Friends of NASA

Sunday, June 01, 2025

19 Active Science Missions Canceled in NASA's FY2026 Budget Request

19 Active Science Missions Canceled in NASA's FY2026 Budget Request

[SEE ITEMS MARKED IN RED]

NASA's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request represents an overall 24 percent funding reduction, reports The Washington Post. It is the smallest budget request for NASA since 1961, adjusted for inflation, according to The Planetary Society.

Contact your representatives in the United States Congress, House and Senate, to express your concerns for NASA's future:
https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials/

NASA's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request (PDF) Document Download: https://www.nasa.gov/fy-2026-budget-request/ (See Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request Summary)

List of Active NASA Science Missions Cancelled:

Juno Mission to Jupiter Planetary System (2011-2025)

https://www.nasa.gov/juno

https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu

MAVEN Mission to Mars (2013-2025)

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/maven/

New Horizons Mission - Pluto & Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) Flyby (2006-2025)

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/new-horizons/

Terra Mission - Earth Science Satellite (1999-2025)
https://eospso.nasa.gov/missions/terra

https://eospso.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/mission_handbooks/Terra.pdf

Aqua Mission - Earth Science Satellite (2004-2025)

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/aqua/

Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR)/Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) (2015-2025)

https://epic.gsfc.nasa.gov/

Chandra X-ray Observatory (1999-2025)

https://chandra.harvard.edu

https://www.nasa.gov/mission/chandra-x-ray-observatory/

Mars Odyssey Mission (2001-2025)

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/odyssey/

Thermosphere, Ionosphere, Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) Earth Science Mission (2001-2025)

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/timed/

Aura Earth Science Mission (2004-2025)

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/aura/

THEMIS-ARTEMIS Sun-Earth Satellite (2007-2025)

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/themis-artemis/

Fermi Mission: Gamma-ray Space Telescope (2008-2025)

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/fermi/

https://fermi.gsfc.nasa.gov/ssc/

Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) (2008-2025)

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/ibex/

Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO-2) Earth Satellite (2014-2025)

https://ocov2.jpl.nasa.gov/

Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Sun-Earth Satellite (2015-2025)

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mms/

OSIRIS-APEX Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security – Apophis Explorer - Asteroid Mission (2016-2025)

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/osiris-apex/

SAGE III - Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III Earth Satellite (2017-2025)

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/sage-3-iss/

Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) Earth Satellite (2018-2025)

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/gold/

Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO-3) Earth Satellite (2019-2025)

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/oco-3/

Image Credits: NASA/The Planetary Society/NASA Watch

Release Dates: May 30-31, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #NASABudgetFY2026 #NASABudget #NASAScienceMissions #SMD #Sun #Heliophysics #SolarSystem #Planets #Earth #EarthScience #Moon #ArtemisProgram #Mars #Jupiter #KBO #STScI #Universe #UnitedStates #Infographics #STEM #Education

"The Road to Making Life Multiplanetary" - Elon Musk Presentation

"The Road to Making Life Multiplanetary" | Elon Musk Presentation

On May 27, 2025, Elon Musk made a presentation at Starbase Texas to provide an update on his plans to make Mars another home for humanity in the solar system.

Learn more here:
https://www.spacex.com/humanspaceflight/mars/

SpaceX's Starship will play a critical role in achieving Mars colonization and establishing a self-sustaining civilization. This presentation outlines SpaceX's vision for humanity's future beyond Earth.

SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket—collectively referred to as Starship—represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond. Starship is the world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, capable of carrying up to 150 metric tonnes fully reusable and 250 metric tonnes expendable.

