NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and space research.
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3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) The Spot the Station app was developed in collaboration with the public through a series of crowdsourcing competitions.NASA In its 25th year of operations, the International Space Station continues to symbolize discovery and cooperation for the benefit of humanity. Since 2012, observers have interacted with the space station through NASA’s Spot the Station website, a web browser-based tool that includes interactive maps for users to track the station and find viewpoints closest to their location. A decade after the website’s release, NASA sought to enhance public access to this capabi…
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ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, P. Zeidler This new image of star cluster NGC 602, released on Dec. 17, 2024, combines data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory with a previously released image from the agency’s James Webb Space Telescope. Webb data provide the ring-like outline of the “wreath,” while X-rays from Chandra (red) show young, massive stars that are illuminating the wreath, sending high-energy light into interstellar space. NGC 602 lies on the outskirts of the Small Magellanic Cloud, which is one of the closest galaxies to the Milky Way, about 200,000 light-years from Earth. See another new, festive image: the “Christmas tree cluster.” Image credit: …
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4 Min Read Space Gardens NASA astronaut Kayla Barron with chile peppers in the station’s Advanced Plant Habitat. Credits: NASA Science in Space December 2024 As NASA plans missions to the Moon and Mars, one challenge is figuring out how to provide crew members with enough healthy food. Bringing along a supply for months or even years in space is impractical, and stored food can lose taste and nutritional value. Growing plants in space is one way to help solve this problem. Tending space gardens also has positive psych…
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4 Min Read NASA Finds ‘Sideways’ Black Hole Using Legacy Data, New Techniques Image showing the structure of galaxy NGC 5084, with data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory overlaid on a visible-light image of the galaxy. Chandra’s data, shown in purple, revealed four plumes of hot gas emanating from a supermassive black hole rotating “tipped over” at the galaxy’s core. Credits: X-ray: NASA/CXC, A. S. Borlaff, P. Marcum et al.; Optical full image: M. Pugh, B. Diaz; Image Processing: NASA/USRA/L. Proudfit NASA researchers h…
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Photographers at NASA capture the sunset on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024, near the headquarters building of the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.NASA/Ben Smegelsky As NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida wraps up a year that will see more than 90 government, commercial, and private missions launch from Florida’s Space Coast, a look to 2025 shows the missions, partnerships, projects, and programs at the agency’s main launch site will continue innovating, inspiring, and pushing the boundaries of exploration for the benefit of humanity. “The next year promises to be another exciting one at Earth’s premier spaceport,” said Kennedy Center Director Janet Petro. “We ha…
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4 min read NASA Open Science Reveals Sounds of Space A composite image of the Crab Nebula features X-rays from Chandra (blue and white), optical data from Hubble (purple), and infrared data from Spitzer (pink). This image is one of several that can be experienced as a sonification through Chandra’s Universe of Sound project. X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: NASA/STScI; Infrared: NASA-JPL-Caltech NASA has a long history of translating astronomy data into beautiful images that are beloved by the public. Through its Chandra X-ray Observatory and Universe of Learning programs, NASA brings that principle into the world of audio in a project known as “A Universe of Soun…
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4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) From left to right: Astrolab’s FLEX, Intuitive Machines’ Moon RACER, and Lunar Outpost’s Eagle lunar terrain vehicle at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. NASA/Bill Stafford Through NASA’s Artemis campaign, astronauts will land on the lunar surface and use a new generation of spacesuits and rovers as they live, work, and conduct science in the Moon’s South Pole region, exploring more of the lunar surface than ever before. Recently, the agency completed the first round of testing on three commercially owned and developed LTVs (Lunar Terrain Vehicle) from Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, and Vent…
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Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Curiosity Raw Images Images Videos Audio Mosaics More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions The Solar System The Sun Mercury Venus Earth The Moon Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto & Dwarf Planets Asteroids, Comets & Meteors The Kuiper Belt The Oort Cloud 3 min read Sols 4396-4397: Roving in a Martian Wonderland NASA’s Mars rover Curio…
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7 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) 2024 intro: As NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley enters its 85th year since its founding, join us as we take a look back at some of our highlights of science, engineering, research, and innovation from 2024. Ames Arc Jets Play Key Role in Artemis I Orion Spacecraft Heat Shield Findings A block of Avcoat undergoes testing inside an arc jet test chamber at NASA Ames. The test article, configured with both permeable (upper) and non-permeable (lower) Avcoat sections for comparison, helped to confirm understanding of the root cause of the loss of charred Avcoat mat…
