NASA Info

After launching to the International Space Station on March 2, 2023, NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 mission is wrapping up its time in orbit, with a return to Earth in early September 2023. NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg, UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev spent their months on the orbiting lab conducting scientific investigations and technology demonstrations, including running a student robotic challenge, studying plant genetic adaptations to space, and monitoring human health in microgravity to prepare for exploration beyond low Earth orbit and to benefit life on Earth. The astronauts also released Saskatchewan's first satellite, which tests a new radiation detection and protection system derived from melanin.

An international crew is preparing to launch to the International Space Station aboard NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission. NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov of Roscosmos will perform research technology demonstrations, science experiments, and maintenance activities aboard the microgravity laboratory. Crew-7 is targeted to launch no earlier than 3:27 a.m. EDT Saturday, Aug. 26 from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy. As part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, Crew-7 marks the eighth human spaceflight mission supported by a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and the seventh crew rotation mission to the space station since 2020 for NASA.

When it comes to space, humans and robots go way back. We rely heavily on our mechanical friends to perform tasks that are too dangerous, difficult, or out of reach for us humans. We’re even working on a new generation of robots that will help us explore in advanced and novel ways.

A commercial resupply mission heads to the space station, a key piece of hardware for a future Moon mission is on the move, and another spacecraft gets ready to spread its wings in deep space … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA!

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.

Are there earthquakes on other planets? There sure are, but we don’t call them earthquakes. Instead, “moonquakes” & “marsquakes” are shaking things up in space. Dr. Jacob Richardson of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center explains more about what otherworldly quakes can teach us about not only the interiors of planetary bodies, but also what's happening inside Earth.

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.

We know the Moon contains water, but, could future astronauts access and make use of it? That’s the goal. At NASA, we’re actively trying to answer that question. Once it lands at the lunar south pole, our PRIME-1 — Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 – will robotically sample and analyze ice from beneath the lunar surface, contributing to our search for water on the Moon