SpaceX, Elon Musk’s Rocket Company, Cuts 10 Percent of Its Work Force

The private company, which aims to send humans to Mars, will have about 6,000 employees remaining after the companywide layoffs.

What We’ve Learned About Ultima Thule From NASA’s New Horizons Mission

The team that manages the spacecraft will have to wait 20 months for all of the data and images it recorded, but they have reported some early findings.

China’s Moon Landing: Lunar Rover Begins Its Exploration

Reaction in China to the landing was muted — a sign that the novelty of space missions has faded. But it also appeared to reflect political and economic anxieties.

The Quadrantids Meteor Shower Will Peak in Night Skies

The Far Side of the Moon: What China and the World Hope to Find

The side of the moon we never see from Earth contains secrets about our solar system’s early days, and it could help astronomers see the universe more clearly.

‘New Chapter’ in Space Exploration as China Reaches Far Side of the Moon

It was China’s second moon landing, and the first spacecraft to touch down on the side of the moon that always faces away from Earth.

NASA Unveils Image of the Most Distant Object Ever Visited

NASA scientists revealed images of Ultima Thule, an object 4 billion miles from the sun. Pictures of the so-called contact binary were captured by the New Horizons mission on Jan. 1.

Trilobites: It’s Cold Outside, but Earth Is at Its Closest Approach to the Sun

Our planet’s elliptical orbit doesn’t affect winter or summer temperatures. But some astronomers wonder whether it’s a factor in why life survives.

Snowman-like Photo of Ultima Thule Sent Home by NASA’s New Horizons Spacecraft

At a Wednesday news conference, scientists will announce some of the results from the flyby of the most distant object ever visited.

Rocket Launches, Trips to the Moon and More Space and Astronomy Events in 2019

A busy year in space just ended, and this one will be full of new highlights in orbit and beyond.

NASA’s New Horizons Takes Photos of Ultima Thule, 4 Billion Miles Away

Now scientists await a bounty of new data about the small, mysterious icy body, the most distant object ever visited.

Meteor Showers That Will Light Up Night Skies in 2019

All year long, Earth passes through streams of cosmic debris. Here’s our list of major meteor showers and how to spot one.

Follow NASA’s New Horizons Mission as It Heads for New Year’s Flyby With Ultima Thule

The probe that visited Pluto will study a mysterious icy world just after midnight. Ultima Thule will be the most distant object ever visited by a spacecraft.

Nancy Roman, ‘Mother of the Hubble’ Telescope, Dies at 93

As NASA’s chief of astronomy, Dr. Roman was the first woman in a leadership position at the agency and oversaw planning for the Hubble Space Telescope.

A Journey Into the Solar System’s Outer Reaches, Seeking New Worlds to Explore

NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft will visit a tiny and mysterious object in the Kuiper belt on Tuesday, seeking clues to the formation of our cosmic neighborhood.

Out There: Apollo 8’s Earthrise: The Shot Seen Round the World

Half a century ago today, a photograph from the moon helped humans rediscover Earth.

Highlights From the Year in Space and Astronomy Developments

Many of the stories this year kept our eyes pointed toward the stars, no matter what was happening on the ground.

Deep Beneath Your Feet, They Live in the Octillions

The real journey to the center of the Earth has begun, and scientists are discovering subsurface microbial beings that shake up what we think we know about life.

Trilobites: It’s the Solar System’s Most Distant Object. Astronomers Named It Farout.

Orbiting 11 billion miles from the sun, this tiny world offers additional clues in the search for the proposed Planet Nine.

Trilobites: Saturn With No Rings? It Could Happen, and Sooner Than Astronomers Expected

The “ring rain” that falls into the gas giant is so abundant that the icy bands could disappear in 300 million years, or even sooner.