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  • Full Moon over Newfoundland

    Going Forward to the Moon

  • Illustration of the Space Launch System rocket launching

    A New Rocket

  • Illustration of the Orion spacecraft flying past the Moon

    Orion

  • Illustration of how Gateway might look with Orion flying toward it

    Gateway Around the Moon

  • Illustration of astronauts exploring a lunar crater

    Longer Moon Visits

  • Planet Mars

    We Will Go to Mars

  • A large dome with walls filled with fiberglass wedges to absorb sound

    Quiet Dome

  • Illustration of the Parker Solar Probe approaching the Sun

    Mission to 'Touch the Sun'

  • Two astronauts play guitars and one plays a drum while floating inside the space station

    Space Jam

  • Two engineers wearing hard hats hold pieces of metal being assembled by a robotic arm

    Building With Robots

  • Astronaut Mark Vande Hei talks to a group of students

    Ask an Astronaut

  • Two men prepare a large remote-controlled airplane for flight

    MicroCub Airplane

  • The lush, green southern tip of Florida as seen from space

    Florida Everglades

  • Ricky Arnold floats in front of the many windows of the space station cupola

    Teacher in Space

  • A man adjusts an antenna on top of a large tractor

    Satellites Help Farmers

  • Smiling students surround a table as they record data next to a tray of plants

    Growing Plants for Space

  • The upturned winglet at the end of an airplane wing

    Airplane Winglets

  • Thick clouds cover the globe of Venus

    Cloudy Venus

  • A person in a spacesuit lies in a simulator with controls overhead

    Vibration Test

  • Mahmooda Sultana holds a circuit board

    Innovator of the Year

  • Anna Fox holds her award-winning art

    Winning Artist

  • A female engineer and a silver airplane model inside a wind tunnel

    Wind Tunnel Test

  • Brilliant green and pink aurora dance above Earth in this view from the space station

    Northern Lights

  • Astronauts pose with floating pizzas on the space station

    Pizza Party in Space

  • Three men stand near a small robot on the edge of a pool of water surrounded by ice

    Robot Takes Icy Dip

  • Three girls prepare model rockets for launch

    Prepare for Launch

  • The X-56A aircraft in flight

    Flying With Flexible Wings

  • The gray, crater-filled surface of planet Mercury

    Moon or Mercury?

  • Astronaut Joe Acaba floats between two spacesuits on the space station

    Teacher on Board

  • Students inspecting objects inside a cardboard box

    Technology Camp

  • A boy smiles while holding a robot figurine made by a 3-D printer

    Robot Friend

  • NASA researcher Rick Bozak inspects the fan blades of an aircraft engine rotor

    Quiet Engines

  • The moon's shadow over North America in this picture from a satellite

    Moon Shadow on North America

  • The space station looks like a small speck in front of a partially eclipsed sun

    Space Station and Solar Eclipse

  • Boy Scouts outdoors preparing a weather balloon for flight

    Boy Scout Balloon

  • A boy wearing a rocket-patterned outfit smiles while looking through eclipse glasses

    Solar Eclipse Viewing

  • NASA photographer Carla Thomas wears a helmet and face mask during a supersonic flight

    Supersonic Selfie

  • View of Jupiter's south pole

    Juno at Jupiter

  • Seven men and five women wearing blue flight suits pose for a picture

    New Astronauts Candidates

  • A scientist controls a small robotic rover in snowy Antarctica

    Robot Helper

  • A group of boys and girls pose with an adult inside a space shuttle mock-up

    Field Trip

  • NASA engineer checks on crash dummies in an aircraft fuselage before a drop test

    Crash Test Dummies

  • A swirling cloud system covers most of the Eastern United States in this satellite image

    Springtime Storm

  • Fyodor Yurchikhin and Jack Fischer hold small stuffed toys while posing in front of a Soyuz rocket

    Toys in Space

  • A fabric made of woven metallic squares drapes over a person's hand

    Space Fabric

  • A brown and white dog wears a silver rocket pack on its back

    Astro Pup

  • NASA researchers work inside a simulated air traffic control tower

    NASA's FutureFlight Central

  • A bright comet with a greenish hue and a long tail

    Visit From a Comet

  • Two crew members peer out the window of an underwater habitat as six crew members in scuba gear pose outside

    Underwater Mission

  • Two people wearing robo-gloves each place one of their hands onto Robonaut2's hand

    Robo-Glove

  • Four students study food packets on a table

    Space Food

  • An artist's concept of a futuristic aircraft in flight

    Blended Wing Body Airplane

  • A bright blue lake with aqua-colored swirls in the center

    Bear Lake

  • Andrey Borisenko, Shane Kimbrough and Oleg Novitskiy hold crackers topped with cheese and meat

