NASA | DD News

October 22, 2025 11:27 AM

Musk, NASA chief Duffy jostle over space agency leadership

Acting NASA chief Sean Duffy and billionaire Elon Musk on Tuesday traded barbs online over who should lead the space agency, a day after Duffy invited companies to compete with Musk's SpaceX for a moon landing mission. The spat involving the U.S. space program and the SpaceX CEO, which have extensive financial ties, spilled into public view after Musk responded on social media platform X to reports Duffy wants to fold the National Aeronautics and Space Administration into the Transport...

October 21, 2025 9:34 AM

NASA opens SpaceX’s moon lander contract to rivals over Starship delays

NASA said on Monday it was opening the marquee U.S. moon landing contract to other bidders because Elon Musk's SpaceX has experienced mounting delays with its Starship lunar lander. The move paves the way for rivals such as Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin to snatch a high-profile mission to land the first astronauts on the moon in half a century. "I'm in the process of opening that contract up. I think we'll see companies like Blue get involved, and maybe others," the U.S. space agency's acting chief ...

September 11, 2025 1:41 PM

NASA rover finds potential sign of ancient life in Martian rocks

A sample obtained by NASA's Perseverance rover of reddish rock formed billions of years ago from sediment on the bottom of a lake contains potential signs of ancient microbial life on Mars, according to scientists, though the minerals spotted in the sample also can form through nonbiological processes. The discovery by the six-wheeled rover in Jezero Crater represents one of the best pieces of evidence to date about the possibility that Earth's planetary neighbor once harbored life. Perseveran...

July 30, 2025 10:58 PM

NISAR launch a landmark in Indo-US space cooperation, set to transform earth observation: Jitendra Singh

Union Minister of State Dr. Jitendra Singh lauded the successful launch of the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite on Wednesday, calling it a "global benchmark" in Earth observation and a powerful symbol of Indo-US scientific collaboration. Though parliamentary duties kept him in the capital, Singh joined scientists and senior officials at the CSIR Auditorium in New Delhi to witness the satellite’s flawless lift-off aboard the GSLV-F16 rocket via live telecast from Satish Dha...

July 30, 2025 7:35 PM

India launches NISAR satellite to track climate threats from space

India launched on Wednesday a $1.5 billion, first-of-its-kind radar imaging satellite built in collaboration with NASA, deploying it to help enhance global monitoring of climate change and natural disasters. The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar, or NISAR satellite, is the first such collaboration between the Indian Space Research Organisation and U.S. space agency NASA. It took off from India's Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 1210 GMT atop a medium-lift rocket, marking a milestone in space coo...

July 15, 2025 2:40 PM

Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla’s space mission will boost India’s Gaganyaan project: ISRO

Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla's space mission will play a crucial role in India's first manned spaceflight under the Gaganyaan programme, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said on Monday. Shukla became the first Indian in 41 years to travel to space where he undertook scientific experiments aboard the International Space Station (ISS). "This has been an unforgettable experience for him (Shubhanshu Shukla). He carried out multiple experiments aboard the Space Shuttle and the Int...

July 15, 2025 2:01 PM

Shubhanshu Shukla’s parents excited ahead of Dragon spacecraft splashdown

As the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft prepares for splashdown, excitement and happiness run high in the family of Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla - the first Indian astronaut to visit the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission. Speaking to ANI, his mother, Asha Shukla said. “We are very excited... When we saw the undocking, we knew he was on his way home. We are waiting eagerly for our son. He will reach by evening. We prayed for his well-being, visited the temple, ...

June 27, 2025 3:07 PM

Shubhanshu Shukla’s parents, teacher celebrate his journey to ISS

The parents and teacher of India's second astronaut, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, expressed immense pride on Friday after his successful arrival at the International Space Station (ISS). Speaking to IANS, they shared their emotions, expressing joy and gratitude to God for his safe journey and lauding his remarkable achievement. IAF officer Shukla made history as the first Indian to reach the ISS and only the second Indian to travel to space, nearly 41 years after Wing Commander Rakesh Shar...

June 26, 2025 1:13 PM

Shubhanshu Shukla shares first in-flight experience on Axiom 4 mission

The Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew shared their first in-flight update from orbit early Wednesday, offering a glimpse into life aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft as they journey to the International Space Station (ISS). Axiom Space said on X: “Tune in LIVE with the #Ax4 crew for their FIRST in-flight event at 01:47 AM EDT.” SpaceX also confirmed the update: “First opportunity to talk live with the Ax-4 crew on-orbit will be in roughly 15 minutes at ~1:47 a.m. ET this morning.” During t...