NASA Concludes Summer of Testing with Fifth Flight Controller Hot Fire

NASA engineers closed a summer of successful hot fire testing Aug. 30 for flight controllers on RS-25 engines that will help power the new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket being built to carry astronauts to deep-space destinations, including Mars.

NASA's IceBridge Surveys Glaciers in Northeast Greenland

NASA's Operation IceBridge is flying its summer Arctic land ice campaign in Greenland, continuing its measurements of the Greenland Ice Sheet and its outlet glaciers. This photograph from the mission was taken on Aug. 29, 2017, from 28,000 feet, looking north while surveying Nioghalvfjerdsbrae (79 N) Glacier in northeast Greenland.

Aug. 29, 1965 - Gemini V Crew Returns to Earth

Gemini V command pilot Gordon Cooper (right) and Charles "Pete" Conrad, pilot, walk across the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Lake Champlain following their spacecraft's recovery from the ocean on Aug. 29, 1965. The eight-day Gemini V endurance mission doubled America's spaceflight record set two months earlier.

Supersonic Flight Campaign Continues at Kennedy Space Center

A NASA F-18 jet takes off from the agency's Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 23, 2017. The F-18 jets fly at supersonic speeds while agency researchers measure the effects of low-altitude turbulence caused by sonic booms, part of NASA's Sonic Booms in Atmospheric Turbulence, or SonicBAT II Program.

Zuiderheide

Hurricane Harvey, Seen From the Cupola of the International Space Station

On August 25, 2017, NASA astronaut Jack Fischer photographed Hurricane Harvey from the cupola module aboard the International Space Station as it intensified on its way toward the Texas coast. The Expedition 52 crew on the station has been tracking this storm for the past two days and capturing Earth observation photographs and videos.

A World of Snowy Dunes on Mars

It was spring in the Northern hemisphere when this image was taken on May 21, 2017, by the HiRISE camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Over the winter, snow and ice have inexorably covered the dunes. Unlike on Earth, this snow and ice is carbon dioxide, better known to us as dry ice.

The Eclipse 2017 Umbra Viewed from Space

As millions of people across the United States experienced a total eclipse as the umbra, or moon’s shadow passed over them, only six people witnessed the umbra from space. The space station crossed the path of the eclipse three times as it orbited above the continental United States at an altitude of 250 miles.

Saturn-lit Tethys

Cassini gazes across the icy rings of Saturn toward the icy moon Tethys, whose night side is illuminated by Saturnshine, or sunlight reflected by the planet.

Glory of the Heavens

This composite image shows the progression of a partial solar eclipse over Ross Lake, in Northern Cascades National Park, Washington on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.

Atlas V Rocket and TDRS-M

As the Sun rises at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket vents liquid oxygen propellant vapors during fueling for the lift off of NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-M.

Glacier Trifecta

Jupiter: A New Point of View

This striking Jovian vista was created by citizen scientists Gerald Eichstädt and Seán Doran using data from the JunoCam imager on NASA’s Juno spacecraft.

Space Station Flight Over the Bahamas

One of the most recognizable points on the Earth for astronauts to photograph is the Bahamas. Randy Bresnik of NASA shared this Aug. 13 photo from the International Space Station, saying, "The stunning Bahamas were a real treat for us. The vivid turquoise of the water over the reef was absolutely captivating."

Spiraling Cloud Patterns Over Guadalupe Island

On May 24, 2017, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite captured a natural-color image of long, spiraling cloud patterns, or "von Kármán vortices," on the lee side of Guadalupe Island. The volcanic island rises from the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California, Mexico.

SpaceX CRS-12 Cargo Mission Launch

The two-stage Falcon 9 launch vehicle lifts off Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kenney Space Center carrying the Dragon resupply spacecraft to the International Space Station.

Highlighting Titan's Hazes

NASA's Cassini spacecraft looks toward the night side of Saturn's moon Titan in a view that highlights the extended, hazy nature of the moon's atmosphere.

Alcazar Baths in Sevilla

Hubble Displays a Dwarf Spiral Galaxy

Dwarf galaxy NGC 5949 sits at a distance of around 44 million light-years from us, placing it within the Milky Way’s cosmic neighborhood.

The Overlook of Lake Lucern

A Starburst with the Prospect of Gravitational Waves

More than a hundred years after Swift’s discovery of the "starburst" galaxy IC 10, astronomers are studying IC 10 with the most powerful telescopes of the 21st century.

Solar Evaporation Ponds Near Moab, Utah

An astronaut aboard the International Space Station took this photograph of solar evaporation ponds outside the city of Moab, Utah. There are 23 colorful ponds spread across 400 acres. They are part of a large operation to mine potassium chloride—more commonly referred to as muriate of potash (MOP)—from ore buried underground.

Moon Rise From the Space Station

From his vantage point aboard the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik pointed his camera toward the rising Moon and captured this beautiful image on August 3, 2017. Bresnik wrote, "Gorgeous moon rise! Such great detail when seen from space. Next full moon marks #Eclipse2017. We’ll be watching from @Space_Station."

Prometheus and the Ghostly F Ring

The thin sliver of Saturn's moon Prometheus lurks near ghostly structures in Saturn's narrow F ring in this view from NASA's Cassini spacecraft.

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory Watches a Sunspot

On July 5, 2017, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory watched an active region — an area of intense and complex magnetic fields — rotate into view on the Sun. This image shows a blended view of the sunspot in visible and extreme ultraviolet light, revealing bright coils arcing over the active region — particles spiraling along magnetic field lines.

A Look Inside the Space Station's Expandable BEAM Module

NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik looks through the hatch of the International Space Station's Bigelow Expandable Aerospace Module (BEAM) on July 31, 2017. The BEAM is an experimental expandable module just over halfway into its planned two-year demonstration on the space station.

Howlin at the Moon

Space Station Flyover of Super Typhoon Noru

NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik photographed Super Typhoon Noru on August 1, 2017, as the International Space Station passed overhead. He shared images of the massive storm on social media, writing, "Super Typhoon #Noru, amazing the size of this weather phenomenon, you can almost sense its power from 250 miles above."

August 1, 1971 - Second Apollo 15 Moonwalk

This mini-panorama combines two photographs taken by Apollo 15 lunar module pilot Jim Irwin, from the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) site, at the end of the second Apollo 15 moonwalk on August 1, 1971. Apollo 15 was the fourth crewed mission to land on the Moon.