Ready for NASA's Next Mars Science Mission ESCAPADE? 🚀

Ready for NASA's Next Mars Science Mission ESCAPADE? 🚀

NASA’s twin spacecraft have arrived at Kennedy Space Flight Center in Florida ahead of launch this fall! They will orbit Mars to study how the planet’s magnetic field protects it from space weather and drives atmospheric escape. 

The Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) Mars Mission will study the planet's unique hybrid magnetosphere. ESCAPADE will investigate how the solar wind interacts with Mars’ magnetic environment and how this interaction drives the planet’s atmospheric escape. ESCAPADE is set to launch no earlier than late 2024 on Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket. It will take ESCAPADE about 11 months to arrive at Mars after leaving Earth orbit.

Learn more about the two identical spacecraft designed, built, integrated, and tested by Rocket Lab for the University of California Berkeley’s Space Science Laboratory and NASA's Mars Mission.

Learn more about NASA's ESCAPADE: 

https://go.nasa.gov/4ng79L3

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/escapade
https://escapade.ssl.berkeley.edu
https://www.rocketlabusa.com/missions/escapade/

Credit: NASA Science
Duration: 1 minute
Release Date: Sept. 27, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Stars #Sun #SpaceWeather #Planets #Mars #Magnetosphere #MartianAtmosphere #Radiation #Astronauts #ESCAPADEMission #ESCAPADESpacecraft #RocketLab #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #GSFC #SSL #UCBerkeley #ERAU #AdvancedSpace #BlueOrigin #KSC #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

At Earth's Edge: Comet C/2023 A3 | International Space Station

At Earth's Edge: Comet C/2023 A3 | International Space Station

Expedition 71/72 flight engineer and NASA astronaut Don Pettit: "Comet C/2023 A3 on atmosphere's edge, as seen from the ISS."

NASA astronaut Don Pettit returned to Earth on April 19, 2025, concluding a seven-month science mission aboard the International Space Station. Pettit spent 220 days in space, earning him a total of 590 days in space over the course of his four spaceflights. He orbited the Earth 3,520 times, traveling 93.3 million miles in low-Earth orbit.

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)

Image Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center/D. Pettit
Release Date: Sept. 27, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #ISS #Science #SolarSystem #Comets #C2023A3 #Earth #Astronauts #DonPettit #AstronautPhotography #UnitedStates #Japan #JAXA #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition71 #Expedition72 #STEM #Education

China's Galactic Energy Test-fires 2nd Stage of PALLAS-1 Commercial Rocket

China's Galactic Energy Test-fires 2nd Stage of PALLAS-1 Commercial Rocket

Chinese commercial space firm Galactic Energy has successfully completed the latest test run of the second stage of its reusable liquid launch vehicle, PALLAS-1, at its test center in Anhui Province, east China. This test paves the way for PALLAS-1's maiden flight and lays a solid foundation for the upcoming mission.

Galactic Energy successfully conducted its first launch in November 2020 with a Ceres-1 rocket. Galactic Energy became the second private company in China to put a satellite in orbit successfully.

Video Credit: CGTN
Duration: 3 minute, 52 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 28, 2025

#NASA #Space #Science #Satellites #Earth #China #中国 #Anhui #安徽 #Rockets #PALLAS1 #PALLAS1Rocket #SecondRocketStage #LiquidFuelEngines #LiquidFuelRockets #GalacticEnergy #星河动力 #CommercialSpace #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Testing Engines for the Eclipse Rocket | Firefly Aerospace

Testing Engines for the Eclipse Rocket | Firefly Aerospace

"Our Eclipse rocket engines need a test stand that can take the heat. With 95+ Miranda hot fires notched on our belts, go behind the scenes with the team at Test Stand 5 in the latest Ranch Hands episode!"

"Eclipse is built upon the success of Firefly’s Alpha and Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket with a significant leap in power, performance, and payload capacity. The launch vehicle utilizes scaled-up versions of Alpha’s patented tap-off cycle engines and carbon composite structures to reduce mass and lower costs while improving performance and reliability. Eclipse also retains the flight-proven avionics from the Antares program with additional upgrades, including a larger 5.4 meter payload fairing."

