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Earth Observatory Science Earth Observatory Eruption at Mayon 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 26, 2026 At any given moment, about 20 volcanoes on Earth are actively erupting. Often among them is Mayon—the most active volcano in the Philippines. The nearly symmetrical stratovolcano, on Luzon Island near the Albay and Lagonoy gulfs, rises more than 2,400 meters (8,000 feet) above sea level. Historical records indicate Mayon has erupted 65 times in the past 5,000 years, with the latest episode beginning in January 2026. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) first reported increased rockfalls near the volcano’s summit and inflation of the mountain’s upper slopes. On January 6, the alert level was increased to three on a five-level scale after lava began flowing from the crater and hot clouds of ash and debris called pyroclastic flows (also called pyroclastic density currents) moved down one side of the mountain. The volcano was still puffing and lava flowing on February 26, when the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 8 acquired this rare, relatively clear image. The natural-color scene is overlaid with infrared observations to highlight the lava’s heat signature. On that day, PHIVOLCS reported volcanic earthquakes, rockfalls, and pyroclastic flows. The longest pyroclastic flow had traveled about 4 kilometers (3 miles) through the Mi-isi Gully on the southeast flank. The level-three alert, which remained in place in March, prompted evacuations within a 6-kilometer (4-mile) radius of the crater, displacing hundreds of families from communities including Tabaco City, Malilpot, and Camalig. Past pyroclastic flows have proven extremely destructive, leading to more than 1,000 deaths in 1814, at least 400 deaths in 1897, and 77 deaths in 1993. More than 73,000 people were evacuated during an eruption in 1984. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions during the current eruption have averaged 2,466 tons per day, with a peak of 6,569 metric tons measured on February 4, 2026. That is the highest SO2 emission level for one day in 15 years, the PHIVOLCS announced in early February. That was later exceeded on March 6, when SO2 emissions reached as high as 7,633 metric tons. Multiple NASA satellites have also monitored the volcano’s sulfur dioxide emissions, showing sizable plumes of the gas drifting southwest on February 4 and March 6. The Philippine volcanology institute reported a peak in other activity on February 8 and 9, with 469 rockfalls, 12 major pyroclastic flows, and ashfall in the municipalities of Camalig and Guinobatan. NASA Earth Observatory image by Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Story by Adam Voiland. Downloads February 26, 2026 JPEG (3.86 MB) References & Resources Chan, H. & Konstantinou, K. (2020) Multiscale and multitemporal surface temperature monitoring by satellite thermal infrared imagery at Mayon Volcano, Philippines. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 401, 106976. Global Volcanism Program (2026) Mayon. Accessed March 12, 2026. GMA News Online (2026, January 6) Six Albay towns evacuate residents amid Mayon Volcano Alert Level 3 status. Accessed March 12, 2026. NASA Earthdata (2023, January 25) Monitoring Volcanic Sulfur Dioxide Emissions. Accessed March 12, 2026. NASA Earth Observatory (2009, December 15) Mayon Volcano Threatens Major Eruption. Accessed March 12, 2026. PHIVOLCS (2026, March 12) Latest volcano bulletins, advisories, updates & other issuances, or archived issuances. Accessed March 12, 2026. PHIVOLCS (2026, February 10) Mayon Volcano Eruption Update. Accessed March 12, 2026. Ruth, D.C.S. & Costa, F. (2021) A petrological and conceptual model of Mayon volcano (Philippines) as an example of an open-vent volcano. Bulletin of Volcanology, 83(62). 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. Hayli Gubbi’s Explosive First Impression 4 min read In its first documented eruption, the Ethiopian volcano sent a plume of gas and ash drifting across continents. Article Krasheninnikova Remains Restless 3 min read The volcano on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula continues to erupt after centuries of quiescence. Article A Hot and Fiery Decade for Kīlauea 6 min read The volcano in Hawaii is one of the most active in the world, and NASA tech makes it easier for… 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 Open access to NASA’s archive of Earth science data View the full article

2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft cruises above Palmdale and Edwards, California, during its first flight, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. The aircraft traveled to NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.NASA/Lori Losey The Low ***** Flight Demonstrator project (LBFD) is part of NASA’s effort to help enable new aircraft noise standards that are required to open the market to commercial supersonic flight over land. The federal government banned all civilian supersonic flights over land more than fifty years ago due to sonic ***** noise. If new standards are established, the U.S. aviation industry can position itself to lead the commercial supersonic market, and passengers will benefit from significantly shorter travel times. Over the past decade, fundamental research and experimentation have demonstrated the possibility of supersonic flight with greatly reduced sonic ***** noise – one of several key areas needed to transform commercial supersonic flight. NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft sits on a ramp at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California, during sunset. The one-of-a-kind aircraft is powered by a General Electric F414 engine, a variant of the engines used on F/A-18 fighter jets. The engine is mounted above the fuselage to reduce the number of shockwaves that reach the ground. The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which aims to demonstrate quiet supersonic flight and enable future commercial travel over land – faster than the speed of sound.Lockheed Martin Corporation/Garr The LBFD project will demonstrate a reduced sonic ***** by utilizing a purpose-built experimental aircraft designated the X-59. The LBFD project supports a multi-phase effort aimed at demonstrating the X-59’s ability to fly supersonic without generating loud sonic booms. The LBFD project leads Phase 1 of the Quesst mission, involving the design, fabrication, ground tests, and checkout flights of the X-59. After ensuring the aircraft is safe and performing as expected, the LBFD project will support the rest of the mission team during Phase 2 to prove the aircraft is producing a quiet sound to people on the ground and is safe for operations in the National Airspace System. At the conclusion of Phase 2, the X-59 aircraft will transfer to the Integrated Aviation Systems Program’s Flight Demonstrations and Capabilities project. Facebook logo @NASA@NASAaero@NASAes @NASA@NASAaero@NASA_es Instagram logo @NASA@NASAaero@NASA_es Linkedin logo @NASA Explore More 5 min read NASA Chase Aircraft Ensures X-59’s Safety in Flight Article 2 months ago 12 min read NASA Armstrong Advances Flight Research and Innovation in 2025 Article 3 months ago 5 min read NASA’s X-59 Completes First Flight, Prepares for More Flight Testing Article 4 months ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Missions Artemis Aeronautics STEM Explore NASA’s History Share Details Last Updated Mar 12, 2026 EditorJim BankeContactSasha Ellis*****@*****.tld Related TermsLow ***** Flight Demonstrator View the full article

NASA astronaut Anne McClain works near one of the International Space Station’s main solar arrays during a May 1, 2025, spacewalk to upgrade the station’s power system and relocate a communications antenna.Credit: NASA NASA astronauts will conduct a pair of spacewalks beginning Wednesday, March 18, outside of the International Space Station to prepare for the installation of two roll-out solar arrays. Experts from NASA will preview the spacewalks during a news conference at 2 p.m. EDT, Monday, March 16, at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Watch NASA’s live coverage of the news conference on the agency’s YouTube channel. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of online platforms, including social media. NASA participants include: Bill Spetch, operations integration manager, International Space Station Program Diana Trujillo, spacewalk flight director, Flight Operations Directorate Ronak Dave, spacewalk flight director, Flight Operations Directorate Media interested in participating in person or by phone must contact the NASA Johnson newsroom no later than 10 a.m. on March 16 by calling 281-483-5111 or emailing *****@*****.tld. To ask questions by phone, reporters must dial into the news conference no later than 15 minutes prior to the start of the call. Questions also may be submitted on social media using #AskNASA. NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online. On March 18, NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Chris Williams will conduct U.S. spacewalk 94, exiting the orbiting laboratory’s Quest airlock to prepare the 2A power channel for the future International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays (IROSA) installation. It will be Meir’s fourth spacewalk and Williams’ first. Watch NASA’s live coverage beginning at 6:30 a.m. on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and the agency’s YouTube channel. U.S. spacewalk 94 will begin at approximately 8 a.m. and is expected to last about six and a half hours. For U.S. spacewalk 95, two NASA astronauts will prepare the station’s 3B power channel for a future IROSA installation. NASA will provide more information on the date and time of the spacewalk, the crew members assigned to the activity, and coverage details closer to the operation. The spacewalks will be the 278th and 279th supporting space station assembly, maintenance and upgrades. They also are the first two station spacewalks of 2026 and the first for Expedition 74. Spacewalks 94 and 95 originally were scheduled for January, but the target dates were adjusted after the early departure of NASA’s SpaceX Crew‑11 mission. 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 Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 sandra.p*****@*****.tld Share Details Last Updated Mar 12, 2026 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related TermsHumans in SpaceAstronautsInternational Space Station (ISS)Johnson Space CenterSpace Operations Mission Directorate View the full article