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3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy speaks at the Microgravity Science Summit at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Monday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Washington.Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani NASA leadership participated in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy’s Microgravity Science Summit (OSTP) on Dec.16 focused on sharing information with leaders across the U.S. federal government about the benefits of microgravity research. During the summit, NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, OSTP leadership, and others highlighted the importance of the government coming together t…
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5 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Data from the SWOT satellite was used to calculate average water levels for lakes and reservoirs in the Ohio River Basin from July 2023 to November 2024. Yellow indicates values greater than 1,600 feet (500 meters) above sea level; dark purple represents water levels less than 330 feet (100 meters). Data from the U.S.-European Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission gives researchers a detailed look at lakes and reservoirs in a U.S. watershed. The Ohio River Basin stretches from Pennsylvania to Illinois and contains a system of reservoirs, lakes, and rivers that drains an area almost…
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1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) The Airspace Operations and Safety Program (AOSP) enables safe, sustainable, and efficient aviation transportation operations to benefit the flying public and ensure the global competitiveness of the U.S. aviation industry. We are transforming the future of aviation into a digital, federated, and service-oriented architecture that fosters the growth of safe airspace for all users. By partnering with FAA, academia, safety experts, operators, manufacturers, municipalities, and other government agencies, we facilitate the integration of new aviation technologies, ensure airspace access fo…
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Caption: Expedition 70 Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub from Roscosmos is pictured during a spacewalk to inspect a backup radiator, deploy a nanosatellite, and install communications hardware on the International Space Station’s Nauka science module.Credit: NASA NASA will provide live coverage as two Roscosmos cosmonauts conduct a spacewalk outside of the International Space Station on Thursday, Dec. 19. NASA’s live coverage begins at 9:45 a.m. EST, Thursday on NASA+. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media. The spacewalk is scheduled to begin at approximately 10:10 a.m. and last about six and a half hours. Expedition 72 crew…
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NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, is celebrating 85 years of cutting-edge research and development in space, life sciences, supercomputing, aeronautics, and more for the benefit of humanity. Ames was founded as an aeronautical laboratory in December 1939, and has since contributed to many of NASA’s flagship missions from Apollo to Artemis. NASA Ames experts are available for interviews Thursday, Dec. 19, and Friday, Dec. 20. To request an interview about the center’s legacy in space, science, technology, and aeronautics, email the Ames newsroom at: arc-dl-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov. NASA Ames experts include: James Anderson, NASA Ames …
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X-ray: NASA/CXC; Infrared: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, P. Zeilder, E.Sabbi, A. Nota, M. Zamani; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare and K. Arcand Since antiquity, wreaths have symbolized the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. It is fitting then that one of the best places for astronomers to learn more about the stellar lifecycle resembles a giant holiday wreath itself. The star cluster NGC 602 lies on the outskirts of the Small Magellanic Cloud, which is one of the closest galaxies to the Milky Way, about 200,000 light-years from Earth. The stars in NGC 602 have fewer heavier elements compared to the Sun and most of the rest of the galaxy. Instead, the conditio…
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2 min read Jovian Vortex Hunters Spun Up Over New Paper Jumping Jupiter! The results are in, storm chasers! Thanks to your help over the last two years the Jovian Vortex Hunter project has published a catalog of 7222 vortices, which you can download here. Each vortex is an enormous swirling windstorm in Jupiter’s atmosphere–terrifying yet beautiful to behold. The vortices are labeled by color (“white” is most common, then “dark”, then “red”). The catalog reveals distributions of vortex sizes, aspect ratios, and locations on the planet. For example, your work showed that white and dark vortices are preferentially found near the poles. These distributions help researc…
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Northrop Grumman & NASA Digital Engineering SAA Kick-off meeting at Thompson Space Innovation Center. NASA’s Digital Engineering is paving the way for exciting new possibilities. Their latest Space Act Agreement with Northrop Grumman promises to accelerate progress in space exploration through innovative collaboration. Under NASA’s HQ Office of the Chief Engineer, Terry Hill the Digital Engineering Program Manager, recently signed a Space Act Agreement with Northrop Grumman Space Sector to explore digital engineering approaches to sharing information between industry partners and NASA. This collaboration aims to support NASA’s mission by advancing engineering p…