Key Starship Parameters:

Height: 123m/403ft
Diameter: 9m/29.5ft
Payload to LEO: 100–150t (fully reusable)

"Starship is essential to both SpaceX’s plans to deploy its next-generation Starship system as well as for NASA, which will use a lunar lander version of Starship for landing astronauts on the Moon during the Artemis III mission 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)

Duration: 42 minutes

Release Date: May 27, 2025

#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #Mars #Moon #MoonToMars #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIII #Starship #Spacecraft #SuperHeavyBooster #SuperHeavyRocket #ReusableRockets #SpaceTechnology #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #StarbaseTexas #StarFactory #ElonMusk #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Planet Mars Images: May 29-31, 2025 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers

Planet Mars Images: May 29-31, 2025 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers

Mars 2020 - Sol 1519—See the Martian dust devil in the distance . . .

MSL - Sol 4550

MSL - Sol 4554

Mars 2020 - Sol 1519

MSL - Sol 4554

Support FriendsofNASA.org

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: May 29-31, 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

Fireball over Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona

Fireball over Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona

A fireball streaks across the morning sky above NSF Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO), a National Science Foundation-funded Program of NOIRLab. The sky is filled with blue-green airglow while the Sun starts to brighten the night from the east. At the bottom center of this photo the constellation Orion rises above the KPNO 2.1-meter Telescope, one of the earliest telescopes on the KPNO site.

Fireballs are exceptionally bright meteors that, like all meteors, heat up when they enter Earth's atmosphere at high velocities and leave a trail of glowing material in the sky. Meteors are classified as fireballs when they shine brighter than the planets, which is an apparent magnitude of –4 or brighter. Located west of Tucson, Arizona in the Sonoran Desert, Kitt Peak benefits from exceptionally dark skies, allowing celestial phenomena like fireballs to stand out more vividly. Its high elevation minimizes atmospheric interference, while its remote distance from city lights ensures dark skies, making it a premier location for astronomical research.

Airglow occurs when atoms and molecules in the Earth's upper atmosphere, excited by sunlight, emit light to shed their excess energy. Or, it can happen when atoms and molecules that have been ionized by sunlight collide with and capture a free electron. In both cases, they eject a particle of light—called a photon—in order to relax again. The phenomenon is similar to auroras, but where auroras are driven by high-energy particles originating from the solar wind, airglow is energized by ordinary, day-to-day solar radiation.

Unlike episodic and fleeting auroras, airglow shines constantly throughout Earth’s atmosphere, and the result is a tenuous bubble of light that closely encases our entire planet. (Auroras, on the other hand, are usually constrained to Earth’s poles.) Just a tenth as bright as all the stars in the night sky, airglow is far more subdued than auroras, too dim to observe easily except in orbit or on the ground with clear, dark skies and a sensitive camera.

Learn more about airglow:
https://www.nasa.gov/solar-system/why-nasa-watches-airglow-the-colors-of-the-upper-atmospheric-wind/

Credit: KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. Dai
Release Date: May 28, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #SolarSystem #Asteroids #Meteors #MeteorShower #Airglow #Universe #MPST #SolarTelescope #KPNO #KittPeak #Tucson #Arizona #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #UnitedStates #Astrophotography #STEM #Education

Saturday, May 31, 2025

Blue Origin New Shepard Mission NS-32: Apogee

Blue Origin New Shepard Mission NS-32: Apogee

On May 31, 2025, Blue Origin successfully completed its 12th human spaceflight and the 32nd flight for the New Shepard program. The astronaut crew included: Aymette Medina Jorge, Dr. Gretchen Green, Jaime Alemán, Jesse Williams, Mark Rocket, and Paul Jeris. Including today’s crew, New Shepard has now flown 64 people into space.

Named after astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American in space, New Shepard is Blue Origin’s fully reusable, autonomous suborbital rocket system built to fly humans and scientific payloads to space. The rocket is powered by one BE-3PM engine. It is fueled by a highly efficient and clean combination of liquid hydrogen and oxygen. During flight, the only byproduct of New Shepard’s engine combustion is water vapor, with no carbon emissions.

Apogee: This is the most distant point (ap-) on an elliptical orbit around Earth (-gee). The word is derived from the Greek "apogaion" meaning "away from the Earth". Earth in Greek is "gaia/ge".

