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By NASA
The IAU (International Astronomical Union), an international non-governmental research organization and global naming authority for celestial objects, has approved official names for features on Donaldjohanson, an asteroid NASA’s Lucy spacecraft visited on April 20. In a nod to the fossilized inspiration for the names of the asteroid and spacecraft, the IAU’s selections recognize significant sites and discoveries on Earth that further our understanding of humanity’s origins.
The asteroid was named in 2015 after paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson, discoverer of one of the most famous fossils ever found of a female hominin, or ancient human ancestor, nicknamed Lucy. Just as the Lucy fossil revolutionized our understanding of human evolution, NASA’s Lucy mission aims to revolutionize our understanding of solar system evolution by studying at least eight Trojan asteroids that share an orbit with Jupiter.
Postcard commemorating NASA’s Lucy spacecraft April 20, 2025, encounter with the asteroid Donaldjohanson. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Donaldjohanson, located in the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, was a target for Lucy because it offered an opportunity for a comprehensive “dress rehearsal” for Lucy’s main mission, with all three of its science instruments carrying out observation sequences very similar to the ones that will occur at the Trojans.
After exploring the asteroid and getting to see its features up close, the Lucy science and engineering team proposed to name the asteroid’s surface features in recognition of significant paleoanthropological sites and discoveries, which the IAU accepted.
The smaller lobe is called Afar Lobus, after the Ethiopian region where Lucy and other hominin fossils were found. The larger lobe is named Olduvai Lobus, after the Tanzanian river gorge that has also yielded many important hominin discoveries.
The asteroid’s neck, Windover Collum, which joins those two lobes, is named after the Windover Archeological Site near Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida — where NASA’s Lucy mission launched in 2021. Human remains and artifacts recovered from that site revolutionized our understanding of the people who lived in Florida around 7,300 years ago.
Officially recognized names of geologic features on the asteroid Donaldjohanson. NASA Goddard/SwRI/Johns Hopkins APL Two smooth areas on the asteroid’s neck are named Hadar Regio, marking the specific site of Johanson’s discovery of the Lucy fossil, and Minatogawa Regio, after the location where the oldest known hominins in Japan were found. Select boulders and craters on Donaldjohanson are named after notable fossils ranging from pre-Homo sapiens hominins to ancient modern humans. The IAU also approved a coordinate system for mapping features on this uniquely shaped small world.
As of Sept. 9, the Lucy spacecraft was nearly 300 million miles (480 million km) from the Sun en route to its August 2027 encounter with its first Trojan asteroid called Eurybates. This places Lucy about three quarters of the way through the main asteroid belt. Since its encounter with Donaldjohanson, Lucy has been cruising without passing close to any other asteroids, and without requiring any trajectory correction maneuvers.
The team continues to carefully monitor the instruments and spacecraft as it travels farther from the Sun into a cooler environment.
Stay tuned at nasa.gov/lucy for more updates as Lucy continues its journey toward the never-before-explored Jupiter Trojan asteroids.
By Katherine Kretke
Southwest Research Institute
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By Amazing Space
Live Video from the International Space Station (Seen From The NASA ISS Live Stream)
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By NASA
From left to right, NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory, IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Follow On-Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) missions will map our Sun’s influence across the solar system in new ways. Credit: NASA NASA will provide live coverage of prelaunch and launch activities for an observatory designed to study space weather and explore and map the boundaries of our solar neighborhood.
Launching with IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) are two rideshare missions, NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Follow On-Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1), both of which will provide insight into space weather and its impacts at Earth and across the solar system.
Liftoff of the missions on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is targeted for 7:32 a.m. EDT, Tuesday, Sept. 23, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Watch coverage beginning at 6:40 a.m. on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and more. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.
The IMAP spacecraft will study how the Sun’s energy and particles interact with the heliosphere — an enormous protective bubble of space around our solar system — to enhance our understanding of space weather, cosmic radiation, and their impacts on Earth and human and robotic space explorers. The spacecraft and its two rideshares will orbit approximately one million miles from Earth, positioned toward the Sun at a location known as Lagrange Point 1.
NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory is a small satellite that will observe Earth’s outermost atmospheric layer, the exosphere. It will image the faint glow of ultraviolet light from this region, called the geocorona, to better understand how space weather impacts our planet. The Carruthers mission continues the legacy of the Apollo era, expanding on measurements first taken during Apollo 16.
The SWFO-L1 spacecraft will monitor space weather and detect solar storms in advance, serving as an early warning beacon for potentially disruptive space weather, helping safeguard Earth’s critical infrastructure and technological-dependent industries. The SWFO-L1 spacecraft is the first NOAA observatory designed specifically for and fully dedicated to continuous, operational space weather observations.
