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US & Russian Soyuz MS-27 Crew Prepares for Launch| International Space Station
At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the Soyuz MS-27 prime and backup crews completed final pre-flight training for the scheduled launch April 8, 2025, of Expedition 73 crew members NASA’s Jonny Kim and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky of Russia on the start of a planned eight-month mission to the International Space Station. The training activities that took place March 12 to April 4 includes the rollout of the Soyuz 2.1a launch vehicle to its launch pad in Baikonur April 5.
They will orbit Earth twice before docking to the Pirs docking compartment just over three hours later. The trio will stay in space for an eight-month research mission.
Less than two weeks after the new crew’s arrival, NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit will return to Earth with Expedition 72 Commander Alexey Ovchinin and Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner. Ovchinin and Vagner are Roscosmos cosmonauts. The veteran crewmates will board the Soyuz MS-26 crew ship, undock from the Rassvet module, and parachute to a landing in the steppe of Kazakhstan less than three-and-a-half hours later ending a seven-month mission.
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Takuya Onishi will take over command of the space station from Ovchinin the day before he leaves with Pettit and Vagner. Expedition 72 will end and Expedition 73 will officially begin the moment the Soyuz MS-26 undocks from Rassvet.
Station Commander: Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin (Russia) Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Ivan Vagner, Kirill Peskov NASA Flight Engineers: Don Pettit, Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers
JAXA Flight Engineer: Takuya Onishi
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: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) Duration: 7 minutes Release Date: April 7, 2025
Close-up: Spiral Galaxy NGC 4941 in Virgo| Hubble Space Telescope
This NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope picture features the picturesque spiral galaxy NGC 4941. It lies about 67 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Virgo (The Maiden). Because this galaxy is nearby, cosmically speaking, Hubble’s keen instruments are able to pick out exquisite details, such as individual star clusters and filamentary clouds of gas and dust.
The data used to construct this image were collected as part of an observing program that investigates the star formation and stellar feedback cycle in nearby galaxies. As stars form in dense, cold clumps of gas, they begin to influence their surroundings. Stars heat and stir up the gas clouds where they are born through winds, starlight, and—eventually, for massive stars—by exploding as supernovae. These processes are collectively called stellar feedback, and they impact the rate that a galaxy can form new stars.
As it turns out, stars are not the only entities providing feedback in NGC 4941. At the heart of this galaxy lies an active galactic nucleus: a supermassive black hole feasting on gas. As the black hole amasses gas from its surroundings, the gas swirls into a superheated disc that glows brightly at wavelengths across the electromagnetic spectrum. Similar to stars—but on a much, much larger scale—active galactic nuclei shape their surroundings through winds, radiation, and powerful jets, altering not only star formation but also the evolution of the galaxy as a whole.
Image Description: A spiral galaxy seen at a diagonal angle. Its very center is a bright white glowing orb, surrounded by an inner disc of golden light. This is wrapped in a broad outer disc that glows more dimly with patchy, broken spiral arms swirling around it, filled with small blue and pink star clusters. Dark reddish threads of dust also spiral through the disc with strands reaching into the core.
Video Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Thilker, N. Bartmann (ESA/Hubble)
Aurora Activity on Planet Uranus | Hubble Space Telescope
This Hubble image shows Uranus and dynamic aurora activity on October 10, 2022. The planet is dominated by a blue hue and a large white region in the lower left. A faint ring is also visible around the planet. Fuzzy blue/purple regions hovering over the planet on the left and ride indicate the presence of aurorae.
This visual shows three panels that each show Uranus and dynamic aurora activity. The images were captured in October 2022 on the 8th, 10, and 24th respectively. Each image shows a planet with a strong blue hue and a visible white region. A faint ring is also visible around the planet in each image. Each image shows fuzzy blue/purple regions hovering over the planet in distinct locations to indicate the aurorae.
These images of Uranus’ aurorae was taken by the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope in October 2022. These observations were made by the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) and includes visible and ultraviolet data.
An international team of astronomers used Hubble to make new measurements of Uranus' interior rotation rate by analyzing more than a decade of the telescope’s observations of Uranus’ aurorae. This refinement of the planet’s rotation period achieved a level of accuracy 1,000 times greater than previous estimates and serves as a crucial new reference point for future planetary research.
Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA, L. Lamy, L. Sromovsky Release Date: April 7, 2025
The swirling, paint-like clouds in the darkness of space in this image seem surreal, like a portal to another world opening up before us. In this NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope picture, we are seeing vast clouds of ionized atoms and molecules, thrown into space by a dying star. This is a planetary nebula named Kohoutek 4-55, a member of the Milky Way galaxy situated just 4,600 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus (the Swan).
