Space and Astronomy News Headlines

Despite what the movies tell us, any aliens that visit Earth probably won't want to enslave or vaporize us, veteran E.T. hunter Jill Tarter says.

In "Men in Black 3," opening in theaters Friday (May 25), agents "J" (Will Smith) and "K" (Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin, portraying Jones' younger self) reunite to protect the Earth from aliens once again. This time — and time being a key plot point here — a few more letters get involved: N-A-S-A.

This story was updated at 12:05 p.m. EDT.

This story was updated on May 25 at 5:22 a.m. EDT.

What could a rocket company and an electric carmaker possibly have in common? At first glance, perhaps not much, unless the companies are SpaceX and Tesla Motors, which were both co-founded by the serial entrepreneur Elon Musk.

NEW YORK — Commander Scott Carpenter first stepped foot on the USS Intrepid when the aircraft carrier's helicopters rescued him from his waterlogged space capsule 50 years ago. Today, the former NASA astronaut returned to the carrier-turned-floating-museum here for a ceremony commemorating his return to Earth during the …

A private spaceship is preparing to link up with the International Space Station for the first time Friday (May 25) in a historic step for commercial spaceflight.

For its 40th birthday, one of the United States' oldest ongoing satellite missions is celebrating by handing out some unique presents.

The 26 teams engaged in a private race to the moon won't run roughshod over the lunar surface if and when they get there.

After a decade away from the "Men in Black" franchise, director Barry Sonnenfeld returned for "Men in Black 3," which adds Josh Brolin as a younger version of Tommy Lee Jones' Agent K, Agent J (Will Smith)'s long-time partner in top-secret paranormal peacekeeping.

Organic molecules — compounds that on Earth can be linked with life — encased within Martian meteorites now reveal biological activity on the Red Planet could not have formed these materials, researchers say.

A full-size replica of the space shuttle departed NASA's Florida spaceport for the agency's Texas space center early Thursday morning (May 24), riding atop an open air barge.

Even robots like to have fun. NASA's rover on Mars showed off its playful side by snapping a picture of its own shadow. It's the latest self-portrait since the rover, named Opportunity, landed on the red ...

Even robots like to have fun. NASA's rover on Mars showed off its playful side by snapping a picture of its own shadow. It's the latest self-portrait since the rover, named Opportunity, landed on the red planet in 2004.

A telescope in Hawaii has captured a spectacular new view on a distant nebula, revealing a glowing swirl of gas that is at the center of an unsolved mystery surrounding the nebula's birth.

A potential alien planet that is so close to its parent star that it appears to be disintegrating from the scorching heat was recently found by a team of astronomers. The planetary candidate is only slightly larger than the planet Mercury, and researchers estimate that it is shedding so much material that it could completely …

The late-afternoon sun lights up a huge Martian crater in a spectacular new photo snapped by NASA's Opportunity rover, and the robot's own shadow makes it into the shot.

This story was updated at 11:40 a.m. EDT.