The southern tip of Italy is visible in this image taken by the Expedition 49 crew aboard the International Space Station on Sept. 17, 2016. The brightly lit city of Naples can be seen in the bottom section of the image. A Russian Soyuz spacecraft can be seen in the foreground. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/29185512413_b2e78e5bc2_o.jpg

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins checks a sample for air bubbles prior to loading it in the biomolecule sequencer. When Rubins’ expedition began, zero base pairs of DNA had been sequenced in space. Within just a few weeks, she and the Biomolecule Sequencer team had sequenced their one billionth base of DNA aboard the orbiting laboratory. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/iss048e069879.jpg

A group of U.S. Navy divers, Air Force pararescuemen and Coast Guard rescue swimmers practice Orion underway recovery techniques in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory at NASA’s Johnson Space Center to prepare for the first test flight of an uncrewed Orion spacecraft with the agency’s Space Launch System rocket during Exploration Mission (EM-1). http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/29759265711_c40946f688_o.jpg

This star is ending its life by casting off its outer layers of gas, which formed a cocoon around the star's remaining core. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/heic0703a.jpg

New NASA-funded research suggests that Mercury is contracting even today, joining Earth as a tectonically active planet. Images obtained by NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft reveal previously undetected small fault scarps— cliff-like landforms that resemble stair steps. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/press_photo_4.jpg

Orbiting above eastern North America, a crew member on the International Space Station photographed a dense pattern of eddies in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Caught briefly in the Sun’s “glint point,” reflections off the water surface show an interlinked mass of swirls and eddies in the shallow water north of Prince Edward Island. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/iss048e071829_lrg.jpg

This image of galaxy cluster Abell 2744, also called Pandora's Cluster, was taken by the Spitzer Space Telescope. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/pia20920.jpg

In this photograph taken on Sept. 1, 2016, the James Webb Space Telescope Pathfinder structure has been configured for the Thermal Pathfinder Test at NASA Johnson Space Center's giant thermal vacuum chamber, called Chamber A. The Pathfinder is a test version of the structure that supports the telescope. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/29677447760_35cb318fbb_o.jpg

The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) is seen attached to the Tranquility module of the International Space Station. BEAM is an is an experimental expandable habitat. Expandable habitats, occasionally described as inflatable habitats, greatly decrease the amount of transport volume for future space missions. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/29894260842_1d70c6d562_o.jpg

On September 29, 2016, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this false-color image (MODIS bands 7-2-1) showing volcanic activity in the South Sandwich Islands. Located in the South Atlantic Ocean, the uninhabited South Sandwich Islands include several active stratovolcanoes. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/southsandwich_amo_2016273_lrg.jpg

This 360-degree panorama was acquired by the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover . http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/pia20840.jpg

On October 4, 2016, Hurricane Matthew made landfall on southwestern Haiti as a category-4 storm—the strongest storm to hit the Caribbean nation in more than 50 years. Just hours after landfall, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this natural-color image. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/matthew_tmo_2016278_lrg.jpg

The International Space Station has tracked Hurricane Matthew all week, providing images and video from low Earth orbit as the storm hit the Caribbean Sea and made its way towards Florida. In this photograph taken by Expedition 49 Flight Engineer Kate Rubins on Oct. 4, 2016, at 21:05 GMT, the hurricane's clouds extend across the frame. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/iss049e028833.jpg

Astronauts on the International Space Station captured a series of incredible star trail images on Oct. 3, 2016, as they orbited at 17,500 miles per hour. The station orbits the Earth every 90 minutes, and astronauts aboard see an average of 16 sunrises and sunsets every 24 hours. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/29529061813_6797c55422_o.jpg

NASA's Cassini spacecraft looks down at the rings of Saturn from above the planet's nightside. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/pia20505-1041.jpg

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins inspected the Bigelow Aerospace Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) attached to the International Space Station. Expandable habitats are designed to take up less room on a spacecraft while providing greater volume for living and working in space once expanded. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/29637425124_af9670e5de_o.jpg

A Laser-Sharp View of Blended Wing Body Plane Design http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/lrc_2016_h1_p_bwblasertest-100601.jpg

The Orbital ATK Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard, is raised into the vertical position on launch Pad-0A, Friday, Oct. 14, 2016, at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. Scheduled to launch Oct. 16, Orbital ATK’s cargo resupply mission will deliver over 5,100 pounds of science and research, supplies and hardware to the space station. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/29690070064_14745822ac_o.jpg

The Orbital ATK Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard, is seen on launch Pad-0A as the moon sets, predawn, Saturday, Oct. 15, 2016 at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Orbital ATK’s cargo resupply mission will deliver over 5,100 pounds of science and research, supplies and hardware to the space station. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/29706136403_1fba77ce5f_o_1.jpg

The Orbital ATK Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard, launches from Pad-0A, Monday, October 17, 2016 at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Cygnus is delivering over 5,100 pounds of science and research, supplies and hardware to the space station. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/nhq201610170106.jpg