Friends of NASA

Saturday, May 09, 2026

Jellyfish Galaxy JW39 Adrift in Coma Berenices | Hubble Space Telescope

Jellyfish Galaxy JW39 Adrift in Coma Berenices | Hubble Space Telescope

The jellyfish galaxy JW39 hangs serenely in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. This galaxy lies over 900 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices, and is one of several jellyfish galaxies that Hubble has been studying over the past two years.

Despite this jellyfish galaxy’s serene appearance, it is adrift in a ferociously hostile environment; a galaxy cluster. Compared to their more isolated counterparts, the galaxies in galaxy clusters are often distorted by the gravitational pull of larger neighbors that can twist galaxies into a variety of weird and wonderful shapes. If that was not enough, the space between galaxies in a cluster is also pervaded with a searingly hot plasma known as the intracluster medium. While this plasma is extremely tenuous, galaxies moving through it experience it almost like swimmers fighting against a current, and this interaction can strip galaxies of their star-forming gas.

This interaction between the intracluster medium and the galaxies is called ram-pressure stripping, and is the process responsible for the trailing tendrils of this jellyfish galaxy. As JW39 has moved through the cluster the pressure of the intracluster medium has stripped away gas and dust into long trailing ribbons of star formation that now stretch away from the disc of the galaxy.

Astronomers using Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 studied these trailing tendrils in detail, as they are a particularly extreme environment for star formation. Surprisingly, they found that star formation in the ‘tentacles’ of jellyfish galaxies was not noticeably different from star formation in the galaxy disc.

Image Description: A spiral galaxy. It is large in the center with a lot of detail visible. The core glows brightly and is surrounded by concentric rings of dark and light dust. The spiral arms are thick and puffy with grey dust and glowing blue areas of star formation. They wrap around the galaxy to form a ring. Part of the arm is drawn out into a dark thread above the galaxy, and dust from the arm trails off to the right.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. Gullieuszik and the GASP team
Release Date: May 22, 2023

#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #IC4141 #JellyfishGalaxies #RamPressureStripping #InteractingGalaxies #ComaBerenicesConstellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

First Full Stack of SpaceX Starship Version 3: Pre-Flight 12 | Starbase Texas

First Full Stack of SpaceX Starship Version 3: Pre-Flight 12 | Starbase Texas

As of October 13, 2025, the SpaceX Starship has been "launched 11 times with 6 successes and 5 failures." SpaceX has developed Starship with the intention of lowering launch costs using economies of scale. It aims to achieve this by reusing both rocket stages, increasing payload mass to orbit, increasing launch frequency, creating a mass-manufacturing pipeline and adapting it to a wide range of space missions.

"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

Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)
Date: May 9, 2026

#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #Mars #Moon #MoonToMars #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIII #Starship #StarshipV3 #StarshipFlight12 #ReusableSpacecraft #SuperHeavy #SuperHeavyV3 #ElonMusk #Engineering #SpaceTechnology #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #StarbaseTexas #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Comet C/2025 R3 PanSTARRS: View from Chile

Comet C/2025 R3 PanSTARRS: View from Chile

Astrophotographer Daniele Gasparri: "Comet C/2025 R3 PanSTARRS is finally visible here in the southern hemisphere, and it's spectacular! This is an image I took on May 2 shortly after sunset. Despite the nearly full Moon and the comet about 10 degrees above the horizon, the Atacama sky did its job."

The Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) located at Haleakala Observatory, Hawaii, USA, consists of astronomical cameras, telescopes and a computing facility that is surveying the sky for moving or variable objects on a continual basis, and also producing accurate astrometry and photometry of already-detected objects. The Pan-STARRS Project is a collaboration between the University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Maui High Performance Computing Center and Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). The NASA Near Earth Object Observation Program is the main funder for the operation of the Pan-STARRS telescopes.

Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, extending along a narrow strip of land between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. The country shared borders with Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage to the south. The Atacama Desert is a desert plateau located on the Pacific coast of South America, in the north of Chile. The Atacama Desert is the driest nonpolar desert in the world, and the second driest overall. This benefits astronomical observations.

