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Saturday, March 29, 2025

Planet Mars Images: March 27-28, 2025 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers

Planet Mars Images: March 27-28, 2025 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers

Mars 2020 - sol 1458

MSL - Sol 4491

MSL - Sol 4493

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Celebrating 12+ Years on Mars (2012-2024)

Mission Name: Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)

Rover Name: Curiosity

Main Job: To determine if Mars was ever habitable to microbial life.

Launch: Nov. 6, 2011

Landing Date: Aug. 5, 2012, Gale Crater, Mars

Celebrating 4+ Years on Mars

Mission Name: Mars 2020

Rover Name: Perseverance

Main Job: Seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and soil) for return to Earth.

Launch: July 30, 2020

Landing: Feb. 18, 2021, Jezero Crater, Mars

For more information on NASA's Mars missions, visit: mars.nasa.gov

Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS

Processing: Kevin M. Gill

Image Release Dates: March 27-28, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #Astrobiology #Geology #CuriosityRover #MSL #MountSharp #GaleCrater #PerseveranceRover #Mars2020 #JezeroCrater #Robotics #SpaceTechnology #SpaceEngineering #MSSS #JPL #Caltech #UnitedStates #CitizenScience #KevinGill #STEM #Education

NASA Artemis Moon Missions: Orion Crew Recovery Tests off California

NASA Artemis Moon Missions: Orion Crew Recovery Tests off California

NASA astronaut Andre Douglas gives a thumbs up as he and fellow NASA astronauts Stan Love and Deniz Burnham and European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano prepare to be taken to the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) to take part in practicing Artemis recovery operations during Underway Recovery Test-12 onboard USS Somerset off the coast of California, Friday, March 28, 2025. During the test, NASA and Department of Defense teams are practicing to ensure recovery procedures are validated as NASA plans to send the Artemis II astronauts around the Moon and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano, left, and NASA astronauts Andre Douglas, Deniz Burnham, and Stan Love, right, walk in the well of USS Somerset to catch boats to the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA), a full scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft, during Underway Recovery Test-12 off the coast of California, Friday, March 28, 2025.

European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano is seen in the window as a Navy MH-60 Seahawk from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 23 returns to USS Somerset as teams practice Artemis recovery operations during Underway Recovery Test-12 off the coast of California, Friday, March 28, 2025.

European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano is helped from a Navy helicopter after returning to USS Somerset from the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA), a full scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft, during Underway Recovery Test-12 off the coast of California, Friday, March 28, 2025.

NASA astronaut Deniz Burnham, is helped from a Navy helicopter after returning from the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA), a full scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft, during Underway Recovery Test-12 off the coast of California, Friday, March 28, 2025. During the test, NASA and Department of Defense teams are practicing to ensure recovery procedures are validated as NASA plans to send Artemis II astronauts around the Moon and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

NASA astronaut Deniz Burnham, left, and European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano, are seen talking to NASA Flight Surgeon Richard Scheuring onboard a Navy helicopter after returning from the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA), a full scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft, during Underway Recovery Test-12 off the coast of California, Friday, March 28, 2025.

The Crew Module Test Article (CMTA), a full scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft, is seen during Underway Recovery Test-12 onboard USS Somerset off the coast of California, Friday, March 28, 2025.

European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano, left, and NASA astronauts Stan Love, Deniz Burnham, and Andre Douglas are seen as they prepare to take part in practicing Artemis recovery operations during Underway Recovery Test-12 onboard USS Somerset off the coast of California, Friday, March 28, 2025.

NASA and European Space Agency astronauts took part in practicing Artemis recovery operations during Underway Recovery Test-12 onboard USS Somerset off the coast of California, Friday, March 28, 2025. During the test, NASA and Department of Defense teams practiced recovery procedure validation as NASA plans to send the Artemis II astronauts around the Moon and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

The Artemis II test flight will be sending NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Reid Wiseman, as well as Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on a ten-day journey around the Moon and back.

