When Artemis astronauts go to the Moon, they’ll want a rover to help them explore the lunar surface. Engineers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center are testing different rover designs to make sure the new rover is just right for the astronauts.
From Arizona to Artemis
To get ready for NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon, teams practice important skills on Earth first. Astronauts Kate Rubins and Andre Douglas worked with researchers in the desert near Flagstaff, Arizona. They spent a week practicing for moonwalks in the lunar-like landscape of the San Francisco Volcanic Field.
Artemis Astronauts
The next Artemis mission will carry astronauts. NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, and Victor Glover will be joined by Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen. They will launch in the Orion capsule for a trip to orbit around the Moon.
Lightning on Jupiter
The bright green spot in this picture is the glow from a bolt of lightning on Jupiter. The Juno spacecraft captured this view in a swirl of clouds near Jupiter’s north pole.
MicroCub Airplane
This small airplane is called the MicroCub. It is flown by remote control. NASA tested it to see how remote-controlled planes can fit into normal air traffic.
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Airplane Show and Tell
These middle school students visited NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. They learned how NASA uses model airplanes to test new airplane designs. They got to touch the model airplanes and talk to NASA engineers about how they work.
Fighting Wildfires With Drones
NASA is testing ways to use drones to help fight wildfires. Drones can help teams on the ground know where the fire is. This can help them plan the best way to stop the fire.
Snoopy in Space
This stuffed Snoopy character flew on the Artemis 1 mission that traveled around the Moon. Snoopy was the zero gravity indicator. When the Orion capsule reached space, Snoopy began to float. This showed that the spacecraft reached the microgravity of space.
Rambling River
This picture shows the Mississippi River twisting and turning through the southern United States. The picture was taken from the International Space Station. The space station was flying about 258 miles overhead.
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.
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Colorful Science
On the International Space Station, water droplets float due to microgravity. Here, NASA astronaut Don Pettit is placing red liquid onto a sphere of clear water. The red liquid swirls around inside the larger water droplet.
Building a Gateway
This is a piece of the Gateway space station that will orbit the Moon. Artemis astronauts will live and work here. It is where they will do science experiments and get ready for missions to the Moon’s surface. This piece is being built in Italy, a country in southern Europe. Italy is part of the European Space Agency.
Cosmic Cliffs
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope captured this image that looks like mountains and valleys in space. A giant cloud of dust and gas like this is called a nebula. This picture shows part of the Carina Nebula. New stars are forming here.
Whistling through Wildflowers
These two black-bellied whistling ducks were spotted at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Lots of animals live around the space center. It is part of a wildlife refuge where birds and many other animals are protected.
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. During his mission on the space station, he talked to students and shared activities for teachers.
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Hot Lava in Iceland
NASA satellites snapped this picture of lava in Iceland. Earthquakes caused a crack in Earth’s crust causing a lava flow. Can you spot the famous Blue Lagoon near the lava?
Retirement Rainbow
NASA’s DC-8 aircraft was the largest flying science laboratory in the world. After flying science missions for 37 years, the plane was retired. The airport fire department sprayed water to celebrate.
Long Distance Chess Tourney
Before the Expedition 69 mission, astronaut Woody Hoburg set up a chess tournament. The astronauts on the space station play against the people in Mission Control on Earth. The crew gives a thumb-up after winning the first round.
Inflatable Heat Shield
An inflatable heat shield like this might one day be used to land on Mars. NASA tested this one in Earth’s atmosphere and it worked! This type of heat shield doesn’t take up much room in a rocket. That means there is more room for experiments and cargo.
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.
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Robot Takes a Swim
One day, swimming robots like this one could explore ocean worlds in our solar system. Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory are trying out different robot designs to look for signs of life in watery places.
Serpens Nebula
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope captured this image of the Serpens Nebula. This is a reflection nebula. That means it is a cloud of gas and dust in space that does not create its own light. This nebula reflects light from stars close to or inside of it.
Mars Helicopter
NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is the first aircraft to fly on another planet. It has completed more than 50 flights. Ingenuity has traveled more than 7 miles and flown as high as almost 60 feet above the Martian surface.
Slithering Robot
NASA is designing a robot that slithers like a snake. This robot could explore areas that rovers and other types of robots might not be able to reach. Scientists are testing the robot in sand, snow, ice, and even underwater.
