STARTS RIGHT NOW. AND SPLASHDOWN. CREW NINE BACK ON EARTH. BACK ON EARTH. BREAKING AS WE COME ON THE AIR AT SEVEN. WE JUST HEARD IT. HAVE SPLASHDOWN. NEEDHAM NATICK. SONNY WILLIAMS AND FELLOW ASTRONAUT BUTCH WILMORE ARE FINALLY BACK ON EARTH. MONTHS AND MONTHS AND MONTHS AFTER. ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED. AND TAKE A LOOK AT THIS. THIS IS NEW VIDEO INTO US JUST FROM A FEW MINUTES AGO. THAT IS SONNY WILLIAMS BEING HELPED FROM THE CAPSULE ONTO HER FEET ON THE SALVAGE SHIP THAT EIGHT DAY MISSION FINALLY COMING TO AN END AFTER 286 DAYS. THANKS FOR JOINING US TONIGHT, EVERYONE. I’M ED HARDING AND I’M MARIA STEPHANOS. WE DO HAVE TEAM COVERAGE OF THIS LANDING. SONNY’S NEEDHAM NEIGHBORS WATCHING ALL OF IT. LET’S BEGIN WITH OUR DANAE BUCCI OUTSIDE OF THE SUNITA WILLIAMS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL…
STARTS RIGHT NOW. AND SPLASHDOWN. CREW NINE BACK ON EARTH. BACK ON EARTH. BREAKING AS WE COME ON THE AIR AT SEVEN. WE JUST HEARD IT. HAVE SPLASHDOWN. NEEDHAM NATICK. SONNY WILLIAMS AND FELLOW ASTRONAUT BUTCH WILMORE ARE FINALLY BACK ON EARTH. MONTHS AND MONTHS AND MONTHS AFTER. ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED. AND TAKE A LOOK AT THIS. THIS IS NEW VIDEO INTO US JUST FROM A FEW MINUTES AGO. THAT IS SONNY WILLIAMS BEING HELPED FROM THE CAPSULE ONTO HER FEET ON THE SALVAGE SHIP THAT EIGHT DAY MISSION FINALLY COMING TO AN END AFTER 286 DAYS. THANKS FOR JOINING US TONIGHT, EVERYONE. I’M ED HARDING AND I’M MARIA STEPHANOS. WE DO HAVE TEAM COVERAGE OF THIS LANDING. SONNY’S NEEDHAM NEIGHBORS WATCHING ALL OF IT. LET’S BEGIN WITH OUR DANAE BUCCI OUTSIDE OF THE SUNITA WILLIAMS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. IN THE SENSE OF PRIDE NEEDHAM FEELS FOR SONNY WILLIAMS IS EVIDENT, AND EVERYONE IS LOOKING FORWARD TO HER SAFE RETURN HOME. WE’RE BOTH VERY, VERY EXCITED TO HAVE HER BACK ON HER SAFELY. SONNY WILLIAMS HAS BEEN IN SPACE SO LONG, HER MOTHER, BONNIE PANDYA AND HER OLDER SISTER DEENA ARE ANXIOUSLY WAITING FOR HER RETURN. I FEEL LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE’RE A VERY ADAPTABLE AND WE WERE LIKE, GETTING USED TO SEEING HER EVERY WEEK ON THE SPACE STATION. IT’S BEEN AN UNEXPECTED NINE MONTH OUTER SPACE MISSION FOR THE NEEDHAM NATIVE. MY FAMILY MIGHT MAY BE A LITTLE UPSET, MAYBE A LITTLE CONCERNED, BUT USUALLY ASTRONAUT FAMILIES KNOW WHAT HAPPENS AND KNOW THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT COULD HAPPEN. THINGS GO WRONG ON ALMOST EVERY MISSION. NO ONE KNOWS WHAT SONNY IS LIKELY GOING THROUGH. MORE THAN RETIRED ASTRONAUT CHARLES CAMARDA, AND YOU’RE JUST ANTICIPATING SEEING YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR FRIENDS AND TELLING ALL THOSE GREAT STORIES. HE WORKED ALONGSIDE SONNY AND HER PARTNER BUTCH WILMORE FOR YEARS. BUTCH AND SONNY ARE THE TWO MOST POSITIVE PEOPLE IN THE ASTRONAUT OFFICE. THEY’RE ALWAYS SMILING. THEY’RE SO EXPERIENCED, THEY’RE PROS. BUT BEING IN SPACE FOR NINE MONTHS CAN HAVE A HUGE IMPACT ON THE BODY. THE HEART DOESN’T HAVE TO PUSH AGAINST GRAVITY, SO THE HEART GETS WEAKER. MUSCULOSKELETAL CHANGES, SO THE BONES BECOME WEAKER IN SPACE. DOCTOR LUCA PIZZA IS ON MASS GENERAL SPACE MEDICINE DIVISION. HE SAYS AS SOON AS SONNY AND HER PARTNER, BUTCH LAND OFF THE COAST OF FLORIDA, THE TWO WILL BE MET WITH A TEAM OF DOCTORS. SO THE BODY’S GOTTEN USED TO NOT PUMPING THE BLOOD SO HARD IT’S GOTTEN USED TO NOT HOLDING THE BODY UP AGAINST GRAVITY. IT’S GOT TO RELEARN ALL THOSE THINGS. DOCTOR SAYS IT WILL TAKE MONTHS FOR BOTH BUTCH AND SONNY’S BODIES TO ACCLIMATE BACK TO EARTH. WE’RE LIVE IN NEEDHAM DANAE BUCCI WCVB, NEWSCENTER FIVE. AND A WATCH PARTY IS STILL GOING ON AT THIS HOUR. RIGHT AT SONNY’S HOMETOWN OF NEEDHAM. PEOPLE THERE CHEERED. WE COULD HEAR THEM FROM HERE. SO EXCITED TO HAVE THE WILLIAMS BACK HOME. OUR SONNY WILLIAMS BACK HOME. OUR JOHN ATWATER CONTINUES TONIGHT LIVE AT THE COMMON ROOM. JOHN AND MARIA. YEAH, SO MANY ROUNDS OF CHEERING TONIGHT. THE LATEST JUST A FEW MINUTES AGO WHEN WE SAW SONNY WILLIAMS EMERGE FROM THAT CAPSULE ABOUT AN HOUR AFTER SPLASHDOWN. SO IT’S BEEN A LOT OF EXCITEMENT HERE. YOU CAN SEE DOZENS OF PEOPLE HERE STILL AT THE COMMON ROOM TONIGHT. THEY ALL CAME HERE TO EXPERIENCE THIS TOGETHER BECAUSE, WOW, IT HAS BEEN JUST A NINE MONTH ODYSSEY FOR THESE ASTRONAUTS UP THERE IN