Chinese Sky-gazers Capture "Blood Moon"

Chinese Sky-gazers Capture "Blood Moon"

Numerous sky-gazers in China captured a breathtaking total lunar eclipse culminating with a dramatic "Blood Moon" from Sunday evening, Sept. 7, 2025 until the early hours of Monday, Sept. 8.

This was its return to this region after nearly three years.

The celestial event unfolded gradually as the Earth's shadow crept across the full Moon, turning its bright surface dim and eventually casting it into a striking shade of deep red.

The vivid "Blood Moon" remained clearly visible against the dark backdrop of the night, captivating sky-watchers across many areas.

According to astronomers, the next total lunar eclipse visible throughout all of China is predicted to occur from December 31, 2028, to January 1, 2029—offering another opportunity to witness this remarkable phenomenon in just over three years.

Blood Moons can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are exactly or very closely aligned with Earth between the other two. During these rare events, the full Moon rapidly darkens and then glows red as it enters the Earth's shadow. A small amount of indirect sunlight is still reaching the Moon, passing through Earth's atmosphere, resulting in a reddish hue. This light appears reddish due to the Rayleigh scattering of blue light—the same reason sunrises and sunsets are more orange than during the day.

Video Credit: CCTV
Duration: 48 seconds
Release Date: Sept. 8, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Sun #Earth #Moon ##BloodMoon #BloodMoons #LunarEclipses #LunarEclipses2025 #Astrophotography #CitizenScience #Astrophotographers #Photography #China #中国 #Beijing #北京 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

A Northwestern North America Night Awash in Light | International Space Station

A Northwestern North America Night Awash in Light | International Space Station

The glow of city lights, the aurora, and a rising Moon illuminate the night along the northwest coast of North America.

The glow of city lights, the aurora, and a rising Moon illuminate the night along the northwest coast of North America (labeled version)

This image, taken by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station, shows the brilliant glow of major cities in western North America at night. The larger areas of bright yellow are lights from the U.S. cities of Portland and Seattle and the Canadian cities of Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary.

The bright circular feature near the center of the image is the Moon just beginning to rise above Earth’s limb. The space station’s orbit around Earth affords astronauts this type of view multiple times a day. Cruising around the planet at about 28,000 kilometers per hour (17,500 miles per hour), the crew aboard the space station sees approximately 16 moonrises and moonsets within a 24-hour period.

Inclement weather in Seattle and Vancouver likely obscured the view of the Moon for observers on the ground. Cloud coverage and light pollution can also obstruct the nighttime view of stars, the aurora, and satellites. Viewed from above, the city lights under cloud cover appear blurred compared to the lights of Edmonton and Calgary. The darkness of the Pacific Ocean and the Cascade Range contrasts with the busy illuminated landscape.

The bright green aurora is the result of charged particles from the Sun interacting with gas molecules in Earth’s upper atmosphere. This spectacular light show is often best seen near Earth’s north and south poles, where the planet’s magnetic field draws in solar particles. During strong solar storms, the aurora may be seen from lower latitudes on dark, clear nights depending on the Sun’s level of activity and phenomena like solar flares and coronal mass ejections. The Sun entered the maximum phase of its current cycle in mid-2024, when auroras were observed from central Mexico. This phase is expected to continue through 2025.

Astronaut photograph ISS072-E-806482 was acquired on March 19, 2025, with a Nikon Z9 digital camera using a focal length of 28 millimeters. 

Image Description: A photo taken from orbit shows Earth at night against the backdrop of space. Yellow city lights dot the northwestern coast of North America across the middle of the image. Green aurora is visible to the left, and white moonlight is visible just above Earth's horizon.

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: ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, Johnson Space Center
Text Credit: Samantha Jacob
Image Date: March 19, 2025
Release Date: Sept. 7, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #SolarSystem #Planets #Moon #Earth #Atmosphere #Aurora #NorthernLights #Astronauts #AstronautPhotography #UnitedStates #Japan #日本 #JAXA #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition72 #STEM #Education

Cloudy N11 Star Cluster in Nearby Large Magellanic Cloud Galaxy | Hubble

Cloudy N11 Star Cluster in Nearby Large Magellanic Cloud Galaxy | Hubble

This new NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope picture features a cloudy starscape from an impressive star cluster. This scene is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a dwarf galaxy situated about 160,000 light-years away in the constellations Dorado and Mensa. With a mass equal to 10–20% of the mass of the Milky Way, the Large Magellanic Cloud is the largest of the dozens of small galaxies that orbit our galaxy.

