NASA

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In New Space Race, NASA Shuts Out the Chinese

Chinese nationals with valid visas are suddenly blocked from space programs

(Newser) - NASA has officially barred Chinese nationals from accessing its facilities, materials, and digital networks, escalating tensions in the ongoing rivalry between the US and China's ambitious space programs. The move, first reported by Bloomberg and later confirmed by the agency, means that Chinese citizens with valid US visas—...

Where Aliens Might Actually Pick Up Our Deep Space Signals

Researchers map Earth's strongest space transmissions to guide SETI efforts

(Newser) - A new analysis by researchers at Penn State and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory takes a closer look at where and when alien civilizations might catch signals from Earth, reports IFL Science . The study, published in Astrophysical Journal Letters and discussed at the 2025 Penn State SETI Symposium, maps...

Newly Discovered Uranus Moon Is Remarkably Small

You could walk across it in 2 hours

(Newser) - Astronomers have spotted a tiny new moon orbiting Uranus—so small you could walk around it in roughly two hours, reports NBC News . Spotted by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope in February, the new satellite is only about six miles wide, which might explain why it was not...

Most Distant Star in Universe May Not Be a Star After All

New JWST data hints that Earendel could be lots of stars banded together in a cluster

(Newser) - Astronomers have called into question the identity of the most distant star in the universe ever detected, Earendel, first spotted by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope in 2022. New research using the agency's James Webb Space Telescope suggests this far-flung light source, located 12.9 billion light-years away...

He Was 14 Feet Away When Meteorite Struck at 2,237mph
He Was 14 Feet Away When
Meteorite Struck at 2,237mph
in case you missed it
Aug 16, 2025 6:00 AM CDT

He Was 14 Feet Away When Meteorite Struck at 2,237mph

Scientists say McDonough space rock predates our planet by 20M years

(Newser) - A meteorite that crashed through a Georgia home in June has turned out to be a true relic of the early solar system—older than Earth itself, according to researchers. The meteorite streaked across the sky in daylight before breaking apart and landing in McDonough, Georgia, on June 26....

Astronauts Splash Down After Subbing Out Wilmore, Williams

The four spent five months on International Space Station

(Newser) - Four astronauts returned to Earth on Saturday after hustling to the International Space Station five months ago to relieve the stuck test pilots of Boeing's Starliner. Their SpaceX capsule parachuted into the Pacific off the Southern California coast a day after departing the orbiting lab. "Welcome home,"...

The Man Behind 'Houston, We Have a Problem' Has Died

Apollo 13 commander James Lovell uttered a variation of those words

(Newser) - James Lovell, the commander of Apollo 13 who helped turn a failed moon mission into a triumph of on-the-fly can-do engineering, has died. He was 97. Lovell died Thursday in Lake Forest, Illinois, NASA said in a statement on Friday. "Jim's character and steadfast courage helped our nation...

Check Out the Best Photo Yet of a Visiting Comet

3I-Atlas is only the 3rd known interstellar body to visit our solar system, and Hubble has a photo of it

(Newser) - The Hubble Space Telescope has captured the best picture yet of a high-speed comet visiting our solar system from another star, with NASA and the European Space Agency releasing the latest photos on Thursday, reports the AP . Discovered last month by a telescope in Chile, the comet known as 3I-Atlas...

Astronaut Who Was Stuck on ISS for Months Retires

Butch Wilmore's last trip to space lasted around 275 days longer than planned

(Newser) - One of NASA's two previously stuck astronauts has retired from the space agency, less than five months after his unexpectedly long spaceflight came to an end. NASA announced Butch Wilmore's departure on Wednesday, the AP reports.
  • Wilmore and Suni Williams launched last summer as test pilots on Boeing'
...

Duffy Wants a Nuclear Reactor on the Moon, Fast

Move aims to outpace China as NASA faces budget cuts

(Newser) - Sean Duffy, the interim NASA administrator and Transportation Secretary, is reportedly set to announce an accelerated push to deploy a nuclear reactor on the moon—a move that would mark his most significant step since stepping into the dual role. Documents reviewed by Politico indicate this initiative sets a...

