The crew of Artemis II captured a photograph of Earth setting as they orbited the moon

A gallery of shots taken during the lunar flyby of Artemis 2

On April 6, 2026, the four-person Artemis 2 crew took photos of "earthset" and "earthrise" from the Orion spacecraft window during their lunar flyby. It was the first time humans had flown around the moon in over 50 years.

Watch a montage of space-based Earth views as astronauts discuss their overview experiences

As of 2023, more than 600 astronauts and 63 space tourists have seen Earth from space, experiencing a life-changing perspective shift as they view the entirety of our home planet.

The Artemis program to bring humans to the moon for the first time since 1972

Using NASA's next-generation megarocket, the Space Launch System, Artemis I will take an uncrewed spacecraft on a 42-day journey around the moon. Subsequent missions plan to land the first woman on the lunar surface.

Voyager 1 captured Earth as a 'Pale Blue Dot' from 6 billion kilometers away

On Feb. 14, 1990, NASA's Voyager 1 space probe took the farthest photo of Earth ever captured. Earth appears so small in the image that it takes up less than a single pixel out of 640,000 in the photo's frame.

See a lunar eclipse share the night sky with the Milky Way

Photos taken at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile in March 2025 captured a blood moon and the Milky Way galaxy within the same field of view. The moon appears red from the bluer parts of its reflected sunlight being scattered by Earth's atmosphere.

Why are we finally returning to the moon after 50 years?

After 50 years, NASA is heading back to the moon. Artemis missions will push beyond Apollo, landing astronauts on the moon’s south pole by 2027. But why the long wait? Budget cuts, shifting priorities, and outdated tech stalled lunar exploration—until now. With new goals and modern tech, NASA is ready to return.

Explore a gallery of photographs of Mars taken from space

Spacecraft have been taking pictures of Mars from space since 1965, when the Mariner 4 probe became the first to beam back an image of a planet other than our own. The technology has significantly evolved since then, with ultra-high definition resolutions revealing previously unseen surface features.

Relive the Apollo 11 moon landing minute by minute

This interactive project lets you experience Apollo 11 in real time—listening to exchanges between the astronauts and NASA's Mission Control as they guided humanity's first journey to the lunar surface and safely home.

Emulating Earth’s light-dark cycle is important for astronaut health and safety

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station experience 16 daily sunrises, but scientists have learned to try to promote circadian rhythms by phasing through several light settings aboard the ISS to improve astronauts’ sleep and productivity.

Photographer catches a 'once in a blue moon' shot

A rare "super blue moon" occurred in August 2023, a phenomenon which will not occur again until 2037. Photographer Andrew McCarthy caught a stunning image of the larger-than-normal orb with an ironic twist: a JetBlue flight silhouetted against the...

Simulating the moon's surface in the desert

And why is the next cohort headed there? The geological conditions in Flagstaff, Arizona, can easily echo those of the moon, making the area a prime spot to train astronauts. This article explains how scientists crafted these training grounds and why astronomers are drawn to the nearly century-old city.

Explore the Earth at night from space

See the planet in all its luminosity with this NightEarth app, an interactive spherical globe showing real satellite imagery of Earth. Toggle between views of real-time clouds, aurora borealis activity, and more.

View media of the sun's south pole, taken for the first time in 2025

Captured in March 2025 by the Solar Orbiter—a satellite developed by ESA and NASA—the images and video are the first to be taken by an object not moving around the sun's equator. The orbiter moved outside the plane of the planets by using Venus to slingshot it into a tilted orbit, and the data it collected will help scientists better understand the sun's magnetic activity.

Apollo astronauts left items in the moon's 'toss zone,' including golf balls, family photos, and bags of human waste, to make room for lunar rocks.

A map of the moon, using lidar

When planning to land on the moon, knowing the topography matters. This map of the lunar surface was created by using 6 billion measurements from NASA's Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter, a type of lidar. Check out the technically accurate depths of craters and ancient oceans on our beloved lunar neighbor with this fun, impressive map.

The Polaris Dawn was a privately crewed spaceflight

SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule Resilience spent five days in low Earth orbit as part of the first of three planned missions under the name Polaris Dawn. The historic journey took participants farther away from our planet than anyone has been since the Apollo missions.

Apollo astronauts left items in the moon's 'toss zone,' including golf balls, family photos, and bags of human waste, to make room for lunar rocks.

The 1969 moon landing was a defining Cold War victory for the US

When Apollo 11 astronauts stepped onto the moon in July 1969, it marked a dramatic win in the US-Soviet space race. The televised landing—broadcast across the globe—showcased American technological supremacy.

After NASA's Voyager 1 captured Earth as a single pixel as it left the solar system in 1990, astronomer Carl Sagan used the image to reflect on humanity's fragility and the responsibility to protect 'the only world we've ever known.'

