Close-up: Eight New Examples of Gravitational Lensing | Webb Telescope

Close-up: Eight New Examples of Gravitational Lensing | Webb Telescope

This James Webb Space Telescope picture shows eight stunning examples of gravitational lensing. Gravitational lensing, first predicted by Einstein, occurs because massive objects like galaxies and clusters of galaxies dramatically warp the fabric of spacetime. When a massive foreground object lines up just so with a background galaxy, the light from the background galaxy bends as it navigates the warped spacetime on its way to our telescopes.

Depending on how perfect the alignment is, the light from the background galaxy can be bent into an arc, a circle (a phenomenon called an ‘Einstein ring’) or even split into multiple images.

Arcs and circles are prevalent in these gravitationally lensed galaxies. They were identified in data from COSMOS-Web, a 255-hour Treasury program (#1727). COSMOS-Web aims to understand the formation of the most massive galaxies in the Universe, identify galaxies that were present when the first stars and galaxies reionized the Universe’s hydrogen gas, and study the relationship between the mass of a galaxy’s stars and the mass of its galactic halo across cosmic time.

Using these data, researchers carried out the COSMOS-Web Lens Survey, or COWLS, to search for gravitational lenses. The researchers inspected more than 42,000 galaxies by eye and picked out more than 400 promising lensing candidates. This picture feature presents a collage of eight of the most spectacular lenses identified by the research team.

This collection of gravitational lenses spans an incredible range of cosmic history. The foreground galaxies give us a glimpse of galactic life when the Universe was 2.7 to 8.9 billion years old. The background galaxies, whose shapes appear visibly distorted, stretch back even further, with one source nicknamed ‘the COSMOS-Web Ring’ (top row, left of center) letting us peek all the way back to when the Universe was barely more than a billion years old. Several rarities appear in this collection, including an unusual case where the galaxy acting as the gravitational lens is a flattened disc galaxy rather than an elliptical galaxy (bottom row, second from left). 

These images demonstrate Webb’s ability to uncover and reveal never-before-seen details in gravitationally lensed galaxies. A portion of these lensed galaxies were previously discovered with the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope and are now seen by Webb in an entirely new light. Others, including those that are especially red due to either dust or distance, were first spotted by Webb. These discoveries open a unique window into the early days of the Universe and enable the study of exquisite details within distant galaxies like individual star clusters and supernovae.

From left-to-right then top-to-bottom: COSJ100013+023424, COSJ100024+015334, COSJ100018+022138, COSJ100024+021749, COSJ095914+021219, COSJ100025+015245, COSJ095921+020638, and COSJ095593+023319.

Image Description: A collage of eight Webb images of gravitational lensing are shown. Each of the images show various distorted galaxies in the center of each frame, including arcs and circular shapes.

Image Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, G. Gozaliasl, A. Koekemoer, M. Franco

Duration: 55 seconds
Release Date: Sept. 30, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #GravitationalLensing #Galaxies #Astrophysics #COSMOSWebLensSurvey #COWLS #Universe #SpaceTelescopes #JWST #InfraredAstronomy #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #ESA #Europe #CSA #Canada #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Eight New Examples of Gravitational Lensing | James Webb Space Telescope

Eight New Examples of Gravitational Lensing | James Webb Space Telescope

This James Webb Space Telescope picture shows eight stunning examples of gravitational lensing. Gravitational lensing, first predicted by Einstein, occurs because massive objects like galaxies and clusters of galaxies dramatically warp the fabric of spacetime. When a massive foreground object lines up just so with a background galaxy, the light from the background galaxy bends as it navigates the warped spacetime on its way to our telescopes.

Depending on how perfect the alignment is, the light from the background galaxy can be bent into an arc, a circle (a phenomenon called an ‘Einstein ring’) or even split into multiple images.

Arcs and circles are prevalent in these gravitationally lensed galaxies. They were identified in data from COSMOS-Web, a 255-hour Treasury program (#1727). COSMOS-Web aims to understand the formation of the most massive galaxies in the Universe, identify galaxies that were present when the first stars and galaxies reionized the Universe’s hydrogen gas, and study the relationship between the mass of a galaxy’s stars and the mass of its galactic halo across cosmic time.

