NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is speeding towards Pluto for the first-ever flyby on July 14, 2015. Scientists are eager to collect data on the dwarf planet’s chemical and atmospheric makeup, and the Ralph spectrometer will do just that. Instrument scientist Dennis Reuter discusses Ralph, Pluto, and

Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity, the reusable rocket-powered space plane carrying the company’s first crew of tourists to space, has successfully launched and landed.

Update on the contest: March of 2012, both the regional and global winners will be announced. Regional winners will include six contestants from each region from both the 14-16 age bracket and the 17-18 age bracket. That’s 36 regional winners, if my math’s up to snuff. Prizes for regional winners w

A small saucer-shape capsule carrying a half-pound of rocks and dust collected from an asteroid called Bennu is expected to slam into Earth's atmosphere at a blistering 27,650 mph on Sunday and then parachute down to the ground. NASA senior scientist Amy Simon joined CBS News to discuss the purpose ...

The spacecraft crashed into an asteroid the size of the Washington Monument. NASA’s DART spacecraft intentionally collided with an asteroid on Monday evening, in an attempt to alter the space rock’s trajectory. The mission tested technology that could help defend Earth against potential future aster

A flurry of solar activity in early March dumped enough heat in Earth's upper atmosphere to power every residence in New York City for two years. The heat has since dissipated, but there's more to come as the solar cycle intensifies.

A star nursery 1,350 light years away toward the equatorial constellation of Orion has been captured for the first time by NASA. The Orion Nebula is a region that is similar to the region where the Solar System originated 4.5 billion years ago. Since the Orion nebula's newborn stars are being forme...

Seven Earth-sized planets have been observed by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope around a tiny, nearby, ultra-cool dwarf star called TRAPPIST-1. Three of these planets are firmly in the habitable zone. Over 21 days, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope measured the drop in light as each planet passed in fro

The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) will be transported to the International Space Station on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.

SpaceX's Inspiration4, the first all-civilian spaceflight in history splashes down in the Atlantic Ocean after completing a three-day orbital flight around the Earth.