NASA Image of the Day

Science on the Space Station with NASA Astronaut Jessica Watkins Wed, 21 Oct 2026 15:07 GMT NASA astronaut and Expedition 75 flight engineer Jessica Watkins works inside the Kibo laboratory module's Life Science Glovebox, safely mixing living cell samples with a bioink and then filling a special cartridge with the cell‑ink mixture.

Webb Captures Stellar Jets Tue, 20 Oct 2026 14:45 GMT NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has revealed many protostars and stars within the glowing gases of NGC 7129. Hot, atomic hydrogen gas is shown here in the golden region, while cooler, molecular hydrogen gas, shocked by embedded protostars, is represented in red.

Martian Dawn Mon, 19 Oct 2026 16:05 GMT The captivating shapes of wind-carved crags called yardangs are revealed in this zoomed-in crop of a broader panorama captured by NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover. Scientists are eager to learn more about how the yardang layer formed.

Artemis II Heat Shield After Splashdown Fri, 16 Oct 2026 16:33 GMT Shortly after Artemis II splashdown on April 10, 2026, U.S. Navy divers captured underwater imagery of the Orion spacecraft’s heat shield.

Chandra Finds Possible Origin of 'Treble Clef' Waves Thu, 15 Oct 2026 14:20 GMT Astronomers have used NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory to break down the cause of a remarkable formation of radio waves they have nicknamed the “Treble Clef” because its distinct shape strongly resembles the musical symbol.

NASA’s SpaceX CRS-35 Launch Jellyfish Wed, 14 Oct 2026 15:19 GMT The exhaust plumes of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company’s Dragon spacecraft are seen illuminated by sunlight against the predawn sky during the launch of NASA’s SpaceX CRS-35 mission, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, as seen from Cocoa Beach, Florida. The light makes the plumes look like a jellyfish in the sky.

Transporter-18 SmallSats Encapsulation Tue, 13 Oct 2026 17:52 GMT Three NASA-supported small spacecraft, shown along with many commercial payloads, before being encapsulated in a SpaceX Falcon 9. The rocket launched the payloads into low-Earth orbit at 11:32 a.m. PDT Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, as part of the company’s Transporter-18 mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

Cosmic House of Mirrors Fri, 09 Oct 2026 14:28 GMT This NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope Picture of the Month features galaxies in incredible detail that have been warped and multiplied like they’ve stepped into a house of mirrors.

Crew-12 Returns to Earth Thu, 08 Oct 2026 18:53 GMT The SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft is seen as it lands with NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev aboard in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Los Angeles, Calif., Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026.

Artemis II Crew Moon Photo Annotations Wed, 07 Oct 2026 15:46 GMT A visualization of a dark Moon eclipsing the Sun is marked with handwritten notes in this April 6, 2026, screenshot from an Artemis II crew member's tablet.

Astronomers Solve Cosmic Cold Case with NASA Hubble Data Tue, 06 Oct 2026 16:17 GMT This artist’s concept depicts a possible explanation for the unusual chemical abundances NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope detected in the HS 0209+0832 system: a second-generation planet orbiting the white dwarf star.

NASA Astronaut Christina Koch at Eagles vs. Rams Mon, 05 Oct 2026 17:45 GMT NASA astronaut and mission specialist of the agency's Artemis II mission, Christina Koch, led the fans in singing the Eagles Fight Song from the field at an NFL game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Los Angeles Rams at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, in Philadelphia.

NASA's DAVINCI Probe Can Stand the Heat Fri, 02 Oct 2026 19:04 GMT An engineering model of NASA’s DAVINCI (Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging) descent probe passed a key test that ran from Aug. 28 to Sept. 10, showing it can survive the extreme temperatures of Venus.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 Launches Thu, 01 Oct 2026 18:07 GMT A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Dragon spacecraft is launched on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov aboard, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Star Trails Wed, 30 Sep 2026 17:51 GMT This long-duration image shows star trails above Earth and the blue lights of fishing boats and the yellow lights of Indonesian cities stretching below the International Space Station as it orbited 258 miles above the Banda Sea.

