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Astronaut and Expedition 73 Flight Engineer Kimiya Yui of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) displays production bags containing probiotic yogurt cultures for the BioNutrients-3 investigation on Oct. 2, 2025, aboard the International Space Station.NASA Certain nutrients critical for human health lack the shelf life needed to span multi-year missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. NASA’s BioNutrients-3 is part of an experiment series testing ways to use microorganisms to produce these nutrients in space and on demand. The on-demand nature of this experiment is similar to making nutrient-dense fermented foods on Earth, such as how milk is transformed by good bacteria into yogurt. But in this case, there is a focus on producing specific types and quantities of nutrients essential for future space explorers. Samples from BioNutrients-3, along with other valuable experiments, are set to return from the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft supporting the company’s 33rd commercial resupply mission for NASA. The spacecraft is set to depart the space station on Thursday, Feb. 26 for its return to Earth. Watch NASA’s live coverage of the undocking and departure starting at 11:45 a.m. EST on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and the agency’s YouTube channel. Once the samples return to Earth, the science team at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley will perform analysis procedures. Results from this study can help NASA develop methods to produce vital nutrients that could support human deep space exploration as part of NASA’s Artemis campaign. NASA’s BioNutrients-3 is part of the Synthetic Biology project, which is funded by the Game Changing Development program within NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. Oscar Roque, engineer for NASA’s BioNutrients-3 project, works at a console on Oct. 2, 2025, at the Multi-Mission Operations Center at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. The facility allowed the BioNutrients team to remotely observe experiments conducted by crew members aboard the International Space Station and communicate with astronauts in real-time.NASA/Donald Richey View the full article

Share Details Last Updated Feb 25, 2026 Location NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Contact Media Laura Betz NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maryland laura.e*****@*****.tld Leah Ramsay Space Telescope Science Institute Baltimore, Maryland Christine Pulliam Space Telescope Science Institute Baltimore, Maryland Related Terms James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Astrophysics Goddard Space Flight Center Nebulae Planetary Nebulae Science & Research The Universe

Earth Observatory Science Earth Observatory Landslide and Avalanche Debris… Earth Earth Observatory Image of the Day EO Explorer Topics All Topics Atmosphere Land Heat & Radiation Life on Earth Human Dimensions Natural Events Oceans Remote Sensing Technology Snow & Ice Water More Content Collections Global Maps World of Change Articles Notes from the Field Blog Earth Matters Blog Blue Marble: Next Generation EO Kids Mission: Biomes About About Us Subscribe 🛜 RSS Contact Us Search November 26, 2025 December 8, 2025 False-color radar images show more rough terrain (green) in the St. Elias Mountains near Hubbard Glacier after an earthquake on December 6, 2025, indicating landslides and avalanches. NASA Earth Observatory / Lauren Dauphin False-color radar images show more rough terrain (green) in the St. Elias Mountains near Hubbard Glacier after an earthquake on December 6, 2025, indicating landslides and avalanches. NASA Earth Observatory / Lauren Dauphin November 26, 2025December 8, 2025 False-color radar images show more rough terrain (green) in the St. Elias Mountains near Hubbard Glacier after an earthquake on December 6, 2025, indicating landslides and avalanches. NASA Earth Observatory / Lauren Dauphin False-color radar images show more rough terrain (green) in the St. Elias Mountains near Hubbard Glacier after an earthquake on December 6, 2025, indicating landslides and avalanches. NASA Earth Observatory / Lauren Dauphin November 26, 2025 December 8, 2025 CurtainToggle2-Up On December 6, 2025, a powerful magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck the remote St. Elias Mountains, a highly glaciated range that spans the Yukon-Alaska border. The quake shook the landscape beneath Hubbard Glacier, sending ice and rock careening down the range’s steep slopes. The NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellite offered some of the earliest views of the changed landscape. Geophysicist Eric Fielding and colleagues at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) typically use satellite data to map the displacement of the ground after major earthquakes strike land. But in this region, such maps—known as interferograms—are not possible because the ground lies buried beneath a layer of glacial ice that’s at least 700 meters (2,000 feet) thick. “The cryosphere is covering up the geosphere,” Fielding said. Instead, clues to the earthquake’s destructive power lay strewn atop the ice surface. The shaking on December 6 unleashed landslides and avalanches that swept debris onto lower, flatter stretches of the glacier. The debris is visible in radar imagery acquired by NISAR on December 8, two days after the quake (right). For comparison, the NISAR image on the left shows the same area on November 26, a week and a half before the quake. Where the slides have deposited rock, snow, and other debris, surfaces have become rougher, which scatters more energy back toward the sensor and makes those areas appear bright in the December 8 image (the roughest areas are shown in dark green). Areas with smooth surfaces reflect little of the radar’s energy directly back to the satellite sensor, so these parts of the images appear dark (shown in purple). Note that there are some exceptionally rough, green surfaces beyond the new slide areas that remain relatively unchanged between the two images. November 26, 2025 December 8, 2025 False-color radar images show a detailed view of the area around Mount King George and McArthur Peak, where most of the landslides and avalanches were visible following an earthquake on December 6, 2025. NASA Earth Observatory / Lauren Dauphin False-color radar images show a detailed view of the area around Mount King George and McArthur Peak, where most of the landslides and avalanches were visible following an earthquake on December 6, 2025. NASA Earth Observatory / Lauren Dauphin November 26, 2025December 8, 2025 False-color radar images show a detailed view of the area around Mount King George and McArthur Peak, where most of the landslides and avalanches were visible following an earthquake on December 6, 2025. NASA Earth Observatory / Lauren Dauphin False-color radar images show a detailed view of the area around Mount King George and McArthur Peak, where most of the landslides and avalanches were visible following an earthquake on December 6, 2025. NASA Earth Observatory / Lauren Dauphin November 26, 2025 December 8, 2025 CurtainToggle2-Up The largest slide in the scene appears to be cascading down the flank of Mount King George, but it’s far from the only one. Numerous others scar the surrounding terrain, including areas to the west along the slopes of Mount Logan, Canada’s tallest mountain. Alex Gardner, a glaciologist at JPL and member of the NISAR science team, reviewed the images with Fielding. “The sheer number and magnitude of avalanches and landslides is astounding,” Gardner said. “I’ve personally never seen anything like this before.” A separate preliminary analysis by the U.S. Geological Survey identified more than 700 potential landslides and snow avalanches, with an especially high concentration northwest of the epicenter along the fault rupture. Follow-up flights by the Yukon Geological Survey on December 12 provided a closer look, showing some slopes remained actively unstable, with dust still hanging in the air, and widespread damage to glacial ice. Much of the debris that settled atop the region’s glacial ice is likely being transported toward the ocean by the glaciers’ ongoing seaward flow, which acts as a natural “conveyor belt.” For example, a tributary glacier of Hubbard north of Mount King George, which had previously moved at a sluggish pace, entered a surging phase in November before the earthquake. It is now moving downslope at what Gardner described as “breakneck speeds” of up to 6,000 meters per year (about 50 feet per day). Although the region is uninhabited, the slides and damaged ice could pose new hazards for mountaineers and other expeditions, USGS noted in a December 18 update. The town of Yakutat, Alaska, about 90 kilometers (56 miles) south of the epicenter, is a common staging point for people exploring the area. NISAR observations are expected to provide imagery to support future natural disaster response efforts. Images by Gustavo Shiroma (JPL) of the NISAR Algorithm Development Team using data from the NISAR GSLC product, and prepared for NASA Earth Observatory by Lauren Dauphin. Story by Kathryn Hansen. Downloads November 26, 2025 JPEG (6.16 MB) December 8, 2025 JPEG (6.25 MB) References & Resources Das, G., et al. (2025) Mapping Glacierized Regions With Quad-Pol Dual Frequency LS-ASAR: Insights for the NISAR Mission. IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, 18, 26338-26354. Martinez, S. N., et al. (2021) Evaluation of Remote Mapping Techniques for Earthquake-Triggered Landslide Inventories in an Urban Subarctic Environment: A Case Study of the 2018 Anchorage, Alaska Earthquake. Frontiers in Earth Science, 9, 673137. NASA (2025, July 30) NASA-ISRO Satellite Lifts Off to Track Earth’s Changing Surfaces. Accessed February 23, 2026. U.S. Geological Survey (2025, December 10) 2025 M7.0 Hubbard Glacier Earthquake-Triggered Landslides and Snow Avalanches. Accessed February 23, 2026. U.S. Geological Survey (2025, December 6) M 7.0 – 2025 Hubbard Glacier Earthquake. Accessed February 23, 2026. You may also be interested in: Stay up-to-date with the latest content from NASA as we explore the universe and discover more about our home planet. Mapping Kamchatka Earthquake Displacement 7 min read A group of satellites with interferometric synthetic aperture radar makes it possible for geologists to detect how much and where… Article Alaska’s Brand New Island 3 min read A landmass that was once encased in the ice of the Alsek Glacier is now surrounded by water. Article Satellites Detect Seasonal Pulses in Earth’s Glaciers 4 min read From Alaska’s Saint Elias Mountains to Pakistan’s Karakoram, glaciers speed up and slow down with the seasons. Article 1 2 3 4 Next Keep Exploring Discover More from NASA Earth Science Subscribe to Earth Observatory Newsletters Subscribe to the Earth Observatory and get the Earth in your inbox. Earth Observatory Image of the Day NASA’s Earth Observatory brings you the Earth, every day, with in-depth stories and stunning imagery. Explore Earth Science Earth Science Data View the full article

Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Curiosity Raw Images Images Videos Audio Mosaics More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions Mars Home 2 min read Curiosity Blog, Sols 4812-4819: Back Into the Hollows NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this Navcam image looking out towards the northern rim of Gale Crater. Compared to just a few months ago, the view is much hazier, reflecting the higher amount of atmospheric dust that is typical of this time of year. Curiosity captured the image using its Left Navigation Camera on Feb.19 — Sol 4813, or Martian day 4,813 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — at 12:15:50 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech Written by Diana Hayes, Graduate student at York University, Toronto Earth planning date: Friday, Feb. 20, 2026 This has been a pretty routine week for Curiosity. As was mentioned last week, we’re now in the final phase of the boxwork exploration campaign. We’re currently making our way toward the eastern contact of the boxwork formation with the surrounding geology, which we plan to drive along before turning our attention to the southern contact. That will likely be our last opportunity to directly interrogate the boxwork area before we continue our adventure up the slopes of Mount Sharp. Along the way, we’ve been performing our usual investigations of the geology that we encounter at our parking locations. As always, this includes contact science on bedrock targets close to the rover, ChemCam LIBS observations of targets slightly further afield, and a number of ChemCam RMI and Mastcam mosaics. These mosaics include observations deeper into the “Tapiche” hollow where we’re parked and the “Los Flamencos” ridge to its south, which we plan on investigating closer in the coming week. Mars continues to move deeper into its dusty season, so the environmental science group filled this week’s plan with a typical assortment of atmospheric monitoring activities to track dust devils and the amount of dust in the atmosphere, as well as several Navcam cloud movies. So far this dusty season the atmosphere over Gale Crater appears to be behaving much like it does most years, with no signs of imminent dust storms. It’s now been almost eight years (four Mars years) since the last time that a global dust storm swept across the planet, so we’re keeping a close eye on the possibility of another one occurring this year. Want to read more posts from the Curiosity team? Visit Mission Updates Want to learn more about Curiosity’s science instruments? Visit the Science Instruments page NASA’s Curiosity rover at the base of Mount Sharp NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Share Details Last Updated Feb 24, 2026 Related Terms Blogs Explore More 3 min read Curiosity Blog Sols 4804-4811: Kicking Off the Final Phase of Boxwork Exploration Article 7 days ago 2 min read Curiosity Blog, Sols 4798-4803: Back for More Science Article 2 weeks ago 2 min read Curiosity Blog, Sols 4788-4797: Welcome Back from Conjunction Article 3 weeks ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It’s the only planet we know of inhabited… All Mars Resources Explore this collection of Mars images, videos, resources, PDFs, and toolkits. Discover valuable content designed to inform, educate, and inspire,… Rover Basics Each robotic explorer sent to the Red Planet has its own unique capabilities driven by science. Many attributes of a… Mars Exploration: Science Goals The key to understanding the past, present or future potential for life on Mars can be found in NASA’s four… View the full article

2 min read New Volunteer Data from 143 Observatories Unveils the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse On April 8, 2024, volunteers participating in NASA’s Eclipse Megamovie citizen science project all around the United States hurried to photograph the solar eclipse with the latest, greatest equipment, capturing groundbreaking images of the Sun’s corona. Now, the Eclipse Megamovie team has released the remarkable new dataset that resulted from this effort — the first-ever, white-light eclipse dataset with calibration frames, spanning more than a cumulative hour and a half of observations of the solar corona. This data, which includes 52,469 total photographs uploaded by project volunteers, is now live: [Hidden Content]. The data include contributions from 143 unique, mobile, volunteer-led “observatories” – people with cameras charged with taking precise images of the eclipse, taking extra steps to allow the painstaking calibration required to reveal how the corona evolves from one person’s view to the next. Researchers around the world can now use these observations to identify solar jets leaving the Sun’s surface and study how solar plumes grow and develop. The public can also peruse and download all of this data, which is highly accessible and searchable by observatory name and location. “Thank you for all you do and have done for us,” said Eclipse Megamovie volunteer Jessi McKenna. “Everyone in the group has been amazingly supportive of each other. And those who are running things are always so obviously appreciative of everyone who has contributed to the project.” The files include data at three different levels of processing, from raw (level 1) data to calibrated (level 3) data, in a format called FITS, or Flexible Image Transport System. It is the standard astronomical data format used by NASA and the International Astronomical Union. Of the 143 unique observatories involved, 28 observatories had clear skies, sufficient calibration frames, and enough unique exposure times to create calibrated level 3 images. The Eclipse Megamovie team at Sonoma State University and the University of California, Berkeley and collaborators at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center began working together long before the eclipse to construct this database, together with EdEon STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics) Learning programmer Troy Wilson. But crucially, Eclipse Megamovie 2024 was made possible because of hundreds of volunteers who journeyed into the path of the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse with their cameras, patience, and curiosity. Photograph taken during the April 8th, 2024, total solar eclipse uploaded by EM2024 volunteer Franz Zabroky G. This picture has been aligned and processed and is available in the new database. [Hidden Content]. Franz Zabroky G. Facebook logo @nasascience_ @nasascience_ Instagram logo @nasascience_ Linkedin logo @nasascience_ Share Details Last Updated Feb 24, 2026 Related Terms Citizen Science Explore More 2 min read Map the Earth’s Magnetic Shield with the Space Umbrella Project Use data from NASA’s Magnetosphere Multiscale Mission to shed light on solar storms. For anyone… Article 5 days ago 2 min read How Small Is Too Small? Volunteers Help NASA Test Lake Monitoring From Space Volunteers participating in the Lake Observations by Citizen Scientists and Satellites (LOCSS) project have been… Article 2 months ago 2 min read New Software from the Dynamic Eclipse Broadcast Initiative Eighty-two volunteer teams with the Dynamic Eclipse Broadcast (DEB) Initiative spent the day spread across… Article 3 months ago View the full article

ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, STScI, P. Tiranti, H. Melin, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb) NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope provided the first vertical view of Uranus’s ionosphere in this image released on Feb. 19, 2026, revealing auroras shaped by its tilted magnetic field. Getting a look at the structure of the region where the atmosphere interacts strongly with the planet’s magnetic field is giving us the most detailed portrait yet of where its auroras form, how the magnetic field influences them, and also data on how Uranus’s atmosphere has continued to cool since the 1990s. Uranus has the strangest magnetosphere in the Solar System. It is tilted and offset from the planet’s rotation axis (and this planet already rolls around the Sun nearly on its side), which means auroras move across the surface in complex ways. Better understanding Uranus will give us insight into ice-giant planets and help us better characterize giant planets outside our Solar System. Read more about this image. Image credit: ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, STScI, P. Tiranti, H. Melin, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb) View the full article

Groundbreaking “camera-on-a-chip” technology that was originally developed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for use in space missions is currently employed in billions of devices like cell phones that are used daily by people worldwide. Eric Fossum (in the center of the front row) and the team that invented the CMOS image sensor on site at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech In the 1980s, sensors used to produce high-quality images for space science (including the amazing images from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope) and other applications employed charge coupled device (CCD) technology. Dr. Eric Fossum was originally hired at JPL in 1990 to advance CCD technology for use in interplanetary space missions, but he ended up advancing another technology called complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology for that purpose and much more. While at JPL, Fossum took advantage of a technique commonly used for CCDs and applied it to CMOS sensors to develop the first CMOS active pixel image sensor. This development began a chain of events that led to the present use of CMOS technology not only in space science missions, but also in billions of cameras in smartphones, webcams, automobiles, and medical devices used worldwide. A new technology emerges… In 1990, CCDs were the primary technology used to generate high-quality images. CCD sensors consist of arrays of pixels that convert light into electric charges. The charge from each pixel is transferred step-by-step to an output amplifier at the corner of the sensor and converted to a voltage that represents the brightness of the light received at the corresponding pixel. The data from all the pixels is then aggregated to generate an image. While CCD cameras can produce very high-quality images that are suitable for scientific use, they require a lot of power and an efficient charge transfer process to be effective. CMOS sensors, on the other hand, have signal amplifiers within each pixel and signals can be read directly from each pixel instead of being transferred long distances to an amplifier for conversion. CMOS sensors therefore require less voltage to operate than CCDs and issues with the charge transfer process such as radiation susceptibility are greatly reduced. Although CMOS sensors existed in the 1990s, they produced too much noise to produce high-quality images required for science applications. To reduce the signal noise typical of CMOS sensors at that time, Fossum applied a technique that was often used in CCD devices. This technique—called “intra-pixel charge transfer with correlated double sampling”—enables a double measurement of a pixel’s voltage without and with the light-generated charge. Subtracting the values of these two samples enables noise to be suppressed, improving the signal-to-noise ratio. The next steps Soon several companies signed Technology Cooperation Agreements with JPL and partnered with Fossum and his colleagues to develop the promising new technology. In 1995, Fossum and co-worker Dr. Sabrina Kemeny licensed the technology from CalTech and founded a company called Photobit to develop CMOS sensors. In 1996, Fossum left JPL to work at Photobit full time. The Photobit, team further refined the CMOS technology to get it closer to CCD capabilities, reduce power requirements, and make manufacturing cheaper. Shortly thereafter, CMOS cameras started to be used in webcams, “pill cams” (small, swallowable devices that incorporate a tiny camera to take thousands of high-resolution images of the digestive tract), and other applications. In 2001 Photobit was acquired by Micron Technology, a larger company that devoted even more resources to development of CMOS technology. With the subsequent explosion of the cell phone industry, by 2013 more than a billion CMOS sensors were manufactured each year, and today that number has grown to about seven billion per year. Where are these sensors now? The CMOS technology Dr. Fossum originally developed has not only enabled space science, it has been infused into devices we depend on every day, dramatically and positively transforming many aspects of our lives. Virtually all digital still and video cameras, including those on cell phones, employ them. In addition, CMOS technology is used in automotive electronics, webcams, sports cameras, industrial equipment, security cameras including doorbells, and cinematography cameras, and for medical and dental imaging, among many other applications. A frame from a video made from images taken by the Wide-Field Imager for Solar Probe (WISPR) instrument (which employs CMOS technology) onboard NASA’s Parker Solar Probe. This image was captured during the mission’s record-breaking flyby of the Sun on Dec. 25, 2024, and shows the solar wind racing out from the Sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Naval Research Lab In addition to dominating the commercial and consumer market, CMOS imagers have been used as engineering cameras to enable the entry, descent, and landing of NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover, in the camera onboard the OCO-3 (Orbiting Carbon Observatory-3) mission that monitors the distribution of carbon dioxide on Earth, and as scientific imagers on NASA’s Parker Solar Probe mission that is revolutionizing our understanding of the Sun. CMOS imagers are on their way to Jupiter’s moon, Europa, on the agency’s Europa Clipper mission, and a delta-doped ultraviolet version with tailored response is under development for use on the upcoming UVEX (UltraViolet EXplorer) mission that will provide insight into how galaxies and stars evolve. CMOS imagers are routinely used in monitoring the launch and deployment of CubeSats and SmallSats. They were recently used to monitor the deployment of Pandora, a small satellite that will characterize exoplanet atmospheres and their host stars; BLACKCAT (the ****** Hole Coded Aperture Telescope), a small X-ray telescope; and the SPARCS (Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat) mission designed to monitor and characterize the stellar flares of low-mass stars in ultraviolet to provide context for the habitability of exoplanets in their system. NASA is also developing descendants of this technology for use in missions that will search for life beyond Earth like its Habitable Worlds Observatory. In recognition of the impact this CMOS technology has had, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) has named Dr. Fossum the recipient of the 2026 Charles Stark Draper Prize for Engineering “for innovation, development, and commercialization of the complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) active pixel image sensor ‘camera-on-a-chip.’” The NAE bestows this award biennially to honor an engineer “whose accomplishment has significantly impacted society by improving the quality of life, providing the ability to live freely and comfortably, and/or permitting the access to information.” Sponsoring Organizations: The original efforts at JPL to develop this CMOS technology were funded by JPL and NASA. Share Details Last Updated Feb 24, 2026 Related Terms Technology Highlights Science-enabling Technology Explore More 5 min read Making High Fidelity Fluxgate Cores for Space Science and Space Weather Missions A NASA-sponsored team at the University of Iowa (UI) is restoring and advancing the nation’s… Article 5 months ago 7 min read Advancing Single-Photon Sensing Image Sensors to Enable the Search for Life Beyond Earth Article 6 months ago 5 min read NASA-funded Compact Radar Drives Big Changes in Airborne and Suborbital Radar Capabilities Article 6 months ago View the full article

