The Small Magellanic Cloud Galaxy—A Milky Way Neighbor: View from Chile

The Small Magellanic Cloud Galaxy—A Milky Way Neighbor: View from Chile

This image of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) was not taken with a telescope. It was captured using a camera and a wide-aperture telephoto lens. It was taken by Petr Horálek, a NOIRLab Audiovisual Ambassador. Petr captured this special image for almost four hours during a night spent under clear skies on Cerro Pachón in Chile. 

Distance from Earth: ~200,000 light-years

The Small Magellanic Cloud and Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) are the largest of the over sixty satellite galaxies of the Milky Way. Satellite galaxies orbit around a host galaxy and are usually smaller than their host galaxy. The SMC was once even a satellite galaxy of the LMC. Unlike most of the other satellite galaxies of the Milky Way, the SMC is actively forming stars at a rapid pace, a process revealed by the blue light in this image. 

Cerro Pachón is a mountain in the foothills of Chile’s Andes range. Northern Chile offers examples of the clearest, driest, and darkest skies in the world. These conditions create ample opportunities for astrophotography and for addressing important questions about the Universe. 

The summit of Cerro Pachón is home to several telescopes operated by National Science Foundation NOIRLab including the SOAR Telescope, a part of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), a Program of NSF NOIRLab; Gemini South, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, funded in part by the NSF; and NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory, jointly funded by the NSF and the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE/SC).

Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, extending along a narrow strip of land between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. The country shared borders with Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage to the south.

Credit: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/P. Horálek (Institute of Physics in Opava)
Release Date: April 15, 2026

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxies #SmallMagellanicCloud #SMC #DwarfGalaxies #IrregularGalaxies #TucanaConstellation #Universe #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #Astrophotographer #PetrHorálek #Astrophotography #CerroPachón #Chile #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Comet C/2025 R3 PANSTARRS: View from Colorado

Comet C/2025 R3 PANSTARRS: View from Colorado

Discovered by the Pan-STARRS survey in September 2025, the comet is diving toward its closest approach to the sun (0.50 AU) on April 19, 2026, bringing it well inside the orbit of Venus. If current trends continue, the comet could brighten to magnitude +2, easily seen and photographed in the pre-dawn sky.

The comet's brightness will receive a further boost between April 24-25 when it passes almost directly between Earth and the Sun. The process is called "forward scattering." Sunlight passing through the comet's dusty atmosphere could be amplified 100-fold or more.

We will not be able to see the April 24 surge from Earth. The comet will be too close to the Sun. However, coronagraphs onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) will have a great view of what could briefly become a truly magnificent object.

Colorado is a state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, and Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas to the east, and Oklahoma to the Southeast.

Image Credit: Ismael Rodriguez 
Location:  Colorado City, Colorado, United States

Image Details: TeleVue 127is refractor at F5.2 and ZWO 2600MC camera. 13 minutes exposure (10 sec subs)
Ismail's website: https://www.flickr.com/photos/198992694@N04/

Text Credit: Spaceweather[dot]com
Date: April 15, 2026

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Comets #CometC2025R3Panstarrs #SolarSystem #Astrophotography #ColoradoCity #Colorado #UnitedStates #IsmaelRodriguez #Astrophotographers #STEM #Education

Qingzhou Commercial Cargo Spacecraft Test Vehicle | China Space Station

Qingzhou Commercial Cargo Spacecraft Test Vehicle | China Space Station

The team for China's newly launched Qingzhou cargo spacecraft test vehicle released the first batch of scientific and engineering results on April 15, 2026. The test flight focused on key technology verification, low-cost design and exploration, and expanded missions, successfully achieving all its objectives and laying a solid foundation for the development of the formal Qingzhou cargo spacecraft, according to the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IAMCAS).

The test vehicle was launched into orbit on March 30, 2026, aboard a Lijian-2 Y1 carrier rocket. Developed by the IAMCAS, the vehicle, with a total mass of 4.2 tons, carries one ton of scientific payloads, and has a three-year in-orbit operational life.

Since its launch, this vehicle has completed flight control tests and actively raised its orbit to 600 km, officially entering its long-term operational phase, where it is conducting key platform technology verification, stability tests and extended mission trials.

"The Qingzhou cargo spacecraft involved many key technologies in its development. Many of these technologies have been directly verified in space, which better ensures the reliability of the R and D of our formal spacecraft," said Chang Liang, chief designer of Qingzhou cargo spacecraft.

