NASA’s next generation lunar rover—designed to take 2 astronauts on a two week journey across the moon’s surface—will travel the route of incoming President Obama’s inaugural parade. The vehicle is a prototype. The new Lunar Electric Rover won’t be ready for years. Unlike the original Apollo-era rovers, the LER will be big—the size of a [...]

April 12, 1961. Exactly 100 years after shots were fired at Fort Sumter, starting the Civil War, another momentous event occurred: a man left the planet for the first time. Yuri Gagarin was the right man to be the first in space. Personable, with a sunny disposition and a disarming humility, he was universally liked. [...]

NASA’s martian probe, Phoenix, has successfully recharged its batteries and is sending signals back again. Hurray!