April 1, 2025

/ 1:15 p.m. CT (1815 GMT)

Polar orbit indicator

: Although it was only briefly seen during SpaceX's live webcast of the launch, the Fram2 mission's zero-gravity indicator was instantly recognizable: a polar bear for the first human spaceflight to fly into polar orbit around Earth. The doll, however, had more to it than being shaped after the arctic carnivore; it also has the image of an emperor penguin embroidered on its chest, as a nod to flying over Antarctica and the South Pole, as well.

April 3, 2025

/ 3:10 p.m. CT (2010 GMT)

To honor 'AII'

: NASA's Artemis II astronauts have debuted the mission patch for their trip around the moon. The insignia has elements that reference the first humans to enter lunar orbit in 1968, as well as the efforts that will come after Artemis II, to establish a presence on the moon and send astronauts to Mars. Crewmates Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen chose to abbreviate Artemis II to AII on the patch as an honor to all.

April 4, 2025

/ 2:00 p.m. CT (1900 GMT)

Rockets, astronauts and ... cats

: What do returning to the moon and space exploration mean to you? That was the question put to student and adult crafters by the Lunar Quilt Block Challenge led by first quilter in space, astronaut Karen Nyberg. The results, now on display at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., are a colorful pair of patchwork blankets depicting astronauts, rockets, capsules and bootprints, as well as, perhaps surprisingly, a few cats.

April 7, 2025

/ 9:00 a.m. CT (1400 GMT)

OBMVxGRC

: Ohio drivers will soon be able to show support for NASA during their daily commute. A new specialty license plate for NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland will be offered by the state's Bureau of Motor Vehicles beginning Wednesday (April 9). The license plate displays the name of the facility and NASA "meatball" logo, along with the Wright Flyer and the phrase, "The Birthplace of Aviation." NASA will not get money from the plate sales.

April 8, 2025

/ 1:10 a.m. CT (0610 GMT)

Soyuz MS-27 launches

: Stop us if you have heard this one before: a Navy SEAL, doctor and astronaut launch into space... and that is just one of the crew members aboard Soyuz MS-27. Johnny Kim earned his trident and a medical degree before becoming an astronaut with NASA's 22nd class in 2017. Now, he is on his first spaceflight with cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, lifting off on Tuesday (April 8) for the International Space Station.

April 8, 2025

/ 11:15 a.m. CT (1615 GMT)

Probe pins

: They've circled Earth, set down on planets, moons and comets, and gone on grand tours of the outer reaches of our solar system before going interstellar. Now, Chop Shop wants to pin them down with your help. The design studio is crowdfunding a set of collectible lapel pins celebrating historic robotic spacecraft. The Voyagers, Cassini, Mars Science Laboratories and Sputnik have been picked for pins; a fifth probe will be decided by public votes.

April 10, 2025

/ 6:45 p.m. CT (2345 GMT)

Demanding Discovery

: Two Texas senators have introduced legislation that would strip the Smithsonian of the retired space shuttle Discovery and send it to Houston for display. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz filed the "Bring the Space Shuttle Home Act" on Thursday (April 10), which calls for NASA to take back the title and move the winged orbiter from the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia to Space Center Houston.

April 11, 2025

/ 2:55 p.m. CT (1955 GMT)

The Dream is [still] Alive

: Every scene shot in space for the 1985 IMAX film "The Dream is Alive" was planned in advance and a first take. "There were no reshoots," said Marsha Ivins, who was filmed on the ground for the giant screen movie but did not make it in. All, that is, except one: the two spacewalkers waving through the shuttle's aft flight deck windows was a surprise, said cinematographer James Neihouse at a Smithsonian event for the film's 40th.

April 14, 2025

/ 8:50 a.m. CT (1350 GMT)

They're up, then they're down

: Katy Perry, Gayle King and four more women flew into space on Monday (April 14) as Blue Origin's 11th New Shepard crew and first to be all female. The 10-minute sub-orbital mission qualified each woman as an astronaut and the contents of their personal payload packs "space-certified" mementos. So what did each NS-31 crew member pick to fly? A mix of muppets, an Apollo artifact, Bahamian chowder and more.

April 17, 2025

/ 9:30 p.m. CT (0230 GMT Apr 18)

First man's gold moonwatch

: An 18-karat gold version of the first watch worn on the moon that was presented to the first person to walk on the moon has set a record for the most paid for an astronaut's timepiece. Neil Armstrong's Omega "Tribute to Astronauts" Speedmaster Professional chronograph commanded $2.2 million at RR Auction on Thursday (April 17). The sale now ranks as the third highest for a space-related artifact at a public auction.

April 19, 2025

/ 9:25 p.m. CT (0225 GMT Apr 20)

Pettit's birthday party

: Don Pettit marked his 70th birthday by returning home to Earth on Saturday (April 19). Descending from the International Space Station on board Soyuz MS-26, Pettit landed with Aleksey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner after 220 days in orbit. Already NASA's oldest active astronaut when he launched last September, Pettit's birthday "party" brought together Russian recovery teams in Kazakhstan, where it was April 20 (his birthdate).

April 21, 2025

/ 5:50 p.m. CT (2250 GMT)

Wall of Honor

: The names of the more than 20,000 people who have worked at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center since 1960 are now listed on the Space Exploration Wall of Honor. Part of the newly-redone Rocket Park at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, the wall stands a testament to its honorees contributions to landing astronauts on the moon, sending space telescopes into orbit and charting a path to launching humans to Mars.

April 24, 2025

/ 2:50 p.m. CT (1950 GMT)

Shenzhou-20 at Tiangong

: China launched its 15th human spaceflight Thursday (April 24) and six-and-a-half hours later docked to the Tiangong space station for a six-month stay. Shenzhou 20 commander Chen Dong, together with first-time fliers Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie, will conduct more than 60 science investigations, perform spacewalks to install debris shields and run public outreach and educational activities, while keeping Tiangong running.

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