Astronauts Sidelined by Starliner Catch Their Ride

Zena Cardman and Mike Finke see liftoff with SpaceX

(Newser) - Astronauts sidelined for the past year by Boeing's Starliner trouble blasted off to the International Space Station on Friday, getting a lift from SpaceX. The US-Japanese-Russian crew of four rocketed from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. They'll replace colleagues who launched to the space station in March as...

It's Kind of Crazy What This $1.5B Satellite Can Do

NISAR, from NASA and India, will track land shifts, ice changes, even soil moisture

(Newser) - A new satellite developed by NASA and India is set to launch this week, promising to map Earth's surface with centimeter-level precision and offer scientists an unprecedented look at our planet's changing landscape. The $1.5 billion satellite, NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar or NISAR for short, is...

Trump Picks Sean Duffy as Temporary NASA Chief

Nomination of Musk ally Jared Isaacman was withdrawn in May

(Newser) - Sean Duffy has become the latest member of President Trump's Cabinet to take on an extra job. Trump has named the transportation secretary as the interim chief of NASA after withdrawing the nomination of Jared Isaacman, a close associate of Elon Musk, the New York Times reports. Duffy,...

NASA's Job Reductions Include 2K Senior Employees

Cuts threaten 'managerial and core technical expertise,' one expert says

(Newser) - Most of the NASA employees who are leaving their jobs under the Trump administration's workforce-cutting efforts are in senior roles—a loss of skills and experience that could imperil goals such as landing astronauts on the moon and Mars. Of the 2,694 civil staff members who have agreed...

NASA-Netflix Partnership Is a 'Sci-Fi Dream'

Netflix will livestream launches, spacewalks, and more via NASA+ feeds

(Newser) - Netflix is teaming up with NASA to livestream rocket launches and other space events directly to its subscribers, the companies announced on Monday, "in a move that's equal parts sci-fi dream and Saturday afternoon plan," according to Netflix . Starting later this summer, Netflix viewers will be...

In Historic ISS Moment, a Unique Toast

Astronauts from India, Poland, Hungary, as well as astronaut Peggy Whitson, toast with drink pouches

(Newser) - The first astronauts in more than 40 years from India, Poland, and Hungary arrived at the International Space Station on Thursday, ferried there by SpaceX on a private flight. The crew of four will spend two weeks at the orbiting lab, performing dozens of experiments, after launching from NASA's...

Why Sally Ride Hid Her Sexuality
Why Sally Ride
Hid Her Sexuality
in case you missed it
Jun 21, 2025 4:25 PM CDT

Why Sally Ride Hid Her Sexuality

Astronaut could've missed out on career opportunities, says partner featured in new documentary

(Newser) - Sally Ride became the first US woman in space in 1983. Two years later, she began the 27-year-long relationship that would define her life, though it was only revealed after her death. Ride's romantic relationship with Tam O'Shaughnessy, a childhood female friend, gets full telling in Sally, a...

NASA Captures Image of Lander's Crash Site

Japanese company's craft slammed into the moon last month

(Newser) - A NASA spacecraft around the moon has photographed the crash site of a Japanese company's lunar lander. NASA released the pictures Friday, two weeks after ispace's lander slammed into the moon , per the AP . The images show a dark smudge where the lander, named Resilience, and its mini...

Oldest US Astronaut Lands in Time to Celebrate His 70th

Don Pettit spent seven months on space station doing research

(Newser) - Seniors including George HW Bush have marked advanced birthdays by skydiving. Don Pettit, NASA's oldest astronaut still flying, marked his 70th on Sunday by landing safely on Earth after seven months on the International Space Station. The Soyuz MS-26 space capsule with Pettit and Russian crewmates Alexey Ovchinin and...

Near-Earth Asteroid Has Surprising Shape

2024 YR4 is more like a hockey puck than the more common potato shape

(Newser) - The asteroid that once had a small chance of striking Earth and now might slam into the moon resembles a spinning hockey puck, scientists said this week. A team of astronomers used the Gemini South Observatory in Chile to observe asteroid 2024 YR4 in multiple wavelengths as it zoomed away...

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