Friends of NASA (FoN) is an independent non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to building international support for peaceful space exploration, commerce, scientific discovery, and STEM education.
Malapert massif (informal name) is thought to be a remnant of the South Pole-Aitken basin rim. It formed more than 4 billion years ago. More recently, this magnificent peak (lower left) was selected as an Artemis 3 candidate landing region. Image is 25 kilometers wide in the center.
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) shuttered this Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) view on March 3, 2023, when the spacecraft was about 170 kilometers beyond Shackleton crater (sub-spacecraft point was 84.10°S, 129.1°E) looking towards the nearside. From this viewpoint, we see the back side of Malapert massif assuming an Earth-centric reference.
Imagine the view from the summit; it rises more than 5000 meters (16,400 feet) above its base. Off in the distance, you could see a 3500 meter (11,480 feet) tall cliff. One could argue that the sheer grandeur of this region makes it a prime candidate.
This year, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) celebrates its 16th anniversary orbiting the Moon (2009-2026). This mission has given scientists the largest volume of data ever collected by a planetary science mission at NASA. Considering that success and the continuing functionality of the spacecraft and its instruments, NASA awarded the mission an extended mission phase to continue operations. LRO continues to be one of NASA's most valuable tools for advancing lunar science.
Planet Mars: Dust Devil Dance | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Dune fields in the high southern latitudes of Mars tell a mostly similar story during local summer. The dark dunes grow warmer than the surrounding bright plains because they absorb more sunlight.
Dust devils form over the warm dunes but then dance out over the plains, spinning and performing pirouettes and leaving conspicuous dark tracks as bright dust is lifted from the surface. Loops in the tracks can often be used to discern the direction traveled by the dust devils, where in certain cases, one track clearly overprints the other.
This HiRISE image was captured when NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) was at an altitude of 249 kilometers (155 miles).
The MRO is a spacecraft designed to study the geology and climate of Mars, to provide reconnaissance of future landing sites, and to relay data from surface missions back to Earth. It was launched on August 12, 2005, and reached Mars on March 10, 2006.
The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE). It was built by BAE Systems in Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD), Washington.
This illustration shows the parts of a space shuttle orbiter. About the same size and weight as a DC-9 aircraft, the orbiter contains the pressurized crew compartment (normally carrying up to seven crew members), the cargo bay, and the three main engines mounted on its aft end. The orbiter was the heart and brains of the space shuttle and served as the crew transport vehicle that carried astronauts to and from space. The space shuttle was comprised of the orbiter, the main engines, the external tank, and the solid rocket boosters. The space shuttle was the world’s first reusable spacecraft and the first spacecraft in history that could carry large satellites to and from orbit. The official NASA program name was the Space Transportation System (STS).
NASA’s shuttle fleet achieved numerous firsts and opened up space to more people than ever before during the Space Shuttle Program’s 30 years of missions.
From the first launch on April 12, 1981 to the final landing on July 21, 2011, NASA's space shuttle fleet flew 135 missions, helped construct the International Space Station and inspired generations.
Starting with Columbia and continuing with Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour, the spacecraft has carried people into orbit repeatedly, launched, recovered and repaired satellites, conducted cutting-edge research and built the largest structure in space to date, the International Space Station. The final space shuttle mission, STS-135, ended July 21, 2011 when Atlantis rolled to a stop at its home port, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Image Description: An illustration of a space shuttle orbiter on a white background. There are cutaways revealing parts of the orbiter, like the hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide tanks, engines, and thrusters at left, and the flight deck, mid-deck, and nose gear at front. The orbiter is white and in the middle, has a U.S. flag on it as well as the words "United States" and the initials "USA."
Recycling shuttle parts for NASA's Artemis Human Spaceflight Program to The Moon: For Artemis I to Artemis IV Moon Missions, recycled Shuttle main engines will be used before manufacturing new engines. From Artemis I to Artemis III, recycled Shuttle solid rocket boosters' engines and steel casings are to be used before building new ones. From Artemis I to Artemis VI, the Orion main engine will use six previously flown Space Shuttle orbital maneuvering system (OMS) engines.
