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Curiosity Blog, Sols 4586-4587: Straight Drive, Strategic Science NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image using its Right Navigation Camera on June 28, 2025 — Sol 4583, or Martian day 4,583 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — at 03:20:22 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech

Written by Scott VanBommel, Planetary Scientist at Washington University in St. Louis

Earth planning date: Monday, June 30, 2025

Our weekend drive placed Curiosity exactly where we had hoped: on lighter-toned, resistant bedrock we have been eyeing for close study. Curiosity’s workspace tosol did not contain any targets suitable for DRT. After a detailed discussion by the team, weighing science not only in tosol’s plan but the holiday-shifted sols ahead, the decision was made to perform contact science at the current workspace and then drive in the second sol of the plan.

Normally, drives in the second sol of a two-sol plan are uncommon, as we require information on the ground to assess in advance of the next sol’s planning. At present however, the current “Mars time” is quite favorable, enabling Curiosity’s team to operate within “nominal sols” and receive the necessary data in time for Wednesday’s one-sol plan. DAN kicked off the first sol of the plan with a passive measurement, complemented by another in the afternoon and two more on the second sol. Arm activities focused on placing MAHLI and APXS on “La Paz” and “Playa Agua de Luna,” two lighter-toned, laminated rocks.

The rest of the first sol was rounded out with ChemCam LIBS analyses on “La Joya” followed by further LIBS analyses on “La Vega” on the second sol, once Curiosity’s arm was out of the way of the laser. ChemCam and Mastcam additionally imaged “Mishe Mokwa” prior to the nearly straight drive of about 20 meters (about 66 feet). Environmental monitoring activities, imaging of the CheMin inlet cover, and a SAM EBT activity rounded out Curiosity’s efforts on the second sol.

For more Curiosity blog posts, visit MSL Mission Updates

Learn more about Curiosity’s science instruments

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3 min read An Update From the 2025 Mars 2020 Science Team Meeting

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An Update From the 2025 Mars 2020 Science Team Meeting

A behind-the-scenes look at the annual Mars 2020 Science Team Meeting

Members of the Mars 2020 Science Team examine post-impact sediments within the Gardnos impact structure, northwest of Oslo, Norway, as part of the June 2025 Science Team Meeting. NASA/Katie Stack Morgan

Written by Katie Stack Morgan, Mars 2020 Acting Project Scientist 

The Mars 2020 Science Team gathered for a week in June to discuss recent science results, synthesize earlier mission observations, and discuss future plans for continued exploration of Jezero’s crater rim. It was also an opportunity to celebrate what makes this mission so special: one of the most capable and sophisticated science missions ever sent to Mars, an experienced and expert Science Team, and the rover’s many science accomplishments this past year.  

We kicked off the meeting, which was hosted by our colleagues on the RIMFAX team at the University of Oslo, with a focus on our most recent discoveries on the Jezero crater rim. A highlight was the team’s in-depth discussion of spherules observed at Witch Hazel Hill, features which likely provide us the best chance of determining the origin of the crater rim rock sequence.   

On the second day, we heard status updates from each of the science instrument teams. We then transitioned to a session devoted to “traverse-scale” syntheses. After 4.5 years of Perseverance on Mars and more than 37 kilometers of driving (more than 23 miles), we’re now able to analyze and integrate science datasets across the entire surface mission, looking for trends through space and time within the Jezero rock record. Our team also held a poster session, which was a great opportunity for in-person and informal scientific discussion.  

The team’s modern atmospheric and environmental investigations were front and center on Day 3. We then rewound the clock, hearing new and updated analyses of data acquired during Perseverance’s earlier campaigns in Jezero’s Margin unit, crater floor, and western fan. The last day of the meeting was focused entirely on future plans for the Perseverance rover, including a discussion of our exploration and sampling strategy during the Crater Rim Campaign. We also looked further afield, considering where the rover might explore over the next few years.  

Following the meeting, the Science Team took a one-day field trip to visit Gardnos crater, a heavily eroded impact crater with excellent examples of impact melt breccia and post-impact sediment fill. The team’s visit to Gardnos offered a unique opportunity to see and study impact-generated rock units like those expected on the Jezero crater rim and to discuss the challenges we have recognizing similar units with the rover on Mars. Recapping our Perseverance team meetings has been one of my favorite yearly traditions (see summaries from our 2022, 2023, and 2024 meetings) and I look forward to reporting back a year from now. As the Perseverance team tackles challenges in the year to come, we can seek inspiration from one of Norway’s greatest polar explorers, Fridtjof Nansen, who said while delivering his Nobel lecture, “The difficult is that which can be done at once; the impossible is that which takes a little longer.”

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An unexpectedly strong solar storm rocked our planet on April 23, 2023, sparking auroras as far south as southern Texas in the U.S. and taking the world by surprise. 

Two days earlier, the Sun blasted a coronal mass ejection (CME) — a cloud of energetic particles, magnetic fields, and solar material — toward Earth. Space scientists took notice, expecting it could cause disruptions to Earth’s magnetic field, known as a geomagnetic storm. But the CME wasn’t especially fast or massive, and it was preceded by a relatively weak solar flare, suggesting the storm would be minor. But it became severe.

Using NASA heliophysics missions, new studies of this storm and others are helping scientists learn why some CMEs have more intense effects — and better predict the impacts of future solar eruptions on our lives.

During the night of April 23 to 24, 2023, a geomagnetic storm produced auroras that were witnessed as far south as Arizona, Arkansas, and Texas in the U.S. This photo shows green aurora shimmering over Larimore, North Dakota, in the early morning of April 24. Copyright Elan Azriel, used with permission Why Was This Storm So Intense?

A paper published in the Astrophysical Journal on March 31 suggests the CME’s orientation relative to Earth likely caused the April 2023 storm to become surprisingly strong.

The researchers gathered observations from five heliophysics spacecraft across the inner solar system to study the CME in detail as it emerged from the Sun and traveled to Earth.

They noticed a large coronal hole near the CME’s birthplace. Coronal holes are areas where the solar wind — a stream of particles flowing from the Sun — floods outward at higher than normal speeds.

