With the government reopened, the space agency at last released pictures captured by a fleet of government spacecraft of an object that came from beyond our solar system.
The ESCAPADE mission, which launched to space on a Blue Origin rocket on Thursday, breaks the mold of how planetary science missions typically come together.
Scientists who study comets are struggling to keep up with popular speculation that the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS was sent to our solar system by an alien intelligence.
The nomination of the billionaire entrepreneur, private astronaut and Elon Musk ally was before the floor of the Senate when the president abruptly withdrew it in June.
Blue Origin, owned by Jeff Bezos, and Lockheed Martin are among the contractors that may compete with Elon Musk’s company in the race back to the lunar surface.
In a preview of their flight, the crew of Artemis II, three Americans and a Canadian, struck a tone that veered away from the political currents of the moment.