Innovation Now

On October 31, 2000, veteran astronaut William Shepherd left Earth on a journey that began two decades of continuous human presence in low-Earth orbit.

NASA’s OSIRIS REx mission is testing an autonomous navigation system that could keep spacecraft safe enough to fly another day.

Americans exercise their right to vote from all over the world. And this year, one American will do so from space.

Eating fresh produce is an important part of a healthy diet. But if you’re in space, where’s the closest farmers’ market?

This lander technology will allow Mars 2020 to land at Jezero crater, a place scientists believe is the best place to collect samples for a Mars sample return.

Missions like TESS contribute to the field of astrobiology, the research about what conditions on distant worlds might harbor life.

The data Curiosity continues to send home have scientists anxiously waiting to see what Perseverance might discover as well.

In a new study, scientists are looking at sunspots. But instead of using high-resolution images, they are viewing the sunspots at low resolution as if they were trillions of miles away.

What would you pack for a trip to the Moon?

A safe, efficient, and environmentally responsible air transportation system is vital to our nation.

Today, sending a map of Mars to Earth might take nine years with current radio systems, but as little as nine weeks with laser communications.

Once the SLS rockets have completed the Green Run testing, engineers will prepare the core stage for its trip to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

To reduce the number of items needed to land on the Moon or Mars, NASA has combined a home and vehicle into a single rover complete with breathable air.

The travel time to the moon is 100 times shorter than to Mars and with the same characteristics of objects much more difficult to access, the moon may be the logical steppingstone to test new technologies.

Robotics systems engineers are creating and testing the complex algorithms and operations software that allow robots to do what they were designed to do.

To land astronauts on Mars, NASA is working on an inflatable heat shield that would take up less space in a rocket than a rigid heat shield.

As the only NFL player to fly in space, former astronaut Leland Melvin knows how to tackle a problem.

Over 200 million miles from home, OSIRIS REx is preparing for NASA’s most ambitious sample return since the Apollo program.

NASA has close ties with the high-performance racing circuit.

Planetary protection protocols ensure that hardware headed to Mars is clean.