News Archive
Browse every article published on Spaceflight Now, from launch reports and mission previews to spacecraft development coverage. Use the filters to narrow by topic or search by keyword.
Matching Articles
597 articles
China launches robotic mission to orbit, land, and drive on Mars
A heavy-lift Long March 5 rocket propelled China's first Mars landing mission toward the Red Planet on Thursday after launching from a seaside spaceport on Hainan Island, the second of three international Mars probes expected to depart planet Earth this month.
Plutonium power source installed on NASA’s next Mars rover
The nuclear power generator for NASA's Perseverance rover has been installed on the spacecraft atop an Atlas 5 rocket at Cape Canaveral, and mission managers gave a green light Wednesday to continue preparations for the rover's July 30 launch toward Mars.
China moves massive rocket into place for ambitious Mars shot
China's heaviest rocket has rolled to its launch pad for liftoff Thursday with the country's first Mars landing mission, an ambitious attempt to place an orbiter around the Red Planet and a robotic rover on the Martian surface in early 2021.
United Arab Emirates successfully sends its first mission toward Mars
Riding a Japanese rocket, the Arab world’s first interplanetary probe departed planet Earth on Sunday to begin a seven-month journey to Mars on a dual mission of scientific exploration and proving the mettle of the UAE’s growing space program.
H-2A launch timeline with the Emirates Mars Mission
It will take approximately one hour for a Japanese H-2A rocket to propel the Hope Mars orbiter on a trajectory to escape Earth's gravitational bond, kicking off a seven-month journey to the Red Planet.
VideoLive coverage: Emirates Mars Mission launches from Japan
A Japanese H-2A rocket launched at 5:58 p.m. EDT (2158 GMT) Sunday from the Tanegashima Space Center with the Emirates Mars Mission's Hope orbiter, the UAE's first probe to Mars.
Photos: H-2A rocket reaches launch pad with UAE’s Hope Mars probe
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries transferred an H-2A rocket to its launch pad at the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan on Sunday, ready to commence a final countdown before liftoff with the Hope Mars mission for the United Arab Emirates.
Asteroid samples aboard Japanese probe on track for return to Earth in December
A capsule carrying extraterrestrial specimens collected by Japan's Hayabusa 2 spacecraft is scheduled for landing in South Australia on Dec. 6 to wrap up a six-year round-trip mission to an asteroid, officials announced this week.
Five years after New Horizons flyby, scientists assess next mission to Pluto
Five years ago Tuesday, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft barreled by Pluto for a high-speed encounter that gave humanity its first close-up look at a distant world that puzzled astronomers and planetary scientists for nearly a century. Scientists are now planning how to go back.
VideoLive coverage: Launch of Emirates Mars Mission rescheduled for Sunday
The launch of a Japanese H-2A rocket with the Emirates Mars Mission, a Mars orbiter developed in partnership between Emirati and U.S. scientists, was delayed Tuesday due to poor weather at the H-2A's launch site on Tanegashima Island in southern Japan. Officials later announced that liftoff would not occur Thursday, again citing bad weather at the launch site. A new launch attempt is scheduled for Sunday, weather permitting.