SPACE, ONLY SUPPOSED TO BE UP THERE FOR EIGHT DAYS, BUT IT TOOK A LOT LONGER TO GET THEM HOME. WHILE THEY ARE HOME TONIGHT. AND YOU CAN SEE ALL THE CHEERING HERE IN THE COMMON ROOM HERE IN NEEDHAM SONNY WILLIAMS HOMETOWN. WE SPOKE WITH A KINDERGARTEN TEACHER OVER AT SUNITA WILLIAMS ELEMENTARY. SHE AND HER STUDENTS HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING THIS JOURNEY, AND SHE IS SO RELIEVED. TONIGHT. I WENT TO HER FIRST TWO LAUNCH ATTEMPTS THAT DIDN’T MAKE IT, AND I DIDN’T GET TO GO TO THE LAST ONE WHERE SHE DID GO UP. BUT I’VE BEEN WATCHING AND FOLLOWING MY CLASS WATCHES AND FOLLOWS. THEY WERE SO EXCITED TODAY AND NOW I’M LIKE OVER THE TOP, OVER THE MOON AND SO EXCITED. I JUST CAN’T BELIEVE SHE’S BACK. CAN’T BELIEVE SHE’S BACK AFTER SO LONG. THERE WERE TEARS IN THAT TEACHER’S EYES BECAUSE THEY HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING THIS JOURNEY. THE SCHOOL REALLY ALL OF NEEDHAM SONNY WILLIAMS, OF COURSE IN CONTACT WITH THE STUDENTS HERE IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, AND THEY ARE JUST LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT DAY WHEN SONNY COMES BACK HERE TO NEEDHAM FOR A
The year in space: Here are the top space stories of 2025
Top 10 space stories of 2025
Updated: 10:46 AM CST Dec 24, 2025
From private space tourism to secret moons to new images of our very old observable universe, 2025 was an exciting year in space. The privatization of space travel continued apace, with companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin making strides this year. Despite privatization and looming funding cuts, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and its various projects and endeavors still managed to surprise us and expand our knowledge of our solar system. Check out the 10 best space stories from the past year:No. 1 — The space saga of Butch and SuniWithout a doubt, the space story that filled the most airtime this year was the tale of NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. In June 2024, the pair signed on for a NASA mission to conduct a crew flight test of Boeing’s Starliner craft, which had previously only been used for uncrewed tests between Earth and the International Space Station. The mission was meant to last eight days — but ended up lasting more than nine months. The stranded astronauts became space celebrities and brought renewed attention to spaceflight during a time when space travel has morphed into a blend of public-private partnerships. The astronauts were eventually brought home on SpaceX’s Crew-9 vessel in March, marking a success for SpaceX but a blow to Boeing in the private space race.Watch video of Williams and Wilmore splashing down back to Earth in the video player above.No. 2 — Perseverance finds possible hints of ancient life on MarsNASA’s Perseverance rover has been roaming the Martian surface and collecting samples since 2021. But in the summer of 2024, the rover collected rock samples from a dried riverbed near the Jezero Crater with "leopard spots." This year, scientists said those spots could suggest the existence of ancient microbial life on the red planet. "All we can say is one of the possible explanations is microbial life, but there could be other ways to make this set of features that we see,” a researcher told The Associated Press.However, this story is not over. More testing is needed to confirm what the samples contain, meaning they need to be retrieved from Mars and brought back to labs on Earth. A Mars Sample Return trip was hopefully scheduled for the early 2030s, but various factors, including President Donald Trump’s reorganized budget plan for NASA, mean that the return expedition is on hold indefinitely. For now, Perseverance and a potential secret to ancient life sit waiting in a rocky Martian desert.No. 3 — NASA probe takes closest-ever images of sunThe Parker Solar Probe, the fastest human-made object in the universe, is on a mission to "touch the Sun" — and it’s getting pretty close. In December 2024, the probe made its closest pass yet of the solar atmosphere, traveling at a speed of 430,000 mph. On Jan. 1, 2025, it sent back the closest images of the Sun ever captured, specifically of solar wind approximately 3.8 million miles from the surface.No. 4 — NASA’s Webb telescope discovers new moon orbiting