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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
March 27, 2025
Messier 81
One of the brightest galaxies in planet Earth's sky is similar in size to our Milky Way Galaxy: big, beautiful Messier 81. Also known as NGC 3031 or Bode's galaxy for its 18th century discoverer, this grand spiral can be found toward the northern constellation of Ursa Major, the Great Bear. The sharp, detailed telescopic view reveals M81's bright yellow nucleus, blue spiral arms, pinkish starforming regions, and sweeping cosmic dust lanes. But some dust lanes actually run through the galactic disk (left of center), contrary to other prominent spiral features. The errant dust lanes may be the lingering result of a close encounter between M81 and the nearby galaxy M82 lurking outside of this frame. Scrutiny of variable stars in M81 has yielded a well-determined distance for an external galaxy – 11.8 million light-years.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
Superconducting Wires
March 27, 2025
Overview
A big challenge when designing propulsion system components for electrified aircraft is managing weight and energy loss during operation.
When dealing with megawatt-levels of power, lightweight systems with minimal energy loss are crucial in ensuring high efficiency.
NASA is collaborating with industry to advance research and development of superconducting wires for use in motors and generators on aircraft with turboelectric propulsion system configurations.
The materials used in superconducting wires eliminate electrical resistance when cooled below a critical temperature, which helps support higher current loads with minimal energy loss.
Technology Development
Through a series of NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts, engineers at Hyper Tech Research developed new superconducting wires using fine-filament magnesium diboride (MgB2).
Wires designed with this material showed a reduction in alternating current (AC) losses while enabling higher frequencies and reduced weight at a lower cost.
The company also demonstrated a new wire manufacturing process that uses magnesium-infiltration instead of magnesium boron powder mixtures typically used in the traditional method.
This switch helped improve the wire’s current density and overall efficiency.
Testing and Analysis
NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland is home to a superconducting laboratory that provides unique resources to test electrified aircraft components at cryogenic temperatures as low as 12 Kelvin (K) without the need to handle hazardous fluids.
The environment also allows for measuring AC and direct current (DC) losses in superconductors.
https://www.nasa.gov/superconducting-wires-3/
https://www.nasa.gov/labs-and-testbeds/ice-box/
NASA Just Shot Rockets At The Northern Lights. This Is What Happened
Mar 26, 2025,11:04pm EDT
Two NASA rockets launched from Alaska on March 25, 2025, lit up the night sky with strange blue lights and white vapor trails to the backdrop of the Northern Lights.
The spectacular display was visible across central and northern Alaska.
Key Facts
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Two of three planned sounding rockets launched from the Poker Flat Research Range north of Fairbanks, Alaska, in the pre-dawn hours to study a sudden auroral substorm.
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It came days after NASA announced that scientists were on standby.
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The results could help scientists figure out what happens to Earth’s upper atmosphere during auroral substorms and improve the forecasting of space weather.
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The first to launch was a 42-foot Terrier-Improved Malemute rocket launching late in the daily window, which released a payload about 50 and 110 miles up and measured magnetic perturbations caused by the aurora.
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It also measured pressure fluctuations, as reported by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute.
Shortly after, a 70-foot, four-stage Black Brant XII rocket launched to release a payload of pink, blue and white vapor tracers at four different heights over central Alaska.
UAF student and staff researchers were at ground stations in Utqiagvik, Kaktovik, Toolik Lake, Eagle, Venetie, and Poker Flat in Alaska.
How Earth’s Atmosphere Reacts To Aurora
It was part of an experiment, dubbed Auroral Waves Excited by Substorm Onset Magnetic Events, or AWESOME, to help scientists figure out how they affect Earth’s thermosphere — an upper layer of its atmosphere close to where it ceases to be. The thermosphere is between 50-350 miles (80-560 kilometers) above Earth’s surface.
The experiment was an attempt to reveal whether the energy and momentum injected into the middle and lower thermosphere by auroral substorms may upset its stability.
“Change in composition of the atmosphere has consequences for communication, navigation and spacecraft operations,” said Mark Conde at the Geophysical Institute and UAF College of Natural Science and Mathematics before the launch.
“Our experiment will allow forecasters to use simpler and potentially more accurate methods of space weather prediction.”
Third Rocket Fails
The experiment was supposed to have all three rockets launch within about a three-hour window.
“NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility team reported a successful launch of the first two rockets on March 25, 2025,” read NASA’s update.
“An issue with the Malemute motor on the third rocket was identified and will continue to be assessed for repair.”
Poker Flat, 20 miles north of Fairbanks, is operated under a contract with NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, part of the Goddard Space Flight Center.
Key Background
The timing of the experiment is no accident. Although scientists were on standby to launch the rockets when an auroral substorm erupted, they were confident that would happen.
That’s because in the few weeks after an equinox — which occured last week — Earth's magnetic field is favorably aligned to the solar wind.
The sun is also at solar maximum, the peak of the roughly 11 years Solar Cycle, during whihc magnetic activity is at its most intense, and aurora at its most frequent.
The colors of the aurora depends on the altitude. At 50 and 110 miles, the most common aurora color is green, which occurs at altitudes of around 60 to 190 miles (100 to 300 kilometers).
Red auroras are more common, above 150 miles (240 kilometers). Both are produced by oxygen molecules.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2025/03/26/nasa-just-shot-rockets-at-the-northern-lights-this-is-what-happened/
https://www.gi.alaska.edu/news/two-nasa-rockets-launch-poker-flat-third-rocket-expected
NASA Headquarters not coming to Cleveland
Mar. 26, 2025 at 6:47 PM PDT
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - NASA Headquarters will not be moving to Cleveland, despite the recent efforts by several local political figures.
19 News reached out to NASA and received the following statement regarding the disappointing news:
“The NASA Headquarters building lease is up in 2028, and the agency is looking at options to lease a different facility in the Washington, D.C. area.
NASA does not have plans to build a new headquarters. In compliance with the Executive Order signed Jan. 20, NASA employees returned to full-time onsite work by Feb. 28.”
https://www.fox19.com/2025/03/27/nasa-headquarters-not-coming-cleveland/
NASA captures satellite images of Korea wildfires in Gyeongsangdo region
2025.03.27. 09:52
One of the recent images posted on the official website of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) captured white smoke rising from the Gyeongsangdo region of South Korea.
Recently, a photo dated March 22 was posted on the NASA website. This image was taken by NASA's Aqua satellite using its Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on that day.
The photo does not show red flames but captures white smoke rising near Andong in Gyeongbuk Province, and another large column of smoke rising from Sancheong in Gyeongnam Province to the south.
NASA reported that dozens of wildfires occurred in South Korea in March due to dry winds, noting that a fire broke out on March 21, leading to evacuations, and thousands of personnel and over 100 helicopters were dispatched for firefighting efforts.
Authorities issued high wind warnings across several regions on March 21 and 22, advising people not to burn trash or crops, and reported that, as of March 24, the fires had burned more than 8,700 hectares.
Meanwhile, on the 26th, satellite images from the National Oceanographic Research Institute's National Ocean Satellite Center showed heat distribution areas reflecting the latest fire situation.
The fires spread across Uiseong, Andong, Yeongyang, Cheongsong, Yeongdeok, and Pohang, with movement of smoke from the wildfires also observed.
This fire, which started in Uiseong County on the 22nd, has sequentially spread to four cities and counties in northeastern Gyeongbuk, causing significant damage.
https://biz.chosun.com/en/en-international/2025/03/27/XWEFU4V5BJD5HPZB2RQ2BVZLQM/
NASA, UAH, Alabama Forestry Commission conducting wildfire research at Geneva State Forest
Mar. 26, 2025 at 4:17 PM PDT
Early April looks much hotter and drier than normal, raising concerns about wildfires.
To reduce the uncertainty surrounding this natural disaster, groups from NASA and the University of Alabama Huntsville are joining forces to conduct wildfire research through prescribed burns at the Geneva State Forest.
“We’re supporting NASA Firesense for better soil moisture, sensing probes, and to determine at what wind speed and height these fires move out of the area,” says Ryan Wade, a research scientist from UAH.
This is the first time crews can gather real-time information on wildfires and compare it with wildfire history provided by the Alabama Fire Commission.
After gathering and comparing the data, the crew will match it to models firefighters can use on the job.
“By identifying stakeholders with local areas, we can bring together mobile research teams in areas where we might not have data on the ground already,” Jacquelyn Shuman, a project scientist with NASA Firesense, tells News4.
