NASA - News Releases
Official announcements on space missions, aerospace research, and exploration
NASA Selects Voyager for Seventh Private Mission to Space Station
NASA announced that Voyager Technologies has been selected for the agency’s seventh private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, slated for launch no earlier than 2028. The mission, designated VOYG‑1, will carry a crew of up to four astronauts for as many as 14 days in low‑Earth orbit. Voyager will purchase NASA‑provided services such as crew consumables, cargo delivery and storage, while NASA will acquire cold‑chain sample‑return capability. This marks Voyager’s first private‑mission award and adds a third commercial partner to NASA’s growing orbital marketplace.
NASA Launches Six CubeSats to International Space Station
On April 11, 2026 NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services‑24 mission lifted off a Cygnus XL spacecraft carrying roughly 11,000 lb of cargo to the International Space Station. As part of the payload, the CubeSat Launch Initiative deployed six nanosatellites—Coconut, HUCSat, LEOPARDSat‑1, and...
2026 NSTA Hyperwall Schedule
NASA will host a three‑day Hyperwall showcase at the NSTA conference from April 16‑18, 2026, located at Booth #1265 in the exhibit hall. The agenda features 20+ expert‑led sessions covering space weather, 5E StoryMaps, Earth‑observing data, the NISAR satellite, and flagship...
Artemis II Crew Returns to Houston
NASA’s Artemis II crew returned to Houston on April 11, 2026 after a nearly 10‑day lunar flyby, landing at Ellington Airport near Johnson Space Center. The mission marked the first crewed flight of the Orion spacecraft, testing life‑support, navigation and re‑entry systems...
NASA Science, Cargo Launch Aboard Northrop Grumman CRS-24
NASA launched the Commercial Resupply Services‑24 (CRS‑24) mission on April 11, 2026, using a Northrop Grumman Cygnus XL mounted on a SpaceX Falcon 9. The spacecraft carried roughly 11,000 lb of scientific experiments, crew provisions, and hardware to the International Space Station....
Artemis II Splashes Down
NASA’s Orion spacecraft safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on April 10, 2026, concluding the ten‑day Artemis II mission. The crew set a new distance record for human spaceflight, surpassing Apollo 13, and returned with unprecedented images of the Moon’s far...
New Perspective of Home
NASA’s Artemis II mission captured a striking image of the Moon and Earth aligned during its April 6, 2026 lunar flyby, showing both bodies partially illuminated by the Sun. The crew—NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen—are...
Indoor Testing Facilities Available at the NASA Unmanned Autonomy Research Complex (NUARC)
NASA’s Unmanned Autonomy Research Complex (NUARC) now offers the WindShaper, a 9‑by‑7‑foot indoor fan array comprising 1,134 fans (567 wind pixels) that can produce wind speeds up to 16 m/s (36 mph) and rapid acceleration profiles. Researchers can program steady winds, gusts,...
Starstruck
On April 7 2026 the crew of NASA’s Artemis II mission captured a striking photograph of the Milky Way from Orion’s deep‑space trajectory. The image reveals the galaxy’s central bar and its two dominant spiral arms, spanning more than 100,000 light‑years. NASA released...
Night Sky Network Celebrates Artemis II
On April 6, 2026 the Artemis II crew became the first humans to orbit the Moon’s far side, traveling roughly 4,000 miles above the lunar surface. The historic maneuver was streamed live on NASA’s YouTube channel and the new NASA+ platform. NASA’s Night Sky...
Illuminated in Orion
On the third day of NASA’s Artemis II mission, the Orion crew began outfitting the capsule for a lunar flyby. Astronauts performed exercise routines, practiced medical emergency procedures, and validated the spacecraft’s deep‑space emergency communications system. The photo shows Christina Koch reading...
NASA Sets Coverage for Northrop Grumman’s CRS-24 Resupply Launch
NASA announced coverage for Northrop Grumman’s CRS‑24 resupply flight, slated for launch no earlier than 8:49 a.m. EDT on April 8, 2026. The Cygnus XL cargo vehicle, riding a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral, will carry roughly 11,000 lb of science investigations, crew supplies and hardware...
Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom
Virgil "Gus" Grissom, born April 3, 1926, became NASA’s second astronaut to reach space on the 15‑minute Mercury‑Redstone 4 mission aboard Liberty Bell 7 in July 1961. The flight ended safely, but the capsule’s hatch blew prematurely, flooding the spacecraft and forcing...
Hello, World
NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman captured the first downlinked images from the Artemis II crew after the spacecraft’s translunar injection burn. The photograph shows Earth framed by two auroras and a faint zodiacal light, highlighting Orion’s window view capabilities. This visual milestone...
NASA to Unveil Complete Roman Telescope, Host Media Briefing
NASA announced that the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is now fully assembled after integrating its two primary segments at Goddard’s largest clean room. The agency will host a media briefing on April 21, with a live‑streamed news conference, to...
