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What are some skywatching highlights in May 2022? May provides some great planet spotting, including a close conjunction of Jupiter and Mars. At mid-month, a total eclipse of the Moon should delight skywatchers across the Americas, Europe, and Africa. And all month long, the Coma star cluster (aka, the Coma Berenices star cluster, or Melotte 111) is a great target for binoculars in the evening. Credit: NASA-JPL

Get in line with ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer and his Expedition 66 crew mates to experience a reboost of the International Space Station from the inside. This video is sped up 8 times fast. The International Space Station flies around Earth at around 400 km. It is reboosted periodically to maintain its orbit and overcome the effects of atmospheric drag created by molecules of the atmosphere, which causes the Station to lose about 100 m of altitude per day. A Space Station reboost maneuver also optimizes phasing for future visiting vehicles arriving at the station. In March 2022 the ISS performed a reboost using Russia’s ISS Progress 79 cargo craft. By firing its engines for several minutes, the station was put at the proper altitude for a crew ship orbit rendezvous and landing operations. During the manoeuvre, the astronauts inside the station keep flying at the same speed and direction. While it seems like the astronauts are moving inside the station, it is in fact the ISS that gets the boost and is moving around them. Credit: ESA

SpaceX launched Friday, April 29 a Falcon 9 of 53 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. at 5:27 p.m. ET, or 21:27 UTC, The first stage booster supporting this mission previously launched GPS III Space Vehicle 04, GPS III Space Vehicle 05, Inspiration4, one Starlink mission, and Ax-1. Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage will return to Earth and land on the Just Read the Instructions droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. Credit: SpaceX

A new crew launches to the space station, another crew wraps up an historic mission to the station, and more time to explore for some planetary science missions … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA! Credit: NASA

Harrison Schmitt Last Person to Step on the Moon Apollo 17 Moonwalker talks about SpaceX Crew-4 Launch Credit: SpaceX NASA

It is official, alignment of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is now complete. The alignment of the telescope across all of Webb’s instruments can be seen in a series of images that captures the observatory’s full field of view. Featured in this video are engineering images demonstrating the sharp focus of each instrument. For this test, Webb pointed at part of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, providing a dense field of hundreds of thousands of stars across all the observatory’s sensors. The sizes and positions of the images shown depict the relative arrangement of each of Webb’s instruments in the telescope’s focal plane, each pointing at a slightly offset part of the sky relative to one another. Webb’s three imaging instruments are NIRCam (images shown here at a wavelength of 2 microns), NIRISS (image shown here at 1.5 microns), and MIRI (shown at 7.7 microns, a longer wavelength revealing emission from interstellar clouds as well as starlight). NIRSpec is a spectrograph rather than imager but can take images, such as the 1.1 micron image shown here, for calibrations and target acquisition. The dark regions visible in parts of the NIRSpec data are due to structures of its microshutter array, which has several hundred thousand controllable shutters that can be opened or shut to select which light is sent into the spectrograph. Lastly, Webb’s Fine Guidance Sensor tracks guide stars to point the observatory accurately and precisely; its two sensors are not generally used for scientific imaging but can take calibration images such as those shown here. This image data is used not just to assess image sharpness but also to precisely measure and calibrate subtle image distortions and alignments between the instrument sensors as part of Webb’s overall instrument calibration process. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA astronauts jell Lindgren, Robert Hines, Jessica Watkins and Samantha Cristoforetti from ESA give a tour of the new SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft on the way to the International Space Station On Wednesday, April 27 at 3:52 a.m. ET, 7:52 UTC, Falcon 9 launched Dragon’s fourth science expedition mission (Crew-4) to the International Space Station from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship. During their time at the orbiting laboratory, the Crew-4 astronauts will conduct over 200 science experiments in areas such as materials science, health technologies, and plant science to prepare for human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit and benefit life on Earth. Credit: NASA SpaceX

