Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 8's Launch Into History

Fifty years ago on Dec. 21, 1968, Apollo 8 launched from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center at 7:51 a.m. ES).

Station Crew Back on Earth After 197-Day Space Mission

Russian Search and Rescue teams arrive at the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft shortly after it landed with Expedition 57 crew members.

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Spacecraft and Falcon 9 Rocket

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket are positioned at the company’s hangar at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, ahead of the test targeted for Jan. 17, 2019.

Testing the Space Launch System

Engineers built a tank identical to the Space Launch System tank that will be flown on Exploration Mission-1, the first flight of Space Launch System and the Orion spacecraft for testing.

115 Years of Flight

For most of human history, we mortals have dreamed of taking to the skies. Then, 115 years ago on on December 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright achieved the impossbile.

Giant Black Hole Powers Cosmic Fountain

Before electricity, water fountains worked by relying on gravity to channel water from a higher elevation to a lower one. In space, awesome gaseous fountains have been discovered in the centers of galaxy clusters.

Astronauts Anne McClain and Serena Auñón-Chancellor Work Aboard the Station

NASA astronauts Anne McClain (background) and Serena Auñón-Chancellor are pictured inside the U.S. Destiny laboratory module aboard the International Space Station.

Spirit of Apollo - 50th Anniversary of Apollo 8 at the Washington National Cathedral

The Washington National Cathedral is seen lit up with space imagery prior to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Spirit of Apollo event commemorating the 50th anniversary of Apollo 8, Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018 in Washington, DC.

ICESat-2 Reveals Profile of Ice Sheets

Less than three months into its mission, NASA’s Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2, or ICESat-2, is already exceeding scientists’ expectations.

Viewing the Approach of SpaceX's Dragon to the Space Station

International Space Station Commander Alexander Gerst viewed SpaceX’s Dragon cargo craft chasing the orbital laboratory on Dec. 8, 2018 and took a series of photos.

Astronaut Anne McClain's First Voyage to the Space Station

"Putting this journey into words will not be easy, but I will try. I am finally where I was born to be." So said astronaut Anne McClain

New Research, Hardware Headed to Space Station

Experiments in forest observation, protein crystal growth and in-space fuel transfer demonstration are heading to the International Space Station following the launch Wednesday of SpaceX’s 16th mission.

Researching Supersonic Flight

This image of the horizon is as it was seen from the cockpit of NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center’s F/A-18 research aircraft.

Newest Crew Launches for the International Space Station

Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to bring a new crew to begin their six and a half month mission on the International Space Station.

A 'BrainStorm Trooper' Inquires About NASA Exploration

A Nova Labs Robotics "BrainStorm Troopers" team member from Reston, Virginia, asks a question during an Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) announcement.

Hubble Explores the Coma Cluster's More Than 1,000 Galaxies

This Hubble Space Telescope mosaic is of a portion of the immense Coma cluster of over 1,000 galaxies, located 300 million light-years from Earth.

The Dunes in Mars' Wirtz Crater

In Mars' Wirtz Crater, these dunes are likely active.

Ringing in InSight's Landing on the Red Planet

NASA Deputy Associate Administrator Melanie Saunders and astronaut Mike Massimino ring the closing bell of Nasdaq after the NASA's InSight lander successfully touched down on the surface of Mars.

InSight and MarCO, New Technologies Headed for the Red Planet

NASA social media participant Bryan Branly takes a photograph of the Mars Cube One (MarCO) model before the Mars InSight pre-landing briefing.

Exploding Stars Make Key Ingredient Found in Glass

A new study using observations by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope reports for the first time that silica — one of the most common minerals found on Earth — is formed when massive stars explode.

20 Years Ago, Construction Began on the International Space Station

On Nov. 20, 1998, the Zarya Functional Cargo Block launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome to serve as a temporary control module for the nascent International Space Station. This October 2018 photo shows the station today, fully complete.

SS John Young Cargo Craft Docks to Space Station

"Captured Cygnus today with @Astro_Alex…Proud to have The SS John Young on-board!" said astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor today, as the International Space Station crew brought aboard the latest Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo craft, loaded with almost three tons of food, fuel and supplies.

SS John Young Cargo Craft Docks to Space Station

International Space Station crew brought aboard the latest Russian Progress cargo craft.

Antares Seen from Washington D.C. Tidal Basin

​The Northrop Grumman Antares rocket, with Cygnus resupply spacecraft onboard, is seen above the Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC, on Nov. 17, 2018.

A Scar That the Woolsey Fire Left Behind

In the wake of a fire, a burn scar appears which takes a long time to heal. This scar is from the Woolsey fire which has taken its toll around Thousand Oaks, California.

