The Department of Energy, with NASA funding, has completed the first U.S. production in nearly 30 years of a specialized fuel to power future deep space missions.

An extraordinary ribbon of hot gas trailing behind galaxy cluster Zwicky 8338 has been discovered using data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.

The amount of methane escaping from the ground during the Arctic’s long cold period each year and entering Earth’s atmosphere is likely much higher than current estimates.

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has begun transmitting data and images from the mission’s final close flyby of Saturn’s active moon Enceladus, which took place on Saturday, Dec. 19.

A look back at the highlights of 2015 for Europe in Space

Among the highlights of a recent meeting are insights into Pluto’s geology and composition as well as new details about the unexpected haze in Pluto’s atmosphere and its interaction with the solar wind.

Black holes in the hearts of galaxies could swell to 50 billion times the Sun’s mass before losing the gas disks they rely on.

Space Science Image of the Week: A multicolour view of the galaxies in Stephan’s Quintet as revealed by Herschel, XMM-Newton and ground observatories

Scientists used the NASA NuSTAR and ESA XMM-Newton X-ray observatories to peer inside the thick disk of material around a massive black hole.

NASA’s Curiosity rover has found much higher concentrations of silica at recent sites than anywhere else it has visited since landing on Mars.

Our week through the lens: 7-11 December 2015

Season’s greetings from Rosetta and Philae

Watch replay of ESA astronaut Tim Peake’s first live video link since he arrived at the International Space Station

ESA’s animated guide to lasers on Earth and in space, for kids of all ages

Earth observation image of the week: a Sentinel-2A image of Southern Mongolia, also featured on the Earth from Space video programme

Hubble catches Star Wars fever, showing off “lightsaber” feature shooting out of a young star system.

NASA’s Saturn-orbiting Cassini spacecraft makes its final close flyby of the ocean-bearing moon Enceladus on December 19.

NASA’s next Mars spacecraft has arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, for final preparations before a launch scheduled in March 2016 and a landing on Mars six months later.

The donut-shaped disks of material that feed growing black holes may not be as smooth as once thought.

At recently studied sites, Mars Curiosity has found higher silica concentrations than at sites visited earlier in its Martian travels.

Radar imagery of asteroid 1998 WT24 has been obtained by NASA’s Goldstone Solar System Radar.

The Euclid mission has passed its preliminary design review, clearing the way to start construction.

Europe now has a dozen navigation satellites in orbit

Join us Friday, 18 December, at 10:00 CET for the ‘Earth from Space’ video programme. This week features a Sentinel-2A image of Southern Mongolia

ESA’s CryoSat mission has provided the best maps yet of the changing height of Earth’s largest ice sheets

The pace of deploying Europe’s own satellite navigation system continued to increase with today’s launch of the latest pair of Galileo satellites, doubling the number of satellites in space within nine months.

Replay of the launch transmission of Soyuz carrying Galileo satellites 11 and 12 on 17 December at 11:51 GMT from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana

Replay of liftoff of Soyuz carrying Galileo satellites 11 and 12, at 11:51 GMT, from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana

The next great space observatory took a step closer this week when ESA signed the contract with Arianespace that will see the James Webb Space Telescope launched on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou in October 2018.

Euclid, ESA’s dark Universe mission, has passed its preliminary design review, providing confidence that the spacecraft and its payload can be built. It’s time to start ‘cutting metal’.

Planetary nebulae, stars similar to the Sun which have burnt up their fuel and ejected their external layers, make it possible to study two main substructures of the Andromeda galaxy and determine their histories.

The reappearance of the supernova was calculated from different models of the galaxy cluster whose immense gravity is warping the supernova’s light.

A thrilling chapter in solar system exploration will soon conclude, as NASA’s Saturn-orbiting Cassini spacecraft makes its final close flyby of the ocean-bearing moon Enceladus.

