The dawn is breaking on a new era of space exploration, with moon bases and Mars colonies potentially only decades away. Live Science tracks the researchers, companies and countries setting their sights on the stars to bring you the biggest stories in space. Whether it's reporting on concerns that alien organisms could hitch a ride on our spacecraft and contaminate Earth, explaining what 11 billion people means for space travel, sharing a glorious photo of Earth during a total solar eclipse snapped by Japan's lunar lander, or compiling a list of the weirdest things we have launched into space, our expert writers and editors will ignite your sense of interstellar adventure with the latest space exploration news, features and articles.
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Latest about Space Exploration
Coolest space missions coming in 2025
From a death swirl into Jupiter to "Ghost Riders in the Sky," here are some of the most exciting space missions coming in 2025.
10 times space missions went very wrong in 2024
From astronauts getting stranded on a leaking ISS and faceplanting moon landers to injured Mars robots and a tumbling solar sail, here are 10 of the biggest space exploration mishaps in 2024.
Parker Solar Probe survives historic closest-ever flyby of the sun, NASA confirms
On Christmas Eve, NASA's Parker Solar Probe flew closer to the sun than any human-made object ever — a stunning technological feat that scientists liken to the historic Apollo moon landing in 1969. Now, we know it survived.
NASA's Parker Solar Probe will reach its closest-ever point to the sun on Christmas Eve
NASA's record-breaking Parker Solar Probe will smash its own personal bests for proximity to the sun and fastest speed by a human-made object when it whizzes past our star on Christmas Eve (Dec. 24). It is unlikely to get significantly closer to the sun before the end of its mission.
Boeing Starliner astronauts could spend nearly 300 days stuck in space — is that a new record?
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams will spend at least nine consecutive months aboard the International Space Station after their Boeing Starliner spacecraft returned to Earth empty. Is their extended spaceflight record-setting?
NASA astronauts' return to Earth delayed until at least 'late March' 2025
Due to a delay with SpaceX's Dragon capsule, NASA's Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who were meant to spend 10 days in space in June 2024, will now not return to Earth until late March 2025 at the earliest, NASA announced.
How long does it take to travel to the moon?
The answer depends on many factors, including the amount of fuel needed, the moon's orbit and the mission's objectives.
Space photo of the week: Astronaut spots 2 nearby galaxies from SpaceX capsule
NASA astronaut Don Pettit imaged the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds as the International Space Station cruised 260 miles above the Pacific Ocean.
NASA delays historic Artemis missions — yet again
The Space Launch System blasts off from its Florida launchpad.
Europe launches twin spacecraft to make daily solar eclipses in space. Here's what to know about Proba-3.
On Dec. 5, 2024 the European Space Agency's Proba-3 mission sent two spacecraft into orbit around Earth. By aligning the probes, researchers will create 6-hour-long mini eclipses, allowing the sun's atmosphere to be studied like never before.