“The fast solar wind coming from this coronal hole acted like an air current, nudging the CME away from its original straight-line path and pushing it closer to Earth’s orbital plane,” said the paper’s lead author, Evangelos Paouris of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. “In addition to this deflection, the CME also rotated slightly.”

Paouris says this turned the CME’s magnetic fields opposite to Earth’s magnetic field and held them there — allowing more of the Sun’s energy to pour into Earth’s environment and intensifying the storm.

The strength of the April 2023 geomagnetic storm was a surprise in part because the coronal mass ejection (CME) that produced it followed a relatively weak solar flare, seen as the bright area to the lower right of center in this extreme ultraviolet image of the Sun from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. The CMEs that produce severe geomagnetic storms are typically preceded by stronger flares. However, a team of scientists think fast solar wind from a coronal hole (the dark area below the flare in this image) helped rotate the CME and made it more potent when it struck Earth. NASA/SDO Cool Thermosphere

Meanwhile, NASA’s GOLD (Global-scale Observations of Limb and Disk) mission revealed another unexpected consequence of the April 2023 storm at Earth.

Before, during, and after the storm, GOLD studied the temperature in the middle thermosphere, a part of Earth’s upper atmosphere about 85 to 120 miles overhead. During the storm, temperatures increased throughout GOLD’s wide field of view over the Americas. But surprisingly, after the storm, temperatures dropped about 90 to 198 degrees Fahrenheit lower than they were before the storm (from about 980 to 1,070 degrees Fahrenheit before the storm to 870 to 980 degrees Fahrenheit afterward).

“Our measurement is the first to show widespread cooling in the middle thermosphere after a strong storm,” said Xuguang Cai of the University of Colorado, Boulder, lead author of a paper about GOLD’s observations published in the journal JGR Space Physics on April 15, 2025.

The thermosphere’s temperature is important, because it affects how much drag Earth-orbiting satellites and space debris experience.

“When the thermosphere cools, it contracts and becomes less dense at satellite altitudes, reducing drag,” Cai said. “This can cause satellites and space debris to stay in orbit longer than expected, increasing the risk of collisions. Understanding how geomagnetic storms and solar activity affect Earth’s upper atmosphere helps protect technologies we all rely on — like GPS, satellites, and radio communications.”

Before, during, and after the severe geomagnetic storm in April 2023, NASA’s GOLD (Global-scale Observations of Limb and Disk) spacecraft measured the temperature in Earth’s middle thermosphere across a wide area, something other spacecraft cannot do. This map shows the difference in temperature between April 17 (DOY 107) and April 25 (DOY 115), with red indicating warmer temperatures and blue showing cooler. It reveals that the middle thermosphere was cooler on April 25, the day after the geomagnetic storm ended, than it was on April 17, before the storm began. Xuguang Cai (University of Colorado, Boulder) Predicting When Storms Strike

To predict when a CME will trigger a geomagnetic storm, or be “geoeffective,” some scientists are combining observations with machine learning. A paper published last November in the journal Solar Physics describes one such approach called GeoCME.

Machine learning is a type of artificial intelligence in which a computer algorithm learns from data to identify patterns, then uses those patterns to make decisions or predictions.

Scientists trained GeoCME by giving it images from the NASA/ESA (European Space Agency) SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) spacecraft of different CMEs that reached Earth along with SOHO images of the Sun before, during, and after each CME. They then told the model whether each CME produced a geomagnetic storm.

Then, when it was given images from three different science instruments on SOHO, the model’s predictions were highly accurate. Out of 21 geoeffective CMEs, the model correctly predicted all 21 of them; of 7 non-geoeffective ones, it correctly predicted 5 of them.

“The algorithm shows promise,” said heliophysicist Jack Ireland of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, who was not involved in the study. “Understanding if a CME will be geoeffective or not can help us protect infrastructure in space and technological systems on Earth. This paper shows machine learning approaches to predicting geoeffective CMEs are feasible.”

The white cloud expanding outward in this image sequence is a coronal mass ejection (CME) that erupted from the Sun on April 21, 2023. Two days later, the CME struck Earth and produced a surprisingly strong geomagnetic storm. The images in this sequence are from a coronagraph on the NASA/ESA (European Space Agency) SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) spacecraft. The coronagraph uses a disk to cover the Sun and reveal fainter details around it. The Sun’s location and size are indicated by a small white circle. The planet Jupiter appears as a bright dot on the far right. NASA/ESA/SOHO Earlier Warnings

During a severe geomagnetic storm in May 2024 — the strongest to rattle Earth in over 20 years — NASA’s STEREO (Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory) measured the magnetic field structure of CMEs as they passed by.

When a CME headed for Earth hits a spacecraft first, that spacecraft can often measure the CME and its magnetic field directly, helping scientists determine how strong the geomagnetic storm will be at Earth. Typically, the first spacecraft to get hit are one million miles from Earth toward the Sun at a place called Lagrange Point 1 (L1), giving us only 10 to 60 minutes advanced warning.

By chance, during the May 2024 storm, when several CMEs erupted from the Sun and merged on their way to Earth, NASA’s STEREO-A spacecraft happened to be between us and the Sun, about 4 million miles closer to the Sun than L1.

A paper published March 17, 2025, in the journal Space Weather reports that if STEREO-A had served as a CME sentinel, it could have provided an accurate prediction of the resulting storm’s strength 2 hours and 34 minutes earlier than a spacecraft could at L1.

According to the paper’s lead author, Eva Weiler of the Austrian Space Weather Office in Graz, “No other Earth-directed superstorm has ever been observed by a spacecraft positioned closer to the Sun than L1.”

Earth’s Lagrange points are places in space where the gravitational pull between the Sun and Earth balance, making them relatively stable locations to put spacecraft. NASA

By Vanessa Thomas
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

Credit: NASA/Krystofer Kim

Read this release in English here.

La NASA estrenó el martes el primer episodio de la tercera temporada de Universo curioso de la NASA, el único pódcast en español de la agencia.

Los episodios se centran en algunas de las principales misiones y temas de investigación de la NASA para 2025, llevando la maravilla de la exploración, la tecnología espacial y los descubrimientos científicos al público de habla hispana de todo el mundo.