This test flight has not only provided critical data for the development of the formal Qingzhou cargo spacecraft and explored new models for efficient and reliable development, but has also opened viable paths for low-cost, commercial space operations and cooperation.

The Qingzhou cargo spacecraft will continue to undergo iterative optimization, striving to build a reliable bridge for cargo transport between Earth and space, promoting high-quality development of China's commercial space sector, the IAMCAS said.

"Our whole team is now intensively carrying out the work to put the formal spacecraft into production. It is mainly to form a matching tandem with the Tianzhou cargo spacecraft, one larger, one smaller, to provide cargo service support for China's space station," said Shu Rong, chief commander of Qingzhou cargo spacecraft.

Video Credit: CCTV
Duration: 1 minute
Release Date: April 16, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #China #中国 #QingzhouCargoSpacecraft #TestFlight #CommercialSpace #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #Taikonauts #MicrogravityExperiments #SpaceLaboratory #CAS #CNSA #国家航天局 #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Capturing Details of The Moon and The Beauty of Earth | NASA Artemis II Mission

Capturing Details of The Moon and The Beauty of Earth | NASA Artemis II Mission

As the Artemis II crew came close to passing behind the Moon and experiencing a planned loss of signal, they captured this image of a crescent Earth. Seen from afar, it almost looks like a circular arc—except when backlit, as in other images captured by the Artemis II crew. Earth is in a crescent phase, with sunlight coming from the right. The dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime. On Earth’s day side, swirling clouds are visible over muted blue in the Australia and Oceania region. 

The Artemis II Mission wrapped up a historic seven-hour lunar flyby on April 6, 2026, marking humanity’s first return to the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972 and capturing images of the lunar far side. During their nearly 10-day mission, the crew completed a record-setting lunar flyby, taking them 252,756 miles at their farthest distance from Earth and 4,067 miles above the lunar surface at their closest approach. 

The first crewed test flight of NASA’s Artemis program lifted off from Launch Pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 6:35 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), April 1, 2026, carrying the first astronauts to travel to the Moon in more than half a century.

Artemis II splashed down at 8:07 p.m. April 10 in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego. Following splashdown and recovery, the four crew members underwent post-mission medical evaluations before returning to shore and boarding an aircraft bound for Houston. Upon arrival, the crew was welcomed by and reunited with their families, friends, and agency workforce.

Under Artemis, NASA will send astronauts on increasingly difficult missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.

Learn more about NASA's Artemis II Mission:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/

Get ready for NASA's Artemis III Mission:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-iii/

Image Credit: NASA
Date: April 6, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #CrescentEarth #Moon #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisII #OrionSpacecraft #SLS #Astronauts #ChristinaKoch #ReidWiseman #VictorGlover #JeremyHansen #CSA #Canada #HumanSpaceflight #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #NASAJohnson #JSC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

NASA’s Quiet Supersonic X-59 Completes First Wheels-Up Flight | NASA Armstrong

NASA’s Quiet Supersonic X-59 Completes First Wheels-Up Flight | NASA Armstrong

NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft is on display in its sleek configuration following its first wheels-up flight on April 3, 2026, from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The transition marks a key milestone for the Quesst mission and an important step in the aircraft’s test campaign, which aims to enable quiet commercial supersonic flight over land.

The X-59 aircraft builds on decades of supersonic flight research and is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission. The vast amount of data collected over the years has given designers the tools they needed to craft the shape of the X-59. The goal is to enable the aircraft to fly at supersonic speeds and reduce a loud sonic boom to a quieter “sonic thump.”

Data gathered during X-59 research flights will be shared with the U.S. and international regulators to inform the establishment of new, data-driven acceptable noise thresholds related to supersonic commercial flight over land.

The X-59’s engine, a modified F414-GE-100, packs 22,000 pounds of thrust. This will enable the X-59 to achieve the desired cruising speed of Mach 1.4 (925 miles per hour) at an altitude of approximately 55,000 feet. It sits in a nontraditional spot–atop the aircraft—to aid in making the X-59 quieter.

The X-59's goal is to help change existing national and international aviation rules that ban commercial supersonic flight over land.