Earth Observatory Science Earth Observatory Showy Swirls Around Jeju Island Earth Earth Observatory Image of the Day EO Explorer Topics All Topics Atmosphere Land Heat & Radiation Life on Earth Human Dimensions Natural Events Oceans Remote Sensing Technology Snow & Ice Water More Content Collections Global Maps World of Change Articles Notes from the Field Blog Earth Matters Blog Blue Marble: Next Generation EO Kids Mission: Biomes About About Us Subscribe 🛜 RSS Contact Us Search February 19, 2026 The tallest point in South Korea is not located in the Taebaek Mountains that run along the country’s eastern coast. Rather, it is found atop a volcanic peak on Jeju Island, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) south of the Korean Peninsula. In winter 2026, winds blew past the island in just the right way to send clouds spinning in its wake. The MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image of swirling clouds—and colorful, turbulent water—near Jeju Island on February 19, 2026. The island rises about 1,950 meters (6,400 feet) above the sea surface. At its center is Hallasan, a shield volcano that last erupted in the 11th century and contains a notable network of lava tubes. The trailing, staggered spirals, called von Kármán vortex streets, form when a fluid passes a tall, isolated, stationary object. If winds are too weak, clouds simply flow smoothly past, and if winds are too strong, vortices cannot maintain their shape. In the sweet spot, with winds between 18 and 54 kilometers (11 and 34 miles) per hour, clouds trace the airflow in patterns of counterrotating vortices. Though the underlying physics is the same, the appearance of the vortices can vary: sometimes they look wispy, as they do here, and other times they form more sharply defined, parallel rows, as they did at the same location the previous day. The seas, as well as the atmosphere, were turbulent near Jeju Island in mid-February. To the west, a large plume of sediment coming off the coast of China’s Jiangsu province turned waters murky. While brown, sediment-laden water is present in the shallow nearshore area year-round, expansive plumes like this one are common during winter. Research suggests that seasonal changes in currents and vertical mixing of the water column may account for the large winter plumes. NASA Earth Observatory image by Michala Garrison, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview. Story by Lindsey Doermann. Downloads February 19, 2026 JPEG (2.74 MB) References & Resources Global Volcanism Program, Halla. Accessed February 23, 2026. NASA Earth Observatory (2024, February 24) Sediment Fans Out Over the Yangtze Bank. Accessed February 23, 2026. NASA Earth Observatory (2008, November 16) Cheju Island, South Korea. Accessed February 23, 2026. UNESCO World Heritage Convention (2018) Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes. Accessed February 23, 2026. Weather Underground (2019, December) Whirls, Curls, and Little Swirls: The Science Behind Von Karman Vortices. Accessed February 23, 2026. You may also be interested in: Stay up-to-date with the latest content from NASA as we explore the universe and discover more about our home planet. Islands of Fire and Ice Veiled in Cloud 3 min read Puffs of low-level clouds mingle with the volcanic terrain of Candlemas and Vindication islands in the remote South Atlantic. Article A Plume of Bright Blue in Melissa’s Wake 5 min read The category 5 hurricane stirred up carbonate sediment near Jamaica in what scientists believe is the largest such event in… Article Puerto Rico From Above 4 min read An astronaut photographed the island’s striking mix of mountains, forests, and expanding urban areas. Article 1 2 3 4 Next Keep Exploring Discover More from NASA Earth Science Subscribe to Earth Observatory Newsletters Subscribe to the Earth Observatory and get the Earth in your inbox. Earth Observatory Image of the Day NASA’s Earth Observatory brings you the Earth, every day, with in-depth stories and stunning imagery. Explore Earth Science Earth Science Data View the full article

7 Min Read Young ‘Sun’ Caught Blowing Bubbles by NASA’s Chandra For the first time, a much younger version of the Sun has been caught red-handed blowing bubbles in the galaxy, by astronomers using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. HD 61005 in X-ray, infrared, and optical light, unlabeled.X-ray: NASA/CXC/John Hopkins Univ./C.M. Lisse et al.; Infrared: NASA/ESA/STIS; Optical: NSF/NoirLab/CTIO/DECaPS2; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk HD 61005 in X-ray, infrared, and optical light, labeled.X-ray: NASA/CXC/John Hopkins Univ./C.M. Lisse et al.; Infrared: NASA/ESA/STIS; Optical: NSF/NoirLab/CTIO/DECaPS2; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk HD 61005 in X-ray, infrared, and optical light, unlabeled.X-ray: NASA/CXC/John Hopkins Univ./C.M. Lisse et al.; Infrared: NASA/ESA/STIS; Optical: NSF/NoirLab/CTIO/DECaPS2; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk HD 61005 in X-ray, infrared, and optical light, labeled.X-ray: NASA/CXC/John Hopkins Univ./C.M. Lisse et al.; Infrared: NASA/ESA/STIS; Optical: NSF/NoirLab/CTIO/DECaPS2; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk HD 61005 in X-ray, infrared, and optical light CurtainToggle2-Up Image Details These images show the star HD 61005 with X-rays from the Chandra X-ray Observatory as well as infrared data from Hubble Space Telescope. A view in optical light from a telescope in Chile shows the larger field that HD 61005 is located in. Astronomers recently used Chandra to discover an “astrosphere,” a wind-blown bubble, around HD 61005, the first seen around a star like the Sun. The bubble – called an “astrosphere” – completely surrounds the juvenile star. Winds from the star’s surface are blowing up the bubble and filling it with hot gas as it expands into much cooler galactic gas and dust surrounding the star. The Sun has a similar bubble around it, which scientists call the heliosphere, created by the solar wind. It extends far beyond the planets in our solar system and protects Earth from cosmic radiation. This is the first image of an astrosphere astronomers have obtained around a star similar to the Sun. It shows slightly extended emission, rather than a single point of light as seen for other such stars. “We have been studying our Sun’s astrosphere for decades, but we can’t see it from the outside,” said Carey Lisse of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, who led the study, which published [day of week] in the Astrophysical Journal. “This new Chandra result about a similar star’s astrosphere teaches us about the shape of the Sun’s, and how it has changed over billions of years as the Sun evolves and moves through the galaxy.” The star is called HD 61005 and is located about 120 light-years from Earth, making it relatively close. HD 61005 has roughly the same mass and temperature as the Sun, but it is much younger with an age of about 100 million years, compared to the Sun’s age of about 5 billion years. Because it is so young, HD 61005 has a much stronger wind of particles blowing from its surface that travels about 3 times faster and is about 25 times denser than the wind from the Sun. This amplifies the process of astrosphere bubble-blowing and mimics how our Sun was behaving several billion years ago. HD 61005 in X-ray and Infrared light.X-ray: NASA/CXC/John Hopkins Univ./C.M. Lisse et al.; Infrared: NASA/ESA/STIS; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk “We are impacted by the Sun every day, not only through the light it gives off, but also by the wind it sends out into space that can affect our satellites and potentially astronauts traveling to the Moon or Mars,” said co-author Scott Wolk of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA). “This image of the astrosphere around HD 61005 gives us important information about what the Sun’s wind may have been like early in its evolution.” Astronomers have nicknamed the HD 61005 star system the “Moth” because it is surrounded by large amounts of dust patterned similarly to the shape of a moth’s wings when viewed through infrared telescopes. The wings are formed from material left behind after the formation of the star, similar to the Kuiper Belt in our own solar system. Observations of these wings with NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope showed that the interstellar matter surrounding HD 61005 is about a thousand times denser than that around the Sun. Since the 1990s, astronomers have been trying to capture an image of an astrosphere around a Sun-like star. Chandra was able to detect the astrosphere around HD 61005 because it is producing X-rays as the stellar wind runs into cooler local interstellar medium dust and gas that surrounds the star. The dense local galactic environment, combined with Chandra’s high-resolution X-ray vision, the strong stellar wind, and the star’s proximity, all helped create a strong X-ray signal, allowing discovery of an astrosphere around HD 61005. It has a diameter about 200 times the distance from Earth to the Sun. “There’s a saying about a moth being drawn to a flame,” said co-author Brad Snios, formerly of CfA and now at MITRE, a non-profit that participates in federally funded research. “In the case of HD 61005, the ‘Moth’ can’t easily escape from the flame because it was born around it and might be sustained by a disk around it.” An artist’s illustration depicts the astrosphere in more detail, including a bow shock in blue — akin to a sonic ***** in front of a supersonic plane — that is caused by the motion of the star and its astrosphere as it pushes against and flies through gas in interstellar space.NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Conceptual Image Lab The Sun not only likely passed through a phase of development similar to HD 61005 when it was younger, it also likely traveled through a denser region of dust and gas than where the Sun is currently located, strengthening the connection with HD 61005. “It is amazing to think that our protective heliosphere would only extend out to the orbit of Saturn if we were in the part of the galaxy where the Moth is located, or, conversely, that the Moth would have an astrosphere 10 times wider larger than the Sun’s if it were located here,” Lisse said. HD 61005 is not visible from Earth with the unaided eye, but it is close enough that skywatchers could see it using binoculars. The first hints of X-ray emission from the Moth’s central star were based on a brief, one-hour-long Chandra observation of HD 61005 in 2014. In 2021, astronomers observed HD 61005 for almost 19 hours, which allowed the detection of the extended astrospheric structure. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Chandra X-ray Center controls science operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts. Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/John Hopkins Univ./C.M. Lisse et al.; Infrared: NASA/ESA/STIS; Optical: NSF/NoirLab/CTIO/DECaPS2; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk To learn more about Chandra, visit: [Hidden Content] Read more from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory Learn more about the Chandra X-ray Observatory and its mission here: [Hidden Content] [Hidden Content] Visual Description This release contains three main images, each offering a different take on the astrosphere surrounding a young star called HD 61005. An astrosphere is a wind-blown bubble full of gas and dust particles that encases a star as it pushes through interstellar space. In this release, an optical image from the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile shows HD 61005 in the context of its star field. Here, the star in question appears as a glowing, gleaming white dot surrounded by other glowing dots of similar and smaller sizes. The image is utterly packed with specks of light in shades of blue, white, gold, green, and red. At this distance, in an optical observation, the star’s astrosphere is not discernible. The second image is a composite, which presents a close-up of HD 61005 using infrared data from Hubble, and X-ray data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Here, the spherical star has a brilliant core bursting with white X-ray light. Ringing the white core is a neon purple glow; the astrosphere surrounding the star. A distinguishing feature of HD 61005 is a white, wedge-shaped tail with neon blue tips, which trails the fast-moving star. This tail is dusty material left behind after the star’s formation. The wedge, or wing shape of the tail has earned the star the nickname ‘Moth’ by astronomers spying it through infrared telescopes. The third image in this release is an artist’s illustration of an astrosphere in action. Here, a large, pale purple ball soars from our right toward our left, into a misty brown cloud. The purple ball appears to be protected by a blue force field, which pushes the brown cloud aside as the ball dives in. In this illustration, the purple ball represents the astrosphere surrounding a star and the brown cloud is interstellar gas. The blue force field is a bow shock, a curved free-floating shock wave, similar to the sonic ***** that travels in front of a supersonic plane. The bow shock is caused by the motion of the star and its astrosphere hurtling through space. This illustration features a series of faint lines representing wind patterns from HD 61005, but does not show the tail of debris found behind and beside HD 61005. News Media Contact Megan Watzke Chandra X-ray Center Cambridge, Mass. 617-496-7998 *****@*****.tld Joel Wallace Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama 256-544-0034 *****@*****.tld Share Details Last Updated Feb 23, 2026 EditorLee MohonContactJoel Wallace*****@*****.tldLocationMarshall Space Flight Center Related TermsChandra X-Ray ObservatoryAstrophysicsHubble Space TelescopeMarshall AstrophysicsMarshall Space Flight CenterStarsThe Universe Explore More 6 min read NASA Telescopes Spot Surprisingly Mature Cluster in Early Universe Article 4 weeks ago 4 min read NASA IXPE’s Longest Observation Solves ****** Hole Jets Mystery Article 2 months ago 11 min read ****** Hole Eats Star: NASA Missions Discover Record-Setting Blast Editor’s note, Dec. 11, 2025: This story was updated to include an additional partner’s research… Article 3 months ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Chandra Space Telescope Hubble Space Telescope Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe. Stars Astronomers estimate that the universe could contain up to one septillion stars – that’s a one followed by 24 zeros.… Solar System View the full article