Using these data, researchers carried out the COSMOS-Web Lens Survey, or COWLS, to search for gravitational lenses. The researchers inspected more than 42,000 galaxies by eye and picked out more than 400 promising lensing candidates. This picture feature presents a collage of eight of the most spectacular lenses identified by the research team.

This collection of gravitational lenses spans an incredible range of cosmic history. The foreground galaxies give us a glimpse of galactic life when the Universe was 2.7 to 8.9 billion years old. The background galaxies, whose shapes appear visibly distorted, stretch back even further, with one source nicknamed ‘the COSMOS-Web Ring’ (top row, left of center) letting us peek all the way back to when the Universe was barely more than a billion years old. Several rarities appear in this collection, including an unusual case where the galaxy acting as the gravitational lens is a flattened disc galaxy rather than an elliptical galaxy (bottom row, second from left). 

These images demonstrate Webb’s ability to uncover and reveal never-before-seen details in gravitationally lensed galaxies. A portion of these lensed galaxies were previously discovered with the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope and are now seen by Webb in an entirely new light. Others, including those that are especially red due to either dust or distance, were first spotted by Webb. These discoveries open a unique window into the early days of the Universe and enable the study of exquisite details within distant galaxies like individual star clusters and supernovae.

From left-to-right then top-to-bottom: COSJ100013+023424, COSJ100024+015334, COSJ100018+022138, COSJ100024+021749, COSJ095914+021219, COSJ100025+015245, COSJ095921+020638, and COSJ095593+023319.

Image Description: A collage of eight Webb images of gravitational lensing are shown. Each of the images show various distorted galaxies in the center of each frame, including arcs and circular shapes.

Image Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, G. Gozaliasl, A. Koekemoer, M. Franco
Release Date: Sept. 30, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #GravitationalLensing #Galaxies #Astrophysics #COSMOSWebLensSurvey #COWLS #Universe #SpaceTelescopes #JWST #InfraredAstronomy #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #ESA #Europe #CSA #Canada #STEM #Education 

China's Chang'e-6 Lunar Far Side Sample Return Mission Wins International Award

China's Chang'e-6 Lunar Far Side Sample Return Mission Wins International Award

China's Chang'e-6 mission was presented the 2025 IAF World Space Award in the Team category in Sydney, Australia on Monday, September 29, 2025. This highest honor from the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) acknowledges the mission's groundbreaking feat of bringing back samples from the Moon's far side. The mission captured the world's attention and secured wide acclaim due to its critical contributions. CGTN's reporter Chen Yilin spoke with the mission's chief designer and international experts to uncover the details.

In 2024, Chang'e-6 made history by bringing 1,935.3 grams of lunar far-side samples back to Earth. These samples were collected from the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin, the largest, deepest, and oldest basin on the Moon. It provided a rare opportunity to clarify the compositional differences between the near and far sides and to unravel the long-standing mystery of their asymmetry.

The Chang'e-6 probe was launched from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China's Hainan Province on May 3, 2024. It touched down on the far side of the Moon on June 2. During its two-day stay, Chang'e-6 used a scoop and drill, collecting nearly 2 kilograms of lunar material. On June 25, 2024, its returner brought back the samples and made a landing in north China.

Video Credit: CGTN
Duration: 3 minutes
Release Date: Sept. 30, 2025

#NASA #CNSA #Change6  #嫦娥六号 #Space #Astronomy #Science #China #中国 #Moon #LunarSampleReturn #Geology #FarSide #SouthPole #SpaceTechnology #SpaceExploration #CLEP #InternationalCooperation #Pakistan #SouthAfrica #France #CNES #Italy #ASI #Sweden #IAF #History #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Comet C/2025 A6 Lemmon: View from Texas

Comet C/2025 A6 Lemmon: View from Texas

Comet Lemmon is brightening and moving into morning northern skies. Besides Comet SWAN25B and Comet ATLAS, Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) is now the third comet currently visible with binoculars and on long camera exposures. Comet Lemmon was discovered early this year and is still headed into the inner Solar System. The comet will round the Sun on November 8, but first it will pass its nearest to the Earth—at about half the Earth-Sun distance—on October 21. 

