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February 2025

NASA Science Calendar Image of the Month. Image credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/Southwest Research Institute (SwRI)/National Science Foundation National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab)

A digital NASA image depicting a sequence of asteroids arranged in a curved trajectory against a black background. The NASA logo appears in the upper right corner, and the text 'National Aeronautics and Space Administration' is visible in the upper left. The bottom left corner includes the URL 'www.nasa.gov.'

February 2025 Image

Learn about February’s amazing image. Explore related topics, activities,
games, and download desktop wallpaper.

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A Complex Asteroid Discovery

  • NASA’s Lucy Observes First Contact Binary Orbiting Asteroid

    On its journey to the never-before-visited Trojan asteroids that share an orbit around the Sun with Jupiter, NASA’s Lucy spacecraft made a remarkable discovery during a flyby in the main asteroid belt—the first contact binary celestial body, or satellite, seen orbiting a larger asteroid. On November 1, 2023, during Lucy’s planned encounter with asteroid Dinkinesh, the spacecraft spotted the larger asteroid’s satellite, later named Selam. This montage beginning at the upper left and moving counter-clockwise shows the asteroid in the minutes around the spacecraft’s closest approach—270 miles (430 kilometers). As Lucy sped away at 10,000 mph (16,093 kph), seen in the montage on the right moving clockwise, the two lobes of Selam came clearly into view. Lucy’s encounter with Dinkinesh was added to the mission in January 2023 to test the spacecraft’s tracking and imaging system. After an Earth gravity assist in December 2024, Lucy is slated for another main asteroid belt encounter in 2025, as it continues on its mission.

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    A computer monitor displaying a NASA-themed digital image of asteroids arranged in a curved trajectory against a black background. The NASA logo appears in the upper right corner, and the text 'National Aeronautics and Space Administration' is visible in the upper left. The bottom left corner includes the URL 'www.nasa.gov.' A stylus pen rests on the surface below the screen.

Discover More Topics

Find more asteroid mission resources, learn how you can help scientists study asteroids and comets, and find other games and activities.

A digital NASA image depicting a sequence of asteroids arranged in a curved trajectory against a black background. The NASA logo appears in the upper right corner, and the text 'National Aeronautics and Space Administration' is visible in the upper left. The bottom left corner includes the URL 'www.nasa.gov.'

Learn More About Asteroids and Comets

Explore this collection of NASA resources, including activities, videos, animations, images, handouts, and online interactives for educators, students, and anyone interested in learning more about asteroids and comets.

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Animation of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft firing its thrusters after releasing the sample return capsule. Earth is in the background.

OSIRIS-REx Resources

Learn more about NASA’s mission that delivered an asteroid sample to Earth through activities, videos, and other online materials.

OSIRIS-REx Resources
artist's illustration of Lucy and asteroids

Lucy Resources

NASA’s Lucy mission is on a 12-year mission to study the Trojan asteroids that orbit the Sun in alignment with Jupiter. Follow along and learn more with these fun resources for all ages.

Lucy Resources
Black and white image of asteroids with a central object marked by green crosshairs, indicating a detected asteroid or celestial body.

Help Study Asteroids and Comets

Anyone around the world can help study asteroids and comets (and more) through NASA Citizen Science projects. Check out some of our planetary science opportunities.

Help Study Asteroids and Comets
High-resolution image of asteroid Bennu, a rocky, irregularly shaped celestial body covered in boulders, captured against the blackness of space.

Trek Through the Solar System

NASA’s Solar System Treks allow you to visualize and explore planets and asteroids, including Bennu, Rygu, Vesta, and Ceres.

Trek Through the Solar System
Screenshot of SpacePlace website

Space Place for Kids

Explore our solar system, including asteroids and comets, with activities and videos designed for younger learners via NASA’s Space Place.

Space Place for Kids
NASA webinar announcement for 'OSIRIS-REx Samples from Asteroid Bennu: Curation Celebrations and Challenges,' scheduled for February 19, 2025. The image features scientists in cleanroom suits handling samples, along with portraits of key speakers, including Dr. Nicole Lunning, Dr. Christopher Snead, Maritza Montoya, and Salvador Martinez. Registration link and NASA's Astromaterials Research & Exploration Science (ARES) details are included.

Webinar: Asteroid Curation

Join a free webinar on Feb. 19 to hear members of NASA’s curation team talk about the challenges and rewards of studying sample material from asteroid Bennu collected during the OSIRIS-REx mission.

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Illustration of a large, fiery asteroid entering Earth's atmosphere, glowing as it descends toward the planet with a trail of smoke and fire against a starry sky.

Dino Doom

This digital learning experience explains the extinction-level event that ensued when an asteroid hit Earth some 66 million years ago and follows researchers as they track down clues about this cosmic event.

Dino Doom
NASA educational infographic titled 'Destination Asteroid!' detailing asteroid selection criteria for space missions, including location, size, class, and rotation period. It features the OSIRIS-REx mission overview, asteroid selection details, and images of various asteroids like Bennu, Eros, and Ryugu. The infographic promotes an activity for students in grades 5-12 and includes a QR code for additional resources.

Destination Asteroid

This hands-on activity for grades 5-12+ introduces includes selecting an asteroid to investigate as part of a solar system exploration mission.

Destination Asteroid

Solar System Posters

Download the whole set or pick your favorite asteroid, comet, or planet poster showcasing the beauty of our solar system.

Solar System Posters
DART Mission Poster

NASA Mission Posters

Find your favorite NASA planetary science mission, including those observing asteroids and comets, and download its science mission – or choose them all.

NASA Mission Posters
Futuristic travel poster for Ceres, titled 'Queen of the Asteroid Belt,' featuring an art deco-style gateway with the phrase 'Last chance for water until Jupiter.' Silhouetted astronauts stand near a water pump against a cratered landscape under a starry sky.

“Travel” the Solar System

These stylized “travel” posters feature far-off destinations, including asteroid Ceres, as envisioned by the NASA JPL “Exoplanet Travel Bureau.”

“Travel” the Solar System