Explore This Section Science Science Activation Astronomy Activation… Overview Learning Resources Science Activation Teams SME Map Opportunities More Science Activation Stories Citizen Science Science Activation Opportunities 5 min read Astronomy Activation Ambassadors: Embracing Multiple Perspectives The Astronomy Activation Ambassadors (AAA) project, part of the NASA Science Activation program, aims to measurably enhance student STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics) engagement via middle school, high school, and community college science teacher professional development. AAA participants draw on NASA resources and subject matter experts to enhance their teaching and help share their excitement about astronomy and planetary science with their students. An important component of AAA teacher professional development is STEM immersion experiences, including guided tours of working observatories. Teacher visits to observatories offer a rare chance to connect science with history, culture, and place. Framing those visits around the historical context of astronomy and the cultural significance of “high places” helps students see science as a human endeavor shaped by many voices. People everywhere look to the sky for meaning and knowledge, and mountain peaks often carry spiritual, cultural, and historical weight for local communities. The significance of these locations can be shared with their students. AAA STEM immersion experiences took place in Hilo, Hawaii, and Tucson, Arizona, respectively, in April and September 2025. During the weekend of April 12-13, 16 teachers from across the state of Hawai`i gathered in Hilo for a full agenda involving a hands-on electromagnetic spectrum and multiwavelength astronomy curriculum workshop, subject matter expert presentations regarding astronomy research and native Hawaiian perspectives on Maunakea, and a visit to the summit of Maunakea (Figures 1 & 2). Teacher participants expressed their appreciation especially for the summit visit portion of the workshop and had numerous discussions during the journey about ways they could incorporate this content into their teaching. The tour paused on the way up the mountain at the mid-level Onizuka Visitors Center. There, workshop participant, local high school teacher, and native Hawaiian cultural practitioner Toni Kaui addressed the group: “Standing here, we have passed through the wao kele (vah-oh kay-lay; forested uplands) and are about to enter the wao akua (vah-oh ah-koo-ah), the heavenly realm where our spirits and our elements of sacredness lie. […] This is where we come to have our spiritual connection with the mauna (mountain). In the wao akua, all of our sacred and elemental processes happen, and those processes help to determine the well-being of our ‘aina (-eye-nah; homeland) down below in the wao kanaka (vah-oh kah-nah-kah; human realm) where we came from.” AAA STEM participants stop at one of the antennas of the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) to hear about Maunakea observatories, geology and ice age history of the summit plateau, and Hawaiian legends regarding Big Island volcanoes. SETI Institute / **** / Center for Maunakea Stewardship / NASA An ahu (sacred cairn) at the summit of Maunakea, the highest point in the Pacific. Center for Maunakea Stewardship The Maunakea visit was recorded by the NASA Science Activation program’s Infiniscope (Arizona State University) team, who joined AAA in the production of a virtual (video) tour highlighting both native Hawaiian and scientific researcher respect for the mountain. The virtual tour will be placed in the Infiniscope library ([Hidden Content]) to be shared with a world-wide public audience. The AAA program’s final workshop and STEM immersion experience was offered September 13-14 to 25 teachers from throughout the U.S. at the National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab headquarters in Tucson, Arizona and at Kitt Peak National Observatory (Figure 3). NOIRLab outreach staff talking with AAA STEM participants about the image plane of the McMath-Pierce solar telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. KPNO / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / SETI Institute / NASA Logo created by Jeffry Antone Sr., Tohono O’odham artist, representing the spirit of cooperation between the astronomy research community and their native hosts. KPNO / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / SETI Institute / NASA Kitt Peak National Observatory is located within the land of the Tohono O’odham (tuh-hoh-noh aw-tuhm) Native American tribe, whose name for Kitt Peak is I’oligam Du’ag (ee-oh-lih-gahm doo-ahg), meaning “Manzanita Shrub Mountain”. Dr. Jacelle Ramon-Sauberan, Tohono Oʼodham Education Development Liaison with the NOIRLab, spoke with workshop participants regarding the long history of productive collaboration between local indigenous authorities and organizations developing and managing astronomy facilities on the mountain (Figure 4). She noted that the lease agreement between the Tohono O’odham nation and the NSF: “… is in perpetuity, as long as the mountain is used for astronomical study and research/education.” The AAA participant teachers found Dr. Ramon-Sauberan so inspiring that they enthusiastically gave up part of their scheduled lunch hour so she could have more time for her presentation. The AAA project is winding down operations after 10 years as an active part of the NASA Science Activation’s collective efforts. In 2025, the ensemble of SciAct projects reached millions of learners in the U.S. and around the world via web-based content, public events, and education resources. As of the end of 2025, the AAA project alone had 780 teacher participants in 46 U.S. states plus 10 countries; 420 teachers have received STEM immersion experiences including flights on NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) or visits to ground-based observatories. An estimated 70,000 students nation-wide have been influenced and inspired by AAA educators. Participant or Team Member Quotes Lillian Reynolds, Hawai`i middle school science teacher, stated: “I was fortunate to go to this STEM experience at Maunakea. One thing that I learned is about how many other jobs and people it takes to run all the telescopes and everything up there. I had this preconceived idea that it’s mostly astronomers, PhD people that I didn’t really relate to. I got to meet a lot of the technicians and other folks and that really opened my eyes to other opportunities for my students. So, that’s what I’m looking forward to taking back. It made me feel hopeful that we can really increase our base of home-grown scientists here in Hawai`i.” Olivia Kuper, Tennessee high school science teacher, noted: “The inclusion of the Indigenous history and perspectives connected to Kitt Peak was one of the most important aspects of the training for me. It reinforced the importance of teaching astronomy in ways that respect the land and the people tied to it. This approach deepened my understanding and will help my students recognize the value of cultural perspectives and historical context in scientific practice.” Share Details Last Updated Feb 23, 2026 Related Terms Science Activation Grades 5 – 8 for Educators Grades 9-12 for Educators Grades K – 4 for Educators Learning Resources Explore More 3 min read Students Across New England Contribute to Climate Science Through NASA’s GLOBE Green Down In fall 2025, more than 50 educators and over 1,500 young people across Maine and… Article 1 month ago 3 min read NASA’s Universe of Learning Unveils Fresh Facilitator Guides Inspired by Community Feedback The goal of NASA’s Universe of Learning (UoL) is to connect the public to the… Article 1 month ago 2 min read 2025 Science Activation Opportunity Article 2 months ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA James Webb Space Telescope Webb is the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It studies every phase in the… Perseverance Rover This rover and its aerial sidekick were assigned to study the geology of Mars and seek signs of ancient microbial… Parker Solar Probe On a mission to “touch the Sun,” NASA’s Parker Solar Probe became the first spacecraft to fly through the corona… Juno NASA’s Juno spacecraft entered orbit around Jupiter in 2016, the first explorer to peer below the planet’s dense clouds to… View the full article

