See who is in space right now

Who’s in space right now?

Hundreds of people (and a few animals) have been to space since the first creatures flew past the Kármán line in 1947. There are a handful of astronauts aboard the International Space Station at any time, while others may be cresting space in...

Read about every visitor to the International Space Station

The US has sent the most astronauts to the ISS, with 170 visitors, followed by 64 from Russia, 11 from Japan, and nine from Canada. American astronauts Michael E. Lopez-Alegria and Peggy A. Whitson and Russian cosmonauts Yuri Malenchenko and Fyodor Yurchikhin have the most trips, with five each.

Watch a montage of space-based Earth views as astronauts discuss their overview experiences

As of 2023, more than 600 astronauts and 63 space tourists have seen Earth from space, experiencing a life-changing perspective shift as they view the entirety of our home planet.

See a timeline of the space race

This interactive timeline chronicles the space race from its Cold War origins to the moon landing, highlighting key figures, pivotal moments, and rapid technological advancements. It combines archival photos, video, and links to related material.

Explore a timeline of the International Space Station National Lab

In 1984, President Ronald Reagan called for establishing a human presence in space, which began with NASA astronaut Bill Shepherd and Russian cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev on November 2, 2000. Humans have continuously occupied the ISS every day since.

Watch how dozens of everyday human tasks are performed in space

This playlist features clips of astronauts aboard the International Space Station explaining how they cook, eat, sleep, and conduct research in microgravity. Other activities to pass the time, including watering plants and playing soccer, are also shown.

A data visualization exploring six decades of spacewalks

Astronauts' initial small step for mankind may standout, but how many steps have we taken so far? Space and moonwalks further our understanding of spaceflight, celestial bodies, and space itself. Created to resemble a constellation map, this chart...

Explore an interactive diary of the International Space Station

The tool enables users to learn about the daily events that occurred on the ISS since continuous human occupancy began on November 2, 2000. Upon selecting a date in the calendar, users can explore activity logs, relevant news, and multimedia content, including videos, photographs, and audiologs, from the onboard crew.

A global list of every space exploration mission

Learn how and why we explore our solar system and beyond with space exploration missions, and find out how you can get involved.

Explore a series of NASA visualizations tracking satellites and space debris

The series illustrates the population of objects orbiting Earth as of February 2024, using data from US Space Command. These include active satellites, defunct spacecraft, rocket bodies and debris fragments larger than roughly 10 centimeters in low Earth orbit.

View a timeline of NASA's Space Shuttle program, which saw five reusable orbiters take a total of 355 astronauts across a combined distance of almost six trips to the sun.

View 60 years of NASA space exploration

Established in 1958—a year after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1—the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has taken humanity into outer space and helped reveal the nature of the universe. Historic moments include the Apollo 11 mission putting humanity on the Moon and construction of the International Space Station.

Visualize the impact of approximately 9,000 metric tons of satellites and space debris orbiting Earth—70% of which, including the International Space Station and the Hubble Space Telescope, do so in low Earth orbit.

Explore how far you've traveled through space while living on Earth

Using the "Cosmic Odometer," users can enter their birthday and learn how far they have moved through space due to the combined effects of Earth's rotation around its axis, the planet's orbit around the sun, the solar system's trajectory through the Milky Way, and the galaxy's motion through the universe.

Take a virtual tour of the International Space Station

The ISS is the largest human-made object in space. Its modules were meticulously connected by robotic arms and astronauts during slow, careful spacewalks, creating a structure with over eight miles of electrical wire.

Watch the Space Olympics from the International Space Station

From "synchronized space swimming" to "weightless sharpshooting," crew members in 2021 competed in microgravity versions of events from the summer Games. The "lack-of-floor routine" featured mid-air gymnastics as astronauts floated through space station modules.

What was the Space Race?

​Want to know more about the Space Race? This article from the National Air and Space Museum dives into this intense Cold War competition between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Explore how the race transitioned from military rivalry to a quest for space exploration dominance, leading to milestones like the first satellite, Sputnik, and the iconic Apollo 11 Moon landing.

