Friends of NASA (FoN) is an independent non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to building international support for peaceful space exploration, commerce, scientific discovery, and STEM education.
This wide-field view shows the star-forming region Rho Ophiuchi in the constellation of Ophiuchus (The Serpent Bearer), as seen in visible light. This view was created from images forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2.
Distance:400 light years
Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/Digitized Sky Survey 2
The Rho Ophiuchi Star Formation Region | Steward Observatory
This wide-field view shows a spectacular region of dark and bright clouds, forming part of a region of star formation in the constellation of Ophiuchus (The Serpent Bearer).
Credit: Adam Block/Steward Observatory/University of Arizona
NASA's Artemis I Moon Mission: The Rocket | Path to the Pad
Have you ever wondered what it takes to assemble the most powerful rocket NASA has ever built? Watch documentary footage of our Space Launch System (SLS) rocket's transformation into the over-300-foot-tall launch vehicle that will return humanity to the Moon.
Starting with manufacturing and ending with stacking operations inside NASA Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building, this is only the beginning of SLS's path to the pad.
The Rho Ophiuchi Cloud | NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope
One of the most striking nearby star-forming regions is the Rho Ophiuchi Cloud. Images from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope reveal its infrared wonders.
Rho Ophiuchi: Young Stars in Their Baby Blanket of Dust | NASA's Spitzer
Newborn stars peek out from beneath their natal blanket of dust in this dynamic image of the Rho Ophiuchi dark cloud from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Called "Rho Oph" by astronomers, it is one of the closest star-forming regions to our own solar system. Located near the constellations Scorpius and Ophiuchus, the nebula is about 407 light years away from Earth.
Rho Oph is a complex made up of a large main cloud of molecular hydrogen, a key molecule allowing new stars to form from cold cosmic gas, with two long streamers trailing off in different directions. Recent studies using the latest X-ray and infrared observations reveal more than 300 young stellar objects within the large central cloud. Their median age is only 300,000 years, very young compared to some of the universe's oldest stars, which are more than 12 billion years old.
This false-color image of Rho Oph's main cloud, Lynds 1688, was created with data from Spitzer's infrared array camera, which has the highest spatial resolution of Spitzer's three imaging instruments, and its multiband imaging photometer, best for detecting cooler materials. Blue represents 3.6-micron light; green shows light of 8 microns; and red is 24-micron light. The multiple wavelengths reveal different aspects of the dust surrounding and between the embedded stars, yielding information about the stars and their birthplace.
The colors in this image reflect the relative temperatures and evolutionary states of the various stars. The youngest stars are surrounded by dusty disks of gas from which they, and their potential planetary systems, are forming. These young disk systems show up as red in this image. Some of these young stellar objects are surrounded by their own compact nebulae. More evolved stars, which have shed their natal material, are blue.
The Rho Ophiuchi Star-forming Region: Infrared View | NASA's WISE
This image shows the Rho Ophiuchi star-forming region in infrared light, as seen by NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Explorer (WISE). Blue and cyan represent light emitted at wavelengths of 3.4 and 4.6 micrometers, which is predominantly from stars. Green and red represent light from 12 and 22 micrometers, respectively, which is mostly emitted by dust.
This wide-field view shows a spectacular region of dark and bright clouds, forming part of a region of star formation in the constellation of Ophiuchus (The Serpent Bearer). This picture was created from images in the Digitized Sky Survey 2.
Distance: about 360 light-years
Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/Digitized Sky Survey 2
Europe: Ready for NASA's Artemis I Moon Mission | ESA
The European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA are working hand-in-hand before the first Artemis mission to the Moon through a series of joint mission simulations. Teams based at the Erasmus Support Facility (ESF) at ESA’s ESTEC facility in The Netherlands, the German Space Operations Center at ESA’s Columbus Control Center in Oberphfaffenhofen and NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston are combining their expertise in a series of exercises to ensure a successful launch.
