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Intricacies of Helix Nebula Revealed With NASA’s Webb
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Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has zoomed into the Helix Nebula to give an up-close view of the possible eventual fate of our own Sun and planetary system. In Webb’s high-resolution look, the structure of the gas being shed off by a dying star comes into full focus. The image reveals how stars recycle their material back into the cosmos, seeding future generations of stars and planets, as NASA explores the secrets of the universe and our place in it.
Image: Helix Nebula (NIRCam) This new image of a portion of the Helix Nebula from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope highlights comet-like knots, fierce stellar winds, and layers of gas shed off by a dying star interacting with its surrounding environment. Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)In the image from Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera), pillars that look like comets with extended tails trace the circumference of the inner region of an expanding shell of gas. Here, blistering winds of fast-moving hot gas from the dying star are crashing into slower moving colder shells of dust and gas that were shed earlier in its life, sculpting the nebula’s remarkable structure.
The iconic Helix Nebula has been imaged by many ground- and space-based observatories over the nearly two centuries since it was discovered. Webb’s near-infrared view of the target brings these knots to the forefront compared to the ethereal image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, while its increased resolution sharpens focus from NASA’s retired Spitzer Space Telescope’s snapshot. Additionally, the new near-infrared look shows the stark transition between the hottest gas to the coolest gas as the shell expands out from the central white dwarf.
Image: Helix Nebula Context (VISTA and Webb) This image of the Helix Nebula from the ground-based Visible and Infrared Telescope for Astronomy (left) shows the full view of the planetary nebula, with a box highlighting Webb’s field of view (right). Image: ESO, VISTA, NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Emerson (ESO); Acknowledgment: CASUA blazing white dwarf, the leftover core of the dying star, lies right at the heart of the nebula, out of the frame of the Webb image. Its intense radiation lights up the surrounding gas, creating a rainbow of features: hot ionized gas closest to the white dwarf, cooler molecular hydrogen farther out, and protective pockets where more complex molecules can begin to form within dust clouds. This interaction is vital, as it’s the raw material from which new planets may one day form in other star systems.
In Webb’s image of the Helix Nebula, color represents the temperature and chemistry. A touch of a blue hue marks the hottest gas in this field, energized by intense ultraviolet light from the white dwarf. Farther out, the gas cools into the yellow regions where hydrogen atoms join into molecules. At the outer edges, the reddish tones trace the coolest material, where gas begins to thin and dust can take shape. Together, the colors show the star’s final breath transforming into the raw ingredients for new worlds, adding to the wealth of knowledge gained from Webb about the origin of planets.
Spitzer’s studies of the Helix Nebula hinted at the formation of more complex molecules, but Webb’s resolution shows how they form in shielded zones of the scene. In the Webb image, look for dark pockets of space amid the glowing orange and red.
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The Helix Nebula is located 650 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Aquarius. It remains a favorite among stargazers and professional astronomers alike due to its relative proximity to Earth, and its similar appearance to the “Eye of Sauron.”
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
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Downloads & Related InformationThe following sections contain links to download this article’s images and videos in all available resolutions followed by related information links, media contacts, and if available, research paper and Spanish translation links.
Related Images & Videos Helix Nebula (NIRCam)This new image of a portion of the Helix Nebula from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope highlights comet-like knots, fierce stellar winds, and layers of gas shed off by a dying star interacting with its surrounding environment.
Helix Nebula Context (VISTA and Webb)
This image of the Helix Nebula from the ground-based Visible and Infrared Telescope for Astronomy (left) shows the full view of the planetary nebula, with a box highlighting Webb’s field of view (right).
Helix Nebula (NIRCam Compass Image)
This image of the Helix Nebula, captured by the NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument on Webb, includes compass arrows, scale bar, and color key for reference.
Observatory Comparison (Hubble/Spitzer/Webb)
This video compares images of the Helix Nebula from three NASA observatories: Hubble’s image in visible light, Spitzer’s infrared view, and Webb’s high-resolution near-infrared look.
