Close-up: The Squid Nebula | Ou4 in Cepheus

Close-up: The Squid Nebula | Ou4 in Cepheus

Difficult to capture, this mysterious, squid-shaped interstellar cloud spans nearly three full moons in planet Earth's sky. Discovered in 2011 by French astro-imager Nicolas Outters, the Squid Nebula's bipolar shape is distinguished here by the telltale blue emission from doubly ionized oxygen atoms. Though apparently surrounded by the reddish hydrogen emission region Sh2-129, the true distance and nature of the Squid Nebula have been difficult to determine. Still, one investigation suggests Ou4 really does lie within Sh2-129 some 2,300 light-years away. Consistent with that scenario, the cosmic squid would represent a spectacular outflow of material driven by a triple system of hot, massive stars, cataloged as HR8119, seen near the center of the nebula. If so, this truly giant squid nebula would physically be over 50 light-years across.

Video: Content generated using data from NASA Open API

Narrated by "Emma"
Image Credit & Copyright: Massimo Di Fusco

Duration: 1 minute, 38 seconds

Release Date: July 5, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #Outters4 #Ou4 #SquidNebula #Star #HR8119 #Sh2129 #Cepheus #Constellations #Astronomer #NicolasOutters #MilkyWayGalaxy #Universe #CitizenScience #Astrophotographer #MassimoDiFusco #GSFC #MichiganU #STEM #Education #HD #Video #APoD

Close-up: The Squid Nebula | Ou4 in Cepheus

Close-up: The Squid Nebula | Ou4 in Cepheus

Difficult to capture, this mysterious, squid-shaped interstellar cloud spans nearly three full moons in planet Earth's sky. Discovered in 2011 by French astro-imager Nicolas Outters, the Squid Nebula's bipolar shape is distinguished here by the telltale blue emission from doubly ionized oxygen atoms. Though apparently surrounded by the reddish hydrogen emission region Sh2-129, the true distance and nature of the Squid Nebula have been difficult to determine. Still, one investigation suggests Ou4 really does lie within Sh2-129 some 2,300 light-years away. Consistent with that scenario, the cosmic squid would represent a spectacular outflow of material driven by a triple system of hot, massive stars, cataloged as HR8119, seen near the center of the nebula. If so, this truly giant squid nebula would physically be over 50 light-years across.

Image Credit & Copyright: Massimo Di Fusco

Massimo's website:

https://app.astrobin.com/u/massimo.difusco#gallery

Release Date: July 5, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #Ou4 #SquidNebula #Star #HR8119 #Sh2129 #Cepheus #Constellations #Astronomer #NicolasOutters #MilkyWayGalaxy #Universe #CitizenScience #Astrophotographer #MassimoDiFusco #GSFC #STEM #Education #APoD

Happy Fourth of July! | NASA

Happy Fourth of July! | NASA

A gift of friendship from the people of France to the United States "The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World" is recognized as a universal symbol of freedom and democracy. It was dedicated by President Grover Cleveland on October 28, 1886.  Designated as a National Monument in 1924, employees of the National Park Service have been caring for the Statue of Liberty since 1933. The statue is a figure of a classically draped woman, likely inspired by the Roman goddess of liberty, Libertas. She holds a torch above her head with her right hand, and in her left hand carries a tabula ansata inscribed JULY IV MDCCLXXVI (July 4, 1776, in Roman numerals), the date of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. With her left foot she steps on a broken chain and shackle, commemorating the national abolition of slavery following the American Civil War. After its dedication the statue became an icon of freedom and of the United States, seen as a symbol of welcome to immigrants arriving by sea.

Statue of Liberty National Monument, New York City:
https://www.nps.gov/stli/index.htm

Image Description: The space shuttle Enterprise, atop a barge, passes the Statue of Liberty in New York, Wednesday, June 6, 2012, on its way to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum where it is permanently displayed. 

Space Shuttle Enterprise (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-101) was the first orbiter of the Space Shuttle system. Rolled out on September 17, 1976, it was built for NASA as part of the Space Shuttle program to perform atmospheric test flights after being launched from a modified Boeing 747. It was constructed without engines or a functional heat shield. As a result, it was not capable of spaceflight.

