NASA and its partners will discuss the upcoming crew rotation to the International Space Station during a pair of news conferences on Friday, Jan. 30, from the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

At 11 a.m. EST, mission leadership will discuss final launch and mission preparations in a news conference that will stream on the agency’s YouTube channel.

Next, the crew of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission will participate in a virtual news conference from NASA Johnson crew quarters at 1 p.m., also on the agency’s YouTube channel. Individual streams for each of the events will be available on that page. This is the final media opportunity with Crew-12 before they travel to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for launch.

Crew-12 will carry NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev to the orbiting laboratory. The crew will launch aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The agency is working with SpaceX and its international partners to review options to advance the launch of Crew-12 from its original target date of Sunday, Feb. 15.

United States-based media interested in attending in person must contact the NASA Johnson newsroom no later than 5 p.m. CST on Thursday, Jan. 29, at 281-483-5111 or jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov.

Media wishing to join the news conferences by phone must contact the Johnson newsroom by 9:45 a.m. on the day of the event. A copy of NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online.

Briefing participants are as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations):

11 a.m.: Mission Overview News Conference

• Ken Bowersox, associate administrator, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate
• Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, NASA Kennedy
• Dana Weigel, manager, International Space Station Program, NASA Johnson
• Andreas Mogensen, Human Exploration Group Leader, ESA
• SpaceX representative

1 p.m.: Crew News Conference

• Jessica Meir, Crew-12 commander, NASA
• Jack Hathaway, Crew-12 pilot, NASA
• Sophie Adenot, Crew-12 mission specialist, ESA
• Andrey Fedyaev, Crew-12 mission specialist, Roscosmos

This will be the second flight to the space station for Meir, who was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2013. The Caribou, Maine, native earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Brown University, a master’s degree in space studies from the International Space University, and a doctorate in marine biology from Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego. On her first spaceflight, Meir spent 205 days as a flight engineer during Expedition 61/62, and she completed the first three all-woman spacewalks with fellow NASA astronaut Christina Koch, totaling 21 hours and 44 minutes outside of the station. Since then, she has served in various roles, including assistant to the chief astronaut for commercial crew (SpaceX), deputy for the Flight Integration Division, and assistant to the chief astronaut for the human landing system.

A commander in the United States Navy, Hathaway was selected as part of the 2021 astronaut candidate class. This will be Hathaway’s first spaceflight. The South Windsor, Connecticut, native holds a bachelor’s degree in physics and history from the U.S. Naval Academy and master’s degrees in flight dynamics from Cranfield University and national security and strategic studies from the U.S. Naval War College, respectively. Hathaway also is a graduate of the Empire Test Pilot’s School, Fixed Wing Class 70 in 2011. At the time of his selection, Hathaway was deployed aboard the USS Truman, serving as Strike Fighter Squadron 81’s prospective executive officer. He has accumulated more than 2,500 flight hours in 30 different aircraft, including more than 500 carrier arrested landings and 39 combat missions.

The Crew-12 mission will be Adenot’s first spaceflight. Before her selection as an ESA astronaut in 2022, Adenot earned a degree in engineering from ISAE-SUPAERO in Toulouse, France, specializing in spacecraft and aircraft flight dynamics. She also earned a master’s degree in human factors engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. After earning her master’s degree, she became a helicopter cockpit design engineer at Airbus Helicopters and later served as a search and rescue pilot at Cazaux Air Base from 2008 to 2012. She then joined the High Authority Transport Squadron in Villacoublay, France, and served as a formation flight leader and mission captain from 2012 to 2017. Between 2019 and 2022, Adenot worked as a helicopter experimental test pilot in Cazaux Flight Test Center with DGA (Direction Générale de l’Armement – the French Defence Procurement Agency). She has logged more than 3,000 hours flying 22 different helicopters.

This will be Fedyaev’s second long-duration stay aboard the orbiting laboratory. He graduated from the Krasnodar Military Aviation Institute in 2004, specializing in aircraft operations and air traffic organization, and earned qualifications as a pilot engineer. Prior to his selection as a cosmonaut, he served as deputy commander of an Ilyushin-38 aircraft unit in the Kamchatka Region, logging more than 600 flight hours and achieving the rank of second-class military pilot. Fedyaev was selected for the Gagarin Research and Test Cosmonaut Training Center Cosmonaut Corps in 2012 and has served as a test cosmonaut since 2014. In 2023, he flew to the space station as a mission specialist during NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission, spending 186 days in orbit, as an Expedition 69 flight engineer. For his achievements, Fedyaev was awarded the title Hero of the Russian Federation and received the Yuri Gagarin Medal.

For more information about the mission, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew

-end-

Joshua Finch / Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / james.j.russell@nasa.gov

Sandra Jones / Joseph Zakrzewski
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov / joseph.a.zakrzewski@nasa.gov

NASA has selected ADNET Systems, Inc. of Bethesda, Maryland, to provide global modeling and data assimilation support at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

The Global Modeling and Assimilation Support contract is a single-award, cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with a maximum ordering value of approximately $84 million with a five-year period of performance beginning March 15, 2026.

Under this contract, the contractor will be responsible for supporting and maintaining NASA Goddard’s Global Modeling and Assimilation Office’s Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) model and data assimilation system. Tasks include supporting the development and validation of individual model components within GEOS and the development and integration of external components like sea and land-ice models within the modeling and assimilation system.

For information about NASA and other agency programs, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov

-end-

Tiernan Doyle
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
tiernan.doyle@nasa.gov

Rob Garner
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
301-286-5687
rob.garner@nasa.gov

NASA has selected 34 global volunteers to track the Orion spacecraft during the crewed Artemis II mission’s journey around the Moon.

The Artemis II test flight will launch NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, carrying the Orion spacecraft and a crew of four astronauts, on a mission into deep space. The agency’s second mission in the Artemis campaign is a key step in NASA’s path toward establishing a long-term presence at the Moon and confirming the systems needed to support future lunar surface exploration and paving the way for the first crewed mission to Mars.

While NASA’s Near Space Network and Deep Space Network, coordinated by the agency’s SCaN (Space Communication and Navigation) program , will provide primary communications and tracking services to support Orion’s launch, journey around the Moon, and return to Earth, participants selected from a request for proposals published in August 2025, comprised of established commercial service providers, members of academia, and individual amateur radio enthusiasts will use their respective equipment to passively track radio waves transmitted by Orion during its approximately 10-day journey.

“The Artemis II tracking opportunity is a real step toward SCaN’s commercial-first vision. By inviting external organizations to demonstrate their capabilities during a human spaceflight mission, we’re strengthening the marketplace we’ll rely on as we explore farther into the solar system,” said Kevin Coggins, deputy associate administrator for SCaN at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “This isn’t about tracking one mission, but about building a resilient, public-private ecosystem that will support the Golden Age of innovation and exploration.”

These volunteers will submit their data to NASA for analysis, helping the agency better assess the broader aerospace community’s tracking capabilities and identify ways to augment future Moon and Mars mission support. There are no funds exchanged as a part of this collaborative effort.

This initiative builds on a previous effort in which 10 volunteers successfully tracked the Orion spacecraft during Artemis I in 2022. That campaign produced valuable data and lessons learned, including implementation, formatting, and data quality variations for Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems, which develops communications and data standards for spaceflight. To address these findings, SCaN now requires that all tracking data submitted for Artemis II comply with its data system standards.

Compared to the previous opportunity, public interest in tracking the Artemis II mission has increased. About 47 ground assets spanning 14 different countries will be used for to track the spacecraft during its journey around the Moon.   