For more information about the X-59 and NASA's Quesst mission, visit www.nasa.gov/quesst

Video Credit: NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC)
Duration: 43 seconds
Release Date: April 15, 2026

#NASA #Aerospace #SupersonicFlight #SupersonicAircraft #X59 #Sonicbooms #QuietAviation #Aviation #QuesstMission #CommercialAviation #Science #Physics #Engineering #AerospaceResearch #AeronauticalResearch #FlightTests #LockheedMartin #NASAArmstrong #AFRC #Edwards #California #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's Artemis Moon Program: How to Recover a Spacecraft | Johnson Space Center

NASA's Artemis Moon Program: How to Recover a Spacecraft | Johnson Space Center

At the end of the Artemis II mission around the Moon, the Orion spacecraft and its crew splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, where a joint NASA and U.S. Navy team was ready to recover both the astronauts and the capsule. Lili Villarreal is the Artemis II Landing and Recovery Director at NASA's Kennedy Space Center and she explains the process.

After splashdown, the recovery team secured Orion, opened the side hatch, and assisted the crew out of the spacecraft. The astronauts were then airlifted by helicopter to the Navy recovery ship, and Orion was brought into the ship’s well deck for transport back to shore. It was a complex operation that ensured the safe return of both the crew and the capsule after their historic mission.

This is how to recover a spacecraft.

Artemis II splashed down at 8:07 p.m. April 10, 2026, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego. Following splashdown and recovery, the four crew members underwent post-mission medical evaluations before returning to shore and boarding an aircraft bound for Houston. Upon arrival, the crew was welcomed by and reunited with their families, friends, and agency workforce.

Under Artemis, NASA will send astronauts on increasingly difficult missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.

Learn more about NASA's Artemis II Mission:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/

Get ready for NASA's Artemis III Mission:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-iii/

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center
Writer: Erika Peters
Editor: Phil Sexton
Producers: Rad Sinyak, Erika Peters
Duration: 4 minutes, 27 seconds
Release Date: April 15, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #Moon #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisII #OrionSpacecraft #ParachuteLanding #USNavy #SLS #Astronauts #ChristinaKoch #ReidWiseman #VictorGlover #JeremyHansen #CSA #Canada #HumanSpaceflight #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #NASAJohnson #JSC #PacificOcean #California #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's Human Exploration Rover Challenge 2026 Recap | NASA Marshall

NASA's Human Exploration Rover Challenge 2026 Recap | NASA Marshall

From the Artemis II mission finish line to ours! 🏁 

April 10-11, 2026, 42 student teams from across the world competed in NASA's 2026 Human Exploration Rover Challenge (HERC) in Huntsville, Alabama. These teams navigated challenging obstacles and performed complex tasks with their human-powered or remote-controlled rovers.

NASA's Human Exploration Rover Challenge is a hands-on, research-based, engineering activity that is preparing the next generation of STEM students to reach for the stars!

Learn more about NASA's HERC at nasa.gov/herc

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center: 
https://www.nasa.gov/marshall/

Video Credit: NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center
Duration: 2 minutes, 21 seconds
Release Date: April 13, 2026  

#NASA #Space #Moon #ArtemisProgram #LunarRovers #SpaceTechnology #Earth #RoverChallenge #NASAHERC #Students #StudentCompetitions #Engineering #Huntsville #Alabama #UnitedStates #International #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Lake Baikal, Siberia, Russia: Deepest Lake on Earth | International Space Station

Lake Baikal, Siberia, Russia: Deepest Lake on Earth | International Space Station

Expedition 74 commander and Russian cosmonaut Sergey-Kud Sverchkov: "Every cosmonaut, before launching into orbit, has a list of places on Earth they'd like to see from an altitude of 400 km. These can be very different places: first and foremost, places connected with personal experiences, places of origin, or places they've visited before. And, of course, they also want to see the most extraordinary creations of nature from space, and, of course, the most outstanding human-made creations."

"I think Lake Baikal is on every cosmonaut's or astronaut's list, because there are reasons to consider it special."

"This is the deepest lake in the world (1,642 m deep), and it contains more than 23,000 cubic kilometers of purest fresh water. This is more than all the Great Lakes of North America combined. It represents 20% of all the surface fresh water on our planet."

"This is the oldest lake on Earth, 25-30 million years old. Around the same time, the Caucasus began to form, and the Sahara Desert did not yet exist."

· "Lake Baikal's water transparency can reach 40 meters. Due to this, as well as its depth and enormous volume, sunlight does not warm the surface layers, but penetrates deeper and is dispersed by the enormous volume of water. Therefore, Baikal remains cool even in hot summers, and a dense haze does not form over its surface, making its shores a convenient location for astronomical observations. Baikal is also used for underwater space exploration: a unique project, the Baikal-GVD (Gigaton Volume Detector), operates at the bottom of the lake. This is one of the world's largest neutrino telescopes, along with Antarctica's IceCube."

