NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 Arrive in Florida for Launch | Kennedy Space Center

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 Arrive in Florida for Launch | Kennedy Space Center

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 from left to right: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui, NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov of Russia, and NASA astronaut Mike Fincke.

NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, Crew-11 commander, speaks to the news media during crew arrival for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission at the Launch and Landing Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, July 26, 2025.

Crew members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission, from left to right: NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov of Russia.

NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, Crew-11 commander, speaks to the news media during crew arrival for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission.

NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, Crew-11 pilot, speaks to the news media during crew arrival for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission.

NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, Crew-11 pilot, speaks to the news media during crew arrival for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission.

Roscosmos cosmonaut mission specialist Oleg Platonov of Russia speaks to the news media during crew arrival for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission.

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut mission specialist Kimiya Yui speaks to the news media during crew arrival for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission.

Crew members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov of Russia, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui, NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, and NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, pose for photographs and talk to media representatives following their arrival on Saturday, July 26, 2025, at the Launch and Landing Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Crew-11 mission is slated to launch to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft atop the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from NASA Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A no earlier than 12:09 p.m. EDT on Thursday, July 31, 2025.

Once aboard the International Space Station, the Commercial Crew foursome will spend several months studying stem cell production methods to develop advanced cures, new ways to treat bacterial infections, space agriculture techniques, and more.

NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke are serving as commander and pilot of the mission. The crew also has two mission specialists, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov of Russia. They have trained for their mission across the world, including NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, SpaceX facilities in Hawthorne, California, and international training locations.

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 benefit people on Earth.

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

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 Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Date: July 26, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #SpaceX #NASASpaceXCrew11 #SpaceXDragonSpacecraft #SpaceXFalcon9Rocket #Astronauts #MikeFincke #ZenaCardman #JAXA #KimiyaYui #Japan #日本 #JAXA #Cosmonaut #OlegPlatonov #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #Expedition73 #KSC #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Commander Onishi's Earth Cloud Collection | International Space Station

Commander Onishi's Earth Cloud Collection | International Space Station

"When I gaze at Earth from the ISS, I’m always overwhelmed by the massive scale of atmospheric circulation."

"Recalling the weather knowledge I studied during my pilot days, it’s fun to imagine the movements of the troposphere’s atmosphere while thinking things like (a front is forming over there) 😃" —T. Onishi, May 11, 2025

I can’t help but take photos of the clouds.  

A few days ago, I saw a cloud that looked like a flower.  

The weekend on the ISS is almost over.  

This might be the last weekend I can take it easy.  

Wishing everyone a great weekend too.

—T. Onishi, July 26, 2025

"Cumulonimbus clouds lined up (probably)."

—T. Onishi, July 20, 2025

"If I had woken up at 5:20 this morning, it would have been a perfect orbit passing beautifully over Japan, but I woke up at 8."

"Giving up on photos of Japan, here’s another photo instead."

"A huge cluster of clouds ☁️"

"It’s hard to gauge the altitude, but I think they might be cumulus clouds.

If anyone knows more, please let me know 🙇‍♂️"

"Since I had to work a substitute shift earlier this month, I’m getting a three-day weekend this week. Wishing everyone a great weekend too♪"

—T. Onishi, May 24, 2025

Last year, I visited the Canary Islands for ESA's PANGAEA training.

The airflow was disturbed by the islands, and it was visualized as swirling in the wake of the islands.

—T. Onishi, June 7, 2025

"One more weather topic."

"The low-pressure systems familiar from weather forecasts—did you know that the way their spirals rotate is opposite in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres?"

"This is because of something called the 'Coriolis force,' which acts in opposite directions depending on whether you're north or south of the equator."

"The first photo shows the spiral of a low-pressure system as seen in Japan. 🌀" —T. Onishi, May 11, 2025 

"Good morning 😃"

"The ISS, living in the Greenwich Mean Time zone, has just passed 8:30 AM."

"The photo shows Canada’s Manicouagan Crater, glowing under the sunlight."

"Its size, clearly visible to the naked eye even from here, speaks to the magnitude of the impact back then."

"Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend."

—T. Onishi, May 31, 2025

One more weather topic.  

