Axiom Space Celebrates International Space Station's 25th Anniversary: What's Next?

Axiom Space Celebrates International Space Station's 25th Anniversary: What's Next?

International Space Station - 25 Years in Orbit (2000-2025)

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.

The station was designed between 1984 and 1993. Elements of the station were under construction throughout the US, Canada, Japan, and Europe beginning in the late 1980s.

The International Space Station Program brings together international flight crews, multiple launch vehicles, globally distributed launch and flight operations, training, engineering, and development facilities, communications networks, and the international scientific research community.

Learn more about the International Space Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/

https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/space-station-facts-and-figures/

"What Comes Next" showcases Axiom Space's "vision to transcend Earth" by building space infrastructure that "drives exploration and fuels a vibrant space economy for the benefit of every human everywhere. Learn more about how we are building what comes next for low-Earth orbit."

Axiom Space is building the world’s first commercial space station—Axiom Station:

https://www.axiomspace.com/axiom-station

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

Credit: Axiom Space

Duration: 5 minutes 
Release Date: Nov. 2, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #ISS #AxiomSpace #AxiomStation #CommercialSpace #CommercialSpaceStations #Astronauts #Japan #日本 #JAXA #UnitedStates #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #Expedition73 #InternationalCooperation #History #STEM #Education #HD #Video

India LVM3M5 Heavy-lift Rocket Launches CMS-03 Communications Satellite | ISRO

India LVM3M5 Heavy-lift Rocket Launches CMS-03 Communications Satellite | ISRO

On November 2, 2025, using a domestically-produced LVM3M5 rocket, India successfully launched the heaviest geosynchronous equatorial orbit (GEO) communications satellite, the CMS-03 weighing 4,410 kilograms, to date from Indian soil at the Sriharikota spaceport (Andhra Pradesh), marking another milestone in India’s space history. Previously, the Bengaluru-headquartered ISRO had been utilizing launch vehicles provided by France-headquartered Arianespace for launching over 4,000 kg heavy satellites from French Guiana. ISRO launched its heaviest communication satellite GSAT-11 on an Ariane-5 VA-246 rocket, December 5, 2018, from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana. It weighed about 5,854 kg. 

The CMS-03 satellite traveled onboard the 43.5 meter tall LVM3-M5 rocket, dubbed “Bahubali (Strong arms)” for its heavy-lift capability. The CMS-03 is a "multi-band communications satellite that will provide services over a wide oceanic region, including the Indian landmass,” ISRO said.

The three-stage LVM3-M5 rocket launch vehicle with two solid motor strap-ons (S200), a liquid propellant core stage (L110) and a cryogenic stage (C25) gives ISRO self-sufficiency in launching heavier communication satellites that weigh up to 4,000 kg to GEO.

LVM3 is also termed by ISRO scientists as Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mk III. This is the fifth operational flight, ISRO said. The LVM3 rocket is capable of carrying payloads to GEO weighing 4,000 kg and for low Earth orbit (LEO) payloads of 8,000 kg with its cryogenic stage.

The two S200 solid rocket boosters located on the sides of the rocket provide the thrust required for liftoff. The S200 boosters are developed at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram.

The third stage is a L110 liquid stage, powered by two Vikas engines designed and developed at India's Liquid Propulsion Systems Center.

The previous mission of the LVM3 rocket was the successful launch of the Chandrayaan-3 mission, wherein India became the first country to land successfully near the lunar South Pole in 2023.

Sriharikota is a barrier island off the Bay of Bengal coast located in the Shar Project settlement of Tirupati district in Andhra Pradesh, India. It houses the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, one of the two satellite launch centres in India (the other being Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station, Thiruvananthapuram). ISRO launches satellites using multistage rockets, such as the PSLV and the GSLV, from Sriharikota. Sriharikota was selected by ISRO because of its proximity to the equator, it gives extra centripetal force from the rotation of Earth.

