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4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) What happens when the universe’s most magnetic object shines with the power of 1000 Suns in a matter of seconds? Thanks to NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer), a mission in collaboration with ASI (Italian Space Agency), scientists are one step closer to understanding this extreme event. Magnetars are a type of young neutron star – a stellar remnant formed when a massive star reaches the end of its life and collapses in on itself, leaving behind a dense core roughly the mass of the Sun, but squashed down to the size of a city. Neutron stars display some of the most extreme physics in the observable universe and present unique opportunities to study conditions that would otherwise be impossible to replicate in a laboratory on Earth. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Illustrated magnetar flyby sequence showing magnetic field lines. A magnetar is a type of isolated neutron star, the crushed, city-size remains of a star many times more massive than our Sun. Their magnetic fields can be 10 trillion times stronger than a refrigerator magnet's and up to a thousand times stronger than a typical neutron star's. This represents an enormous storehouse of energy that astronomers suspect powers magnetar outbursts.NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center/Chris Smith (USRA) The magnetar 1E 1841-045, located in the remnants of a supernova (SNR Kes 73) nearly 28,000 light-years from Earth, was observed to be in a state of outburst by NASA’s Swift, Fermi, and NICER telescopes on August 21, 2024. A few times a year, the IXPE team approves requests to interrupt the telescope’s scheduled observations to instead focus on unique and unexpected celestial events. When magnetar 1E 1841-045 entered this brighter, active state, scientists decided to redirect IXPE to obtain the first-ever polarization measurements of a flaring magnetar. Magnetars have magnetic fields several thousand times stronger than most neutron stars and host the strongest magnetic fields of any known object in the universe. Disturbances to their extreme magnetic fields can cause a magnetar to release up to a thousand times more X-ray energy than it normally would for several weeks. This enhanced state is called an outburst, but the mechanisms behind them are still not well understood. Through IXPE’s X-ray polarization measurements, scientists may be able to get closer to uncovering the mysteries of these events. Polarization carries information about the orientation and alignment of the emitted X-ray light waves; the higher the degree of polarization, the more the X-ray waves are traveling in sync, akin to a tightly choreographed dance performance. Examining the polarization characteristics of magnetars reveals clues about the energetic processes producing the observed photons as well as the direction and geometry of the magnetar magnetic fields. The IXPE results, aided by observations from NASA’s NuSTAR and NICER telescopes, show that the X-ray emissions from 1E 1841-045 become more polarized at higher energy levels while still maintaining the same direction of propagation. A significant contribution to this high polarization degree comes from the hard X-ray tail of 1E 1841-045, an energetic magnetospheric component dominating the highest photon energies observed by IXPE. “Hard X-rays” refer to X-rays with shorter wavelengths and higher energies than “soft X-rays.” Although prevalent in magnetars, the mechanics driving the production of these high energy X-ray photons are still largely unknown. Several theories have been proposed to explain this emission, but now the high polarization associated with these hard X-rays provide further clues into their origin. This illustration depicts IXPE’s measurements of X-ray polarization emitting from magnetar 1E 1841-045 located within the Supernova Remnant Kes 73. At the time of observation, the magnetar was in a state of outburst and emitting the luminosity equivalent to 1000 suns. By studying the X-ray polarization of magnetars experiencing an outburst scientists may be able to get closer to uncovering the mysteries of these events. Michela Rigoselli/Italian National Institute of Astrophysics The results are presented in two papers published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, one led by Rachael Stewart, a PhD student at George Washington University, and the other by Michela Rigoselli of the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics.. “This unique observation will help advance the existing models aiming to explain magnetar hard X-ray emission by requiring them to account for this very high level of synchronization we see among these hard X-ray photons,” said Stewart. “This really showcases the power of polarization measurements in constraining physics in the extreme environments of magnetars.” Rigoselli, lead author of the companion paper, added, “It will be interesting to observe 1E 1841-045 once it has returned to its quiescent, baseline state to follow the evolution of its polarimetric properties.” IXPE is a space observatory built to discover the secrets of some of the most extreme objects in the universe. Launched in December 2021 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on a Falcon 9 rocket, the IXPE mission is part of NASA’s Small Explorer series. IXPE, which continues to provide unprecedented data enabling groundbreaking discoveries about celestial objects across the universe, is a joint NASA and Italian Space Agency mission with partners and science collaborators in 12 countries. IXPE is led by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. BAE Systems, headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, manages spacecraft operations together with the University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics in Boulder. Learn more about IXPE’s ongoing mission here: https://www.nasa.gov/ixpe Media Contact Elizabeth Landau NASA Headquarters elizabeth.r.landau@nasa.gov 202-358-0845 Lane Figueroa Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. lane.e.figueroa@nasa.gov 256.544.0034 About the AuthorBeth Ridgeway Share Details Last Updated Jun 05, 2025 EditorBeth RidgewayContactLane FigueroaElizabeth R. Landauelizabeth.r.landau@nasa.govLocationMarshall Space Flight Center Related TermsIXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer)AstrophysicsAstrophysics DivisionMarshall AstrophysicsMarshall Science Research & ProjectsMarshall Space Flight CenterThe Universe Explore More 5 min read 3 Black Holes Caught Eating Massive Stars in NASA Data Black holes are invisible to us unless they interact with something else. Some continuously eat… Article 22 hours ago 4 min read Core Components for NASA’s Roman Space Telescope Pass Major Shake Test Article 23 hours ago 5 min read NASA’s Webb Rounds Out Picture of Sombrero Galaxy’s Disk After capturing an image of the iconic Sombrero galaxy at mid-infrared wavelengths in late 2024,… Article 2 days ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) A lot can change in a year for Earth’s forests and vegetation, as springtime and rainy seasons can bring new growth, while cooling temperatures and dry weather can bring a dieback of those green colors. And now, a novel type of NASA visualization illustrates those changes in a full complement of colors as seen from space. Researchers have now gathered a complete year of PACE data to tell a story about the health of land vegetation by detecting slight variations in leaf colors. Previous missions allowed scientists to observe broad changes in chlorophyll, the pigment that gives plants their green color and also allows them to perform photosynthesis. But PACE now allows scientists to see three different pigments in vegetation: chlorophyll, anthocyanins, and carotenoids. The combination of these three pigments helps scientists pinpoint even more information about plant health. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite is designed to view Earth’s microscopic ocean plants in a new lens, but researchers have proved its hyperspectral use over land, as well. Previous missions measured broad changes in chlorophyll, the pigment that gives plants their green color and also allows them to perform photosynthesis. Now, for the first time, PACE measurements have allowed NASA scientists and visualizers to show a complete year of global vegetation data using three pigments: chlorophyll, anthocyanins, and carotenoids. That multicolor imagery tells a clearer story about the health of land vegetation by detecting the smallest of variations in leaf colors. “Earth is amazing. It’s humbling, being able to see life pulsing in colors across the whole globe,” said Morgaine McKibben, PACE applications lead at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “It’s like the overview effect that astronauts describe when they look down at Earth, except we are looking through our technology and data.” Anthocyanins, carotenoids, and chlorophyll data light up North America, highlighting vegetation and its health.Credit: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio Anthocyanins are the red pigments in leaves, while carotenoids are the yellow pigments – both of which we see when autumn changes the colors of trees. Plants use these pigments to protect themselves from fluctuations in the weather, adapting to the environment through chemical changes in their leaves. For example, leaves can turn more yellow when they have too much sunlight but not enough of the other necessities, like water and nutrients. If they didn’t adjust their color, it would damage the mechanisms they have to perform photosynthesis. In the visualization, the data is highlighted in bright colors: magenta represents anthocyanins, green represents chlorophyll, and cyan represents carotenoids. The brighter the colors are, the more leaves there are in that area. The movement of these colors across the land areas show the seasonal changes over time. In areas like the evergreen forests of the Pacific Northwest, plants undergo less seasonal change. The data highlights this, showing comparatively steadier colors as the year progresses. The combination of these three pigments helps scientists pinpoint even more information about plant health. “Shifts in these pigments, as detected by PACE, give novel information that may better describe vegetation growth, or when vegetation changes from flourishing to stressed,” said McKibben. “It’s just one of many ways the mission will drive increased understanding of our home planet and enable innovative, practical solutions that serve society.” The Ocean Color Instrument on PACE collects hyperspectral data, which means it observes the planet in 100 different wavelengths of visible and near infrared light. It is the only instrument – in space or elsewhere – that provides hyperspectral coverage around the globe every one to two days. The PACE mission builds on the legacy of earlier missions, such as Landsat, which gathers higher resolution data but observes a fraction of those wavelengths. In a paper recently published in Remote Sensing Letters, scientists introduced the mission’s first terrestrial data products. “This PACE data provides a new view of Earth that will improve our understanding of ecosystem dynamics and function,” said Fred Huemmrich, research professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, member of the PACE science and applications team, and first author of the paper. “With the PACE data, it’s like we’re looking at a whole new world of color. It allows us to describe pigment characteristics at the leaf level that we weren’t able to do before.” As scientists continue to work with these new data, available on the PACE website, they’ll be able to incorporate it into future science applications, which may include forest monitoring or early detection of drought effects. By Erica McNamee NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Share Details Last Updated Jun 05, 2025 EditorKate D. RamsayerContactKate D. Ramsayerkate.d.ramsayer@nasa.gov Related TermsEarthGoddard Space Flight CenterPACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, Ocean Ecosystem) Explore More 4 min read Tundra Vegetation to Grow Taller, Greener Through 2100, NASA Study Finds Article 10 months ago 8 min read NASA Researchers Study Coastal Wetlands, Champions of Carbon Capture In the Florida Everglades, NASA’s BlueFlux Campaign investigates the relationship between tropical wetlands and greenhouse… Article 3 months ago 5 min read NASA Takes to the Air to Study Wildflowers Article 2 months ago View the full article

Expedition 71 Flight Engineer and NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps poses for a portrait inside the seven-window cupola, the International Space Station’s “window to the world,” while orbiting 259 miles above Greece.NASA NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps retired May 30, after nearly 16 years of service with the agency. Epps most recently served as a mission specialist during NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission, spending 235 days in space, including 232 days aboard the International Space Station, working on hundreds of scientific experiments during Expedition 71/72. “I have had the distinct pleasure of following Jeanette’s journey here at NASA from the very beginning,” said Steve Koerner, acting director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “Jeanette’s tenacity and dedication to mission excellence is admirable. Her contributions to the advancement of human space exploration will continue to benefit humanity and inspire the next generation of explorers for several years to come.” Epps was selected in 2009 as a member of NASA’s 20th astronaut class. In addition to her spaceflight, she served as a lead capsule communicator, or capcom, in NASA’s Mission Control Center and as a crew support astronaut for two space station expeditions. “Ever since Jeanette joined the astronaut corps, she has met every challenge with resilience and determination,” said Joe Acaba, NASA’s chief astronaut. “We will miss her greatly, but I know she’s going to continue to do great things.” Epps also participated in NEEMO (NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operation) off the coast of Florida, conducted geologic studies in Hawaii, and served as a representative to the Generic Joint Operations Panel, which addressed crew efficiency aboard the space station. The Syracuse, New York, native holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from Le Moyne College in Syracuse. She also earned master’s and doctorate degrees in aerospace engineering from the University of Maryland in College Park. During her graduate studies, she became a NASA Fellow, authoring several journal and conference articles about her research. Epps also received a provisional patent and a U.S. patent prior to her role at NASA. Learn more about International Space Station research and operations at: https://www.nasa.gov/station -end- Chelsey Ballarte Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 chelsey.n.ballarte@nasa.gov View the full article