“La ciencia de la NASA está literalmente en todas partes, y trasciende la geografía y los idiomas para ofrecer beneficios, en tiempo real, en la vida cotidiana de las personas de todo el mundo que utilizan nuestras innovaciones, datos y descubrimientos científicos alcanzados desde el punto de vista único del espacio”, dijo la doctora Nicky Fox, administradora asociada de la Dirección de Misiones Científicas, en la sede central de la NASA en Washington. “El pódcast Universo curioso de la NASA comparte los descubrimientos de la NASA con las comunidades de habla hispana de todo el mundo, inspirando a futuros exploradores a unirse a nuestro viaje mientras regresamos a la Luna y nos aventuramos hacia Marte en beneficio de toda la humanidad”.

Todos los meses se presentarán nuevos episodios hasta el final del año. El primer episodio, centrado en los objetivos científicos de la misión a la Luna Artemis II de la NASA, está disponible en:

https://go.nasa.gov/4l9lmbN

Universo curioso es presentado por Noelia González, especialista en comunicaciones en el Centro de Vuelo Espacial Goddard de la NASA en Greenbelt, Maryland. Esta temporada tendrá al coanfitrión Andrés Almeida, escritor técnico y anfitrión del pódcast de la NASA Small Steps, Giant Leaps (Pasos pequeños, grandes saltos) en la sede central de la NASA. A lo largo de la temporada, los oyentes celebrarán el legado del telescopio espacial Hubble de la NASA, aprenderán sobre una próxima misión al Sol y explorarán la energía oscura y cómo la estudiará el futuro telescopio espacial Roman, entre otros temas.

Universo curioso de la NASA es una iniciativa conjunta de los programas de comunicaciones en español y audio de la agencia. La nueva temporada, así como los episodios anteriores, están disponibles en Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud y el sitio web de la NASA.

Escucha el pódcast y descarga materiales de arte relacionados en el sitio web:

https://ciencia.nasa.gov/universocurioso

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Details Last Updated Jul 01, 2025 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms

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Credit: NASA/Krystofer Kim

Lee esta nota en español aquí.

NASA released the first episode Tuesday of its third season of Universo curioso de la NASA, the agency’s only Spanish-language podcast.

Episodes focus on some of NASA’s top missions and research topics for 2025, bringing the wonder of exploration, space technology, and scientific discoveries to Spanish-speaking audiences around the world. 

“NASA Science is literally everywhere, transcending geography and language to provide real time benefits to everyday lives across the globe using our scientific innovations, data, and discoveries from the unique vantage point of space,” said Dr. Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “The Universo curioso de la NASA podcast shares NASA’s discoveries with Spanish-speaking communities across the globe, inspiring future explorers to join our journey as we return to the Moon and venture onward to Mars for the benefit of all humanity.”

New episodes will post every month through the end of the year. The first episode, centered on the science objectives of NASA’s Artemis II mission to the Moon, is available at:

https://go.nasa.gov/4l9lmbN

Universo curioso is hosted by Noelia González, communications specialist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. This season introduces co-host Andrés Almeida, technical writer and host of NASA’s Small Steps, Giant Leaps podcast at NASA’s Headquarters. Throughout the season, listeners will celebrate the legacy of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, learn about an upcoming mission to the Sun, and explore dark energy and how the future Roman Space Telescope will study it, among other topics.

Universo curioso de la NASA is a joint initiative of the agency’s Spanish-language communications and audio programs. The new season, as well as previous episodes, are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud and NASA’s website.

Listen to the podcast and download related art materials at:

https://ciencia.nasa.gov/universocurioso

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Details Last Updated Jul 01, 2025 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms

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NASA astronaut Anil Menon poses for a portrait at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel

NASA astronaut Anil Menon will embark on his first mission to the International Space Station, serving as a flight engineer and Expedition 75 crew member.

Menon will launch aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft in June 2026, accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina. After launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the trio will spend approximately eight months aboard the orbiting laboratory.

During his expedition, Menon will conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to help prepare humans for future space missions and benefit humanity.

Selected as a NASA astronaut in 2021, Menon graduated with the 23rd astronaut class in 2024. After completing initial astronaut candidate training, he began preparing for his first space station flight assignment.

Menon was born and raised in Minneapolis and is an emergency medicine physician, mechanical engineer, and colonel in the United States Space Force. He holds a bachelor’s degree in neurobiology from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a master’s degree in mechanical engineering, and a medical degree from Stanford University in California. Menon completed his emergency medicine and aerospace medicine residency at Stanford and the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.

In his spare time, he still practices emergency medicine at Memorial Hermann’s Texas Medical Center and teaches residents at the University of Texas’ residency program. Menon served as SpaceX’s first flight surgeon, helping to launch the first crewed Dragon spacecraft on NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission and building SpaceX’s medical organization to support humans on future missions. He served as a crew flight surgeon for both SpaceX flights and NASA expeditions aboard the space station.

For nearly 25 years, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and conducting critical research for the benefit of humanity and our home planet. Space station research supports the future of human spaceflight as NASA looks toward deep space missions to the Moon under the Artemis campaign and in preparation for future human missions to Mars, as well as expanding commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit and beyond. 

Learn more about International Space Station at:

https://www.nasa.gov/station

-end-

Joshua Finch / Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / james.j.russell@nasa.gov

Shaneequa Vereen
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
shaneequa.y.vereen@nasa.gov   

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Details Last Updated Jul 01, 2025 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms

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The four crew members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission to the International Space Station train inside a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft in Hawthorne, California. From left to right: Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, NASA astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman, and JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui.Credit: SpaceX

Media accreditation is open for the launch of NASA’s 11th rotational mission of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft carrying astronauts to the International Space Station for a science expedition. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission is targeted to launch in the late July/early August timeframe from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The mission includes NASA astronauts Zena Cardman, serving as commander; Mike Fincke, pilot; JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui, mission specialist; and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, mission specialist. This is the first spaceflight for Cardman and Platonov, the fourth trip for Fincke, and the second for Yui, to the orbiting laboratory.

Media accreditation deadlines for the Crew-11 launch as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program are as follows:

• International media without U.S. citizenship must apply by 11:59 p.m. EDT on Sunday, July 6.
• U.S. media and U.S. citizens representing international media organizations must apply by 11:59 p.m. on Monday, July 14.

