SUNSET: 
What's Next After the International Space Station?
NASA will end support for the International Space Station by 2030, transitioning low-Earth orbit to commercial operations.
Streetlights to Satellites: Taking Light Pollution to the United Nations
The United Nations' Office of Outer Space Affairs is considering issues of light pollution spanning from streetlights to satellites.
Did Astronomers See a Distant, Dying Star? Or an Earth-bound Satellite?
What seemed a lucky break — the discovery of a gamma-ray burst in the most distant known galaxy — might instead be the flash of passing space debris. As satellites fill low-Earth orbit, such events might become common.
What's in the New NASA Budget Proposal
The latest NASA budget proposal would invest in science in a big way, including a large increase in funding for space exploration.
Mars Sample Return Program Forges Ahead
It's full steam ahead for the joint NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return, a complex plan to collect bits of Mars and — for the first time — send them to Earth.
What's in the New Proposed NASA Budget
The President's 2021 budget request for NASA would push hard for human lunar exploration at the expense of several key programs.
SpaceX Launches Fourth Starlink Batch; Concerns Remain
Concerns about the night sky remain as the fourth batch of Starlink satellites — and the second one to be launched within the span of a month — takes flight.
NICER Maps the X-ray Sky
NASA's NICER instrument aboard the International Space Station is giving us a unique view of much of the X-ray sky.
Astronomy in Space with David Dickinson
NASA's Budget Gets a Boost for the Artemis Moon Initiative
As the White House requests an extra $1.6 billion for NASA's Artemis project, the agency moves forward with commercial partnerships.
NASA 2020 Budget Proposal Boosts Exploration, Downplays Science
NASA's Lunar Gateway and a return to the Moon are the big winners in the 2020 budget proposed for the agency; the futures of planetary and Earth science are less clear.
Government Shutdown Creates Financial Woes, Uncertainty for Astronomers
Among its many effects, the U.S. government shutdown has created a struggling postdoctoral program, delays in NASA missions, and problems for government scientists trying to continue their research.
Astronomy in Space with David Dickinson
NASA Budget Proposal Cancels WFIRST
The recent budget proposal for NASA dealt a blow to the astronomical community, putting several key missions — including WFIRST, a successor to Hubble — under the financial axe.
Third Try at a National Space Council
What is the National Space Council and what will it do? A look back through history provides some possible answers.
NASA Closes Out Its Asteroid Redirect Mission
Following the release of the 2018 budget, the space agency has ordered an “orderly closeout” for the Asteroid Redirect program.
Astronomy in Space with David Dickinson
NASA's Budget Gets a Boost
An unexpected omnibus spending package for fiscal year 2016 raises NASA's funding.
NASA's Plans for Putting Humans on Mars
Scientists and engineers gathered together to figure out what would make a good Martian landing site and what hurdles they’ll have to overcome for a 2035 launch.
High Definition Space Telescope — Hubble’s Successor?
A proposal released earlier this month calls for a giant orbiting space telescope that may revolutionize astronomy.
Do We Need "Asteroid Day"?
Are we really doing enough to find asteroids, especially the smaller ones that could destroy a city? A private initiative urges a rapid ramp-up of the search effort — but not everyone agrees.
Test Flight Success for Orion Spacecraft
On December 5th, NASA successfully launched the first test flight of its Orion capsule. Scheduled to carry astronauts beyond low-Earth orbit in the 2020s, the spacecraft is NASA’s first deep-space people transporter since the Apollo days.
Asteroid Scheme Still Under Way
Despite funding pushback in the House of Representatives, NASA is full steam ahead in plans for its asteroid retrieval mission.
