# Space mission
All time
# BEPI COLOMBO
European-Japanese space mission gets first glimpse of Mercury
The BepiColombo mission made the first of six flybys, using the planet’s gravity to slow the spacecraft down.
# Photo Essay
Inside the abandoned rocket bases dotted across the United States
Many once-important facilities now sit dormant, decommissioned years ago, now rusting in the sun.
Voices
Column: Look up! The Red Planet is continuing to shine brightly in the night sky
With Mars currently in opposition, and shining with an orange tinge, Conor Farrell explores our fascination with the Red Planet.
# One Small Step
In pictures: the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969
From launch to landing: NASA archive images from the first successful manned moon landing mission.
# Space
Chinese astronauts make first successful docking with space lab
The docking was a significant moment for China, which is aiming to build a space station by 2020.
# Space
Russian spacecraft set to crash back to Earth next month
The unmanned Phobos-Ground craft, which was set to land on one of Mars’s moons, will return sometime in January.
# Life on Mars
Was there ever life on Mars? Nasa set to launch new mission
Tomorrow’s launch sends the Curiosity rover on the start of its eight-month voyage to Mars, where it will examine the soil for signs of life.
# Space
Contact finally made with stranded Russian spacecraft
The Phobos-Grunt mission to Mars launched on 8 November, but the engine boosts to push it out of Earth’s orbit and on towards the Martian moon Phobos failed.
# Endeavour
Endeavour flight delayed until at least Monday after technical issues
The event had been keenly anticipated given that congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, shot in the head last year, was due to see her husband Mark Kelly lead the space mission.