UranusIt’s not every day you find a new moon. Using NASA’s Webb space telescope, a team from the Southwest Research Institute studying the rings and moons of Uranus made a stunning discovery — a small moon, only about 6 miles wide, had been “hiding” close to the seventh planet this whole time. The discovery joins the planet’s 28 existing moons, designated S/2025 U1. However, all of Uranus’ moons are named after characters from the works of either William Shakespeare or Alexander Pope, so it will have a colorful literary name in no time.No. 5 — Third-ever interstellar object tears through our solar systemThe astronomical talk of the town this year was definitely 3I/ATLAS. First spotted by the NASA-funded ATLAS telescope in Chile, the comet started as a rapidly moving dot appearing in the sky. After NASA and the European Space Agency retraced its steps, it was confirmed that the comet was actually from outside our solar system — only the third known such object. While it was only briefly close to Earth near the end of this year, astronomers stole a few glances while they could. 3I/ATLAS is currently tracing its long path out of and away from our solar system — so long and farewell.No. 6 — Space tourism, or Katy Perry in spaceSpace tourism also had quite a year in 2025. In April, pop star Katy Perry and TV personality Gayle King boarded Blue Origin’s New Shepherd rocket with an all-female crew, a first for space travel. The technicality here is that New Shepherd is a reusable rocket, capable of vertical takeoffs and landings, designed to deliver tourists past the Karman Line, which is defined as the edge of space. It is also where you begin to experience weightlessness in atmospheric travel. Perry was reportedly so moved by the experience of entering the thermosphere that she couldn’t help singing "What A Wonderful World." In other news, Blue Origin also recently sent the first paraplegic person into space, and SpaceX’s Fram2 mission saw four space tourists make a three-day trip around Earth’s poles.No. 7 — A nuclear reactor on the moon? It’s less crazy than it soundsActing NASA Administrator Sean Duffy made headlines earlier this year with an ambitious announcement concerning NASA’s wishes to put a nuclear reactor on Earth’s moon in the near future. While it does sound like the setup for a supervillain’s lair, the plan is actually quite practical. The name of the game in space exploration in the 21st century has become about repetition and reliability — typified by the reusable rockets favored by private space companies. NASA’s upcoming moon mission, Artemis III, will require a lot of fuel and power, especially if NASA wants to eventually station astronauts there. Add in the fact that China and Russia have announced a joint space venture to place a nuclear reactor on the moon. Before long, the international powers will be in a new space race. The moon is also becoming a critical juncture in the effort to reach Mars — the rocky satellite’s low gravity would make space missions easier. In that way, stating a goal of putting a nuclear reactor on the moon is the first step to reaching Mars, another stated goal of NASA. And for a country — and a species — that put a man on the moon only 56 years ago, anything might be possible.No. 8 — India, Poland and Hungary: Welcome to the ISSIt was a celebration on the International Space Station this summer when three astronauts from countries never before represented on the space station arrived. The last time anyone from India, Poland or Hungary traveled to orbit was in the 1970s and ‘80s, with the Soviet Space Program. While each of these countries have their own space programs, these true newcomers to the ISS came via Axiom Space, a Houston-based company that charters flights to the station. Axiom is also positioning itself as a potential replacement for the ISS when it is retired and decommissioned in 2030, carving out a niche in the private space race.No. 9 — ‘Cosmic treasure chest’: Say hello to the Vera C. Rubin ObservatoryThe summer of 2025 saw the debut of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, the largest camera ever built, located on a mountaintop in Chile. According to the acting director of the National Science Foundation, the telescope "will capture more information about our universe than