Cernan, a captain in the United States Navy, left his mark on the history of exploration by flying three times in space, twice to the moon.

Around 600 scientists and engineers are hoping for the best as they forge ahead with plans of making an indigenous version of a space shuttle.

The US space agency NASA is planning an ambitious mission involving international scientists to explore the possibility of life on Europa, the moon of planet Jupiter.

The International Space Station has completed 15 years of continuous human presence.

NASA has confirmed its New Horizons probe worked flawlessly on its flight past Pluto.

The Indian-American astronaut will fly the first space capsules built by private companies, SpaceX and Boeing.

India and the United States, after sending their own respective spacecraft into Mars' orbit, have now agreed to cooperate on future explorations of the Red Planet, which America said will yield "tangible benefits" to both the countries and the world at large.

Two weeks after India successfully launched its maiden Mars mission, America's National Aeronautics and Space Administration has launched a new spacecraft to orbit the red planet to probe how it lost its atmosphere and abundant liquid water.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has mourned the death of Neil Armstrong, a 'true American hero' and the first man to set foot on the moon.

A "deeply saddened" United States President Barack Obama hailed Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the moon, as one of the greatest American heroes of all times, and said that it was he who taught the enormous power of one small step

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration on Friday announced new agreements with three American commercial companies, including Boeing, to design and develop the next generation of United States human spaceflight capabilities, enabling a launch of astronauts from the US soil in the next five years.

Sally Ride, the first US woman to go into space, has died after a 17-month battle against cancer. She was 61.

US space shuttle Discovery lifted off for its final flight from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida to deliver a new module and critical supplies to the International Space Station, late Thursday night.

The NASA budget includes $4.3 billion for the Space Shuttle and International Space Station programs, $5 billion for science, $3.9 billion for future exploration systems and $569 million for aeronautics research.

Identifying India as a 'big partner' of the US space programme, NASA has applauded the country's efforts in using its space missions for "societal needs." "I think it's 85 per cent of their budget is spent on what they call societal needs. It's earth science, climate change, those kinds of things, and they still insist that they're going to bring about a human space flight programme, you know, by 2020 or so," NASA Administrator Charles F Bolden said.