6 Min Read CHAPEA Mission 2 Crew Reflects After 378 Days on Simulated Mars The CHAPEA (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog) Mission 2 crew egress from their simulated Mars habitat, completing their mission on Oct. 31, 2026, at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Credits: NASA/James Blair After 378 days without windows, the sounds of the outside world, or real-time calls with family and friends, four research volunteers stepped out of NASA’s Mars Dune Alpha habitat on Oct. 31, completing the agency’s second yearlong Mars surface simulation. Ross Elder,…
Read MoreAPOD: 2026 November 9 – Rigel and the Witch Head Nebula
APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 November 9 –… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. Rigel and the Witch Head Nebula Explanation: Does the blue nebula look like the head of a witch? The nebula is known popularly as the Witch Head Nebula because, it is said, the nebula’s shape resembles a Halloween-style…
Read MoreOzone Hole Reaches Its 2026 Maximum
Earth Observatory Science Earth Observatory Ozone Hole Reaches Its 2026… Earth Earth Observatory Image of the Day EO Explorer Topics All Topics Atmosphere Land Heat & Radiation Life on Earth Human Dimensions Natural Events Oceans Remote Sensing Technology Snow & Ice Water More Content Collections Global Maps World of Change Articles Earth Matters Blog Blue Marble: Next Generation EO Kids Mission: Biomes About About Us Subscribe 🛜 RSS Contact Us Search This data visualization shows the area and shape of the ozone hole on September 18, 2026, the day…
Read MoreNASA Announces $1 Million to Students for Moon Base Challenge
Artist’s concept depicting astronauts, habitats, rovers, power systems, and cargo operations supporting sustained human activities at the Moon Base near the lunar South Pole. Credit: NASA On Sunday, NASA announced the opening of its $1 million Moon Base Student Challenge during a MAX POWER event at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. As part of a Golden Age of Science, the competition invites student teams at U.S. high schools and post-secondary schools to contribute designs for the Moon Base. “We’re looking for students ready to think creatively, work as…
Read MoreOn this day in space! Nov. 8, 2005: Europe launches Venus Express, its first mission to Venus
Share this article Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter On Nov. 8, 2005, Europe launched its first mission to Venus. The spacecraft was called Venus Express. Venus is a hothouse planet, one where the atmospheric pressure can easily crush an unprotected spacecraft. Even from orbit, Venus Express had to survive harsh radiation. But the spacecraft lasted for more than nine years. During that time, Venus Express saw a weird vortex swirling around Venus’s south pole. It also saw…
Read MoreWho is King Ghidorah? The cosmic connections of Godzilla Minus Zero’s foe
Share this article Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Godzilla goes toe-to-toe with long-time foe King Ghidorah in Godzilla Minus Zero, which opened in theaters on Friday (Nov. 6). Though the three-headed golden Kaiju might seem like a natural native of Monster Island, King Ghidorah actually emerged from the depths of space. However, it isn’t just the origins of King Ghidorah — also known as Monster Zero in the Godzilla movie Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965) — that are…
Read MoreScientists simulate an Earth without life to help hunt for aliens and inhabited worlds
Share this article Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter A new computer simulation that depicts Earth, or a rocky planet in general, without life is the latest tool in the quest to discover whether or not we are alone in the universe. Life leaves its mark on a planet, particularly its atmosphere, in the form of a mixture of biochemically created gases. Some are obvious, while others can be produced by both biology and geology, meaning that distinguishing…
Read MoreAPOD: 2026 November 8 – Major Fireball Meteor
APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 November 8 –… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. Major Fireball Meteor Explanation: The sky glows with soft pinkish colors of fading twilight in this serendipitous mountaintop vista. Taken in subfreezing temperatures, the thoughtfully composed photo shows snowy, rugged peaks seen from a mountain pass on 2017…
Read MoreNASA Awards Moon Base Transportation, Technology, Science Projects
Artist’s concept of living and working at Moon Base. Credit: NASA NASA announced a suite of awards and mission updates on Saturday to expand the agency’s Moon Base exploration, science, and infrastructure capabilities. The investments will advance commercial robotic deliveries, a nuclear-powered rover named PROMISE, launch and orbital transfer services, and surface infrastructure as the agency works with American industry to establish a sustained presence on the Moon’s South Pole. The agency shared the news at the MAX POWER aerospace expo and air show at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in…
Read MoreNASA Seeks Next Generation of Explorers to Join Astronaut Corps
NASA announced its 2025 Astronaut Candidate Class on Sept. 22, 2025, at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Credit: NASA/Helen Arase Vargas NASA is looking for the explorers who will help write the next chapter of human spaceflight. Applications are now open for the agency’s next class of astronauts, who will join NASA as America returns to the Moon, builds the Moon Base, and lays the groundwork for the first crewed missions to Mars. The next generation of astronauts will train to operate on the lunar surface, live and…
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