Inside NASA’s New Orion Mission Evaluation Room for Artemis II As NASA’s Orion spacecraft is carrying crew around the Moon on the Artemis II mission, a team of expert engineers in the Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston will be meticulously monitoring the spacecraft along its journey. They’ll be operating from a new space in the mission control complex built to […]
Reaching OutThis image released on Aug. 20, 2025, combines new radio data from the Australia Telescope Compact Array with X-ray data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. Chandra first released an image of this pulsar and its surrounding hand-shaped nebula in 2009. The new data provides a fresh view of this exploded star and its environment, which […]
NASA Test Deploys Roman Space Telescope Solar Panels, ‘Visor’On Aug. 7 and 8, NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope team assessed the observatory’s solar panels and a visor-like sunshade called the deployable aperture cover — two components that will be stowed for launch and unfold in space. Engineers confirmed their successful operation during a closely monitored sequence in simulated space-like conditions. On the […]
NASA Stennis Provides Ideal Setting for Range OperationsThink of NASA’s Stennis Space Center, and one likely thinks of rocket propulsion testing. The site has a long history of testing to support the nation’s space efforts, including the current Artemis program to send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future human exploration of Mars. However, NASA Stennis also is working to become […]
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4638-4640: Imaging Extravaganza Atop a RidgeWritten by Conor Hayes, Graduate Student at York University Earth planning date: Friday, Aug. 22, 2025 Curiosity is continuing its winding path through the mysterious boxwork structures that have been a major focus of the last several months of the mission. After driving away from “Río Frío,” we are now parked on top of a […]
From NASA Citizen Scientist to Astronaut Training: An Interview with Benedetta FaciniTitans Space Industries, a commercial space company, selected a new cohort of astronaut candidates this spring – and among them is NASA citizen scientist, Benedetta Facini. She has participated in not one, but many NASA citizen science projects: Cloudspotting on Mars, Active Asteroids, Daily Minor Planet, GLOBE, Exoasteroids and International Astronomical Collaboration (IASC). We asked […]
NASA’s X-59 at SunriseNASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft sits on the ramp at sunrise before ground tests at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California, on July 18, 2025. Following completion of low-speed taxi tests in July 2025 in Palmdale, California, medium- and high-speed taxi tests mark the final steps before the aircraft takes to the skies for […]
Washington State Student Wins 2025 NASA Art ContestA Washington state high school student with a passion for art, space exploration, and a curiosity about the possibility of life on other planets earned the grand prize for the 2025 NASA Student Art Contest. Dahyun Jung’s winning piece, titled “My Wonders with You,” shows a child seated on the roof of a barn, their […]
Astronomers Map Stellar ‘Polka Dots’ Using NASA’s TESS, KeplerScientists have devised a new method for mapping the spottiness of distant stars by using observations from NASA missions of orbiting planets crossing their stars’ faces. The model builds on a technique researchers have used for decades to study star spots. By improving astronomers’ understanding of spotty stars, the new model — called StarryStarryProcess — […]
NASA Accepts Proposals for 2026 Student Launch Challenge NASA is kicking off the 2026 Student Launch challenge, looking for new student teams to design, build, and launch high-powered rockets with a scientific or engineering payload next April. The agency is seeking proposals until Monday, Sept. 22. Details about this year’s challenge are in the 2026 handbook, which outlines the requirements for middle school, high school, […]