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The South Pole of Mars | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Semper gelidus in Latin can be best translated as “always cold” or “always icy.” We are looking at a scene of the South Polar residual cap of Mars. It is termed that because of the persistence of ice even after the season changes. This is all carbon dioxide ice at this location.
The expansion and contraction of underground ice, along with the process of sublimation (when a solid transforms directly into a gaseous state) contribute to the weird and interesting patterns that we see here.
This is a non-narrated clip with ambient sound. The image is less than 5 km (3 mi) across and the spacecraft altitude was 245 km (152 mi).
Open Star Cluster NGC 376 in The Small Magellanic Cloud | Hubble
A small portion of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is pictured in this image from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope. The SMC is a dwarf galaxy and one of the Milky Way’s nearest neighbors, lying only about 200,000 light-years from Earth. It makes a pair with the Large Magellanic Cloud, and both objects can be seen from the southern hemisphere, as well as from some northern latitudes.
Image Description: A large number of bright stars, each with a cross-shape extending from its center. In the center there is a dense collection of foreground stars. Five are orange and the rest are blue. The black background is filled with small stars—most of them, however, larger than a single point.
The Small Magellanic Cloud contains hundreds of millions of stars, but this image focuses on just a small fraction of them. These stars comprise the open cluster NGC 376, which has a total mass only about 3,400 times that of the Sun. Open clusters, as the name suggests, are loosely bound and sparsely populated. This distinguishes open clusters from globular clusters, which are often so thronged with stars that they have a continuous blur of starlight at their centers. In the case of NGC 376, individual stars can be picked out clearly even in the most densely populated parts of this image.
The data in this image come from two different astronomical investigations which relied on two of Hubble’s instruments: the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) and the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). The first investigation used the ACS to explore a handful of star clusters in the Small Magellanic Cloud and help astronomers explore topics including the abundance of low- and high-mass stars in different environments. The second investigation used both the WFC3 and ACS, and aimed to answer fundamental questions about the lives of stars and help astronomers understand precisely where, when, why and how stars form.
Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble & NASA, A. Nota, G. De Marchi
On Dec. 5, 2022, NASA's Orion spacecraft completed its return powered flyby burn, in which the spacecraft harnessed the Moon’s gravity and accelerated back toward Earth. Orion is expected to splashdown off the coast of San Diego at 12:40 p.m. EST (17:30 UTC) on Sunday, Dec. 11, 2022.
Orion launched on the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket from Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. Artemis I is an uncrewed flight test of our SLS rocket, Orion spacecraft, and exploration ground systems for future Artemis missions—which will provide the foundation to send humans to the lunar surface, develop a long-term presence on and around the Moon, and pave the way for humanity to set foot on Mars.
Orion Prepares for Lunar Flyby | NASA's Artemis I Moon Mission
On flight day 20, Dec. 5, 2022, NASA's Orion spacecraft can be seen preparing for its return powered flyby and closest approach to the Moon. This video was captured prior to the spacecraft’s 3 minute, 27 second, return powered flyby burn, committing Orion to a return to Earth and a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off California on Dec. 11, 2022.
Orion launched on the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket from Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. Artemis I is an uncrewed flight test of our SLS rocket, Orion spacecraft, and exploration ground systems for future Artemis missions—which will provide the foundation to send humans to the lunar surface, develop a long-term presence on and around the Moon, and pave the way for humanity to set foot on Mars.
Orion Sees Earth after Lunar Flyby | NASA's Artemis I Moon Mission
On Dec. 5, 2022, NASA's Orion spacecraft completed its return powered flyby burn, in which the spacecraft harnessed the Moon’s gravity and accelerated back toward Earth. It began at 11:43 a.m. (16:43 UTC). Orion is expected to splashdown off the coast of San Diego at 12:40 p.m. EST (17:30 UTC) on Sunday, Dec. 11, 2022.
Orion launched on the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket from Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. Artemis I is an uncrewed flight test of our SLS rocket, Orion spacecraft, and exploration ground systems for future Artemis missions—which will provide the foundation to send humans to the lunar surface, develop a long-term presence on and around the Moon, and pave the way for humanity to set foot on Mars.
