Robotic Spaceflight | Astronomy.com

An abstract, brightly glowing cloud shape sits centered against a solid black background. The core of the formation glows bright white and yellow, surrounded by a greenish layer that diffuses into a larger, deep red outer haze. Tiny, multicolored pinpricks of light—mostly yellow, green, and white—are scattered across the central core and the dark space surrounding it.

Robotic Spaceflight, Today in the History of Astronomy

Sept. 5, 2001: The Milky Way has a black hole

Robotic Spaceflight

Scientists watch as two satellites burn

A close-up view of mechanical equipment and a white dish antenna fills the right side and foreground of the frame, bathed in warm, yellowish-orange light. In the background, a vast, flat landscape covered in small, dusty rocks stretches toward a low horizon under a hazy, pale sky. Light contrast and muted earth tones dominate the scene, emphasizing the dry, rocky terrain.

Robotic Spaceflight, Today in the History of Astronomy

Sept. 3, 1976: Viking 2 reaches Mars

Robotic Spaceflight, Science

Roman Space Telescope lifts off

What's Launching This Week

Norway, India, and New Zealand target launches as Starlink continues

A grid of twelve brightly colored images displays various deep-space formations against dark, star-filled backgrounds. Each panel features distinct shapes and vibrant hues, including spiraling red and blue light, glowing green gas clouds, ring-like structures, and scattered clusters of tiny stars. High contrast throughout the grid highlights the brilliant, luminous centers and delicate wisps of light in each scene.

Robotic Spaceflight, Today in the History of Astronomy

Aug. 25, 2003: The Spitzer Space Telescope launches

What's Launching This Week

NASA’s Roman Space Telescope takes flight and Starlink endures

Robotic Spaceflight, Science

LINK to meet with Swift, but won’t boost

A monochrome, high-contrast image shows two thin, glowing white concentric rings arching across a black, star-speckled background. In the lower-right corner, a bright, solid white crescent curves upward toward the inner ring. Tiny, distant points of white light dot the dark space inside and around the rings, giving the scene high visual contrast.

Today in the History of Astronomy

Aug. 22, 1989: Voyager 2 reveals Neptune

An ESA artist's illustration showing the JUICE spacecraft performing a gravitational slingshot maneuver around Earth. The spacecraft, with its distinctive cross-shaped solar panels, is shown close to Earth with a bright green line tracing its curved orbital trajectory looping around the planet. Earth is shown from space with North and South America visible beneath cloud cover.

Space Exploration

How do slingshot maneuvers work to propel spacecraft?

A black-and-white photograph shows a thick, brightly glowing white streak curving diagonally from the upper-right corner down toward the lower-left against a pitch-black background. The brilliant white band features smooth, brush-like streaks and jagged, feathery edges that taper outward along its inner curve, creating stark contrast with the surrounding dark void.

Robotic Spaceflight, Today in the History of Astronomy

Aug. 14, 1959: Explorer 6 images Earth

What's Launching This Week

A Long March 7A failure opens a week of Starlink launches