On April 13, 1969, NASA launched a new weather satellite called Nimbus 3. This was the third in a series of second-generation research and development satellites NASA launched to test new technologies for weather forecasting. Nimbus 3...

On April 11, 1960, astronomers began the first scientific experiment that would search for extraterrestrial life. Known as Project Ozma, this experiment looked for interstellar radio transmissions coming from other star systems. This was...

Penguin in passenger seat causes helicopter crash in South AfricaSource: Various

NOAA's GOES-18 satellite captured time-lapsed footage of the Palisades wildfire in southern California. The Eaton wildfire can also be seen in this view. Credit: CIRA/NOAA | edited by Space.com's Steve Spaleta

On April 10, 1982, India launched its first multipurpose satellite, INSAT-1. This satellite was used for both communications and weather forecasting. The Indian Space Research Organization contracted NASA to launch it, and it was built...

Chinese astronauts aboard the Tiangong space station tested an "intelligent flight robot," checked on a fruit fly experiment and more. Credit: Space.com | footage courtesy: China Central Television (CCTV) | edited by Steve Spaleta

On April 9, 1959, NASA introduced its very first astronaut class. This dashing group of young men is known as the Mercury 7. They were all military test pilots before they were chosen for the job, and they had all "the right stuff" to...

The Academy of Aerospace Propulsion Technology in China "conducted tests on four types of engines, including a new hydrogen-oxygen engine," according to China Central Television.



Credit: Space.com | footage courtesy: China...

On April 8, 1964, NASA launched the first uncrewed test flight of the new Gemini spacecraft. This was the very first mission of Project Gemini, which would later send crews of two into orbit. NASA flew a total of 12 Gemini missions, 10...

On April 7, 1983, astronauts took the first spacewalk outside of a space shuttle during mission STS-6. This was the maiden voyage of the space shuttle Challenger. The goal of this mission was to deploy the first Tracking and Data Relay...

On April 6, 1965, NASA launched the world's first commercial communications satellite into orbit. The satellite was named Intelsat 1 and nicknamed the "Early Bird." It was built by Hughes Aircraft Company for a telecommunications company...

On April 5, 1973, NASA launched the Pioneer 11 mission into the outer solar system. Pioneer 11 would become the first spacecraft to fly by Saturn, and it flew by Jupiter and the asteroid belt along the way. It launched about a month...

In England, a desert antelope has been transferred to the Bedfordshire zoo in an ongoing effort to bring the species back from the brink of extinction. Having traveled from the Aalborg Zoo in Denmark through land and sea, Sabre, a...

On April 4, 1968, NASA launched the final un-crewed test flight of its Saturn V rocket. The Apollo 6 mission demonstrated that the Saturn V rocket and the Apollo spacecraft were ready to send astronauts into space. On top of the rocket...

The European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope observed asteroid 2024 YR4 in Jan. 2025. The probability of the asteroid impacting Earth in 2032 has dropped to .001%. Credit: Space.com | ESO/O. Hainaut et al. / ESA/Planetary...

Check out an amazing view of star cluster NGC 602. It "lies on the outskirts of the Small Magellanic Cloud," according to the Chandra X-ray Telescope team. Credit: NASA/CXC/A. Hobart

On April 3, 1973, the Soviet Union launched a small space station called Salyut 2. This was the second space station ever launched and the first military space station. The Soviet Union told the rest of the world that Salyut 2 was a...

UK’s worst motorway where aggressive drivers have ‘abandoned the speed limit’ named in AA study

See what went into Kinley Rose's incredible procedure and how trust was a key factor.

Watch how a single engine on the flight 7 SpaceX Starship was test fired to simulate an in-space burn. Credit: Space.com | footage courtesy: SpaceX | edited by Steve Spaleta

On March 30, 2017, SpaceX launched and landed a used rocket for the first time. This was a huge step forward in SpaceX's plight to develop fully reusable rockets and reduce launch costs. The Falcon 9 rocket had completed a previous...

The American Meteor Society received several reports of fireball in the skies over several cities in Indiana. Credit: Space.com | footage courtesy: Mark, Mel Uberto, Brittany Lewis, Brett Turner, CarmelBakers | edited by Steve Spaleta

The investigation into the Mars helicopter Ingenuity accident has found that the "lack of surface texture gave the navigation system too little information to work with,” likely causing the rotors blades to hit the surface of the Mars...

Watch the moon phases and libration for 2024, as seen from Earth's Southern Hemisphere, in this time-lapsed animation that is set at hourly intervals. Video credit: NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio Music: Meditations by Drift Far...