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ABOUT NASA
NASA Welcomes 15th Administrator
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Jared Isaacman was sworn in Thursday as NASA’s 15th administrator by District Judge Timothy J. Kelly. The oath was taken during a ceremony held at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington.
As NASA administrator, Isaacman will lead the agency in bold pursuit of exploration, innovation, and scientific discovery.
“I am deeply honored to be sworn in as NASA administrator,” said Isaacman. “NASA’s mission is as imperative and urgent as ever — to push the boundaries of human exploration, ignite the orbital economy, drive scientific discovery, and innovate
for the benefit of all of humanity. I look forward to serving under President Trump’s leadership and restoring a mission-first culture at NASA — focused on achieving ambitious goals, to return American astronauts to the Moon, establish an enduring presence
on the lunar surface, and laying the groundwork to deliver on President Trump’s vision of planting the Stars and Stripes on Mars.”
MEET
JARED ISAACMAN
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ASTRONAUTS
NASA Astronaut Lee Morin Retires
NASA astronaut and retired United States Navy Capt. Lee Morin has retired from the agency after 30 years of service. He served as a
mission specialist on the STS-110 mission and went on to oversee the Rapid Prototyping Laboratory and technology development for the International Space Station, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, and Artemis campaign.
LEARN
MORE
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NASA+ ORIGINAL
Our Alien Earth
Delve deep beneath the volcanoes of Hawai’i with four teams of NASA astrobiologists as they investigate how life might survive
in the subsurface of other worlds. Inside cavernous lava tubes, these scientists search for microbial life in volcanic rock, analyze subsurface gases, and build an augmented reality model of the field site—all to help advance NASA’s future exploration of Mars
and beyond.
NOW
STREAMING
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SCIENCE
20 Years, 100,000 Images
After nearly 20 years at the Red Planet, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has snapped its 100,000th image of the surface with its HiRISE camera. Short
for High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, HiRISE is the instrument the mission relies on for high-resolution images of features ranging from impact craters, sand dunes, and ice deposits to potential landing sites. Those images help improve our understanding
of Mars and prepare for future human missions.
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THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Solving a Black Hole Mystery
An international
team of astronomers using the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer, or IXPE, has identified the origin of X-rays in a supermassive black hole’s jet, answering a question that has been unresolved since the earliest days of X-ray astronomy. The IXPE mission observed
the Perseus Cluster, the brightest galaxy cluster observable in X-rays, for more than 600 hours over a 60-day period between January and March.
LEARN
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ARTEMIS II
Moonbound
Artemis II and its upcoming test flight around the Moon will transform plans and preparation into execution and exploration when
four astronauts test NASA’s new systems and hardware for lunar exploration for the first time with a crew. Discover what it takes to build this mission from the ground up in the new NASA+ original documentary series,
Moonbound.
NOW
STREAMING
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This week we’re thinking back to Dec. 20, 1968, when astronauts were launched to the Moon for the first time. NASA’s Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill
Anders made history as the first people to be launched into space on the Saturn V mega-rocket and, a few days later, became the first to orbit the Moon.
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What did the Apollo 8 astronauts witness on their journey? |
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Find out the answer in next week's NASA newsletter! 🤓
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Last week, we asked what the name of the first trained geologist ever to set foot on the Moon was. The answer?
Harrison
Schmitt. On the Apollo 17 mission, Schmitt and Commander Eugene Cernan
traveled farther and collected more samples than on any
previous Apollo lunar landing mission. While the Apollo missions taught us a great deal about lunar geology, the program’s landing sites were geographically and geologically limited. With Artemis, the opportunity to explore deposits of the Moon’s south polar
region will help us understand the region's sources of water ice and other volatiles, an important step in establishing a future permanent lunar outpost.
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Do you have a telescope? Would you like to see some of the same night sky objects from the ground that Hubble has seen from space? We invite you to
commemorate the Hubble Space Telescope’s 35th anniversary by accepting our yearlong stargazing challenge! New challenge objects will be featured weekly.
This week’s object is
Messier 77, a large spiral galaxy in the constellation Cetus, the sea monster from Greek mythology. Roughly 45 million light-years from Earth, Messier 77 is one of the largest galaxies in Charles Messier’s catalog. Messier 77 is a prime example of a Seyfert
galaxy, a type of spiral galaxy with an intensely active, extremely bright center that is powered by a supermassive black hole accreting matter. With an apparent magnitude of 9.6, Messier 77 is visible in a small telescope and is most easily observed during
December.
JOIN
THE CELEBRATION
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National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NASA explores the unknown in air and space, innovates for the benefit of humanity, and inspires the world through discovery.
Visit
nasa.gov
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