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Science — Space Exploration

Scientific advances that inspire — new discoveries, research milestones, space missions, nature insights, and emerging technologies

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NASA News8/27/2026

NASA Invites Media to Turkey Artemis Accords Signing Ceremony

Turkey will sign the Artemis Accords during a ceremony at 2:30 p.m. EDT Monday, Aug. 31, at NASA Headquarters in Washington, becoming the 71st country signatory. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman will host Turkish Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır for the ceremony, together with U.S. Department of State officials. This event is in person only. […]

NASA News8/27/2026

Civil Servants Sworn in at NASA Ames

New civil servants and guests pose for a group photo with NASA and center leadership in the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex (NFAC) 80-by-120-foot test section, N221 on Aug. 24, 2026. The civil servants were sworn-in the same day in the largest swearing-in ceremony ever hosted at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley since […]

NASA News8/27/2026

9 Things to Know About NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is set to launch at 7:26 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 30. While you wait to watch the launch, brush up on some key facts about this wide-view mission. To learn more about the Roman mission, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/roman Media contact: Claire AndreoliNASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.claire.andreoli@nasa.gov301-286-1940

NASA News8/27/2026

NASA Astronaut Jonny Kim Departs Agency to Continue Military Service

After nearly a decade of service to NASA, including an eight-month science expedition aboard the International Space Station, astronaut Jonny Kim’s last day at the agency is Thursday. He will continue serving as lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy. Kim launched to the space station in April 2025 aboard the Soyuz MS‑27 spacecraft to conduct […]

NASA News8/27/2026

APOD: 2026 August 27 – Colorful Aurora over an Icelandic Waterfall

APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 August 27 –… 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. Colorful Aurora over […]

NASA News8/26/2026

Building Foresight for Earth Science, featuring Lindsey Jacobson

NASA’s Earth-observing satellite missions track dozens of features of a changing planet — aerosols, sea levels, land cover, cloud cover — over years and decades. Sustaining that record for the scientific and operational communities who depend on it requires more than engineering talent. It requires planning for an uncertain future: anticipating where a mission delay […]

NASA News8/26/2026

Roman Space Telescope Travels to SpaceX Hangar

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, encapsulated in its payload fairing, travels from the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility to the SpaceX hangar at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, ahead of mating to a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. Roman’s science instruments are designed to help researchers understand dark […]

NASA News8/26/2026

NASA Johnson Pilots Chase Moon’s Shadow for Eclipse Science

During the Aug. 12 total solar eclipse over Europe, scientists aimed to study a long-standing mystery: why the Sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona, is far hotter than its visible surface. Capturing the data they needed meant being in exactly the right place at the right time.  Pilots from NASA’s Johnson Space Center flew the WB-57F high altitude research aircraft from Ellington Field in Houston to Iceland, their […]

Sky & Telescope8/26/2026

Meet Altair, the Eagle’s Eye

Altair, centerpiece of Aqulia, the Eagle, is the twelfth-brightest star in the night sky and one of the closest stars to Earth. The post Meet Altair, the Eagle’s Eye appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

NASA News8/26/2026

NASA Begins Moon Mission Plume-Surface Interaction Tests

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story, originally published in December, was revised Aug. 26, 2026 with an update on a new phase of testing, including video from a recent test run and new images. To help NASA and commercial partners better understand the science of lunar landings, specifically the hazards that may occur when a lander’s engine […]

NASA News8/26/2026

Contractor to Civil Servant: NASA Welcomes Jeret Howard

At 17, Jeret Howard raised his right hand to serve his country as a United States Army combat medic in Iraq. This past summer, he raised his right hand again at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Hired as a civil servant under the agency’s workforce directive to restore core competencies by […]

NASA News8/26/2026

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

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 […]

NASA News8/25/2026

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

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 […]

NASA News8/25/2026

NASA Invites Media to LunaRecycle Challenge Finale Event in Alabama

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 […]

NASA News8/25/2026

NASA Ames’ Contributions to Roman’s Mission

Set to launch on Sunday, Aug. 30, NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will empower astronomers to explore vast regions of the cosmos and settle essential questions in the areas of dark energy, dark matter, planets outside our solar system, and the formation and growth of galaxies over cosmic time. Key contributions to Roman’s mission […]

NASA News8/25/2026

NASA Ames Experts Available for Roman Space Telescope Interviews

NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley invites media to learn more about NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, scheduled to launch Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Roman telescope will provide a wide, detailed view of the universe, helping scientists study dark energy, exoplanets, and cosmic structures. […]

NASA News8/25/2026

NASA’s Pandora Mission Begins Study of Exoplanets, Host Stars

Pandora, NASA’s newest exoplanet mission and the first satellite to launch through the agency’s Astrophysics Pioneers program, is now making unique observations of worlds beyond our solar system and the stars they orbit. The mission will determine the atmospheric make-up of at least 20 exoplanets, including the presence of hazes, clouds, and water. “Pandora’s data […]