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NASA’s Pandora Mission Begins Study of Exoplanets, Host Stars
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NASA’s Pandora Mission Begins Study of Exoplanets, Host StarsPandora, 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 will help close a major gap in our knowledge about planets and their host stars because, right now, we can’t be entirely sure how the star’s light affects measurements of what makes up exoplanet atmospheres,” said Elisa Quintana, Pandora’s principal investigator at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “We designed the Pandora spacecraft and its in-depth observing program to better understand this vexing issue.”
Artist’s concept of NASA’s Pandora mission, which will help scientists untangle the signals from exoplanets’ atmospheres and their stars.NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Conceptual Image Lab Download high-resolution video and images from NASA’s Scientific Visualization StudioThe results of the mission will lay a firm foundation for interpreting measurements by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, as well as future observatories focused on finding habitable worlds. In fact, Pandora’s near-infrared detector is a spare originally developed for Webb.
“The spacecraft is healthy and all of the instruments are performing as well as we could have hoped,” said Jordan Karburn, Pandora’s deputy project manager at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. “Our team’s hard work throughout the commissioning process has paid off, and we can now confidently start science.”
This artist’s concept summarizes NASA’s Pandora mission and its science goals. Pandora will repeatedly observe multiple planets and their host stars in both visible and near-infrared light. These measurements will enable astronomers to separate chemical fingerprints detected in a planet’s atmosphere from potentially misleading signals originating from its host star.NASA/Sophia Roberts Download high-resolution video and images from NASA’s Scientific Visualization StudioLaunched into low Earth orbit on Jan. 11, Pandora is an ambitious small satellite (SmallSat) funded by NASA’s Astrophysics Pioneers program. Pioneers are designed to explore compelling questions about the universe with fast-paced, low-cost missions that require a higher-than-usual tolerance for failure.
Three factors make Pandora unique. It carries a novel all-aluminum telescope about 18 inches (45 centimeters) in diameter, it will study planets and their host stars simultaneously in both visible and infrared light, and it will observe targets for a much longer time than flagship observatories like Webb are able to.
Telescopes can sample a planet’s atmosphere in systems where the planet passes in front of its star as seen from our perspective. During this event, called a transit, some starlight skims the planet’s atmosphere before making its way to us. As this light interacts with atmospheric molecules, their chemical fingerprints become embedded in it. For each molecule, astronomers see brightness dips at characteristic wavelengths.
But our instruments also see light from the whole star, not just what grazes the planet. Stellar surfaces aren’t uniform. They sport hotter, brighter areas called faculae and cooler, darker regions similar to sunspots. Both can grow, shrink, and change position as the star rotates.
“Water is one of the most important molecules we can measure to understand the composition and physical conditions of an exoplanet atmosphere,” said Benjamin Rackham, a team member at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. “But features on the star can distort the water signal we’re searching for. Pandora is designed to disentangle the signals from the planet and the star, helping us to understand the planets more accurately and laying the groundwork for the eventual study of planets that could harbor life.”
Watch to learn more about NASA’s Pandora mission, which will revolutionize the study of exoplanet atmospheres.NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Download high-resolution video and images from NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio
Pandora’s telescope, jointly developed by Livermore and Corning Specialty Materials in Keene, New Hampshire, and its detectors make up the mission’s heart. The detectors will capture the star’s brightness in visible light and its near-infrared spectrum at the same time, while also obtaining a near-infrared spectrum from the planet when it transits the star. Over the course of its year-long primary mission, Pandora will observe at least 20 exoplanets 10 times with a long-duration stare covering 24 hours, with a transit included in each observation.
“Pandora’s advantage is its ability to observe targets for extended periods at multiple wavelengths, something high-demand flagship missions like Webb cannot regularly do,” said Knicole Colón, the mission’s project scientist at NASA Goddard. “Combining Pandora and Webb data will uniquely enable scientists to determine the properties of stellar surfaces and cleanly separate star and planetary signals.”
Pandora is led by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory provides the mission’s project management and engineering. Pandora’s telescope was manufactured by Corning and developed collaboratively with Livermore, which also developed the imaging detector assemblies, the mission’s control electronics, and all supporting thermal and mechanical subsystems. The infrared sensor was provided by NASA Goddard. Blue Canyon Technologies provided the bus, performed spacecraft assembly, integration and environmental testing, and is providing mission operations support. NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley performs the mission’s data processing. Pandora’s science data is available at the NASA Exoplanet Archive, which is operated by IPAC at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. The University of Arizona leads mission operations for Pandora and contributes to its science program. Many additional universities also support the science team.
To learn more about the Pandora mission, please visit:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/pandora/
Facebook logo @NASAUniverse @NASAUniverse Instagram logo @NASAUniverse Share Details Last Updated Aug 25, 2026 EditorFrancis ReddyContactAlise Fisheralise.m.fisher@nasa.gov Related TermsGalactic Gems Glisten in New Gallery From NASA’s Chandra
Galaxies are like cosmic gems, each with characteristics including size and shape that make them distinct. A new gallery released today from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes displays a collection of galactic images that showcase this variety.
Astronomers put galaxies into three main categories: spirals like our own Milky Way with arms emanating from their cores, ellipticals that are older and likely the results of mergers, and irregulars that can encompass a wide range of galactic phenomena.
This gallery displays a collection of 16 galactic images from Chandra and other telescopes. Astronomers put galaxies into three main categories: spirals like our own Milky Way, ellipticals that are older and likely the results of mergers, and irregulars that can encompass a wide range of galactic phenomena. All types are represented in this collection. Each galactic image contains X-ray data from Chandra combined with data from telescopes such as NASA’s Webb, Hubble, IXPE, Swift, and NuSTAR, and others both in space and on the ground.Credit: NASA/CXC/SAOJust as gems reveal the history of Earth through how they were forged over billions of years, these galactic gems are a way to study Earth’s place in our home galaxy of the Milky Way. By looking outward to other galaxies, we learn more about our own – including clues to its past and future.
There are 16 new images in this galactic gallery. Each one contains X-ray data from Chandra that has been collected across Chandra’s decades in space. This high-energy data has been combined with data from telescopes such as NASA’s James Webb and Hubble Space Telescopes, IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer), Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, NuSTAR (Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array), and others both on the ground and in space.
