Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr., attired in his Mercury pressure suit, poses for a photo on May 5, 1961, prior to his launch in a Mercury-Redstone 3 spacecraft from Cape Canaveral on a suborbital mission – the first U.S. manned spaceflight.
Image Credit: NASA
NASA’s Space Launch System carrying the Orion spacecraft lifts off the pad at Launch Complex 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:47 a.m. EST on Nov. 16, 2022.
Image Credit: NASA / Kevin Davis and Chris Coleman
"Capricorn, hold onto your goat horns! Sagittarius moon is packing its quiver and heading your way - prepare for lunar lunacy!"
A 35mm camera, operated by astronaut William R. Pogue, Skylab 4 pilot, recorded this wide scene of his Skylab 4 crewmates on the other end of the orbital workshop. Astronauts Jerry P. Carr (right), commander, and Edward G. Gibson, science pilot, pose for the snapshot. Also in the frame are parts of three Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuits, used on several EVA sessions during the third manning of the Skylab space station.
Image Credit: NASA / William R. Pogue
"Brace Yourselves, Moon's Hopping from the Cosmic Archer to the Celestial Goat - It's Not a Sci-fi Movie, It's Just Tuesday!"
NASA's Wallops Flight Facility C-130 aircraft delivered the agency’s Galactic/Extragalactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory (GUSTO) payload to McMurdo Station, Antarctica, on Oct. 28, 2023. The GUSTO mission will launch on a scientific balloon in December 2023.
Image Credit: NASA / Scott Battaion
In this photo from Nov. 9, 2023, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket illuminates the water as it launches at night from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 29th commercial resupply mission of the Cargo Dragon spacecraft brought new scientific research, technology demonstrations, crew supplies, and hardware to the International Space Station, including NASA’s Integrated Laser Communications Relay Demonstration Low Earth Orbit User Modem and Amplifier Terminal (ILLUMA-T) and Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE).
Image Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
A sounding rocket launched from Poker Flat Research Range in Fairbanks, Alaska, Nov. 8, 2023, carrying the DISSIPATION mission. The rocket launched into aurora and successfully captured data to understand how auroras heat the atmosphere and cause high-altitude winds.
Image Credit: NASA/Lee Wingfield
"Hitch Your Star Wagon to Mercury as it Skedaddles from Scorpio to Sagittarius: Things about to get Frakkin' Interesting!"
"Fasten Your Seatbelts, Virgos, as Lunar Express is Taking a Sharp Left to Libra-town: Expect Balance, Charm and a Sudden Craving for Brie!"
Casey Denham, aerospace engineer with the Systems Analysis and Concepts Directorate at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, works with tribal students during a STEM activity at the American Indian Engineering Sciences (AISES) National Conference in Spokane, Washington, Oct. 19-21, 2023.
Image Credit: NASA / Caroline Montgomery
"Venus Ditches Hermit-like Virgo, Plans Swanky Soiree in Libra: Galactic Fashion Police on High Alert!"
The spiral galaxy IC 342, located about 11 million light-years from Earth, lies behind the crowded plane of the Milky Way: Dust, gas, and stars obscure it from our view. Euclid used its near-infrared instrument to peer through the dust and study it.
Image Credit: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
The NASA Worm Logo sign is unveiled before the ribbon cutting ceremony to open NASA’s Earth Information Center, Wednesday, June 21, 2023, at NASA Headquarters building in Washington.
Image Credit: NASA / Joel Kowsky
"Brace Yourselves, Space Cats! The Moon's Packing Up Its Drama Queen Leo Baggage and Moving to Neat-Freak Virgo. Cosmic Spring Cleaning, Anyone?"
"Breaking Stellar News: Moon Packs its Crabby Bags, Roars into Leo's Den for a Star-studded Staycation!"