1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA / Lillian Gipson The Integrated Aviation Systems Program (IASP) conducts research and integrated, systems-level demonstrations in a flight environment to prove, mature and transition them into future aircraft and systems. The program aims to determine feasibility and accelerate development of less mature technologies, and for more mature technologies, execute highly complex flight demonstrations to prove and accelerate technology transition to industry. IASP Projects The program’s portfolio currently consists of these projects: Subsonic Flight Demonstrator, Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration, Low ***** Flight Demonstrator, and Flight Demonstrations and Capabilities. NASA’s Crossflow Attenuated Natural Laminar Flow (CATNLF) scale-model wing flies for the first time on a NASA F-15 research jet during a test flight from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The 75-minute flight confirmed the aircraft could maneuver safely with the approximately 3-foot-tall test article mounted beneath it. NASA will continue flight tests to collect data that validates the CATNLF design and its potential to improve laminar flow, reducing drag and lowering fuel costs for future commercial aircraft.NASA/Carla Thomas Facebook logo @NASA@NASAaero@NASAes @NASA@NASAaero@NASA_es Instagram logo @NASA@NASAaero@NASA_es Linkedin logo @NASA@NASAaero Explore More 2 min read About Subsonic Flight Demonstrator (SFD) Project Article 3 days ago 2 min read About Flight Demonstrations and Capabilities (FDC) Project Article 3 days ago 4 min read NASA Tests Technology Offering Potential Fuel Savings for Commercial Aviation Article 2 months ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Missions Artemis Aeronautics STEM Explore NASA’s History Share Details Last Updated Mar 12, 2026 EditorJim BankeContactSasha Ellis*****@*****.tld Related TermsIntegrated Aviation Systems Program View the full article

This pair of images shows stars observed Feb. 6, 2026, by the SPARCS space telescope simultaneously in the near-ultraviolet, left, and far-ultraviolet, right. The fact that one star is seen in the far-UV while multiple are seen in near-UV offers insights into the temperatures of these stars, with the one visible in both colors being the hottest.NASA/JPL-Caltech/**** With the first images from the spacecraft now in hand, the team behind NASA’s Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat, or SPARCS, is ready to begin charting the energetic lives of the galaxy’s most common stars to help answer one of humanity’s most profound questions: Which distant worlds beyond our solar system might be habitable? Initial, or “first light,” images mark the moment a mission proves its instruments are functioning in space and ready to transition to full science operations. This milestone is especially important for SPARCS, whose observations depend on highly precise ultraviolet (UV) measurements, making the demonstration of the camera’s performance critical to achieving its science goals. The spacecraft launched Jan. 11; the images came down Feb. 6 and were subsequently processed. Roughly the size of a large cereal box, SPARCS will monitor flares and sunspot activity on low-mass stars — objects only 30% to 70% the mass of the Sun. These stars are among the most common in the Milky Way and host the majority of the galaxy’s roughly 50 billion habitable-zone terrestrial planets, which are rocky worlds close enough to their stars for temperatures that could allow liquid water and potentially support life. “Seeing SPARCS’ first ultraviolet images from orbit is incredibly exciting. They tell us the spacecraft, the telescope, and the detectors are performing as tested on the ground and we are ready to begin the science we built this mission to do,” says SPARCS Principal Investigator Evgenya Shkolnik, professor of Astrophysics at the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University, which leads the mission. The SPARCS spacecraft is the first dedicated to continuously and simultaneously monitoring the far-ultraviolet and near-ultraviolet radiation from low-mass stars for extended periods. Over its one-year mission, SPARCS will target approximately 20 low-mass stars and observe them over durations of five to 45 days. Although such stars are small, dim, and cool compared to the Sun, they are also known to flare far more frequently than our solar system’s star. The flares can dramatically affect the atmospheres of the planets they host. Understanding the host star is key to understanding a planet’s habitability. Future focused “I am so excited that we are on the brink of learning about exoplanets’ host stars and the effect of their activities on the planets’ potential habitability,” said Shouleh Nikzad, the lead developer of the SPARCS camera (dubbed SPARCam) and the chief technologist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “I’m doubly excited that we are contributing to this mission with detector and filter technologies we developed at JPL’s Microdevices Laboratory.” Created in 1989, the facility is where inventors harness physics, chemistry, and material science, including quantum, to deliver first-of-their-kind devices and capabilities for the nation. The filters were made using a technique that improves sensitivity and performance by enabling them to be directly deposited onto the specially developed UV-sensitive “delta-doped” detectors. The approach of detector-integrated filters eliminated the need for a separate filter element, resulting in a system that is among the most sensitive of its kind ever flown in space. “We took silicon-based detectors — the same technology as in your smartphone camera — and we created a high-sensitivity UV imager. Then we integrated filters into the detector to reject the unwanted light. That is a huge leap forward to doing big science in small packages,” Nikzad said, “and SPARCS serves to demonstrate their long-term performance in space.” This technology paves the way for future missions like NASA’s next potential UV-capable flagship mission, the Habitable Worlds Observatory mission concept, as well as smaller interim missions, such as the agency’s forthcoming UVEX (UltraViolet EXplorer), which is led by Caltech in Pasadena. The mission takes advantage of advances in computational processing as well, with an onboard computer that can perform data processing and intelligently adjust the observation parameters to better sample the development of flares as they happen. “The SPARCS mission brings all of these pieces together — focused science, cutting-edge detectors, and intelligent onboard processing — to deepen our understanding of the stars that most planets in the galaxy call home,” said David Ardila, SPARCS instrument scientist at JPL. “By watching these stars in ultraviolet light in a way we’ve never done before, we’re not just studying flares. These observations will sharpen our picture of stellar environments and help future missions interpret the habitability of distant worlds.” More about SPARCS Funded by NASA and led by Arizona State University, SPARCS is managed under the agency’s Astrophysics Research and Analysis program. The agency’s CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) selected SPARCS in 2022 for a ride to orbit. The initiative is a low-cost pathway for conducting scientific investigations and technology demonstrations in space, enabling students and faculty to gain hands-on experience with flight hardware design, development, and building. Blue Canyon Technologies fabricated the spacecraft bus. News Media Contact Matthew Segal Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 818-354-8307 *****@*****.tld Alise Fisher / Karen Fox NASA Headquarters, Washington 202-358-2546 / 202-385-1287 *****@*****.tld / *****@*****.tld Kim Baptista  Arizona State University, School of Earth and Space Exploration  480-727-4662 Kim.Baptista@****.edu 2026-016 Explore More 4 min read A Most Unusual Lake Lake Unter-See in Antarctica, sealed beneath thick ice, contains unusually high levels of dissolved oxygen… Article 2 days ago 5 min read US-French Satellite Takes Stock of World’s River Water Article 1 week ago 4 min read Landslide and Avalanche Debris Litter Hubbard Glacier Satellite-based radar images show where a powerful earthquake in the Yukon, Canada, sent rock, snow,… Article 2 weeks ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Exoplanets Most of the exoplanets detected so far seem wild and exotic compared to the worlds in our solar system. Astronomers… SmallSats and CubeSats These miniaturized spacecrafts are used to deliver small payloads into space. LTB (Lunar Trailblazer) is an example of a SmallSat… Habitable Worlds The goal of the Habitable Worlds program is to use knowledge of the history of the Earth and the life… 30 Years of Exoplanets Compilation View the full article

Two powerful instruments of the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope joined forces to create this scenic galaxy view. This spiral galaxy is named NGC 5134, and it’s located 65 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo.ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, A. Leroy Stars peek through the dusty, winding arms of NGC 5134, a spiral galaxy located 65 million light-years away, in this Feb. 20, 2026, image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument collects the mid-infrared light emitted by the warm dust speckled through the galaxy’s clouds, tracing the clumps and strands of dusty gas. The telescope’s Near Infrared Camera records shorter-wavelength near-infrared light, mostly from the stars and star clusters that dot the galaxy’s spiral arms. By using Webb to study the infrared light nearby galaxies like NGC 5134 whose stars and gas can be seen in detail, astronomers can apply their knowledge to galaxies too distant to be observed so closely — like those that are scattered in the background of this image, barely more than points of light. Read more about this galaxy. Text credit: ESA (European Space Agency) Image credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, A. Leroy View the full article

1 min read Help Galaxy Zoo: Tidal Tales Open Cosmic Storybook Galaxies carry the imprints of past encounters. When they pass near one another or collide, gravity pulls their stars into long tails, thin streams, and faint shells – features that preserve the history of these dramatic events. Thanks to deep, high-resolution images from the Euclid space telescope, an ESA (European Space Agency) mission with critical contributions from NASA, we can now see these delicate structures more clearly than ever before in unprecedented numbers. As a volunteer for the Galaxy Zoo: Tidal Tales project, you’ll help identify these signs of galaxy interactions. By classifying galaxy images, you’ll help build the first large catalog of galaxy mergers seen by the Euclid space telescope. Your input will also train computer models to better recognize these features and describe how collisions shape star formation, galaxy growth, and the evolution of the universe. Want to help astronomers trace how galaxy collisions reshape the universe over time? Join Galaxy Zoo: Tidal Tales on Zooniverse today! Euclid’s view of the Dorado group of galaxies shows signs of galaxies interacting and merging. The shells of hazy white and yellow material, as well as curving “tails” extending into space, are evidence of gravitational interaction between the galaxies. Join Galaxy Zoo: Tidal Tales and help identify structures like these in images from ESA’s Euclid space telescope! ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO or ESA Standard License Learn More and Get Involved Galaxy Zoo: Tidal Tales Help read the story of galactic encounters in galaxy shapes. For anyone with a smartphone or laptop. Facebook logo @nasascience_ @nasascience_ Instagram logo @nasascience_ Linkedin logo @nasascience_ Share Details Last Updated Mar 12, 2026 Related Terms Citizen Science Explore More 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… Article 2 weeks ago 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 3 weeks 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 3 months ago View the full article