Image Credit: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)

Date: Nov. 2, 2025

#NASA #ISRO #Space #Satellites #Science #Earth #India #BhāratGaṇarājya #LVM3M5Rocket #GSLV #CMS03 #CommunicationsSatellite #SDSC #Sriharikota #AndhraPradesh #SpaceTechnology #Engineering #Aerospace #STEM #Education

India LVM3M5 Heavy-lift Rocket Launches CMS-03 Communications Satellite | ISRO

India LVM3M5 Heavy-lift Rocket Launches CMS-03 Communications Satellite | ISRO

On November 2, 2025, using a domestically-produced LVM3M5 rocket, India successfully launched the heaviest geosynchronous equatorial orbit (GEO) communications satellite, the CMS-03 weighing 4,410 kilograms, to date from Indian soil at the Sriharikota spaceport (Andhra Pradesh), marking another milestone in India’s space history. Previously, the Bengaluru-headquartered ISRO had been utilizing launch vehicles provided by France-headquartered Arianespace for launching over 4,000 kg heavy satellites from French Guiana. ISRO launched its heaviest communication satellite GSAT-11 on an Ariane-5 VA-246 rocket, December 5, 2018, from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana. It weighed about 5,854 kg. 

The CMS-03 satellite traveled onboard the 43.5 meter tall LVM3-M5 rocket, dubbed “Bahubali (Strong arms)” for its heavy-lift capability. The CMS-03 is a "multi-band communications satellite that will provide services over a wide oceanic region, including the Indian landmass,” ISRO said.

The three-stage LVM3-M5 rocket launch vehicle with two solid motor strap-ons (S200), a liquid propellant core stage (L110) and a cryogenic stage (C25) gives ISRO self-sufficiency in launching heavier communication satellites that weigh up to 4,000 kg to GEO.

LVM3 is also termed by ISRO scientists as Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mk III. This is the fifth operational flight, ISRO said. The LVM3 rocket is capable of carrying payloads to GEO weighing 4,000 kg and for low Earth orbit (LEO) payloads of 8,000 kg with its cryogenic stage.

The two S200 solid rocket boosters located on the sides of the rocket provide the thrust required for liftoff. The S200 boosters are developed at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram.

The third stage is a L110 liquid stage, powered by two Vikas engines designed and developed at India's Liquid Propulsion Systems Center.

The previous mission of the LVM3 rocket was the successful launch of the Chandrayaan-3 mission, wherein India became the first country to land successfully near the lunar South Pole in 2023.

Sriharikota is a barrier island off the Bay of Bengal coast located in the Shar Project settlement of Tirupati district in Andhra Pradesh, India. It houses the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, one of the two satellite launch centres in India (the other being Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station, Thiruvananthapuram). ISRO launches satellites using multistage rockets, such as the PSLV and the GSLV, from Sriharikota. Sriharikota was selected by ISRO because of its proximity to the equator, it gives extra centripetal force from the rotation of Earth.

Video Credit: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)

Duration: 1 minute
Date: Nov. 2, 2025

#NASA #ISRO #Space #Satellites #Science #Earth #India #BhāratGaṇarājya #LVM3M5Rocket #GSLV #CMS03 #CommunicationsSatellite #SDSC #Sriharikota #AndhraPradesh #SpaceTechnology #Engineering #Aerospace #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Shenzhou-21 Astronauts Welcomed Aboard by Current Crew | China Space Station

Shenzhou-21 Astronauts Welcomed Aboard by Current Crew | China Space Station

Astronauts on the Shenzhou-21 crew spacecraft were greeted by the Shenzhou-20 crew members they will be replacing, after successfully docking with China's Tiangong space station in orbit on November 1, 2025 to begin the handover of duties—only 3.5 hours after launch, setting a new record for the fastest docking achieved between a Shenzhou spacecraft and China’s space station.

