Astronomy news

• Artemis 2's Jeremy Hansen stepping down from active astronaut duty after epic moon mission

  07-07-2026 20:00 via space.com
  
  The first non-American to reach the moon is ready for a new mission.Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, best known for his flight around the moon in April on NASA's Artemis 2 mission, will step back from active astronaut duty in September. Hansen, who's also a colonel in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), will next serve as a reservist to "enable the vital work happening in Canada with respect to space," the astronaut wrote Monday (July 6) in a statement on X."Our future depen
  
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• How public–private partnerships can turn Mars into an economic frontier (Op-Ed)

  07-07-2026 19:00 via space.com
  
  Futurists and science fiction writers have predicted privately funded missions to Mars for decades, but until recently, the prospect appeared to be decades away. While fully private human missions to Mars are probably not yet practical (given the complexity and cost of such missions), the commercial sector, in partnership with space agencies such as NASA, has a critical role to play in enabling a human presence on Mars. Whether that possibility becomes reality will depend on the choices we make
  
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• China releases 1st photo of Earth's elusive 'quasi-moon' Kamo'oalewa

  07-07-2026 18:00 via space.com
  
  China's first-ever asteroid sampling mission has sent home a picture of its first target, the "quasi-moon" Kamo'oalewa.The Tianwen-2 probe launched in 2025 and traveled 620 million miles (1 billion kilometers) to reach a safe distance about 12 miles (20 km) away from Kamo'oalewa, more formally known as asteroid 2016HO3. The spacecraft will spend nearly a year studying the asteroid with a suite of 11 different scientific instruments before attempting to collect a sample from its surface, which wi
  
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• 'That's going to come back and bite us': Former NASA chief questions Artemis moon lander plans

  07-07-2026 17:00 via space.com
  
  The former head of NASA is questioning the agency's plans to return astronauts to the moon, asking whether the crewed landers selected for the Artemis program are the right vehicles to get the job done. Jim Bridenstine, who served as NASA administrator during President Donald Trump's first term, joined Space.com's Tariq Malik and co-host Rod Pyle on the This Week in Space podcast on June 12 to discuss his recently appointed position as CEO of Quantum Space and current events in the space industr
  
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• Astronaut flexes his muscles mid-spacewalk | Space photo of the day for July 7, 2026

  07-07-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  NASA astronaut Chris Williams flexes his muscles while on a spacewalk in this image snapped by fellow astronaut Jessica Meir on June 30, 2026.(Image credit: NASA/Jessica Meir)Mid-spacewalk, one NASA astronaut had to take a moment to show off his muscles. What is it? NASA astronaut Chris Williams recently left the confines of the International Space Station for a 7-hour-and-20-minute spacewalk with fellow astronaut Jessica Meir. This was Williams' second spacewalk and Meir's fifth.In a moment of
  
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• Chinese scientists find the best way to nuke an asteroid on its way to impact Earth

  07-07-2026 15:00 via space.com
  
  How do you stop a large, threatening asteroid on its way to Earth? A new Chinese paper, investigating the issue, suggests a "pre-excavation detonation" could be the solution if there's enough warning time.There may be millions of asteroids in our solar system, with a tiny percentage of them posing a possible, very tiny threat to our planet. NASA and many other entities keep an eye on the skies, and continue discovering new asteroids, but have found no imminent threats yet; Apophis, previously be
  
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• SpaceX just launched the 1st-ever nuclear-powered commercial satellite

  07-07-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  The world's first commercially built nuclear-powered satellite has reached orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The BOHR (Betavoltaic Orbital High-Reliability) satellite, built by Florida-based company City Labs, launched to space early this morning (July 7) on SpaceX's Transporter-17 rideshare mission. Transporter-17's Falcon 9 rocket, which was carrying a total of 81 payloads, lifted off early this morning from the SpaceX pad at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, and began delivering
  
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• The sun's atmosphere is way hotter than its surface. Scientists may finally know why

  07-07-2026 12:00 via space.com
  
  The mystery of how the sun's corona, which is its outer atmosphere, reaches millions of degrees could have a surprising explanation: cosmic dust riding the magnetic waves carrying plasma on the solar wind."For decades, researchers have focused mainly on how electrons, ions, magnetic fields and plasma waves transport and dissipate energy in the solar atmosphere," said lead researcher Syed Ayaz of the University of Alabama in Huntsville in a statement. "Our work adds a new ingredient to this pictu
  
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• Even astronauts in space saw America 250 fireworks on the Fourth of July. See their ISS view of Los Angeles (video)

  07-07-2026 00:00 via space.com
  
  The U.S. just celebrated its 250th birthday, and Americans living off the planet had a great view of some of the parties down below."The International Space Station orbited over Los Angeles on July 4th as America marked 250 years of independence with a burst of fireworks lighting up the city below — a celebration so bright it reached all the way to space!" NASA officials said on Monday (July 6) via the agency's ISS X account.That post featured a 15-second video captured from the orbiting l
  
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