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Planetarium celebrates 1st images from Vera Rubin Observatory | Space photo of the day for Aug. 7, 2025
China's Meteoric Rise Into Space
If you have any doubts about the objectives of the program, just check out their logo: a stylized crescent moon with two footprints in the middle.
The Story of Astrophysics in Five Revolutions
In the northern hemisphere, we're getting on to enjoying summer time which traditionally includes vacationing. Typically, vacations are a time to pause from work and remember life's possibilities beyond work. Now, perhaps you, the vacationer, want to rekindle a brief fling you had with science or maybe begin a new science tryst. Ersilia Vaudo's book "The Story of Astrophysics in Five Revolutions" could be just the impetus necessary for such a diversion.
The Winners of the Project Hyperion Generation Ship Competition have been Announced!
The UK-based not-for-profit company Initiative for Interstellar Studies (i4is) has announced the winners of the Project Hyperion Design Competition, a global challenge that called upon interdisciplinary teams to envision generation ships designed for a 250-year journey to Proxima b. The teams designed habitats of such a spacecraft that would allow a society to sustain itself and flourish in a highly resource-constrained environment.
Mathematicians Question AI Performance at International Math Olympiad
AI models supposedly did well on International Math Olympiad problems, but how they got their answers reminds us why we still need people doing math
Veeniix V11PRO drone review
How China Made an Antarctic Station Run on Majority Clean Energy
Solar panels, wind turbines, a hydrogen energy system and lithium-ion batteries are powering China’s newest polar research station
Falcon 9 rocket launching Amazon satellites on SpaceX’s 100th mission of the year after delays: Watch it live on Aug. 11
SpaceX's Crew-10 astronauts undock from ISS, head home to Earth (video)
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4622-4623: Kicking Off (Earth) Year 14 With an Investigation of Veins
- Curiosity Home
- Science
- News and Features
- Multimedia
- Mars Missions
- Mars Home
3 min read
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4622-4623: Kicking Off (Earth) Year 14 With an Investigation of Veins NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity, using its Left Navigation Camera, caught the shadow of the rover’s mast looking ahead to new terrain as the mission started its 14th Earth year on Mars. Curiosity acquired this image on Aug. 6, 2025 — Sol 4621, or Martian day 4,621 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — at 06:24:09 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech
Written by Abigail Fraeman, Deputy Project Scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Earth planning date: Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025.
Today was a very special day for Curiosity as the rover celebrated the start of a 14th year on Mars. Curiosity is currently exploring the mysterious boxwork formations. On Monday, the rover positioned itself at the side of one of the ridges, where the team had spotted tantalizing hints of a complex network of razor-thin veins that may give insight into what is holding the ridges up, compared to the surrounding hollows.
In this plan, the team will use the instruments on Curiosity’s arm and mast to investigate the geometry and composition of these veins to learn more about them. APXS and MAHLI will both observe “Repechón,” a loose block with dark-toned, mottled material exposed on top, as well as “Lago Poopó,” a bright, relatively clean vein network. MAHLI will also collect a side view of “Repechón.” ChemCam will use its laser to analyze two targets, “Vicguna,” a protruding vein edge with nodular texture, and “Ibare,” which has some exposed light-toned veins. Outside of the vein investigation, ChemCam’s telescopic RMI camera will observe layering in a nearby butte and the Mishe Mokwa feature, while Mastcam will take mosaics on “Cachiniba,” a broken block, “Yapacani,” the side of another large boxwork ridge, and “Llullaillaco,” a faraway feature that we imaged from a slightly different location in a previous plan. Additional environmental monitoring observations will round out the plan, followed by a straight-line drive to the east, to an area where several large boxwork ridges intersect that the team has been informally calling “the peace sign” because of its shape.
I usually get nostalgic around landing anniversaries, or “landiversaries,” and this year, I found myself looking back through pictures of landing night. One of my favorites shows me standing next to science team member Kirsten Siebach right after we received the first images from Curiosity. The two of us have the biggest, most excited grins on our faces. We were both graduate students at the time, and both of us were writing thesis chapters analyzing orbital data over regions we hoped to explore with Curiosity one day. I was studying a layer in Mount Sharp that contained hematite, and the team named this feature “Vera Rubin ridge” when Curiosity reached it in 2017. Kirsten, who is now a professor at Rice University, was focused on the boxwork structures, pondering how they formed and hypothesizing what they might tell us about the history of Martian habitability when we reached them.
Thirteen years later, I had another big grin on my face today, as I listened to Kirsten and our incredible science team members excitedly discussing Curiosity’s new images of these same boxwork structures. I was also filled with gratitude for the thousands of people it took to get us to this moment. It was the absolute best way to spend a landiversary.