The debut launch of Eclipse is expected to take place as early as 2026.

Learn more about Firefly Aerospace's Eclipse rocket: https://fireflyspace.com/eclipse/

Video Credit: Firefly Aerospace
Duration: 6 minutes
Release Date: Sept. 25, 2025

#NASA #Space #Science #Satellites #FireflyAerospace #EclipseRocket #MirandaEngines #HotFire #RocketTest #MediumLift #SpaceTechnology #Engineering #CommercialSpace #Briggs #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Category 4 Hurricane Humberto in Atlantic Ocean | International Space Station

Category 4 Hurricane Humberto in Atlantic Ocean | International Space Station

Category 4 Hurricane Humberto is expected to create heavy seas and to bring rain and wind to Bermuda. Humberto is expected to pass near Bermuda during Tuesday, September 30, 2025, and Wednesday, October 1, bringing the risk of strong winds, heavy rainfall. The powerful hurricane will create massive seas over the western Atlantic.

Category 4 Hurricane Humberto was located about 585 miles south of Bermuda on Sunday morning, September 28, 2025, and is forecast to track about 100 miles to the west and northwest of Bermuda during Tuesday night and Wednesday with the potential for tropical storm force conditions, according to AccuWeather meteorologists.

Humberto is forecast to take a curved path over the west-central Atlantic. Humberto peaked at Category 5 hurricane intensity on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale for a time on Saturday, when it was packing 160-mph sustained winds. On Sunday morning, the peak winds had dropped slightly to 155 mph. The Saffir-Simpson Scale ranges from 1 to 5, with five being the most intense. At this strength, winds will generate large swells that will spread outward from the center.

The swells from Humberto will reach the north- and northeast-facing beaches of the northern Caribbean islands into the first part of this week and the beaches along the Atlantic Coast of the United States for much of next week.

As Humberto moves along, its overall size will likely grow due to changes within the eye. Each eyewall cycle tends to fluctuate the overall peak intensity of the hurricane, but also pushes hurricane and tropical storm winds farther out from the center. Humberto could climb back to Category 5 status at times.

As of Sunday morning, hurricane winds were confined to within 35 miles of the eye, but tropical storm winds extended outward from the center to 140 miles.

The greatest risk Humberto poses through Monday will be to marine interests due to massive seas of 40-60 feet likely near the center.

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's Johnson Space Center/J. Kim

Image Details: Sept 27, 1512 GMT. Nikon Z9 | 24/50-500mm

Image Details: Sept 26, 2025, 1600 GMT. Nikon Z9 | 24/50-500mm

Text Credit: Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist

Image Dates: Sept. 26-27, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Earth #Atmosphere #Weather #Meteorology #Hurricanes #HurricaneHumberto #Bermuda #Astronauts #Cosmonauts #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceTechnology #SpaceResearch #SpaceLaboratory #UnitedStates #Russia #Roscosmos #Japan #Expedition73 #STEM #Education

How the European Space Agency uses Extended Reality (XR) Technologies

How the European Space Agency uses Extended Reality (XR) Technologies

"At the European Space Agency (ESA), we are elevating the future of space through the use of transformative technologies. For over 20 years, ESA has been exploring the potential of Extended Reality (XR), including Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality (VR/AR/MR), which provides immersive experiences by connecting digital content with the real world."

"XR marks a new era of space innovation, allowing us to interact, experience and engage with space and beyond. This video showcases some of the recent XR projects at ESA, demonstrating the immersive, interactive, and seamless experiences that this technology can create."

"XR will play a significant role in enhancing space missions, becoming a go-to tool for ESA and space experts. XR allows our engineers to interact with components of the spacecrafts and support mission operations and provides realistic training for astronauts and educational and outreach experiences."

