NASA Archives

This is a Hubble Space Telescope image of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS. Hubble photographed the comet on July 21, 2025, when the comet was 277 million miles from Earth. Hubble shows that the comet has a teardrop-shaped cocoon of dust coming off its solid, icy nucleus. Because Hubble was tracking the comet moving along a hyperbolic trajectory, the stationary background stars are streaked in the exposure. [Credit — Image: NASA, ESA, David Jewitt (UCLA); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)]

US government grapples with questions about interstellar object 3I/ATLAS amid shutdown

NASA experts are set to connect with at least one congressional lawmaker about the mysterious object this week.

Nov 4, 2025 By Brandi Vincent

The U.S. Space Force’s X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle Mission Seven successfully landed at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, March 7, 2025. The X-37B landed at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, to exercise the service’s ability to recover the spaceplane across multiple sites. (U.S. Space Force courtesy photo)

Next X-37B space plane mission will test laser communications, quantum sensor for US military

This will be the eight mission for the Boeing-built space plane.

Jul 28, 2025 By Jon Harper

Powered by 27 Merlin engines, generating more than five million pounds of combined thrust, a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off from Launch Complex (LC)-39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Dec. 28, 2023 at 8:07 p.m. EST, carrying the U.S. Space Force (USSF)-52 mission into Earth orbit. (SpaceX photo)

Space Force launches X-37B robotic space plane for new round of classified experiments

The X-37B will conduct tests on space domain awareness technologies, operations in new orbital regimes and radiation effects on NASA materials.

Dec 29, 2023 By Mikayla Easley

Artist rendering of astronaut on the moon (NASA image)

DARPA taps 14 companies to study infrastructure needs for future lunar economy

The vendors chosen range from traditional government contractors to smaller start-up companies.

Dec 5, 2023 By Mikayla Easley

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson attends a press conference at NASA headquarters September 14, 2023 in Washington, D.C. NASA announced the agency has appointed a new director of research to study “unidentified anomalous phenomenon”, formerly referred to as UFOs. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

NASA appoints new head of UAP research as it eyes deeper cooperation with Pentagon

The space agency also unveiled a report about how data collected by government, commercial and other sources can be analyzed to make sense of reports of potential…

Sep 14, 2023 By Brandi Vincent

New DARPA study to explore infrastructure needs for future lunar economy

The LunA-10 capability study aims to define the analytical frameworks for a lunar infrastructure that will be key in laying the foundations for a future self-sustaining lunar…

Aug 17, 2023 By Mikayla Easley

Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick, director of All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office at the Department of Defense, gives a presentation during a public meeting of NASA’s unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) independent study team, Wednesday, May 31, 2023 at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. (NASA/Joel Kowsky photo)

Pentagon office developing new sensors to better detect UFOs

AARO director Sean Kirkpatrick provided an update on the Pentagon's UFO-hunting work at a public NASA meeting Wednesday.

May 31, 2023 By Brandi Vincent

Computer Keyboard — (Source: Getty Images)

DOD participates in NASA study ‘to move our understanding of UAP forward’

The government is being tight-lipped about exactly who from the Pentagon is involved.

Jan 24, 2023 By Brandi Vincent

The silhouette of US engineer and NASA astronaut Megan McArthur is seen past the NASA logo in the Webb Auditorium at NASA headquarters in Washington, DC, on June 7, 2022. (Photo by Stefani Reynolds / AFP) (Photo by STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

Following the Pentagon’s lead, NASA expands its official definition of ‘UAP’

“To be consistent with the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), NASA will be calling UAP ‘Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena’ instead of ‘Unidentified Aerial Phenomena,’” Katherine Rohloff, press secretary…

Dec 22, 2022 By Brandi Vincent

X-37B orbital test vehicle concludes sixth successful mission. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Adam Shanks)

What we know about the Pentagon’s mysterious X-37B spaceplane and its record-setting mission

The U.S. military's uncrewed, reusable X-37B space plane just completed its sixth mission after 908 days in orbit.

Nov 15, 2022 By Brandi Vincent