all optical telescopes throughout history combined." That’s quite a claim, but Rubin already has the legwork to back it up — as part of its debut, it spotted 2,104 never-before-seen asteroids. The observatory also released a dramatic video showing the scale of its capability: the cosmic pan displays about 10 million galaxies in the camera’s wide view, which is only 0.05% of the 20 billion galaxies the observatory will map over 10 years.No. 10 — Space is now a battlefieldAside from international cooperation and discovery, space has also become a new frontier for something else: warfare. In the Russia/Ukraine war this past year, Ukraine accused Russian operators of hijacking a crucial satellite, replacing its broadcast with film of Russian military parades. More recently, there has been chatter of a Russian anti-satellite weapon, which one U.S. representative likened to "the Cuban Missile Crisis in space."
From private space tourism to secret moons to new images of our very old observable universe, 2025 was an exciting year in space. The privatization of space travel continued apace, with companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin making strides this year. Despite privatization and looming funding cuts, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and its various projects and endeavors still managed to surprise us and expand our knowledge of our solar system. Check out the 10 best space stories from the past year:
No. 1 — The space saga of Butch and Suni
NASA/AP via CNN Newsource
Butch Wilmore, left, and Suni Williams pose on the International Space Station.
Without a doubt, the space story that filled the most airtime this year was the tale of NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. In June 2024, the pair signed on for a NASA mission to conduct a crew flight test of Boeing’s Starliner craft, which had previously only been used for uncrewed tests between Earth and the International Space Station. The mission was meant to last eight days — but ended up lasting more than nine months. The stranded astronauts became space celebrities and brought renewed attention to spaceflight during a time when space travel has morphed into a blend of public-private partnerships. The astronauts were eventually brought home on SpaceX’s Crew-9 vessel in March, marking a success for SpaceX but a blow to Boeing in the private space race.
Watch video of Williams and Wilmore splashing down back to Earth in the video player above.
No. 2 — Perseverance finds possible hints of ancient life on Mars
NASA’s Perseverance rover has been roaming the Martian surface and collecting samples since 2021. But in the summer of 2024, the rover collected rock samples from a dried riverbed near the Jezero Crater with "leopard spots." This year, scientists said those spots could suggest the existence of ancient microbial life on the red planet. "All we can say is one of the possible explanations is microbial life, but there could be other ways to make this set of features that we see,” a researcher told The Associated Press.
However, this story is not over. More testing is needed to confirm what the samples contain, meaning they need to be retrieved from Mars and brought back to labs on Earth. A Mars Sample Return trip was hopefully scheduled for the early 2030s, but various factors, including President Donald Trump’s reorganized budget plan for NASA, mean that the return expedition is on hold indefinitely. For now, Perseverance and a potential secret to ancient life sit waiting in a rocky Martian desert.
No. 3 — NASA probe takes closest-ever images of sun
The Parker Solar Probe, the fastest human-made object in the universe, is on a mission to "touch the Sun" — and it’s getting pretty close. In December 2024, the probe made its closest pass yet of the solar atmosphere, traveling at a speed of 430,000 mph. On Jan. 1, 2025, it sent back the closest images of the Sun ever captured, specifically of solar wind approximately 3.8 million miles from the surface.
No. 4 — NASA’s Webb telescope discovers new moon orbiting Uranus
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, M. El Moutamid (SwRI), M. Hedman (University of Idaho)
This Near Infrared Camera image shows the moon, designated S/2025 U1, as well as 13 of the 28 other known moons orbiting the planet.
