Friends of NASA

Monday, July 06, 2026

Journey to Nearby Galaxy Centaurus A | James Webb Space Telescope

Journey to Nearby Galaxy Centaurus A | James Webb Space Telescope

This video takes the viewer on a journey through space to reveal a new image from the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) to celebrate its fourth anniversary of science.

The video reveals the nearby galaxy Centaurus A, exposing the dusty structures and hidden activity that shape this unusual system. Webb’s infrared vision pierces thick lanes of dust that obscure much of the galaxy in visible light, unveiling intricate filaments, loops, and glowing clouds of warm dust stretching across its center. At the heart of the galaxy, an actively feeding supermassive black hole shines brightly, surrounded by complex structures sculpted by a past galactic collision and ongoing activity.

Centaurus A is approximately 10-16 million light-years away from Earth.

Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, A. Pagan (STScI), J. Depasquale (STScI), M. Garcia Marin (ESA Office at STScI), N. Bartmann (ESA/Webb)
Duration: 1 minute
Release Date: July 6, 2026

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #CentaurusA #InteractingGalaxies #CentaurusConstellation #Cosmos #Universe #JWST #MIRI #InfraredAstronomy #SpaceTelescopes #Europe #NASAGoddard #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #CSA #Canada #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Close-up: Nearby Galaxy Centaurus A | James Webb Space Telescope

Close-up: Nearby Galaxy Centaurus A | James Webb Space Telescope

This video highlights new images from the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope to celebrate its fourth science anniversary—a familiar galaxy transforms into something far richer, and far more complex, than ever seen before. Webb’s unprecedented sensitivity across near- and mid-infrared wavelengths cuts through the thick lanes of dust that obscure Centaurus A’s center in visible light, showing a densely packed tapestry of individual stars and an active, everchanging galaxy. These images mark four years of better-than-anticipated performance and successful science operations. At the heart of the galaxy, an actively feeding supermassive black hole shines brightly, surrounded by complex structures sculpted by a past galactic collision and ongoing activity.

Centaurus A is approximately 10-16 million light-years away from Earth.

Final Image Description: A horizontal image of the galaxy Centaurus A stretches across a black background filled with thousands of tiny purple, pink, and white points of light. The galaxy is brightest at its center, where a brilliant white and pale pink glow radiates outward. Eight diffraction spikes extend from the central glow. Delicate loops and wispy ribbons of pink and lavender arc above and below the center of the image in the shape of an ‘S’. A band of gray and white dust in the shape of a parallelogram cuts across the middle of the galaxy. Mottled patches and bright knots are scattered throughout the dusty band. The galaxy’s outer edges fade into soft, cloud-like plumes with feathery textures that stretch toward the left and right sides of the image. Against the surrounding darkness, a few bright foreground stars shine with Webb’s distinctive diffraction spikes, while countless fainter stars create a speckled backdrop.

Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

Image Processing: A. Pagan (STScI), J. Depasquale (STScI), M. Garcia Marin (ESA Office at STScI)

Duration: 1 minute
Release Date: July 6, 2026

Nearby Galaxy Centaurus A | James Webb Space Telescope

Nearby Galaxy Centaurus A | James Webb Space Telescope

The NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) reveals the nearby galaxy Centaurus A, exposing the dusty structures and hidden activity that shape this unusual system. Webb’s infrared vision pierces thick lanes of dust that obscure much of the galaxy in visible light, unveiling intricate filaments, loops, and glowing clouds of warm dust stretching across its center. At the heart of the galaxy, an actively feeding supermassive black hole shines brightly, surrounded by complex structures sculpted by a past galactic collision and ongoing activity.

Centaurus A is approximately 10-16 million light-years away from Earth.

Image Description: A horizontal image of the galaxy Centaurus A stretches across a black background filled with thousands of tiny purple, pink, and white points of light. The galaxy is brightest at its center, where a brilliant white and pale pink glow radiates outward. Eight diffraction spikes extend from the central glow. Delicate loops and wispy ribbons of pink and lavender arc above and below the center of the image in the shape of an ‘S’. A band of gray and white dust in the shape of a parallelogram cuts across the middle of the galaxy. Mottled patches and bright knots are scattered throughout the dusty band. The galaxy’s outer edges fade into soft, cloud-like plumes with feathery textures that stretch toward the left and right sides of the image. Against the surrounding darkness, a few bright foreground stars shine with Webb’s distinctive diffraction spikes, while countless fainter stars create a speckled backdrop.

Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI. Image Processing: A. Pagan (STScI), J. Depasquale (STScI), M. Garcia Marin (ESA Office at STScI)
Release Date: July 6, 2026

China’s Tianwen-2 Sample-Return Mission Arrives at Asteroid 2016 HO3

China’s Tianwen-2 Sample-Return Mission Arrives at Asteroid 2016 HO3

China’s Tianwen-2 spacecraft has arrived at asteroid 2016 HO3 and begun scientific studies, after about a 400-day journey of roughly a billion kilometers (km) through deep space. This new image from July 2, 2026, was released on Monday, July 6, 2026 by the China National Space Administration (CNSA). It shows the target asteroid from roughly 20 km away.

China launched its first asteroid sample-return mission, Tianwen-2, on May 29, 2025, aiming to achieve multiple goals over a decade-long expedition: collecting samples from the near-Earth asteroid 2016 HO3 and exploring the main-belt comet 311P, more distant than Mars.

469219 Kamoʻoalewa (provisional designation 2016 HO3) is a very small Apollo-type near-Earth asteroid approximately 40–100 meters (130–330 feet) in diameter. It is an elongated object that rapidly rotates every 28 minutes. At present it is a quasi-satellite of Earth, and currently the second-smallest, closest, and most stable known such quasi-satellite (after 2023 FW13). Kamoʻoalewa was discovered by Pan-STARRS at Haleakala Observatory on April 27, 2016.

During the approach phase, the probe acquired imagery of the asteroid. The mission team leveraged optical navigation data gathered during the close approach to refine the asteroid's ephemeris, reducing the positional uncertainty, previously determined solely through ground-based observations, from hundreds of kilometers down to the kilometer scale, according to the CNSA.

On its voyage to the asteroid, the probe executed deep-space maneuvers and trajectory correction operations. On June 6, 2026, the probe achieved its first detection of the asteroid. On June 7, at a range of 30,000 kilometers, it entered a coplanar trajectory with the asteroid, while on June 19, it approached the asteroid to within 2,000 kilometers.

Next, the probe will progressively conduct more detailed scientific examinations to acquire data on the asteroid's morphology, material composition, and internal structure, laying the groundwork for subsequent sample collection operations, the CNSA said.

The probe is expected to return asteroid samples to Earth in 2027 with the entire mission to last a decade.

If successful, China will become only the third country in the world to carry out such a feat after Japan and the United States.

The Tianwen-2 mission is the latest example of China's space achievements in recent years. These include returning samples from the near and far sides of the Moon, launching a successful mission to probe Mars, operating its own national space station in orbit, and moving ahead in its plan to send humans to the lunar surface by 2030.

Image Credit: CNSA via Xinhua
Duration: 1 minute
Release Date: July 6, 2026

#NASA #CNSA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Earth #Asteroids #AsteroidKamooalewa #Asteroid2016HO3 #AsteroidSampleReturn #Comets #Comet311P #Comet311PPANSTARRS #CometFlyby #China #中国 #Tianwen2 #天问二号 #Tianwen2Spacecraft #DeepSpace #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Sunday, July 05, 2026

China’s Tianwen-2 Sample-Return Mission Arrives at Asteroid 2016 HO3

China’s Tianwen-2 Sample-Return Mission Arrives at Asteroid 2016 HO3

The probe is expected to return asteroid samples to Earth in 2027 with the entire mission to last a decade.

If successful, China will become only the third country in the world to carry out such a feat after Japan and the United States.