Commander Zhang Lu, previously a member of the Shenzhou-15 mission, alongside flight engineer Wu Fei and payload specialist Zhang Hongzhang, who are each embarking on their first spaceflight mission, successfully entered the station's core module Tianhe after the spaceship made a fast automated rendezvous and docked with the Tianhe module at 03:22 Saturday (Beijing Time). 

The Shenzhou-20 crew opened the hatch at 04:58 (Beijing Time) and greeted the new arrivals, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

The six crew members then took group pictures for the seventh space get-together in China's aerospace history.

They will live and work together for about five days to complete planned tasks and handover work, the CMSA said.

The Shenzhou-21 astronauts will stay on board the space station for around six months.

They are set to undertake a series of key scientific experiments during their mission that will also see them witness the arrival of the Tianzhou-10 cargo craft and later welcome the Shenzhou-22 crewed spacecraft to take over duties onboard the space station.

Shenzhou-21 is the 37th flight mission of China's human spaceflight program and the sixth crewed mission during the application and development stage of the Tiangong Space Station.

Shenzhou-21 Crew
Zhang Lu (张陆) - Commander & Pilot - Second spaceflight
Wu Fei (武飞) Flight Engineer - First spaceflight
Zhang Hong Zhang (张洪章) - Payload Specialist - First spaceflight

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: 4 minutes, 15 seconds
Release Date: Nov. 1, 2025 

#NASA #Space #Science #China #中国 #Earth #Docking #Shenzhou21Mission #神舟二十一号 #Shenzhou21 #Taikonauts #Astronauts #ZhangLu #WuFei #ZhangHongzhang #Shenzhou20 ##神舟二十号 #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #CMSA #中国载人航天工程办公室 #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Shenzhou-21 Crew Spacecraft Docking: Extended Views | China Space Station

Shenzhou-21 Crew Spacecraft Docking: Extended Views | China Space Station

China's Shenzhou-21 crewed spacecraft successfully docked with the Tiangong Space Station on the morning of November 1, 2025—only 3.5 hours after launch, setting a new record for the fastest docking achieved between a Shenzhou spacecraft and China’s space station.

China's Shenzhou-21 spaceflight crew consists of three types of astronauts, namely a spacecraft pilot, flight engineer, and payload specialist.

The three crew members, including mission commander Zhang Lu and first-time flyers, Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang. The trio will complete an in-orbit rotation with the outgoing Shenzhou-20 crew and stay on board the space station for around six months.

They are set to undertake a series of key scientific experiments during their mission. They will also witness the arrival of the Tianzhou-10 cargo craft and later welcome the Shenzhou-22 crewed spacecraft to take over duties onboard the space station.

Shenzhou-21 is the 37th flight mission of China's human spaceflight program and the sixth crewed mission during the application and development stage of the Tiangong Space Station.

Shenzhou-21 Crew
Commander & Pilot Zhang Lu (张陆)
Flight Engineer Wu Fei (武飞) 
Payload Specialist Zhang Hong Zhang (张洪章)

Video Credit: CCTV
Duration: 1 minute, 17 seconds
Release Date: Nov. 1, 2025

#NASA #Space #Science #China #中国 #Earth #Docking #Shenzhou21CrewSpacecraft #Shenzhou21Mission #神舟二十一号 #Shenzhou21Crew #Taikonauts #Astronauts #ZhangLu #WuFei #ZhangHongzhang #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #CMSA #中国载人航天工程办公室 #HumanSpaceflight #JSLC #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Shenzhou-21 Crew Liftoff on Long March Rocket: New Views | China Space Station

Shenzhou-21 Crew Liftoff on Long March Rocket: New Views | China Space Station

🚀China successfully launched the Shenzhou-21 crewed spacecraft, powered by a Long March 2F Y21 rocket, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC) in northwest China on Friday, October 31, 2025, at 23:44 Friday (Beijing Time), sending three astronauts to its orbiting space station on a six-month mission. This is newly released footage from China Media Group (CMG) showing the ascent from multiple perspectives.