From the first launch on April 12, 1981 to the final landing on July 21, 2011, NASA's space shuttle fleet flew 135 missions and helped construct the International Space Station.

Space Shuttle Pavilion at Intrepid Museum:
https://intrepidmuseum.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/space-shuttle-pavilion

NASA's Space Shuttle Program/Space Transportation System (STS):

https://www.nasa.gov/space-shuttle/

Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
Image Date: June 6, 2012

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Earth #UnitedStates #NewYork #NewYorkCity #StatueOfLiberty #History #Immigration #Slavery #Freedom #Democracy #NPS #France #Happy4th #4thOfJuly #FourthOfJuly #IndependenceDay #SpaceShuttle #SpaceShuttleEnterprise #OV101 #PrototypeOrbiter #IntrepidMuseum #SpaceTechnology #Astronauts #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education

Happy Independence Day, America! | International Space Station

"Happy Independence Day, America!" | International Space Station

Expedition 73 flight engineer and NASA astronaut Jonny Kim:

"Happy Independence Day, America. May we always remember the ideals of freedom, democracy, and the pursuit of happiness that sparked the birth of our nation. May we continue to build a brighter, more united future."

Independence Day, also known as the Fourth of July or July 4th, is a federal holiday in the United States that commemorates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States of America.

NASA Astronaut Jonny Kim's Biography:

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

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. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.

Image Credits: NASA/JSC/Jonny Kim

Release Date: July 4, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Earth #Happy4th #4thOfJuly #FourthOfJuly #IndependenceDay #Astronauts #JonnyKim #UnitedStates #Japan #日本 #JAXA #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #JSC #Expedition73 #History #STEM #Education

The Fireworks Galaxy: NGC 6946 in Cygnus | Happy July 4th! | Gemini North

The Fireworks Galaxy: NGC 6946 in Cygnus | Happy July 4th! | Gemini North

NGC 6946, the “Fireworks Galaxy,” lies between 10 and 20 million light-years away on the border between the constellations of Cepheus and Cygnus. It was discovered by Sir William Herschel (1738-1822) on September 9, 1798. NGC 6946 is estimated to have about half as many stars as the Milky Way. Astronomers often use it to study and characterize the evolution of massive stars and the properties of interstellar gas. 

As viewed in the new Gemini optical image, we see only the “tip of the iceberg” of this galaxy. Its optical angular diameter is about 13 arcminutes, but viewed at radio wavelength at the frequency of neutral hydrogen (1420 Mhz or 21-cm line), it extends considerably more than the angular diameter of the Moon. This Gemini North Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) image of NGC 6946 utilizes a selective filter specifically designed to detect the radiation emanating from the starbirth regions. Additional filters help to distinguish other details in the galaxy, including clusters of massive blue stars, dust lanes, and a yellowish core where older more evolved stars dominate.

Learn more about the Gemini North Telescope:
https://noirlab.edu/public/programs/gemini-observatory/gemini-north/

Credit:
International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/T. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage)
Release Date: June 30, 2020

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC6946 #SpiralGalaxy #StarburstGalaxy #Supernovae #Cygnus #Constellation #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #InternationalGeminiObservatory #GeminiNorthTelescope #GMOS #Optical #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #Maunakea #Hawaii #UnitedStates #4thOfJuly #STEM #Education

NASA: What We Know About Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS | JPL

NASA: What We Know About Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS | JPL

An interstellar traveler has been discovered passing through our solar system. The NASA-funded Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) survey telescope in Rio Hurtado, Chile, first reported observations of comet 3I/ATLAS on July 1, 2025. Since the first report, additional observations from before the discovery were gathered from the archives of three ATLAS telescopes around the world and Caltech’s Zwicky Transient Facility at the Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, California. These “pre-discovery” observations extend back to June 14. The fast-moving comet, originating outside our solar system around another star, was discovered as a tiny speck moving across the vastness of space. When discovered it was about 410 million miles (670 million kilometers) away from the Sun, within the orbit of Jupiter.

This is the third interstellar object ever discovered, hence its name begins with the number 3 and the letter I.  Scientists will have several months to observe and study the comet as it passes through our solar system and before it exits. As of July 3, 2025, the comet is just inside the orbit of Jupiter and in late October 2025 it will make its closest approach to our sun from just inside the orbit of Mars. It poses no threat to Earth but offers a fascinating and rare opportunity for scientists to study these interstellar interlopers.