The Large Magellanic Cloud is home to several massive stellar nurseries where gas clouds, like those strewn across this image, coalesce into new stars. This image depicts a portion of the galaxy’s second-largest star-forming region called N11. We see bright, young stars lighting up the gas clouds and sculpting clumps of dust with powerful ultraviolet radiation.

This image integrates observations made roughly 20 years apart, a testament to Hubble’s longevity. The first set of observations, carried out in 2002–2003, capitalized on the exquisite sensitivity and resolution of the then-newly-installed Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). Astronomers turned Hubble toward the N11 star cluster to accomplishing a new task—cataloging all the stars in a young cluster with masses between 10% of the Sun’s mass and 100 times the Sun’s mass. 

The second set of observations came from Hubble’s newest camera, the Wide Field Camera 3. These images focused on the dusty clouds that suffuse the cluster, bringing a new perspective on cosmic dust.

Image Description: Stars in a star cluster shine brightly blue with four-pointed spikes radiating from them. The center shows a small, crowded group of stars while a larger group lies out of view on the left. The nebula is mostly thick, smoky clouds of gas, lit up in blue tones by the stars. Clumps of dust hover before and around the stars; they are mostly dark, but lit around their edges where the starlight erodes them.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, C. Murray, J. Maíz Apellániz
Release Date: Sept. 8, 2025

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Stars #StarClusters #N11 #LMCN44C #LMC #Galaxies #DwarfGalaxies #Dorado #Mensa #Constellations #Cosmos #Universe #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #WFC3 #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Nebula NGC 1499 in Perseus

Nebula NGC 1499 in Perseus

Our Sun has its home within the Milky Way's Orion Arm, only about 1,000 light-years from nebula NGC 1499. This classic emission nebula is around 100 light-years long. An emission nebula is a nebula formed of ionized gases that emit light of various wavelengths. The most common source of ionization is high-energy ultraviolet photons emitted from a nearby hot star.

The most prominent glow of this nebula is the red light characteristic of hydrogen atoms recombining with long lost electrons, stripped away (ionized) by energetic starlight. The star most likely providing the energetic starlight that ionizes much of the nebular gas is the bright, hot, bluish Xi Persei just to the right of the nebula. A regular target for astrophotographers, this nebula can be spotted with a wide-field telescope under a dark sky toward the constellation of Perseus, not far from the Pleiades.

This is a two-panel mosaic of NGC 1499, also known as the California Nebula, in narrowband.

Image Credit & Copyright: "Aroughroad"
Release Date: Feb. 27, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #NGC1499 #CaliforniaNebula #EmissionNebula #Star #XiPersei #Perseus #Constellations #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Astrophotography #Aroughroad #Astrophotographer #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Star Cluster NGC 346 in Tucana | NASA Hubble & Chandra [Budget Alert]

Star Cluster NGC 346 in Tucana | NASA Hubble & Chandra [Budget Alert]

This image showcases NGC 346, a dazzling young star cluster in the Small Magellanic Cloud. The Small Magellanic Cloud is a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, located 200,000 light-years away in the constellation Tucana. The Small Magellanic Cloud is less rich in elements heavier than helium—what astronomers call metals—than the Milky Way. This makes conditions in the galaxy similar to what existed in the early universe. X-rays from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory reveal output from massive stars in this cluster and diffuse emission from a supernova remnant, the glowing debris of an exploded star.

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

NGC 346 is home to more than 2,500 newborn stars. The cluster’s most massive stars, many times more massive than our Sun, blaze with an intense blue light in this image. The glowing pink nebula and snakelike dark clouds are the remnant of the birthsite of the stars in the cluster.

The inhabitants of this cluster are stellar sculptors, carving out a bubble from the nebula. NGC 346’s hot, massive stars produce intense radiation and fierce stellar winds that pummel the billowing gas of their birthplace and begin to disperse the surrounding nebula.

