On March 18, NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) arrived at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for thermal vacuum testing at the X-ray and Cryogenic Facility, which simulates the harsh conditions of space. The IMAP mission is a modern-day celestial cartographer that will map the solar system by studying the heliosphere, a […]
NASA’s IMAP Arrives at NASA Marshall For Testing in XRCF - NASA
NASA’s IMAP mission arrives at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. Teams will use Marshall's XRCF thermal vacuum chamber where the spacecraft will undergo testing such as dramatic temperature changes to simulate the harsh environment of space.Beth Ridgeway (NASA)
The swirling, paint-like clouds in the darkness of space in this stunning image seem surreal, like a portal to another world opening up before us. In fact, the subject of this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image is very real. We are seeing vast clouds of ionized atoms and molecules, thrown into space by a dying […]
Hubble Captures a Star’s Swan Song
This Hubble image features the swirling, paint-like clouds of the planetary nebula named Kohoutek 4-55, just 4,600 light-years away.NASA Hubble Mission Team (NASA Science)
The European Space Agency's XMM-Newton is playing a crucial role in investigating the longest and most energetic bursts of X-rays seen from a newly awakened black hole.
The asteroid 2024 YR4 made headlines in February with the news that it had a chance of hitting Earth on Dec. 22, 2032, as determined by an analysis from NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. The probability of collision peaked at over 3% on […]
The diversity of rock types along the rim of Jezero Crater offers a wide glimpse of Martian history. Scientists with NASA’s Perseverance rover are exploring what they consider a veritable Martian cornucopia full of intriguing rocky outcrops on the rim of Jezero Crater. Studying rocks, boulders, and outcrops helps scientists understand the planet’s history, evolution, […]
NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover Studies Trove of Rocks on Crater Rim - NASA
NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover Studies Trove of Rocks on Crater Rim - NASA
When students actively participate in scientific investigations that connect to their everyday lives, something powerful happens: they begin to see themselves as scientists. This sense of relevance and ownership can spark a lifelong interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), paving the way for continued education and even future careers in these fields. Opportunities […]
Flying high above the clouds and moon-gazing may sound like a scene from a timeless romance, but NASA did just that in the name of Earth science research. In March 2025 pilots took the agency’s ER-2 science aircraft on a series of night flights over NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, as the […]
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Have we ever been to Uranus? The answer is simple, yes, but only once. The Voyager II spacecraft flew by the planet Uranus back in 1986, during a golden era when the Voyager spacecraft explored all four giant planets of our solar system. It revealed an extreme world, a planet that had been bowled over […]
On March 25, 2013, an astronaut aboard the International Space Station took this photo of the Great Sandy Desert in northwest Australia, showcasing linear dunes separated in a roughly regular fashion. When you fly over such dune fields—either in an airplane or the space station—the fire scars stand out. Where thin vegetation has been burned, […]
The spacecraft was making its 71st close approach to Jupiter when it unexpectedly entered into a precautionary status. Data received from NASA’s Juno mission indicates the solar-powered spacecraft went into safe mode twice on April 4 while the spacecraft was flying by Jupiter. Safe mode is a precautionary status that a spacecraft enters when it […]
An international team of astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has made new measurements of Uranus’ interior rotation rate with a novel technique, achieving a level of accuracy 1,000 times greater than previous estimates. By analyzing more than a decade of Hubble observations of Uranus’ aurorae, researchers have refined the planet’s rotation period and […]
Hubble Helps Determine Uranus’ Rotation Rate with Unprecedented Precision
An international team of astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has made new measurements of Uranus' interior rotation rate with a novelNASA Hubble Mission Team (NASA Science)
Data – and our ability to understand and use it – shapes nearly every aspect of our world, from decisions in our lives to the skills we need in the workplace and more. All of us, as either producers or consumers of data, will experience how it can be used to problem-solve and think critically […]
A Soyuz rocket launches to the International Space Station with Expedition 73 crew members including NASA astronaut Jonny Kim on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The crew arrived at the space station the same day, bringing the number of residents to 10 for the next two weeks. Expedition 73 will […]
Deputy Integration and Testing Manager – Goddard Space Flight Center Mike Drury began at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, as a temporary technician — a contractor hired for six weeks to set up High Capacity Centrifuge tests. Six weeks then turned into three months and, eventually, over 40 years. Now, Mike is […]
Mike Drury: A 40-Year Legacy of Precision - NASA
Deputy Integration and Testing Manager - Goddard Space Flight CenterAshley Balzer (NASA)
NASA is bringing the world of planetary defense to the public with its new documentary, “Planetary Defenders.” What would humanity do if an asteroid were headed for Earth? The documentary takes viewers inside the real-life efforts of scientists and engineers working to detect, track, and mitigate potential asteroid threats. Featuring firsthand accounts from experts on […]
New ESA invention tested in a chamber of no echoes
This new snapshot from the European Space Agency’s Mars Express deftly captures the two distinct faces of Mars: ridged and rugged versus smooth and unmarked.
