Friends of NASA

Tuesday, July 15, 2025

Axiom Space Ax-4 Mission Crew Returns Home | International Space Station

Axiom Space Ax-4 Mission Crew Returns Home | International Space Station

Axiom Space Ax-4 Commander & Commercial Astronaut Peggy Whitson (USA)

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Astronaut and Ax-4 Pilot Shubhandshu Shukla

European Space Agency (ESA) Astronaut & Ax-4 Mission Specialist Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland

Astronaut & Ax-4 Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu of Hungary

Main parachutes deploy from SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft with Ax-4 crew members prior to splashdown off California coast

Track of SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft with Ax-4 crew members off California coast

After 18 days in space, the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and the Ax-4 astronauts Peggy Whitson (USA), Shubhandshu Shukla (India/ISRO), Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski (Poland/ESA), and Tibor Kapu (Hungary) returned to Earth and splashed down off the coast of California at 2:31 a.m. PT on Tuesday, July 15, 2025. Falcon 9 launched the spacecraft from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, June 25 at 2:31 a.m. ET.

The private astronauts spent over two weeks aboard the International Space Station, conducting a mission of science, outreach, and commercial activities.

President and COO of SpaceX Gwynne Shotwell: "Welcome home Peggy, Shux, Suave, and Tibi! It was an honor to fly you aboard our new Dragon spacecraft and support the first human spaceflight to the International Space Station for India, Poland and Hungary."

Learn more about Ax-4:
https://www.axiomspace.com/missions/ax4

Image Credits: Axiom Space/SpaceX
Capture Date: July 15, 2025

#NASA #Space #Earth #ISS #AxiomSpace #Ax4Mission #Ax4 #Astronauts #CommercialAstronauts #PeggyWhitson #UnitedStates #ShubhanshuShukla #ISRO #India #BhāratGaṇarājya #SławoszUznańskiWiśniewski #Poland #Polska #ESA #TiborKapu #Hungary #Magyarország #Expedition73 #CommercialSpace #InternationalCooperation #STEM #Education

Monday, July 14, 2025

Tianzhou-9 Cargo Spacecraft Launch | China Space Station

Tianzhou-9 Cargo Spacecraft Launch | China Space Station

China launched the cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-9 in the early morning on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, to deliver supplies for its orbiting Tiangong space station, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

At 08:52, the Tianzhou-9 cargo spacecraft docked at the rear docking port of the Tianhe core module, said the CMSA.

The Shenzhou-20 crew members aboard the space station will sequentially transfer the items from the cargo spacecraft to the station.

The Tianzhou-9 was launched into space atop a Long March-7 Y10 carrier rocket at 05:34 from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China's Hainan Province.

The cargo spacecraft is loaded with approximately 6.5 tonnes of supplies, including life-support materials for the Shenzhou-20 and Shenzhou-21 astronaut crews, two new sets of Feitian extravehicular spacesuits, a core exercise equipment, and scientific payloads related to space medicine and other experimental fields.

Video Credit: CCTV
Duration: 2 minutes
Release Date: July 15, 2025

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #China #中国 #LongMarch7Y9Rocket #Tianzhou9 #CargoSpacecraft #Shenzhou20 #神舟二十号 #Shenzhou20Crew #Taikonauts #Astronauts #CSS #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #LongDurationSpaceflight #CMSA #中国载人航天工程办公室 #HumanSpaceflight #WenchangSLS #Hainan #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Mars: Colorful Bedrock in Northern Crater | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Mars: Colorful Bedrock in Northern Crater | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

This image covers the inside of an impact crater on the northern plains of Mars. It was intended to provide a baseline image of sand dunes on the crater floor. This could be monitored for potential motion in future pictures.

Much more than sand is visible. The dark, undulating dunes sit atop a colorful surface of exposed bedrock. Based on the crater's diameter of roughly 25 kilometers, these rocks may have been previously buried over a mile beneath the surface. The varying colors likely reflect diverse mineral compositions. (The CRISM instrument, also on MRO, has detected a variety of minerals in the neighboring larger Micoud Crater. Its rim lies about 50 kilometers east-southeast of this image.)

Excavated by impact, the colorful rocks here remain visible in part thanks to the winds that shape the overlying sand dunes. They help to sweep the crater’s center clear of surface dust.

This HiRISE image was captured when NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) was at an altitude of 306 kilometers (190 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.

For more information on MRO, visit:

science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-reconnaissance-orbiter

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
Capture Date: Feb. 2, 2020
Narration: Tre Gibbs

Duration: 50 seconds
Release Date: June 28, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #Planet #RedPlanet #Atmosphere #Meteorology #Weather #Geology #Geoscience #Landscape #Terrain #NorthernHemisphere #Crater #Bedrock #Minerals #CRISM #MRO #MarsOrbiter #MarsSpacecraft #HiRISECamera #JPL #Caltech #UA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Mars: Colorful Bedrock in Northern Crater | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Mars: Colorful Bedrock in Northern Crater | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Excavated by impact, the colorful rocks here remain visible in part thanks to the winds that shape the overlying sand dunes. They help to sweep the crater’s center clear of surface dust.