Download PDF: Efficient Large Displacement/Large Rotation Dynamic Simulations Using Nonlinear Dynamic Substructures Utilizing reduced-order dynamic math models (DMM) in linear system-level dynamic analyses is a well-known practice that enables extreme computational efficiencies. But what about nonlinear system dynamics? Reduced-order DMMs have found their way into contact dynamics. The engineer must look no further than the Henkel-Mar pad separation analysis methodology to verify this fact. More sophisticated applications of DMMs in contact dynamics are possible when certain repetitive geometry pattens are present. For example, Figure 1 shows a type of pipe known as a “flexible” pipe used by the subsea industry. This design features four layers of helically wound steel wires that provide the pipe with its stick/slip behavior during bending, thereby enabling a longer fatigue life in harsh ocean environments. With these helically wound armor layers presenting a repetitive contact topology, contact surfaces can be constructed and tracked enabling the friction logic to operate resulting in the friction hysteretic moment-curvature plot provided in Figure 1 (top). Flexible pipe used in subsea industry; moment-curvature of the flexible pipe using reduced-order dynamic math models for surface contact As seen from Figure 1, the pipe was subjected to many bending cycles and executed in essentially a real-time computation. A single bending cycle of the same pipe in full finite element model (FEM) resolution (i.e., no use of DMMs) would require 48 hours of computation on 36 central processing units (CPUs) running in parallel given the very large order of the FEM. What about utilizing DMMs for computationally efficient nonlinear dynamics involving large displacements and rotations? Before addressing this question, the residual flexibility mixed boundary transformation (RFMB1) must be defined. The RFMB coordinate transformation is given as follows: The transformation is a mix of the following submatrices: constraint modes (ψ) due to unit displacements on the b-set boundary degrees of freedom (DoFs) that remain fixed during the eigenvalue problem, residual flexibility (g) due to unit forces at the c-set boundary DoFs that remain free during the eigenvalue problem, and a truncated set of normal modes (φ) computed with the b-set DoFs constrained. It can be shown that the transformation retains full flexibility at the DMM physical DoFs and retains the full dynamics of the FEM up to the user-selected truncation frequency for the normal modes. The reduction of DoFs, and hence the computational efficiency, arises from the number of kept modes (k) being significantly less than the number of interior FEM DoFs. Cantilever beam model composed of 20 DMMs Cantilever beam rolled up using the 20 NDS DMMs Same beam bent into “catenary-like” configuration by turning on gravity To enable DMM large displacements/rotations, four coordinates are added to the above RFMB to track large rotations. These quaternions replace the rigid-body modes that are only valid for infinitesimal rotations. With this process, the RFMB is transformed into a nonlinear dynamic substructure (NDS). Solution algorithms need to be modified accordingly as well to allow for equilibrium iterations since the problem now is highly nonlinear. As an example, consider the undeformed cantilever beam model (Figure 2) composed of 20 DMMs (single DMM of a beam composed of 5 CBAR elements repeated 20x). A moment is applied at the free end (right end) of Figure 2. While small displacement theory is limited and breaks down after a few degrees of rotation, the cantilever beam can be completely rolled up using NDS (see Figure 3) in a highly nonlinear dynamic simulation. Also note that the entire nonlinear dynamic simulation was executed in seconds on a laptop and included all dynamic effects. Similarly, the beam can be bent into a “catenary-like2” shape by turning on gravity and enforcing displacements at each end to the required coupling location (see Figure 4). One application for this large displacement/rotation NDS capability has been to include umbilical models in the coupled loads analysis (CLA) framework. Figure 5 shows the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) umbilical that was integrated into the Space Launch System (SLS) CLA. The SLS CLA is an integrated assembly of various component DMMs (boosters, core stage, mobile launcher (ML), upper stage, etc.) to which the ICPS umbilical (ICPSU) and its hoses as NDS DMMs can now be added. For each hose, one end connects to the SLS vehicle and the other end to the ML structure. As an example, Figure 6 shows the evolution of the deformations of the forward vent hose (modeled with 20 NDS DMMs) as it goes from the undeformed geometry (straight line) into its prelaunch geometry during the initial condition setup in the CLA. As the timed command for umbilical separation is given, the vehicle-side ground plate separates (using the Henkel-Mar contact/separation algorithm) and the ML gantry rotates the separating umbilical away from the already lifting vehicle (the gantry was brought into the CLA as a NDS capable of large rotations). Figure 7 captures the post-separation forward vent hose dynamics (extracted from the CLA). From this, 100 ICPSU hose clearances to the lifting vehicle can be computed. The power of the reduced-order models does not end with linear dynamics. It is possible to introduce large displacements and rotations into reduced-order models to enable seamless integration into large substructured integrated system dynamic analyses such as a CLA. For the specific case of the SLS, this capability allowed us to integrate umbilicals into the CLA to more accurately capture the impact of system flexibilities, dynamic response to forcing functions, pad separation “twang” effects, ML dynamics, and gantry/umbilical timings on clearances. For information, contact Dr. Dexter Johnson. *****@*****.tld ICPSU model integratedinto the SLS CLA ICPSU forward vent hose evolution of deformations from undeformed (straight line) to prelaunch configuration (locking in preloads) during the CLA initial conditions setup (extracted from the CLA) Forward vent hose post-separation dynamics (extracted from the CLA) View the full article

Earth Observatory Science Earth Observatory Dust Outbreak Reaches Europe 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 To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video March 1–9, 2026 Winter winds lofted clouds of dust from the Sahara Desert, carrying it north toward the Mediterranean and dispersing it widely across Europe in March 2026. When the dust combined with moisture-laden weather systems, a dirty rain fell in parts of Spain, France, and the United Kingdom. This animation highlights the concentration and movement of dust throughout the region from March 1 to March 9. It depicts dust column mass density—a measure of the amount of dust contained in a column of air—produced with a version of the GEOS (Goddard Earth Observing System) model. The model integrates satellite data with mathematical equations that represent physical processes in the atmosphere. The animation shows dust plumes originating in northwestern Africa being blown both to the west across the Atlantic Ocean and north toward the Mediterranean. As plumes spread throughout Western Europe over several days, people observed hazy skies from southern England, where sunrises and sunsets took on an eerie glow, to the Alps in Switzerland and Italy, where a dust layer encroached on the Matterhorn. Not all of the dust remained aloft. Storms encountered some of the dust, causing particles to fall to the ground with rain and coat surfaces with a brownish residue. A low-pressure system, named Storm ******* by Portugal’s weather service, moved across the Iberian Peninsula and brought so-called blood rain to southern and eastern Spain, along with parts of France and the southern *** in early March, according to news reports. Over the Mediterranean, areas of “dusty cirrus” clouds developed higher in the atmosphere, where dust particles can act as condensation nuclei for ice crystals, according to MeteoSwiss, Switzerland’s Federal Office for Meteorology and Climatology. Scientists are studying these clouds to better understand their formation and how they affect weather, climate, and even solar power generation. In a new analysis, researchers used NASA’s MERRA-2 (Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2), observations from MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer), and other satellite products to parse the effect of airborne Saharan dust on solar power in Hungary. They found that photovoltaic performance dropped to 46 percent on high-dust days, compared with 75 percent or more on low-dust days. They determined the greatest losses occurred because dust enhanced the presence and reflectance of cirrus clouds and reduced the amount of radiation that reached solar panels. Some research suggests more frequent and intense wintertime dust events have affected Europe in recent years. Researchers have proposed several factors contributing to these outbreaks, including drier-than-normal conditions in northwestern Africa and weather patterns more often driving winds north from the Sahara. NASA Earth Observatory animation by Lauren Dauphin, using GEOS-FP data from the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office at NASA GSFC. Story by Lindsey Doermann. References & Resources Barcelona Dust Regional Center (2026, March) Daily Dust Products. Accessed March 11, 2026. FOX Weather (2026, March 9) Blood rain, a rare weather phenomenon, falls across southern Europe. Accessed March 11, 2026. IQAir (2026, March 6) Southwest Europe Air Quality Alert: Southwest Europe Dust. Accessed March 11, 2026. Met Office (2026, March 4) What is ‘blood rain’ and will we see it this week? Accessed March 11, 2026. MeteoSwiss (2026, March 4) He’s here again, the visitor from North Africa. Accessed March 11, 2026. NASA Earth Observatory (2022, March 31) Dusty Storm Clouds Over Europe. Accessed March 11, 2026. NASA Earthdata (2026) Dust/Ash/Smoke. Accessed March 11, 2026. Seifert, A., et al. (2023) Aerosol–cloud–radiation interaction during Saharan dust episodes: the dusty cirrus puzzle. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 23, 6409–6430. Varga, G., et al. (2026) Saharan dust and cirrus clouds: Dominating indirect impact of dust events on photovoltaic energy generation in Hungary (2019–2024). Solar Energy, 307. 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. Dust in the “Eye” of the Tarim Basin 3 min read Satellites have observed episodes of dust swirling across the basin in western China for decades. Article Finding Freshwater in Great Salt Lake 4 min read Reed-covered mounds exposed by declining water levels reveal an unexpected network of freshwater springs that feed directly into the lake… Article The Galaxy Next Door 3 min read The Large Magellanic Cloud—one of our closest neighboring galaxies—is a hotbed of star formation that is visible to both astronauts… 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 Open access to NASA’s archive of Earth science data View the full article

