NASA
Every Cosmic Herald story on NASA — missions, launches, discoveries, and the business of space, newest first.
-
NASA & Agencies
America's Lunar Economic Frontier: The Quiet Revolution in How We Plan to Use the Moon
The Moon sits 240,000 miles away — and Washington increasingly sees it not as a scientific destination but as the next great economic frontier, with commercial partners leading the charge.
-
Astronomy
JWST Watches an Exoplanet Get Flash-Fried on the Universe's Most Eccentric Orbit
Webb's infrared eye tracked HD 80606 b as it swung past its star, catching a 1,100°F temperature spike and sniffing out methane and CO₂ in its tortured atmosphere.
-
Science & Discovery
NASA Enlists the Public to Hunt for Faint Objects Hiding in the Sun's Cosmic Backyard
NASA's new citizen science project invites volunteers to search archival data for undiscovered brown dwarfs and dim objects lurking within a few dozen light-years of the Sun.
-
Missions
NASA Bets on Private Sector to Crack Mars: Inside the Agency's New Public-Private Partnership
NASA is reshaping its Mars exploration strategy with a new public-private partnership, signaling a fundamental shift in how the agency plans to tackle the Red Planet's biggest scientific questions.
-
Commercial
Relativity Space Wants to Build a Mars Orbiter — And It's Not Waiting for NASA to Ask
Relativity Space announces plans to privately develop a Mars orbiter, signaling that commercial ambitions in deep space are no longer theoretical.
-
Astronomy
Chandra's Deep Look at NGC 6540: How a Mysterious X-Ray Flare Became Three Distinct Sources
A catastrophic X-ray flare from globular cluster NGC 6540 that blazed for just 300 seconds in 2005 has finally been resolved into three separate sources. Chandra's improved sensitivity revealed what decades of earlier observations missed—but the flare's true origin remains elusive.
-
Science & Discovery
NASA's Cold Atom Lab Gets Its Fourth Major Upgrade to Study Quantum Gases in Space
NASA activated an upgraded Cold Atom Lab aboard the ISS with new magnetic systems and electronics, cooling atoms below -459°F to create Bose-Einstein condensates and test quantum technologies in microgravity.
-
Missions
Swift Gets a Second Chance: How Commercial Servicing Is Saving NASA's Gamma-Ray Observatory
After 22 years in orbit, Swift faces imminent reentry from solar-driven decay. Katalyst Space's LINK robotic spacecraft will perform NASA's first commercial orbital rescue, boosting the aging but productive observatory to a stable orbit.
-
Astronomy
Asteroid 2026 JH2's Surprise Close Approach Exposes Detection Gaps in Planetary Defense
A 62-foot asteroid discovered just days before its closest approach demonstrates how near-Earth objects can slip past detection systems—and why autonomous surveys matter for planetary safety.
-
NASA & Agencies
Katalyst LINK Spacecraft Integrated for Swift Observatory Rescue Mission
NASA's aging Swift Observatory faces imminent orbital reentry after decaying from 600km to 400km altitude. Katalyst Space's LINK robotic servicing spacecraft, integrated onto a Pegasus XL rocket, launches in late June to grip the telescope with lidar-guided arms and boost it back to operational orbit using ion thrusters.
-
Stargazing
Mercury Reaches Peak Evening Visibility on June 15: Your Guide to the 2026 Viewing Window
Mercury hits its greatest elongation from the Sun on June 15, 2026, shining at magnitude 0.5 and appearing 25° from the solar disk—the best evening viewing window of the year paired with Venus and Jupiter.
-
Military Space
Combat Surgeon, Record-Setter, Next: Army's Col. Rubio Named to Artemis III Earth Orbit Test Crew
Col. Frank Rubio — who shattered the U.S. record for longest single spaceflight — has been named to the 2027 Artemis III crew alongside ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano, in a mission that will test lunar lander docking in Earth orbit as the final dress rehearsal before the Moon.
