NASA/Ben Smegelsky An American bald eagle flies away from its nest and tree at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, March 13, 2026. Bald eagle nesting surveys across NASA Kennedy, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, and Canaveral National Seashore are conducted annually to document the number of bald eagle active and inactive nests in support of wildlife management and regulatory compliance. Each year, eagles take up winter residence at the Florida spaceport, breeding and raising a new generation. See more bald eagle photos and video. Text credit: Elyna…
Read MoreHow NASA is Collecting Explosion Data for Next Generation Rockets
5 Min Read How NASA is Collecting Explosion Data for Next Generation Rockets Commercial launch providers continue to advance propulsion technology with a renewed focus on liquid oxygen and methane propelled rockets and spacecraft. As systems grow in scale, carrying millions of pounds of propellant, so too does the responsibility to fully understand the safety profile. NASA has a proven ability to safely execute high-risk testing Joe Schuyler Director, NASA Stennis Engineering and Test Directorate Engineers at NASA, with decades of cryogenic and test operations expertise, are conducting a final…
Read MoreNASA Laser Reflecting Instrument Makes GPS Satellite More Accurate
3 min read NASA Laser Reflecting Instrument Makes GPS Satellite More Accurate A NASA laser reflecting technology that will aid Global Positioning System (GPS) accuracy is now operational as of March 9. The instrument, known as a laser retroreflector array, or LRA, launched aboard GPS III SV-09, the ninth of U.S. Space Force’s Block III Global Positioning System satellites, on Jan. 27. LRAs are sets of mirrors shaped like the corners of a cube, a configuration that is designed to precisely reflect beams of light back to their source. They…
Read MoreLatest News on the Kreutz Sungrazing Comet C/2026 A1 MAPS
As the comet prepares for its perilous perihelion passage, we look at what to expect. The post Latest News on the Kreutz Sungrazing Comet C/2026 A1 MAPS appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
Read MoreLava Flows Down Mayon
At any given moment, about 20 volcanoes on Earth are actively erupting. Often among them is Mayon—the most active volcano in the Philippines. Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey The OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 8 acquired this rare, relatively clear image of Mayon, the most active volcano in the Philippines, on Feb. 26, 2026. The natural-color scene is overlaid with infrared observations to highlight the lava’s heat signature. On that day, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) reported volcanic earthquakes, rockfalls, and hot clouds of ash and debris…
Read MoreFrom Service to Space Systems: A Pathways Journey to NASA
For Corey Elmore, the path to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center did not begin in engineering. It began in service. Today he serves as a NASA Pathways engineering intern in the Technical Processes and Tools Branch (KSC-NE-TA) at Kennedy Space Center. Through the Pathways program, he is gaining hands-on experience supporting the engineering environments, technical tools and processes that help NASA teams design, analyze, and operate complex mission systems. NASA Pathways intern Corey Elmore stands near Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center, with the Space Launch System rocket and Artemis…
Read MoreNASA’s Hubble Unexpectedly Catches Comet Breaking Up
Explore Hubble Hubble Home Overview About Hubble The History of Hubble Hubble Timeline Why Have a Telescope in Space? Hubble by the Numbers At the Museum FAQs Impact & Benefits Hubble’s Impact & Benefits Science Impacts Cultural Impact Technology Benefits Impact on Human Spaceflight Astro Community Impacts Science Hubble Science Science Themes Science Highlights Science Behind Discoveries Universe Uncovered Hubble’s Partners in Science Hubble & Citizen Science AI & Hubble Science Explore the Night Sky Observatory Hubble Observatory Hubble Design Mission Operations Science Operations Astronaut Missions to Hubble Hubble vs…
Read MoreAsteroid Ryugu Also Contains Life’s Building Blocks
Samples returned from Ryugu contain all five nucleobases, just like from asteroid Bennu. The find suggests life’s ingredients could have come from outside Earth. The post Asteroid Ryugu Also Contains Life’s Building Blocks appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
Read MoreSolving Asteroid Bennu’s Mysteries
NASA/Scott Eckley These X-ray computed tomography (XCT) scans released on March 17, 2026, give us a glimpse inside asteroid Bennu. They show the most common types of crack networks observed in Bennu samples; these networks solved a mystery that baffled NASA for years. When NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft first approached asteroid Bennu in 2018, scientists expected to see smooth, sandy beach-like surfaces. Instead, they found a celestial body covered in boulders. Observations made in 2007 by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope measured low thermal inertia, indicative of an asteroid whose surface heats up and cools down rapidly as it…
Read MoreAsteroid Bennu’s Rugged Surface Baffled NASA, We Finally Know Why
5 Min Read Asteroid Bennu’s Rugged Surface Baffled NASA, We Finally Know Why These are X-ray computed tomography (XCT) scans of particles from asteroid Bennu. They show the most common types of crack networks observed in Bennu samples. Credits: NASA/Scott Eckley In one of the biggest surprises of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission, its target asteroid, Bennu, turned out to be a jagged, rugged world covered in large boulders, with few of the smooth patches that earlier observations from Earth-based instruments had indicated. “When OSIRIS-REx got to Bennu in 2018, we were…
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