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
This image shows the James Webb Space Telescope atop its launch vehicle, but before it was encapsulated in the rocket fairing. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/51756638171_8ed20da7d5_o.jpeg
Legendary actor and diplomat, Sidney Poitier, visited JPL in 1979. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/p-21268b.jpeg
Our Milky Way's central black hole has a leak. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/hubble_mwayjet_composite.jpg
Scores of baby stars shrouded by dust are revealed in this infrared image of the star-forming region NGC 2174. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/pia19836-ngc2174.jpg
This image, captured by the Landsat-8 satellite, shows the view over Western Australia on May 12, 2013. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/march2014_1920x1200.jpeg
This image shows the Highfield drill hole, on Vera Rubin Ridge in Gale crater on Mars, made by NASA’s Curiosity rover in its search for rock samples. Just recently, scientists announced that an analysis of rock samples collected by the rover were enriched in carbon 12, a type of carbon that on Earth is associated with biological processes. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/martian-drill-hole.png
Retired U.S. Air Force Honorary Brigadier General Charles McGee, left, spoke with NASA astronaut Alvin Drew in 2020. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/49493710476_a7f7b04bd5_o.jpeg
In this image from Jan. 9, 2022, NASA astronaut Kayla Barron peered out from a window inside the International Space Station's cupola. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/iss066e109584.jpg
The spiral arms of the galaxy NGC 3318 are lazily draped across this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. This spiral galaxy lies in the constellation Vela and is roughly 115 light-years away from Earth. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/hubble_ngc3318_potw2203a_0.png
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is designing mission concepts to survive the planet's extreme temperatures and atmospheric pressure. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/imagesvenus20191211venus20191211-16.jpeg
This colorized schlieren image is of a small-scale model of NASA’s X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology airplane. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/28x6_x-59_rdg-6753_average_cleaned_red_blue_black.jpg
Much like the sky, rivers are rarely painted one color. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/usrivers_oli_2018_lrg_0.jpeg
On Jan. 27, 1967, tragedy struck on the launch pad at Cape Kennedy during a preflight test for Apollo 204 (AS-204). http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/apollo_1_crew_during_water_egress_training_june_1966_1.jpg
In this image taken in 1985, four members of the Challenger STS-51L crew train on the flight deck of the shuttle crew compartment. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/sts_51l_cct_flight_deck_dec_17_1985_s85-46207.jpg
To learn how ocean water is melting glaciers, NASA’s Oceans Melting Greenland mission extensively surveyed the coastline of the world’s largest island. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/1-main-omg-eom-1041.jpg
The bright Sun dissects the airglow above Earth's horizon in this view photographed with a digital still camera from during the STS-107 mission. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/209783main_s107e05070_full.jpeg
Dr. Christian Braneon, a climate scientist at NASA GISS, presents data visualizations and the state of current satellite missions to Vice President Kamala Harris. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/51663728897_cef2f7365f_o.jpeg