X "Marks the Spot" above Cerro Tololo, Chile | NOIRLab

X "Marks the Spot" above Cerro Tololo, Chile | NOIRLab

Celestial beams of light formed from the Milky Way galaxy and zodiacal light crisscrossing above the telescopes of the U.S. National Science Foundation Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), a Program of National Science Foundation (NSF) NOIRLab. The US Naval Observatory Deep South Telescope sits on the far left of this image. Moving towards the right, there is also the DIMM1 Seeing Monitor, the CHilean Automatic Supernova sEarch dome (CHASE), the UBC Southern Observatory, and the Planetary Defense 1.0-meter Telescope. These represent only a subset of the nearly 40 telescopes at CTIO, so this celestial X truly marks the spot of a treasure trove of discovery!

The zodiacal light is a faint, diffuse band of light in the night sky, reaching up from the horizon. It follows the direction of the ecliptic—the plane of Earth's orbit around the Sun. This plane is rich in tiny particles of dust. It scatters sunlight and creates this phenomenon. The glow is so faint that light pollution or even moonlight can outshine it.

Many of the telescopes pictured here have specialized purposes on behalf of their sponsors. For example, the UBC Southern Observatory 0.35-meter (1.15-foot) telescope was made specifically for the site-testing campaign of the Thirty Meter Telescope. Today, it is used by the University of British Columbia in Canada for research on transiting exoplanets and space debris. Another specialized telescope at CTIO is the Planetary Defense 1.0-meter Telescope, operated by the University of North Carolina and the Astronomical Research Institute. This telescope conducts southern-sky astrometric follow-up observations of Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs).

Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory

https://noirlab.edu/science/programs/ctio

Credit: CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/P. Horálek (Institute of Physics in Opava)
Release Date: Aug. 6, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #ZodiacalLight #MilkyWayGalaxy #CerroTololo #CTIO #PlanetaryDefenseTelescopes #USNavalObservatory #UBCSouthernObservatory #UBC #DeepSouthTelescope #UnitedStates #Canada #Chile #Astrophotography #Astrophotographer #PetrHorálek #STEM #Education

Close-up: Galaxy NGC 45 in Cetus | Hubble Space Telescope

Close-up: Galaxy NGC 45 in Cetus | Hubble Space Telescope

This NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope picture zooms in on the feathery spiral arms of the galaxy NGC 45. It lies just 22 million light-years away in the constellation Cetus (The Whale).

The data used to create this portrait were drawn from two complementary observing programs. The first took a broad view of 50 nearby galaxies, leveraging Hubble’s ability to observe light from the ultraviolet to the near-infrared in order to study star formation in these galaxies. The second program examined many of the same nearby galaxies as the first, narrowing in on a particular wavelength of red light called H-alpha. Star-forming nebulae are powerful producers of H-alpha light, and several of these regions can be identified across NGC 45 by their bright pink-red color.

These observing programs aimed to study star formation in galaxies of various sizes, structures, and degrees of isolation. NGC 45 is a particularly interesting target. Alhough it may appear to be a regular spiral galaxy, NGC 45 is actually a remarkable type called a low surface brightness galaxy.

Low surface brightness galaxies are fainter than the night sky itself, making them incredibly difficult to detect. They appear unexpectedly faint because they have relatively few stars for the amount of gas and dark matter they carry. In the decades since the first low surface brightness galaxy was serendipitously discovered in 1986, researchers have learned that 30–60% of all galaxies may fall into this category. Studying these hard-to-detect galaxies is key to understanding how galaxies form and evolve, and Hubble’s sensitive instruments are equal to the task.