Participants List:

Government:

• Canadian Space Agency (CSA), Canada
• The German Aerospace Center (DLR), Germany

Commercial:

• Goonhilly Earth Station Ltd, United Kingdom
• GovSmart, Charlottesville, Virginia
• Integrasys + University of Seville, Spain
• Intuitive Machines, Houston
• Kongsberg Satellite Services, Norway
• Raven Defense Corporation, Albuquerque, New Mexico
• Reca Space Agency + University of Douala, Cameroon
• Rincon Research Corporation & the University of Arizona, Tucson
• Sky Perfect JSAT, Japan
• Space Operations New Zealand Limited, New Zealand
• Telespazio, Italy
• ViaSat, Carlsbad, California
• Von Storch Engineering, Netherlands

Individual:

• Chris Swier, South Dakota
• Dan Slater, California
• Loretta A Smalls, California
• Scott Tilley, Canada

Academia:

• American University, Washington
• Awara Space Center + Fukui University of Technology, Japan
• Morehead State University, Morehead, Kentucky
• Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute, Rosman, North Carolina
• University of California Berkeley, Space Sciences Laboratory, California
• University of New Brunswick, ECE, Canada
• University of Pittsburgh, ECE, Pittsburgh
• University of Zurich – Physics Department, Switzerland

Non-Profit & Amateur Radio Organizations:

• AMSAT Argentina, Argentina
• AMSAT Deutschland, Germany
• Amateur Radio Exploration Ground Station Consortium, Springfield, Illinois
• CAMRAS, Netherlands
• Deep Space Exploration Society, Kiowa County, Colorado
• Neu Golm Ground Station, Germany
• Observation Radio Pleumur-bodou, France

Artemis II will fly around the Moon to test the systems which will carry astronauts to the lunar surface for economic benefits and scientific discovery in the Golden Age of exploration and innovation.

The networks supporting Artemis receive programmatic oversight from NASA’s SCaN Program office. In addition to providing communications services to missions, SCaN develops the technologies and capabilities that will help propel NASA to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. The Deep Space Network is managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, and the Near Space Network is managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. 

Learn more about NASA’s SCaN Program:  

https://www.nasa.gov/scan

Listen to this audio excerpt from Dustin Gohmert, Orion Crew Survival System (OCSS) manager:

During NASA’s Artemis II mission around the Moon, the astronauts inside the Orion spacecraft will be wearing specialized pressure suits designed to protect them throughout their journey. At NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Dustin Gohmert leads the team responsible for these suits, known as the Orion Crew Survival System (OCSS).

“We work with the crew to say, ‘Here’s this design concept we have. How does this really work in the spaceflight environment?’” Gohmert said. “As we evolve the design, we take the crew’s input and we adapt the suit over time to take into account not only the desire we have for safety, but the real-world impacts that it has.”

The suits will protect astronauts on launch day, throughout high-risk parts of missions near the Moon, during the high-speed return to Earth, and in emergency situations if such events arise. The OCSS suits are engineered to sustain life for up to six days in the event of an emergency, and can provide the astronauts oxygen, hydration, food, and waste management needed on their way back to Earth.

“In an emergency, you’re essentially living in a personal spacecraft that’s only an inch bigger than your body,” Gohmert said. “That’s the reality of survival in space.”

Gohmert’s team in the Orion Crew Survival Systems Lab manages every phase of the suits, including processing, designing, qualifying, and testing them for the mission, as well as integrating them with the Orion spacecraft. Their work addresses engineering challenges, such as how much internal pressure the suit can safely maintain and for how long.

The team custom-builds each suit to fit the anatomy of the astronauts. Crew members undergo detailed sizing and multiple fit checks to ensure precision, and their feedback is a key part of the design evolution and refinement of the suit.

After earning his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at San Antonio and his master’s in engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, Gohmert joined United Space Alliance before becoming a NASA civil servant. He worked through the end of the Space Shuttle Program and later transitioned to Orion. Working on the suit throughout his career has been both technically challenging and a deeply personal responsibility.

As NASA prepares to explore deep space with Artemis II, Gohmert’s role will play a part in safely sending crew members around the Moon and returning them home.

“I was born after the last Moon landing,” he said. “To actually be a part of the next round is kind of overwhelming. It’s awe-inspiring in every possible way.”

A green and red aurora streams across Earth’s horizon above the city lights of Europe in this Jan. 19, 2026, photograph, which looks north across Italy toward Germany. The International Space Station was orbiting 262 miles above the Mediterranean Sea at approximately 10:02 p.m. local time when the image was captured.

Also known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), auroras are colorful, dynamic, and often visually delicate displays of an intricate dance of particles and magnetism between the Sun and Earth called space weather. When energetic particles from space collide with atoms and molecules in the atmosphere, they can cause the colorful glow that we call auroras.

Image credit: NASA/Chris Williams

A new NASA study of its Apollo lunar soils clarifies the Moon’s record of meteorite impacts and timing of water delivery. These findings place upper bounds on how much water meteorites could have supplied later in Earth’s history.

Research has previously shown that meteorites may have been a significant source of Earth’s water as they bombarded our planet early in the solar system’s development. In a paper published Tuesday in the Proceedings to the National Academy of Sciences, researchers led by Tony Gargano, a postdoctoral fellow at NASA’s Johnson Space Center and the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI), both in Houston, used a novel method for analyzing the dusty debris that covers the Moon’s surface called regolith. They learned that even under generous assumptions, meteorite delivery since about four billion years ago could only have supplied a small fraction of Earth’s water.

The Moon serves as an ancient archive of the impact history the Earth-Moon system has experienced over billions of years. Where Earth’s dynamic crust and weather erase such records, lunar samples preserve them. The records don’t come without challenge, though. Traditional methods of studying regolith have relied on analyzing metal-loving elements. These elements can get muddied by repeated impacts on the Moon, making it harder to untangle and reconstruct what the original meteoroids contained.

Enter triple oxygen isotopes, high precision “fingerprints” that take advantage of the fact that oxygen, the dominant element by mass in rocks, is unaffected by impact or other external forces. The isotopes offer a clearer understanding of the composition of meteorites that impacted the Earth-Moon system. The oxygen-isotope measurements revealed that at least ~1% by mass of the regolith contained material from carbon-rich meteorites that were partially vaporized when they hit the Moon. Using the known properties of such meteorites allowed the team to calculate the amount of water that would have been carried within.   

“The lunar regolith is one of the rare places we can still interpret a time-integrated record of what was hitting Earth’s neighborhood for billions of years,” said Gargano. “The oxygen-isotope fingerprint lets us pull an impactor signal out of a mixture that’s been melted, vaporized, and reworked countless times.”

The findings have implications for our understanding of water sources on Earth and the Moon. When scaled up by roughly 20 times to account for the substantially higher rate of impacts on Earth, the cumulative water shown in the model made up only a small percent of the water in Earth’s oceans. That makes it difficult to reconcile the hypothesis that late delivery of water-rich meteorites was the dominant source of Earth’s water.

“Our results don’t say meteorites delivered no water,” added co-author Justin Simon, a planetary scientist at NASA Johnson’s Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division. “They say the Moon’s long-term record makes it very hard for late meteorite delivery to be the dominant source of Earth’s oceans.”

For the Moon, the implied delivery since about 4 billion years ago is tiny on an Earth-ocean scale but is not insignificant for the Moon. The Moon’s accessible water inventory is concentrated in small, permanently shadowed regions at the North and South Poles. These are some of the coldest spots in the solar system and introduce unique opportunities for scientific discovery and potential resources for lunar exploration when NASA lands astronauts on the Moon through Artemis III and beyond.

The samples analyzed for this study came from parts of the Moon near the equator on the side of the Moon facing Earth, where all six Apollo missions landed. The rocks and dust collected more than 50 years ago continue to reveal new insights but are constrained to a small portion of the Moon. Samples delivered through Artemis will open the door for a new generation of discoveries for decades to come.

“I’m part of the next generation of Apollo scientists —people who didn’t fly the missions, but who were trained on the samples and the questions Apollo made possible,” said Gargano. “The value of the Moon is that it gives us ground truth: real, physical material we can measure in the lab and use to anchor what we infer from orbital data and telescopes. I can’t wait to see what the Artemis samples have to teach us and the next generation about our place in the solar system.”

For more information on NASA’s Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division, visit:

https://science.nasa.gov/astromaterials

Karen Fox / Molly Wasser
Headquarters, Washington
240-285-5155 / 240-419-1732
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov   

Victoria Segovia
NASA’s Johnson Space Center
281-483-5111
victoria.segovia@nasa.gov

Like a recording artist who has had a long career, NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory has a “back catalog” of cosmic recordings that is impossible to replicate. To access these X-ray tracks, or observations, the ultimate compendium has been developed: the Chandra Source Catalog (CSC).