The Gorkha, Nepal earthquake in 2015 triggered far fewer landslides and much less damage to glacial lakes than expected; while medieval times earthquakes caused massive landscape changes.

Climate change is rapidly warming lakes around the world, threatening freshwater supplies and ecosystems, according to a new NASA and National Science Foundation-funded study.

NASA technology is all around us, turning trash into oil, saving women from a deadly complication of childbirth, and putting the bubbles in beer.

See the launch of Galileo satellites 11 and 12 on Thursday 17 December. Streaming starts at 11:30 GMT (12:30 CET)

A flare of very high-energy gamma rays emitted from a galaxy halfway across the universe has put new bounds on the amount of background light in the universe and given astrophysicists clues to how and where such gamma rays are produced.

A team of telescopes reveals a 3-D view of a giant sample of monstrous galaxy clusters.

People the world over are feeling, or will soon feel, the effects of the strongest El Niño event since 1997-98, currently unfolding in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean.

The fantasy creations of the “Star Wars” universe are strikingly similar to real planets in our own Milky Way galaxy.

ESA astronaut Tim Peake, NASA astronaut Tim Kopra and Russian cosmonaut commander Yuri Malenchenko arrived at the International Space Station today, six hours after their launch at 11:03 GMT.

Galileos 11 and 12 are on the launch pad, attached to the top of their Soyuz rocket in readiness for this week’s launch.

Human spaceflight and operations image of the week: Principia launch pictured from just 113 m away

Send an out-of-this-world e-card to your friends

ESA has ensured the continuation of the Sentinel-1 Earth observation satellite series for Europe’s Copernicus environmental programme by ordering two more satellites.

The €400 million contract was signed today with Thales Alenia Space of Italy to build Sentinel-1C and -1D.

In 2015, astronomers found signs of dark matter close to home, unraveled the mystery of a famous supernova, and took a trip to Pluto.

Replay: ESA astronaut Tim Peake, NASA astronaut Tim Kopra and commander Yuri Malenchenko heading to the International Space Station

ESA astronaut Tim Peake, NASA astronaut Tim Kopra and commander Yuri Malenchenko were launched into space at 11:03 GMT (12:03 CET)

Imagine being confronted with half a tonne or more of metal and composite structures, electronics boxes and solar panels – an unwanted satellite. And then being handed a blowtorch and told to melt it into vapour.

Astronomers think low spin is the ultimate cause of clumpy gas that drives high rates of galactic star formation.

Astronomers used the space telescope to probe whether the exoplanets lacked water or were simply hiding it with clouds or hazes.

Missing Water Mystery Solved in Vast Exoplanet Survey

Alteration of minerals by water may have been common on Mars into the second half of the planet’s age, a new analysis of observations by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter suggests.

NASA data are helping scientists learn more about some of El Niño’s key impacts around the globe.

Space Science Image of the Week: Mighty black holes at the core of distant galaxies brighten up XMM-Newton’s view of the Lockman Hole

Europe’s Vega light launcher is entering its commercial life boasting a flawless record and an impressive set of capabilities for a wide range of missions. 

Rosetta’s OSIRIS camera team has launched a new website to showcase their recent images of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.

The satellite age has revolutionised our understanding of Earth, giving us accurate information to help critical agreements on climate change such as at the current COP21 conference in Paris. Diminishing polar ice is one of the most visibl…

Our week through the lens: 7-11 December 2015

Astronomers quietly submitted a research paper claiming they may have found a large planet on the far fringes of our solar system.

In the coming months, comet Catalina — once thought to be an asteroid — should be visible with the naked eye for skywatchers in the Northern Hemisphere.

This globular cluster is in the last stages of its existence.

Comet Catalina has crossed into Northern Hemisphere skies and is now visible through binoculars.

Discover more about the importance of ice sheets as an Essential Climate Variable to understand our changing world

Watch ESA astronaut Tim Peake’s voyage to the International Space Station, including launch, docking and hatch opening on 15 December

While planets have been known to have cloudy storms, this is the best evidence yet for a star that has one.