Media accreditation for in-person coverage of this launch has passed. NASA’s media credentialing policy is available online. For questions about media accreditation, please email: ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov.
NASA’s mission coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations):
Sunday, Sept. 21
2:30 p.m. – NASA Prelaunch News Conference on New Space Weather Missions
Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington Brad Williams, IMAP program executive, NASA Headquarters Irene Parker, deputy assistant administrator for Systems at NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service Denton Gibson, launch director, NASA’s Launch Services Program, NASA Kennedy Julianna Scheiman, director, NASA Science Missions, SpaceX Arlena Moses, launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron, U.S. Space Force Watch the briefing on the agency’s website or NASA’s YouTube channel.
Media may ask questions in person or via phone. Limited auditorium space will be available for in-person participation for previously credentialed media. For the dial-in number and passcode, media should contact the NASA Kennedy newsroom no later than one hour before the start of the event at ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.
3:45 p.m. – NASA, NOAA Science News Conference on New Space Weather Missions
Joe Westlake, director, Heliophysics Division, NASA Headquarters David McComas, IMAP principal investigator, Princeton University Lara Waldrop, Carruthers Geocorona Observatory principal investigator, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Jamie Favors, director, Space Weather Program, Heliophysics Division, NASA Headquarters Clinton Wallace, director, NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center James Spann, senior scientist, NOAA Office of Space Weather Observations Watch the briefing on the agency’s website or NASA’s YouTube channel.
Media may ask questions in person and via phone. Limited auditorium space will be available for in-person participation. For the dial-in number and passcode, media should contact the NASA Kennedy newsroom no later than one hour before the start of the event at ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov. Members of the public may ask questions on social media using the hashtag #AskNASA.
Monday, Sept. 22
11:30 a.m. – In-person media one-on-one interviews with the following:
Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters Kieran Hegarty, IMAP project manager, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab Jamie Rankin, IMAP instrument lead for Solar Wind and Pickup Ion, Princeton University John Clarke, Carruthers deputy principal investigator, Boston University Dimitrios Vassiliadis, SWFO-L1 program scientist, NOAA Brent Gordon, deputy director, NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center Remote media may request a one-on-one video interview online by 3 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 18.
Tuesday, Sept. 23
6:40 a.m. – Launch coverage begins on NASA+, Amazon Prime and more. NASA’s Spanish launch coverage begins on NASA+, and the agency’s Spanish-language YouTube channel.
7:32 a.m. – Launch
Audio-Only Coverage
Audio-only of the launch coverage will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, or -1240. On launch day, “mission audio,” countdown activities without NASA+ media launch commentary, will be carried on 321-867-7135.
NASA Website Launch Coverage
Launch day coverage of the mission will be available on the agency’s website. Coverage will include links to live streaming and blog updates beginning no earlier than 6 a.m., Sept. 23, as the countdown milestones occur. Streaming video and photos of the launch will be accessible on demand shortly after liftoff. Follow countdown coverage on the IMAP blog.
For questions about countdown coverage, contact the NASA Kennedy newsroom at 321-867-2468.
Para obtener información sobre cobertura en español en el Centro Espacial Kennedy o si desea solicitar entrevistas en español, comuníquese con María-José Viñas: maria-jose.vinasgarcia@nasa.gov.
Attend Launch Virtually
Members of the public can register to attend this launch virtually. NASA’s virtual guest program for this mission also includes curated launch resources, notifications about related opportunities or changes, and a stamp for the NASA virtual guest passport following launch.
Watch, Engage on Social Media
Let people know you’re watching the mission on X, Facebook, and Instagram by following and tagging these accounts:
X: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @NASASolarSystem, @NOAASatellies
Facebook: NASA, NASA Kennedy, NASA Solar System, NOAA Satellites
Instagram: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @NASASolarSystem, @NOAASatellites
For more information about these missions, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/sun
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Abbey Interrante
Headquarters, Washington
301-201-0124
abbey.a.interrante@nasa.gov
Sarah Frazier
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
202-853-7191
sarah.frazier@nasa.gov
Leejay Lockhart
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-747-8310
leejay.lockhart@nasa.gov
John Jones-Bateman
NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service, Silver Spring, Md.
202-242-0929
john.jones-bateman@noaa.gov
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Last Updated Sep 15, 2025 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Heliophysics Division Carruthers Geocorona Observatory (GLIDE) Goddard Space Flight Center Heliophysics IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) Kennedy Space Center Science Mission Directorate View the full article
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By NASA
One of the challenges many teachers face year after year is a sense of working alone. Despite the constant interaction with students many questions often linger: Did the lesson stick? Will students carry this knowledge with them? Will it shape how they see and engage with the world? What can be easy to overlook is that teaching does not happen in isolation. Each classroom, or any other educational setting, is part of a much larger journey that learners travel. This journey extends through a network of educators, where each experience can build on the last. These interconnected networks, known as Connected Learning Ecosystems (CLEs), exist wherever learning happens. At their core, CLEs are the collective of people who contribute to a young person’s growth and education over time.