The CSC contains the X-ray data detected up to the end of 2020 by Chandra, the world’s premier X-ray telescope and one of NASA’s “Great Observatories.” The latest version of the CSC, known as CSC 2.1, contains over 400,000 unique compact and extended sources and over 1.3 million individual detections in X-ray light.

Within the CSC, there is a wealth of information gleaned from the Chandra observations — from precise positions on the sky to information about the the X-ray energies detected. This allows scientists using other telescopes — both on the ground and in space including NASA’s James Webb and Hubble Space Telescopes — to combine this unique X-ray data with information from other types of light.

The richness of the Chandra Source Catalog is illustrated in a new image of the Galactic Center, the region around the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy called Sagittarius A*. In this image that spans just about 60 light-years across, a veritable pinprick on the entire sky, Chandra has detected over 3,300 individual sources that emit X-rays. This image is the sum of 86 observations added together, representing over three million seconds of Chandra observing time.

Another new representation of the vast scope of the Chanda Source Catalog is found in a just-released sonification, the translation of astronomical data into sound. This sonification encompasses the new map that includes 22 years of Chandra observations across the sky, beginning from its launch through its observations in 2021. Because many X-ray sources have been observed multiple times over the life of the Chandra mission, this sonification represents those repeat X-ray sightings over time through different notes.

In the view of the sky, projected in a similar way to how the Earth is often depicted in world maps, the core of the Milky Way is in the center and the Galactic plane is horizontal across the middle of the image. A circle appears at the position of each detection and the size of the circle is determined by the number of detections in that location over time. A year counter appears at the top of the frame. Since Chandra continues to be fully operational, the text changes to “… and beyond” after 2021 as the telescope continues to collect observations. During the video, a collage of images produced by Chandra fades in as a background. In the final frames of the video, thumbnail images representing the thousands of Chandra observations taken over the lifetime of the mission appear behind the sky map.

The most recent version of the Chandra Source Catalog can be accessed at https://cxc.cfa.harvard.edu/csc/

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Chandra X-ray Center controls science operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts.

To learn more about Chandra, visit:

https://science.nasa.gov/chandra

Read more from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory

Learn more about the Chandra X-ray Observatory and its mission here:

https://www.nasa.gov/chandra

https://chandra.si.edu

Visual Description

A very deep Chandra X-ray Observatory image around the Sagittarius A* supermassive black hole, located in the center of the Milky Way galaxy, is shown. The image is dominated by burnt orange, deep gold and blue hues, with a sprinkling of rich green. The area looks both intricate and full, with a dense population of tiny dots, along with larger clumps and diffuse areas and nebulous areas peeking through.

At the center of the image, there is a bright, lumpy area in pale gold showing the intense X-ray radiation emanating from the Sagittarius A* black hole. In the surrounding area, there are more smaller lumps layered throughout, feathering out to a large almost butterfly shape filling much of the screen. The image appears textured, like dozens of blue and orange glow worms are paused in their wriggling.

The image offers an unprecedented view of lobes of hot gas extending for a dozen light years on either side of the black hole. These lobes provide evidence for powerful eruptions occurring several times over the last ten thousand years. The image also contains several mysterious X-ray filaments, some of which may be huge magnetic structures interacting with streams of energetic electrons produced by rapidly spinning neutron stars. Such features are known as pulsar wind nebulas. Chandra has detected over 3,300 individual sources that emit X-rays in this field of view. This image is the sum of 86 observations added together, representing over three million seconds of Chandra observing time.

News Media Contact

Megan Watzke
Chandra X-ray Center
Cambridge, Mass.
617-496-7998
mwatzke@cfa.harvard.edu

Joel Wallace
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
256-544-0034
joel.w.wallace@nasa.gov

106th American Meteorological Society (AMS) Meeting, January 25 – 29, 2026

Join NASA in the Exhibit Hall (Booth #323) for Hyperwall Storytelling by NASA experts. Full Hyperwall Agenda below.

MONDAY, JANUARY 26

6:05 – 6:20 PM	Expanding Discovery from Earth Science Missions in Space  Highlights of NASA Earth Science Missions to Advance Research, Data, Models, and Actionable Science	Karen St. Germain
6:20 – 6:35 PM	Revolutionizing Exploration of the Sun	Kelly Korreck
6:40 – 6:55 PM	Space Weather for Astronauts	Jamie Favors  Gina DiBraccio
6:55 – 7:10 PM	See Global Precipitation Without Writing Code	George Huffman

TUESDAY, JANUARY 27

10:00 – 10:15 AM		Removing Barriers to Utilizing NASA Research Data	Paul Stackhouse
10:15 – 10:30 AM		Earth Data to Action — What’s New with Earth Data?	Jim O’Sullivan
10:30 – 10:45 AM		Connecting Satellite Data to the One Health Approach	Helena Chapman
3:00 – 3:15 PM		New Solar Observations and Solar Wind Measurements from the SOLAR-1 mission	Dimitris Vassiliadis
3:15 – 3:30 PM		Aerosols Around the World	Robert Levy
3:30 – 3:45 PM		NASA’s Mission to the Sun	Eric Christian
3:45 – 4:00 PM		Expanding Discovery from Earth Science Missions in Space	Julie Robinson
4:00 – 4:15 PM		Explore Space Weather through the Community Coordinated Modeling Center and OpenSpace	Elana Resnick
5:10 – 5:25 PM		Think Fast, Think Sun: Exploring NASA’s HelioData for Space-Weather Awareness	Alex Young
5:30 – 5:45 PM		Early Career Research Program: Empowering Emerging Talent	Yaitza Luna-Cruz

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28

10:00 – 10:15 AM		NASA Space Weather Year of Launches	Kelly Korreck
10:15 – 10:30 AM		A Bird’s-Eye View of Air Pollution in Megacities	Laura Judd
10:30 – 10:45 AM		Next-Gen Operational Microwave Sounding Through 2050	Edward Kim
3:15 – 3:30 PM		The Ultimate Collab: NASA and NOAA Space Weather	Kelly Korreck & Yaireska (Yari) Collado-Vega
3:30 – 3:45 PM		See Global Precipitation Without Writing Code	George Huffman
3:45 – 4:00 PM		From Investment to Impact: How LEO Innovations Benefit Users	Jeremy Goldstein
4:00 – 4:15 PM		Early Career Research Program: Empowering Emerging Talent	Yaitza Luna-Cruz
4:15 – 4:30 PM		Accelerating Health and Air Quality Solutions through Earth Observations	John Haynes
5:10 – 5:25 PM		The Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP)	Eric Christian

THURSDAY, JANUARY 29

10:00 – 10:15 AM	Think Fast, Think Sun: Exploring NASA’s HelioData for Space-Weather Awareness	Alex Young
10:30 – 10:45 AM	From Investment to Impact: How LEO Innovations Benefit Users	Jeremy Goldstein

At the heart of our own galaxy, there is a dense thicket of stars with a supermassive black hole at the very center. NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will provide the deepest-ever view of this zone, revealing stars, planets, and unique objects that resist definition.

Based on the input of astronomers from across the globe, the Roman Space Telescope will spend three-quarters of its five-year primary mission conducting three revolutionary surveys of unprecedented scale. Their combined results will transform all areas of astronomy and answer longstanding questions about dark matter, dark energy, and planets outside of our solar system, called exoplanets.

That last theme will be addressed by the Galactic Bulge Time-Domain Survey, which will peer into the center of our galaxy to study the stars and exoplanets that make up the densely populated region around the center of the Milky Way, known as the galactic bulge.

The survey will observe six patches of the galactic bulge, one pinpointing the center and five nearby, every 12 minutes during 438 days of total observing time. The observations will be separated into six “seasons” spread out over five years.

Spending so much time focusing on a relatively small area of the sky, the mission will be able to track changes in the motion and light of hundreds of millions of stars, and any planets that orbit them, over long periods — the “time-domain” aspect of the survey.

“This survey will be the highest precision, highest cadence, longest continuous observing baseline survey of our galactic bulge, where the highest density of stars in our galaxy reside,” said Jessie Christiansen of Caltech/IPAC, who served as co-chair of the committee that defined the Galactic Bulge Time-Domain Survey.

