Tim Peake and space station crew mates return to Earth

Next to the Moon and Venus, the International Space Station (ISS) can be the third brightest object in the nighttime sky. During the first ten days of August, the ISS is well placed for viewing before midnight for observers in the British Isles. We show you how, when and where to see it.

A NASA instrument built to help astronomers learn about the structure and behaviour of neutron stars, super-dense stellar skeletons left behind by massive explosions, has been mounted to an observation post outside the International Space Station after delivery aboard a SpaceX supply ship earlier this month.

A powerful Proton booster launched at 0931:42 GMT Monday with the first part of a multibillion-dollar Mars mission led by the European Space Agency. The Mars orbiter and lander will search for signs of methane on the red planet, and demonstrate technologies to be used on a future European Mars rover.