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Read more: NASA’s Webb Traces Details of Complex Planetary Nebula
Explore more: ViewSpace Star Death: Helix Nebula
Explore more: ViewSpace Celestial Tour: Planetary Nebulae—Sculptures in the Sky
Explore more: Stellar Evolution Flipbook Activity Guide
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Laura Betz
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Space Telescope Science Institute
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2025 NESC Technical Update
On behalf of the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC), I am pleased to provide you with the 2025 NESC Technical Update. This annual report summarizes the technical work, engineering advancements, and knowledge capture efforts we made in FY25. With support provided by members of our NASA community from across the centers, we focused our efforts on performing value-added independent testing, analysis, and assessments of NASA’s high-risk projects to ensure safety and mission success.
We appreciate the opportunity to share our progress and highlight our FY25 accomplishments. This report and all other NESC knowledge products are available at nasa.gov/nesc. As always, we value your feedback and engagement. Thank you for your continuing support of the NESC.
Timmy R. Wilson
Director, NASA Engineering and Safety Center
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Hubble Snaps Stellar Baby Pictures
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Hubble Snaps Stellar Baby Pictures The Cepheus A region is home to a number of infant stars, including a protostar that is responsible for much of the region’s illumination. NASA, ESA, and R. Fedriani (Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America) Star-forming region G033.91+0.11 is home to a protostar hidden within a reflection nebula. NASA, ESA, and R. Fedriani (Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America) A protostar is swathed in the gas of an emission nebula within star-forming region GAL-305.20+00.21. NASA, ESA, and R. Fedriani (Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America) A protostar’s jets of high-speed particles are responsible for the bright region of excited, glowing hydrogen in this Hubble image. NASA, ESA, and R. Fedriani (Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)
Newly developing stars shrouded in thick dust get their first baby pictures in these images from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. Hubble took these infant star snapshots in an effort to learn how massive stars form.
Protostars are shrouded in thick dust that blocks light, but Hubble can detect the near-infrared emission that shines through holes formed by the protostar’s jets of gas and dust. The radiating energy can provide information about these “outflow cavities,” like their structure, radiation fields, and dust content. Researchers look for connections between the properties of these young stars – like outflows, environment, mass, brightness – and their evolutionary stage to test massive star formation theories.
These images were taken as part of the SOFIA Massive (SOMA) Star Formation Survey, which investigates how stars form, especially massive stars with more than eight times the mass of our Sun.
The Cepheus A region is home to a number of infant stars, including a protostar that is responsible for much of the region’s illumination. NASA, ESA, and R. Fedriani (Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)Download this image (5.7 MB)
The high-mass star-forming region Cepheus A hosts a collection of baby stars, including one large and luminous protostar, which accounts for about half of the region’s brightness. While much of the region is shrouded in opaque dust, light from hidden stars breaks through outflow cavities to illuminate and energize areas of gas and dust, creating pink and white nebulae. The pink area is an HII region, where the intense ultraviolet radiation of the nearby stars has converted the surrounding clouds of gas into glowing, ionized hydrogen.
Cepheus A lies about 2,400 light-years away in the constellation Cepheus.
Download this image (5.8 MB)
Glittering much closer to home, this Hubble image depicts the star-forming region G033.91+0.11 in our Milky Way galaxy. The light patch in the center of the image is a reflection nebula, in which light from a hidden protostar bounces off gas and dust.
A protostar is swathed in the gas of an emission nebula within star-forming region GAL-305.20+00.21. NASA, ESA, and R. Fedriani (Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)Download this image (5.8 MB)
This Hubble image showcases the star-forming region GAL-305.20+00.21. The bright spot in the center-right of the image is an emission nebula, glowing gas that is ionized by a protostar buried within the larger complex of gas and dust clouds.
A protostar’s jets of high-speed particles are responsible for the bright region of excited, glowing hydrogen in this Hubble image. NASA, ESA, and R. Fedriani (Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)Download this image (5.7 MB)
Shrouded in gas and dust, the massive protostar IRAS 20126+4104 lies within a high-mass star-forming region about 5,300 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus. This actively forming star is a B-type protostar, characterized by its high luminosity, bluish-white color, and very high temperature. The bright region of ionized hydrogen at the center of the image is energized by jets emerging from the poles of the protostar, which ground-based observatories previously observed.