Learn more about the NS-32 Mission:
https://www.blueorigin.com/news/new-shepard-ns-32-mission

Fly to space: https://www.blueorigin.com/new-shepard/fly

Video Credit: Blue Origin
Duration: 48 seconds
Release Date: May 31, 2025

#NASA #Space #BlueOrigin #NewShepard #NewShepardRocket #NewShepardCrewCapsule #NS32Mission #NS32Crew #AymetteMedinaJorge #GretchenGreen #JaimeAlemán #JesseWilliams #MarkRocket #PaulJeris #CommercialAstronauts #CommercialSpace #LaunchSiteOne #Texas #UnitedStates #FortheBenefitofEarth #JeffBezos #STEM #Education #HD #Video

China's Asteroid Sample-Return Mission to Advance Humanity’s Understanding

China's Asteroid Sample-Return Mission to Advance Humanity’s Understanding

China's successful launch of its first-ever asteroid probe and sample-return mission, Tianwen-2, is a new landmark endeavor to further humanity's understanding of the cosmos, including how asteroids and the Earth formed and evolved, according to two Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) engineers at a press briefing on Thursday.

Tianwen-2 will collect pristine samples from a near-Earth asteroid, 2016HO3, return them to Earth, and explore the main-belt comet 311P, which is more distant than Mars.

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

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 cosmic achievements in recent years, which include returning samples from both the near and far sides of the Moon, launching a successful mission to probe Mars, running its own national space station in orbit, and moving ahead in its plan to send humans to the lunar surface by 2030.

Liu Jianjun, a researcher at the CAS's National Astronomical Observatories and deputy chief engineer of the Tianwen-2 mission, said at the press briefing that studying asteroids, known as "cosmic fossils," can provide important clues about the solar system's infancy and the Earth's evolution.

"Asteroids are a very special celestial body in our solar system. They maintain a relatively primitive state seen in the early stage of our solar system's formation, so studying them can greatly help us understand the infancy of the solar system. More importantly, studying asteroids provides very important clues for us to understand the Earth and its evolution," said Liu.

Significantly, depending on the 2016HO3's surface conditions, Tianwen-2 will employ three approaches for sample collection -- hover sampling, touch-and-go, and attachment sampling, which makes China the first country in the world to design multiple asteroid sampling techniques.

Su Yan, another researcher of the CAS's National Astronomical Observatories and chief engineer of the Tianwen-2 mission's ground application system, added that China's foray into asteroid sample return demonstrates the significant advancement in its deep space exploration technologies.

"Based on the unknown features of asteroids, the probe has been specially designed with three sampling methods. It is also the first time in the world that so many sampling techniques have been designed by a country. Since we have, until now, just started to conduct exploration on this type of targets, it marks a significant improvement in our country's deep space exploration technologies," Su said.

Video Credit: CCTV
Duration: 1 minute, 21 seconds
Release Date: May 30, 2025

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

SpaceX Starship's Super Heavy Booster: "Rapidly Reusable" | Starbase Texas

SpaceX Starship's Super Heavy Booster: "Rapidly Reusable" | Starbase Texas

Key Starship Parameters:

Height: 123m/403ft
Diameter: 9m/29.5ft
Payload to LEO: 100–150t (fully reusable)

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)

Duration: 2 minutes

Release Date: May 27, 2025

Cloud Streets on Earth | International Space Station

Cloud Streets on Earth | International Space Station

Expedition 73 Commander and flight engineer Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA): "If I had woken up at 5:20 this morning, the orbit would have passed beautifully over Japan, but when I woke up it was already 8 o'clock."

"I gave up on the photo of Japan and took a different one."

"Cloud swarm ☁️"

"It's hard to get a sense of the height, but I think they might be cumulonimbus clouds."

