Blog

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

Earth's Moon

Ames Research Center

Lunar Science

Science Instruments

Science Mission Directorate

NASA’s Water-Hunting Tool Will Help Scout Moon’s South Pole

NASA is joining international partners to hunt for ice on the Moon in support of future human exploration. The agency is providing a water-detecting instrument, the Neutron Spectrometer System (NSS), to the Lunar Polar Exploration (LUPEX) mission led by JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation).

Posted March 24, 2026

Artemis

International Space Station (ISS)

NASA Headquarters

NASA Unveils Initiatives to Achieve America’s National Space Policy

As part of its “Ignition” event on Tuesday, NASA announced a series of transformative agencywide initiatives designed to achieve President Donald J. Trump’s National Space Policy and advance American leadership in space.

Posted March 24, 2026

Astrobiology

Astrophysics

Astrophysics Division

Science-enabling Technology

Technology Highlights

Optical Vortex Phase Masks for the Detection of Habitable Worlds

A team of NASA researchers is developing new types of optical masks that could help enable the many orders of magnitude of starlight suppression needed for future space observatories to pick out very faint habitable exoplanets from the far brighter glare of their stellar hosts.

Posted March 24, 2026

Earth Observatory

Hurricanes & Typhoons

Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS)

Tropical Cyclone Narelle Crosses Australia

The powerful storm lashed the northern edge of the continent with damaging winds and drenching rain as it made landfall multiple times.

Posted March 24, 2026

Citizen Science

Community Partners

Earth Science Division

NASA Data Hackathon Inspires Community Action

On Jan. 31, students, library staff, researchers, and community members gathered at the University of Florida’s (UF) Marston Science Library for the Environmental Monitoring through Education, Research, and Geospatial Engagement (EMERGE) NASA Data Hackathon.

Posted March 23, 2026

Learning Resources

Science Activation

Science Through Shadows: How Astronomical Alignments Reveal the Universe

When one celestial object passes in front of another, it can cast a shadow that travels across space – and sometimes across Earth. These moments of alignment, known as eclipses, occultations, and transits, allow scientists to study distant objects in remarkable ways.

Posted March 23, 2026

Earth Science

Earth

Ionosphere

Natural Disasters

Tsunamis

See NASA’s GUARDIAN Catch a Tsunami

A new data visualization illustrates how an experimental NASA technology can provide extra lead time to communities in the path of a tsunami. Called GUARDIAN (GNSS Upper Atmospheric Real-time Disaster Information and Alert Network), the software detects slight distortions in satellite navigation signals to spot hazards on the move..

Posted March 23, 2026

Earth

Surface Water

SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography)

Water on Earth

SWOT Mission Unlocks a New View of Our Waterways

Explore how rivers move, change, and sustain life across the planet with SWOT data.

Posted March 23, 2026

NASA’s Hubble, Webb Telescopes Survey Pinwheel Galaxy

This March 16, 2026, image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope takes a closer look at the core of Messier 101, also known as the Pinwheel Galaxy. At 25 million light-years away, M101 is one of the closest “face-on” spiral galaxies to us. With that in mind, Hubble’s ultraviolet, visible, […]

Posted March 23, 2026