Discover more about Extended Reality at ESA: 
https://xr.esa.int/

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)
Duration: 5 minutes, 22 seconds
Release Date: Sept. 25, 2025

#ESA #Space #Europe #HumanSpaceFlight #Moon #Mars #ExtendedReality #XR #AugmentedReality #AR #MixedReality #MR #VirtualReality #VR #Simulations #SimulatedReality #InformationTechnology #IT #SpaceTechnologies #SpaceExploration #AstronautTraining #STEM #Education #HD #Video

A Rocket and a Star

A Rocket and a Star

On the morning of September 24, 2025, a rocket crosses the bright solar disk in this long range telescopic snapshot captured from Orlando, Florida. This image was captured about 50 miles north of its Kennedy Space Center launch site. 

This rocket carried three new space weather missions to space. Signals have now been successfully acquired from all three—NASA's Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe, NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Follow-On Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1)—as they begin their journey to L1, an Earth-Sun lagrange point. L1 is about 1.5 million kilometers in the sunward direction from planet Earth. Appropriately, major space weather influencers, aka dark sunspots in active regions across the Sun, are posing with the transiting rocket. In fact, large active region AR4225 is just right of the rocket's nose.

The Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) will map the heliosphere—the invisible cosmic shield surrounding our solar system—and to answer some great unknowns about how particles accelerate in the solar wind.

Learn more about IMAP: 
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/imap/ 
https://imap.princeton.edu/

NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory is a small satellite that will observe Earth’s outermost atmospheric layer, the exosphere. It will image the faint glow of ultraviolet light from this region, called the geocorona, to better understand how space weather impacts our planet.

The SWFO-L1 spacecraft will monitor space weather and detect solar storms in advance, serving as an early warning beacon for potentially disruptive space weather, helping safeguard Earth’s critical infrastructure and technological-dependent industries. The SWFO-L1 spacecraft is the first NOAA observatory designed specifically for and fully dedicated to continuous, operational space weather observations.

Image Credit & Copyright: Pascal Fouquet
Release Date: Sept. 27, 2025

#NASA #NOAA #Space #Astronomy #Science #IMAPMission #IMAP #Stars #Sun #Heliophysics #Heliosphere #InterstellarMedium #ISM #Planets #Earth #SolarSystem #SolarWind #SpaceWeather #SWFOL1 #CarruthersGeocoronaObservatory #GSFC #SpaceX #Falcon9Rocket #KSC #Photography #PascalFouquet #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #APOD

Japan’s Hayabusa2 Spacecraft's Next Target is Smaller and Faster than Expected

Japan’s Hayabusa2 Spacecraft's Next Target is Smaller and Faster than Expected

Astronomers have discovered that the next target for Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft, the asteroid 1998 KY26, is almost three times smaller than previously thought, and spinning much faster than expected. This study was conducted using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), and its results offer important new information for the upcoming mission, just six years out from the spacecraft’s encounter with this tiny asteroid. 

“We found that the reality of the object is completely different from what it was previously described as,” says astronomer Toni Santana-Ros, a researcher from the University of Alicante, Spain, who led a study on 1998 KY26 published today in Nature Communications. The new observations, combined with previous radar data, have revealed that the asteroid is just 11 meters wide, meaning it could easily fit inside the dome of the VLT unit telescope used to observe it. It is also spinning about twice as fast as previously thought: “One day on this asteroid lasts only five minutes!" he says. Previous data indicated that the asteroid was around 30 meters in diameter and completed a rotation in 10 minutes or so. 

"The smaller size and faster rotation now measured will make Hayabusa2’s visit even more interesting, but also even more challenging,” says co-author Olivier Hainaut, an astronomer at ESO in Germany. This is because a touchdown maneuver, where the spacecraft ‘kisses’ the asteroid, will be more difficult to perform than anticipated.

1998 KY26 is set to be the final target asteroid for the Japanese Aerospace eXploration Agency (JAXA)'s Hayabusa2 spacecraft. In its original mission, Hayabusa2 explored the 900-meter-diameter asteroid 162173 Ryugu in 2018, returning asteroid samples to Earth in 2020. With fuel remaining, the spacecraft was sent on an extended mission until 2031, when it is set to encounter 1998 KY26, aiming to learn more about the smallest asteroids. This will be the first time a space mission encounters a tiny asteroid—all previous missions visited asteroids with diameters in the hundreds or even thousands of meters. 

