Astronauts

The astronauts launch into space at 12:34 a.m. Eastern time on Thursday. They'll join seven other astronauts aboard the ISS, before four others return to Earth in a few days. 

Four Astronauts Arrive at the International Space Station

Despite a launch delay and docking issue, the space travelers are now onboard the orbiting laboratory

Researchers used Barbie dolls to test liquid nitrogen's effectiveness at removing Moon dust simulants from a replica spacesuit. (Left: before spraying; center: after spraying; right: after spot cleaning)

NASA's Moon Dust Problem Might Finally Have a Solution

Researchers sprayed liquid nitrogen at spacesuit-clad Barbie dolls to test their novel idea

How much advance warning would we have if a large comet were headed on a collision course with Earth?

How Much Warning Would We Have of an Earth-Shattering Comet? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

Sacha Jafri's We Rise Together—With the Light of the Moon is designed to endure on the moon’s surface.

Art Meets Science

One Small Step for Space Art

A new artwork by Sacha Jafri could travel to the moon next month

NASA has 42 current astronauts to select from for a possible mission to the moon.

How NASA Is Selecting the Next Astronauts to Walk on the Moon

The space agency has said that it will send the first woman and the first person of color to the lunar surface

A camera mounted on the Orion spacecraft captured the moon just in frame on December 4, 2022. NASA plans to use Orion as part of a mission to return astronauts to the lunar surface.

How Space Radiation Threatens Lunar Exploration

Scientists are studying the possible impacts of the hazard on astronauts who will travel to the moon

A photo of the International Space Station taken by a crewmember aboard the space shuttle orbiter Discovery in 2001. 

Space Station Astronauts to Receive New Spacecraft After Coolant Leak

The original vehicle was deemed too dangerous for a regular trip home and will only be used in an emergency

Innovators may want to create soft robots that more accurately replicate the dynamics of an elephant’s trunk.

Seven Scientific Discoveries From 2022 That May Lead to New Inventions

Nature is a breeding ground for innovative solutions to everything from aging to plastic pollution

The Orion spacecraft after landing in the Pacific Ocean.

NASA Sets Sights on Crewed Moon Missions After Orion Capsule's Return to Earth

Next, the space agency wants to send astronauts to orbit—and land on—the moon

In this image from December 4, Orion gets closer to the moon in advance of its December 5 flyby. 

Orion Spacecraft Completes Final Moon Flyby

The capsule is scheduled to return to Earth on December 11

The rocket carrying the spacecraft with the three Chinese astronauts lifts off from Earth. 

China Launches Three Astronauts to Its Space Station

The crew will spend six months in orbit and conduct a number of science experiments

Great Britain's John McFall (left) won a bronze medal at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing.

The First Astronaut With a Disability Is a Paralympic Bronze Medalist

The European Space Agency selected John McFall, along with 16 others, as part of its latest class of astronaut candidates

One reader wonders: Have any Native American nations been governed by women? 

Have Women Ever Run a Native American Nation? And More Questions From Our Readers

You've got questions. We've got experts

The Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia, the only part of the spacecraft from the first moon-landing expedition to return to Earth, is on view with the space suit that Neil Armstrong wore when he walked on the moon in July 1969.

A New Look for the National Air and Space Museum

The Incredible Technology That Made Humanity's Moon Dreams a Reality

A new, completely reimagined exhibition goes beyond the Cold War narrative to explore the full story of lunar landings

European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Matthias Maurer on a spacewalk outside the International Space Station

Art Meets Science

Tom Cruise Might Become the First Civilian to Spacewalk at the ISS

Universal is game to send Cruise into space for a proposed action film, but plans aren't official yet

Nicole Mann poses for a portrait in a T-38 trainer jet at Ellington Field in Houston, Texas, in 2018.

Nicole Mann Becomes the First Native American Woman in Space

She is the mission commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission that will spend five months on the International Space Station

Members of NASA's Mars 2020 project lower the oxygen-producing instrument, called MOXIE, into the Perseverance Mars Rover in March 2019.

A Lunchbox-Sized Device Is Making Oxygen on Mars

By scaling up the technology, NASA could allow future astronauts to breathe on the Red Planet

An artist’s rendering of astronauts working near NASA’s Artemis base camp, complete with a rover and RV.

The Revolution in Moon Exploration

Four Things We’ve Learned About NASA’s Planned Base Camp on the Moon

Eventually the station will allow astronauts to spend up to two months on the lunar surface

This mosaic depicts the International Space Station as pictured from the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour in November 2021.

Russia Says It Will Leave the International Space Station After 2024

The United States and Russia jointly built and now operate the station

Aldrin's Apollo 11 inflight coverall jacket

These Objects Tell the Story of Buzz Aldrin's Career

The astronaut is auctioning off his moon-landing jacket and other space gear

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