Cloud streets are parallel bands of cumulus clouds that form when frigid air near the surface blows over warmer waters, while a warmer air layer (a temperature inversion) rests over the top of both. The comparatively warm water gives up heat and moisture to the cold air, leading columns of heated air (thermals) to rise through the atmosphere.

The warm air in the temperature inversion acts like a lid such that the moist, rising thermals hit the air mass above and roll over on themselves. This creates parallel horizontal cylinders of rotating air. On the upward side of the cylinders (rising air), the moisture cools and condenses into flat-bottomed, fluffy-topped cumulus clouds that line up parallel to the direction of the wind. Along the downward side (descending air), skies remain clear to make a cloudy-clear-cloudy striping pattern.

Follow Expedition 73:

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

Expedition 73 Crew

Station Commander: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Flight Engineer Takuya Onishi
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Kirill Peskov, Sergey Ryzhikov, Alexey Zubritskiy

NASA Flight Engineers: Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, 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.

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
Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM)

Image Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center/JAXA/T. Onishi

Release Date: May 24, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Planet #Earth #Atmosphere #Meteorology #Weather #CloudStreets #Astronauts #TakuyaOnishi #AstronautPhotography #Japan #日本 #JAXA #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #JSC #Expedition73 #STEM #Education

Shenzhou-20 Crew Celebrate Dragon Boat Festival | China Space Station

Shenzhou-20 Crew Celebrate Dragon Boat Festival | China Space Station

The three Chinese astronauts aboard the Tiangong Space Station have celebrated in space their first traditional holiday—the Dragon Boat Festival—on Saturday, May 31, 2025.

The crew, made up of Chinese astronauts Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui, and Wang Jie, sent heartwarming wishes sent Chinese on the Dragon Boat Festival. It is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month on the Chinese lunar calender.

"Dear fellow countrymen, from the Chinese space station we send our distant blessings. On this Dragon Boat Festival, may the fragrance of Zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) fill the air over the land of our country. May our great motherland continue to thrive, and may all our fellow countrymen live in happiness and peace. Wish everyone good health during the festival," said the Shenzhou-20 crew in a collective message.

Over the past month, the three astronauts have worked hand in hand, successfully completing their first spacewalk with close coordination of the ground-based staff. A variety of scientific experiments and technological tests are steadily progressing on schedule.

According to the mission plan, the Shenzhou-20 crew will continue to carry out in-orbit research, operate equipment for scientific and technical experiments, and conduct further extravehicular activities and cargo transfer tasks, maximizing the utility of the space station platform.

"As the commander of the Shenzhou-20 crew, I'm pleased to share updates on our mission progress. So far, all activities are proceeding in an orderly manner. We completed the crew handover with the Shenzhou-19 mission, performed our first spacewalk, and have been conducting various experiments in biotechnology and life sciences," said Chen Dong.

"It has been over a month since we arrived at the space station. At first, the floating sensation brought on by the weightless environment was both exciting and a bit disorienting. But over time, I've learned how to move effectively in microgravity. The experience is incredible and watching the Earth from the vastness of space truly deepens my appreciation for the significance of human space exploration," said Chen Zhongrui.

"How time flies! It's already more than a month since we arrived at the space station. Everything here is filled with mystery and challenge. Applying the skills we trained so hard for on the Earth, and seeing them come to life in space give me a profound sense of accomplishment. The completion of every task feels like a personal breakthrough," said Wang Jie.

The Shenzhou-20 manned spacecraft was successfully launched into orbit on April 24, 2025.

