Hello Universe: NASA’s Next-Gen Space Processor Undergoes TestingNASA’s High Performance Spaceflight Computing project aims to dramatically improve the computing power of spacecraft. Missions need processors that can withstand the harsh space environment, so they use chips developed years ago that are hardy and reliable. But upgraded chips are needed to enable the development of autonomous spacecraft, accelerate the rate of scientific discovery […]
I Am Artemis: Kathleen HarmonListen to this audio excerpt from Kathleen Harmon, the Artemis II Mission Interface Manager for NASA’s Deep Space Network: Captivated by Apollo launches on her television as a child, Kathleen Harmon now plays a key role in NASA’s Artemis program. Harmon serves as the Artemis II mission interface manager for NASA’s Deep Space Network, an […]
New Ultra-Black Coating Could Enable the Search for Life on Exoplanets A recently developed ultra-black coating not only efficiently absorbs light, but is also extremely thin and durable, enabling its potential use on starshades that could someday support the imaging of exoplanets and potentially facilitate the detection of life beyond our solar system.
Australia’s Cloudy BeautyValley fog gathered in the Victorian Alps while an arch-shaped cloud drifted across Port Phillip Bay.
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4886-4892: Ingenuity and Perseverance, Curiosity StyleWritten by Michelle Minitti, MAHLI Deputy Principal Investigator Earth planning date: Friday, May 8, 2026 While we know the monikers Ingenuity and Perseverance are attached to our sister helicopter and rover on the Mars 2020 mission, those characteristics were in full force with Curiosity over the past week. The science we achieved this week was […]
NASA’s Curiosity Takes Close Look at Rock That Got Stuck on DrillDescription NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover used its Mast Camera, or Mastcam, to capture this view of a rock nicknamed “Atacama” on May 6, 2026, the 4,877th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The rock had gotten stuck to the drill on the end of Curiosity’s robotic arm on April 25. Engineers spent several days […]
May 2026 Satellite PuzzlerYour challenge is to tell us the location of the satellite image and why it is interesting.
Nicholas Houghton: Engineering Crew Safety for NASA’s Artemis MissionsNicholas Houghton always dreamed of working at NASA and one day becoming an astronaut. Today, he helps design systems that keep crews safe during missions aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft, including the successful Artemis II mission around the Moon. After joining NASA as a Pathways intern, Houghton later became a full-time engineer on the Orion Crew Survival Systems (OCSS) […]
NASA Invites Media to Annual Lunabotics Robotics Competition NASA will hold its 2026 Lunabotics Challenge Tuesday, May 19, to Thursday, May 21, at the Astronauts Memorial Foundation’s Center for Space Education at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. Links to view the Lunabotics competition live can be found on the agency’s Lunabotics page. The competition is slated to run between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. each day. Media are invited to attend the […]
Joint Earth Observation Mission Quality Assessment Framework – Optical Guidelines Documents ReleasedThe Optical Guidelines document provides standardized, transparent, and repeatable process for assessing the quality of optical data from commercial Earth Observation missions.