Planetary Nebula Menzel 3 | Hubble Space Telescope
From ground-based telescopes, the so-called "ant nebula" (Menzel 3, or Mz 3) resembles the head and thorax of a garden-variety ant. This dramatic NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope image, showing ten times more detail, reveals the "ant's" body as a pair of fiery lobes protruding from a dying, Sun-like star in the constellation Norma within our Milky Way galaxy.
Distance:8,000 light years
The Hubble images directly challenge old ideas about the last stages in the lives of stars. By observing Sun-like stars as they approach their deaths, the Hubble Heritage image of Mz 3—along with pictures of other planetary nebulae—shows that our Sun's fate probably will be more interesting, complex, and striking than astronomers imagined just a few years ago.
Planetary nebula Mz3 is being cast off by a star similar to our Sun that is, surely, round. Why then would the gas that is streaming away create an ant-shaped nebula that is distinctly not round? Clues might include the high 1,000-kilometer per second speed of the expelled gas, the light-year long length of the structure, and the magnetism of the star featured here at the nebula's center. One possible answer is that Mz3 is hiding a second, dimmer star that orbits close in to the bright star. A competing hypothesis holds that the central star's own spin and magnetic field are channeling the gas. Since the central star appears to be so similar to our own Sun, astronomers hope that increased understanding of the history of this giant space ant can provide useful insight into the likely future of our own Sun and Earth.
Credit: NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Planetary Nebula Menzel 3 | Hubble Space Telescope
From ground-based telescopes, the so-called "ant nebula" (Menzel 3, or Mz 3) resembles the head and thorax of a garden-variety ant. This dramatic NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope image, showing ten times more detail, reveals the "ant's" body as a pair of fiery lobes protruding from a dying, Sun-like star in the constellation Norma within our Milky Way galaxy. Distance:8,000 light years
The Hubble images directly challenge old ideas about the last stages in the lives of stars. By observing Sun-like stars as they approach their deaths, the Hubble Heritage image of Mz 3—along with pictures of other planetary nebulae—shows that our Sun's fate probably will be more interesting, complex, and striking than astronomers imagined just a few years ago.
Planetary nebula Mz3 is being cast off by a star similar to our Sun that is, surely, round. Why then would the gas that is streaming away create an ant-shaped nebula that is distinctly not round? Clues might include the high 1,000-kilometer per second speed of the expelled gas, the light-year long length of the structure, and the magnetism of the star featured here at the nebula's center. One possible answer is that Mz3 is hiding a second, dimmer star that orbits close in to the bright star. A competing hypothesis holds that the central star's own spin and magnetic field are channeling the gas. Since the central star appears to be so similar to our own Sun, astronomers hope that increased understanding of the history of this giant space ant can provide useful insight into the likely future of our own Sun and Earth.
Credit: NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Release Date: Feb. 1, 2001
Axiom Space Ax-4 Mission & Expedition 73 Crew Photos | International Space Station
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) astronaut and Axiom Mission 4 Mission Specialist/Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla poses for a portrait aboard the International Space Station's Kibo laboratory module during a space-to-ground conference with Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi.
NASA astronaut and Expedition 73 Flight Engineer Jonny Kim (back to camera) joins Axiom Mission 4 crew members (clockwise from top left) Tibor Kapu from Hungary, Peggy Whitson from the U.S., and Shubhanshu Shukla from India (ISRO) for lunch inside the galley of the International Space Station's Unity module.
Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) Commander and veteran astronaut Peggy Whitson assists Ax-4 Mission Specialist Shubhanshu Shukla from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) during his research work inside the International Space Station's Kibo laboratory module. Shukla was using Kibo's Life Science Glovebox studying how to improve muscle regeneration in microgravity and maintain a crew member's muscle health during spaceflight.
Expedition 73 Flight Engineer Jonny Kim from NASA and Axiom Mission 4 Commander Peggy Whitson work together inside the International Space Station's Destiny laboratory module setting up research hardware to culture patient-derived cancer cells, model their growth in microgravity, and test a state-of-the-art fluorescence microscope. Results may lead to earlier cancer detection methods, development of advanced cancer treatments, and promote future stem cell research in space.
