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VideoJapan set to launch asteroid sample return mission
Japan is readying an H-2A rocket for liftoff Tuesday to kick off an audacious six-year roundtrip journey to a carbon-rich asteroid, drop a fleet of landers to its surface, collect primordial rock samples, and return the materials to terrestrial laboratories for analysis.
VideoSoyuz rocket deploys upgraded Russian navigation craft
A new navigation satellite lifted off aboard a Soyuz rocket Sunday and reached an orbital perch 12,000 miles above Earth to test upgraded capabilities aimed at improving positioning services for Russian military and civilian users.
VideoThanksgiving in space
Six people living on the International Space Station shared an out-of-this-world Thanksgiving dinner in orbit.
VideoSpaceX hopes to recover rocket intact after next launch
SpaceX will test out new stabilizing fins that could help land the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket on a floating barge in the Atlantic Ocean after liftoff on a space station resupply mission in mid-December, according to Elon Musk, the company's billionaire leader.
VideoSoyuz ferry craft moved to launch pad
Riding a specialized railroad car before dawn Friday, a Soyuz rocket rolled out of a cavernous assembly building and arrived at its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for liftoff Sunday with American, Russian and Italian crew members heading for the International Space Station.
VideoVideo: Lander manager provides update on Philae status
Stephan Ulamec, head of the Philae lander team at DLR, provides an update after touchdown on the comet.
VideoVideo: Mission control celebrates separation as anxiety builds over landing
Paolo Ferri, head of mission operations, describes the moment of relief when engineers confirmed the Philae comet lander separated from its Rosetta mothership. But anxiety is building over touchdown after telemetry data raised questions about the status of an important cold gas thruster designed to keep the lander from bouncing off the comet.
VideoUnprecedented cosmic choreography essential to landing on comet
When a European landing probe goes for a daring touchdown on a comet Wednesday, officials say it would help to have a little luck on their side.
VideoComet lander powered up after electronics glitch
Europe's Philae lander -- still latched inside its mothership -- has been activated and should be ready for release Wednesday to begin a daring first-ever descent to a comet, the mission's flight director said.
VideoVideo: Flight director updates status of comet lander
Rosetta flight director Andrea Accomazzo says the Philae lander is ready for a daring descent and touchdown Wednesday on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The European craft is making the world's first attempt to land on a comet.