NGC 1672A barred spiral galaxy featuring a prominent central bar or bridge of stars that channels gas toward its core. Chandra X-rays (purple) highlight growing black holes along the bar and core, merged with Hubble optical light (white, yellow and soft blue) and JWST infrared dust filaments (red). Studying barred spirals in action can help reveal how gas in our own Milky Way, which is also a barred spiral, feeds its central black hole and forms new stars.X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI/Hubble Heritage Team; Infrared: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/J. Lee and T. Williams; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare, J. Major, K. Arcand II Zw 096A chaotic, dust-shrouded system of merging galaxies forming stars at a furious rate. Chandra X-ray data (magenta) pinpoint powerful black hole activity and hot gas, while Hubble optical (blue and white) and Webb infrared (red and grey) data illuminate vast stellar nurseries hidden behind interstellar dust. Systems like II Zw 096 show us how powerful galaxy collisions shaped the early universe.X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI; Infrared: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare and J. Major M33A nearby, face-on spiral galaxy whose clear spiral arms offer an unhindered view of its stellar engine. X-ray data from Chandra (purple) highlights point sources like neutron stars and stellar-mass black holes pulling material off companion stars (systems called X-ray binaries), while optical data from the Very Large Telescope’s MUSE instrument (pink and grey) maps glowing pockets of hydrogen gas. Ultraviolet data from NASA’s Swift telescope (blue) reveals populations of young, massive stars sizzling across the spiral arms. M33’s proximity to us allows astronomers to audit individual high-energy objects and map how stellar feedback affects a galaxy’s ecosystem.X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: ESO/VLT; UV: NASA/Swift; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare NGC 4258A spiral galaxy famous for having two extra, “anomalous” spiral arms composed of hot gas. Chandra’s X-rays (royal blue) show superheated shockwaves created by central black hole jets, combined with optical light from Hubble (red, yellow and pale blue) and infrared dust filaments from Webb (bright orange). M106 helps show how supermassive black holes can create structural features that mimic star-bearing spiral arms, influencing a galaxy’s evolution.X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI; Infrared: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare NGC 1569A compact dwarf irregular galaxy undergoing a violent, compact burst of star formation. Chandra and XMM-Newton observations (blue and purple) reveal massive bubbles of million-degree gas inflated by stellar winds, set against a backdrop of optical light (magenta, orange and white) imaged by Adam Block. Dwarf starburst galaxies can serve as local laboratories for studying the conditions of the early universe, where small, primitive galaxies formed stars at frantic rates.X-ray: (XMM):ESA/XMM-Newton, (Chandra): NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: Univ.of Arizona/Mt Lemmon SkyCenter/Adam Block/Josep Drudis; Image Processing: NASA?CXC/SAO/L. Frattare M90A large spiral galaxy that is being stripped of its gas as it plunges at high speed through hot gas in the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. Chandra’s X-ray data (magenta) pinpoints high-energy point sources—such as X-ray binaries and supernova remnants—and diffuse hot gas nestled within the spiral disk imaged by Hubble (blue, brown and gold). A ground-based optical light image taken from New Mexico by Timothy Martin reveals red filaments of hydrogen gas streaming over 300,000 light-years behind the galaxy as it falls into the Virgo Cluster.X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: NASA/ESA/D. Thilker/J. Lee/PHANGS-HST Team; Full-field: Tim Martin; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare Centaurus AA giant elliptical galaxy undergoing a dusty merger, featuring a powerful jet of particles blasting tens of thousands of light-years into space. Chandra’s X-rays (blue) showcase the high-energy jet, with additional X-rays from IXPE (orange), while Webb infrared (magenta) and optical light (amber and white) from the European Southern Observatory expose a dark, churning dust lane. As one of the closest active galaxies to Earth, Cen A allows astronomers to study the effects of supermassive black hole jets in extraordinary detail.X-ray: (Chandra) NASA/CXC/SAO, X-ray (IXPE): NASA/MSFC; Optical: ESO; Infrared: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare, K. Arcand, and J. Major M104Famous for its broad central bulge and dark outer dust ring, this galaxy sits at a nearly edge-on tilt to Earth. Chandra X-rays (cyan and orange) isolate compact point sources and hot gas in the galaxy’s sprawling halo, merged with Hubble optical light (warm white) and Webb infrared vision (purple-red dust lane). Studying M104 may help bridge the gap between spirals and ellipticals, helping astronomers better understand how a galaxy’s giant outer cloud of stars grows and ages alongside its inner disk.X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical:NASA/Hubble Heritage Team/AURA/STScI; Infrared: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare Arp 143This ring galaxy system formed when a smaller companion galaxy punched straight through its center like a bullseye, creating a powerful cosmic shockwave. Chandra X-rays (purple) uncover bright X-ray binary systems scattered along the collision shock wave, laid over Hubble’s optical image (blue and white) of expanding stellar rings. Such head-on collisions can trigger vast ripple effects, sparking huge waves of star birth across entire galaxies.X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI/J. Dalcanton; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare NGC 4725A “one-armed” barred spiral galaxy surrounded by a prominent star-forming ring. Chandra’s X-ray data (magenta) pinpoints several bright X-ray sources, likely caused by growing black holes, embedded within the sweeping optical disk (soft blue and white) captured with the Mt. Lemmon Observatory. Galaxies with unusual single arms can offer a window into how the gravity from a passing galaxy can trigger bursts of star formation.X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI/NAOJ/R. Gendler; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare NGC 1385A barred spiral galaxy packed with regions where stars are actively forming. Chandra X-ray data (magenta) highlights stellar nurseries and X-ray binaries scattered along dusty spiral structures brought to life by Hubble optical (white and grey) and Webb infrared (orange and red) observations. Comparing multiwavelength data of barred spirals containing active star formation helps scientists map how local starbursts build up galactic mass over time.X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI; Infrared: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare NGC 660A rare “polar ring” galaxy where a tilted outer ring of stars and dust rotates over the galaxy’s poles, an unusual structure likely caused by a collision with another galaxy about a billion years ago. Chandra’s X-rays (purple) reveal a possible growing supermassive black hole in the center of the galaxy, plus X-ray binaries nestled within the stars and dust captured by the Gemini Observatory in optical light (gold, blue and white). Studying polar rings teaches us about the diverse effects of stellar collisions on the shapes of galaxies.X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical:NSF/International Gemini Observatory/AURA; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare M82An irregular galaxy undergoing intense star formation because of a gravitational interaction with a neighboring galaxy hundreds of millions of years ago. Chandra X-rays (blue), supplemented by NuSTAR data, show towering superwinds of million-degree gas blowing thousands of light-years out of the galactic disk, with Hubble optical light (yellow, orange and white) showing the galaxy shape, and Webb and Spitzer detailing infrared dust emission (red). M82 was nicknamed the Cigar Galaxy mostly because of its edge-on angle to Earth, which makes its central disk look like an elongated, cigar-shaped oval with small optical telescopes. The galaxy illustrates how violent galactic “exhaust systems” can regulate a galaxy’s growth by venting gas outwards.X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI; Infrared: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare, J. Major, and K. Arcand NGC 3256A pair of colliding, gas-rich spiral galaxies merging into a single massive system. Chandra’s X-ray data (pink) isolates point sources and shock-heated gas, Hubble’s optical light (blue and white) captures tidal tails of stars, and Webb’s infrared vision (red and orange) cuts through the dust to show hidden star formation. Galaxy collisions like this offer a preview of our far future, showing what might happen if our own Milky Way collides and merges with the nearby Andromeda Galaxy.X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI; Infrared: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare NGC 3938A face-on spiral galaxy whose orientation gives us an unobstructed view of its disk. X-ray emissions from Chandra (magenta) detail energetic X-ray binaries and supernova remnants scattered across dust lanes in an optical image (white, blue and gold) from Adam Block with Mt. Lemmon Observatory. Face-on orientations are important for galactic studies because they provide the most unobstructed views of a galaxy’s stars and gas.X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/University of Arizona; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare NGC 4631A spiral galaxy viewed from its side, featuring a giant halo of hot gas blowing out of its stellar disk. X-rays from Chandra and ESA’s XMM-Newton (purple and royal blue) trace hot gas driven out by supernovas and black holes and neutron stars pulling gas from their companions, while optical light (light blue, gold and white) from ground-based observer R. Jay GaBany showcases dense dust lanes. Edge-on views of galaxies allow astronomers to study how flat their stellar disks are and provide the clearest views of material located above or below the disk.X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: ©2011-2015 by R Jay GaBany, Cosmotography.com; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. FrattareX-rays are critical for the study of galaxies, revealing unique and important information about these cosmic building blocks. For example, Chandra exposes gas that has been superheated to millions of degrees by winds from massive stars, the outflows from supermassive black holes, and the debris from exploded stars. These are key sources of elements in our bodies, in the air we breathe, and the planet we live on. Chandra also sees some of the hottest and most energetic galactic phenomena in the universe, forming a more complete picture of how galaxies live, interact, and evolve when combined with data from other types of light and telescopes.
