Wednesday, June 11, 2025

Why Europe's Solar Orbiter is Angling towards The Sun's Poles | ESA

Why Europe's Solar Orbiter is Angling towards The Sun's Poles | ESA

This infographic by the European Space Agency, titled "Why Solar Orbiter is Angling Towards the Sun's Poles", illustrates the mission’s unique trajectory and scientific goals. At the center of the image, the Sun is shown with dynamic magnetic field lines, emphasizing polar activity. To the left, the Solar Orbiter spacecraft is depicted with its orbital path marked for 2025 and 2028, showing how it gradually tilts to observe the Sun’s poles. The top right explains the solar dynamo mechanism, while the bottom right highlights the role of polar observations in understanding space weather and the Sun’s global magnetic field.
This image shows Solar Orbiter's view of the Sun's south pole on March 23, 2025. It was taken by the spacecraft's Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) instrument, which captures the ultraviolet light sent out by the million-degree gas in the Sun's outer atmosphere (the corona).
The image shows an intensity map, revealing the locations of clumps of carbon ions. The data shown here were recorded on March 22–23, 2025, when Solar Orbiter was facing the Sun from an angle of 17° below the solar equator. The images are each composed of three observations that were subsequently stitched together.
This image is a velocity map of the Sun’s south pole, captured by Solar Orbiter’s SPICE instrument. The map is filled with red and blue colors, which represent motion. Red areas show material moving away from the observer, while blue areas show material moving toward the observer. The background is black, making the colored regions stand out clearly. Curved lines and a faint grid overlay the image, indicating lines of solar latitude and longitude. A label in the bottom right corner notes that the data was taken in ultraviolet light at a temperature of 32,000 °C.

All images you have ever seen of the Sun were taken from near the Sun's equator, from within the ecliptic plane where all planets and nearly all spacecraft orbit the Sun. In February 2025, Solar Orbiter became the first Sun-watching spacecraft ever to tilt its orbit out of the ecliptic plane.

In June 2025, the European Space Agency-led mission to provided humanity with the first-ever clear views of the Sun's south pole. All ten of Solar Orbiter’s scientific instruments will collect unprecedented data in the years to come.

As we have never clearly seen the poles before, Solar Orbiter may uncover unexpected structures or movements, including polar vortices (swirling gas) similar to those seen around the poles of Venus and Saturn. Additionally, more of the Sun's magnetic field at the poles opens up to space, and Solar Orbiter will be able to see how this changes throughout the solar cycle.

Solar Orbiter’s groundbreaking high-latitude observations are key to understanding the Sun’s magnetic field and why it flips roughly every 11 years, coinciding with a peak in solar activity. Current models and predictions of the 11-year solar cycle fall short of being able to predict exactly when and how powerfully the Sun will reach its most active state.

Additionally, particle and magnetic field detectors on the spacecraft will be the first to track the movement of solar material—including solar wind, bursts of charged particles called coronal mass ejections, and particles moving close to the speed of light—away from the Sun’s equator. This can inform and improve space weather forecasts, important for reducing its impact on Earth.

Finally, measurements of the Sun’s magnetic field at higher latitudes allow Solar Orbiter to map more of the Sun’s global magnetic field as it changes throughout the solar cycle. While the Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager (PHI) instrument can measure local magnetic fields at the Sun’s surface, Solar Orbiter’s magnetometer (MAG) instrument measures the magnetic field near the spacecraft. The latter can reveal the large-scale structure of the Sun’s magnetic field.

Solar Orbiter is a space mission of international collaboration between ESA and NASA. Solar Orbiter's Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager (PHI) instrument is led by the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS), Germany.


