On Friday, the dome was closed and the study began. Six people recruited by NASA have started a yearlong study on a barren Hawaiian volcano inside a dome , according to the BBC. The goal: Make it through a full year under conditions that simulate a mission to Mars. The group is made up of , DW.com said. The four Americans chosen for the study are a doctor, pilot, architect and soil specialist, the report added. (MORE: ) According to...

Summer's end is officially near, as September's most-famous astronomical event — the autumnal equinox — is just around the corner. This annual transition from summer to fall occurs this year on Wednesday, Sept. 23. On this day, day and night are approximately equal in length, marking the northern hemisphere's move toward the shorter days of winter. After fall's official start, there's immediately something in the sky to look forward to: the appearance of a brilliant orange moon, nicknamed the ,...

At only 310 miles in diameter, one of Saturn's tiny moons might be hiding a big secret. Enceladus may be just 14 percent the size of Earth's moon, but NASA in the coming years, according to Space.com. They're hoping to launch a mission to the moon by the end of 2021, just after they begin a different mission to one of Jupiter's moons, Europa, in 2020, the report added. An artist's rendering of Saturn's moon Enceladus that depicts possible hydrothermal...

Astronaut Kjell Lindgren photographed this spectacular lightning strike on Earth from the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday. (MAP: ) This is just the latest lightning strike photo or video taken by various crewmembers aboard the ISS in recent years. However, what makes it unique is that you can see the reflection of the lightning strike on an ISS solar panel (top right). The photo also gives a beautiful view of space and the Earth's horizon. (Kjell Lindgren/Twitter/NASA) , so...

A large group of sunspots that rotated across the Sun from Aug. 21 to Aug. 26 started out as a single cluster, but gradually separated into distinct groups. The still image shows the separated group as it appeared on Aug. 26. (Solar Dynamics Observatory/NASA) From Aug. 21 to Aug. 26, the large group of sunspots scientists known as AR2403 were visible. They have since rotated out of view, but provided a spectacular sight. NASA reported that as the sun rotated...

NASA photographer Bill Ingalls recently captured one of the most unique images we've ever seen of the International Space Station. The International Space Station passes in front of the sun on Sept. 6, 2015. (NASA/Bill Ingalls) On Sunday, Ingalls was in the perfect spot to witness something incredible: the ISS passing in front of the sun. According to Space.com, in Virginia when he got the stunning shot. The photo is actually a composite of five images that show the ISS...

New Horizons scientists made this false-color image of Pluto using a technique called principal component analysis to highlight the many subtle color differences between Pluto's distinct regions. The image data were collected by the spacecraft’s Ralph/MVIC color camera on July 14 at 11:11 AM UTC, from a range of 22,000 miles (35,000 kilometers). (Credits:NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI) Diverse dunes, nitrogen ice flows, rocky peaks and valleys that give way to smooth plains: They're all part of the surface of the dwarf planet Pluto,...

American astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko mark the halfway point of on Tuesday, Sept. 15. The year-long literal trip around the world will study the physical and mental effects of sustained time in space. Kelly's identical twin, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, is also being examined as part of the research to determine the subtle impact of space flight on individuals with the same genetics. On Monday, Sept. 14, Scott Kelly said during a NASA press conference that...

New Horizons scientists made this false-color image of Pluto using a technique called principal component analysis to highlight the many subtle color differences between Pluto's distinct regions. The image data were collected by the spacecraft’s Ralph/MVIC color camera on July 14 at 11:11 AM UTC, from a range of 22,000 miles (35,000 kilometers). (Credits:NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI) The latest photo dump from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft — which made humanity's to the dwarf planet in July — has wowed scientists with its detailed...

Before you hit the "share" button on that story about the Earth's destruction by an asteroid this month, know this: NASA says it won't happen. An artist's rendering of a large asteroid impact on Earth. (Thinkstock/iStock/James Thew) Despite the claims from social media that the end of humanity is imminent, there is no scientific evidence that a catastrophic impact will happen between Sept. 15 and 28. The chatter and rumors spread so quickly that NASA felt it was necessary to...

Astronauts on the International Space Station are the science sweethearts of social media, regularly posting incredible photos of our planet from space. But a newly-released image from NASA, taken from above the Bahamas, is getting a lot of extra attention. This week, NASA shared an astronaut’s photo shot July 19 above Great Exhuma Island, one of the more remote islands of the Bahamas. The astronaut was trying to capture the area’s prominent tidal channels that run between the islands, where...

Scientists have analyzed the relationship between the moon’s gravitational pull and ocean tides on Earth for centuries, but a recent NASA discovery finds that our planet’s gravity may be giving something back. A NASA press release from earlier this month claims that in a manner similar to the way the moon influences our tides. Looking at images taken in 2010 from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), researchers found 14 different cracks along the moon’s surface. The cracks were linked to...