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By NASA
NASA/Rachel Tilling Sea ice is frozen seawater that floats in the ocean. This photo, taken from NASA’s Gulfstream V Research Aircraft on July 21, 2022, shows Arctic sea ice in the Lincoln Sea north of Greenland.
This image is the NASA Science Image of the Month for September 2025. Each month, NASA’s Science Mission Directorate chooses an image to feature, offering desktop wallpaper downloads, as well as links to related topics, activities, and games.
Text and image credit: NASA/Rachel Tilling
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By NASA
This artist’s concept shows NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory orbiting above Earth.Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Chris Smith (KBRwyle) To drive the development of key space-based capabilities for the United States, NASA is exploring an opportunity to demonstrate technology to raise a spacecraft’s orbit to a higher altitude. Two American companies – Cambrian Works of Reston, Virginia, and Katalyst Space Technologies of Flagstaff, Arizona – will develop concept design studies for a possible orbit boost for the agency’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory.
Since its launch in 2004, NASA’s Swift mission has led the agency’s fleet of space telescopes in investigating changes in the high-energy universe. The spacecraft’s low Earth orbit has been decaying gradually, which happens to most satellites over time. Because of recent increases in the Sun’s activity, however, Swift is experiencing additional atmospheric drag, speeding up its orbital decay. This lowering orbit presents an opportunity for NASA to advance a U.S. industry capability, while potentially extending the science lifetime of the Swift mission. The concept studies will help determine whether extending Swift’s critical scientific capabilities would be more cost-effective than replacing those capabilities with a new observatory.
“NASA Science is committed to leveraging commercial technologies to find innovative, cost-effective ways to open new capabilities for the future of the American space sector,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington. “To maintain Swift’s role in our portfolio, NASA Science is uniquely positioned to conduct a rare in-space technology demonstration to raise the satellite’s orbit and solidify American leadership in spacecraft servicing.”
The concept studies are being developed under Phase III awards through NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, managed by the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, to American small businesses from a pool of existing participants. This approach allows NASA to rapidly explore affordable possibilities to boost Swift on a shorter development timeline than would otherwise be possible, given the rapid rate at which Swift’s orbit is decaying.
At this time NASA does not have plans for an orbit boost mission and could still allow the spacecraft to reenter Earth’s atmosphere, as many satellites do at the end of their lifetimes. NASA is studying a potential Swift boost to support innovation in the American space industry, while gaining a better understanding of the available options, the technical feasibility, and the risks involved.
NASA will also work with Starfish Space of Seattle, Washington, to analyze the potential of performing a Swift boost using an asset under development on an existing Phase III SBIR award. Starfish is currently developing the Small Spacecraft Propulsion and Inspection Capability (SSPICY) demonstration for NASA, with the primary objective of inspecting multiple U.S.-owned defunct satellites in low Earth orbit.
“Our SBIR portfolio exists for circumstances like this – where investments in America’s space industry provide NASA and our partners an opportunity to develop mutually beneficial capabilities,” said Clayton Turner, associate administrator, Space Technology Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters. “Whether we choose to implement the technologies in this circumstance, understanding how to boost a spacecraft’s orbit could prove valuable for future applications.”
Swift was designed to observe gamma-ray bursts, the universe’s most powerful explosions, and provide information for other NASA and partner telescopes to follow up on these events. Its fast and flexible observations have been instrumental in advancing how scientists study transient events to understand how the universe works. For more than two decades, Swift has led NASA’s missions in providing new insights on these events, together broadening our understanding of everything from exploding stars, stellar flares, and eruptions in active galaxies, to comets and asteroids in our own solar system and high-energy lightning events on Earth.
As neutron stars collide, some of the debris blasts away in particle jets moving at nearly the speed of light, producing a brief burst of gamma rays.NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/CI Lab “Over its extremely productive lifetime, Swift has been a key player in NASA’s network of space telescopes – directing our fleet to ensure we keep a watchful eye on changes in the universe, both far off and close to home,” said Shawn Domagal-Goldman, acting director, Astrophysics Division, NASA Headquarters. “Now, this long-lived science mission is presenting us with a new opportunity: partnering with U.S. industry to rapidly explore efficient, state-of-the-art solutions that could extend Swift’s transformative work and advance private spacecraft servicing.”
Cambrian and Katalyst have each been awarded $150,000 under Phase III SBIR contracts for concept design studies. The NASA SBIR program is part of America’s Seed Fund, the nation’s largest source of early-stage, non-dilutive funding for innovative technologies. Through this program, entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses with less than 500 employees can receive funding and non-monetary support to build, mature, and commercialize their technologies, advancing NASA missions and helping solve important problems facing our country.
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the Swift mission in collaboration with Penn State, the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, and Northrop Grumman Space Systems in Dulles, Virginia. Other partners include the UK Space Agency, University of Leicester and Mullard Space Science Laboratory in the United Kingdom, Brera Observatory in Italy, and the Italian Space Agency. To learn more about the Swift mission, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/swift
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Alise Fisher / Jasmine Hopkins
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2546 / 321-432-4624
alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov / jasmine.s.hopkins@nasa.gov
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By European Space Agency
Using data from several Earth-observing satellites, including ESA’s CryoSat and the Copernicus Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 missions, scientists have discovered that a huge flood beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet surged upwards with such force that it fractured the ice sheet, resulting in a vast quantity of meltwater bursting through the ice surface.
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By NASA
As Hubble marks three and a half decades of scientific breakthroughs and technical resilience, the “Hubble at 35 Years” symposium offers a platform to reflect on the mission’s historical, operational, and scientific legacy. Hubble’s trajectory—from early challenges to becoming a symbol of American scientific ingenuity—presents valuable lessons in innovation, collaboration, and crisis response. Bringing together scientists, engineers, and historians at NASA Headquarters ensures that this legacy informs current and future mission planning, including operations for the James Webb Space Telescope, Roman Space Telescope, and other next-generation observatories. The symposium not only honors Hubble’s transformative contributions but also reinforces NASA’s commitment to learning from the past to shape a more effective and ambitious future for space science.
Hubble at 35 Years
Lessons Learned in Scientific Discovery and NASA Flagship Mission Operations
October 16–17, 2025
James Webb Auditorium, NASA HQ, Washington, D.C.
The giant Hubble Space Telescope (HST) can be seen as it is suspended in space by Discovery’s Remote Manipulator System (RMS) following the deployment of part of its solar panels and antennae on April 25, 1990.NASA The story of the Hubble Space Telescope confirms its place as the most transformative and significant astronomical observatory in history. Once called “the eighth wonder of the world” by a former NASA administrator, Hubble’s development since its genesis in the early 1970s and its launch, repair, and ultimate impact since 1990 provide ample opportunity to apply insights from its legacy. Scientists and engineers associated with groundbreaking discoveries have always operated within contexts shaped by forces including the government, private industry, the military, and the public at large. The purpose of this symposium is to explore the insights from Hubble’s past and draw connections that can inform the development of mission work today and for the future.
Contact the Organizer Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
Hubble’s 35th Anniversary
Universe
Humans In Space
NASA History
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By European Space Agency
Using data from ESA’s SMOS satellite, scientists have revealed a surprising shift in the Southern Ocean – surface waters around Antarctica are growing saltier, even as sea ice is diminishing rapidly. This finding defies the norm because melting ice typically freshens ocean surface water.
The implications are far-reaching as changes in this remote region can disrupt global ocean currents, affect climate patterns, and alter ecosystems far beyond the Antarctic.
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