On Wednesday, April 27 at 3:52 a.m. ET, 7:52 UTC, Falcon 9 launched Dragon’s fourth science expedition mission (Crew-4) to the International Space Station from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship. Dragon autonomously docked with the space station 16 hours later at approximately 8:15 p.m. ET (00:15 UTC April 28). During their time at the orbiting laboratory, the Crew-4 astronauts will conduct over 200 science experiments in areas such as materials science, health technologies, and plant science to prepare for human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit and benefit life on Earth. Credit: NASA SpaceX

On Wednesday, April 27 at 3:52 a.m. ET, 7:52 UTC, Falcon 9 launched Dragon’s fourth science expedition mission (Crew-4) to the International Space Station from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship. Dragon autonomously docked with the space station 16 hours later at approximately 8:15 p.m. ET (00:15 UTC April 28). During their time at the orbiting laboratory, the Crew-4 astronauts will conduct over 200 science experiments in areas such as materials science, health technologies, and plant science to prepare for human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit and benefit life on Earth. Credit: NASA SpaceX

The Crew-4 mission to the International Space Station lifted off at 3:52 a.m. EDT (7:52 UTC) Wednesday, April 27, 2022, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, and Jessica Watkins, as well as ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, will launch aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Credit: SpaceX NASA

ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer gives a glimpse into his evening routine aboard the International Space Station during his Cosmic Kiss mission. Matthias’s crew quarters, known as CASA (short for Crew Alternate Sleep Accommodation), is located within the European Columbus science laboratory module. But before he floats into his sleeping bag in there for the night, Matthias takes a little detour to one of the three “bathrooms” currently on board the Space Station. Separated from the work areas and installed in different modules of the USOS and Russian segments of the Station to allow them some privacy, the astronauts on board share these bathrooms to wash up, take a "shower" in space and brush their teeth. Credit: ESA

SpaceX and NASA are targeting no earlier than Wednesday, April 27 for Falcon 9’s launch of Crew-4, Dragon’s fourth science expedition mission to the International Space Station, from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Launch is targeted for 3:52 a.m. ET (7:52 UTC), with a backup opportunity available on Thursday, April 28. This will be the first flight of the Dragon spacecraft supporting this mission and the fourth flight for Falcon 9’s first stage booster, which previously launched CRS-22, Crew-3, and Turksat 5B. Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage will land on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. During their time at the orbiting laboratory, the Crew-4 astronauts will conduct over 200 science experiments in areas such as materials science, health technologies, and plant science to prepare for human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit and benefit life on Earth. Credit SpaceX

SpaceX and NASA are targeting no earlier than Wednesday, April 27 for Falcon 9’s launch of Crew-4, Dragon’s fourth science expedition mission to the International Space Station, from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Launch is targeted for 3:52 a.m. ET (7:52 UTC), with a backup opportunity available on Thursday, April 28. This will be the first flight of the Dragon spacecraft supporting this mission and the fourth flight for Falcon 9’s first stage booster, which previously launched CRS-22, Crew-3, and Turksat 5B. Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage will land on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. During their time at the orbiting laboratory, the Crew-4 astronauts will conduct over 200 science experiments in areas such as materials science, health technologies, and plant science to prepare for human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit and benefit life on Earth.

After 17 days in space, Dragon and Axiom Space’s Ax-1 astronauts, Michael López-Alegría, Larry Connor, Eytan Stibbe, and Mark Pathy returned to Earth, splashing down off the coast of Florida at 1:06 p.m. ET on Monday, April 25. Ax-1 was Axiom Space’s first all-private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. Credit: SpaceX

Dragon and the Ax-1 astronauts to depart from the International Space Station. After performing a series of burns to move away from the space station, Dragon will conduct multiple orbit-lowering maneuvers, jettison its trunk, and re-enter Earth’s atmosphere before landing off the coast of Florida 16 hours later at approximately 1:06 p.m. ET on Monday, April 25. Credit: SpacwX

NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts prepare for launch, an update on our Artemis I mega Moon rocket and spacecraft, and celebrating our home planet for Earth Day – just a few of the stories to tell you about This Week at NASA! Credit NASA

On Thursday, April 21 at 1:51 p.m. ET, Falcon 9 launched 53 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This was the 12th flight for the Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched GPS III-3, Turksat 5A, Transporter-2, and now nine Starlink missions. Credit: SpaceX

Hubble's 32nd Anniversary: An Eclectic Galaxy Grouping! NASA is celebrating the Hubble Space Telescope’s 32nd birthday with a stunning look at five galaxies, a close-knit collection called the Hickson Compact Group 40. This amazing assembly includes a giant elliptical galaxy, glowing with blended light from billions of stars. Several spiral galaxies show prominent dusty lanes that outline their winding spiral arms, regions where star formation is active. We see one galaxy oriented edge-on, showing off its prominent dust along its flattened starry disk.

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover used its Mastcam-Z camera system to shoot video of Phobos, one of Mars’ two moons, eclipsing the Sun. It’s the most zoomed-in, highest frame-rate observation of a Phobos solar eclipse ever taken from the Martian surface. Several Mars rovers have observed Phobos crossing in front of the Sun over the past 18 years. Spirit and Opportunity made the first observations back in 2004; Curiosity in 2019 was the first to record video of the event. Each time these eclipses are observed, they allow scientists to measure subtle shifts in Phobos’ orbit over time. The moon’s tidal forces pull on the deep interior of the Red Planet, as well as its crust and mantle; studying how much Phobos shifts over time reveals something about how resistant the crust and mantle are, and thus what kinds of materials they’re made of. Credit: NASA JPL

NASA’S SpaceX Crew-4 training reel NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, and Jessica Watkins as well as ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti train for their long-duration mission to the International Space Station. Credit: NASA

The Expedition 67 crew and astronauts of the Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1) shared reflections on the first private astronaut mission to the International Space Station prior to the mission’s planned departure. NASA astronauts Marshburn, Raja Chari, and Kayla Barron, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev, Sergey Korsokov, and Denis Matveev joined Ax-1 Commander Michael López-Alegría, Pilot Larry Connor, and Mission Specialists Eytan Stibbe and Mark Pathy for the farewell remarks. The Ax-1 crew will return to Earth aboard the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour and splashdown off the coast of Florida to complete their mission. Credit: NASA

Testing our mega Moon rocket and ground systems, preparing the James Webb Space telescope for science, and testing an instrument for future X-59 research … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA! Credit: NASA

Thanks to data provided by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission, NASA is able to visualize the Apollo 16 landing site in the Descartes highlands on the nearside of the Moon, where the astronauts landed in April 1972. The mission was crewed by Commander John Young, Lunar Module Pilot Charles Duke, and Command Module Pilot Thomas K. Mattingly. This visualization contains audio transmissions from portions of the mission between the astronauts and CapCom James Irwin, and a view of the 3 EVA (extravehicular activity) routes the astronauts took over the course of three days, including their visit to North Ray crater. The experiments conducted and lunar samples collected by the crew are still providing valuable data about our Moon to scientists today. Credit: NASA

SpaceX launched on Sunday, April 17 at 6:13am PT. a Falcon 9 for the NROL-85 mission, from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission previously launched the NROL-87 mission in February 2022. Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage returned and landed on Landing Zone 4 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California

On Friday, August 8 at 11:17 a.m. ET, Falcon 9 launched Axiom Space’s Ax-1 mission, Dragon’s fifth human spaceflight to the International Space Station, from historic Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage landed on the droneship, A Shortfall of Gravitas, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. Axiom Space’s Ax-1 mission is the first all-private human spaceflight mission to the International Space Station. The Ax-1 crew will participate in educational outreach and conduct innovative research experiments while on the orbiting laboratory. Video Credit: SpaceX