Although the brightnesses of comets are notoriously hard to predict, optimistic estimates have Comet Lemmon then becoming visible to the unaided eye. The comet should be best seen in predawn skies until mid-October, when it also becomes visible in evening skies. The featured image showing the comet's split and rapidly changing ion tail was taken in Texas, USA late last week.

Image Description: "A starfield is shown that has a bright comet. The comet shows a green head on the lower left and an ion tail with significant structure extending out to the upper right."

Image Credit & Copyright: Victor Sabet & Julien De Winter

Julien's website: https://www.instagram.com/dwj85
Release Date: Sept. 30, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Comets #CometC2025A6Lemmon #Coma #CometaryTails #SolarSystem #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Astrophotography #VictorSabet #JulienDeWinter #Astrophotographers #Texas #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #APoD

SpaceX Starship: Tenth Flight Test | Starbase Texas

SpaceX Starship: Tenth Flight Test | Starbase Texas

"Starship’s tenth flight test lifted off on August 26, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. CT from Starbase, Texas, taking a significant step forward in developing the world’s first fully reusable launch vehicle. Every major objective was met, providing critical data to inform designs of the next generation Starship and Super Heavy."

"Over the course of a flight test campaign, success will continue to be measured by what we are able to learn, and Starship’s tenth flight test provided valuable data by stressing the limits of vehicle capabilities and providing maximum excitement along the way."

SpaceX Starship 10th Flight Test Results Summary

The flight test began with Super Heavy successfully lifting off by igniting all 33 Raptor engines and ascending over the Gulf of America. Successful ascent was followed by a hot-staging maneuver, with Starship’s upper stage igniting its six Raptor engines to separate from Super Heavy and continue the flight to space.

Following stage separation, the Super Heavy booster completed its boostback burn to put it on a course to a pre-planned splashdown zone. The booster descended and successfully initiated its landing burn, intentionally disabling one of its three center engines during the final phases of the burn and using a backup engine from the middle ring. Super Heavy entered into a final hover above the water before shutting down its engines and splashing down into the water.

Starship completed a full-duration ascent burn and achieved its planned velocity, successfully putting it on a suborbital trajectory. The first in-space objective was then completed, with eight Starlink simulators deployed in the first successful payload demonstration from Starship. The vehicle then completed the second ever in-space relight of a Raptor engine, demonstrating a key capability for future deorbit burns.

Moving into the critical reentry phase, Starship was able to gather data on the performance of its heatshield and structure as it was intentionally stressed to push the envelope on vehicle capabilities. Using its four flaps for control, the spacecraft arrived at its splashdown point in the Indian Ocean, successfully executed a landing flip, and completed the flight test with a landing burn and soft splashdown.

Over the course of a flight test campaign, success will continue to be measured by what we are able to learn, and Starship’s tenth flight test provided valuable data by stressing the limits of vehicle capabilities and providing maximum excitement along the way."

SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket—collectively referred to as Starship—represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond. Starship is currently the "world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed", capable of carrying up to 150 metric tonnes fully reusable and 250 metric tonnes expendable.

Key Starship Parameters:

Height: 123m/403ft
Diameter: 9m/29.5ft
Payload to LEO: 100–150t (fully reusable)

"Starship is essential to both SpaceX’s plans to deploy its next-generation Starship system as well as for NASA, which will use a lunar lander version of Starship for landing astronauts on the Moon during the Artemis III mission through the Human Landing System (HLS) program."

Learn more about Starship:

https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/starship/

Download the Free Starship User Guide (PDF):

https://www.spacex.com/media/starship_users_guide_v1.pdf

Video Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)
Duration: 2 minutes, 14 seconds
Release Date: Sept. 29, 2025

#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #Mars #Moon #MoonToMars #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIII #Starship #StarshipSpacecraft #Starship10 #StarshipTestFlight10 #SuperHeavyBooster #SuperHeavyRocket #ElonMusk #Engineering #SpaceTechnology #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #StarbaseTexas #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

World Recognition for China's Chang'e-6 Lunar Far Side Sample Return Mission

World Recognition for China's Chang'e-6 Lunar Far Side Sample Return Mission

Congratulatory messages are flooding in from the global space community at the 2025 International Astronautical Congress in Sydney, Australia, organized by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF).