The nebula, named N66, is the brightest example of an H II (pronounced ‘H-two’) region in the Small Magellanic Cloud. H II regions are set aglow by ultraviolet light from hot young stars like those in NGC 346. The presence of the brilliant nebula indicates the young age of the star cluster, as an H II region shines only as long as the stars that power it—a mere few million years for the massive stars pictured here.

NGC 346 is a young cluster home to thousands of newborn stars. The cluster’s most massive stars send powerful winds and produce intense radiation.

Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; IR/Optical: NASA/ESA/HST; UV: NASA/ESA/STScI/Catholic Univ of America

Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Major, and K. Arcand
Release Date: Sept. 7, 2025

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Stars #StarClusters #NGC346 #HIIRegion #N66 #Nebula #Tucana #Constellation #DwarfGalaxy #SmallMagellanicCloud #SMC #Cosmos #Universe #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #NASAChandra #CXC #XrayAstronomy #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Earth Cloudscapes | International Space Station

Earth Cloudscapes | International Space Station

Expedition 73 flight engineer and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui: " . . . to relieve the fatigue after work, I decided to take photos freely, capturing moments that felt 'beautiful' without setting any specific shooting goals. After shooting, my heart felt refreshed, LOL.

Everyone, when you're feeling tired, please imagine a scene like this spreading out before your eyes to soothe your fatigue!"

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: Sept. 2-5, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Stars #Planets #Earth #Atmosphere #Clouds #Astronauts #KimiyaYui #AstronautPhotography #UnitedStates #Japan #日本 #JAXA #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition73 #STEM #Education

China's Plan to Deflect an Asteroid by 2030

China's Plan to Deflect an Asteroid by 2030

By 2030, China is set to help redefine our planetary defense capabilities—launching a spacecraft to slam into an asteroid and push it off course. The target is a 30-meter rock called 2015 XF261. If successful, the mission will further demonstrate humanity can change the path of cosmic objects. This will give us all a better chance of protecting Earth from such threats in the future.

2015 XF261 is a near-Earth Aten asteroid with an estimated diameter of between 16 m (52 ft) and 69 m (226 ft). Its closest approach to Earth in the 21st century will occur on April 11, 2090, at a nominal distance of 0.00302 au (452,000 km). 2015 XF261 completes one orbit around the Sun every 360 days.

China's 2015 XF261Asteroid Mission
2015 XF261 is the target for an asteroid-deflecting mission planned by China in 2029, launching in 2027. The spacecraft is to be launched on a Long March 3B rocket in 2027, making a flyby of the planet Venus before arriving at the asteroid in early 2029, and colliding with it in April 2029 at an estimated speed of 10 km/s (6.2 mi/s).

China's asteroid mission will serve as an important follow-up to NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) Mission (2021-2022) aimed at investigating and demonstrating a method of asteroid deflection by changing an asteroid’s motion in space through kinetic impact:

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/dart/

Video Credit: CGTN
Duration: 2 minutes
Release Date: Sept. 7, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #SolarSystem #Asteroids #Earth #PlanetaryDefense #NearEarthAsteroids #NearEarthObjects #NEO #AtenAsteroids #2015XF261 #China #中国 #CNSA #SpaceExploration #Universe #NASADARTMission #JPL #Caltech #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

All the Water on Planet Earth

All the Water on Planet Earth

How much of planet Earth is made of water? Very little, actually. Although oceans of water cover about 70 percent of Earth's surface, these oceans are shallow compared to the Earth's radius. This illustration shows what would happen if all of the water on or near the surface of the Earth were bunched up into a ball. The radius of this ball would be only about 700 kilometers, less than half the radius of the Earth's Moon, but slightly larger than Saturn's moon Rhea which, like many moons in our outer Solar System, is mostly water ice. The next smallest ball depicts all of Earth's liquid fresh water, while the tiniest ball shows the volume of all of Earth's fresh-water lakes and rivers. How any of this water came to be on the Earth and whether any significant amount is trapped far beneath Earth's surface remain topics of research.