Artemis II will launch no earlier than April 2026.

Check the NASA Artemis II Mission page for updates:

https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/

Learn more about NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket: nasa.gov/sls

Follow updates on the Artemis blog:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/

Image Credits: NASA/Bill Ingalls/Joel Kowsky

Release Date: March 22, 2025

#NASA #ESA #Space #Science #Moon #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisII #OrionSpacecraft #CrewedMission #Astronauts #NASASLS #SpaceLaunchSystem #DeepSpace #MoonToMars #SpaceEngineering #SpaceTechnology #HumanSpaceflight #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #USNavy #DoD #California #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Partial Solar Eclipse over Iceland

Partial Solar Eclipse over Iceland

On March 29, 2025, the Moon passed in front of and partially blocked the Sun, casting a shadow on parts of the Earth's Northern Hemisphere. The central part of the Moon’s shadow, where the Sun appears completely blocked, missed Earth, so no one was able to see a total solar eclipse this time.

Iceland is a Nordic island country between the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe.

Image Credit: Wioleta Gorecka

Wioleta's Website: https://outway.pl/namibia-astrofotografia-wyprawa-do-krainy-ciemnego-nieba
Image Date: March 29, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #Moon #Sun #SolarEclipse #PartialSolarEclipse #PartialSolarEclipse2025 #Astrophotography #WioletaGorecka #Astrophotographer #Photographer #CitizenScience #Iceland #Ísland #STEM #Education

Partial Solar Eclipse over U.S. State of Maine

Partial Solar Eclipse over U.S. State of Maine

This is a view of the partial eclipse from Monticello. It is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, United States, on the northern branch of the Meduxnekeag River.

Image Credit: Fabrizio Melandri
Location: Monticello, Maine, United States
Image Date: March 29, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #Moon #Sun #SolarEclipse #PartialSolarEclipse #PartialSolarEclipse2025 #Astrophotography #FabrizioMelandri #Astrophotographer #Photographer #CitizenScience #Monticello #Maine #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 Members | International Space Station

NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 Members | International Space Station

From left to right, NASA astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov of Russia, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui pose for a photo at a SpaceX facility in Hawthorne, California.

NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, pilot of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission, trains inside a SpaceX Dragon mockup at a SpaceX facility in Hawthorne, California, ahead of his flight to the International Space Station.

NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission, trains inside a SpaceX Dragon mockup at a SpaceX facility in Hawthorne, California, ahead of her flight to the International Space Station.

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui, a mission specialist for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission to the International Space Station, trains for his mission in a SpaceX Dragon mockup at a SpaceX facility in Hawthorne, California.

Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov of Russia, a mission specialist for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission to the International Space Station, trains for his mission at a SpaceX facility in Hawthorne, California.

The Crew-11 mission patch embodies teamwork, exploration, and the deep connections that bind us—across nations, agencies, and families. Shades of white, red, and blue pay tribute to the flags of the three nations represented by the crew, while three gold stars symbolize the unity of our three space agencies working together in pursuit of discovery. At the heart of the design, two radiant sunbeams form the number “11” illuminating a blue circle—a subtle nod to Voyager’s Pale Blue Dot image, reminding us of the fragile unity of our shared home. This vision of Earth is reflected in the dragon’s eye, reinforcing our focus on exploration and the perspective gained from space. The dragon, evoking the heraldry of family crests, stands as a guardian of our mission and legacy. Within the stars, we honor the children of the crew, a reminder of the generations inspired by human spaceflight. Encircling it all, a red flame represents both the power of launch and the plasma of reentry, symbolizing the full journey—our departure from Earth, our work aboard the International Space Station, and our safe return home. Crew-11: Together, we rise.

As part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission, four crew members from three space agencies will launch in the coming months to the International Space Station for a long-duration science expedition aboard the orbiting laboratory.

NASA astronauts Commander Zena Cardman and Pilot Mike Fincke, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Mission Specialist Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Mission Specialist Oleg Platonov of Russia will join crew members aboard the space station no earlier than July 2025.

