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SCIENCE
NASA’s Curiosity Rover Detects New Findings on Mars
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After years of laboratory work, the results are finally in: A rock sample that NASA’s Curiosity rover drilled and analyzed in 2020 contains the most diverse set of organic
molecules ever discovered on Mars. Of the 21 carbon‑based molecules identified, seven have never before been detected on the Red Planet.
Scientists have no way of knowing whether these organic molecules were created by biologic or geologic processes — either path is possible — but their discovery renewed
confirmation that ancient Mars had the right chemistry to support life.
MARTIAN
CHEMISTRY
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THE UNIVERSE
Roman Set for Launch
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope team is targeting early September 2026 for launch, ahead of the agency’s commitment to flight no later than May 2027. By the end of its five-year primary mission,
Roman is expected to amass a 20,000-terabyte data archive. Scientists can draw on it to identify and study 100,000 exoplanets, hundreds of thousands of galaxies, billions of stars, and rare objects and phenomena — including some that astronomers have never
witnessed before.
UNVEILING
THE COSMOS
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HUMANS IN SPACE
NASA's SpaceX Crew-13
NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov are set to launch no earlier
than mid‑September as part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew‑13 mission. After reaching the International Space Station for their long‑duration science expedition, they will join the crew of Expedition 75.
MEET
THE CREW
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SCIENCE
Remarkably Light, Yet Strong
NASA’s Dragonfly rotorcraft is literally beginning to take shape with the arrival of the lightweight honeycomb panels that form its main body. This primary structure is engineered to withstand the unique challenges of flying on Titan,
Saturn’s largest moon. Scheduled to launch no earlier than 2028, Dragonfly will embark on a six‑year journey to Titan, where it will spend three years flying between diverse sites to investigate the moon’s chemistry, geology, and atmosphere — advancing our
understanding of how life’s building blocks may have formed.
LEARN
MORE
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EARTH
Advancing Earth Observation
When NASA’s Apollo 8 crew rounded the Moon’s far side in 1968, astronaut Bill Anders captured Earth rising above the gray horizon — an image that quickly became a symbol of hope. This year, the Artemis II astronauts captured their own
moving views of home. From cameras pressed to spacecraft windows to the most powerful radar ever flown, imaging technology has advanced dramatically since 1968, but our drive to understand our place in the cosmos remains unchanged.
LEARN
MORE
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This week, the Republic
of Latvia and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan signed the Artemis Accords during ceremonies hosted by NASA at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. In 2020 the United States — led by NASA and the U.S. Department of State
— alongside seven other founding nations, established the Artemis Accords to respond to growing global interest in lunar activities by governments and private companies. The partnership now includes 63 countries.
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Twenty-five years ago, on April 24, 2001, STS-100 astronauts Chris Hadfield and Scott Parazynski completed their second spacewalk to install a new component on the International Space Station. This important piece of hardware is sometimes
abbreviated with the acronym SSRMS.
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What is a more commonly used name for SSRMS? |
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Find out the answer in next week's NASA newsletter! 🤓
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Last week, we asked what unusual event happened to the Surveyor 3 lander after it completed its mission. The answer? It was
visited
by astronauts. In November 1969, Charles “Pete” Conrad and Alan Bean landed NASA's Apollo 12 lunar module less than 200 meters from the inactive Surveyor 3 lander. To date, it is the only space probe sent to another celestial
body that has been visited by astronauts.
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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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