Planetary nebulae are the spectacular final display at the end of a giant star’s life. Once a red giant star has exhausted its available fuel and shed its last layers of gas, its compact core will contract further, enabling a final burst of nuclear fusion. The exposed core reaches extremely hot temperatures, radiating very energetic ultraviolet light that energizes the enormous clouds of cast-off gas. Molecules in the gas are ionized and glow brightly; here, red and orange indicate nitrogen molecules, green is hydrogen and blue shows oxygen in the nebula. Kohoutek 4-55 has an uncommon, multi-layered form: a bright inner ring is surrounded by a fainter layer of gas, all wrapped in a broad halo of ionised nitrogen. The spectacle is bittersweet, as the brief phase of fusion in the core will end after mere tens of thousands of years, leaving a white dwarf that will never illuminate the clouds around it again.
This image itself is also a swan song, the final work of one of Hubble’s instruments: the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2). Installed in 1993 to replace the original Wide Field and Planetary Camera, WFPC2 was responsible for some of Hubble’s most enduring images and fascinating discoveries. It in turn was replaced by the Wide Field Camera 3 in 2009, during Hubble’s final servicing mission. The data for this image were taken a mere ten days before the instrument was removed from the telescope, as a fitting send-off for WFPC2 after 16 years’ work. The latest and most advanced processing techniques have been used to bring the data to life one more time, producing this breathtaking new view of Kohoutek 4-55.
Image Description: A planetary nebula, a glowing shell of material thrown off by a star. A small central region of greenish clouds is encircled by a glowing, jagged ring, like a hole torn in fabric. A band of silvery-blue clouds outside this is again encircled by a larger, fainter yellow ring of gas. Puffy, smoky clouds of orange and red gas billow out from there into a large oval nebula, fading into the dark background of space.
Credit: European Space Agency/Hubble & NASA, K. Noll Release Date: April 7, 2025
Globular Star Cluster NGC 6397 in Ara | Hubble Space Telescope
This glittering image captures a globular cluster called NGC 6397 (also known as Caldwell 86) that was discovered by French astronomer Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille in 1752. It sits 7,800 light-years away within the Milky Way galaxy, making it one of the closest globular clusters to Earth in the constellation Ara.
The cluster's blue stars are near the end of their lives. These stars have used up their hydrogen fuel that makes them shine. Now they are converting helium to energy in their cores. This fuses at a higher temperature resulting in a blue color.
The reddish glow is from red giant stars that have consumed their hydrogen fuel and have expanded in size. The myriad small white objects include stars like our Sun.
NASA Astronaut Anne McClain Talks with Seattle TV | International Space Station
Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 72 flight engineer Anne McClain of NASA discussed life and work aboard the orbital outpost during an in-flight interview March 31, 2025, with Fox13 News, Seattle. McClain is in the midst of a long-duration mission living and working aboard the microgravity laboratory to advance scientific knowledge and demonstrate new technologies for future human and robotic exploration flights as part of NASA’s Moon and Mars exploration approach, including lunar missions through NASA’s Artemis program.
Station Commander: Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin (Russia) Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Ivan Vagner, Kirill Peskov NASA Flight Engineers: Don Pettit, Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers
JAXA Flight Engineer: Takuya Onishi
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.
Station Commander: Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin (Russia) Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Ivan Vagner, Kirill Peskov NASA Flight Engineers: Don Pettit, Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers
JAXA Flight Engineer: Takuya Onishi
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.
Earth Aurora: Part 1 | International Space Station
Expedition 72 flight engineer and NASA astronaut Don Pettit on April 4, 2025: "Aurora seen today from the International Space Station while orbit was passing between Australia and Antarctica; photographer Jannicke Mikkelsen now on the private FRAM2 space mission will be having an even better view in their polar orbit."
Station Commander: Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin (Russia) Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Ivan Vagner, Kirill Peskov NASA Flight Engineers: Don Pettit, Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers
JAXA Flight Engineer: Takuya Onishi
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.
Shenzhou-19 Crew: Mechanical, Robotic & Medical Tests | China Space Station
China's Shenzhou-19 crew, who has worked in the Tiangong Space Station for more than 150 days, performed a series of scientific experiments and tests last week, covering fields, such as mechanics, robotics and medicine.
The experiments were conducted by the three astronauts—Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze, after they completed the third extravehicular activities.
