Live coverage: Space station crew safely returns to Earth

Deploying its marquee element in space Tuesday, NASA’s new Soil Moisture Active Passive spacecraft took a major step towards realizing its science potential.

NASA put out a call in 2024 for proposals from industry and NASA centers for how to retrieve samples from the Martian surface in a cheaper way and on a shorter timeline.

NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and two cosmonauts blasted off from Kazakhstan Friday and docked with the International Space Station after a two-orbit chase, the first step in a record crew rotation requiring two launches and two landings with four different spacecraft in just three weeks.