All accreditation requests must be submitted online at:

https://media.ksc.nasa.gov

NASA’s media accreditation policy is online. For questions about accreditation or special logistical requests, email: ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov. Requests for space for satellite trucks, tents, or electrical connections are due by Monday, July 14.

For other questions, please contact NASA Kennedy’s newsroom at: 321-867-2468.

Para obtener información sobre cobertura en español en el Centro Espacial Kennedy o si desea solicitar entrevistas en español, comuníquese con Antonia Jaramillo: 321-501-8425, o Messod Bendayan: 256-930-1371.

For launch coverage and more information about the mission, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew

-end-

Joshua Finch / Claire O’Shea
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / claire.a.o’shea@nasa.gov

Steve Siceloff / Stephanie Plucinsky
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-867-2468
steven.p.siceloff@nasa.gov / stephanie.n.plucinsky@nasa.gov

Joseph Zakrzewski
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
joseph.a.zakrzewski@nasa.gov

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NASA astronaut Raja Chari and Dr. V. Narayanan, chairman of ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation), interact outside the Orion spacecraft mockup at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Narayanan and Indian officials visited NASA Johnson and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, ahead of the Axiom Mission 4 launch to the International Space Station.

As part of a collaboration between NASA and ISRO, Axiom Mission 4 delivers on a commitment highlighted by President Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to send the first ISRO astronaut to the station. The space agencies are participating in five joint science investigations and two in-orbit science, technology, engineering, and mathematics demonstrations. NASA and ISRO have a long-standing relationship built on a shared vision to advance scientific knowledge and expand space collaboration.

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A New Alloy is Enabling Ultra-Stable Structures Needed for Exoplanet Discovery

A unique new material that shrinks when it is heated and expands when it is cooled could help enable the ultra-stable space telescopes that future NASA missions require to search for habitable worlds.

Advancements in material technologies are needed to meet the science needs of the next great observatories. These observatories will strive to find, identify, and study exoplanets and their ability to support life. Credit: NASA JPL

One of the goals of NASA’s Astrophysics Division is to determine whether we are alone in the universe. NASA’s astrophysics missions seek to answer this question by identifying planets beyond our solar system (exoplanets) that could support life. Over the last two decades, scientists have developed ways to detect atmospheres on exoplanets by closely observing stars through advanced telescopes. As light passes through a planet’s atmosphere or is reflected or emitted from a planet’s surface, telescopes can measure the intensity and spectra (i.e., “color”) of the light, and can detect various shifts in the light caused by gases in the planetary atmosphere. By analyzing these patterns, scientists can determine the types of gasses in the exoplanet’s atmosphere.

Decoding these shifts is no easy task because the exoplanets appear very near their host stars when we observe them, and the starlight is one billion times brighter than the light from an Earth-size exoplanet. To successfully detect habitable exoplanets, NASA’s future Habitable Worlds Observatory will need a contrast ratio of one to one billion (1:1,000,000,000).

Achieving this extreme contrast ratio will require a telescope that is 1,000 times more stable than state-of-the-art space-based observatories like NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and its forthcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. New sensors, system architectures, and materials must be integrated and work in concert for future mission success. A team from the company ALLVAR is collaborating with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to demonstrate how integration of a new material with unique negative thermal expansion characteristics can help enable ultra-stable telescope structures.

Material stability has always been a limiting factor for observing celestial phenomena. For decades, scientists and engineers have been working to overcome challenges such as micro-creep, thermal expansion, and moisture expansion that detrimentally affect telescope stability. The materials currently used for telescope mirrors and struts have drastically improved the dimensional stability of the great observatories like Webb and Roman, but as indicated in the Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics 2020 developed by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, they still fall short of the 10 picometer level stability over several hours that will be required for the Habitable Worlds Observatory. For perspective, 10 picometers is roughly 1/10th the diameter of an atom.

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope sits atop the support structure and instrument payloads. The long black struts holding the telescope’s secondary mirror will contribute roughly 30% of the wave front error while the larger support structure underneath the primary mirror will contribute another 30%.

Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn

Funding from NASA and other sources has enabled this material to transition from the laboratory to the commercial scale. ALLVAR received NASA Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) funding to scale and integrate a new alloy material into telescope structure demonstrations for potential use on future NASA missions like the Habitable Worlds Observatory. This alloy shrinks when heated and expands when cooled—a property known as negative thermal expansion (NTE). For example, ALLVAR Alloy 30 exhibits a -30 ppm/°C coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) at room temperature. This means that a 1-meter long piece of this NTE alloy will shrink 0.003 mm for every 1 °C increase in temperature. For comparison, aluminum expands at +23 ppm/°C.

While other materials expand while heated and contract when cooled, ALLVAR Alloy 30 exhibits a negative thermal expansion, which can compensate for the thermal expansion mismatch of other materials. The thermal strain versus temperature is shown for 6061 Aluminum, A286 Stainless Steel, Titanium 6Al-4V, Invar 36, and ALLVAR Alloy 30.

Because it shrinks when other materials expand, ALLVAR Alloy 30 can be used to strategically compensate for the expansion and contraction of other materials. The alloy’s unique NTE property and lack of moisture expansion could enable optic designers to address the stability needs of future telescope structures. Calculations have indicated that integrating ALLVAR Alloy 30 into certain telescope designs could improve thermal stability up to 200 times compared to only using traditional materials like aluminum, titanium, Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRPs), and the nickel–iron alloy, Invar.

The hexapod assembly with six ALLVAR Alloy struts was measured for long-term stability. The stability of the individual struts and the hexapod assembly were measured using interferometry at the University of Florida’s Institute for High Energy Physics and Astrophysics. The struts were found to have a length noise well below the proposed target for the success criteria for the project. Credit: (left) ALLVAR and (right) Simon F. Barke, Ph.D.

