Space & Astronomy

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Cosmic dispatches — both late-breaking and from the archives More »

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Transit of Venus: A Rare Celestial Event

TIME takes a look at photographs from the once-in-a-lifetime event More »
Enterprise Journeys to the Intrepid

Space Shuttle Enterprise arrives at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York City where it will become part of its permanent collection. More »

Explainer: The Supermoon

Just what makes tonight's moon so super? Watch this explainer and find out More »
Saturn's Weirdest Ring

Watch: NASA: Saturn's Weirdest Ring explained More »
Space Shuttle Discovery

After 39 missions, Discovery touched down for the final time in March 2011 and will spend its retirement on display at a Smithsonian Institute annex More »
The Cygnus Loop Nebula

The Cygnus Loop — captured today by the cameras aboard NASA's Galaxy Evolution explorer — is a stunner More »
Commemorative Reissue

Fifty years after John Glenn's historic Earth orbit, TIME presents its original March 2, 1962 issue. More »
Americans in Orbit

America truly entered the space age with the first orbital flight in 1962. Just what has our human spaceflight program achieved since then? More »
John Glenn: Rare and Unpublished LIFE Photos

The 90-year-old straight-talking Ohio native shares his memories on one of the most thrilling yet nerve-wracking eras in U.S. history. More »
A Hero's Life in Images

The former Senator, presidential candidate and astronaut donned the hero mantle on Feb. 20, 1962, when he became the first American to orbit Earth. He has worn it lightly and well ever since More »
Top 10 Space Events of 2011

This year was a good year to go to space, come from space or do cool stuff in space. Here are a few the highlights More »
2011's Best Photos from Space

Otherworldly views of our solar system from NASA's manned and unmanned missions More »
Space Photos: The Kronberger 61 Nebula

New planetary nebula dazzles astronomers More »
Blue Marble: The Earth As Seen From Above

More than 40 years after Apollo 17 departed for space, NASA has recreated the "Blue Marble" image of Earth, the first comprehensive look at our planet from above. More »
Photos: Views of the Asteroid Vesta

The Dawn spacecraft sends back striking images of the giant protoplanet More »
Russia Launches Rocket in Snowstorm

A Russian and American crew leave from the launching pad in Kazakhstan on a mission to reman the International Space Station More »
Russia's Fake Mission to Mars

For more than a year and a half, six volunteers sealed themselves off from the world in an effort simulate a journey to the Red Planet More »
Infinity and Beyond

Thomas Ruff's altered NASA space images More »
The First Earthrise

45 years ago this month, a photo from space forever changed how human beings saw the cosmos More »
The Last Liftoff

The images the Atlantis liftoff leaves behind are one more reason to hope that the next launch won't be too terribly far away More »
Voyager Probes Go Where None Have Gone Before

After 34 years in space, NASA's Voyager probes will soon cross the boundary of our solar system into interstellar space More »
Amazing Photos of the Sun

NASA's newest 3-D photos are the latest in a long line of spectacular images of the star at the center of our planetary system More »
America's Space Shuttle Program

As NASA prepares for its final shuttle mission, a look at more than three decades of triumphs and tragedies More »
Video: Curiosity Rover Blasts Off to Mars

The world's biggest extraterrestrial explorer, NASA's Curiosity rover, rocketed toward Mars on Saturday to see if the red planet might once have contained life. More »
50 Space Race Highs and Lows

TIME examines the high and low points of space exploration in the years before and since Yuri Gagarin went into orbit More »
Inside the Orion Crew Vehicle

Aeronautical engineer Olivia Fuentes talks with TIME about the next generation vehicle for deep space travel More »
Atlantis Crew

Photographer Smiley N. Pool documents the four astronauts of the last space shuttle mission as they get ready for their historic launch More »
Layoffs and Hardship

The end of the space shuttle means layoffs and other economic distress for Florida's Space Coast More »
Photos: The Storms of Saturn

The spacecraft Cassini captures turbulent weather on the surface of the ringed planet. More »
NASA's New Mars Rover

Photos from inside the Jet Propulsion Laboratory where technicians and engineers tested the vehicle at the center of NASA's next mission to Mars. More »
Total Eclipse of the Moon