Shenzhou-20 Crew
Chen Dong (陈冬) - Commander - Third spaceflight
Chen Zhong Rui (陈中瑞) - Operator - First spaceflight
Wang Jie (王杰) - Flight Engineer - First spaceflight

Video Credit: CCTV
Duration: 1 minute, 41 seconds
Release Date: May 31, 2025

#NASA #Space #Science #China #中国 #DragonBoatFestival #端午节 #Shenzhou20Mission #神舟二十号 #Shenzhou20Crew #Taikonauts #ChenDong #ChenZhongrui #WangJie #Astronauts #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #CMSA #中国载人航天工程办公室 #LongDurationMissions #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Friday, May 30, 2025

NASA's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request Documents Available for Download

NASA's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request Documents Available for Download

These images show highlights from NASA's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request Summary, focusing on NASA's science budget priorities with a heliophysics (studies of the Sun) text summary below. It is important to know that NASA's total Science budget has been reduced by nearly 50%. Moreover, NASA's Office of STEM Engagement is being shut down in this budget request to "save" $143 million dollars. This will affect NASA's work in public education.

Review NASA's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request (PDF) Documents:

Download documents for free here:
https://www.nasa.gov/fy-2026-budget-request/

Document List (6 total) as of May 30, 2025:

Fiscal Year 2026 Discretionary Budget Request

Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request Summary (28 pages) [Recommended reading: Source of these images]

Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Technical Supplement

Fiscal Year 2026 Agency Fact Sheet

Fiscal Year 2026 Mission Fact Sheets

NASA Heliophysics Budget Request Summary:

•$60M for Heliophysics research and analysis, to investigate the Sun and its influence on the entire solar system, studying solar processes, solar wind, magnetic fields, and interactions with Earth and other planets to understand how the Sun varies, how planetary environments respond, and how these processes affect human activities and technologies.

•$125M for the Heliophysics Explorer Program, including development of the MUSE mission, enabling competitive small and medium-class missions that complement strategic research with responsive, focused investigations.

•$55M, the highest amount ever proposed, for the Space Weather Program which plays a vital role in the national space weather enterprise by supporting space weather applied research and applications, enhancing understanding of orbital debris, advancing modeling capability to enable successful forecasting, and providing unique and useful observations to protect life on Earth and astronauts in space.

•$68M supports the Living With a Star program, including the Parker Solar Probe mission which has revolutionized our understanding of the corona and our knowledge of the origin and evolution of the solar wind; and Solar Dynamics Observatory, which gathers data to help explain the creation of solar activity, which drives space weather.

•$42M to support the IMAP and Carruthers missions, launching in FY 2026; IMAP will help researchers better understand the boundary of the heliosphere and Carruthers will study variability in Earth’s exosphere.

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Release Date: May 30, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #NASABudgetFY2026 #NASABudget #SMD #Sun #Heliophysics #SolarSystem #Planets #Earth #Moon #ArtemisProgram #Mars #Jupiter #Europa #EuropaClipperMission #Astrobiology #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #RomanTelescope #WebbTelescope #JWST #STScI #Universe #UnitedStates #Infographics #STEM #Education

Japan's ispace Resilience Moon Mission: One Week to Landing

Japan's ispace Resilience Moon Mission: One Week to Landing

1 week to go!🌙 One week from now, Resilience will begin its descent to the lunar surface—marking the next major milestone in commercial lunar exploration. A landing date and time for the SMBC x HAKUTO-R Venture Moon Mission 2 Resilience lunar lander has been set for on June 6, 2025 (JST) (June 5, 2025, depending on location). Three landing sites are being considered. A decision about landing will be made in advance.

Watch livestreams:

English: www.ispace-inc.com/landing

Japanese: https://ispace-inc.com/chakuriku

📡 Live stream begins on X (tent.): June 6, 03:10 JST | June 5, 18:10 UTC | June 5, 14:10 EDT

🕖 Landing: June 6, 04:24 JST | June 5, 19:24 UTC | June 5, 15:24 EDT

The Moon is within reach.

Based on experience gained during Mission 1, ispace engineers and operators in mission control have worked to significantly improve the accuracy and precision of maneuvers during Mission 2 and have confirmed that all seven subsystems of the Resilience lander are nominal.

