On April 3, 2017, the student-controlled EarthKAM camera aboard the International Space Station captured this photograph of a favorite target -- the Grand Canyon -- from low Earth orbit. The camera has been aboard the orbiting outpost since the first space station expedition began in November 2000 and supports approximately four missions annually. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/ccfid_136341_2017094234803_image.jpg
Expedition 51 Flight Engineer Thomas Pesquet captured this nighttime photo of Florida from the International Space Station. Bright lights include the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area, and Orlando, with Cape Canaveral to the east, where launch preparations for SpaceX's next cargo mission are underway at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/32894787863_81394822de_o.jpg
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the Dragon spacecraft onboard, is seen shortly after being raised vertical at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, Thursday, June 1, 2017. Liftoff is scheduled for 5:55 p.m EDT. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/34991387636_ccc9430d87_o.jpg
This observation from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show it is late summer in the Southern hemisphere, so the Sun is low in the sky and subtle topography is accentuated in orbital images. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/pia21636.jpg
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the Dragon spacecraft onboard, launches from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, Saturday, June 3, 2017. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/34691015500_418541e0d8_o.jpg
From high above Saturn's northern hemisphere, NASA's Cassini spacecraft gazes over the planet's north pole, with its intriguing hexagon and bullseye-like central vortex. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/pia21331-1041.jpg
NASA astronaut Jack Fischer tweeted this photograph from the International Space Station on June 3, 2017, writing,
NASA's 2017 astronaut candidates take a group photo at Ellington Field near Johnson Space Center. Pictured are, front row, left to right, Zena Cardman, Jasmin Moghbeli, Robb Kulin, Jessica Watkins, Loral O'Hara; back row, left to right, Jonny Kim, Frank Rubio, Matthew Dominick, Warren Hoburg, Kayla Barron, Bob Hines, and Raja Chari. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/img_0524a.jpg
In biology, “symbiosis” refers to two organisms that live close to and interact with one another. Astronomers have long studied a class of stars – called symbiotic stars – that co-exist in a similar way. Astronomers are gaining a better understanding of how volatile this close stellar relationship can be. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/raquarii-aas-optical-xray.jpg
This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows the northeastern rim of Urvara Crater on Ceres. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/pia21408-1041.jpg
On May 29, 2017, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured the data for this image of an ongoing phytoplankton bloom in the Black Sea. The image is a mosaic, composed from multiple satellite passes over the region. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/blacksea_amo_2017149_lrg.jpg
This artist illustration shows the thick ring of dust that can obscure the energetic processes that occur near the supermassive black hole of an active galactic nuclei. Researchers have found that the dust surrounding active, ravenous black holes is much more compact than previously thought. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/agn_fnl_lcook-1.jpg
NASA astronaut Jack Fischer took this photograph of an American flag in one of the windows of the International Space Station's cupola, a dome-shaped module through which operations on the outside of the station can be observed and guided. Throughout NASA's history, spacecraft and launch vehicles have always been decorated with flags. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/flag-140d4507.jpg
NASA's Cassini spacecraft sees bright methane clouds drifting in the summer skies of Saturn's moon Titan, along with dark hydrocarbon lakes and seas clustered around the north pole. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/pia21615.jpg
NASA’s Juno spacecraft was racing away from Jupiter following its seventh close pass of the planet when JunoCam snapped this image on May 19, 2017, from about 29,100 miles (46,900 kilometers) above the cloud tops. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/pia21392.png
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope sits in front of the door to Chamber A, a giant thermal vacuum chamber located at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. The telescope will soon be moved into the chamber, where it will spend a hot Houston summer undergoing tests at sub-freezing cryogenic temperatures. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/otis_on_hoss_stover.jpg
Over the weekend of June 17-18, engineers on the ground remotely operated the International Space Station's Canadarm2 to extract the Roll Out Solar Array experiment from the SpaceX Dragon resupply ship. The experiment will remain attached to the Canadarm2 over seven days to test this advanced, flexible array that rolls out like a tape measure. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/iss052e002865.jpg
On August 21, 2017, the Earth will cross the shadow of the moon, creating a total solar eclipse. Eclipses happen about every six months, but this one is special. For the first time in almost 40 years, the path of the moon's shadow passes through the continental United States. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/sun_earth_eclipse.jpg
This image was acquired by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on April 18, 2017, at 14:04 local Mars time. It reminded the HiRISE team of the rugged and open terrain of a stark shore-line, perhaps of the British Isles. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/esp_050282_1820.jpg