Science - SPACE.com

NASA is not too worried about debris that appeared to fall from the space shuttle Endeavour's external fuel tank during its liftoff Wednesday, but is perplexed about why the bits of foam insulation fell from an unexpected spot.

The repeated launch delays for the space shuttle Endeavour were not just frustrating, but expensive.

The first spacesuits Apollo astronauts wore on the moon 40 years ago were designed before humans ever experienced the lunar environment. While the suits did their job and protected the first moonwalkers from the harshness of space, they left some room for improvement.

Forty years after the first manned moon landing on July 20, 1969, SPACE.com asked Apollo astronauts and leaders of the space community to ponder the past, present and future. The Apollo 11 mission launched toward the moon 40 years ago today, and noted Apollo author and historian Andrew Chaikin - co-author of the new book "Voices from the Moon" - wonders how Americans might view the historic flight if it was happening right now:

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Astronauts aboard the space shuttle Endeavour will scan their orbiter's heat shield on Thursday to search for any damage from debris that fell from the spacecraft's external tank during its launch into orbit.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Better late than never. NASA celebrated the tardy launch of the space shuttle Endeavour late Wednesday and is looking into several bits of debris spotted during the spacecraft's liftoff.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The space shuttle Endeavour finally beat the weather late Wednesday as it blasted off on an ambitious, if belated, construction mission to the International Space Station after five frustrating delays.

NASA's new moon rover looks like it's been on TV's "Pimp My Ride."

Gas giant planets that migrated early in the history of the solar system could have violently knocked some of the asteroid belt's denizens into their current orbits, according to a new study that aims to solve a number of enduring space rock mysteries.

Forty years after the first manned moon landing on July 20, 1969, SPACE.com asked Apollo astronauts and leaders of the space community to ponder the past, present and future. Steve Squyres, lead scientist for the Mars Exploration Rover Project and a professor at Cornell University, is an avid fan of human spaceflight though he works on one of the most successful robotic missions to space, and is optimistic about humanity's chances of getting back to the moon - and even to Mars - in the coming decades: