NASA

20,784,066 views 12 Jun 2015 New Horizons is the first mission to the Kuiper Belt, a gigantic zone of icy bodies and mysterious small objects orbiting beyond Neptune. This region also is known as the “third” zone of our solar system, beyond the inner rocky planets and outer gas giants. Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Maryland, designed, built and operates the New Horizons spacecraft, and manages the mission for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Year of Pluto - NASA New Horizons is a one hour documentary which takes on the hard science and gives us answers to how the mission came about and why it matters. Interviews with Dr. James Green, John Spencer, Fran Bagenal, Mark Showalter and others share how New Horizons will answer many questions. New Horizons is part of the New Frontiers Program, managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

The SpaceX Demo-2 test flight for NASA's Commercial Crew Program was the first to deliver astronauts to the International Space Station and return them safely to Earth onboard a commercially built and operated spacecraft. The crew launched on Saturday, May 30 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and arrived at the orbiting laboratory on May 31. The SpaceX Crew Dragon “Endeavour” splashed down off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, Sunday, Aug. 2 at 2:48 pm EDT following their undocking from the International Space Station Saturday, Aug. 1 at 7:35 pm EDT. During their 62 days aboard station, Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley contributed more than 100 hours of time to supporting the orbiting laboratory’s investigations, participated in public engagement events, and supported four spacewalks with Behnken and Cassidy to install new batteries in the station’s power grid and upgrade other station hardware. These activities are a part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which has been working with the U.S. aerospace industry to launch astronauts on American rockets and spacecraft from American soil the International Space Station for the first time since 2011. This is SpaceX’s final test flight and is providing data about the performance of the Falcon 9 rocket, Crew Dragon spacecraft and ground systems, as well as in-orbit, docking, splashdown and recovery operations.  The test flight also will help NASA certify SpaceX’s crew transportation system for regular flights carrying astronauts to and from the space station. SpaceX is readying the hardware for the first rotational mission that will occur following NASA certification, which is expected to take about six weeks. The goal of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is safe, reliable and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station. This could allow for additional research time and increase the opportunity for discovery aboard humanity’s testbed for exploration, including helping us prepare for human exploration of the Moon and Mars.

On Oct. 14, 2023, a “ring of fire,” or annular, solar eclipse will travel from Oregon coast to the Gulf of Mexico. Weather permitting, most of the Americas will be able to view at least a partial solar eclipse. Click here to see the NASA 2023 and 2024 Solar Eclipse Map: https://go.nasa.gov/USEclipseMaps An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, but is just far away enough in its orbit that the Sun is not completely covered—creating a large, bright ring in the sky. WARNING: During an annular eclipse, it is never safe to look directly at the Sun without specialized eye protection designed for solar viewing. How to safely view an eclipse: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/eclipses... Not in the path of the eclipse? Watch with us from anywhere in the world. We will provide live broadcast coverage on Oct. 14 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. EDT (1530-1715 UTC) on NASA TV, Learn more about the upcoming annular solar eclipse: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/eclipses... Credit: NASA Producer: Sonnet Apple Music: Universal Production Music

NASA’s SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft carrying NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov autonomously docked to the space-facing port of the Harmony module of the International Space Station at 9:16 a.m. EDT on Aug. 27 following a launch the day before on the SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Following docking, the quartet opened the hatch and floated onboard the orbital outpost before providing welcoming remarks as their mission aboard the space station began. The four crew members will conduct a long-duration science mission living and working aboard the microgravity laboratory to advance scientific knowledge and demonstrate new technologies for future human and robotic exploration missions. Such research benefits people on Earth and lays the groundwork for future human exploration through the agency’s Artemis missions, which will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future expeditions to Mars. _______________________________________ FOLLOW THE SPACE STATION! X: https://x.com/Space_Station Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ISS Instagram: https://instagram.com/iss/

How do planets get their names? With the exception of Earth, the planets in our solar system were named after Greek or Roman gods. Today, the job of naming things in space falls to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the internationally recognized authority for naming celestial bodies and their surface features. NASA scientist Dr. Henry Throop explains more. Link to download this video: https://go.nasa.gov/3Qc2qMI Producers: Jessica Wilde, Scott Bednar Editor: David Shelton Credit: NASA

NASA's Jonny Kim and Anita Dey sit down with historian Brian Odom to discuss how NASA is making the Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander community visible to the world, Kim’s experience with the space program growing up, and the impact of cultural stereotypes. In addition to being an astronaut, Jonny Kim is also a Harvard-trained physician and U.S. Navy SEAL. Anita Dey serves as a strategic partnerships manager in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. Learn more about our diverse workforce: http://nasa.gov/faces-of-nasa #AANHPI #nasa