Increasing space tourism may require changing the definition of astronaut

Though astronaut has been used to describe any crew member in space, civilian explorers who lack formal training have instead been dubbed "space travelers" by some. The term astronaut may one day fall out of use or be modified by ongoing media and social perceptions as the space tourism industry continues to evolve.

In 2001, a $20M ticket officially kicked off space tourism

On that day, American businessman Dennis Tito became the first paying passenger to visit space, spending a week aboard the International Space Station. Since then, space participants have been members of suborbital flights, which do not require intensive training to prepare for.

View the docket of future SpaceX launches

SpaceX has established an efficient schedule for launches of ISS crew shuttles and Starlink satellites, with blastoffs occurring just under once every four days in 2023—a pace that has since accelerated as the company has won more contracts.

A quick guide to everything SpaceX

SpaceX has single-handedly reignited commercial space exploration, with its reusable rockets, broadband satellite constellation, and plans to populate Mars. The company has gone from a mere idea in 2002 to the world's most well-known private space company. Learn the basics about this pivotal company with this quick guide from CNET.

The crew of the ISS creates unique memorials for deceased colleagues

The continued human occupancy of the International Space Station since 2000 has led to the development of social and cultural elements by crew members, which the ISS Archaeology Project has catalogued. Records of handmade cakes, decorations, and memorabilia highlight the human aspect of living in space.

John Glenn's Friendship 7 flight finally put the US in orbit in February 1962

After the Soviets took the lead in the space race, John Glenn's three-orbit Friendship 7 mission on February 20, 1962, made him the first American to orbit Earth. This NASA anniversary piece delivers a minute-by-minute account—from launch delays to splashdown and recovery.

NASA was founded in response to early Soviet space achievements

Although starting behind in the Space Race in 1958, NASA became a global leader in humanity's exploration of space with the Apollo program, which placed astronauts on the moon. Since then, it has been responsible for the construction of multiple telescopes, the International Space Station, and development of the Artemis program to return humans to the Moon before eventually reaching Mars.

Astronauts follow strict schedules to mimic Earth days and stay healthy in space

Experiencing 15 sunrises and sunsets a day while aboard the International Space Station, visitors preserve their circadian rhythms and mental health with fixed timetables. Astronauts have described sleep as living in a vacuum cleaner due to ongoing air filtration.

A short history of space exploration

Let us to take you back through the timeline of space exploration and its rich, fascinating history, starting in 1946, with a rudimentary German military rocket.

As of 2022, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, and SpaceX are the primary space tourism companies

Blue Origin offers 11-minute suborbital flights for $28M, while Virgin Galactic provides a 90-minute suborbital flight for $450,000. SpaceX offers orbital flights for $55M, including trips to the International Space Station, and plans to offer civilians trips to the moon by 2030.

On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space

In 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit Earth, deepening US fears of falling behind in the space race. Watch archival footage to see why the mission was such a historic turning point.

Take a 360-degree tour of Discovery with Kathryn Sullivan and Charles Bolden, who flew together on the space shuttle during its deployment of the Hubble Space Telescope. (VR device-compatible)

Who owns outer space?

More and more material ends up in Earth's orbit, posing threats to orbiting space stations and satellites. A 1960s treaty technically made space the common property of humankind, but with increasing chances of conflict in space, things can seem anarchic. This video breaks down the brewing tensions in space.

Soviet cosmonaut Yury Gagarin was the first human to journey into outer space

In 1961, aboard Vostok 1, the pilot orbited the Earth once for 108 minutes. On his return, he parachuted out of his capsule and landed in a field near present-day Space Conquerors Park, south of Moscow.

A real-time 3D-explorer of the solar system

NASA's Eyes on the Solar System allows you to track all kinds of objects in space in real time, from observatories like the James Webb Telescope to all manner of comets and asteroids. Zoom in and out, read up on space missions, and see the solar system from a totally new angle with this incredible interactive site. Jump in here.

There are trillions of pieces of space trash that are too small to be tracked

Although scientists monitor more than 24,000 pieces of large orbital debris, space junk can be as small as a paint fleck. The density of this trash is steadily increasing with the growth of the space industry on Earth.