Learn more about Curiosity’s science instruments
For more Curiosity blog posts, visit MSL Mission Updates
Share Details Last Updated Aug 07, 2025 Related Terms Explore More 3 min read Curiosity Blog, Sols 4618-4619: The Boxwork Structures Continue to Call to Us
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Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It’s the only planet we know of inhabited…
All Mars Resources
Explore this collection of Mars images, videos, resources, PDFs, and toolkits. Discover valuable content designed to inform, educate, and inspire,…
Rover Basics
Each robotic explorer sent to the Red Planet has its own unique capabilities driven by science. Many attributes of a…
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The key to understanding the past, present or future potential for life on Mars can be found in NASA’s four…
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4622-4623: Kicking Off (Earth) Year 14 With an Investigation of Veins
- Curiosity Home
- Science
- News and Features
- Multimedia
- Mars Missions
- Mars Home
3 min read
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4622-4623: Kicking Off (Earth) Year 14 With an Investigation of Veins NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity, using its Left Navigation Camera, caught the shadow of the rover’s mast looking ahead to new terrain as the mission started its 14th Earth year on Mars. Curiosity acquired this image on Aug. 6, 2025 — Sol 4621, or Martian day 4,621 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — at 06:24:09 UTC. NASA/JPL-CaltechWritten by Abigail Fraeman, Deputy Project Scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Earth planning date: Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025.
Today was a very special day for Curiosity as the rover celebrated the start of a 14th year on Mars. Curiosity is currently exploring the mysterious boxwork formations. On Monday, the rover positioned itself at the side of one of the ridges, where the team had spotted tantalizing hints of a complex network of razor-thin veins that may give insight into what is holding the ridges up, compared to the surrounding hollows.
In this plan, the team will use the instruments on Curiosity’s arm and mast to investigate the geometry and composition of these veins to learn more about them. APXS and MAHLI will both observe “Repechón,” a loose block with dark-toned, mottled material exposed on top, as well as “Lago Poopó,” a bright, relatively clean vein network. MAHLI will also collect a side view of “Repechón.” ChemCam will use its laser to analyze two targets, “Vicguna,” a protruding vein edge with nodular texture, and “Ibare,” which has some exposed light-toned veins. Outside of the vein investigation, ChemCam’s telescopic RMI camera will observe layering in a nearby butte and the Mishe Mokwa feature, while Mastcam will take mosaics on “Cachiniba,” a broken block, “Yapacani,” the side of another large boxwork ridge, and “Llullaillaco,” a faraway feature that we imaged from a slightly different location in a previous plan. Additional environmental monitoring observations will round out the plan, followed by a straight-line drive to the east, to an area where several large boxwork ridges intersect that the team has been informally calling “the peace sign” because of its shape.
I usually get nostalgic around landing anniversaries, or “landiversaries,” and this year, I found myself looking back through pictures of landing night. One of my favorites shows me standing next to science team member Kirsten Siebach right after we received the first images from Curiosity. The two of us have the biggest, most excited grins on our faces. We were both graduate students at the time, and both of us were writing thesis chapters analyzing orbital data over regions we hoped to explore with Curiosity one day. I was studying a layer in Mount Sharp that contained hematite, and the team named this feature “Vera Rubin ridge” when Curiosity reached it in 2017. Kirsten, who is now a professor at Rice University, was focused on the boxwork structures, pondering how they formed and hypothesizing what they might tell us about the history of Martian habitability when we reached them.
Thirteen years later, I had another big grin on my face today, as I listened to Kirsten and our incredible science team members excitedly discussing Curiosity’s new images of these same boxwork structures. I was also filled with gratitude for the thousands of people it took to get us to this moment. It was the absolute best way to spend a landiversary.
Learn more about Curiosity’s science instruments
For more Curiosity blog posts, visit MSL Mission Updates
Share Details Last Updated Aug 07, 2025 Related Terms Explore More 3 min read Curiosity Blog, Sols 4618-4619: The Boxwork Structures Continue to Call to Us
Article
2 days ago
3 min read Curiosity Blog, Sols 4620-4621: Among the Hollows and the Ridges
Article
2 days ago
4 min read Curiosity Blog, Sols 4616-4617: Standing Tall on the Ridge
Article
3 days ago
Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It’s the only planet we know of inhabited…
All Mars Resources
Explore this collection of Mars images, videos, resources, PDFs, and toolkits. Discover valuable content designed to inform, educate, and inspire,…
Rover Basics
Each robotic explorer sent to the Red Planet has its own unique capabilities driven by science. Many attributes of a…
Mars Exploration: Science Goals
The key to understanding the past, present or future potential for life on Mars can be found in NASA’s four…
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NHS talking therapies seem to be less effective for younger adults
Astronaut Butch Wilmore retires from NASA after 25 years
NASA to Provide Live Coverage of Crew-10 Return, Splashdown
Editor’s Note: This advisory was updated Aug. 7, 2025, to reflect changes in the targeted undocking and splashdown dates.
NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than 6:05 p.m. EDT, Friday, Aug. 8, for the undocking of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission from the International Space Station. Pending weather conditions, splashdown is targeted at 11:33 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 9. Crew-10 will be the first mission to splash down off the California coast for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov are completing a five-month science expedition aboard the orbiting laboratory and will return time-sensitive research to Earth.
Mission managers continue monitoring weather conditions in the area, as undocking of the SpaceX Dragon depends on spacecraft readiness, recovery team readiness, weather, sea states, and other factors. NASA and SpaceX will select a specific splashdown time and location closer to the Crew-10 spacecraft undocking.
NASA’s live coverage of return and related activities will stream on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and more. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of platforms.
NASA’s coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to changed based on real-time operations):
Friday, Aug. 8
3:45 p.m. – Hatch closure coverage begins on NASA+ and Amazon Prime.
4:20 p.m. – Hatch closing
5:45 p.m. – Undocking coverage begins on NASA+ and Amazon Prime.
6:05 p.m. – Undocking
Following the conclusion of undocking coverage, NASA will distribute audio-only discussions between Crew-10, the space station, and flight controllers during Dragon’s transit away from the orbital complex.
Saturday, Aug. 9
10:15 a.m. – Return coverage begins on NASA+ and Amazon Prime.
10:39 a.m. – Deorbit burn
11:33 a.m. – Splashdown
1 p.m. – Return to Earth media teleconference will stream live on the agency’s YouTube channel, with the following participants:
- Steve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program
- Dina Contella, deputy manager, NASA’s International Space Station Program
- Sarah Walker, director, Dragon Mission Management, SpaceX
- Kazuyoshi Kawasaki, associate director general, Space Exploration Center/Space Exploration Innovation Hub Center, JAXA
To participate in the teleconference, media must contact the NASA Johnson newsroom by 5 p.m., Aug. 7, at: jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov or 281-483-5111. To ask questions, media must dial in no later than 10 minutes before the start of the call. The agency’s media credentialing policy is available online.
Find full mission coverage, NASA’s commercial crew blog, and more information about the Crew-10 mission at:
https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew
-end-
Joshua Finch
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov
Sandra Jones / Joseph Zakrzewski
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov / joseph.a.zakrzewski@nasa.gov
Steve Siceloff / Stephanie Plucinsky
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-867-2468
steven.p.siceloff@nasa.gov / stephanie.n.plucinsky@nasa.gov
NASA to Provide Live Coverage of Crew-10 Return, Splashdown
Editor’s Note: This advisory was updated Aug. 7, 2025, to reflect changes in the targeted undocking and splashdown dates.
NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than 6:05 p.m. EDT, Friday, Aug. 8, for the undocking of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission from the International Space Station. Pending weather conditions, splashdown is targeted at 11:33 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 9. Crew-10 will be the first mission to splash down off the California coast for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov are completing a five-month science expedition aboard the orbiting laboratory and will return time-sensitive research to Earth.
Mission managers continue monitoring weather conditions in the area, as undocking of the SpaceX Dragon depends on spacecraft readiness, recovery team readiness, weather, sea states, and other factors. NASA and SpaceX will select a specific splashdown time and location closer to the Crew-10 spacecraft undocking.
NASA’s live coverage of return and related activities will stream on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and more. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of platforms.
NASA’s coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to changed based on real-time operations):
Friday, Aug. 8
3:45 p.m. – Hatch closure coverage begins on NASA+ and Amazon Prime.
4:20 p.m. – Hatch closing
5:45 p.m. – Undocking coverage begins on NASA+ and Amazon Prime.
6:05 p.m. – Undocking
Following the conclusion of undocking coverage, NASA will distribute audio-only discussions between Crew-10, the space station, and flight controllers during Dragon’s transit away from the orbital complex.
Saturday, Aug. 9
10:15 a.m. – Return coverage begins on NASA+ and Amazon Prime.
10:39 a.m. – Deorbit burn
11:33 a.m. – Splashdown
1 p.m. – Return to Earth media teleconference will stream live on the agency’s YouTube channel, with the following participants:
- Steve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program
- Dina Contella, deputy manager, NASA’s International Space Station Program
- Sarah Walker, director, Dragon Mission Management, SpaceX
- Kazuyoshi Kawasaki, associate director general, Space Exploration Center/Space Exploration Innovation Hub Center, JAXA
To participate in the teleconference, media must contact the NASA Johnson newsroom by 5 p.m., Aug. 7, at: jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov or 281-483-5111. To ask questions, media must dial in no later than 10 minutes before the start of the call. The agency’s media credentialing policy is available online.
Find full mission coverage, NASA’s commercial crew blog, and more information about the Crew-10 mission at:
https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew
-end-
Joshua Finch
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov
Sandra Jones / Joseph Zakrzewski
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov / joseph.a.zakrzewski@nasa.gov
Steve Siceloff / Stephanie Plucinsky
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-867-2468
steven.p.siceloff@nasa.gov / stephanie.n.plucinsky@nasa.gov