Orion Spacecraft: Earth in Sight | NASA's Artemis I Moon Mission
On Dec. 5, 2022, NASA's Orion spacecraft completed its return powered flyby burn, in which the spacecraft harnessed the Moon’s gravity and accelerated back toward Earth. It began at 11:43 a.m. (16:43 UTC). Orion is expected to splashdown off the coast of San Diego at 12:40 p.m. EST (17:30 UTC) on Sunday, Dec. 11, 2022.
Video Description: On flight day 17, Dec. 2, 2022, of the 25.5-day Artemis I mission, a camera mounted on the tip of one of Orion’s four solar arrays captured this video of Earth as the spacecraft was over 220,000 miles away from our home planet.
Orion launched on the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket from Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. Artemis I is an uncrewed flight test of our SLS rocket, Orion spacecraft, and exploration ground systems for future Artemis missions—which will provide the foundation to send humans to the lunar surface, develop a long-term presence on and around the Moon, and pave the way for humanity to set foot on Mars.
Flight Directors of The Artemis I Moon Mission | NASA
Artemis I, the first flight of a human-rated spacecraft to orbit the Moon in almost 50 years, is being controlled at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston by specialists who have trained for years to execute this vital test flight in the Artemis program to return American astronauts to the Moon. They’re doing that work under the leadership and guidance of flight directors who built the mission plan and now have the responsibility to execute that plan safely and successfully. Join Rick LaBrode and Judd Frieling for a quick explanation of the roles and the mission goals they’re executing right now.
Orion Completes Engine Burn for Earth Return | NASA's Artemis I Moon Mission
NASA's Artemis I Orion spacecraft successfully completed its return powered flyby burn on Dec. 5, 2022. Orion passed within 80 miles of the lunar surface ahead of its splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on Dec. 11, 2022.
Orion launched on the SLS rocket from Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. Artemis I is an uncrewed flight test of our SLS rocket, Orion spacecraft, and exploration ground systems for future Artemis missions—which will provide the foundation to send humans to the lunar surface, develop a long-term presence on and around the Moon, and pave the way for humanity to set foot on Mars.
The 50th Anniversary of Apollo 17 (1972-2022) | NASA
This video celebrates the 50th anniversary of Apollo 17 (December 7–19, 1972) by talking with Lunar Module Pilot Jack Schmitt about the significance of that mission and how it laid the groundwork for future human exploration of the Moon. Jack also discusses how the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which launched in 2009, has helped reinterpret Apollo-era data and given us new information about the lunar terrain that will help pave the way for the upcoming Artemis missions.
Apollo 17 was the final mission of NASA's Apollo program, the most recent time humans have set foot on the Moon or traveled beyond low Earth orbit. Commander Gene Cernan and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison "Jack" Schmitt walked on the Moon, while Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans orbited above. Schmitt was the only professional geologist to land on the Moon
Historic Night Landing for China’s Shenzhou-14 Crew | China Space Station
China’s Shenzhou-14 crew landed on Earth on December 4, 2022, after accomplishing two historic firsts for the Chinese space program. During their 183 days in space, the three-astronaut crew—Chen Dong, Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe—lived and worked on the Tiangong complex for 183 days on a mission to complete assembly of the permanent orbiting space station. They oversaw the final construction stage of the basic structure of the Tiangong space station. Before heading home, they also handed over control of the station to the three members of Shenzhou-15 who had arrived days earlier for the nation’s first in-orbit crew handover.
Open Star Cluster NGC 376 in The Small Magellanic Cloud | Hubble
A small portion of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is pictured in this image from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope. The SMC is a dwarf galaxy and one of the Milky Way’s nearest neighbors, lying only about 200,000 light-years from Earth. It makes a pair with the Large Magellanic Cloud, and both objects can be seen from the southern hemisphere, as well as from some northern latitudes.
Image Description: A large number of bright stars, each with a cross-shape extending from its center. In the center there is a dense collection of foreground stars. Five are orange and the rest are blue. The black background is filled with small stars—most of them, however, larger than a single point.