To demonstrate that negative thermal expansion alloys can enable ultra-stable structures, the ALLVAR team developed a hexapod structure to separate two mirrors made of a commercially available glass ceramic material with ultra-low thermal expansion properties. Invar was bonded to the mirrors and flexures made of Ti6Al4V—a titanium alloy commonly used in aerospace applications—were attached to the Invar. To compensate for the positive CTEs of the Invar and Ti6Al4V components, an NTE ALLVAR Alloy 30 tube was used between the Ti6Al4V flexures to create the struts separating the two mirrors. The natural positive thermal expansion of the Invar and Ti6Al4V components is offset by the negative thermal expansion of the NTE alloy struts, resulting in a structure with an effective zero thermal expansion.

The stability of the structure was evaluated at the University of Florida Institute for High Energy Physics and Astrophysics. The hexapod structure exhibited stability well below the 100 pm/√Hz target and achieved 11 pm/√Hz. This first iteration is close to the 10 pm stability required for the future Habitable Worlds Observatory. A paper and presentation made at the August 2021 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers conference provides details about this analysis.

Furthermore, a series of tests run by NASA Marshall showed that the ultra-stable struts were able to achieve a near-zero thermal expansion that matched the mirrors in the above analysis. This result translates into less than a 5 nm root mean square (rms) change in the mirror’s shape across a 28K temperature change.

The ALLVAR enabled Ultra-Stable Hexapod Assembly undergoing Interferometric Testing between 293K and 265K (right). On the left, the Root Mean Square (RMS) changes in the mirror’s surface shape are visually represented. The three roughly circular red areas are caused by the thermal expansion mismatch of the invar bonding pads with the ZERODUR mirror, while the blue and green sections show little to no changes caused by thermal expansion. The surface diagram shows a less than 5 nanometer RMS change in mirror figure. Credit: NASA’s X-Ray and Cryogenic Facility [XRCF]

Beyond ultra-stable structures, the NTE alloy technology has enabled enhanced passive thermal switch performance and has been used to remove the detrimental effects of temperature changes on bolted joints and infrared optics. These applications could impact technologies used in other NASA missions. For example, these new alloys have been integrated into the cryogenic sub-assembly of Roman’s coronagraph technology demonstration. The addition of NTE washers enabled the use of pyrolytic graphite thermal straps for more efficient heat transfer. ALLVAR Alloy 30 is also being used in a high-performance passive thermal switch incorporated into the UC Berkeley Space Science Laboratory’s Lunar Surface Electromagnetics Experiment-Night (LuSEE Night) project aboard Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 2, which will be delivered to the Moon through NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative. The NTE alloys enabled smaller thermal switch size and greater on-off heat conduction ratios for LuSEE Night.

Through another recent NASA SBIR effort, the ALLVAR team worked with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to develop detailed datasets of ALLVAR Alloy 30 material properties. These large datasets include statistically significant material properties such as strength, elastic modulus, fatigue, and thermal conductivity. The team also collected information about less common properties like micro-creep and micro-yield. With these properties characterized, ALLVAR Alloy 30 has cleared a major hurdle towards space-material qualification.

As a spinoff of this NASA-funded work, the team is developing a new alloy with tunable thermal expansion properties that can match other materials or even achieve zero CTE. Thermal expansion mismatch causes dimensional stability and force-load issues that can impact fields such as nuclear engineering, quantum computing, aerospace and defense, optics, fundamental physics, and medical imaging. The potential uses for this new material will likely extend far beyond astronomy. For example, ALLVAR developed washers and spacers, are now commercially available to maintain consistent preloads across extreme temperature ranges in both space and terrestrial environments. These washers and spacers excel at counteracting the thermal expansion and contraction of other materials, ensuring stability for demanding applications.

For additional details, see the entry for this project on NASA TechPort.

Project Lead: Dr. James A. Monroe, ALLVAR

The following NASA organizations sponsored this effort: NASA Astrophysics Division, NASA SBIR Program funded by the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD).

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The NASA Ames Science Directorate recognizes the outstanding contributions of (pictured left to right) Sigrid Reinsch, Lori Munar, Kevin Sims, and Matthew Fladeland. Their commitment to the NASA mission represents the entrepreneurial spirit, technical expertise, and collaborative disposition needed to explore this world and beyond.

Space Biosciences Star: Sigrid Reinsch

As Director of the SHINE (Space Health Impacts for the NASA Experience) program and Project Scientist for NBISC (NASA Biological Institutional Scientific Collection), Sigrid Reinsch is a high-performing scientist and outstanding mentor in the Space Biosciences Research Branch. Her dedication to student training and her efforts to streamline processes have significantly improved the experience of welcoming summer interns at NASA Ames.

Space Science and Astrobiology Star: Lori Munar

Lori Munar serves as the assistant Branch Chief of the Exobiology Branch. In the past few months, she has gone above and beyond to organize a facility and laboratory surplus event that involved multiple divisions over multiple days. The event resulted in considerable savings across the groups involved and improved the safety of N239 staff and the appearance of offices and labs.

Space Science and Astrobiology Star: Kevin Sims

Kevin Sims is a NASA Technical Project Manager serving the Astrophysics Branch as a member of the Flight Systems Implementation Branch in the Space Biosciences Division. Kevin is recognized for outstanding project management for exoplanet imaging instrumentation development in support of the Habitable Worlds Observatory. Kevin has streamlined, organized, and improved the efficiency of the Ames Photonics Testbed being developed as part the AstroPIC Early Career Initiative project.

Earth Science Star: Matthew Fladeland

Matthew Fladeland is a research scientist in the Earth Science Division managing NASA SMD’s Program Office for the Airborne Science Program, located at Ames. He is recognized for exemplary leadership and teamwork leading to new reimbursable agreements with the Department of Defense, for accelerating science technology solutions through the SBIR program, and for advancing partnerships with the US Forest Service on wildland ecology and fire science.

NASA has awarded a task order to Florida Power and Light of Juno Beach, Florida, to provide electric distribution utility service at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

This is a fixed-price task order with an estimated value of $70 million over five years. The contract consists of a two-year base period beginning July 1, 2025, followed by a two-year and a one-year option period.

Under the contract, the awardee will provide all management, labor, transportation, facilities, materials, and equipment to provide electric distribution utility service up to and including all meters across the spaceport.

