The astronomy world received a rare treat last week when an object presumed to be from outside our own solar system was spotted for only the second time ever. At the time, very little was known about the interstellar visitor, but in the days since its initial discovery by an amateur skywatcher, high-powered telescopes have been directed at the object to get a better look.

When the first astronomers turned their eyes to the heavens tens of thousands of years ago, their view was unobscured by the glow of city lights. At night, a pristine black sheet stretched across an unreachable ceiling overhead. The centerpiece of this ancient nightscape was a flat gray disc that hung in the sky: the moon.

The chopper aims to be the first aircraft to take flight on another planet.

NASA's NuSTAR X-ray observatory has spotted something a little weird. While imaging the Fireworks galaxy, NuSTAR spotted several mysterious bright sources of X-ray light, appearing as green and blue spots. Within days, the blobs had disappeared.

While the spacecraft were flying about 250 miles above Eastern Mongolia, an uncrewed Russian Soyuz spacecraft arrived and docked to the International Space Station at 11:08 p.m. EDT. The Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft attached to the station’s aft-facing Zvezda module for a two-week stay as part of its test flight. The Soyuz delivers 1,450 pounds of cargo, including a Skybot F-850 humanoid robot, to the Expedition 60 crew currently residing on the orbital outpost.

The milestone was a long time coming.

"To look forward to the Moon, we need to learn from the past."

The next-generation James Webb telescope has had a rough time coming into existence, but NASA was able to celebrate a big step forward this week when engineers joined the two halves of the observatory. The joining took place at a Northrop Grumman facility in Redondo Beach, California. Engineers used a crane to put the telescope together with the other major component, a combined spacecraft and sunshield. Together, they will be part of a mission to explore and image the cosmos, taking over where the Hubble Space Telescope leaves off.

During his year in space, Scott Kelly was zapped relentlessly by radiation — the equivalent of 10 chest X-rays a day for more than 11 months starting in March of 2015. The onslaught damaged the astronaut's DNA and affected his immune system while raising his risk for cancer. And Kelly was aboard the International Space Station, whose tight orbit around Earth lies within the magnetic field that surrounds our planet and blocks the most damaging forms of radiation.

The International Space Station has received a 600 Mbps data rate upgrade, according to NASA, enabling astronauts and control centers on Earth to communicate at faster rates. The upgrade doubles th…

For a long time the fate of NASAs Europa Clipper mission has been uncertain. But yesterday NASA announced that the mission can now enter its next phase, where the design will be finalized and the spacecraft built and tested. “We are all excited about the decision that moves the Europa Clipper mission one key step closer to unlocking the mysteries of this ocean world,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

Two NASA astronauts successfully installed a new docking adapter Wednesday for incoming SpaceX and Boeing vehicles that may arrive with crew as early as this year.

While the world celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing Saturday, Sotheby's auctioned off three original NASA videotapes of the event for a whopping $1.82 million.

Recently, near the sleepy south Texas beachside town of Boca Chica, a stubby vehicle that looks like a water tank with legs, shining with its stainless-steel hull, rose 20 meters, wreathed in fire and smoke, before it descended back to the ground. The brief flight test of the Starhopper took a few seconds, though it started a grass fire that took a long time to put out. If Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, is right, the short hop is just the beginning of a journey that will take humankind back to the moon, on to Mars — and then beyond.

Astronomers have discovered evidence for the farthest “cloaked” black hole found to date, using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. At only about 6% of the current age of the universe, this is the first indication of a black hole hidden by gas at such an early time in the history of the cosmos.

The endeavor to put the first woman—and the next man— on the moon will likely cost between $20 and $30 billion over five years.

One of the sources of mysterious energy blasts could be relatively nearby, scientists say

Global warming, nuclear war, and asteroid hits. There are so many ways the world could end, but now NASA and the ESA are working on a trial to deflect would be Earth-shattering asteroids.

NASA's rover has found a surge in methane gas that suggests there might be recent organic activity.

A photograph taken by Nasa’s Curiosity rover on Mars has captured a mysterious bright glow on a distant Martian hillside. The black and white photograph shows the desert landscape with high rocky hills in the background. In front of the larger rock formations, a tiny elongated white blob appears to be streaking past.