Credits: ESA & NASA/Solar Orbiter; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
Acknowledgements: ATG Europe; Sun images based on data from ESA & NASA/Solar Orbiter/EUI and SPICE Teams.
Release Date: June 11, 2025


#NASA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Sun #Star #SouthPole #Heliophysics #Astrophysics #SolarSystem #SolarWind #Planets #Earth #SpaceWeather #SolarOrbiter #Europe #GSFC #UnitedStates #Infographic #STEM #Education

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Europe's Solar Orbiter: Humanity's First Close-up Views of Sun’s South Pole | ESA

Europe's Solar Orbiter: Humanity's First Close-up Views of Sun’s South Pole | ESA

What if we could look at the Sun from an entirely new angle, one we have never seen before? 

From Earth, we always look towards the Sun's equator. This year, the European Space Agency-led Solar Orbiter mission broke free of this ‘standard’ viewpoint by tilting its orbit to 17°—out of the ecliptic plane where the planets and all other Sun-watching spacecraft reside. Now for the first time, we can clearly see the Sun’s unexplored poles. The Solar Orbiter mission is an international partnership between ESA and NASA.

Using its instruments, Solar Orbiter can see what happens throughout the Sun's outer layers. The material in these layers never remains still, being pushed outward and (usually) falling back to the Sun.  

Interestingly, it saw that the Sun's magnetic field has its north and south all tangled up with patches of magnetic polarities present right up to the Sun's south pole. This only happens once every 11 years at the point in the solar cycle when the Sun's magnetic field flips.  

Solar Orbiter will keep a close eye on the Sun—including its poles—for years to come. Its unique viewing angle will change our understanding of the Sun’s magnetic field, the solar cycle and the workings of space weather.


Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/License: ESA Standard Licence 
Duration: 2 minutes
Release Date: June 11, 2025

#NASA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Sun #Star #SouthPole #Heliophysics #Astrophysics #SolarSystem #SolarWind #Planets #Earth #SpaceWeather #SolarOrbiter #Europe #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video
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Orbital Sunrise Collection | International Space Station

Orbital Sunrise Collection | International Space Station





Expedition 73 flight engineer and NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers: "I love sunrises in space just as much as I do on Earth. Just look at the cloud heights and depth out on the Earth’s limb."


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/N. Ayers
Release Date: June 10, 2025


#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Sun #Planet #Earth #Atmosphere #Sunrise #Astronauts #NicholeAyers #UnitedStates #Japan #JAXA #Cosmonauts #Russia #Roscosmos #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #JSC #Expedition73 #STEM #Education

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Tuesday, June 10, 2025

Ax-4 Mission: Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland | European Space Agency

Ax-4 Mission: Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland | European Space Agency

European Space Agency (ESA) project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski is heading to the International Space Station on his first mission as part of Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4). He is the second ESA project astronaut from a new generation of Europeans to fly on a commercial human spaceflight mission with Axiom Space.

Sponsored by the Polish government and supported by ESA, the Polish Ministry of Economic Development and Technology (MRiT), and the Polish Space Agency (POLSA), the mission—called Ignis—features an ambitious technological and scientific program. It includes several experiments proposed by the Polish space industry and developed in cooperation with ESA, along with additional ESA-led experiments.

The Axiom Space Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew will travel to the International Space Station on a new SpaceX Dragon spacecraft after launching on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket at 8 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. 

Veteran astronaut Peggy Whitson is commanding Ax-4 and will be flying on her fifth mission to the orbiting lab. She is leading first time space flyers Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla from India and Mission Specialists Sławosz Uzanański-Wiśniewksi from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary. The four private astronauts are preparing for a two-week stay on the orbital laboratory to conduct a wide array of space research supporting human health, space commercialization, and more.

The Ax-4 crew includes Commander Peggy Whitson of the United States, Mission Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of India, Mission Specialist Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of the European Space Agency (ESA)/Poland, and Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu of Hungary. 

Once docked, the Ax-4 astronauts plan to spend up to 14 days onboard implementing a full mission comprised of microgravity research, technology demonstrations, educational outreach, and media events.