Crew-13 Rocket and Spacecraft at Launch Pad Tue, 29 Sep 2026 15:33 GMT Ahead of launch of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 mission, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the Dragon spacecraft atop, is vertical at the launch pad of Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026.

Space Station View of Earth at Night Mon, 28 Sep 2026 15:22 GMT This nighttime view of the United States, dotted with city lights looking toward New York City (center), was taken at approximately 3:40 a.m. local time from the International Space Station as it orbited 259 miles above Earth.

Hubble Spots Chaotic Secret in Galaxy Fri, 25 Sep 2026 15:54 GMT Though the spiral galaxy in this ESA/Hubble Picture of the Month seems serene, it hides a chaotic secret.

Practicing for Safe Landings on the Moon and Beyond Thu, 24 Sep 2026 16:36 GMT An Alta-X drone flies an advanced guidance and navigation system known as the Safe and Precise Landing – Integrated Capabilities Evolution (SPLICE) experiment near NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026.

NASA's Hubble Telescope Reaches Milestone, Looks for Elusive Supernova Wed, 23 Sep 2026 18:45 GMT An image from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope of galaxy cluster MACS J0417 is part of repeated observations to monitor for the reappearance of supernova Athena, which can help astronomers measure the expansion rate of the universe.

NASA's Chandra Finds Unusual Objects in Pinwheel Galaxy Tue, 22 Sep 2026 15:44 GMT Using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, scientists have discovered a new class of objects behaving unlike any they have seen before.

NASA Astronaut Reid Wiseman Attends Ravens vs. Saints Game Mon, 21 Sep 2026 18:46 GMT NASA astronaut and commander of the agency’s Artemis II mission, Reid Wiseman, a Baltimore native, takes a selfie with fans at an NFL game between the New Orleans Saints and the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in Baltimore.

COSI Telescope Comes Together Fri, 18 Sep 2026 15:46 GMT UC Berkeley engineers and managers watch as the COSI (Compton Spectrometer and Imager) detector assembly is slowly raised from a table in this July 8, 2026, image.

NASA Unveils Enterprise, the First Space Shuttle Thu, 17 Sep 2026 15:23 GMT The rollout ceremony for NASA’s first space shuttle, OV-101, coincided with Constitution Day of the nation’s bicentennial on Sept.17, 1976. Although the orbiter was originally planned to be named Constitution, Star Trek fans successfully convinced President Gerald Ford to name it Enterprise after the series’ fictional starship.

Indonesia's Anak Krakatau Wed, 16 Sep 2026 15:28 GMT Anak Krakatau erupts ash and volcanic gases in this image acquired with the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 8 on Sept. 5, 2026.

Artemis III Crew Visits NASA Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building Tue, 15 Sep 2026 16:16 GMT NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik (left) and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Luca Parmitano view progress on the solid rocket booster integration in High Bay 3 inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026.

NASA Kicks Off Inspiration Tour with Steelers vs. Falcons Game Mon, 14 Sep 2026 16:04 GMT Fans pose for a photo with an astronaut in the NASA Experience Zone at an NFL game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Atlanta Falcons at Acrisure Stadium, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

NASA's Chandra Spots Galactic Gem Fri, 11 Sep 2026 17:22 GMT Galaxies are like cosmic gems, each with characteristics including size and shape that make them distinct. A gallery from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes displays a collection of galactic images that showcase this variety.

Dust and Water in Sagittarius A* Thu, 10 Sep 2026 16:15 GMT Using the James Webb Space Telescope, an international team of astronomers have discovered that dust and water can form and survive surprisingly close to the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy.

Artemis II Crew at NASA Marshall Wed, 09 Sep 2026 15:32 GMT The crew of NASA’s Artemis II mission visited NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama on Sept. 1, 2026.

Superbubble in the Large Magellanic Cloud Tue, 08 Sep 2026 16:49 GMT N44 is a complex nebula filled with glowing hydrogen gas, dark lanes of dust, massive stars, and many populations of stars of different ages. One of its most distinctive features, however, is the dark, starry gap called a “superbubble,” visible in this Hubble Space Telescope image in the upper central region.

