Neil Armstrong was a quiet, self-described “nerdy” engineer who became a global hero when as a steely nerved US pilot he made “one giant leap for mankind” with the first step on the Moon.

Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, is recovering from heart surgery, days after his 82nd birthday.

In a show of technological wizardry, the robotic explorer Curiosity blazed through the pink skies of Mars, steering itself to a gentle landing inside a giant crater for the most ambitious dig yet into the red planet’s past.

Sally Ride, who blazed trails into orbit as the first American woman in space has died of pancreatic cancer. She was 61.

The first steps towards sending an Irish astronaut into space will be taken tomorrow when Nasa reveals it has chosen Ireland as its first international research partner.

THE second of two NASA lunar probes on a mission to study the Moon’s inner core went into orbit as planned, the US space agency has said.

Discovery ended its career as the world's most flown spaceship today, returning from orbit for the last time and taking off in a new direction as a museum piece.

The first man to walk on the moon told senators that new plans by Barack Obama would cede America's long-time space programme leadership to other nations.

ASTRONOMERS around the world this weekend marked the 20th anniversary of the launching of the iconic Hubble, NASA’s first orbiting space telescope that has revolutionised human understanding of the universe.

CLOUDS prevented the space shuttle Endeavour from blasting off yesterday on the last planned nighttime shuttle launch, delaying its trip with a final few building blocks for the International Space Station.

Astronauts aboard the space shuttle Discovery were ready to put on the brakes today and begin descending from orbit with hopes of having their feet back on the ground before daybreak.