Spiral and star-forming enginesFace-on spiral galaxies like Messier 33 and NGC 3938 offer unobstructed views of places where energetic pairs of stars and cosmic explosions live along spiral arms. Barred spirals like NGC 1672 and NGC 1385 show how central bar-shaped collections of stars, gas, and dust funnel fuel inward to ignite bursts of star formation. NGC 4725 reveals how star formation can be triggered by a previous collision with another galaxy. Meanwhile, edge-on views of NGC 4631 (the Whale Galaxy) and the starburst Messier 82 (the Cigar Galaxy) showcase giant halos and superwinds of million-degree gas driven thousands of light-years into space by intense explosions of stars, enriching surrounding intergalactic space with vital elements.
Active galactic nuclei, black hole outflowsPowerful, growing black holes in the cores of their host galaxies, known as active galactic nuclei, send energy outward in outbursts and jets that impact entire galaxies. In Centaurus A, Chandra and IXPE data expose a high-energy particle jet blasting tens of thousands of light-years into space from its central engine. In Messier 106, jets from the supermassive black hole heat surrounding gas to create spiral arms that are different from those typically found in spiral galaxies. Meanwhile, the iconic Sombrero Galaxy (Messier 104) highlights a supermassive black hole embedded in a colossal stellar bulge, where Chandra’s X-rays map a diffuse halo of million-degree gas and hot stellar remnants surrounding its sweeping dust lanes.
Collisions, mergers, cosmic disruptionsThe gallery also showcases galaxies undergoing extreme gravitational transformations. A direct impact in Arp 143 acts like a cosmic bullseye, creating an expanding ring galaxy and triggering waves of star birth. Violent mergers, such as NGC 3256 and the dust-shrouded starburst II Zw 096, reveal the kind of chaotic galaxy collisions that dominated the early universe and offer a preview of the Milky Way’s distant future merger with nearby galaxy Andromeda. NGC 1569 acts as a local laboratory for studying early universe starbursts, NGC 660 showcases a rare “polar ring” galaxy where a ring of stars orbits over its poles, and Messier 90 shows a spiral galaxy plowing through the Virgo Cluster, having its star-forming gas violently stripped away.
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Chandra X-ray Center controls science operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts.
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About the AuthorMegan Watzke Share Details Last Updated Aug 25, 2026 EditorLee MohonContactMegan Watzkemwatzke@cfa.harvard.eduJoel Wallacejoel.w.wallace@nasa.govLocationMarshall Space Flight Center Related Terms Explore More 4 min read NASA Telescopes Create Colorful ‘Craft’ From Nearby Nebula Article 2 weeks ago 4 min read NASA Space Telescope Maps Magnetic Fields of ‘Lighthouse’ Pulsar Article 2 months ago 5 min read NASA’s Chandra Examines Milky Way at Arms’ Length Article 2 months ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASAChandra X-ray Observatory
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IXPEThe Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) is NASA’s first mission to study the polarization of X-rays.
Astronauts Anil Menon and Sophie Adenot on Spacewalk
From left, Expedition 75 flight engineers Anil Menon of NASA (partially obscured and wearing the spacesuit with a red stripe on the legs) and Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) work together during a six‑hour and 23‑minute spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Aug. 18, 2026. The pair will finish installing a high-speed communications antenna on Aug. 25, 2026.
Image credit: NASA
Integrating Model-Based Systems Engineering and Fault Management to Enable Autonomous Space Missions
Fully autonomous space mission operations require the ability to detect faults and compensate for them without human intervention. To address this challenge and provide model-based support for system design and operations, it is important to connect fault management (FM) and model-based systems engineering (MBSE). This approach was successfully demonstrated with the model-based generation of a failure modes and effects analysis and fault trees using NASA’s HelioSwarm mission early design information.
As NASA strives to push the boundaries of space travel with the Artemis program and the agency’s upcoming deep-space science missions, increased system autonomy and resiliency have inevitably become key technology needs. Autonomous operations require fault management (FM) software to detect issues that occur in space so they can be mitigated automatically without human intervention. Designing autonomous missions requires a multi-disciplinary approach that connects FM with the model-based systems engineering (MBSE) approach used in mission design to ensure that resilient, fault-tolerant systems are architected, modeled, and integrated during the design phase.
To address this need, NASA awarded a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to Qualtech Systems Inc. (QSI) for development of FM capabilities and enhancements to its commercially available toolset, TEAMS® (a product that resulted from commercialization of the company’s earlier NASA-sponsored SBIR work), to support HelioSwarm and other NASA heliophysics missions.
The QSI ApproachOne of the most important tasks in this effort was to connect system health management (SHM) and FM to the systems engineering (SE) process. Together, SHM/FM consists of a set of mechanisms that ensure that mission goals are achieved by preventing failures from occurring, or detecting and then mitigating them if they do occur. The SE process coordinates, cross-checks, and integrates system elements to achieve mission goals and is integral during the design, specification, and verification and validation (V&V) of systems. NASA often employs a model-based approach for its SE process, using Systems Modeling Language (SysML) as the framework.
Despite their inherently close relationship to SE in practice, SHM/FM practices have typically not been tightly integrated with SE. Often, SHM/FM is incorporated only after a nominal system is designed, which essentially makes SHM/FM a bandage fix for problems after they occur, without considering how issues might have been prevented. In addition, SE and SHM/FM often involve separate sets of subject matter experts with stove-piped knowledge repositories. This situation can lead to use of modeling methodologies and analyses processes that yield inconsistent results, and can potentially result in inefficiencies throughout the mission life cycle.
This NASA-funded QSI team’s approach integrates SHM/FM directly within the MBSE process from the beginning of a project. This method enables the FM design to be evaluated in an operational context by showing how the SHM/FM schemes mitigate the effects of simulated component-level physical and functional failures. This technique also facilitates trade studies to evaluate the merits of various FM architectures during the design phase.
Under this SBIR effort, QSI worked with the SysML v2 Submission Team (SST) — an assorted group of end users, vendors, academics, and government liaisons involved in the development of specifications for SysML v2, which is the latest iteration of SysML. The QSI team incorporated FM concepts and modeling standards into SysML v2, then they demonstrated how SysML v2 models could translate to the failure space models produced by the QSI toolset.
This capability enables systems engineers to use QSI’s commercial modeling tool set andanalyze the FM aspects of a system design captured in SysML v2. By capturing the causes and impacts of failures, QSI’s toolset enables mission designers to perform Fault Modes, Effects, and Criticality Analyses (FMECAs) and Fault Tree Analyses (FTAs) to analyze, quantify, and improve the diagnostics and availability of the system. Furthermore, the toolset recommends design improvements (e.g., optimal location of sensors onboard the spacecraft) based on the results from such analyses, and it provides these recommendations in industry-standard formats that can be easily understood and incorporated into the design.
During this SBIR effort, theQSI toolset was also enhanced to interface with an MBSE framework and facilitate the creation, evaluation, and selection of FM concepts for a mission design. The toolset now enables FM concepts to be tested early in the design process so that adequate detection and diagnosis can be built into the system design, which could potentially lower the total cost of development, facilitate enhanced communication and coordination among mission team members, and reduce development risks (cost and schedule).