These prescribed burns will allow the research teams to better understand wildfires and improve wind and humidity forecasts for the area and beyond.
https://www.wtvy.com/2025/03/26/nasa-uah-alabama-forestry-commission-conducting-wildfire-research-geneva-state-forest/
After a spacecraft was damaged en route to launch, NASA says it won’t launch
Mar 26, 2025 2:34 PM
Three weeks ago, NASA revealed that a shipping container protecting a Cygnus spacecraft sustained "damage" while traveling to the launch site in Florida.
Built by Northrop Grumman, Cygnus is one of two Western spacecraft currently capable of delivering food, water, experiments, and other supplies to the International Space Station.
This particular Cygnus mission, NG-22, had been scheduled for June. As part of its statement in early March, the space agency said it was evaluating the NG-22 Cygnus cargo supply mission along with Northrop.
On Wednesday, after a query from Ars Technica, the space agency acknowledged that the Cygnus spacecraft designated for NG-22 is too damaged to fly, at least in the nearterm.
Loading up Dragon
"Following initial evaluation, there also is damage to the cargo module," the agency said in a statement.
"The International Space Station Program will continue working with Northrop Grumman to assess whether the Cygnus cargo module is able to safely fly to the space station on a future flight."
That future flight, NG-23, will launch no earlier than this fall.
As a result, NASA is modifying the cargo on its next cargo flight to the space station, the 32nd SpaceX Cargo Dragon mission, due to launch in April.
The agency says it will "add more consumable supplies and food to help ensure sufficient reserves of supplies aboard the station" to the Dragon vehicle.
As it mulls stopgap measures, one option available to NASA may be to try to slot in a cargo mission on Boeing's Starliner spacecraft.
After the propulsion issues experienced on Starliner's first crew flight to the space station last June, NASA is still evaluating whether the vehicle can be certified for an operational crew mission, or whether it would be better to perform an uncrewed test flight.
In such a scenario, Starliner could ferry cargo to the space station. However, Starliner would be competing with SpaceX crew missions for docking ports, and there would be limited time frames when the vehicle could fly.
Limited options amid development delays
NASA also has Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser spacecraft on its internal schedule for a May launch this year.
This is a new vehicle intended to carry cargo to the space station under the agency's Commercial Cargo program.
However, that spacecraft is not yet ready for its debut flight, nor is there a Vulcan rocket available within the next several months to launch it. A Dream Chaser mission later this year remains possible, if unlikely.
All of the roads for cargo supply, therefore, lead back to Dragon.
As a result of Dream Chaser's delays, Starliner's problems, and the dropped Cygnus, NASA is now almost entirely reliant on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft to get its astronauts to the space station and to feed them.
Crew Dragon remains the only vehicle certified by NASA for human flights to the station.
On the cargo side, Northrop Grumman is developing a new rocket with Firefly, but in the meantime, has been using the Falcon 9 to launch Cygnus.
With Cygnus now sidelined for at least half a year, every non-Russian vehicle flying to the space station will be built by SpaceX.
https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/03/nasa-sidelines-cygnus-spacecraft-after-damage-in-transit-to-launch-site/
Science-Packed Day Advancing Crew Health Before Cargo Mission Ends
March 26, 2025
Vision studies, a blood investigation, and more were underway aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday informing scientists how astronauts adapt to long duration spaceflight. The knowledge gained from the ongoing investigations is helping NASA and its international partners protect crews while planning missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
Expedition 72 Flight Engineers Nichole Ayers and Anne McClain, both NASA astronauts, joined each other on Wednesday for two sessions of the CIPHER investigation to learn how microgravity affects a crew member’s eye structure and vision. The duo first set up a variety of medical imaging hardware to examine the retina and optic nerve. Ayers led both biomedical studies starting with the first research session that saw McClain wear electrodes measuring her retinal response to light. For the second session, McClain peered into a device, operated by Ayers, that provides high resolution images of the retina and optic nerve.
Veteran NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit also spent his day on space biology first collecting his blood, saliva, and urine samples, then processing them, and finally stowing them in a science freezer for future analysis. Pettit also took a standard vision test looking at an eye chart to measure his visual acuity, or ability to recognize small details with precision. Doctors on the ground are constantly monitoring astronauts’ eyes to counter well-known space-caused symptoms and ensure long-term crew health.
Flight Engineer Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) joined in Wednesday’s biomedical studies first assisting Pettit with his blood collection activities then photographing Ayers and McClain during their eye studies. Onishi, who is on his second space station mission, spent the rest of his shift on even more space research as he checked out a spherical robot camera and turned on a Kubik research incubator for a cellular immunity study. At the end of his shift, he joined Ayers and set up the T-Mini wearable research hardware that measures an astronaut’s core body temperature and provides wireless medical evaluation capabilities.
Station Commander Alexey Ovchinin and Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner were back together on Wednesday continuing to study how living in weightlessness affects the circulatory system. Doctors are exploring how blood circulates back and forth from a crew member’s head to their limbs in space to assess cardiac health.
Flight Engineer Kirill Peskov, during the first half of his shift, continued replacing life support gear that condenses and purifies water in the Zvezda service module. Next, the first-time space flyer downloaded radiation data collected to measure the amount of radiation the orbiting lab and its crew is exposed to.
The Canadarm2 robotic arm is being readied for its upcoming grapple and release of the Northrop Grumman Cygnus space freighter scheduled for 6:55 a.m. EDT on Friday. Robotics controllers on the ground reconfigured the Canadarm2 for spacecraft operations on the orbital lab where it will visually inspect Cygnus on Thursday before removing it from the Unity module and releasing it into Earth orbit on Friday completing a seven-and-a-half-month cargo mission.
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2025/03/26/science-packed-day-advancing-crew-health-before-cargo-mission-ends/
NASA to Cover Northrop Grumman’s 21st Cargo Space Station Departure
Mar 28, 2025 6:55 a.m.
After delivering more than 8,200 pounds of supplies, scientific investigations, commercial products, hardware, and other cargo to the orbiting laboratory for NASA and its international partners, Northrop Grumman’s uncrewed Cygnus spacecraft is scheduled to depart the International Space Station on Friday, March 28.
Watch NASA’s live coverage of undocking and departure at 6:30 a.m. EDT on NASA+. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.
This mission was the company’s 21st commercial resupply mission to the space station for NASA.
Flight controllers on the ground will send commands for the space station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm to detach Cygnus from the Unity module’s Earth-facing port, then maneuver the spacecraft into position for release at 6:55 a.m. NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers will monitor Cygnus’ systems upon its departure from the space station.
Cygnus – filled with trash packed by the station crew – will be commanded to deorbit on Sunday, March 30, setting up a re-entry where the spacecraft will safely burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.
The Northrop Grumman spacecraft arrived at the space station Aug. 6, 2024, following launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-to-cover-northrop-grummans-21st-cargo-space-station-departure/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3lzZCn5e8Q
NASA’s X-59 Completes ‘Cruise Control’ Engine Speed Hold Test
Mar 26, 2025
The team behind NASA’s X-59 completed another critical ground test in March, ensuring the quiet supersonic aircraft will be able to maintain a specific speed during operation.
The test, known as engine speed hold, is the latest marker of progress as the X-59 nears first flight this year.
“Engine speed hold is essentially the aircraft’s version of cruise control,” said Paul Dees, NASA’s X-59 deputy propulsion lead at the agency’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.
“The pilot engages speed hold at their current speed, then can adjust it incrementally up or down as needed.”
The X-59 team had previously conducted a similar test on the engine – but only as an isolated system. The March test verified the speed hold functions properly after integration into the aircraft’s avionics.
“We needed to verify that speed hold worked not just within the engine itself but as part of the entire aircraft system.”
Dees explained. “This test confirmed that all components – software, mechanical linkages, and control laws – work together as intended.”
The successful test confirmed the aircraft’s ability to precisely control speed, which will be invaluable during flight.
This capability will increase pilot safety, allowing them to focus on other critical aspects of flight operation.
“The pilot is going to be very busy during first flight, ensuring the aircraft is stable and controllable,” Dees said. “Having speed hold offload some of that workload makes first flight that much safer.”
The team originally planned to check the speed hold as part of an upcoming series of ground test trials where they will feed the aircraft with a robust set of data to verify functionality under both normal and failure conditions, known as aluminum bird tests.
But the team recognized a chance to test sooner.
“It was a target of opportunity,” Dees said. “We realized we were ready to test engine speed hold separately while other systems continued with finalizing their software. If we can learn something earlier, that’s always better.”
