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Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Launch: Flight NG-1 | International Space Station
International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 72 flight engineer and NASA astronaut Don Pettit:
"New Glenn rocket launch photographed from ISS on Jan 16th. This shows New Glenn upper stage in coast phase following booster separation. In this 4 minute time exposure, New Glenn is seen as the faint streak moving from lower right to upper left as it crosses the brighter vertically oriented star trails. This was not an easy photograph to take. ISS was over Oklahoma at the beginning and over central Gulf of Mexico at the end of the exposure."
"To photograph New Glenn, I set up three cameras with wide angle lens in the Cupola, figuring one would catch its exo-atmospheric trajectory."
Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket successfully lifted off at 2:03 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on January 16, 2025. It safely reached its intended orbit during today's NG-1 mission, accomplishing its primary objective.
About New Glenn
New Glenn stands more than 320 feet (98 meters) high and features a seven-meter payload fairing, enabling twice the volume of standard five-meter class commercial launch systems.
Expedition 72 Crew Station Commander: Suni Williams Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Alexey Ovchinin, Ivan Vagner, Aleksandr Gorbunov NASA Flight Engineers: Butch Wilmore, Don Pettit, Nick Hague
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: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)/D. Pettit Image Date: Jan. 16, 2025
SpaceX Starship: Flight Test#7 Super Heavy Booster Catch—January 16, 2025
The seventh flight test of Starship launched on Thursday, January 16, 2025 at 4:37pm Central Time (CT). The Mechazilla at Starbase Texas caught the Super Heavy booster for a second time. This flight test launched a new generation ship with significant upgrades, attempting to accomplish Starship’s first payload deployment test, to fly multiple reentry experiments geared towards ship catch and reuse, and to launch and return the Super Heavy booster.
SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket—collectively referred to as Starship—represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond. Starship is the world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, capable of carrying up to 150 metric tonnes fully reusable and 250 metric tonnes expendable.
"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."
SpaceX Starship: Flight Test#7 Super Heavy Booster Catch—January 16, 2025
The seventh flight test of Starship launched on Thursday, January 16, 2025 at 4:37pm Central Time (CT). The Mechazilla at Starbase Texas caught the Super Heavy booster for a second time. This flight test launched a new generation ship with significant upgrades, attempting to accomplish Starship’s first payload deployment test, to fly multiple reentry experiments geared towards ship catch and reuse, and to launch and return the Super Heavy booster.
SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket—collectively referred to as Starship—represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond. Starship is the world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, capable of carrying up to 150 metric tonnes fully reusable and 250 metric tonnes expendable.
"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."
Astrophotographer Yuri Beletsky: "Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) has finally arrived in the Southern Sky! 🤩 It's clearly visible as a very bright object shortly after sunset. Although the tail is still quite short, the comet is truly beautiful. For planning the composition, I used Planit Pro."
C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) is a non-periodic comet. It reached perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on January 13, 2025, at a distance of 0.09 AU (13 million km) from the Sun. It is potentially the brightest comet of 2025, with an apparent magnitude reaching −3.8 on the day of its perihelion. The comet is visible in the southern hemisphere before and after perihelion. It can only be observed in the daytime sky around perihelion in the northern hemisphere.
Comet C/2024 G3 was found by the automated Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) on April 5, 2024, in images obtained with a 0.5-m reflector telescope located in Río Hurtado, Chile. ATLAS is funded by NASA's planetary defense office, and developed and operated by the University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy.
Shenzhou-19 Crew Work on Oxygen Production Technology | China Space Station
The Shenzhou-19 crew on board China's Tiangong Space Station has performed work related to experiments on the technology of artificial photosynthesis for extraterrestrial survival.
The crew used sampling cans to collect samples of reactants inside relevant devices and stored the samples to be brought down to the earth.
