Mission Impossible

NASA’s Earth-observing satellite missions track dozens of features of a changing planet — aerosols, sea levels, land cover, cloud cover — over years and decades. Sustaining that record for the scientific and operational communities who depend on it requires more than engineering talent. It requires planning for an uncertain future: anticipating where a mission delay…

6 Min Read Starstruck: NASA Research Shows How Sun’s Ancient History Shaped Earth At the center of our solar system, the Sun influences every planet that orbits it. In two recent NASA-funded studies, scientists uncovered how ancient events in the Sun’s history may have helped create Earth’s unique climate and driven previously unexplained climatic shifts.   In new research, scientists at NASA’s SHIELD (Solar…

2 Min Read Ribbon-Cutting Event for NASA Deep Space Network’s Deep Space Station 23 PIA26779 Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech Photojournal Navigation Science Photojournal Ribbon-Cutting Event for NASA… Photojournal Home Photojournal Search Latest Content Galleries Feedback RSS About   Downloads Ribbon-Cutting Event for NASA Deep Space Network’s Deep Space Station 23 JPEG (1.10 MB) Description Leadership from NASA…

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology team won NASA’s LunaRecycle Challenge competition for their project, Composites for Extraterrestrial Recycling By Engineering the Reuse and Upcycling of Zotek (CERBERUZ). Credit: NASA/Savannah Bullard NASA named a team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as the first prize winner for Phase 2 of the agency’s LunaRecycle Challenge, which focused on developing solutions for reducing waste during missions to the Moon or deep space by recycling common materials, like fabrics, plastics, foam,…

Explore This Section Science Science Activation Community College Instructors… Overview Resources Opportunities Citizen Science Highlights About Science Activation   2 min read Community College Instructors Bring Astronomy Textbook Into 21st Century Students studying the celestial sphere at Jackson College, Michigan. Credit: Steven Tuckey Teaching the beautiful and inspirational science of astronomy using only the conceptual…

Screenshot of Copernicus with the Artemis I trajectory NASA/JSC Copernicus, a generalized spacecraft trajectory design and optimization system, is capable of solving a wide range of trajectory problems such as planet or moon centered trajectories, libration point trajectories, planet-moon transfers and tours, and all types of interplanetary and asteroid/comet missions. Latest News August 21, 2026:…