NICER Status UpdatesAugust 5, 2025 Science Observations Remain Paused for NASA’s NICER Telescope Science operations by NASA’s NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer), an X-ray telescope on the International Space Station, remain paused as the team continues to evaluate the telescope’s systems after an issue developed with one of its motors. The motor is unable to move […]
Second Lady Usha Vance, NASA Astronaut Suni Williams Celebrate ReadingSecond Lady Usha Vance and NASA Astronaut Suni Williams listen to the audience in this image from Aug. 4, 2025. Ms. Vance joined Williams at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston for a summer reading challenge event, through which the Second Lady encourages youth to seek adventure, imagination, and discovery between the pages of a […]
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4616-4617: Standing Tall on the RidgeWritten by Susanne P. Schwenzer, Professor of Planetary Mineralogy at The Open University, UK Earth planning date: Wednesday, July 30, 2025 The day started with a little celebration of NISAR, a new Earth observation satellite that made it successfully into orbit a few hours before our planning started. We joined in by saying “GO NISAR, […]
NASA’s Black Marble: Stories from the Night SkyStudying the glowing patterns of Earth’s surface helps us understand human activity, respond to disasters, and witness a changing world.
STEM Educators Are Bringing Hands-On NASA Science into Virginia ClassroomsProfessional learning experiences are integral to the enhancement of classroom instruction. Teachers, at the forefront of Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics (STEM) education, play a key role in the advancement of STEM learning ecosystems and citizen science. On June 24-25, 2025 – despite a major east coast heat wave – twenty-four educators from eight school […]
NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer Moon Mission EndsThe small satellite was to map lunar water, but operators lost contact with the spacecraft the day after launch and were unable to recover the mission. NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer ended its mission to the Moon on July 31. Despite extensive efforts, mission operators were unable to establish two-way communications after losing contact with the spacecraft […]
NASA Opens Simulated Mars Habitat to Media Ahead of Second MissionAs NASA prepares for its second year-long Mars simulated mission, media are invited to visit the ground-based habitat where the mission will take place, on Friday, Aug. 22, at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Scheduled to begin in October, four volunteer crew members will enter the agency’s Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog […]
Marking 13 Years on Mars, NASA’s Curiosity Picks Up New SkillsNew capabilities allow the rover to do science with less energy from its batteries. Thirteen years since Curiosity landed on Mars, engineers are finding ways to make the NASA rover even more productive. The six-wheeled robot has been given more autonomy and the ability to multitask — improvements designed to make the most of Curiosity’s […]
Perseids Meteor ShowerIn this 30 second exposure photograph, a meteor streaks across the sky during the annual Perseid and Alpha Capricornids meteor showers, Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025, in Spruce Knob, West Virginia. The Perseids meteor shower, which peaks in mid-August, is considered the best of the year. With swift and bright meteors, Perseids frequently leave long “wakes” […]
NASA’s Artemis Crew Trains in Moonbound Orion Ahead of MissionThe first crew slated to fly in NASA’s Orion spacecraft during the Artemis II mission around the Moon early next year entered their spacecraft for a multi-day training at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Crew donned their spacesuits July 31 and boarded Orion to train and experience some of the conditions they can […]