Jack Kaye [NASA HQ—Associate Director for Research, Earth Science Division (ESD)] has decided to retire on April 30, 2025, following 42 years of service to NASA – see Photo 1. Most recently, Kaye served as associate director for research of the Earth Science Division (ESD) within NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD). In this position, he was responsible for the research and data analysis programs for Earth System Science that addressed the broad spectrum of scientific disciplines from the stratopause to the poles to the oceans. Photo 1. Jack Kaye [NASA HQ—Associate Director for Research, Earth Science Division (ESD)] retired from NASA on April 30, 2025, after a 42-year career. Photo credit: Public Domain A New York native, Kaye’s interest in space was piqued as a child watching early NASA manned space launches on television. He would often write to NASA to get pictures of the astronauts. In high school, he started an after school astronomy club. Despite a youthful interest in Earth science, as he explained in a 2014 “Maniac Talk” at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Kaye pursued a slightly different academic path. He obtained a Bachelor’s of Science in chemistry from Adelphi University in 1976 and a Ph.D. in theoretical physical chemistry at the California Institute of Technology in 1982. For his graduate studies, he focused on the quantum mechanics of chemical reactions with an aim toward being able to understand and calculate the activity. Following graduate school, Kaye secured a post-doctoral position at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, where he studied the chemistry of Earth’s atmosphere with a focus on stratospheric ozone. It was while working in a group of meteorologists at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center that Kaye returned to his roots and refocused his scientific energy on studying Earth. “NASA had a mandate to study stratospheric ozone,” Kaye said in an interview in 2009. “I got involved in looking at satellite observations and especially trying to interpret satellite observations of stratospheric composition and building models to simulate things, to look both ways, to use the models and use the data.” Kaye has held numerous science and leadership positions at NASA. He began his career at GSFC as a researcher for the Stratospheric General Circulation and Chemistry Modeling Project (SGCCP) from 1983–1990 working on stratospheric modeling. In this role, he also worked on an Earth Observing System Interdisciplinary proposal. His first role at NASA HQ was managing as program scientist for the Atmospheric Chemistry Modeling and Analysis Program (ACMAP), as well as numerous other missions. In this role, he was a project scientist for the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS) series of Shuttle missions. While managing ATLAS, Kaye oversaw the science carried out by a dozen instruments from several different countries. He also managed several other Earth Science missions during this time. See the link to Kaye’s “Maniac Talk.” Kaye entered the Senior Executive Service in 1999, where he continued to contribute to the agency by managing NASA’s Earth Science Research Program. In addition, Kaye has held temporary acting positions as deputy director of ESD and deputy chief scientist for Earth Science within SMD. Throughout his career he has focused on helping early-career investigators secure their first awards to establish their career path—see Photo 2. Photo 2. Throughout his career, Jack Kaye has been an advocate for young scientists, helping them get established in their careers. Here, Kaye speaks with the Climate Change Research Initiative cohort at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington, DC on August 7, 2024. The Earth Science Division’s Early Career Research Program’s Climate Change Research Initiative is a year-long STEM engagement and experiential learning opportunity for educators and students from high school to graduate level. Photo Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky On numerous occasions, Kaye spoke to different groups emphasizing the agency’s unique role in both developing and utilizing cutting-edge technology, especially remote observations of Earth with different satellite platforms – see Photo 3. With the launch of five new NASA Earth science campaigns in 2020, Kaye stated, “These innovative investigations tackle difficult scientific questions that require detailed, targeted field observations combined with data collected by our fleet of Earth-observing satellites.” Photo 3. Jack Kaye hands out eclipse posters and other outreach materials to attendees at Eclipse Fest 2024. Photo credit: GRC https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/earth-science/looking-back-on-looking-up-the-2024-total-solar-eclipse/ Kaye has also represented NASA in interagency and international activities and has been an active participant in the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), where he has served for many years as NASA principal of the Subcommittee on Global Change Research. He served as NASA’s representative to the Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology and chaired the World Meteorological Organization Expert Team on Satellite Systems. Kaye was named an honorary member of the Asia Oceania Geoscience Society in 2015. He previously completed a six-year term as a member of the Steering Committee for the Global Climate Observing System and currently serves an ex officio member of the National Research Council’s Roundtable on Science and Technology for Sustainability and the Chemical Sciences Roundtable, as well as a member of the Roundtable on Global Science Diplomacy. NASA has honored Kaye with numerous awards, including the Distinguished Service Medal in 2022 and the Meritorious Executive in the Senior Executive Service in 2004, 2010, and 2021. In 2024 he was awarded the NASA-USGS Pecora Individual Award honoring excellence in Earth Observation. He was named a Fellow by the American Meteorological Society in 2010 and by the American Association of the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2014. Kaye was elected to serve as an office of the Atmospheric and Hydrospheric Science section of the AAAS (2015–2018). AGU has recognized him on two occasions with a Citation for Excellence in Refereeing. Over the course of his career Kaye has published more than 50 papers, contributed to numerous reports, books, and encyclopedias, and edited the book Isotope Effects in Gas-Phase Chemistry for the American Chemical Society. In addition, he has attended the Leadership for Democratic Society program at the Federal Executive Institute and the Harvard Senior Managers in Government Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. “The vantage point of space provides a way to look at the Earth globally, with the ability to observe Earth’s interacting components of air, water, land and ice, and both naturally occurring and human-induced processes,” Kaye said in a November 2024 article published by Penn State University. “It lets us look at variability on a broad range of spatial and temporal scales and given the decades of accomplishments, has allowed us to characterize and document Earth system variability on time scales from minutes to decades.” View the full article

Explore This Section Earth Earth Observer Editor’s Corner Feature Articles Meeting Summaries News Science in the News Calendars In Memoriam Announcements More Archives Conference Schedules Style Guide 3 min read In Memoriam: Dr. Stanley Sander Dr. Stanley Sander dedicated more than five decades to atmospheric science at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, beginning his JPL career as a graduate research assistant in 1971. A leading figure in atmospheric chemistry, Stan made foundational contributions to our understanding of stratospheric ozone depletion, tropospheric air pollution, and climate science related to greenhouse gases. His pioneering work in laboratory measurements—particularly of reaction rate constants, spectroscopy, and photochemistry—was designed to forge consensus among often disparate measurements. His steadfast application of the scientific method was essential for furthering scientific research, as well as for providing sound advice for use in air quality management and environmental policies. His expertise extended beyond Earth’s atmosphere, with studies of methane chemistry on Mars, halogens on Venus, and hydrocarbons in Titan’s atmosphere. Stan’s scientific output was vast. He authored over 180 peer-reviewed publications, beginning with his 1976 paper on sulfur dioxide oxidation. His work spans major aspects of atmospheric chemistry—from chlorine, bromine, and nitrogen oxides to sulfur compounds and peroxides. The rate constants, cross-sections, and photochemical data produced in his lab form the cornerstone of atmospheric modeling crucial to the scientific foundation of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. He played a central role in the widely used JPL Chemical Kinetics and Photochemical Data for Use in Atmospheric Studies reports, which have collectively garnered over 10,000 citations. His spectroscopic research, which included development of novel spectrometers and polarimeters, resulted in insightful data from sites at JPL, the Table Mountain Facility as well as the California Laboratory for Remote sensing (CLARS). These activities have contributed significantly to the calibration and validation of satellite missions like TES, OCO, OMI, and SAGE, helped advance remote sensing technologies, and informed local air quality metrics. Stan was not only a brilliant scientist but a deeply respected mentor and leader. He guided 40 postdocs at JPL, 14 graduate students at Caltech, and 14 undergraduate researchers. At JPL, he held key leadership roles including Supervisor of the Laboratory Studies and Modeling Group, Chief Engineer and Acting Chief Technologist in the Science Division, and Senior Research Scientist. Those of us lucky enough to be fostered by Stan in this capacity will always remember his kindness first approach and steadfast resolve in the face of challenges. Stan’s contributions were recognized with numerous honors, including two NASA Exceptional Achievement Medals, a NASA Exceptional Service Medal, and elected as a fellow for both the American Geophysical Union (2021) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2024). Although the announcement of his AAAS Fellowship came posthumously, he was informed of this honor before his passing. Stan was a rare combination of scientific brilliance, humility, and kindness. He was not only a leader in his field, but also a generous collaborator and cherished mentor. His loss is profoundly felt by the scientific community and by all who had the privilege of working with him. His legacy, however, will endure in those he mentored and the substantial contributions he made to scientific knowledge. View the full article

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 Mars Home 3 min read Sols 4559-4560: Drill Campaign — Searching for a Boxwork Bedrock Drill Site NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image of a portion of its workspace, full of interesting but not drillable bedrock, using its Left Navigation Camera on June 2, 2025 — Sol 4558, or Martian day 4,558 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — at 12:23:24 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech Written by Lucy Lim, Planetary Scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Earth planning date: Monday, June 2, 2025 Now that Curiosity has spent a few sols collecting close-up measurements of the rocks in the outer edge of the boxwork-forming geologic unit, the team has decided that it’s time to collect a drill sample. The geochemical measurements by APXS and ChemCam have shown changes since we crossed over from the previous layered sulfate unit, but we can’t figure out the mineralogy from those data alone. As we’ve often seen before on Mars, the same chemical elements can crystallize into a number of different mineral assemblages. That’s even more the case in sedimentary rocks such as we are driving through, in which different grains in our rocks may have formed in different times and places. This also means that when we do get our mineral data, those minerals will tell us a lot about the history of these new-to-us rocks. On board Curiosity, that mineral analysis is the job of the CheMin instrument, which uses X-ray diffraction to identify minerals. CheMin shines a narrow X-ray beam through a powdered sample in order to generate the diffraction pattern, which means that it needs a drilled sample. So the team today was busy looking for a drillable spot. Unfortunately the rover’s drill reach from today’s parking spot included only rocks that were too fractured or had too much debris sitting on them to be considered likely to produce a good drilled sample, so we will have to move, or “bump,” at least one more time before progressing to the drill preload test, which is the next step in drilling. In the meantime, we are taking more measurements to understand the range of compositions that can be found in this rock layer. Dust removal (DRT) + APXS + LIBS + MAHLI were all planned for target “Holcomb Valley,” while a short distance away a second DRT/APXS/MAHLI measurement was planned for “Santa Ysabel Valley” and in another direction, a second LIBS for “Stough Saddle.” One long-distance ChemCam remote imaging mosaic was planned to cover a boxwork structure off in the distance. Mastcam had a relatively light day of imaging, with just a couple of small mosaics covering a nearby trough feature, and providing context for the RMI of the boxwork structure, in addition to documenting the two LIBS targets. The modern Mars environment was also recorded with a couple of movies to look for dust-devil activity, a measurement of atmospheric opacity, and a pair of suprahorizon observations to look for clouds, plus the usual passive observations by DAN and REMS to monitor the neutron environment, temperature, and humidity. I’ll be on rover planning Wednesday as Geology and Mineralogy Science Theme Lead and looking forward to what we find — hopefully some drillable boxwork-unit bedrock! Share Details Last Updated Jun 04, 2025 Related Terms Blogs Explore More 2 min read Sols 4556-4558: It’s All in a Day’s (box)Work Article 1 day ago 2 min read Sols 4554–4555: Let’s Try That One Again… Article 6 days ago 2 min read Sol 4553: Back to the Boxwork! Article 6 days ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It’s the only planet we know of inhabited… All Mars Resources Explore this collection of Mars images, videos, resources, PDFs, and toolkits. Discover valuable content designed to inform, educate, and inspire,… Rover Basics Each robotic explorer sent to the Red Planet has its own unique capabilities driven by science. Many attributes of a… Mars Exploration: Science Goals The key to understanding the past, present or future potential for life on Mars can be found in NASA’s four… View the full article