Image Description: This Hubble image features a close-up view of the outer arms of the spiral galaxy NGC 45. These spiral arms are filled with tiny blue dots—stars—and glowing pink clouds—star-forming nebulae. This is shown against a dark background.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Calzetti, R. Chandar, N. Bartmann (ESA/Hubble)
Acknowledgement: M. H. Özsaraç

Duration: 30 seconds
Release Date: Aug. 11, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Hubble #Space #Science #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC45 #Cetus #Constellations #Cosmos #Universe #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #ESA #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA Artemis II Orion Spacecraft Move: Preparing for Moon Rocket Integration

NASA Artemis II Orion Spacecraft Move: Preparing for Moon Rocket Integration

Crews transport NASA’s Artemis II Orion spacecraft from the Multi-Payload Processing Facility (MPPF) to the Launch Abort System Facility (LASF) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025. Technicians will integrate Orion with its 44-foot-tall launch abort system designed to carry the crew to safety in the event of an emergency during launch or ascent atop the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The Artemis II test flight will send NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen around the Moon and return them safely back home.

Image Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Image Date: Aug. 10, 2025

#NASA #Space #Science #Moon #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisII #OrionSpacecraft #ArtemisIICrewModule #Astronauts #CrewedMission #DeepSpace #MoonToMars #SpaceEngineering #SpaceTechnology #HumanSpaceflight #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #NASAKennedy #KSC #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Orbital Sunrise | International Space Station

Orbital Sunrise | International Space Station

The light from an orbital sunrise refracts through a window inside the International Space Station's "window to the world," the Cupola. At bottom, a portion of the orbital outpost's U.S. segment is illuminated including the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft docked to the Harmony module's forward port. The station was soaring 259 miles above the Republic of Kiribati in the Pacific Ocean at approximately 3:40 a.m. local time when this photograph was taken.

The Cupola is a panoramic control tower for the International Space Station—a dome-shaped module with windows that allows operations on the outside of the station to be observed and guided. It is a pressurized observation and work area that accommodates command and control workstations and other hardware. The Cupola offers a 360 degree view.

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

Expedition 73 Crew

Station Commander: Sergey Ryzhikov (Roscosmos)

JAXA Flight Engineer (Japan): Kimiya Yui

Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Alexey Zubritskiy, Oleg Platonov

NASA Flight Engineers: Jonny Kim, Zena Cardman, Mike Fincke

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's Johnson Space Center 
Image Date: June 13, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Stars #Sun #SolarSystem #Planet #Earth #OrbitalSunrise #Astronauts #AstronautPhotography #Japan #JAXA #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition73 #STEM #Education

Galaxy NGC 2146 | Hubble & Chandra [Budget Alert: Chandra to be Canceled)

Galaxy NGC 2146 | Hubble & Chandra [Budget Alert: Chandra to be Canceled)

NGC 2146 is a spiral galaxy with one of its dusty arms blocking the view of the galaxy’s center from Earth’s perspective. X-rays from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory show double star systems and hot gas that is being driven away from the galaxy by supernova explosions and winds from giant stars.

X-rays from Chandra show as pink and purple, while optical data from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Las Cumbres Observatory in Chile and infrared data from the National Science Foundation’s Kitt Peak Observatory are in red, green, and blue.

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%. NASA's total budget will become the lowest since 1961, after accounting for inflation.

Contact your representatives in the United States Congress, House and Senate, to express your concerns about severe budget cuts at NASA:

https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials/

NASA's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request (PDF) Document Download: https://www.nasa.gov/fy-2026-budget-request/ (See Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request Summary)

NGC 2146 is classified as a barred spiral due to its shape, but the most distinctive feature is the dusty spiral arm that has looped in front of the galaxy's core as seen from our perspective. The forces required to pull this structure out of its natural shape and twist it up to 45 degrees are colossal. The most likely explanation is that a neighboring galaxy is gravitationally perturbing it and distorting the orbits of many of NGC 2146’s stars. It is probable that we are currently witnessing the end stages of a process which has been occurring for tens of millions of years.

NCG 2146 is undergoing intense bouts of star formation, to such an extent that it is referred to as a starburst galaxy. This is a common state for barred spirals, but the extra gravitational disruption that NGC 2146 is enduring no doubt exacerbates the situation, compressing hydrogen-rich nebulae and triggering stellar birth.

Measuring about 80,000 light-years from end to end, NGC 2146 is slightly smaller than the Milky Way. It lies approximately 70 million light-years distant in the faint northern constellation of Camelopardalis (The Giraffe). Although it is fairly easy to see with a moderate-sized telescope as a faint elongated blur of light it was not spotted until 1876 when the German astronomer Friedrich Winnecke found it visually using just a 16 cm telescope.