    Space Snacks

  • Sabah Bux uses a pair of tongs to place an object into a furnace

    Turning Heat to Electricity

  • Five students place model rockets on a launch pad

    Prepare for Launch

  • Wide-angle lens view of a hangar filled with aircraft

    Full House

  • An engineer shines a flashlight at the mirrors of the James Webb Space Telescope

    James Webb Space Telescope

  • Astronaut Kate Rubins wears a multicolored flight suit while floating inside the space station

    Colorful Suit

  • Erica Tiberia types on a laptop computer next to a robotic rover

    Robot Challenge

  • The Super Guppy aircraft shortly after take-off

    Plasma Globe

  • For a photo, a young girl wearing the upper part of a spacesuit lies on a large picture of space

    Imagination in Action

  • A 3-D printed tool floats inside the space station

    3-D Printed Tool

  • Gloved hands and a camera are reflected in the gold visor of astronaut Kate Rubins during her spacewalk

    Space Selfie

  • A swirling hurricane, seen from space

    Hurricane Lester

  • The Super Guppy aircraft shortly after take-off

    Super Guppy

  • Outside his school building, a student peers through a telescope during the Mercury transit

    Mercury Crossing

  • Artist's concept of the Restore-L satellite (at bottom) extending its robotic arm to grasp another satellite

    Space Repairman

  • Astronaut Suni Williams exits through a door of an Orion capsule floating in a large pool

    Exit Plan

  • Artist's concept of the Juno spacecraft orbiting Jupiter

    Juno at Jupiter

  • Artist's concept of the X-57 aircraft flying over a city

    It's Electric!

  • Astronaut Cady Coleman and NASA Deputy Administrator Dava Newman help two students plant lettuce in a garden

    Space Garden

  • A flexible heat shield glows orange and white as it reaches extremely hot temperatures

    Super Hot

  • Two astronauts try crackers with cheese spread

    Taste Test

  • The bright lights of Chicago form a large grid along the dark coast of Lake Michigan in this picture taken from the space station

    Chicago Lights

  • A man prepares an airplane model for testing in a wind tunnel

    Losing Wing Weight

  • A young boy looks on as his friend prepares to drop a foam cup lander with drinking straw legs from a staircase

    Ready... Set... Drop!

  • A robot with tracks like a tank and two digging rotors

    Ready to Dig

  • A bed of flowers blooming on the space station

    Flowers in Space

  • Earth's moon, Venus and Jupiter line up below the horizon of Earth in this photo taken from the space station

    Planets Line Up

  • A Prandtl-D aircraft comes in for a landing during a test flight

    Prandtl-D Aircraft

  • Two small children wear 3-D glasses while looking at a large banner of the surface of Mars

    Mars in 3-D

  • A robot with two circular cameras that look like eyes

    Robo-Eyes

  • Cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov uses a camera during a spacewalk

    Say Cheese!

  • A circular crater in the Sahara Desert

    Desert Crater

  • A pilot wears a Fused Reality headset during flight training

    Fused Flight

  • Former astronaut John Grunsfeld shows a spacesuit glove to a student on the White House Lawn during White House Astronomy Night

    White House Astronomy Night

  • Robonaut 2 gives a thumbs-up while holding a sign that says "Science Is Cool!"

    Science Is Cool!

  • Astronaut Kimiya Yui poses like a superhero while flying through the space station

    Space Station Superhero

  • A deep space image showing galaxies that seem to form a smiling face

    Spacey Smile

  • Small white airplane, with no crew, that was crashed purposely in a NASA test

    Crash Test

  • Three small cube-shaped satellites, in the center of the picture, float past a space station solar array

    CubeSats in Space

  • Astronauts Kjell Lindgren and Scott Kelly hold lettuce leaves grown on the space station

    Eat Your Veggies

  • A man kneels at the edge of an ice sheet and releases a small boat into a large body of blue water

    Summer on Ice

  • Lines streak out from an airplane as it flies at supersonic speeds

    Shock and Awesome

  • We Are Going Forward to the Moon

    Astronauts last visited the Moon in 1972. NASA plans to send the next man and the first woman to the surface of the Moon by 2024. They will work at the Moon's South Pole. NASA will use what we learn about living and working on the Moon to plan trips to Mars.
    Credit: NASA