ESA/Hubble & NASA, C. Murray This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features a sparkling cloudscape from one of the Milky Way’s galactic neighbors, a dwarf galaxy called the Large Magellanic Cloud. Located 160,000 light-years away in the constellations Dorado and Mensa, the Large Magellanic Cloud is the largest of the Milky Way’s many small satellite galaxies. This view of dusty gas clouds in the Large Magellanic Cloud is possible thanks to Hubble’s cameras, such as the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) that collected the observations for this image. WFC3 holds a variety of filters, and each lets through specific wavelengths, or colors, of light. This image combines observations made with five different filters, including some that capture ultraviolet and infrared light that the human eye cannot see. The wispy gas clouds in this image resemble brightly colored cotton candy. When viewing such a vividly colored cosmic scene, it is natural to wonder whether the colors are ‘real’. After all, Hubble, with its 7.8-foot-wide (2.4 m) mirror and advanced scientific instruments, doesn’t bear resemblance to a typical camera! When image-processing specialists combine raw filtered data into a multi-colored image like this one, they assign a color to each filter. Visible-light observations typically correspond to the color that the filter allows through. Shorter wavelengths of light such as ultraviolet are usually assigned blue or purple, while longer wavelengths like infrared are typically red. This color scheme closely represents reality while adding new information from the portions of the electromagnetic spectrum that humans cannot see. However, there are endless possible color combinations that can be employed to achieve an especially aesthetically pleasing or scientifically insightful image. Learn how Hubble images are taken and processed. Text credit: ESA/Hubble Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, C. Murray View the full article

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying the Axiom Mission 3 crew is pictured approaching the International Space Station on Jan. 20, 2024.Credit: NASA NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX are targeting 8:22 a.m. EDT, Tuesday, June 10, for launch of the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, Axiom Mission 4. The mission will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew will travel to the orbiting laboratory on a new SpaceX Dragon spacecraft after launching on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket. The targeted docking time is approximately 12:30 p.m., Wednesday, June 11. NASA will stream live coverage of launch and arrival activities on NASA+. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media. NASA’s mission responsibility is for integrated operations, which begins during the spacecraft’s approach to the space station, continues during the crew’s approximately two-week stay aboard the orbiting laboratory while conducting science, education, and commercial activities, and concludes once the spacecraft exits the station. Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, will command the commercial mission, while ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will serve as pilot. The two mission specialists are ESA (European Space Agency) project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary. As part of a collaboration between NASA and ISRO, Axiom Mission 4 delivers on a commitment highlighted by President Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to send the first ISRO astronaut to the station. The space agencies are participating in five joint science investigations and two in-orbit science, technology, engineering, and mathematics demonstrations. NASA and ISRO have a long-standing relationship built on a shared vision to advance scientific knowledge and expand space collaboration. The private mission also carries the first astronauts from Poland and Hungary to stay aboard the space station. NASA will join the mission prelaunch teleconference hosted by Axiom Space (no earlier than one hour after completion of the Launch Readiness Review) at 6 p.m., Monday, June 9, with the following participants: Dana Weigel, manager, International Space Station Program, NASA Allen Flynt, chief of mission services, Axiom Space William Gerstenmaier, vice president, Build and Flight Reliability, SpaceX Arlena Moses, launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron, U.S. Space Force To join the teleconference, media must register with Axiom Space by 12 p.m., Sunday, June 8, at: https://bit.ly/4krAQHK NASA’s mission coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations): Tuesday, June 10 6:15 a.m. – Axiom Space and SpaceX launch coverage begins. 7:25 a.m. – NASA joins the launch coverage on NASA+. 8:22 a.m. – Launch NASA will end coverage following orbital insertion, which is approximately 15 minutes after launch. As it is a commercial launch, NASA will not provide a clean launch feed on its channels. Wednesday, June 11 10:30 a.m. – Arrival coverage begins on NASA+, Axiom Space, and SpaceX channels. 12:30 p.m. – Targeted docking to the space-facing port of the station’s Harmony module. Arrival coverage will continue through hatch opening and welcome remarks. All times are estimates and could be adjusted based on real-time operations after launch. Follow the space station blog for the most up-to-date operations information. The International Space Station is a springboard for developing a low Earth economy. NASA’s goal is to achieve a strong economy off the Earth where the agency can purchase services as one of many customers to meet its science and research objectives in microgravity. NASA’s commercial strategy for low Earth orbit provides the government with reliable and safe services at a lower cost, enabling the agency to focus on Artemis missions to the Moon in preparation for Mars while also continuing to use low Earth orbit as a training and proving ground for those deep space missions. Learn more about NASA’s commercial space strategy at: https://www.nasa.gov/commercial-space -end- Claire O’Shea Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 claire.a.o’shea@nasa.gov Anna Schneider Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 anna.c.schneider@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Jun 04, 2025 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related TermsPrivate Astronaut MissionsCommercial SpaceHumans in SpaceInternational Space Station (ISS)ISS ResearchJohnson Space CenterKennedy Space Center View the full article

NASA and ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) are collaborating to launch scientific investigations aboard Axiom Mission 4, the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. These studies include examining muscle regeneration, growth of sprouts and edible microalgae, survival of tiny aquatic organisms, and human interaction with electronic displays in microgravity. The mission is targeted to launch no earlier than Tuesday, June 10, aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida Regenerating muscle tissue Immunofluorescent image of human muscle fibers for Myogenesis-ISRO, showing nuclei (blue) and proteins (red).Institute for Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine, India During long-duration spaceflights, astronauts lose muscle mass, and their muscle cells’ regenerative ability declines. Researchers suspect this may happen because microgravity interferes with metabolism in mitochondria, tiny structures within cells that produce energy. The Myogenesis-ISRO investigation uses muscle stem cell cultures to examine the muscle repair process and test chemicals known to support mitochondrial function. Results could lead to interventions that maintain muscle health during long-duration space missions, help people on Earth with age-related muscle loss and muscle-wasting diseases, and assist athletes and people recovering from surgery. Sprouting seeds This preflight image shows sprouted fenugreek seeds for the Sprouts-ISRO investigation.Ravikumar Hosamani Lab, University of Agricultural Sciences, India The Sprouts-ISRO investigation looks at the germination and growth in microgravity of seeds from greengram and fenugreek, nutritious plants commonly eaten on the Indian subcontinent. Bioactive compounds in fenugreek seeds also have therapeutic properties, and the leaves contain essential vitamins and minerals. Learning more about how space affects the genetics, nutritional content, and other characteristics over multiple generations of plants could inform the development of ways for future missions to reliably produce plants as a food source. Microalgae growth Culture bags for Space Microalgae-ISRO.Redwire Space Microalgae-ISRO studies how microgravity affects microalgae growth and genetics. Highly digestible microalgae species packed with nutrients could be a food source on future space missions. These organisms also grow quickly, produce energy and oxygen, and consume carbon dioxide, traits that could be employed in life support and fuel systems on spacecraft and in certain scenarios on Earth. Tiny but tough NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson sets up the BioServe microscope, which will be used by the Voyager Tardigrade-ISRO investigation.NASA Tardigrades are tiny aquatic organisms that can tolerate extreme conditions on Earth. Voyager Tardigrade-ISRO tests the survival of a strain of tardigrades in the harsh conditions of space, including cosmic radiation and ultra-low temperatures, which kill most life forms. Researchers plan to revive dormant tardigrades, count the number of eggs laid and hatched during the mission, and compare the gene expression patterns of populations in space and on the ground. Results could help identify what makes these organisms able to survive extreme conditions and support development of technology to protect astronauts on future missions and those in harsh environments on Earth. Improving electronic interactions NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara interacts with a touchscreen. Voyager Displays-ISRO examines how spaceflight affects use of such devices.NASA Research shows that humans interact with touchscreen devices differently in space. Voyager Displays – ISRO examines how spaceflight affects interactions with electronic displays such as pointing tasks, gaze fixation, and rapid eye movements along with how these interactions affect the user’s feelings of stress or wellbeing. Results could support improved design of control devices for spacecraft and habitats on future space missions as well as for aviation and other uses on Earth. Download high-resolution photos and videos of the research mentioned in this article. Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Space Station Research and Technology Latest News from Space Station Research Humans In Space Space Station Research Results View the full article

