Emerging From the Cold

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, or Webb, emerged from cryogenic testing in Chamber A at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, in preparation for its upcoming move to California. Learn more.

NASA Builds Its Next Mars Rover Mission

In a few years, our next Mars rover mission will be flying to the Red Planet. At a glance, it looks a lot like its predecessor, the Curiosity Mars rover. But there’s no doubt it’s a souped-up science machine: It has seven new instruments, redesigned wheels and more autonomy. Get the scoop.

Solar System’s First Interstellar Visitor Dazzles Scientists

Astronomers recently scrambled to observe an intriguing asteroid that zipped through the solar system on a steep trajectory from interstellar space—the first confirmed object from another star. Now, new data reveal the interstellar interloper to be a rocky, cigar-shaped object with a somewhat reddish hue. The asteroid, named ‘Oumuamua by its discoverers, is up to one-quarter mile (400 meters) long and highly-elongated—perhaps 10 times as long as it is wide. That aspect ratio is greater than that of any asteroid or comet observed in our solar system to date. While its elongated shape is quite surprising, and unlike asteroids seen in our solar system, it may provide new clues into how other solar systems formed. Learn more.

Evaluating the Dellingr Spacecraft and Improving CubeSats

Dellingr, a shoebox-sized spacecraft built to show that CubeSat platforms could be cost-effective, reliable and capable of gathering highly robust science, was released from the International Space Station on Nov. 20, 2017. This image shows the release of Dellingr, which NASA specifically developed to provide high-quality science data on a small platform. Get the details.

Jupiter Blues

See Jovian clouds in striking shades of blue in this new view taken by NASA’s Juno spacecraft. Citizen scientists Gerald Eichstädt and Seán Doran processed this image using data from the JunoCam imager. Learn more.