    Full Moon over Newfoundland

  • A New Rocket

    NASA will have a new rocket, new machines and new tools to go to the Moon. The new rocket is the Space Launch System, or SLS. SLS will send people to the Moon inside the Orion Spacecraft. One day, the SLS will send people to Mars. NASA will test the rocket in 2020. No one will ride on it for the test.
    Credit: NASA

    Illustration of the Space Launch System rocket launching

  • Orion (oh-RIE-un)

    Orion is a spacecraft. It will carry astronauts to space. Orion will ride on top of the Space Launch System rocket, or SLS. Orion will take people to the Moon. NASA plans to test Orion on the SLS rocket in 2020.
    Credit: NASA

    Illustration of the Orion spacecraft flying past the Moon

  • Gateway Around the Moon

    Astronauts will live in a spaceship at the Moon. The spaceship will be called the Gateway. It will fly around, or orbit, the Moon like the Moon orbits Earth. Astronauts working on the Gateway will take trips down to the Moon. NASA will start building the Gateway at the Moon in 2022.
    Credit: NASA

    Illustration of how Gateway might look with Orion flying toward it

  • Longer Moon Visits

    From 1968 to 1972, 12 astronauts worked on the Moon. They went at different times. They stayed no longer than three days. NASA plans to send the next man and the first woman back to the surface of the Moon by 2024. When astronauts go to the Moon in the future, they will eventually live and work there longer.
    Credit: NASA

    Illustration of astronauts exploring a lunar crater

  • One Day We Will Go to Mars

    No one has ever been to Mars. NASA is building a new rocket and a new spacecraft. They will take people farther than we have ever been. Our goal is to have astronauts on Mars by the end of the 2030s.
    Credit: NASA

    Planet Mars

  • Quiet Dome

    This laboratory is at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. The dome keeps sound from bouncing off of the walls. The wavy walls stop echoes. Under this kind of dome, scientists can study how to make noisy jet engines quieter.
    Credit: NASA

    A large dome with walls filled with fiberglass wedges to absorb sound

  • Mission to "Touch the Sun"

    NASA is sending a spacecraft to our Sun. The Parker Solar Probe is the size of a small car. It will fly closer to the Sun than any other spacecraft has flown. The probe will fly so fast that it could go from Philadelphia to Washington D.C., in one second!
    Credit: NASA

    Illustration of the Parker Solar Probe approaching the Sun

  • Space Jam

    Many astronauts play musical instruments. Some play their instruments in space. When they are not working, astronauts like to relax by playing music on the space station.
    Credit: NASA

    Two astronauts play guitars and one plays a drum while floating inside the space station

  • Building With Robots

    NASA engineers are making robots that can build things in space. Years from now, robots might help astronauts build on other planets or moons.
    Credit: NASA

    Two engineers wearing hard hats hold pieces of metal being assembled by a robotic arm

  • Ask an Astronaut

    Astronaut Mark Vande Hei visited a school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He talked to students about his stay on the space station. He spent over five months living and working in space. The students asked him questions about his work.
    Credit: NASA

    Astronaut Mark Vande Hei talks to a group of students

  • MicroCub Airplane

    This small airplane is called the MicroCub. It made its first flight in January in California. The MicroCub is flown by remote control. NASA is testing it. NASA wants to know how remote-controlled planes can fit into normal air traffic.
    Credit: NASA

    Two men prepare a large remote-controlled airplane for flight

  • Florida Everglades

    Astronaut Ricky Arnold took this picture from the International Space Station. The picture shows the southern tip of Florida and the Florida Everglades. The wet, marshy area is home to alligators, amphibians (frogs, toads and others), and many types of birds.
    Credit: NASA

    The lush, green southern tip of Florida as seen from space

  • Teacher in Space

    Astronaut Ricky Arnold was a teacher before he became an astronaut. He taught math and science at schools all over the world. Now he is teaching from space on the space station! During his mission, he will talk to students and share activities for teachers.
    Credit: NASA

    Ricky Arnold floats in front of the many windows of the space station cupola

  • Satellites Help Farmers

    NASA satellites are helping farmers do a better job! Satellites can guide tractors in the fields. The tractors “drive themselves” along the best routes. Farmers save time. And they can use less water and fewer seeds.
    Credit: NASA

    A man adjusts an antenna on top of a large tractor

  • Growing Plants for Space

    These students are in Columbus, Ohio. They are helping NASA by testing plants. They see which ones are tasty and grow the best. Their results will help NASA choose the best plants for astronauts to grow on the space station.
    Credit: NASA

    Smiling students surround a table as they record data next to a tray of plants

  • Airplane Winglets

    Some airplane wings turn up at the end. This part of the wing is called a winglet. Winglets can make it easier for a plane to fly through the air. The airplane can use less fuel.
    Credit: NASA