Video Credit: NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
Duration: 2 minutes, 19 seconds
Release Date: July 3, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #SolarSystem #InterstellarObjects #InterstellarComet3I #Planets #Jupiter #Earth #ATLAS #RioHurtado #Chile #PlanetaryDefense #JPL #Caltech #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Happy Independence Day! | NASA

Happy Independence Day! | NASA

Just after sunrise, the waning gibbous moon sets just behind a waving United States flag on March 19, 2025, in this image from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The waning gibbous moon phase comes after the full moon. As the Moon begins its journey back toward the Sun, the opposite side of the Moon now reflects the Moon’s light. The lighted side appears to shrink, but the Moon’s orbit is simply carrying it out of view from our perspective. The Moon also rises later and later each night.

In this Apollo 17 photo, Mission Commander Eugene A. Cernan adjusts the U.S. flag deployed upon the Moon on December 12, 1972. The seventh and last manned lunar landing and return to Earth mission, Apollo 17, carried a crew of three astronauts: Cernan; Lunar Module pilot Harrison H. Schmitt; and Command Module pilot Ronald E. Evans, lifted off on December 7, 1972 from the Kennedy Space Flight Center (KSC). 

NASA Artemis Program emblem

Happy Independence Day from NASA!

"We will collaborate with commercial and international partners and establish the first long-term presence on the Moon. Then, we will use what we learn on and around the Moon to take the next giant leap: sending the first astronauts to Mars."

Learn more about NASA's Artemis Program:
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/artemis/

Image Credits: NASA/Michael DeMocker/JSC
Release Date: May 23, 2025

#NASA #Space #Earth #UnitedStates #History #Happy4th #4thOfJuly #FourthOfJuly #IndependenceDay #Moon #ApolloProgram #ArtemisProgram #NASASLS #SLSRocket #Astronauts #EugeneCernan #Apollo17 #MoonToMars #Science #SpaceExploration #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education

Happy Fourth of July Wishes! | International Space Station

Happy Fourth of July Wishes! | International Space Station

Top row left to right: Flight Engineer Alexey Zubritsky of Roscosmos (Russia), Flight Engineer Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos (Russia), NASA Flight Engineer Jonny Kim of the United States

Bottom row left to right: Flight Engineer Kirill Peskov of Roscosmos (Russia), NASA Flight Engineer Nichole Ayers of the United States, NASA Flight Engineer Anne McClain of the United States, Station Commander and Flight Engineer Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Takuya Onishi

Left to right: Station Commander and Flight Engineer Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Takuya Onishi, Flight Engineer Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos (Russia), NASA Flight Engineer Jonny Kim of the United States, Flight Engineer Kirill Peskov of Roscosmos (Russia), NASA Flight Engineer Nichole Ayers of the United States, Flight Engineer Alexey Zubritsky of Roscosmos (Russia), NASA Flight Engineer Anne McClain of the United States

Left to right: NASA Flight Engineer Jonny Kim of the United States, Station Commander and Flight Engineer Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Takuya Onishi, NASA Flight Engineer Anne McClain of the United States, NASA Flight Engineer Nichole Ayers of the United States

Expedition 73 flight engineer and NASA astronaut Jonny Kim: "Picture day! 📸 It was a great day to get together as friends and crewmates to take fun photos around the International Space Station."

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. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.

Image Credits: NASA/JSC/Jonny Kim

Release Date: July 2, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Earth #Happy4th #4thOfJuly #FourthOfJuly #IndependenceDay #Astronauts #UnitedStates #Japan #日本 #JAXA #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #JSC #Expedition73 #History #STEM #Education

Russian Progress MS-31 Cargo Spacecraft Launch | International Space Station

Russian Progress MS-31 Cargo Spacecraft Launch | International Space Station

An unpiloted Roscosmos Progress MS-31 cargo spacecraft (Russian) was successfully launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on a Soyuz 2.1a rocket at 3:32pm Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) Thursday, July 3, 2025 (12:32am, local Baikonur time, Friday, July 4). It carries 2625 kg of cargo to the International Space Station, including equipment for scientific experiments, food, clothing, 950 kg of fuel, 420 kg of drinking water and 50 kg of nitrogen. After a two-day, in-orbit journey to the station, the Roscosmos Progress spacecraft will dock autonomously to the space-facing port of the orbiting laboratory’s Poisk module at approximately 5:27 p.m. EDT on Saturday, July 5.

