NASA releases stunning new view of Mars The new Curiosity rover “postcard” celebrates its 5,000th Martian day, combining panoramas captured on the Red Planet in late August and early September

NASA awards SpaceX three additional crewed missions to the International Space Station. SpaceX will launch NASA’s Crew-15, Crew-16, and Crew-17 missions aboard Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon from Florida. The updated CCtCap contract brings SpaceX’s total number of NASA crewed missions to 17, supporting sustained U.S. access to the ISS. The missions will continue using Crew Dragon as NASA’s primary commercial crew spacecraft for transporting astronauts to and from the station. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon program continues to play a central role in maintaining crewed access to the ISS.

NASA and Boeing $BA are discussing using Starliner for 10 or more future low-Earth orbit missions. Starliner hasn’t flown since its 2024 test mission suffered thruster problems, forcing two NASA astronauts to return months later aboard SpaceX Crew Dragon. The renewed talks come as NASA looks for another U.S. crew option while SpaceX stops building new Dragon spacecraft and shifts focus toward Starship. NASA separately awarded SpaceX three additional Crew Dragon missions through 2030 on Friday. Source: WSJ

NASA selects SpaceX to launch the StarBurst gamma-ray detector aboard a Falcon 9. StarBurst is a SmallSat carrying 12 scintillation detectors to monitor the unocculted sky for short gamma-ray bursts linked to neutron star mergers. The mission will support multimessenger astronomy alongside gravitational-wave observatories, helping scientists study these powerful cosmic events. Launch is targeted for no earlier than 2028 aboard a Falcon 9 Bandwagon rideshare from Cape Canaveral. Selected through NASA’s Astrophysics Pioneers Program under the VADR contract, the low-cost mission highlights how rideshare launches can make space science more affordable. SpaceX continues to expand access to orbit for smaller scientific missions.