Image Credit: Daniele Gasparri
Location: Atacama region, Chile

Technical Data: Skywatcher 200PDS Newtonian on NEQ6 mount. ASI 2600MC camera and average of 11X120 second exposures

Daniele's website: https://www.danielegasparri.com
Date: May 2, 2026

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Comets #CometC2025R3Panstarrs #OortCloud #SolarSystem #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Astrophotography #DanieleGasparri #Astrophotographers #AtacamaDesert #Chile #SouthAmerica #STEM #Education

Expedition 75 Crew Portraits: Menon, Kikina & Dubrov | International Space Station

Expedition 75 Crew Portraits: Menon, Kikina & Dubrov | International Space Station

NASA astronaut and Expedition 75 flight engineer Anil Menon poses in a spacesuit for a portrait at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

NASA astronaut and Expedition 75 flight engineer Anil Menon poses in a spacesuit for his official portrait at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

NASA astronaut and Expedition 75 flight engineer Anil Menon poses for a preflight portrait at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

Roscosmos cosmonaut and Expedition 75 flight engineer Anna Kikina of Russia poses for a preflight portrait at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

Roscosmos cosmonaut and Expedition 75 flight engineer Pyotr Dubrov of Russia poses for a preflight portrait at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

Expedition 75 emblem

Official portraits of three members from the seven‑member Expedition 75 crew that will live and work aboard the International Space Station: NASA astronaut Anil Menon, plus Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina of Russia.

The Soyuz MS-29 mission, targeted to launch Tuesday, July 14, 2026, will carry NASA astronaut Anil Menon and his crewmates, Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina of Russia, to the International Space Station for an eight-month stay as part of Expeditions 74/75. It will be Menon’s first spaceflight.

Follow Expedition 74:
https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 74 Crew
Station Commander: Sergey-Kud Sverchkov (Russia)
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Andrey Fedyaev, Sergei Mikaev

European Space Agency Flight Engineer: Sophie Adenot

NASA Flight Engineers: Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Chris Williams

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 Credits: NASA/JSC/Robert Markowitz

Image Dates: July 31, 2025-Jan. 8, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #Astronomy #Earth #ISS #Astronauts AnilMenon #Cosmonauts #PyotrDubrov #AnnaKikina #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #Expedition74 #Expedition75 #JSC #UnitedStates #ESA #Europe #SpaceExploration #SolarSystem #STEM #Education

Planet Mars Images: May 6-9, 2026 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers

Planet Mars Images: May 6, 2026 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers

Mars 2020 - sol 1852

MSL - sol 4886

Mars 2020 - sol 1854

MSL - sol 4889

MSL - sol 4887

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Celebrating 13+ Years on Mars (2012-2025)

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 5+ 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

Release Dates: May 6-9, 2026

#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

Planetarium View: A Galactic Trio in Piscis Austrinus | Hubble

Planetarium View: A Galactic Trio in Piscis Austrinus | Hubble

NGC 7173 and NGC 7176 appear to be smooth, normal elliptical galaxies without much gas and dust. In stark contrast, NGC 7174 is a mangled spiral galaxy, barely clinging to independent existence as it is ripped apart by its close neighbors. The strong tidal interaction surging through the galaxies has dragged a significant number of stars away from their home galaxies. These stars are now spread out, forming a tenuous luminous component in the galaxy group.

Distance from Earth: 120 million light years

Note: The full dome video display format is designed for projection systems in planetariums.

Credit: NASA & ESA. Acknowledgment: Theofanis N. Matsopoulos
Duration: 16 seconds
Release Date: April 16, 2014

#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #HCG90 #NGC7173 #NGC7174 #NGC7176 #InteractingGalaxies #PiscisAustrinusConstellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Journey to Galactic Trio in Piscis Austrinus | Hubble Space Telescope

Journey to Galactic Trio in Piscis Austrinus | Hubble Space Telescope

Zooming in on NGC 7173, NGC 7174 and NGC 7176, a trio of galaxies in the Hickson Compact Group 90, named after astronomer Paul Hickson. He first cataloged these small clusters of galaxies in the 1980s. NGC 7173 and NGC 7176 appear to be smooth, normal elliptical galaxies without much gas and dust. In stark contrast, NGC 7174 is a mangled spiral galaxy, barely clinging to independent existence as it is ripped apart by its close neighbors. The strong tidal interaction surging through the galaxies has dragged a significant number of stars away from their home galaxies. These stars are now spread out, forming a tenuous luminous component in the galaxy group.

Distance from Earth: 120 million light years

Credit: NASA, ESA and R. Sharples (University of Durham, U.K.)