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. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.

Credit: Roscosmos/NASA/JSC

Duration: 31 seconds

Capture Date: July 3, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #ПрогрессMS31 #ProgressCargoSpacecraft #Progress92 #SoyuzRocketLaunch #Союз #BaikonurCosmodrome #Kazakhstan #Қазақстан #Cosmonauts #Astronauts #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #Russia #Россия #Expedition73 #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #STEM #Education #HD #Video

¿Qué pasa en el cielo en julio? | NASA

¿Qué pasa en el cielo en julio? | NASA

¡Atención, exploradores del cielo! Entre planetas, constelaciones y aniversarios espaciales, este mes la galaxia nos muestra todo su esplendor.  🔭✨ 

• Durante la primera semana de julio, Mercurio será visible por un breve periodo después del atardecer, mientras que Marte podrá observarse durante una o dos horas tras la puesta del sol. 

•  Desde julio y hasta agosto, es un buen momento para buscar la constelación Aquila, o el Águila, desde ambos hemisferios. Para encontrarla, comienza por ubicar su estrella más brillante: Altair. 

Aprende más sobre nuestro cielo y encuentra más consejos para disfrutarlo en nuestro sitio web ciencia.nasa.gov/ObservacionDelCielo/  

Créditos: Laboratorio de Propulsión a Chorro (JPL) de la NASA / Preston Dyches
Duration: 4 minutes
Release Date: July 3, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Skywatching #Earth #NASAenespañol #español #Moon #Planets #Venus #Mars #Jupiter #SolarSystem #Stars #Constellations #MilkyWayGalaxy #Skywatching #JPL #California #UnitedStates #Canada #Mexico #NorthernHemisphere #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Sprite Discovered over North America | International Space Station

Sprite Discovered over North America | International Space Station

Expedition 73 flight engineer and NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers: "Just. Wow. As we went over Mexico and the U.S. this morning, I caught this sprite. Sprites are TLEs or Transient Luminous Events, that happen above the clouds and are triggered by intense electrical activity in the thunderstorms below. We have a great view above the clouds, so scientists can use these types of pictures to better understand the formation, characteristics, and relationship of TLEs to thunderstorms."

Red Sprites: These mysterious bursts of light in the upper atmosphere momentarily resemble gigantic jellyfish. One unusual feature of sprites is that they are relatively cold. They operate more like long fluorescent light tubes than hot compact light bulbs. In general, red sprites take only a fraction of a second to occur and are best seen when powerful thunderstorms are visible from the side.

Follow Expedition 73:

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

Expedition 73 Crew

Station Commander: 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/JSC/Nichole Ayers
Release Date: July 3, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Planet #Earth #Atmosphere #Thunderstorms #Sprites #TLE #Sprite #NorthAmerica #Astronauts #NicholeAyers #AstronautPhotography #UnitedStates #Japan #日本 #JAXA #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition73 #STEM #Education

The Andromeda Galaxy: View over 200 million stars | Hubble Space Telescope

The Andromeda Galaxy: View over 200 million stars | Hubble Space Telescope

This video features the largest photomosaic ever assembled from Hubble Space Telescope observations. It is a panoramic view of the neighboring Andromeda galaxy, located 2.5 million light-years away. It took over 10 years to make this vast and colorful portrait of the galaxy, requiring over 600 Hubble snapshots. The galaxy is so close to us, that in angular size it is six times the apparent diameter of the full Moon, and can be seen with the unaided eye. For Hubble’s pinpoint view, that is a lot of celestial real estate to cover. 

This stunning, colorful mosaic captures the glow of 200 million stars still a fraction of Andromeda’s population. And the stars are spread across about 2.5 billion pixels. The detailed look at the resolved stars will help astronomers piece together the galaxy’s past history that includes mergers with smaller satellite galaxies.

