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Mars, as photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope this month as Mars and Earth approached opposition.

Mars Is Ready For Its Close-Up: Red Planet Easy To Spot This Weekend

5:32pm May 20, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

During the "Mars opposition," which happens this Sunday, Mars will be closer to Earth than it has been for more than a decade. You can see it easily any night this weekend — no telescope necessary.

Astronaut Tim Peake of European Space Agency took this photograph on April 6, as the International Space Station flew over Madagascar.

100,000 Orbits Later, International Space Station Still Going Strong

5:34pm May 16, 2016

by Laura Wagner

"One-hundred-thousand orbits, the journey continues," NASA astronaut Jeffrey Williams said in a video from space.

This artist's concept depicts some of the planetary discoveries made by NASA's Kepler Space Telescope. Tuesday's announcement more than doubles the number of verified planets discovered by the Kepler mission.

NASA Spots 1,284 New Planets, Including 9 That Are 'Potentially Habitable'

6:39pm May 10, 2016

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Of the more than 1,200 planets in the latest trove turned up by NASA's Kepler Space Telescope, about half seem to be rocky, like Earth.

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The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches at Cape Canaveral, Fla., early Friday morning, carrying a communications satellite into space.

National

SpaceX Lands Falcon 9 On A Barge At Sea (Again)

12:39pm May 06, 2016

by Dana Farrington

Despite uncertain odds, the company landed part of its Falcon 9 rocket in the open ocean for a second time. The rest of the spacecraft continued on to put a communications satellite into orbit.

The Kepler space telescope, seen here in an artist's concept image, has been restored to normal status after surprising engineers by going into emergency mode last week.

Kepler Spacecraft Is Stable And Out Of Emergency Status, NASA Says

1:54pm April 11, 2016

by Bill Chappell

Kepler, the telescope that's nearly 75 million miles away from Earth, placed itself into Emergency Mode sometime in the middle of last week.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from launch complex 40 at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Friday.

SpaceX Rocket Lands Safely On A Ship At Sea For the First Time

8:06pm April 08, 2016

by Laura Wagner

A resupply capsule, bearing an inflatable habitat, is en route to the International Space Station, and the first stage of the rocket that launched it has returned for a sea landing without exploding.

Science

Understanding Human-Driven Climate Change

3:17am April 08, 2016

by Shawn Fitzmaurice

Scientists at Duke University have conducted a study adding new evidence and confirming what we already understand about the natural drivers of climate change.

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Bob Ebeling with his daughter Kathy (center) and his wife, Darlene.

National

Challenger Engineer Who Warned Of Shuttle Disaster Dies

11:41pm March 21, 2016

by Howard Berkes

Bob Ebeling was one of five booster rocket engineers at a NASA contractor who tried to stop the 1986 launch of the space shuttle Challenger, which exploded 73 seconds into its flight. He was 89.

A Martian gravity map shows the Tharsis volcanoes and surrounding flexure. The white areas in the center are higher-gravity regions produced by the massive Tharsis volcanoes, and the surrounding blue areas are lower-gravity regions that may be cracks in t

LOOK: Map Of Mars' Gravity Illuminates Planet's Interior

5:42pm March 21, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

The map released by NASA was made by tracking subtle variations in the planet's gravitational pull on orbiting spacecraft.

Astronaut Scott Kelly reacts after returning to Earth after nearly one year aboard the International Space Station.

National

After A Year In Space, Astronaut Scott Kelly To Retire In April

7:07pm March 11, 2016

by Laura Wagner

Recently returned from a historic 340-day off-planet mission, Kelly announced Friday he will retire from NASA on April 1, but still continue to participate in research related to his experiment.