The trio carried out experiments on equipment withdrawal, sample collection, and component reassembly and reuse, aiming to provide data support for the research and development of high-performance space components.
They tested pipe inspection robots and achieved a image detection of ventilation ducts, laying a technical foundation for the space station to realize self-examinations in the future.
They also completed medical experiments such as blood collection, centrifugal treatment, and cryopreservation, and coordinated an eye tracker and a laptop to record data on their eye movements in the station's microgravity environment.
They maintained the regenerative life support system in the space station and conducted physical examinations for themselves, including blood routine and blood biochemistry tests, body weight measurement, and intraocular pressure and fundus checks.
With the assistance of the station's exercise equipment, they gathered data on what effects the zero-gravity environment has on human bodies.
Besides experiments and tests, the astronauts underwent emergency response trainings, such as quickly putting on and taking off pressure suits to enhance their capability to respond the emergency situations in a zero-gravity conditions and provide data for the improvement of emergency withdrawal pre-planning.
The Shenzhou-19 crewed spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on October 30, 2024.
Shenzhou-19 Crew: Commander Cai Xuzhe (蔡旭哲) Mission Specialist Wang Haoze (王浩泽) Mission Specialist Song Lingdong (宋令东)
Video Credit: CCTV Duration: 2 minutes Release Date: April 6, 2025
Fram2 Mission Crew Visit NASA's Johnson Space Center for Medical Research
The Fram2 Mission crew members were the first humans to view the Earth’s polar regions from space. The Earth's poles are subject to higher rates of radiation and have been avoided until this mission. After nearly four days of flying in a polar orbit to explore the Earth’s polar regions for the first time, the Fram2 crew and their SpaceX Dragon spacecraft successfully returned to Earth on Friday, April 4, 2025, splashing down off the coast of California. This was the first Dragon human spaceflight mission to splash down in the Pacific Ocean as Dragon recovery returns to the West Coast.
The University of Calgary's Cumming School of Medicine in Canada has performed studies of accelerated and permanent bone loss among astronauts due to prolonged weightlessness. Their studies have been funded by the Canadian Space Agency in partnership with the European Space Agency, NASA and have involved astronauts from North America, Europe, and Asia.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched Fram2 on Monday, March 31, 2025, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The Crew This is the first human spaceflight for Mission Commander Chun Wang (Malta), Vehicle Commander Jannicke Mikkelsen (Norway), Vehicle Pilot Rabea Rogge (Germany), plus Mission Specialist and Medical Officer Eric Philips (Australia).
The Fram2 Mission was named in honor of Fram "Forward", the first exploration ship to complete voyages to the Arctic and Antarctica between 1893 and 1912. Framonaut Vehicle Commander Jannicke Mikkelsen of Norway carried a small piece of that ship to orbit.
Gazing at Supernova Explosions | European Southern Observatory
When massive stars die, they go out with a bang! These cosmic explosions are called supernovae, and this video shows you some of the beautiful scenery they leave in their wake. They are so powerful that elements like carbon and nitrogen are forged within them, and they are so bright that astronomers can even see supernovae exploding in other galaxies.
Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO) Images: ESO / VPHAS+ team. Ackn. Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit / NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), F. Vogt et al., Ackn. M. Zamani / R. Fosbury (ST-ECF) Script: J. C. Muñoz Editing: M. Wallner
The Official Artemis II Moon Mission Crew Patch | NASA's Kennedy Space Center
The official Artemis II mission crew patch. The Artemis II test flight begins when a mighty team launches the first crew of the Artemis generation. This patch designates the mission as “AII,” signifying not only the second major flight of the Artemis campaign, but also an endeavor of discovery that seeks to explore for all and by all. Framed in Apollo 8’s famous Earthrise photo, the scene of the Earth and the Moon represents the dual nature of human spaceflight, both equally compelling: The Moon represents our exploration destination, focused on discovery of the unknown. The Earth represents home, focused on the perspective we gain when we look back at our shared planet and learn what it is to be uniquely human. The orbit around Earth highlights the ongoing exploration missions that have enabled Artemis to set sights on a long-term presence on the Moon and soon, Mars.
Artemis II Insignia "Honors All": Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The crew unveiled their patch in this April 2, 2025, photo.
The official Artemis II mission crew insignia is projected on the exterior of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, April 4, 2025.
The four astronauts that will be the first to fly to the Moon under NASA’s Artemis campaign have designed an emblem to represent their mission that references their distant destination and the home they will return to.