The technology simulates the natural photosynthesis of green plants through physical and chemical methods. It utilizes carbon dioxide resources in confined spaces and extraterrestrial atmospheres in situ to produce oxygen and carbon-containing fuels. It is expected to provide important technical support for human survival and exploration in outer space for the future.
In the field of microgravity physics science, the crew disassembled solid-liquid mesoscopic experiment units in the fluid physics experiment cabinet and installed experimental sample trays.
They also cleaned non-container experimental chambers, replaced experimental samples, and maintained axis mechanisms and electrodes.
Last week, the crew also participated in a number of in-orbit training programs.
For example, rendezvous and docking is one of the professional and technical training programs for astronauts during their stay in the space. The crew used the metacognitive training system to complete trainings on image recognition under varying initial conditions.
They also carried out medical rescue exercises, and emergency evacuation in the event of a fire at the space station.
Regarding equipment inspection and maintenance, the crew replaced circulation pumps of fluid loop system for space applications as planned, amongst other tasks.
The fluid loop system for space applications serves as a crucial mechanism within a space station for controlling and regulating the temperature of application system payloads. This ensures the operation of space science experiments.
Meet NASA Manager Wanessa Priesmeyer | NASA's Flight Opportunities Program
Meet Wanessa Priesmeyer, Flight Test Campaign Manager for NASA’s Flight Opportunities program. Wanessa and her team offer opportunities for researchers to test their technologies for space applications using high altitude balloons, rocket launches, or parabolic flight research. She is also involved in an exciting student challenge called TechRise.
For more information about NASA’s Flight Opportunities, visit:
Lynd 1624 (LDN 1624) is a dark nebula located in the Orion constellation. Lynd's Catalog of Dark Nebula (abbreviation: LDN) contains 1,700 dark nebulae.
Orion is a prominent set of stars visible during winter in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is one of the 88 modern constellations; it was among the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy. It is named after a hunter in Greek mythology.
Objects listed in the Lynd's Catalog of Dark Nebula are numbered with the prefix LDN (not to be confused with LBN, or Lynds' Catalogue of Bright Nebulae), from numbers 1 to 1802.
It was originally compiled in 1962 by American astronomer Beverly Turner Lynds (August 19, 1929 – October 5, 2024). Lynds was best known for compiling two astronomical catalogues in the 1960s, Lynds' Catalogue of Bright Nebulae and Lynds' Catalogue of Dark Nebulae. We honor her many lasting contributions to astronomical science.
China Space Station to Host over 1,000 Research Projects
More than 1,000 research projects will be carried out at the Tiangong space station, China's national space lab, over the next 10 to 15 years, according to the China Manned Space Engineering Office.
At the end of last year, the office released the first report on the progress made in scientific research and applications related to China's space station to celebrate the two-year anniversary of the comprehensive completion of the space station.
According to the report, China has planned four major research areas in space: space life and human body research, microgravity physics, space astronomy and earth science, and space new technologies and applications, covering 32 research topics.
As of December 1, 2024, a total of 181 scientific and application projects have been implemented in orbit.
"In space life science, we have conducted a large number of studies on plants, animals, microorganisms and cells. In terms of plants, we have realized the first full-life-cycle cultivation of rice from germination to reproduction in the world, and the samples returned have been planted in the fields on Earth. We have also built and studied a binary ecosystem composed of zebrafish and hornwort in space, laying a good foundation for our future research on vertebrates, especially on bone loss and muscle atrophy. On refractory alloys, especially multielement alloy materials that are difficult to melt on the ground, we have conducted research under containerless conditions in space, laying the foundation for our development of important alloys such as aircraft engine blade materials in the future," said Zhang Wei, a researcher of the Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The first batch of space science, application experiments, and technological trials carried out at the Chinese space station have made significant progress with fruitful original, cutting-edge and innovative outcomes, according to Zhang.
Scientific teams in various fields have published over 500 high-level papers listed on the Science Citation Index (SCI), and obtained more than 150 patents. Some achievements have been applied, thereby driving the rapid advancement of China's space science and applications.