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution: 
https://www.whoi.edu/

Illustration Credit: Jack Cook, Adam Nieman, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution 

Data source: Igor Shiklomanov
Release Date: Sept. 7, 2025

#NASA #NOAA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Planets #SolarSystem #Earth #Water #Oceans #Oceanography #Rivers #Lakes #Freshwater #WaterResources #WoodsHoleOceanographicInstitution #WHOI #GSFC #USGS #UnitedStates #Infographics #Illustrations #STEM #Education #APoD

¿Qué pasa en el cielo en septiembre? | NASA en Español | JPL

¿Qué pasa en el cielo en septiembre? | NASA en Español | JPL

¡Atención, exploradores del cielo! Entre el equinoccio de septiembre y planetas brillando en el cielo, este mes se viene cargado de razones para mirar arriba. 

Durante la noche del 21 de septiembre, Saturno estará en su punto más brillante y cercano a nosotros en todo el año. El 22, le damos la bienvenida al otoño en el hemisferio norte y a la primavera en el hemisferio sur. Además, Venus y Júpiter brillan en el cielo del este por la mañana. 

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

Adaptación al idioma español por el equipo de NASA en español.

Credit: Laboratorio de Propulsión a Chorro (JPL)  
Duration: 2 minutes
Release Date: Sept. 5, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #NASAenespañol #español #Skywatching #Earth #AutumnalEquinox #Moon #Planets #Saturn #Stars #Conjunctions #SolarSystem #Nebulae #Galaxies #Constellations #MilkyWayGalaxy #Skywatching #JPL #Caltech #UnitedStates #Canada #Mexico #NorthernHemisphere #STEM #Education #HD #Video

China Galactic Energy CERES-1 Y15 Commercial Rocket Satellite Launch

China Galactic Energy CERES-1 Y15 Commercial Rocket Satellite Launch

🚀A CERES-1 Y15 commercial carrier rocket blasted off at 7:39 pm Beijing time on Friday, September 5, 2025, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China, sending sending the Kaiyun-1, Yuxing-3 08 and Yunyao-1 27 satellites into a preset orbit, including the Eros Star in-orbit test platform into a planned sun-synchronous orbit.

This is the second Eros Star in-orbit test platform, following the first launch on June 6, 2024. 

The Eros Star is China’s first domestic commercial rocket upper stage in-orbit test platform, independently developed by the Chinese private firm Galactic Energy.

Ceres-1 is a four-stage rocket manufactured and operated by Galactic Energy, the first three stages use solid-propellant rocket motors and the final stage uses a hydrazine propulsion system. It is about 20 m (62 ft) tall and 1.4 m (4 ft 7 in) in diameter. It can deliver 400 kg (880 lb) to low Earth orbit or 300 kg (660 lb) to 500 km Sun-synchronous orbit.

The first launch of a Ceres-1 took place in 2020.

On September 5, 2023, the sea-launch version of this launch vehicle, designated Ceres-1S, made its debut successfully sending to orbit four Tianqi satellites.

The Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC) was founded in 1958. It was the first of China's four spaceports. The launch center has been the focus of many of China's historic space ventures, including the country's first satellite Dong Fang Hong I in 1970 and their first crewed space mission, Shenzhou V, on October 15, 2003. JSLC is now a home for many new Chinese commercial space launch firms, like Galactic Energy.

Image Credit: Galactic Energy

Date: Sept. 5, 2025

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #Satellites #China #中国 #Kaiyun1 #Yuxing308 #Yunyao127  #GalacticEnergy #CERES1Y15Rocket #谷神星一号 #ErosStar #CommercialSpace #JSLC #STEM #Education

Astronauts Record First 8K Film: Behind the Scenes | China Space Station

Astronauts Record First 8K Film: Behind the Scenes | China Space Station

Watch China's Shenzhou-13 astronauts film in microgravity back in 2021, testing shots for the new 8K Ultra HD film "Blue Planet Outside the Window". Astronauts Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu discuss using specially designed cameras for space to capture Earth's beauty outside their windows. They also revealed details of their long-term stay in space. Released on September 5, 2025, the space documentary "Blue Planet Outside the Window" is now available in cinemas across China in film formats, such as CINITY LED, IMAX & 4DX. Watch our Blue Planet from a unique space perspective!