On June 15, an unusually long and dark lunar eclipse was visible across large parts of Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia More »
Scenes from the Saturn Mission

Cassini's lens focuses on matter never explored by humans More »
Endeavour's Final Landing

A gallery of the legendary shuttle's 25th and final landing More »
Amateur Photographs Shuttle Launch

A photo taken by an airline passenger using an iPhone is the most memorable — and viral — image of the Endeavour launch More »
All the Men on the Moon

Forty years after the first moon landing, the nature of the men who made the trips may be the deepest mystery of all More »
Hubble's Greatest Hits

In honor of Hubble's 22nd birthday, here are 22 of its most striking images—a tiny fraction of the things it's seen and the images it's sent home in its long and productive life More »
Patterns of Mars

A camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captures the abstract beauty of the Martian landscape More »
Our Beautiful Planet

Astronaut Paolo Nespoli photographed a unique and stunning image of the space shuttle Endeavour docked with the International Space Station on a recent Soyuz mission More »
Photos: Women of Space

On June 18, 1983 Sally Ride became the first American woman to reach orbit. In the 25 years that came after, 40 other women followed her More »
Photos: The Ares Rocket Launches

NASA celebrates the successful test of a mission prototype More »
Space Exploration

The inner workings of the U.S. space program and the men and women who toil there More »
Top 10 Things You Didn't Know About The Moon

A look at some more little-known facts about that pie in the sky More »
Seeing Saturn

Seven years after launch, the Cassini spacecraft had the ringed planet — and its moon, Phoebe — in its sights More »
The Challenger

Before its tragic end on January 28, 1986 NASA vehicle OV-099 was the workhorse of the shuttle fleet More »
Soviet-Era Propaganda

Excerpts from a collection of postcards commemorating the Yuri Gagarin's historic journey fifty years ago More »
Animals in Space

TIME pays tribute to the unsung, furry pioneers who journeyed into space, paving the way for humankind More »
Watching The Apollo 11 Liftoff

On July 16, 1969, the day the moon mission blasted into space, photographer David Burnett turned his lens on the crowds who gathered to watch the historic moment More »
The Earth from Space

Satellite images of the world in 2007 More »
Photos: Journey to Saturn

NASA guided its Cassini spacecraft within 30 miles of one of the ringed planet's moons More »
To the Moon

Five nations and a multinational European team set their sights on our nearest celestial neighbors — but the U.S. has since pulled out of the race More »
Photos: Life After the Moon

A gallery of some of the men who journeyed into space — and what they have done since returning to Earth More »
The Moon Race

The destination may not have changed since Apollo 11, but space-racing technology certainly has More »
Russia's Cosmonaut Training Center

The once secret Soviet military complex opens its doors More »
Launch Photos: Endeavour's Last Flight

The youngest orbiter begins its final mission More »
What the Mars Lander Saw

After a safe landing on the Red Planet, NASA's probe searched for signs of water — and the possibility of life More »
Armstrong and Aldrin's Photos

Out-takes from the cameras of the first two men on the moon reveals scientific rigor — and a bit of artistic flair More »
Apollo 8's Historic Flight

Forty years ago, three American astronauts became the first to travel to the far side of the moon More »
10 NASA Flubs

TIME takes a look at the dim moments in the agency's history: the canceled projects, the failures and notable mishaps More »
A Brief History of the Hubble Telescope

The space shuttle Atlantis made a final maintenance trip to the Hubble Telescope, which has offered Earthlings a closer look at the cosmos since 1990. A look back at the telescope's remarkable life and achievements. More »
An Eclipse or God's Wrath? Top 10 Sun Myths

NASA's new 360-degree image of the sun is a stunning look at the star that gives us all life. But for centuries, we had wild beliefs about the sun and how it got there. TIME takes a look at some of the most fascinating myths. More »
1986 Cover: The Space Shuttle Challenger

In 73 seconds, a new era in space travel exploded into a searing nightmare More »
1988 Cover: The Magic Is Back!

On a thundering pillar of fire, Discovery carried the nation's hopes aloft again More »
Roving the Red Planet

In 2009, Spirit and Opportunity continued to transmit revealing imagery back to Earth, after a half-decade of service More »

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