The Ax-4 Mission will “realize the return” to human spaceflight for India, Poland, and Hungary, with each nation’s first government-sponsored flight in more than 40 years. While Ax-4 marks these countries' second human spaceflight mission in history, it will be the first time all three nations will execute a mission on board the International Space Station.

The Ax-4 research complement includes around 60 scientific studies and activities representing 31 countries, including the U.S., India, Poland, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Nigeria, UAE, and nations across Europe. This will be the most research and science-related activities conducted on an Axiom Space mission aboard the International Space Station to date.

Ax-4 Crew


Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski (Poland)
https://www.axiomspace.com/astronaut/slawosz-uznanski



Video Credit: Axiom Space
Duration: 2 minutes
Release Date: June 9, 2025

#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #AxiomSpace #Ax4Mission #Ax4 #SpaceX #CrewDragonSpacecraft #Astronauts #Europe #SławoszUznańskiWiśniewski #IgnisMission #ESA #MRiT #POLSA #Poland #Polska #CommercialSpace #KSC #Florida #STEM #Education #HD #Video

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Pockets of Light Amongst Dark Clouds of Chamaeleon I | Víctor Blanco Telescope

Pockets of Light Amongst Dark Clouds of Chamaeleon I | Víctor Blanco Telescope

The ominous Chamaeleon I dark cloud, the nearest star-forming region to Earth, is captured in this image taken with the 570-megapixel Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera mounted on the U.S. National Science Foundation Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, a Program of the National Science Foundation NOIRLab. Chamaeleon I is one portion of the larger Chamaeleon Complex and is home to three reflection nebulae that are brightly illuminated by nearby newly formed stars. The stellar population is between 200–300 and the average star age is around 2 million years. Chamaeleon I is located about 520 light years from Earth.

Learn about the Víctor M. Blanco Telescope:
https://noirlab.edu/science/programs/ctio/telescopes/victor-blanco-4m-telescope


Credit: CTIO/NOIRLab/DOE/NSF/AURA
Image Processing: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF NOIRLab), M. Zamani & D. de Martin (NSF NOIRLab)
Duration: 1 minute
Release Date: June 10, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula # #StellarNursery #ChamaeleonI #Chamaeleon #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #VictorBlancoTelescope #CTIO #CerroTololo #Chile #NOIRLab #NSF #DECam #DOE #AURA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video
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Journey to The Chamaeleon I Dark Cloud | Víctor Blanco Telescope

Journey to The Chamaeleon I Dark Cloud | Víctor Blanco Telescope

The ominous Chamaeleon I dark cloud, the nearest star-forming region to Earth, is captured in this image taken with the 570-megapixel Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera mounted on the U.S. National Science Foundation Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, a Program of the National Science Foundation NOIRLab. Chamaeleon I is one portion of the larger Chamaeleon Complex and is home to three reflection nebulae that are brightly illuminated by nearby newly formed stars. The stellar population is between 200–300 and the average star age is around 2 million years. Chamaeleon I is located about 520 light years from Earth.

Learn about the Víctor M. Blanco Telescope:
https://noirlab.edu/science/programs/ctio/telescopes/victor-blanco-4m-telescope


Credit: CTIO/NOIRLab/DOE/NSF/AURA
Image Processing: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF NOIRLab), M. Zamani & D. de Martin (NSF NOIRLab)
Duration: 1 minute
Release Date: June 10, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula # #StellarNursery #ChamaeleonI #Chamaeleon #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #VictorBlancoTelescope #CTIO #CerroTololo #Chile #NOIRLab #NSF #DECam #DOE #AURA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video
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Close-up: Chamaeleon I Dark Cloud | Víctor Blanco Telescope

Close-up: Chamaeleon I Dark Cloud | Víctor Blanco Telescope

The ominous Chamaeleon I dark cloud, the nearest star-forming region to Earth, is captured in this image taken with the 570-megapixel Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera mounted on the U.S. National Science Foundation Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, a Program of the National Science Foundation NOIRLab. Chamaeleon I is one portion of the larger Chamaeleon Complex and is home to three reflection nebulae that are brightly illuminated by nearby newly formed stars. The stellar population is between 200–300 and the average star age is around 2 million years. Chamaeleon I is located about 520 light years from Earth.