The international guests from various fields in the space sector expressed their excitement about China's Chang'e-6 mission winning the 2025 IAF World Space Award. The probe represents a significant milestone for humanity's first-ever sampling from the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the far side of the Moon.

In 2024, Chang'e-6 made history by bringing 1,935.3 grams of lunar far-side samples back to Earth. These samples were collected from the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin, the largest, deepest, and oldest basin on the Moon. It provided a rare opportunity to clarify the compositional differences between the near and far sides and to unravel the long-standing mystery of their asymmetry.

The Chang'e-6 probe was launched from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China's Hainan Province on May 3, 2024. It touched down on the far side of the Moon on June 2. During its two-day stay, Chang'e-6 used a scoop and drill, collecting nearly 2 kilograms of lunar material. On June 25, 2024, its returner brought back the samples and made a landing in north China.

Video Credit: CGTN
Duration: 53 seconds
Release Date: Sept. 29, 2025

#NASA #CNSA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #China #中国 #Moon #Change6 #嫦娥六号 #LunarSampleReturn #Geology #Basalt #FarSide #SouthPole #SpaceTechnology #SpaceExploration #CLEP #InternationalCooperation #Pakistan #SouthAfrica #France #CNES #Italy #ASI #Sweden #History #STEM #Education #HD #Video

ULA Atlas V Rocket Launches Kuiper 3: Expanding Amazon’s Global Connectivity

ULA Atlas V Rocket Launches Kuiper 3: Expanding Amazon’s Global Connectivity

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying the Kuiper 3 mission for Amazon’s Project Kuiper lifted off on Sept. 25, 2025, at 8:09 a.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral. This mission demonstrates the partnership between ULA and Amazon to launch and deliver new solutions for global connectivity.

Project Kuiper is Amazon's low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite broadband network. Its mission is to provide fast, reliable Internet access to customers around the world, including those in unserved and underserved communities, using a constellation of more than 3,200 LEO satellites.

United Launch Alliance (ULA) update:
https://newsroom.ulalaunch.com/releases/united-launch-alliance-propels-amazons-project-kuiper-to-enhance-broadband-access-to-connect-the-world

Amazon's Project Kuiper:
https://www.aboutamazon.com/what-we-do/devices-services/project-kuiper

Video Credit: United Launch Alliance (ULA)
Duration: 1 minute, 15 seconds
Release Date: Sept. 29, 2025

#NASA #Space #Earth #Satellites #LEO #Amazon #ProjectKuiper #Kuiper3Mission #SatelliteConstellations #CommunicationsSatellites #BroadbandInternetServices #AtlasVRockets #ULA #CapeCanaveral #Florida #UnitedStates #CommercialSpace #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Hurricane Humberto: Flashes at The Eye of The Storm | International Space Station

Hurricane Humberto: Flashes at The Eye of The Storm | International Space Station

Expedition 73 flight engineer and NASA astronaut Jonny Kim: "Hurricane Humberto from the International Space Station during a night pass. The lightning lights up the eye of the storm. Sept 28, 0100 GMT."

Humberto remained a powerful Category 4 hurricane early Monday, Sept. 29, 2025, with maximum sustained winds near 145 mph and moving northwest at 14 mph. Forecast models continue to show Humberto bending northward later today, then accerlating east-northeast (ENE) Tuesday into Wednesday. It is expected to pass west of Bermuda then to the north. Tropical-storm-force winds are expected for the island late Tuesday.

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.

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center/J. Kim

Image Details: Nikon Z9 | 15/50mm | ISO 25600 f.18 1s.

