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By NASA
NASA Astronaut Kate RubinsNASA NASA astronaut and microbiologist Kate Rubins retired Monday after 16 years with the agency. During her time with NASA, Rubins completed two long-duration missions aboard the International Space Station, logging 300 days in space and conducting four spacewalks.
“I want to extend my sincere gratitude to Kate for her dedication to the advancement of human spaceflight,” said Steve Koerner, acting director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “She is leaving behind a legacy of excellence and inspiration, not only to our agency, but to the research and medical communities as well. Congratulations, Kate, on an extraordinary career.”
Rubins’ first mission to the orbiting laboratory began in July 2016, aboard the first test flight of the new Soyuz MS spacecraft. As part of Expedition 48/49, she contributed to more than 275 scientific experiments, including molecular and cellular biology research, and she was the first person to sequence DNA in space. Her work enabled significant advances with in-flight molecular diagnostics, long-duration cell culture, and the development of molecular biology tools and processes, such as handling and transferring small amounts of liquids in microgravity. Rubins also led the integration and deployment of biomedical hardware aboard the space station, supporting crew health and scientific research in space and on Earth.
She again launched in October 2020, aboard a Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, taking part in Expedition 63/64. Alongside her crewmates, Rubins spent hundreds of hours working on new experiments and furthering research investigations conducted during her mission, including heart research and multiple microbiology studies. She also advanced her work on DNA sequencing in space, which could allow future astronauts to diagnose illness or identify microbes growing aboard the station or during future exploration missions.
“From her groundbreaking work in space to her leadership on the ground, Kate has brought passion and excellence to everything she’s done,” said Joe Acaba, chief of the Astronaut Office at NASA Johnson. “She’s been an incredible teammate and role model. We will miss her deeply, but her impact will continue to inspire.”
In addition to her flight assignments, Rubins served as acting deputy director of NASA’s Human Health and Performance Directorate, where she helped guide strategy for crew health and biomedical research. More recently, she contributed to developing next-generation lunar spacesuits, helping prepare for future Artemis missions to the Moon.
Before her selection as an astronaut in 2009, Rubins received a bachelor’s degree in molecular biology from the University of California, San Diego, and a doctorate in cancer biology from Stanford University Medical School’s Biochemistry Department and Microbiology and Immunology Department. After returning from her second space mission, Rubins commissioned as a major in the U.S. Army Reserve, serving as a microbiologist in the Medical Service Corps. She currently holds the role of innovation officer with the 75th U.S. Army Reserve Innovation Command’s MedBio Detachment, headquartered in Boston.
A frequent keynote speaker at scientific, educational, and industry events on space biology, biomedical engineering, and human exploration, Rubins has advocated for NASA’s scientific and exploration missions. As she transitions from government service, she remains committed to advancing innovation at the intersection of biology, technology, and space.
“It has been the honor of a lifetime to live and work in space,” said Rubins. “I am grateful for the extraordinary advances at NASA, and it was a privilege to serve and contribute to something so meaningful. The mission of exploration continues, and I can’t wait to watch this nation do what once seemed impossible.”
Learn more about how NASA explores the unknown and innovates for the benefit of humanity at:
https://www.nasa.gov/
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Raegan Scharfetter
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-910-4989
raegan.r.scharfetter@nasa.gov
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By NASA
JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency)/Takuya Onishi In this photo from June 28, 2025, Expedition 73 flight engineer Jonny Kim and former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space Peggy Whitson work together inside the International Space Station’s Destiny laboratory module setting up hardware for cancer research.
The hardware is used to culture patient-derived cancer cells, model their growth in microgravity, and test a state-of-the-art fluorescence microscope. Results of this study may lead to earlier cancer detection methods, development of advanced cancer treatments, and promote future stem cell research in space.
Whitson returned to Earth on July 15, 2025, with fellow Axiom Mission 4 crew members ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, ESA (European Space Agency) project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland, and Hungarian to Orbit (HUNOR) astronaut Tibor Kapu of Hungary. They completed about two and a half weeks in space.
Image credit: JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency)/Takuya Onishi
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By NASA
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
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4597-4599: Wide Open Spaces
NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image, of the sweeping Mount Sharp vista into which the rover will drive the weekend of July 11-12, 2025, using its onboard Left Navigation Camera. Curiosity captured the image on July 11, 2025 — Sol 4596, or Martian day 4,596 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — at 12:01:55 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech Written by Michelle Minitti, MAHLI Deputy Principal Investigator, Framework
Earth planning date: Friday, July 11, 2025
Imagine this vista as the view out your office window to start your workday. Your natural tendency would be to grab your camera and photograph as much of the view as possible. Curiosity was lucky enough to find herself in this situation today after a successful drive of about 61 meters (about 200 feet) on Wednesday, and the science team operating Curiosity wasted no time papering the scene with mosaics.