The Shenzhou-21 crew spacecraft later docked with the China Space Station early Saturday morning, Beijing Time—only 3.5 hours after launch, setting a new record for the fastest docking achieved between a Shenzhou spacecraft and China’s space station. The Shenzhou-21 crew spacecraft, 

China's Shenzhou-21 spaceflight crew consists of three types of astronauts, namely a spacecraft pilot, flight engineer, and payload specialist.

The three crew members, including mission commander Zhang Lu and first-time flyers, Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang. The trio will complete an in-orbit rotation with the outgoing Shenzhou-20 crew and stay on board the space station for around six months.

They are set to undertake a series of key scientific experiments during their mission. They will also witness the arrival of the Tianzhou-10 cargo craft and later welcome the Shenzhou-22 crewed spacecraft to take over duties onboard the space station.

Shenzhou-21 is the 37th flight mission of China's human spaceflight program and the sixth crewed mission during the application and development stage of the Tiangong Space Station.

Shenzhou-21 Crew
Commander & Pilot Zhang Lu (张陆)
Flight Engineer Wu Fei (武飞) 
Payload Specialist Zhang Hong Zhang (张洪章)

Video Credit: CCTV, CMG
Duration: 1 minute, 51 seconds
Release Date: Nov 1, 2025

#NASA #Space #Science #China #中国 #Earth #LongMarch2FY21Rocket #JSLC #Shenzhou21Mission #神舟二十一号 #Shenzhou21Crew #Taikonauts #Astronauts #ZhangLu #WuFei #ZhangHongzhang #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #CMSA #中国载人航天工程办公室 #HumanSpaceflight #JSLC #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon): New View from Czech Republic

Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon): New View from Czech Republic

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, 2025. It passed nearest to the Earth—about half of the Earth-Sun distance—on October 21.

The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast.

Image Credit: Dalibor Hanzl

Capture Location: Pavlovice, Czech Republic

Image Details: 15x30sLRGB, 8" ASA f/2.8 reflector, G2 8300 CCD
Image Date: Oct. 29, 2025 

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Comets #CometC2025A6Lemmon #Coma #CometaryTails #SolarSystem #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Astrophotography #DaliborHanzl #Astrophotographers #Pavlovice #Czech Republic #CentralEurope #Europe #STEM #Education

Close-up—Galaxy NGC 6951 in Cepheus: A Starbursting Center | Hubble

Close-up—Galaxy NGC 6951 in Cepheus: A Starbursting Center | Hubble

The glittering galaxy in this NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope picture is NGC 6951. It resides about 70 million light-years away in the constellation Cepheus.

As this Hubble image shows, NGC 6951 is a spiral galaxy with plenty of intriguing structures. Most eye-catching are its spiral arms dotted with brilliant red nebulae, bright blue stars and filamentary dust clouds. The spiral arms loop around the galactic center. It has a golden glow that comes from a population of older stars. The center of the galaxy is also distinctly elongated, revealing the presence of a slowly rotating bar of stars.

NGC 6951’s bar may be responsible for another remarkable feature: a white-blue ring that encloses the very heart of the galaxy. This is called a circumnuclear starburst ring—essentially, a circle of enhanced star formation around the nucleus of a galaxy. The bar funnels gas toward the center of the galaxy, where it collects in a ring about 3800 light-years across. Two dark dust lanes that run parallel to the bar mark the points where gas from the bar enters the ring.

The dense gas of a circumnuclear starburst ring is the perfect environment to churn out an impressive number of stars. Using data from Hubble, astronomers have identified more than 80 potential star clusters within NGC 6951’s ring. Many of the stars formed less than 100 million years ago, but the ring itself is longer-lived, potentially having existed for 1–1.5 billion years.

Astronomers have imaged NGC 6951 with Hubble for a wide variety of reasons, including mapping the dust in nearby galaxies, studying the centers of disc galaxies and keeping tabs on recent supernovae (of which NGC 6951 has hosted five or six).