    The upturned winglet at the end of an airplane wing

  • Cloudy Venus

    Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system! Venus is completely covered in clouds. Its thick atmosphere traps heat from the Sun. The surface of Venus reaches temperatures over 880 degrees Fahrenheit!
    Credit: NASA

    Thick clouds cover the globe of Venus

  • Vibration Test

    NASA is working on a new spacecraft named Orion. Here, a test astronaut is trying out its controls. He is on a platform. It vibrates like the real rocket during launch. This test makes sure astronauts can see and use the controls during a shaky launch!
    Credit: NASA

    A person in a spacesuit lies in a simulator with controls overhead

  • Innovator of the Year

    Engineer Mahmooda Sultana does research at NASA. She won an award for her work. She created tiny sensors. She uses a 3-D printer to put many sensors on one circuit board. This design could make satellites smaller and more efficient in the future.
    Credit: NASA

    Mahmooda Sultana holds a circuit board

  • Winning Artist

    Anna Fox is a seventh-grader. She goes to middle school in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Anna won the grand prize in the Student Art Contest at NASA's Langley Research Center. Her artwork shows an astronaut planting a flag on a distant planet.
    Credit: NASA

    Anna Fox holds her award-winning art

  • Wind Tunnel Test

    Engineer Samantha O'Flaherty is getting this airplane model ready for a wind tunnel test. The special design is for a new plane. It has never flown before. Testing this small model will show the engineers how well the real airplane would fly.
    Credit: NASA

    A female engineer and a silver airplane model inside a wind tunnel

  • Northern Lights

    Have you ever seen the aurora borealis? It is also called the northern lights. It is like a beautiful dancing light show. The aurora borealis is caused when energy from the Sun interacts with Earth’s magnetic fields.
    Credit: NASA

    Brilliant green and pink aurora dance above Earth in this view from the space station

  • Pizza Party in Space

    Astronauts on the space station had a pizza party! They made their own pizzas. Making a pizza when it floats is tough – so they had to work together as a team!
    Credit: NASA

    Astronauts pose with floating pizzas on the space station

  • Robot Takes an Icy Dip

    NASA engineers created this small robot to explore icy cold waters. The robot can fit in places where people can’t. It can make a map of ice and where water flows through it. Someday, this type of robot could explore icy moons and planets in our solar system!
    Credit: NASA

    Three men stand near a small robot on the edge of a pool of water surrounded by ice

  • Prepare for Launch

    These girls are getting model rockets ready for launch. The girls spent a week at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. They learned all about the space program.
    Credit: NASA

    Three girls prepare model rockets for launch

  • Flying With Flexible Wings

    NASA is testing a large model airplane. It is called the X-56A. This remote-controlled plane has special wings. They can bend. Someday, large airplanes could use this kind of wing. The design helps a plane fly farther with less fuel.
    Credit: NASA

    The X-56A aircraft in flight

  • Moon or Mercury?

    This picture might look like Earth’s moon -- but it is the planet Mercury. Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. It is only a little bit bigger than our Moon. Mercury speeds around the Sun. The small planet makes one full trip, or orbit, every 88 days!
    Credit: NASA

    The gray, crater-filled surface of planet Mercury

  • Teacher on Board

    Astronaut Joe Acaba used to be a teacher in Florida. He taught math and science at a middle school, and he also taught science at a high school. Now he is on the space station! During his mission, he will talk to students and share activities for teachers.
    Credit: NASA

    Astronaut Joe Acaba floats between two spacesuits on the space station

  • Technology Camp

    Virginia students attended Junior Game Changer camp. It was held at NASA’s Langley Research Center. Students designed a lander with a parachute. It was dropped from a crane 100 feet high! A robot was inside. They are checking to see if it survived the fall. And it did!
    Credit: NASA

    Students inspecting objects inside a cardboard box

  • Robot Friend

    This boy is holding a robot toy. It was printed using a 3-D printer. A 3-D printer uses plastic or metal instead of ink. The printer makes objects. A 3-D printer can make items like toys, tools and even rocket parts!
    Credit: NASA

    A boy smiles while holding a robot figurine made by a 3-D printer

  • Quiet Engines

    Living or working next to an airport can be noisy. NASA is testing ways to make airplane engines quieter. One way is to put special liners around the turbofans in airplane engines. A man is checking this turbofan before testing it in a wind tunnel.
    Credit: NASA

