NASA Science

NASA Science Highlights and Mission Updates

• Artemis II Lunar Observations: On April 6, 2026, the Artemis II crew captured a modern "Earthrise" image while orbiting the Moon. The crew documented lunar terrain features, including impact craters, lava flows, and surface ridges, to assist scientists in understanding lunar composition.
• JWST Pathfinder Exhibit: The Optical Telescope Element Pathfinder for the James Webb Space Telescope has been moved to the Smithsonian’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center for permanent display.
• IMAP Mission: Launched September 24, 2025, the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) is tasked with studying the heliosphere, the protective bubble surrounding our solar system.
• Upcoming Space Missions:
  • Pandora: A small satellite designed to characterize the atmospheres of at least 20 exoplanets over a one-year mission.
  • Dragonfly: A rotorcraft mission to Saturn’s moon, Titan, to investigate its habitability.
• Citizen Science & Interactive Projects:
  • Snapshot Wisconsin: A project allowing the public to help identify wildlife in trail camera images or host cameras to track native mammal species.
  • "Your Name in Landsat": An online tool that generates graphics of user names using satellite imagery of Earth’s features.
• Heliophysics Research: The Science Mission Directorate continues to study the Sun’s influence on space, specifically the solar wind and the Sun's magnetic field, which permeate the solar system.
• Science Fiction vs. Reality: NASA is providing educational resources to explain the real-world science behind the concepts featured in the book and film Project Hail Mary, such as deep-space communication and the star systems Tau Ceti and 40 Eridani A.
• Celestial Events: The page notes upcoming astronomical events, including the Eta Aquarid meteor shower, a Moon-Venus conjunction, and a rare Blue Moon.