Lunar Occultation of Venus Fri, 04 Sep 2026 14:16 GMT On Wednesday, June 17, skywatchers across the United States—and parts of Canada—enjoyed a rare event: a daytime lunar occultation of Venus. A lunar occultation occurs when the Moon moves directly in front of another celestial object from our viewpoint on Earth, briefly hiding it from sight.

Igniting Roman's Journey Thu, 03 Sep 2026 14:25 GMT Now on a three-month, million-mile journey to its final orbit, NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will soon reveal the universe’s darkest secrets. The mission launched at 7:26 a.m. EDT on Aug. 30 aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

August Lunar Eclipse Rises Over Louisiana Wed, 02 Sep 2026 15:39 GMT A lunar eclipse is visible over southern Louisiana. The lunar eclipse was visible throughout much of North and South America and part of Europe and Africa between Aug. 27-28. The Full Moon slipped through Earth’s shadow on Aug. 27, continuing into Aug. 28 for some parts of the world, resulting in the lunar eclipse. At maximum eclipse, the Moon takes on a dramatic dark, ruddy or coppery tint along the covered edge. New Orleans is home to NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility, where stages for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and structures for Orion spacecraft are produced for the Artemis missions.

Artemis III RS-25 Engine Processing: #3 Lift Tue, 01 Sep 2026 17:32 GMT Technicians prepare to transfer the #2 RS-25 SLS (Space Launch System) rocket engine (front) to the work stand with the #3 engine (back) for integration with the Artemis III core stage rocket on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. During Artemis III, the four RS‑25 engines will launch the Orion spacecraft and its crew of four into low Earth orbit, generating more than two million pounds of thrust at liftoff.

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Launches Mon, 31 Aug 2026 14:19 GMT A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket with NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Telescope on board is seen transiting the sun during launch from Launch Complex 39A, Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA's Artemis II Crew Receives Congressional Space Medal of Honor Fri, 28 Aug 2026 22:24 GMT President Donald J. Trump awarded NASA astronauts Victor Glover and Christina Koch, CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, and NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman with the Congressional Space Medal of Honor on Aug. 28, 2026, at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Civil Servants Sworn in at NASA Ames Thu, 27 Aug 2026 18:04 GMT New civil servants and guests pose for a group photo with NASA and Center leadership in the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex (NFAC) 80-by-120-foot test section, N221.

Roman Space Telescope Travels to SpaceX Hangar Wed, 26 Aug 2026 18:41 GMT NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, encapsulated in its payload fairing, travels to the SpaceX hangar at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026.

Astronauts Anil Menon and Sophie Adenot on Spacewalk Tue, 25 Aug 2026 14:58 GMT From left, Expedition 75 flight engineers Anil Menon of NASA (partially obscured and wearing the spacesuit with a red stripe on the legs) and Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) work together during a six‑hour and 23‑minute spacewalk outside the International Space Station.

NASA Astronaut Reid Wiseman at Freedom 250 Grand Prix Mon, 24 Aug 2026 17:35 GMT NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, Artemis II commander, is seen in the two-seat IndyCar as he prepares for driver Conor Daly to take him on a lap in the fastest seat in sport ahead of the start of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026, in Washington, D.C. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Webb Opens Treasure Chest Fri, 21 Aug 2026 17:41 GMT This NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope Picture of the Month takes us to a fantastical realm within our home galaxy, where piercing starlight and billowing winds sculpt dust clouds into inventive shapes. This scene is from the Carina Nebula, which lies just 7500 light-years away in the constellation Carina (the Keel).

Artemis Mission Patches Thu, 20 Aug 2026 15:15 GMT A NASA jacket containing Artemis I and II mission patches, along with other NASA patches hangs on the back of a chair on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, inside Firing Room 1 of the Rocco A. Petrone Launch Control Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida during a terminal countdown simulation for the Artemis III mission.

Ancient Milky Way Merger Wed, 19 Aug 2026 16:20 GMT About 12 billion years ago, a dwarf galaxy known as LKH collided with a young Milky Way and merged with it. This artist’s concept portrays that collision. NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope uncovered definitive evidence of this collision by studying globular star clusters.