This HiRISE image was captured when NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) was at an altitude of 306 kilometers (190 miles).

For more information on MRO, visit:

science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-reconnaissance-orbiter

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
Capture Date: Feb. 2, 2020
Release Date: June 28, 2025

Expedition 73 & Ax-4 Crews in 'Moving Pictures' | International Space Station

Expedition 73 & Ax-4 Crews in 'Moving Pictures' | International Space Station

Expedition flight engineer and NASA astronaut Anne McClain: "How do we take group photos in space? We cannot ask a passerby for help, so we set up a camera to take a photo every 5 seconds, get in position, then stop to smile at the camera. Looks a little chaotic, but it works!"

The SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft undocked at 7:15 a.m. EDT from the space-facing port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module, completing the fourth private astronaut mission to the orbiting laboratory, Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4).

Learn more about Ax-4:
https://www.axiomspace.com/missions/ax4

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.

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

Video Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center/Anne McClain

Time: 16 seconds
Release Date: July 14, 2025

The Helix Galaxy: NGC 2685 in Ursa Major

The Helix Galaxy: NGC 2685 in Ursa Major

What is going on with this galaxy? NGC 2685 is a confirmed polar ring galaxy—a rare type of galaxy with stars, gas and dust orbiting in rings perpendicular to the plane of a flat galactic disk. The bizarre configuration could be caused by the chance capture of material from another galaxy by a disk galaxy with the captured debris strung out in a rotating ring. Still, observed properties of NGC 2685 suggest that the rotating helix structure is remarkably old and stable.

In this sharp view of the peculiar system also known as Arp 336 or the Helix galaxy, the strange, perpendicular rings are easy to trace as they pass in front of the galactic disk, along with other disturbed outer structures. NGC 2685 is about 50,000 light-years across and 40 million light-years away in the constellation of the Great Bear (Ursa Major).

Image Description: An unusual galaxy is shown that appears lens-like in overall shape yet has various rings of stars around the center.

Image Credit & Copyright: Stefan Thrun
Stefan's website: https://app.astrobin.com/u/Stefan-Harry-Thrun#gallery

Duration: 1 minute, 43 seconds
Release Date: July 14, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC2685 #Arp336 #HelixGalaxy #LenticularGalaxy #PolarRingGalaxy #UrsaMajor #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Astrophotography #StefanThrun #Astrophotographer #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video #APoD

The Helix Galaxy: NGC 2685 in Ursa Major

The Helix Galaxy: NGC 2685 in Ursa Major

Image Description: An unusual galaxy is shown that appears lens-like in overall shape yet has various rings of stars around the center.

Image Credit & Copyright: Stefan Thrun
Stefan's website: https://app.astrobin.com/u/Stefan-Harry-Thrun#gallery
Release Date: July 14, 2025

Planet Mars Images: July 10-13, 2025 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers

Planet Mars Images: July 10-13, 2025 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers

MSL - sol 4594

Mars 2020 - sol 1559

Mars 2020 - sol 1562

MSL - sol 4597

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: July 10-13, 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

Expedition 73 & Ax-4 Crew Photos | International Space Station

Expedition 73 & Ax-4 Crew Photos | International Space Station

Expedition 73 & Ax-4 Crew Group Portrait

Ax-4 Mission emblem

Expedition 73 emblem

The official portrait of the International Space Station's seven-member Expedition 73 crew from three different space agencies. Seated in the front row from left, are NASA astronauts Nichole Ayers and Anne McClain. In the back row from left are, Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov (Russia); NASA astronaut Jonny Kim; Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky of Russia; and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Takuya Onishi

Expedition flight engineer and NASA astronaut Jonny Kim: "We don’t get in our flight suits often, but chance had us all decked out so we took advantage and took some photos with our new crewmates."

"In this picture we have eight astronauts representing the United States, Japan, India, Hungary and Poland. It’s been a pleasure getting to know and work with these professionals, and it’s been amazing to watch the ground collaboration for research between our partner nations."

"If you’ve ever wondered how we take these photos, we set a camera time-lapse on a wall mounted tripod with a quick interval."