Exoplanet microlensing

Roman will use a method called microlensing to search for exoplanets, a technique that has so far identified just over 200 exoplanets, compared to more than 4,000 discovered with the transit method, out of the greater than 6,000 currently confirmed.

With this survey, scientists expect to see over 1,000 new planets orbiting other stars just using microlensing alone. This would increase the number of exoplanets identified using this method by more than fivefold.

A microlensing event is when light from a distant star in the background is warped slightly by a foreground object, like a star and its planet. This warping of light is called gravitational lensing, with the gravity from the star and planet bending the fabric of space that light is traveling through and focusing it like a magnifying glass.

While the transit method is very good at identifying exoplanets that orbit close to their star, the microlensing method can discover exoplanets that orbit farther away from their star, and in planetary systems farther from Earth than ever studied before. Roman will be versatile enough to see exoplanets dwelling from the inner edge of the habitable zone out to great distances from their stars, with a wide range of masses from planets smaller than Mars to the size of gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn. It may even discover “rogue planets” without host stars that either formed alone or were ejected from their host systems long ago.

“For the first time, we will have a big picture understanding of Earth and our solar system within the broader context of the exoplanet population of the Milky Way galaxy,” Christiansen said. “We still don’t know how common Earth-like planets are, and the Roman Galactic Bulge Time-Domain Survey will provide us with this answer.”

This survey will create a census of exoplanets for scientists to draw statistical conclusions from, revealing common patterns found in exoplanets and furthering our understanding of planetary formation and habitability.

One survey; lots of science

Because of the immense amount of observing time and subsequent data produced, the Galactic Bulge Time-Domain Survey will advance not only the field of exoplanet microlensing, but other areas of astronomy, too.

“There is an incredibly rich diversity of science that can be done with a high-precision, high-cadence survey like this one,” said Dan Huber of the University of Hawaii, the other survey co-chair.

The core survey was optimized not only for microlensing, but also to observe changes in brightness from small, fast blips to long-term trends. This property allows astronomers to discover and characterize transiting planets, red giant stars, stellar-mass black holes and other stellar remnants, and eclipsing binaries, and can lead to a deeper understanding about the physics of star formation and evolution.

“The stars in the bulge and center of our galaxy are unique and not yet well understood,” Huber said. “The data from this survey will allow us to measure how old these stars are and how they fit into the formation history of our Milky Way galaxy.”

Roman’s observing strategy in the Galactic Bulge Time-Domain Survey, as well as the High-Latitude Time-Domain Survey and the High-Latitude Wide-Area Survey, will allow astronomers to maximize scientific output, all with one telescope.

Abundance of data to explore

Roman will observe hundreds of millions of stars every 12 minutes during the survey period, providing an unprecedented volume of data for astronomers to parse through.

The Roman Science Support Center at Caltech/IPAC in Pasadena, California, will be responsible for the high-level science data processing for the Galactic Bulge Time Domain Survey, including exoplanet microlensing and general community outreach for Roman exoplanet science. The Science Support Center’s monitoring of these stars has been automated to detect microlensing and variable events within the data. This helps scientists understand features like how frequently a star’s brightness is changing, or if there are planets lurking near the lensed stars, or other sources of variability. The number of stars and frequency of the observations make the Roman data an ideal dataset for finding such sources.

All Roman observations will be made publicly available after a short processing period. The mission is scheduled to launch no later than May 2027, with the team on track for launch in fall 2026.

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is managed at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, with participation by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California; Caltech/IPAC in Pasadena, California; the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore; and a science team comprising scientists from various research institutions. The primary industrial partners are BAE Systems Inc. in Boulder, Colorado; L3Harris Technologies in Rochester, New York; and Teledyne Scientific & Imaging in Thousand Oaks, California.

By Isabel Swafford
Caltech/IPAC, Pasadena, Calif.

Media contact:

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
301-286-1940

💾

NASA successfully conducted a hot fire of RS-25 engine No. 2063 on Jan. 22 at the Fred Haise Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, clearing the way for the engine to be installed for the agency’s Artemis IV mission.  

The RS-25 engines help power NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that will carry astronauts to the Moon under the Artemis campaign.

Engine No. 2063 originally was installed on the SLS core stage for the Artemis II mission but was removed in 2025 after engineers discovered a hydraulic leak on the engine’s main oxidizer valve actuator, which controls propellant flow into the engine combustion chamber.

Following standard NASA procedures, teams removed the engine from the core stage and replaced the actuator.

Because NASA requires any significantly modified or repaired engine to undergo hot fire testing before flight, teams at NASA Stennis fired the engine for five minutes (300 seconds), at up to 109% of its rated power level in a test known as a confidence test that demonstrates the engine is ready for flight.

The test was conducted by a team of operators from NASA, L3Harris Technologies, and Sierra Lobo, Inc., the NASA Stennis test operations contractor. NASA Stennis provides critical data to L3Harris, the prime engines contractor for the SLS rocket.

With the successful test complete, engine No. 2063 is scheduled to be installed on the SLS core stage for Artemis IV. All RS-25 engines for NASA’s Artemis missions are tested and proven flightworthy at NASA Stennis before flight.

NASA is targeting as soon as February to send four astronauts around the Moon and back on Artemis II, the first crewed mission under the Artemis campaign. During launch, the SLS rocket will use four RS-25 engines, along with a pair of solid rocket boosters, to help lift the Orion spacecraft and the crew away from Earth using more than 8.8 million pounds of thrust.

Under the Artemis campaign, NASA is returning humans to the Moon for economic benefits, scientific discovery, and to prepare for crewed missions to Mars.

Jan. 23, 2026

NASA’s TESS Returns to Science Observations

NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) entered safe mode Jan. 15 and returned to normal science operations Jan. 18. 

The operations team determined the issue arose when TESS slewed to point at a target, but its solar panels did not rotate to remain pointed at the Sun relative to the spacecraft’s new direction. The off-Sun angle of the solar arrays resulted in a slow discharge of TESS’s batteries. As designed and planned for in situations of this kind, the satellite entered a safe mode after detecting the low-power condition.

At the time of the safe mode, TESS was conducting a week-long observation of comet 3I/ATLAS and resumed those observations Jan. 18. Data from TESS is publicly available through archives at the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes.

May 7, 2024

NASA’s TESS Returns to Science Operations

NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) returned to science operations May 3 and is once again making observations. The satellite went into safe mode April 23 following a separate period of down time earlier that month.

The operations team determined this latest safe mode was triggered by a failure to properly unload momentum from the spacecraft’s reaction wheels, a routine activity needed to keep the satellite properly oriented when making observations. The propulsion system, which enables this momentum transfer, had not been successfully repressurized following a prior safe mode event April 8. The team has corrected this, allowing the mission to return to normal science operations. The cause of the April 8 safe mode event remains under investigation. 

The TESS mission is a NASA Astrophysics Explorer operated by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Launched in 2018, TESS has been scanning almost the entire sky looking for planets beyond our solar system, known as exoplanets. The TESS mission has also uncovered other cosmic phenomena, including star-shredding black holes and stellar oscillations. Read more about TESS discoveries at nasa.gov/tess.

April 24, 2024

NASA’s Planet-Hunting Satellite Temporarily on Pause

During a routine activity April 23, NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) entered safe mode, temporarily suspending science operations. The satellite scans the sky searching for planets beyond our solar system.

The team is working to restore the satellite to science operations while investigating the underlying cause. NASA also continues investigating the cause of a separate safe mode event that took place earlier this month, including whether the two events are connected. The spacecraft itself remains stable.

The TESS mission is a NASA Astrophysics Explorer operated by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Launched in 2018, TESS recently celebrated its sixth anniversary in orbit. Visit nasa.gov/tess for updates.

April 17, 2024

NASA’s TESS Returns to Science Operations

NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) has returned to work after science observations were suspended on April 8, when the spacecraft entered into safe mode. All instruments are powered on and, following the successful download of previously collected science data stored in the mission’s recorder, are now making new science observations.

Analysis of what triggered the satellite to enter safe mode is ongoing.

