December 11, 1998—launch day for the Mars Climate Orbiter (MCO) and the accompanying Polar Lander, both of which were part of a larger NASA initiative known as Mars Surveyor ’98. NASA had commissioned Lockheed Martin to design and build the MCO, which was was destined to gather data on Martian weather while communicating with the Polar Lander.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Florida — The US military has always been part of NASA’s human spaceflight program. The first astronauts were nearly all military pilots, and two of the four crew members set to fly around the Moon on NASA’s Artemis II mission were Navy test pilots before joining the astronaut corps.

Forecasters continue to predict an 80% chance of favorable weather on Wednesday for the launch of four astronauts on a flight to the moon.

NASA's powerful Launch Abort System, designed to outrun an exploding rocket, is the result of years of work from scientists and engineers across the country, including in Southern California's Mojave Desert.

A Southwest Research Institute-led study found that protons and heavy ions react differently to solar magnetic reconnection events, revealing a more complex magnetic engine powering the solar wind. Magnetic reconnection converts magnetic energy into explosive kinetic energy,

Forecasters reveal the chance of poor weather that could delay the planned Artemis II launch planned for Wednesday evening.