Duration: 52 seconds
Release Date: March 3, 2009

Close-up: A Trio of Galaxies in Piscis Austrinus | Hubble Space Telescope

Close-up: A Trio of Galaxies in Piscis Austrinus | Hubble Space Telescope

Panning on a trio of galaxies in the Hickson Compact Group 90. The three pictured galaxies—NGC 7173 (middle left), NCG 7174 (middle right) and NGC 7176 (lower right)—are part of the Hickson Compact Group 90, named after astronomer Paul Hickson. He first cataloged these small clusters of galaxies in the 1980s. NGC 7173 and NGC 7176 appear to be smooth, normal elliptical galaxies without much gas and dust. In stark contrast, NGC 7174 is a mangled spiral galaxy, barely clinging to independent existence as it is ripped apart by its close neighbors. The strong tidal interaction surging through the galaxies has dragged a significant number of stars away from their home galaxies. These stars are now spread out, forming a tenuous luminous component in the galaxy group.

Distance from Earth: 120 million light years

Credit: NASA, ESA and R. Sharples (University of Durham, U.K.)

Duration: 23 seconds
Release Date: March 3, 2009

A Trio of Galaxies: Hickson Compact Group 90 in Piscis Austrinus | Hubble

A Trio of Galaxies: Hickson Compact Group 90 in Piscis Austrinus | Hubble

The three pictured galaxies—NGC 7173 (middle left), NCG 7174 (middle right) and NGC 7176 (lower right)—are part of the Hickson Compact Group 90, named after astronomer Paul Hickson. He first cataloged these small clusters of galaxies in the 1980s. NGC 7173 and NGC 7176 appear to be smooth, normal elliptical galaxies without much gas and dust. In stark contrast, NGC 7174 is a mangled spiral galaxy, barely clinging to independent existence as it is ripped apart by its close neighbors. The strong tidal interaction surging through the galaxies has dragged a significant number of stars away from their home galaxies. These stars are now spread out, forming a tenuous luminous component in the galaxy group.

Distance from Earth: 120 million light years

Credit: NASA, ESA and R. Sharples (University of Durham, U.K.)
Release Date: March 3, 2009

Friday, May 08, 2026

The Strangest Worlds Hubble Has Seen So Far | NASA Goddard

The Strangest Worlds Hubble Has Seen So Far | NASA Goddard

Over 6,000 worlds and counting!
NASA recently reached an incredible milestone in the search for planets beyond our solar system: more than six thousand confirmed exoplanets. From blazing hot Jupiters to mysterious super-Earths and puffy gas giants, each new discovery expands our view of the galaxy and deepens our oldest questions.

When the Hubble Space Telescope launched in 1990, not a single exoplanet was known. Yet Hubble’s precision and ultraviolet vision helped pioneer this field, revealing the atmospheres of distant worlds, tracing escaping gases, and uncovering exotic planets unlike anything in our solar system. Its studies have shown planets that are football-shaped, evaporating into space, or as dark as fresh asphalt, each one a testament to nature’s imagination.

Today, Hubble continues to team up with NASA’s new generation of observatories like Webb and TESS to explore these alien worlds in ever greater detail. Together, they are unraveling what these planets are made of, how they evolve, and whether they might harbor life. As we celebrate 6,000 confirmed exoplanets, we look ahead to the next 6,000 and to the discoveries still waiting beyond our cosmic horizon.

For more information, visit science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble

Video Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Paul Morris: Lead Producer
Artist’s Impression of WASP-121b
NASA, ESA, and J. Olmsted (STScI)

Duration: 4 minutes, 35 seconds
Release Date: May 8, 2026

#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Planets #Exoplanets #Cosmos #Universe #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's X-59 Flight Tests Expand to Two-Flight Days over Mojave Desert

NASA's X-59 Flight Tests Expand to Two-Flight Days over Mojave Desert

As NASA accelerates flight test operations for its quiet supersonic X-59 aircraft, its team is picking up the testing tempo. NASA recently completed two test flights of the X-59 in a single day for the first time, marking significant progress toward later phases of the Quesst Mission. Here we see the X-59's first flight of the day, and 11th overall.

The X-59 aircraft builds on decades of supersonic flight research and is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst Mission. The vast amount of data collected over the years has given designers the tools they needed to craft the shape of the X-59. The goal is to enable the aircraft to fly at supersonic speeds and reduce a loud sonic boom to a quieter “sonic thump.”

Data gathered during X-59 research flights will be shared with the U.S. and international regulators to inform the establishment of new, data-driven acceptable noise thresholds related to supersonic commercial flight over land.