In the near future, a large number of cutting-edge experiments will be carried out at the space station, including an experiment on the development of mouse embryos in space and researches on new materials and space astronomy.
"We have made plans on research, development and production of various kinds of materials in space, including high-entropy alloys, which are alloys formed by five or more elements, scintillator crystals, semiconductor crystals and other kinds of functional crystals. In space astronomy, we will launch major flagship facilities such as the China Space Station Telescope and the High Energy cosmic-Radiation Detection facility. We hope that after they are launched in the future, there will be a large number of scientific discoveries in major cutting-edge fields such as the origin and evolution of the universe and life, and the search for exoplanets, representing Chinese contributions," Zhang said.
China launched the Shenzhou-19 crewed spaceship on Oct. 30, 2024, sending three astronauts—including the country's first female space engineer—to its orbiting space station for a six-month mission.
Astrophotographer Robert Trejo: "A bright and active night. I live in the mountains and usually covered in clouds. Finally got to view some beautiful, active aurora."
On Earth, auroras are mainly created by particles originally emitted by the Sun in the form of solar wind. When this stream of electrically charged particles gets close to our planet, it interacts with the magnetic field, which acts as a gigantic shield. While it protects Earth’s environment from solar wind particles, it can also trap a small fraction of them. Particles trapped within the magnetosphere—the region of space surrounding Earth in which charged particles are affected by its magnetic field—can be energized and then follow the magnetic field lines down to the magnetic poles. There, they interact with oxygen and nitrogen atoms in the upper layers of the atmosphere, creating the flickering, colorful lights visible in the polar regions here on Earth.
Earth auroras have different names depending on which pole they occur at. Aurora Borealis, or the northern lights, is the name given to auroras around the north pole and Aurora Australis, or the southern lights, is the name given for auroras around the south pole.
The Sagitta Constellation: More and More Milky Way Stars
Astrophotographer Greg Parker:
"In early October of 2024, two consecutive clear, moonless nights allowed me to capture the [first] image, the entire constellation of Sagitta. The grouping of four arrow-shaped stars lies in an inconspicuous part of the autumn sky (Northern Hemisphere), between the constellations of Aquila and Vulpecula. None of the stars that make up Sagitta are brighter than 3rd magnitude, so this constellation is often overlooked by stargazers. However, it lies in a dense part of the Milky Way. To get an idea just how densely packed the stars are here, I took a large crop out of part of the top image and magnified it 4x to get the [second] image. Incredibly, it's still jam-packed with stars! If you look closely at this cropped image, you can see where it was taken from in the main image—bottom, right of center. It's hard to imagine that every speck you see is a star."
Sagitta is a dim but distinctive constellation in the northern sky. Its name is Latin for 'arrow', not to be confused with the significantly larger constellation Sagittarius 'the archer'. It was included among the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations defined by the International Astronomical Union. Although it dates to antiquity, Sagitta has no star brighter than 3rd magnitude and has the third-smallest area of any constellation.
Gamma Sagittae is the constellation's brightest star, with an apparent magnitude of 3.47. It is an aging red giant star 90% as massive as the Sun that has cooled and expanded to a radius 54 times greater than it. Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, and Theta Sagittae are each multiple stars whose components can be seen in small telescopes. V Sagittae is a cataclysmic variable—a binary star system composed of a white dwarf accreting mass of a donor star that is expected to go nova and briefly become the most luminous star in the Milky Way and one of the brightest stars in our sky around the year 2083. Two star systems in Sagitta are known to have Jupiter-like planets, while a third—15 Sagittae—has a brown dwarf companion.
Image details: The main image is a 2-frame mosaic taken with the 2x Canon 200mm prime lenses and the 2x ASI 2600MC Pro OSC CMOS cameras, at a temperature of -5C. Each frame was a total of 5-hours exposure time using 10-minute sub-exposures.