    NASA researcher Rick Bozak inspects the fan blades of an aircraft engine rotor

  • Moon Shadow on North America

    On Aug. 21, 2017, a total solar eclipse was seen across the United States. The last coast-to-coast solar eclipse was 99 years ago! This picture was taken from a satellite. It was about one million miles from Earth. The picture shows the moon’s shadow across North America.
    Credit: NASA

    The moon's shadow over North America in this picture from a satellite

  • Space Station and Solar Eclipse

    Can you spot the space station? The dark round area on the left is the moon. It is passing in front of the sun. NASA photographer Bill Ingalls snapped this picture. It shows the station passing in front of the sun too. Look closely to see the station’s solar panels!
    Credit: NASA

    The space station looks like a small speck in front of a partially eclipsed sun

  • Boy Scout Balloon

    At the 2017 Boy Scout Jamboree, NASA Acting Chief Technologist Douglas Terrier helped scouts prepare a weather balloon for launch. The Chief Technologist is in charge of NASA technology. He helps keep NASA technology ready and up-to-date for future missions.
    Credit: NASA

    Boy Scouts outdoors preparing a weather balloon for flight

  • Solar Eclipse Viewing

    On Aug. 21, 2017, a total solar eclipse traveled across the United States. This boy in Oregon is looking through special glasses. He is watching the moon move in front of the sun. Did you see the eclipse?
    Credit: NASA

    A boy wearing a rocket-patterned outfit smiles while looking through eclipse glasses

  • Supersonic Selfie

    Carla Thomas is a photographer. She rides with NASA pilots to take pictures during flights. She took this selfie while flying faster than the speed of sound. That is more than 750 miles per hour!
    Credit: NASA

    NASA photographer Carla Thomas wears a helmet and face mask during a supersonic flight

  • Juno at Jupiter

    The Juno spacecraft is flying near the planet Jupiter. Juno has a special camera called JunoCam. People on Earth can get data from JunoCam. Then they can create pictures. This helps the scientists studying Jupiter. This picture by Gabriel Fiset shows Jupiter's south pole.
    Credit: NASA

    View of Jupiter's south pole

  • New Astronauts Candidates

    NASA announced new astronaut candidates in June 2017. These 12 men and women will train for two years to become astronauts. Then, they may fly to the space station or go on other space missions.
    Credit: NASA

    Seven men and five women wearing blue flight suits pose for a picture

  • Robot Helper

    This little robot is called PUFFER. It can tag along with bigger rovers. Because of its small size, PUFFER can explore places where other rovers might not fit. This picture shows PUFFER in Antarctica.
    Credit: NASA

    A scientist controls a small robotic rover in snowy Antarctica

  • Field Trip

    The Boys and Girls Club of Houston took an out-of-this-world field trip! They visited the museum at Space Center Houston. They learned what it is like to live and work in space.
    Credit: NASA

    A group of boys and girls pose with an adult inside a space shuttle mock-up

  • Crash Test Dummies

    These crash test dummies help NASA make airplanes safer. This section of an airplane was dropped from a height of 14 feet. Special cameras recorded the fall. Engineers will study the pictures. They will find out what a crash might do to the plane and the people on it.
    Credit: NASA

    NASA engineer checks on crash dummies in an aircraft fuselage before a drop test

  • Springtime Storm

    This map shows a huge storm system. Its clouds look like a big white comma. The storms hit the eastern United States in spring 2017. The storms brought heavy rain, floods and tornadoes!
    Credit: NASA

    A swirling cloud system covers most of the Eastern United States in this satellite image

  • Toys in Space

    Astronauts and cosmonauts fly to the International Space Station in a Soyuz capsule. They take toy mascots with them. How does the crew know when the Soyuz reaches space? The small toys begin to float inside the capsule! There is almost no gravity. The toys are in "microgravity."
    Credit: NASA

    Fyodor Yurchikhin and Jack Fischer hold small stuffed toys while posing in front of a Soyuz rocket

  • Space Fabric

    This special metal fabric is made with a 3-D printer. The fabric is very strong, but it is also flexible. NASA could use it to build an antenna in space. The fabric could be used in astronauts' spacesuits. It could also shield a spacecraft from meteorites!
    Credit: NASA

    A fabric made of woven metallic squares drapes over a person's hand

  • Astro Pup

    In Mars, Pennsylvania, a festival rings in Mars' New Year. The two-day event celebrates the Red Planet. The Martian New Year happens about every two Earth-years because Mars takes longer to go around the sun than Earth does. This dog dressed as an astronaut for the costume contest.
    Credit: NASA

