The mission features two identical spacecraft named Blue and Gold, which will embark on an approximately 11-month journey to Mars.

NASA's Mars rover Perseverance has uncovered rocks in a dry river channel that may hold potential signs of ancient microscopic life.

It turns out Mars has a solid core just like Earth.

As the FAA proposes to close the beach when the rocket powerful enough to carry humans to the moon and Mars is ready to launch from Florida, a series of public meetings is getting underway this week, which are expected to be attended by some opposed to the idea.

The latest selfie by NASA's Perseverance rover at Mars has captured an unexpected guest: a Martian dust devil.

NASA's Perseverance rover has detected the first aurora at Mars that's visible to the human eye.

President Donald Trump’s budget request delivered to Congress calls for a 24% cut in NASA funding in “the largest single-year cut to NASA in American history,” according to the Planetary Society.

The nominee for NASA's top job is outlining his vision for space exploration, highlighting Mars.

April starts off with the conjunction of our moon and Mars in the evening sky.

How to catch the January 2025 planetary alignment – Don’t miss this celestial show!

Six planets grace the sky this month in what’s called a planetary parade.

NASA is pitching a cheaper and quicker way of getting rocks and soil back from Mars.

Thanks for reading the WKMG-TV space newsletter.

A new study suggests Mars may be drenched beneath its surface, with enough water hiding in the cracks of underground rocks to form a global ocean.

Mars and Jupiter are cozying up in the night sky for their closest rendezvous this decade.

Four volunteer crew members who spent more than 12 months inside NASA’s first simulated Mars environment at Johnson Space Center in Houston have emerged from the artificial alien enviroment.

A crew of four that entered an isolated NASA-built environment in June 2023 to simulate life on Mars is set to end its year-long mission.

If you missed the northern lights, don’t worry! There’s another celestial show in store as the planets align in the sky.

If you missed the northern lights, don’t worry! There’s another celestial show in store as the planets align in the sky.

NASA is looking for applicants who may want to know it’s like to live on Mars, without actually launching into space.

Jeff Bezos has filed a statement with federal regulators indicating his sale of nearly 12 million shares of Amazon stock worth more than $2 billion.

NASA’s groundbreaking Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has concluded its mission on the Red Planet, surpassing expectations and exceeding its planned number of flights, NASA announced Thursday.

The most anticipated celestial event of 2024 is the total solar eclipse on April 8.

An orange tabby cat named Taters stars in the first video sent by laser from deep space, stealing the show as he chases a red laser light.

NASA is bringing a piece of its Mars mission to Walt Disney World.

Mark your calendars.

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate jumped this week to its highest level in 20 years.

Venus and Mars will put on a show in the July evening sky.

A planet is shining bright in the evening sky in June.

A European spacecraft around Mars has sent its first livestream from the red planet to Earth to mark the 20th anniversary of its launch.

A new study suggests water on Mars may be more widespread and recent than previously thought.

A spacecraft around Mars has sent back close-up photos of the red planet's little moon.

We want to see your out-of-this-world photos!

There's a special chance this week to see five planets lined up in the night sky.

Federal workplace safety authorities have fined a central Pennsylvania confectionary factory more than $14,500 following an accident last year in which two workers fell into a vat of chocolate.

Space officials have selected a Blue Origin rocket to launch the latest mission to Mars targeted for next year, NASA announced Thursday.

A comet is streaking back our way after 50,000 years.

Mars says it’s pausing using its trademark M&M’s spokescandies and has enlisted actor and comedian Maya Rudolph to star in its marketing efforts.

SpaceX is set to launch its Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center Sunday evening.

It was one of many wintry facts about Mars that NASA shared as an arctic blast pushed across the country last week.

It could be the end of the red dusty line for NASA's InSight lander on Mars.

A NASA rover on Mars by chance had its microphone on when a whirling tower of red dust passed overhead last year and caught the sound.

Homebuilders have pumped the brakes on new single-family home construction this year, a trend that’s likely to extend into 2023, according to several forecasts.

Big emitters of the heat-trapping gas methane can expect a call from the United Nations starting next year, when the global body launches a new platform to combine existing systems for tracking the potent greenhouse gas from space.

Two NASA spacecraft at Mars have recorded the biggest meteor strikes and impact craters yet.

NASA officials held a teleconference Friday to talk about what’s next for the Artemis I moon mission, forecasting the first flight test of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket no earlier than in late August.

A NASA spacecraft on Mars is losing power and is headed for a dusty demise.

Astronomers have unveiled the first wild but fuzzy image of the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy.