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.
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Planet Mercury
Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. It is the smallest planet in our solar system. It is just a little bit bigger than Earth’s Moon and looks like it too. Mercury zips around the Sun in just 88 Earth days.
Balloon Launch in Antarctica
This giant balloon carried science equipment to map the Milky Way galaxy and the space around it. The balloon is so large that 195 blimps could easily fit inside of it. It floated around Antarctica for 57 days. The equipment then parachuted back to Earth.
Eyes on Ice
Researchers at NASA are studying icing. This is the buildup of ice on the wings and propellers of aircraft. This ice can make flying dangerous. They are finding new ways to stop ice from forming.
Air Taxi Resting
Someday soon, air taxis like this one might be used to carry people and packages. NASA is helping test aircraft like this. Scientists are studying the amount of noise they make and trying to make them quieter.
Vibration Test
Before building the Orion spacecraft, NASA did lots of testing. 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!
Safety First
It’s always important to be prepared. If an emergency happens when NASA’s Artemis astronauts are on the launch pad, they can use a special escape system to get away from the rocket. Safety teams practice using this escape system to make sure it works just right.
New Wheels for the Moon
NASA is working on a group of small rovers that will one day drive on the Moon. These rovers will work together without help from mission control. This rover is being tested with a new wheel design.
We Are Going Forward to the Moon
Astronauts last visited the Moon in 1972. NASA's Artemis missions will send the first woman and first person of color to the surface of the Moon. 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.
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.
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!
Long Nose, Less Noise
NASA X-59 airplane has a special shape with a long nose. This design breaks up the shock waves that usually create a loud sonic boom. The X-59 will make a thump instead of a boom when it flies faster than the speed of sound.
Orion Float Test
This is a full-size model of the Orion spacecraft. NASA used it for testing in the Pacific Ocean. Teams practiced what they will do when the Artemis II mission returns to Earth. That mission will carry astronauts around the Moon and back.
Orion
Orion is a spacecraft. It will carry astronauts farther into space- than ever before. Orion launches on top of the Space Launch System rocket, or SLS. It will carry Artemis astronauts to the Moon.
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!
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!
Sweet Treat
Special spacecraft bring food, experiments, and other cargo to astronauts on the International Space Station. These deliveries usually include treats like fresh fruits and vegetables and even ice cream. NASA astronauts Tracy Dyson and Suni Williams are making an ice cream dessert in the space station kitchen area.
Here, Kitty, Kitty
This bobcat lives near NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California. The spotted cat makes its home in the desert area that surrounds the NASA facility.
Gateway Around the Moon
Gateway is a small space station that will orbit the Moon. Artemis astronauts will live and work there. Astronauts working on the Gateway will take trips down to the Moon. Many countries are working together to build Gateway.
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.
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!
Tortoise Takes a Walk
NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida is located within a wildlife refuge. This area is home to many kinds of birds, mammals, fish, amphibians, and reptiles – including this tortoise going for a walk in front of the Vehicle Assembly Building.
Interns Flying High
Dorothy Sue Grimmer and Victoria Tran were NASA interns in the summer of 2023. They were part of the NASA Student Airborne Research Program. They got to do science experiments while flying on this airplane.
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.
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!
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.
Spotlight on Saturn
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope captured this image of Saturn. Can you spot two of Saturn’s moons? Mimas is the bright dot to the right of Saturn. Enceladus is the bright dot below the ringed planet.
Ring Nebula
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope captured this image of the Ring Nebula. A nebula is a giant cloud of dust and gas in space. This nebula was formed by the explosion of a dying star.
Mission to "Touch the Sun"
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is helping scientists learn more about our Sun. It is the size of a small car and 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!
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!
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."
Mirror, Mirror
This mirror is part of NASA’s Near-Earth Object Surveyor. This new asteroid-hunting spacecraft is an infrared space telescope. It will look for hard-to-find asteroids and comets that might fly close to Earth.
Fast and Quiet
NASA is building a new type of airplane called the X-59. It will fly faster than the speed of sound. Today’s airplanes make a very loud boom when they fly this fast. The X-59’s long sleek design means it won’t make such a loud boom when it goes faster than the speed of sound. This is a computer drawing of the X-59 in flight.
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.
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.
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!