AMERICA, IN CONTEXT

Big stories.
A closer understanding.

People, places and ideas from across American life. Find a different perspective, follow a familiar community, and take time with the details.

FROM THE FIELD

Stories worth your time.

All stories ↗
Digital illustration of the Space Reactor-1 (SR-1) Freedom spacecraft in orbit near Mars. The planet's red terrain fills the left half of the frame. On the right, the spacecraft is oriented horizontally, showcasing its central Power and Propulsion Element bus flanked by two tall, illuminated golden Roll-Out Solar Arrays. An elongated open-truss boom extends forward from the bus, ending at the cylindrical nuclear fission reactor and power conversion module.

NASA’s SR-1 Freedom Advances with Progress on Nuclear Power Module

Destined for Mars and beyond, NASA’s Space Reactor-1 (SR-1) Freedom will be humanity’s first fission-powered spacecraft to travel outside Earth’s orbit. Announced during NASA’s “Ignition” event, this mission will demonstrate nuclear electric propulsion in deep space, and progress is underway on its key element: the nuclear power module. To expedite development of the spacecraft, NASA […]

Read the full story →
NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins looks up at the camera while doing a science experiment. Her arms and hands are inside a rectangular glovebox that we can see inside. Her arms are covered with the white gloves that are attached to the glovebox and she is wearing blue gloves.

Science on the Space Station with NASA Astronaut Jessica Watkins

NASA astronaut and Expedition 75 flight engineer Jessica Watkins works inside the Kibo laboratory module’s Life Science Glovebox on Oct. 9, 2026, safely mixing living cell samples with a bioink and then filling a special cartridge with the cell‑ink mixture. The advanced research operations were part of the InSPA‑Auxilium Bioprinter‑Cell Printing investigation, which explores 3D […]

Read the full story →

NASA to Host News Conference Previewing US Spacewalks 100, 101

NASA will preview two upcoming spacewalks to complete solar array installation and power augmentation of the International Space Station during a news conference at 2 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, Oct. 20, from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. NASA will stream the event through a variety of platforms. Learn where to watch online: https://www.nasa.gov/live NASA participants […]

Read the full story →

NASA’s SPHEREx Telescope Sees Menagerie of Brown Dwarfs

NASA’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer) space telescope is shedding light on brown dwarfs, celestial objects that blur the line between stars and exoplanets. New findings published in The Astrophysical Journal show that these dark and cloudy worlds have chemically rich atmospheres not unlike the giant […]

Read the full story →
KEEP EXPLORING

There is more
to the story.

NASA Science, Cargo Launch on 35th SpaceX Resupply Mission to Station

NASA’s SpaceX 35th commercial resupply mission lifted off at 6:33 a.m. EDT Tuesday aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, carrying more than 6,300 pounds of supplies and hardware, bound for the International Space Station. Following its successful launch, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will […]

Read the full story →
An illustration of two astronauts are working on the lunar surface next to a lunar rover. The astronauts are wearing white spacesuits with red stripes shown on the back of the suit. One astronaut is standing up and appears to be grabbing something off of the lunar rover and the other astronaut is kneeling down working on something.

NASA Provides Progress Update on Moon Base Rovers

As NASA works to build the Moon Base, crewed and robotic lunar rovers will play a crucial role during early development through technology demonstrations, astronaut transport, terrain mapping, scientific investigations, and resource prospecting. Data from these early missions will inform future mobility systems and infrastructure needed for astronauts to live and work on the Moon. […]

Read the full story →