X-ray: NASA/CXC/CfA/Stroe, A. et al.; Optical: PanSTARRS; Radio: ASTRON/LOFAR; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk New observations from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes have captured a rare cosmic event: two galaxy clusters have collided and are now poised to head back for another swipe at each other. Galaxy clusters are some of the largest structures in the Universe. Held together by gravity, they are monster-sized collections of hundreds or thousands of individual galaxies, massive amounts of superheated gas, and invisible dark matter. The galaxy cluster PSZ2 G181.06+48.47 (PSZ2 G181 for short) is about 2.8 billion light-years from Earth. Previously, radio observations from the LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR), an antenna network in the Netherlands, spotted parentheses-shaped structures on the outside of the system. In this new composite image, X-rays from Chandra (purple) and ESA’s XMM-Newton (blue) have been combined with LOFAR data (red) and an optical image from Pan-STARRs of the stars in the field of view. These structures are probably shock fronts — similar to those created by jets that have broken the sound barrier — likely caused by disruption of gas from the initial collision about a billion years ago. Since the collision they have continued traveling outwards and are currently separated by about 11 million light-years, the largest separation of these kinds of structures that astronomers have ever seen. Colliding galaxy clusters PSZ2 G181.06+48.47 (Labeled).X-ray: NASA/CXC/CfA/Stroe, A. et al.; Optical: PanSTARRS; Radio: ASTRON/LOFAR; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk Now, data from NASA’s Chandra and ESA’s XMM-Newton is providing evidence that PSZ2 G181 is poised for another collision. Having a first pass at ramming each other, the two clusters have slowed down and begun heading back toward a second crash. Astronomers made a detailed study of the X-ray observations of this collision site and found three shock fronts. These are aligned with the axis of the collision, and the researchers think they are early signs of the second, oncoming crash. The researchers are still trying to determine how much mass each of the colliding clusters contains. Regardless, the total mass of the system is less than others where galaxy clusters have collided. This makes PSZ2 G181 an unusual case of a lower-mass system involved in the rare event of colliding galaxy clusters. A paper describing these results appears in a recent issue of The Astrophysical Journal (ApJ) and is led by Andra Stroe from the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA) and collaborators. It is part of a series of three papers in ApJ. The second paper is led by Kamlesh Rajpurohit, also of CfA, and the third paper is led by Eunmo Ahn, from Yonsei University in the Republic of Korea. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Chandra X-ray Center controls science operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts. Read more from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory Learn more about the Chandra X-ray Observatory and its mission here: https://www.nasa.gov/chandra https://chandra.si.edu Visual Description In this release, a composite image illustrates a dramatic cosmic story unfolding 2.8 billion light years from Earth. Presented both with and without labels, the image details the fallout when two galaxy clusters collide. At the center of the image are the colliding galaxy clusters, which together are known as PSZ2 G181. This combined cluster somewhat resembles an irregular violet peanut shell, with bulbous ends linked by a tapered middle. Inside each bulbous end are several glowing dots; some of the galaxies within the clusters. The violet peanut shape is tilted at a slight angle, surrounded by a blue haze of X-ray gas. Far from the bulbous ends, at our upper left and lower right, are two blotchy, thick red lines. These are probably shock fronts, similar to those created by jets that have broken the sound barrier. Bracketing the combined galaxy cluster, these shock fronts were caused by the initial collision about a billion years ago. They are currently separated by 11 million light-years. New data from the Chandra and XMM-Newton observatories suggests that PSZ2 G181 is poised for another powerful cosmic event. Having already taken one swipe at each other, the two clusters within are once again on a collision course. News Media Contact Megan Watzke Chandra X-ray Center Cambridge, Mass. 617-496-7998 mwatzke@cfa.harvard.edu Lane Figueroa Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama 256-544-0034 lane.e.figueroa@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Jun 04, 2025 Related TermsChandra X-Ray ObservatoryGalaxiesGalaxy clustersMarshall AstrophysicsMarshall Space Flight CenterThe Universe Explore More 4 min read Core Components for NASA’s Roman Space Telescope Pass Major Shake Test Article 1 hour ago 5 min read NASA’s Webb Rounds Out Picture of Sombrero Galaxy’s Disk After capturing an image of the iconic Sombrero galaxy at mid-infrared wavelengths in late 2024,… Article 1 day ago 2 min read Hubble Filters a Barred Spiral This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features a luminous tangle of stars and dust called… Article 1 day ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Universe IXPE Stars Astronomers estimate that the universe could contain up to one septillion stars – that’s a one followed by 24 zeros.… Solar System View the full article

5 Min Read 3 Black Holes Caught Eating Massive Stars in NASA Data A disk of hot gas swirls around a black hole in this illustration. Some of the gas came from a star that was pulled apart by the black hole, forming the long stream of hot gas on the right, feeding into the disk. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech Black holes are invisible to us unless they interact with something else. Some continuously eat gas and dust, and appear to glow brightly over time as matter falls in. But other black holes secretly lie in wait for years until a star comes close enough to snack on. Scientists have recently identified three supermassive black holes at the centers of distant galaxies, each of which suddenly brightened when it destroyed a star and then stayed bright for several months. A new study using space and ground-based data from NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), and other institutions presents these rare occurrences as a new category of cosmic events called “extreme nuclear transients.” Looking for more of these extreme nuclear transients could help unveil some of the most massive supermassive black holes in the universe that are usually quiet. “These events are the only way we can have a spotlight that we can shine on otherwise inactive massive black holes,” said Jason Hinkle, graduate student at the University of Hawaii and lead author of a new study in the journal Science Advances describing this phenomenon. The black holes in question seem to have eaten stars three to 10 times heavier than our Sun. Feasting on the stars resulted in some of the most energetic transient events ever recorded. This illustration shows a glowing stream of material from a star as it is being devoured by a supermassive black hole. When a star passes within a certain distance of a black hole — close enough to be gravitationally disrupted — the stellar material gets stretched and compressed as it falls into the black hole. NASA/JPL-Caltech These events as unleash enormous amount of high-energy radiation on the central regions of their host galaxies. “That has implications for the environments in which these events are occurring,” Hinkle said. “If galaxies have these events, they’re important for the galaxies themselves.” The stars’ destruction produces high-energy light that takes over 100 days to reach peak brightness, then more than 150 days to dim to half of its peak. The way the high-energy radiation affects the environment results in lower-energy emissions that telescopes can also detect. One of these star-destroying events, nicknamed “Barbie” because of its catalog identifier ZTF20abrbeie, was discovered in 2020 by the Zwicky Transient Facility at Caltech’s Palomar Observatory in California, and documented in two 2023 studies. The other two black holes were detected by ESA’s Gaia mission in 2016 and 2018 and are studied in detail in the new paper. NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory was critical in confirming that these events must have been related to black holes, not stellar explosions or other phenomena. The way that the X-ray, ultraviolet, and optical light brightened and dimmed over time was like a fingerprint matching that of a black hole ripping a star apart. Scientists also used data from NASA’s WISE spacecraft, which was operated from 2009 to 2011 and then was reactivated as NEOWISE and retired in 2024. Under the WISE mission the spacecraft mapped the sky at infrared wavelengths, finding many new distant objects and cosmic phenomena. In the new study, the spacecraft’s data helped researchers characterize dust in the environments of each black hole. Numerous ground-based observatories additionally contributed to this discovery, including the W. M. Keck Observatory telescopes through their NASA-funded archive and the NASA-supported Near-Earth Object surveys ATLAS, Pan-STARRS, and Catalina. “What I think is so exciting about this work is that we’re pushing the upper bounds of what we understand to be the most energetic environments of the universe,” said Anna Payne, a staff scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute and study co-author, who helped look for the chemical fingerprints of these events with the University of Hawaii 2.2-meter Telescope. A Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology (FINESST) grant from the agency helped enable Hinkle to search for these black hole events. “The FINESST grant gave Jason the freedom to track down and figure out what these events actually were,” said Ben Shappee, associate professor at the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii, a study coauthor and advisor to Hinkle. Hinkle is set to follow up on these results as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign through the NASA Hubble Fellowship Program. “One of the biggest questions in astronomy is how black holes grow throughout the universe,” Hinkle said. The results complement recent observations from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope showing how supermassive black holes feed and grow in the early universe. But since only 10% of early black holes are actively eating gas and dust, extreme nuclear transients — that is, catching a supermassive black hole in the act of eating a massive star — are a different way to find black holes in the early universe. Events like these are so bright that they may be visible even in the distant, early universe. Swift showed that extreme nuclear transients emit most of their light in the ultraviolet. But as the universe expands, that light is stretched to longer wavelengths and shifts into the infrared — exactly the kind of light NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope was designed to detect. With its powerful infrared sensitivity and wide field of view, Roman will be able to spot these rare explosions from more than 12 billion years ago, when the universe was just a tenth of its current age. Scheduled to launch by 2027, and potentially as early as fall 2026, Roman could uncover many more of these dramatic events and offer a new way to explore how stars, galaxies, and black holes formed and evolved over time. “We can take these three objects as a blueprint to know what to look for in the future,” Payne said. Explore More 5 min read NASA’s Webb Rounds Out Picture of Sombrero Galaxy’s Disk Article 1 day ago 2 min read Hubble Filters a Barred Spiral Article 1 day ago 5 min read Apocalypse When? Hubble Casts Doubt on Certainty of Galactic Collision Article 2 days ago View the full article

The core portion of NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has successfully completed vibration testing, ensuring it will withstand the extreme shaking experienced during launch. Passing this key milestone brings Roman one step closer to helping answer essential questions about the role of dark energy and other cosmic mysteries. “The test could be considered as powerful as a pretty severe earthquake, but there are key differences,” said Cory Powell, the Roman lead structural analyst at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “Unlike an earthquake, we sweep through our frequencies one at a time, starting with very low-level amplitudes and gradually increasing them while we check everything along the way. It’s a very complicated process that takes extraordinary effort to do safely and efficiently.” To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video This video shows the core components of NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope undergoing a vibration test at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The test ensures this segment of the observatory will withstand the extreme shaking associated with launch. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center The team simulated launch conditions as closely as possible. “We performed the test in a flight-powered configuration and filled the propulsion tanks with approximately 295 gallons of deionized water to simulate the propellent loading on the spacecraft during launch,” said Joel Proebstle, who led this test, at NASA Goddard. This is part of a series of tests that ratchet up to 125 percent of the forces the observatory will experience. This milestone is the latest in a period of intensive testing for the nearly complete Roman Space Telescope, with many major parts coming together and running through assessments in rapid succession. Roman currently consists of two major assemblies: the inner, core portion (telescope, instrument carrier, two instruments, and spacecraft) and the outer portion (outer barrel assembly, solar array sun shield, and deployable aperture cover). Now, having completed vibration testing, the core portion will return to the large clean room at Goddard for post-test inspections. They’ll confirm that everything remains properly aligned and the high-gain antenna can deploy. The next major assessment for the core portion will involve additional tests of the electronics, followed by a thermal vacuum test to ensure the system will operate as planned in the harsh space environment. This video highlights some of the important hardware milestones as NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope moves closer to completion. The observatory is almost fully assembled, currently built up into two large pieces: the inner portion (telescope, instrument carrier, two instruments, and spacecraft) and outer portion (outer barrel assembly, solar array sun shield, and deployable aperture cover). This video shows the testing these segments have undergone between February and May 2025. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center In the meantime, Goddard technicians are also working on Roman’s outer portion. They installed the test solar array sun shield, and this segment then underwent its own thermal vacuum test, verifying it will control temperatures properly in the vacuum of space. Now, technicians are installing the flight solar panels to this outer part of the observatory. The team is on track to connect Roman’s two major assemblies in November, resulting in a whole observatory by the end of the year that will then undergo final tests. Roman remains on schedule for launch by May 2027, with the team aiming for as early as fall 2026. Click here to virtually tour an interactive version of the telescope The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is managed at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, with participation by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California; Caltech/IPAC in Pasadena, California; the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore; and a science team comprising scientists from various research institutions. The primary industrial partners are BAE Systems Inc. in Boulder, Colorado; L3Harris Technologies in Rochester, New York; and Teledyne Scientific & Imaging in Thousand Oaks, California. By Ashley Balzer NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Share Details Last Updated Jun 04, 2025 Related TermsNancy Grace Roman Space TelescopeGoddard Space Flight CenterTechnologyThe Universe Explore More 3 min read Key Portion of NASA’s Roman Space Telescope Clears Thermal Vacuum Test Article 4 weeks ago 6 min read How NASA’s Roman Space Telescope Will Illuminate Cosmic Dawn Article 10 months ago 6 min read New Study Reveals NASA’s Roman Could Find 400 Earth-Mass Rogue Planets Article 2 years ago View the full article

