National Aeronautics and Space Administration press releases

NASA Assigns Astronaut Deniz Burnham to First Space Station Mission

NASA has assigned astronaut Deniz Burnham to her first mission to the International Space Station as an Expedition 76 flight engineer. She is scheduled to launch in March 2027 aboard a Roscosmos Soyuz spacecraft to conduct scientific research and technology demonstrations.

Starburst Galaxy Centaurus A

NASA released a new image from the James Webb Space Telescope's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) showing the dusty structures and activity within the nearby galaxy Centaurus A.

NASA Johnson Interns Shaping the Future of Exploration

NASA highlights the contributions of interns at the Johnson Space Center who are gaining hands-on experience in fields such as strategic communications, AI, and machine learning to support human spaceflight missions. The agency showcases how these students are developing skills and contributing to real-world projects like the Moon Base Program and the Orion spacecraft.

APOD: 2026 July 30 – Red Sun trough Wildfire Smoke

NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day features a photograph of the Sun appearing red and dim due to wildfire smoke acting as a natural solar filter in British Columbia. The image highlights how smoke particles scatter light and reveals active solar regions like sunspot group AR 4493.

New Zealand’s Southern Wilderness

NASA's Earth Observatory featured a Landsat 9 image of Stewart Island/Rakiura, New Zealand, highlighting its diverse ecosystems and unique wildlife, including the Stewart Island tokoeka.

NASA Awards 2026 Innovative Technology Concepts

NASA has awarded 18 new projects under its Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program, providing $3.2 million to support early-stage research into visionary aerospace technologies. These projects aim to develop breakthrough concepts for lunar exploration, planetary science, and deep-space missions.

NASA Sets Coverage for August Northern Hemisphere Total Solar Eclipse

NASA announced its coverage plan for the total solar eclipse occurring on August 12, 2026, which will be visible in parts of Europe, Greenland, Iceland, and northern Russia. The agency will provide a live broadcast featuring expert interviews and information on scientific experiments being conducted during the event.

NASA’s Curiosity Views a Sand-Capped Butte

NASA's Curiosity rover captured a panoramic image of a sand-capped butte nicknamed "Miraflores" on Mars. The image shows a geological feature left behind by erosion in a broad valley.

NASA’s Curiosity Discovers a Field of Martian Polygons

NASA's Curiosity rover captured a 360-degree panorama of a dense field of polygonal surface features on Mars. Scientists are analyzing these textures to determine if they were formed by processes such as water loss, temperature cycles, or sediment compaction.

NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover Discovers Field of Honeycomb Textures

NASA's Curiosity rover has discovered a vast expanse of honeycomb-like polygonal fractures in the Valle Grande region of Mars. Scientists are currently analyzing the data to determine whether these features were formed by mud cracks, temperature cycles, or sediment compression.

APOD: 2026 July 29 – Psyche Receives Gravity Assist from Mars

NASA shared a video demonstrating how the Psyche spacecraft utilized a gravity assist from Mars in May 2026 to increase its speed and adjust its trajectory toward the metal-rich asteroid Psyche. The mission also used the flyby to test instruments that will eventually analyze the asteroid's composition and magnetic field.

Understanding How Martian Auroras Are Made

This July 23, 2026, illustration depicts charged particles from a solar storm stripping away charged particles of Mars’ atmosphere, one of the processes of Martian atmosphere loss studied by NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) mission. NASA MAVEN mission scientists have found that certain types of auroras on Mars form in a similar way […]