Image Description: A spiral galaxy with large, open arms. A bar of yellow light, where old stars are gathered, crosses the middle of the disk. The very center is a white point surrounded by a small, shining ring of star clusters. Thin lanes of dust swirl around this ring, reaching out to follow the spiral arms; also visible across the arms are red, glowing spots where stars are forming. To the right a star shines large and bright.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, L. C. Ho, G. Brammer, A. Filippenko, C. Kilpatrick, N. Bartmann (ESA/Hubble)

Duration: 30 seconds
Release Date: Oct. 6, 2025

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Stars #Galaxies #NGC6951 #StarburstGalaxies #Cepheus #Constellations #Cosmos #Universe #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Close-up—A Well-studied Spiral Galaxy: NGC 7496 in Grus | Hubble

Close-up—A Well-studied Spiral Galaxy: NGC 7496 in Grus | Hubble

The celestial object that is displayed in this NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope picture is NGC 7496, a galaxy located over 24 million light-years away in the constellation Grus (The Crane). NGC 7496 is a dusty spiral galaxy with a bar of stars stretching across its center. Adding to its intrigue is an active galactic nucleus: a supermassive black hole that feasts on gas at the very heart of the galaxy.

Astronomers have observed NGC 7496 at wavelengths from radio to ultraviolet in order to study the galaxy’s active galactic nucleus, dust clouds, and star formation. Hubble first observed this galaxy as part of the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS (PHANGS) program. With its unique ultraviolet capabilities and fine resolution, Hubble’s view reveals young star clusters bursting with high-energy radiation. Hubble’s observations of NGC 7496 help to reveal the ages and masses of these young stars, as well as the extent to which their starlight is blocked by dust.

This Hubble image incorporates new data that highlight the galaxy’s star clusters that are surrounded by glowing red clouds of hydrogen gas. Astronomers collected these data in order to study nebulae like those that massive stars leave behind when they explode as supernovae and that become the source of newborn stars.

Image Description: A spiral galaxy featuring a bright, glowing core that is crossed by a horizontal bar of yellowish light. Spiral arms emerge from each end of this bar and wrap around it, creating a disc that is stretched out to the right. Mostly along the arms are areas glowing in pink where stars are forming in nebulae. Webs of dark reddish dust also follow the arms. A star in our galaxy shines prominently, off to the right.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. Chandar, J. Lee and the PHANGS-HST team, N. Bartmann (ESA/Hubble)

Duration: 30 seconds
Release Date: Oct. 13, 2025

#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #NGC7496 #Grus #Constellations #Cosmos #Universe #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The "Golden" Comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS): View from California, USA

The "Golden" Comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS): View from California, USA

Astrophotographer Dan Bartlett: "This is comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) which wasn't suppose to survive Oct 8 perihelion [closest approach to the sun] due to it's low intrinsic brightness. It did survive and even more peculiar is its chemical composition lacking in carbon compounds (CN, CO, CO2 and C2 compounds lend to blue green cometary coloration). This 8 -9th magnitude comet has a higher ratio of OH and H2O compounds leading to a red/brown/golden color rarely seen in comets. A morning comet, still fairly impressive."

C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) is an Oort cloud comet first seen in May 2025. It is one of many comets discovered by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) that was developed by the University of Hawaii and funded by NASA.

Image Credit: Dan Bartlett

Capture Location: June Lake, California, USA

Dan's Website: https://app.astrobin.com/u/h2ologg#gallery
Image Date: Oct. 29, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Comets #CometC2025A6Lemmon #Coma #CometaryTails #OortCloud #SolarSystem #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Astrophotography #DanBartlett #Astrophotographers #JuneLake #California #USA #STEM #Education

NASA Mars ESCAPADE Mission's Twin Spacecraft Readied for Launch

NASA Mars ESCAPADE Mission's Twin Spacecraft Readied for Launch

Tucked in and ready for flight ✅ | NASA's two ESCAPADE Mission spacecraft, manufactured by Rocket Lab, have been successfully encapsulated into their Blue Origin New Glenn 7-meter rocket fairing. This is the last time they will be seen on Earth before their launch to Mars. 