Cosmic Dawn (Official NASA Trailer)

Christina Zeringue is the chief safety and mission assurance officer at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. She is responsible for the safety and mission success of all activities, including rocket propulsion testing and operation of the NASA Stennis federal city.NASA/Danny Nowlin Christina Zeringue remembers being 10 years old, looking to the sky through her new telescope to view the Moon and planets on Christmas night. It opened her eyes to space and inspired her journey from the backyard to NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. “I became fascinated with astronomy and learning about stars and constellations, the solar system and planetary orbits, solar and lunar eclipses, and challenging myself to find stars and nebula at different distances from Earth,” Zeringue said. “I was able to do and learn so much just from my own yard.” She became obsessed with following the development and images produced from the Hubble Space Telescope, which launched on a space shuttle that featured three main engines tested at NASA Stennis. Zeringue desired to learn more about the universe and find a way to be part of the effort to continue exploring. The Kenner, Louisiana, native ultimately made her way to NASA Stennis following graduation from the University of New Orleans. As the NASA Stennis chief safety and mission assurance officer, Zeringue is responsible for safety and mission success of all site activities. These include both rocket propulsion testing and operation of the NASA Stennis federal city, where NASA and more than 50 federal, state, academic, public, and private aerospace, technology, and research organizations located onsite share in operating costs while pursuing individual missions. Christina Zeringue enjoys viewing the partial solar eclipse on Oct. 14, 2023, from Slidell, Louisiana. NASA/Danny Nowlin “I have a broad range of responsibilities, which allows me to work with many talented people, pushes me to learn and develop new skills, and keeps my work interesting every day,” Zeringue said. Zeringue’s work has supported NASA’s Artemis campaign to return astronauts to the Moon through her contributions to RS-25 engine testing and Green Run testing of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) core stage ahead of the successful launch of Artemis I. The Pearl River, Louisiana, resident often encounters engineering or safety challenges where there is not a clear answer to the solution. “We work together to understand new problems, determine the best course of action, and create new processes and ways to handle every challenge,” she said. In total, Zeringue has worked 28 years at NASA Stennis – 14 as a contractor and 14 with NASA. As a contractor, Zeringue initially worked as test article engineer for the Space Shuttle Main Engine Program. She followed that by serving as the quality systems manager, responsible for the quality engineering and configuration management of various engine systems, such as the space shuttle main engine, the RS-68 engine or Delta IV vehicles, and the J-2X upper stage engine. Zeringue transitioned to NASA in 2011, first as a facility systems safety engineer and then as chief of the operations support division within the NASA Stennis Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate. Her proudest career moment came early when working on final inspection of a new high pressure fuel turbopump. She noted a piece of contamination lodged behind the turbine shroud, which had been missed in previous inspections. Ultimately, the part was returned for disassembly before its next flight. “While our post-test inspections can sometimes become routine, that day still stands out to me as a way that I really knew I directly contributed to the safety of our astronauts,” she said. From the time Zeringue first looked through her new telescope, to her role as NASA Stennis chief safety and mission assurance officer, each moment along the way has contributed to the advice Zeringue shares with anyone considering a career with NASA. “Stay curious, invest in your own development, share your expertise with others, and try something new every day,” she said. Learn More About Careers at NASA Stennis Explore More 6 min read A Defining Era: NASA Stennis and Space Shuttle Main Engine Testing Article 2 weeks ago 4 min read NASA Stennis Releases First Open-Source Software Article 4 weeks ago 5 min read NASA Stennis Software is Built for Future Growth Article 4 weeks ago View the full article

3 Min Read I Am Artemis: Lili Villarreal Listen to this audio excerpt from Liliana Villarreal, Artemis Landing & Recovery Director: 0:00 / 0:00 Your browser does not support the audio element. Lili Villarreal fell in love with space exploration from an early age when she and her family visited the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. So, it should come as no surprise that when the opportunity came for her to start working on NASA’s Artemis missions to explore the Moon and build the foundation for the first crewed mission to Mars, she jumped at it. I was like, ‘Wow, we're going back to the Moon. I mean, how cool would it be to be at the beginning stages of that?' Liliana Villareal Artemis Landing & Recovery Director She currently serves as the Artemis Landing and Recovery Director, helping retrieve the astronauts and Orion spacecraft after they splash down in the Pacific Ocean following their mission in space. Originally from Cartagena, Colombia, Villarreal moved to Miami, Florida, when she was 10 years old with the goal of one day entering the aerospace industry. In 2007, her dream came true, and she became a part of the NASA team. Prior to becoming the landing and recovery director, Villarreal served as the deputy flow director for the Artemis I mission, responsible for the integration, stacking, and testing of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center. Cliff Lanham, fourth from left, ground operations manager with Exploration Ground Systems (EGS), passes the baton to Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis I launch director, inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 16, 2022. Joining them from left, are Stacey Bagg, Matt Czech, and Liliana Villareal, with EGS. Next to Blackwell-Thomson are Jeremy Graeber, deputy launch director, and Teresa Annulis. NASA/Glenn Benson “I kind of came in about a couple of years before we started processing Artemis I,” Villarreal said. “It took a while to get to the good parts of operations where it’s like, ‘Oh my god, we have everything here, and we’re starting to put everything together. And every day is a different day. Every day we have to figure out, ‘OK, what happened? How are we going to solve it?’ That’s the fun part about being an engineer out here.” Throughout her NASA career, she’s also had the opportunity to work in the operations division for the International Space Station Program. Every day I work on the Artemis missions, I imagine how the people who worked on Apollo felt because we are where they were back then. Liliana Villareal Artemis Landing & Recovery Director Currently, she and the team are training for Artemis II – the first crewed mission under Artemis to send four astronauts around the Moon and back. Part of the training includes rehearsing the steps and procedures to make sure they’re ready for crewed flights. This includes conducting underway recovery tests where NASA and U.S. Navy teams practice retrieving astronauts from a representative version of Orion at sea and bringing them and the spacecraft back to the ship. “I think it’s an amazing thing what we’re doing for humanity,” Villarreal said. “It’s going to better humanity, and it’s a steppingstone to eventually us living in other worlds. And I get to be part of that. You get to be part of that. How cool is that?” About the AuthorAntonia Jaramillo Share Details Last Updated Jun 04, 2025 Related TermsKennedy Space CenterArtemisExploration Ground SystemsI Am ArtemisOrion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle Explore More 4 min read Future Engineers Shine at NASA’s 2025 Lunabotics Robotics Competition Article 19 hours ago 4 min read Integrated Testing on Horizon for Artemis II Launch Preparations Article 6 days ago 4 min read Top Prize Awarded in Lunar Autonomy Challenge to Virtually Map Moon’s Surface Article 3 weeks ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

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 Mars Home 2 min read Sols 4556-4558: It’s All in a Day’s (box)Work NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image using its Right Navigation Camera on June 2, 2025 — Sol 4558, or Martian day 4,558 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — at 12:23:56 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech Written by Sharon Wilson Purdy, Planetary Geologist at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Earth planning date: Friday, May 30, 2025 When you are scheduled to participate in Science Operations for the rover’s weekend plan, you know it’s going to be a busy morning! Assembling the activities for Friday through Sunday (Sols 4556 through 4558) was no exception. I participated on this shift as the “keeper of the plan” for the geology and mineralogy theme group where I worked with members of the science and instrument teams to compile a set of observations for the rover to complete over the weekend. The rover continues to drive over a surface of shallow, sometimes sand-filled depressions that are separated by raised ridges — informally known as the “boxwork structures.” On this Friday, we were tasked with assessing the ground in our immediate vicinity to determine if the low-lying bedrock in the hollows was suitable for drilling. With a focus on packing the plan with remote sensing activities to understand the bedrock around us, we used the ChemCam laser to analyze the chemistry of two bedrock targets, “La Tuna Canyon” and “Cooper Canyon,” that were also documented by Mastcam. ChemCam and Mastcam also teamed up to image an interesting dark ridge nearby named “Encinal Canyon.” Mastcam created stereo mosaics to document the nature of the candidate drill sites that were near the rover, in addition to the “Blue Sky Preserve” stereo mosaic that beautifully captured the nature of the boxwork structures in front of us. The environmental theme group included some of their favorite activities in the plan to monitor the clouds, wind, and the atmosphere. Curiosity has successfully completed numerous long drives (about 20+ meters, or 66 feet and beyond) in the past several weeks but this weekend the rover got a bit of a reprieve — the rover will drive approximately 7 meters (about 23 feet) to get situated in front of a possible drill site. I’m eagerly looking forward to seeing what unfolds on Monday! . Share Details Last Updated Jun 03, 2025 Related Terms Blogs Explore More 2 min read Sols 4554–4555: Let’s Try That One Again… Article 4 days ago 2 min read Sol 4553: Back to the Boxwork! Article 5 days ago 3 min read A Dust Devil Photobombs Perseverance! Article 5 days ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It’s the only planet we know of inhabited… All Mars Resources Explore this collection of Mars images, videos, resources, PDFs, and toolkits. Discover valuable content designed to inform, educate, and inspire,… Rover Basics Each robotic explorer sent to the Red Planet has its own unique capabilities driven by science. Many attributes of a… Mars Exploration: Science Goals The key to understanding the past, present or future potential for life on Mars can be found in NASA’s four… View the full article

NASA NASA astronaut Ed White, pilot of the Gemini IV mission, floats in space on June 3, 1965, while performing the first spacewalk by an American. As White floated outside the spacecraft, he used a Hand-Held Maneuvering Unit, informally called a “zip gun.” The device, seen in White’s right hand in this image, expelled pressurized oxygen to provide thrust for controlling his movements outside the capsule. “You look beautiful, Ed,” remarked fellow crew member astronaut James A. McDivitt, who remained inside the spacecraft, as he began taking pictures of White tumbling around outside his window. “I feel like a million dollars,” White said. “This is the greatest experience. It’s just tremendous.” Watch video of the first American spacewalk. Image credit: NASA View the full article