With every successful test, the integrated NASA and Lockheed Martin team brings the X-59 closer to first flight, and closer to making aviation history through quiet supersonic technology.
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/nasas-x-59-completes-cruise-control-engine-speed-hold-test/
The Sky’s Not the Limit: Testing Precision Landing Tech for Future Space Missions
Mar 26, 2025
Nestled in a pod under an F/A-18 Hornet aircraft wing, flying above California, and traveling up to the speed of sound, NASA put a commercial sensor technology to the test.
The flight tests demonstrated the sensor accuracy and navigation precision in challenging conditions, helping prepare the technology to land robots and astronauts on the Moon and Mars.
The Psionic Space Navigation Doppler Lidar (PSNDL) system is rooted in NASA technology that Psionic, Inc. of Hampton, Virginia, licensed and further developed.
They miniaturized the NASA technology, added further functionality, and incorporated component redundancies that make it more rugged for spaceflight.
The PSNDL navigation system also includes cameras and an inertial measurement unit to make it a complete navigation system capable of accurately determining a vehicle’s position and velocity for precision landing and other spaceflight applications.
The aircraft departed from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, and conducted a variety of flight paths over several days in February 2025.
It flew a large figure-8 loop and conducted several highly dynamic maneuvers over Death Valley, California, to collect navigation data at various altitudes, velocities, and orientations relevant for lunar and Mars entry and descent.
Refurbished for these tests, the NASA F/A-18 pod can support critical data collection for other technologies and users at a low cost.
Doppler Lidar sensors provide a highly accurate measurement of speed by measuring the frequency shift between laser light emitted from the sensor reflected from the ground.
Lidar are extremely useful in sunlight-challenged areas that may have long shadows and stark contrasts, such as the lunar South Pole.
Pairing PSNDL with cameras adds the ability to visually compare pictures with surface reconnaissance maps of rocky terrain and navigate to landing at interesting locations on Mars.
All the data is fed into a computer to make quick, real-time decisions to enable precise touchdowns at safe locations.
Since licensing NDL in 2016, Psionic has received funding and development support from NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate through its Small Business Innovative Research program and Tipping Point initiative.
The company has also tested PSNDL prototypes on suborbital vehicles via the Flight Opportunities program.
In 2024, onboard a commercial lunar lander, NASA successfully demonstrated the predecessor NDL system developed by the agency’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/the-skys-not-the-limit-testing-precision-landing-tech-for-future-space-missions/
NASA Starling and SpaceX Starlink Improve Space Traffic Coordination
Mar 26, 2025
As missions to low Earth orbit become more frequent, space traffic coordination remains a key element to efficiently operating in space.
Different satellite operators using autonomous systems need to operate together and manage increasing workloads.
NASA’s Starling spacecraft swarm recently tested a coordination with SpaceX’s Starlink constellation, demonstrating a potential solution to enhance space traffic coordination.
Led by the Small Spacecraft Technology program at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, Starling originally set out to demonstrate autonomous planning and execution of orbital maneuvers with the mission’s four small spacecraft.
After achieving its primary objectives, the Starling mission expanded to become Starling 1.5, an experiment to demonstrate maneuvers between the Starling swarm and SpaceX’s Starlink satellites, which also maneuver autonomously.
Coordination in Low Earth Orbit
Current space traffic coordination systems screen trajectories of spacecraft and objects in space and alert operators on the ground of potential conjunctions, which occur when two objects exceed an operator’s tolerance for a close approach along their orbital paths.
Spacecraft operators can request notification at a range of probabilities, often anywhere from a 1 in 10,000 likelihood of a collision to 1 in 1,000,000 or lower.
Conjunction mitigation between satellite operators requires manual coordination through calls or emails on the ground.
An operator may receive a notification for a number of reasons including recently maneuvering their satellite, nearby space debris, or if another satellite adjusts its orbit.
Once an operator is aware of a potential conjunction, they must work together with other operators to reduce the probability of a collision.
This can result in time-consuming calls or emails between ground operations teams with different approaches to safe operations. It also means maneuvers may require several days to plan and implement.
This timeline can be challenging for missions that require quick adjustments to capture important data.
“Occasionally, we’ll do a maneuver that we find out wasn’t necessary if we could have waited before making a decision.