Moon's visibility is determined by its declination, equivalent to Earth latitude

The Moon's declination varies between approximately +28.7 degrees and -28.7 degrees, ensuring it rises and sets between latitudes of approximately 61.3 degrees north and south. This means there are places on Earth where the Moon is never visible above the horizon and places where it temporarily does not set.

NASA's DART mission successfully deflected an asteroid

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test crashed into asteroid moonlet Dimorphos in 2022, altering its orbital radius. The project required precise astrodynamics to strike the moonlet from 11 million kilometers away while traveling 22,530 kilometers per hour.

Earth’s tilt and orbit cause the sun to create a figure-eight pattern

The shape—called an analemma—can be obtained by photographing the sun from the same location and time daily for a year. The Earth's eccentricity created the analemma's width, and its tilt shifts the sun's height in the sky over the seasons.

The European Space Agency placed a lander on the surface of a comet in 2014

Launched in 2004, the Rosetta spacecraft performed three flybys of Earth and one of Mars as gravitational slingshots to gain the necessary velocity to successfully place the Philae lander module on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Philae achieved a soft landing only after bouncing twice from failed deployments of its anchoring harpoons.

Explore the known asteroids, comets, and spacecraft involved in asteroid studies within our solar system with 'Eyes on Asteroids,' a 3D visualization from NASA.

UK's Royal Astronomers join the hunt for Ramadan's crescent moon

In Britain, Muslim communities and professional astronomers now collaborate to officially spot the moon that begins Ramadan, blending ancient practice with modern science. The partnership culminates in a live, unscripted annual broadcast even.

Watch a time-lapse from space of photosynthesis across Earth

Using NASA satellite imagery, carbon absorption can be tracked and serves as a proxy for photosynthetic activity on land and in the oceans. Over the course of a year, seasonal changes can be observed as plants become dormant in the fall and active again in the spring.

The first image of a black hole was captured by creating an Earth-sized virtual observatory from a network of eight radio telescopes.

The first image of a black hole was captured by creating an Earth-sized virtual observatory from a network of eight radio telescopes.

The 'Celestial Police' accidentally discovered asteroids while planet hunting

The group was formed in 1800 to find a planet some astronomers believed existed between Mars and Jupiter. Prior to their disbanding in 1815, the group instead discovered Vesta, Juno, and other objects they would call asteroids.

See the most iconic photos from four decades of LIFE magazine

Before humans, the Soviet Union and the United States sent animals—including apes, dogs, and cats—to space during the Space Race.

See the 25 of the best photos of auroras from around the world.

Track the location of the Voyager probes, currently between 13 and 15 billion miles away from Earth.

Visualize the path of every solar eclipse from 1900 to 2099 and see what each looks like when observed from different locations on Earth.

All rainbows are 'raincircles' caused by water droplets separating white sunlight into a spectrum of colors, but Earth's surface blocks the bottom half of the circle from our line of sight.

Astronauts have repaired genetic damage in space using CRISPR—a molecular tool that can make precise changes to DNA and is used in single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses.

While the sun's gravity keeps the planets in orbit, their gravity also pulls on the sun, causing it and everything else in the solar system to orbit around a mutual balance point called the barycenter—the true center of the solar system.

Scientists can determine Earth's past climate conditions by analyzing air trapped in microscopic bubbles within ice cores—columns of compressed snow layers that build up over hundreds of thousands of years.

Dorothy's famous entrance into Oz in 'The Wizard of Oz' relied on analog tricks, including a body double and sepia-toned paint, as much as it did on technology

Explore the archaeological treasures of Pompeii, the city buried under volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

SpaceX's S-1 or 'prospectus' revealed many previously unknown details about the company, including its unprofitability despite doing $18.7B in revenue in 2025, exactly how many voting shares Elon Musk will have in the company (roughly 85%), and more.

This real-time tracking of the hantavirus cruise ship outbreak in May 2026 offers a unique glimpse into the global reach of the outbreak and whether the virus sickened passengers and their communities around the world.

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight

The distributor behind 'Rocky Horror' pulled the film from its scheduled national release, believing it would be a failure, though it eventually amassed a dedicated fanbase through midnight showings, a trend that continues over 50 years later.

See photos of Meteora, a mountainous site in central Greece, home to 14th-century monasteries perched atop soaring outcroppings.

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

Artificial coral reefs have been 3D printed from nontoxic, biodegradable terracotta clay, which coral polyps have used as a foundation for rebuilding marine ecosystems.

The syncytiotrophoblast is the outer layer of the placenta and the largest human cell, spanning an area about twice that of a king-sized bedsheet.