Space news, features and articles

The number of satellites orbiting our planet is rising fast, thanks to private "megaconstellations" that pose various threats to space exploration and astronomy. But how big has the problem already become?

The Wolf Amendment, a law that prevents bilateral cooperation in space research between the U.S. and China, is preventing U.S. government-funded analysis of the Chang'e 5 moon samples.

The moon spent a few million years as a volcanic wasteland, covered with ongoing eruptions that spewed from mountains and even from the ground itself.

June's full moon is the Strawberry Moon, rising June 11.

NASA's PUNCH mission, a tiny constellation of four satellites, captured a photo of the moon drifting across the sky through a haze of sunlight. The mission is still undergoing commissioning and is expected to start science operations June 9.

More than 15 billion miles from home, Voyager 1's ailing thrusters were threatening to abort the craft's mission. Until NASA engineers brought them miraculously back to life.