New images added every day between January 12-17, 2026! Follow @NASAHubble on social media for the latest Hubble images and news and see Hubble’s Stellar Construction Zones for more images of young stellar objects.
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NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 to Discuss Space Station Science Mission
After 167 days in space, the crew members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission will hold a news conference at 2:15 p.m. EST, Wednesday, Jan. 21, at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to discuss their science expedition aboard the International Space Station.
NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov will answer questions about their mission. The crew members returned to Earth on Jan. 15, splashing down off the coast of San Diego, and arrived in Houston on Friday, where they will undergo standard postflight reconditioning and evaluations.
NASA will provide live coverage on the agency’s YouTube channel. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of additional online platforms, including social media.
Media are invited to attend in person or virtually. For in-person attendance, contact the NASA Johnson newsroom no later than 5 p.m. CST, Tuesday, Jan. 20, at jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov or 281-483-5111. Media participating by phone must dial into the news conference no later than 10 minutes prior to the start of the event to ask questions. Questions also may be submitted on social media using #AskNASA. A copy of NASA’s media accreditation policy is available on the agency’s website.
The crew spent more than five months in space, including 165 days aboard the orbiting laboratory, traveling nearly 71 million miles, and completing more than 2,670 orbits around Earth. While living and working aboard the station, the crew completed hundreds of science experiments and technology demonstrations.
Get the latest NASA space station news, images, and features on Instagram, Facebook, and X.
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program has delivered on its goal of safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station from the United States through a partnership with American private industry. This partnership is opening access to low Earth orbit and the space station to more people, more science, and more commercial opportunities. For more than 25 years, people have continuously lived and worked aboard the space station, advancing scientific knowledge and demonstrating new technologies that enable us to prepare for human exploration of the Moon as we prepare for Mars.
Learn more about NASA’s Commercial Crew Program at:
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NASA Receives 15th Consecutive ‘Clean’ Financial Audit Opinion
For the 15th consecutive year, NASA received an unmodified, or “clean,” opinion from an external auditor on its fiscal year 2025 financial statements.
The rating is the best possible audit opinion, certifying that NASA’s financial statements conform with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles for federal agencies and accurately present the agency’s financial position.
“NASA has delivered a complete and reliable report of our fiscal operations, critical to our success for the Golden Age of exploration and innovation,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “NASA’s mission drives innovation in space exploration, scientific discovery, and aeronautics, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. Our fiscal year 2025 budget fuels economic growth, drives the growing space economy, and keeps America first amidst increasing global competition.”
The 2025 Agency Financial Report provides key financial and performance information and demonstrates the agency’s commitment to transparency in the use of American taxpayers’ dollars. In addition, the 2025 report presents progress during the past year, and spotlights the array of NASA missions, objectives, and workforce advanced with these financial resources.
“This achievement reflects our team’s diligent stewardship of NASA’s resources, including our commitment to responsibly managing taxpayers’ dollars entrusted to the agency,” said Sidney Schmidt, NASA’s acting chief financial officer. “Their unwavering dedication to sound financial management and robust internal controls ensures we uphold public trust. Congratulations and thank you to everyone involved for your commendable efforts and hard work.”
In fiscal year 2025, NASA marked significant progress toward the Artemis II test flight. Targeted to launch no earlier than Friday, Feb. 6, the Artemis II mission will send four astronauts around the Moon and back to test the systems and hardware which will return humanity to the lunar surface. NASA and its partners landed two robotic science missions on the Moon, welcomed seven new signatory countries to the Artemis Accords, and advanced medical and technological experiments for long-duration space missions like hand-held X-ray equipment and navigation capabilities.
