News & Features
Follow mission news or learn about exciting new discoveries from NASA centers and research partners.
NASA's ER-2 Completes MABEL Validation Deployment
May 2, 2012
The flight, ground and science team that supported the MABEL laser altimeter validation flights over Greenland gathered by NASA's ER-2 for a group photo before pilot Stu Broce (in pressure suit) took the aircraft aloft on its return flight from Keflavik, Iceland to Palmdale, Calif. April 27.
NASA Langley Aircraft Joins Operation IceBridge
April 30, 2012
A NASA research airplane took wing today for Greenland, where it is joining an extensive airborne survey of Earth's polar ice.
100 Days and Counting to NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover Landing 04.27.12
April 30, 2012
At 10:31 p.m. PDT today, April 27, (1:31 p.m. EDT), NASA's Mars Science Laboratory, carrying the one-ton Curiosity rover, will be within 100 days from its appointment with the Martian surface. At that moment, the mission has about 119 million miles (191 million kilometers) to go and is closing at a speed of 13,000 mph (21,000 kilometers per hour).
NASA's Spitzer Finds Galaxy With Split Personality
April 25, 2012
The infrared vision of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has revealed that the Sombrero galaxy -- named after its appearance in visible light to a wide-brimmed hat -- is in fact two galaxies in one.
Fireball Over California/Nevada
April 25, 2012
A bright ball of light traveling east to west was seen over the skies of central/northern California Sunday morning, April 22. The former space rock-turned-flaming-meteor entered Earth's atmosphere around 8 a.m. PDT. Reports of the fireball have come in from as far north as Sacramento, Calif. and as far east as North Las Vegas, Nev.
Study Finds Surprising Arctic Methane Emission Source
April 23, 2012
A new airborne study with NASA contributions measured surprising levels of the potent greenhouse gas methane coming from cracks in Arctic sea ice and areas of partial sea ice cover. This image was taken over the Arctic Ocean at a latitude of approximately 71 degrees North on April 15, 2010.
Year Two: SDO Highlights On Its Anniversary
April 23, 2012
In April of 2010, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) released its first images, an event known for any telescope as "first light." Since then SDO has continually observed the ever-changing sun on quiet days and explosive ones: there have been more than 1000 solar outbursts since SDO sent back its first pictures of the sun, including flares, coronal mass ejections (CMEs), and the release of energetic particles that can be flung to the farthest reaches of the solar system. Here we describe some of the highlights of SDO science and observations during its second year.
Discovery Departs Kennedy Space Center
April 18, 2012
Space shuttle Discovery departed NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the last time with an early-morning takeoff atop NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA). Instead of blazing a trail toward low Earth orbit, the agency's most-flown shuttle is on its way to Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va.
Turbulent Star-Making Region
April 18, 2012
The image comprises one of the largest mosaics ever assembled from Hubble photos and includes observations taken by Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys. Hubble made the observations in October 2011. NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute are releasing the image to celebrate Hubble's 22nd anniversary.
Mysteries of the Sun
April 10, 2012
NASA has just released five new videos called "Mysteries of the Sun". The videos describe the science of the sun and its effects on the solar system and Earth.