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: The public can now see the moment when spaceflight and snack history was made: the first crunch of a Doritos chip in space. The new imagery from the Polaris Dawn mission and an interview with mission specialist and medical officer Anna Menon reveal how the chips performed ("It was awesome!" says Menon). Doritos also arranged for a collectSPACE taste test of the "Zero-G Cool Ranch" chips as compared to their Earth equivalents.
: Axiom Space and Prada on Wednesday (Oct. 16) revealed the new look for astronauts walking on the moon. The space services company and Italian fashion house collaborated on the outer cover layer for Axiom's AxEMU spacesuit, which NASA's Artemis III crew will wear at the lunar south pole. The white spacesuit replaces the darker-colored prototype previously shown while the suit was still in the early stages of development.
: A SpaceX Falcon Heavy has launched NASA's first mission to an ocean world beyond Earth. Europa Clipper is now on a six-year cruise to Jupiter, where it will make 49 flybys of the icy moon Europa in search of the ingredients necessary for life to exist. The solar powered-probe is carrying eight science instruments, a plaque inscribed with an ode to water, 100 translations of the word "water" and a chip with 26 million people's names.
: With space shuttle Endeavour covered in protective scaffolding and a white wrap, construction workers have erected a diagrid above and around it. Now they have reached the roof. To mark the milestone, the California Science Center in Los Angeles is topping off the Samuel Air and Space Center with three ceremonial beams signed by many of the architects, engineers, builders, staff and supporters who made ascending to this point possible.
: Sixty-two years ago on Thursday (Oct. 3), Wally Schirra lifted off on his Mercury mission wearing his personal wristwatch, a newly-released 2nd-generation Omega Speedmaster. Though he could not know it at the time, his choice led to six-decade-long legacy of Omega watches flying in Earth orbit and beyond. Now, a new "The First Omega in Space" Speedmaster honors that history by combining heritage details with a modern calibre.
: A large, early piece of space shuttle history embarked on a short road trip in California on Thursday (Oct. 17). The mock orbiter "Inspiration" was delivered to a facility for its restoration. The model was built in 1972 to sell NASA on Rockwell's design concept for the spacecraft and then used to fit check payloads flying on the shuttle into space. When ready for display, "Inspiration" will go to the Columbia Memorial Space Center in Downey.
: Blue Origin has donated a New Shepard booster and capsule to the Smithsonian. The rocket, which was the first to reach space and then land on its legs, will stand in "RTX Living in the Space Age," a gallery now being renovated in the National Air and Space Museum. The capsule will be in "Futures in Space," an exhibit about advancements including space tourism. Both Blue Origin donations will debut with their galleries in 2026.
: In a feat involving rocketry and robotics, SpaceX has successfully captured a rocket in mid-air returning to its launch pad using a giant pair of arms like chopsticks. The catch, which was one of the goals of Sunday's (Oct. 13) fifth integrated flight test of the Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy booster, advanced SpaceX's pursuit of "full and rapid reusability." While the booster was recovered, Starship sank in the Indian Ocean as planned.
: Guests touring Space Center Houston will soon be able to experience a "day in the life" of an astronaut living in lunar orbit aboard NASA's Artemis Gateway. The visitor center for Johnson Space Center on Tuesday (Oct. 8) took delivery of Northrop Grumman's first full-size mockup of a cis-lunar habitat, which evolved into the Gateway's HALO, or Habitation and Logistics Outpost. The module is being added to the center's Artemis exhibit.
: Purdue University has digitized thousands of pages containing the words spoken by Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong at his many talks, addresses and speeches. The online archive reveals the moonwalker's handwritten notations and quips, which he made while preparing his remarks. The physical documents, which were donated by Armstrong's wife Carol, are just one part of his archives held by the Indiana school.
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