Video description: This spiral disk galaxy is inclined to our view, making it look elliptical. Young blue stars are around the outer rim. Yellowish older stars are toward the center. The bright hub of the galaxy looks like the center of a fried egg. It took over 10 years to make this vast and colorful portrait of the galaxy, requiring over 600 Hubble snapshots. This stunning mosaic captures the glow of 200 million stars. The camera zooms into the central portion of the galaxy, resolving a sea of myriad older stars. The camera pans along the galaxy’s vast disk that is over 200,000 light-years across. The view is etched with dark dust clouds. The stellar population looks bluer as we move toward the galaxy’s outer rim, rich in bright blue star clusters.

Credits:
NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), B. Williams (University of Washington), G. Bacon (STScI)

Duration: 2 minutes
Release Date: March 27, 2025

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Stars #Galaxies #Galaxy #AndromedaGalaxy #Messier31 #M31 #Andromeda #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Close-up: Spiral Galaxy NGC 4651 in Coma Berenices | "Feeding Time" | Hubble

Close-up: Spiral Galaxy NGC 4651 in Coma Berenices | "Feeding Time" | Hubble

This remarkable spiral galaxy, known as NGC 4651, may look serene and peaceful as it swirls in the vast, silent emptiness of space, but do not be fooled—it keeps a violent secret. It is believed that this galaxy consumed another smaller galaxy to become the large and beautiful spiral that we observe today.

Although only a telescope like the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope that captured this image could give us a picture this clear. NGC 4651 can also be observed with an amateur telescope—so if you have a telescope at home and a star-gazing eye, look out for this glittering carnivorous spiral.

Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Leonard
Release Date: March 30, 2020

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Hubble35 #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC4651 #UmbrellaGalaxy #SpiralGalaxies #ComaBerenices #Constellation #Universe #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

The Umbrella Galaxy: NGC 4651 in Coma Berenices

The Umbrella Galaxy: NGC 4651 in Coma Berenices

"It is raining stars." What appears to be a giant cosmic umbrella is now known to be a tidal stream of stars stripped from a small satellite galaxy. The main galaxy, spiral galaxy NGC 4651, is about the size of our Milky Way, while its stellar parasol appears to extend around 100 thousand light-years above this galaxy's bright disk. A small galaxy was likely torn apart by repeated encounters as it swept back and forth on eccentric orbits through NGC 4651. The remaining stars will surely fall back and become part of a combined larger galaxy over the next few million years.

The featured deep image was captured in long exposures from Saudi Arabia. The Umbrella Galaxy lies about 50 million light-years distant toward the well-groomed northern constellation of Berenice's Hair (Coma Berenices).

Image Credit: Rabeea Alkuwari & Anas Almajed
Rabeea Alkuwari's website: https://www.instagram.com/bolahdan/
Anas Almajed website: 

https://www.instagram.com/anas_almajed/
Release Date: June 30, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Hubble35 #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC4561 #UmbrellaGalaxy #InteractingGalaxies #ComaBerenices #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Astrophotography #RabeeaAlkuwari #AnasAlmajed #Astrophotographers #SaudiArabia #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #APoD

Planet Mars Images: June 29-July 2, 2025 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers

Planet Mars Images: June 29-July 2, 2025 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers

MSL - sol 4585

MSL - sol 4585

Mars 2020 - sol 1549

MSL - sol 4584

MSL - sol 4584

Mars 2020 - sol 1550

MSL - sol 4586

MSL - sol 4584

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: June 29-July 2, 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 Astronaut & Scientist Zena Cardman | Johnson Space Center

NASA Astronaut & Scientist Zena Cardman | Johnson Space Center

NASA astronaut Zena Cardman inspects her spacesuit’s wrist mirror in this portrait taken at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on March 22, 2024. Cardman will launch to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission. This will be her first spaceflight.

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 to benefit people on Earth.

Cardman was selected by NASA as a member of the 2017 “Turtles” Astronaut Class. The Virginia native holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in marine sciences from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Her research focused primarily on geobiology and geochemical cycling in subsurface environments, from caves to deep sea sediments. Cardman’s experience includes multiple Antarctic expeditions. 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 photo was one of the winners of NASA’s 2024 Photos of the Year.

Image Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel
Release Date: June 24, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #SpaceXCrew11 #SpaceXDragonSpacecraft #Astronauts #ZenaCardman #Scientist #MarineScientist #MarineScience #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #Expedition73 #JSC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education