Next stop: The launch pad. 🚀

Blue Origin's New Glenn Rocket:
https://www.blueorigin.com/new-glenn

ESCAPADE Spacecraft Contractor: Rocket Lab

https://rocketlabcorp.com/missions/escapade/

The NASA 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 in Fall 2025 on Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket. It will take ESCAPADE about 11 months to arrive at Mars after leaving Earth orbit.

ESCAPADE is led by the UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory, which is responsible for mission management, systems engineering, science leadership, navigation, operations, the electron & ion electrostatic analyzers, and science data processing and archiving.

Key partners are Rocket Lab USA (spacecraft), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (magnetometers), Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (Langmuir probes), Advanced Space LLC (mission design), and Blue Origin (launch).

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:

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

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/escapade
https://escapade.ssl.berkeley.edu

Image Credit: NASA/GSFC, Blue Origin, Rocket Lab/SSL
Release Dates: Oct. 9-31, 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 #NewGlenn #KSC #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Test for NASA's Mars ESCAPADE Mission

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Test for NASA's Mars ESCAPADE Mission

Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp: "Love seeing New Glenn's seven BE-4 engines come alive! Congratulations to Team Blue on today's hotfire. We extended the hotfire duration this time to simulate the landing burn sequence by shutting down the non-gimballed engines after ramping down to 50 percent thrust, then shutting down the outboard gimballed engines while ramping the center engine to 80 percent thrust. This helps us understand fluid interactions between active and inactive engine feedlines during landing. Next, we will mate NASA's ESCAPADE payload to the launch vehicle and enter final preparations for launch."

The NASA 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 in Fall 2025 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.

Blue Origin's New Glenn Rocket:
https://www.blueorigin.com/new-glenn

ESCAPADE Spacecraft Contractor: Rocket Lab

https://rocketlabcorp.com/missions/escapade/

Learn more about NASA's ESCAPADE Mission: 

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

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/escapade
https://escapade.ssl.berkeley.edu

Credit: Blue Origin
Duration: 1 minute
Release Date: Oct. 31, 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 #NewGlenn #KSC #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Sculpture Garden of Gas and Dust: Core of The Lagoon Nebula | STScI

Sculpture Garden of Gas and Dust: Core of The Lagoon Nebula | STScI

This video zooms into the core of a rich star-birth region called the Lagoon Nebula, located in the constellation Sagittarius in the direction of our Milky Way galaxy’s central bulge. The sequence then dissolves to a series of imagined three-dimensional flights past striking structures of this gaseous landscape. Viewers examine dark, dusty clouds silhouetted against a colorful background of luminous gas that has been heated by a massive star. Pillars of dense gas and bow shocks around newborn stars are shaped by the strong winds from the brightest stars. The intense high-energy emission from these same stars creates the glowing ridges of gas in ionization fronts. These features are some of the highlights of this vibrant region where new stars and planets are born.

Credit: NASA, European Space Agency, and G. Bacon, D. Player, J. DePasquale, F. Summers, and Z. Levay/Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
Acknowledgement: A. Fujii, Digitized Sky Survey, European Southern Observatory (ESO)/VPHAS, and R. Crisp
Duration: 2 minutes, 15 seconds
Release Date: April 19, 2018

#NASA #ESA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Nebula #LagoonNebula #NGC6523 #Sagittarius #Constellations #Cosmos #Universe #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Close-up of Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon): View from British Columbia, Canada

Close-up of Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon): View from British Columbia, Canada

Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) is becoming much more active as it nears our Sun. As comets approach the Sun, they heat up, causing their icy components to sublimate. This leads to the formation of a glowing coma and tails that can stretch for millions of kilometers.

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, 2025. It passed nearest to the Earth—about half of the Earth-Sun distance—on October 21.

British Columbia is the westernmost province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, British Columbia borders the province of Alberta to the east; the territories of Yukon and Northwest Territories to the north; the US states of Washington, Idaho and Montana to the south, and Alaska to the northwest.

Image Credit: Debra Ceravolo

Capture Location: Southern British Columbia

Image Details: 16 inch Boller & Chivens telescope f/18, 7400mm focal length with a Canon R6 camera attached. 10 X 30 seconds exposures stacked. 

Debra's Website: https://www.astrobin.com/users/debraceravolo/
Image Date: Oct. 29, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Comets #CometC2025A6Lemmon #Coma #CometaryTails #SolarSystem #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Astrophotography #DebraCeravolo #Astrophotographers #SouthernBC #BritishColumbia #Canada #STEM #Education

Japan's HTV X-1 Cargo Spacecraft Unloading Underway | International Space Station

Japan's HTV X-1 Cargo Spacecraft: Unloading Underway | International Space Station

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) inaugural HII Transfer Vehicle-X (HTV X-1) successfully rendezvoused with the International Space Station (ISS) on Oct. 29, 2025, for a Canadian robot arm capture and berthing to the Earth-facing port on the U.S. segment Harmony module.

The HTV X-1 was launched from JAXA’s Tanegashima Space Center aboard a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ H3 Launch Vehicle on Oct. 25, 2025, at 8 p.m. EDT, or Oct. 26 at 9 a.m. local time. It delivered a 4.4-ton cargo of food, crew supplies and scientific research.

With a successful capture by the 58-ft. robot arm commanded by ISS Expedition 73 astronauts Kimiya Yui of JAXA and NASA astronaut Zena Cardman at 11:58 a.m. EDT, NASA Mission Control commanded the berthing. The HTV X-1 is to remain berthed to the ISS for about three months.

“This is a significant event for the Japanese space program,” Yui radioed the JAXA and NASA mission-control teams.

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: JAXA/K. Yui
Release Date: Oct. 31, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #ISS #HTVX1 #CargoSpacecraft #Astronauts #KimiyaYui #油井亀美也 #Japan #日本 #JAXA #宇宙航空研究開発機構 #UnitedStates #Cosmonauts #Russia #Roscosmos #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition73 #STEM #Education

Japan's HTV X-1 Cargo Spacecraft after Docking | International Space Station

Japan's HTV X-1 Cargo Spacecraft after Docking | International Space Station

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) inaugural HII Transfer Vehicle-X (HTV X-1) successfully rendezvoused with the International Space Station (ISS) on Oct. 29, 2025, for a Canadian robot arm capture and berthing to the Earth-facing port on the U.S. segment Harmony module.

The HTV X-1 was launched from JAXA’s Tanegashima Space Center aboard a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ H3 Launch Vehicle on Oct. 25, 2025, at 8 p.m. EDT, or Oct. 26 at 9 a.m. local time. It delivered a 4.4-ton cargo of food, crew supplies and scientific research.

With a successful capture by the 58-ft. robot arm commanded by ISS Expedition 73 astronauts Kimiya Yui of JAXA and NASA astronaut Zena Cardman at 11:58 a.m. EDT, NASA Mission Control commanded the berthing. The HTV X-1 is to remain berthed to the ISS for about three months.

“This is a significant event for the Japanese space program,” Yui radioed the JAXA and NASA mission-control teams.

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: JAXA/K. Yui
Duration: 31 seconds
Release Date: Oct. 30, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #ISS #HTVX1 #CargoSpacecraft #Astronauts #KimiyaYui #油井亀美也 #Japan #日本 #JAXA #宇宙航空研究開発機構 #UnitedStates #Cosmonauts #Russia #Roscosmos #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition73 #STEM #Education #HD #Video