A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft, carrying more than 5,000 pounds of science, supplies, and hardware for NASA’s SpaceX CRS-33 mission, approaches the International Space Station on Aug. 25, 2025, for an automated docking to the Harmony module’s forward port. Credit: NASA NASA and its international partners will receive scientific research samples and hardware when a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft departs the International Space Station on Thursday, Feb. 26, and returns to Earth. Watch NASA’s live coverage of the undocking and departure of the agency’s 33rd SpaceX Commercial Resupply Services mission starting at 11:45 a.m. EST on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and the agency’s YouTube channel. Learn how to watch NASA content on a variety of online platforms, including social media. A Dragon spacecraft will autonomously undock from the Harmony module’s forward-facing port at 12:05 p.m. and fire its thrusters to move safely away from the space station. Splashdown is scheduled later that evening at approximately 11:44 p.m. PST off the California coast. NASA will not stream the splashdown but will post updates on its space station blog. Several scientific investigations are returning aboard Dragon, offering insights that could help shape future space exploration and life on Earth. The Euro Material Ageing study exposed 141 samples to space for a year to examine how coatings, insulation, and 3D-printed materials degrade, while Thailand’s Liquid Crystals experiment observed the stability of films used in electronics in microgravity. Both could lead to stronger spacecraft, better displays, and improved optical devices on future missions. Frozen samples from the Stellar Stem Cells Mission 2 experiment are helping study how microgravity affects brain and heart stem cell growth, which could improve treatments for diseases such as ALS and Parkinson’s disease. The SpaceDuino project is paving the way for more low-cost instruments after successfully measuring vibrations using a commercially available single-board computer and open-source software. The Moon Microscope also successfully tested a portable diagnostic kit for blood analysis in space that could support future missions to the Moon and Mars. The Dragon spacecraft supporting the mission also introduced a new capability to reboost the space station, helping maintain its altitude and counter atmospheric drag, which is critical for safe operations and the long-term sustainability of the orbital complex. During its time docked to the station, Dragon performed six reboosts — five in 2025 and a final maneuver on Jan. 23 — before preparations for its departure began. Loaded with thousands of pounds of crew supplies, science experiments, and equipment, the spacecraft arrived at the station on Aug. 25, 2025, following its launch a day earlier on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. For more than 25 years, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and making research breakthroughs that are not possible on Earth. The station is a critical testbed for NASA to understand and overcome the challenges of long-duration spaceflight and to expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit. As commercial companies concentrate on providing human space transportation services and destinations as part of a robust low Earth orbit economy, NASA is focusing its resources on deep space missions to the Moon as part of the Artemis campaign in preparation for future astronaut missions to Mars. Get breaking news, images and features from the space station on Instagram, Facebook, and X. Learn more about International Space Station research and operations at: [Hidden Content] -end- Josh Finch / Jimi Russell Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 *****@*****.tld / *****@*****.tld Sandra Jones / Joseph Zakrzewski Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 sandra.p*****@*****.tld / *****@*****.tld Share Details Last Updated Feb 23, 2026 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related TermsInternational Space Station (ISS)Commercial ResupplyISS ResearchSpaceX Commercial Resupply View the full article

2 Min Read Curiosity Studies Nodules on Boxwork Formations PIA26697 Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Photojournal Navigation Science Photojournal Curiosity Studies Nodules on… Photojournal Home Photojournal Search Latest Content Galleries Feedback RSS About Downloads Curiosity Studies Nodules on Boxwork Formations JPEG (291.85 KB) PIA26697 Figure A JPEG (291.92 KB) Description NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover discovered these bumpy, pea-sized nodules while exploring a region filled with boxwork formations — low ridges standing roughly 3 to 6 feet (1 to 2 meters) tall with sandy hollows in-between. This mosaic is made up of 50 individual images taken by Curiosity’s Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), a camera on the end of the rover’s robotic arm, on Aug. 21, 2025, the 4,636th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Ten images at different focus settings were taken at each of five locations to produce a sharp mosaic. The images were stitched together after being sent back to Earth. Figure A Figure A is the same image with a small scale bar added to the right-hand side. Nodules like these have been seen many times before on the Red Planet, including by Curiosity. They were made by minerals left behind as water dried billions of years ago. Crisscrossing the surface for miles, the boxwork formations suggest ancient groundwater flowed on this part of the Red Planet later than expected, raising new questions about how long microbial life could have survived on Mars billions of years ago, before rivers and lakes dried up. The boxwork ridgetops often include a dark line the team refers to as “central fractures,” where groundwater originally seeped through a rock crack, allowing minerals to concentrate. Surprisingly, the mission did not find nodules near these central fractures. Instead, they were found along the walls of the ridges and in the hollows between them. The wavy ridges between the groups of nodules are mineral veins made of calcium sulfate, also deposited by groundwater. Curiosity was built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California. JPL leads the mission on behalf of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington as part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program portfolio. MAHLI was built by Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego. To learn more about Curiosity, visit: science.nasa.gov/mission/msl-curiosity Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From Photojournal Photojournal Search Photojournal Photojournal’s Latest Content Feedback View the full article

1 Min Read Curiosity Surveys the Boxwork Region PIA26693 Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Photojournal Navigation Science Photojournal Curiosity Surveys the Boxwork… Photojournal Home Photojournal Search Latest Content Galleries Feedback RSS About Downloads Curiosity Surveys the Boxwork Region PNG (171.15 MB) Description NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover captured this panorama of boxwork formations — the low ridges seen here with hollows in between them — using its Mastcam on Sept. 26, 2025, the 4,671st Martian day, or sol, of the mission. These boxwork formations were created billions of years ago when water leaked through rock cracks. Minerals carried into the cracks later hardened; after eons of windblown sand eroding away the softer rock, the hardened ridges were left exposed. The panorama is made up of 179 individual images that were stitched together after being sent back to Earth. This natural color view is approximately how the scene would appear to an average person if they were on Mars. Curiosity was built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California. JPL leads the mission on behalf of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington as part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program portfolio. Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego built and operates Mastcam. For more about Curiosity, visit: science.nasa.gov/mission/msl-curiosity Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From Photojournal Photojournal Search Photojournal Photojournal’s Latest Content Feedback View the full article

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover captured this panorama of boxwork formations — the low ridges seen here with hollows in between them — using its Mastcam on Sept. 26, 2025.NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS For about six months, NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has been exploring a region full of geologic formations called boxwork, low ridges standing roughly 3 to 6 feet (1 to 2 meters) tall with sandy hollows in between. Crisscrossing the surface for miles, the formations suggest ancient groundwater flowed on this part of the Red Planet later than scientists expected. This possibility raises new questions about how long microbial life could have survived on Mars billions of years ago, before rivers and lakes dried up and left a freezing desert world behind. The boxwork formations look like giant spiderwebs when viewed from space. To explain the shapes, scientists have proposed that groundwater once flowed through large fractures in the bedrock, leaving behind minerals. Those minerals then strengthened the areas that became ridges while other portions without mineral reinforcement were eventually hollowed out by wind. These bumpy nodules were formed by minerals left behind as groundwater was drying out on Mars billions of years ago. NASA’s Curiosity rover captured images of these pea-size features while exploring geologic formations called boxwork on Aug. 21, 2025.NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Until Curiosity arrived at this region, however, no one could be sure what these formations looked like up close, and there were even more questions about how they were made. Unpacking boxwork Although Earth also has boxwork ridges, they’re rarely taller than a few centimeters and are usually found in caves or in dry, sandy environments. The Curiosity team wanted to get a close look at the Martian formations and gather more data. This posed a real challenge for rover drivers: They needed to send instructions to Curiosity, an SUV-size vehicle that weighs nearly a ton (899 kilograms), so that it could roll across the tops of ridges not much wider than the rover itself. “It almost feels like a highway we can drive on. But then we have to go down into the hollows, where you need to be mindful of Curiosity’s wheels slipping or having trouble turning in the sand,” said operations systems engineer Ashley Stroupe of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which built Curiosity and leads the mission. “There’s always a solution. It just takes trying different paths.” For scientists, the challenge is piecing together how such a vast network of boxwork could exist on Mount Sharp, the 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer-tall) mountain the rover has been ascending. Each layer of the mountain formed in a different era of Mars’ ancient, changing climate. The higher Curiosity goes, the more the landscape bears signs that water was drying out over time, with occasional wet periods that saw the return of rivers and lakes. “Seeing boxwork this far up the mountain suggests the groundwater table had to be pretty high,” said Tina Seeger of Rice University in Houston, one of the mission scientists leading the boxwork investigation. “And that means the water needed for sustaining life could have lasted much longer than we thought looking from orbit.” Previous orbital imagery included one crucial piece of evidence: dark lines running across the “spiderwebs.” In 2014, it was proposed that these lines might be what are known as central fractures, where groundwater seeped through rock cracks and allowed minerals to concentrate. Investigating the ridges up close, Curiosity found that these lines are in fact fractures, lending weight to that hypothesis. The rover also discovered bumpy textures called nodules, an obvious sign of past groundwater that has been spotted many times by Curiosity and other Mars missions. Unexpectedly, these nodules were not found near the central fractures, but along a ridge’s walls and the hollows between them. “We can’t quite explain yet why the nodules appear where they do,” Seeger said. “Maybe the ridges were cemented by minerals first, and later episodes of groundwater left nodules around them.” Roving laboratory A major part of Curiosity’s science centers on rock samples collected by the rock-pulverizing drill on the end of the rover’s robotic arm. The resulting powder can be trickled into complex science instruments in the vehicle’s body for analysis. Last year, three samples from the boxwork region — one from a ridgetop, one from bedrock within a hollow, and one from a transitional area before Curiosity reached the ridges — were collected by the drill and analyzed with X-rays and a high-temperature oven. The X-ray analyses found clay minerals in the ridge and carbonate minerals in the hollow, providing additional clues to help understand how these features formed. The mission recently collected a fourth sample, which was analyzed with a special technique reserved for the most intriguing science targets: After the pulverized rock went into the rover’s high-temperature oven, chemical reagents reacted with the sample to conduct what is called wet chemistry. The resulting reactions make it easier to detect certain organic compounds, carbon-based molecules important to the formation of life. Sometime in March, Curiosity will leave the boxwork formations behind. The whole region is part of a layer on Mount Sharp enriched in salty minerals called sulfates, which formed as water was drying out on Mars. Curiosity’s team plans to continue exploring this sulfate layer for many miles in the coming year, learning more about how the ancient Red Planet’s climate changed billions of years ago. More about Curiosity Curiosity was built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California. JPL leads the mission on behalf of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington as part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program portfolio. To learn more about Curiosity, visit: science.nasa.gov/mission/msl-curiosity News Media Contacts Andrew Good Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 818-393-2433 *****@*****.tld Karen Fox / Molly Wasser NASA Headquarters, Washington 240-285-5155 / 240-419-1732 *****@*****.tld / *****@*****.tld 2026-013 Explore More 6 min read NASA’s Perseverance Now Autonomously Pinpoints Its Location on Mars Article 5 days ago 3 min read Stonebreen’s Beating Heart The glacier in southeastern Svalbard pulses with the changing seasons, speeding up and slowing its… Article 2 weeks ago 2 min read NASA Honor Awards for Cold Atom Lab Team Members NASA OUTSTANDING PUBLIC LEADERSHIP MEDAL Awarded for notable leadership accomplishments that have significantly influenced NASA’s… Article 3 weeks ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Curiosity Rover Location Map Follow Curiosity’s latest location as it explores areas that can help answer questions about whether Gale Crater was habitable in… Curiosity Rover Updates These updates are provided by self-selected Mars Science Laboratory mission team members who love to share what Curiosity is doing… Curiosity Science Instruments Curiosity’s scientific instruments are the tools that bring us stunning images of Mars and ground-breaking discoveries. Mars Exploration: Science Goals The key to understanding the past, present or future potential for life on Mars can be found in NASA’s four… View the full article