Text Credit: WDSU News

Duration: 13 seconds

Date: Sept. 28, 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 #HD #Video

Hurricane Humberto: Lightning at The Eye of The Storm | International Space Station

Hurricane Humberto: Lightning at The Eye of The Storm | International Space Station

Expedition 73 flight engineer and NASA astronaut Jonny Kim: "Hurricane Humberto from the International Space Station during a night pass. The lightning lights up the eye of the storm. Sept 28, 0100 GMT."

Humberto remained a powerful Category 4 hurricane early Monday, Sept. 29, 2025, with maximum sustained winds near 145 mph and moving northwest at 14 mph. Forecast models continue to show Humberto bending northward later today, then accerlating east-northeast (ENE) Tuesday into Wednesday. It is expected to pass west of Bermuda then to the north. Tropical-storm-force winds are expected for the island late Tuesday.

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: Nikon Z9 | 15/50mm | ISO 25600 f.18 1s.

Text Credit: WDSU News

Image Date: Sept. 28, 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

Spiral Galaxy NGC 6000 in Scorpius: "Yellow and blue, old and new" | Hubble

Spiral Galaxy NGC 6000 in Scorpius: "Yellow and blue, old and new" | Hubble

Stars of all ages are on display in this NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope picture. This sparkling spiral galaxy is called NGC 6000 and it is located 102 million light-years away in the constellation Scorpius. 

This galaxy has a glowing yellow center and glittering blue outskirts. The colors reflect the average ages, masses and temperatures of the galaxy’s stars. In the heart of the galaxy, the stars tend to be older and smaller. Less massive stars are cooler than more massive stars, and somewhat counterintuitively, cooler stars are redder, while hotter stars are bluer. Farther out along NGC 6000’s spiral arms, brilliant star clusters host young, massive stars that appear distinctly blue.

Hubble collected the data for this image while surveying the sites of recent supernova explosions in nearby galaxies. NGC 6000 has hosted two recent supernovae: SN 2007ch in 2007 and SN 2010as in 2010. Using Hubble’s sensitive detectors, researchers are able to discern the faint glow of supernovae years after the initial explosion. These observations help to constrain the masses of supernova progenitor stars and can indicate if they had any stellar companions. 

By zooming in to the right side of the galaxy’s disc in this image, you may see something else yellow and blue: a set of four thin lines. These are an asteroid in our Solar System. It was drifting across Hubble’s field of view as it gazed at NGC 6000. The four streaks are due to exposures that were recorded one after another with slight pauses in between. These were combined to create this final image. The colors appear this way because each exposure used a filter to collect only specific wavelengths of light, in this case around red and blue. Having these separate exposures is important to study and compare stars by their colors—but it also makes asteroid interlopers very obvious!

Image Description: An oval-shaped spiral galaxy where only the center and lower half is in frame. Its center is mainly golden in color with a white glowing core. Its thick spiral arms are mostly blue, particularly at the outskirts; the colors merge in between. Dark lanes of dust swirl through the center, blocking some of its light. Stars and distant galaxies can be seen around the edges on a black background.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Filippenko
Acknowledgement: M. H. Özsaraç
Release Date: Sept. 29, 2025

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Stars #Galaxies #NGC6000 #SpiralGalaxies #Scorpius #Constellations #Cosmos #Universe #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

NASA Flew Over a Fire—to Better Understand Future Ones | NASA Goddard

NASA Flew Over a Fire—to Better Understand Future Ones | NASA Goddard

In a partnership between NASA, federal government departments, and wildland experts, NASA FireSense demonstrates how cutting-edge satellite and airborne technology is revolutionizing fire detection, prescribed fire, and ecosystem management—bringing real-time data to wildland fire managers.

NASA FireSense:
https://cce.nasa.gov/firesense/index.html

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center / Scientific Visualization Studio
Duration: 12 minutes
Release Date: Sept. 23, 2025

#NASA #Space #Satellites #Science #Earth #EarthScience #Wildfires #FireDetection #FireSense #NASATechnology #AirborneObservatories #AirborneTechnology #EcosystemManagement #ClimateChange #GlobalHeating #GreenhouseGases #Environment #NASAGoddard #GSFC #Greenbelt #Maryland #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

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

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