Image & Caption Credit: Greg Parker New Forest Observatory, U. K. Coordinates: 50.819444, -1.59
Image Date: October 2024 Release Date: Jan. 17, 2025
China's Chang'e-6 Lunar Samples Shed New Light on Moon's Far Side
Chinese researchers have uncovered more mysteries about the far side of the Moon as they continued their in-depth studies of the precious lunar samples brought back to Earth by China's Chang'e-6 lunar probe last year. Studies have been ongoing since the landmark lunar probe returned to Earth last June with 1,935.3 grams of lunar samples collected from the previously unexplored far side of the Moon, marking a milestone in human space exploration.
After successfully applying to obtain 16 grams of the samples, the Institute of Geology and Geophysics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has organized over a hundred top-notch researchers to conduct analysis across multiple fields.
"The lunar samples, taken from the far side of the moon by Chang'e-6, is quite unique in the world and everyone wants to know more about it. Chinese aerospace personnel have worked so hard to get that. So, when I have a part of it, I need to put all my efforts into studying it, in order to discover something new about the lunar evolution," said Li Qiuli, a researcher from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics.
Basalt is a product of magmatic activity. It carries important information on volcanism. After getting the sample, Li and his team picked up the first batch of 108 basalt fragments for age analysis. Within the space of three months, they have already uncovered new discoveries, which were later published in Nature, the world-renowned scientific journal.
"Most of the 108 fragments were found to be 2.8 billion years old. However, there is a special basalt fragment which can date back to 4.2 billion years ago. It is the oldest basalt among the samples taken back by Chang'e-6. Therefore, the magmatic activity on the far side of the Moon has lasted at least 1.4 billion years, and the properties of the deep lunar mantle have changed a lot during this period of time. This is something revealed for the first time through this sample," Li said.
The research results made by Chinese scientists based on the basalt fragments brought back by Chang'e-6 is the first understanding of volcanic activity on the far side of the moon. This has provided a unique perspective and crucial scientific evidence for lunar evolution.
The science community also expects more mysteries about the Moon's far side to be revealed in the future, as studies into the lunar samples expand.
"The 4.2-billion-year-old basalt fragment has some special features. We have been conducting deeper researches on it. I think it could provide some key information that may change or enhance our understanding of the evolution of the moon," Li said.
Video Credit: China Global Television Network (CGTN) Duration: 1 minute, 22 seconds Release Date: Jan. 14, 2025
NOAA Earth Satellite Data Supports California Wildfire Response
As multiple wildfires began erupting across southern California on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, devastating the Los Angeles area and prompting mass evacuations, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)satellites were essential for monitoring the blazes. These satellites provided critical data on the challenging fire conditions that supported on-the-ground assessments and management efforts.
Credits: NOAA, NASA, Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) Palisade Fire footage provided by CAL FIRE Duration: 2 minutes Release Date: Jan. 17, 2025
Eaton Fire Leaves California Landscape Charred Close to JPL | NASA’s AVIRIS-3
Airborne view of Altadena and Pasadena, California, taken by an instrument on board a NASA aircraft. Charred vegetation shows up as brown in northern parts of Altadena. Burned landscape of the San Gabriel mountains appears orange and surrounding vegetation is green.
Overhead view of Altadena, Pasadena, Arcadia, and Sierra Madre in Los Angeles County, taken by an instrument on board a NASA aircraft. Charred vegetation shows up as brown in northern parts of the residential areas. Burned landscape on the San Gabriel mountains appears orange and surrounding vegetation is green.
On the afternoon of January 11, 2025, NASA’s Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer-3 (AVIRIS-3) flew aboard a B200 aircraft over Los Angeles County, where it captured images of several areas affected by wildland fires.
These false-color images show areas burned by the Eaton fire in Altadena and parts of Pasadena, Arcadia, and Sierra Madre. Charred trees and buildings in developed areas appear dark brown, whereas the burned wildland areas, particularly in Angeles National Forest, are shades of orange.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) located in Pasadena, California. Founded in 1936 by California Institute of Technology (Caltech) researchers, the laboratory is now owned and sponsored by NASA and administered and managed by Caltech. Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, 11 miles (18 km) northeast of downtown Los Angeles.
