Photos: Delta 4 lights up the sky for night owl launch

China launched an optical stereo mapping satellite Sunday, using an upgraded version of the country’s Long March 3B rocket with an extended payload shroud to deliver the Earth-imaging spacecraft into orbit 300 miles above Earth.

Like reaching back in time to examine the conditions that existed in the ancient solar system, NASA has launched a robotic probe to visit Asteroid Bennu and return an unspoiled sample of the primitive body that may hold the seeds of life.

Astrobotic, a Pittsburgh-based company developing a robotic lunar lander, will launch its first moon mission under contract to NASA on the debut flight of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket in 2021, officials announced Monday.