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SpaceX has rolled out the rocket and Crew Dragon capsule that will launch the Fram2 astronaut mission on Monday night (March 31).

The International Space Station National Laboratory just launched "Between a Rocket and a Hard Space," a brand-new podcast series that explores the future of space innovation.

Sea ice impacts storms and coastal erosion — and NASA says Earth's total sea ice content has hit an all-time low.

The European Space Agency has kicked off a competition to support the development of new launch vehicles and boost Europe's access to space.

The first orbital rocket launch from European soil ended in an explosion when Isar Aerospace's rocket fell to Earth seconds after launching on March 30.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has selected Airbus to design and build the landing platform for the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover. In 2028, ESA will launch this ambitious exploration mission to search for past and present signs of life on Mars.

SpaceX's upcoming Fram2 astronaut mission will attempt to grow mushrooms in microgravity for the first time, as part of an experiment called Mission MushVroom.

Efforts are underway to develop advanced propulsion systems that can reduce transit times to Mars and other locations in the Solar System. These include nuclear propulsion concepts, which NASA began researching again in 2016 for its proposed "Moon to Mars" mission architecture. In a recent paper, two aerospace innovators reviewed some key nuclear-electric propulsion concepts, their respective advantages, and challenges. In the end, they conclude that nuclear propulsion has the potential to revolutionize space exploration and make humanity "multiplanetary."

Deciding how to power a CubeSat is one of the greatest challenges when designing a modular spacecraft. Tradeoffs in solar panel size, battery size, and power consumption levels are all key considerations when selecting parts and mission architecture. To help with those design choices, a paper from researchers in Ethiopia and Korea describes a new machine-learning algorithm that helps CubeSat designers optimize their power consumption, ensuring these little satellites have a better chance of fulfilling their purpose.

This was once a beach -- on ancient

On Episode 154 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik talk with Space TV director Liam Kennedy about bringing content and video from the International Space Station down to Earth.

The partial solar eclipse of March 2025 did not disappoint as observers turned their eyes and cameras to the sky.

Here's a rundown of the science experiments that SpaceX's Fram2 astronaut mission will conduct while orbiting Earth's poles.

"It is always difficult to establish if the eclipses were seen in the ancient past as bad omens or good omens."

The hazards facing lunar astronauts are many. There's the radiation, the temperature extremes, the psychological challenges associated with isolation, and the risk of important equipment breaking down. But there's also the dust, which constitutes an ever-present background hazard.

Since the second world war, US economic prosperity and major technological developments have hinged upon the government’s commitment to funding scientific research. The Trump administration is ending that

Since the second world war, US economic prosperity and major technological developments have hinged upon the government’s commitment to funding scientific research. The Trump administration is ending that

NASA logo.

NASA has awarded SpaceX of Starbase, Texas, a modification under the NASA Launch Services (NLS) II contract to add Starship to their existing Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch service offerings.

The NLS II contracts provide a broad range of commercial launch services for NASA’s planetary, Earth-observing, exploration, and scientific satellites. These high-priority, low and medium risk tolerant missions have full NASA technical oversight and mission assurance, resulting in the highest probability of launch success.

The NLS II contracts are multiple award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, with an ordering period through June 2030 and an overall period of performance through December 2032. The contracts include an on-ramp provision that provides an opportunity annually for new launch service providers to add their launch service on an NLS II contract and compete for future missions and allows existing contractors to introduce launch services not currently on their NLS II contracts.

The contracts support the goals and objectives of the agency’s Science Mission Directorate, Space Operations Mission Directorate, Explorations Systems Development Mission Directorate, and the Space Technology Mission Directorate. Under the contracts, NASA also can provide launch services to other federal government agencies.

NASA’s Launch Services Program Office at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida manages the NLS II contracts. For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov

-end-

Tiernan Doyle / Joshua Finch
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600 / 202-358-1100
tiernan.doyle@.nasa.gov / joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov

Patti Bielling
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-501-7575
patricia.a.bielling@nasa.gov

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Details Last Updated Mar 31, 2025 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms

• NASA Directorates
• Kennedy Space Center
• Launch Services Office
• Launch Services Program
• Space Operations Mission Directorate