The flight is the 11th crew rotation with SpaceX to the station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The crew will conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to help prepare humans for future missions to the Moon, as well as benefit people on Earth.

Cardman previously was assigned to NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission, and Fincke previously was assigned to NASA’s Boeing Starliner-1 mission. NASA decided to reassign the astronauts to Crew-11 in overall support of planned activities aboard the International Space Station. Cardman carries her experience training as a commander on Dragon spacecraft, and Fincke brings long-duration spaceflight experience to this crew complement.

Selected as a NASA astronaut in 2017, Cardman will conduct her first spaceflight. The Williamsburg, Virginia, native holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology and a master’s in Marine Sciences from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. At the time of selection, she had begun pursuing a doctorate in Geosciences. Cardman’s research in geobiology and geochemical cycling focused on subsurface environments, from caves to deep sea sediments. Since completing initial training, Cardman has supported real-time station operations and lunar surface exploration planning.

NASA astronaut Zena Cardman biography:

https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/astronauts/zena-cardman/

https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/cardman-z.pdf

This will be Fincke’s fourth trip to the space station, having logged 382 days in space and nine spacewalks during Expedition 9 in 2004, Expedition 18 in 2008, and STS-134 in 2011, the final flight of space shuttle Endeavour. Throughout the past decade, Fincke has applied his expertise to NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, advancing the development and testing of the SpaceX Dragon and Boeing Starliner toward operational certification. The Emsworth, Pennsylvania, native is a distinguished graduate of the United States Air Force Test Pilot School and holds bachelors’ degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, in both Aeronautics and Astronautics, as well as Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences. He also has a master’s degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University in California. Fincke is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel with more than 2,000 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft.

NASA astronaut Mike Fincke biography:

https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/astronauts/michael-e-fincke/

https://www.nasa.gov/people/edward-michael-mike-fincke/

https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/fincke_e_michael.pdf

With 142 days in space, this will be Yui’s second trip to the space station. After his selection as a JAXA astronaut in 2009, Yui flew as a flight engineer for Expedition 44/45 and became the first Japanese astronaut to capture JAXA’s H-II Transfer Vehicle. In addition to constructing a new experimental environment aboard Kibo, he conducted a total of 21 experiments for JAXA. In November 2016, Yui was assigned as chief of the JAXA Astronaut Group. He graduated from the School of Science and Engineering at the National Defense Academy of Japan in 1992. He later joined the Air Self-Defense Force at the Japan Defense Agency (currently Ministry of Defense). In 2008, Yui joined the Air Staff Office at the Ministry of Defense as a lieutenant colonel.

JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui biography:

https://humans-in-space.jaxa.jp/en/astronaut/yui-kimiya/

The Crew-11 mission will be Platonov’s first spaceflight. Before his selection as a cosmonaut in 2018, Platonov earned a degree in Engineering from Krasnodar Air Force Academy in Aircraft Operations and Air Traffic Management. He also earned a bachelor’s degree in State and Municipal Management in 2016 from the Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok, Russia. Assigned as a test cosmonaut in 2021, he has experience in piloting aircraft, zero gravity training, scuba diving, and wilderness survival.

For more than two decades, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and demonstrating new technologies, making research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. The station is a critical testbed for NASA to understand and overcome the challenges of long-duration spaceflight and to expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit. As commercial companies focus on providing human space transportation services and destinations as part of a robust low Earth orbit economy, NASA’s Artemis campaign is underway at the Moon, where the agency is preparing for future human exploration of Mars.

Learn more about NASA’s Commercial Crew Program at:

https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew

Image Credit: SpaceX
Capture Dates: Sept. 25, 2024 & Dec. 4, 2024

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #SpaceXCrew11 #SpaceXDragonSpacecraft #Astronauts #MikeFincke #ZenaCardman #JAXA #KimiyaYui #Japan #日本 #Cosmonaut #OlegPlatonov #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #Expedition73 #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Friday, March 28, 2025

The Lyra Constellation

The Lyra Constellation

Lyra (Latin for 'lyre', from Ancient Greek: λύρα) is a small constellation. It is one of the 48 listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy. This is one of the modern 88 constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

Note: The lyre is a stringed musical instrument that originated in ancient Greece. It typically features a yoke with two arms and a crossbar, with strings running from a tailpiece to the crossbar, and is primarily played by plucking the strings.