Learn about the Víctor M. Blanco Telescope:
https://noirlab.edu/science/programs/ctio/telescopes/victor-blanco-4m-telescope


Credit: CTIO/NOIRLab/DOE/NSF/AURA
Image Processing: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF NOIRLab), M. Zamani & D. de Martin (NSF NOIRLab)
Duration: 30 seconds
Release Date: June 10, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula # #StellarNursery #ChamaeleonI #Chamaeleon #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #VictorBlancoTelescope #CTIO #CerroTololo #Chile #NOIRLab #NSF #DECam #DOE #AURA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video
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Chamaeleon I Dark Cloud: Closest Star-forming Region | Víctor Blanco Telescope

Chamaeleon I Dark Cloud: Closest Star-forming Region | Víctor Blanco Telescope

The ominous Chamaeleon I dark cloud, the nearest star-forming region to Earth, is captured in this image taken with the 570-megapixel Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera mounted on the U.S. National Science Foundation Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, a Program of the National Science Foundation NOIRLab. Chamaeleon I is one portion of the larger Chamaeleon Complex and is home to three reflection nebulae that are brightly illuminated by nearby newly formed stars. The stellar population is between 200–300 and the average star age is around 2 million years. Chamaeleon I is located about 520 light years from Earth.

Learn about the Víctor M. Blanco Telescope:
https://noirlab.edu/science/programs/ctio/telescopes/victor-blanco-4m-telescope


Credit: CTIO/NOIRLab/DOE/NSF/AURA
Image Processing: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF NOIRLab), M. Zamani & D. de Martin (NSF NOIRLab)
Release Date: June 10, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula # #StellarNursery #ChamaeleonI #Chamaeleon #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #VictorBlancoTelescope #CTIO #CerroTololo #Chile #NOIRLab #NSF #DECam #DOE #AURA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education
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A Planet in Focus—USGS Landsat 7 Earth Satellite's Legacy | NASA Goddard

A Planet in Focus—USGS Landsat 7 Earth Satellite's Legacy | NASA Goddard

Launched in 1999, Landsat 7 carried forward NASA and United States Geological Survey’s mission to continuously monitor Earth’s surface, capturing stunning, high-resolution imagery every 16 days for over two decades. This video pays tribute to the satellite’s remarkable 25-year journey—from its first light over South Dakota to its final pass over Las Vegas in 2024.

Equipped with the powerful Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+), Landsat 7 transformed how we study agriculture, urban growth, wildfires, coral reefs, and even Antarctica. Despite a scan line corrector malfunction in 2003, scientists developed innovative methods to keep the data flowing—ultimately enabling over 3 million images, thousands of scientific publications, and billions in economic benefits.

Let's take a look back at how this mission reshaped our understanding of a changing planet—and laid the foundation for the future of Earth observation.


Video Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)/United States Geological Survey (USGS)
Duration: 5 minutes, 26 seconds
Release Date: June 10, 2025

#NASA #Space #Satellites #Science #Planet #Earth #Rivers #Ecosystems #LandsatProgram #Landsat7 #USGS #Weather #Meteorology #ClimateChange #GlobalHeating #Climate #Environment #GreenhouseGases #EarthObservation #RemoteSensing #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #Visualization #HD #Video

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Ax-4 Mission: Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland | International Space Station

Ax-4 Mission: Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland | International Space Station

Meet Ax-4 Mission Specialist Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, representing Poland and the European Space Agency (ESA). The Axiom Space Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew will travel to the International Space Station on a new SpaceX Dragon spacecraft after launching on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket at 8 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. 

Veteran astronaut Peggy Whitson is commanding Ax-4 and will be flying on her fifth mission to the orbiting lab. She is leading first time space flyers Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla from India and Mission Specialists Sławosz Uzanański-Wiśniewksi from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary. The four private astronauts are preparing for a two-week stay on the orbital laboratory to conduct a wide array of space research supporting human health, space commercialization, and more.