Expedition 73 & Ax-4 crew members share a meal together
Expedition 73 & Ax-4 crews share a meal together
Expedition 73 & Ax-4 crews share a meal together
Expedition 73 & Ax-4 crews share a meal together
Expedition 73 flight engineer and NASA astronaut Jonny Kim: "One of the most unforgettable evenings I’ve experienced on this mission was sharing a meal with new friends, Ax-4, aboard the International Space Station."
"We swapped stories and marveled at how people from diverse backgrounds and nations came together to represent humanity in space."
"For appetizers, we made rehydrated shrimp cocktails and crackers. Our main course featured savory chicken and beef fajitas, and the cosmonauts capped the night with a delicious cake made from sweet bread, condensed milk, and walnuts."
Mission managers have given the “go” for the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew to board the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and undock from the International Space Station’s space-facing port on the Harmony module at 7:05 a.m. EDT on Monday, July 14. Ax-4 Commander Peggy Whitson will lead Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, and Mission Specialists Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, and Tibor Kapu back to Earth completing a two-and-a-half-week research mission aboard the orbiting lab.
The Ax-4 Mission “realizes 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, this was the first time all three nations have had a mission aboard the International Space Station.
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.
Image Credits: NASA/JSC/J. Kim Release Dates: July 10-12, 2025
Rehearsal for Tianzhou-9 Cargo Mission Completed | China Space Station
China successfully conducted a joint rehearsal on Sunday morning, July 13, 2025, for the upcoming launch of the Tianzhou-9 cargo spacecraft. It is tasked with carrying supplies to the Tiangong space station, confirming all systems ready for launch.
Under the coordination of the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center, the Wenchang Space Launch Site, the Xi'an Satellite Control Center and the mission's sub control stations simulated the pre-launch procedures, the launch procedures, and the spacecraft flight at around 08:20 Sunday. The full-area rehearsal assessed the compatibility and coordination among the different systems.
"The Tianzhou-9 cargo spacecraft is the one with the highest payload among the latest modified versions, carrying hundreds more of kilograms than its predecessors. The Tianzhou-9 cargo spacecraft is also the first spacecraft equipped with emergency launch capabilities. The emergency launch capabilities were available at the time when the Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft was launched. This time, we will launch it under normal conditions," said Li Zhiyong, a researcher with China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
The full-area rehearsal is the most comprehensive simulation exercise for the Tianzhou-9 mission with the maximum number of participating systems and elements, except for the ignition launch.
The successful completion of the rehearsal means that all systems are ready for the launch.
"We've finished all preparations that follow the transfer of the spacecraft and rocket combination to the launch tower. We are about to start the final electrical tests and the cargo-loading drill before the launch. We've made all necessary preparations to ensure that the launch mission proceeds smoothly as planed," Li said.
At present, the space station combination is working normally, and the Shenzhou-20 astronaut crew is also conducting manual remote operation training in orbit to prepare for the arrival of the Tianzhou-9.
Video Credit: CCTV Duration: 1 minute Release Date: July 13, 2025
Axiom Space Ax-4 Mission Farewell Ceremony | International Space Station
Mission managers have given the “go” for the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew to board the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and undock from the International Space Station’s space-facing port on the Harmony module at 7:05 a.m. EDT on Monday, July 14. Ax-4 Commander Peggy Whitson will lead Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, and Mission Specialists Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, and Tibor Kapu back to Earth completing a two-and-a-half-week research mission aboard the orbiting lab.
The Ax-4 Mission “realizes 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, this was the first time all three nations have had a mission aboard the International Space Station.
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.
Video Credit: NASA/JSC, Axiom Space Duration: 15 minutes Capture Date: July 13, 2025
Planet Mars: Cliffs in Ancient Ice | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Scientists have come to realize that, just below the surface, about one third of Mars is covered in ice. We study this ice to learn about Mars’ ancient climate and astronauts’ future water supplies. Sometimes we see the buried ice because cliffs form like the one in this image. On the brownish, dusty cliff wall, the faint light-blue-colored ice shows through. Some of these cliffs change before our eyes and boulders of ice can tumble downhill. We take repeat images of these scenes to check for changes like this.
This HiRISE image was captured when NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) was at an altitude of 250 kilometers (155 miles).