Sometimes you can’t wait three days to reposition and observe. Being able to react within a few hours can make new satellite observations possible,” said Nathan Benz, project manager of Starling 1.5 at NASA Ames.
Improving Coordination for Autonomous Maneuvering
The first step in improving coordination was to develop a reliable way to signal maneuver responsibility between operators.
“Usually, SpaceX takes the responsibility to move out of the way when another operator shares their predicted trajectory information,” said Benz.
SpaceX and NASA collaborated to design a conjunction screening service, which SpaceX then implemented.
Satellite operators can submit trajectories and receive conjunction data quickly, then accept responsibility to maneuver away from a potential conjunction.
“For this experiment, NASA’s Starling accepted responsibility to move using the screening service, successfully tested our system’s performance, then autonomously planned and executed the maneuver for the NASA Starling satellite, resolving a close approach with a Starlink satellite,” said Benz.
Through NASA’s Starling 1.5 experiment, the agency helped validate SpaceX’s Starlink screening service.
The Office of Space Commerce within the U.S. Department of Commerce also worked with SpaceX to understand and assess the Starlink screening service.
Quicker Response to Changes on Earth
The time it takes to plan maneuvers in today’s orbital traffic environment limits the number of satellites a human operator can manage and their ability to collect data or serve customers.
“A fully automated system that is flexible and adaptable between satellite constellations is ideal for an environment of multiple satellite operators, all of whom have differing criteria for mitigating collision risks,” said Lauri Newman, program officer for NASA’s Conjunction Assessment Risk Analysis program at the agency’s headquarters in Washington.
Reducing the time necessary to plan maneuvers could open up a new class of missions, where quick responses to changes in space or on Earth’s surface are possible.
Satellites capable of making quicker movements could adjust their orbital position to capture a natural disaster from above, or respond to one swarm member’s interesting observations, moving to provide a more thorough look.
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/ames/nasa-starling-and-spacex-starlink-improve-space-traffic-coordination/
NASA’s Webb Sees Galaxy Mysteriously Clearing Fog of Early Universe
Mar 26, 2025
Using the unique infrared sensitivity of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, researchers can examine ancient galaxies to probe secrets of the early universe.
Now, an international team of astronomers has identified bright hydrogen emission from a galaxy in an unexpectedly early time in the universe’s history.
The surprise finding is challenging researchers to explain how this light could have pierced the thick fog of neutral hydrogen that filled space at that time.
The Webb telescope discovered the incredibly distant galaxy JADES-GS-z13-1, observed to exist just 330 million years after the big bang, in images taken by Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) as part of the James Webb Space Telescope Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES). Researchers used the galaxy’s brightness in different infrared filters to estimate its redshift, which measures a galaxy’s distance from Earth based on how its light has been stretched out during its journey through expanding space.
Image A: JADES-GS-z13-1 in the GOODS-S field (NIRCam Image)
Image B: JADES-GS-z13-1 (NIRCam Close-Up)
The NIRCam imaging yielded an initial redshift estimate of 12.9. Seeking to confirm its extreme redshift, an international team lead by Joris Witstok of the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, as well as the Cosmic Dawn Center and the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, then observed the galaxy using Webb’s Near-Infrared Spectrograph instrument.
In the resulting spectrum, the redshift was confirmed to be 13.0. This equates to a galaxy seen just 330 million years after the big bang, a small fraction of the universe’s present age of 13.8 billion years old.
But an unexpected feature stood out as well: one specific, distinctly bright wavelength of light, known as Lyman-alpha emission, radiated by hydrogen atoms.
This emission was far stronger than astronomers thought possible at this early stage in the universe’s development.
“The early universe was bathed in a thick fog of neutral hydrogen,” explained Roberto Maiolino, a team member from the University of Cambridge and University College London.
“Most of this haze was lifted in a process called reionization, which was completed about one billion years after the big bang.
GS-z13-1 is seen when the universe was only 330 million years old, yet it shows a surprisingly clear, telltale signature of Lyman-alpha emission that can only be seen once the surrounding fog has fully lifted.
This result was totally unexpected by theories of early galaxy formation and has caught astronomers by surprise.”
Before and during the era of reionization, the immense amounts of neutral hydrogen fog surrounding galaxies blocked any energetic ultraviolet light they emitted, much like the filtering effect of colored glass.