Image Credit: CNSA via Xinhua
Release Date: Jul 5, 2026

China Long March 8 Rocket Launch of Qianfan Constellation Satellites in Hainan

China Long March 8 Rocket Launch of Qianfan Constellation Satellites in Hainan

The China Long March 8A Y9 launch vehicle lifted off from the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site in China's southern Hainan province on July 5, 2026, at 21:43 pm China Standard Time (13:43 pm Universal Coordinated Time). This was the largest Qianfan Group to be delivered to a polar orbit via an upgraded Long March 8 launch vehicle. The Long March 8A has had a few upgrades made to its systems, while infrastructure for it in Wenchang has expanded, too.

Making up the largest group to date, the fourteenth overall, were twenty satellites manufactured by the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites, Chinese Academy of Sciences. This brings the total number of Qianfan satellites deployed up to 238 with all past the second hundred coming within the past two days.

Costing under 10 million Yuan (~1.47 million USD, as of July 4), each Qianfan satellite weighs 300 kilograms with a ‘flat pack’ design using a single solar array to fit as many satellites as possible inside the rocket fairing within two parallel stacks. For maneuvering in orbit, each satellite has an electric hall-effect thruster burning krypton to generate 20 millinewtons of thrust with a specific impulse of 1,385 seconds.

Long March 8A rocket upgrades include improved insulation on the second-stage, keeping propellants in their desired temperature window longer, as well as the introduction of the YF-75DB engine, boasting cleaner and more possible startups. They all allow for a stated payload capacity increase of almost 1,000 kilograms.

The China Aerospace Science and Technology Commercial Launch Vehicle Group acted as the liaison between the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology and Shanghai Spacesail Technologies for this launch mission.

This mission was the 9th launch of a Long March 8A vehicle, the 16th launch of the Long March 8 series, and the 656th launch of the Long March launch vehicle series. This was also the 47th launch from China in 2026.

Image Credit: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CAST)
Text Credit: Jack C.

Date: July 5, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #Satellites #SpaceSailConstellation #QianfanConstellation #千帆星座 #China #中国 #Rockets #LongMarch8AY9 #LongMarch8Rockets #长征八号运载火箭 #MediumLiftRockets #CAS #CASC #CAST #SpaceTechnology #CommercialSpace #Spaceports #Wenchang #Hainan #STEM #Education

China Long March 8 Rocket Launch of Qianfan Constellation Satellites in Hainan

China Long March 8 Rocket Launch of Qianfan Constellation Satellites in Hainan

Costing under 10 million Yuan (~1.47 million USD, as of July 4th), each Qianfan satellite weighs 300 kilograms with a ‘flat pack’ design using a single solar array to fit as many satellites as possible inside the rocket fairing within two parallel stacks. For maneuvering in orbit, each satellite has an electric hall-effect thruster burning krypton to generate 20 millinewtons of thrust with a specific impulse of 1,385 seconds.

Video Credit: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CAST)
Text Credit: Jack C.

Duration: 55 seconds
Date: July 5, 2026

Solar Activity: June 26 - July 2, 2026 | NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory

Solar Activity: June 26 - July 2, 2026 | NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory

It’s Sunday! Here’s your NASA space weather report for the week of June 26-July 2, 2026:
• 1 X-class flare
• 24 M-class flares
• 50 coronal mass ejections
• 0 geomagnetic storms
This video from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) shows the week’s activity.
The Sun put on its own fireworks show this week! 🎇Most of this week’s flare activity came from Active Region 14479. It unleashed a barrage of M-class flares and one X-class flare, visible here beginning at about 2:09 in the video.

The current Solar Cycle 25 officially began in December 2019. It is currently ongoing and is projected to conclude around December 2030.

To see how such space weather may affect Earth, please visit NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center https://spaceweather.gov/, the U.S. government’s official source for space weather forecasts, watches, warnings, and alerts.

NASA works as a research arm of the nation’s space weather effort. NASA observes the Sun and our space environment constantly with a fleet of spacecraft that study everything from the Sun’s activity to the solar atmosphere, and to the particles and magnetic fields in the space surrounding Earth.

Learn more about space weather: http://go.nasa.gov/4bLKwte

Video Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Duration: 3 minutes
Release Date: July 5, 2026

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #SpaceWeather #Sun #Stars #Sun #SolarCycle25 #SolarFlares #Plasma #MagneticFields #SolarRadiation #Earth #Astrophysics #Heliophysics #SDO #NASAGoddard #GSFC #NOAA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Dual Solar Eruptions from Sunspot Groups 4478 & 4479: View from Sweden

Dual Solar Eruptions from Sunspot Groups 4478 & 4479: View from Sweden

Astrophotographer P-M Hedén: "Lovely sight today through the Ha solar filter. I witnessed two outbursts from sunspot groups 4478 & 4479."

Occasionally, dark spots freckle the face of the Sun. These are sunspots, cooler regions on the Sun caused by a concentration of magnetic field lines. Sunspots are the visible component of active regions, areas of intense and complex magnetic fields on the Sun that are the source of solar eruptions. Sunspots can be seen on the Sun’s photosphere, or visible surface of the Sun. The number of sunspots goes up and down as the Sun goes through its natural 11-year cycle. Scientists use sunspots to help them track this cycle.

The current Solar Cycle 25 officially began in December 2019. It is currently ongoing and is projected to conclude around December 2030.

Learn more about sunspots:
https://science.nasa.gov/sun/sunspots/

Learn more about space weather: http://go.nasa.gov/4bLKwte

Image Credit: P-M Hedén
Location: Vallentuna, Sweden

P-M Hedén's website: https://www.nattbilder.se
Release Date: July 5, 2026

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Earth #Stars #SolarSystem #Sun #Sunspots #AR4478 #AR4479 #SolarCycle25 #SolarFlares #HAlphaAstronomy #MagneticFields #Astrophysics #Heliophysics #Astrophotography #PMHedén #Astrophotographers #CitizenScience #Vallentuna #Sweden #Sverige #STEM #Education

NASA Astronaut Anil Menon Prepares for Russian Soyuz MS-29 Launch

NASA Astronaut Anil Menon Prepares for Russian Soyuz MS-29 Launch

From left to right: NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Russian cosmonauts Anna Kikina and Pyotr Dubrov carrying their custom-fit Soyuz spacesuits at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan

NASA astronaut Anil Menon in Soyuz spacesuit at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan

From left to right: NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina

From left to right: Russian cosmonauts Anna Kikina and Pyotr Dubrov, along with NASA astronaut Anil Menon.

Anil Menon commented: "The Soyuz program traces its lineage to the first human spaceflight. Part of flying on the Soyuz includes joining that tradition . . . We participated in that tradition and visited Red Square to lay flowers on the memorials of Yuri Gagarin, Sergey Korolev, and other cosmonauts."

From left to right: NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina

From left to right: Russian cosmonauts Anna Kikina and Pyotr Dubrov, along with NASA astronaut Anil Menon in final training at the Yuri A. Gagarin State Scientific Research and Testing Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, near Moscow.

From left to right: NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina attending a press conference at the Yuri A. Gagarin State Scientific Research and Testing Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, near Moscow.

NASA astronaut Anil Menon is scheduled to launch to the International Space Station on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard the Russian Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft with Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina. The trio will spend about eight months aboard the orbiting laboratory before returning to Earth in spring 2027.

During his expedition, Menon will conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations intended to help humans prepare for future exploration missions to the Moon and Mars, and to provide benefits on Earth. Among the hundreds of experiments planned during his mission, he will participate in studies to better understand astronaut vein structure, blood flow, and blood composition in microgravity. He also will test producing intravenous fluids using the space station’s potable water.

The Soyuz MS-29 mission will be his first spaceflight after he was selected as part of NASA’s 2021 astronaut class. A native of Minneapolis, Menon is an emergency medicine physician, mechanical engineer, and colonel in the United States Space Force. He also has served as an expedition flight surgeon supporting the agency’s crew members aboard the space station.

NASA astronaut Anil Menon's Official Biography:

https://www.nasa.gov/people/nasa-astronaut-anil-menon/

https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/menon-anil.pdf

For more than 25 years, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and making research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. The space station helps NASA understand and overcome the challenges of human spaceflight, expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit, and build on the foundation for long-duration missions to the Moon, as part of the Artemis program, and to Mars.

To learn more about International Space Station research, operations, and its crews, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/station

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada.

Image Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center

Release Dates: June 23-July 1, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #Astronomy #ISS #Planets #Earth #SoyuzMS29 #Astronauts #AnilMenon #Cosmonauts #AnnaKikina #PyotrDubrov #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #UnitedStates #MicrogravityLaboratory #Expedition74 #Expedition75 #GCTC #StarCity #Baikonur #Kazakhstan #STEM #Education

The Large Magellanic Cloud's LH 95 Star-forming Region | Hubble Space Telescope

The Large Magellanic Cloud's LH 95 Star-forming Region | Hubble Space Telescope

The first two photos are from the Hubble Space Telescope and show a star forming region called LH 95 in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). This sharp image reveals a large number of low-mass infant stars coexisting with young massive stars. The third photo reveals part of the LMC centered on LH 95. This image is a color composite taken by the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS), the field of view is 3.0x2.7 degrees.

Distance from Earth: 150,000 light years

The Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) is a ground-based imaging survey of the entire sky in several colors of light produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute through its Guide Star Survey group.

Credit: NASA, ESA, Davide De Martin (ESA/Hubble), the ESA/ESO/NASA Photoshop FITS Liberator & Digitized Sky Survey 2
Release Date: July 3, 2026

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Nebulae #LH95 #LMC #DwarfGalaxies #DoradoConstellation #MensaConstellation #Cosmos #Universe #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #ESA #Europe #GSFC #DSS #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

The Large Magellanic Cloud's Crimson Nebula LH 95 | Hubble Space Telescope

The Large Magellanic Cloud's Crimson Nebula LH 95 | Hubble Space Telescope

A glowing landscape of gas and dust is heated and illuminated by a thriving population of young stars in the LH 95 region of the Large Magellanic Cloud. Like fresh fireworks launched against a background of dissipating smoke, blue and white stars shine brilliantly against a crimson background of glowing gas in this image of stellar nursery LH 95 from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope. LH 95 is a region in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy that orbits the Milky Way. Low-mass infant stars live alongside massive blue giant stars in what is known as a stellar association, one of many in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

The LH 95 region's most massive stars, possessing at least three times the mass of the Sun and visible here as the largest and brightest blue stars, expel ultraviolet radiation and stellar winds that heat and shape the surrounding hydrogen gas. Dark filaments stand out in sharp contrast against the glowing hydrogen where denser dust lanes resist erosion.

In this image, blue indicates the shorter wavelengths that are visible light, while red depicts the longer wavelengths of visible light, as well as some near-infrared light. Colors in Hubble images are chosen based on standard image processing techniques to best represent the wavelengths of light that pass through the filters used in the observation. The gas of the nebula glows crimson due to hydrogen-alpha emissions.

Hydrogen-alpha is an excellent indicator of star formation, allowing astronomers to identify very young stars embedded in this glowing gas. Researchers found developing stars still gathering material from the disks of gas and dust around them. In fact, LH 95 is home to an extraordinary 2,500 stars that have accumulated almost all of their critical mass but have not yet “turned on” by beginning fusion reactions. These stars, called “pre-main-sequence stars,” have formed from collapsing clouds of gas and are still contracting. They will soon begin burning hydrogen in their cores to become full stars.

By studying these forming stars, researchers confirmed that the stars’ accretion rate―the rate at which they accumulate matter―decreased with age, as expected. However, they also learned that accretion can persist for several million years, longer than sometimes assumed. This information helps refine our understanding of how young stars keep growing and how their disks evolve.

Researchers noted that distinct generations of stars in LH 95 exist side-by-side, indicating that rather than forming stars in a single event, the region produces multiple stellar generations over an extended period.

The most massive star in LH 95 (above center, slightly left) has about 60-70 times the mass of the Sun and is about a million years younger than the rest of stars in the system that appear to be around 4 million years old. Massive stars like these burn through their fuel quickly and die in supernova explosions.

With its rich stellar population, LH 95 is valued by astronomers for providing a way to observe forming stars at relatively close range in an environment with less obscuring dust than similar regions of the Milky Way.

Image Description: A Hubble image of blue and white stars are sprinkled throughout a landscape of red clouds of gas and dark, swirling lanes of dust. Many additional stars are visible in the dark background of space.

Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and N. Da Rio (The University of Virginia), G. De Marchi (European Space Agency - ESTEC), and D. Gouliermis (Universitat Heidelberg); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)
Release Date: July 3, 2026

NASA's Artemis II Moon Crew Joins America's 250th Birthday Celebrations

NASA's Artemis II Moon Crew Joins America's 250th Birthday Celebrations

NASA Apollo astronaut Harrison "Jack" Schmitt, left, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Victor Glover, pilot; Christina Koch, mission specialist; and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist, right, during the “Salute to America” event, Saturday, July 4, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The United States Semiquincentennial celebrates the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.

NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, commander; left, Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist; Christina Koch, mission specialist; and Victor Glover, pilot, right, along with members of the Jr. Nats Kids Club, are seen as they give the call to “play ball” at the beginning of a baseball game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Washington Nationals, Saturday, July 4, 2026, at Nationals Park in Washington.

Artemis II astronauts: Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist, left, NASA astronauts Christina Koch, mission specialist; Victor Glover, pilot; and Reid Wiseman, commander, right, celebrate as they throw the ceremonial first pitches before the start of a baseball game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Washington Nationals, Saturday, July 4, 2026, at Nationals Park in Washington.

Artemis II astronauts; Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist, left, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Victor Glover, pilot; and Christina Koch, mission specialist, right, pose for a photograph with Nationals jerseys before the start of a baseball game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Washington Nationals, Saturday, July 4, 2026, at Nationals Park in Washington.

NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, Artemis II commander, fist bumps an audience member after participating in a panel discussion during the Great American State Fair, Saturday, July 4, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

NASA astronaut Christina Koch, Artemis II mission specialist, participates in a panel discussion during the Great American State Fair, Saturday, July 4, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

NASA astronaut Victor Glover, Artemis II pilot, participates in a panel discussion during the Great American State Fair, Saturday, July 4, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, Artemis II mission specialist, participates in a panel discussion during the Great American State Fair, Saturday, July 4, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

See images of NASA's Artemis II Moon crew members during the United States’ 250th birthday activities in Washington, DC, on July 4, 2026. 📷

NASA's Artemis II Moon Mission took NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen on a nearly 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth.

The Orion spacecraft successfully splashed down on Friday, April 10, 2026, in the Pacific Ocean following its journey around the Moon.

The first crewed test flight of NASA’s Artemis Program lifted off from Launch Pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 1, 2026, carrying the first astronauts to travel to the Moon in more than half a century.

The crew completed a record-setting lunar flyby, taking them 252,756 miles at their farthest distance from Earth and 4,067 miles above the lunar surface at their closest approach.

Under Artemis, NASA will send astronauts on increasingly difficult missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.

Learn more about NASA's Artemis II Mission:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/

Image Credits: NASA/Keegan Barber/Bill Ingalls
Date: July 4, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #Moon #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisII #OrionSpacecraft #Astronauts #ReidWiseman #VictorGlover #ChristinaKoch #JeremyHansen #HumanSpaceflight #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #CSA #Canada #IndependenceDay #FourthOfJuly #America250 #WashingtonDC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Shenzhou 23 Crew Installs Greenhouse Gas Detector | China Space Station

Shenzhou 23 Crew Installs Greenhouse Gas Detector | China Space Station

The Shenzhou-23 crew aboard China's Tiangong Space Station completed the assembly, testing and extravehicular installation of the Multi-Spectral Imaging Carbon Observatory (MUSICO), the first spaceborne greenhouse gas detector of the space station, in the past week.

This compact, high-resolution and high-precision detector can monitor concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane in key regions across the mid-and-low latitude regions on the Earth.

It is expected to provide data for tracking global greenhouse gas emissions and for conducting ecological environment research.

In addition to equipment installation, The three astronauts, Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying, carried out experiments on microgravity physics and explored how the light environment affects human psychological perception and work efficiency in space environment.

