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Could Life Exist Below Mars Ice? NASA Study Proposes Possibilities
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By NASA
Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft, atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, soars from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Aug. 4, 2024, for Northrop Grumman’s 21st Commercial Resupply Services mission for NASA.Credit: SpaceX Media accreditation is open for the next launch to deliver NASA science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station. A Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft will launch to the orbital laboratory on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for NASA.
The mission is known as NASA’s Northrop Grumman Commercial Resupply Services 23, or Northrop Grumman CRS-23. Liftoff is targeted for mid-September from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Following launch, astronauts aboard the space station will use the Canadarm2 to grapple Cygnus, and the spacecraft will be installed robotically to the Unity module’s Earth-facing port for cargo unloading. The spacecraft will remain at the space station for more than two months.
Credentialing to cover prelaunch and launch activities is open to U.S. media. The application deadline for U.S. citizens is 11:59 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, Aug. 27. All accreditation requests must be submitted online at:
https://media.ksc.nasa.gov
Credentialed media will receive a confirmation email upon approval. NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online. For questions about accreditation, or to request special logistical support, email: ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov. For other questions, please contact NASA’s Kennedy Space Center newsroom at: 321-867-2468.
Para obtener información sobre cobertura en español en el Centro Espacial Kennedy o si desea solicitor entrevistas en español, comuníquese con Antonia Jaramillo o Messod Bendayan a: antonia.jaramillobotero@nasa.gov o messod.c.bendayan@nasa.gov.
This is the 23rd spacecraft built to deliver goods to the International Space Station. In March, NASA and Northrop Grumman moved up the company’s Commercial Resupply Services-23 mission to September following damage to the Cygnus Pressurized Cargo Module during shipping for the company’s Commercial Resupply Services-22 flight.
Each resupply mission to the station delivers scientific investigations in the areas of biology and biotechnology, Earth and space science, physical sciences, and technology development and demonstrations. Cargo resupply from U.S. companies ensures a national capability to deliver scientific research to the space station, increasing NASA’s ability to conduct new investigations aboard humanity’s laboratory in space.
In addition to food, supplies, and equipment for the crew, Cygnus will deliver research, including materials to produce semiconductor crystals in space and equipment to develop improvements for cryogenic fuel tanks. Cygnus also will deliver a specialized UV light system to prevent biofilm growth and supplies to produce pharmaceutical crystals that could treat cancer and other diseases.
The International Space Station is a convergence of science, technology, and human innovation that enables research not possible on Earth. For almost 25 years, humans have continuously lived and worked aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and demonstrating new technologies that enable us to prepare for human exploration of the Moon and Mars.
Learn more about NASA’s commercial resupply missions at:
https://www.nasa.gov/station
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Josh Finch
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov
Steven Siceloff
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-876-2468
steven.p.siceloff@nasa.gov
Sandra Jones / Joseph Zakrzewski
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov / joseph.a.zakrzewski@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Aug 18, 2025 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Commercial Resupply International Space Station (ISS) ISS Research Northrop Grumman Commercial Resupply View the full article
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By NASA
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NuCLEUS, developed by Interstellar Lab, is an autonomous system that grows microgreens, vegetables, and more for astronauts to eat in space.Interstellar Lab NASA invests in technologies that have the potential to revolutionize space exploration, including the way astronauts live in space. Through the Deep Space Food Challenge, NASA, in partnership with CSA (Canadian Space Agency), sought novel food production systems that could provide long-duration human space exploration missions with safe, nutritious, and tasty food. Three winners selected last summer are now taking their technology to new heights – figuratively and literally – through commercial partnerships.
Interstellar Lab of Merritt Island, Florida, won the challenge’s $750,000 grand prize for its food production system NuCLEUS (Nutritional Closed-Loop Eco-Unit System), by demonstrating an autonomous operation growing microgreens, vegetables, and mushrooms, as well as sustaining insects for use in an astronaut’s diet. To address the requirements of the NASA challenge, NuCLEUS includes an irrigation system that sustains crop growth with minimal human intervention. This end-to-end system supplies fresh ingredients to support astronauts’ health and happiness, with an eye toward what the future of dining on deep space missions to Mars and the Moon may look like.
Since the close of the challenge, Interstellar Lab has partnered with aerospace company Vast to integrate a spinoff of NuCLEUS, called Eden 1.0, on Haven-1, a planned commercial space station. Eden 1.0 is a plant growth unit designed to conduct research on plants in a microgravity environment using functions directly stemming from NuCLEUS.