Educators at the August 2025 Connected Learning Ecosystems Gathering in Orono, ME engaged in discussion around using NASA data in their learning contexts. Recognizing this, NASA’s Science Activation Program launched the Learning Ecosystems Northeast (LENE) project to strengthen and connect regional educator networks across Maine and the broader Northeast. With a shared focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), LENE brings together teachers, librarians, 4-H mentors, land trust educators, and many others committed to expanding scientific understanding, deepening data literacy, and preparing youth to navigate a changing planet. To support this work, LENE hosts biannual Connected Learning Ecosystem Gatherings. These multi-day events bring educators together to share progress, celebrate achievements, and plan future collaborations. More than networking, these gatherings reinforce the collective impact educators have, ensuring that their efforts resonate far beyond individual classrooms and enrich the lives of the learners they guide.
“I am inspired by the GMRI staff and participants. I never expected to get to do climate resilience-related work in my current job as a children’s librarian. I am excited to do meaningful and impactful work with what I gain from being part of this the LENE community. This was a very well-run event! Thank you to all!” -anonymous
This year’s Gathering took place August 12 and 13, 2025, in Orono, ME at the University of Maine (a LENE project partner). Nearly 70 educators from across the northeast came together for two amazingly energized days of connection, learning, and future planning. While each event is special, this summer’s Gathering was even more remarkable due to the fact that for, the first time, each workshop was led by an established LENE educator. Either by self-nomination or request from leadership (requiring little convincing), every learning experience shared over the conference days was guided by the thoughtful investigation and real life application of LENE Project Partners, CLE Lead Educators, and community collaborators.
Brian Fitzgerald and Jackie Bellefontaine from the Mount Washington Observatory in New Hampshire, a LENE Project Partner, led the group through a hands-on activity using NASA data and local examples to observe extreme weather. Librarian Kara Reiman guided everyone through the creation and use of a newly established Severe Weather Disaster Prep Kit, including games and tools to manage climate anxiety. Katrina Heimbach, a long time CLE constituent from Western Maine taught how to interpret local data using a creative and fun weaving technique. Because of the established relationship between Learning Ecosystems Northeast and the University of Maine, attendees to the Gathering were able to experience a guided tour through the Advanced Structures and Composites Center and one of its creations, the BioHome3D – the world’s first 3D printed house made entirely with forest-derived, recyclable materials.
Two full days of teachers leading teachers left the entire group feeling energized and encouraged, connected, and centered. The increased confidence in their practices gained by sustained support from their peers allowed these educators to step up and share – embodying the role of Subject Matter Expert. Seeing their colleagues take center stage makes it easier for other educators to envision themselves in similar roles and provides clear guidance on how to take those steps themselves. One educator shared their thoughts following the experience:
“This was my first time attending the LENE conference, and I was immediately welcomed and made to feel ‘part of it all’. I made connections with many of the educators who were present, as well as the LENE staff and facilitators. I hope to connect with my new CLE mates in the near future!” Another participant reported, “I am inspired by the … staff and participants. I never expected to get to do climate resilience-related work in my current job as a children’s librarian. I am excited to do meaningful and impactful work with what I gain from being part of the LENE community. This was a very well-run event! Thank you to all!”
Even with the backing of regional groups, many educators, especially those in rural communities, still struggle with a sense of isolation. The biannual gatherings play an important role in countering that, highlighting the fact that this work is unfolding across the state. Through Connected Learning Ecosystems, educators are able to build and reinforce networks that help close the gaps created by distance and geography.
These Gatherings are part of ongoing programming organized by Learning Ecosystems Northeast, based at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, that fosters peer communities across the Northeast, through which teachers, librarians, and out-of-school educators can collaborate to expand opportunities for youth to engage in data-driven investigations and integrate in- and out-of-school learning. Learn more about Learning Ecosystems Northeast’s efforts to empower the next generation of environmental stewards: https://www.learningecosystemsnortheast.org.
The Learning Ecosystems Northeast project is supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number NNX16AB94A and is part of NASA’s Science Activation Portfolio. Learn more about how Science Activation connects NASA science experts, real content, and experiences with community leaders to do science in ways that activate minds and promote deeper understanding of our world and beyond: https://science.nasa.gov/learn/about-science-activation/.
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Last Updated Sep 15, 2025 Related Terms
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