Landsat Navigation Landsat Home Missions Landsat Next Landsat 9 Landsat 8 Landsat 7 Landsat 6 Landsat 5 Landsat 4 Landsat 3 Landsat 2 Landsat 1 News Latest News People of Landsat Q&As Newsletter Publications Data Overview Cal/Val Open Data Benefits Overview Agriculture & Food Security Disaster Management Ecosystems & Biodiversity Energy Resources Forest Management Human Health Urban Development Water Resources Wildfires Case Studies Outreach Multimedia About Search William T. Pecora was Director of the USGS from 1965 to 1971 and Under Secretary of the Interior from 1971 to 1972. By USGS Landsat Missions The William T. Pecora Award is presented annually to individuals or teams using satellite or aerial remote sensing that make outstanding contributions toward understanding the Earth (land, oceans, and air), educating the next generation of scientists, informing decision-makers, or supporting natural or human-induced disaster response. Both national and international nominations are welcome. The award is sponsored jointly by the U.S. Department of the Interior and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and was established in 1974 to honor the memory of Dr. William T. Pecora, former Director of the U.S. Geological Survey and Under Secretary, Department of the Interior. Dr. Pecora was a motivating force behind the establishment of a program for civil remote sensing of the Earth from space. His early vision and support helped establish what we know today as the Landsat satellite program. Nominations for the 2026 award will be accepted until May 29, 2026. Visit the William T. Pecora Awards webpage for eligibility requirements and the nomination process. Explore More 2026 William T. Pecora Award Nominations Now Being Accepted 1 min read The William T. Pecora Award is presented annually to individuals or teams using satellite or aerial remote sensing that make… Mar 11, 2026 Article A Most Unusual Lake 4 min read Lake Unter-See in Antarctica, sealed beneath thick ice, contains unusually high levels of dissolved oxygen and cone-shaped microbial reefs resembling… Mar 11, 2026 Article A Little Town with a Long Name 3 min read A NASA luminary from the Apollo era grew up in Wales near Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. Mar 5, 2026 Article 1 2 3 … 298 Next View the full article

NASA’s University Innovation (UI) project funds university-led innovation to address the agency’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate’s system-level challenges via independent, NASA-alternate-path, multi-disciplinary awards. Strategic Goals The UI portfolio’s strategic goals in descending order of importance are: 1. Assist in achieving aviation outcomes defined in the ARMD Strategic Implementation Plan through NASA-complementary research. 2. Transition research results to an appropriate range of stakeholders that leads to a continuation of the research. 3. Provide broad opportunities for students at different levels, including graduate and undergraduate, to participate in aeronautics research. Portfolio Elements The UI project’s strategic goals are achieved through two opportunities that are available through NASA Research Announcement awards. University Leadership Initiative (ULI) ULI provides the opportunity for university teams to exercise technical and organizational leadership in proposing unique technical challenges, defining interdisciplinary solutions, establishing peer review mechanisms, and applying innovative teaming strategies to strengthen the research impact. By addressing the most complex challenges associated with ARMD’s strategic thrusts, universities will accelerate progress toward achievement of high impact outcomes while leveraging their capability to bring together the best and brightest minds across many disciplines. To transition their research, principal investigators are expected to actively explore transition opportunities and pursue follow-on funding from stakeholders and industrial partners during the course of the award. University Students Research Challenge (USRC) USRC seeks to develop novel concepts with the potential to create new capabilities in aeronautics by stimulating aeronautics research in the U.S. student community. USRC provides students, from accredited U.S. colleges or universities, with grants for aeronautics projects that also raise cost sharing funds using crowdfunding platforms. By including the process of creating and preparing a crowdfunding campaign, USRC can act as a teaching accelerator to help students develop entrepreneurial skills. Gateways To Blue Skies Gateways to Blue Skies expands engagement between universities and NASA’s University Innovation Project, industry, and government partners by providing an opportunity for multi-disciplinary teams of students from all academic levels (i.e., freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, and graduate) to tackle significant challenges and opportunities for the aviation industry through a new project theme each year. The competition is guided by a push toward new technologies as well as environmentally and socially conscious aviation. UI Project Page, University Innovation (UI) Tech Talks Facebook logo @NASA@NASAaero@NASA_es @NASA@NASAaero@NASA_es Instagram logo @NASA@NASAaero@NASA_es Linkedin logo @NASA Explore More 3 min read Winners Announced in NASA’s 2025 Gateways to Blue Skies Competition Article 10 months ago 3 min read NASA Selects Student Teams for Drone Hurricane Response and Cybersecurity Research Article 10 months ago 14 min read University Student Research Challenge (USRC) Awards Article 11 months ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Missions Humans In Space Solar System Exploration Eyes on the Solar System Explore NASA’s History Share Details Last Updated Mar 11, 2026 EditorLillian GipsonContactJim Banke*****@*****.tld Related TermsUniversity Innovation View the full article

ESA/Hubble & NASA, ESA Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA/Q1-2025, J.-C. Cuillandre & E. Bertin (CEA Paris-Saclay), Z. Tsvetanov This March 3, 2026, image combines views from ESA’s (European Space Agency) Euclid and NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to feature one of the most visually intricate remnants of a dying star: the Cat’s Eye Nebula, also known as NGC 6543. This extraordinary planetary nebula lies 4,400 light-years away in the constellation Draco and has captivated astronomers for decades with its elaborate and multilayered structure. See what this observation reveals about this planetary nebula. Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, ESA Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA/Q1-2025, J.-C. Cuillandre & E. Bertin (CEA Paris-Saclay), Z. Tsvetanov 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 3 min read Curiosity Blog, Sols 4825-4831: Exploring the Borderlands NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image of a pitted vertical rock face dubbed “Timboy Chaco,” using its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), located on the turret at the end of the rover’s robotic arm. MAHLI uses an onboard process to merge multiple images of the same target, making a composite that brings as many features as possible into focus. Curiosity performed the merge on March 5, 2026 — Sol 4827, or Martian day 4,827 of the Mars Science Laboratory Mission — at 19:56:40 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Written by William Farrand, Senior Research Scientist, Space Science Institute Earth planning date: Friday, March 6, 2026 Curiosity is in the last stage of its exploration of the spiderweb-like boxwork unit. This stage consists of exploring the eastern and southern borders of this terrain. There were two multi-sol plans assembled this week. The previous plan put Curiosity at a site on the eastern extent of the boxwork unit with bedrock that allowed for brushing and in-place measurements with APXS and MAHLI of the bedrock target “Infiernillo.” The ChemCam also took a LIBS chemical measurement of this target as well as a nodular-rich piece of bedrock assigned the name “Humahuaca.” MAHLI was tasked to image a pitted vertical rock face which was dubbed “Timboy Chaco” (part of which is shown in the MAHLI color image accompanying this report). Mastcam color mosaics and ChemCam Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) mosaics were also collected to characterize nearby terrain including a butte to the south and the geologic contact between the boxwork terrain and the adjacent layered, light-toned unit. A midweek drive put the rover even closer to the eastern edge of the boxwork unit and set it up for two or more drives to the southern edge of the boxwork. The workspace present for Friday planning included bedrock exposures and a dark-toned float rock. The float rock was large enough for in-situ observation by APXS, and it was also targeted for up-close imaging by MAHLI and a measurement by ChemCam to observe its reflectance properties. Some other dark float rocks observed by Curiosity in the past year have been hypothesized as being stony meteorites (chondrites). Measuring the chemistry and reflectance of this dark rock, named “Thola,” will allow the team to determine if it is native to Mars or a meteorite from beyond. The Friday plan also included ChemCam remote chemistry measurements of the smooth bedrock target “Valle Fertil” and a nodular bedrock target “Norte Grande.” The plan also included Mastcam mosaics of light-toned bedrock across the eastern contact of the boxwork unit to assess sedimentary structures and determine stratigraphic relationships, observations of smaller troughs in the regolith, and other mosaics of nearby ridges as well as a two-frame mosaic of the dark float rock Thola and another dark-toned pebble. The plan concludes with a drive toward the southern border of the boxwork unit. Given that this southern contact is approximately 100 meters (about 109 yards) away, it will likely require two drives. 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 Mar 11, 2026 Related Terms Blogs Explore More 3 min read Curiosity Blog, Sols 4818-4824: Thinking Out of the Boxwork Article 1 week ago 2 min read Curiosity Blog, Sols 4812-4817: Back Into the Hollows Article 2 weeks ago 3 min read Curiosity Blog Sols 4804-4811: Kicking Off the Final Phase of Boxwork Exploration 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