    A brown and white dog wears a silver rocket pack on its back

  • NASA's FutureFlight Central

    Airports are busy places. Air traffic controllers direct traffic at airports. They make sure airplanes take off and land safely. FutureFlight Central looks like a real control room at an airport. NASA uses it to test new ways for controllers to use computers.
    Credit: NASA

    NASA researchers work inside a simulated air traffic control tower

  • Visit From a Comet

    In February 2017, Comet 45P flew by Earth. It was about 7.7 million miles away. People could see 45P with binoculars. A comet is a chunk of ice, rock and gas in space. When it flies near the sun, a comet heats up. It releases gas and dust. These form the comet's tail.
    Credit: NASA

    A bright comet with a greenish hue and a long tail

  • Underwater Mission

    One way to train for a space mission is to spend time underwater! These crew members stayed at this underwater habitat in the Florida Keys for 16 days. The crew did science experiments inside the habitat and outside on the ocean floor.
    Credit: NASA

    Two crew members peer out the window of an underwater habitat as six crew members in scuba gear pose outside

  • Robo-Glove

    NASA is working on a robotic glove that people can wear. This glove will give a stronger grip to the person wearing it. Some tasks like turning a heavy tool would be easier. The technology for the glove is a lot like what is used in Robonaut2's hands.
    Credit: NASA

    Two people wearing robo-gloves each place one of their hands onto Robonaut2's hand

  • Space Food

    What is space food like? These students found out. They visited NASA's Langley Research Center for a Youth Day event. They learned how water is added to these packets of food to make meals for astronauts in space.
    Credit: NASA

    Four students study food packets on a table

  • Blended Wing Body Airplane

    NASA is working with companies to design new airplanes. This airplane’s wings blend in where they join the body of the plane. This design could help the airplane use less fuel and make less noise than a regular plane.
    Credit: NASA

    An artist's concept of a futuristic aircraft in flight

  • Bear Lake

    Bear Lake is on the border of Utah and Idaho. This bright blue lake is in the Rocky Mountains. It is 19 miles long and about 7 miles wide. Creeks bring water and soil, or sediment, into the lake. This causes the swirls seen in the picture.
    Credit: NASA

    A bright blue lake with aqua-colored swirls in the center

  • Space Snacks

    Crew members often eat meals together on the space station. Here, two Russian cosmonauts share a snack with NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough (middle). If they let go, the crackers would float away. There is almost no gravity on the station.
    Credit: NASA

    Andrey Borisenko, Shane Kimbrough and Oleg Novitskiy hold crackers topped with cheese and meat

  • Turning Heat to Electricity

    NASA scientists work at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. They are looking for ways to turn heat from special materials into electricity. This technology will help power spacecraft into deep space. Sunlight is not strong enough there to charge batteries.
    Credit: NASA

    Sabah Bux uses a pair of tongs to place an object into a furnace

  • Prepare for Launch

    These high school students were part of the High School Aerospace Scholars program. It took place at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. They built and launched model rockets.
    Credit: NASA

    Five students place model rockets on a launch pad

  • Full House

    Tropical Storm Hermine hit the east coast of the United States in September 2016. More than a dozen fighter jets were put into an aircraft hangar at NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia. The shelter protected them from the high winds!
    Credit: NASA

    Wide-angle lens view of a hangar filled with aircraft

  • James Webb Space Telescope

    NASA plans to launch the James Webb Telescope in October 2018. Scientists put together its 18 large golden mirrors for testing. This giant telescope stands three stories high. It will travel 1 million miles from Earth!
    Credit: NASA

    An engineer shines a flashlight at the mirrors of the James Webb Space Telescope

  • Colorful Suit

    Kate Rubins wears a colorful suit inside the space station. Kids from the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas hand-painted this suit to remind people about childhood cancer. The suit shows how art and medicine can help patients – and gives astronauts something fun to wear!
    Credit: NASA

    Astronaut Kate Rubins wears a multicolored flight suit while floating inside the space station

  • Robot Challenge

    To test new ideas, NASA holds contests using robots. Robots like this rover can move around on their own. They can guide themselves! They can collect or pick things up. Robots could help on missions to an asteroid or the moon!
    Credit: NASA

    Erica Tiberia types on a laptop computer next to a robotic rover

  • Plasma Globe

    These students attended a NASA Earth Day event in Washington, D.C. They got to touch a plasma globe and learn about electricity. In our universe, matter is found in four forms or states: solid, liquid, gas and plasma.
    Credit: NASA