Produced by China Media Group (CMG) and filmed during the record-breaking 183-day Shenzhou-13 mission, taikonauts Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping, and Ye Guangfu became space cinematographers, capturing life aboard China’s space station in stunning 8K Ultra HD. From breathtaking views of Earth to the quiet warmth of daily life in orbit, the film opens a new cinematic window to the cosmos.

✨ What makes this documentary groundbreaking:

• 🎥 First Chinese space-shot feature—the big screen becomes a true window to space.

• 👩🚀 Taikonaut's lens—Wang Yaping’s narration infuses the film with emotion, philosophy, and human depth.

• 🛰️ Custom tech—8K, 50fps full-frame cameras engineered to endure rocket launches and microgravity.

• 🤝 Fusion of science and art—engineers, filmmakers, and taikonauts working side by side.

• 🕶️ Immersive formats—CINITY 4K 50fps, IMAX, 4DX, and LED mega-screens put you 400 km above Earth.

• 🌍 International acclaim — praised at screenings in Hong Kong and Italy as "a new frontier for Chinese cinema."

• 🌃 Cultural celebration—Wuhan lit up a 25-km stretch of the Yangtze River for four nights, dazzling over 700,000 viewers each evening, to honor the film's release.

Launched on October 16, 2021, the Shenzhou13 crew set a record for China’s longest continuous spaceflight. Now, their story lives on the big screen.

Since 2021, Tiangong has served as a permanently crewed space station. It is operated by the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). Tiangong has a modular design with modules docked together while in low Earth orbit, between 340 and 450 km (210 and 280 mi) above the surface. It is China's first long-term space station, part of the Tiangong Program and is the core of the "Third Step" of the China Manned Space Program. Tiangong has a pressurized volume of 340 m3 (12,000 cu ft), slightly over one third the size of the International Space Station. The space station provides opportunities for space-based experiments and acts as a platform for building capacity for scientific and technological innovation.

Video Credit: CMSA
Duration: 2 minutes, 18 seconds
Release Date: Sept. 6, 2025

#NASA #Space #Science #China #中国 #Shenzhou13Mission #神舟十三号 #Shenzhou13Crew #Taikonauts #Astronauts #WangYaping #YeGuangfu #ZhaiZhigang #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #MicrogravityExperiments #CMSA #中国载人航天 #LongDurationMissions #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education #8KFilm #HD #Video

The Southern Lights & Airglow: Sunset to Sunrise | International Space Station

The Southern Lights & Airglow: Sunset to Sunrise | International Space Station

Earth auroras are assigned names based on the pole where they occur. Aurora Borealis, or the northern lights, is the name given to auroras around the north pole and Aurora Australis, or the southern lights, is the name given for auroras around the south pole.

On Earth, auroras are mainly created by particles originally emitted by the Sun in the form of solar wind. When this stream of electrically charged particles gets close to our planet, it interacts with the magnetic field, which acts as a gigantic shield. While it protects Earth’s environment from solar wind particles, it can also trap a small fraction of them. Particles trapped within the magnetosphere—the region of space surrounding Earth in which charged particles are affected by its magnetic field—can be energized and then follow the magnetic field lines down to the magnetic poles. There, they interact with oxygen and nitrogen atoms in the upper layers of the atmosphere, creating the flickering, colorful lights visible in the polar regions here on Earth.

You will also notice green and yellow airglow that occurs when atoms and molecules in the Earth's upper atmosphere, excited by sunlight, emit light to shed their excess energy. Or, it can happen when atoms and molecules that have been ionized by sunlight collide with and capture a free electron. In both cases, they eject a particle of light—called a photon—in order to relax again. Unlike episodic and fleeting auroras, airglow shines constantly throughout Earth’s atmosphere, and the result is a tenuous bubble of light that closely encases our entire planet.