The crew explained the patch’s symbolism, and its play on the abbreviation of Artemis II to AII, with the following description: The Artemis II test flight begins when a mighty team launches the first crew of the Artemis generation. This patch designates the mission as “AII,” signifying not only the second major flight of the Artemis campaign, but also an endeavor of discovery that seeks to explore for all and by all. Framed in Apollo 8’s famous Earthrise photo, the scene of the Earth and the Moon represents the dual nature of human spaceflight—equally compelling: The Moon represents our exploration destination, focused on discovery of the unknown. The Earth represents home, focused on the perspective we gain when we look back at our shared planet and learn what it is to be uniquely human. The orbit around Earth highlights the ongoing exploration missions that have enabled Artemis to set sights on a long-term presence on the Moon and soon, Mars.
Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), will venture around the Moon in 2026 on Artemis II. The 10-day flight will test NASA’s foundational human deep space exploration capabilities, the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, Orion spacecraft, for the first time with astronauts. Through Artemis, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.
Image Credits: NASA/Johnson Space Center/Robert Markowitz
¡Atención, exploradores del cielo! Con brillantes planetas y estrellas fugaces, abril viene cargado de razones para mirar hacia arriba. Durante la noche del 21 y en la madrugada del 22, prepárate para una modesta lluvia de meteoros, las líridas. Se observan mejor desde el hemisferio norte, pero también puedes verlas desde el sur del ecuador.
Créditos: Laboratorio de Propulsión a Chorro (JPL) de la NASA / Preston Dyches Adaptación al idioma español por el equipo de NASA en español.
Duration: 2 minutes, 47 seconds Release Date: April 4, 2025
Expedition 73 Soyuz Rocket Rollout in Kazakhstan | International Space Station
The Soyuz rocket is seen as the service structure is closed around it at the launch pad at Site 31, Saturday, April 5, 2025, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Workers are seen in a gantry around the Soyuz rocket as the service structure is closed around it at the launch pad at Site 31.
The Soyuz rocket is seen at the launch pad at Site 31 after being rolled out by train.
The Soyuz rocket is seen as it is raised into the vertical position at the launch pad.
Expedition 73 crew members: NASA astronaut Jonny Kim, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritskiy of Russia, are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft on April 8, 2025. They will orbit Earth twice before docking to the Pirs docking compartment just over three hours later. The trio will stay in space for an eight-month research mission.
Less than two weeks after the new crew’s arrival, NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit will return to Earth with Expedition 72 Commander Alexey Ovchinin and Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner. Ovchinin and Vagner are Roscosmos cosmonauts. The veteran crewmates will board the Soyuz MS-26 crew ship, undock from the Rassvet module, and parachute to a landing in the steppe of Kazakhstan less than three-and-a-half hours later ending a seven-month mission.
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Takuya Onishi will take over command of the space station from Ovchinin the day before he leaves with Pettit and Vagner. Expedition 72 will end and Expedition 73 will officially begin the moment the Soyuz MS-26 undocks from Rassvet.
Station Commander: Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin (Russia) Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Ivan Vagner, Kirill Peskov NASA Flight Engineers: Don Pettit, Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers
JAXA Flight Engineer: Takuya Onishi
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/Joel Kowsky Release Date: April 5, 2025
The Framonauts Return Home | Fram2 Mission to Earth's Polar Regions | SpaceX
After nearly four days of flying in a polar orbit to explore the Earth’s polar regions for the first time, the Fram2 crew and their SpaceX Dragon spacecraft successfully returned to Earth on Friday, April 4, 2025, splashing down off the coast of California after 9am this morning Pacific Time. This was the first Dragon human spaceflight mission to splash down in the Pacific Ocean as Dragon recovery returns to the West Coast. The crew members are seen here inside the Dragon spacecraft shortly after landing.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched Fram2 on Monday, March 31, 2025, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The Fram2 Mission crew members were the first humans to view the Earth’s polar regions from space.
The Crew This is the first human spaceflight for Mission Commander Chun Wang (Malta), Vehicle Commander Jannicke Mikkelsen (Norway), Vehicle Pilot Rabea Rogge (Germany), plus Mission Specialist and Medical Officer Eric Philips (Australia).
The Fram2 Mission was named in honor of Fram "Forward", the first exploration ship to complete voyages to the Arctic and Antarctica between 1893 and 1912. Framonaut Vehicle Commander Jannicke Mikkelsen of Norway carried a small piece of that ship to orbit.
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