Space and Astronomy News Headlines

An American astronaut is about to get seriously crafty in space.

Of all the great and wondrous things that we can view in our sky, in my opinion the top four are (in descending order of merit) a total eclipse of the sun, a beautiful manifestation of the northern lights, a real "shower" of shooting stars and a great comet with a long tail. 

A trio of bright planets is shining together in the sunset sky, a must-see night sky sight for stargazers this Memorial Day weekend.

A 3D printer is slated to arrive at the International Space Station next year, where it will crank out the first parts ever manufactured off planet Earth.

Small space rocks are carving fresh craters into the Martian surface more often than previously thought, researchers say. A new study finds that there are more than 200 asteroid impacts on the Red Planet every year.

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Private suborbital space planes built by two space tourism companies will likely launch some major test flights before this year is out, their builders say.

The moon will take the smallest of dips through the Earth's shadow in a minor eclipse tonight (May 24) and you can watch the lunar event live online via a webcast.

From the studio that put Sandra Bullock in a spacesuit may now come a movie about the real-life seamstresses who traded sewing brassieres for stitching Neil Armstrong's lunar wardrobe.

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio plans to fly to space on Virgin Galactic's new commercial spaceliner, along with the winning bidder in a charity auction at the Cannes film festival, according to news reports.

North America will be well positioned to see a lunar eclipse late tonight (May 24), but it might not be worth waiting up for.

Sally Ride, the United States' first woman in space, will be posthumously honored with the country's highest civilian commendation and the renaming of a high-flying camera.

TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, N.M. — The chopper descends towards a giant runway surrounded by scrubby, red earth of the New Mexico desert. At the center sits a hangar as big as a city block that looks like the launching pad for an alien fleet.

Three astronauts who recently spent months together aboard the International Space Station reunited on Earth today (May 23) during a Google+ Hangout to talk about their experiences aboard the orbiting lab and the challenge of readapting to life with gravity.

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Corporate researchers may be living on the moon by the time NASA astronauts head off to visit an asteroid in the 2020s, a study of future human missions unveiled on Thursday shows. The study by Bigelow Aerospace, commissioned by NASA, shows "a lot of excitement and interest …

Human exploration of deep space is looking more and more like a tag-team affair, with NASA jetting off to asteroids and Mars while the private sector sets up shop on the moon.

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Surrounded by engineers, NASA chief Charles Bolden inspected a prototype spacecraft engine that could power an audacious mission to lasso an asteroid and tow it closer to Earth for astronauts to explore.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Nearly two years after space shuttle Atlantis blasted off for the last time, NASA on Thursday put out a "For Lease" notice for one of its shuttle launch pads in Florida. In a notice posted on its procurement website, the U.S. space agency said it was looking for one or more companies …

Some people may find it hard to believe that a private mission will succeed in landing four astronauts on Mars in 2023, but several state-run media outlets in China are targeting the project with even harsher terms like "hoax" and "hype."