The low-pressure systems familiar from weather forecasts—did you know that the way their spirals rotate is opposite in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres?  
This is because of something called the "Coriolis force," which acts in opposite directions depending on whether you're north or south of the equator.  
The first photo shows the spiral of a low-pressure system as seen in Japan 🌀

—T. Onishi, May 11, 2025

These are examples of Earth cloud photos taken by Expedition 73 Station Commander and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Takuya Onishi.

Onishi's Biography:

https://humans-in-space.jaxa.jp/en/astronaut/onishi-takuya/

Station Update: Waiting on Earth to replace Crew-10 is NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission with Commander Zena Cardman and Pilot Mike Fincke, both from NASA, and Mission Specialists Kimiya Yui of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Oleg Platonov of Roscosmos (Russia). Crew-11 will begin their countdown to a launch inside their SpaceX Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center no earlier than 12:09 p.m. EDT on Thursday, July 31, 2025.

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: JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi
Image Dates: May 11-July 26, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Planet #Earth #Atmosphere #Meteorology #Weather #Clouds #TakuyaOnishi #AstronautPhotography #Astronauts #Japan #日本 #JAXA #宇宙航空研究開発機構 #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition73 #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Astronomical Treasures over Portugal: Four Planets & more

Astronomical Treasures over Portugal: Four Planets & more

Night sky over Pinhal de Leiria, Portugal

Night sky over Pinhal de Leiria, Portugal (labeled)

Astrophotographer Rui Santos: "The night sky and planetary alignment featured . . . was captured from Pinhal de Leiria, Portugal. I decided to view the alignment from here because I knew I'd have a clear view of the horizon. Since the planets were stretched out across the sky, I had to do a panorama and try to avoid light pollution (lower left and lower right) from surrounding cities and towns. Venus, Jupiter, Mars and Uranus are included above, but because I wasn't able to arrive as the Sun was setting, Saturn, Neptune and Mercury aren't in the frame."

"At bottom center is the Crastinha Lookout Point, one of several watchtowers in the Forest of Leiria. The building to its right is the reconstruction of what used to be the guard's house, dating from 1883. This tower is still in use today."

Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east—sharing the longest uninterrupted border in the European Union; to the south and the west is the North Atlantic Ocean.

Photo Details: Panorama of 4 panels x 10 photos on each panel; Sony A6000 camera; Samyang 12mm F2; 40 x 20 seconds exposure; 6400 ISO; F2.8; 8:16 pm local time. Tripod: Geekoto AT24Pro Dreamer + Andoer Q08S Rotating Head. Processing: PTGUI, Lightroom, Photoshop, RCplugins, Luminar.

Image Credit: Rui Santos
Text Credit: Rui Santos
Image Date: Feb. 28, 2025
Release Date: June 26, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Sun #SolarSystem #Planets #Earth #Venus #Mars #Jupiter  #Uranus #Stars #OrionNebula #Photography #Astrophotography #Astrophotographer #RuiSantos #CitizenScience #PinhaldeLeiria #Portugal #Portuguesa #Europe #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Rare Intermediate-sized Black Hole Found Eating a Star | NASA Hubble & Chandra

Rare Intermediate-sized Black Hole Found Eating a Star | NASA Hubble & Chandra

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory have teamed up to identify a new possible example of a rare class of black holes. Called NGC 6099 HLX-1, this bright X-ray source seems to reside in a compact star cluster in a giant elliptical galaxy. This discovery shows how space telescopes working together across wavelengths can unveil the complete story of these cosmic phenomena, helping us understand the full spectrum of black holes shaping our universe.

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is being canceled in NASA's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request, along with 18 other active science missions. NASA's science budget is being reduced by nearly 50%.

Contact your representatives in the United States Congress, House and Senate, to express your concerns about severe science budget cuts at NASA: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials/

NASA's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request

https://www.nasa.gov/fy-2026-budget-request/

NGC 6099 is a elliptical galaxy in the Hercules constellation. It is located close to the celestial equator and is partly visible from Earth's southern and northern hemispheres at certain times of year.

Just a few years after its 1990 launch, Hubble discovered that galaxies throughout the universe can contain supermassive black holes at their centers weighing millions or billions of times the mass of our Sun. In addition, galaxies also contain as many as millions of small black holes weighing less than 100 times the mass of the Sun. These form when massive stars reach the end of their lives.