The Eaton fire ignited in the hills of Eaton Canyon, near Altadena, on the evening of January 7. By 10:30 a.m. the next day, the fire had quickly grown to cover more than 10,000 acres (40 square kilometers), according to Cal Fire. Around the time of this image on January 11, it had expanded to 14,117 acres (57 square kilometers), and the Los Angeles County Fire Department reported it was about 15 percent contained.
The AVIRIS-3 optical sensor collects data in 286 bands in the electromagnetic spectrum, ranging from visible violet light at a wavelength of 380 nanometers to shortwave infrared at 2,500 nanometers. In the past, AVIRIS images have been useful for investigating fire behavior and the effects of fire emissions. They are also used for post-fire analyses, such as fire severity, area burned, soil erosion, and other environmental change.
“In addition to assisting with damage assessments, these data may help us understand the chemical composition and toxic nature of ash in the post-fire environment and how it redistributes over time via wind and water flows, with subsequent data acquisitions,” said Michael Falkowski, manager of NASA’s wildland fire program.
As of the morning of January 15, the Eaton fire had stopped expanding, and it was 45 percent contained. Preliminary estimates indicate that thousands of structures were destroyed, according to Cal Fire.
NASA’s Disasters Response Coordination System has been activated to support agencies responding to the fires, including the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. Response activities are centered on two primary requests from the local emergency managers: damage assessment information on built infrastructure, and impacts of air quality and human health risks.
Planetary Defenders: Official NASA Documentary Trailer/Preview
"How would humanity respond if we discovered an asteroid headed for Earth? NASA’s upcoming documentary, "Planetary Defenders," takes you inside the high-stakes world of asteroid hunting and planetary defense. Follow dedicated scientists and astronomers as they work to protect Earth from potential impacts. With stunning visuals and compelling stories, this gripping documentary reveals the human spirit behind the quest to safeguard our planet."
SpaceX Starship Flight Test#7 Super Heavy Booster and Starship liftoff powered by 33 Raptor engines
SpaceX Starship Flight Test#7 Super Heavy Booster landing powered by 3 Raptor engines
These are close-up views of the Raptor engines powering liftoff and landing of the Starship Super Heavy Booster. The seventh flight test of Starship was launched on Thursday, January 16, 2025, at 4:37pm Central Time (CT). The Mechazilla at Starbase Texas caught the Super Heavy booster for a second time. This flight test launched a new generation ship with significant upgrades, attempting to accomplish Starship’s first payload deployment test, to fly multiple reentry experiments geared towards ship catch and reuse, and to launch and return the Super Heavy booster.
Unfortunately, Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly during its ascent burn. SpaceX teams continue to review data from yersterday's flight test to better understand the root cause.
SpaceX: "With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will help us improve Starship’s reliability."
SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket—collectively referred to as Starship—represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond. Starship is the world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, capable of carrying up to 150 metric tonnes fully reusable and 250 metric tonnes expendable.
"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."
The seventh flight test of Starship was launched on Thursday, January 16, 2025, at 4:37pm Central Time (CT). The Mechazilla at Starbase Texas caught the Super Heavy booster for a second time. This flight test launched a new generation ship with significant upgrades, attempting to accomplish Starship’s first payload deployment test, to fly multiple reentry experiments geared towards ship catch and reuse, and to launch and return the Super Heavy booster.
Unfortunately, Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly during its ascent burn. SpaceX teams continue to review data from yersterday's flight test to better understand the root cause.
SpaceX: "With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will help us improve Starship’s reliability."
SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket—collectively referred to as Starship—represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond. Starship is the world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, capable of carrying up to 150 metric tonnes fully reusable and 250 metric tonnes expendable.
"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."
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