The TESS mission is a NASA Astrophysics Explorer operated by MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Launched in 2018, TESS has been scanning almost the entire sky looking for planets beyond our solar system, known as exoplanets. The TESS mission has also uncovered other cosmic phenomena, including star-shredding black holes and stellar oscillations. Read more about TESS discoveries at nasa.gov/tess.

April 11, 2024

NASA’s TESS Temporarily Pauses Science Observations

NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) entered into safe mode April 8, temporarily interrupting science observations. The team is investigating the root cause of the safe mode, which occurred during scheduled engineering activities. The satellite itself remains in good health.

The team will continue investigating the issue and is in the process of returning TESS to science observations in the coming days.

The TESS mission is a NASA Astrophysics Explorer operated by MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Launched in 2018, TESS has been scanning almost the entire sky looking for planets beyond our solar system, known as exoplanets. The TESS mission has also uncovered other cosmic phenomena, including star-shredding black holes and stellar oscillations. Read more about TESS discoveries at nasa.gov/tess.

Media Contacts

Claire Andreoli
(301) 286-1940
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

Alise Fisher
202-358-2546
alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov
NASA Headquarters, Washington

A winter chill descended on the Great Lakes region of North America in January 2026. Some of the effects were apparent in this satellite image as newly formed lake ice and a fresh layer of snow. The image, acquired by the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) instrument on NASA’s Terra satellite, shows the region on the morning of January 20, 2026.

In the days prior, a winter storm blanketed many parts of western Michigan near the lake with nearly a foot of snow, according to the National Weather Service. West of Walker, snowfall totals surpassed that amount, reaching nearly 14 inches (36 centimeters). The storm’s effects extended beyond Michigan as well, including blizzard conditions in parts of Ontario east of Lake Huron.   

Lake effect snow is common in the Great Lakes area during late fall and winter, occurring when cold air moves over relatively warm, unfrozen water. As the air picks up heat and moisture, it rises to form narrow cloud bands that can produce heavy snowfall.

The air over Lake Erie was still moist enough for clouds to form, though the amount of open water on this lake has decreased sharply in recent days. Around mid-month, during a period of unseasonably warm air temperatures, ice coverage dropped to cover about 2 percent of the lake, according to the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory. It then spiked to nearly 85 percent on January 21 after temperatures plummeted.  

The frigid temperatures were brought about by an Arctic cold front that moved across the region. In Cleveland, for instance, the weather service issued a cold weather advisory on January 19 for wind chills as low as minus 15 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit. On that day, even colder wind chills were reported in the area around Chicago. Forecasts called for another round of cold Arctic air to spill over the Great Plains and Eastern U.S. over the coming weekend, accompanied by heavy snow.

NASA Earth Observatory image by Michala Garrison, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview. Story by Kathryn Hansen.

References & Resources

• CBC Lite (2026, January 20) Several rural roads closed as heavy snow, intense winds batter Huron, Perth. Accessed January 22, 2026.
• Cleveland.com (2026, January 20) Lake Erie freezing rapidly: See how fast. Accessed January 22, 2026.
• Cleveland.com (2026, January 19) Northeast Ohio school closings and delays for Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Accessed January 22, 2026.
• National Weather Service What is Lake Effect Snow? Accessed January 22, 2026.
• National Weather Service (2026, January 22) Short Range Public Discussion. Accessed January 22, 2026.
• NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (2026, January 21) Lake Erie Average Ice Cover. Accessed January 22, 2026.

The Space Shuttle Challenger Memorial is seen during a wreath laying ceremony that was part of NASA’s Day of Remembrance, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. Wreaths were laid in memory of those men and women who lost their lives in the quest for space exploration.

Each January, NASA pauses to honor members of the NASA family who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery, including the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia. We celebrate their lives, their bravery, and contributions to human spaceflight.

Image credit: NASA/Keegan Barber

This letter from SARA is to issue a waiver for NASA grantees attending LPSC2026, allowing them to be reimbursed out of their grants for their actual lodging, although it’s expected to be above the approved GSA amount. This waiver does not supersede the travel policy of your institution if it is more restrictive. Note: I have specified grants (including cooperative agreements). This may also apply to those traveling on NASA contracts, but they should communicate with their contracting officers.

The host hotel for the 57th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference on March 16–20, 2026, is The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center. Hotel information for this conference may be found at https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2026/plan/

The GSA-allowed daily lodging expense for March 2026 for zip code 77380 (for The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center) is $128 per night. Many of the hotels may be significantly higher than the GSA allowed rate of $128. Grantee travelers may need a waiver to cover lodging in excess of the GSA value, depending on the travel policy of your organization. This waiver does not supersede the travel policy of your institution if it is more restrictive.

By the power vested in me by the NSSC to issue approval of the actual lodging costs for a conference in “bulk” instead of individual approvals, I hereby affirm that for the 57th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference NASA, SMD grants may be charged up to $276/night plus taxes and fees, consistent with the average actual cost of the conference hotel, even though this exceeds the $128 allotted for lodging by GSA for The Woodlands for March 2026.