Far more elusive are intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs), weighing between a few hundred to a few 100,000 times the mass of our Sun. This not-too-big, not-too-small category of black holes is often invisible to us because IMBHs do not gobble as much gas and stars as the supermassive ones, which would emit powerful radiation. They have to be caught in the act of foraging in order to be found. When they occasionally devour a hapless bypassing star—in what astronomers call a tidal disruption event—they pour out a gusher of radiation.

The newest probable IMBH, caught snacking in telescope data, is located on the galaxy NGC 6099’s outskirts at approximately 40,000 light-years from the galaxy’s center, as described in a new study in the Astrophysical Journal. The galaxy is located about 450 million light-years away in the constellation Hercules.

Credit: NASA, ESA, CXC, Yi-Chi Chang (National Tsing Hua University); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)
Release Date: July 25, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #BlackHoles #IntermediateBlackHoles #IMBHs #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC6099 #Hercules #Constellation #Astrophysics #Universe #OpticalAstronomy #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #NASAChandra #XrayAstronomy #SpaceTelescopes #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

The Crepuscular Rays of Galaxy IC 5063 in Indus | Hubble

The Crepuscular Rays of Galaxy IC 5063 in Indus | Hubble

Many of the most stunning views of our sky occur at sunset, when sunlight pierces the clouds, creating a mixture of bright and dark rays formed by the clouds’ shadows and the beams of light scattered by the Earth's atmosphere. These are called crepuscular rays. Astronomers studying the nearby galaxy IC 5063 are tantalized by a similar effect in this image from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope. Here, a collection of narrow bright rays and dark shadows is seen beaming out of the blazingly bright center of the active galaxy, shooting across at least 36,000 light-years. IC 5063 resides 156 million light-years from Earth.

Astronomers have traced the rays back to the galaxy’s core, the location of an active supermassive black hole. The black hole is feeding on infalling material, producing a powerful gusher of light from superheated gas near it. Although the researchers have developed several plausible theories for the lightshow, the most intriguing idea suggests that the shadows are being cast into space by an inner tube-shaped ring, or torus, of dusty material surrounding the black hole.

Image Processor Judy Schmidt: "Revisiting our old friend IC 5063, this time with a bit of color, clearly revealing the emission line features emerging nearly perpendicular from the crepuscular rays. These features, in cyan, are most easily viewed zoomed in on the nucleus. They are thought to be formed by the actively accreting supermassive black hole in the center of the galaxy. In this case, the black hole may have a dark 'donut' of dust around its equatorial axis, and the extremely bright light creates ionizing cones and jets of material out of the polar axis."

"The processing here is not only extreme, but also a combination of data from two separate HST snapshot proposals, and the wondrous Legacy Survey DR9 release. I used my hacky Photoshop subtraction model to clearly reveal the center of the galaxy in the Hubble data, while the outer parts are partially filled using the LS DR9 imagery, more smoothly and confidently illustrating the galaxy's outer tidal structures."

Credit: NASA/European Space Agency (ESA)/Aaron Barth/Julianne Dalcanton/DECaM Legacy Survey

Image Processing: Judy Schmidt
Release Date: Aug. 27, 2021

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Galaxies #Galaxy #IC5063 #Seyfert2Galaxy #AGN #BlackHoles #Indus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #CitizenScience #JudySchmidt #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Globular Cluster Omega Centauri: Over Ten Million Stars

Globular Cluster Omega Centauri: Over Ten Million Stars

Globular star cluster Omega Centauri, also known as NGC 5139, is 15,000 light-years away. The cluster is packed with about 10 million stars much older than the Sun within a volume about 150 light-years in diameter. It is the largest and brightest of 200 or so known globular clusters that roam the halo of our Milky Way galaxy. Though most star clusters consist of stars with the same age and composition, the enigmatic Omega Cen exhibits the presence of different stellar populations with a spread of ages and chemical abundances. In fact, Omega Cen may be the remnant core of a small galaxy merging with the Milky Way. With a yellowish hue, Omega Centauri's red giant stars are easy to pick out in this sharp, color telescopic view. A two-decade-long exploration of the dense star cluster with the Hubble Space Telescope has revealed evidence for a massive black hole near the center of Omega Centauri.