When it comes to simulations, it is important that not everything goes perfectly right as it recreates—in real time—different stages of the mission to monitor the spacecraft’s position, propulsion, power, avionics and thermal properties. The European team, consisting of 40 people from ESA and industry, apply their considerable expertise from working on the European Service Module (ESM) to any unexpected problems. The ESM will provide power for the Orion spacecraft and propel it along its orbit to the Moon.
NASA's Artemis I Moon Mission: Path to the Pad Trailer
Through Artemis, NASA will once again land humans on the Moon. Before that can happen, we must first launch our Space Launch System (SLS) rocket—the most powerful rocket we have ever built—and Orion spacecraft on an uncrewed flight test around the Moon. Join us as we document this moment in history and watch as we follow SLS and Orion on their path to the pad.
Moonikin “Campos” & The Manikins | NASA's Artemis I Moon Mission
Two manikins have been installed in the passenger seats inside the Artemis I Orion crew module atop the Space Launch System rocket in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 8, 2022. As part of the Matroshka AstroRad Radiation Experiment (MARE) investigation, the two female manikins—Helga and Zohar—are equipped with radiation detectors, while Zohar also wears a radiation protection vest, to determine the radiation risk on its way to the Moon. Moonikin Campos, named after former NASA engineer Arturo Campos, will also be on Artemis I. Moonikin Campos, along with two phantom manikins, Helga and Zohar, will allow us to measure radiation, acceleration, and vibration data throughout the mission. The information gathered from these human body replicas will inform future crewed missions.
Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate NASA’s capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft’s integrated systems before crewed missions. Under Artemis, NASA aims to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon and establish sustainable lunar exploration.
This wide-field view shows the rich region of sky around the Thor’s Helmet Nebula (NGC 2359) in the constellation of Canis Major (The Great Dog). This view was created from images forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2.
Distance:15,000 light years
Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/Digitized Sky Survey 2. Acknowledgement: Davide De Martin
This video takes a close look at a Very Large Telescope (VLT) image of the Thor's Helmet Nebula. This object, also known as NGC 2359, lies in the constellation of Canis Major (The Great Dog). The helmet-shaped nebula is around 15,000 light-years away from Earth and is over 30 light-years across. The helmet is a cosmic bubble, blown as the wind from the bright, massive star near the bubble's center sweeps through the surrounding molecular cloud. This VLT image of the Thor’s Helmet Nebula was taken on the occasion of ESO’s 50th Anniversary with the help of Brigitte Bailleul—winner of a VLT competition.
Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/B. Bailleul
This video sequence starts with a broad view of the Milky Way before closing in on the sky close to the familiar bright star Sirius. The final sequence shows a new VLT image of the Thor's Helmet Nebula taken on the occasion of ESO's 50th Anniversary, October 5, 2012, with the help of Brigitte Bailleul—winner of a VLT competition.
This object, also known as NGC 2359, lies in the constellation of Canis Major (The Great Dog). The helmet-shaped nebula is around 15,000 light-years away from Earth and is over 30 light-years across. The helmet is a cosmic bubble, blown as the wind from the bright, massive star near the bubble's center sweeps through the surrounding molecular cloud. This Very Large Telescope (VLT) image of the Thor’s Helmet Nebula was taken on the occasion of ESO’s 50th Anniversary with the help of Brigitte Bailleul—winner of a VLT competition. The observations were broadcast live over the Internet from the Paranal Observatory in Chile.
Distance:15,000 light years
Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/B. Bailleul
NASA's Space to Ground: Space Gardening | Week of August 12, 2022
NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station. Healing wounds in space and growing crops in low-Earth orbit and beyond were among the major research topics aboard the International Space Station this week. Meanwhile, the Expedition 67 crew was also packing a U.S. cargo craft, SpaceX 's CRS-25, and preparing for a Russian spacewalk next week.
Expedition 67 Crew
Commander Oleg Artemyev (Russia)
Roscosmos Flight Engineers: Denis Matveev and Sergey Korsakov (Russia)
NASA Flight Engineers: Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, Jessica Watkins (USA)
European Space Agency (ESA) Flight Engineer: Samantha Cristoforetti (Italy)
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. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.
Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:
