Until now, additive manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing, of engine components was limited by the lack of affordable metal alloys that could withstand the extreme temperatures of spaceflight. Expensive metal alloys were the only option for 3D prin…

Human-rating is a critical certification process that validates the safety, reliability, and suitability of space systems—including orbiters, launch vehicles, rovers, spacesuits, habitats, and other crewed elements—for human use and inter…

NASA astronauts Michael Fincke and Zena Cardman will connect with students in Minnesota as they answer prerecorded science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) questions aboard the International Space Station. The Earth-to-space call will begi…

This November marks a quarter century of continuous human presence aboard the International Space Station, which has served as a springboard for developing a low Earth economy and NASA’s next great leaps in exploration, including human missions to t…

Former NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough is photographed as he left the airlock hatch during a spacewalk on Jan. 13, 2017. Kimbrough performed nine spacewalks during his three spaceflights. He retired in July 2022. Astronauts conduct spacewalks to perform ma…

NASA now is accepting proposals from student teams for a contest to design, build, and test rovers for Moon and Mars exploration through Sept. 15. Known as the Human Exploration Rover Challenge, student rovers should be capable of traversing a course whil…

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image zooms in on the feathery spiral arms of the galaxy NGC 45, which lies just 22 million light-years away in the constellation Cetus (the Whale). The portrait uses data drawn from two complementary observing program…

Altair is the last stop on our trip around the Summer Triangle! The last star in the asterism to rise for Northern Hemisphere observers before summer begins, brilliant Altair is high overhead at sunset at the end of the season in September. Altair might b…

Earth planning date: Monday Aug. 11, 2025 Written by Lucy Lim, Planetary Scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center On the Curiosity team, we’re continuing our exploration of the boxwork-forming region in Gale Crater. A successful 25-mete…

As part of the agency’s initiative to return humanity to the Moon and eventually send the first astronaut – an American – to Mars, NASA is surveying industry for interest and feedback on a fission surface power system, through a Request …