Earth Observatory Science Earth Observatory A Most Unusual Lake 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 16, 2026 Scientists estimate that Earth is home to more than 100 million lakes. Among the most unusual is Lake Unter-See, one of Antarctica’s largest and deepest surface lakes, known for its distinctive water chemistry. Its ice-covered waters have exceptionally high levels of dissolved oxygen, low dissolved carbon dioxide, and a strongly alkaline (basic) pH. The OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 9 captured this image on February 16, 2026, during the Antarctic summer. Most of the lake’s water comes from seasonal meltwater draining from the margins of the nearby Anuchin Glacier, which flows south from the Gruber Mountains in Queen Maud Land. With mean annual temperatures of about minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit), Lake Unter-See remains frozen year-round, its waters sealed beneath several meters of ice. Sunlight penetrates the ice and warms the water below, but the cold surface and strong winds drive evaporation and sublimation, preventing significant surface melting. The lake’s maximum depth is thought to reach nearly 170 meters (558 feet). The lake’s water chemistry is unusual partly because it is one of the only perennially frozen lakes with a community of large, conical stromatolites. The layered microbial reef structures grow slowly upward as photosynthetic microbes—primarily cyanobacteria—trap sediment on their sticky surfaces and form calcium carbonate mineral crusts. These conical stromatolites—as well as pinnacle and flat forms of the microbial communities—release oxygen that becomes trapped under the ice, increasing its concentration in the lake. Lake Unter-See’s stromatolites, discovered by SETI geobiologist Dale Andersen and colleagues in 2011, offer a glimpse into a time more than 3 billion years ago, when microbes were the only form of life on Earth. The formations are thought to be modern, living examples of the organisms that likely produced some of Earth’s oldest fossils—stromatolites found in places such as southwestern Greenland and western Australia. The scientists noted that similar periodic flooding may provide “biological stimuli to other carbon dioxide-depleted Antarctic ecosystems and perhaps even icy lakes on early Mars.” Some Antarctic lakes, such as Lake Joyce in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, contain conical stromatolites, but they reach only a few centimeters tall. By contrast, the formations in Lake Unter-See tower up to half a meter. Scientists think Unter-See’s stromatolites grow unusually tall because they are sheltered from tides and waves beneath permanent ice, live in exceptionally clear waters with little sediment, grow toward limited light, and face little grazing. The lake’s largest creatures are tardigrades—microscopic “water bear” invertebrates known for their ability to survive in extreme environments. Astrobiologists also point to the lake as a possible analog for the type of environment where life might have formed or survived on icy moons with oceans such as Europa and Enceladus, or perhaps on Mars, which has ice caps and glaciers. Yet despite its seemingly stable conditions, Lake Unter-See occasionally experiences abrupt changes. During fieldwork in 2019, researchers observed an increase in the lake’s water levels. The team, led by scientists at the University of Ottawa, later analyzed elevation data from NASA’s ICESat-2 (Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite-2) and confirmed a 2-meter rise was caused by a glacial lake outburst flood from nearby Lake Ober-See. The University of Ottawa team also showed that the outburst flood had released 17.5 million cubic meters of meltwater, altering Unter-See’s pH and replenishing it with carbon dioxide-rich waters that likely enhanced the productivity of the lake’s microbial life. The scientists noted that similar periodic flooding may provide “biological stimuli to other carbon dioxide-depleted Antarctic ecosystems and perhaps even icy lakes on early Mars.” NASA Earth Observatory image by Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Story by Adam Voiland. Downloads February 16, 2026 JPEG (8.91 MB) References & Resources Andersen, D.T., et al. (2011) Discovery of large conical stromatolites in Lake Untersee, Antarctica. Geobiology, 9(3), 280-293. Astrobiology (2026) Dale Andersen’s Field Reports. Accessed March 10, 2026. Austrian Polar Research Institute (2023, May 22) Glacier shapes unique Antarctic lake ecosystem. Accessed March 10, 2026. Extinct (2025, June 1) From Stromatolites to Martian Leopard Spots: Circumstantial Traces and the Reconstruction of Early Life. Accessed March 10, 2026. Faucher, B., et al. (2021) Glacial lake outburst floods enhance benthic microbial productivity in perennially ice-covered Lake Untersee (East Antarctica). Communications Earth & Environment, 2, 211. Greco, C. et al. (2020) Microbial Diversity of Pinnacle and Conical Microbial Mats in the Perennially Ice-Covered Lake Untersee, East Antarctica. Frontiers in Microbiology, 11(607251). NASA Earth Observatory (2006, June 18) Strelley Pool Chert and Early Life. Accessed March 10, 2026. SETI (2026, February 26) Dale Andersen’s Antarctic Field Season 18-19 February. Accessed March 10, 2026. Verpoorter, C., et al. (2014) A global inventory of lakes based on high-resolution satellite imagery. Geophysical Research Letters, 41(18), 6396-6402. Vimercati, L. Lake Untersee, Queen Maud Land, Antarctica. Accessed March 10, 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. Lake Eyre Blushes 3 min read Rounding out a remarkable year, the outback lake displayed distinct green and reddish water in its two main bays. Article Cooper Creek Replenishes Lake Eyre 3 min read Another major tributary reached the *********** outback lake in 2025, extending the months-long flood of the vast, ephemeral inland sea. Article Finding Freshwater in Great Salt Lake 4 min read Reed-covered mounds exposed by declining water levels reveal an unexpected network of freshwater springs that feed directly into the lake… 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 Open access to NASA’s archive of Earth science data View the full article

2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) An advanced vehicle concept.NASA Project Overview NASA’s Subsonic Vehicle Technologies and Tools (SVTT) project develops technologies and tools for various types of aircraft that fly in different speed regimes, including next-generation vertical take-off and landing and fixed-wing subsonic aircraft. The research advances knowledge, technologies, and concepts that enable major steps to lowering operating costs of the next-generation single-aisle aircraft. SVTT also develops computer modeling and simulation tools to study the noise and performance of multi-rotor urban air mobility vehicles. Purpose SVTT subsonic aircraft research enables revolutionary advancements in future aircraft performance to keep the nation ahead of global competitors. Next-Generation Fixed-Wing Aircraft SVTT works to advance the next-generation single-aisle aircraft through efficient airframes, reduced fuel consumption and noise, and propulsion-airframe integration. Project research benefits U.S. industrial competitiveness in the subsonic transport aircraft market and will open new markets for U.S. regional jets and smaller size aircraft. SVTT research includes new, efficient airframe designs, the emerging area of electrified aircraft propulsion, and the complementary gas turbine engine research needed to develop new engines to power the new vehicles. Urban Air Mobility SVTT develops modeling and simulation tools to explore the noise and performance of multi-rotor urban air mobility (UAM) vehicles. Vertical lift vehicles have the unique ability to operate in confined areas, as evidenced by the emerging UAM industry within the broader advanced air mobility industry. Additionally, advanced vertical lift capabilities support public good missions, such as disaster relief, emergency services, and medical transport. Timeline and Impact Although the SVTT project focuses on the long-term technology timeframe, it also contributes to both near-term and mid-term progress by demonstrating useful technology improvements along the way. Advanced Air Vehicles Program Facebook logo @NASA@NASAaero@NASAes @NASA@NASAaero@NASA_es Instagram logo @NASA@NASAaero@NASA_es Linkedin logo @NASA Explore More 4 min read NASA, GE Aerospace Hybrid Engine System Marks Successful Test Article 1 month ago 5 min read NASA, Boeing Test How to Improve Performance of Longer, Narrower Aircraft Wings Article 3 months ago 4 min read NASA Software Raises Bar for Aircraft Icing Research Article 3 months ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Missions Humans In Space Aeronautics STEM Explore NASA’s History Share Details Last Updated Mar 10, 2026 EditorLillian GipsonContactJim Banke*****@*****.tld Related TermsSubsonic Vehicle Technologies and Tools View the full article

Download PDF: Insights into Spallation Mechanisms of Thermal Protection System Materials from Mass Spectrometry and HyMETS Testing An effort was undertaken to investigate the mechanisms responsible for internal pressure build up within thermal protection system (TPS) materials subjected to high-enthalpy environments. Understanding how gases evolve, migrate, and interact with the microstructure of a TPS is essential for predicting degradation and failure modes such as spallation. To this end, complementary experimental approaches were employed that provided both chemical and mechanical insight into subsurface processes. Chemical evolution and internal pressure buildup were identified using the processes illustrated in Figure 1. In part A, in-depth pressure measurements obtained during testing in the Hypersonic Materials Environmental Test System (HyMETS) quantified the dynamic buildup of subsurface pressure as gases evolved. In part B, mass spectrometry was applied to characterize volatile species released as the TPS decomposed under heating. This analysis distinguished between species that desorb at lower temperatures, such as water release prior to significant changes in permeability, and those produced during the breakdown of the polymer backbone through high-temperature pyrolysis. Together, these data sets established a quantitative link between chemical decomposition and mechanical response, forming a foundation for interpreting how microscale chemical processes manifest as macroscale material instability. Lessons gleaned from mass spectrometry and HyMETS testing led to an enhanced understanding of the spallation mechanisms of TPS, as illustrated in Figure 1. Initial heating of the TPS induces the release of absorbed water from microballoons and the surrounding matrix before extensive pyrolysis (I). This early release of exiguous water can generate localized stresses when the material is in a state of low permeability and may result in localized crack formation before pyrolysis. As heating continues, the pyrolysis front advances, liberating a significant amount of gas and a rapid buildup of pressure occurs (II). If the internal pressure surpasses the local material strength, sudden ejection of fragments follows, marking a spallation event (III). This sequence highlights the probable interplay between early-stage volatile release, pyrolysis gas evolution, and stress generation, all of which govern the stability of TPS material under entry conditions. For information, contact Dr. Brody K. Bessire. brody.k*****@*****.tld Probable Sequence of Events Leading to SpallationView the full article