The HelioSwarm DemonstrationHelioSwarm will transform our understanding of turbulence in the solar wind and the connected Sun–Earth system. The mission uses a constellation, or “swarm,” of one hub and eight co-orbiting small satellites to make the first simultaneous, multiscale measurements of magnetic-field fluctuations and proton flows in the dynamic cislunar space environment. Because plasma turbulence transfers energy across many scales, from fluid-scale motions to kinetic-scale particle dynamics, it cannot be fully understood from a single measurement point, or from measurements at only a single scale. HelioSwarm’s spacecraft will fly with separations ranging from tens to thousands of kilometers, allowing scientists to reconstruct the three-dimensional structure and dynamics of turbulent space plasma. These observations will reveal how energy moves through the solar wind, transforming our understanding of fundamental plasma processes that operate near Earth, around the Sun, and throughout the universe.
Plasma turbulence is the process by which energy contained in fluctuating magnetic fields and plasma motion cascades from large to smaller spatial scales. When the cascade approaches small spatial scales associated with kinetic dissipation, the energy transfers into particle heat. Without turbulent cascades in space plasmas, most of the universe would be far colder than observed. Because of the fundamental thermodynamic role it plays in fluids, including space plasmas, many contend that turbulent fluids are the most important unsolved problem in classical physics.
The QSI team created a SysML v2 design model of HelioSwarm subsystems and top-level mission requirements, capturing the flowdown from mission goals to the design. The team then used its enhanced toolset to translate the HelioSwarm SysML v2 model into an FM model. The HelioSwarm models consist of key subsystems of the hub spacecraft and eight node satellites, including subsystems for command and data handling; electric power; attitude control; propulsion, thermal, and separation hardware payload sensors; and ground and space communications. Using the QSI toolset, mission designers then generated FMECAs and FTAs that were translated into a standardized SysML report. Furthermore, these FM analyses generated recommendations (e.g., for sensor placement) that were provided as proposed updates to the system design. This process will support the design of small spacecraft swarms with inherent redundancy to enhance science observations and other NASA goals, such as providing mission support for lunar surface operations.
Relevance to future NASA missions and non-NASA applicationsThe technology developed via this latest SBIR effort could be of high value for future NASA missions — especially those that require autonomous operation. The QSI TEAMS® toolset was baselined for Vehicle Systems Management functions on NASA’s Gateway project and retains applicability to future human-rated spacecraft. System design engineers could use this technology to incorporate fault mitigation strategies to improve design with additional insight into the overall system resilience — right at the beginning of the design phase.
This technology may also have applications outside of NASA. Comprehensive and efficient FM analyses and architecture trade studies are of critical importance to complex and high-value military systems such as aircraft, surface ships, submarines, and even modern ground-fighting vehicles. Additionally, this technology could be applicable to emerging commercial space systems, civilian aircraft and maritime systems, transportation, and power generation and distribution equipment.
For additional details about this effort, see the relevant TechPort entries: here, here, and here.
Project Lead(s): Dr. Sudipto Ghoshal, Mr. Deepak Haste, Qualtech Systems, Inc.
Sponsoring Organization(s): NASA Ames Research Center
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Article 3 months agoNASA Sets Coverage for Roman Space Telescope Launch from Florida
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 from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Launch coverage begins at 6:20 a.m.
Live coverage of these events will stream through a variety of platforms. Learn where to watch online:
Named for NASA’s first chief astronomer, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will pair sharp infrared vision with a field of view at least 100 times larger than the agency’s Hubble Space Telescope. Its crisp, sweeping surveys will help scientists investigate dark energy and dark matter, discover and characterize exoplanets, map billions of galaxies, study black holes, and explore objects from our own solar system to the edge of the observable universe.
After launch and separation from the rocket, Roman will travel to the second Sun-Earth Lagrange point, or L2, about one million miles from Earth. The mission has a five-year primary lifetime with a goal of operating for 10 years, and Roman’s science data will be publicly available after processing.
NASA’s mission coverage is as follows (all times are Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations):
Saturday, Aug. 29
9 a.m.: NASA’s Roman Space Telescope Mission Science Briefing: The briefing will take place in the NASA Kennedy Press Site auditorium with the following participants:
- Shawn Domagal-Goldman, director, Astrophysics Division, NASA Headquarters
- Julie McEnery, Roman telescope senior project scientist, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
- Vanessa Bailey, Roman Coronagraph Instrument scientist, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Kristen McQuinn, Roman Science Operations Center lead, Space Telescope Science Institute
- Lee Armus, Roman Science Support Center lead, Caltech/IPAC
Media may ask questions in person or by phone. Limited auditorium space will be available for in-person participation. For the dial-in number and passcode, media should contact the NASA Kennedy newsroom no later than one hour before the briefing at: ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.
10:30 a.m.: NASA’s Roman Space Telescope Prelaunch News Conference: The news conference will take place in the NASA Kennedy Press Site auditorium with the following participants:
- Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
- Lucas Paganini, Roman telescope program executive, NASA Headquarters
- Jackie Townsend, Roman telescope project manager, NASA Goddard
- Denton Gibson, launch director, NASA’s Launch Services Program, NASA Kennedy
- Julianna Scheiman, director, NASA Science and Dragon Programs, SpaceX
- Justin McReynolds, launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron, U.S. Space Force
Media may ask questions in person or by phone. Limited auditorium space will be available for in-person participation. For the dial-in number and passcode, media should contact the NASA Kennedy newsroom no later than one hour before the briefing at: ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.
11:45 a.m.: NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman is expected to fly past the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope and Falcon Heavy rocket on the launchpad in his jet. The flyby will be shown live on the same stream as the prelaunch news conference, with a view of the launch pad during the transition. The flyby is subject to weather and operational considerations.
12 p.m.: In-person interviews will take place in the NASA Kennedy Press News Center:
- Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
- Lucas Paganini, Roman telescope program executive, NASA Headquarters
- Dalia Kirschbaum, acting director, Sciences and Exploration Directorate, NASA Goddard
- Josh Schlieder, Roman telescope project scientist, NASA Goddard
- Jason Hylan, Roman telescope flight segment and observatory manager, NASA Goddard
- Bertrand Mennesson, Roman Coronagraph Instrument project scientist, NASA JPL
- Jeff Hanke, president, Space Systems, Space and Mission Systems, L3Harris Technologies
- Wendy Minotti, program manager, Exquisite Imaging, Space and Mission Systems, L3Harris Technologies
- Bonnie Patterson, vice president and general manager, Civil Space, Space and Mission Systems, BAE Systems
- Sarah Lipscy, director, Strategic Operations, Space and Mission Systems, BAE Systems
Previously credentialed media interested in scheduling an interview should contact the NASA Kennedy newsroom at: ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.
Sunday, Aug. 30
6:20 a.m.: Launch coverage begins.
7:26 a.m.: Launch
9:30 a.m.: Postlaunch news conference with the following participants:
- NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman
- Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
- Jackie Townsend, Roman telescope project manager, NASA Goddard
- Julie McEnery, Roman telescope senior project scientist, NASA Goddard
- Denton Gibson, launch director, NASA’s Launch Services Program, NASA Kennedy
Media may ask questions in person or by phone. Limited auditorium space will be available for in-person participation. For the dial-in number and passcode, media should contact the NASA Kennedy newsroom no later than one hour before the news conference at: ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.
Audio-only coverage
Audio-only coverage of the launch will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, accessible by dialing 321-867-1220 or 321-867-1240. On launch day, mission audio countdown activities without NASA broadcast commentary will be carried on 321-867-7135.
Launch audio also will be available on Launch Information Service and Amateur Television System’s VHF radio frequency 146.940 MHz and KSC Amateur Radio Club’s UHF radio frequency 444.925 MHz, FM mode, heard within Brevard County on the Space Coast.
NASA website launch coverage
Launch day coverage will be available on the NASA website, including the livestream and blog updates as countdown milestones occur. On-demand streaming video and launch photos will be available shortly after liftoff. Follow mission updates on the Roman launch blog.