Learn more here: https://ispace-inc.com/m2

Video Credit: ispace

Duration: 14 seconds
Release Date: May 30, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #Moon #ispace #Japan #日本 #ResilienceMission #Mission2 #HAKUTO_R #RoboticSpacecraft #ResilienceLunarLander #MoonLanding #VentureMoon #SpaceExploration #SolarSystem #CommercialSpace #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Lightning Storms Close-up: Earth Orbital Views | International Space Station

Lightning Storms Close-up: Earth Orbital Views | International Space Station

Expedition 73 flight engineer and NASA astronaut Anne McClain: "Looking at close-ups of lightning is like peering into a different world. These flashes of light are captured in a single frame at 1/120th of a second—a transient piece of artwork which only technology allows us to capture and savor. The depth, the colors, the shapes . . . I am in awe."

Follow Expedition 73:

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

Expedition 73 Crew

Station Commander: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Flight Engineer Takuya Onishi
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Kirill Peskov, Sergey Ryzhikov, Alexey Zubritskiy

NASA Flight Engineers: Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, Jonny Kim

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
Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM)

Image Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center/A. McClain

Release Date: May 29, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Planet #Earth #Atmosphere #Weather #LightningStorms #Astronauts #AnneMcClain #AstronautPhotography #UnitedStates #Japan #日本 #JAXA #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #JSC #Expedition73 #STEM #Education

China's Tianwen-2 Mission Seeks Answers from Mysterious "Quasi-Moon" Asteroid

China's Tianwen-2 Mission Seeks Answers from Mysterious "Quasi-Moon" Asteroid

China's Tianwen-2 spacecraft, launched Thursday, May 29, 2025, on a decade-long deep space mission, will first investigate asteroid 2016 HO3, an enigmatic celestial body that has long been Earth's constant cosmic companion, preserving secrets about the solar system's origins.

Known as a quasi-satellite of Earth, asteroid 2016 HO3 orbits the Sun and appears to circle around Earth as well. Its traces were first captured by the Pan-STARRS survey telescope in Hawaii, the United States in 2016.

A Long March-3B rocket, carrying spacecraft Tianwen-2 ("Questions to Heaven" in Chinese), lifted off at 01:31 Beijing Time Thursday from southwest China's Xichang Satellite Launch Center.

Tianwen-2 will collect pristine samples from a near-Earth asteroid, 2016HO3, return them to Earth, and explore the main-belt comet 311P, more distant than Mars.

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

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

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

Significantly, depending on the 2016HO3's surface conditions, Tianwen-2 will employ three approaches for sample collection—hover sampling, touch-and-go, and attachment sampling. This makes China the first country in the world to design multiple asteroid sampling techniques.

Video Credit: CCTV
Duration: 1 minute, 20 seconds
Release Date: May 30, 2025

The Milky Way Galaxy: Earth Orbital View | International Space Station

The Milky Way Galaxy: Earth Orbital View | International Space Station

Veteran NASA astronaut and former Expedition#72 flight engineer, Don Pettit: "The Milky Way from the vantage of the ISS, with stars as points, rising sun, and cities as yellow streaks below."

Image details: Taken with Nikon Z9, Sigma 14mm f1.4 lens, 15 seconds, f1.4, ISO 6400, with homemade orbital sidereal drive to compensate for orbital pitch rate (4 degrees/min)

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 73:

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

Expedition 73 Crew

Station Commander: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Flight Engineer Takuya Onishi
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Kirill Peskov, Sergey Ryzhikov, Alexey Zubritskiy

NASA Flight Engineers: Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, Jonny Kim

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
Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM)

Image Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center/D. Pettit
Release Date: May 25, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #MilkyWayGalaxy #Stars #Earth #Astronauts #DonPettit #AstronautPhotography #UnitedStates #Japan #日本 #JAXA #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition72 #Expedition73 #STEM #Education

China Tianwen-2 Launch: Asteroid Sample-Return & Comet Flyby Mission

China Tianwen-2 Launch: Asteroid Sample-Return & Comet Flyby Mission

Tianwen-2 Asteroid Sample-Return & Comet Flyby Mission Patch

China's Tianwen-2, the nation's first spacecraft commissioned to retrieve samples from an asteroid, launched in the early hours of Thursday, May 29, 2025, aiming to shed light on the formation and evolution of asteroids and the early solar system.

