NASA Image of the Day | Neptune Square
Waxing Gibbous Moon over Minnesota
The waxing gibbous Moon is pictured from the International Space Station as it orbited 265 miles above the U.S. state of Minnesota on Dec. 17, 2021.
Testing Europa Clipper's Solar Arrays
NASA's Europa Clipper is seen here on Aug. 21, 2024, in a clean room at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The photo was taken as engineers and technicians deployed and tested the spacecraft's giant solar arrays, each of which measures about 46.5 feet (14.2 meters) long and about 13.5 feet (4.1 meters) high.
Chile Flowers Bloom in Space
Chile pepper plants growing in the Advanced Plant Habitat aboard the International Space Station bore fruit in the late summer and fall of 2021. Overcoming the challenges of growing fruit in microgravity is important to NASA for long-duration missions during which crew members will need good sources of Vitamin C to supplement their diets.
A Starry View
NGC 1333 is a nearby star-forming region in the Perseus constellation. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope surveyed a large portion of NGC 1333, identifying planetary objects using the observatory’s Near-InfraRed Imager and Slitless Spectrograph.
The dome-shaped Brandburg Massif near the Atlantic coast of central Namibia
iss071e522460 (Aug. 20, 2024) --- The dome-shaped Brandburg Massif, near the Atlantic coast of central Namibia, containing Brandberg Mountain, the African nation's highest peak and ancient rock paintings going back at least 2,000 years, is pictured from the International Space Station as it orbited 261 miles above.
CubeSats are pictured after being deployed into Earth orbit
Tiny satellites, also known as CubeSats, are pictured after being deployed into Earth orbit from a small satellite orbital deployer on the outside of the International Space Station's Kibo laboratory module.
Ames Wind Tunnel
Construction of the world’s largest wind tunnel and its original 40- by 80-foot test section. A later expansion created an additional 80- by 120-foot test section. A Navy blimp, which would have been based at Hangars 2 and 3 at Moffett Field, patrols in the background.
Gateway’s Propulsion System Testing Throttles Up
In this image, PPE engineers successfully tested the integration of Aerojet Rocketdyne’s thruster with Maxar’s power procession unit and Xenon Flow Controller.
Great Aurora
A vivid aurora streams over the Earth as the International Space Station orbited 273 miles above the southern Indian Ocean in between Australia and Antarctica.
T-38 Flyover of Artemis I on Launch Pad
NASA T-38s fly in formation above the Space Launch System rocket on Launch Pad 39B.
Saharan Dust in the Wind
Dense bands of dust streamed offshore from southern Morocco in summer 2024. The VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) on the Suomi NPP satellite acquired this image of a plume of Saharan dust as winds lofted it over the Atlantic Ocean on Aug. 24, 2024.
A SAFER Way
Backdropped against the blue and white Earth 130 nautical miles below, astronaut Mark C. Lee tests the new Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue (SAFER) system on Sept. 16, 1994.
Hubble Pinpoints a Dim, Starry Mini-galaxy
The Pegasus Dwarf spheroidal galaxy, also known as Andromeda VI, is one of at least 13 dwarf galaxies that orbit the Andromeda galaxy.
Dr. Irene Duhart Long
When this picture was taken in July 1994, Dr. Irene Duhart Long was director of the Biomedical Operations and Research Office at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. She was responsible for the program management of the center's aerospace and occupational medicine, life sciences research, environmental health programs, and the operations management of the life sciences support facilities. Dr. Long also was responsible for providing the coordinating medical, environmental monitoring and environmental health support to launch and landing activities and day-to-day institutional functions.
First Look at Hybrid Electric Research Aircraft
The Dash 7 that will be modified into a hybrid electric research vehicle under NASA’s Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration (EPFD) project on display with its new livery for the first time. In front of the plane is an electric powertrain that magniX will integrate into the current aircraft to build a hybrid electric propulsion system.
Sunrise Begins
The International Space Station was orbiting on a northeast track 261 miles above the Pacific Ocean when this photograph captured the first rays of an orbital sunrise illuminating Earth's atmosphere.
Rare Blue Supermoon 8/19/24
The Sturgeon Moon rises behind a replica Saturn V rocket at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama on Monday, August 19, 2024. Over 99% full when it rose, the moon was a rare combination of a blue moon and a supermoon, a phenomenon that will not repeat until 2027. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker
Tortoise Takes a Leisurely Stroll
Slow and steady wins the race for this gopher tortoise, ambling along the Launch Pad 39B beach road on NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Gopher tortoises are dry-land turtles that live in scrub, dry hammock, pine flatwood, coastal grassland and dune habitats.
Revisiting OSIRIS-REx
A training model of the sample return capsule is seen is seen during a drop test in preparation for the retrieval of the sample return capsule from NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023, at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range.
Rings and Things
The subject of this week’s circular Hubble Picture of the Week is situated in the Perseus Cluster, also known as Abell 426, 320 million light-years from Earth. It’s a barred spiral galaxy known as MCG+07-07-072, seen here among a number of photobombing stars that are much closer to Earth than it is. MCG+07-07-072 has quite an unusual shape, for a spiral galaxy, with thin arms emerging from the ends of its barred core to draw a near-circle around its disc.