Space

NASA is seeking information from private companies on "the availability of small payloads" that could be delivered to the Moon and assist the agency's efforts "to understand the potential role of the Moon in future exploration activities."

Beginning this fall, NASA will allow private companies "to add their own modules and other capabilities to the International Space Station" as the space agency transitions its attention to reaching Mars by the 2030s.

After Pluto was demoted to dwarf-planet status, the search for a new ninth rock from the Sun was on. Researchers say they have now identified several other objects beyond Neptune that may aid their hunt for a a ninth planet.

Sonic booms that occurred when a SpaceX rocket re-entered the atmosphere caused a spike in 911 calls in the Cape Canaveral, Florida area, according to reports.

A semi-secret deal between NASA and SpaceX, signed around Christmas but only coming to light now, covers five new re-supply launches to the International Space Station (ISS) and is allegedly worth $700 million.

NASA has posted an image from Mars unlike any seen before. It presents a 360-degree virtual experience anyone can direct and control as if they were onboard the Curiosity rover, all while enjoying the comfort of their own planet.

A recently discovered asteroid is scheduled to fly by Earth in March, but NASA can’t quite tell how far away it will be when that happens. One estimate is as close as 11,000 miles, about 95 percent closer than the moon.

In NASA’s first Space Launch System testflight, 13 shoebox-sized satellites called CubeSats will be sent into deep space to learn, among other things, how the environment will affect astronauts on a future Mars mission.

A manned mission to Mars is a little closer after a big move from NASA on Monday. A Super Guppy cargo jet was used to transfer the Orion spacecraft pressure vessel from Louisiana to Florida, where it will conduct a test flight in 2018.