Coronavirus

Here is Space.com's complete coverage of the coronavirus outbreak's effects on space industry, exploration and astronomy research. For other info from Live Science and Space.com: Our kids activity guide, U.S. case counts, coronavirus symptoms, our kids guide, comparison with seasonal flu and treatments in the works.

Latest Updates

three women wearing masks working at chalkboard

COVID-19 pandemic widened the gender gap in astronomy publishing

By Robert Lea published

The gender imbalance that has existed for years in astronomy research and publishing worsened when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down labs and sent scientists home.

Japan's Hayabusa 2 spacecraft will launch in 2014 on a mission to rendezvous with the asteroid 1999 JU3 in 2018 and return samples of the space rock to Earth in 2020.

Japan's asteroid samples faced surprise challenges on Earth: A pandemic, traffic jams and airport security

By Meghan Bartels published

Collecting rocks from an asteroid is rocket science; getting them to the lab is another story.

The Hubble Space Telescope has taken pictures of the oldest galaxies it can.

With COVID-19 on the rise again, 'Super Bowl of astronomy' next month canceled

By Meghan Bartels published

As COVID-19 infection rates rise once again, the leaders of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) have canceled the major conference scheduled for early January.

This NASA supercomputer model shows how greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide fluctuate in Earth’s atmosphere throughout the year. Higher concentrations are shown in red.

Pandemic lockdowns reduced greenhouse gas levels in some areas, satellite views show

By Elizabeth Howell published

Satellite data shows small but highly specific decreases in atmospheric carbon dioxide due to pandemic-related lockdowns, a new study shows.

Companies like SpaceX use liquid oxygen (LOX) as propellant for rocket launches. Now, LOX shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic could impact launches. This photo, shared by SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk on Sept. 26, 2019, shows off the three Raptor engines on one of the company’s Starship prototypes.

SpaceX faces possible liquid oxygen shortage for rocket fuel amid pandemic

By Chelsea Gohd published

As hospitals struggle to figure out how to treat patients, SpaceX fears a liquid oxygen shortage that could also jeopardize upcoming launches.

It's been a wild night aboard the International Space Station as the crew of eleven astronauts celebrated the 45th birthday of NASA's spaceman Victor Glover. But who did the cleaning up afterwards?

How do you clean a space station? Astronaut Thomas Pesquet shares orbital spring cleaning tips

By Tereza Pultarova published

ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet shares space-tested cleaning tips as he prepares for a cleaning day on the International Space Station, where special surfaces help to keep microbes at bay.

The Earth's climate continued to worsen based on key measurable parameters in 2020 despite the COVID-19 economic slowdown. (Image credit: ISS EXPEDITION 7 CREW/EOL/NASA)

Emissions slowdown during COVID-19 not enough to improve climate trends, report finds

By Tereza Pultarova last updated

The state of the global climate continued to worsen in 2020 despite the series of economically damaging lockdowns and travel limitations triggered by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope in the clean room at Northrop Grumman, Redondo Beach, California, in July 2020. Its launch is now scheduled for Oct. 31, 2021.

NASA estimates COVID-19 pandemic will cost the agency $3 billion, plus delays

By Meghan Bartels last updated

More than a year into a pandemic that has killed nearly 3 million people worldwide, NASA estimates that COVID-19 will cost the agency perhaps as much as $3 billion.

NASA astronauts Shannon Walker and Kate Rubins as seen collecting plant samples on the International Space Station on Jan. 28, 2021.

NASA astronauts in space talk coronavirus and more with the CDC

By Kasandra Brabaw last updated

Astronauts on the International Space Station spoke to the CDC about how COVID-19 affected training, how the virus has affected their work in space, and how they study microbes aboard the ISS.

A full size mockup of the International Space Station stretched over shoppers heads at Fry's Electronics in Webster, Texas. The chain of stores closed on Feb. 24, 2021.

Full-size mock International Space Station closes with end of Fry's Electronics

By Robert Z. Pearlman published

The International Space Station has gone out of business — in a Houston suburb.

Members of NASA’s Perseverance rover team react in mission control after receiving confirmation the spacecraft successfully touched down on Mars, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The team is masked and distanced with accordance to COVID-19 safety precautions.

We did it: Celebrating a Mars rover landing in the time of COVID-19

By Chelsea Gohd published

After a year of seemingly endless obstacles and challenges imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, something good finally happened: NASA landed the Perseverance rover on Mars.

Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong seen inside the Mobile Quarantine Facility during the 2.5-day trip back to port on the USS Hornet, which picked them up when they splashed down.

'Apollo 11: Quarantine' short documentary lands in IMAX theaters

By Hanneke Weitering published

"Apollo 11: Quarantine," which opens in select IMAX theaters Jan. 29, tells the story of what the Apollo 11 astronauts went through in their first 21 days back on Earth.

Dream Chaser is capable of touching down on any runway that can welcome a Boeing 737.

Dream Chaser space plane's first flight slips to 2022 due to pandemic-related delays

By Nola Taylor Tillman published

Delays, many related to COVID, have pushed the first flight of the Dream Chaser space plane to 2022.

The 237th American Astronomical Society meeting, the "Super Bowl of astronomy," will be held entirely online this week, a first, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

'Super Bowl of Astronomy' kicks off online due to global pandemic

By Elizabeth Howell published

The American Astronomical Society (AAS) is making the most of online opportunities during its 237th meeting, which will fully take place virtually this week due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In 2020, scientists announced the potential discovery of phosphine in in the clouds of Venus, sparking speculation on its implications for life.

The 10 biggest space discoveries and stories of 2020

By Doris Elin Urrutia published

This year saw a new age of sample-retrieval missions, protests against a telescope, an incredible visit from a dazzling comet and the ''great conjunction'' of Saturn and Jupiter.

NASA's Crew-1 astronauts pose for a photo as they prepare to head to Pad 39A for their SpaceX Crew Dragon launch on Nov. 15, 2020. They are (from left): NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins and Soichi Noguchi with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

The 10 biggest spaceflight stories of 2020

By Elizabeth Howell published

While 2020 was a difficult year around the world with the challenges that have come with the coronavirus pandemic, space continued to reach new heights.

The moon completely blocks the sun, revealing its faint corona, during the total solar eclipse of 2019, in Chile.

The coronavirus pandemic will leave some eclipse chasers in the dark for the total solar eclipse of 2020

By Doris Elin Urrutia last updated

On Monday (Dec. 14), a total solar eclipse will sweep across South America's cone, from Chile to Argentina.

A view of Venus from NASA's Mariner 10 spacecraft based on data captured in 1974.India is now planning to launch its own Venus orbiter in 2024.

India to launch Shukrayaan Venus mission in 2024 after pandemic delays: reports

By Elizabeth Howell last updated

India plans to launch a new orbiter to Venus a year later than planned in 2024, according to media reports, although the country's space agency hasn't published an update to its website yet.

One-month free trial: ABCMouse teaches and entertains kids

By Jeanna Bryner published

A great way to keep children busy and learning when stuck indoors.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine speak with NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken prior to a scrubbed launch on May 27, 2020. Hurley and Behnken successfully launched on their next attempt, on May 30, and spent two months at the International Space Station.

SpaceX's Elon Musk says he's tested positive for COVID-19 on eve of NASA astronaut launch

By Meghan Bartels last updated

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has announced that he has received mixed results from tests meant to diagnose infections of the novel coronavirus.