The Ax-4 crew includes Commander Peggy Whitson of the United States, Mission Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of India, Mission Specialist Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of the European Space Agency (ESA)/Poland, and Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu of Hungary. 

Once docked, the Ax-4 astronauts plan to spend up to 14 days onboard implementing a full mission comprised of microgravity research, technology demonstrations, educational outreach, and media events.

The Ax-4 Mission will “realize the return” to human spaceflight for India, Poland, and Hungary, with each nation’s first government-sponsored flight in more than 40 years. While Ax-4 marks these countries' second human spaceflight mission in history, it will be the first time all three nations will execute a mission on board the International Space Station.

The Ax-4 research complement includes around 60 scientific studies and activities representing 31 countries, including the U.S., India, Poland, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Nigeria, UAE, and nations across Europe. This will be the most research and science-related activities conducted on an Axiom Space mission aboard the International Space Station to date, underscoring the mission's global significance and collaborative nature to advance microgravity research in low-Earth orbit (LEO).

Ax-4 Crew


Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski (Poland)
https://www.axiomspace.com/astronaut/slawosz-uznanski



Video Credit: Axiom Space
Duration: 3 minutes
Release Date: June 8, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #AxiomSpace #Ax4Mission #Ax4 #SpaceX #CrewDragonSpacecraft #PeggyWhitson #UnitedStates #ShubhanshuShukla #India #BhāratGaṇarājya #SławoszUznańskiWiśniewski #ESA #Poland #Polska #TiborKapu #Hungary #Magyarország #CommercialSpace #Astronauts #Europe #KSC #Florida #STEM #Education #HD #Video

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Ax-4 Mission Specialist: Tibor Kapu of Hungary | International Space Station

Ax-4 Mission Specialist: Tibor Kapu of Hungary | International Space Station

Meet Ax-4 Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu, representing Hungary. The Axiom Space Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew will travel to the International Space Station on a new SpaceX Dragon spacecraft after launching on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket at 8 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. 

Veteran astronaut Peggy Whitson is commanding Ax-4 and will be flying on her fifth mission to the orbiting lab. She is leading first time space flyers Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla from India and Mission Specialists Sławosz Uzanański-Wiśniewksi from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary. The four private astronauts are preparing for a two-week stay on the orbital laboratory to conduct a wide array of space research supporting human health, space commercialization, and more.

The Ax-4 crew includes Commander Peggy Whitson of the United States, Mission Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of India, Mission Specialist Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of the European Space Agency (ESA)/Poland, and Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu of Hungary. 

Once docked, the Ax-4 astronauts plan to spend up to 14 days onboard implementing a full mission comprised of microgravity research, technology demonstrations, educational outreach, and media events.

The Ax-4 Mission will “realize the return” to human spaceflight for India, Poland, and Hungary, with each nation’s first government-sponsored flight in more than 40 years. While Ax-4 marks these countries' second human spaceflight mission in history, it will be the first time all three nations will execute a mission on board the International Space Station.

The Ax-4 research complement includes around 60 scientific studies and activities representing 31 countries, including the U.S., India, Poland, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Nigeria, UAE, and nations across Europe. This will be the most research and science-related activities conducted on an Axiom Space mission aboard the International Space Station to date, underscoring the mission's global significance and collaborative nature to advance microgravity research in low-Earth orbit (LEO).

