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/ 8:40 p.m. CT (0240 GMT Feb 2)
Inspiration4: In a new twist on an old space tradition, collecting a souvenir mission patch can now result in winning a seat onboard the same mission. Billionaire Jared Isaacman is underwriting SpaceX's first all-civilian space mission and has turned to contests to find his "Inspiration4" crewmates. One of the seats is being given away in a raffle benefiting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Entrants can receive perks for their donations, including Inspiration4 patches, challenge coins and other mission memorabilia.
/ 8:35 p.m. CT (0235 GMT Feb 3)
S.S. Katherine Johnson: In celebration of Black History Month, Northrop Grumman has named its next space station resupply spacecraft after NASA mathematician and former "hidden figure" Katherine Johnson. The NG-15 Cygnus will honor Johnson, whose trajectory calculations supported the launch of John Glenn, the first U.S. astronaut to orbit Earth, 59 years ago this month.
/ 12:00 a.m. CT (0600 GMT)
Moon (tree) dust: Fifty years ago, it was a seed orbiting the moon. Forty-five years ago, it was a seedling planted at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Four years ago, it fell in a hurricane. Now, what remains of the "Moon Tree" have been mixed into the paint that artist Chris Calle used to create "Touched by the Moon," a tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 14 lunar landing mission.
/ 1:00 p.m. CT (1900 GMT)
Pathfinder has landed: An early mockup of a space shuttle orbiter has returned to the ground at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Alabama, 30 years after being hoisted onto exhibit atop an external tank and twin solid rocket boosters. The Pathfinder, which was built by NASA to fit check test facilities before becoming a display model, will be assessed prior to receiving a multi-year restoration.
/ 3:30 p.m. CT (2130 GMT)
SpaceX surpasses Skylab: The four crew members who launched on board SpaceX's Dragon "Resilience" last November spoke to Skylab 4 science pilot Ed Gibson on Sunday (Feb. 7), to mark their spacecraft overtaking his for the U.S. flight duration record. The Dragon reached 84 days, 1 hour and 15 minutes in space 47 years (shy one day) after the Skylab 4 command module logged the same.
/ 2:10 p.m. CT (2010 GMT)
'Hope' orbits Mars: The UAE (United Arab Emirates) is now the fifth government entity in history to successfully deploy a spacecraft into orbit around Mars. The country's Hope (or "Al-Amal" in Arabic) probe arrived at the Red Planet on Tuesday (Feb. 9) to begin forming the first complete picture of the Martian atmosphere. The Emirates Mars Mission is the first Arab-led interplanetary endeavor.
/ 10:45 a.m. CT (1645 GMT)
Tianwen-1 orbits Mars: China is now the sixth country to successfully deploy a probe into orbit around Mars. China's Tianwen-1 spacecraft, including an orbiter, lander and rover, arrived at the planet on Wednesday (Feb. 10), a few months ahead of attempting a landing in Mars' Utopia Planitia impact basin. Tianwen-1 is China's second attempt at orbiting and first try at landing on Mars.
/ 2:20 p.m. CT (2020 GMT)
'For All Mankind' app: Now available from the Apple App Store, "For All Mankind: Time Capsule" augments the Apple TV+ alternate space race series. Using augmented reality (AR), the iPhone and iPad app allows users to discover some of the events that occurred in the decade between the show's first two seasons, including a timeline for how the Apollo-era still brought rise to the space shuttle.
/ 12:00 a.m. CT (0600 GMT)
Perseverance postmark: The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is prepared to celebrate the landing of NASA's Perseverance rover on Mars just as soon as the wheeled explorer is confirmed safely on the surface of the Red Planet. A special postmark dated for Thursday's (Feb. 18) touchdown will go into production and use once a signal confirms that Perseverance is the ground in Jezero Crater.
/ 1:30 p.m. CT (1930 GMT)
Perseverance pastry: Krispy Kreme will offer a new, limited edition "Mars Doughnut" to celebrate NASA's Perseverance rover arriving at the Red Planet. Available only on Thursday (Feb. 18), the same day that the six-wheeled explorer will attempt to touch down, the Mars Doughnut is filled with chocolate Kreme and features a "red planet swirl" with cookie pieces "dusted" over its surface.
/ 6:35 p.m. CT (0035 GMT Feb 23)
Perseverance's POV: Just four days after it landed in Jezero Crater, you can now follow Perseverance down to the surface of Mars. The six-wheeled NASA rover has returned a video of its entry, descent and landing, which captures its point of view as it plummeted, parachuted and rocketed to the ground. Perseverance also recorded audio of the Martian wind as it gusted by the rover on the surface.
/ 1:15 p.m. CT (1945 GMT)
Apollo 13 statue: James Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert now stand in honor in the Saturn V Building at Space Center Houston, immortalized in bronze. Created by sculptors George and Mark Lundeen, along with Joey Bainer, the new statue captures the Apollo 13 astronauts at the moment they stepped off the helicopter onto an aircraft carrier, completing their recovery after the ill-fated mission.
/ 2:25 p.m. CT (2025 GMT)
Fry's shuts space station: A one-of-a-kind, full-size mockup of the International Space Station has closed in a Houston suburb after more than 15 years. The football-field-length display was part of the theming of the Fry's Electronics retail store in Webster, Texas. The chain ended business on Wednesday (Feb. 24), closing all its locations. The space station was unique not just to the store, but as a complete representation of the sprawling complex in orbit.
/ 1:15 a.m. CT (0715 GMT)
Chang'e 5 lunar soil display: Just months after being brought back to Earth, a sample of lunar soil collected by China's Chang'e 5 mission is ready to go on public display. The National Museum of China in Beijing will be exhibiting the moon material in a crystal container designed to honor the mission and what it represents for the country.
/ 12:00 a.m. CT (0600 GMT)
Astronaut appearance: As a series based on an alternate space history, Apple TV+'s "For All Mankind" has featured a number of actors playing real-life astronauts (if in name only). But it has taken until now, in Episode 2 of Season 2, that an actual astronaut has guest starred on the show. Former astronaut and "For All Mankind" technical consultant Garrett Reisman shares the story of his cameo.
/ 5:20 p.m. CT (2320 GMT)
Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters: No longer a "hidden figure," Mary W. Jackson became a central part of NASA's identity on Friday (Feb. 26) with the official naming of the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington, DC. A ceremony and sign unveiling honored Jackson, who became NASA's first Black female engineer while contributing to the agency's early missions.
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