Image Credit & Copyright: Data acquisition - SkyFlux Team
Image Processing - Leo Shatz

Leo's website: 

https://app.astrobin.com/u/spinlock#gallery
Release Date: July 26, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #StarClusters #GlobularCluster #OmegaCentauri #NGC5139 #Centaurus #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #CitizenScience #SkyfluxTeam #LeoShatz #STEM #Education #APoD

France-UK MicroCarb Earth Science Mission Launch | Arianespace Vega C Rocket

France-UK MicroCarb Earth Science Mission Launch | Arianespace Vega C Rocket

On Friday July 25th, 2025, at 11:03 p.m. local time (02:03 a.m. UTC, 04:03 a.m. CEST, on July 26th, 2025), Arianespace successfully launched the MicroCarb satellite for French space agency, CNES. This launch mission, called “VV27” was performed using an Arianespace operated Vega C rocket, launched from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.

The auxiliary passenger, MicroCarb, was placed in a Sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 650 km and separated 1 hour and 41 minutes after lift-off. It is Europe’s first mission to monitor and map atmospheric carbon dioxide.

The CNES' MicroCarb mission is designed to map sources and sinks of carbon dioxide (CO₂), the most important greenhouse gas, on a global scale. The satellite's dispersive spectrometer instrument will measure atmospheric concentration of CO₂ globally with a high degree of precision. MicroCarb's platform is based out of the lastest CNES Myriade model. Its instrument was built by Airbus Defence and Space, and the integration was realized by Thales Alenia Space UK through a dedicated partnership implemented with the UK Space Agency.

MicroCarb is a joint mission between the UK Space Agency and French Space Agency, Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES), serving as the prime contractor. The mission is co-financed by these two agencies, as well as by the European Commission and the French government within the framework of the Investments for the Future Program (PIA), managed by the National Research Agency (ANR). The satellite is designed to precisely map atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂), capturing detailed data on emissions from human activities as well as absorption by natural sinks such as oceans and forests.

The satellite is built on the CNES Myriade platform. Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), completed the assembly, integration, and testing of the satellite platform at RAL Space in Harwell, UK, and was responsible for launch preparations. Airbus Defence and Space provided the instrument payload, the infrared spectrometer.

MicroCarb will operate in low Earth orbit, at an altitude of 650 km, and serves as a precursor to the European Union’s Copernicus Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide Monitoring (CO2M) mission—a constellation of three satellites, with payloads supplied by Thales Alenia Space, which will deliver precise measurements for human-induced atmospheric carbon dioxide and methane. MicroCarb complements the CO2M mission by providing early observations and valuable data, enhancing our capability for CO₂ and methane monitoring to inform climate policy makers. 

Additionally, a special city-scanning mode will enable the mapping of CO₂ distribution within urban areas.

The VV27 launch at a glance:

354th launch by Arianespace, 5th Vega C launch
10% of the satellites launched by Arianespace are Earth observation satellites
147th-150th spacecraft built by Airbus Defence and Space launched by Arianespace (CO3D, 4 satellites)
108th spacecraft built by Thales Alenia Space launched by Arianespace (MicroCarb platform)

Video Credit: Arianespace
Duration: 1 minute, 14 seconds
Release Date: July 26, 2025

#NASA #CNES #ESA #Space #Satellites #Science #Planet #Earth #Arianespace #VegaCRocket #FlightVV27 #MicroCarb #CarbonDioxide #CO2 #ClimateChange #GreenhouseGases #GlobalHeating #EarthScience #EarthObservation #RemoteSensing #France #UK #UKSpaceAgency #InternationalCooperation #KourouSpaceport #FrenchGuiana #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Changing Surface of Mars | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

The Changing Surface of Mars | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Oribter (MRO) commonly takes images of recent craters on Mars that are usually found by the MRO Context Camera where they disturb surface dust. An impact site in this area was first imaged in December 2017.

Dust has since eroded from the surface, probably due to the planet-encircling dust storm back in 2018. The dark spots around the fresh craters have vanished because they only affected the dust that has since disappeared.