This high-resolution still image is part of a video taken by several cameras as NASA’s Perseverance rover touched down on Mars on February 18, 2021.NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA’s Perseverance Rover approaches Mars in this Feb. 18, 2020, top-down still image captured by a camera on the rover’s descent stage. Perseverance is searching for signs of ancient microbial life, to advance NASA’s quest to explore the past habitability of Mars. NASA chose Jezero Crater as the landing because scientists believe the area was once flooded with water and was home to an ancient river delta. In summer 2024, the rover collected a sample from the “Chevaya Falls” rock which was found to have potential biosignatures — clues that suggest past life may have been present, but that require more data or further study before any conclusions about the absence or presence of life. In addition to making discoveries on Mars, the rover itself is demonstrating technogical advances: A new technology developed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California enables Perseverance to figure out its whereabouts without calling humans for help. Dubbed Mars Global Localization, the technology features an algorithm that rapidly compares panoramic images from the rover’s navigation cameras with onboard orbital terrain maps. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech View the full article

Share Details Last Updated Feb 23, 2026 Location NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Contact Media Laura Betz NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maryland laura.e*****@*****.tld Christine Pulliam Space Telescope Science Institute Baltimore, Maryland Related Terms James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Astrophysics Goddard Space Flight Center Science & Research Spiral Galaxies Stars Supernovae The Universe Related Links and Documents The science paper by C. Kilpatrick et al.

Safety and quality management are integral to every program at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, and across the entire agency. That gives team members like ******* Senegal, acting chief of the Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate’s (SMA) Quality and Flight Equipment Division, a unique opportunity to collaborate with diverse organizations and personnel. Official portrait of ******* Senegal.NASA “I’m responsible for managing safety and quality teams for about 13 customers,” Senegal said, noting that these customers include the Orion and Gateway Programs, the Human Landing System, and the Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program. Senegal’s teams work at several levels to implement agency, program, and center SMA requirements, in addition to assisting with monitoring Johnson’s Quality Management System to identify concerns for SMA leadership. Some teams operate at the program level, helping to write program requirements, establishing assurance programs, and identifying and characterizing risk. Other teams work on a developmental level and focus on ensuring that a piece of hardware, software, and other components meet requirements and are safe. One team is dedicated to extravehicular activity, or EVA, operations, making sure that both crew members and equipment are prepared for safe and successful spacewalks. Senegal’s division is also responsible for calibration, safety, and quality for government-furnished equipment at Johnson, procurement quality, and the Receiving, Inspection and Test Facility. “This division is probably the most diverse at Johnson because we do a multitude of things and have a multitude of disciplines,” Senegal said. “That’s why I enjoy it.” Senegal was introduced to quality management as a manufacturing engineer for General Motors, where she worked for seven years before becoming a NASA contractor. She said it was always her goal to work at NASA, but there were no opportunities available at Johnson when she graduated from Prairie View A&M University with a degree in electrical and electronics engineering. “I just kept applying to anything that had to do with NASA, and then SAIC hired me,” she said. SAIC, or Science Applications International Corp., is a subcontractor of NASA. Senegal has worked at Johnson for 28 years, becoming a civil servant in 2004. In that time, she has been involved in the development and implementation of space and life science experiments, the Human Research Facility, and crew exercise hardware, among other projects. She said her most memorable experience was working to transition crew health equipment from the Space Shuttle Program to the International Space Station. Senegal explained that while the hardware worked well on shuttle missions, it had to be redesigned to support longer missions and larger crews on station. She was not responsible for the redesign, but she had to ensure the equipment worked and was safe. “I really enjoyed that because it was a challenge, and you had all of these great ideas coming together from engineers, doctors, and the crew,” she said. “We became a strong, close team. Everyone was there trying to achieve the same goal.” NASA astronaut Andrew Thomas presents ******* Senegal with a Silver Snoopy Award in 2011. NASA/Lauren Harnett Her career in SMA has touched nearly every program at Johnson and some agency-level initiatives. Along the way, she has progressed from group lead to branch chief, deputy division chief, and now division chief—a role she calls her most challenging yet. “As deputy, you manage parts of the business. As chief, you own it all—mission outcomes, safety posture, budget, culture, and external optics,” Senegal explains. Decisions once offered as advice now carry her endorsement and reputation. The shift means setting direction, allocating resources, and making tough calls, even when every request feels mission-critical. She also shapes how the division recruits, rotates, and grows talent, while tackling challenges like refreshing skill sets and building succession depth in critical disciplines. In today’s evolving risk environment, Senegal must balance mission risk with project, program, and agency priorities, while keeping programs on schedule. “The chief’s message has to be clear, repeatable, and behavior-shaping,” she says. Building rhythms like staff syncs and risk reviews keeps the team aligned amid competing agendas. Looking ahead, Senegal sees the team focusing on supporting NASA’s acquisition strategy and improving the speed and quality of organizational decision-making. “We need to define when issues go to the chief, deputy, or branch chiefs—and protect strategic time by saying ‘no’ when ‘yes’ isn’t the right answer.” Her leadership philosophy centers on connection: “Know your team’s strengths and care about them—even small gestures matter,” she says. “When people know you care, it makes coming to work easier.” ******* Senegal poses for a picture at a Safety and Mission Assurance podium. Senegal emphasized the importance of sharing SMA lessons learned with early career team members and future agency employees. “They need to know the safety and quality policies, but they also need to understand why we have them in place,” she said. “If you teach them the history behind it, they’re less likely to repeat it, and it helps them understand how and when to accept risk.” Senegal also encourages the next generation to ask people for their opinions. “Be honest if you don’t know something and say you want to learn more. Never be afraid to speak up.” Explore More 4 min read Award-Winning NASA Camera Revolutionizes How We See the Invisible Article 4 days ago 3 min read I Am Artemis: Katie Oriti Article 5 days ago 4 min read NASA Advances High-Altitude Traffic Management Article 6 days ago View the full article

Earth (ESD) Earth Explore Explore Earth Science Agriculture Air Quality Climate Change Freshwater Life on Earth Severe Storms Snow and Ice The Global Ocean Science at Work Earth Science at Work Technology and Innovation Powering Business Multimedia Image Collections Videos Data For Researchers About Us 5 Min Read NASA Is Helping Bring Giant Tortoises Back to the Galápagos Giant tortoises disappeared in the mid-1800s from Floreana Island in the Galápagos. Credits: © Galápagos Conservancy, used with permission For the first time in more than 150 years, giant tortoises are returning to the wild on Floreana Island in the Galápagos — guided by NASA satellite data that helps scientists discover where the animals can find food, water, and nesting habitat. The effort, a collaboration between the Galápagos National Park Directorate and Galápagos Conservancy, marks a key milestone in restoring tortoise populations to one of the most ecologically distinctive archipelagos on Earth. On Floreana Island, tortoises disappeared in the mid-1800s after heavy hunting by whalers and the introduction of new predators like pigs and rats, which consumed tortoise eggs and hatchlings. Without the tortoises, the island began to change. Across the Galápagos, giant tortoises historically helped shape the landscape by grazing vegetation, opening pathways through dense plant growth, and carrying seeds across islands. “This is exactly the kind of project where NASA Earth observations make a difference,” said Keith Gaddis, the manager for NASA Earth Action’s Biological Diversity and Ecological Forecasting program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “We’re helping partners answer a practical question: Where will these animals have the best chance to survive — not just today, but decades from now?” Matching Tortoises to Landscape On Feb. 20, the Galápagos National Park Directorate and conservation partners released 158 giant tortoises at two sites on Floreana. “It’s a huge deal to have these tortoises back on this island. Charles Darwin was one of the last people to see them there,” said James Gibbs, the Galápagos Conservancy’s Vice President of Science and Conservation and a co-principal investigator of the project. In 2000, scientists made an unexpected discovery. Gibbs and other researchers found unusual tortoises on northern Isabela Island’s Wolf Volcano, the tallest peak in the Galápagos, that did not look like any other known living tortoises. About a decade later, DNA extracted from bones of the extinct Floreana tortoises — found in caves on the island and in museum collections — confirmed the tortoises carried Floreana ancestry, launching a breeding program that has since produced hundreds of offspring expected to return to the island. Researchers believe that whalers likely moved tortoises between the islands more than a century earlier. The Galápagos National Park Directorate has raised and released across the Galápagos more than 10,000 tortoises over the last 60 years, one of the largest rewilding efforts ever attempted. But each island presents a different puzzle. Some hills and small mountains in the Galápagos intercept clouds and stay cool and damp with evergreen vegetation. Others are dry enough that green vegetation appears only briefly after rain. Where these zones occur on the same island, tortoises move between them, with some animals traveling miles each year between seasonal feeding and nesting areas. “It’s difficult for the tortoises because they get introduced from captivity into this environment,” Gibbs said. “They don’t know where food is. They don’t know where water is. They don’t know where to nest. If you can place them where conditions are already right, you give them a much better chance.” Part of Floreana Island is shown in the Galápagos, where ongoing restoration efforts aim to make the landscape ready for the return of giant tortoises. Credits: © Galápagos Conservancy, used with permission That’s where NASA satellite data comes in. NASA Earth observations allow scientists to map environmental conditions across the islands and track how vegetation, moisture, and temperature shift over time — clues to where tortoises can find food and water. Using those records, Gibbs and Giorgos Mountrakis, the project’s principal investigator, and their team built a decision tool that combines satellite measurements of habitat and climate conditions with millions of field observations of tortoise locations across the archipelago to guide where, and when, to release the animals. “Habitat suitability models and environmental mapping are essential tools,” said Christian Sevilla, the Director of Ecosystems at the Galápagos National Park Directorate. “They allow us to integrate climate, topography, and vegetation data to make evidence-based decisions. We move from intuition to precision.” This map shows modeled giant tortoise habitat suitability across the Galápagos under current environmental conditions, with colors ranging from low to high, indicating increasing likelihood of suitable food, moisture, and nesting habitat availability. Wanmei Liang/NASA Earth Observatory The decision tool draws on multiple NASA and partner satellite missions. Landsat and European Sentinel satellites track vegetation conditions. The Global Precipitation Measurement mission provides rainfall data. The Terra satellite helps estimate land-surface temperature, and terrain data adds elevation and landscape features. In some cases, high-resolution commercial satellite images, acquired through NASA’s Commercial Smallsat Data Acquisition Program, help teams evaluate potential release sites before field surveys begin. With tortoise-environment relationships in hand, the team can map habitat suitability today and forecast how it may shift decades into the future as environmental conditions change. “The forecasting part is critical,” said Mountrakis, of the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse. “This isn’t a one-year project. We’re looking at where tortoises will succeed 20, 40 years from now.” Because the tortoises can live more than a century, habitat conditions decades from now matter as much as conditions today. More Than Conservation The tortoise release is part of the larger Floreana Ecological Restoration Project, which aims to remove invasive species like rats and feral cats and eventually return 12 native animal species to the island, with tortoises serving as the keystone for rebuilding the ecosystem. This Landsat 8 image of Floreana Island from October 6, 2020, shows dry coastal lowlands surrounding greener, higher-elevation vegetation toward the island’s center. Wanmei Liang/NASA Earth Observatory The Galápagos Conservancy is also using NASA satellite data and the decision tool developed to help guide tortoise releases on other Galápagos islands and to plan future reintroductions across the archipelago. If successful, Floreana Island could once again support a large tortoise population, helping restore relationships between animals, plants, and the landscape that shaped the island for thousands of years. “For those of us who live and work in Galápagos, this [release] is deeply meaningful,” Sevilla said. “It demonstrates that large-scale ecological restoration is possible and that, with science and long-term commitment, we can recover an essential part of the archipelago’s natural heritage.” About the Author Emily DeMarco Writer/Editor (IV) Share Details Last Updated Feb 20, 2026 Related Terms Earth Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Goddard Space Flight Center Human Dimensions Landsat Life on Earth Terra Vegetation Wildlife Explore More 3 min read Winds Whip Up Fires and Dust on the Southern Plains Dry, gusty conditions spurred fast-growing fires in Oklahoma and Kansas, along with dangerous dust storms… Article 15 hours ago 3 min read Northern Glow Spans Iceland and Canada A vivid display of the aurora lit up skies over the Denmark Strait and eastern… Article 2 days ago 1 min read Commodity Classic 2026 Hyperwall Schedule Article 2 days ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Earth Your home. Our Mission. And the one planet that NASA studies more than any other. Earth Observatory NASA’s Earth Observatory brings you the Earth, every day: images, stories, and discoveries about the environment, Earth systems, and climate. Explore Earth Science Earth Science in Action NASA’s unique vantage point helps us inform solutions to enhance decision-making, improve livelihoods, and protect our planet. View the full article