NASA's B777 Gets New Coat of Paint Tue, 18 Aug 2026 15:16 GMT NASA's Boeing 777 returns to the agency's Langley Research Center after receiving a new paint scheme.

Colorful Collage of Tarantula Nebula Mon, 17 Aug 2026 16:03 GMT Like a collage made of layered sheets of colored cellophane, a vibrant new image layers observations of a famous star-forming nebula from NASA space telescopes. The resulting cosmic “craft” reveals new details about the star formation region known as 30 Doradus, or the Tarantula Nebula.

Total Solar Eclipse in Sunflower Field Fri, 14 Aug 2026 14:49 GMT This composite image shows the progression of a total solar eclipse over San Millán de los Caballeros, Spain on, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026.

Perseids Meteor Shower Thu, 13 Aug 2026 15:09 GMT The constellation Orion is framed by two Perseid meteors on Aug. 12, 2018, in Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah.

2026 Total Solar Eclipse in Spain Wed, 12 Aug 2026 20:17 GMT A total solar eclipse is seen from San Millán de los Caballeros, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026.

Lion Nebula Roars in Webb's Sights Tue, 11 Aug 2026 17:03 GMT NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope imaged the planetary nebula NGC 2392, the Lion Nebula, using the observatory’s NIRCam and MIRI instruments. The central star’s remains are responsible for the nebula’s structure, including a lion face-shaped bubble of ionized gas and dust “mane.”

NASA Astronaut Jessica Meir Uses VR Goggles Mon, 10 Aug 2026 15:50 GMT NASA astronaut and Expedition 75 commander Jessica Meir wears a set of virtual reality goggles, also called the Nevada Screening Vision System, for a test that measures visual function using a series of vision screening apps testing visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and more.

NASA's IXPE Studies Magnetar Fri, 07 Aug 2026 14:28 GMT A first of its kind measurement of a magnetar may have captured empty space behaving in a way physicists have predicted for 90 years, but never directly observed. The results published Wednesday in Nature.

Taking Flight to Prepare for Space Thu, 06 Aug 2026 15:20 GMT NASA astronaut candidate Adam Fuhrmann prepares for a training flight aboard NASA’s WB-57 aircraft.

Artemis III Orion Crew and Service Modules Joined Wed, 05 Aug 2026 17:31 GMT Engineers connect the Orion crew and service modules for the Artemis III mission inside the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Roman Space Telescope Plaque Install Tue, 04 Aug 2026 15:54 GMT Technicians inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center complete installation of a commemorative plaque on the agency’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, as photographed on Tuesday, July 28, 2026.

Guinea-Bissau Tidal Waters Mon, 03 Aug 2026 17:16 GMT Relatively low tidal waters expose sandflats and mudflats in the Bijagós Archipelago of Guinea-Bissau in this image acquired on November 28, 2025, with the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 8. These coastal landforms support an array of invertebrates, making the archipelago a popular stopover for migratory shorebirds.

NASA's Newest Wind Tunnel Opens at NASA Langley Fri, 31 Jul 2026 20:20 GMT NASA opened its newest wind tunnel, the Flight Dynamics Research Facility at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, on Friday, providing a critical resource for the agency and its partners to test the safety and performance of future generations of aircraft, rockets, and space exploration vehicles.

Starburst Galaxy Centaurus A Thu, 30 Jul 2026 14:24 GMT NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) reveals the nearby galaxy Centaurus A, exposing the dusty structures and hidden activity that shape this unusual system.

Understanding How Martian Auroras Are Made Wed, 29 Jul 2026 15:48 GMT This illustration depicts charged particles from a solar storm stripping away charged particles of Mars' atmosphere, one of the processes of Martian atmosphere loss studied by NASA's MAVEN mission.

NASA Astronaut Chris Williams Returns to Earth Mon, 27 Jul 2026 16:58 GMT NASA astronaut Chris Williams is seen outside the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft after he landed with Expedition 74 Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, and Sergei Mikaev in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Sunday, July 26, 2026. The trio returned to Earth after logging 241 days in space as a members of Expeditions 73 and 74 aboard the International Space Station.