A private US spacecraft headed to the moon captures a glorious view of Earth

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A private U.S. spacecraft bound for the moon has captured stunning images of Earth one week into its flight. Still circling Earth, Firefly Aerospace’s lunar lander fired its thrusters Thursday to put it on a path to reach the moon in over a month....

Scientists detect chirping cosmic waves in an unexpected part of space

NEW YORK (AP) — Scientists have detected cosmic waves that sound like birds chirping in an unexpected place. These bursts of plasma, called chorus waves, ripple at the same frequency as human hearing. When converted to audio signals, their sharp notes mimic high-pitched bird calls....

Jeff Bezos’ New Glenn rocket reaches orbit on first test flight

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Blue Origin launched its massive new rocket on its first test flight Thursday, sending up a prototype satellite to orbit thousands of miles above Earth. Named after the first American to orbit Earth, the New Glenn rocket blasted off from Florida, soaring...

India docks 2 satellites in space in a milestone for its scientific ambitions

JAMMU, India (AP) — India docked two satellites in space Thursday to become the fourth nation to complete such a mission, officials said, in a milestone for the country’s scientific ambitions. The two satellites weighing 220 kilograms (485 pounds) each were blasted into orbit on...

2 private lunar landers head toward the moon in a roundabout journey

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — In a two-for-one moonshot, SpaceX launched a pair of lunar landers Wednesday for U.S. and Japanese companies looking to jumpstart business on Earth’s dusty sidekick. The two landers rocketed away in the middle of the night from NASA’s Kennedy Space...

Mission to moon carries tiny red Swedish home to space

STOCKHOLM (AP) — A Swedish artist is about to have the dream of a lifetime fulfilled: A little red model house he created will be launched into space this week and, if all goes according to plan, put on the surface of the moon. The Moonhouse, the size of a big hand, will hitch a...

Scientists drill nearly 2 miles down to pull 1.2 million-year-old ice core from Antarctic

An international team of scientists announced Thursday they’ve successfully drilled one of the oldest ice cores yet, penetrating nearly 2 miles (2.8 kilometers) to Antarctic bedrock to reach ice they say is at least 1.2 million years old. Analysis of the ancient ice is expected to...

British writer Samantha Harvey’s space-station novel 'Orbital' wins the Booker Prize for fiction

NASA astronauts won't say which one of them got sick after almost 8 months in space

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Three NASA astronauts whose prolonged space station mission ended with a trip to the hospital last month declined to say Friday which one of them was sick. Astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt and Jeanette Epps publicly discussed their...

China space station crew returns to Earth after 6 months in space

BEIJING (AP) — Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Monday after a six-month stay on the Tiangong space station, part of China’s effort to be a global leader in space exploration. A parachute slowed their capsule's nighttime descent to a remote landing area in China's...