The MRO is a spacecraft designed to study the geology and climate of Mars, to provide reconnaissance of future landing sites, and to relay data from surface missions back to Earth. It was launched on August 12, 2005, and reached Mars on March 10, 2006.
The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE). It was built by BAE Systems in Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD), Washington.
Manitoba Burning | NASA Aqua Earth Satellite (Alert: Set for Budget Cancelation)
Smoke and wildfires in Manitoba, Canada, on July 9, 2025
A satellite image of northern Manitoba includes part of Lake Winnipeg, green forested landscapes, and several large smoke plumes. The smoke is blowing toward the north. The towns of Thompson and Split Lake are labeled.
Large fires have burned in Canada’s Manitoba province since May 2025, but the intensity of activity escalated in July. The province’s wildfire service reported 98 active fires burning on July 8, including 16 that were listed as out of control across the northern, western, and eastern parts of the province. Lightning, drought, heat, and strong winds have contributed to the intensity of the latest fire outbreak.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this image of smoke and fires in northern Manitoba on July 9, 2025. At the time the image was acquired, dense smoke plumes from several of the largest fires streamed north. However, satellites have often observed plumes from Manitoba’s fires blowing east in recent weeks and months.
NASA’s Aqua Earth satellite is one of nineteen active NASA science missions being canceled in its Fiscal Year 2026 budget request. NASA's total science budget is being reduced by 47%.
Contact your representatives in the United States Congress, House and Senate, to express your concerns about NASA's severe science budget cuts and climate change: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials/
Several communities and more than 10,000 people were under mandatory evacuation orders, according to officials. Among them were Snow Lake, Garden Hill, Lynn Lake, Leaf Rapids, Split Lake, and Pukatawagan. According to news reports, several homes were destroyed in Split Lake, also called Tataskweyak, a Cree Nation community in northern Manitoba.
As of July 9, fires in 2025 had charred 4.8 million hectares across Canada, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center. That’s an area about twice the size of New Jersey and nearly four times the 25-year average. Manitoba accounted for about 1 million hectares of burned area, about 20 times more than at the same point in 2024 and 13 times more than the 25-year average.
NASA’s satellite data are part of a global system of observations that are used to track fire behavior and analyze emerging trends. Among the real-time wildfire monitoring tools that NASA makes available are Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS), the Worldview browser, and the Fire Event Explorer. Data from several NASA missions and projects also contribute to web tools and models relevant to the study of air quality.
Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory image by Michala Garrison, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview
Text Credit: Adam Voiland Image Date: July 9, 2025 Release Date: July 11, 2025
Shenzhou-19 Astronauts Share Experience of 183-Day Mission | China Space Station
The three astronauts from China's Shenzhou-19 crewed mission shared their unique experience of their six-month stay at the Tiangong Space Station, when meeting with the press in Beijing on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, their first public appearance after returning to Earth in April 2025.
All three crew members—Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze—are in good physical and psychological health. Their muscle strength, endurance and exercise cardiopulmonary function have basically returned to pre-flight levels.
After completing the work during the recovery period and health recovery assessment, the three astronauts will return to normal training.
"The Shenzhou-19 mission marks the fourth crewed flight since China's space station entered its application and development phase. During our stay in orbit, we successfully conducted three extravehicular activities (EVAs) and completed multiple experimental tests and research projects across various fields, many of which were implemented for the first time in the space station's application and development phase. It's fair to say that the Shenzhou-19 mission is an exceptionally intensive and particularly significant flight," said Cai, commander of the Shenzhou-19 mission.
Song Lingdong, the first Chinese astronaut born after 1990 to carry out EVAs in space, recalled the first spacewalk of their mission. They worked for nine hours on completing multiple tasks, including the installation of space-debris protection devices, setting a new record for the duration of extravehicular activities by Chinese astronauts.
"With the rapid development of China's manned space program, more and more young people, particularly those born in the 1990s, are joining this endeavor and gradually shouldering the mission of our generation. During our extravehicular activity, the mission commander and I executed every operation with precision. I mounted over 100 handrails on the exterior of the station and coordinated with the commander to reach multiple work points. After more than nine hours of spacewalk, we successfully completed the installation of the space-debris protection devices, and the inspections and maintenance of external equipment," Song said.