Attend launch virtually
Members of the public may register to attend the Roman launch virtually. NASA’s Virtual Guest Program includes curated launch resources, notifications about related opportunities or schedule changes, and a stamp for the NASA virtual guest passport following launch.
Watch, engage on social media
Let people know you’re watching the mission on X, Facebook, and Instagram by following and tagging these accounts:
- X: @NASARoman, @NASAUniverse, @NASAKennedy
- Facebook: @NASARoman, @NASAGoddard, @NASAKennedy
- Instagram: @NASAGoddard, @NASAUniverse, @NASAKennedy
The Roman telescope is managed at NASA Goddard with participation by the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California; Caltech/IPAC in Pasadena, California; the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore; and a team of scientists from various research institutions. The primary industrial partners are BAE Systems Inc., L3Harris Technologies, and Teledyne Scientific & Imaging. Contributions to Roman also are made by ESA (European Space Agency), JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), the French space agency CNES (Centre National d’Études Spatiales), and the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Germany. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy, manages the launch service for the Roman mission.
For more information about NASA’s Roman telescope, visit:
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Alise Fisher
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-385-1287
alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov
Leejay Lockhart
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-747-8310
leejay.lockhart@nasa.gov
Claire Andreoli
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
301-286-1940
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
Perseverance Captures Another Phobos Transit
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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 tinted to simulate what a human would see if they were watching the transit from the Martian surface through protective solar eclipse glasses.
Perseverance has captured several Phobos transits since its landing at Jezero Crater in February 2021. By comparing the various recordings, scientists can refine their understanding of the potato-shaped moon’’ orbit, learning how it is changing. Eons from now, Phobos’ orbit is expected to eventually send the moon toward the Red Planet’s surface.
Arizona State University leads the operations of the Mastcam-Z instrument, working in collaboration with Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego, on the design, fabrication, testing, and operation of the cameras, and in collaboration with the Niels Bohr Institute of the University of Copenhagen on the design, fabrication, and testing of the calibration targets.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.
For more about Perseverance: science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-2020-perseverance
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Starstruck: NASA Research Shows How Sun’s Ancient History Shaped Earth
At the center of our solar system, the Sun influences every planet that orbits it. In two recent NASA-funded studies, scientists uncovered how ancient events in the Sun’s history may have helped create Earth’s unique climate and driven previously unexplained climatic shifts.
In new research, scientists at NASA’s SHIELD (Solar Wind with Hydrogen Ion charge Exchange and Large-Scale Dynamics) center — one of NASA’s DRIVE (Diversify, Realize, Integrate, Venture, Educate) Science Centers — trace the trajectory of the heliosphere, the massive bubble created by our Sun that envelops our solar system, as it moved through our galaxy and influenced Earth’s climate along the way. In another paper, a NASA scientist and coauthors investigate how the younger, dimmer Sun managed to heat Earth by seeding the production of potent greenhouse gases.
A Sun on the moveOver the last tens of millions of years, Earth’s climate has undergone significant shifts, including notable ice ages in which the global average temperature temporarily dropped by several degrees. During these periods, more frequent climate swings led Earth to warm and cool. To explain these periods of warming and cooling, scientists looked to factors internal to Earth, including orbital changes, greenhouse gases, and ice. But new research suggests changes to the Sun’s environment may be key to understanding Earth’s temperature swings.
Just as our planet is encased by an atmosphere, so our entire solar system is encased inside a kind of “atmosphere” created by the Sun. This protective bubble, known as the heliosphere, is formed by a continuous solar wind of charged particles streaming out from the Sun in all directions.
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Our heliosphere orbits around the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way. Throughout the Sun’s 4.6-billion-year existence, our heliosphere has traversed various regions within our galaxy. In a paper published on Aug. 21 in Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics, researchers at NASA’s SHIELD used computer modeling to reverse-engineer the path of the heliosphere through our galaxy, revealing that the environments it passed through may have triggered changes on Earth.
Merav Opher, SHIELD’s principal investigator at Boston University, and her team ran simulations that showed the Sun has encountered frigid expanses of gas and dust at least three different times in the past few million years. In these instances, massive interstellar “cold clouds” pushed against the heliosphere to such an extent that it shrank to smaller than Earth’s orbit, stranding our planet outside the Sun’s protective shield.
These exposures — approximately 2 to 3 million years, 6 to 7 million years, and 13 to 14 million years ago — would have exposed Earth’s atmosphere to totally different surroundings. The simulation results match geologic evidence: Elements prevalent in interstellar dust appear in deep-sea sediment core samples, Antarctic snow, and lunar samples during these timelines.
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These heliosphere collapse events may also explain ancient climatic patterns on Earth. In the simulations, when Earth’s atmosphere was exposed to a cold, dense galactic hydrogen cloud, it increased water vapor content and shifted upper-atmospheric dynamics, ultimately altering the conditions at the surface. In summary, our heliosphere’s trips through colder regions in our galaxy may be a key factor in driving some of Earth’s ancient changes in climate, including possible ice ages.
Next frontier in studying heliophysicsThe SHIELD center is one of several that NASA funds to unlock the next generation of heliospheric research. As a DRIVE Science Center, SHIELD builds a team of researchers with differing expertise, approaches, and opinions to develop a model, or “digital twin,” of the heliosphere that helps reveal how the heliosphere interacts with its surroundings, including dense interstellar clouds. Understanding our unique, habitable solar system will help unravel the mysteries of life’s evolution on Earth and potentially uncover other habitable star systems.
Young SunIn another paper, Vladimir Airapetian, a scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, focuses on a long-standing mystery of how the ancient Sun warmed early Earth enough to sustain life. Three billion years ago, the young Sun was 70% as bright as it is today. Under these dimmer conditions, Earth should have been frozen solid. Yet geological evidence shows stable liquid water already existed long before that. This puzzle — a balmy Earth under a cooler, dimmer Sun — is known as the Faint Young Sun paradox.
One clue to resolving the paradox comes from young Sun-like stars elsewhere in the galaxy. These “toddler” stars are prone to throwing fits. Specifically, data from NASA’s retired Kepler space telescope shows that young Sun-like stars regularly erupt with massive superflares, flinging high-energy particles in all directions on a daily basis. If our young Sun was like these other stars, Airapetian proposes, the barrage of high-energy solar particles could have triggered chemical reactions that were key to warming early Earth.
Airapetian’s team simulated early Earth’s atmosphere in a sealed chamber, mixing molecular nitrogen, ammonia, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide. They then fired protons into the mixture, simulating the onslaught of particles from superflares. This proton bombardment triggered several changes including the production of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide. The research was published in Astrophysical Journal Letters.
This nitrous oxide could help Earth hold onto heat. But not all the nitrous oxide would last. The young Sun’s intense ultraviolet radiation would break some of it down, splitting the molecule back into nitrogen and oxygen. But even if only 10% of the nitrous observed in the experiment survived, Airapetian’s team’s computer simulations confirmed, it would still warm Earth’s equatorial regions to about 41 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius), above water’s freezing point. This smaller amount of nitrous could even accelerate prebiotic synthesis: just-above-freezing temperatures have been found to be more efficient for building complex chains of amino acids than warmer temperatures.
Unearthing secrets of our star-planet systemTogether, these two studies show that the Sun can lead to surprising implications for Earth. While our planet stands alone in many ways, it was formed and has always existed as part of a star-planet system. Understanding that unique relationship promises new insights about both Earth and the star that sustains it.