Earth Observatory Science Earth Observatory March 2026 Satellite… 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 Every month, NASA Earth Observatory features a puzzling satellite image. The March 2026 puzzler appears above. Your Challenge Identify the location shown in this satellite image. Share what clues you see, where you think it is, and what makes this place interesting or unique to you. How to Answer Submit your response using this form and select “Puzzler Answer” as the topic. Please include your preferred name or alias. You can keep it simple and just guess the location. Want to impress us? Tell us which satellite and instrument captured the image, which spectral bands were used, or point out a subtle detail about the geology or history of the area. If something catches your eye, or if this is your home or means something to you, we’d love to hear about it. The Prize We can’t offer prize money or a trip to space to see Earth like satellites and astronauts do. But we can offer something almost as rewarding: puzzler bragging rights. Within a week of the challenge, we’ll post the answer at the top of this page, along with a link to an Earth Observatory Image of the Day story that explains the image in more detail. We’ll give a shout-out to the first person who correctly guesses the location, and we may also highlight readers who share especially thoughtful or interesting answers on our blog. Until then, zoom in, look closely, and enjoy the challenge. See you at the reveal! View the full article

Download PDF: Computational Modeling of Failure at the Fabric Weave Level in Reentry Parachute Energy Modulators Energy modulators (EM) are textile mechanical devices designed to dissipate snatch loads that occur when parachutes are deployed. Although critical for mitigating shock loads, recent flight testing has shown increasing variability in EM behavior, raising concerns about their performance predictability and potential failure under dynamic loading conditions. In response, a novel approach was implemented to create a computational model of an EM at the fabric weave level using the simulation software, LS-DYNA. This work was organized into two primary objectives: (1) development of a per-unit stitch model capturing the geometry and material behavior of the EM stitching pattern, and (2) implementation of a Python script to duplicate the unit model along the full length of an EM ear, simplifying the process of generating complex, patterned geometries in LS-DYNA. Depiction of EM extension during ********* from a tensile force applied at the blue arrows with (a) an unextended EM, (b) a partially extended EM, and (c) a fully extended EM. EMs typically consist of a long strip of structural Kevlar webbing that is folded and stitched together with a nylon zigzag stitching pattern to form an EM “ear.” As an EM is pulled above a threshold load during deployment, the nylon stitching rips, unfolding the EM and dissipating shock forces. This process is illustrated in Figure 1, exemplifying stages of EM extension during *********. In nominal cases, the EM cleanly tears with little damage to the Kevlar webbing. However, anomalous cases have been observed where the nylon stitches along the ear are skipped during loading, i.e., when a row of stitches do not tear in sequence. This results in failure of the surrounding Kevlar webbing, referred to as EM shredding. The inherent unpredictability of the fabric behavior and the high variability of flight loading conditions make a root cause challenging to identify through mechanical testing. In this study, development of a computational model of an EM in LS-DYNA was used to gain deeper insight into the cause of EM shredding. While similar studies of fabric webbing have modeled fabrics at a global level, this approach represents each thread of the Kevlar weave and nylon stitching as individually modeled 3D solid elements. Modeling each thread individually within the weave is essential not only for analyzing the failure mechanisms of the nylon stitching as it rips, but also for understanding the Kevlar weave failure during the EM shredding events. The first phase of this work focused on modeling individual Kevlar and nylon threads within a representative stitch geometry. A 3D model of the Kevlar weave was first generated using TexGen, an open-source software developed at the University of Nottingham. Using computer-aided design (CAD) software, nylon stitching passing through two layers of the Kevlar fabric weave was added. The nylon stitching pattern consisted of a bobbin thread and a needle thread that looped through the top and bottom layers, respectively, of the Kevlar weave pattern and twisted together at the end of every stitch between the two layers. The unit model was meshed in Hypermesh with 3D tetrahedral solid elements. A three‑step digital workflow showing how a woven composite structure moves from CAD modeling in SOLIDWORKS, to meshing in HyperMesh, to a color‑coded simulation‑ready model in LS‑DYNA In LS-DYNA, the material properties, contact, failure conditions, and boundary conditions were defined to assess the dynamic response of a stitch during tensile loading. Material behavior for both fabric types was defined using *MAT_ELASTIC (*MAT_001), and two-way, surface-to-surface contact with erosion was implemented to capture progressive failure of the Kevlar weave and nylon threads. Boundary conditions were applied to replicate in-flight tensile loading scenarios. Additionally, several case studies were conducted to reduce computation time, including manual mass scaling, characteristic length analysis, and mesh quality optimization. Preliminary results from the EM per-unit model validated the use of solid elements to capture EM behavior, particularly the interaction between Kevlar and nylon threads. To streamline the construction of full-length EM models, the second phase of this work focused on developing a Python script to replicate the per-unit LS-DYNA model along the length of an EM ear. This eliminated the need for large CAD assemblies by generating the full model directly from duplicating the unit model. This model is applicable to both solid and shell 2D and 3D elements. Overall, these results will not only aid in identifying the root cause of EM shredding but also support the evaluation of new EM design variations. This modeling approach has broader implications for other work involving fabrics, enabling more accurate simulations and efficient design workflows in aerospace textile applications. View the full article

3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA engineers Jonathan Davis, left, and Markus Perkins inspect a flight-like cryocooler developed by Creare LLC prior to its integration into the CryoFILL system NASA is testing. Engineers are working inside NASA Glenn Research Center’s Creek Road Cryogenics Complex on Sept. 24, 2025.Credit: NASA/Jef Janis The farther the destination, the more fuel a rocket needs. The more fuel the rocket carries, the heavier the spacecraft. The heavier the spacecraft, the more fuel it requires to launch. Experts at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland are testing technology that could solve this problem. The CryoFILL (Cryogenic Fluid In-Situ Liquefaction for Landers) project could transform the way NASA fuels future space exploration missions, reducing costs and extending the duration of planetary surface operations. “If you think about how much fuel your spacecraft would need to go to Mars and come home, it’s quite a lot,” said Evan Racine, CryoFILL project manager at NASA Glenn. “If we can produce and liquefy oxygen on the Moon or Mars, we can fuel landers on the surface where they land, reducing the amount of propellant needed to launch from Earth.” Through the Artemis program, NASA will send astronauts on increasingly ambitious missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build a foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars. To sustain a long-term presence on the lunar surface, NASA aims to use the Moon’s resources to make products like propellant. Oxygen, a key ingredient of rocket fuel, can be extracted from water ice found in permanently shadowed regions of the Moon. This oxygen would be mined in a gas form, but to be used as a propellant, it must be cooled and condensed into liquid form. NASA Glenn experts are using a flight-like cryocooler, developed by Creare LLC through NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research program, to remove heat from the system that extracts the oxygen. This allows the oxygen to condense and remain at extremely cold temperatures below minus 300 degrees Fahrenheit. “We’re testing with flight-like hardware to see how oxygen liquefies and how the system responds to different scenarios,” said Wesley Johnson, CryoFILL lead engineer. “These are critical steps toward scaling up and automating future in-situ refueling.” Over the course of the next three months, NASA engineers will study how oxygen condenses under various conditions, use the data to validate temperature computer models, and demonstrate how NASA can scale the technology for larger applications. Once the test is complete, the data will inform designs of these technologies for use on the Moon, Mars, or other planetary surfaces. The Cryogenic Fluid Management Portfolio Project is a cross-agency team based at NASA Glenn and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The cryogenic portfolio’s work is part of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate and is comprised of more than 20 individual technology development activities. Inside NASA Glenn Research Center’s Creek Road Cryogenics Complex, NASA engineers Jonathan Davis, left, and Wesley Johnson prepare to integrate a flight-like cryocooler developed by Creare LLC with the CryoFILL system on Sept. 24, 2025. Credit: NASA/Jef Janis Share Details Last Updated Mar 10, 2026 Related TermsGeneralGlenn Research CenterHumans in SpaceMarshall Space Flight CenterSpace Technology Mission DirectorateTechnologyTechnology for Living in Space Explore More 6 min read NASA Discovers ****** of Extreme Stars in Unexpected Site Article 3 hours ago 3 min read Shades of a Lunar Eclipse A series of nighttime satellite images revealed how moonlight reaching Earth varied throughout a total… Article 15 hours ago 6 min read La NASA refuerza Artemis: añade una misión y perfecciona su arquitectura general Article 7 days ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