Learn more about Ax-4:
https://www.axiomspace.com/missions/ax4

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

Image Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center/J. Kim/Josh Valcarcel
Release Date: July 13, 2025

Ax-4 Mission: Peggy Whitson & Shubhanshu Shukla | International Space Station

Ax-4 Mission: Peggy Whitson & Shubhanshu Shukla | International Space Station

Ax-4 Commander Peggy Whitson (USA) and Mission Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) provided a final update aboard the International Space Station prior to their departure for home. The SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft undocked at 7:15 a.m. EDT from the space-facing port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module, completing the fourth private astronaut mission to the orbiting laboratory, Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4).

Learn more about Ax-4:
https://www.axiomspace.com/missions/ax4

Video Credit: Axiom Space
Duration: 10 minutes, 33 seconds
Release Date: July 14, 2025

Globular Star Cluster NGC 1786: A Galactic Time Capsule | Hubble

Globular Star Cluster NGC 1786: A Galactic Time Capsule | Hubble

In this Hubble picture, we gaze upon the field of stars that is NGC 1786. This object is a globular cluster in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a small satellite galaxy of the Milky Way Galaxy that is approximately 160,000 light-years away from Earth. NGC 1786 itself is in the constellation Dorado. It was discovered in the year 1835 by John Herschel.

The data for this image comes from an observing program comparing old globular clusters in nearby dwarf galaxies—the LMC, the Small Magellanic Cloud and the Fornax dwarf spheroidal galaxy—to the globular clusters in the Milky Way galaxy. Our galaxy contains over 150 of these old, spherical collections of tightly-bound stars. They have been studied in depth—especially with Hubble Space Telescope images like this one, showing them in previously-unattainable detail. Being very stable and long-lived, they act as galactic time capsules, preserving stars from the earliest stages of a galaxy’s formation.

Astronomers once thought that the stars in a globular cluster all formed together at about the same time, but study of the old globular clusters in our galaxy has uncovered multiple populations of stars at a rnage of ages. In order to use globular clusters as historical markers, we must understand how they form and where these stars of varying ages come from. This observing program examined old globular clusters like NGC 1786 in these external galaxies to see if they, too, contain multiple populations of stars. This research can tell us more not only about how the LMC was originally formed, but the Milky Way Galaxy, too.

Image Description: A cluster of stars in space. It is bright in the center, where the stars are densely packed together in the cluster’s core, and grows dimmer and more diffuse out to the edges, as the stars give way to the dark background of space. A few orange stars are spread across the cluster, but most are pale, bluish-white points of light. Three large stars with cross-shaped spikes around them lie between us and the cluster.

Credit:
ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. Monelli
Acknowledgement: M. H. Özsaraç
Release Date: July 14, 2025

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Stars #StarClusters #GlobularStarClusters #NGC1786 #Dorado #Constellation #LMC #Galaxies #Cosmos #Universe #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Sunday, July 13, 2025

Moon Science: Malapert Massif | NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

Moon Science: Malapert Massif | NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

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.

Learn more about NASA's LRO:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/lro/

Image Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University/M1432398306LR
Text Credit: Mark Robinson
Release Date: March 14, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #Moon #Geology #Geoscience #SouthPole #MalapertMassif #MountMalapert #ObliqueImage #ArtemisIIILandingSite #ArtemisProgram #LRO #LunarOrbiter #LROC #NAC #SpaceRobotics #SpaceTechnology #GSFC #UnitedStates #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #STEM #Education

Planet Mars: Dust Devil Dance | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

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).

For more information on MRO, visit:

science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-reconnaissance-orbiter

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
Image Date: Sept. 3, 2020
Release Date: July 13, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #Planet #RedPlanet #Atmosphere #Meteorology #Weather #Geology #Geoscience #Landscape #Terrain #DustDevils #Wind #Dust #MRO #MarsOrbiter #MarsSpacecraft #HiRISECamera #JPL #Caltech #UA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Anatomy of a NASA Space Shuttle (1981-2011)

Anatomy of a NASA Space Shuttle (1981-2011)

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.

Learn more about NASA's Space Transportation System (STS)/Space Shuttle Program:
https://www.nasa.gov/space-shuttle/

Image Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Release Date: July 9, 2025

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #ISS #Orbiters #STS #STSProgram #SpaceShuttle #Spacecraft #ReusableSpacecraft #SpacecraftRecycling #ArtemisProgram #SLS #RocketEngines #OrionSpacecraft #Aerospace #Engineering #SpaceTechnology #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #History #Illustration #STEM #Education

Planetary Nebula Menzel 3 | Hubble Space Telescope

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)

Duration: 2 minutes
Release Date: July 13, 2025

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Nebulae #PlanetaryNebulae #Menzel3 #PNMz3 #AntNebula #Norma #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #APoD #HD #Video

Planetary Nebula Menzel 3 | Hubble Space Telescope

Planetary Nebula Menzel 3 | Hubble Space Telescope

Credit: NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Release Date: Feb. 1, 2001

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Tuesday, July 15, 2025

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