“The NASA Deep Space Food Challenge was a pivotal catalyst for Interstellar Lab, driving us to refine our NuCLEUS system and directly shaping the development of Eden 1.0, setting the stage for breakthroughs in plant growth research to sustain life both in space and on Earth,” said Barbara Belvisi, founder and CEO of Interstellar Lab.
Fuanyi Fobellah, one of the “Simunauts” from The Ohio State University who tested food production technologies as part of the Deep Space Food Challenge, removes a cooked omelet from the SATED appliance.NASA/Savannah Bullard Team SATED (Safe Appliance, Tidy, Efficient & Delicious) of Boulder, Colorado, earned a $250,000 second prize for its namesake appliance, which creates an artificial gravitational force that presses food ingredients against its heated inner surface for cooking. The technology was developed by Jim Sears, who entered the contest as a one-person team and has since founded the small business SATED Space LLC.
At the challenge finale event, the technology was introduced to the team of world-renowned chef and restaurant owner, José Andrés. The SATED technology is undergoing testing with the José Andrés Group, which could add to existing space food recipes that include lemon cake, pizza, and quiche. The SATED team also is exploring partnerships to expand the list of ingredients compatible with the appliance, such as synthetic cooking oils safe for space.
Delicious food was a top priority in the Deep Space Food Challenge. Sears noted the importance of food that is more than mere sustenance. “When extremely high performance is required, and the situations are demanding, tough, and lonely, the thing that pulls it all together and makes people operate at their best is eating fresh cooked food in community.”
Team Nolux won a $250,000 second-place prize for its Nolux food system that uses artificial photosynthesis to grow ingredients that could be used by astronauts in space.OSU/CFAES/Kenneth Chamberlain Team Nolux, formed from faculty members, graduate, and undergraduate students from the University of California, Riverside, also won a $250,000 second prize for its artificial photosynthesis system. The Nolux system – whose name means “no light” – grows plant and fungal-based foods in a dark chamber using acetate to chemically stimulate photosynthesis without light, a capability that could prove valuable in space with limited access to sunlight.
Some members of the Nolux team are now commercializing select aspects of the technology developed during the challenge. These efforts are being pursued through a newly incorporated company focused on refining the technology and exploring market applications.
A competition inspired by NASA’s Deep Space Food Challenge will open this fall.
Stay tuned for more information: https://www.nasa.gov/prizes-challenges-and-crowdsourcing/centennial-challenges/
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By USH
NASA’s 1991 Discovery shuttle video shows UFOs making impossible maneuvers, evading a possible Star Wars railgun test. Evidence of secret tech?
In September 1991, NASA’s Space Shuttle Discovery transmitted live video that has since become one of the most debated UFO clips ever recorded. The footage, later analyzed by independent researchers, shows glowing objects in orbit performing maneuvers far beyond the limits of known physics.
One object appears over Earth’s horizon, drifts smoothly, then suddenly reacts to a flash of light by accelerating at impossible speeds, estimated at over 200,000 mph while withstanding forces of 14,000 g’s. NASA officially dismissed the anomalies as ice particles or debris, but side by side comparisons with actual orbital ice show key differences: the objects make sharp turns, sudden accelerations, and fade in brightness in ways consistent with being hundreds of miles away, not near the shuttle.
Image analysis expert Dr. Mark Carlotto confirmed that at least one object was located about 1,700 miles from the shuttle, placing it in Earth’s atmosphere. At that distance, the object would be too large and too fast to be dismissed as ice or space junk.
The flash and two streaks seen in the video resemble the Pentagon’s “Brilliant Pebbles” concept, a railgun based missile defense system tested in the early 1990s. Researchers suggest the shuttle cameras may have accidentally, or deliberately, captured a live Star Wars weapons test in orbit.
The UFO easily evaded the attack, leading some to conclude that it was powered by a form of hyperdimensional technology capable of altering gravity.
Notably, following this 1991 incident, all subsequent NASA shuttle external camera feeds were censored or delayed, raising speculation that someone inside the agency allowed the extraordinary footage to slip out.
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By NASA
A member of the space crop production team prepares materials for Veggie seed pillows inside the Space Systems Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. NASA/Cory S Huston When the Crew-11 astronauts launched to the International Space Station on August 1, 2025, they carried with them another chapter in space farming: the latest VEG-03 experiments, complete with seed pillows ready for planting.
Growing plants provides nutrition for astronauts, as well as psychological benefits that help maintain crew morale during missions.
