A Soyuz booster rocket launches the Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Monday, Dec. 3, 2018 carrying Expedition 58 Soyuz crew to the ISS – as seen and photographed from the ISS by ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst.   Ken Kremer  —SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM –3 December 2018 KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL –  The International Space Station (ISS) is

This “super-resolution” view of asteroid Bennu was created using eight images obtained by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on Oct. 29, 2018, from a distance of about 205 miles (330 kilometers).  Rendezvous with target asteroid, Bennu, slated for Dec. 3, 2018. Credits: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona Ken Kremer  —SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM –2 December 2018 CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – NASA’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid sampling spacecraft is

In the Integration Facility at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Expedition 58 crew members Anne McClain of NASA (left), Oleg Kononenko of Roscosmos (center) and David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency (right) pose for pictures Nov. 20, 2018 in front of their Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft.  Launch slated for Dec. 3, 2018. Credits: NASA/Victor Zelentsov Ken Kremer  —SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM –2

SpaceX conducts successful nighttime static fire test of new Falcon 9 first stage engines at 10:20 p.m. EDT on Nov. 30 at Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for CRS-16 resupply mission to the ISS targeted for launch Dec. 4, 2018.  Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com Ken Kremer  —SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM –30 November 2018 TITUSVILLE, FL –  An all new

ESA’s first European Service Module for NASA Orion crew capsule is unveiled at welcoming ceremony at Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Nov. 16, 2018 including remarks by ESA Director General Jan Wörner.  Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com Ken Kremer  —SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM –28 November 2018 KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – The first European-built Service Module built

The Instrument Deployment Camera (IDC), located on the robotic arm of NASA’s InSight lander, took this picture of the Martian surface on Nov. 26, 2018, the same day the spacecraft touched down on the Red Planet. The camera’s transparent dust cover is still on in this image, to prevent particulates kicked up during landing from settling on the camera’s lens.

@NASAInSight sent home its first photo after #MarsLanding on Nov. 26, 2018: InSight’s view is a flat, smooth expanse called Elysium Planitia, but its workspace is below the surface, where it will study Mars’ deep interior. Ken Kremer  —SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM –26 November 2018 CAPE CANAVERAL, FL –  Congratulations InSight !!! NASA’s newest Mars mission the Insight Lander sticks flawless Mars

Artist’s impression of NASA InSight’s entry, descent and landing at Mars, scheduled for Nov. 26, 2018.  Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech Ken Kremer  —SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM –25 November 2018 CAPE CANAVERAL, FL –  If all goes well Mars will welcome get a new inhabitant in less than 24 hours when NASA’s newest probe to Mars, the InSight lander is slated to make a soft

Video Caption: When NASA’s InSight descends to the Red Planet on Nov. 26, 2018, it’s guaranteed to be a white-knuckle event. Rob Manning, chief engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, explains the critical steps that must happen in perfect sequence to get NASA’s InSight robotic lander safely to the surface on Nov. 26, 2018. Credit: NASA JPL Ken Kremer  —SpaceUpClose.com &

Tilting and lowering of recovered/landed SpaceX Falcon 9 1st stage midday, Nov 21, 2018 vertical to horizontal using 2 cranes onto wheeled transporter for shipment back to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL and eventual relaunch. Dramatically backdropped by NASA’s iconic Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) in this overhead view from Exploration Tower.   Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com Ken Kremer  —SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM –22