NASA Astronaut Deniz Burnham: Training in Russia for International Space Station

NASA Astronaut Deniz Burnham: Training in Russia for International Space Station

NASA astronaut Deniz Burnham: "It’s been an incredible experience serving as part of the backup crew for Soyuz MS-29 over the past year! This short clip captures just a glimpse of the training and teamwork that have shaped this journey. I’m grateful for the opportunity to represent NASA as a crewmember on Soyuz MS-30 and Expedition 76 on the ISS! Can’t wait to share more of my training experiences as we continue the countdown to launch.🚀"

NASA astronaut Deniz Burnham will embark on her first mission to the International Space Station, serving as an Expedition 76 flight engineer. Burnham will launch aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-30 spacecraft with cosmonauts Dmitri Petelin and Konstantin Borisov of Russia. Launch is targeted for March 2027, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and the trio will spend about seven months aboard the orbiting laboratory.

During her expedition, Burnham will conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to help prepare humans for future exploration missions to the Moon and Mars and to help benefit people on Earth.

Selected as a NASA astronaut in 2021, Burnham graduated with the agency’s 23rd astronaut class in 2024. Born at Incirlik Air Base in Adana, Turkey, Burnham moved frequently while growing up in a military family. She was living in Wasilla, Alaska, at the time of her selection.

A former intern at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, Burnham earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of California, San Diego, and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. An experienced leader in the energy industry, she spent more than a decade managing onsite drilling operations on oil rigs across North America. Burnham also served in the U.S. Navy Reserves as an engineering duty officer. She is a licensed private pilot with ratings for airplane single engine land and sea, instrument airplane, and rotorcraft-helicopter.

NASA Astronaut Deniz Burnham's Biography
https://www.nasa.gov/people/nasa-astronaut-deniz-burnham/

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.

"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

Video Credit: Roscosmos/D. Burnham

Duration: 32 seconds

Release Date: July 30, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #Earth #SoyuzMS30 #CrewSpacecraft #Kazakhstan #Astronauts #DenizBurnham #MechanicalEngineers #Engineers #Pilots #Cosmonauts #DmitriPetelin #KonstantinBorisov #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition76 #InternationalCooperation #NASAJohnson #JSC #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA Astronaut Deniz Burnham: First International Space Station Mission via Russia

NASA Astronaut Deniz Burnham: First International Space Station Mission via Russia

NASA astronaut Deniz Burnham portrait

NASA astronaut Deniz Burnham portrait

NASA astronaut Deniz Burnham portrait

NASA astronaut Deniz Burnham portrait

NASA astronaut candidate Deniz Burnham poses for a photograph in front of NASA’s Artemis I Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft atop the mobile launcher on the pad at Launch Complex 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sept. 2, 2022. 

NASA Artemis Underway Recovery Tests

NASA astronaut Deniz Burnham is seen as she prepares to take part in practicing Artemis recovery procedures during Underway Recovery Test-12 onboard USS Somerset off the coast of California, Friday, March 28, 2025.

NASA Artemis Underway Recovery Tests

NASA astronaut Deniz Burnham is seen as she prepares to take part in practicing Artemis recovery procedures during Underway Recovery Test-12 onboard USS Somerset off the coast of California, Friday, March 28, 2025.

NASA announced that Deniz Burnham would join its 2021 astronaut candidate class on Dec. 6, 2021.

NASA astronaut Deniz Burnham will embark on her first mission to the International Space Station, serving as an Expedition 76 flight engineer. Burnham will launch aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-30 spacecraft with cosmonauts Dmitri Petelin and Konstantin Borisov of Russia. Launch is targeted for March 2027, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and the trio will spend about seven months aboard the orbiting laboratory.

During her expedition, Burnham will conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to help prepare humans for future exploration missions to the Moon and Mars and to help benefit people on Earth.

Selected as a NASA astronaut in 2021, Burnham graduated with the agency’s 23rd astronaut class in 2024. Born at Incirlik Air Base in Adana, Turkey, Burnham moved frequently while growing up in a military family. She was living in Wasilla, Alaska, at the time of her selection.

A former intern at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, Burnham earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of California, San Diego, and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. An experienced leader in the energy industry, she spent more than a decade managing onsite drilling operations on oil rigs across North America. Burnham also served in the U.S. Navy Reserves as an engineering duty officer. She is a licensed private pilot with ratings for airplane single engine land and sea, instrument airplane, and rotorcraft-helicopter.

NASA Astronaut Deniz Burnham's Biography
https://www.nasa.gov/people/nasa-astronaut-deniz-burnham/

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.

"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

Credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz
Release Date: July 30, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #Earth #SoyuzMS30 #CrewSpacecraft #Kazakhstan #Astronauts #DenizBurnham #MechanicalEngineers #Engineers #Pilots #Cosmonauts #DmitriPetelin #KonstantinBorisov #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition76 #InternationalCooperation #NASAJohnson #JSC #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Noctilucent Clouds over The Bering Sea & Central Alaska | Earth Science

Noctilucent Clouds over The Bering Sea & Central Alaska | Earth Science

Astrophotographer Jared Aicher: "The evening sky over the Bering Sea and central Alaska was completely veiled by noctilucent clouds last night. The view from the flight deck lasted for a couple of hours as the sunset slowly turned to sunrise with nightfall never actually arriving at 63 degrees north latitude."

At high latitudes in the summer months, iridescent clouds form in a part of the atmosphere roughly 50 to 86 kilometers (30 to 54 miles) above the surface of our planet. Their high altitude allows them to reflect sunlight after the Sun has set. These are called noctilucent or polar mesospheric clouds.

Noctilucent clouds (NLCs), or night shining clouds are tenuous cloud-like phenomena in the upper atmosphere. They consist of ice crystals and from the ground are only visible during astronomical twilight. Noctilucent roughly means "night shining" in Latin. They are most often observed during the summer months from latitudes between ±50° and ±70°. Too faint to be seen in daylight, they are visible only when the observer and the lower layers of the atmosphere are in Earth's shadow while these very high clouds are still in sunlight. Recent studies suggest that increased atmospheric methane emissions produce additional water vapor through chemical reactions once the methane molecules reach the mesosphere—creating, or reinforcing existing, noctilucent clouds.

The Bering Sea is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasses on Earth: Eurasia and the Americas. It comprises a deep water basin that then rises through a narrow slope into the shallower water above the continental shelves. The Bering Sea is named after Vitus Bering, a Danish-born Russian navigator, that in 1728, was the first European to systematically explore it, sailing from the Pacific Ocean northward to the Arctic Ocean.

Alaska is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is considered to be the northernmost, westernmost, and easternmost state in the United States. It borders the Canadian territory of the Yukon and the province of British Columbia to the east. It shares a western maritime border in the Bering Strait with Russia. The Chukchi and Beaufort Seas of the Arctic Ocean lie to the north, and the Pacific Ocean lies to the south.

Image Credit: Jared Aicher

Date: July 30, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #Sun #Planets #Earth #Weather #Meteorology #Atmosphere #WaterVapor #Clouds #IceCrystals #NoctilucentClouds #PolarMesosphericClouds #Astrophotography #Astrophotographers #JaredAicher #CitizenScience #BeringSea #PacificOcean #Alaska #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

A Fire Rainbow over West Virginia | Earth Science

A Fire Rainbow over West Virginia | Earth Science

What's happening to this cloud? 

Ice crystals in a distant cirrus cloud are acting like little floating prisms. Known informally as a fire rainbow for its flame-like appearance, a circumhorizon arc appears parallel to the horizon. For a circumhorizontal arc to be visible, the Sun must be at least 58 degrees high in a sky where cirrus clouds present below—in this case cirrus fibratus. The numerous, flat, hexagonal ice-crystals that compose the cirrus cloud must be aligned horizontally to properly refract sunlight in a collectively similar manner. Therefore, circumhorizontal arcs are somewhat unusual to see. The featured fire rainbow was photographed in 2021 near North Fork Mountain in West Virginia, USA.

Image Credit & Copyright: Christa Harbig

Location: North Fork Mountain, West Virginia, United States

Christa's website: 

https://www.facebook.com/christa.harbig.photos/
Release Date: Aug. 2, 2026

#NASA #Science #Stars #Sun #SolarSystem #Planets #Earth #EarthScience #PlanetaryAtmospheres #CirrusClouds #CirrusFibratus #Sunlight #WaterDroplets #WaterIceCrystals #CircumhorizontalArcs #WestVirginia #UnitedStates #Photography #ChristaHarbig #Photographers #NASAGoddard #GSFC #STEM #Education #APoD

Shenzhou-23 Crew Advances Multi-generational Rice Cultivation | China Space Station

Shenzhou-23 Crew Advances Multi-generational Rice Cultivation | China Space Station

More than two months after arriving at China's Tiangong Space Station, the three astronauts of the Shenzhou-23 spaceflight mission—Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan, and Lai Ka-ying—are all in good condition and have made steady progress on multiple space science experiments, including a groundbreaking study on multi-generational rice cultivation in microgravity.

Launched on May 24, the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft carried rice seeds and other experimental materials to the Tiangong Space Station.

After over two months of careful cultivation, the crew successfully harvested the first batch of rice samples.

The experiment aims to achieve the first-ever continuous cultivation of two generations of rice in orbit, completing two full life cycles "from seed to seed to seed," to study how long-term microgravity affects the molecular mechanisms and genetic stability of rice.

In the field of space medicine, the crew used ultrasound diagnostic equipment to conduct bilateral carotid, radial, and dorsalis pedis artery ultrasound examinations. The collected data will support research projects including pan-vascular hemodynamic profiling and spatiotemporal evolution mapping of blood flow.

The astronauts also carried out experiments related to light environment factors, adjusting and intervening in the cabin's lighting conditions and conducting performance tests before and after modifications to investigate how light environments in special space settings affect human psychological perception and work efficiency.

Last week, the crew completed emergency rescue training in orbit as scheduled, conducting emergency evacuation drills under simulated fire conditions to reinforce their emergency response and fault handling capabilities.

For health management, the crew completed multiple medical examinations including electrocardiography, vision tests, intraocular pressure measurements, and fundus examinations.

They used a "space body mass measuring device" to measure body mass in orbit, comprehensively monitoring physiological changes in microgravity.

The astronauts also actively engaged in physical exercise using space treadmills and other equipment.

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, 34 seconds
Release Date: Aug. 2, 2026  

#NASA #Space #Science #China #中国 #Shenzhou23Mission #神舟二十三号 #Shenzhou23 #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

Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS | Vera C. Rubin Observatory—LSST Camera

Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS | Vera C. Rubin Observatory—LSST Camera

The faint coma and tail glow of comet 3I/ATLAS were captured by the National Science Foundation–Department of Energy Vera C. Rubin Observatory, jointly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science (DOE/SC), on December 19, 2025. Comet 3I/ATLAS is only the third known visitor from another star system to pass through our Solar System. The comet reappeared from behind the Sun in November 2025 after spending several weeks out of view from Earth. By the time of this observation, the object was at its closest point to Earth on its outward journey toward interstellar space. Rubin incidentally imaged this object months earlier during testing activities, before it was identified as an interstellar comet.

What makes this NOIRLab image special is the amount of detail captured in a single 30-second exposure. Usually, revealing the faint glow of a comet’s tail requires a much longer exposure—one that would show the background stars and galaxies as blurry streaks. However, Rubin’s light-collecting power and highly sensitive LSST Camera capture the comet’s delicate tail in just 30 seconds while keeping the distant background objects crisp and clear.

Objects like 3I/ATLAS are rare and scientifically valuable. Unlike the common comets and asteroids that formed alongside our Sun, interstellar objects were formed in other planetary systems. At a point in their distant past, they were ejected from their home systems by gravitational interactions. After being cast out, these objects travel through interstellar space, occasionally passing through another planetary system like our own. When they appear in our neighborhood, they give scientists a rare opportunity to study material formed around other stars—assuming we can catch a glimpse of them while they are close by.

This is where the Rubin Observatory shines. Unlike telescopes that focus on individual targets or small regions of space, Rubin is a survey telescope that repeatedly scans large portions of the sky. With its extremely wide field of view and ability to detect very faint light sources, Rubin catches dim, moving objects that might otherwise go unnoticed. Additionally, Rubin sends out an alert for every change it detects, so scientists can be on the lookout for unusual objects moving through our Solar System. 

With Rubin data, researchers expect to discover many more interstellar visitors passing through our neighborhood, each carrying clues about the processes that shape planets and small bodies around other stars. Studying these objects in greater numbers will help scientists better understand how planetary systems, including our own, form and evolve.

Learn more about the new Vera Rubin Observatory:

https://noirlab.edu/science/programs/vera-c-rubin-observatory

The LSST Camera (LSSTCam)

https://lsstcam.lsst.io/

An Introduction to Vera Rubin:

https://rubinobservatory.org/about/vera-rubin

Credits:
NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory/NOIRLab/SLAC/AURA
Acknowledgement: C. O. Chandler (University of Washington)
Image Date: Dec. 19, 2025
Release Date: July 15, 2026

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #InterstellarObjects #InterplanetaryBodies #InterstellarComets #InterstellarComet3I #Comet3I #Comet3IATLAS #StarSystems #SolarSystem #MilkyWayGalaxy #Universe #LSSTCam #SimonyiSurveyTelescope #RubinObservatory #VeraRubin #CerroPachón #Chile #NOIRLab #NSF #DOE #AURA #UnitedStates #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education 

Highlights of The COSMOS Field | Vera C. Rubin Observatory—LSST Camera

Highlights of The COSMOS Field | Vera C. Rubin Observatory—LSST Camera

This exceptionally deep image from NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory reveals the renowned COSMOS field and its surroundings in the constellation Sextans. The view is crowded with galaxies and galaxy clusters spanning an immense range of distances and cosmic ages, while only a handful of foreground stars belong to our own Milky Way. It was created by combining multiple observations from Rubin’s LSST Camera into a deep coadded image and is being released to mark Early Data Preview 2, the first Rubin data preview based on LSST Camera observations.

Packed into this single image from Rubin Observatory are many kinds of galaxies: spirals with delicate arms, smooth elliptical galaxies, distorted merging galaxies, and faint red galaxies from the distant Universe. Only a relatively small number of bright stars from our own Milky Way appear in the foreground, leaving an unusually clear view of galaxies stretching far into the distance.

This image was captured with Rubin’s 3.2-gigapixel LSST Camera—the largest digital camera in the world, mounted on the 8.4-meter Simonyi Survey Telescope. It was created by stacking hundreds of individual observations and contains more than half a million galaxies and more than 50,000 stars.

The COSMOS field was selected more than two decades ago to provide astronomers with a relatively unobstructed window into the distant Universe. Located away from the crowded plane of the Milky Way, it contains comparatively few bright stars and little intervening dust, and it is accessible to major observatories on Earth and in space. Even in this exceptionally clear region, Rubin’s remarkable sensitivity reveals traces of faint, glowing galactic cirrus: wisps of interstellar dust within our own Milky Way superimposed on the much more distant cosmic landscape.

Early Data Preview 2 comes on the heels of the beginning of the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). With its ability to observe the southern sky deeply, widely, and repeatedly, Rubin Observatory is poised to transform many areas of astronomy.

Learn more about the new Vera Rubin Observatory:

https://noirlab.edu/science/programs/vera-c-rubin-observatory

The LSST Camera (LSSTCam)

https://lsstcam.lsst.io/

An Introduction to Vera Rubin:

https://rubinobservatory.org/about/vera-rubin

Credit: NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory/NOIRLab/SLAC/AURA
Release Date: July 31, 2026

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxies #GalaxyClusters #CosmosField #SextansConstellation #Cosmos #Universe #LSSTCam #SimonyiSurveyTelescope #RubinObservatory #VeraRubin #CerroPachón #Chile #NOIRLab #NSF #DOE #AURA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

A Journey Deep into The COSMOS Field | Vera C. Rubin Observatory

A Journey Deep into The COSMOS Field | Vera C. Rubin Observatory

This exceptionally deep image from NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory reveals the renowned COSMOS field and its surroundings in the constellation Sextans. The view is crowded with galaxies and galaxy clusters spanning an immense range of distances and cosmic ages, while only a handful of foreground stars belong to our own Milky Way. It was created by combining multiple observations from Rubin’s LSST Camera into a deep coadded image and is being released to mark Early Data Preview 2, the first Rubin data preview based on LSST Camera observations.

Packed into this single image from Rubin Observatory are many kinds of galaxies: spirals with delicate arms, smooth elliptical galaxies, distorted merging galaxies, and faint red galaxies from the distant Universe. Only a relatively small number of bright stars from our own Milky Way appear in the foreground, leaving an unusually clear view of galaxies stretching far into the distance.

This image was captured with Rubin’s 3.2-gigapixel LSST Camera—the largest digital camera in the world, mounted on the 8.4-meter Simonyi Survey Telescope. It was created by stacking hundreds of individual observations and contains more than half a million galaxies and more than 50,000 stars.

The COSMOS field was selected more than two decades ago to provide astronomers with a relatively unobstructed window into the distant Universe. Located away from the crowded plane of the Milky Way, it contains comparatively few bright stars and little intervening dust, and it is accessible to major observatories on Earth and in space. Even in this exceptionally clear region, Rubin’s remarkable sensitivity reveals traces of faint, glowing galactic cirrus: wisps of interstellar dust within our own Milky Way superimposed on the much more distant cosmic landscape.

Early Data Preview 2 comes on the heels of the beginning of the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). With its ability to observe the southern sky deeply, widely, and repeatedly, Rubin Observatory is poised to transform many areas of astronomy.

Learn more about the new Vera Rubin Observatory:

https://noirlab.edu/science/programs/vera-c-rubin-observatory

The LSST Camera (LSSTCam)

https://lsstcam.lsst.io/

An Introduction to Vera Rubin:

https://rubinobservatory.org/about/vera-rubin

Credit: NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory/NOIRLab/SLAC/AURA

Duration: 1 minute
Release Date: July 31, 2026

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxies #GalaxyClusters #CosmosField #SextansConstellation #Cosmos #Universe #LSSTCam #SimonyiSurveyTelescope #RubinObservatory #VeraRubin #CerroPachón #Chile #NOIRLab #NSF #DOE #AURA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Close-up Looks Deep into The COSMOS Field | Vera C. Rubin Observatory

Close-up Looks Deep into The COSMOS Field | Vera C. Rubin Observatory

This exceptionally deep image from NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory reveals the renowned COSMOS field and its surroundings in the constellation Sextans. The view is crowded with galaxies and galaxy clusters spanning an immense range of distances and cosmic ages, while only a handful of foreground stars belong to our own Milky Way. It was created by combining multiple observations from Rubin’s LSST Camera into a deep coadded image and is being released to mark Early Data Preview 2, the first Rubin data preview based on LSST Camera observations.

Packed into this single image from Rubin Observatory are many kinds of galaxies: spirals with delicate arms, smooth elliptical galaxies, distorted merging galaxies, and faint red galaxies from the distant Universe. Only a relatively small number of bright stars from our own Milky Way appear in the foreground, leaving an unusually clear view of galaxies stretching far into the distance.

This image was captured with Rubin’s 3.2-gigapixel LSST Camera—the largest digital camera in the world, mounted on the 8.4-meter Simonyi Survey Telescope. It was created by stacking hundreds of individual observations and contains more than half a million galaxies and more than 50,000 stars.

The COSMOS field was selected more than two decades ago to provide astronomers with a relatively unobstructed window into the distant Universe. Located away from the crowded plane of the Milky Way, it contains comparatively few bright stars and little intervening dust, and it is accessible to major observatories on Earth and in space. Even in this exceptionally clear region, Rubin’s remarkable sensitivity reveals traces of faint, glowing galactic cirrus: wisps of interstellar dust within our own Milky Way superimposed on the much more distant cosmic landscape.

Early Data Preview 2 comes on the heels of the beginning of the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). With its ability to observe the southern sky deeply, widely, and repeatedly, Rubin Observatory is poised to transform many areas of astronomy.

Learn more about the new Vera Rubin Observatory:

https://noirlab.edu/science/programs/vera-c-rubin-observatory

The LSST Camera (LSSTCam)

https://lsstcam.lsst.io/

An Introduction to Vera Rubin:

https://rubinobservatory.org/about/vera-rubin

Credit: NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory/NOIRLab/SLAC/AURA

Duration: 52 seconds
Release Date: July 31, 2026

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxies #GalaxyClusters #CosmosField #SextansConstellation #Cosmos #Universe #LSSTCam #SimonyiSurveyTelescope #RubinObservatory #VeraRubin #CerroPachón #Chile #NOIRLab #NSF #DOE #AURA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Looking Deep into The COSMOS Field | Vera C. Rubin Observatory

Looking Deep into The COSMOS Field | Vera C. Rubin Observatory

This exceptionally deep image from NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory reveals the renowned COSMOS field and its surroundings in the constellation Sextans. The view is crowded with galaxies and galaxy clusters spanning an immense range of distances and cosmic ages, while only a handful of foreground stars belong to our own Milky Way. It was created by combining multiple observations from Rubin’s LSST Camera into a deep coadded image and is being released to mark Early Data Preview 2, the first Rubin data preview based on LSST Camera observations.

Packed into this single image from Rubin Observatory are many kinds of galaxies: spirals with delicate arms, smooth elliptical galaxies, distorted merging galaxies, and faint red galaxies from the distant Universe. Only a relatively small number of bright stars from our own Milky Way appear in the foreground, leaving an unusually clear view of galaxies stretching far into the distance.

This image was captured with Rubin’s 3.2-gigapixel LSST Camera—the largest digital camera in the world, mounted on the 8.4-meter Simonyi Survey Telescope. It was created by stacking hundreds of individual observations and contains more than half a million galaxies and more than 50,000 stars.

The COSMOS field was selected more than two decades ago to provide astronomers with a relatively unobstructed window into the distant Universe. Located away from the crowded plane of the Milky Way, it contains comparatively few bright stars and little intervening dust, and it is accessible to major observatories on Earth and in space. Even in this exceptionally clear region, Rubin’s remarkable sensitivity reveals traces of faint, glowing galactic cirrus: wisps of interstellar dust within our own Milky Way superimposed on the much more distant cosmic landscape.

Early Data Preview 2 comes on the heels of the beginning of the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). With its ability to observe the southern sky deeply, widely, and repeatedly, Rubin Observatory is poised to transform many areas of astronomy.

Learn more about the new Vera Rubin Observatory:

https://noirlab.edu/science/programs/vera-c-rubin-observatory

The LSST Camera (LSSTCam)

https://lsstcam.lsst.io/

An Introduction to Vera Rubin:

https://rubinobservatory.org/about/vera-rubin

Credit: NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory/NOIRLab/SLAC/AURA
Release Date: July 31, 2026

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxies #GalaxyClusters #CosmosField #SextansConstellation #Cosmos #Universe #LSSTCam #SimonyiSurveyTelescope #RubinObservatory #VeraRubin #CerroPachón #Chile #NOIRLab #NSF #DOE #AURA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Milky Way Galaxy Dreams | International Space Station

Milky Way Galaxy Dreams | International Space Station

Expedition 71/72 flight engineer and NASA astronaut Don Pettit: "I finally have all 1.2 million raw image files from my latest mission to ISS! Here is a sample of one of my favorite Milky Way photos, taken from the Cupola with Nikon Z9, Arri Zeiss 15mm lens, T1.8 with custom sidereal drive that cancelled out star motion relative to our orbit."

NASA astronaut Don Pettit returned to Earth on April 19, 2025, concluding a seven-month science mission aboard the International Space Station. Pettit spent 220 days in space, earning him a total of 590 days in space over the course of his four spaceflights. He orbited the Earth 3,520 times, traveling 93.3 million miles in low-Earth orbit.

Follow Expedition 75:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 75 Crew
Station Commander: Jessica Meir
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Andrey Fedyaev, Anna Kikina, Pyotr Dubrov

European Space Agency Flight Engineer: Sophie Adenot

NASA Flight Engineers: Jack Hathaway, Anil Menon

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 Credits: NASA/JSC/D. Pettit
Release Date: July 31, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #Earth #Galaxies #MilkyWay #Astronauts #DonPettit #AstronautPhotography #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition75 #InternationalCooperation #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

SpaceX Starship View from Starlink V3 Satellite on Flight 13 | Starbase Texas

SpaceX Starship View from Starlink V3 Satellite on Flight 13 | Starbase Texas

The thirteenth flight test of Starship successfully launched Friday, July 24, 2026, at 5:51 p.m. Central Time (CT). This was the second flight of the Starship and Super Heavy V3 vehicles and the first Starship flight to deploy "next generation" Starlink V3 satellites.

Watch the launch broadcast and read the full flight report here: 

https://www.spacex.com/launches/starship-flight-13

The flight test began with Super Heavy igniting all 33 Raptor 3 engines and ascending over the Gulf of Mexico. The successful first-stage ascent was followed by a hot-staging maneuver with Starship’s upper stage igniting its six Raptor engines to continue its flight to space.

Following stage separation, the Super Heavy booster performed a directional flip maneuver. The startup sequence was modified for this flight to be more robust to timing variability in engine startup and flip in the desired direction. This is done to increase overall performance. The booster successfully completed the high thrust portion of the boostback burn with all 33 engines, the first time with a Super Heavy V3, before ending the burn early. It attempted to relight its engines for the landing burn with a subset successfully igniting before experiencing a hard splashdown in the Gulf.

After completing a full-duration ascent burn on all six Raptor engines, Starship achieved its planned velocity and trajectory. Starship then successfully deployed all 20 Starlink V3 satellites. SpaceX engineers were able to successfully communicate with every satellite using radio frequency and laser links and downloaded key telemetry from the satellites. The Starlink satellites were deployed on the pre-planned trajectory and are expected to have demised upon reentry approximately 20 minutes after deployment.

The vehicle also reignited a single Raptor engine in an in-space demonstration of a core capability for future orbital missions.

Starship re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere and was able to gather critical data on the performance of its heatshield before executing a dynamic banking move to mimic the trajectory that future missions returning to Starbase will fly. Starship then guided itself using its four flaps to the pre-planned splashdown zone in the Indian Ocean. After relighting all three Raptor engines, Starship executed a landing flip, landing burn, and soft splashdown, coming to rest intact in the Indian Ocean and providing critical views of an intact heatshield for the first time.

NASA plans to use a lunar lander version of Starship to deliver astronauts and cargo to the Moon during the Artemis IV mission and beyond through the Human Landing System (HLS) Program.

Learn more about Starship:
https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/starship/

Download the Free Starship User Guide (PDF):
https://www.spacex.com/media/starship_users_guide_v1.pdf

Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)

Time: 1 min

Date: July 24, 2026

#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #StarlinkSatellites #Moon #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIII #ArtemisIV #Starship #StarshipV3 #FlightTest13 #ReusableSpacecraft #SuperHeavyBooster #SuperHeavyV3 #ElonMusk #Engineering #SpaceTechnology #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #StarbaseTexas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Moon Dreaming | International Space Station

Moon Dreaming | International Space Station

The International Space Station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm dominates the foreground, with the waxing gibbous Moon seen more than 240,000 miles away from Earth. The Artemis II mission was in its first day in space, en route to a lunar flyby several days later. 

Expedition 75 flight engineer and NASA astronaut Anil Menon: "Full Moon today. The International Space Station feels so close. And, that’s why it’s a step toward NASA's Artemis program . . . "

The waxing gibbous Moon is seen from the International Space Station as the Artemis II mission begins its first day in space, en route to a lunar flyby several days later.

The waxing gibbous Moon is seen from the International Space Station as the Artemis II mission begins its first day in space, en route to a lunar flyby several days later.

The waning crescent Moon is pictured on April 10, 2026, from the International Space Station as the Artemis II mission was completing its final day in space, following the first crewed lunar flyby in more than 50 years.

Expedition 75 on the International Space Station ended July 2026, stepping up preparations for the first of three spacewalks planned for the month of August. NASA flight engineer Anil Menon tried on his spacesuit on Friday, July 31, 2026, to get ready for his first career spacewalk planned for Thursday, Aug. 6. 

Follow Expedition 75:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 75 Crew
Station Commander: Jessica Meir
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Andrey Fedyaev, Anna Kikina, Pyotr Dubrov

European Space Agency Flight Engineer: Sophie Adenot

NASA Flight Engineers: Jack Hathaway, Anil Menon

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 Credits: NASA/JSC/Sophie Adenot/Chris Williams/Anil Menon
Dates: April 1-July 29, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #Earth #Moon #ArtemisProgram #Canadarm2 #CSA #Canada #Astronauts #AstronautPhotography #ESA #CNES #France #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition74 #Expedition75 #InternationalCooperation #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

What's Up for August 2026: Skywatching Tips from NASA | JPL

What's Up for August 2026: Skywatching Tips from NASA | JPL

Here are examples of skywatching highlights for the northern hemisphere in August 2026: A solar eclipse, one of the year's best meteor showers, Venus at its brightest in the evening sky, and a partial lunar eclipse to close out the month.

On August 12, a total solar eclipse crosses northern Russia, Greenland, Iceland, northern Spain, and a small corner of Portugal. In parts of the United States, from Alaska to North Carolina, the eclipse will be partial. Use certified eclipse glasses or a safe solar viewer whenever any part of the Sun is visible.

Later that night, the Perseid meteor shower peaks under the dark skies of the New Moon. Around August 14 through 16, Venus shines low in the west after sunset, and on August 27-28, a partial lunar eclipse is visible from much of the Americas and parts of Europe and Africa.

0:00 Intro
0:11 Solar eclipse
0:41 Perseid meteor shower
1:27 Venus after sunset
1:41 Partial lunar eclipse
2:22 August Moon phases

Additional information about topics covered in this episode of What's Up, along with still images from the video, and the video transcript, are available at https://science.nasa.gov/skywatching/whats-up/

Find events and clubs with NASA's Night Sky Network: https://science.nasa.gov/skywatching/night-sky-network/

Skywatching resources from NASA: https://science.nasa.gov/skywatching

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Duration: 2 minutes, 43 seconds
Release Date: July 31, 2026

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #SolarSystem #Planets #Earth #Moon #SolarEclipses #PerseidMeteorShower #MeteorShowers #Venus #Stars #Nebulae #Galaxies #MilkyWayGalaxy #Skywatching #JPL #Caltech #UnitedStates #Canada #Mexico #NorthernHemisphere #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Biggest Discoveries after Four Years of Science | James Webb Space Telescope

The Biggest Discoveries after Four Years of Science | James Webb Space Telescope

Previously unseen details all throughout the universe, including right here in our own solar system have been revealed using NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope, and the results so far, are fascinating.

Webb has given scientists, and the world, a powerful new set of tools to help better explain our place in the universe. And with its unprecedented power to detect and analyze otherwise invisible infrared light, objects that were once impossible to observe are now coming into clear view.

Webb is an international partnership between NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

For more information, visit https://nasa.gov/webb

Under an international collaboration agreement, the European Space Agency (ESA) provided the telescope’s launch service, using the Ariane 5 launch vehicle. Working with partners, ESA was responsible for the development and qualification of Ariane 5 adaptations for the Webb mission and for the procurement of the launch service by Arianespace. ESA also provided the workhorse spectrograph NIRSpec and 50% of the mid-infrared instrument MIRI, which was designed and built by a consortium of nationally funded European Institutes (The MIRI European Consortium) in partnership with JPL and the University of Arizona.

Credit:
Producer: Paul Morris
Writer: Thaddeus Cesari
Narrator: Dr. Jane Rigby
Images: NASA, ESA, CSA, STSci
Duration: 5 minutes, 24 seconds
Release Date: July 31, 2026

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Planets #SolarSystem #Exoplanets #Supernovae #Nebulae #Galaxies #GravitationalLensing #Cosmos #Universe #JWST #InfraredAstronomy #SpaceTelescopes #Europe #NASAGoddard #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #CSA #Canada #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Highlights: Winter/Spring 2026

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Highlights: Winter/Spring 2026

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is now complete. This video, covering the first half of 2026, highlights examples of the final hardware milestones. 

It opens with an aerial view of the complete observatory inside NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center’s largest clean room, the Spacecraft Systems Development and Integration Facility. The room is a class 10,000 clean room with over one million cubic feet of space.

Parts of Roman stow for launch. Once in space, these deployable components move into their operational positions. Engineers test these deployments on the ground to make sure they will go as planned in space. Four of the six Solar Array Sun Shield panels deploy. They fold against the spacecraft to fit inside the rocket fairing and then deploy in space to make a large flat plane that both collects light to generate electricity and helps keep the rest of Roman cool. The Deployable Aperture Cover (DAC), protecting the mirrors during launch and then unfolds to help shield them from sunlight, also test deploys. During this test, lines connect to it and pull upward to negate Earth’s gravitational forces, that Roman will not experience in space. 

In preparation for vibration and acoustic testing, technicians put a clean tent over Roman and transport it out of the clean room. They push it next to the massive vibration tables, one shakes horizontally and the other vertically. A crane lifts Roman and the tent onto the tables, and also performs a 90-degree rotation after one horizontal test so that Roman can be tested on a different axis with the same table. Engineers attach hundreds of sensors and run tests of increasing intensity. During and after each test, they carefully study the data to make sure that Roman is behaving as anticipated.

For the acoustic test, they push it into the test chamber where a six-foot-tall horn projects up to 150-decibel sound at varying frequencies. A thick door seals the chamber and prevents most of the sound from escaping, although ear protection is still required for anyone nearby during a test. These tests are mostly to ensure that Roman can survive the rigors of launch. Once in space, it won’t be subjected to nearly as much force.

Once the tests are successfully completed, Roman re-enters the clean room and the tent is removed. Technicians lift Roman to a special rollover fixture that can safely tilt and spin Roman’s 18,500 pound mass. Once Roman is tilted horizontal for the first time as a full observatory, engineers slowly spin it through 360 degrees to make sure everything stays in place like it is supposed to.

After the rotations, technicians carefully perform a manual opening of the DAC to reveal the mirror. In this position, they can inspect the entire optical path all the way back to the instrument sensors and perform surface cleaning on the inside of the protective outer barrel and DAC. This is also a chance for final goodbyes to the mirror. Once the DAC is closed, no one will ever see the mirror as clearly again.

With all the assembly and testing at Goddard completed, the team begins the delicate process of loading Roman into an airtight container known as the Conditioned Housing for Air, Road, Imaging optics assembly, and Observatory Transport (CHARIOT). First they attach arms which will form the interior sides and support Roman. Then they lift and move Roman into the lower bed of the CHARIOT. An inner lid goes on first, followed by a larger outer lid with ducting to keep the observatory the right temperature and preserve the clean environment. As the CHARIOT leaves the clean room, Roman takes its first step in the journey to space.

The Roman telescope and the discoveries it will support:
https://www.stsci.edu/roman

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/roman-space-telescope/

Dr. Nancy Grace Roman: 
https://science.nasa.gov/people/nancy-roman/

Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Producer: Scott Wiessinger (eMITS)
Videographers: Sophia Roberts (eMITS)
  Scott Wiessinger (eMITS)
  Rob Andreoli (eMITS)
  John Philyaw (eMITS)
  Jolearra Tshiteya (ASRC Federal)
Drone Pilot: Francis Reddy (University of Maryland College Park)
Editor: Scott Wiessinger (eMITS)
Duration: 3 minutes
Release Date: July 31, 2026

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #NASARoman #RomanSpaceTelescope #NancyGraceRomanSpaceTelescope #NancyGraceRoman #Exoplanets #Planets #SolarSystem #Stars #MilkyWayGalaxy #Galaxies #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescopes #NASAGoddard #GSFC #Greenbelt #Maryland #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video