4 Min Read Future Engineers Shine at NASA’s 2025 Lunabotics Robotics Competition And the winner is… the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. The Utah Student Robotics Club won the grand prize Artemis Award on May 22 for NASA’s 2025 Lunabotics Challenge held at The Astronauts Memorial Foundation’s Center for Space Education at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. “Win was our motto for the whole year,” said Brycen Chaney, University of Utah, president of student robotics. “We had a mission objective to take our team and competition a step further, but win was right up front of our minds.” Lunabotics is an annual challenge where students design and build an autonomous and remote-controlled robot to navigate the lunar surface in support of the Artemis campaign. The students from the University of Utah used their robot to excavate simulated regolith, the loose, fragmented material on the Moon’s surface, as well as built a berm. The students, who competed against 37 other teams, won grand prize for the first time during the Lunabotics Challenge. “During the 16th annual Lunabotics University Challenge the teams continued to raise the bar on excavating, transporting, and depositing lunar regolith simulant with clever remotely controlled robots,” said Robert Mueller, senior technologist at NASA Kennedy for Advanced Products Development in the agency’s Exploration Research and Technology Programs Directorate, and lead judge and co-founder of the original Lunabotics robotic mining challenge. “New designs were revealed, and each team had a unique design and operations approach.” Students from University of Illinois Chicago receive first place for the Robotic Construction Award during the 2025 Lunabotics Challenge.NASA/Isaac Watson Other teams were recognized for their achievements: The University of Illinois Chicago placed first for the Robotic Construction Award. “It’s a total team effort that made this work,” said Elijah Wilkinson, senior and team captain at the University of Illinois Chicago. “Our team has worked long and hard on this. We have people who designed the robot, people who programmed the robot, people who wrote papers, people who wired the robot; teamwork is really what made it happen.” The University of Utah won second and the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa came in third place, respectively. The award recognizes the teams that score the highest points during the berm-building operations in the Artemis Arena. Teams are evaluated based on their robot’s ability to construct berms using excavated regolith simulant, demonstrating effective lunar surface construction techniques. To view the robots in action from the Robot Construction Award winners, please click on the following links: University of Illinois Chicago, University of Utah, University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Students from Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana received the Caterpillar Autonomy Award during the 2025 Lunabotics Challenge. NASA/Isaac Watson Students from Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana received the Caterpillar Autonomy Award for their work. The University of Alabama placed second, followed by the University of Akron in Ohio. This award honors teams that successfully complete competition activities autonomously. It emphasizes the development and implementation of autonomous control systems in lunar robotics, reflecting real-world applications in remote and automated operations. An Artemis I flag flown during the Nov. 16, 2022, mission was presented to the University of Illinois Chicago, as well as the University of Virginia in Charlottesville as part of the Innovation Award. The recognition is given to teams for their original ideas, creating efficiency, effective results, and solving a problem. Dr. Eric Meloche from the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, and Jennifer Erickson, professor from the Colorado School of Mines in Golden each received an Artemis Educator Award, a recognition for educators, faculty, or mentors for their time and effort inspiring students. The University of Utah received the Effective Use of Communications Power Award and the University of Virginia the agency’s Center for Lunar and Asteroid Surface Science Award. Students from the Colorado School of Mines pose for a photo after receiving a Systems Engineering Award during the 2025 Lunabotics Competition. NASA/Isaac Watson Students from the Colorado School of Mines placed first receiving a Systems Engineering Award. University of Virginia in Charlottesville and the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, came in second and third places. This is truly a win-win situation. The students get this amazing experience of designing, building, and testing their robots and then competing here at NASA in a lunar-like scenario while NASA gets the opportunity to study all of these different robot designs as they operate in simulated lunar soil. Lunabotics gives everyone involved new technical knowledge along with some pretty great experience.” Kurt Leucht Commentator, Lunabotics Competition and Software Development team lead Below is a list of other awards given to students: Systems Engineering Paper Award Nova Award: Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia; University of Virginia; College of DuPage Best Use of Systems Engineering Tools: The University of Utah Best Use of Reviews as Control Gates: The University of Alabama Systems Engineering Paper Award Leaps and Bounds Award: The University of Miami in Florida Best presentation award by a first year team: University of Buffalo in New York Presentations and demonstrations awards: University of Utah, Colorado School of Mines, University of Miami About the AuthorElyna Niles-Carnes Share Details Last Updated Jun 03, 2025 Related TermsKennedy Space CenterFor Colleges & UniversitiesLearning ResourcesNASA STEM ProjectsNext Gen STEMPartner with NASA STEMSTEM Engagement at NASASTEM Impacts Explore More 4 min read Integrated Testing on Horizon for Artemis II Launch Preparations Article 5 days ago 3 min read NASA Interns Conduct Aerospace Research in Microgravity The NASA Science Activation program’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Enhancement in Earth Science… Article 7 days ago 5 min read Career Spotlight: Mathematician (Ages 14-18) Article 1 week ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

NASA’s RASSOR (Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot) undergoes testing to extract simulated regolith, or the loose, fragmental material on the Moon’s surface, inside of the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 27. Ben Burdess, mechanical engineer at NASA Kennedy, observes RASSOR’s counterrotating drums digging up the lunar dust and creating a three-foot berm. The opposing motion of the drums helps RASSOR grip the surface in low-gravity environments like the Moon or Mars. With this unique capability, RASSOR can traverse the rough surface to dig, load, haul, and dump regolith that could later be broken down into hydrogen, oxygen, or water, resources critical for sustaining human presence. The primary objective was testing the bucket drums that will be used on NASA’s IPEx (In-Situ Resource Utilization Pilot Excavator). The RASSOR robot represents an earlier generation technology that informed the development of IPEx, serving as a precursor and foundational platform for the advanced excavation systems and autonomous capabilities now being demonstrated by this Moon-mining robot. Image credit: NASA/Frank Michaux View the full article

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Axiom Mission 4 Launches to the International Space Station