Credits: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI and NOIRLab/NSF/AURA Infrared: NSF/NOAO/KPNO

Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare
Release Date: Aug. 11, 2025

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Galaxies #NGC2146 #BarredSpiral #Camelopardalis #Constellations #MilkyWayGalaxy #Universe #Astrophysics #NASAChandra #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #GSFC #STScI #KPNO #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

NASA's SpaceX Crew-10: Helicopter Flight Post-splashdown Off California Coast

NASA's SpaceX Crew-10: Helicopter Flight Post-splashdown Off California Coast

NASA astronaut Anne McClain is seen inside an elevator onboard the SpaceX recovery ship Shannon that will take her up to a waiting helicopter to fly to Long Beach, California

NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers is helped aboard a helicopter on the SpaceX recovery ship Shannon to fly to Long Beach, California

NASA astronaut Anne McClain is helped aboard a helicopter on the SpaceX recovery ship Shannon to fly to Long Beach, California

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Takuya Onishi is helped aboard a helicopter on the SpaceX recovery ship Shannon to fly to Long Beach, California

Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov of Russia is seen inside an elevator onboard the SpaceX recovery ship Shannon that will take him up to a waiting helicopter to fly to Long Beach, California

The helicopter carrying NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov of Russia takes off from the SpaceX recovery ship Shannon shortly after they landed in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, Calif., Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025.

From right to left, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Aki Hoshide, NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev of Russia are seen aboard a helicopter en route to stage for the landing of the SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft

At 11:33 a.m. EDT, on Saturday, August 9, 2025, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, carrying NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov of Russia splashed down off the coast of San Diego, California. This completes a stay in space of 148 days for the four-person crew. After egressing the spacecraft, the crew received medical checks before being flown via helicopter to meet up with a NASA aircraft in Long Beach, California, bound for Houston.

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

Expedition 73 Crew

Station Commander: Sergey Ryzhikov (Roscosmos)

JAXA Flight Engineer (Japan): Kimiya Yui

Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Alexey Zubritskiy, Oleg Platonov

NASA Flight Engineers: Jonny Kim, Zena Cardman, Mike Fincke

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/Keegan Barber

Date: Aug. 9, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Planet #Earth #SpaceX #CrewDragonSpacecraft #Crew10 #Astronauts  #AnneMcClain #NicholeAyers #UnitedStates #TakuyaOnishi #Japan #JAXA #Cosmonauts #KirillPeskov #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition73 #STEM #Education

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 Returns to Ellington Field | Johnson Space Center

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 Returns to Ellington Field | Johnson Space Center

Video coverage of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 returning at Ellington Field in Houston, Texas, on August 9, 2025. Footage includes aircraft approach, landing, and taxi, as well as NASA leadership and fellow NASA astronauts greeting NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov of Russia as the crew exits the aircraft. 

Crew-10 completed a long-duration science mission aboard the International Space Station and spent a total of 148 days in space. After undocking from the orbiting laboratory, Crew-10 splashed down at 11:33 a.m. EDT on Saturday, August 9, 2025, in the in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. 

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

Expedition 73 Crew

Station Commander: Sergey Ryzhikov (Roscosmos)

JAXA Flight Engineer (Japan): Kimiya Yui

Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Alexey Zubritskiy, Oleg Platonov

NASA Flight Engineers: Jonny Kim, Zena Cardman, Mike Fincke

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: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Time: 3 minutes

Capture Date: Aug. 9, 2025
Release Date: Aug. 11, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Planet #Earth #SpaceX #CrewDragonSpacecraft #Crew10 #Astronauts  #AnneMcClain #NicholeAyers #UnitedStates #TakuyaOnishi #Japan #JAXA #Cosmonauts #KirillPeskov #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition73 #JSC #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Gemini South Observatory's Laser Guide Star | NOIRLab

Gemini South Observatory's Laser Guide Star | NOIRLab

The Gemini South Telescope, half of the International Gemini Observatory, shines a low power laser into the sky to create a laser guide star. This laser guide star serves as a reference for the telescope's adaptive optics system so that it can 'cancel out' the effect of atmospheric turbulence on the images of its actual targets. The Gemini South telescope is located on a mountain in the Chilean Andes called Cerro Pachón, where very dry air and negligible cloud cover make this another prime telescope location.