NASA also led a variety of science discoveries, including launching a joint satellite mission with India to regularly monitor Earth’s land and ice-covered surfaces, as well as identifying and tracking the third interstellar object in our solar system; achieved 25 continuous years of human presence aboard the International Space Station; and, for the first time, flew a test flight of the agency’s X-59 supersonic plane that will help revolutionize air travel.
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What You Need to Know About NASA’s Artemis II Moon Mission
NASA is weeks away from sending astronauts farther than any crew has traveled before, with the agency’s second mission in its Artemis campaign. The Artemis II Press Kit now is available with information on the mission, astronauts, and other resources for media.
“Artemis II will be a momentous step forward for human spaceflight. This historic mission will send humans farther from Earth than ever before and deliver the insights needed for us to return to the Moon — all with America at the helm,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “Artemis II represents progress toward establishing a lasting lunar presence and sending Americans to Mars. I could not be more impressed by our NASA team and the Artemis II crew, and wish them well. Boldly forward.”
Under the Artemis campaign, NASA is returning humans to the Moon for economic benefits, scientific discovery, and to prepare for crewed missions to Mars.
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NASA Develops Blockchain Technology to Enhance Air Travel Safety and Security
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Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)By Supreet Kaur
In an era where data security is critical to aviation safety, NASA is exploring bold new solutions.
An Alta-X drone carries a custom built simulated Unmanned Aircraft Systems environment payload for the new blockchain system tests. Credit: NASA/Brandon Torres NavaretteThrough a drone flight test at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, researchers tested a blockchain-based system for protecting flight data. The system aims to keep air traffic management safe from disruption and protect data transferred between aircraft and ground stations from being intercepted or manipulated.
For aviation and airspace operations to remain safe, users need to be able to trust that data is reliable and transparent. While current systems have been able to protect flight data systems, cyberthreats continue to evolve, requiring new approaches. NASA researchers found the blockchain-based system can safely transmit and store information in real time.
Blockchain operates like a decentralized database — it does not rely on a single computer or centralized system. Instead, it shares information across a vast network, recording and verifying every change to a dataset. The system ensures the data stays safe, accurate, and trustworthy.
Previous cybersecurity research focused on implementing a layered security architecture — using multiple physical and digital security measures to control system access. For this test, researchers took a different approach using blockchain to address potential threats.
Using drones allowed the team to show that the blockchain framework could yield benefits across several priority areas in aviation development, including autonomous air traffic management, urban air mobility, and high-altitude aircraft.
Terrence D. Lewis (left), Kale Dunlap (center), and Aidan Jones monitor the flow of telemetry from both actual and simulated flights, ensuring the simulation and blockchain systems are processing and recording data accurately. Credit: NASA/Brandon Torres NavaretteThis NASA research explored how blockchain can secure digital transactions between multiple systems and operators. The team used an open-source blockchain framework that allows trusted users real-time sharing and storage of critical data like aircraft operator registration information, flight plans, and telemetry. This framework restricts access to this data to trusted parties and approved users only.
To further examine system resilience, the team introduced a set of cybersecurity tests designed to assess, improve, and reinforce security during operations in airspace environments. During an August flight at Ames, the team demonstrated these capabilities using an Alta-X drone with a custom-built software and hardware package that included a computer, radio, GPS system, and battery.
The test simulated an environment with a drone flying in real-world conditions, complete with a separate ground control station and the blockchain and security infrastructure. The underlying blockchain framework and cybersecurity protocols can be extended to support high-altitude operations at 60,000 feet and higher and Urban Air Mobility operations, paving the way for a more secure, scalable, and trusted ecosystem.
NASA researchers will continue to look at the data gathered during the test and apply what they’ve learned to future work. The testing will ultimately benefit U.S. aviation stakeholders looking for new tools to improve operations.
Through its Air Traffic Management and Safety project, NASA performed research to transform air traffic management systems to safely accommodate the growing demand of new air vehicles. The project falls under NASA’s Airspace Operations and Safety Program, a part the agency’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate that works to enable safe, efficient aviation transportation operations that benefit the flying public and industry.
