NASA
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NASA’s PUNCH Sharpens Solar Storm Forecasting in First Test
Using continuous imagery from NASA’s PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) mission, scientists predicted the near-Earth arrival of a solar eruption to within 30 minutes in an initial proof of concept test. The results, presented Tuesday at the Committee on Space Research Scientific Meeting and under review at the journal Space Weather, could revolutionize the way Earth-impacting storms…
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Ames Science Stars of the Month – August 2026
The NASA Ames Science Directorate recognizes the outstanding contributions of (pictured left to right) Danielle Lopez, Jennifer Claudio, and Duncan Mifsud. Their commitment to the NASA mission represents the entrepreneurial spirit, technical expertise, and collaborative disposition needed to explore this world and beyond. Space Biosciences Star of the Month: Danielle Lopez Danielle Lopez is the Deputy Project Manager for the…
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Roman Space Telescope Plaque Install
Technicians installed a commemorative plaque, seen in this July 28, 2026, photo, on NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. The plaque honors the legacy of Dr. Nancy Grace Roman, NASA’s first chief astronomer and one of the architects of the agency’s modern science program. It also features a memory card containing a total of 1,350,144 names submitted by people from across the…
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NASA Provides Updates on Moon Base Cargo Landers, Tech Demonstrations
NASA is making progress in building the Moon Base, which will become a resilient outpost near the Moon’s South Pole for science, technology, and eventual human operations. To advance lunar surface infrastructure development, commercial partners such as Blue Origin, Firefly Aerospace, Intuitive Machines, and Voyager Lunar Systems are working toward delivering landers by 2028. These landers will deliver the foundational…
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A Bare Summer for Barnes Ice Cap
Meltwater ponds in vivid blue pools on the surface of the Barnes Ice Cap’s southwest side in this July 12, 2026, image from the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 9. NASA Earth Observatory/Lauren Dauphin For most of the year, the Barnes Ice Cap in the Canadian Arctic lies quiet under a blanket of snow. By summer, that snow melts back, and the ice…
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Smoke Streams Across Eastern Washington
The start of August 2026 saw ongoing and new wildland fires burning in eastern Washington. West of Chelan, the Little Giant fire continued to produce heavy smoke, while a cluster of smaller fires farther east near Spokane affected tens of thousands of people. The smoke from these and other fires poured east-northeast across the state and into Idaho, Montana, and…
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Astronomy Picture of the Day
Curious Cometary Knots in the Helix Nebula What causes unusual knots of gas and dust in planetary nebulas? Seen also in the Ring Nebula, the Dumbbell Nebula and NGC 2392, the knots’ existence was not initially predicted, and their origins are still not well understood. Pictured here is a fascinating image of part of the Helix Nebula by the James Webb Space Telescope showing tremendous detail in infrared light. The cometary knots have masses similar…
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Louisiana Students Loft Payloads from NASA Balloon Facility in Texas
Every spring in Palestine, Texas, the wide-open fields around NASA’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility fill with students and faculty from across Louisiana. They arrive carrying sensors, laptops, and carefully engineered payloads they have spent months preparing. The goal is to send their experiments to the edge of space and return with meaningful data, while reflecting NASA’s long-standing commitment to develop future scientists…
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Guinea-Bissau Tidal Waters
Twice each day, tides ebb and flow through a maze of sandy channels, mudflats, and mangrove forests that flank the 88 islands and islets of Guinea-Bissau’s Bijagós Archipelago (Arquipélago dos Bijagós in Portuguese). Seen from above in this image from Nov. 28, 2025, the process leads to stark changes to the landscape: around low tide, intertidal mudflats and sandflats emerge from the sea, causing…
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Ike Theriot Helps Prepare Astronauts to Work on the Moon
From serving in the U.S. Army to helping prepare astronauts to explore the lunar surface, Ike Theriot built a path to NASA through discipline and determination. Theriot serves as the Flight Operations Surface Testing lead in the Exploration Extravehicular Activity Operations Branch within the EVA, Robotics, and Crew Operations Division at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. He integrates flight operations testing needs across the Artemis program, ensuring teams have the…
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