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

Video Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA
Duration: 33 seconds
Release Date: Nov. 25, 2023

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Earth #AtmosphericTurbulence #Stars #Nebulae #Galaxies #Cosmos #Universe #GeminiSouth #GeminiSouthObservatory #LaserGuideStar #AdaptiveOptics #GeMS #CerroPachón #Chile #NOIRLab #NSF #AURA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Inside the Vera Rubin Auxiliary Telescope in Chile | NOIRLab

Inside the Vera Rubin Auxiliary Telescope in Chile | NOIRLab

Bask in the red lights and enjoy a night inside the Rubin Auxiliary Telescope. As the telescope slews to its various targets, the Large Magellanic Cloud (0:03) and the Milky Way (0:08) peek through the dome slit.

The jointly funded National Science Foundation (NSF) and United States Department of Energy Vera C. Rubin Observatory is a brand new astronomy and astrophysics facility that is nearing completion on Cerro Pachón in Chile. It is named after the astronomer Vera Rubin. She provided the first convincing evidence for the existence of dark matter. 

Learn more about Vera Rubin and the Rubin Auxiliary Telescope:

https://rubinobservatory.org/about/vera-rubin
https://noirlab.edu/public/programs/vera-c-rubin-observatory/rubin-auxtel/

Credit: RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA/ T. Slovinský
Duration: 23 seconds
Release Date: Nov. 8, 2023

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxies #MilkyWayGalaxy #LargeMagellanicCloud #Cosmos #Universe #VeraRubin #RubinAuxiliaryTelescope #AuxTel #CerroPachón #Chile #NOIRLab #NSF #DOE #AURA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA Artemis II Orion Spacecraft: Moon Rocket Integration Prep | NASA Kennedy

NASA Artemis II Orion Spacecraft: Moon Rocket Integration Prep | NASA Kennedy

NASA engineers and technicians pose for a photograph in front of the agency’s Artemis II Orion spacecraft on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025, inside the Multi-Payload Processing Facility (MPPF) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Orion arrived at the MPPF in early May for fueling and processing and will next head to the spaceport’s Launch Abort System Facility (LASF) to be integrated with its 44-foot-tall launch abort system. Once integration is complete, the stack will be transported to High Bay 3 inside NASA Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building and integrated with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that will launch NASA’s Artemis II astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen around the Moon and back.

The Artemis II crew will be sent on a ten-day Moon journey no earlier than April 2026.

Check the NASA Artemis II Mission page for updates:

https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/

Follow updates on the Artemis blog: 

https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/

Image Credit: NASA/Skip Williams
Date: Aug. 7, 2025

#NASA #Space #Science #Moon #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisII #OrionSpacecraft #ArtemisIICrewModule #Astronauts #CrewedMission #DeepSpace #MoonToMars #SpaceEngineering #SpaceTechnology #HumanSpaceflight #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #NASAKennedy #KSC #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Galaxy NGC 45 in Cetus: "Low brightness, High interest" | Hubble

Galaxy NGC 45 in Cetus: "Low brightness, High interest" | Hubble

This NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope picture zooms in on the feathery spiral arms of the galaxy NGC 45. It lies just 22 million light-years away in the constellation Cetus (The Whale).

The data used to create this portrait were drawn from two complementary observing programs. The first took a broad view of 50 nearby galaxies, leveraging Hubble’s ability to observe light from the ultraviolet to the near-infrared in order to study star formation in these galaxies. The second program examined many of the same nearby galaxies as the first, narrowing in on a particular wavelength of red light called H-alpha. Star-forming nebulae are powerful producers of H-alpha light, and several of these regions can be identified across NGC 45 by their bright pink-red color.

