NGC 7773 is a beautiful example of a barred spiral galaxy. A luminous bar-shaped structure cuts prominently through the galaxy's bright core, extending to the inner boundary of NGC 7773's sweeping, pinwheel-like spiral arms. Astronomers think that these bar structures emerge later in the lifetime of a galaxy. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/potw1922a.jpg

NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor is hugged by students after a presentation about her experience on Expeditions 56 and 57 onboard the International Space Station at Excel Academy Public Charter School in DC. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/48039484278_3230f9db87_k.jpg

This flag accompanied NASA astronaut Alan B. Shepard on his 15-minute suborbital journey on May 5, 1961. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/a19840955000d1.jpg

Samples of spacesuit material will be flown on the Mars 2020 mission to study show they might degrade in the Martian environment. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/teacup_lg.jpg

Command Module pilot Michael Collins practices in the CM simulator on June 19, 1969, at Kennedy. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/apollo_11_collins_in_cm_sim_ksc_jun_19_1969_s69-38202.jpg

The pilot of NASA’s X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology, or QueSST, aircraft will navigate the skies in a cockpit unlike any other. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/x59_fd_final_1600x1280_cm_1.jpg

At 5:30 a.m. EDT Thursday, June 20, 2019, a 40-foot tall rocket carrying 28 student experiments (measuring acceleration, humidity, pressure, temperature and radiation counts) launched from Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/wff-2019-050-001.jpg

The electric motors for X-57’s Mod II vehicle and their propellers were powered up and spun together for the first time as part of an integrated spin test. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/x-57_mod_ii.jpg

Satellites love hydrazine – a type of space propellant – but it’s toxic to people and extremely difficult to handle. A non-toxic alternative will be put to the test with NASA’s Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM), set to launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/gpim.png

NASA astronaut and Astronaut Office Representative Joe Acaba is seen along with other NASA, Canadian Space Agency and Roscosmos teams as they deploy from Karaganda for the Expedition 59 landing. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/48120174026_68ca66cf1d_k_0.jpg

The Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft is seen as it lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan with Expedition 59 crew members. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/48124299366_ebee34a5d9_k.jpg

Snowflakes that cover mountains or linger under tree canopies are a vital freshwater resource for over a billion people around the world. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/sts059-81-095large.jpg

This stunning image of Jupiter's stormy northern hemisphere was captured by NASA's Juno spacecraft as it performed a close pass of the gas giant planet. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/pia22949.jpg

The last of four structural test articles for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) was loaded onto NASA’s barge Pegasus Wednesday, June 26, 2019, at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/maf_20190626_p_lox_sta_roll_out-316.jpg

A test version of NASA’s Orion crew module is ready for rollback at Space Launch Complex 46 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/aa2-top-blog-photo-1-1200x800.jpg

A launch abort system (LAS) with a test version of Orion attached soars upward on NASA’s Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) flight test atop a Northrop Grumman provided booster on July 2, 2019, after launching at 7 a.m. EDT. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/48181678987_dd26a6ed67_k.jpg

This 8-image mosaic of the Sojourner rover on the surface of Mars was acquired during the late afternoon on Sol 2. Sojourner arrived aboard the Mars Pathfinder on July 4, 1997. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/pia01551.jpg

This was the view as the International Space Station orbited 256 miles above the Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Hawaiian island chain. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/iss060e002083.jpg

On July 2, 2019, skywatchers in the beach city of La Serena, Chile, looked up at 4:38 p.m. local time to see a black circle in the sky. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/eclipse_amo_2019183_lrg.jpg

NASA’s Juno spacecraft captured this view of an area within a Jovian jet stream showing a vortex that has an intensely dark center. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/pia22948b_0.jpg