Lyra was often represented on star maps as a vulture or an eagle carrying a lyre, and hence is sometimes referred to as Vultur Cadens or Aquila Cadens ("Falling Vulture" or "Falling Eagle"), respectively.

Beginning at the north, Lyra is bordered by Draco, Hercules, Vulpecula, and Cygnus. Lyra is nearly overhead in temperate northern latitudes shortly after midnight at the start of summer. From the equator to about the 40th parallel south it is visible low in the northern sky during the same (thus winter) months.

Vega, Lyra's brightest star, is one of the brightest stars in the night sky, and forms a corner of the famed Summer Triangle asterism. Beta Lyrae is the prototype of a class of binary stars known as Beta Lyrae variables. These binary stars are so close to each other that they become egg-shaped and material flows from one to the other. Epsilon Lyrae, known informally as the Double Double, is a complex multiple star system. Lyra also hosts the Ring Nebula, the second-discovered and best-known planetary nebula.

Capture location: San Pasquale, Viggianello, Basilicate, Italy

Image Credit: Giuseppe Donatiello

Caption Credit: Wikipedia
Image Date: June 28, 2024

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Star #Vega #BetaLyrae #BetaLyraeVariables #BinaryStars #EpsilonLyrae #RingNebula #Lyra #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Astrophotography #Astrophotographer #GiuseppeDonatiello #Italy #Italia #STEM #Education

Meet NASA Astronaut & Flight Engineer Jonny Kim | International Space Station

Meet NASA Astronaut & Flight Engineer Jonny Kim | International Space Station

During his first mission to the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Jonny Kim will serve as a flight engineer and member of the upcoming Expedition 72/73 crew. Kim will launch on the Russian Roscosmos Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft no earlier than April 8, 2025, accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky of Russia. The trio will spend approximately eight months at the space station.

While aboard the orbiting laboratory, Kim will conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to help prepare the crew for future space missions and provide benefits to people on Earth.

NASA astronaut Jonny Kim is a member of the Artemis Team, a select group of astronauts charged with focusing on the development and training efforts for early Artemis missions. Through the Artemis program, NASA and a coalition of international partners will return to the Moon to learn how to live on other worlds for the benefit of all. We will use the Moon and its resources as a technology testbed to go even farther and to learn how to establish and sustain a human presence far beyond Earth.

NASA selected Kim as an astronaut in 2017. After completing the initial astronaut candidate training, Kim supported mission and crew operations in various roles, including the Expedition 65 lead operations officer, T-38 operations liaison, and space station capcom chief engineer.

A native of Los Angeles, Kim is a United States Navy lieutenant commander and dual designated naval aviator and flight surgeon. Kim also served as an enlisted Navy SEAL. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the University of San Diego and a medical degree from Harvard Medical School in Boston, and completed his internship with the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

NASA Astronaut Jonny Kim's Biography:

https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/astronauts/jonny-kim/

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.

Video Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Producer: Paul Wizikowski

Directors: Ryan Cristelli and Paul Wizikowski

Editor: Hunter Brothers

Duration: 2 minutes, 49 seconds

Release Date: Dec. 9, 2020

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Moon #ArtemisProgram #SoyuzMS27Spacecraft #Astronaut #JonnyKim #FlightEngineer #Pilot #NavalAviator #FlightSurgeon #KoreanAmerican #AsianAmerican #UnitedStates #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #Expedition72 #Expedition73 #SpaceLaboratory #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #STEM #Education #HD #Video #대한민국

Soyuz MS-27 Crew Members: USA & Russia | International Space Station

Soyuz MS-27 Crew Members: USA & Russia | International Space Station

Soyuz MS-27 crew members (from left) NASA astronaut Jonny Kim and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritskiy pose for a portrait at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Russia.