Between Mastcam and ChemCam, we planned 105 images across the scene. Those images will capture the structures underpinning the boxwork ridges we are driving toward, smaller-scale fractures in the near field that might be related to the boxwork ridges, and the back side of a ridge we recently studied in detail, “Volcán Peña Blanca.” Together, the images will help us understand the geologic history of the area that hosts the boxwork ridges, and what conditions existed in this part of Mount Sharp to support their formation.
We did not neglect the rocks directly in front of the rover as we gazed at our surroundings. Indeed, the bedrock near the rover was nearly uniformly packed with small (less than 1 centimeter, or 0.39 inches) rounded nodules, a characteristic we have not seen for awhile. MAHLI will image three different instances of the nodules while APXS and ChemCam will each analyze two different targets to understand the chemistry of the nodules and the bedrock hosting them.
REMS, RAD, and DAN will continue to monitor the Martian environment and subsurface throughout the weekend. Additionally, we planned multiple observations of dust devils, the amount of dust in the atmosphere, and clouds including a cloud movie timed to match the overflight of the CASSIS instrument. Our drive will take us to the foot of the smooth slope seen in the distance of the above image. That slope is the ramp we will take to the top of a big boxwork structure, where surely other delightful vistas await.
For more Curiosity blog posts, visit MSL Mission Updates
Learn more about Curiosity’s science instruments
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Last Updated Jul 16, 2025 Related Terms
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By NASA
NASA astronaut Anil Menon poses for a portrait at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel NASA astronaut Anil Menon will embark on his first mission to the International Space Station, serving as a flight engineer and Expedition 75 crew member.
Menon will launch aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft in June 2026, accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina. After launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the trio will spend approximately eight months aboard the orbiting laboratory.
During his expedition, Menon will conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to help prepare humans for future space missions and benefit humanity.
Selected as a NASA astronaut in 2021, Menon graduated with the 23rd astronaut class in 2024. After completing initial astronaut candidate training, he began preparing for his first space station flight assignment.
Menon was born and raised in Minneapolis and is an emergency medicine physician, mechanical engineer, and colonel in the United States Space Force. He holds a bachelor’s degree in neurobiology from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a master’s degree in mechanical engineering, and a medical degree from Stanford University in California. Menon completed his emergency medicine and aerospace medicine residency at Stanford and the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.
In his spare time, he still practices emergency medicine at Memorial Hermann’s Texas Medical Center and teaches residents at the University of Texas’ residency program. Menon served as SpaceX’s first flight surgeon, helping to launch the first crewed Dragon spacecraft on NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission and building SpaceX’s medical organization to support humans on future missions. He served as a crew flight surgeon for both SpaceX flights and NASA expeditions aboard the space station.
For nearly 25 years, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and conducting critical research for the benefit of humanity and our home planet. Space station research supports the future of human spaceflight as NASA looks toward deep space missions to the Moon under the Artemis campaign and in preparation for future human missions to Mars, as well as expanding commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit and beyond.
Learn more about International Space Station at:
https://www.nasa.gov/station
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Joshua Finch / Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / james.j.russell@nasa.gov
Shaneequa Vereen
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
shaneequa.y.vereen@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Jul 01, 2025 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
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By NASA
In 1963, Captain Engle was assigned as one of two Air Force test pilots to fly the X-15 Research Rocket aircraft. In 1965, he flew the X-15 to an altitude of 280,600 feet, and became the youngest pilot ever to qualify as an astronaut. Three of his sixteen flights in the X-15 exceeded the 50-mile (264,000 feet) altitude required for astronaut rating.NASA Former NASA astronaut Joe Engle poses in front of an X-15 plane in this Dec. 2, 1965, photo. On June 29, 1965, Engle flew the X-15 to 280,600 feet, becoming the youngest U.S. pilot to qualify as an astronaut.
The Kansas native flew the X-15 for the U.S. Air Force 16 times from 1963 to 1965. Three times Engle flew an X-15 higher than 50 miles (the altitude required for astronaut rating), officially qualifying him for Air Force astronaut wings and providing him a brief moment for sightseeing at the edge of space.
“You could glance out and see the blackness of space above and the extremely bright Earth below. The horizon had the same bands of color you see from the shuttle, with black on top, then purple to deep indigo, then blues and whites,” he said.
Image credit: NASA
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