Finding an Elusive Star Behind a Supernova

Located 65 million light-years away ia a blue supergiant star that once existed inside a cluster of young stars in the spiral galaxy NGC 3938, as shown in this artist's concept.

Northrop Grumman's Antares Rocket on the Pad

The Northrop Grumman Antares rocket, with Cygnus spacecraft onboard, is seen on Pad-0A, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018 at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

Northop Grumman's Antares Rocket on the Pad

The Northrop Grumman Antares rocket, with Cygnus spacecraft onboard, is seen on Pad-0A, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018 at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

Raging Six-Day-Old Camp Fire Reaches 125,000 Acres in Size

The six day old Camp Fire has already attained the unfortunate title of California's deadliest fire.

Flooding Along the Nueces River

On Nov. 1, 2018, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 captured a false-color view of flooding along the Nueces River in a series of storms that have delivered historic amounts of rain to central Texas.

Twilight Islands

The Frozen Wild Dnieper River

Curling snow drifts are magnified by the terrain around the 1,400 mile Dnieper River, flowing from Russia to the Black Sea in this image from the International Space Station on Feb. 9th, 2017.

Recovery of the Test Orion Capsule in the Pacific Ocean

On Nov. 1, 2018, the USS John P. Murtha recovered the test version of the Orion capsule at sunset in the Pacific Ocean. This is one in a series of tests that will verify and validate procedures and hardware that will be used to recover the Orion spacecraft after it splashes down in the Pacific Ocean following deep space exploration missions.

Earth Enveloped in Airglow

Earth Enveloped in Airglow

Suwannee Blackwater River Meets the Sea

The Suwannee is known as a “blackwater river” because of its dark-brown waters laden with organic material.

The International Space Station as of Oct. 4, 2018

The International Space Station photographed by Expedition 56 crew members from a Soyuz spacecraft after undocking.

Orion’s European Service Module to Arrive for First Mission

The Airbus team poses with the European Service Module during preparations for shipment to NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

Happy Birthday, Michael Collins!

Happy birthday, Michael Collins! Test pilot and NASA astronaut Michael Collins served as the pilot for Gemini X and as the command module pilot for the Apollo 11 mission, the first time humans set foot on another celestial body.

A New View of Our Starry Night

After nine years in deep space collecting data that revealed our night sky to be filled with billions of hidden planets – more planets even than stars – NASA’s Kepler space telescope has run out of fuel needed for further science operations.

John Glenn Returns to Space on the STS-95 Mission

Senator John Glenn during water survival training for the STS-95 mission at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory. On Oct. 29, 1998, space shuttle Discovery launched with Senator Glenn aboard, as he returned to space for the first time since his 1962 flight.

It’s Valley Fog Season

It’s autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, which means many people living in mountainous areas are awakening to fog-filled valleys.

Hubble Captures the Ghost of Cassiopeia

The ghost of Cassieopeia's ethereal glow might remind people of apparitions such as those reported by paranormal investigators.

Parker Solar Probe Looks Back at Earth

On Sept. 25, 2018, Parker Solar Probe captured a view of Earth as it sped toward the first Venus gravity assist of the mission. Earth is the bright, round object visible in the right side of this image.

Newborn Stars Blow Bubbles in the Cat's Paw Nebula

Newborn Stars Blow Bubbles in the Cat's Paw Nebula

Splashdown! Apollo 7 Returns Home

On October 22, 1968, 50 years ago, the Apollo 7 crew splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico.

Hubble Spies Glittering Star Cluster in Nearby Galaxy

This glittering ball of stars is the globular cluster NGC 1898, which lies toward the center of the Large Magellanic Cloud.

Launching the Galileo Mission

On Oct. 18, 1989, space shuttle Atlantis deployed NASA's Galileo spacecraft six hours, 30 minutes into the STS-34 mission. Galileo arrived at Jupiter in December, 1995 and spent eight years in orbit around the gas giant, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit an outer planet.

Magnetic Fields May Be the Key to Black Hole Activity

This artist’s conception of the core of Cygnus A shows the dusty donut-shaped surroundings, called a torus, and jets launching from its center.

Uncrewed Japanese Vehicle Delivers Supplies to the Space Station

Viewed from a window inside the cupola, the International Space Station's "window to the world," is the Japanese Exploration Agency's H-II Transfer Vehicle-7.

Ellen Ochoa at Work on the Shuttle

During National Hispanic Heritage Month, we're celebrating the achievements of astronaut Ellen Ochoa and other Hispanic astronauts and professionals at NASA. Floating upside down and reading a checklist may not be how most of us perform the day's work, but it was for Ochoa on Space Shuttle Discovery's STS-96 mission.