They also performed maintenance work for the space station and used equipment to measure their noise exposure.

To monitor their physiological changes in the microgravity environment, the astronauts collected, centrifuged, and stored blood samples, underwent cardiovascular function tests, intraocular pressure and fundus examinations, as well as ultrasound scans of multiple body parts, completed bone density measurements, and used a special weighing scale to measure their body mass in orbit.

Shenzhou-23 Crew
Zhu Yangzhu 朱杨柱, Commander & Flight Engineer (second spaceflight)
Zhang Zhiyuan 张志远, Pilot (first spaceflight)

Lai Ka-ying/Li Jiaying 黎家盈, Payload Specialist (first spaceflight) [Hong Kong SAR]

Video Credit: CCTV
Duration: 1 minute, 16 seconds
Release Date: July 5, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #China #中国 #Shenzhou23Mission #神舟二十三号 #Shenzhou23 #GreenhouseGases #MUSICO #Taikonauts #Astronauts #ZhuYangzhu #ZhangZhiyuan #LiJiaying #LaiKaying #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #MicrogravityExperiments #SpaceLaboratory #CMSA #中国载人航天工程办公室 #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Saturday, July 04, 2026

China Long March 6A Rocket Launch of Qianfan Mega-constellation Satellite

China Long March 6A Rocket Launch of Qianfan Mega-constellation Satellites

A China Long March 6A rocket blasted off from Launch Complex 9A at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern Shanxi province at 17:30 pm China Standard Time (09:30 am Universal Coordinated Time) on July 4, 2026. Eighteen more space-based Internet connectivity satellites were successfully placed into a near-polar orbit to expand the constellation ahead of the start of consumer services.

Those were the thirteenth overall group of the Qianfan constellation, consisting of eighteen satellites manufactured by Genesat for the fifth contract with the commercial space firm. With this deployment, Qianfan now has 218 satellites in orbit.

The Qianfan mega-constellation, sometimes referred to as SpaceSail, is operated by Shanghai Spacesail Technologies Co. Ltd.. It aims to provide space-based Internet connectivity services in China and abroad in places including Brazil, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Türkiye, and via airlines, around the fourth quarter of this year. As of December 2025, the deployment aims to have 324 satellites launched in 2026.

Today’s launch was the 25th mission for the Long March 6A, the 271st Long March vehicle from the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST), and the 655th launch of the Long March launch vehicle series. This was also the 46th launch from China in 2026.

Video Credit: SAST
Text Credit: Jack C.
Duration: 31 seconds
Date: July 4, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #Satellites #Genesat #格思航天 #SpaceSailConstellation #SpaceSailGroup13 #QianfanConstellation #千帆星座 #China #中国 #Rockets #LongMarch6Rockets #长征六号运载火箭 #LongMarch6ARockets #SAST #CASC #SpaceTechnology #CommercialSpace #TSLC #二十五基地 #Spaceports #Shanxi #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Aurora and Thunderstorms by Starlight: Views from Colorado | Earth Science

Aurora and Thunderstorms by Starlight: Views from Colorado | Earth Science

Photographer Roger Hill: "Holy smokes, what can you say???? KP shot to a 7 as a cluster of severe thunderstorms formed just east of our house near Bennett, CO last night. The result? REALLY COOL PHOTOGRAPHY!!!! Auroras? check... Lightning? check....Wish I had the time to get away from the lights, but, I had just returned from our marathon tour season and was too tired. 😀😀😀 "

Auroras happen when charged particles from the Sun interact with Earth's magnetic field, creating dazzling light shows in the sky. The aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, occurs in an upper layer of Earth’s atmosphere called the ionosphere.

Learn more about auroras:
https://science.nasa.gov/sun/auroras/

Track auroras worldwide:
https://www.aurorasaurus.org

How to find and photograph auroras:
https://science.nasa.gov/feature/nasas-guide-to-finding-and-photographing-auroras/

Colorado is a state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, and Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas to the east, and Oklahoma to the Southeast.

Image Credit: Roger Hill
Location: Bennett, Colorado, United States
Date: July 3, 2026

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