Portrait of Dave Des Marais Let’s start with your childhood, where you’re from, your family at the time, if you have siblings, your early years, and when it was that you became interested in what has developed into your career as an astrophysicist or research scientist? I was born in Richmond, Virginia in 1948, the youngest of four siblings – two brothers, a sister and myself. My father was a civil engineer for DuPont chemical company and designed HVAC systems for plants built in the late 30’s and early 40’s for the war effort. Our family moved around frequently back then, so my siblings and I were born in different states. When our father transferred to DuPont headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, we moved to nearby Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, about 30 miles southwest of Philadelphia. During my childhood, my participation in outdoor activities with the Boy Scouts and my motivation by excellent high school chemistry and physics teachers stimulated my interest in the natural sciences. I attended Purdue University in Indiana in part because Purdue had an excellent chemistry curriculum and because my second older brother, whom I had always admired, received his chemical engineering degree there. As an undergraduate, I was particularly fascinated by the periodic table of the elements and analytical chemistry. Experiences outside the classroom were also important. I noticed that another student in my dormitory had a little miner’s carbide headlamp on his desk. He explored caves as a member of the Purdue Outing Club and invited me to join. When we took caving and climbing trips in southern Indiana, I developed a fascination with geology, particularly about how caves form and about rocks generally. This kindled my interest in geochemistry, which ultimately guided my choices of graduate school and career. Three factors led to my decision in 1970 to attend Indiana University. One was IU’s strong geology and geochemistry programs. I also wanted to remain as near as possible to Shirley, my future spouse. The third reason was to continue exploring caves! While at IU I indeed continued cave exploration. I joined the Cave Research Foundation (CRF), which maps caves and supports research in the national parks, particularly in Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, which is the longest cave in the world, with 250 miles of mapped passageways. My involvement with CRF deepened my interest in other aspects of geology and geochemistry. (left) Cave in the Guadalupe Mountains, NM (D. Des Marais, 1980). (right) Climbing the 510 ft.-pit in Ellisons Cave, GA (D. Des Marais, 1972) My NASA connection began when Dr. John Hayes became my graduate advisor in geochemistry. Hayes’ graduate dissertation had addressed organic compounds in meteorites. He was also involved with the Viking mission as a member of Klaus Bieman’s MIT research group, which created the mass spectrometer for the Mars Viking mission. I took Hayes’ class on mass spectrometry, and fortunately he liked my term paper! Soon after, I chose to do my dissertation with him on lunar sample analyses, focusing on carbon and other elements relevant to life. I first presented my work in 1972 at the third Lunar Science Conference, where I met Sherwood Chang, then chief of the Ames Exobiology branch. Sherwood was also investigating carbon and other elements in lunar samples. Sherwood, John, and others inspired me to continue in the space sciences. That’s an Interesting path because many of our researchers had a postdoc with somebody or attended a conference and met someone through that network and found their way to Ames that way. I then did a postdoctoral fellowship at UCLA with Dr. Isaac (Ian) Kaplan, whose biogeochemistry group also had analzed lunar samples. I continued developing methods for carbon isotopic analyses of very small samples. The carbon-13 to carbon-12 abundance ratios of molecules can offer clues about how they are formed. Isotopic measurements also help to identify contamination in meteorites and other extraterrestrial samples. Sherwood Chang wanted to create an isotope geochemistry laboratory in the Ames Exobiology Branch, and that led to my being hired at Ames in 1976. You mentioned contamination of the meteorites. Was it geo-contamination or contamination from elsewhere that concerned you? The basic analytical goal is to decipher the entire history of an extraterrestrial sample, starting with understanding the contents of an object when it was formed, which in most cases was billions of years ago. When an object was still in space, other events happened that altered its composition. But our major concern has been about what happens after a meteorite arrives here. Life has become so pervasive that its chemical ‘fingerprints’ are on virtually everything. It’s difficult to avoid these substances anywhere in the shallow Earth’s crust. Also, Earth is an inhospitable place for meteorites because its surface environments are relatively hot and moist compared to conditions in space. So our environment can alter the meteorites and add organic contamination. What has been your most interesting work here at Ames? I have had a near-unique opportunity to explore the biogeochemistry of carbon across a wide range of processes and environments that sustain our biosphere. I investigated the isotope geochemistry of carbon and nitrogen in lunar samples, meteorites, and oceanic basalts. Our molecular isotopic measurements of hydrocarbons in carbonaceous chondrites confirmed their extraterrestrial origins and provided clues about their synthesis. My measurements of mid-oceanic basalts and hydrocarbon gases in geothermal systems chracterized components from the mantle and from sedimentary organic carbon. Co-leading a field trip in Yellowstone National Park (2015) I participated in the Precambrian Paleobiology Research Group at U.C.L.A., led by Dr. J. W. Schopf. For example, we documented carbon isotopic evidence for the long-term evolution and oxygenation of Earth’s early environment. Later, I coordinated a long-term project to study the biogeochemistry of marine benthic microbial communities as modern analogs of Earth’s oldest known (>3 billion yr.-old) ecosystems. We characterized their enormous microbial diversity, their highly efficient harvesting of sunlight, their cycling of life-sustaining elements, and mechanisms for their fossilization in sedimentary rocks. These experiences, among others, informed me as I chaired the development of NASA’s Astrobiology Roadmaps in 2003 and 2008, and as I served as PI of Ames’ NASA Astrobiology Institute team from 1998 to 2014. These roles also informed my participation in NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover and Curiosity rover missions. Des Marais et al. with a microbial mat experiment in Baja California (2000) Now that you’ve described what your pursuit is, what your discipline or research interests are, how would you justify that to people who are not scientists as to why taxpayers should be funding this particular research for NASA? NASA’s research programs are uniquely positioned to explore and compare multiple planets, including Earth. All life depends critically upon interactions between organisms and the geological processes and climate of their host planet. My career has addressed these interactions in multiple ways. Studies such as these are important for understanding the future of life on Earth, and they also guide our search for evidence of life elsewhere and for planning human missions to other bodies in our solar system. A more specific answer to your question is that the public has been interested in any life on Mars. Searching for evidence of past or present life there requires environmental surveys and analyses to identify the most promising locations. NASA’s Viking mission illustrated why most of the Martian surface is really not suitable to look for evidence of life. At least 70% of the surface of Mars is clearly unsuitable, but the remaining more promising 30% is still a lot of territory. The surface area of Mars is equal to that of all the continents on Earth. Much of my research has related to an assessment of habitability, namely, assessing the resources that an environment must provide to sustain life. Where are the best places to look? Our rovers have now visited places that we are convinced could have supported life some three or more billion years ago. The next questions are: did any fossils survive and can we actually bring the right samples back to Earth to confirm any findings? Also, could a human mission sustain itself there? Again, we must look for resources that might support life today. Geochemical analyses are a key aspect of that search. If we have any future interest in Mars related to astrobiology or to human missions, we need to assess the past habitability and the present life-sustaining resources of potential landing sites. The public generally supports these exploration goals. They do, that is true, and that’s really the answer to why NASA does what it does. It’s directed by Congress, and they are influenced by the public, by what the public wants. I’ve always thought, or at least for a long time, that robotic exploration is much more practical, but the country wants astronauts, that’s where the public support is. I agree totally! And so, we continue to do that, and they’ve done wonderful things. But the time will come when it’s not feasible to do astronautic things because we humans don’t live long enough given the distances involved. Certainly that’s applies for destinations beyond our solar system. And even if there is a human mission to Mars, astronauts are going to be in a station, with robots going out in all directions. So robots will be with us in many ways for the future. It’s a very fascinating career you’ve described and the work that has followed from it. Thanks! It’s certainly been very fulfilling personally. What advice might you give to a young person who sees what you’re doing, is intrigued by it, and would like to pursue it as a career, would like to become a researcher for NASA? The advice I would give a young person is just engage in multiple experiences. You don’t know what what will stimulate and motivate you until you try it. And once you find something in particular, like astrobiology, then apply to institutions, like universities or institutes that are involved. Go to a place where they’re doing stuff that’s related to astrobiology in some way. Secondly, see if you can get yourself in a lab and get some undergraduate research experience. As an example, what worked for my son? He’s not in astrobiology. He went to Berkeley as an undergraduate and wanted to be a physician. But then he had an opportunity to work in someone’s plant biology lab. By the time he was applying for graduate schools he was identifying professors with whom he might want to work. Now, years later, he’s a professor in plant genetics at a major university. When I applied to graduate schools, my approach wasn’t nearly as rigorous as my son’s strategy! So, perhaps get an undergraduate experience in a lab and, in any case, get a sense of what’s interesting by giving yourself multiple experiences and not necessarily focusing too soon. That’s the most general advice. That is similar to what parents do with their children. They don’t know what their children are going to be interested in or would do well, so they expose them to music, to art, and to all kinds of things and with some of them there won’t be any connection, but at some point, they’ll be interested in something and want to pursue it. So, you’re right, get a broad exposure to a variety of things and something will resonate. Yes, the more experiences, the better chance you might hit something that really resonates for you. You’ve talked about your professional work and research interests but what do you do for fun? Well, along with a lot of the things I’ve already described, my interest in the outdoors has always been high. Our family has done a lot of hiking and travel. Do you still do caving or spelunking? I was still active after joining Ames in 1976. I got CRF involved at Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park, and CRF is still working there. I’ve been fortunate to participate in this collaboration between CRF and the National Park Service at Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico, and Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park, California. My active participation tapered off about the same time my involvement with Mars picked up in the 1990’s. Earlier, I mentioned a little miner’s carbide cap lamp in another student’s dormitory room that led me to the Outing Club, geology, and ultimately my career. So, over the years I’ve collected artifacts related to mining and interacted with folks who explore the history of mining and its economic importance. That has made me realize just how difficult were the lives of miners. What I hadn’t anticipated was how grateful I became that I am alive today and not 100+ years ago, or that I live in the US and not many other places today. I often feel that. There are a lot of places in the world where you can’t just go over to the wall and dial up the temperature you want. We are certainly blessed in that regard. So, the collecting has been kind of a hobby for you. Do you have any musical interest or talent, anything like that? I was pretty proficient at the piano until I got into high school. But I took up the saxophone and got into the high school band. Later, I joined the Purdue Marching Band and played at football games. That was a great experience but I didn’t continue beyond my college sophomore year. My daughter and son have continued on piano intermittently as an effective form of relaxation. This reminds me of Carl Pilcher (former NASA Senior Scientist for Astrobiology and Director of the NASA Astrobiology Institute) who was a really good pianist. I didn’t know that and that’s interesting to me because I knew Carl. This is one reason why we do these interviews, because there will be a number of people who will read this and they won’t have known that about Carl if they knew him, and that’s how these little things that we don’t know about people come out as we sit down and talk with each other. You’ve mentioned your wife, Shirley, and your son and your daughter. Would you like to say anything else about your family? Or your pets, or things you like to do together or vacations, anything like that? Shirley and I have been married 54 years as of this interview. She was an elementary school teacher for more than 25 years. Her support was crucial while I was in graduate school. She became a full-time parent for our pre-school children but then returned to Redwood City schools for most of her teaching career. She then became deeply involved in the local chapter of the League of Women Voters, serving both as its chairman and in other leadership positions. Shirley is the keystone of our family and she has enabled my career achievements immeasurably. Our son is a is a molecular biologist. He went to Berkeley first aspiring to be a doctor probably because his high school biology teacher emphasized human physiology. At Berkeley he ventured from one interest to the next. He had not been inspired by plant biology in high school, probably because his teachers focused on rote memorization of facts. But later he gained research experience in a Berkeley plant lab and got really interested in them. He attended graduate school at Duke University and is now an assistant professor in plant genetics with the MIT civil engineering department. Why, you ask, is a civil engineering department interested in plant genetics? MIT started a major climate change project and one key concern is how crops must adapt. His specialty is plant water use efficiency, response to CO2 levels, and temperature, factors that would be affected by a changing climate. Des Marais family in Yellowstone National Park (2001) Our daughter also attended Berkeley. She studied international economics of developing countries. She is good at math and also interested in social issues, so that curriculum motivated her. But her ultimate career choice arose from the focus on developing countries and her experiences in South America when she spent a semester at a university in Chile, and then worked with nonprofit organizations in Brazil. She then got a master’s degree in public health at the University of North Carolina. She’s still involved in public health in North Carolina, working with a foundation that advises county health departments about treatments for drug addiction. The government has provided funds for counties, especially rural counties. She leads a group that’s advising them on how to administer these funds effectively. That’s very commendable. You should be proud of her as well. Yeah, we certainly are. We also had cats from the early ‘70’s up until maybe 2010 or something like that. We eventually achieved ‘parental freedom’ when the kids moved away and the pets passed away. But our our family’s legacy lives on: both our son and our daughter have multiple cats in their houses! (laughs) We had cats too, and enjoyed them. My wife used to have to go away for a week or so every month to tend her parents, who were getting elderly, because she wanted to keep them in their home. I used to think it was funny that people talked to their pets, but when she was away, I talked to the cat all the time! I really enjoyed having her around. She would curl up on my lap if I was watching TV. She was good company. Yeah, no kidding. Dogs especially are like little kids that never grow up! Yes! One of the questions we like to ask is who or what has inspired you along your life path? My high school chemistry teacher inspired me about chemistry. He was also an outdoorsman type. My older brother was involved in Boy Scouts, and that also nurtured my interest in Scouts and the outdoors. At the time I was enrolled at Purdue University, a geology department had recently started and three faculty occupied the basement of an engineering building. Dr. Levandowski advocated that geochemistry might actually be a good match for me. At Indiana University, John Hayes, my thesis advisor, was very accomplished, charismatic, and inspirational. He was recognized internationally and ultimately inducted into the National Academy of Sciences. And, of course, Sherwood Chang and Chuck Klein helped inspire and guide my early career at Ames. Do you read for pleasure and if so, what do you like to read? What genre do you enjoy? I do not read fiction for pleasure. I frequently read popular science and technology articles, so I guess that’s my pleasure reading. It’s still science, but it’s science that extends well beyond my own work, and I find that interesting. Absolutely it is. I don’t read enough for pleasure. I buy a lot of books that I intend to read, but I just never get around to them. My wife says, in jest I think, when I’m gone, she’s going to have a big bonfire and burn all of them because they take up a lot of space. I would like to live to be 200 and read all of them, but I know I won’t! (laughs) One of the things that we like to do is add pictures to these interviews, of things we talked about, or any images that you particularly like. What picture might you have on the wall there in your office, or perhaps in your home? You could add something later after thinking about it a bit. I had a map of the world, a satellite image of the world at night, in my office for a time. You’ve probably seen it. I was fascinated by it because you could tell so much about the countries by the lighting, the different colors, where it was and where it wasn’t. I have a big map of the world that emphasizes geology and particularly shows a lot of details about the ocean floor, especially with the volcanoes and all the features there. And you’ve probably seen the exobiology mural? it was in building N-200. I think I know which one you’re talking about. It has sea life coming up from the ocean on one side across the land and up to the stars on the other side. Exobiology panorama (D. Des Marais, L. Jahnke, T. Scattergood, 1988) That’s right. Linda Jahnke, Tom Scattergood, and I created that back in 1980’s. You did? Yeah. When the art department made copies, I got one for my office, and several others have copies also. Oh, that’s wonderful. If you have an image of that you could include it when you send me back your edited transcript, and we could put it in and attribute it to you, Linda, and Tom. OK. That mural touches on several research topics I’ve addressed during my career. So, it would be a good one to include. We also ask if there is a favorite quote that has been particularly meaningful to you. We can put that in, too. ‘Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans’ (John Lennon) ‘We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.’ (the attribution to Winston Churchill is controversial) Thank you for getting in touch with me and for sitting down for an hour to do this. I will get this into a format where you can edit it. And then we’ll make a post out of it. And I think you’ll be pleased. And if not, you’ll have only yourself to blame! (laughs) That’s very cagey of you! (laughs) But then again, you’ve done this for quite a while. Your approach is quite sophisticated, so I appreciate that. I also appreciate your effort because so often stuff like this just disappears from history. Well, thank you, Dave. I’ve appreciated the chat and thank you for your time. We’ll make something out of it. Thanks for your commitment and for pursuing me to do this. Take care. You’re welcome. ________________________________________________ Interview conducted by Fred Van Wert on January 13, 2025 View the full article