1998 KY26 is a nearly spherical sub-kilometer asteroid, classified as a near-Earth object of the Apollo group. It measures approximately 11 meters (40 feet) in diameter and is a fast rotator, having a rotational period of only 5.35 minutes. It was first observed on June 2, 1998, by the Spacewatch survey at Kitt Peak National Observatory when it passed 800,000 kilometers (half a million miles) away from Earth (a little more than twice the Earth–Moon distance).

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)
Directed by: Angelos Tsaousis and Martin Wallner
Editing: Angelos Tsaousis
Written by: Amy Briggs and Sean Bromilow
Footage and photos: ESO, Luis Calçada, Angelos Tsaousis, Martin Kornmesser, P. Das et al., K. Noll et al., Gerhard Hüdepohl, Daniele Gasparri
Scientific consultant: Paola Amico, Mariya Lyubenova
Duration: 1 minute, 18 seconds
Release Date: Sept. 18, 2025

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Asteroid #NEO #1998KY26 #Hayabusa2 #はやぶさ2 #Spacecraft #JAXA #宇宙航空研究開発機構 #Japan #日本 #SolarSystem #Cosmos #Universe #VLT #ParanalObservatory #Chile #SouthAmerica #Europe #SpaceExploration #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Comet C/2025 A6 Lemmon: View from Red Rock, Arizona

Comet C/2025 A6 Lemmon: View from Red Rock, Arizona

Comet Lemmon is not just another icy rock—it is a time-traveler returning to the inner solar system after roughly 1,350 years.

It was discovered on January 3, 2025, by a sky-survey team and was initially mistaken for an asteroid at a dim magnitude of +21.5; later imagery showed a tiny coma and faint tail, prompting its reclassification as a comet, with pre-discovery images traced back to November 2024. This initial misclassification highlights how subtle these objects can be when far away—and how surprise discoveries can change our understanding of a celestial object’s journey. Stretching as far as 240 astronomical units (AU) out and now spiraling inward, Lemmon’s orbital period—now estimated between 1,150 and 1,350 years—is gradually shortening due to gravitational shifts. It is a reminder that the cosmos is dynamic—and this rare return makes Comet Lemmon a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle for nearly all of us.

Orbital calculations show the comet will pass closest to Earth around October 21, 2025, at roughly 0.60 AU (about 89 million km). It will reach perihelion (its nearest point to the Sun) on November 8, 2025, at about 0.53 AU.

This alignment—in which Lemmon is both near Earth and still illuminated by the Sun—creates a prime observational window. Its brightness and proximity are at a sweet spot during late October, offering a golden hunting ground for skywatchers.

Arizona is a state in the Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the northwest and California to the west, and shares an international border with the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja California to the south and southwest.

Image Credit: Thomas Eby 
Image Details: "Recorded between 12:05 and 12:14 UT 9/25/2025 with RASA8 + ZWO 585mc Pro camera. Interesting tail structure developing."

Text Credit: Nasaspacenews[dot]com
Location: Red Rock, Arizona
Image Date: Sept. 25, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Comets #CometC2025A6Lemmon #Coma #CometaryTails #SolarSystem #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Astrophotography #ThomasEby  #Astrophotographers #RedRock #Arizona #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

""Have a quick look out the window . . ." | International Space Station

"Have a quick look out the window . . ."  | International Space Station

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. Through the robotics workstation, astronauts control the station’s robotic arm. This helps with the attachment and assembly of station elements much like the operator of a building crane perched in a control cabin. Crew members in the Cupola can communicate with other crew members in another part of the station or outside during spacewalk activities. Spacewalks can be observed from the Cupola along with visiting spacecraft and external areas of the station with the Cupola offering a viewing spectrum of 360 degrees.

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: Kimiya Yui/JAXA

Duration: 17 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 25, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Planets #Earth #Cupola #Astronauts #AstronautVideography #KimiyaYui #油井亀美也 #Japan #日本 #JAXA #宇宙航空研究開発機構 #Cosmonauts #Russia #Roscosmos #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition73 #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Shark Fin Aurora and More over Canada's Alberta

Shark Fin Aurora and More over Canada's Alberta

Photographer Karsten Berger: "The wind was blowing on Earth and in space. It was difficult to get a non-blurry image. The auroras looked as if they were being whisked away."