Look up!

The Biden Administration is requesting $26 billion for NASA in 2023, up $2 billion from the previous year. How much money NASA actually gets will be decided by Congress.

Because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Europe will no longer be attempting to send its first rover to Mars this year.

NASA is preparing to roll out its Space Launch System rocket this week for a critical test of its engine.

The European Space Agency says the launch this year of a joint mission with Russia to Mars is now “very unlikely” due to sanctions linked to the war in Ukraine.

Toyota says it's working with Japan’s space agency on a vehicle to explore the lunar surface, with ambitions to help people live on the moon by 2040 and eventually live on Mars.

Candy maker Mars is giving a makeover to its six M&M’s characters as a way to promote inclusivity.

Scientists have concluded that a meteorite from Mars contains no evidence of ancient Martian life.

There are always noteworthy things to look up for on any given night, but these are the top events worth marking in your calendar as we venture through the new year.

As the historic year of spaceflight closes, 2022 will target new achievements.

If anyone has a good idea on how to put a nuclear fission power plant on the moon, the U.S. government wants to hear about it.

NASA announced the fourth crew member heading to the international space station will include Jessica Watkins. This will make her the first black female astronaut to join the crew for a long-term mission.

The space race is in full throttle.

The United Arab Emirates has announced plans to send a probe to land on an asteroid between Mars and Jupiter to collect data on the origins of the universe.

China's Mars rover is soldiering on after completing its initial program to explore the red planet and search for whether it once supported life.

NASA’s newest Mars rover has come up empty in its first attempt to pick up a rock sample to eventually be brought back to Earth.

NASA is teaming up with the maker of Tide to figure out how to do laundry in space.

The dusty, rocky Martian surface and a Chinese rover and lander bearing small national flags were seen in photos the rover took on the red planet.

Relativity Space is revealing new details about its larger Terran R rocket, which could compete with SpaceX’s workhorse rocket, the Falcon 9.

NASA's little Mars helicopter is safely on the ground following a wild, lurching ride caused by a navigation timing error.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has picked a date to step down as CEO.

China says its Mars probe and accompanying rover are expected to land on the red planet sometime between Saturday and Wednesday Beijing time.

Pending clear a sky, space will be putting on a show for us down on Earth as three planets are now visible in the evening..

NASA is sharing sounds of its little helicopter humming through the thin Martian air.

Space-related news is not just flowing from the world’s richest, biggest nations.

NASA's little Mars helicopter is getting an extra month of flying.

Let the “Florida education” jokes begin.

The Orlando Police Department is looking for a missing 73-year-old veteran who was last seen April 20.

The brain behind Tesla and SpaceX gave a dire warning for anyone hoping to be among the first to travel to Mars.

China says it will launch its next robot lunar lander in 2024, and it will carry equipment from France, Sweden, Russia and Italy.

China's space agency says its first Mars rover will be named Zhurong after a traditional fire god.

NASA's little Mars helicopter has aced its second test flight.

Police are investigating a fatal crash in North Ocala.

NASA's experimental Mars helicopter has taken flight.

A car crashed into a store in Ormond Beach.

A Kissimmee man was killed in a single-vehicle wreck in Orange County, the FHP says.

Orlando police investigate a fatal crash involving a pedestrian.

After the flight of NASA’s tiny helicopter was delayed last week, the agency set the date for the first Mars helicopter flight.

NASA has again delayed the Wright Brothers moment for its tiny helicopter on Mars as teams continue to troubleshoot issues ahead of its first flight on another world.

NASA is set to mark a major milestone in its mission on Mars this weekend.

NASA has pushed back the target date for the first flight of its tiny helicopter on Mars to next week.

Ingenuity's teams are preparing to fly the helicopter for the first time as soon as April 11.

A visitor to an exhibition looks at a display with a replica of the Chinese Mars Rover of the Tianwen-1 spacecraft in Beijing on March 12, 2021. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)BEIJING – As their respective spacecrafts headed to Mars, China and the U.S. held consultations earlier this year in a somewhat unusual series of exchanges between the rivals. China's National Space Agency confirmed Wednesday that it had working-level meetings and communications with NASA from January to March “to ensure the flight safety" of their crafts. U.S. law bans almost all contacts between NASA and China over concerns about technology theft and the secretive, military-backed nature of China’s space program. China's Tianwen-1 is orbiting Mars in preparation for a landing in May or June.