During VEG-03 MNO, astronauts will be able to choose what they want to grow from a seed library including Wasabi mustard greens, Red Russian Kale, and Dragoon lettuce.
From Seed to Space Salad
The experiment takes place inside Veggie, a chamber about the size of carry-on luggage. The system uses red, blue, and green LED lights to provide the right spectrum for plant growth. Clear flexible bellows — accordion-like walls that expand to accommodate maturing plants — create a semi-controlled environment around the growing area.
Astronauts plant thin strips containing their selected seeds into fabric “seed pillows” filled with a special clay-based growing medium and controlled-release fertilizer. The clay, similar to what’s used on baseball fields, helps distribute water and air around the roots in the microgravity environment.
Crew members will monitor the plants, add water as needed, and document growth through regular photographs. At harvest time, astronauts will eat some of the fresh produce while freezing other samples for return to Earth, where scientists will analyze their nutritional content and safety.
How this benefits space exploration
Fresh food will become critical as astronauts venture farther from Earth on missions to the Moon and Mars. NASA aims to validate different kinds of crops to add variety to astronaut diets during long-duration space exploration missions, while giving crew members more control over what they grow and eat.
How this benefits humanity
The techniques developed for growing crops in space’s challenging conditions may also improve agricultural practices on Earth. Indoor crop cultivation approaches similar to what astronauts do in Veggie might also be adapted for horticultural therapy programs, giving elderly or disabled individuals new ways to experience gardening when traditional methods aren’t accessible.
Related Resources
VEG-03 MNO on the Space Station Research Explorer
Veggie Vegetable Product System
Veggie Plant Growth System Activated on International Space Station
About BPS
NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences Division pioneers scientific discovery and enables exploration by using space environments to conduct investigations not possible on Earth. Studying biological and physical phenomenon under extreme conditions allows researchers to advance the fundamental scientific knowledge required to go farther and stay longer in space, while also benefitting life on Earth.
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By NASA
5 min read
NASA’s Apollo Samples, LRO Help Scientists Predict Moonquakes
This mosaic of the Taurus-Littrow valley was made using images from the Narrow Angle Cameras onboard NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The orbiter has been circling and studying the Moon since 2009. The ancient-lava-filled valley is cut by the Lee-Lincoln thrust fault, visible as a sinuous, white line extending from South Massif (mountain in the bottom left corner) to North Massif (mountain in the top center) where the fault abruptly changes direction and cuts along the slope of North Massif. The Lee-Lincoln fault has been the source of multiple strong moonquakes causing landslides and boulder falls on both North and South massifs. The approximate location of the Apollo 17 landing site is indicated to the right of the fault with a white “x”. NASA/ASU/Smithsonian As NASA prepares to send astronauts to the surface of the Moon’s south polar region for the first time ever during the Artemis III mission, scientists are working on methods to determine the frequency of moonquakes along active faults there.
Faults are cracks in the Moon’s crust that indicate that the Moon is slowly shrinking as its interior cools over time. The contraction from shrinking causes the faults to move suddenly, which generates quakes. Between 1969 and 1977, a network of seismometers deployed by Apollo astronauts on the Moon’s surface recorded thousands of vibrations from moonquakes.
Moonquakes are rare, with the most powerful ones, about magnitude 5.0, occurring near the surface. These types of quakes are much weaker than powerful quakes on Earth (magnitude 7.0 or higher), posing little risk to astronauts during a mission lasting just a few days. But their effects on longer-term lunar surface assets could be significant. Unlike an earthquake that lasts for tens of seconds to minutes, a moonquake can last for hours, enough time to damage or tip over structures, destabilize launch vehicles on the surface, or interrupt surface operations.
“The hazard probability goes way up depending on how close your infrastructure is to an active fault,” said Thomas Watters, senior scientist emeritus at the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum in Washington.
Watters is a long-time researcher of lunar geology and a co-investigator on NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) camera. Recently, he and Nicholas Schmerr, a planetary seismologist at the University of Maryland in College Park, developed a new method for estimating the magnitude of seismic shaking by analyzing evidence of dislodged boulders and landslides in an area, as the scientists reported on July 30 in the journal Science Advances. Studies like these can help NASA plan lunar surface assets in safer locations.
Unlike an earthquake that lasts for tens of seconds to minutes, a moonquake can last for hours, enough time to damage or tip over structures, destabilize launch vehicles on the surface, or interrupt surface operations.