Wang Haoze, the country's first female space engineer, was mainly responsible for space experiment projects and the management of materials and space station affairs during the Shenzhou-19 mission.
"We executed a total of 88 space science experiments and six payload transfer operations with about half representing first-of-their-kind tests aboard the space station. These projects have now yielded phased achievements. As a space engineer, I truly understand that the results of scientific research are not easily attained, which makes me treasure every single experiment we conduct," she said.
China launched the Shenzhou-19 crewed spacecraft on Oct. 30, 2024. The trio returned to Earth on April 30, 2025, after 183 days in orbit.
Shenzhou-19 Crew: Commander Cai Xuzhe (蔡旭哲) Mission Specialist Wang Haoze (王浩泽) Mission Specialist Song Lingdong (宋令东)
Video Credit: CCTV Duration: 2 minutes Release Date: July 10, 2025
NASA Astronaut Reunion: Ayers, Whitson & McClain | International Space Station
NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers, former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson (Ax-4 Commander), and NASA astronaut Anne McClain
NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers, former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson (Ax-4 Commander), and NASA astronaut Anne McClain
Expedition 73 flight engineer and NASA astronaut Anne McClain: "They say you live with your choices . . . well, we certainly are doing just that! Peggy Whitson was on the astronaut selection committee that selected me in 2013, and I was on the selection committee that selected astronaut Nichole Ayers in 2021. Now, we all are living and working together aboard the International Space Station as part of Expedition 73 and Ax-4 missions (and having a LOT of fun in the process). When you reach your goals, send the elevator back down!"
Mission managers have given the “go” for the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew to board the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and undock from the International Space Station’s space-facing port on the Harmony module at 7:05 a.m. EDT on Monday, July 14. Ax-4 Commander Peggy Whitson will lead Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, and Mission Specialists Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, and Tibor Kapu back to Earth completing a two-and-a-half-week research mission aboard the orbiting lab.
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.
China Tianzhou-9 Cargo Spacecraft Rocket Rollout | Wenchang Space Launch Site
The Long March-7 rocket, carrying China's latest Tianzhou-9 cargo spaceship, has been successfully transferred to the launch area at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in southern Hainan Province on Saturday, July 12, 2025. The Tianzhou-9 cargo ship is scheduled to deliver fresh supplies to China's Tiangong Space Station. CGTN's reporter Chen Yilin has the details from the ground.
The cargo spacecraft will be launched at an appropriate time from the launch site in China's southern island province of Hainan in the coming days, according to the China Manned Space Agency.
The Wenchang Space Launch Site is located on the coast of the South China Sea, where July is typically hot and rainy. The Long March-7 carrier rocket, responsible for launching the cargo spacecraft, boasts a mature and highly reliable technology capable of withstanding complex weather conditions, according to the aerospace technicians.
"In terms of technical readiness, our rocket is not afraid of hot weather or moderate rainfall. As for the cargo spacecraft, it remains enclosed in the payload fairing. During transfer and after arrival at the pad, air-conditioning systems maintain a stable temperature and humidity environment to ensure the spacecraft stays in optimal condition," said Wang Xi, a technician with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
The Tianzhou-9 will carry approximately 6.5 tonnes of supplies into orbit, including life-support materials for the Shenzhou-20 and Shenzhou-21 astronaut crews, two new sets of Feitian extravehicular spacesuits, a core muscle exercise device, and scientific payloads related to space medicine and other experimental fields.
"Once the combination reaches the launch tower, connections for gas, liquid, and electrical systems between the rocket and ground support equipment are restored. Then, we conduct essential tests. Tomorrow (Sunday), we will perform a tank replacement for the propellant system and pressurize the necessary gas cylinders as part of the pre-launch preparations. Once the launch sequence begins, we'll proceed with fueling and carry out the remaining launch operations," said Wang.
Ground facilities are in good condition, and final pre-launch checks and joint tests will proceed as planned, following the vertical transfer, according to the China Manned Space Agency.
Video Credit: CGTN Duration: 2 minutes Release Date: July 12, 2025
This visualization reveals the stars of the Ursa Major constellation in three dimensions. Watch as the familiar pattern on the sky distorts into a whole new perspective.