Thank you

SARA

2026

Goddard Memorial Dinner 3.13.26

ISS 25th Anniversary 1.19.26

2026 Amentum Artemis II Rollout Reception 1.14.26

Maryland Space Business Roundtable 1.14.26

2025

Commercial Space Federation 12.9.25

Ansys Government Initiatives (AGI) 12.16.25

Maryland Space Business Roundtable (MSBR) 12.10.25

Women in Aerospace 12.11.25

Umbra Lab Inc 12.3.25

Space Policy Institute 10.21.2025

MSBR Space Business Roundtable 10.15.2025

76th International Astronautical Congress_IAC 9.29.25

2025 Von Braun Memorial Dinner 10.29.25

Space Foundation Reception 9.16.25

Evening with the Stars 9.10.25

MSBR Rooftop Reception 9.8.25

AIAA Dinner 8.18.25

STScI Event 7.29.25

MSBR Lunch 7.16.25

Rocket Lab Event 7.16.25

MSBR Lunch Reception 6.18.25

2025 Paris Airshow 6.13-19.25

Greater Houston Partnership Reception 6.12.25

Axiom Space X-4 Event

Space Foundation and German Embassy Reception 6.5.25

Mission 2 Moon Landing 6.5.25

H2M Conference and Events 5.28-29.25

Planetary Society 5.19.25

American Rocketry Challenge Reception 5.17.25

Rockets on the Hill Reception 5.16.25

Dayton Development Coalition Event 5.13.25

PA State Day Reception 5.6.25

MSBR STEM Gala 5.2.25

2025 ASF Hall of Fame Gala

AIAA Awards Gala 4.30.25

RNASA Awards Dinner 4.25.25

2025 Space Heroes and Legends Gala

Thunderbird School and Global Management Reception

40th Space Symposium Main Events

GovExec Awards Dinner 4.3.25

AIA Reception.4.2.25

SPI/GWU Dinner.4.2.25

Astrolab and Axiom.3.27.25

SPI/GWU/USRA Symposium.3.27.25

IDGA 18th Annual Event

Artemis VIP Reception.3.24.25

Goddard Memorial Dinner.3.21.25

MSBR Lunch.3.19.25

2025 Satellite Exhibition Event.3.10.25 to 3.13.25

SIA Dinner.3.10.25

67th Laureate Awards Dinner.3.6.25

SPI GWU Dinner.3.5.25

Bae Systems SPHEREx Launch.2.27.25

2025 Artemis Suppliers Conference

Blue Ghost Viewing Event

ServiceNow Forum.2.12.25

MSBR Luncheon.2.19.25

2025 Monthly NSCFL Luncheon

MSBR Lunch.1.22.25

Creole-Queen NOLA Reception.1.13.25

2025 New Glenn Mission 1 Launch Event

2025 Firefly Blue Origin Launch Reception

2024

MeriTalk Reception.12.19.24

Aero Club Award Dinner.12.13.24

Rocket Lab Event.12.13.24

Space Foundation Event.12.13.24

Umbra Lab Inc.12.5.24

Commercial Space Federation Joint Event.12.9.24

AGI Holiday Reception.12.3.24

The Arthur C. Clarke Foundation Event.11.21.24

Planet Labs PBC Reception.11.20.24

Rocket Lab Event.11.19.24

SPI GWU Dinner.11.5.24

Blue Origin and KBR Dinner.10.30.24

JASWDC Gala.10.30.24

SPI GWU Dinner.10.30.24

36th Annual Dr. Wernher von Braun Memorial Dinner

2024 Keystone Space Conference

2024 IAC Event

WIA Reception and Awards Dinner.10.10.24

2024 JPL Europa Clipper Launch Reception.10.8.24

SPI GWU Dinner.9.18.24

2024 VASBA HR AUVSI Gala

Blue Origin Reception.8.27.24

AIA & Amazon Reception.8.26.24

Exolaunch Reception.8.7.24

Farnborough Air Show.7.20-21.24

Artemis II SLS Roll Out Reception.7.15.24

Astroscale Reception Tokyo.7.12.24

Brooke Owens Fellowship Dinner.7.11.24

SpaceX GOES-U Launch

MSBR lunch.6.18.24

NAA Collier Dinner.6.13.24

Greater Cleveland Partnership.6.13-14.24

VAST Space LLC.6.12.24

Coalition for Deep Space Exploration Return to the Moon.6.5.24

The 2024 Infinite Exhibit Grand Opening

AIA and German Embassy Reception.6.4.24

AIA and British Embassy Reception.5.22.24

Space Foundation Event.5.16.24

Foundation Fratelli Tutti Dinners.5.10-11.24

MSBR STEM Gala.5.10.24

H2M Conference and Event.5.7-8.24

SPI/GW Dinner.5.1.24

Astrolab and Axiom.4.30.24

2024 Monthly NSCFL Luncheon

MEI 77th Annual Gala.4.17.24

Crowell & Moring Reception.4.16.24

2024 ASF Hall of Fame Gala

2024 Space Heroes and Legends Awards Dinner

SpaceX Symposium Reception.4.10.24

39th Space Symposium Supplemental

39th Space Symposium Main Events

SPI GWU Dinner.4.5.24

Goddard Memorial Dinner.3.22.24

SPI GW Dinner.3.20.24

AIA and Amazon Reception.3.19.24

MSBR Lunch.3.19.24

AIAA Awards Gala.3.15.24

NASM Event.3.6.24

Planetary Society.3.5.24

Embassy of Australia and Space Foundation.2.29.24

SPI/GWO Dinner.2.27.24

2024 Artemis Suppliers Conference

BDB Engineering Award Event

2024 Aerospace Days Legislative Reception

2024 NG-20 CRS Launch

IDGA 17th Annual Event.1.23 – 24.24

MSBR Lunch 1.16.24

Latino Biden-Harris Appointees Reception.1.11.24

STA Reception.1.11.24

2024 Axiom Space AX-3 Launch Reception

2023

2023 Astrobotic PM1 PreLaunch Reception

AERO Club Awards Dinner.12.15.23

WIA Dinner.12.13.23

MSBR Lunch.12.12.23

SCL and GBM Foundation Reception.12.11.23

LASP and Ball Aerospace Reception.12.11.23

Bayou Classic Brunch

L Oreal USA for Women Event.11.16.23

AAIA Reception.11.15.23

KBR Welcome Reception.11.14.23

SPI GWU Dinner 11.15.23

Museum of Natural History Board Events 11.2.23

USF Reception.10.24.23

Blue Origin KBR Reception

2023 Von Braun Memorial Dinner

Planet Labs PBC Reception.10.26.23

ELI Reception Dinner.10.24.23

OSIRIS REX RECEPTION.10.17.23

WIA Reception and Award Dinner.10.12.23

National Space Club Banquet 2023

Space Foundation and Airbus.10.3.23

IAC Event

NAHF Dinner Ceremony.9.22.23

2023 VASBA HR AUVSI Gala and Symposium

2023 Psyche Mission Team

SPI GWU Dinner 9.13.23

AIA Congress Space Reception.9.7.23

 MSBR Lunch 8.16.23

 WAG NG CRS 7-24-23

 2023 ASF Innovators Gala

 Space Foundation Reception 7.19.23

 Chamber of Commerce Reception.7.13.23

 ECI Fellows Meeting.7.12 to 7.14.23

 Embassy of Italy and Virgin Galactic.7.12.23

 JWST Reception 7.13.23

 Brook Owens Fellowship Dinner 7.13.23

 Comteck and Airbus Space Defense 07.11.23.

 Calgary Stampede.7.7.23

 CLD Reception.6.20.23

 CFA SAO Reception.6.15.23

 Paris Air Show.6.17-20.23

 UCAR Reception 6.7.23

 Space Forum 2023

 Rocket Lab TROPICS.5.18.23

 2023 Axiom Space AX-2 Launch Event WAG

 SW SPI Dinner 5.9.23

 H2M WAG 2023

 MSBR STEM Gala 5.5.23

 AIAA Awards Gala Event 5.18.23

 38th Space Symposium 4.16 to 4.20.23

 Planet Labs PGC Reception.4.13.23

 AL-23-009 RNASA

 2023 TEMPO Pre-Launch Reception

 MSBR Lunch 4.4.23

 Coalition for Deep Space Exploration SLS Orion EGS Gateway Suppliers 3.26.23

 Orion SLS Conference 3.27 to 3.28.23

 EWDC Event.3.23.23

 2023 Agency WAG Debus Award Banquet

 VHMC And Boeing Reception 3.18.23

 Ball Aerospace Kinship Reception 3.15.23

 Airbus Defence Event 3.14.23

 Terran Orbital Event 3.15.23

 SpaceX Satellite Reception 3.13.23

 SPI GWU Dinner 3.9.23

 Goddard Memorial Dinner 3.10.23

 2023 Agency Wag AHOF Gala

Space Foundation Event 2.16.23

BDB National Engineers Week 2023 Banquet
MSBR Lunch 2.28.23
STA Luncheon 2.7.23
WSBR Reception 2.1.23
SPI GWU SWF Reception 1.31.23
Artemis I Splashdown 01.17.23
MSBR Lunch 1.17.23

2022

GRC An Evening With the Stars 8.30.22
JPL 25 Years on Mars Reception 7.27.22
SPI GWU Dinner 7.6.22
Berlin Air Show 6.22-26.22
MSBR Lunch 6.21.22
KSC Gateway VIP Rception 6.14.22
MSBR Dinner Gala 6.10.22
NAA Robert J. Collier Awards Dinner 6.9.22
Advanced Space and Rocket Lab Capstone Event 6.8.22
AIA Challenger Center Reception 6.2.22
2022 H2M Summit 5.17-19.22
MSBR Lunch 5.17.22
FCW GovExec Awards Dinner 5.12.22
Meta Reception 5.4.22
JSC RNASA Luncheon and Dinner 4.29.22
Coalition for Deep Space Reception 4.28.22
SLS Orion EGS Suppliers Conference 4.28-29.22
SPI GWU Dinner 4.27.22
AIAA Awards Gala Dinner 4.27.22
MSBR Luncheon 4.19.2022
Arianespace Northrop Grumman JWST Reception 4.5.22
37th Space Symposium 4.4 to 7.22
Axiom Space Launch Event 3.30.22
Heinrich Boell Foundation Dinner 3.30.22
Aarianespace Reception 3.23.22
SIA Conference Events 3.21-23.22 Revised
Satellite Industry Association Reception 3.21.22
Goddard Memorial Dinner 3.18.22
GOES-T Post-Launch Reception 3.1.22
Goes-T L3 Harris Reception 3.1.22
Christopher Newport University Dinner 02.23.22
NG-17 CRS Launch Events VA 2.19.22
SPI GWU Dinner 02.04.2022
MSBR Dinner 01.18.2022
KSC CCTS Spaceport Summit 1.11-12.22