Until enough stars had formed and were able to ionize the hydrogen gas, no such light — including Lyman-alpha emission — could escape from these fledgling galaxies to reach Earth.
The confirmation of Lyman-alpha radiation from this galaxy, therefore, has great implications for our understanding of the early universe.
“We really shouldn’t have found a galaxy like this, given our understanding of the way the universe has evolved,” said Kevin Hainline, a team member from the University of Arizona.
“We could think of the early universe as shrouded with a thick fog that would make it exceedingly difficult to find even powerful lighthouses peeking through, yet here we see the beam of light from this galaxy piercing the veil.
This fascinating emission line has huge ramifications for how and when the universe reionized.”
The source of the Lyman-alpha radiation from this galaxy is not yet known, but it may include the first light from the earliest generation of stars to form in the universe.
“The large bubble of ionized hydrogen surrounding this galaxy might have been created by a peculiar population of stars — much more massive, hotter, and more luminous than stars formed at later epochs, and possibly representative of the first generation of stars,” said Witstok.
A powerful active galactic nucleus, driven by one of the first supermassive black holes, is another possibility identified by the team.
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world's premier space science observatory.
Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it.
Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/nasas-webb-sees-galaxy-mysteriously-clearing-fog-of-early-universe/
https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2025/news-2025-116
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08779-5
https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Operations/Farewell_Gaia!_Spacecraft_operations_come_to_an_end
https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:5a2jfvqbytdqv4i2c57ig6v7/post/3lldwldh54c2n
Farewell, Gaia! Spacecraft operations come to an end
27/03/2025
The European Space Agency (ESA) has powered down its Gaia spacecraft after more than a decade spent gathering data that are now being used to unravel the secrets of our home galaxy.
On 27 March 2025, Gaia’s control team at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre carefully switched off the spacecraft’s subsystems and sent it into a ‘retirement orbit’ around the Sun.
Though the spacecraft’s operations are now over, the scientific exploitation of Gaia’s data has just begun.
Gaia’s stellar contributions
Launched in 2013, Gaia has transformed our understanding of the cosmos by precisely mapping the positions, distances, motions, and properties of nearly two billion stars and other celestial objects.
It has provided the largest, most precise multi-dimensional map of our galaxy ever created, revealing its structure and evolution in unprecedented detail.
The mission uncovered evidence of past galactic mergers, identified new star clusters, contributed to the discovery of exoplanets and black holes, mapped millions of quasars and galaxies, and tracked hundreds of thousands of asteroids and comets.
It also enabled the creation of the best visualisation of how our galaxy might look to an outside observer.
“Gaia’s extensive data releases are a unique treasure trove for astrophysical research, and influence almost all disciplines in astronomy,” says Gaia Project Scientist Johannes Sahlmann.
“Data release 4, planned for 2026, and the final Gaia legacy catalogues, planned for release no earlier than the end of 2030, will continue shaping our scientific understanding of the cosmos for decades to come.”
Saying goodbye is never easy
Gaia far exceeded its planned lifetime of five years, and its fuel reserves are dwindling. The Gaia team carefully considered how best to dispose of the spacecraft in line with ESA’s efforts to responsibly dispose of its missions.
They wanted to find a way to prevent Gaia from drifting back towards its former home near the scientifically valuable second Lagrange point (L2) of the Sun-Earth system and minimise any potential interference with other missions in the region.
“Switching off a spacecraft at the end of its mission sounds like a simple enough job,” says Gaia Spacecraft Operator Tiago Nogueira. “But spacecraft really don’t want to be switched off.”
“Gaia was designed to withstand failures such as radiation storms, micrometeorite impacts or a loss of communication with Earth. It has multiple redundant systems that ensured it could always reboot and resume operations in the event of disruption.”
“We had to design a decommissioning strategy that involved systematically picking apart and disabling the layers of redundancy that have safeguarded Gaia for so long, because we don’t want it to reactivate in the future and begin transmitting again if its solar panels find sunlight.”
On 27 March 2025, the Gaia control team ran through this series of passivation activities.
One final use of Gaia’s thrusters moved the spacecraft away from L2 and into a stable retirement orbit around the Sun that will minimise the chance that it comes within 10 million km Earth for at least the next century.
The team then safely deactivated and switched off the spacecraft’s instruments and subsystems one by one, before deliberately corrupting its onboard software. The communication subsystem and the central computer were the last to be deactivated.