By Desiree Apodaca and Miles Hatfield
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
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NASA Astronaut Reid Wiseman at Freedom 250 Grand Prix
NASA astronaut and Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman is seen in the two-seat IndyCar as he prepares for driver Conor Daly to take him on a lap ahead of the start of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026, in Washington, D.C.
Image credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
MAIA Air Sensor at Work in Addis Ababa
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This roof-mounted air sensor in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, is one of 10 used by NASA’s Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols (MAIA) to study the city’s air quality. MAIA’s air sensors provide a detailed look at particulate matter that is 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter, also known as PM2.5, one of the world’s deadliest forms of air pollution.
Black carbon, or soot, is an important component of particulate pollution in Addis Ababa and is produced by diesel vehicles, fires, and other combustion sources. Detailed measurements from the MAIA air sensors reveal how pollution changes by time of day and season, including spikes produced by rush-hour traffic and holiday celebrations. The findings are relevant to cities around the world, including in the United States.
The 2025 State of Global Air Report, cited in the paper, estimates that these particles, some of which are tiny enough to enter the human bloodstream, are linked to around 4.9 million excess deaths per year globally. Of the many kinds of PM2.5, black carbon in particular has been linked to impacts on low birth weight, brain development, respiratory conditions, and premature mortality.
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Mapping Air Pollution With MAIA Sensors in Addis Ababa
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This map of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, shows the locations of 10 air sensors that NASA’s Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols (MAIA) mission is using to provide one of the most detailed looks ever at the city’s air pollution. Over the course of three years, these sensors measured particulate matter that is 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter, also known as PM2.5. Black carbon, or soot, is an important component of particulate pollution in Addis Ababa, which studies have linked to impacts on low birth weight, brain development, respiratory conditions, and premature mortality.
The color bar at right indicates air quality variations from 20 to 40 micrograms per cubic meter across the monitoring stations, with the darkest red being the poorest air quality.
In Ethiopia, black carbon is commonly produced by diesel vehicles, fires, and other combustion sources. Detailed measurements from the MAIA sensors reveal how Addis Ababa’s air pollution changes by time of day and season, including spikes produced by rush-hour traffic and holiday celebrations. The findings are relevant to cities around the world, including in the United States.
MAIA’s air pollution research is focused on a dozen regions around the globe, including three in the U.S. centered on Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Boston. The mission consists of a ground-based sensor network already in operation as well as a space observatory, which uses a camera built at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, that will be launched by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) on an ASI satellite no earlier than late 2027. The camera is specially designed to help identify different types of PM2.5 aerosols based on how they reflect light, making it possible to map particle concentrations over each region that the mission studies.
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APOD: 2026 August 24 – Comet 220P in Outburst
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.
Comet 220P in OutburstExplanation: Comet 220P is unexpectedly bright. Normally, periodic Comet 220P/McNaught is so dim that to see it requires a telescope. Two surprising outbursts this year, however, have made it about 20,000 times brighter than usual, so that it is now visible with binoculars and long-duration camera exposures. As expected, Comet 220P continues to orbit the Sun between Mars and Jupiter with a period of over 5 years. The featured long duration exposure, taken 10 days ago from South Africa, shows the comet‘s bright green head and short dust tail. Reasons for Comet 220P’s impressive outbursts are unknown but could be caused by the release of built-up subsurface gas or comet quakes. Comet 220P will pass about one Earth-Sun distance from the Earth in October, after which it is expected to fade quickly as it begins its return to the far part of its orbit.
Tomorrow’s picture: Moon dark
Date August 24, 2026 Credit & Copyright: Spilios Asimakopoulos Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff, Jerry Bonnell, Cecilia Chirenti, Keighley Rockcliffe A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.
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Yesterday’s Image APOD: 2026 August 23 – Cassini Approaches Saturn
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What Lake Bonneville Left Behind
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Curiosity Blog, Sols 4982–4987: Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Programming
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Curiosity Blog, Sols 4982–4987: Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Programming NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image, of thin, ledge-like layers at target “Los Toldos,” using its Right Mast Camera (Mastcam). Curiosity captured the image on Aug. 12, 2026 — Sol 4982, or Martian day 4,982 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — at 01:05:04 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSSBy Allison Dries-Padilla, Missions Operations Specialist at Malin Space Science Systems
Earth planning date: Friday, Aug. 14, 2026
This week of Curiosity Mars rover operations takes us back to our “regularly scheduled programming.” After taking a slight detour to investigate the “erosional surface” we are back on course to ascend Mount Sharp. As we transition into fall in Gale Crater, temperatures and the likelihood of dust storms begins to drop, but Curiosity is still on the lookout for the last gasp of late-season local and regional dust storms.
Monday’s plan for Sols 4982 to 4985 began with Curiosity standing face to face with a unique geologic feature just above the erosional supersurface contact. As you might have read in the previous blog, the team was fortunate enough to spend two planning cycles at this amazing location. MAHLI used this opportunity to reacquire selected images for the mosaic of target “Tres Morros.” This will allow the science team to have a detailed and focused view of the underside of this feature. APXS took measurements of the bedrock target “El Motacusal” after it had been brushed with the DRT. APXS took a second measurement on the “as is” bedrock target “Alto de Carmen.” Both of these APXS targets were documented with high-resolution images taken by MAHLI. ChemCam activities include LIBS spectroscopy on bedrock targets “Lagunas Bravas” and “Parququcha” and ChemCam Remote Micro-Imaging on Mishe Mokwa. I had the pleasure to be on the Mastcam uplink shift for this plan. Mastcam took a near-field mosaic of the erosional ridge, dubbed “Los Toldos,” as well as a mosaic on further away bedrock exposure above the erosional surface, named “Los Ladrillos.” In addition to these mosaics, Mastcam also provided color documentation of the previous plan’s ChemCam Remote Micro-Imaging on Cordillera and the ChemCam LIBS activities taken in this plan.
Curiosity then drove 100 feet (30 meters) to take us to our location for Friday’s plan for Sols 4985 to 4987. Although we had plenty of flat and tasty bedrock in this new location, we could not place the robotic arm in a safe position to DRT the bedrock. The left-front wheel was perched on a small rock, and we had to account for a risk the rover could slip off this rock as we move the arm around. MAHLI and APXS were still able to safely perform contact science on two bedrock targets, “Mamorecillo” and “Aguas Claras.” MAHLI had an additional housekeeping activity to image the calibration target. ChemCam plans to use its laser spectrometer to gather geochemistry on three targets in this vicinity, followed by Mastcam documentation. Today’s ChemCam LIBS targets include a dark-toned resistant layer in the bedrock “Yura Kasa.” Mastcam is planning a series of mosaics to continue imaging the stratigraphy in the unit above the erosional contact.
Today’s plan was packed with environmental monitoring activities to monitor for dust storms. Mastcam took a flurry of dust-imaging observations to measure optical depth, or “tau,” of the atmosphere. A higher tau value is associated with an increased amount of dust in the atmosphere. APXS joined in on the action by planning an overnight atmospheric measurement. Navcam took on most of the heavy lifting to monitor for dust storms. These activities include multiple large dust-devil surveys, zenith observation, in-crater line-of-sight observations, and suprahorizon cloud movies.
Curiosity will then continue to climb Mount Sharp; the planned drive distance of 150 feet (47 meters) will take the rover southwest of our current location. We will return Monday to start a new week full of contact science, remote sensing, and driving on Mars.
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APOD: 2026 August 22 – Mostly Perseids
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.