These observing programs aimed to study star formation in galaxies of various sizes, structures, and degrees of isolation. NGC 45 is a particularly interesting target. Alhough it may appear to be a regular spiral galaxy, NGC 45 is actually a remarkable type called a low surface brightness galaxy.

Low surface brightness galaxies are fainter than the night sky itself, making them incredibly difficult to detect. They appear unexpectedly faint because they have relatively few stars for the amount of gas and dark matter they carry. In the decades since the first low surface brightness galaxy was serendipitously discovered in 1986, researchers have learned that 30–60% of all galaxies may fall into this category. Studying these hard-to-detect galaxies is key to understanding how galaxies form and evolve, and Hubble’s sensitive instruments are equal to the task.

Image Description: This Hubble image features a close-up view of the outer arms of the spiral galaxy NGC 45. These spiral arms are filled with tiny blue dots—stars—and glowing pink clouds—star-forming nebulae. This is shown against a dark background.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Calzetti, R. Chandar
Acknowledgement: M. H. Özsaraç
Release Date: Aug. 11, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Hubble #Space #Science #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC45 #Cetus #Constellations #Cosmos #Universe #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #ESA #Europe #STEM #Education 

"Catch a Falling Meteor" | International Space Station

"Catch a Falling Meteor" | International Space Station

Expedition 73 flight engineer and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui: "Today, please enjoy watching a shooting star falling to the ground under the gaze of Aldebaran and the Pleiades . . . I hope everyone’s wishes come true!"
—Kimiya Yui 油井 亀美也

A meteor, also known as a shooting star or falling star, is a visible passage of a glowing meteoroid, micrometeoroid, comet or asteroid through Earth's atmosphere. The meteoroid is heated to incandescence by collisions with air molecules in the upper atmosphere, creating a streak of light via its rapid motion and sometimes also by shedding glowing material in its wake. The short-lived trail of light the burning meteoroid produces is called a meteor. Shooting stars are not actually stars, but meteoroids consisting of small rocks and dust that sometimes enter the Earth's atmosphere.

"Catch a Falling Star" is a song written by Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss. It was made famous by Perry Como. He recorded and released his version in late 1957.

JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui Biography:

https://humans-in-space.jaxa.jp/en/astronaut/yui-kimiya/

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

Expedition 73 Crew

Station Commander: Sergey Ryzhikov (Roscosmos)

JAXA Flight Engineer (Japan): Kimiya Yui

Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Alexey Zubritskiy, Oleg Platonov

NASA Flight Engineers: Jonny Kim, Zena Cardman, Mike Fincke

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: Kimiya Yui/JAXA

Release Date: Aug. 9, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Stars #Planet #Earth #Atmosphere #Meteors #Astronauts #KimiyaYui  #AstronautPhotography #Japan #日本 #JAXA #宇宙航空研究開発機構 #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition73 #STEM #Education

Welcome Home: Japanese Astronaut Takuya Onishi Readapting to Earth Gravity

Welcome Home: Japanese Astronaut Takuya Onishi Readapting to Earth Gravity

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Takuya Onishi, former Crew-10 member and commander of Expedition 73 at the International Space Station: "About 10 hours after returning, I was able to walk this much, but I’m desperately trying to keep my balance. Everyone living in such a harsh environment, you’re truly amazing. I feel like just “being” in this world consumes so much energy. 😅 I get tired and sleepy after a little activity, so I feel like a baby."

JAXA Astronaut Takuya Onishi Biography:

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

At 11:33 a.m. EDT, on Saturday, August 9, 2025, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, carrying NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov of Russia splashed down off the coast of San Diego, California. This completed a stay in space of 148 days for the four-person crew. After egressing the spacecraft, the crew received medical checks. They were then flown via helicopter to meet up with a NASA aircraft bound for Houston.

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

Expedition 73 Crew

Station Commander: Sergey Ryzhikov (Roscosmos)

JAXA Flight Engineer (Japan): Kimiya Yui

Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Alexey Zubritskiy, Oleg Platonov

NASA Flight Engineers: Jonny Kim, Zena Cardman, Mike Fincke

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.

