Blog

NASA’s X-59 experimental aircraft is preparing for its second flight, a step that will set the pace for more flight testing in 2026. Over the coming months, NASA will take the quiet supersonic jet faster and higher, while validating safety and performance, a process known as envelope expansion. NASA test pilot Jim “Clue” Less will be at the X-59’

Posted March 17, 2026

Night Sky Network

Dim Delights in Cancer

Cancer the Crab is a dim constellation, yet it contains one of the most beautiful and easy-to-spot star clusters in our sky: the Beehive Cluster. Cancer also possesses one of the most studied exoplanets: the superhot super-Earth, 55 Cancri e. Find Cancer’s dim stars by looking in between the brighter neighboring constellations of Gemini and […]

Posted March 17, 2026

Asteroids

Bennu

Solving Asteroid Bennu’s Mysteries

These X-ray computed tomography (XCT) scans released on March 17, 2026, give us a glimpse inside asteroid Bennu. They show the most common types of crack networks observed in Bennu samples; these networks solved a mystery that baffled NASA for years.

Posted March 17, 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

Citizen Science

Earth Science

Earth Science Division

Hail Yeah! NASA Researchers Use Volunteer Observations for Hail Estimates

The bigger the hailstone, the more damage it can cause. But scientists find that predicting hailstone size can be challenging. How quickly does hail melt as it falls?

Posted March 17, 2026

Earth

Earth Observatory

Earth Science

Earth Surface & Interior

Landsat 8 / LDCM (Landsat Data Continuity Mission)

Life on Earth

Topography

Vegetation

A Bit of Gray on an Emerald Isle

Ireland is best known for its many greens, but the striking grays of the island’s Burren region also stand out in satellite images.

Posted March 17, 2026

Quesst (X-59)

Aeronautics

Aeronautics Research

Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate

Aeronautics Technology

Armstrong Flight Research Center

Langley Research Center

Science & Research

NASA Invites Media to Learn About Upcoming X-59 Test Flights

NASA will hold a media teleconference at 5:30 p.m. EDT on Thursday, March 19 to highlight plans for its X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft’s upcoming flight tests. The teleconference is set to take place after the X-59 is scheduled to complete its second flight, in California. For the media call, NASA leadership will join representatives from […]

Posted March 16, 2026

Photojournal

SPARCS CubeSat ‘First Light’ Images

Description This pair of images shows stars observed by the SPARCS (Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat) space telescope simultaneously in the near-ultraviolet, left, and far-ultraviolet, right. These observations were recorded on Feb. 6, 2026, three weeks after the cube satellite, or CubeSat, launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 on Jan. 11.

Posted March 16, 2026

Ames Research Center

Artemis 2

Goddard Space Flight Center

Heliophysics

Heliophysics Division

Space Weather

The Sun