Mostly PerseidsExplanation: Recorded the night of August 12-13, images from four dedicated meteor-monitoring cameras at an astronomical observatory in Czechia were aligned and combined to create this all-night, all-sky view. On that night, the total count came to 1,706 meteors. And since that coincided with the peak activity of the 2026 Perseid Meteor Shower, most are perseids. Their overwhelming numbers make them easy to spot. Quite convincingly, perseid trails all trace back to a single radiant on the sky at the upper right, a region in the annual shower’s eponymous constellation Perseus. But meteors belonging to other much less active showers can be revealed by finding their radiants too. For example, seen crossing the perseid trails are meteors from a shower whose radiant lies in Cygnus, known as Kappa Cygnids. The antihelion complex, a general region near Aquarius and opposite the Sun in the sky, is also identifiable as a weak source for meteors.
Tomorrow’s picture: interplanetary road trip
Date August 22, 2026 Credit & Copyright: Jakub Koukal (Valašské Meziříčí Observatory) Authors & editors: Jerry Bonnell, Cecilia Chirenti, Robert Nemiroff, Keighley Rockcliffe A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.
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NASA Shares Views of August Solar Eclipse from Ground, Air, Space
NASA/Bill Ingalls
On Aug. 12, a total solar eclipse darkened skies over Greenland, Iceland, and Spain. As the Moon covered the Sun, it briefly revealed the Sun’s wispy outer atmosphere — the corona — to those in the path of totality who were lucky enough to have clear skies. NASA researchers and photographers were along the eclipse path to study the corona, capture the phenomenon, and observe how the eclipse affected our planet.
One NASA photographer in Spain captured the total solar eclipse as well as the partial phases before and after, until the Sun set below the horizon.
This composite image shows the progression of a total solar eclipse over a field of sunflowers in San Millán de los Caballeros, Spain, on Aug. 12, 2026. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls The solar corona appears in this photograph of a total solar eclipse captured from San Millán de los Caballeros, Spain, on Aug. 12, 2026. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls A solar prominence, a plume of electrically charged gas suspended above the Sun by strong magnetic forces, appears as a pink feature along the left edge of the eclipsed Sun in this photograph taken from San Millán de los Caballeros, Spain, on Aug. 12, 2026. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls This composite image shows the progression of a total solar eclipse as the Sun sets in San Millán de los Caballeros, Spain, on Aug. 12, 2026. Credit: NASA/Bill IngallsIn northern Maine, where only a partial eclipse was visible, another NASA photographer captured the International Space Station, with its crew of seven aboard, speeding past the partially eclipsed Sun.
In this image of a partial solar eclipse, which is veiled by clouds, the International Space Station, with a crew of seven aboard, appears in silhouette as it transits at roughly five miles per second on Aug. 12, 2026, as seen near Hodgdon, Maine. Aboard the station as part of Expedition 75 are NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, Anil Menon, and Jack Hathaway; ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot; and Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov, Andrey Fedyaev, and Anna Kikina. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky Twelve frames assembled in sequence show the International Space Station, with a crew of seven aboard, in silhouette as it transits the Sun at roughly five miles per second during a partial solar eclipse on Aug. 12, 2026, as seen near Hodgdon, Maine. Clouds partially obscure the view of the Sun. Aboard the station as part of Expedition 75 are NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, Anil Menon, and Jack Hathaway; ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot; and Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov, Andrey Fedyaev, and Anna Kikina. Credit: NASA/Joel KowskyMeanwhile, from about 250 miles above the ground, a NASA astronaut aboard the International Space Station snapped a few photos of the partial eclipse from their perspective as well.
NASA astronaut Jessica Meir captured this photo of the partial solar eclipse from the International Space Station on Aug. 12, 2026, as the orbital outpost soared 262 miles above southern Quebec, Canada. From the station, the Moon covered about 18% of the Sun at the peak of the eclipse. Credit: NASA/Jessica MeirBetween the ground and the space station, NASA pilots flew NASA’s WB-57F research jet at an altitude of 50,000 feet, passing through the eclipse’s shadow to lengthen their time in the eclipse. The jet carried a suite of cameras that captured high-resolution images of the corona and prominences, plumes of electrically charged gas rising off the Sun, in several different wavelengths of light.
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In both Iceland and Spain, teams of students participating in the NASA-funded Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project launched scientific balloons that carried instruments to capture images of the eclipse’s shadow and study the eclipse’s effects on our atmosphere. Even though clouds obscured the view of the eclipse from the ground in Iceland, the weather did not interfere with the balloon-borne instruments’ ability to gather information about how the brief loss of light and heat affected the lower atmosphere.
Students participating in the NASA-funded Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project prepare to launch a scientific balloon in Mosfellsbær, Iceland, during the total solar eclipse on Aug. 12, 2026. Credit: NASA/Abbey InterranteTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that
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Before the eclipse, scientists at Predictive Science Inc., with support from NASA grants and supercomputers, used observations of the Sun from NASA spacecraft and ground-based telescopes to predict what the corona would look like during the eclipse. Below, their corona prediction is compared to a composite image of the corona, which combines multiple images captured by the NASA-supported DEB Initiative project during the total eclipse near León, Spain.
prediction image
This image shows a prediction from the morning of Aug. 12, 2026, of what the solar corona would look like to the human eye during the total solar eclipse that day. Predictive Science Inc.
This processed, composite image of the corona combines multiple images captured near León, Spain, during the total solar eclipse on Aug. 12, 2026. DEB Initiative Team/Zack Stockbridge predictionimage
This image shows a prediction from the morning of Aug. 12, 2026, of what the solar corona would look like to the human eye during the total solar eclipse that day. Predictive Science Inc. This processed, composite image of the corona combines multiple images captured near León, Spain, during the total solar eclipse on Aug. 12, 2026. DEB Initiative Team/Zack Stockbridge
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The left image shows a prediction from the morning of Aug. 12, 2026, of what the solar corona would look like to the human eye during the total solar eclipse that day. The right image is processed, composite image of the corona that combines multiple images captured near León, Spain, during the total solar eclipse on Aug. 12, 2026. Left image credit: Predictive Science Inc.; right image credit: DEB Initiative Team/Zack Stockbridge
Over the coming months, scientists will analyze the observations and images captured during the solar eclipse on Aug. 12 and present what they have learned about the Sun and its effects on our home planet. These observations will also help prepare science teams to investigate future solar eclipses, such as a much longer total solar eclipse that will be visible from southern Spain and northern Africa on Aug. 2, 2027.
Read more about NASA’s research during the eclipse and rewatch NASA’s eclipse broadcast to hear from some of the scientists and students who conducted the experiments.
About the Author Vanessa ThomasVanessa Thomas is a science writer with the heliophysics communications team at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
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TB 26-04 Updates and Modernization of NASA’s Chemical Equilibrium with Applications (CEA) Code
For more information, contact Mark K. Leader, Glenn Research Center, mark.leader@nasa.gov
NASA’s Chemical Equilibrium with Applications (CEA) code is a foundational tool for propulsion system analysis. It provides equilibrium chemistry, rocket performance, shock, and detonation calculations used across NASA and the broader aerospace community. NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) Activity TI-22-01730 modernized the legacy CEA2 Fortran code into CEA v3, a Fortran 2008, object-oriented software package with expanded interface support, updated thermochemical data, improved maintainability, and substantially improved workflow integration. The modernized code preserves backward compatibility with legacy CEA input workflows while enabling direct use from modern analysis environments, including Python, C, MATLAB, and automated design studies.