Explore Webb Webb News Latest News Latest Images Webb’s Blog Awards X (offsite – login reqd) Instagram (offsite – login reqd) Facebook (offsite- login reqd) Youtube (offsite) Overview About Who is James Webb? Fact Sheet Impacts+Benefits FAQ Science Overview and Goals Early Universe Galaxies Over Time Star Lifecycle Other Worlds Observatory Overview Launch Deployment Orbit Mirrors Sunshield Instrument: NIRCam Instrument: MIRI Instrument: NIRSpec Instrument: FGS/NIRISS Optical Telescope Element Backplane Spacecraft Bus Instrument Module Multimedia About Webb Images Images Videos What is Webb Observing? 3d Webb in 3d Solar System Podcasts Webb Image Sonifications Webb’s First Images Team International Team People Of Webb More For the Media For Scientists For Educators For Fun/Learning 5 Min Read NASA’s Webb Rounds Out Picture of Sombrero Galaxy’s Disk NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s new image of the famous Sombrero galaxy in near-infrared wavelengths shows dust from the outer ring blocking stellar light from the inner portions of the galaxy. Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI After capturing an image of the iconic Sombrero galaxy at mid-infrared wavelengths in late 2024, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has now followed up with an observation in the near-infrared. In the newest image, the Sombrero galaxy’s huge bulge, the tightly packed group of stars at the galaxy’s center, is illuminated, while the dust in the outer edges of the disk blocks some stellar light. Image A: Sombrero Galaxy (NIRCam) NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s new image of the famous Sombrero galaxy in near-infrared wavelengths shows dust from the outer ring blocking stellar light from the inner portions of the galaxy. NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI Studying galaxies like the Sombrero at different wavelengths, including the near-infrared and mid-infrared with Webb, as well as the visible with NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, helps astronomers understand how this complex system of stars, dust, and gas formed and evolved, along with the interplay of that material. When compared to Hubble’s visible light image, the dust disk doesn’t look as pronounced in the new near-infrared image from Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument. That’s because the longer, redder wavelengths of infrared light emitted by stars slip past dust more easily, so less of that stellar light is blocked. In the mid-infrared image, we actually see that dust glow. Image B: Sombrero Galaxy (NIRCam/MIRI) The Sombrero galaxy is split diagonally in this image: near-infrared observations from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope are at the left, and mid-infrared observations from Webb are at the right. NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI The Sombrero galaxy is located about 30 million light-years away from Earth at the edge of the Virgo galaxy cluster, and has a mass equal to about 800 billion Suns. This galaxy sits “edge on” to us, meaning we see it from its side. Studies have indicated that hiding behind the galaxy’s smooth dust lane and calming glow is a turbulent past. A few oddities discovered over the years have hinted this galaxy was once part of a violent merger with at least one other galaxy. The Sombrero is home to roughly 2,000 globular clusters, or collections of hundreds of thousands of old stars held together by gravity. Spectroscopic studies have shown the stars within these globular clusters are unexpectedly different from one another. Stars that form around the same time from the same material should have similar chemical ‘fingerprints’ – for example, the same amounts of elements like oxygen or neon. However, this galaxy’s globular clusters show noticeable variation. A merger of different galaxies over billions of years would explain this difference. Another piece of evidence supporting this merger theory is the warped appearance of the galaxy’s inner disk. While our view is classified as “edge on,” we’re actually seeing this nearly edge on. Our view six degrees off the galaxy’s equator means we don’t see it directly from the side, but a little bit from above. From this view, the inner disk appears tilted inward, like the beginning of a funnel, instead of flat. Video A: Sombrero Galaxy Fade (Visible, Near-Infrared, Mid-Infrared) This video compares images of the Sombrero galaxy, also known as Messier 104 (M104). The first image shows visible light observed by the Hubble Space Telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. The second is in near-infrared light and shows NASA’s Webb Space Telescope’s look at the galaxy using NIRCam (Near-Infrared Instrument). The final image shows mid-infrared light observed by Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument). Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI The powerful resolution of Webb’s NIRCam also allows us to resolve individual stars outside of, but not necessarily at the same distance as, the galaxy, some of which appear red. These are called red giants, which are cooler stars, but their large surface area causes them to glow brightly in this image. These red giants also are detected in the mid-infrared, while the smaller, bluer stars in the near-infrared “disappear” in the longer wavelengths. Also in the NIRCam image, galaxies of diverse shapes and colors are scattered throughout the backdrop of space. The variety of their colors provides astronomers with clues about their characteristics, such as their distance from Earth. The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency). To learn more about Webb, visit: https://science.nasa.gov/webb Downloads Click any image to open a larger version. View/Download all image products at all resolutions for this article from the Space Telescope Science Institute. Media Contacts Laura Betz – laura.e.betz@nasa.gov NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Hannah Braun – hbraun@stsci.edu Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md. Christine Pulliam – cpulliam@stsci.edu Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md. Related Information Article: Types of Galaxies Video: Different types of galaxies Article: Sombrero Galaxy’s Halo Suggests Turbulent Past More Images: Images of the Sombrero Galaxy in different types of light Video: Sonification of Sombrero Galaxy images More Webb News More Webb Images Webb Science Themes Webb Mission Page Related For Kids What is the Webb Telescope? SpacePlace for Kids En Español Ciencia de la NASA NASA en español Space Place para niños Keep Exploring Related Topics James Webb Space Telescope Webb is the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It studies every phase in the… Galaxies Galaxies Stories Universe Share Details Last Updated Jun 02, 2025 Editor Marty McCoy Contact Laura Betz laura.e.betz@nasa.gov Related Terms James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Astrophysics Galaxies Goddard Space Flight Center Science & Research Spiral Galaxies The Universe View the full article

Two NASA-developed technologies are key components of a new high-resolution sensor for observing wildfires: High Operating Temperature Barrier Infrared Detector (HOT-BIRD), developed with support from NASA’s Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO), and a cutting-edge Digital Readout Integrated Circuit (DROIC), developed with funding from NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. NASA’s c-FIRST instrument could provide high resolution data from a compact space-based platform in under an hour, making it easier for wildfire managers to detect and monitor active burns. Credit: NASA/JPL A novel space-based sensor for observing wildfires could allow first responders to monitor burns at a global scale, paving the way for future small satellite (SmallSat) constellations dedicated entirely to fire management and prevention. Developed with support from NASA’s Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO), the “Compact Fire Infrared Radiance Spectral Tracker” (c-FIRST) is a small, mid-wave infrared sensor that collects thermal radiation data across five spectral bands. Most traditional space-based sensors dedicated to observing fires have long revisit times, observing a scene just once over days or even weeks. The compact c-FIRST sensor could be employed in a SmallSat constellation that could observe a scene multiple times a day, providing first responders data with high spatial resolution in under an hour. In addition, c-FIRST’s dynamic spectral range covers the entire temperature profile of terrestrial wild fires, making it easier for first-responders to detect everything from smoldering, low-intensity fires to flaming, high intensity fires. “Wildfires are becoming more frequent, and not only in California. It’s a worldwide problem, and it generates tons of by-products that create very unhealthy conditions for humans,” said Sarath Gunapala, who is an Engineering Fellow at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and serves as Principal Investigator for c-FIRST. The need for space-based assets dedicated to wildfire management is severe. During the Palisade and Eaton Fires earlier this year, strong winds kept critical observation aircraft from taking to the skies, making it difficult for firefighters to monitor and track massive burns. Space-based sensors with high revisit rates and high spatial resolution would give firefighters and first responders a constant source of eye-in-the-sky data. “Ground-based assets don’t have far-away vision. They can only see a local area. And airborne assets, they can’t fly all the time. A small constellation of CubeSats could give you that constant coverage,” said Gunapala. c-FIRST leverages decades of sensor development at JPL to achieve its compact size and high performance. In particular, the quarter-sized High Operating Temperature Barrier Infrared Detector (HOT-BIRD), a compact infrared detector also developed at JPL with ESTO support, keeps c-FIRST small, eliminating the need for bulky cryocooler subsystems that add mass to traditional infrared sensors. With HOT-BIRD alone, c-FIRST could gather high-resolution images and quantitative retrievals of targets between 300°K (about 80°F) to 1000°K (about 1300°F). But when paired with a state-of-the-art Digital Readout Integrated Circuit (DROIC), c-FIRST can observe targets greater than 1600°K (about 2400°F). Developed by Copious Imaging LLC. and JPL with funding from NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, this DROIC features an in-pixel digital counter to reduce saturation, allowing c-FIRST to capture reliable infrared data across a broader spectral range. Artifical intelligence (AI) will also play a role in c-FIRST’s success. Gunapala plans to leverage AI in an onboard smart controller that parses collected data for evidence of hot spots or active burns. This data will be prioritized for downlinking, keeping first responders one step ahead of potential wildfires. “We wanted it to be simple, small, low cost, low power, low weight, and low volume, so that it’s ideal for a small satellite constellation,” said Gunapala. Gunapala and his team had a unique opportunity to test c-FIRST after the Palisade and Eaton Fires in California. Flying their instrument aboard NASA’s B-200 Super King Air, the scientists identified lingering hot spots in the Palisades and Eaton Canyon area five days after the initial burn had been contained. Now, the team is eyeing a path to low Earth orbit. Gunapala explained that their current prototype employs a standard desktop computer that isn’t suited for the rigors of space, and they’re working to incorporate a radiation-tolerant computer into their instrument design. But this successful test over Los Angeles demonstrates c-FIRST is fit for fire detection and science applications. As wildfires become increasingly common and more destructive, Gunapala hopes that this tool will help first responders combat nascent wildfires before they become catastrophes. “To fight these things, you need to detect them when they’re very small,” said Gunapala. A publication about c-FIRST appeared in the journal “Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers” (SPIE) in March, 2023. For additional details, see the entry for this project on NASA TechPort. To learn more about emerging technologies for Earth science, visit ESTO’s open solicitations page. Project Lead: Sarath Gunapala, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Sponsoring Organization: NASA ESTO Share Details Last Updated Jun 03, 2025 Related Terms Technology Highlights Earth Science Division Earth Science Technology Office Science-enabling Technology Explore More 4 min read Unearthly Plumbing Required for Plant Watering in Space Article 2 weeks ago 6 min read Quantum Sensing via Matter-Wave Interferometry Aboard the International Space Station Article 4 weeks ago 4 min read Entrepreneurs Challenge Winner PRISM is Using AI to Enable Insights from Geospatial Data Article 1 month ago View the full article

Scientists have discovered a star behaving like no other seen before, giving fresh clues about the origin of a new class of mysterious objects.X-ray: NASA/CXC/ICRAR, Curtin Univ./Z. Wang et al.; Infrared: NASA/JPL/CalTech/IPAC; Radio: SARAO/MeerKAT; Image processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk An unusual star (circled in white at right) behaving like no other seen before and its surroundings are featured in this composite image released on May 28, 2025. A team of astronomers combined data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) radio telescope on Wajarri Country in Australia to study the discovered object, known as ASKAP J1832−0911 (ASKAP J1832 for short). ASKAP J1832 belongs to a class of objects called “long period radio transients” discovered in 2022 that vary in radio wave intensity in a regular way over tens of minutes. This is thousands of times longer than the length of the repeated variations seen in pulsars, which are rapidly spinning neutron stars that have repeated variations multiple times a second. ASKAP J1832 cycles in radio wave intensity every 44 minutes, placing it into this category of long period radio transients. Using Chandra, the team discovered that ASKAP J1832 is also regularly varying in X-rays every 44 minutes. This is the first time that such an X-ray signal has been found in a long period radio transient. Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/ICRAR, Curtin Univ./Z. Wang et al.; Infrared: NASA/JPL/CalTech/IPAC; Radio: SARAO/MeerKAT; Image processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk View the full article