    Three young girls touch a plasma globe during a science event

  • Imagination in Action

    College students working for NASA met with children in Virginia. The students talked about careers and space. They did crafts and hands-on activities with the kids. Here, a girl is lying on a “spacey” picture for a photo. It will look like she is in space!
    Credit: NASA

    For a photo, a young girl wearing the upper part of a spacesuit lies on a large picture of space

  • 3-D Printed Tool

    A 3-D printer on the space station made this tool! To make things, the printer puts plastic into thin layers. A college student designed this tool. Holes in the tool are different sizes. It can tighten nuts and bolts that are not the same size.
    Credit: NASA

    A 3-D printed tool floats inside the space station

  • Space Selfie

    Astronaut Kate Rubins took this selfie during a spacewalk. She worked outside the space station for six hours. She helped to prepare the space station for new spacecraft that will dock to it.
    Credit: NASA

    Gloved hands and a camera are reflected in the gold visor of astronaut Kate Rubins during her spacewalk

  • Hurricane Lester

    The Aqua satellite took this picture of Hurricane Lester getting closer to Hawaii. Hurricanes are large swirling storms. They form over warm ocean waters. The "hole" in the center of the storm is called the "eye."
    Credit: NASA

    A swirling hurricane, seen from space

  • Super Guppy

    NASA’s Super Guppy airplane has a huge cargo area. So it can carry large loads. It has hauled pieces of the space station and even other airplanes!
    Credit: NASA

    The Super Guppy aircraft shortly after take-off

  • Mercury Crossing

    In May 2016, the planet Mercury passed directly between Earth and the sun. This student in Pennsylvania used a special telescope to watch tiny Mercury cross in front of the sun.
    Credit: NASA

    Outside his school building, a student peers through a telescope during the Mercury transit

  • Space Repairman

    NASA is working on a spacecraft called Restore-L. It is a robot. It will refuel and fix satellites in space! This will help satellite missions last longer.
    Credit: NASA

    Artist's concept of the Restore-L satellite (at bottom) extending its robotic arm to grasp another satellite

  • Exit Plan

    When the new Orion capsule returns from space, it will land in the ocean. NASA is testing how astronauts can exit the capsule safely after they land. Here, Orion floats in a pool.
    Credit: NASA

    Astronaut Suni Williams exits through a door of an Orion capsule floating in a large pool

  • Juno at Jupiter

    The Juno spacecraft is orbiting Jupiter! Juno took almost 5 years to reach Jupiter. It is the largest planet in our solar system. Juno will study Jupiter until February 2018.
    Credit: NASA

    Artist's concept of the Juno spacecraft orbiting Jupiter

  • It's Electric!

    The X-57 airplane has 14 electric motors. NASA is testing this design. NASA wants to see if electric planes are quieter and better for the environment than gas-powered planes.
    Credit: NASA

    Artist's concept of the X-57 aircraft flying over a city

  • Space Garden

    Astronaut Cady Coleman and NASA official Dava Newman help students plant lettuce seedlings in the White House garden. Astronauts recently grew the same kind on the space station.
    Credit: NASA

    Astronaut Cady Coleman and NASA Deputy Administrator Dava Newman help two students plant lettuce in a garden

  • Super Hot

    Heat shields protect spacecraft. Extreme heat builds up when they enter a planet's atmosphere. Scientists test new materials to protect future spacecraft that may go to Mars.
    Credit: NASA

    A flexible heat shield glows orange and white as it reaches extremely hot temperatures

  • Taste Test

    Before a mission to the space station, astronauts try different foods that can be packed for space. NASA's nutrition team makes sure the crew has healthy food for the trip.
    Credit: NASA

    Two astronauts try crackers with cheese spread

  • Chicago Lights

    In this picture taken from the space station, the bright lights of Chicago make a grid showing the streets crossing the city. The dark area at the top is Lake Michigan.
    Credit: NASA

    The bright lights of Chicago form a large grid along the dark coast of Lake Michigan in this picture taken from the space station

  • Losing Wing Weight

    NASA is testing an airplane design with longer, skinnier wings. They weigh less than normal airplane wings. This design could save fuel and cause less pollution!
    Credit: NASA

    A man prepares an airplane model for testing in a wind tunnel

  • Ready... Set... Drop!

