Q&A with Mimi Aung, Mars Helicopter project manager at JPL (members only)

Scientists have selected Oxia Planum, a shallow basin connected to dried up channels carved by ancient water flows, as the prime landing site for Europe’s first Mars rover set for launch in 2018.

Astronauts will likely perform a previously-unplanned demonstration of the Orion spacecraft’s deep space rendezvous capabilities in a high-altitude orbit around Earth on the crew capsule’s first piloted test flight, now scheduled for 2023. 

A commercial Cygnus cargo freighter arrived at the International Space Station Tuesday two-and-a-half days after launching from Virginia’s Eastern Shore, delivering a new British-made high-speed communications antenna and more than 7,000 pounds of other experiments and equipment.