NASA/Brendan Finnegan NASA astronaut Christina Koch and ********* Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen take off on a T-38 training flight from Ellington Field on Feb. 11, 2026, as a waning crescent Moon hovers above. Koch and Hansen, along with NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover, are part of NASA’s Artemis II mission, the first crewed flight of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft. Artemis II will fly around the Moon and back to test Orion’s systems and capabilities before returning the crew to a splashdown off the California coast. As part of a Golden Age of innovation and exploration, Artemis will pave the way for new U.S. crewed missions on the lunar surface in preparation to send the first astronauts to Mars. Image credit: NASA/Brendan Finnegan View the full article

Earth Observatory Science Earth Observatory Winds Whip Up Fires and Dust… Earth Earth Observatory Image of the Day EO Explorer Topics All Topics Atmosphere Land Heat & Radiation Life on Earth Human Dimensions Natural Events Oceans Remote Sensing Technology Snow & Ice Water More Content Collections Global Maps World of Change Articles Notes from the Field Blog Earth Matters Blog Blue Marble: Next Generation EO Kids Mission: Biomes About About Us Subscribe 🛜 RSS Contact Us Search February 17, 2026 High winds coupled with dry conditions fueled fast-spreading wildland fires in the U.S. southern Plains in winter 2026. On February 17, several large blazes broke out on the Oklahoma Panhandle and burned quickly through tens of thousands of acres of grasslands and shrublands. The winds also caused dust storms and low visibility throughout the wider region. Smoke from multiple fires as well as wind-borne dust streamed across the Plains on the afternoon of February 17, when the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this image. The Ranger Road fire, the largest of the group, started that day shortly after noon near Beaver, Oklahoma, and spread rapidly throughout the afternoon. By the evening, it had burned into Kansas and consumed an estimated 145,000 acres (587,000 hectares), the Oklahoma Forestry Service reported. Combined with other fires nearby, including the Stevens and Side Road fires near Tyrone, Oklahoma, more than 155,000 acres burned that day, the agency said. The Ranger Road fire exhibited features of a “fast fire,” a particularly dangerous and destructive type of fire characterized by rapid spread. These blazes usually burn in grasslands and shrublands rather than forests, often occur in autumn and winter when fuels are dry, and are propelled by strong winds. Wind gusts up to 70 miles (110 kilometers) per hour were measured across the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles on February 17, the National Weather Service said. The fires destroyed several structures, threatened farmland and livestock, and prompted evacuation orders for parts of western Oklahoma and southern Kansas, according to news reports. Oklahoma’s governor declared a disaster emergency for counties in the Panhandle. Persistent winds and dry conditions led to further fire growth on February 18. The Ranger Road and Stevens fires approximately doubled in size that day, the Oklahoma Forestry Services reported. On February 19, a red flag warning remained in effect for the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles, with forecasts calling for wind gusts up to 40 miles (64 kilometers) per hour and very low relative humidity. Wind-blown dust created other serious hazards across the region. Near Pueblo, Colorado (west of this scene), poor visibility led to a deadly pileup of dozens of vehicles on Interstate 25, according to reports. And in southern New Mexico, officials warned travelers of dangerous conditions due to blowing dust. NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview. Story by Lindsey Doermann. Downloads February 17, 2026 JPEG (2.62 MB) References & Resources AccuWeather (2026, February 18) Oklahoma, Kansas wildfire consumes area larger than New York City as new fires spark in Texas. Accessed February 19, 2026. AP News (2026, February 18) 5 dead in Colorado highway crashes after blowing dirt makes it hard to see. Accessed February 19, 2026. NASA Earth Observatory (2024, December 12) The Fast Fire Threat. Accessed February 19, 2026. Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (2026) Forestry Services. Accessed February 19, 2026. Oklahoma Forestry Services, via Facebook (2026) Posts. Accessed February 19, 2026. The Oklahoman (2026) Oklahoma wildfire, smoke map: Track latest wildfires, red flag warnings. Accessed February 19, 2026. You may also be interested in: Stay up-to-date with the latest content from NASA as we explore the universe and discover more about our home planet. B.C. Wildfires Send Smoke Skyward 2 min read Lightning likely ignited several large fires that sent smoke pouring over the ********* province in early September 2025. Article Fires on the Rise in the Far North 3 min read Satellite-based maps show northern wildland fires becoming more frequent and widespread as temperatures rise and lightning reaches higher latitudes. Article Fires Erupt in South-Central Chile 2 min read Tens of thousands of people fled to safety as blazes spread throughout the country’s Biobío and Ñuble regions. Article 1 2 3 4 Next Keep Exploring Discover More from NASA Earth Science Subscribe to Earth Observatory Newsletters Subscribe to the Earth Observatory and get the Earth in your inbox. Earth Observatory Image of the Day NASA’s Earth Observatory brings you the Earth, every day, with in-depth stories and stunning imagery. Explore Earth Science Earth Science Data View the full article

3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) This artist’s concept shows several advanced air mobility aircraft concepts staged for a medical transport. NASA’s recent aircraft noise study included sounds from multiple types of advanced air mobility concept aircraft.NASA/Lillian Gipson New kinds of aircraft taking to the skies could mean unfamiliar sounds overhead — and where you’re hearing them might matter, according to new NASA research. NASA aeronautics has worked for years to enable new air transportation options for people and goods, and to find ways to make sure they can be safely and effectively integrated into U.S. communities. That’s why the agency continues to study how people respond to aircraft noise. In this case, NASA’s work focused on air taxis, shorthand for a variety of aircraft intended to carry people short distances for everything from personal travel to medical treatment. Researchers investigated whether residents in loud cities would respond differently to air taxi sounds than those in quieter suburban settings. From late August through September 2025, 359 participants in the Los Angeles, New York City, and Dallas-Fort Worth areas took part in NASA’s Varied Advanced Air Mobility Noise and Geographic Area Response Difference (VANGARD) test. Researchers played 67 unique sounds simulating aircraft, including NASA-owned industry concept designs. To ensure unbiased feedback, the research team withheld aircraft manufacturer names. Participants were also not shown images of the aircraft they were hearing. Initial results reveal that residents living in noisy areas reported being more bothered by the air taxi sounds than those in quieter areas. The VANGARD team members are currently analyzing the data to better understand these findings, but so far, they’re hypothesizing that people in loud environments may simply be more sensitive to additional noise. Researcher Sidd Krishnamurthy tests the remote platform developed to study human response to air taxi noise at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.NASA/Ally Olney “With air taxis coming soon, we need to understand how people will react to a variety of future aircraft sounds,” said Sidd Krishnamurthy, lead researcher at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. “This test filled a critical gap, and its results will improve how we predict human reactions to noise, guiding the design and operation of future aircraft.” During the study, participants listened to individual aircraft flyover sounds and rated their annoyance levels. The participants also provided their zip codes, allowing the researchers to sort their locations into high and low background noise levels. “We wanted to know if people in low or high background noise zones would be more annoyed by the air taxi sounds, and to what extent, even without their usual background sounds present during the test,” Krishnamurthy said. Most participants listened from their home locations, with their own audio devices. But to complement that testing, a control group of 20 people listened in-person at NASA Langley in June, using tablets and headphones with fixed audio settings. Results showed that the control group responded similarly to those who tested from home. Many factors influence how humans respond to aircraft noise. This study was not designed to answer every question — for example, it did not look at the potential effects of high background noise masking air taxi noise — but it provided the VANGARD team with initial insights. The results from this study, and any follow-on efforts, will guide the design and operation of future advanced air mobility aircraft to help designers and regulators determine how and where these aircraft may fly. This research was led under the Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology project and contributes to NASA’s advanced air mobility research. The project falls under the Advanced Air Vehicles Program within NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. Share Details Last Updated Feb 19, 2026 EditorDede DiniusContactTeresa Whiting*****@*****.tld Related TermsAdvanced Air MobilityAdvanced Air Vehicles ProgramAeronauticsArmstrong Flight Research CenterDrones & YouLangley Research CenterRevolutionary Vertical Lift Technology Explore More 4 min read Award-Winning NASA Camera Revolutionizes How We See the Invisible Article 5 hours ago 4 min read NASA Advances High-Altitude Traffic Management Article 2 days ago 8 min read ARMD Research Solicitations (Updated Feb. 4) Article 2 weeks ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center Langley Research Center Aeronautics Drones & You View the full article