Space tourism opportunities have been explored since the end of the Apollo era

In the 1970s, Rockwell International, a NASA contractor, and others investigated manufacturing passenger modules that could fit into the Space Shuttle's payload bay. NASA also opened spaceflights to nongovernment professionals, but many such programs were ended after the Challenger disaster, which killed the first Teacher in Space participant.

Visualizing Earth's space garbage

An unsavory byproduct of humanity's brilliant exploration of space, the Moon, and more, is the rapid production of space debris floating around in orbit. Its estimated over 25,000 objects are in orbit, a number that grows everyday as satellites are decommissioned, rockets enter orbit, and more. Now, you can visualize what this debris looks like from a zoomed-out perspective with this brief video.

SpaceX has launched thousands of its Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit

Every launched batch of satellites contains roughly 60 of the desk-sized gadgets. The batch is released at random into an initial orbit, and it takes time for them to naturally spread out enough before operators begin unfolding their antennae.

Explore a collection of resources celebrating the 20th anniversary of the ISS

The media includes a 3D model of the International Space Station, a gallery of images taken from there of Earth, a set of virtual puzzles created from images related to the station, and an ISS digital coloring book.

Has anyone had sex in space?

Reproduction is a basic human function, and while we've spent decades in space, no research has been done into the process. With many discussing the possibility of human-occupied bases on the moon, Mars, and more, understanding how sex works outside...

The Teacher in Space program was launched in 1984 to highlight spaceflight in US classrooms

Announced by President Ronald Reagan, the program drew more than 11,000 teacher applicants nationwide. Christa McAuliffe was selected to fly on STS-51L, with plans to teach live lessons from orbit before the Challenger disaster ended the mission.

Astronauts exercise on the International Space Station

Astronauts maintain bone, muscle, and cardiovascular health with physical activity. It's crucial that they make time to exercise for approximately two hours per day. This resource offers a behind-the-scenes look at how high-intensity workouts help prevent muscle atrophy, bone density loss, and aerobic decline during monthslong space missions.

NASA has partnered with several private companies to promote commercial space stations

The retirement of the International Space Station in 2030 has led NASA to refocus its efforts on continuing microgravity research through private partnerships, including the support of multiple commercial space stations' design and development.

Watch a livestream of Earth from the International Space Station

The feed is made possible by the SpaceTV-1 camera system, which is live over 20 hours a day. Video replays are shown during routine loss of signal communications with the inter-satellite link relaying the video data.

Five hazards of human spaceflight

From space radiation to isolation, humans struggle when it comes to traveling and living in space. What does this mean for long-term spaceflight? This hour-long podcast episode attempts to answer that question while detailing five major spaceflight hazards.

Watch what it’s like to spend a day on the International Space Station

Microgravity makes personal care more complex on the International Space Station, where stray, floating materials must be captured to prevent them from entering vents and clogging filtration vents. No-rinse shampoo, water pouches, and other strategies help minimize obstructions.

Hear the story of a cosmonaut stranded in space after the Soviet Union collapsed

When the USSR dissolved in 1991, cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev was still aboard a space station—forcing him to remain in orbit for months longer than planned. This limited podcast series recounts the event, hosted by astronaut and pop star Lance Bass.

See where the James Webb Space Telescope is in space right now

Webb travels through space in a stable orbit, but unlike the Hubble, it doesn't orbit around Earth. The Webb orbits around the sun in a way that allows it to always be in line with the Earth, as you can see in this visualization of the telescope's real-time position.

Space travel sparked inventions we now use every day

Technologies developed for space exploration produced lasting spinoff innovations—from camera phones to memory foam—displaying how the space race reshaped everyday life here on Earth

Hear about the rivalries and unlikely figures that defined the space race

American History Tellers explores the space race across four episodes, tracing stories from Wernher von Braun's push to turn missiles into rockets to the intrigue surrounding Apollo 11 and the moon landing that symbolized the race's end.

Major milestones of the Space Shuttle program's 135 missions included the launches of the Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and the first American woman and African-American astronauts in space.

The International Space Station is slowly falling due to atmospheric drag

To stay in orbit, the largest human-made object in space needs periodic rocket boosts to maintain its orbital speed and height. Its solar panels collect enough energy to power over 60 average US homes each year.