23 June 2026

From watching the Apollo launches as a child to managing communications for NASA’s Artemis II mission, Kathleen Harmon stands at the forefront of humanity’s next giant leap to the Moon. As the Artemis II Mission Interface Manager for NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN), Harmon ensures seamless communication between Earth and spacecraft venturing into the solar system’s far reaches.

As autumn settles over the Southern Hemisphere, the Victorian Alps transform into a landscape shrouded in thick, rolling fog. NASA’s Terra satellite recently captured breathtaking images revealing how morning fog fills the valleys of eastern Victoria’s national parks during this seasonal phenomenon.

The Curiosity rover showcased remarkable ingenuity and perseverance during the week spanning sols 4886 to 4892, overcoming a challenging drill snag to continue its groundbreaking scientific mission on Mars. This latest chapter in Martian exploration highlights the rover’s intricate engineering and the dedicated efforts of the science team to unlock new geological insights from the Red Planet’s surface.

On May 6, 2026, NASA’s Curiosity rover captured detailed images of a Martian rock that had caused a rare mechanical challenge during its exploration of the Red Planet. The rock, nicknamed “Atacama” , had become lodged on the end of Curiosity’s drill, prompting a carefully orchestrated effort by mission engineers to free it.

From 267 miles above Earth, the International Space Station captured a stunning view of snow-blanketed fields in southeastern Manitoba, Canada. This captivating image, taken by European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot , sparked a wave of curiosity and insightful observations from space enthusiasts around the world.

From aspiring astronaut to a pivotal engineer at NASA, Nicholas Houghton plays a critical role in protecting crews aboard the Orion spacecraft during groundbreaking Artemis missions. His expertise ensures astronauts remain safe amid the challenges of deep space travel, including the monumental Artemis II mission that orbited the Moon.

NASA is gearing up for its annual Lunabotics Challenge , set to take place from May 19 to May 21, 2026 , at the Astronauts Memorial Foundation’s Center for Space Education within the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. This high-stakes robotics competition invites college teams nationwide to push the boundaries of lunar exploration technology by designing and operating autonomous rovers capable of building protective lunar structures.

NASA’s Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition (CSDA) program , collaborating with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) , has officially released the Joint Earth Observation Mission Quality Assessment Framework – Optical Guidelines .

The dense, star-packed region at the center of our galaxy, known as the galactic bulge , is on the verge of a transformative exploration. NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will soon conduct an unprecedented survey of this bustling stellar neighborhood, building on decades of observations made by the Hubble Space Telescope and other observatories.

Jessica Meir stands as one of NASA’s most accomplished astronauts, blending a remarkable scientific career with groundbreaking space missions. Captured in a compelling portrait at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on September 23, 2025, this image was recognized as a finalist in the prestigious 2025 NASA Photographer of the Year competition, highlighting Meir’s prominent role within the agency.