Ax-4 Crew


Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski (Poland)
https://www.axiomspace.com/astronaut/slawosz-uznanski



Video Credit: Axiom Space
Duration: 3 minutes
Release Date: June 8, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #AxiomSpace #Ax4Mission #Ax4 #SpaceX #CrewDragonSpacecraft #PeggyWhitson #UnitedStates #ShubhanshuShukla #India #BhāratGaṇarājya #SławoszUznańskiWiśniewski #Poland #Polska #TiborKapu #Hungary #Magyarország #CommercialSpace #Astronauts #Europe #KSC #Florida #STEM #Education #HD #Video

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Ax-4 Mission Commander: Peggy Whitson | International Space Station

Ax-4 Mission Commander: Peggy Whitson | International Space Station

Representing the United States, meet Ax4 Commander Peggy Whitson. The Axiom Space Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew will travel to the International Space Station on a new SpaceX Dragon spacecraft after launching on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket at 8 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. Veteran astronaut Peggy Whitson is commanding Ax-4 and will be flying on her fifth mission to the orbiting lab. She is leading first time space flyers Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla from India and Mission Specialists Sławosz Uzanański-Wiśniewksi from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary. The four private astronauts are preparing for a two-week stay on the orbital laboratory to conduct a wide array of space research supporting human health, space commercialization, and more.

The Ax-4 crew includes Commander Peggy Whitson of the United States, Mission Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of India, Mission Specialist Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of the European Space Agency (ESA)/Poland, and Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu of Hungary. 

Once docked, the Ax-4 astronauts plan to spend up to 14 days onboard implementing a full mission comprised of microgravity research, technology demonstrations, educational outreach, and media events.

The Ax-4 Mission will “realize the return” to human spaceflight for India, Poland, and Hungary, with each nation’s first government-sponsored flight in more than 40 years. While Ax-4 marks these countries' second human spaceflight mission in history, it will be the first time all three nations will execute a mission on board the International Space Station.

The Ax-4 research complement includes around 60 scientific studies and activities representing 31 countries, including the U.S., India, Poland, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Nigeria, UAE, and nations across Europe. This will be the most research and science-related activities conducted on an Axiom Space mission aboard the International Space Station to date, underscoring the mission's global significance and collaborative nature to advance microgravity research in low-Earth orbit (LEO).

Ax-4 Crew


Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski (Poland)
https://www.axiomspace.com/astronaut/slawosz-uznanski



Video Credit: Axiom Space
Duration: 3 minutes
Release Date: June 8, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #AxiomSpace #Ax4Mission #Ax4 #SpaceX #CrewDragonSpacecraft #PeggyWhitson #UnitedStates #ShubhanshuShukla #India #BhāratGaṇarājya #SławoszUznańskiWiśniewski #Poland #Polska #TiborKapu #Hungary #Magyarország #CommercialSpace #Astronauts #Europe #KSC #Florida #STEM #Education #HD #Video

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South Africa Adds Far Side Radio Telescope to China's Chang'e-8 Lunar Mission

South Africa Adds Far Side Radio Telescope to China's Chang'e-8 Lunar Mission

Africa is set to make history as its first lunar mission, Africa2Moon, prepares to launch aboard China’s Chang’e-8, marking a groundbreaking moment for the continent’s space ambitions. Spearheaded by South African scientists, the mission aims to deploy a radio telescope array on the Moon’s far side to study the universe in low frequencies.

Chang'e 8 is a planned robotic mission by China to explore the lunar south pole (far side) and to test technologies for the future International Lunar Research Station (ILRS). The mission is expected to launch in 2028 and will include a lander, a rover, and a humanoid robot. Pakistan's national space agency, the Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO), will contribute the country's first lunar rover aboard the Chang'e-8 mission as a part of the wider ILRS program.


