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Arecibo Observatory collapses as scientists lament loss of deep space radar
The 900-ton suspended platform of Puerto Rico's famed Arecibo Observatory collapsed Tuesday after cable failures, crashing into the radio telescope's iconic dish and shattering a research instrument used to study pulsars, galaxies, planets, and asteroids that might threaten Earth.
China lands sample return probe on moon
A Chinese spacecraft successfully touched down on the moon Tuesday, beginning what engineers have described as the most challenging phase of the mission to drill, scoop, and seal rocks for launch back into orbit later this week and return to Earth in mid-December.
Photos: Falcon 9 launches and lands at Vandenberg Air Force Base
These photos show the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Nov. 21 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California with the U.S.-European Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich oceanography satellite.
China’s Chang’e 5 spacecraft enters lunar orbit
Five days after taking off on a heavy-lift Long March 5 rocket, China’s Chang’e 5 sample return spacecraft entered orbit around the moon Saturday, moving into position for a descent to the lunar surface in a bid to gather specimens and bring them back to Earth.
China launches ambitious mission to return lunar material to Earth
A heavy-lift Long March 5 rocket hurled a 9-ton Chinese spacecraft toward the moon Monday on a 23-day mission attempting to return lunar samples to Earth for the first time in 44 years.
VideoLive coverage: Chinese sample return spacecraft completes docking in lunar orbit
After launching Nov. 23 and arriving in lunar orbit over the weekend, China's Chang'e 5 sample return mission landed on the moon Tuesday, targeting a volcanic region in the Oceanus Procellarum region. On Thursday, the craft's ascender vehicle took off to begin the trip back to Earth, followed by a successful docking with the mission's return vehicle in lunar orbit Saturday.
VideoChina set to attempt first lunar sample return mission in four decades
Chinese scientists and engineers are counting down to launch of a heavy-lift Long March 5 rocket Monday with the Chang'e 5 mission, an ambitious attempt to land on the moon, drill samples from beneath the lunar surface, and return the material to Earth.
International satellite launches to extend measurements of sea level rise
A European-built satellite with the unusual shape of a house launched into orbit Saturday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from California's Central Coast, carrying a sophisticated radar altimeter to measure rising sea levels on our home planet.
Photos: Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich encapsulated for launch
Check out photos of the encapsulation of the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich oceanography satellite inside the payload shroud of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket before its launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
VideoLive coverage: SpaceX launches oceanography satellite from California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4-East at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 12:17 p.m. EST (9:17 a.m. PST; 1717 GMT) Saturday with an oceanography satellite jointly developed by U.S. and European space and weather agencies. The rocket's first stage booster returned to a bullseye landing back at Vandenberg.