Shannon Lucid gives a guided tour of the Mir space station

A Russian Progress supply ship launched Tuesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, firing into orbit from a snow-covered pad to haul three tons of fuel, water and equipment to the International Space Station.

Astronomers are elated with the first X-ray images from a German telescope on Russia’s Spektr-RG astronomy mission, demonstrating the instrument’s ability to observe galaxies near and far as scientists seek answers to questions about dark energy.

Europe’s ExoMars orbiter was enclosed inside the nose cone of its Proton rocket Wednesday ahead of its March 14 launch toward the red planet.