Blog

55 Years Ago: Nine Months Before the Moon Landing

In October 1968, the American human spaceflight program took significant steps toward achieving President John F. Kennedy’s goal of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth before the end of the decade. American astronauts returned to space after a 23-month hiatus. The success of the 11-day Apollo 7 mission […]

Posted October 18, 2023

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich Satellite

Earth

Earth Science

Oceans

Sea Ice

Weather and Atmospheric Dynamics

International Ocean Satellite Monitors How El Niño Is Shaping Up

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich is the latest satellite contributing to a 30-year sea level record that researchers are using to compare this year’s El Niño with those of the past. Not all El Niño events are created equal. Their impacts vary widely, and satellites like the U.S.-European Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich help anticipate those impacts on a […]

Posted October 18, 2023

DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test)

Marshall Space Flight Center

NASA Employees Win Top Federal Award for Asteroid Deflection Mission

NASA’s Brian Key and Scott Bellamy accepted the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal on behalf of a mission team for the first planetary defense test during a ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington on Oct. 17. The awards program for career federal employees, known as the Sammies, […]

Posted October 18, 2023

2023 Solar Eclipse

Eclipses

International Space Station (ISS)

Jasmin Moghbeli

Solar Eclipses

The Start of an Eclipse

While aboard the International Space Station, astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli took this picture of the Moon passing in front of the Sun during the annular solar eclipse on Oct. 14, 2023. As the space station orbits Earth, astronauts take images of the planet below and phenomena in space. Visible in parts of the United States, Mexico, […]

Posted October 18, 2023

General

Ames Research Center

Earth's Moon

VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover)

All Together Now: Drill Joins Other Moon Rover Science Instruments

A team of engineers from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and Honeybee Robotics in Altadena, California, inspect TRIDENT – short for The Regolith Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrain – shortly after its arrival at the integration and test facility. In the coming months, the team will integrate the drill into NASA’s first robotic […]

Posted October 18, 2023

Stennis Space Center

General

Space Launch System (SLS)

NASA Conducts 1st Hot Fire of New RS-25 Certification Test Series

NASA conducted the first hot fire of a new RS-25 test series Oct. 17, beginning the final round of certification testing ahead of production of an updated set of the engines for the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. The engines will help power future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond. Operators fired the RS-25 […]

Posted October 18, 2023

The Solar System

Mercury’s Strange Hollows

Enigmatic depressions on the surface have puzzled scientists since the 1970s NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft discovered strange hollows on the surface of Mercury. Images taken from orbit revealed thousands of mysterious depressions, pitted and uneven, in areas all across the planet, up to a half-mile (800 meters) across and 120 feet (37 meters) deep.

Posted October 17, 2023

Technology Transfer & Spinoffs

Space Technology Mission Directorate

Technology

NASA Makes It Easier to Find Assistive Technologies for Licensing

NASA develops a variety of technologies to explore space and beyond for the benefit of humanity. One measure of its success is the impact on the daily lives of millions of people with injuries and disabilities who are assisted with innovative treatments and products developed from NASA-derived technology. After all, it was thanks to NASA’s […]

Posted October 17, 2023

Earth

International Space Station (ISS)

Seeing Baja California Sur From Space

The crew of the International Space Station saw this view of the north coast of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur as the space station orbited 258 miles above on Oct. 14, 2023. In 24 hours, the space station makes 16 orbits of Earth, traveling through 16 sunrises and sunsets. The station’s orbital path […]

Posted October 17, 2023

NASA History

60 Years Ago: NASA Selects Its Third Group of Astronauts

On Oct. 18, 1963, NASA announced the selection of its third group of astronauts. Chosen from 720 military and civilian applicants, the newest group of 14 astronauts comprised the best educated class up to that time. Seven represented the U.S. Air Force, four the U.S. Navy, one the U.S. Marine Corps, and two were civilians. […]

Posted October 17, 2023