A star the size of Jupiter has a raging, giant storm

The Curiosity rover is examining the first active sand dunes ever studied up close on any planet besides Earth.

ESA astronaut Tim Peake, NASA astronaut Tim Kopra and cosmonaut commander Yuri Malenchenko will leave our planet for the International Space Station 15 December at 11:03 GMT, marking the start of Tim Peake’s Principia mission.

Discover more about the importance of ocean colour as an Essential Climate Variable to understand our changing world

Join us Friday, 11 December, at 10:00 CET for the ‘Earth from Space’ video programme. This week features a Sentinel-2A image of Les Deux Alpes in France

Dark matter annihilation may be the cause of the gamma-ray glow emanating from nearby dwarf galaxy Reticulum II.

The European Space Agency’s history making visit to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko revealed surprising science about this dirty snowball.

Scientists say salt best explains the weird white spots that stand out against asphalt colored Ceres.

2015 was the “Year of Pluto,” revealing the icy world and its moons in stunning detail and upending much of what we thought we knew about this system.

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft entered orbit around Ceres March 6, revealing a pockmarked and ice-rich surface, as well as weird bright spots scientists now say is salt.

Several discoveries published in 2015 reveal changes to the blast site and uncover secrets of the explosion first seen 28 years ago.

Astronomers used the Hubble Space Telescope to catch a faraway galaxy focusing the light of an even more distant supernova four times over.

NASA’s NuSTAR spacecraft spotted an X-ray glow at the Milky Way’s monstrous heart. Its origin remains a mystery.

Scientists spotted four distant quasars — bright centers of active galaxies — in close proximity to each other, making them the earliest galaxy cluster yet.

An ocean the size of the Atlantic may have once covered Mars’ northern hemisphere.

Among the debris of a 360-million-year-old cosmic collision is a rare and mysterious young dwarf galaxy.

Saturn’s moon Enceladus and Jupiter’s moon Ganymede offer oceans of possibilities under their icy surfaces. 

Ceres reveals some of its well-kept secrets in two new studies in the journal Nature, thanks to data from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft.

The star has puzzled astronomers because it shows irregular dimming unlike anything seen for another star.

After missing on their first attempt in 2010, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency successfully inserted the Venus Climate Orbiter Akatsuki into orbit around Venus.

Discover more about the importance of aerosols as an Essential Climate Variable to understand our changing world

Technology image of the week: radio testing of the world’s first CubeSat designed for atmospheric reentry

After a year-long wait in storage for a Proton rocket to become available, the EDRS-A laser communications payload and its Eutelsat host satellite are finally at the Baikonur cosmodrome and being prepared for launch in late January.

Discover more about the importance of soil moisture as an Essential Climate Variable to understand our changing world

Human spaceflight and operations image of the week: ESA astronaut Tim Peake tries out his pressure suit and seat for 15 December launch

Enjoying a meteor shower requires only comfort and patience. In this brief video, Senior Editor Michael E. Bakich gives some tips on spending a night under “shooting stars.”

The most popular explanation is that an aging star spills material onto a smaller companion star, and the small star bulks up on mass to become hotter and bluer, thus becoming a blue straggler.

Conditions are prime for this year’s Geminid meteor shower. Here are some helpful tips to enjoy the show.

Enjoying a meteor shower requires only comfort and patience. In this brief video, Senior Editor Michael E. Bakich gives some tips on spending a night under “shooting stars.”

The final approach to an asteroid has been practised for ESA’s proposed Asteroid Impact Mission using a real spacecraft camera mounted on a robot arm.

A new video shows Galileos 11 and 12 being readied for their 17 December launch, concluding a year when the number of satellites in orbit will have doubled

Discover more about the importance of sea level as an Essential Climate Variable to understand our changing world

The Juno spacecraft meets the gas giant July 4, finally ending the decades-long hiatus of Jupiter missions.