2021

JWST Launch 12.25.21
Aero Club Awards Reception 12.17.21
KSC NSC Celebrate Space 12.10.21
AGI Ansys Reception 12.10.21
KSC Ball Aerospace IXPE Launch Celebration Reception 12.7.21
WIA Awards Dinner 12.2.21
National Space Council Recognition Reception 12.1.21
SPI Dinner 11.16.21
AIAA ASCEND Event 11.15.21
AIAA Ascend 2021 Reception Dinner Las Vegs 11.14.21
KSC Astronaut Hall of Fame Event 11.13.21
KSC DNC Taste of Space Event 11.5.21
SPI Dinner 11.2.21
IAC Closing Gala 10.29.21
GRC Evening With The Stars 10.27.21
Goddard Memorial Awards Dinner 10.22.21
IAC 2021
Lucy Post Launch Dinner 10.16.21
KSC Lucy Launch Mission Events 10.12-13.21
United Airlines Reception 10.12.21
Blue Origin Launch 10.12.21
SPI Dinner on or about 9.28.21
Goddard Memorial Dinner 9.17.21 CANCELLED
SPI Dinner 9.7.21
RNASA Awards Dinner and Luncheon 9.3.21
GRC Evening With the Stars 8.31.21
FED100 Gala Awards Dinner 8.27.21
Addendum to 36th Space Symposium 8.22-26.21
36th Space Symposium 8.22-26.21
KSC ASF Innovators Gala 8.14.21
NG16 Launch Events 8.10.21
LaRC Virginia Space Reception 7.30.21
KSC 2021 Debus Award Dinner 7.30.21
Coalition for Deep Space 07.22.21
KSC Lockheed WAS Star Center Reception 7.15.21

2020

United Launch Alliance Satellite 2020 Reception 3.10.20
SpaceX Reception 3.9.20
U.S. Chamber of Commerce 2020 Aviation Summit 3.5.20
Maryland Space Business Roundtable Lunch 2.18.20
SLS Orion Suppliers Conference 2.12.20
Coalition for Deep Space Exploration Reception 2.11.20
Northrop Grumman NG-13 CRS Launch Events 2.9.20
VA UAS AeroSpace Legislative Reception 1.29.20
MSBR Lunch 1.21.20
Guidance Keough School of Global Affairs 1.16.20
Boeing Orbital Flight Test Launch Events 12.20.19
Virgin Space Reception 12.17.19
SEA Summit 12.17.19
Wright Memorial Dinner 12.13.19
Analytical Graphics AGI Reception 12.13.19
Ball Reception 12.10.19
MSBR Lunch 12.3.19
Plant Reception 11.20.19
JSC Spacecom Conference VIP Reception 11.20.19
JSC Spacecom Conference Reception 11.19.19
SAIC BSU STEM Roundtable 11.07.19
Apollo UK Productions Ltd 7.10.19
SpaceX Satellite Reception 5.6.19
SPI GWU Dinner 5.1.19
AIAA Reception 4.30.19
MSBR Lunch 1.21.20
MSBR Lunch 1.21.20

Scientists have discovered over 6,000 planets that orbit stars other than our Sun, known as exoplanets. More than half of these planets were discovered thanks to data from NASA’s retired Kepler mission and NASA’s current TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) mission. However, the enormous treasure trove of data from these missions still contains many yet-to-be-discovered planets. All of the data from both missions is publicly available in NASA archives, and many teams around the world have used that data to find new planets using a number of techniques.

In 2021, a team from NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley created ExoMiner, a piece of open-source software that used artificial intelligence (AI) to validate 370 new exoplanets from Kepler data. Now, the team has created a new version of the model trained on both Kepler and TESS data, called ExoMiner++.

The new algorithm, which is discussed in a recent paper published in the Astronomical Journal, identified 7,000 targets as exoplanet candidates from TESS on an initial run. An exoplanet candidate is a signal that is likely to be a planet but requires follow-up observations from additional telescopes to confirm.

ExoMiner++ can be freely downloaded from GitHub, allowing any researcher to use the tool to hunt for planets in TESS’s growing public data archive.

“Open-source software like ExoMiner accelerates scientific discovery,” said Kevin Murphy, NASA’s chief science data officer at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “When researchers freely share the tools they’ve developed, it lets others replicate the results and dig deeper into the data, which is why open data and code are important pillars of gold-standard science.”

ExoMiner++ sifts through observations of possible transits to predict which ones are caused by exoplanets and which ones are caused by other astronomical events, such as eclipsing binary stars. “When you have hundreds of thousands of signals, like in this case, it’s the ideal place to deploy these deep learning technologies,” said Miguel Martinho, a KBR employee at NASA Ames who serves as the co-investigator for ExoMiner++.

Kepler and TESS operate differently — TESS is surveying nearly the whole sky, mainly looking for planets transiting nearby stars, while Kepler looked at a small patch of sky more deeply than TESS. Despite these different observing strategies, the two missions produce compatible datasets, allowing ExoMiner++ to train on data from both telescopes and deliver strong results. “With not many resources, we can make a lot of returns,” said Hamed Valizadegan, the project lead for ExoMiner and a KBR employee at NASA Ames.

The next version of ExoMiner++ will improve the usefulness of the model and inform future exoplanet detection efforts. While ExoMiner++ can currently flag planet candidates when given a list of possible transit signals, the team is also working on giving the model the ability to identify the signals themselves from the raw data.

In addition to the ongoing stream of data from TESS, future exoplanet-hunting missions will give ExoMiner users plenty more data to work with. NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will capture tens of thousands of exoplanet transits — and, like TESS data, Roman data will be freely available in line with NASA’s commitment to Gold Standard Science and sharing data with the public. The advances made with the ExoMiner models could help hunt for exoplanets in Roman data, too.

“The open science initiative out of NASA is going to lead to not just better science, but also better software,” said Jon Jenkins, an exoplanet scientist at NASA Ames. “Open-source science and open-source software are why the exoplanet field is advancing as quickly as it is.”

NASA’s Office of the Chief Science Data Officer leads the open science efforts for the agency. Public sharing of scientific data, tools, research, and software maximizes the impact of NASA’s science missions. To learn more about NASA’s commitment to transparency and reproducibility of scientific research, visit science.nasa.gov/open-science. To get more stories about the impact of NASA’s science data delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for the NASA Open Science newsletter.

By Lauren Leese 
Web Content Strategist for the Office of the Chief Science Data Officer

It has been an eventful few months for the Northern Hemisphere atmosphere. An unusually early sudden stratospheric warming episode in late November appears to have factored into a weakened and distorted polar vortex at times in December, likely causing extra waviness in the polar jet stream. This helped fuel extensive intrusions of frigid air into the mid-latitudes, contributing to cold snaps in North America, Europe, and Asia, and priming the atmosphere for disruptive winter storms in January.

Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula has been among the areas hit hard by cold and snowy weather in December and January. More than 2 meters (7 feet) of snow fell in the first two weeks of January, following 3.7 meters in December, according to news reports. Together, these totals make it one of the snowiest periods the peninsula has seen since the 1970s, according to Kamchatka’s Hydrometeorology Center. The onslaught brought Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the regional capital, to a standstill, with reports of large snowdrifts burying cars and blocking access to buildings and infrastructure.

This image, acquired by the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) instrument on NASA’s Aqua satellite, shows fresh snow blanketing the peninsula’s rugged terrain on January 17, 2026. Several circular, snow-covered volcanic peaks are visible across the peninsula, one of the most volcanically active areas in the world. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, home to more than 160,000 people, sits along Avacha Bay—a deep, sheltered bay formed by a combination of tectonic, volcanic, and glacial activity.

NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview. Story by Adam Voiland.

References & Resources

• AccuWeather (2026, January 20) Snow buries Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, but don’t believe the AI videos. Accessed January 21, 2026.
• Cohen, J. (2026, January 19) Arctic Oscillation and Polar Vortex Blog. Accessed January 21, 2026.
• Manney, G. L., et al. (2022) What’s in a name? On the use and significance of the term “polar vortex.” Geophysical Research Letters, 49, e2021GL097617.
• The Moscow Times (2026, January 19) Kamchatka Struggles to Get Back on Its Feet a Week After Winter Storms Bury Peninsula. Accessed January 21, 2026.
• NASA (2024, January 30) Sudden Stratospheric Warming Event. Accessed January 21, 2026.
• Reuters (2026, January 21) Russia’s Far East Buried in Snow. Accessed January 21, 2026.
• UPI (2026, January 20) Snow buries Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. Accessed January 21, 2026.
• The Watchers (2026, January 18) State of Emergency declared for Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky after extreme snow kills 2, Russia. Accessed January 21, 2026.

