AS NASA moves towards looming budget cuts, the agency still lacks a permanent leader. Here's why the search for administrator is taking so long.

Current and former NASA employees have co-signed a declaration protesting changes at the agency that some say pose a grave risk to astronauts.

One of these ride-along NASA efforts is the Athena EPIC (Economical Payload Integration Cost) SmallSat, which will demonstrate a new way of more efficiently placing remote-sensing (or rather, Earth-observing) instruments into orbit.

Along with launching two NASA probes, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carried five other satellites into orbit with goals ranging from basic science to technology development.

The helicopters will scout the Martian surface to help prepare for a human landing on the Red Planet.

A declaration of dissent from past and present NASA employees warns that science and safety are at risk and joins similar documents from staff at other federal science agencies

The departures are playing out as NASA and other government agencies contend with significant cuts to funding and personnel.

Visible on the planet itself is a dark patch near the top, marking the frigid northern polar cap, where temperatures dip to about -190 degrees Fahrenheit. A circular region shows Elysium Mons, one of Mars’ giant volcanoes.