· "About 330 rivers and streams flow into Lake Baikal, but only one river, the Angara, flows out."

· "Baikal is home to 2,600 animal species, most of which are endemic. For example, the Baikal seal is the world's only freshwater seal."

"In short, Lake Baikal is a whole story, the story of our planet."

Follow Expedition 74:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 74 Crew
Station Commander: Sergey-Kud Sverchkov (Russia)
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Andrey Fedyaev, Sergei Mikaev

European Space Agency Flight Engineer: Sophie Adenot

NASA Flight Engineers: Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Chris Williams

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada.

Image Credit: Russian Cosmonaut Sergei Kud-Sverchkov
Date: April 14, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #Planets #Earth #Baikal #LakeBaikal #ОзероБайкал #DeepestLake #Siberia #Сибирь #Astronauts #UnitedStates #ESA #Europe #Cosmonauts #SergeiKudSverchkov #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition74 #STEM #Education

SpaceX Starship V3 & Super Heavy Testing: Pre-Flight 12 | Starbase Texas

SpaceX Starship V3 & Super Heavy Testing: Pre-Flight 12 | Starbase Texas

Full-duration static fire for the first time on Starship V3

SpaceX Super Heavy reusable rocket booster: Starship first-stage

SpaceX Update: Starship and Super Heavy continue preflight testing. Starship V3 static fire successful.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk: "I am highly confident that the V3 design will achieve full reusability."

As of October 13, 2025, the SpaceX Starship has been "launched 11 times with 6 successes and 5 failures." SpaceX has developed Starship with the intention of lowering launch costs using economies of scale. It aims to achieve this by reusing both rocket stages, increasing payload mass to orbit, increasing launch frequency, creating a mass-manufacturing pipeline and adapting it to a wide range of space missions.

"Starship is essential to both SpaceX’s plans to deploy its next-generation Starship system as well as for NASA, which will use a lunar lander version of Starship for landing astronauts on the Moon during the Artemis III mission through the Human Landing System (HLS) program."

Learn more about Starship:

https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/starship/

Download the Free Starship User Guide (PDF):

https://www.spacex.com/media/starship_users_guide_v1.pdf

Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)

Release Dates: April 12 & 14, 2026

#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #Mars #Moon #MoonToMars #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIII #Starship #StarshipSpacecraft #StarshipV3 #StarshipV3SN1 #StarshipFlight12 #ReusableSpacecraft #ElonMusk #Engineering #SpaceTechnology #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #StarbaseTexas #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Cosmonaut Photos: CRS-24 Cargo Spacecraft Arrival | International Space Station

Cosmonaut Photos: CRS-24 Cargo Spacecraft Arrival | International Space Station

Northrop Grumman CRS-24 Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft approaches the International Space Station

Northrop Grumman CRS-24 Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft prior to being grappled by Canadarm2

Expedition 74 flight engineer and NASA astronaut Chris Williams after CRS-24 Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft arrival and prior to being grappled by Canadarm2

International Space Station configuration as of April 13, 2026

Five spaceships are parked at the space station including the SpaceX Crew-12 Dragon, Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL, the Soyuz MS-28 crew ship, and the Progress 93 and 94 resupply ships

Northrop Grumman NG-24 emblem

Expedition 74 emblem

Expedition 74 flight engineer and NASA astronaut Jessica Meir: "Congratulations to NASA astronauts Chris Williams and Jack Hathaway on their first cargo vehicle capture using the Canadarm2 on the International Space Station! Mission accomplished today. Hatch opening and cargo ops, including many scientific experiments (and even some fresh food), commence early tomorrow. We’re very excited for the science, hardware, and supplies that she brings! Well done, Northrop Grumman, NASA & SpaceX!" 

Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL spacecraft was installed to the Unity module’s Earth-facing port of the International Space Station on Monday, April 13, 2026. The mission is known as NASA’s Northrop Grumman Commercial Resupply Services 24 (CRS-24), or as the Northrop Grumman NG-24 Mission.

Filled with more than 11,000 pounds of research and supplies, the Northrop Grumman Cygnus XL spacecraft, carried on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, launched at 7:41 a.m. EDT on April 11, 2026, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral in Florida. This mission is the second flight of the Cygnus XL, the larger, more cargo-capable version of the company’s solar-powered spacecraft.