Video Credit: CGTN Africa
Duration: 3 minutes
Release Date: June 7, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Moon #FarSide #SouthPole #Earth #China #中国  #Change8
#嫦娥八号 #MoonLander #MoonRover #Robotics #HumanoidRobot #SouthAfrica #Africa2Moon #Africa #RadioTelescope #RadioAstronomy #CNSA #CLEP #SpaceTechnology #SpaceExploration #SolarSystem #STEM #Education #HD #Video
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Monday, June 09, 2025

Axiom Mission 4 Pilot: Shubhanshu Shukla of India | International Space Station

Axiom Mission 4 Pilot: Shubhanshu Shukla of India | International Space Station

Representing India, meet Ax4 Mission Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla. ‪The Axiom Space Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew will travel to the International Space Station on a new SpaceX Dragon spacecraft after launching on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket at 8 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. Veteran astronaut Peggy Whitson is commanding Ax-4 and will be flying on her fifth mission to the orbiting lab. She is leading first time space flyers Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla from India and Mission Specialists Sławosz Uzanański-Wiśniewksi from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary. The four private astronauts are preparing for a two-week stay on the orbital laboratory to conduct a wide array of space research supporting human health, space commercialization, and more.

The Ax-4 crew includes Commander Peggy Whitson of the United States, Mission Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of India, Mission Specialist Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of the European Space Agency (ESA)/Poland, and Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu of Hungary. 

Once docked, the Ax-4 astronauts plan to spend up to 14 days onboard implementing a full mission comprised of microgravity research, technology demonstrations, educational outreach, and media events.

The Ax-4 Mission will “realize the return” to human spaceflight for India, Poland, and Hungary, with each nation’s first government-sponsored flight in more than 40 years. While Ax-4 marks these countries' second human spaceflight mission in history, it will be the first time all three nations will execute a mission on board the International Space Station.

The Ax-4 research complement includes around 60 scientific studies and activities representing 31 countries, including the U.S., India, Poland, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Nigeria, UAE, and nations across Europe. This will be the most research and science-related activities conducted on an Axiom Space mission aboard the International Space Station to date, underscoring the mission's global significance and collaborative nature to advance microgravity research in low-Earth orbit (LEO).

Ax-4 Crew


Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski (Poland)
https://www.axiomspace.com/astronaut/slawosz-uznanski



Video Credit: Axiom Space
Duration: 3 minutes
Release Date: June 8, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #AxiomSpace #Ax4Mission #Ax4 #SpaceX #CrewDragonSpacecraft #PeggyWhitson #UnitedStates #ShubhanshuShukla #India #BhāratGaṇarājya #SławoszUznańskiWiśniewski #Poland #Polska #TiborKapu #Hungary #Magyarország #CommercialSpace #Astronauts #Europe #KSC #Florida #STEM #Education #HD #Video

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A Surprisingly Strong Distant Black Hole Jet at Cosmic "Noon" | NASA Chandra

A Surprisingly Strong Distant Black Hole Jet at Cosmic "Noon" | NASA Chandra

A black hole has blasted out a surprisingly powerful jet in the distant universe, according to a new study from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. This jet exists early enough in the cosmos that it is being illuminated by the leftover glow from the 'big bang' itself.

Astronomers used Chandra and the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) to study this black hole and its jet at a period they call “cosmic noon,” that occurred about three billion years after the universe began. During this time most galaxies and supermassive black holes were growing faster than at any other time during the history of the universe.

The black hole is located 11.6 billion light-years from Earth when the cosmic microwave background (CMB), the leftover glow from the big bang, was much denser than it is now. As the electrons in the jets fly away from the black hole, they move through the sea of CMB radiation and collide with microwave photons. These collisions boost the energy of the photons up into the X-ray band, allowing them to be detected by Chandra even at this great distance.

Researchers, in fact, identified and then confirmed the existence of two different black holes with jets over 300,000 light-years long. The two black holes are 11.6 billion and 11.7 billion light-years away from Earth, respectively. Particles in one jet are moving at between 95% and 99% of the speed of light (called J1405+0415) and in the other at between 92% and 98% of the speed of light (J1610+1811). The jet from J1610+1811 is remarkably powerful, carrying roughly half as much energy as the intense light from hot gas orbiting the black hole.

The team was able to detect these jets despite their great distances and small separation from the bright, growing supermassive black holes—known as “quasars”—because of Chandra’s sharp X-ray vision, and because the CMB was much denser then than it is now, enhancing the energy boost described above.