There are thousands of faults across the Moon that may still be active and producing quakes. Watters and his team have identified these faults by analyzing data from LRO, which has been circling the Moon since 2009, mapping the surface and taking pictures, providing unprecedented detail of features like faults, boulders, and landslides.
For this study, Watters and Schmerr chose to analyze surface changes from quakes generated by the Lee-Lincoln fault in the Taurus-Littrow valley. NASA’s Apollo 17 astronauts, who landed about 4 miles west of the fault on Dec. 11, 1972, explored the area around the fault during their mission.
By studying boulder falls and a landslide likely dislodged by ground shaking near Lee Lincoln, Watters and Schmerr estimated that a magnitude 3.0 moonquake — similar to a relatively minor earthquake — occurs along the Lee Lincoln fault about every 5.6 million years.
“One of the things we’re learning from the Lee-Lincoln fault is that many similar faults have likely had multiple quakes spread out over millions of years,” Schmerr said. “This means that they are potentially still active today and may keep generating more moonquakes in the future.”
The authors chose to study the Lee-Lincoln fault because it offered a unique advantage: Apollo 17 astronauts brought back samples of boulders from the area. By studying these samples in labs, scientists were able to measure changes in the boulders’ chemistry caused by exposure to cosmic radiation over time (the boulder surface is freshly exposed after breaking off a larger rock that would have otherwise shielded it).
This cosmic radiation exposure information helped the researchers determine how long the boulders had been sitting in their current locations, which in turn helped inform the estimate of possible timing and frequency of quakes along the Lee-Lincoln fault.
This 1972 image shows Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison H. Schmitt sampling a boulder at the base of North Massif in the Taurus-Littrow valley on the Moon. This large boulder is believed to have been dislodged by a strong moonquake that occurred about 28.5 million years ago. The source of the quake was likely a seismic event along the Lee-Lincoln fault. The picture was taken by astronaut Eugene A. Cernan, Apollo 17 commander. NASA/JSC/ASU Apollo 17 astronauts investigated the boulders at the bases of two mountains in the valley. The tracks left behind indicated that the boulders may have rolled downhill after being shaken loose during a moonquake on the fault. Using the size of each boulder, Watters and Schmerr estimated how hard the ground shaking would have been and the magnitude of the quake that would have caused the boulders to break free.
The team also estimated the seismic shaking and quake magnitude that would be needed to trigger the large landslide that sent material rushing across the valley floor, suggesting that this incident caused the rupture event that formed the Lee-Lincoln fault.
A computer simulation depicting the seismic waves emanating from a shallow moonquake on the Lee-Lincoln fault in the Taurus-Littrow valley on the Moon. The label “A17” marks the Apollo 17 landing site. The audio represents a moonquake that was recorded by a seismometer placed on the surface by astronauts. The seismic signal is converted into sound. Both audio and video are sped up to play 10 times faster than normal. The background image is a globe mosaic image from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter’s Wide-Angle Camera. Red and blue are positive (upward ground motion) and negative (downward ground motion) polarities of the wave. Nicholas Schmerr Taking all these factors into account, Watters and Schmerr estimated that the chances that a quake would have shaken the Taurus-Littrow valley on any given day while the Apollo 17 astronauts were there are 1 in 20 million, the authors noted.
Their findings from the Lee-Lincoln fault are just the beginning. Watters and Schmerr now plan to use their new technique to analyze quake frequency at faults in the Moon’s south polar region, where NASA plans to explore.
NASA also is planning to send more seismometers to the Moon. First, the Farside Seismic Suite will deliver two sensitive seismometers to Schrödinger basin on the far side of the Moon onboard a lunar lander as part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative. Additionally, NASA is developing a payload, called the Lunar Environment Monitoring Station, for potential flight on NASA’s Artemis III mission to the South Pole region. Co-led by Schmerr, the payload will assess seismic risks for future human and robotic missions to the region.
Read More: What Are Moonquakes?
Read More: Moonquakes and Faults Near Lunar South Pole
For more information on NASA’s LRO, visit:
Media Contacts:
Karen Fox / Molly Wasser
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov
Lonnie Shekhtman
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
lonnie.shekhtman@nasa.gov
About the Author
Lonnie Shekhtman
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Last Updated Aug 14, 2025 Related Terms
Apollo Apollo 17 Artemis Artemis 3 Artemis Campaign Development Division Earth’s Moon Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate Goddard Space Flight Center Humans in Space Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Missions NASA Centers & Facilities NASA Directorates Planetary Geosciences & Geophysics Planetary Science Planetary Science Division Science & Research Science Mission Directorate The Solar System Explore More
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