This HiRISE image was captured by NASA's MRO at an altitude of 290 kilometers (180 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
Image Date: March 24, 2019
Release Date: March 17, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #Planet #RedPlanet #Geology #Geoscience #Landscape #Terrain #Meteorology #Weather #ImpactCraters #Wind #DustStorms #MRO #MarsOrbiter #RichardZurek #ProjectScientist #MarsSpacecraft #HiRISECamera #JPL #Caltech #UA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Moon Science: Jackson Crater's Central Peak | NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

Moon Science: Jackson Crater's Central Peak | NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

Central peak Jackson crater seen obliquely

Spectacular contrasts of gray scale in the central peak of Jackson crater signal variations in composition and maturity (degree of freshness of the surface). Image is 3100 meters wide, north is to the right, M1265842750LR

Jackson Crater east-to-west oblique (subsampled)

East-to-west view of Jackson crater (71 kilometers diameter). Image was acquired when LRO was at an altitude of 111 kilometers and the Sun was to the west of the crater (LROC was facing somewhat towards the Sun; phase angle 114 degrees). The central peak rises about 1800 meters above the crater floor and the top of the crater rim in the background has more than 4000 meters relief relative to the floor. Image width is about 64 kilometers and north is to the right, M1265842750LR

Jackson is a prominent lunar impact crater that is located in the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. Less than one crater to the northeast is the crater Mineur, and to the south-southwest lies McMath. This crater created a large ray system. A skirt of higher-albedo material covers the surface within one crater diameter with a slightly darker band along the outer ramparts. Beyond that radius, the rays form wide sections that grow increasingly diffuse and wispy with distance. The largest sections lie in roughly 90° arcs to the northeast and southwest, while a narrower arc projects to the south-southeast. The rays continue for hundreds of kilometers across the surface.

The rim of the crater is well-defined and not significantly worn. The edge is somewhat polygonal in shape, with the southeastern rim being more rounded. The inner walls display some terracing. The interior floor is generally level with some irregularities in the northeastern part. Parts of the floor have a relatively high albedo. Jackson lies to the northwest of the Dirichlet-Jackson Basin.

What is the composition of the crust in Jackson Crater from top to bottom? It is relatively easy to measure the surface, but what lies beneath the surface? On the Earth geologists can dig and drill deep into the crust. We do not have that luxury on the Moon, at least not yet. However, we can take advantage of natural drill holes in the crust—impact craters. When impacts occur they dig into the crust and the central peaks expose the deepest material. Jackson Crater formed on what was rather uneven terrain—to the east of the crater the elevation is about +6000 meters and to the west about +3000 meters. The bottom of the crater sits at +1000 meters, and the material exposed in the central peak comes from more than 1000 meters deeper still. By studying the rocks exposed in the central peak, we can get a glimpse of materials that have come up from five or more kilometers below the surface (>3 miles).

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.

Image Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University
Text Credits: Mark Robinson, Wikipedia
Release Date: July 19, 2019

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #Moon #Geology #Geoscience #FarSide #NorthernHemisphere #ImpactCraters #JacksonCrater #CentralUplift #LRO #LunarOrbiter #LunarSpacecraft #LROC #SpaceRobotics #SpaceTechnology #GSFC #ASU #UnitedStates #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #STEM #Education

Mind/Body Practices for Deep Space Exploration (RelaxPro) | NASA Research

Mind/Body Practices for Deep Space Exploration (RelaxPro) | NASA Research

NASA is conducting research examining the stress of human spaceflight on the body and the mind. There are many human factors to consider as humanity prepares to begin deep space exploration missions. What we learn from spaceflight medicine could transform lives here on Earth.

The psychological well-being of astronauts is becoming just as vital as their physical and technical readiness as space missions extend into deep space. Long-duration missions pose unique challenges, such as isolation, confinement, communication delays, and microgravity. These factors can significantly affect psycholgical health and cognitive performance. Ongoing research is aimed at ensuring astronauts are psychologically and emotionally prepared for the challenges of space.

The Mind/Body Practices for Deep Space Exploration (RelaxPro) investigation aims to test an astronaut relaxation training protocol designed for use in spaceflight. These mind and body practices have previously demonstrated effectiveness in reducing both stress and sleep issues on Earth. 