Credit: T. Onishi/JAXA

Time: 8 seconds

Release Date: Aug. 10, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Planet #Earth #Gravity #SpaceX #CrewDragonSpacecraft #Crew10 #Astronauts  #TakuyaOnishi #Japan #日本 #JAXA #宇宙航空研究開発機構 #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition73 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Planet Mars Images: Aug. 8-10, 2025 | NASA's Curiosity Rover

Planet Mars Images: Aug. 8-10, 2025 | NASA's Curiosity Rover

MSL - sol 4624

MSL - sol 4624

MSL - sol 4624

MSL - sol 4624

MSL - sol 4624

MSL - sol 4624

MSL - sol 4623

MSL - sol 4623

Support FriendsofNASA.org

Celebrating 13+ 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

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: Aug. 8-10, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #Astrobiology #Geology #CuriosityRover #MSL #MountSharp #GaleCrater #Robotics #SpaceTechnology #SpaceEngineering #MSSS #JPL #Caltech #UnitedStates #CitizenScience #KevinGill #STEM #Education

View of Zodiacal Light in The Canary Islands (AI Narration)

View of Zodiacal Light in The Canary Islands (AI Narration)

What's that strange light down the road? 

Dust orbiting the Sun. At certain times of the year, a band of sun-reflecting dust from the inner Solar System appears prominently just after sunset—or just before sunrise—and is called zodiacal light. Although the origin of this dust is still being researched, a leading hypothesis holds that zodiacal dust originates mostly from faint Jupiter-family comets and slowly spirals into the Sun. Recent analysis of dust emitted by Comet 67P, visited by the European Space Agency's robotic Rosetta spacecraft, bolsters this hypothesis. Pictured when climbing a road up to Teide National Park in the Canary Islands of Spain, a bright triangle of zodiacal light appeared in the distance soon after sunset. Captured on June 21, 2019, the scene includes bright Regulus, the alpha star of the constellation Leo, standing above center toward the left. The Beehive Star Cluster (M44) can be spotted below center, closer to the horizon and also immersed in the zodiacal glow.

Image Credit & Copyright: Ruslan Merzlyakov
Ruslan's website: 

https://www.instagram.com/astrorms/

Image Date: June 21, 2019

Duration: 1 minute, 30 seconds
Release Date: Aug. 10, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #StarClusters #Sun #Planets #Earth #Sunlight #CosmicDust #ZodiacalLight #SolarSystem #DarkSkies #LightPollution #TeideNationalPark #CanaryIslands #Canarias #Spain #España #Astrophotographer #RuslanMerzlyakov #Astrophotography #STEM #Education #GSFC #UnitedStates #APoD #HD #Video

View of Zodiacal Light in The Canary Islands

View of Zodiacal Light in The Canary Islands

What's that strange light down the road? 

Dust orbiting the Sun. At certain times of the year, a band of sun-reflecting dust from the inner Solar System appears prominently just after sunset—or just before sunrise—and is called zodiacal light. Although the origin of this dust is still being researched, a leading hypothesis holds that zodiacal dust originates mostly from faint Jupiter-family comets and slowly spirals into the Sun. Recent analysis of dust emitted by Comet 67P, visited by the European Space Agency's robotic Rosetta spacecraft, bolsters this hypothesis. Pictured when climbing a road up to Teide National Park in the Canary Islands of Spain, a bright triangle of zodiacal light appeared in the distance soon after sunset. Captured on June 21, 2019, the scene includes bright Regulus, the alpha star of the constellation Leo, standing above center toward the left. The Beehive Star Cluster (M44) can be spotted below center, closer to the horizon and also immersed in the zodiacal glow.

Image Credit & Copyright: Ruslan Merzlyakov
Ruslan's website: 

https://www.instagram.com/astrorms/

Image Date: June 21, 2019
Release Date: Aug. 10, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Regulus #StarClusters #BeehiveStarCluster #Sun #Planets #Earth #Sunlight #CosmicDust #ZodiacalLight #SolarSystem #DarkSkies #LightPollution #TeideNationalPark #CanaryIslands #Canarias #Spain #España #Astrophotographer #RuslanMerzlyakov #Astrophotography #STEM #Education #GSFC #UnitedStates #APoD