When quasar jets approach the speed of light, Einstein's theory of special relativity creates a dramatic brightening effect. Jets aimed toward Earth appear much brighter than those pointed away. The same brightness astronomers observe can come from vastly different combinations of speed and viewing angle. A jet racing at near-light speed but angled away from us can appear just as bright as a slower jet pointed directly at Earth.

The researchers developed a novel statistical method that finally cracked this challenge of separating effects of speed and of viewing angle. Their approach recognizes a fundamental bias: astronomers are more likely to discover jets pointed toward Earth simply because relativistic effects make them appear brightest. They incorporated this bias using a modified probability distribution, which accounts for how jets oriented at different angles are detected in surveys.

Their method works by first using the physics of how jet particles scatter the CMB to determine the relationship between jet speed and viewing angle. Then, instead of assuming all angles are equally likely, they apply the relativistic selection effect: jets beamed toward us (smaller angles) are overrepresented in our catalogs. By running ten thousand simulations that match this biased distribution to their physical model, they could finally determine the most probable viewing angles: about 9 degrees for J1405+0415 and 11 degrees for J1610+1811.

These results were presented by Jaya Maithil (Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian) at the 246th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Anchorage, AK, and are also being published in The Astrophysical Journal. 

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory's Chandra X-ray Center controls science operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts.


Video Credit: NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory
Duration: 3 minutes
Release Date: June 9, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #CMBRadiation #BlackHoles #BlackHoleJets #J16101811 #Quasars #Serpens #Constellation #Astrophysics #Universe #NASAChandra #ChandraObservatory #XrayAstronomy #SpaceTelescopes #MSFC #VLA #NRAO #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video
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Axiom 4 Mission: Falcon 9 Rocket Pre-launch | NASA's Kennedy Space Center

Axiom 4 Mission: Falcon 9 Rocket Pre-launch | NASA's Kennedy Space Center




The Axiom Space Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew will travel to the International Space Station on a new SpaceX Dragon spacecraft after launching on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket at 8 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. Veteran astronaut Peggy Whitson is commanding Ax-4 and will be flying on her fifth mission to the orbiting lab. She is leading first time space flyers Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla from India and Mission Specialists Sławosz Uzanański-Wiśniewksi from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary. The four private astronauts are preparing for a two-week stay on the orbital laboratory to conduct a wide array of space research supporting human health, space commercialization, and more.

The Ax-4 crew includes Commander Peggy Whitson of the United States, Mission Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of India, Mission Specialist Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of the European Space Agency (ESA)/Poland, and Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu of Hungary. 

Once docked, the Ax-4 astronauts plan to spend up to 14 days onboard implementing a full mission comprised of microgravity research, technology demonstrations, educational outreach, and media events.

The Ax-4 Mission will “realize the return” to human spaceflight for India, Poland, and Hungary, with each nation’s first government-sponsored flight in more than 40 years. While Ax-4 marks these countries' second human spaceflight mission in history, it will be the first time all three nations will execute a mission on board the International Space Station.

The Ax-4 research complement includes around 60 scientific studies and activities representing 31 countries, including the U.S., India, Poland, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Nigeria, UAE, and nations across Europe. This will be the most research and science-related activities conducted on an Axiom Space mission aboard the International Space Station to date, underscoring the mission's global significance and collaborative nature to advance microgravity research in low-Earth orbit (LEO).

Ax-4 Crew


Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski (Poland)
https://www.axiomspace.com/astronaut/slawosz-uznanski



Image Credit: SpaceX
Release Dates: June 8-9, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #AxiomSpace #Ax4Mission #Ax4 #SpaceX #CrewDragonSpacecraft #PeggyWhitson #UnitedStates #ShubhanshuShukla #India #BhāratGaṇarājya #SławoszUznańskiWiśniewski #Poland #Polska #TiborKapu #Hungary #Magyarország #CommercialSpace #Astronauts #Europe #KSC #Florida #STEM #Education

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