Talk about in-flight entertainment - a number of flights next week will give passengers the best seat in the world to view a solar eclipse.

When astronaut Scott Kelly arrived in Houston on Thursday, he was about two inches taller than when he left for the International Space Station a year before.

American Astronaut Scott Kelly returns from space, having grown two inches during his time in orbit. / AP

WATCH: A new map of the Milky Way star-forming gases has given us an unprecedented look at our galaxy.

"Surprise meteor shower" in New Zealand sparks hunt for unknown ice ball orbiting in space.

Three years after hundreds of webcams captured a 19m-wide space rock exploding over a Russian city.

On Earth, we're used to eclipses that last just seconds: but imagine one that puts you in the dark for three and a half years.

Auckland company Rocket Lab has signed another customer to launch small satellites into space later this year.

As news of the biggest scientific breakthrough in recent times broke today, a retired Bay of Plenty resident sat down and read the headlines with excitement.

Like a zombie, the Milky Way galaxy may already be dead but it still keeps going.

British astronaut Tim Peake has shared aerial images of New Zealand from space on Twitter this morning.

Images of New Zealand taken from space and the international space station.

A British astronaut has tweeted epic photos of New Zealand from space on his Twitter account.

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin completed another successful unmanned rocket launch in West Texas with the same vehicle as November and with a safe landing.

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly uses hydrophobic paddles to move a ball of water on the International Space Station.

For the first time in more than 10 years it is possible to see all five "bright" planets together in the sky.

SpaceX founder Elon Musk has released video of its rocket tipping over upon landing and exploding.

At the Johnson Space Center, Winston Aldworth meets men from the brave past and bold future of space travel.

Retired NASA astronaut Fred Haise, of famous failed lunar mission, Apollo 13, gives a guided tour though the Houston Space Centre, Texas

"For an analogy, astronomers often refer to black holes as 'eating' stars and gas. Apparently, black holes can also burp after their meal," Eric Schlegel.

The day after SpaceX successfully landed, Elon Musk is talking about the future of building a city on Mars.

A British astronaut was forced to leave an answer phone message for his parents after calling them from the International Space Station to find that they had "popped out".

SpaceX is heading back into orbit today - with an ambitious attempt to land its reusable rocket on land.

A New Plymouth teen is one of two young Kiwis chosen to attend a prestigious American space school next year.

We might be spending the whole day in the kitchen, but the space station astronauts already had all the hard work done for them by NASA’s Space Food Systems Laboratory. It will only take the crew about 15 to 20 minutes to rehydrate their freeze-dried Thanksgiving meal. Source: International Space Station/Facebook

This week, Blue Origin launched an unmanned vehicle called the New Shepherd to the edge of outer space.

Phobos is just 3700 miles from the surface of Mars, over 60 times closer than we are to our own moon. But the emotional bond between Mars and Phobos is probably a little rocky, according to some new findings.

Otago Museum director Dr Ian Griffin takes a close look at an image of the International Space Station displayed at the museum's new Perpetual Guardian Planetarium, which opens to the public next month. The $1.1 million planetarium would provide the public with a state-of-the-art insight into the latest in science communication, Dr Griffin said. ''This gives us a tool we've never had before, to do amazing things.'' Source: ODT/YouTube