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft that launched NASA’s Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station is pictured docked to the Harmony module’s forward port on July 3, 2024. This view is from a window on the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft docked to the port adjacent to the Starliner.Credit: NASA At a news conference on Thursday, NASA released a report of findings from the Program Investigation Team examining the Boeing CST-100 Starliner Crewed Flight Test as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. “The Boeing Starliner spacecraft has faced challenges throughout its uncrewed and most recent crewed missions. While Boeing built Starliner, NASA accepted it and launched two astronauts to space. The technical difficulties encountered during docking with the International Space Station were very apparent,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “To undertake missions that change the world, we must be transparent about both our successes and our shortcomings. We have to own our mistakes and ensure they never happen again. Beyond technical issues, it is clear that NASA permitted overarching programmatic objectives of having two providers capable of transporting astronauts to-and-from orbit, influence engineering and operational decisions, especially during and immediately after the mission. We are correcting those mistakes. Today, we are formally declaring a Type A mishap and ensuring leadership accountability so situations like this never reoccur. We look forward to working with Boeing as both organizations implement corrective actions and return Starliner to flight only when ready.” Starliner launched June 5, 2024, on its first crewed test flight to the International Space Station. Originally planned as an eight-to-14-day mission, the flight was extended to 93 days after propulsion system anomalies were identified while the spacecraft was in orbit. After reviewing flight data and conducting ground test at White Sands Test Facility, NASA decided to return the spacecraft without NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. Starliner returned from the space station in September 2024, landing at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico. Wilmore and Williams later returned safely to Earth aboard the agency’s SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission in March 2025. In February 2025, NASA chartered an independent Program Investigation Team to investigate the technical, organizational, and cultural contributors to the test flight issues. This report was completed in November 2025. NASA and Boeing have been working together since Starliner returned 18 months ago to identify and address the challenges encountered during the mission, and the technical root cause work continues. Investigators identified an interplay of combined hardware failures, qualification gaps, leadership missteps, and cultural breakdowns that created risk conditions inconsistent with NASA’s human spaceflight safety standards. NASA will accept this as the final report. As a result, NASA is taking corrective actions to address the findings of the report, in an effort to ensure the lessons learned contribute to crew and mission safety of future Starliner flights and all NASA programs. Due to the loss of the spacecraft’s maneuverability as the crew approached the space station and the associated financial damages incurred, NASA has classified the test flight as a Type A mishap. While there were no injuries and the mission regained control prior to docking, this highest-level classification designation recognizes there was potential for a significant mishap. NASA will continue to work closely with Boeing to fully understand and solve the technical challenges with the Starliner vehicle alongside incorporating the investigative recommendations before flying the next mission. For the full report, which includes redactions in coordination with our commercial partner to protect proprietary and privacy-sensitive material is available online. A 508-compliant version of the report is forthcoming, and will be posted on this page. NASA will update with an editor’s note when complete. [Hidden Content] -end- Bethany Stevens / Cheryl Warner Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1600 *****@*****.tld / *****@*****.tld Share Details Last Updated Feb 19, 2026 EditorCheryl WarnerLocationNASA Headquarters Related TermsHumans in SpaceCommercial CrewInternational Space Station (ISS)Leadership View the full article

Credit: NASA During a news conference at 2 p.m. EST on Thursday NASA will discuss the findings of investigations into the 2024 crewed test flight of Boeing Starliner to the International Space Station. The news conference will stream live on NASA’s YouTube channel. An instant replay will be available online. NASA participants include: Administrator Jared Isaacman Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya To ask questions during the news conference, media must RSVP no later than 30 minutes prior to the start of the call to the NASA Headquarters newsroom at: *****@*****.tld. NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online. For NASA’s blog and more information about the mission, visit: [Hidden Content] -end- Bethany Stevens / Cheryl Warner Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1600 *****@*****.tld / *****@*****.tld Share Details Last Updated Feb 19, 2026 EditorJennifer M. DoorenLocationNASA Headquarters Related TermsInternational Space Station (ISS)Commercial CrewNASA Headquarters View the full article

4 Min Read Award-Winning NASA Camera Revolutionizes How We See the Invisible A shock wave interacting with a thin layer of fluid at Mach 10 in a wind tunnel, as captured by the Self-Aligned Focusing Schlieren (SAFS) system invented in 2020 by researchers at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Compared to conventional Schlieren imaging it eliminates irrelevant features such astunnel boundary layers, off-plane shockwaves, and flow structures from temperature variations outside the wind tunnel. Credits: NASA/Brett Bathel Imagine trying to photograph wind. That’s similar to what NASA engineers dealt with during a recent effort to study how air moves around planes, rockets, and other kinds of aerospace vehicles. Air is invisible, but our understanding of how it flows is crucial for building better, safer aircraft. For 80 years, researchers used a technique called “focused schlieren imaging.” Think of it as a special camera system that can “see” air movement by detecting tiny changes in its density. It’s the same effect that lets you to see heat waves rising from hot pavement on a sunny day ¾ just much more precise. The Self-Aligned Focusing Schlieren (SAFS) system is a game-changer. It’s a compact, low-cost, easy-to-use visualization tool that is less complex than traditional focusing schlieren systems. “What makes this breakthrough compelling is the ripple effect,” said NASA’s Brett Bathel, who invented the SAFS alongside fellow engineer Joshua Weisberger at the agency’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. “When researchers can see and understand air movement in ways that were previously difficult to achieve, it leads to better aircraft designs and safer flights for everyone.” The SAFS system is an innovative measurement technology the uses cameras and light polarization to visualize flow structures. In this video, the SAFS is showing the middle section of a rocket booster and capturing the complex shock structures along the booster for various angles of attack.NASA/Brett Bathel Switching from older systems to SAFS in wind tunnels and other specialized research environments allows aerospace engineers to gather high-speed flow visualization data more efficiently, with less facility downtime, and lower costs. For the aviation industry, it opens doors to new discoveries, potentially revolutionizing how we design everything from commercial airliners to spacecraft. With SAFS in its toolbox, NASA is also better positioned to meet its mission goals related to efficiency and safety in aviation and space. Researchers are using SAFS to capture flow separation on the High Lift Common Research Model, a tool for improving how accurately we can predict the takeoff and landing performance of new aircraft. And it’s helping them investigate shock cell structures ¾ diamond shapes that form in exhaust plumes ¾ for the Space Launch System model. The NASA technology is already being used worldwide, adopted by over 50 institutions in more than 8 countries, from Notre Dame to the University of Liverpool. Companies continue to license the technology and commercial versions are hitting the market. The impact has been so significant that NASA’s researchers earned multiple awards. R&D World gave SAFS a spot on its 2025 R&D 100 Awards, selected by a panel of global experts. NASA also named the SAFS a 2025 NASA Government Invention of the Year, the highest award the agency gives to groundbreaking technologies. Giant Leap Ahead To understand why the SAFS is a big deal, you need to know what researchers were working with before. The older focused schlieren imaging setup required researchers to have access to both sides of what they were testing. They needed to set up separate grids of light sources on each side and align them perfectly with each other. It’s the equivalent of lining up two window screens on opposite sides of a room so their patterns match exactly. The SAFS system is an imaging method developed by Brett Bathel and Joshua Weisberger at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. It provides researchers with a simple setup for testing than the complex, manual alignment needed with traditional dual-grid setup systems.NASA/ Setting up one of these systems could take weeks of painstaking adjustments, and if someone accidentally bumped the system or needed to make an adjustment? Start over. Enter the SAFS system. In 2020, NASA researchers asked a critical question: What would happen if they could eliminate all that complexity by using the properties of light itself? The solution? Light polarization. Your polarized sunglasses work by filtering light in specific directions. The SAFS system does something similar, using light polarization to create the same effect as the older, cumbersome dual-grid setup. The SAFS system only requires access to one side of the object you’re testing. And, instead of needing two separate grids that must be perfectly aligned, it uses just one grid that does double duty. What used to take weeks of setup now takes just minutes. Need to make adjustments? No problem. The SAFS system can tweak sensitivity, change its field of view, or adjust focus on the fly. The system is compact and immune to vibrations (goodbye, starting-over-because-someone-walked-by). Sometimes revolutionary advances come not from adding complexity, but from finding new creative solutions to age-old problems. The SAFS is proof that there’s always room for innovation ¾ and this one is already making its mark on the world. The work on SAFS was supported through NASA’s Aerosciences Evaluation and Test Capabilities portfolio office and Transformational Tools and Technologies project, which works to develop new computational tools to help predict aircraft performance. The project is part of NASA’s Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Program under its Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. About the AuthorDiana FitzgeraldWriter Share Details Last Updated Feb 19, 2026 Related TermsAeronauticsAeronautics Research Mission DirectorateAerosciences Evaluation Test CapabilitiesGeneralLangley Research CenterTransformational Tools TechnologiesTransformative Aeronautics Concepts Program Explore More 3 min read I Am Artemis: Katie Oriti Article 1 day ago 4 min read NASA Advances High-Altitude Traffic Management Article 2 days ago 6 min read What You Need to Know About NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 Mission Article 1 week ago View the full article

Redwire This June 5, 2024, image shows lysozyme crystals aboard the International Space Station. Lysozyme is a protein found in bodily fluids like tears, saliva, and milk, and is used as a control compound to demonstrate well-formed crystals. Lysozyme plays a vital role in innate immunity, protecting against bacteria, viruses, and fungi. The crystals were grown with Redwire’s PIL-BOX in a study of the effect of microgravity on various types of crystals production. Image credit: Redwire View the full article