The Tianwen-2 Mission aims to achieve multiple goals over a decade-long expedition: collecting samples from the near-Earth asteroid 2016HO3 and exploring the main-belt comet 311P that is more distant than Mars.

A Long March-3B carrier rocket blasted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province at 01:31 (Beijing Time). And about 18 minutes later, the Tianwen-2 probe was sent into a transfer orbit from Earth to the asteroid 2016HO3, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

The spacecraft unfolded its solar panels smoothly, and the CNSA declared the launch a success.

Shan Zhongde, head of the CNSA, said that the Tianwen-2 mission represents a significant step in China's new journey of interplanetary exploration.

Despite the mission's long duration and significant risks, he said he hoped it would make groundbreaking discoveries and expand humanity's knowledge of the cosmos.

Known as a quasi-satellite of Earth, asteroid 2016HO3 orbits the Sun and appears to circle around Earth as well, remaining a constant companion to our planet.

Dubbed as "cosmic fossils," asteroids preserve critical information about the solar system's infancy, scientists say.

The second target, 311P, a celestial anomaly discovered in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, occasionally spews out materials and resembles a comet with tails. Its discovery challenges astronomers' conventional understanding about comets, as the region is too close to the Sun for a comet to retain volatile materials like water ice.

The Tianwen-2 mission is expected to advance understanding of the origins, evolution and characteristics of these two types of small celestial bodies, said Han Siyuan, deputy director of the CNSA's Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center and spokesperson for the Tianwen-2 mission.

The mission will focus on measuring the physical parameters of the two celestial targets, including their orbital dynamics, rotation, size, shape and thermal properties.

The mission will also investigate the topography, composition and internal structure of the two celestial bodies, and possibly study the materials ejected by the main belt comet, Han said.

After the samples are brought back to Earth, they will be analyzed to determine their physical properties, chemical and mineral composition and structural characteristics, he added.

The mission is a complex one, with the spacecraft journeying for about a year to reach its first target, during which it will perform deep-space maneuvers and mid-course corrections until it is about 30,000 km away from 2016HO3.

The probe will gradually approach the target, carrying out closer exploration by circling and hovering over the asteroid to determine the sampling area, with a strategy of flying and probing simultaneously.

After completing the sampling, the spacecraft will fly back towards Earth when a return capsule is expected to separate from the main probe and deliver the samples back to Earth by the end of 2027.

The main probe will then continue its voyage to rendezvous with the more distant target, the main-belt comet 311P, to carry out further exploration.

The probe is equipped with an array of scientific instruments, including cameras, a visible and infrared imaging spectrometer, a thermal emission spectrometer, radar, a magnetometer, and analyzers for charged and neutral particles, as well as for ejected materials, according to the CNSA.

The mission aims to overcome key technological challenges, including sampling on a low-gravity celestial surface, high-precision autonomous navigation and control, as well as trajectory design, according to the CNSA.

Image Credit: CNSA
Capture Date: May 28, 2025

NASA's Space to Ground: A Mission to Inspire | Week of May 30, 2025

NASA's Space to Ground: A Mission to Inspire | Week of May 30, 2025

NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station.

Learn more about in-flight downlinks and amateur radio events:
https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/in-flight-stem-downlinks/
https://issnationallab.org/stem/lesson-plans/ariss-talk-with-astronauts/

Follow Expedition 73:
https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 73 Crew

Station Commander: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Flight Engineer Takuya Onishi
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Kirill Peskov, Sergey Ryzhikov, Alexey Zubritskiy

NASA Flight Engineers: Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, Jonny Kim

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
Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM)

Video Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center
Duration: 3 minutes
Release Date: May 30, 2025

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