Learn more:
"Supporting the Mind in Space: Psychological Tools for Long-Duration Missions" by Professor Francesco Pagnini, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan, Italy
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11499714/

Image Credit: F. Pagnini, Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore

Text Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center
Release Date: July 16, 2025

#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #Earth #ArtemisProgram #Moon #Mars #HumanSpaceflight #Astronauts #AstronautHealth #PhysicalExercise #Relaxation #SpaceMedicine #SpacePsychology #PsychologicalIsolation #LongDurationSpaceflight #DeepSpaceMissions #SpaceLaboratories #NASAJohnson #JSC #UnitedStates #Illustration #STEM #Education

Lightning over Pacific Ocean: Hurricane Erick | International Space Station

Lightning over Pacific Ocean: Hurricane Erick | International Space Station

Lightning illuminates the cloud tops of Category 1 Hurricane Erick as it stormed across the Pacific Ocean south of the Mexican state of Chiapas at approximately 3:42 a.m. local time on June 20, 2025, as the International Space Station orbited 258 miles above. Erick later became the first major hurricane–Category 3 or greater–on record to hit Mexico before July.

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's Johnson Space Center 
Capture Date: June 20, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Planet #Earth #Atmosphere #PacificOcean #HurricaneErick #LightningStorms #Lightning #Mexico #Chiapas #ClimateHeating #GlobalWarming #Astronauts #AstronautPhotography #UnitedStates #Japan #JAXA #Cosmonauts #Russia #Roscosmos #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition73 #STEM #Education

The Apep Nebula & Triple Star System | James Webb Space Telescope

The Apep Nebula & Triple Star System | James Webb Space Telescope

The Apep Nebula, also known as the Apep star system, is a triple star system located in the constellation of Norma. It consists of a Wolf-Rayet binary and a hot supergiant star. The nebula is surrounded by a vast complex of stellar wind and cosmic dust. This has formed a "pinwheel" shape by the secondary star's influence. The nebula's appearance resembles a giant serpent, named Apep, in Egyptian mythology. It is often depicted as a serpent devouring its own tail. The Apep nebula is significant in the study of stellar winds and dust formation, as it is a known progenitor of gamma-ray bursts. The nebula's structure and behavior are closely monitored by astronomers to understand the dynamics of massive stars and the processes that lead to their eventual supernova. 

Image Processor Judy Schmidt: "Apep is another star system producing a very interestingly shaped nebula around it. These data just came out today, and I spent much of the day processing them. It was certainly challenging, requiring going down to the level 1 data to get the details at the bright center to not be saturated (overexposed)."

"Anyway, the texture seen in the two outer shells reminds me of a sherpa blanket. I don't think there's anything else quite like it. I really wanted that texture to pop, and it was most pronounced on the F1500W data, so I used that for luminosity to give it extra visibility, along with some typical sharpening, clarity, and texture adjustments from the Photoshop camera raw tool. Again, the resolution is not high for this image. Just how it is."

Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA

Image Processing: Judy Schmidt

Text Credit: Phys.org

Release Date: July 24, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #NASAWebb #Nebula #ApepNebula #TripleStarSystem #Norma #Constellation #Astrophysics #Cosmos #Universe #UnfoldTheUniverse #JWST #NIRCam #InfraredAstronomy #ESA #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #STScI #JudySchmidt #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Close-up: Globular Cluster Liller 1 Surrounded by Blue Stars | Hubble

Close-up: Globular Cluster Liller 1 Surrounded by Blue Stars | Hubble

The muted red tones of the globular cluster Liller 1 are partially obscured in this image by a dense scattering of piercingly blue stars. In fact, it is thanks to Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) that we are able to see Liller 1 so clearly in this image, because the WFC3 is sensitive to wavelengths of light that the human eye cannot detect. Liller 1 is only 30,000 light-years from Earth—relatively neighborly in astronomical terms—but it lies within the Milky Way’s ‘bulge’, the dense and dusty region at our galaxy’s center. Because of that, Liller 1 is heavily obscured from view by interstellar dust, which scatters visible light (particularly blue light) very effectively.

Fortunately, some infrared and red visible light are able to pass through these dusty regions. WFC3 is sensitive to both visible and near-infrared (infrared that is close to the visible) wavelengths, allowing us to see through the obscuring clouds of dust, and providing this spectacular view of Liller 1. 