For more information about NASA Kennedy, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/kennedy

-end-

Patti Bielling
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-501-7575
patricia.a.bielling@nasa.gov

The Roscosmos Progress 90 cargo craft approaches the International Space Station for a docking to the Poisk module delivering nearly three tons of food, fuel, and supplies replenishing the Expedition 72 crew. Credit: NASA

NASA will provide live coverage of the launch and docking of a Roscosmos cargo spacecraft delivering approximately three tons of food, fuel, and supplies to the Expedition 73 crew aboard the International Space Station.

The unpiloted Roscosmos Progress 92 spacecraft is scheduled to launch at 3:32 p.m. EDT, Thursday, July 3 (12:32 a.m. Baikonur time, Friday, July 4), on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Live launch coverage will begin at 3:10 p.m. on NASA+. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.

After a two-day, in-orbit journey to the station, the spacecraft will dock autonomously to the space-facing port of the orbiting laboratory’s Poisk module at 5:27 p.m. on Saturday, July 5. NASA’s rendezvous and docking coverage will begin at 4:45 p.m. on NASA+.

The Progress 92 spacecraft will remain docked to the space station for approximately six months before departing for re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere to dispose of trash loaded by the crew.

Ahead of the spacecraft’s arrival, the Progress 90 spacecraft will undock from the Poisk module on Tuesday, July 1. NASA will not stream undocking.

The International Space Station is a convergence of science, technology, and human innovation that enables research not possible on Earth. For nearly 25 years, NASA has supported a continuous U.S. human presence aboard the orbiting laboratory, through which astronauts have learned to live and work in space for extended periods of time. The space station is a springboard for developing a low Earth economy and NASA’s next great leaps in exploration, including missions to the Moon under Artemis and, ultimately, human exploration of Mars.

Learn more about the International Space Station, its research, and crew, at:

https://www.nasa.gov/station

-end-

Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
james.j.russell@nasa.gov  

Sandra Jones / Joseph Zakrzewski
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov / joseph.a.zakrzewski@nasa.gov

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Artist’s concept.Credit: NASA

NASA announced Monday its latest plans to team up with a streaming service to bring space a little closer to home. Starting this summer, NASA+ live programming will be available on Netflix.

Audiences now will have another option to stream rocket launches, astronaut spacewalks, mission coverage, and breathtaking live views of Earth from the International Space Station.

“The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 calls on us to share our story of space exploration with the broadest possible audience,” said Rebecca Sirmons, general manager of NASA+ at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. “Together, we’re committed to a Golden Age of Innovation and Exploration – inspiring new generations – right from the comfort of their couch or in the palm of their hand from their phone.”

Through this partnership, NASA’s work in science and exploration will become even more accessible, allowing the agency to increase engagement with and inspire a global audience in a modern media landscape, where Netflix reaches a global audience of more than 700 million people.

The agency’s broader efforts include connecting with as many people as possible through video, audio, social media, and live events. The goal is simple: to bring the excitement of the agency’s discoveries, inventions, and space exploration to people, wherever they are.

NASA+ remains available for free, with no ads, through the NASA app and on the agency’s website.

Additional programming details and schedules will be announced ahead of launch.

For more about NASA’s missions, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov

-end-

Cheryl Warner
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
cheryl.m.warner@nasa.gov

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ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. J. Koss, A. J. Barth

The light that the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope collected to create this image reached the telescope after a journey of 250 million years. Its source was the spiral galaxy UGC 11397, which resides in the constellation Lyra (The Lyre). At first glance, UGC 11397 appears to be an average spiral galaxy: it sports two graceful spiral arms that are illuminated by stars and defined by dark, clumpy clouds of dust.

What sets UGC 11397 apart from a typical spiral lies at its center, where a supermassive black hole containing 174 million times the mass of our Sun grows. As a black hole ensnares gas, dust, and even entire stars from its vicinity, this doomed matter heats up and puts on a fantastic cosmic light show.

Material trapped by the black hole emits light from gamma rays to radio waves, and can brighten and fade without warning. But in some galaxies, including UGC 11397, thick clouds of dust hide much of this energetic activity from view in optical light. Despite this, UGC 11397’s actively growing black hole was revealed through its bright X-ray emission — high-energy light that can pierce the surrounding dust. This led astronomers to classify it as a Type 2 Seyfert galaxy, a category used for active galaxies whose central regions are hidden from view in visible light by a donut-shaped cloud of dust and gas.

Using Hubble, researchers will study hundreds of galaxies that, like UGC 11397, harbor a supermassive black hole that is gaining mass. The Hubble observations will help researchers weigh nearby supermassive black holes, understand how black holes grew early in the universe’s history, and even study how stars form in the extreme environment found at the very center of a galaxy.

Text credit: ESA

Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. J. Koss, A. J. Barth

Lisa Pace knows a marathon when she sees one. An avid runner, she has participated in five marathons and more than 50 half marathons. Though she prefers to move quickly, she also knows the value of taking her time. “I solve most of my problems while running – or realize those problems aren’t worth worrying about,” she said.

She has learned to take a similar approach to her work at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “Earlier in my career, I raced to get things done and felt the need to do as much as possible on my own,” she said. “Over time, I’ve learned to trust my team and pause to give others an opportunity to contribute. There are times when quick action is needed, but it is often a marathon, not a sprint.”

Official portrait of Lisa Pace.NASA/Josh Valcarcel

Pace is chief of the Exploration Development Integration Division within the Exploration Architecture, Integration, and Science Directorate at Johnson. In that role, she leads a team of roughly 120 civil servants and contractors in providing mission-level system engineering and integration services that bring different architecture elements together to achieve the agency’s goals. Today that team supports Artemis missions, NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative and other areas as needed.

Lisa Pace, seated at the head of the table, leads an Exploration Development Integration Division team meeting at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. NASA/James Blair

“The Artemis missions come together through multiple programs and projects,” Pace explained. “We stitch them together to ensure the end-to-end mission meets its intended requirements. That includes verifying those requirements before flight and ensuring agreements between programs are honored and conflicts resolved.” The division also manages mission-level review and flight readiness processes from planning through execution, up to the final certification of flight readiness.

Leading the division through the planning, launch, and landing of Artemis I was a career highlight for Pace, though she feels fortunate to have worked on many great projects during her time with NASA. “My coolest and most rewarding project involved designing and deploying an orbital debris tracking telescope on Ascension Island about 10 years ago,” she said. “The engineers, scientists, and military personnel I got to work and travel with on that beautiful island is tough to top!”  

