Although Kosmos 2612 is now backing away, the maneuver raised alarm bells for analysts who see it as part of a pattern of Russian aggression.

The mission, which launched on Monday, is headed to Phobos, the larger of the two moons of Mars. It could carry back the first samples from the Martian system.

Where did it start? How did it grow complex? Why did it get big? Three moments in Earth’s early history when evolution suddenly, inexplicably turned up the dial.

Tristan Buckmaster was on the path toward an important proof when one of the A.I. giants used its staggering resources to get there first.

Amateur and professional astronomers pointed their telescopes at the impact site. Most did not detect anything.

The second stage of a Falcon 9 rocket, which sent two private landers to the moon last year, will collide with the moon early Wednesday morning.

A spacecraft meant to push NASA’s Swift Observatory to a higher orbit malfunctioned and started tumbling several days ago. Engineers think it can still succeed.

It was the 13th test overall of Starship. The success is a boon to NASA’s moon plans and SpaceX’s hopes to deploy a million data centers in orbit.

Dr. Tsimerman won one of four Fields Medals, an award for top mathematicians under 40, for his work on the André-Oort conjecture, but is now changing his focus to artificial intelligence.

The young mathematician won a prestigious Fields Medal for her work on the so-called Kakeya conjecture.

The awards are bestowed only once every four years to mathematicians under the age of 40.

The mathematics professor has won a prestigious Fields Medal for his work at the intersection of geometry, topology and physics.

Dr. Deng, a mathematics professor at the University of Chicago, received a Fields Medal for his work on an equation describing fluid mechanics.

The 33 engines of the rocket’s booster stage had begun to ignite during Thursday’s launch attempt, but were then shut down. SpaceX will try again on another day.

Physicists have debated which way a submerged sprinkler sucking in water would spin. Careful experiments provide an answer.

NASA has chosen four astronauts for the Artemis III mission, but there has been a major setback: the destruction of a Blue Origin rocket and its only launchpad. Our science reporter Katrina Miller describes what this event might mean for the U.S. goal of landing on the moon by 2028.

NASA’s missions these days rarely feature all-male crews. Jared Isaacman, its administrator, said women play prominent roles throughout the space agency.

Elon Musk said he had initially given SpaceX less than a 10 percent chance of succeeding. His rocket company has come a long way.

NASA’s next mission in its effort to return humans to the moon will be led by an all-male crew. Three of them have extensive experience in space, while the other was a backup on Artemis II.