As America approaches its 250th anniversary of declaring independence, NASA’s Artemis II mission will carry a host of mementos that reflect the nation’s long tradition of exploration, innovation, and leadership in its official flight kit. The items will fly aboard the Orion spacecraft, launched on top of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, as it carries four astronauts around the Moon on the first crewed test flight of the agency’s Artemis campaign.

“Historical artifacts flying aboard Artemis II reflect the long arc of American exploration and the generations of innovators who made this moment possible,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “This mission will bring together pieces of our earliest achievements in aviation, defining moments from human spaceflight, and symbols of where we’re headed next. During America’s 250th anniversary, Orion will carry astronauts around the Moon while also carrying our history forward into the next chapter beyond Earth.”

Selected to honor America’s historic achievements in space, inspire the next generation of explorers, and reinforce U.S. leadership through international cooperation in science and education, the mementos continue a proud tradition carried forward from Artemis I and earlier human spaceflight missions. Together, they highlight the freedom and innovation that have unlocked the Golden Age of human space exploration.

A 1-inch by-1-inch swatch of muslin fabric from the original Wright Flyer the Wright Brothers used to make the first powered flight in 1903 will be flying aboard Artemis II, lent by the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. A smaller square cut of the swatch previously flew aboard space shuttle Discovery on STS-51D in 1985 and will make its second journey into space. After the mission, the fabric will be reunited with two other 1903 Wright Flyer swatches at the museum, celebrating the nation’s history and innovation in aviation.

Also flying aboard the Artemis II mission will be a 13-by-8-inch American flag, which flew with the first shuttle mission, STS-1, the final shuttle mission, STS-135, and NASA’s first crewed test flight of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, SpaceX Demo-2.

A flag that was set to fly on NASA’s Apollo 18 mission is included in the flight kit and will make its premiere flight with Orion. The flag serves as a powerful emblem of America’s renewed commitment to human exploration of the Moon, while honoring the legacy of the Apollo pioneers who first blazed the trail.

Orion also will carry a copy of a 4-by-5-inch negative of a photo from the Ranger 7 mission, the first U.S. mission to successfully make contact with the lunar surface. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California managed the Ranger series of spacecraft, built to help identify safe Moon landing sites for Apollo astronauts. The photo represents a major turning point in the race to the Moon that will be echoed today through the success of Artemis.

On Artemis I, a variety of tree seeds flew and were distributed to educational organizations and teachers after the mission, following in the footsteps of tree seeds flown aboard the Apollo 14 mission sprouted into “Moon Trees” after being returned to Earth. The seeds have since taken root at 236 locations across the U.S. to become their own Artemis I Moon Trees. Soil samples collected from the base of established Artemis I Moon Trees planted at NASA’s 10 centers will fly aboard Artemis II, representing the full cycle of exploration: launch, flight, growth, and return to space again. The CSA (Canadian Space Agency) will fly various tree seeds in the kit with the intention of distributing them after the mission.

Also included in the kit will be an SD card including the millions of names of those who participated in the “Send Your Name to Space” campaign, bringing the public along on this journey. The kit will include a variety of flags, patches, and pins to be distributed after the mission to stakeholders and employees who contributed to the flight. 

Additionally, NASA has included items from several of its partners in the kit. Stickers and patches from CSA will fly, and ESA (European Space Agency) will fly a flag in the kit for distribution after the mission, marking NASA’s international collaboration with other space agencies through Artemis. Orion’s European Service Module, the powerhouse of the spacecraft, is provided by ESA.

Carrying mementos on the NASA spacecraft has been a tradition since the 1960s, one that was continued on Artemis I, the first uncrewed test flight of Orion and the SLS. During this mission, Orion carried a symbolic flight kit including historical artifacts, from Apollo missions STEM, or science, technology, engineering, and math, items, digitized student essays and teacher pledges, and more.

The official flight kit for Artemis II, which contains about 10 pounds of mementos in total, augments important scientific research  aboard Orion.

NASA will host two astronauts at 10 a.m. CST Friday, Jan. 23, for a media opportunity at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, who served as part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission, will  discuss their recent mission to the International Space Station.

Media interested in attending the event must confirm their attendance with Lance D. Davis, lance.d.davis@nasa.gov, and Molly Porter, molly.a.porter@nasa.gov, by 12 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 22 to receive further instructions.

The Crew-10 mission launched March 14 and was NASA’s 11th human spaceflight with SpaceX to the space station for the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Aboard the station, the crew completed dozens of experiments and technology demonstrations before safely returning to Earth on Aug. 9, 2025.

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program provides reliable access to space, maximizing the use of the station for research and development and supporting future missions beyond low Earth orbit by partnering with private companies to transport astronauts to and from the space station.

The International Space Station remains the springboard to NASA’s next leap in space exploration, including future missions to the Moon and, eventually, Mars. The agency’s Huntsville Operations Support Center, or HOSC, at Marshall provides engineering and mission operations support for the space station, Commercial Crew Program, and other missions.

Within the HOSC, the commercial crew support team provides engineering and safety and mission assurance expertise for launch vehicles, spacecraft propulsion, and integrated vehicle performance. The HOSC’s Payload Operations Integration Center, which operates, plans, and coordinates science experiments aboard the space station 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, supported the Crew-10 mission, managing communications between the International Space Station crew and researchers worldwide.

Learn more about Crew-10 and agency’s Commercial Crew Program at:

https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew

-end-

Lance D. Davis
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-640-9065
lance.d.davis@nasa.gov  

Molly Porter
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-424-5158
molly.a.porter@nasa.gov

In fall 2025, more than 50 educators and over 1,500 young people across Maine and New Hampshire participated in NASA’s Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Green Down, a citizen science (also known as participatory science or community science) initiative that engages students and volunteers in tracking seasonal changes in plant life. By observing and documenting leaf color change and leaf drop, participants contributed valuable data used by scientists studying how ecosystems respond to a changing climate.

GLOBE Green Down is part of NASA’s Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program, which connects students, educators, and the public with authentic scientific research. Using a standardized color guide and observation protocols, participants measured changes in plant health as autumn progressed, generating consistent, high-quality data that can be analyzed alongside observations collected worldwide.

The 2025 field season was led by the Gulf of Maine Research Institute and focused on supporting educators in taking learning outdoors while strengthening students’ scientific observation and data literacy skills. Students from pre-kindergarten through high school studied a wide range of tree species—including maple, oak, birch, ash, beech, poplar, and apple—by making repeated observations in their local environments.

In Portland, Maine, students from five elementary schools conducted observations in their own schoolyards as part of environmental literacy and science education programs. Beyond New England, learners from Machias, Maine to British Columbia, and many locations in between, contributed observations, creating a geographically diverse dataset that reflects regional and continental patterns of seasonal change.

As they collected data, students also began asking their own research questions—mirroring the inquiry process used by scientists. Their questions explored differences in species behavior, the influence of sunlight, drought, wildfire smoke, and the built environment, and how these factors might affect the timing and progression of leaf color change.

Educators reported that participation in GLOBE Green Down helped students develop a stronger connection to their local ecosystems while gaining experience working with real-world scientific data. Many noted that learners were able to use their observations to discuss environmental change at both local and global scales, including potential climate change impacts on seasonal patterns.

This field season was hosted through NASA’s Science Activation program as part of the Learning Ecosystems Northeast (https://science.nasa.gov/sciact-team/gmri/) (LENE) project. LENE brings together educator learning communities across Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, and Massachusetts, fostering collaboration between school-based and out-of-school educators. Through this network, educators support STEM learning, data literacy, and local ecosystem stewardship—empowering young people to contribute meaningfully to NASA-supported scientific research.

Get Involved with GLOBE

• Educators, students, and community members interested in doing NASA science can get involved. The GLOBE Observer app offers hands-on opportunities to collect and share environmental data used by scientists around the world, while building science skills and local environmental awareness. Learn more: https://science.nasa.gov/citizen-science-old/globe-observer/

• LENE is supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number NNX16AB94A and is part of NASA’s Science Activation Portfolio. Learn more about how Science Activation connects NASA science experts, real content, and experiences with community leaders to do science in ways that activate minds and promote deeper understanding of our world and beyond: https://science.nasa.gov/learn/about-science-activation/