Pace says luck and great timing led her to NASA. Engineering jobs were plentiful when she graduated from Virginia Tech in 2000, and she quickly received an offer from Lockheed Martin to become a facility engineer in Johnson’s Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division, or ARES. “I thought working in the building where they keep the Moon rocks would be cool – and it was! Twenty-five years later, I’m still here,” Pace said.

During that time, she has learned a lot about problem-solving and team building. “I often find that when we disagree over the ‘right’ way to do something, there is no one right answer – it just depends on your perspective,” she said. “I take the time to listen to people, understand their side, and build relationships to find common ground.”

Lisa Pace, right, participates in a holiday competition hosted by her division.Image courtesy of Lisa Pace

She also emphasizes the importance of getting to know your colleagues. “Relationships are everything,” she said. “They make the work so much more meaningful. I carry that lesson over to my personal life and value my time with family and friends outside of work.”

Investing time in relationships has given Pace another unexpected skill – that of matchmaker. “I’m responsible for setting up five couples who are now married, and have six kids between them,” she said, adding that she knew one couple from Johnson.

She hopes that strong relationships transfer to the Artemis Generation. “I hope to pass on a strong NASA brand and the family culture that I’ve been fortunate to have, working here for the last 25 years.”

Explore More 3 min read Meet Rob Navias: Public Affairs Officer and Mission Commentator   Article 6 days ago 5 min read Heather Cowardin Safeguards the Future of Space Exploration   Article 1 week ago 5 min read Driven by a Dream: Farah Al Fulfulee’s Quest to Reach the Stars Article 2 weeks ago

NASA/Nichole Ayers

A SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying the Axiom Mission 4 crew docks to the space-facing port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module on June 26. Axiom Mission 4 is the fourth all-private astronaut mission to the orbiting laboratory, welcoming commander Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) astronaut and pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, and mission specialists ESA (European Space Agency) project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and HUNOR (Hungarian to Orbit) astronaut Tibor Kapu of Hungary.

The crew is scheduled to remain at the space station, conducting microgravity research, educational outreach, and commercial activities, for about two weeks. This mission serves as an example of the success derived from collaboration between NASA’s international partners and American commercial space companies.

Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA

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NASA’s Human Lander Challenge marked its second year on June 26, awarding $18,000 in prize money to three university teams for their solutions for long-duration cryogenic, or super chilled, liquid storage and transfer systems for spaceflight.

Building on the crewed Artemis II flight test, NASA’s Artemis III mission will send astronauts to explore the lunar South Pole region with a human landing system and advanced spacesuits, preparing humanity to ultimately go to Mars. In-space propulsion systems that use cryogenic liquids as propellants must stay extremely cold to remain in a liquid state and are critical to mission success. The Artemis mission architecture will need these systems to function for several weeks or even months.

Students and advisors with the 12 finalist teams for the 2025 Human Lander Challenge competed in Huntsville, Alabama, near the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center between June 24-26. NASA/Charles Beason

NASA announced Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott as the overall winner and recipient of the $10,000 top prize award. Old Dominion University won second place and a $5,000 award, followed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology in third place and a $3,000 award.

Before the winners were announced, 12 finalist teams selected in April gave their presentations to a panel of NASA and industry judges as part of the final competition in Huntsville. As part of the 2025 Human Lander Challenge, university teams developed systems-level solutions that could be used within the next 3-5 years for Artemis.

NASA selected Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott as the overall winner of NASA’s 2025 Human Lander Challenge Forum June 26. Lisa Watson-Morgan, manager of NASA’s Human Landing System Program, presented the awards at the ceremony. NASA/Charles Beason

“Today’s Golden Age of Innovation and Exploration students are tomorrow’s mission designers, systems engineers, and explorers,” said Juan Valenzuela, main propulsion systems and cryogenic fluid management subsystems lead for NASA’s Human Landing System Program at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “The Human Lander Challenge concepts at this year’s forum demonstrate the ingenuity, passion, and determination NASA and industry need to help solve long-duration cryogenic storage challenges to advance human exploration to deep space.”

The challenge is sponsored by the agency’s Human Landing System Program within the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate and managed by the National Institute of Aerospace.

Through the Artemis campaign, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars – for the benefit of all.

For more information about Artemis missions, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis

News Media Contact

Corinne Beckinger 
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. 
256.544.0034  
corinne.m.beckinger@nasa.gov 

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Details Last Updated Jun 30, 2025 EditorLee MohonContactCorinne M. Beckingercorinne.m.beckinger@nasa.govLocationMarshall Space Flight Center Related Terms

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In 1963, Captain Engle was assigned as one of two Air Force test pilots to fly the X-15 Research Rocket aircraft. In 1965, he flew the X-15 to an altitude of 280,600 feet, and became the youngest pilot ever to qualify as an astronaut. Three of his sixteen flights in the X-15 exceeded the 50-mile (264,000 feet) altitude required for astronaut rating.NASA

Former NASA astronaut Joe Engle poses in front of an X-15 plane in this Dec. 2, 1965, photo. On June 29, 1965, Engle flew the X-15 to 280,600 feet, becoming the youngest U.S. pilot to qualify as an astronaut.

The Kansas native flew the X-15 for the U.S. Air Force 16 times from 1963 to 1965. Three times Engle flew an X-15 higher than 50 miles (the altitude required for astronaut rating), officially qualifying him for Air Force astronaut wings and providing him a brief moment for sightseeing at the edge of space.

“You could glance out and see the blackness of space above and the extremely bright Earth below. The horizon had the same bands of color you see from the shuttle, with black on top, then purple to deep indigo, then blues and whites,” he said.

Image credit: NASA

Astrophysics Science Video Producer – Goddard Space Flight Center

Growing up in Detroit with a camera in her hand, Sophia Roberts — now an award-winning astrophysics science video producer—never imagined that one day her path would wind through clean rooms, vacuum chambers, and even a beryllium mine. But framing the final frontier sometimes requires traveling through some of Earth’s less-explored corners.