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5 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA’s Stennis Space Center enjoyed an active 2024, marking several milestones and engaging in frontline activities in several key areas. A compilation video offers a look at 2024 highlights in such areas of work as propulsion testing, autonomous systems, range operations, community outreach, and STEM engagement. NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, celebrated propulsion testing and site operations milestones in 2024, all while inspiring the Artemis Generation and welcoming new leadership that will help NASA Stennis innovate and grow into the future. Featured…
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5 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) The Orion Environmental Test Article photographed inside the Thermal Vacuum Chamber on April 11, 2024, in the Space Environments Complex at NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio. Credit: NASA/Quentin Schwinn Making the voyage 1.4 million miles around the Moon and back — the farthest a spacecraft built for humans has ever gone — the Orion spacecraft has faced a battery of tests over the years. Though Orion successfully proved its capabilities in the harsh environment of space during the Artemis I mission, Orion’s evaluation did not end at splashdown. The crew modu…
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X-rays are radiated by matter hotter than one million Kelvin, and high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy can tell us about the composition of the matter and how fast and in what direction it is moving. Quantum calorimeters are opening this new window on the Universe. First promised four decades ago, the quantum-calorimeter era of X-ray astronomy has finally dawned. Photo of the XRISM/Resolve quantum-calorimeter array in its storage container prior to integration into the instrument. The 6×6 array, 5 mm on a side, consists of independent detectors – each one a thermally isolated silicon thermistor with a HgTe absorber. The spectrometer consisting of this detector and other …
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NASA/Kim Shiflett In this image from Dec. 11, 2024, the 212-foot-tall SLS (Space Launch System) core stage is lowered into High Bay 2 at the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. With the move to High Bay 2, NASA and Boeing technicians now have 360-degree access to the core stage both internally and externally. The Artemis II test flight, targeted for launch in 2026, will be NASA’s first mission with crew under the Artemis campaign. NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Reid Wiseman, as well as CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, will go on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back. Image credit: NASA/…
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Benchmarks for solidifying metal alloys Researchers report benchmark data for modeling the growth of specific types of microstructures that form during solidification of metal alloys under different conditions. These microstructures affect the properties of materials and products such as refrigeration devices and solar cells. The ESA (European Space Agency) Columnar-to-Equiaxed Transition in Solidification Processing (CETSOL) investigation studied the processes of metal alloy solidification and the crystal patterns that form as liquids transition to solids. Results could improve ground-based development of lightweight, high-performance structural materia…
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3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) A digital rendering of the Starlab, which includes a large habitation and laboratory module with a smaller service module for power and propulsion.Credits: Starlab A NASA-funded commercial space station, Starlab, recently completed four key developmental milestones, marking substantial progress in the station’s design and operational readiness. The four milestones are part of a NASA Space Act Agreement awarded in 2021 and focused on reviews of the habitat structural test article preliminary design, systems integration, integrated operations, and a habitat structural test plan. “These mil…
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Caption: An artist’s concept of the International Space Station orbiting Earth. In the distance is the Moon, and a red star representing Mars.Credit: NASA As part of the agency’s efforts to enable broader use of space, NASA has released its final goals and objectives for low Earth orbit, defining the long-term approach toward advancing microgravity science, technology, and exploration for the benefit of all. Developed with input from a wide range of stakeholders, NASA’s Low Earth Orbit Microgravity Strategy will guide the agency toward the next generation of continuous human presence in orbit, enable greater economic growth, and maintain international partnerships. …
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4 Min Read Celebrating 20 Years: Night Sky Network 2023 Partial Solar Eclipse Viewing at Camino Real Marketplace with the View the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit. Credits: Photo by Chuck McPartlin by Vivan White & Kat Troche of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific NASA’s Night Sky Network is one of the most successful and longstanding grassroots initiatives for public engagement in astronomy education. Started in 2004 with the PlanetQuest program out of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and currently supported by NASA’s Science Activation, the Night Sky Network (NSN) plays a critical role in fostering science liter…
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