Cygnus will remain at the International Space Station until October when it departs the orbiting laboratory. It will then dispose of several thousand pounds of debris through its re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere where it will harmlessly burn up.

Learn more about NASA's Commercial Resupply Missions:
https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/commercial-resupply/

Follow Expedition 74:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 74 Crew
Station Commander: Sergey-Kud Sverchkov (Russia)
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Andrey Fedyaev, Sergei Mikaev

European Space Agency Flight Engineer: Sophie Adenot

NASA Flight Engineers: Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Chris Williams

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada.

Image Credits: Russian Cosmonaut Sergey-Kud Sverchkov, NASA/JSC, Northrop Grumman

Date: April 13, 2026

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #ISS #Planets #Earth #CygnusXLCargoSpacecraft #CRS24 #NorthropGrumman #CSA #Canadarm2 #Canada #Cosmonauts #SergeyKudSverchkov #CosmonautPhotography #Astronauts #ChrisWilliams #JackHathaway #UnitedStates #ESA #France #Europe #Russia #Roscosmos #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition74 #STEM #Education

Cosmonaut Video: CRS-24 Cargo Spacecraft Arrival | International Space Station

Cosmonaut Video: CRS-24 Cargo Spacecraft Arrival | International Space Station

Expedition 74 flight engineer and NASA astronaut Jessica Meir: "Congratulations to NASA astronauts Chris Williams and Jack Hathaway on their first cargo vehicle capture using the Canadarm2 on the International Space Station! Mission accomplished today. Hatch opening and cargo ops, including many scientific experiments (and even some fresh food), commence early tomorrow. We’re very excited for the science, hardware, and supplies that she brings! Well done, Northrop Grumman, NASA & SpaceX!"

Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL spacecraft was installed to the Unity module’s Earth-facing port of the International Space Station on Monday, April 13, 2026. The mission is known as NASA’s Northrop Grumman Commercial Resupply Services 24 (CRS-24), or as the Northrop Grumman NG-24 Mission.

Filled with more than 11,000 pounds of research and supplies, the Northrop Grumman Cygnus XL spacecraft, carried on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, launched at 7:41 a.m. EDT on April 11, 2026, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral in Florida. This mission is the second flight of the Cygnus XL, the larger, more cargo-capable version of the company’s solar-powered spacecraft.

Cygnus will remain at the International Space Station until October when it departs the orbiting laboratory. It will then dispose of several thousand pounds of debris through its re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere where it will harmlessly burn up.

Learn more about Cygnus and NASA's Commercial Resupply Missions:
https://www.northropgrumman.com/what-we-do/space/spacecraft/cygnus
https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/commercial-resupply/

Follow Expedition 74:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 74 Crew
Station Commander: Sergey-Kud Sverchkov (Russia)
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Andrey Fedyaev, Sergei Mikaev

European Space Agency Flight Engineer: Sophie Adenot

NASA Flight Engineers: Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Chris Williams

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada.

Video Credit: Russian Cosmonaut Sergey-Kud Sverchkov

Duration: 26 seconds

Date: April 13, 2026

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #ISS #Planets #Earth #CygnusXLCargoSpacecraft #CRS24 #Cosmonauts #SergeyKudSverchkov #CosmonautVideography #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #Astronauts #ChrisWilliams #JackHathaway #UnitedStates #ESA #France #Europe #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition74 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Russian Progress 94 Cargo Spacecraft Arrival | International Space Station

Russian Progress 94 Cargo Spacecraft Arrival | International Space Station

The Russian Progress 94 cargo spacecraft from Roscosmos, packed with about three tons of food, fuel, and supplies for the Expedition 74 crew, approaches the International Space Station while soaring into an orbital sunset 267 miles above the Russia–Mongolia border.

The Russian Progress 94 cargo spacecraft, loaded with nearly three tons of food, fuel, and supplies, nears the International Space Station ahead of its docking on March 24, 2026.

The Progress 94 cargo spacecraft from Roscosmos, packed with about three tons of food, fuel, and supplies for the Expedition 74 crew, approaches the International Space Station for a docking to the Poisk module. 

The Progress 94 cargo spacecraft from Roscosmos, packed with about three tons of food, fuel, and supplies for the Expedition 74 crew, is pictured shortly after docking to the International Space Station's Poisk module. The orbital outpost was soaring 265 miles above the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the time of this photograph.

