Goddard Space Flight Center

As NASA seeks to understand the mysteries of the universe, the agency is advancing technologies to locate and explore Earth-like planets far beyond our solar system. A key element of this research involves observing reflected light from exoplanets, which can reveal indicators of Earth-like features such as water and oxygen.

Posted March 24, 2026

Astrophysics

Astrophysics Division

Crab Nebula

Emission Nebulae

Goddard Space Flight Center

Hubble Space Telescope

Nebulae

Neutron Stars

Pulsars

Supernova Remnants

NASA’s Hubble Revisits Crab Nebula to Track 25 Years of Expansion

A quarter-century after its first observations of the full Crab Nebula, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has taken a fresh look at the supernova remnant. The result is an unparalleled, detailed look at the aftermath of a supernova and how it has evolved over Hubble’s long lifetime. A paper detailing the new Hubble observation is published […]

Posted March 23, 2026

Earth

Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA Laser Reflecting Instrument Makes GPS Satellite More Accurate

A NASA laser reflecting technology that will aid Global Positioning System (GPS) accuracy is now operational as of March 9. The instrument, known as a laser retroreflector array, or LRA, launched aboard GPS III SV-09, the ninth of U.S. Space Force’s Block III Global Positioning System satellites, on Jan. 27. LRAs are sets of mirrors […]

Posted March 19, 2026

Goddard Space Flight Center

Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope

The Universe

NASA’s Roman Observatory Passes Final Major Prelaunch Tests

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope team recently blasted the observatory with extreme sound, shook it, and listened to its electronic hum. Roman passed all three assessments, which aimed to confirm that the observatory will withstand launch conditions and function as expected in space.

Posted March 19, 2026

Astrophysics

Astrophysics Division

Comets

Goddard Space Flight Center

Hubble Space Telescope

Small Bodies of the Solar System

The Solar System

NASA’s Hubble Unexpectedly Catches Comet Breaking Up

In a happy twist of fate, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope just witnessed a comet in the act of breaking apart. The chance of that happening while Hubble watched is extraordinarily minuscule. The findings published Wednesday in the journal Icarus. The comet K1, whose full name is C/2025 K1 (ATLAS)—not to be confused with interstellar comet […]

Posted March 18, 2026

Asteroids

Astromaterials

Bennu

Goddard Space Flight Center

Johnson Space Center

OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer)

Planetary Science

Planetary Science Division

Asteroid Bennu’s Rugged Surface Baffled NASA, We Finally Know Why

In one of the biggest surprises of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission, its target asteroid, Bennu, turned out to be a jagged, rugged world covered in large boulders, with few of the smooth patches of sandy or pebbly material scientists had expected based on observations with Earth-based instruments.

Posted March 17, 2026

Ames Research Center

Artemis 2

Goddard Space Flight Center

Heliophysics

Heliophysics Division

Space Weather

The Sun

To Protect Artemis II Astronauts, NASA Experts Keep Eyes on Sun

As four astronauts travel around the Moon on NASA’s Artemis II mission, they will venture beyond Earth’s protective magnetic field.

Posted March 16, 2026

Goddard Space Flight Center

James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)

Parker Solar Probe (PSP)

Technology

Artifacts From NASA’s Webb, Parker Solar Probe on View at Smithsonian

A testing replica of the “backbone” of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and a full-scale model of the agency’s Parker Solar Probe are now on permanent display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.

Posted March 13, 2026

Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA Invites Media to 63rd Annual Goddard Space Science Symposium

Media are invited to attend the 63rd annual Goddard Space Science Symposium, taking place Thursday, March 12, and Friday, March 13, at the National Housing Center in Washington. The event also will be streamed online.

Posted March 10, 2026

Van Allen Probes

Goddard Space Flight Center

Heliophysics

The Sun