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.

Earth auroras have different names depending on the pole they occur at. 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.

The Colors of the Aurora (U.S. National Park Service)

https://www.nps.gov/articles/-articles-aps-v8-i1-c9.htm

Alberta is a province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, the Northwest Territories to its north, and the U.S. state of Montana to its south. Alberta and Saskatchewan are the only two landlocked Canadian provinces.

Image Credit: Karsten Berger 
Location: High Level, Alberta, Canada
Image Date: Sept. 22, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Planets #Earth #Aurora #AuroraBorealis #NorthernLights #MagneticField #Magnetosphere #SolarWind #Sun #Star #Photography #KarstenBerger #Photographer #CitizenScience #HighLevel #Alberta #Canada #NorthAmerica #STEM #Education

The Cygnus Cargo Spacecraft's Lifecycle | International Space Station

The Cygnus Cargo Spacecraft's Lifecycle | International Space Station

"Northrop Grumman pioneered technologies for cargo delivery and other logistics services in space. For the world's most complicated delivery service, we have brought more than 159,000 pounds of supplies, equipment and science experiments to the International Space Station since 2013."

Learn about NASA's Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) Program:
https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/commercial-resupply/

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: Northrop Grumman
Duration: 2 minutes, 13 seconds
Release Date: Sept. 25, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Earth #Science #NorthropGrumman #CygnusCargoSpacecraft #CommercialResupplyServices #CRS23 #Canadarm2 #Astronauts #Cosmonauts #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceTechnology #SpaceResearch #SpaceLaboratory #UnitedStates #Russia #Roscosmos #Japan #Expedition73 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Planet Mars Images: Sept. 23-26, 2025 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers

Planet Mars Images: Sept. 23-26, 2025 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers

Mars 2020 - sol 1635

MSL - sol 4667

MSL - sol 4671

MSL - sol 4671

Mars 2020 - sol 1634

MSL - sol 4668

MSL - sol 4671

Mars 2020 - sol 1635

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: Sept. 23-26, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Planets #Mars #Astrobiology #Geology #CuriosityRover #MSL #MountSharp #GaleCrater #PerseveranceRover #Mars2020 #JezeroCrater #Robotics #SpaceTechnology #SpaceEngineering #MSSS #JPL #Caltech #UnitedStates #CitizenScience #KevinGill #STEM #Education

Shenzhou-20 Astronauts Complete Fourth Spacewalk | China Space Station

Shenzhou-20 Astronauts Complete Fourth Spacewalk | China Space Station

The Shenzhou-20 crew aboard China's orbiting space station completed their mission's fourth spacewalk early on September 26, 2025, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

The astronaut trio—Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie—worked outside the space station for approximately six hours and accomplished all assigned tasks at 01:35 Beijing Time, assisted by the Tiangong space station's robotic arm and a ground control team.

Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie, tasked with conducting the spacewalk operations, finished the installation of debris protection devices and the inspection and maintenance of external equipment, according to the CMSA.

This is the first time a spacewalk has been performed by two astronauts from China's third group of astronaut recruits.

Up to now, the Shenzhou-20 astronauts have completed four extravehicular activities, making it one of the Chinese crews that have carried out the most spacewalks aboard the orbiting space station.

The crew has stayed in orbit for more than 150 days, carrying out a large number of scientific experiments and technological tests.

The Shenzhou-20 astronauts entered the space station on April 25 for a mission expected to last around 6 months.