A new spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station on March 16, 2026, carrying 2,509 kilograms of cargo. The cargo included everything necessary for living and working in space. The uncrewed Roscosmos Progress 94 spacecraft docked at the space-facing port of the International Space Station’s Poisk module at 9:40 a.m. EDT Tuesday, March 17, 2026.

Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov manually piloted the spacecraft during docking using the Telerobotically Operated Rendezvous System (TORU) control panel inside the space station’s Zvezda Service Module after one of the spacecraft’s two KURS automated rendezvous antennas failed to deploy after launch. 

The spacecraft delivered about three tons of food, fuel, and supplies for the Expedition 74 crew. It will remain docked to the orbiting laboratory for about six months before departing for a planned destructive re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere to dispose of trash loaded by the crew. 

It launched at 7:59 a.m. (4:59 p.m. Baikonur time) March 22, 2026, on a Russian Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Follow Expedition 74:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 74 Crew
Station Commander: Sergey-Kud Sverchkov (Russia)
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Andrey Fedyaev, Sergei Mikaev

European Space Agency Flight Engineer: Sophie Adenot

NASA Flight Engineers: Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Chris Williams

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada.

Image Credits: NASA, Cosmonaut Sergei Kud-Sverchkov
Dates: March 16-17, 2026

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #ISS #Planets #Earth #Progress94 #Progress94CargoSpacecraft #Astronauts #ChrisWilliams #JackHathaway #UnitedStates #ESA #France #Europe #Cosmonauts #SergeiKudSverchkov #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition74 #STEM #Education

Falcon 9 & The Sun: Cygnus Cargo Spacecraft Launch | International Space Station

Falcon 9 & The Sun: Cygnus Cargo Spacecraft Launch | International Space Station

At 7:41 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on April 11, 2026, more than 11,000 pounds of scientific investigations and cargo launched to the International Space Station aboard Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL spacecraft for the company’s Commercial Resupply Services-24 mission, or Northrop Grumman CRS-24. The spacecraft lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral in Florida.

NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway and Chris Williams will capture Cygnus XL using the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm at approximately 12:50 p.m. on Monday, April 13. After capture, the spacecraft will be installed on the Unity module’s Earth-facing port and will remain at the station until October. NASA will not provide live coverage of the spacecraft’s installation.

Follow Expedition 74:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 74 Crew
Station Commander: Sergey-Kud Sverchkov (Russia)
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Andrey Fedyaev, Sergei Mikaev

European Space Agency Flight Engineer: Sophie Adenot

NASA Flight Engineers: Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Chris Williams

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada.

Video Credit: SpaceX

Duration: 14 seconds

Date: April 11, 2026

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #ISS #Planets #Earth #CygnusXLCargoSpacecraft #CRS24 #NorthropGrumman #Canadarm2 #Astronauts #ChrisWilliams #JackHathaway #UnitedStates #ESA #France #Europe #Cosmonauts #Russia #Roscosmos #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition74 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

China Landspace Lijian-1 Y12 Commercial Launch of Earth Observation Satellites

China Landspace Lijian-1 Y12 Commercial Launch of Earth Observation Satellites

A CAS Space Lijian-1 Y12 carrier rocket (also known as Kinetica-1 Y12) blasted off at 12:03 p.m. Beijing Time on April 14, 2026 from the Dongfeng commercial space innovation pilot zone in northwest China, delivering eight satellites, including the Jixing Gaofen 07A02 into their planned orbits. The launch mission was a complete success. Lijian-1 successfully launched "One Arrow, Eight Satellites".  

This was the Lijian-1 rocket's 12th successful mission with a total of 92 satellites and more than 12 tonnes of payload launched. Developed by CAS Space, this rocket targets the microsatellite market with quick one-month turnaround times and double-digit annual production. It also plans for sea launches, signaling China's push toward high-frequency, flexible access to space.

The Youchuyinhang (Postal Savings Bank of China, PSBC) series of satellites were also delivered in this flight. Kinetica-1 is now producing ten flights per year using pulse-line manufacturing. Manufacturing is divided into several key nodes, operating in parallel to improve efficiency and quality control.

The rocket put into orbit eight Earth remote sensing satellites with a resolution of <0.5 m: 

"Jilin-1 Gaofen 07A02"

"Gaofen 07A03/Yuchu Yinghan"

"Jilin-1 Gaofen 07A04"

"Jilin-1 Gaofen 07B02"

"Jilin-1 Gaofen 07B03"

"Jilin-1 Gaofen 07B04"

"Jilin-1 Gaofen 07C02"

"Jilin-1 Gaofen 07C03".