Liller 1 is a particularly interesting globular cluster, because unlike most of its kind, it contains a mix of very young and very old stars. Globular clusters typically house only old stars, some nearly as old as the Universe itself. Liller 1 instead contains at least two distinct stellar populations with remarkably different ages: the oldest one is 12 billion years old and the youngest component is just 1-2 billion years old. This led astronomers to conclude that this stellar system was able to form stars over an extraordinary long period of time. 

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble & NASA, F. Ferraro
Duration: 30 seconds
Release Date: May 23, 2022

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The N79 Star Cluster in Nearby LMC Galaxy | NASA Webb & Chandra

The N79 Star Cluster in Nearby LMC Galaxy | NASA Webb & Chandra

✨What you’re seeing is a 98-light-year-wide chunk of star factory. This new image of N79, a giant region of star formation located about 160,000 light-years from Earth, combines observations from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency Webb Space Telescope.

This image features an H II region in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way. The N79 nebula is a region of interstellar atomic hydrogen that is ionized.

N79 is a massive star-forming complex spanning roughly 1,630 light-years in the generally unexplored southwest region of the LMC. N79 is typically regarded as a younger version of 30 Doradus (also known as the Tarantula Nebula), another of Webb’s recent targets. Research suggests that N79 has a star formation efficiency exceeding that of 30 Doradus by a factor of two over the past 500,000 years. 

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is being canceled in NASA's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request, along with 18 other active science missions. NASA's science budget is being reduced by nearly 50%.

Contact your representatives in the United States Congress, House and Senate, to express your concerns about severe science budget cuts at NASA: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials/

NASA's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request

https://www.nasa.gov/fy-2026-budget-request/

Star-forming regions such as this are of interest to astronomers because their chemical composition is similar to that of the gigantic star-forming regions observed when the Universe was only a few billion years old and star formation was at its peak. Star-forming regions in our Milky Way galaxy are not producing stars at the same furious rate as N79, and have a different chemical composition. Webb is now providing astronomers the opportunity to compare and contrast observations of star formation in N79 with the telescope’s deep observations of distant galaxies in the early Universe.

Image Description: Shafts of golden light bursting out of a central glowing orb cut through misty clouds in shades of purples, pinks, yellows, and blues.

Image Credits:

X-ray, Chandra: NASA/CXC/Ohio State Univ/T. Webb et al.

Infrared, Webb: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI

Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Major

Release Date: July 23, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Stars #StarClusters #Nebulae #Nebula #N79 #Galaxy #LMC #LargeMagellanicCloud #Doradus #Constellation #Universe #Astrophysics #JWST #InfraredAstronomy #SpaceTelescopes #NASAChandra #XrayAstronomy #ESA #CSA #NASAGoddard #NASAMarshall #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Ride Along with NASA Leadership and The Lunar Outpost Team

Ride Along with NASA Leadership and The Lunar Outpost Team

NASA awarded Lunar Outpost a contract to develop the Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) for Artemis astronauts. Lunar Dawn is a "crewed and cargo transport for the Moon, Mars, and beyond."

"Ride along with NASA leadership and the Lunar Outpost team at our 1,000-acre testing facility, where they saw first-hand the innovation and engineering behind our Eagle LTV. This is Artemis in motion."

"Not just returning to the Moon, but going to stay."

"Not just building machines, but building humanity’s future beyond Earth."

"Moments like these remind us that space exploration isn’t distant. It’s deeply human. It’s about curiosity, courage, and the drive to go farther—for all humankind."

Lunar Outpost is "proudly partnered" with GM, MDA Space, Goodyear, and Leidos.

Learn more about Lunar Terrain Vehicles (LTVs):
https://www.lunaroutpost.com/ltv

Video Credit: Lunar Outpost
Duration: 1 minute, 34 seconds
Release Date: July 22, 2025 

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Planet Mars Images: July 20-24, 2025 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers

Planet Mars Images: July 20-24, 2025 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers

MSL - Sol 4608

MSL - Sol 4608

MSL - Sol 4608

MSL - Sol 4605

MSL - Sol 4605

Mars 2020 - Sol 1572

Mars 2020 - Sol 1573

Mars 2020 - Sol 1572

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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 20-24, 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