Harnessing the Sun to Extract Oxygen on the Moon

The Carbothermal Reduction Demonstration (CaRD) project aims to demonstrate the carbothermal reduction of lunar regolith to produce oxygen on the Moon's South Pole. For this test, the team integrated the solar concentrator, mirrors, and software and confirmed the production of carbon monoxide. via NASA https://ift.tt/2suRIHn

Inside Project Hail Mary

NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren takes a selfie with the people behind "Project Hail Mary" and the audience during a panel about the movie at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Feb. 25, 2026. via NASA https://ift.tt/NALhIKR

Making an Entrance

NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew-12 Pilot Jack Hathaway enters the International Space Station after docking aboard the Dragon spacecraft to join Expedition 74 and begin a long-duration microgravity research mission. via NASA https://ift.tt/B2L4ZTb

Webb Maps Uranus’ Upper Atmosphere

For the first time, an international team of astronomers have mapped the vertical structure of Uranus’s upper atmosphere, uncovering how temperature and charged particles vary with height across the planet. via NASA https://ift.tt/tpCmK7M

Perseverance’s Landing

This high-resolution still image is part of a video taken by several cameras as NASA's Perseverance rover touched down on Mars on February 18, 2021. via NASA https://ift.tt/8X5hEvo

Artemis II Crew Trains on T-38

NASA astronaut Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen take off on a T-38 training flight from Ellington Field on Feb. 11, 2026, as a waning crescent Moon hovers above. via NASA https://ift.tt/DSrjN9Z

Crystals Grown in Space

This image of lysozyme crystals grown aboard the International Space Station was taken after the crystals returned to Earth in April 2024. Lysozyme is a protein found in bodily fluids like tears, saliva, and milk. It is used as a control compound to demonstrate well-formed crystals. via NASA https://ift.tt/IZzqkxN

Fishing Boats and City Lights

Fishing boats illuminate the Arabian Sea along India’s west coast with green lights designed to attract squid, shrimp, sardines, and mackerel in this nighttime photograph from the International Space Station, orbiting 259 miles above Earth. At lower right, the city lights of Hyderabad—renowned for its historic diamond and pearl trade—stretch westward toward the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, home to over 26 million people and the heart of Bollywood. via NASA https://ift.tt/9G2FQiZ

Stormy, Snowy Winter for Hokkaido

Northern Japan, especially the island of Hokkaido, is home to some of the snowiest cities in the world. Sapporo, the island's largest city and host of an annual snow festival, typically sees more than 140 days of snowfall, with nearly 6 meters (20 feet) accumulating on average each year. via NASA https://ift.tt/j0xdaLi

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 Launch

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Dragon spacecraft is launched on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev onboard, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission is the twelfth crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Meir, Hathaway, Adenot, and Fedyaev launched at 5:15 a.m. EST from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to begin a mission aboard the orbital outpost. via NASA https://ift.tt/8kMf3my

Shimmering Light in Egg Nebula

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope reveals the clearest view yet of the Egg Nebula. This structure of gas and dust was created by a dying, Sun-like star. These newest observations were taken with Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3. via NASA https://ift.tt/mMIw7YO

Crew-12 Members and Insignia

From left, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 crew members – Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway and Jessica Meir, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot – pose next to their mission insignia inside the Astronaut Crew Quarters in the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. via NASA https://ift.tt/4h0T2O3

CubeSats’ Missions Begin

A pair of CubeSats designed by college students from around the world is deployed into Earth orbit from a small satellite orbital deployer on the outside of the International Space Station's Kibo laboratory module. Students from Mexico, Italy, Thailand, Malaysia, and Japan designed the shoe-boxed sized satellites for a series of Earth observations and technology demonstrations. via NASA https://ift.tt/jRs5lAJ

Icy Hudson River

The New York metropolitan area was showing the effects of a prolonged cold spell in late January 2026. During a stretch of frigid weather, ice choked the Hudson River along Manhattan’s western shore. via NASA https://ift.tt/8Rlez3k

Strong Solar Flare

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare — seen as the bright flash toward the upper middle — on Feb. 4, 2026. The image shows a subset of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares and which is colorized in blue and red. via NASA https://ift.tt/LzJdG9E

Hubble Spots Lens-Shaped Galaxy

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image of NGC 7722, a lenticular galaxy located about 187 million light-years away, features concentric rings of dust and gas that appear to swirl around its bright nucleus. via NASA https://ift.tt/AORrx8S

NASA Heat Shield Tech Contributes to America’s Space Industry

The Varda Space Industries W-5 capsule returned to Earth in Koonibba in South Australia on Jan. 29, 2026, with the protection of a heat shield made of C-PICA, a cutting-edge material licensed from NASA and manufactured by Varda. The capsule’s successful return marks the first time a capsule protected entirely by Varda-made C-PICA has come back to Earth. via NASA https://ift.tt/8w7vIx1

Full Moon over Artemis II

A full moon is seen shining over NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) and Orion spacecraft, atop the mobile launcher in the early hours of February 1, 2026. via NASA https://ift.tt/FIzXaGf

NASA's Orion Spacecraft at Launch Pad

NASA's Orion spacecraft sits atop the agency's SLS (Space Launch System) rocket at the launch pad after rollout on Jan. 17, 2026. via NASA https://ift.tt/YnLFUs2