CAS Space is a Chinese commercial space launch provider based in Guangzhou, capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. CAS Space was founded in 2018 and is majority owned by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

The Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC) was founded in 1958. It was the first of China's four spaceports. The launch center has been the focus of many of China's historic space ventures, including the country's first satellite Dong Fang Hong I in 1970 and their first crewed space mission, Shenzhou V, on October 15, 2003. JSLC is now a home for many new Chinese launch firms, like CAS Space.

Video Credit: CAS Space
Duration: 1 minute

Date: April 14, 2026

#NASA #Space #Satellites #Earth #EarthObservation #RemoteSensing #China #中国 #CASSpace #中科宇航 #CAS #中国科学院 #Kinetica1 #Lijian1 #Lijian1Y12Rocket #Lijian1Y12 #LaunchVehicles #SolidFuelRockets #SatelliteLaunches #CommercialSpace #CAS #JiuquanSatelliteLaunchCenter #JSLC #InnerMongolia #STEM #Education #HD #Video

China Landspace Lijian-1 Y12 Commercial Launch of Earth Observation Satellites

China Landspace Lijian-1 Y12 Commercial Launch of Earth Observation Satellites

A CAS Space Lijian-1 Y12 carrier rocket (also known as Kinetica-1 Y12) blasted off at 12:03 p.m. Beijing Time on April 14, 2026 from the Dongfeng commercial space innovation pilot zone in northwest China, delivering eight satellites, including the Jixing Gaofen 07A02 into their planned orbits. The launch mission was a complete success. Lijian-1 successfully launched "One Arrow, Eight Satellites".  

This was the Lijian-1 rocket's 12th successful mission with a total of 92 satellites and more than 12 tonnes of payload launched. Developed by CAS Space, this rocket targets the microsatellite market with quick one-month turnaround times and double-digit annual production. It also plans for sea launches, signaling China's push toward high-frequency, flexible access to space.

The Youchuyinhang (Postal Savings Bank of China, PSBC) series of satellites were also delivered in this flight. Kinetica-1 is now producing ten flights per year using pulse-line manufacturing. Manufacturing is divided into several key nodes, operating in parallel to improve efficiency and quality control.

The rocket put into orbit eight Earth remote sensing satellites with a resolution of <0.5 m: 

"Jilin-1 Gaofen 07A02"

"Gaofen 07A03/Yuchu Yinghan"

"Jilin-1 Gaofen 07A04"

"Jilin-1 Gaofen 07B02"

"Jilin-1 Gaofen 07B03"

"Jilin-1 Gaofen 07B04"

"Jilin-1 Gaofen 07C02"

"Jilin-1 Gaofen 07C03".

CAS Space is a Chinese commercial space launch provider based in Guangzhou, capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. CAS Space was founded in 2018 and is majority owned by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

The Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC) was founded in 1958. It was the first of China's four spaceports. The launch center has been the focus of many of China's historic space ventures, including the country's first satellite Dong Fang Hong I in 1970 and their first crewed space mission, Shenzhou V, on October 15, 2003. JSLC is now a home for many new Chinese launch firms, like CAS Space.

Image Credit: CAS Space

Date: April 14, 2026

#NASA #Space #Satellites #Earth #EarthObservation #RemoteSensing #China #中国 #CASSpace #中科宇航 #CAS #中国科学院 #Kinetica1 #Lijian1 #Lijian1Y12Rocket #Lijian1Y12 #LaunchVehicles #SolidFuelRockets #SatelliteLaunches #CommercialSpace #CAS #JiuquanSatelliteLaunchCenter #JSLC #InnerMongolia #STEM #Education

New Lunar Flyby Images Released | NASA Artemis II Moon Mission

New Lunar Flyby Images Released | NASA Artemis II Moon Mission

Earthset captured through the Orion spacecraft window at 6:41 p.m. EDT, April 6, 2026, during the Artemis II crew’s flyby of the Moon. A muted blue Earth with bright white clouds sets behind the cratered lunar surface. The dark portion of Earth is in nighttime. On Earth’s day side, swirling clouds are visible over the Australia and Oceania region.