    During a NASA event at their school, these boys designed a lander out of a foam cup and drinking straws. They're dropping it to test if the design would be safe for astronauts.
    Credit: NASA

    A young boy looks on as his friend prepares to drop a foam cup lander with drinking straw legs from a staircase

  • Ready to Dig

    This rover was built to dig for minerals. It could work on Earth, the moon or even on an asteroid!
    Credit: NASA

    A robot with tracks like a tank and two digging rotors

  • Flowers in Space

    Astronauts on the space station grew flowers called zinnias! Testing how plants grow in space is important. On long missions, astronauts will need to grow their own food.
    Credit: NASA

    A bed of flowers blooming on the space station

  • Planets Line Up

    This photo was taken from the space station. Earth is at the top of the picture. Earth's moon, the planet Venus and the planet Jupiter line up just below Earth's horizon.
    Credit: NASA

    Earth's moon, Venus and Jupiter line up below the horizon of Earth in this photo taken from the space station

  • Prandtl-D Aircraft

    This aircraft is shaped like a boomerang. The shape helps the plane use less fuel. To help them design this airplane, people studied how birds fly.
    Credit: NASA

    A Prandtl-D aircraft comes in for a landing during a test flight

  • Mars in 3-D

    Two children wear 3-D glasses to check out a large banner. It shows the surface of Mars in 3-D. The children were celebrating the Mars New Year in Mars, Pennsylvania.
    Credit: NASA

    Two small children wear 3-D glasses while looking at a large banner of the surface of Mars

  • Robo-Eyes

    Someday this robot may help astronauts inspect the outside of the space station. The robot’s cameras can move in different directions. One camera can zoom in for close-up views.
    Credit: NASA

    A robot with two circular cameras that look like eyes

  • Say Cheese!

    Cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov snaps a picture during a spacewalk. He is outside the space station. One of the station's solar arrays and Earth are in the background.
    Credit: NASA

    Cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov uses a camera during a spacewalk

  • Desert Crater

    This crater is almost perfectly round. It is 1.9 kilometers wide. It is in the western part of the Sahara desert in Africa. A meteorite made the crater more than 10,000 years ago!
    Credit: NASA

    A circular crater in the Sahara Desert

  • Fused Flight

    NASA is testing a new way to train pilots. They wear Fused Reality headsets. The headsets show information that helps pilots learn to land safely and also fly around other planes.
    Credit: NASA

    A pilot wears a Fused Reality headset during flight training

  • White House Astronomy Night

    The White House hosted an Astronomy Night. NASA astronauts and scientists talked to the visitors. Here, former astronaut John Grunsfeld is showing a spacesuit glove to a student.
    Credit: NASA

    Former astronaut John Grunsfeld shows a spacesuit glove to a student on the White House Lawn during White House Astronomy Night

  • Science Is Cool!

    Even NASA's Robonaut 2 knows that science is cool! Robotics and science are important in helping NASA explore. Robonaut 2 can use tools to help astronauts in space.
    Credit: NASA

    Robonaut 2 gives a thumbs-up while holding a sign that says "Science Is Cool!"

  • Space Station Superhero

    During the week, astronauts work more than 9 hours per day. But astronauts like to have fun too. In microgravity, an astronaut can fly through the space station like a superhero!
    Credit: NASA

    Astronaut Kimiya Yui poses like a superhero while flying through the space station

  • Spacey Smile

    The Hubble Space Telescope took this picture. It seems to show a smiling face in space. The eyes, nose and surrounding lights are all galaxies in a big cluster.
    Credit: NASA

    A deep space image showing galaxies that seem to form a smiling face

  • Crash Test

    NASA is working on tools to help rescue workers find an airplane after a crash. To test the tools, NASA crashed this airplane on purpose. No one was in the plane during the crash.
    Credit: NASA

    Small white airplane, with no crew, that was crashed purposely in a NASA test

  • CubeSats in Space

    CubeSats are tiny cube-shaped satellites. They are about 4 inches on each side. The cubes can be launched from a rocket or even the space station like these three CubeSats!
    Credit: NASA

    Three small cube-shaped satellites, in the center of the picture, float past a space station solar array

  • Eat Your Veggies

    Astronauts on the space station are growing lettuce! Scientists are studying ways to grow plants for long missions. This would allow astronauts to grow food during trips to Mars.
    Credit: NASA

    Astronauts Kjell Lindgren and Scott Kelly hold lettuce leaves grown on the space station

  • Summer on Ice

    Scientist Laurence Smith spent the summer in Greenland studying ice. This small boat had tools to study the melted ice. Melting ice runs into the ocean and raises sea levels.
    Credit: NASA

    A man kneels at the edge of an ice sheet and releases a small boat into a large body of blue water

  • Shock and Awesome

    NASA used a special tool to take this picture. It shows the shock waves made by a plane (in middle) as it pushes through air. The plane is flying faster than the speed of sound!
    Credit: NASA

    Lines streak out from an airplane as it flies at supersonic speeds
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