At the start of the sequence, the camera pans upward to the asterism known as the "Big Dipper". Five of these seven stars—Mizar, Alioth, Megrez, Phecda and Merak—have similar speed and motion across the sky, and belong to the Ursa Major Moving Group. The camera then zooms out to reveal the rest of the "Great Bear". Ursa Major is the third largest constellation on the night sky, behind Hydra and Virgo.
Mizar and Alcor (the star to its upper left) form a naked eye double as seen from Earth. However, shortly after the camera starts its journey around Ursa Major, Mizar splits into three distinct visible stars. Two of these stars form a telescopic double, and the other is spectroscopic double. Alcor itself is also a double star system, for a total of 6 stars. Mizar and Alcor can be called an astronomical "triple double".
As the camera continues around the constellation, it shows the "Big Dipper" stars are relatively close to the Sun, within approximately 125 light years. The farthest star in the Ursa Major constellation, Alula Borealis, is some 400 light years away. The Pleiades and Hyades star clusters in Taurus can be seen near the Sun early on during the spin, with some members of the Orion constellation below it. The Hyades cluster remains visible for most of the spin, getting particularly close to the camera toward the end of the sequence.
This visualization features over 11 million stars down to a magnitude of 13.5 across the sky. The positions, colors, and luminosities are based on the Gaia and Hipparcos star catalogs, complemented by the HYG Database, which includes data from the Yale and Gliese catalogs. Interstellar dust is visualized using the Edenhofer map out to a distance of 1.25 kiloparsecs (~4,000 light years) from the Sun. The rest of the Milky Way plane is recreated using simulated spiral galaxy data for stars and dust from the Horizon GalMer database.
Video Credit: Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) Visualization: Christian Nieves, Frank Summers (STScI) Motion Graphics: Ralf Crawford (STScI) Data: Gaia DR3 – ESA/Gaia/DPAC Hipparcos Catalog – ESA HYG-Database (v4.1) – Astronexus CC BY-SA 4.0 Edenhofer et al (2023). A Parsec-Scale Galactic 3D Dust Map out to 1.25 kpc from the Sun -- Dataset for the 1.25 kpc 3D Dust Map and the 2 kpc 3D Dust Map (v1.0.2) [Data set]. Zenodo. Horizon GalMer Database – Chilingarian I. V., Di Matteo P., Combes F., Melchior A.-L., Semelin B., 2010, A&A, 518, A61 Duration: 2 minutes Release Date: July 1, 2025
Moon's Far Side & Earth View | China Chang'e-6 Sample-Return Moon Mission
Photo of the far side of the Moon taken by China's Chang'e 6 probe. In 2024, Chang'e-6 made history by bringing 1,935.3 grams of lunar far-side samples back to Earth. These samples were collected from the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin, the largest, deepest, and oldest basin on the Moon. It provided a rare opportunity to clarify the compositional differences between the near and far sides and to unravel the long-standing mystery of their asymmetry.
The Chang'e-6 probe was launched from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China's Hainan Province on May 3, 2024. It touched down on the far side of the Moon on June 2. During its two-day stay, Chang'e-6 used a scoop and drill, collecting nearly 2 kilograms of lunar material. On June 25, 2024, its returner brought back the samples and made a landing in north China.
Image Credit: China National Space Administration (CNSA)/China Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP)
Powering The Moon Using Vertical Solar Array Technology | NASA Langley
In this episode of NASA Edge, Blair and Franklin learn more about Vertical Solar Array Technology, or VSAT, from NASA Langley's Chuck Taylor. VSAT could provide critical charging power for infrastructure and tools on the Moon.
"Unlock the power of the Moon with Lockheed Martin's innovative Vertical Solar Array Technology (VSAT). As humanity sets its sights on establishing a sustainable presence on the Moon, reliable and continuous power is crucial. VSAT is designed to harness solar energy efficiently in the lunar environment, providing power for habitation modules, mobility vehicles and in-situ resource utilization."
"Learn how VSAT aligns with NASA's goals for lunar exploration and how it will play a pivotal role in enabling prolonged human and robotic missions on the Moon."
.jpg)
.jpg)
RD.jpg)