The Orion spacecraft is seen in the foreground lit up by the Sun. A waxing gibbous Moon is visible in the background. Orientale basin, a 600-mile-wide impact crater ringed by mountains, is visible toward the center bottom of the Moon. This basin straddles the Moon’s near and far sides. To the left of Orientale, which has a patch of ancient lava in its basin, is the far side; this is the hemisphere we don’t get to see from Earth. To the right of Orientale is the near side, the hemisphere we see every day from Earth. The nearside is notable for giant, dark patches of ancient lave flows that cover its surface.

NASA’s Orion spacecraft is seen in the foreground, lit up by the Sun. A first quarter Moon is visible behind it, with sunlight coming from the right. Near the bottom right edge of the Moon, Orientale basin stands out with a black patch of ancient lava in its center. A 600-mile-wide impact crater ringed by mountains, Orientale straddles the near and far sides of the Moon.

NASA’s Orion spacecraft captures the Moon and the Earth in one frame during the Artemis II crew’s deep space journey at 6:42 p.m. ET on the sixth day of the mission. The right side of NASA’s Orion spacecraft is seen lit up by the Sun. A waxing crescent Moon is visible behind it. And then, a crescent Earth, tiny compared to the Moon, is about to set below the Moon’s horizon on the right.

NASA’s Orion spacecraft captures the Moon and the Earth in one frame during the Artemis II crew’s deep space journey at 6:39 p.m. ET on the sixth day of the mission. The right side of NASA’s Orion spacecraft is seen lit up by the Sun. A waxing crescent Moon is visible behind it. And then, a crescent Earth, tiny compared to the Moon, is about to set below the Moon’s horizon on the right.

Earthrise captured from a camera mounted on one of the Orion spacecraft’s solar array wings at 7:22 p.m. ET during the Artemis II crew’s flyby of the Moon’s far side. Earth appears as a delicate sliver with the portion on the left darkened by shadow and a portion on the right tucking away behind the Moon. A closer look reveals that the Moon occupies the bottom right portion of the photo, identifiable by the edge of it seen in visible light near the bottom corner.

The solar eclipse captured from a camera mounted on one of the Orion spacecraft’s solar array wings during the Artemis II crew’s flyby of the Moon’s far side. The science community is investigating whether the glow around the Moon is from zodiacal light—interstellar dust that is reflecting sunlight—the solar corona, or a combination of the two. Unlike minutes-long eclipses as viewed from Earth, the Artemis II crew saw the Sun hide behind the Moon for nearly an hour. In this image, Venus can be spotted on the left, and Saturn on the right of the Moon.

A portion of the Moon’s farside is seen along the terminator—the boundary between lunar day and night—where low-angle sunlight casts long shadows across the surface. A section of Orientale Basin is visible along the upper right portion of the lunar disk, its structure subtly revealed under grazing illumination. This lighting enhances contrast across the cratered terrain, highlighting variations in surface features and providing insight into the Moon’s geologic history.

The Artemis II Mission wrapped up a historic seven-hour lunar flyby on April 6, 2026, marking humanity’s first return to the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972 and capturing images of the lunar far side. During their nearly 10-day mission, the crew completed a record-setting lunar flyby, taking them 252,756 miles at their farthest distance from Earth and 4,067 miles above the lunar surface at their closest approach. 

As the lunar observation period ended, the crew witnessed a nearly hour-long solar eclipse as the spacecraft, the Moon and the Sun aligned. With a view of a mostly darkened Moon, the crew analyzed the solar corona—the Sun’s outermost atmosphere—as it appeared around the Moon’s edge.

The first crewed test flight of NASA’s Artemis program lifted off from Launch Pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 6:35 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), April 1, 2026, carrying the first astronauts to travel to the Moon in more than half a century.

Artemis II splashed down at 8:07 p.m. April 10 in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego. Following splashdown and recovery, the four crew members underwent post-mission medical evaluations before returning to shore and boarding an aircraft bound for Houston. Upon arrival, the crew was welcomed by and reunited with their families, friends, and agency workforce.

Under Artemis, NASA will send astronauts on increasingly difficult missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.

Learn more about NASA's Artemis II Mission:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/

Get ready for NASA's Artemis III Mission:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-iii/

Image Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center
Image Dates: April 6-7, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #Earthset #SolarEclipse #Moon #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisII #OrionSpacecraft #SLS #Astronauts #ChristinaKoch #ReidWiseman #VictorGlover #JeremyHansen #CSA #Canada #HumanSpaceflight #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #NASAJohnson #JSC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education