APOD: 2026 August 26 – JWST Images The Lion’s Head Nebula

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APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 August 26 – JWST… 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. JWST Images The Lion’s Head Nebula Explanation: Are we looking at the future of our Sun? The James Webb Space Telescope captured today’s composite image of the Lion’s Head Nebula (NGC 2392) with its NIRCam and MIRI…

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New Next-Gen Dish Adds Muscle to NASA’s Deep Space Network

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Antennas soak in the summer Sun in August 2026 at the Deep Space Network’s Goldstone complex near Barstow, California, including the recently completed Deep Space Station 23 (shown in the foreground, to the right). NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA’s Deep Space Network facility in California is marking the addition of a brand new 34-meter-wide (114-foot-wide) radio frequency antenna to the agency’s deep space communications and navigation system. The network uses giant dish antennas located at three global facilities to support more than 40 spacecraft exploring the solar system and interstellar space. The new…

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‘You just saved the video dish’: Two astronauts complete spacewalk to replace ISS antenna

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“Houston, we have a working comm link again.” Thanks to the efforts of two astronauts, such a call is possible again using one of two Space-to-Ground antennas outside the International Space Station (ISS). The pair finished the replacement of a faulty dish assembly during a spacewalk on Tuesday (Aug. 25). Anil Menon of NASA and Sophie Adenot of the European Space Agency (ESA), who previously removed a faulty dish during a spacewalk on Aug. 18, installed a spare in its place and moved the broken assembly from a temporary to…

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NASA Invites Media to LunaRecycle Challenge Finale Event in Alabama

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NASA will announce the winners of the final phase of its LunaRecycle Challenge on Friday, Aug. 28, at The University of Alabama (UA) Lee Styslinger College of Engineering in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Launched in 2024, the challenge incentivizes the invention of new recycling systems that could support non-metabolic waste management efforts for future lunar missions. Media and the public are invited to the challenge’s Technology Showcase and Winners Announcement, where up to 14 finalist teams will showcase their solutions and hear from NASA and UA leadership about the future of lunar…

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‘Aliens: The Video Games’ author Mike Diver on overlooked Alien games, tracking down retro game developers, and the future of the Xenomorph (interview)

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The history of Alien video games is long and twisty, but Mike Diver — veteran writer, editor, critic, and journalist — decided a few years ago to make a complete chronicle of Xenomorph-filled games his next big adventure. Ahead of Aliens: The Video Games‘ August 30 release, we sat down with him and discussed the franchise’s past, present, and future in games. The following interview has been edited for better flow. “I played a lot of Alien 3 on Mega Drive,” Diver recalls when asked about his first few contacts…

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Watch 2 astronauts replace failed ISS antenna during spacewalk today

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Two astronauts will do some repair work outside the International Space Station today (Aug. 25), and you can watch the action live. NASA’s Anil Menon and Sophie Adenot of the European Space Agency will conduct a spacewalk today (Aug. 25) to replace a space-to-ground-antenna. The extravehicular activity (EVA) is expected to start around 8:35 a.m. EDT (1235 GMT) and last 6.5 hours. You can watch it live here at Space.com, courtesy of NASA, or directly via the space agency. Coverage will start at 7:00 a.m. EDT (1100 GMT). NASA astronauts…

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Pluto losing its planet status may be the best thing that ever happened to solar system diversity

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Unpopular opinion time, but someone has to say it: I think Pluto being reclassified as a dwarf planet was a great thing for our understanding of the solar system and for the former planet itself. Let me try to convince you, too. First, a little background. The Pluto planet controversy began exactly 20 years ago on Aug. 24, 2006, when the International Astronomical Union (IAU) reclassified the solar system’s (former) ninth planet as a dwarf planet. The reason for the change was the result of the discovery of worlds similar…

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NASA Sets Coverage for Roman Space Telescope Launch from Florida

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NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is encapsulated within the payload fairing at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, ahead of mating to a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket for launch. Credit: NASA/Sydney Rohde (Rocz) Coverage plans are ready for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope prelaunch and launch activities. Roman is NASA’s next-generation observatory designed to explore some of the universe’s biggest mysteries, including dark energy. NASA and SpaceX are targeting Roman’s liftoff for no earlier than 7:26 a.m. EDT Sunday, Aug. 30, aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket…

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Perseverance Captures Another Phobos Transit

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2 Min Read Perseverance Captures Another Phobos Transit PIA26811 Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS/SSI Photojournal Navigation Science Photojournal Perseverance Captures Another… Photojournal Home Photojournal Search Latest Content Galleries Feedback RSS About   Downloads Perseverance Captures Another Phobos Transit PNG (296.77 KB) PIA26811 Animation (.mp4) MP4 (160.24 KB) Description NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover used its Mastcam-Z camera to capture the silhouette of Phobos, one of the two Martian moons, as it crossed in front of the Sun on Aug. 12, 2026, the 1,948th Martian day, or sol, of the mission.  The animation has been…

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