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: NASA's Johnson Space Center/NASA Astronaut J. Kim
Duration: 1 minute, 23 seconds
Release Date: Sept. 5, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Planets #Earth #Atmosphere #Aurora #SouthernLights #Astronauts #AstronautPhotography #UnitedStates #Japan #日本 #JAXA #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition73 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Mars Images: Aug. 31-Sept 6 2025 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers

Mars Images: Aug. 31-Sept 6, 2025 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers

Mars 2020 - Sol 1615

Mars 2020 - Sol 1615

Mars 2020 -  Sol 1615

Mars 2020 -  Sol 1615

MSL - sol 4646

MSL - sol 4649

Mars 2020 - sol 1610

Mars 2020 - sol 1610

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

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: Aug. 31-Sept. 6, 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

The Florida Keys, The Bahamas, and Cuba | International Space Station

The Florida Keys, The Bahamas, and Cuba | International Space Station

The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is an island country of the Lucayan Archipelago consisting of more than 700 islands, cays, and islets in the Atlantic Ocean; north of Cuba and Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic); northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands; southeast of the U.S. state of Florida and east of the Florida Keys. Its capital is Nassau on the island of New Providence.

The Republic of Cuba is an island country consisting of the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and Atlantic Ocean meet. Cuba is located east of the Yucatán Peninsula (Mexico), south of the American state of Florida and the Bahamas, west of Hispaniola (Haiti/Dominican Republic), and north of both Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. 
Population: 11 million

The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about 15 miles (24 km) south of Miami and extend in an arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry Tortugas. The islands lie along the Florida Straits, dividing the Atlantic Ocean to the east from the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest, and defining one edge of Florida Bay. 

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: NASA's Johnson Space Center
Release Date: Sept. 5, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Planets #Earth #Cuba #Florida #Bahamas #AtlanticOcean #Astronauts #AstronautPhotography #UnitedStates #Japan #日本 #JAXA #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition73 #STEM #Education

Planet Venus Sample Return | NASA Space Technology

Planet Venus Sample Return | NASA Space Technology

Can we bring a rock back from Venus, the hottest planet in the solar system? Venus’ thick clouds of sulfuric acid and scorching surface temperatures make it one of the most hostile places in the solar system. So far, no spacecraft has lasted more than a few hours on its surface. And we still do not know what Venusian rocks are made of. However, a bold new idea could change everything.

This mission concept combines innovative uses of existing technology to beat the heat on Venus:

🎈 A balloon platform that creates fuel from the atmosphere 

🛩️ A solar-powered aircraft

🚀 A rocket to launch the sample into orbit

🌍 An Earth-return vehicle that brings the sample home

This could pave the way for the first-ever Venus sample return mission, revealing long-hidden secrets of the planet's geology and reshaping our understanding of Earth's "evil" twin.

NASA 360 takes a look at the NASA Innovative Advanced Concept (NIAC) that may one day bring a piece of Venus back to Earth. 

Summary: At 450°C and 93 bars of atmospheric pressure, the surface of Venus is the most hostile environment to explore in the solar system. This project will pioneer a new approach to return a sample from the surface of Venus. The approach will merge an innovative carbon monoxide rocket technology to make propellant from the Venus atmosphere with innovations in high-temperature surface systems and solar aircraft.

To learn more visit: https://go.nasa.gov/3zBxgZt

To watch the in-depth presentation about this topic please visit the 2024 NIAC Symposium Vimeo site: https://vimeo.com/showcase/10973241?video=1008860866#t=9824s

Video Credit: NASA Space Technology/NASA 360
Duration: 2 minutes
Release Date: Sept. 5, 2025

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The Milky Way above Earth's Bright Atmospheric Glow | International Space Station

The Milky Way above Earth's Bright Atmospheric Glow | International Space Station

Our Milky Way galaxy appears above Earth's bright atmospheric glow in this photograph from the International Space Station as it soared 261 miles above southern Iran at approximately 12:54 a.m. local time on August 23, 2025. The camera was configured for low light and long duration settings.

You will also notice green and yellow airglow that occurs when atoms and molecules in the Earth's upper atmosphere, excited by sunlight, emit light to shed their excess energy. Or, it can happen when atoms and molecules that have been ionized by sunlight collide with and capture a free electron. In both cases, they eject a particle of light—called a photon—in order to relax again. Unlike episodic and fleeting auroras, airglow shines constantly throughout Earth’s atmosphere, and the result is a tenuous bubble of light that closely encases our entire planet.

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.

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)

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center
Release Date: Sept. 5, 2025

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