Latest from National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Pluto: 'Something that high is surprising'

Dwarf planet's icy mountains are equivalent of ten-and-a-half Sky Towers stacked on top of one another.

'Another historic leap for humankind'

Nasa release amazingly detailed photos of Pluto - and there's a surprise: youthful mountains rising high above the dwarf planet's icy surface.

NASA picks astronauts for commercial space mission

Meet the four astronauts going on the first commercial mission to space.

Nasa takes virtual reality to space

Nasa has blasted a new piece of kit into space - a virtual reality headset that will beam what the crew on the International Space Station see back to earth.

Spacecraft nearing Pluto

After giving scientists a heart attack at the weekend, Nasa's New Horizons spacecraft seems to be recovering.

Whanganui flooding - as seen from space

While the floods that swamped Whanganui appeared devastating enough from aerial pictures, the view from space has offered another perspective altogether.

Nasa boosted by out-of-this-world ideas

The United States space programme is famous for what it invented and also for how much it spent putting men on the moon.

Ice-shelf ‘gone in five years'

Antarctica's Larsen B ice-shelf is on course to disintegrate completely within the next five years, according to a study by US space agency Nasa.

Nasa balloon launch delayed again

All systems are go for the launch from Wanaka Airport this morning of Nasa's heavy-lift super pressure balloon.

Giant gas bag poised

Aballoon the size of Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium is scheduled to lift off above the scenic Central Otago town of Wanaka on Tueday and float 34km into space.

Nasa CTO to speak at SkyCity summit

Expect photos as Dawn alights on exotic dwarf planet

Nasa was last night celebrating the arrival of its space probe into the orbit of dwarf planet Ceres but Kiwi stargazers will have to wait several weeks to see any fresh footage from the Dawn probe.

Sahara's dust flies to the rescue

Millions of tonnes of nutrient-laden dust are blown to the Amazon from one of the world's most barren places

Antarctic team trains for dark side of Moon

Scientists in the Antarctic are to be trained in docking a Soyuz spacecraft on to the International Space Station as part of a series of spaceflight simulation.

NZ sunset out of this world

Photo taken from International Space Station shows the Cook Strait and North and South Islands in glorious detail as they are caught by glint of the setting sun.

Kiwi closer to lifetime on Mars

He works in a contact centre by day and in a Panmure halal butchery by night - but by 2026, Saeed Ghandhari could be manning the first human colony on Mars.