Out of This World Discoveries: Space Station Research in 2025
As Earth completed its orbit around the Sun to close out 2025, the International Space Station circled our planet more than 5,800 times. Serving as humanity’s unique laboratory in space, the station has hosted thousands of experiments and technology demonstrations, advancing science in ways that cannot be replicated on Earth.
In 2025 alone, more than 750 experiments supported exploration missions, improved life on Earth, and opened commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit. The space station continues to drive innovation by enabling human exploration of the Moon and Mars, transforming medical research, deepening our understanding of the universe, and fostering a growing commercial economy.
Read through just a handful of 2025’s innovative research achievements from the orbiting laboratory.
25 Years of humans researching in orbit The International Space Station photographed in 2000 by the Expedition 1 crew.NASAOn Nov. 2, 2025, humanity reached a milestone of cosmic proportions: 25 years of continuous human presence aboard the International Space Station. Since the first crew arrived on Nov. 2, 2000, NASA and its partners from around the world have conducted more than 4,000 research investigations and technology demonstrations. More than 290 people from 26 countries have visited the space station, where continuous human presence enables research that surpasses the capabilities of satellites and autonomous platforms. The space station’s unique microgravity environment, paired with crew operations, continues to unlock discoveries and push the boundaries of humanity’s curiosity and innovation.
A breakthrough cancer treatment ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet conducts research aboard the International Space Station supporting the advancement of cancer therapeutics.NASAResearch aboard the International Space Station helped inform the development of a newly FDA-approved injectable medication used to treat several types of early-stage cancers. The research yielded early insights into the structure and size of particles needed to develop the medication through protein crystal growth experiments. This new delivery method promises to lower costs and significantly reduce treatment time for patients and healthcare providers, while maintaining drug efficiency. Microgravity research can produce higher-quality, medically relevant crystals than Earth-based labs, enabling these types of medical advances. These developments showcase how space station research can drive innovation, improve lives, and foster commercial opportunities.
Medical implants printed in orbit Eight medical devices for peripheral nerve repair were printed simultaneously aboard the International Space Station. Credit: Auxilium Biotechnologies.Eight medical implants designed to support nerve regeneration were successfully 3D printed aboard the International Space Station for preclinical trials on Earth. When nerve damage occurs, these types of implants are designed to improve blood flow and enable targeted drug delivery. Printing in microgravity can prevent particle settling, resulting in more uniform and stable structures. In-space manufacturing is helping to advance medical treatments and other technologies while also enabling astronauts to print devices and tools on demand during future missions.
Learn more about InSPA-Auxilium Bioprinter.
A new understanding of our Sun Using data from NASA’s CODEX (Coronal Diagnostic Experiment), this animated, color-coded heat map shows temperature changes of the Sun over the course of couple days, where red indicates hotter regions and purple indicates cooler ones.NASA/KASI/INAF/CODEX Dextre, attached to the International Space Station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm, carries CODEX.NASAA solar coronagraph aboard the International Space Station captured its first unique images detailing the Sun’s outer atmosphere while measuring solar wind temperature and speed. The instrument blocks the Sun’s bright light to reveal its faint outer atmosphere, or corona, where solar wind originates. Earlier experiments focused on the corona’s density, but this new device enables the study of what heats and accelerates the solar wind, offering a more complete picture of how energy moves through the Sun’s atmosphere. These observations help researchers understand how solar activity affects Earth and space-based technology, such as satellites, communications networks, and power systems.
Learn more about CODEX.
Hunting for microscopic space travelers NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore works outside the International Space Station on Jan. 30, 2025, during a five-hour and 26-minute spacewalk.NASANASA astronaut Butch Wilmore collected microbiological samples during a spacewalk outside the International Space Station. Samples were taken near the life support system vents to see if the orbital complex releases microorganisms. This experiment helps researchers examine if and how these microorganisms survive and reproduce in the harsh space environment, as well as how they may behave at destinations such as the Moon and Mars. After returning to Earth, the samples underwent DNA extraction and sequencing. Another round of collections is planned for future spacewalks. The data could help determine whether changes are needed on crewed spacecraft and spacesuits to reduce biocontamination during missions to explore destinations where life may exist now or in the past.