A brief overview of the wild weather on Mars

The helicopter, nicknamed Ingenuity, arrived on the Red Planet on Feb. 18, hitching along for the ride with NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover. During a media briefing Tuesday, Ingenuity and Perseverance team members revealed they are targeting around April 8 for the first flight. [MORE COVERAGE: NASA rover gets rolling on Mars from its landing spot named for late author Octavia Butler | Mars rover sends back grinding, squealing sounds of driving]NASA's Ingenuity helicopter airfield on Mars within the Jezero Crater. (Image: NASA JPL) (WKMG 2021)“We really scoured this area. The Mars Helicopter Delivery System holds the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter to the underside of Perseverance.

7, 2021 photo provided by NASA shows tire tracks left by the Mars Perseverance rover. The rover has sent back the first-ever sounds of driving on the red planet. “If I heard these sounds driving my car, I’d pull over and call for a tow,” Dave Gruel, an engineer on the rover team, said in a written NASA statement. This second mike didn't pick up any sounds of the rover's arrival at Mars, but managed to record the first test drive March 4. The driving audio contains a unexpected high-pitched scratching noise, according to NASA.

China and Russia said they will build a lunar research station, possibly on the moon's surface, marking the start of a new era in space cooperation between the two countries. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)BEIJING – China and Russia said they will build a lunar research station, possibly on the moon's surface, marking the start of a new era in space cooperation between the two countries. A statement posted on the website of the China National Space Administration Wednesday said the International Lunar Research Station would also be open to use by other countries, but gave no timeline for its construction. Russia is a participant in the International Space Station but its space program has been somewhat eclipsed by those of China, the U.S., India and others. AdChina has planned four crewed missions this year to work on its first permanent orbiting space station, the core module of which could be launched as soon as next month.

This photo made available by NASA was taken during the first drive of the Perseverance rover on Mars on Thursday, March 4, 2021. (NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA’s newest Mars rover hit the dusty red road this week, putting 21 feet on the odometer in its first test drive. The Perseverance rover ventured from its landing position Thursday, two weeks after setting down on the red planet to seek signs of past life. AdPerseverance — NASA's biggest and most elaborate rover yet — became the ninth U.S. spacecraft to successfully land on Mars on Feb. 18. China hopes to land its smaller rover — currently orbiting the red planet — in another few months.

This image was captured while NASA’s Perseverance rover drove on Mars for the first time on March 4, 2021. (Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech)NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover is now wheeling around on the red planet and stretching its robotic limbs, the rover’s team said in the most recent update just two weeks after landing. Already the space agency released the first ever sound recorded on Mars taken by Percy and the first photos taken from the rover’s jetpack as it landed. Since then there have been many more firsts for the six-wheeled robot.. Two weeks into the mission, Percy has already sent back about 7,000 images. “Butler’s protagonists embodies determination and inventiveness, making her a perfect fit for the Perseverance rover mission, and its theme of overcoming challenges.”The spot where @NASAPersevere began its journey on Mars now bears the name “Octavia E. Butler Landing."

The U.S. has blamed the militia for numerous attacks targeting U.S. personnel and interests in Iraq in the past. But several leading members of Congress, including members in Biden’s own party, denounced the strikes — the first military action he has authorized. Kaine and others argued offensive military action without congressional approval is not constitutional absent extraordinary circumstances. A U.S. contractor died after at least 10 rockets slammed into the base early Wednesday. “If we assess further response is warranted, we will take action again in a manner and time of our choosing,” Psaki said.

President Joe Biden congratulates NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Mars 2020 Perseverance team for successfully landing on Mars during a virtual call in the Roosevelt Room at the White House, Thursday, March 4, 2021. Biden speaking in video conference call with the leadership of space agency’s jet propulsion laboratory team expressed awe over the Feb. 18 landing of Perseverance. Ad“It’s so much bigger than landing Perseverance on Mars," Biden told members of the NASA team. Ad“We can land a rover on Mars, we can beat a pandemic," Biden said. The NASA team landing on Feb. 18 marked the third visit to Mars in just over a week.

China says a cohort of astronauts have been selected and are in training to carry out four crewed missions this year as the country works to complete its first permanent orbiting space station. (CNSA via AP)BEIJING – China said Thursday a cohort of astronauts is training for four crewed missions this year as the country works to complete its first permanent orbiting space station. Two other modules will be launched later, along with four Tianzhou cargo supply mission and the four Shenzhou crewed missions. CNSA listed 12 astronauts training for the crewed missions, including veterans of previous Shenzhou flights, newcomers and women, though it wasn't clear if there were others selected. Once completed, the permanent space station will allow for stays of up to six months, similar to the International Space Station.