Shenzhou-20 Crew

Chen Dong (陈冬) - Commander - Third spaceflight

Chen Zhong Rui (陈中瑞) - Operator - First spaceflight

Wang Jie (王杰) - Flight Engineer - First spaceflight

Video Credit: CCTV
Duration: 1 minute, 21 seconds
Release Date: Sept. 26, 2025

#NASA #Space #Science #China #中国 #Shenzhou20Mission #神舟二十号 #Shenzhou20Crew #Taikonauts #ChenDong #ChenZhongrui #WangJie #Astronauts #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #EVA #Spacewalk #CMSA #中国载人航天工程办公室 #LongDurationMissions #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education #Video

Equinox Auroras over Tromsø, Norway

Equinox Auroras over Tromsø, Norway

Photographer Markus Varik: " . . . nothing comes close to, what we witnessed yesterday. It was unfortunately super cloudy around Tromsø, but the weather forecast said, there should be openings here and there later on in the evening. In reality, there was more rain and clouds and there were periods, where we were just sitting under cold freezing rain for elongated periods of time. But when it mattered, the sky cleared up. The variety of different colors was just insane . . ."

The equinox marks the exact moment when the center of the Sun crosses the plane of a planet’s equator. 

The aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, occurs in an upper layer of Earth’s atmosphere called the ionosphere, but they typically originate with activity on the Sun. Occasionally, during explosions called coronal mass ejections, the Sun releases charged particles that speed across the solar system.

Auroras are produced when the Earth's magnetosphere is sufficiently disturbed by the solar wind that the trajectories of charged particles in solar wind and magnetospheric plasma, mainly in the form of electrons and protons, precipitate them into the upper atmosphere (thermosphere/exosphere) due to Earth's magnetic field, where their energy is lost. The resulting ionization and excitation of atmospheric constituents emits light of varying color and complexity. [Wikipedia]

Solid Colored Aurora

Green is common at the upper latitudes, while red is rare. On the other hand, aurora viewed from lower latitudes tend to be red.

Element Emission Colors

Oxygen: The big player in the aurora is oxygen. Oxygen is responsible for the vivid green (wavelength of 557.7 nm) and also for a deep brownish-red (wavelength of 630.0 nm). Pure green and greenish-yellow aurorae result from the excitation of oxygen.

Nitrogen: Nitrogen emits blue (multiple wavelengths) and red light.

Other Gases: Other gases in the atmosphere become excited and emit light, although the wavelengths may be outside of the range of human vision or else too faint to see. Hydrogen and helium, for example, emit blue and purple. Although our eyes cannot see all of these colors, photographic film and digital cameras often record a broader range of hues.

Aurora Colors According to Altitude

Above 150 miles: red, oxygen

Up to 150 miles: green, oxygen

Above 60 miles: purple or violet, nitrogen

Up to 60 miles: blue, nitrogen

The Colors of the Aurora (National Park Service)

https://www.nps.gov/articles/-articles-aps-v8-i1-c9.htm

Image Credit: Markus Varik
Markus' website: 
https://www.facebook.com/greenlandertromso
Image Date: Sept. 22, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Planets #Earth #Aurora #AuroraBorealis #NorthernLights #SolarSystem #Sun #Photography #Photographer #MarkusVarik #Tromsø #Norway #Norge #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

NASA's Orion Spacecraft: How the Launch Abort System for Crew Safety Works

NASA's Orion Spacecraft: How the Launch Abort System for Crew Safety Works

"On launch day, every element of Orion is poised for purpose. Among the most important is the Launch Abort System (LAS)—a slender tower mounted above the crew module, ready to provide astronauts with a swift and controlled escape, if the mission requires it. The LAS is always on watch, standing guard from the moment the crew boards Orion and the hatch is closed. Should it be called into action, it can respond in milliseconds—whether on the launch pad or during ascent—separating the spacecraft from its rocket, guiding it to a safe trajectory and clearing the way for a return to Earth."

Learn more about Orion's LAS: 
https://lockheedmartin.com/en-us/news/features/2025/how-orion-s-launch-abort-system-protects-astronauts.html

The upcoming 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.

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

NASA's Artemis II Mission:

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

Video Credit: Lockheed Martin
Duration: 2 minutes, 26 seconds
Release Date: Sept. 25, 2025

#NASA #ESA #CSA #Space #Mars #Moon #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIIMission #ArtemisII #OrionSpacecraft #DeepSpace #Astronauts #MoonToMars #Science #SpaceTechnology #SpaceExploration #SolarSystem #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #LockheedMartin #SafetySystems #CrewSafety #AstronautSafety #LaunchAbortSystem #LAS #UnitedStates #Canada #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video