Workshop on Planetary Protection Knowledge Gaps for Human Extraterrestrial Missions 24 Mar 2015, 12:00 am

Ames Research Center and the SETI Institute will co-host a workshop on Planetary Protection Knowledge Gaps for Human Extraterrestrial Missions on March 24-26, 2015.

NASA Ames Reproduces the Building Blocks of Life in Laboratory 3 Mar 2015, 12:00 am

NASA scientists studying the origin of life have reproduced uracil, cytosine, and thymine, three key components of our hereditary material, in the laboratory.

Technical Workshop on the Potential for Finding Life in a Europa Plume 18 Feb 2015, 12:00 am

On February 18, 2015, the NASA Astrobiology Institute and the Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute will co-host a workshop at NASA's Ames Research Center.

NASA/Planetary Ventures Adaptive Reuse Lease (SAA2-402923) 12 Feb 2015, 12:00 am

Space Life Sciences Training Program Applications Open 6 Feb 2015, 12:00 am

The Space Life Sciences Training Program (SLSTP) provides undergraduate students entering their junior or senior years with professional experience in space life science disciplines.

NASA Spacecraft Set for Historic Arrival at Dwarf Planet Ceres Today

If all goes according to plan on Friday morning (March 6), Dawn will become the first spacecraft ever to visit a dwarf planet, and the first to circle two different objects beyond the Earth-moon system.

See Live Views of Dwarf Planet Ceres Friday in Slooh Observatory Webcast

An observatory will celebrate the planned arrival of a NASA spacecraft at Ceres by streaming live images of the dwarf planet live online Friday (March 6).

For NASA, Dawn Probe's Ceres Arrival Will Cap Epic Solar System Trek

On Friday (March 6), NASA's Dawn spacecraft will slip into orbit around the dwarf planet Ceres. It's been a long journey for the probe and for the team of scientists and engineers assigned to the mission.

Dwarf Planet Ceres: Biggest in the Asteroid Belt (Infographic)

NASA's Dawn spacecraft is getting humanity's best view yet of the tiny survivor from the solar system's earliest days. See what we know about the dwarf planet Ceres in this our infographic.

Space Image of the Day Gallery (February 2015)

See amazing images of the night sky and cosmos in SPACE.com's gallery of cosmic images posted in February 2015.

Cometary Globule CG4 

The faint and somehow menacing cometary globule CG4

Enhanced Color Caloris 

The sprawling Caloris basin

Pillars and Jets in the Pelican Nebula 

What dark structures arise from the Pelican Nebula?

A Dust Devil on Mars 

A Dust Devil on Mars

Lenticular Cloud, Moon, Mars, Venus 

It is not every day that such an interesting cloud

Astronaut Scott Kelly Preparing for Launch on One-Year Mission 5 Mar 2015, 11:00 am

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly is seen inside a Soyuz simulator at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC), Wednesday, March 4, 2015 in Star City, Russia. Kelly, along with Expedition 43 Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), and Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka of Roscosmos were at GCTC for the second day of qualification exams in preparation for their launch to the International Space Station onboard a Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 3:42 p.m. EST, March 27 (March 28, Kazakh time). As the one-year crew, Kelly and Kornienko will return to Earth on Soyuz TMA-18M in March 2016.Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Island of Hawaii From the International Space Station 4 Mar 2015, 11:00 am

From the International Space Station, European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti (@AstroSamantha) took this photograph of the island of Hawaii and posted it to social media on Feb. 28, 2015. Cristoforetti wrote, "And suddenly as we flew over the Pacific... the island of #Hawaii with its volcanoes! #HelloEarth" Crewmembers on the space station photograph the Earth from their unique point of view located 200 miles above the surface as part of the Crew Earth Observations program. Photographs record how the planet is changing over time, from human-caused changes like urban growth and reservoir construction, to natural dynamic events such as hurricanes, floods and volcanic eruptions. Astronauts have used hand-held cameras to photograph the Earth for more than 40 years, beginning with the Mercury missions in the early 1960s. The ISS maintains an altitude between 220 - 286 miles (354 - 460 km) above the Earth, and an orbital inclination of 51.6˚, providing an excellent stage for observing most populated areas of the world. Image Credit: NASA/ESA/Samantha Cristoforetti

The NACA Spirit Captured, 1945 3 Mar 2015, 11:00 am

In this 1945 photo, test pilots (from left) Mel Gough, Herb Hoover, Jack Reeder, Steve Cavallo and Bill Gray stand in front of a P-47 Thunderbolt. The photo was taken at the then-named Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, which was a research facility for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, or the NACA. The NACA was the main institutional basis for creating NASA in 1958. On March 3, 1915 – one hundred years ago -- the U.S. Congress established the NACA in order "to supervise and direct the scientific study of the problems of flight with a view to their practical solution."  From humble beginnings with a $5000 budget, no paid staff and no facilities, the NACA won the Collier trophy five times. Its researchers made critical contributions to victory in World War II, spawned a world-leading civil aviation manufacturing industry, propelled supersonic flight, supported national security during the Cold War, and laid the foundation for modern air travel and the space age. Learn more about the 100th anniversary of the founding of the NACA at www.nasa.gov/naca100. Image Credit: NASA

Astronauts Complete Series of Three Spacewalks 2 Mar 2015, 11:00 am

On Sunday, March 1, Expedition 42 Flight Engineer Terry Virts and Commander Barry "Butch" Wilmore ventured outside the International Space Station for their third spacewalk in eight days. Virts and Wilmore completed installing 400 feet of cable and several antennas associated with the Common Communications for Visiting Vehicles system known as C2V2. Boeing’s Crew Transportation System (CST)-100 and the SpaceX Crew Dragon will use the system in the coming years to rendezvous with the orbital laboratory and deliver crews to the space station. Virts (@AstroTerry) tweeted this photograph and wrote, "Out on the P3 truss. #AstroButch handing me his cable to install on the new antenna. #spacewalk" Image Credit: NASA

Astronaut Salutes Nimoy From Orbit 28 Feb 2015, 11:00 am

International Space Station astronaut Terry Virts (@AstroTerry) tweeted this image of a Vulcan hand salute from orbit as a tribute to actor Leonard Nimoy, who died on Friday, Feb. 27, 2015. Nimoy played science officer Mr. Spock in the Star Trek series that served as an inspiration to generations of scientists, engineers and sci-fi fans around the world. Cape Cod and Boston, Massachusetts, Nimoy's home town, are visible through the station window.