The moon is shrinking. 10,000 cracks on the lunar surface reveal by how much
One new study shows how much the moon has diminished over time.
Auroral structure could be caused by bouncing electrons
The aurora is among nature's most visually striking phenomena. It occurs when charged particles from the sun are funneled by Earth's magnetic field into the upper atmosphere, wher…
Software
Research teams at NASA’s Glenn Research Center are involved in developing theory and software to predict the noise from aircraft engines. This software helps engineers to design a…
Experimental Facilities
Research teams at the NASA Glenn Research Center perform experiments in world-class facilities such as the 9- by 15-Foot Low-Speed Wind Tunnel (9 x15 LSWT), the Aero-Acoustic Prop…
NASA’s Simulated Mars Crew Marks One Year Inside Habitat
The four crew members in NASA’s simulated Mars mission have spent the past year living and working in isolation in a confined habitat at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Euclid discovers its first new comet 810 million miles from Earth
The European Space Agency's Euclid space telescope has discovered its first previously unknown comet in images taken between Sept. 16 and 24, 2026.
Instrumentation
To measure airflow and sound, research teams at the NASA Glenn Research Center use special instrumentation like particle image velocimetry, hot wire anemometry, Raman spectroscopy…
Martian Dawn
NASA’s Curiosity captures the dawn on Mars – as well as elongated ridges formed by wind erosion, or yardangs – in this close-up from a panorama released on Oct. 6, 2026. This is t…
'They're kind of goth': NASA spacecraft gives mysterious brown dwarfs a close-up
Using NASA’s SPHEREx spacecraft, astronomers have studied a horde of mysterious "failed stars," or brown dwarfs, not-so-stellar loners that wander the darkness of space alone.
Elephant Island is an icy sight from orbit | Space photo of the day for Oct. 19, 2026
The European Space Agency's Copernicus Sentinel-3 satellite mission captured a close-up of West Antarctica from its perch high above Earth.
Enigmatic Mercury will remain a puzzle until someone sends a lander
Mercury remains one of our solar system's most elusive and difficult planets to study. It's easier to send probes to the icy moons of Saturn or Jupiter, or even to Pluto, than to …
Did a giant object collide with Earth to form the moon?
Known as the giant-impact hypothesis, this proposed event involves a collision between Earth and a hypothetical Mars-sized protoplanet astronomers call Theia.
Japan launching bold sample-return mission to Mars moon Phobos today: Watch it live
Japan will launch its audacious MMX sample-return mission to Mars today (Oct. 19), and you can watch the historic action live.
Retired pilot helps historical society buy Neil Armstrong's boyhood home for tours
Ken Schreiber was 9 when Neil Armstrong took his first steps on the moon in 1969—a moment he would never forget. Like Armstrong, he became a military fighter pilot.
APOD: 2026 October 19 – Treble Clef: Unusual X-ray Hot Radio Source
APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 October 19 –… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosm…
Autumn Paints Poland’s Bieszczady Mountains
Fall color covers the forested slopes of Bieszczady National Park, while patches of polonina, a type of high-mountain meadow, have turned tan.
Japan to launch historic round-trip mission to Mars moon
Japanese scientists are readying a mission to Mars' moons to retrieve samples that could help unlock the origins of the solar system and life on Earth, in what aims to be the firs…
Returning samples from a Mars moon: Inside the science of Japan's bold MMX mission
Japan's mission to Mars' moons could answer a decades old question dividing the origins of Phobos and Deimos between two conflicting theories, and make history as the first spacec…
Computer scientist Margaret Hamilton was a problem-solver for the ages (op-ed)
The world will miss Margaret Hamilton, the pioneering programmer who helped NASA land Apollo astronauts on the moon. But we will always have her example to inspire us.
Japan's MMX mission aims to swipe soil samples from Mars's moon Phobos
A Japanese space mission is about to launch towards Mars. But it will not land on the planet itself. Instead, the Martian Moons Exploration (MMX) mission will focus on Phobos, the…
On this day in space! Oct. 18, 1963: France's Félicette Becomes the 1st Cat in Space! >^..^<
On Oct. 18, 1963, a cat went to space! Félicette was a French "catstronaut" who became the first and only feline to fly to space. Here's why it mattered.
Astronomers want your help finding 'missing' black holes in the Milky Way
A citizen science project is seeking volunteers to comb through NASA telescope data for telltale signs of the galaxy's hidden black holes.
Japan to launch spacecraft on a mission to get samples from a Martian moon
Japan is set to launch a spacecraft on the world's first mission to bring back samples from Phobos, one of the two small, potato-shaped moons orbiting Mars.
10 best places to see the 2027 total solar eclipse in Spain
From the Costa del Sol to whitewashed mountain villages, here are 10 of the best places in southern Spain to experience the Aug. 2, 2027 total solar eclipse.