This article is from the 2025 Technical Update. The human factors TDT looks for and creates opportunities to influence design to leverage human strengths and to protect people and missions. The human factors team has experts with knowledge of human performance in all aspects of NASA missions as well as from other safety-critical industries. The goal is to ensure that science-based human factors knowledge and lessons learned are applied throughout the mission lifecycle. The strategy is to 1) modify existing and create new discipline tools that meet NASA’s needs and constraints, 2) build strategies to enhance the disciplines’ chances for success, 3) enhance simulation techniques to gain maximum information even when verification and validation opportunities are limited, 4) develop new analysis methods for human performance in NASA mission contexts, and 5) reframe understanding of human performance to emphasize the key role of human resilience in mission success. This article highlights a set of analytical models of crew workload, training, and expertise that can be used to aid decision makers in determining the size of a Mars crew adequate for crew safety and mission success. These tools are built on a Department of Defense (DoD) capability that has been used extensively to evaluate the success of specific designs. Unlike missions in low Earth orbit or even to the Moon, a crewed Mars mission will operate under extraordinary constraints, primarily a significant communication delay with Earth and prolonged communication blackout periods. This necessitates a radical rethinking of mission design, including the human elements of crew size, workload, expertise, and resilient performance. To address this gap, the NESC developed a systematic and quantitative methodology, along with an associated suite of modeling tools, to enable the development of an evidence-based trade space for guiding crew size decisions for human Mars missions. This work provides actionable analysis to programs and projects early in development, enabling simultaneous consideration of mission architecture, operational concepts, and the roles human will play throughout the mission. This analysis supports the development of mission designs that preserve and enable human resilient performance to ensure the success and safety of future Mars exploration. Historically, NASA’s human spaceflight programs have relied on real-time support from extensive ground control, composed of a collective intellect that acts as an extended crew to manage objectives and respond to anomalies. As depicted in Figure 1, the volume of ISS ground personnel highlights the vast support structure available for Earth-proximal missions. However, for Mars, communication delays of up to 22 minutes one-way and blackouts lasting up to three weeks during superior conjunctions will eliminate this real-time lifeline. This demands a new focus on the capabilities required of the onboard crew, who will face time-critical decisions and unforeseen failures with only their knowledge and onboard decision-support systems, often without pre-existing procedures. Current ground-support expertise for ISS missions The NESC’s methodology fills a longstanding gap, as past Mars crew size determinations often lacked detailed quantitative analysis of crew tasking, workload, and expertise. Extending DoD methodologies for manpower determination, the NESC human factors trade space methodology offers a repeatable and data-driven means to assess whether a given crew complement possesses the capability to accomplish mission objectives and respond successfully to unforeseen failures that have potential loss of crew or loss of mission (LOC/LOM) consequences. The core process involves gathering Mars mission concepts and information, determining use cases to model, creating a trade space evaluation framework, conducting human performance modeling, and performing trade space analyses. This iterative approach, conceptually represented by the Mars Crew Size Decision Process (see Figure 2), allows for adaptation as technologies and mission assumptions evolve. Central to this methodology are four human performance models, each revealing critical insights into the human factors of Mars mission design. 1. IV Operations for Planetary Surface EVA Model: This model examined the mental workload of intravehicular (IV) Mars crewmembers supporting a planetary surface extravehicular activity (EVA), simulating activities currently performed by Mission Control Center personnel for ISS EVAs. It predicted that during a Mars surface technical EVA conducted at the pace of an ISS EVA, the workload for an IV crewmember performing combined essential flight controller duties would be unacceptably high, indicating a severe negative impact on task performance. This finding underscores the necessity of reconsidering EVA pacing, task automation, or increasing IV support crew complement to ensure mission-critical EVAs are safely conducted independently of Earth-based support. 2. Robotic Arm Assisted EVA Operator Model: This model assessed the mental workload of a crewmember operating a robotic arm (see Figure 3) in both manual and automated control modes on a Mars transit vehicle. The model results indicate that two crewmembers may be necessary to mitigate unacceptably high workload during manual robotic arm operations. Furthermore, consistent with the scientific literature, the model predicted that stressors like sleep debt increase mental workload and degrade performance, extending task completion times. This highlights the importance of accounting for crew well-being in crew-size determinations. 3. Mars Transit Crew Model: This analysis focused on crew utilization and staffing requirements during a 9-month Mars transit mission, reallocating planned and unplanned tasks from ground control to the crew. The modeling, using ISS-equivalent task assumptions, predicted that more than six crewmembers (given average rates for unplanned events) would be needed to achieve the same number of work hours as a four-person ISS mission. This substantial increase emphasizes the critical impact of Earth-independence on daily crew workload and the imperative for adequate crew complement to manage ongoing responsibilities. 4. Personnel, Expertise, and Training Model: Given the communication delay/blackout with Mars, paired with no rapid return-to-Earth options, NASA will need to rely on the expertise of the crew to respond to unforeseen failures. A custom model was developed to quantify the crew expertise required to meet mission objectives and respond to unforeseen events with LOC/LOM potential and short time-to-effect. Based on analysis of ISS historical data, the probability of at least one occurrence of such a failure during Mars transit is greater than 99%. A sensitivity analysis of the relationship between a successful crew response and LOC/LOM outcome was conducted for cases in which the crew gave a successful response 90%, 95%, 98%, and 99.985% of the time. The estimated likelihood of a LOC/LOM consequence for all but the most conservative of these cases is greater than 1%, which is considered in the “very high” (red) range, per the Human System Risk Board risk matrix. The likelihood of LOC/LOM consequences only drops below 0.1% (yellow) for a successful response rate of 99.985%. When unforeseen failures occur on a mission to Mars, it will be critical that the crew have the necessary level of expertise to accurately diagnose problems and restore critical functionality. The Personnel, Expertise, and Training model is designed to provide the agency with the capability to consider the trade space The NESC’s proposed methodology to aid crew-size determinations. Trade-space parameters are input into any of four models, whose output characterizes the risk level associated with a given crew size. Astronaut Anne McClain using the Space Station Remote Manipulator System on ISS.View the full article

2 min read Webinar 3/25: NASA CSDA Vendor Focus – Satellogic Satellogic satellite imagery of coastal Louisiana shows sediment plumes entering the Gulf of Mexico, illustrating how Earth observation data can monitor coastal and environmental dynamics. Image courtesy of Satellogic Join us on Wednesday, March 25 at 2:00 p.m. EDT (-04:00 UTC) to learn more about NASA Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition (CSDA) program vendor Satellogic and how to discover, access, and work with their high-resolution commercial datasets. NASA’s Earth Science Division (ESD) established the Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition (CSDA) program to explore the potential of commercial satellite data in advancing the agency’s Earth science research and application objectives. The program aims to identify, assess, and acquire data from commercial providers, which may offer a cost-effective means of supplementing Earth observations collected by NASA, other U.S. Government agencies, and international collaborators. Satellogic delivers high-resolution Earth observation imagery at scale through its vertically integrated satellite constellation. During this NASA CSDA program webinar, speakers will introduce Satellogic and its constellation of commercial Earth Observation satellites. Representatives will highlight current and future capabilities, including service-level monitoring at scale, and plans for global daily remapping. They will also discuss how these data products complement NASA Earth science data holdings for research and applications. In addition, presenters will address the services and tools available to data users, including how they can get expert assistance when using Satellogic datasets. To Register Share Details Last Updated Mar 10, 2026 Related Terms Earth Science Uncategorized Explore More 6 min read Developing Robust Electronics That Can Withstand Harsh Conditions on Cold Planetary Bodies A NASA-sponsored team has developed electronics that can operate reliably in the harsh radiation and… Article 3 hours ago 3 min read Lake Coatepeque Set amid El Salvador’s modern, active volcanic landscape, tranquil blue waters fill a caldera formed… Article 2 days ago 6 min read Ailing “Megaberg” Sparks Surge of Microscopic Life As Iceberg A-23A disintegrated, it shed meltwater that helped fuel an extensive phytoplankton bloom in… Article 5 days ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

This article is from the 2025 Technical Update. The NESC has invested significant time and resources to better understand composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPV) performance and more importantly, how these complex, high-pressure storage systems can fail. These vessels, which store high pressure propulsion and life-support system fluids on launch vehicles and spacecraft, are ubiquitous at NASA, and failures have the potential to be catastrophic. This year the NESC finalized work on a set of guidelines intended for use by NASA civil servants and support contractors in their development or assessment of damage-tolerance demonstration data for COPVs. These guidelines are based on the NESC’s experience in assessing agency-wide COPV applications and compiling the best practices for complying with the damage-tolerance requirements of AIAA S-081, the standard for COPVs used in human and robotic spaceflight, and NASA-STD-5019, Fracture Control Requirements for Spaceflight Hardware. Previously referred to as “safe-life,” damage tolerance life assumes detectable cracks exist before service and demonstrates that such cracks, in worst-case locations and orientations, will not grow to failure over the service life. A 4x life factor is applied, requiring that cracks do not reach failure (leakage or unstable growth) within four times the expected service cycles. These guidelines are meant to support NASA personnel in applying S-081 requirements and also to clarify areas that historically have had varied interpretation. And by leveraging NESC assessments where approaches to damage tolerance were found to be unconservative, the guidelines offer best practices for minimizing risk based on supporting data—and do so without introducing new standards. The guidelines touch on numerous aspects of damage tolerance life including: COPV mechanics and model correlation, Identifying worst case locations for damage tolerance, Nondestructive evaluation (NDE), Addressing crack aspect ratios, Defining load spectra, Addressing autofrettage crack growth, Performing damage-tolerance life demonstration by analysis using a crack-growth analysis software like NASGRO, Performing damage-tolerance life by coupon or vessel testing, and Addressing sustained-load crack growth and environmentally assisted cracking. In determining the worst-case locations for damage tolerance evaluation, the guidelines offer a method for evaluating the contributing factors—stress/strain, material properties, thick-ness, and initial crack size. The identified regions show different liner material forms and welds, and within each form, the initial crack size based on the NDE method used, the minimum thickness, and the peak stress/strain level are determined for that form. The guidelines then provide best practices for addressing damage tolerance with each material form and worst-case location in the COPV. EXAMPLES OF MATERIAL FORMS IN COPV LINERView the full article

