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
Hayabusa 2 locates artificial crater on asteroid
New images from Japan's Hayabusa 2 spacecraft show the location of a fresh crater carved from the jagged terrain of asteroid Ryugu by an explosive charge dropped on the tiny world's rocky surface earlier this month.

Falcon 9 rocket completes static fire test, aims for launch early Wednesday
A week after a test-firing of SpaceX's new crew capsule went awry, SpaceX successfully completed a hold-down firing of its next Falcon 9 launcher Saturday morning at Cape Canaveral in preparation for a predawn liftoff Wednesday carrying several tons of food, supplies and experiments to the International Space Station.
VideoCarbon-monitoring instrument poised for launch to International Space Station
A $110 million NASA science instrument twice targeted for cancellation by the Trump administration is set for launch Tuesday inside the trunk of a SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule for delivery to the International Space Station, where it will spend three years charting changing carbon dioxide concentrations in Earth's atmosphere.
VideoInSight lander detects first likely ‘quake’ on Mars
Sensors delivered to Mars by NASA’s InSight lander have detected the first signals suggesting seismic activity on the red planet, a major discovery that extends the field of seismology to a new world beyond the Earth and the moon.

Errant command doomed Israeli moon lander, officials vow to try again
A command uplinked by mission control to resolve an error in the guidance system on the Israeli Beresheet moon lander inadvertently triggered a chain reaction that led to the shutdown of the probe's main engine during descent to the lunar surface April 11, officials said this week.

Israeli probe crashes in attempt to become first privately-funded moon lander
An Israeli-built spacecraft seeking to become the first privately-developed probe to land on the moon crashed on descent Thursday, but the mission was widely lauded as a breakthrough for the commercial space industry, and Israeli prime minster Benjamin Netanyahu said the country would try again.
VideoLive coverage: Israel’s Beresheet lander lost during descent to the moon
The privately-funded, Israeli-built Beresheet spacecraft failed Thursday during its historic attempt to land on the moon, seeking to become the first mission to reach the lunar surface without significant government backing. The landing was expected to occur at 1925 GMT (3:25 p.m. EDT).
VideoPrivately-funded Israeli probe set for daring moon landing attempt
An Israeli-built spacecraft financed through donations from billionaire philanthropists is set to make history Thursday when it tries to become the first privately-funded probe to land on the moon.

Japan’s Hayabusa 2 probe releases ‘bomb’ at asteroid
Japan's Hayabusa 2 spacecraft dropped an explosive charge on asteroid Ryugu on Thursday night in an audacious attempt to carve a crater on the object, exposing pristine underground rocks to be retrieved by the probe for return to Earth.

Israel’s Beresheet lander brakes into lunar orbit
Six weeks after launching from Cape Canaveral, an Israeli-built probe funded through private donations arrived in orbit around the moon Thursday, setting the the stage for the mission's final descent to the lunar surface April 11.