Sophia Roberts is an astrophysics Science video producer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. She films space hardware assembly and explains complicated topics, weaving science and art together.Credit: Courtesy of Sophia Roberts

Sophia received her first camera from her father, a photography enthusiast, when she was just five or six years old. “I’ve basically been snapping away ever since!” she says. 

With a natural curiosity and enthusiasm for science, Sophia pursued a degree in biology at Oberlin College in Ohio. There, she discovered that she could blend her two passions.

“I often lingered in lab sessions, not to finish an experiment but to photograph it,” Sophia says. “I had an epiphany at the beginning of class one day, which always opened with clips from BBC nature documentaries. I decided right then that I would be one of the people who make those videos one day.”

Part of Sophia’s role currently involves documenting NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which is taking shape and being tested at NASA Goddard. She captured a cosmic selfie while photographing the telescope’s primary mirror, which was designed and built by L3Harris Technologies in Rochester, New York, before it was integrated with other components.Credit: NASA/Sophia Roberts

She initially thought that meant wildlife filmmaking—perched in a blind on a mountainside, waiting hours for an animal to appear. That dream led her to Montana State University, where she learned to blend scientific rigor with visual storytelling through their science and natural history filmmaking master’s program.

While completing her degree, Sophia worked as a traveling presenter for the Montana Space Grant Consortium. “I was mainly giving presentations about NASA missions and showing kids beautiful images of space,” she says. “That was my first true introduction to NASA. I loved being able to watch the children’s eyes light up when they saw what’s out there in space.”

Sophia then completed an internship at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History while completing her thesis. Once she graduated, she landed a year-long fellowship at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, as an Earth science news fellow. In this role, she focused on packaging up stories through satellite imagery and explanations. 

Sophia holds a Webby award she, Mike McClare (left), and Michael Starobin (right) won for their broadcasts of the James Webb Space Telescope’s launch, deployment, and first images.Credit: Copyright James Hartley, used with permission

She leaned into her videography skills in her next role, as part of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope team. 

“Webb is one of my great loves in life,” she says. “I learned to negotiate with engineers for the perfect shot, navigate NASA’s protocols, and work with mission partners. I only spent five years on Webb, but it feels like it was half my life. Still—it was everything.”

That mission took her to some unforgettable places, like a mine in Delta, Utah, where raw material for Webb’s mirrors was unearthed. “It was this giant, spiral pit where they were mining beryllium at just 0.02% concentration,” Sophia says. The process was as otherworldly as the location.

In 2021, Sophia traveled to Delta, Utah to capture behind-the-scenes footage of raw material for the James Webb Space Telescope’s mirrors being unearthed. In this gif, a drone captures an aerial view of the site.Credit: Copyright Scott Rogers, used with permission

She also documented thermal vacuum testing at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston in a giant pill-shaped chamber with a 40-foot round door. “I had to take confined space training to crawl around in the area underneath the chamber,” she says. “It felt like spelunking.”

Once Webb launched, Sophia pivoted to covering many of NASA’s smaller astrophysics missions along with the upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. These days, she can often be found gowned up in a “bunny suit” in the largest clean room at Goddard to document space telescope assembly, or in a studio recording science explanations. 

Sophia stands in the largest clean room at Goddard, where she documents space hardware coming together. Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn

“I love capturing the visual stories and helping fill in the gaps to help people understand NASA research,” Sophia says. “I try to focus on the things that will get people excited about the science so they’ll stop scrolling to find out more.”

For Sophia, the process is often as exhilarating as the result. “I love venturing out to remote places where science is being done,” she says. “I’d love to film a balloon launch in Antarctica someday!”

Jacob Pinter (left), host of NASA’s Curious Universe Podcast, leads a discussion with Sophia Roberts (center), a NASA video producer who documented the Webb project, and Paul Geithner (right), former deputy project manager for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, following a screening of the new NASA+ documentary “Cosmic Dawn: The Untold Story of the James Webb Space Telescope,” Wednesday, June 11, 2025, at the Greenbelt Cinema in Greenbelt, Md. Featuring never-before-seen footage, Cosmic Dawn offers an unprecedented glimpse into Webb’s assembly, testing, and launch. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

To others who dream of pursuing a similar career, Sophia recommends diving in headfirst. “With cameras readily available and free online platforms, it’s never been easier to get into the media,” she says. “You just have to be careful to research your topic and sources, making sure you really know what you’re sharing and understand that science is always evolving as we learn more.” And Sophia emphasizes how important storytelling is for conveying information, especially when it’s as complex as astrophysics. “Studying science is wonderful, but I also think helping people visualize it is magical.” 

By Ashley Balzer
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

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Hubble Captures an Active Galactic Center This Hubble image shows the spiral galaxy UGC 11397. ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. J. Koss, A. J. Barth

The light that the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope collected to create this image reached the telescope after a journey of 250 million years. Its source was the spiral galaxy UGC 11397, which resides in the constellation Lyra (The Lyre). At first glance, UGC 11397 appears to be an average spiral galaxy: it sports two graceful spiral arms that are illuminated by stars and defined by dark, clumpy clouds of dust.

What sets UGC 11397 apart from a typical spiral lies at its center, where a supermassive black hole containing 174 million times the mass of our Sun grows. As a black hole ensnares gas, dust, and even entire stars from its vicinity, this doomed matter heats up and puts on a fantastic cosmic light show.

Material trapped by the black hole emits light from gamma rays to radio waves, and can brighten and fade without warning. But in some galaxies, including UGC 11397, thick clouds of dust hide much of this energetic activity from view in optical light. Despite this, UGC 11397’s actively growing black hole was revealed through its bright X-ray emission — high-energy light that can pierce the surrounding dust. This led astronomers to classify it as a Type 2 Seyfert galaxy, a category used for active galaxies whose central regions are hidden from view in visible light by a donut-shaped cloud of dust and gas.

Using Hubble, researchers will study hundreds of galaxies that, like UGC 11397, harbor a supermassive black hole that is gaining mass. The Hubble observations will help researchers weigh nearby supermassive black holes, understand how black holes grew early in the universe’s history, and even study how stars form in the extreme environment found at the very center of a galaxy.

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Media Contact:

Claire Andreoli (claire.andreoli@nasa.gov)
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD

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