Written by Catherine O’Connell-Cooper, Planetary Geologist at University of New Brunswick Earth planning date: Monday, April 7, 2025 Over the weekend, we completed our drive up the steep side of a canyon, up onto “Devil’s Gate,” a small butte which forms part of the ridge along the top of the canyon and now we can see down into the next […]
Sols 4505-4506: Up, up and onto the Devil’s Gate
Written by Catherine O'Connell-Cooper, Planetary Geologist at University of New BrunswickMars Science Laboratory Mission Team Members (NASA Science)
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Welcome to the Mission Support Directorate (MSD). Have you ever wondered how NASA manages to achieve all the incredible missions it does, like probing the Sun and studying the history of our Universe? We do it through teamwork, one of our core values. And an essential part of NASA’s team is what we call […]
Welcome to the Mission Support Directorate (MSD) - NASA
Of course, there is much more to Mission Support, but I think you get the picture. MSD enables Mission Support by:Margeline Thomas (NASA)
Deep Space Station 43 (DSS-43), a 230-foot-wide (70-meter-wide) radio antenna at NASA’s Deep Space Network facility in Canberra, Australia, is seen in this March 4, 2020, image. DSS-43 was more than six times as sensitive as the original antenna at the Canberra complex, so it could communicate with spacecraft at greater distances from Earth. In […]
Within the scientific community, peer review has become the process norm for which an author’s research or ideas undergo careful examination by other experts in their field. It encourages each scientist to meet the high standards that they themselves, as writers and reviewers, have aided in setting. It has become essential to the academic writing […]
The Artemis II test flight will be NASA’s first mission with crew under Artemis. Astronauts on their first flight aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft will confirm all of the spacecraft’s systems operate as designed with crew aboard in the actual environment of deep space. Through the Artemis campaign, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon […]
Canberra joined the global network in 1965 and operates four radio antennas. Now, preparations have begun on its fifth as NASA works to increase the network’s capacity. NASA’s Deep Space Network facility in Canberra, Australia celebrated its 60th anniversary on March 19 while also breaking ground on a new radio antenna. The pair of achievements […]
IntroductionThe Earth Observer Editorial ProcessTypes of Articles in The Earth ObserverGeneral article format— Announcement article— Feature article— Hybrid article— In Memoriam article— Kudos article— Summary articleGuidelines for Preparing Articles for The Earth Observer— Writing for the web— Catchy headline— Naming files— Use visuals to draw the reader in— Search engine optimization—— Headline and subheads—— Links—— […]
Style Guidelines for ‘The Earth Observer’ Newsletter
This document contains guidelines to assist you as you prepare articles for The Earth Observer (EO) newsletter. Our Editorial Team appreciates yourEarth Observer Staff (NASA Science)
One year ago today, a total solar eclipse swept across the United States. The event was a cornerstone moment in the Heliophysics Big Year, a global celebration of the Sun’s influence on Earth and the entire solar system. From October 2023 to December 2024 — a period encompassing two solar eclipses across the U.S., two […]
Students from Dade City, Florida, will have the chance to connect with NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers as she answers prerecorded science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-related questions from aboard the International Space Station. Watch the 20-minute space-to-Earth call at 1 p.m. EDT on Friday, April 11, on NASA+ and learn how to watch NASA content on […]
As an Air Force veteran from Spartanburg, South Carolina, Alex Olley now serves as a contract specialist in the International Space Station Procurement Office at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Olley joined NASA as a Pathways intern in January 2023 to turn his lifelong goal into a reality—bringing his unique experience in the defense […]