Learn more about ISS External Microorganisms.
A fully docked space station Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL spacecraft is grappled by the International Space Station’s Canadarm2. In the background, JAXA’s (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) HTV-X1 cargo craft is docked to the orbital complex.NASA The International Space Station visiting spacecraft configuration on Dec.1, 2025 showing eight spacecraft parked at the orbital complex.NASAFor the first time in International Space Station history, all eight docking ports of the orbiting laboratory were occupied at once. Three crew spacecraft and five cargo resupply craft were attached to station, including JAXA’s new cargo vehicle HTV-X1 and Northrup Grumman’s new Cygnus XL. The eight spacecraft delivered astronauts, cargo, and scientific experiments from around the world to be conducted in the unique microgravity environment. This milestone highlights the space station’s evolution, inviting commercial partners and international collaboration to continue expanding the orbiting laboratory’s research capabilities.
Space station research meets the Moon’s surface NICER (Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer) is shown mounted to the International Space Station in the image on the left, and LEXI (right) is shown attached to the top of Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost in an artist’s concept.NASA/Firefly AerospaceThree experiments that landed on the Moon during Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission-1 were enabled by earlier research aboard the International Space Station. These studies help improve space weather monitoring, test computer recovery from radiation damage, and advance lunar navigation systems. The orbiting laboratory continues to lay the foundation for missions beyond low Earth orbit, driving exploration deeper into space.
Learn more.
The space station continues to deliver out-of-this-world achievements that cannot be replicated on Earth. Its research capabilities are a springboard for humanity’s future in innovation and testing the limits of what’s possible.
Here’s to 2026 — another year of defying physics and pushing the boundaries of science and exploration.
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NASA’s Crawler Preps for Artemis II Rollout
NASA’s Crawler-transporter 2 moves toward the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. The crawler will transport NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket with the Orion spacecraft to Launch Complex 39B ahead of the Artemis II launch which will journey Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency), around the Moon and back to Earth no later than April 2026.
The crawler-transporters have carried the load of taking rockets and spacecraft to the launch pad for more than 50 years at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Each the size of a baseball infield and powered by locomotive and large electrical power generator engines, the crawler-transporters stand ready to keep up the work for the next generation of launch vehicles to lift astronauts into space; Crawler-transporter 2 in particular is integral to the Artemis missions.
Image credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky
Hubble Observes Ghostly Cloud Alive with Star Formation
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Hubble Observes Ghostly Cloud Alive with Star Formation A seemingly serene landscape of gas and dust is hopping with star formation behind the scenes.NASA, ESA, and K. Stapelfeldt (Jet Propulsion Laboratory); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America) Download this image (84.5 MB)While this eerie NASA Hubble Space Telescope image may look ghostly, it’s actually full of new life. Lupus 3 is a star-forming cloud about 500 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius.
White wisps of gas swirl throughout the region, and in the lower-left corner resides a dark dust cloud. Bright T Tauri stars shine at the left, bottom right, and upper center, while other young stellar objects dot the image.
T Tauri stars are actively forming stars in a specific stage of formation. In this stage, the enveloping gas and dust dissipates from radiation and stellar winds, or outflows of particles from the emerging star. T Tauri stars are typically less than 10 million years old and vary in brightness both randomly and periodically due to the environment and nature of a forming star. The random variations may be due to instabilities in the accretion disk of dust and gas around the star, material from that disk falling onto the star and being consumed, and flares on the star’s surface. The more regular, periodic changes may be caused by giant sunspots rotating in and out of view.
T Tauri stars are in the process of contracting under the force of gravity as they become main sequence stars which fuse hydrogen to helium in their cores. Studying these stars can help astronomers better understand the star formation process.
New images added every day between January 12-17, 2026! Follow @NASAHubble on social media for the latest Hubble images and news and see Hubble’s Stellar Construction Zones for more images of young stellar objects.
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