NASA astronaut and Soyuz MS-27 Flight Engineer Jonny Kim poses for a portrait in his Sokol launch and entry suit at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia.

Roscosmos cosmonaut and Soyuz MS-27 Commander Sergey Ryzhikov of Russia poses for a portrait in his Sokol launch and entry suit at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia.

The Soyuz MS-27 mission patch representing the three crew members with Jonny Kim of NASA and Roscosmos cosmonauts Srgey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritskiy of Russia launching to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

NASA Astronaut Jonny Kim's Biography:

https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/astronauts/jonny-kim/

Image Credit: Gagarin Research & Test Cosmonaut Center (GCTC)

Release Date: March 28, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #SoyuzMS27Spacecraft #Astronaut #JonnyKim #FlightEngineer #Pilot #NavalAviator #FlightSurgeon #KoreanAmerican #AsianAmerican #UnitedStates #Cosmonauts #SrgeyRyzhikov #AlexeyZubritskiy #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #Expedition73 #SpaceLaboratory #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #STEM #Education

Expedition 72: New Crew Members at Work & More | International Space Station

Expedition 72: New Crew Members at Work & More | International Space Station

NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Nichole Ayers inserts a cryogenic storage unit, called a dewar, containing blood samples collected from a crew member into a science freezer for preservation and later analysis. The Minus Eighty-Degree Laboratory Freezer for International Space Station, or MELFI, is a research freezer that maintains experiment samples at ultra-cold temperatures in microgravity.

NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers: "More science! After completing a blood draw (we are our own phlebotomists up here), we spun the tubes in a centrifuge and then put them in the MELFI (Minus Eighty Degree Laboratory Freezer) for later return to the ground.

This study is looking at bone structure pre- and post-mission, as well as bone markers in the blood to help build a digital twin model that can aid in predictions of future bone evolution."

NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Nichole Ayers works inside the International Space Station's Kibo laboratory module loading software onto an Astrobee robotic free-flyer. The software is part of a technology investigation demonstrating an adaptor for docking and close approach sensing to connect both active and passive objects in space. Results may enable applications, such as satellite servicing, orbital refueling, spacecraft repair and upgrade, and in-orbit manufacturing.

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Takuya Onishi is pictured inside the cargo-packed vestibule in between the International Space Station and the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft. Onishi was continuing to unpack cargo stowed inside Dragon that had docked to the orbital outpost the day before with him and fellow SpaceX Crew-9 members Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers of NASA, and Kirill Peskov of Roscosmos aboard.

NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Anne McClain works on hardware maintenance tasks inside the International Space Station's Kibo laboratory module. Behind McClain is Kibo's airlock where experiment hardware, such as external exposure investigations and CubeSats are staged before being placed outside the orbiting lab into the vacuum of space.

The Russian Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft that launched NASA astronaut Don Pettit and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner to the International Space Station is pictured docked to the Rassvet module. The orbiting lab was soaring 260 miles above Turkmenistan near the Caspian Sea.

City lights dot the Canadian landscape underneath an atmospheric glow and an aurora borealis in this photograph taken from the International Space Station 262 miles above North America at approximately 12:15 a.m. local time on March 5, 2025.

Expedition 72 Updates:

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

Expedition 72 Crew

Station Commander: Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin (Russia)
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Ivan Vagner, Kirill Peskov
NASA Flight Engineers: Don Pettit, Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers

JAXA Flight Engineer: Takuya Onishi

Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:
https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science

For more information about STEM on Station:
https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation

Image Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)
Image Dates: March 5-24, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Earth #Aurora #Astronauts #Japan #日本 #JAXA #Cosmonauts #SoyuzCrewSpacecraft #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #MicrogravityResearch #InternationalCooperation #Expedition72 #UnitedStates #Canada #STEM #Education