It’s not every day you find a new moon. Using NASA’s Webb space telescope, a team from the Southwest Research Institute studying the rings and moons of Uranus made a stunning discovery — a small moon, only about 6 miles wide, had been “hiding” close to the seventh planet this whole time. The discovery joins the planet’s 28 existing moons, designated S/2025 U1. However, all of Uranus’ moons are named after characters from the works of either William Shakespeare or Alexander Pope, so it will have a colorful literary name in no time.
No. 5 — Third-ever interstellar object tears through our solar system
NASA/ESA/David Jewitt (UCLA) via CNN Newsource
Hubble captured this image of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS on July 21.
The astronomical talk of the town this year was definitely 3I/ATLAS. First spotted by the NASA-funded ATLAS telescope in Chile, the comet started as a rapidly moving dot appearing in the sky. After NASA and the European Space Agency retraced its steps, it was confirmed that the comet was actually from outside our solar system — only the third known such object. While it was only briefly close to Earth near the end of this year, astronomers stole a few glances while they could. 3I/ATLAS is currently tracing its long path out of and away from our solar system — so long and farewell.
No. 6 — Space tourism, or Katy Perry in space
Blue Origin via CNN
The all-female crew of Blue Origin’s New Shepherd.
Space tourism also had quite a year in 2025. In April, pop star Katy Perry and TV personality Gayle King boarded Blue Origin’s New Shepherd rocket with an all-female crew, a first for space travel. The technicality here is that New Shepherd is a reusable rocket, capable of vertical takeoffs and landings, designed to deliver tourists past the Karman Line, which is defined as the edge of space. It is also where you begin to experience weightlessness in atmospheric travel. Perry was reportedly so moved by the experience of entering the thermosphere that she couldn’t help singing "What A Wonderful World." In other news, Blue Origin also recently sent the first paraplegic person into space, and SpaceX’s Fram2 mission saw four space tourists make a three-day trip around Earth’s poles.
No. 7 — A nuclear reactor on the moon? It’s less crazy than it sounds
Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy made headlines earlier this year with an ambitious announcement concerning NASA’s wishes to put a nuclear reactor on Earth’s moon in the near future. While it does sound like the setup for a supervillain’s lair, the plan is actually quite practical. The name of the game in space exploration in the 21st century has become about repetition and reliability — typified by the reusable rockets favored by private space companies. NASA’s upcoming moon mission, Artemis III, will require a lot of fuel and power, especially if NASA wants to eventually station astronauts there. Add in the fact that China and Russia have announced a joint space venture to place a nuclear reactor on the moon.
Before long, the international powers will be in a new space race. The moon is also becoming a critical juncture in the effort to reach Mars — the rocky satellite’s low gravity would make space missions easier. In that way, stating a goal of putting a nuclear reactor on the moon is the first step to reaching Mars, another stated goal of NASA. And for a country — and a species — that put a man on the moon only 56 years ago, anything might be possible.
No. 8 — India, Poland and Hungary: Welcome to the ISS
It was a celebration on the International Space Station this summer when three astronauts from countries never before represented on the space station arrived. The last time anyone from India, Poland or Hungary traveled to orbit was in the 1970s and ‘80s, with the Soviet Space Program. While each of these countries have their own space programs, these true newcomers to the ISS came via Axiom Space, a Houston-based company that charters flights to the station. Axiom is also positioning itself as a potential replacement for the ISS when it is retired and decommissioned in 2030, carving out a niche in the private space race.
No. 9 — ‘Cosmic treasure chest’: Say hello to the Vera C. Rubin Observatory
NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory via CNN Newsource
This composite image combines 678 separate images from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory to show faint details like clouds of gas and dust in the Trifid nebula (top right) and the Lagoon nebula.
The summer of 2025 saw the debut of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, the largest camera ever built, located on a mountaintop in Chile. According to the acting director of the National Science Foundation, the telescope "will capture more information about our universe than all optical telescopes throughout history combined." That’s quite a claim, but Rubin already has the legwork to back it up — as part of its debut, it spotted 2,104 never-before-seen asteroids. The observatory also released a dramatic video showing the scale of its capability: the cosmic pan displays about 10 million galaxies in the camera’s wide view, which is only 0.05% of the 20 billion galaxies the observatory will map over 10 years.
No. 10 — Space is now a battlefield
Aside from international cooperation and discovery, space has also become a new frontier for something else: warfare. In the Russia/Ukraine war this past year, Ukraine accused Russian operators of hijacking a crucial satellite, replacing its broadcast with film of Russian military parades. More recently, there has been chatter of a Russian anti-satellite weapon, which one U.S. representative likened to "the Cuban Missile Crisis in space."