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Chinese spacecraft heading back to Earth with lunar samples
A Chinese spacecraft ferrying rocks drilled from the moon’s surface is on course to land back on Earth Wednesday and deliver the first fresh lunar samples to scientists since the 1970s.
Scientists thrilled with asteroid treasure returned by Japanese spacecraft
Japanese space agency officials said Tuesday they found a "large number" of pitch black rock and dust particles after opening a capsule returned to Earth earlier this month by the Hayabusa 2 mission, giving eager scientists their first significant specimens ever brought back from an asteroid.
Full video of Starship’s seven-minute high-altitude test flight
This video replay shot from South Padre Island shows SpaceX’s Starship SN8 prototype rocket taking off from Boca Chica, Texas, climbing high into the atmosphere, then gliding back to a fiery crash landing after an otherwise successful test flight.
Spectators watch the final fiery moments of the Starship test flight
Spectators on South Padre Island watch the Starship prototype end its test flight in a fiery crash landing.
SpaceX’s Starship achieves most objectives in mesmerizing test flight
A full-size prototype of SpaceX’s heavy-lift Starship launch vehicle soared high into the atmosphere Wednesday in a spectacular test flight over South Texas, and successfully guided itself to a beachside landing site before exploding at touchdown. Elon Musk, SpaceX’s founder and CEO, hailed the nearly seven-minute test flight as a success.
Photos: SpaceX’s stainless-steel Starship SN8 test vehicle
SpaceX's latest Starship prototype, on its launch pad in South Texas, is ready for the rocket's most daring test flight yet.
Gleaming prototype of SpaceX’s Starship ready for experimental flight
SpaceX is gearing up for the next big leap in the development of the next-generation Starship heavy-lift launch vehicle with a test flight to more than 40,000 feet over the Texas Gulf Coast as soon as Tuesday.
Chinese mission accomplishes first-ever robotic docking in lunar orbit
The Chinese Chang'e 5 mission accomplished the first robotic docking between two spacecraft orbiting the moon Saturday, when a lunar ascent spacecraft linked up with an Earth return vehicle and transferred a container of moon rocks to bring home in mid-December.
Japanese capsule carrying asteroid rocks lands in Australia after six-year mission
An armored re-entry capsule carrying pristine specimens from an asteroid streaked into Earth's atmosphere and parachuted to a landing in the Australian outback Saturday, bringing home extraterrestrial rocks that could hold clues to the origin of life on Earth.
VideoLive coverage: Hayabusa 2 asteroid sample return capsule lands in Australia
Japan's Hayabusa 2 mission returned to Earth Saturday after a six-year mission to collect samples from asteroid Ryugu. The mission's sample return capsule landed in in the Australian outback around shortly before 1 p.m. EST (1800 GMT) Saturday.