New Kind Of Meteorite
June 15, 2016 • Scientists say that in a Swedish quarry, they've uncovered a meteorite unique among the 50,000 known on Earth today. They say it could hold clues about the history of the solar system.
The black holes were 14 and 8 times the mass of the sun. As they spiraled together, they sent out gravitational waves. LIGO/T. Pyle hide caption
LIGO/T. Pyle
Gravitational Waves From Colliding Black Holes Shake Scientists' Detectors Again
June 15, 2016 • For the second time in recent months, scientists say they have picked up distortions in space and time. The find suggests smaller-sized black holes may be more numerous than many scientists thought.
The pair of galaxies NGC 1531/2, engaged in a spirited waltz, is located about 70 million light-years away toward the southern constellation Eridanus (The River). R. Gendler and J.E. Ovaldsen/ESO/IDA hide caption
R. Gendler and J.E. Ovaldsen/ESO/IDA
Does The Size Of Space Freak You Out?
June 1, 2016 • Space is so crazy big that it should make you realize most of the day-to-day stuff we sweat just doesn't matter — and that is a very good thing, says astrophysicist Adam Frank.
Brazlian jet maker Embraer employs about 600 people in Melbourne, Fla., and is expanding. Greg Allen/NPR hide caption
Greg Allen/NPR
With Shuttles Gone, Private Ventures Give Florida's Space Coast A Lift
May 27, 2016 • Five years after NASA's shuttle program ended, a new Florida aerospace industry is beginning to take shape. Firms, from those making jets to tiny Internet satellites, are adding factories and jobs.
An artist's concept shows the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, as it would look when fully installed and inflated on the International Space Station. Bigelow Aerospace/NASA hide caption
Bigelow Aerospace/NASA
NASA's Attempt To Inflate Its Expandable Space Module Fizzles
May 26, 2016 • The module known as BEAM can be folded so it takes up less room in a cargo rocket, and then expanded once it reaches space. Or at least that's the hope.
The last remaining space shuttle external propellant tank is moved across the 405 freeway in Los Angeles on Saturday. The ET-94 will be displayed with the retired space shuttle Endeavour at the California Science Center. Chris Carlson/AP hide caption
Chris Carlson/AP
A 66,000 Pound Space Shuttle Fuel Tank Parades Through Streets Of LA
May 21, 2016 • ET-94, which is as tall as a 15-story building, is on a 16-mile trek through Los Angeles on its way to the California Science Center. It's set to be displayed with the space shuttle Endeavour.
Mars, as photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope this month as Mars and Earth approached opposition. NASA hide caption
Mars Is Ready For Its Close-Up: Red Planet Easy To Spot This Weekend
May 20, 2016 • During the "Mars opposition," which happens this Sunday, Mars will be closer to Earth than it has been for more than a decade. You can see it easily any night this weekend — no telescope necessary.
Astronaut Tim Peake of European Space Agency took this photograph on April 6, as the International Space Station flew over Madagascar. Picasa/NASA hide caption
Picasa/NASA
100,000 Orbits Later, International Space Station Still Going Strong
May 16, 2016 • "One-hundred-thousand orbits, the journey continues," NASA astronaut Jeffrey Williams said in a video from space.
This artist's concept depicts some of the planetary discoveries made by NASA's Kepler Space Telescope. Tuesday's announcement more than doubles the number of verified planets discovered by the Kepler mission. W. Stenzel/NASA hide caption
W. Stenzel/NASA
NASA Spots 1,284 New Planets, Including 9 That Are 'Potentially Habitable'
May 10, 2016 • Of the more than 1,200 planets in the latest trove turned up by NASA's Kepler Space Telescope, about half seem to be rocky, like Earth.
This composite image of observations by NASA and the ESA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory shows the path of Mercury during its November 2006 transit. AP hide caption
Mercury Will Cross In Front Of The Sun In A Rare Event. Here's How To Watch
May 8, 2016 • Stargazers, ready your (solar-filtered) telescopes: Mercury is passing directly across the sun Monday for more than seven hours. And you can watch — if you do it just right.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches at Cape Canaveral, Fla., early Friday morning, carrying a communications satellite into space. SpaceX/Flickr hide caption
SpaceX/Flickr
SpaceX Lands Falcon 9 On A Barge At Sea (Again)
May 6, 2016 • Despite uncertain odds, the company landed part of its Falcon 9 rocket in the open ocean for a second time. The rest of the spacecraft continued on to put a communications satellite into orbit.
This artist's rendering shows what the view might look like from one of the three planets orbiting an ultracool, reddish dwarf star just 40 light-years from Earth. ESO/M. Kornmesser/Nature hide caption
ESO/M. Kornmesser/Nature
3 Strange Worlds Circling A Cool Star Might Be Prime Spots To Support Life
May 2, 2016 • Scientists say each of these planets has one searingly hot side that's always facing the star and one frigidly cold side that's always facing away. But the regions in between might be cozy.
The side of Jupiter's moon Europa that faces the giant planet. NASA/JPL/University of Arizona hide caption
NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
#NPRreads: Take Your Pick Of Space, Race Or Celebrity
April 30, 2016 • In this weekly story roundup, NPR reporters, editors and producers share what they have been reading. Today's mix explores life away from Earth, forgotten photos and fallen stars.
An artist's rendering of the "Red Dragon" capsule that SpaceX is planning to land on the surface of Mars — perhaps sometime in the next two years. SpaceX hide caption
Mars By 2018? SpaceX And NASA Announce A New Space Project
April 28, 2016 • The Red Dragon missions are aimed at figuring out what's needed "to land large payloads propulsively on Mars." For now, the plan doesn't include sending astronauts to the red planet.