This article is from the 2025 Technical Update. The NESC’s Thermal Control & Protection Technical Discipline Team (TDT) is a resource providing subject matter expertise in active and passive thermal control as well as ascent and entry thermal protection across the spectrum of agency needs. TDT members led or supported a variety of key activities including the ongoing Artemis I heat shield char loss investigation, assessing viable thermal control fluids as replacements for those being phased out due to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), conducting Commercial Crew-related thermal control and thermal protection analysis peer reviews, and leading and providing expertise to the Dragonfly Thermal Advisory Board and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Standing Review Board. Enhancing the Thermal Community of Practice The TDT welcomed two new early-career engineers for a one-year rotation after the program’s successful inaugural year. This experience helps to train the next generation of engineers and leaders. Rotational engineers are responsible for formulating the TDT’s annual State of the Discipline presentation, an assessment of the overall health and needs of the thermal control and thermal protection disciplines. Additionally, the rotational engineers may be involved in a variety of other TDT activities including initial work on a thermal control standard and maintaining the thermal control and protection critical technologies list to broaden their experience and to become familiar with key thermal work across the agency. The TDT continued to embrace its responsibility to maintain and enhance the thermal control and protection community of practice through presentation of three webinars covering file plotting tools, two-phase flow, and Dragonfly thermal design. The TDT also developed a lesson on thermal louvers for inclusion into the NESC Academy. The TDT remains the lead cosponsor of the Thermal and Fluids Analysis Workshop (the other cosponsors are the Aerosciences and Cryogenics TDTs), an annual, longstanding NASA-owned event that provides training and is designed to encourage knowledge sharing, professional development, and networking throughout the NASA thermal and fluids engineering community and the aerospace community at large. The workshop features technical sessions and presentations, analysis software demonstrations and training, technical short courses, a student poster session, guest speakers, and speed mentoring. This year’s event was planned and presented by the Ames Research Center in partnership with San Jose State University and drew nearly 350 attendees. The NASA Technical Fellow for Thermal Control & Protection presented a theory-based short course titled “Introduction to Orbital Mechanics and Spacecraft Attitudes for Thermal Engineers.” The vision of TFAWS is to maintain continuity over time and between disciplines throughout the thermal and fluids engineering community. To inspire the next generation of engineers, the Technical Fellow also provided lectures and guidance to students at the Rice University Aerospace Academy reaching more than 300 students in the grades 9 through 12. Artist’s concept of Dragonfly on the surface of Titan. NASA/Johns Hopkins AP Artist’s concept of Roman Space Telescope. TFAWS attendees participating in one of the technical sessions offered during the workshop TFAWS attendees interact with students during the poster session event.View the full article

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) captures a detailed view of a relatively fresh crater in this image released on June 3, 2015. The crater has a sharp rim and well-preserved ejecta. The steep inner slopes are carved by gullies and include possible recurring slope lineae on the equator-facing slopes. This crater is monitored for changes over time. For 20 years, MRO has sought out the history of water on Mars with its science instruments. In that time, it has sent back important data that will help us when future astronauts land on the planet and explore it. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona View the full article

X-ray: NASA/CXC/Penn State Univ./S. Dichiara; IR: NASA/ESA/STScI; Illustration: ERC BHianca 2026 / Fortuna and Dichiara, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/P. Edmonds A fleet of NASA missions has likely uncovered a collision between two ultradense stars in a tiny galaxy buried in a huge stream of gas. Astronomers have never seen this type of explosive event in an environment like this before — and it may help solve two outstanding cosmic mysteries. A paper describing these results was published today in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. Neutron stars are the cores left behind after a star much heavier than the Sun runs out of fuel, collapses on itself, and then explodes. They are small (only a dozen or so miles across) but slightly more massive than the Sun, making them amazingly dense. Astronomers consider them to be some of the most extreme objects in the universe. In recent years, astronomers have collected data on collisions, or mergers, of two neutron stars inside of moderately sized or large galaxies. This latest discovery, however, shows that a neutron star collision may take place inside a tiny galaxy. “Finding a neutron star collision where we did is game changing,” said Simone Dichiara of Penn State University, who led the study. “It may be the key to unlocking not one, but two important questions in astrophysics.” The first puzzle this unprecedented location for a neutron star collision may explain may explain is the fact that gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), which can be produced by the collapse of two neutron stars, sometimes do not appear within the core of a galaxy, or any galaxy at all.The other question this result could address is how elements like gold and platinum have been found in stars located at large distances from the centers of galaxies. This neutron star collision is unexpectedly located in a tiny galaxy, about 4.7 billion light-years away, embedded within a stream of gas that stretches some 600,000 light-years long. (For context, our Milky Way galaxy is about 100,000 light-years across.) This stream was likely created when a group of galaxies collided hundreds of millions of years ago, stripping gas and dust from the galaxies and leaving it in intergalactic space. “We found a collision within a collision,” said co-author Eleonora Troja of the University of Rome in Italy. “The galaxy collision triggered a wave of star formation that, over hundreds of millions of years, led to the birth and eventual collision of these neutron stars.” To discover the event dubbed GRB 230906A, which occurred on 2023 September 6th, astronomers needed several NASA telescopes including the Chandra X-ray Observatory, Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, and Hubble Space Telescope. Fermi discovered the neutron star collision by picking up the distinctive signal of a gamma-ray burst, or GRB, explosion. After using the InterPlanetary Network to derive a preliminary location for the Fermi source, astronomers then needed the sharp vision of Chandra, Swift, and Hubble to more precisely pinpoint the location of the object. NASA’s missions are part of a growing, worldwide network that watches for these changes, to solve mysteries of how the universe works. “Chandra’s pinpoint X-ray localization made this study possible,” said co-author Brendan O’Connor, a McWilliams Postdoctoral Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University. “Without it, we couldn’t have tied the burst to any specific source. And once Chandra told us exactly where to look, Hubble’s extraordinary sensitivity revealed the tiny, extremely faint galaxy at that position. We were only able to make this discovery after we put all the pieces together.” This finding may explain why some GRBs do not appear to have host galaxies. This result implies that some host galaxies are too small and faint to be seen in most optical light images from ground-based observatories. The unusual location of GRB 230906A may also help explain how astronomers have spotted elements like gold and platinum in stars at relatively large distances from galaxies. Such stars are generally expected to be older and to have formed from gas that had less time to be enriched in heavy elements from supernova explosions. Through a chain of nuclear reactions, a collision between two neutron stars can produce heavy elements like gold and platinum, which astronomers witnessed in a well-documented collision seen in 2017 . Events like GRB 230906A could generate elements like these and spread them throughout the outskirts of galaxies, eventually appearing in future generations of stars. An alternative explanation for the explosion is that it is located in a much more distant galaxy that is behind the galaxy group. The team considers this to be a less likely explanation than the tiny galaxy idea. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, 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. 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 features two artist’s concepts and a composite image depicting two cosmic collisions that began hundreds of millions of years ago. At the center of the large artist’s concept is a brilliant glowing ball with a nearly white core, and golden orange outer layers. This brilliant ball represents the brightest galaxy in a collision between two groups of galaxies, which began hundreds of millions of years ago. Gas and dust from that collision were tossed into intergalactic space in long tidal streams. In the illustration, the tidal streams resemble swooping blue streaks shooting off the brilliant ball. Near the end of each swooping tidal stream is a glowing orange streak, or ellipse. These glowing shapes are smaller individual galaxies, some of which are revealed to have spiraling arms when examined closely. One of the tidal streams shoots toward our upper left, then begins to hook back down, passing two glowing orange galaxies along its path. Near the end of this tidal stream is a tiny galaxy and an X-ray source presented in the middle of a close-up insert. In the center of the composite insert, Hubble observations in orange reveal the tiny, faint galaxy buried in the tidal stream. A pool of neon blue haze shows X-rays detected by Chandra from the collision of two ultra-dense neutron stars. Astronomers believe that the tiny galaxy was born from gas and dust along the 600,000 light-year-long tidal stream, created by the initial collision of the galaxy groups. Over hundreds of millions of years, that material contributed to the birth of many stars within the tiny galaxy. Two of those stars collapsed into neutron stars, and ultimately collided, producing important elements like gold and platinum, and gravitational waves that rippled across space. The artist’s concept in the other insert shows a close-up view from the side of what the aftermath of a neutron star collision might look like. A burst of gamma rays was originally detected by viewing it down the barrel of the jet, which triggered follow-up X-ray observations with Chandra and other X-ray telescopes. 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 Mar 10, 2026 EditorLee MohonContactJoel Wallace*****@*****.tldLocationMarshall Space Flight Center Related TermsChandra X-Ray ObservatoryAstrophysicsFermi Gamma-Ray Space TelescopeGamma-Ray BurstsHubble Space TelescopeMarshall AstrophysicsMarshall Space Flight CenterNeil Gehrels Swift ObservatoryNeutron StarsThe Universe Explore More 4 min read NASA Strengthens Artemis: Adds Mission, Refines Overall Architecture Article 7 days ago 3 min read Two Observatories, One Cosmic Eye: Hubble and Euclid View Cat’s Eye Nebula This new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features one of the most visually intricate remnants of… Article 1 week ago 6 min read Listen to This Month’s ‘Planetary Parade’ With NASA’s Chandra Article 2 weeks ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Chandra X-ray Observatory The Chandra X-ray Observatory is the world’s most powerful X-ray telescope. Hubble Space Telescope Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe. Fermi Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (FGST), formerly called the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST), is a space observatory being… The Swift Spacecraft Swift launched into orbit on Nov. 20, 2004, as NASA’s Swift Gamma-ray Observatory. In 2018, NASA renamed the spacecraft in… View the full article