BackgroundCEA2 was released in 2002 and has remained widely used for propulsion and thermochemistry analysis. However, the original procedural Fortran implementation became increasingly difficult to maintain, extend, and integrate into modern engineering workflows due to the lack of a subroutine interface. Current propulsion analysis increasingly requires automated parametric sweeps, integration with other modeling tools and engineering workflows, and support for emerging propellants and fuels, including green propellants and sustainable aviation fuels. These needs motivated a comprehensive modernization effort to preserve CEA’s validated technical basis while improving its maintainability, usability, and integration with modern engineering software.
Technical Improvements Modern Software ArchitectureCEA v3 is implemented in Fortran 2008 using object-oriented data structures, stricter typing, and a thread-safe equilibrium solver architecture. The software supports Fortran, C, Python, MATLAB, and Excel interfaces. These interfaces allow CEA to be used directly in automated analysis pipelines, multidisciplinary design frameworks, and high-volume designof- experiments studies. Backward compatibility is supported through a legacy command-line interface, allowing existing CEA input files and workflows to be carried forward with minimal disruption.
Expanded Species and Thermodynamic DataThe thermodynamic database has been expanded to support additional propellants and fuels relevant to current NASA applications, including green propellant constituents such as ADN, HAN, and LMP-103S, and sustainable aviation fuel candidates such as n-Butanol. This expanded species coverage improves the applicability of CEA for next-generation propulsion, green propellant, and sustainable aviation fuel studies.
New Modeling CapabilitiesCEA v3 adds or improves support for several modeling capabilities,
including:
- Subroutine interface enabling direct integration and high-volume calculations
- Negative reactant amounts
- Inert hydrocarbon fuel representations, including RP-1, Jet-A, and JP-series fuels
- Analytic total derivatives for coupling with optimization and sensitivity analysis workflows
For standalone use, individual equilibrium calculations in CEA v3 are moderately slower than comparable CEA2 calculations because the modernized architecture and added robustness introduce additional computational overhead. In representative testing, a single calculation was approximately 40 percent slower, but the absolute difference was only about 0.004 seconds per case. However, the modernized architecture provides substantial performance advantages for multi-case workflows, which are common in design-of-experiments studies, parametric sweeps, optimization, and uncertainty analyses. In one benchmark, a sweep of 108,500 cases completed in approximately 1.11 seconds with CEA v3, compared with approximately 15 minutes using CEA2. This corresponds to an approximately 800-times reduction in runtime for that workflow. These improvements make large-scale propulsion trade studies and automated design-space exploration significantly more practical.
Guidance for Engineering UseNASA engineering users should consider the following guidance:
- Use CEA v3 for new propulsion and thermochemistry analyses when possible to take advantage of the modernized interfaces, expanded database, and improved workflow integration.
- Use the Python, MATLAB, or C interfaces for automated workflows, including parametric sweeps, optimization studies, and iterative design analyses.
- Use the updated species database for green propellant and sustainable aviation fuel studies when the relevant species are included and validated for the intended application.
- Use the classic command-line interface when continuity with legacy CEA workflows or input files is required.
- Retain appropriate engineering review and validation when transitioning established CEA2 workflows to CEA v3, particularly for mission-critical analyses or cases that depend on legacy assumptions.
- NASA/TM–20260007987
- CEA documentation: https://nasa.github.io/cea
- CEA repository: https://github.com/nasa/cea
For more information, contact Mark K. Leader, Glenn Research Center, mark.leader@nasa.gov
Webb Opens Treasure Chest
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope captured this Aug. 6, 2026, infrared image of part of the Carina Nebula, a star-forming region also home to the Cosmic Cliffs. This feature, called the “Treasure Chest,” is an object known as a cometary globule. A cometary globule is an isolated cloud of gas and dust with a dense, dark head and a sweeping tail.
Image credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, M. Reiter; Acknowledgement: M. H. Özsaraç
NASA’s Artemis II Crew Set to Receive Congressional Space Medal of Honor
President Donald J. Trump will award each of NASA’s Artemis II crew members the Congressional Space Medal of Honor at 11 a.m. EDT on Friday, Aug. 28, during a ceremony at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, completed a 10-day mission around the Moon on April 10. During a historic test flight as the first astronauts to fly aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft, these crew members were the first to travel beyond the Moon in more than 50 years and traveled farther in space than humans have ever before.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman will join the President and astronauts in the awards ceremony.
The event will stream live on a variety of platforms. Learn how to watch online:
In addition to pooled media, limited media credentialing is available for this event. To apply, please submit your request online by 5 p.m. CDT on Tuesday, Aug. 25.
Learn more about NASA’s Artemis program on the agency’s website.
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Bethany Stevens / Cheryl Warner
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
bethany.c.stevens@nasa.gov / cheryl.m.warner@nasa.gov
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SmallSat 2026
SmallSat 2026
Join NASA in the Exhibit Hall (Booth # 635, 835, 641, and 940) for Storytelling by NASA experts. Full Agenda below.
MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 9:00 – 10:00 AM
Welcome Jose Nunez BryceTech’s Smallsats by the Numbers: 2026 Fletcher Franklin Supply Chain Observations Bruce YostTechnology Shortfall Rudy de Rosee SPARCS Camera and Early Science Observations Kaitlyn Ashcroft JPL: Skyfall Tim Canham SWIFT LINK Reboost Bo Naasz Flight Opportunities – Hosted Orbital Ecosystem – Fly Foundational Robos – Space Roboticist Challenge Anh Nguyen From Rideshare to Dedicated Launches: SmallSat Options with NASA LSP Caley Burke You Bring the Mission, We’ll Bring the Lab: Partnering with MSFC Rush Elkins NASA Ames Mission Design Center: Imagining the Next Generation of Spaceflight Missions Matthew Napoli Engineering Challenges and Best Practices from a Stellar Launch Cycle Brad Williams HIAD Payload Return Solution for SmallSats Joe Del Corso
3:25 – 4:10 PM
Moderating Bruce Yost RTMD NASA Greg Stover SMD HPD ADF Asal Naseri HSMD CSLI/CLPS/ Commercial Access to Space (CAtS) Pete Wilczynski CARA: Conjunction Assessment Best Practices Lauri Newman
TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 9:45 – 10:45 AM
Moderating Cari Reinert SMD Panelist 1 – Solicitations Aly Mendoza-Hill STMD Panelist CATALYST – I-Corps Maggie Yancey SBIR / STTR- Launchpad for Innovation Ryszard Pisarski Agency level Tech Transfer Jose Nunez3:15 – 4:15 PM
Moderating Aly Mendoza-Hill SMD – APD Pioneers Pablo Saz Parkinson SMD – Science as a Service: What SmallSat Providers Need to Know Beth Weinstein SMD – HPD Asal Naseri ESCAPADE (HPD) Innovating Methods for Exploration Skyler Kleinschmidt
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 9:45 – 10:45 AM
Moderator, FO Panelist Danielle McCulloch NASA CSLI, VADR Panelist Norman Phelps CLPS Panelist Angela Melito Rideshare Panelist Aly Mendoza-hill SLS David Hitt3:15 – 4:15 PM
Welcome / Close out Presentor/Moderator Sam Pedrotty JPL Mission INCUS Benjamin (Benji) Donitz SMD – Biological & Physical Sciences Payload Concepts for Future SmallSat Missions Matthew Lera SMD APD – SWIFT Reboost highlight David Morris SMD ESD – Mission Highlight Sachidananda Babu SMD HPD – TRACERS Mission Highlight Skyler Kleinschmidt SunRISE (SMD HPD) – Maximizing Science Uptime Across the Constellation Carson Schubert STMD USTP Overview Mike Gaunce STMD Mission CAPSTONE 02 Sam Phan STMD R5 Spacecraft Series Sam Pedrotty STMD GPDM Nehemiah Williams STMD Mission DiskSat Roger Hunter