The Small Magellanic Cloud contains hundreds of millions of stars, but this image focuses on just a small fraction of them. These stars comprise the open cluster NGC 376, which has a total mass only about 3,400 times that of the Sun. Open clusters, as the name suggests, are loosely bound and sparsely populated. This distinguishes open clusters from globular clusters, which are often so thronged with stars that they have a continuous blur of starlight at their centers. In the case of NGC 376, individual stars can be picked out clearly even in the most densely populated parts of this image.
The data in this image come from two different astronomical investigations which relied on two of Hubble’s instruments: the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) and the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). The first investigation used the ACS to explore a handful of star clusters in the Small Magellanic Cloud and help astronomers explore topics including the abundance of low- and high-mass stars in different environments. The second investigation used both the WFC3 and ACS, and aimed to answer fundamental questions about the lives of stars and help astronomers understand precisely where, when, why and how stars form.
Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble & NASA, A. Nota, G. De Marchi
Orion Approaches The Moon & Earth | NASA's Artemis I Moon Mission
On Dec. 4, 2022, the 19th day of the Artemis I Mission, the Moon grows larger in the frame as Orion prepares for its return powered flyby on Dec. 5, 2022. Orion will pass approximately 79 miles above the lunar surface before its splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on Dec. 11, 2022.
Orion launched on the SLS rocket from Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. Artemis I is an uncrewed flight test of our SLS rocket, Orion spacecraft, and exploration ground systems for future Artemis missions—which will provide the foundation to send humans to the lunar surface, develop a long-term presence on and around the Moon, and pave the way for humanity to set foot on Mars.
Ride Along with Orion Around The Moon | NASA's Artemis I Moon Mission
Cameras on NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft give us amazing views of our adventure around the Moon. See up close views of the Moon from external cameras as well as the view from inside the capsule.
Orion is the only spacecraft capable of carrying humans from Earth on Artemis missions to deep space and bringing them back to Earth from the vicinity of the Moon. More than just a crew module, Orion has a launch abort system to keep astronauts safe if an emergency happens during launch, and a European-built service module that is the powerhouse that fuels and propels Orion and keeps astronauts alive with water, oxygen, power, and temperature control, as well as a heat shield that can handle high-speed returns from deep space. SLS is the most powerful rocket in the world and the only rocket capable of launching Orion with astronauts and their supplies on Artemis missions to the Moon.
Orion launched on the SLS rocket from Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. Artemis I is an uncrewed flight test of our SLS rocket, Orion spacecraft, and exploration ground systems for future Artemis missions—which will provide the foundation to send humans to the lunar surface, develop a long-term presence on and around the Moon, and pave the way for humanity to set foot on Mars.
Highlights From the First 13 Days | NASA's Artemis I Moon Mission
On Monday, Nov. 28, 2022, Artemis I reached the halfway point of its 26-day mission around the Moon, flying roughly 270,000 miles (434,000 km) from the Earth—farther from our home planet than any spacecraft designed to send humans to space and back has gone before.
From Artemis I's launch at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, to its first "Earthrise", to close-up views of the lunar surface, take a look back at some of the highlights from the first half of this mission.
Artemis I is an uncrewed test of our Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft for future Artemis missions—which will send humans to the lunar surface, develop a long-term, sustainable presence on and around the Moon, and pave the way for humanity to set foot on Mars.
The Earth-Moon System | NASA's Artemis I Orion Spacecraft
On flight day 13, Nov. 28, 2022, NASA's Artemis I Orion spacecraft reached its maximum distance from Earth during the Artemis I mission when it was 268,563 miles away from our home planet. Orion has traveled farther than any other spacecraft built for humans.
The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I is an uncrewed flight test that will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration. It will demonstrate NASA's commitment and capability to extend human existence to the Moon and beyond. Orion is completing a 25-day test of all key systems. It will travel 280,000 miles from Earth, thousands of miles beyond the Moon. Orion will stay in space longer than any ship for astronauts has done without docking to a space station and return home faster and hotter than ever before.
On the Artemis III Mission, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars.
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