The X-59’s engine, a modified F414-GE-100, packs 22,000 pounds of thrust. This will enable the X-59 to achieve the desired cruising speed of Mach 1.4 (925 miles per hour) at an altitude of approximately 55,000 feet. It sits in a nontraditional spot–atop the aircraft—to aid in making the X-59 quieter.

The X-59's goal is to help change existing national and international aviation rules that ban commercial supersonic flight over land.

For more information about the X-59 and NASA's Quesst Mission, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/quesst/
www.nasa.gov/quesst

Video Credit: NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC)
Duration: 34 seconds
Release Date: May 8, 2026

#NASA #Aerospace #SupersonicFlight #SupersonicAircraft #X59 #Sonicbooms #QuietAviation #Aviation #QuesstMission #CommercialAviation #Science #Physics #Engineering #AerospaceResearch #AeronauticalResearch #FlightTests #LockheedMartin #NASAArmstrong #AFRC #Edwards #California #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Antarctica’s Hektoria Glacier: Record Melting Observed | NASA Earth Science

Antarctica’s Hektoria Glacier: Record Melting Observed | NASA Earth Science

Antarctica’s Hektoria Glacier retreated at a record-setting pace. Between January 2022 and March 2023, the glacier lost about 15 miles (25 km) in length, including a 2-month period when grounded ice retreated more than 5 miles (8 km)—the highest rate observed in modern history.

Hektoria Glacier (65°3′S 61°31′W) is a glacier flowing south from the area around Mount Johnston between Mount Quandary and Zagreus Ridge into Vaughan Inlet next west of Brenitsa Glacier and east of Green Glacier, on the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula.

The name "Hektoria Fiords" was given by Sir Hubert Wilkins during his flight of December 20, 1928, after the SS Hektoria that brought him to Deception Island. Following survey by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) in 1947, the feature could not be identified; however, during further survey by FIDS in 1955, Wilkins' "long ice-filled fiords" were found to be this glacier and two short unnamed ones.

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Release Date: May 7, 2026

#NASA #Space #Satellites #Science #Planet #Earth #SouthernHemisphere #Antarctica #Glaciers #HektoriaGlacier #AirborneScience #EarthObservation #RemoteSensing #ClimateChange #Climate #GlobalHeating #Environment #STEM #Education #Animation #GIF

Tianzhou-10 Cargo Spacecraft Rolled Out to Launch Pad in Hainan

Tianzhou-10 Cargo Spacecraft Rolled Out to Launch Pad in Hainan

The Long March-7 rocket, carrying China's Tianzhou-10 cargo spacecraft, has been successfully transferred to the launch area at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in south China's Hainan Province on May 8, 2026. The mission will deliver fresh supplies to China's Tiangong Space Station, including a new extravehicular spacesuit and a space treadmill. CGTN reporter Chen Yilin reports from the ground.

The cargo spacecraft will be launched at a proper time in the coming days, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

Currently, the facilities and equipment at the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site are in good condition, and comprehensive functionality checks and joint tests are scheduled to proceed as planned ahead of the launch, the CMSA added.

The cargo ship carries over 220 items of supplies weighing nearly 6.3 tons, including 700 kilograms of propellants, to support the Shenzhou-23 and Shenzhou-24 astronaut crews' on-orbit life and work.

Its predecessor Tianzhou-9 separated from the orbiting Tiangong Space Station combination on Wednesday and re-entered the atmosphere under controlled conditions on Thursday. The space station has thus cleared a docking port to make room for the Tianzhou-10, the CMSA noted.

Video Credit: CGTN
Duration: 1 minute, 29 seconds
Release Date: May 8, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #China #中国 #LongMarch7Rocket #Tianzhou10 #TianzhouCargoSpacecraft #CargoSpacecraft #Shenzhou21 #神舟二十一号 #Taikonauts #Astronauts #CSS #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #LongDurationSpaceflight #CMSA #中国载人航天工程办公室 #HumanSpaceflight #WenchangSLS #Hainan #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's Psyche Spacecraft Prepares for Mars Flyby | Jet Propulsion Laboratory

NASA's Psyche Spacecraft Prepares for Mars Flyby | Jet Propulsion Laboratory

NASA’s Psyche spacecraft will pass about 2,800 miles (4,500 kilometers) from the Martian surface at 12,328 mph (19,840 kph) on May 15, 2026. The Red Planet will provide a crucial gravity assist, enabling the spacecraft to reach its namesake destination in the main asteroid belt.

Known as a gravitational slingshot, the propellant-saving maneuver harnesses Mars’ gravity to boost the spacecraft’s speed and adjust its trajectory toward the metal-rich asteroid Psyche for a 2029 arrival.

The mission team will use the encounter to calibrate the spacecraft’s instruments. By capturing thousands of observations of Mars with the multispectral imager, engineers can hone the precise imaging and navigation techniques required to orbit Psyche and study what scientists believe is the exposed nickel-iron core of an ancient planet. This flyby represents a critical intersection of orbital mechanics and deep-space instrument testing on the mission’s journey to a metal world.

For more information, visit: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/psyche/
https://psyche.asu.edu/

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

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU
Produced by True Story Films
Duration: 2 minutes
Release Date: May 8, 2026

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Planets #Earth #Moon #PsycheAsteroid #16Psyche #Asteroids #Science #PsycheMission #PsycheSpacecraft #Mars #MarsFlyby #Jupiter #AsteroidBelt #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #JPL #Caltech #ASU #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Tianzhou-10 Cargo Spacecraft Arrives at Hainan Launch Site | China Space Station

Tianzhou-10 Cargo Spacecraft Arrives at Hainan Launch Site | China Space Station

The combination of the Tianzhou-10 cargo spacecraft and a Long March-7 carrier rocket was vertically transferred to a launch site in the southern island province of Hainan on May 8, 2026, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

The cargo spacecraft will be launched at a proper time in the coming days, the CMSA said.

The cargo ship carries over 220 items of supplies weighing nearly 6.3 tons, including 700 kilograms of propellants, to support the Shenzhou-23 and Shenzhou-24 astronaut crews' on-orbit life and work.

Video Credit: CCTV
Duration: 27 seconds
Release Date: May 8, 2026

Europe-China SMILE Solar Science Mission Arrives at South American Launch Pad

Europe-China SMILE Solar Science Mission Arrives at South American Launch Pad

A photo showing a lorry driving along a narrow road with a large rocket nose cone standing upright on its trailer. Ahead of the lorry (to the left in this image) is a tall rectangular cream-colored building with European Space Agency and Vega logos on its side. The building is surrounded by metal pylons.

A photo showing the nose cone of a rocket hanging from a crane in front of an open technical building. Inside the building stands the rest of the rocket, with a platform at the top where people stand, waiting for the nose cone to arrive.

A photo showing a rocket launch pad at night. At the center of the image is a tall rectangular cream-colored building with a thin white rocket inside. Platforms at various heights give people access to parts of the rocket. The building is surrounded by metal pylons.

The Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) is a joint mission between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). SMILE is due to launch on May 19, 2026. Preparations are taking place on the launch pad with the rocket’s four stages already assembled inside the mobile building on the left of this image. About four hours before launch, the building will roll away to reveal the complete rocket inside.

The fairing (a nose cone that splits into two parts after launch) sits on top of the rocket’s fourth stage. The fairing will protect Smile during its ascent to space through Earth’s atmosphere. Almost five minutes after liftoff, the fairing will open, revealing Smile inside. At that point, Smile will still be attached to the third and fourth stages of the Vega-C.

Find out more about the Vega launch site at the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, a European spaceport:
https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Transportation/Vega/Vega_launch_site

Kourou is a commune in French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France in South America.

The Vega-C program is led by ESA, working with Avio as prime contractor and design authority.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is responsible for providing SMILE’s payload module (carrying three of the four science instruments), one of the spacecraft’s four science instruments (the soft X-ray imager, SXI), the launcher, and the Assembly Integration and Testing facilities and services. ESA contributes to a second science instrument (the ultraviolet imager, UVI) and the mission operations once SMILE is in orbit.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences provides the other three science instruments and the spacecraft platform, and is responsible for operating the spacecraft in orbit.

Image Credit: ESA-M. Pédoussaut

Release Date: May 8, 2026

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Stars #Sun #Earth #SpaceWeather #MagneticField #Magnetosphere #Europe #China #中国 #CAS #中国科学院 #SMILEMission #Heliophysics #Physics #VegaCRocket #GuianaSpaceCentre #KourouSpaceport #FrenchGuiana #ArianeGroup #STEM #Education

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Saturday, May 09, 2026

Friday, May 08, 2026