Christopher Kraft, flight director during Project Mercury, works at his console inside the Flight Control area at Mercury Mission Control. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/christopher_kraft.jpeg

This image of our home planet shows how Earth looked from more than 950,000 miles, or 1.5 million kilometers, away during the total solar eclipse visible in Antarctica on Dec. 4, 2021. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/epic_1b_20211204075803.png

NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration, or LCRD, launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/51731031588_c62a45b30c_o.jpeg

This stunning image captures a small region on the edge of the inky Coalsack Nebula, or Caldwell 99. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/coalsack_acs1_hpfinal.jpg

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches with NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) spacecraft onboard from Launch Complex 39A, Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/51733990422_be2a3d80f0_o.jpeg

Snoopy, the Zero G Indicator for the Artemis I mission, was delivered to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Dec. 2 2021. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/snoppy.jpeg

Each December the Geminids meteor showers appear in the night sky. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/2020_geminid_radiant_visual-cropped.png

IIn this image, a Hayabusa2 sample canister containing sample fragments of the asteroid Ryugu is transferred from JAXA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, to NASA. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/jsc2021e062389.jpg

Dr. Eugene Parker (seated), a pioneer in heliophysics, watches the liftoff of the mission named in his honor. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/ksc-20180812-ph_geb01_0045.jpg

This Hubble Space Telescope image captures a portion of the reflection nebula IC 2631, which contains a protostar, the hot, dense core of a forming star that is accumulating gas and dust. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/hubble_sstgbsj1109261_ic2631_display1_0.jpg

In this image, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captures a side-on view of NGC 3568, a barred spiral galaxy roughly 57 million light-years from the Milky Way in the constellation Centaurus. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/hubble_ngc_3568_potw2150a.jpg

These blueprints of the James Webb Space Telescope were created as a prop for a video series. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/47690335362_a9b23dc6c8_o.jpeg

The Earth's solstices come twice a year. For the Northern Hemisphere, this year's winter solstice happens on Dec. 21. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/seasons_msg_20101221_lrg.jpeg

In this image, the COWVR and TEMPEST instruments are shown in the trunk of the cargo craft. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/1-cowvr-loaded-1041.jpg

Arianespace's Ariane 5 rocket with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope onboard, is rolled out to the launch pad, Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/nhq202112230007_0.jpg

This composite image made from seven frames shows the International Space Station, with a crew of seven onboard, in silhouette as it transits the Sun. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/51271450910_2301dffc91_o.jpeg

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST, launched aboard Arianespace's Ariane 5 rocket on Saturday, Dec. 25, 2021. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/51775374322_f109a4ecb1_o.jpeg

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with the Lucy spacecraft aboard is seen at Space Launch Complex 41, Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/51590057956_1977fe98b4_o.jpeg

2021 saw significant milestones achieved in the assembly of NASA’s X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology aircraft (QueSST), and all eyes now look forward to a pivotal 2022. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/097a2052-pano.jpg

This image shows knots of cold, dense interstellar gas where new stars are forming. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/hubble_j2034417_freggs_fullsize_0.jpg