NASA’s annual Human Exploration Rover Challenge returns Friday, April 11, and Saturday, April 12, with student teams competing at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center’s Aviation Challenge course near the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Media are invited to watch as hundreds of students from around the world attempt to navigate a […]
NASA to Kick Off 31st Annual Rover Competition - NASA
NASA’s 2025 Human Exploration Rover Challenge takes place Friday and Saturday, April 11-12, 2025, at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center’s Aviation Challenge course in Huntsville, Alabama.NASA
The first of the new generation of MetOp satellites, MetOp-SG Satellite-A, together with the instrument for the Copernicus Sentinel-5 mission, are now ready to be shipped to their launch site.
Following a signing ceremony Tuesday in Bangladesh’s capital city of Dhaka, NASA congratulates Bangladesh as the 54th nation to commit to the safe and responsible exploration of space that benefits humanity. “We are thrilled by Bangladesh’s signature of the Accords,” said NASA acting Administrator Janet Petro. “Bangladesh affirms its role in shaping the future of […]
NASA astronaut Jonny Kim, accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, arrived at the International Space Station on Tuesday, bringing the number of residents to 10 for the next two weeks. The Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft carrying Kim, Ryzhikov, and Zubritsky docked to the Prichal module at 4:57 a.m. EDT, following a three-hour, two-orbit […]
Since joining NASA in 2017 as a contractor supporting the International Space Station, Caroline Cawthon has held many roles supporting real-time operations as a certified flight controller, team lead, and lead systems engineer. Now, she is supporting America’s future in orbit as the systems engineering and integration lead for NASA’s Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development […]
NASA has selected ARES Technical Services of McLean, Virginia, to provide safety and mission assurance services at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The Safety and Mission Assurance Services III contract is a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract with an estimated total value of $226 million. The contract will have […]
Even before we’re aware of heart trouble or related health issues, our bodies give off warning signs in the form of vibrations. Technology to detect these signals has ranged from electrodes and patches to watches. Now, an innovative wall-mounted technology is capable of monitoring vital signs. Advanced TeleSensors Inc. developed the Cardi/o Monitor with an […]
Written by Michelle Minitti, Planetary Geologist at Framework Earth planning date: Friday, April 4, 2025 We continue to make progress driving up Mount Sharp, each day gaining new perspectives on the spectacular, towering buttes surrounding our path. To get to the next canyon we can ascend, we have to swing around the north end of […]
Many educators would agree that despite working and communicating with dozens, even hundreds, of people each year, the role can feel isolating. Learners come and go, leaving educators to question: Was anything retained? Will they take this knowledge home? Will they share it at their after-school activities? How will it ultimately impact their lives and […]
Written by Sharon Wilson Purdy, Planetary Geologist at Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Earth planning date: Wednesday, April 2, 2025 Wow, sol 4500. What an impressive number of sols (Martian days) exploring the Red Planet! This delightfully even sol number made me wonder where the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Opportunity was at this point […]
Long before joining NASA’s Test and Evaluation Support Team contract in October 2024, Angel Saenz was already an engineer at heart. A STEM education program at his high school helped unlock that passion, setting him on a path that would eventually lead to NASA’s White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The program […]
From FIRST Robotics to NASA Rockets: Angel Saenz’s Journey to White Sands - NASA
The program – FIRST Robotics Competition – is run by global nonprofit, FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). It was theLinda E. Grimm (NASA)