“Today, I was in charge of corrupting Gaia’s processor modules to make sure that the onboard software will never restart again once we have switched off the spacecraft,” says Spacecraft Operations Engineer, Julia Fortuno.
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“I have mixed feelings between the excitement for these important end-of-life operations and the sadness of saying goodbye to a spacecraft I have worked on for more than five years. I am very happy to have been part of this incredible mission.”
Gaia’s final transmission to ESOC mission control marked the conclusion of an intentional and carefully orchestrated farewell to a spacecraft that has tirelessly mapped the sky for over a decade.
A lasting legacy
Though Gaia itself has now gone silent, its contributions to astronomy will continue to shape research for decades.
Its vast and expanding data archive remains a treasure trove for scientists, refining knowledge of galactic archaeology, stellar evolution, exoplanets and much more.
A workhorse of galactic exploration, Gaia has charted the maps that future explorers will rely on to make new discoveries. The star trackers on ESA’s Euclid spacecraft uses Gaia data to precisely orient the spacecraft.
ESA’s upcoming Plato mission will explore exoplanets around stars characterised by Gaia and may follow up on new exoplanetary systems discovered by Gaia.
The Gaia control team also used the spacecraft’s final weeks to run through a series of technology tests.
The team tested Gaia’s micro propulsion system under different challenging conditions to examine how it had aged over more than ten years in the harsh environment of space.
The results may benefit the development of future ESA missions relying on similar propulsion systems, such as the LISA mission.
Forever in Gaia’s memory
The Gaia spacecraft holds a deep emotional significance for those who worked on it.
As part of its decommissioning, the names of around 1500 team members who contributed to its mission were used to overwrite some of the back-up software stored in Gaia’s onboard memory.
Personal farewell messages were also written into the spacecraft’s memory, ensuring that Gaia will forever carry a piece of its team with it as it drifts through space.
As Gaia Mission Manager Uwe Lammers put it: “We will never forget Gaia, and Gaia will never forget us.”
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Nuclear ‘cold fusion’ tech to be tested in space for powering AI satellites
Updated: Mar 27, 2025 08:41 AM EST
Hylenr Technologies, a Hyderabad, India-based clean energy startup, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with TakeMe2Space to develop and test Low Energy Nuclear Reactor-powered compute modules in space.
Hylenr claims to have demonstrated a world-first cold fusion technology that develops clean energy. The company’s patented Low Energy Nuclear Reactor (LENR) technology provides a promising alternative for power generation.
The new partnership will see Hylenr and TakeMe2Space aim to validate that technology for space. Cold fusion is a controversial topic, with many claiming it is a pseudoscientific endeavor.
However, recent advances suggest this might not be the case.
Validating LENR technology in space
In July 2024, Hylenr announced it had demonstrated the world’s first cold fusion technology to generate clean energy. The company has received a patent from the Indian government for its LENR technology.
In that demonstration, it reportedly achieved consistent 1.5 x heat amplification from 100W electrical input.
The company’s LENR, or cold fusion, process works by using milligrams of hydrogen and applying small amoung of electricity to stimulate and generate excess heat through fusion.
Hylenr aims to scale its energy output so it can produce 2.5 times the input energy.
Now, via Hylenr and TakeMe2Space’s partnership, we could see the technology used to provide power in space.
“Validating our LENR technology in space is a crucial milestone, and TakeMe2Space’s platform and expertise provides the perfect opportunity to test our system in a real operational environment,” HYLENR Founder and CEO Siddhartha Durairajan explained in a press statement.
“This could open new possibilities for long-duration missions and off-grid power solutions in space.”
Decreasing the risk profile for space missions
TakeMe2 is building what it claims to be the world’s first open access AI satellite infrastructure in low Earth orbit.
The company will provide the satellite platform and subsystems required to test HYLENR’s LENR-based thermo-electric generator in space.
TakeMe2Space founder Ronak Kumar Samantray added, “we are actively exploring alternative energy solutions for our in-space compute infrastructure and are excited to take this first step with HYLENR to test their technology in space.
We are particularly interested in assessing how this approach can be leveraged for efficient heat management and energy reuse in our satellites.”
Hylenr’s technology can produce heat for space applications (MMRTG), steam generation for multiple applications, room heating across cold regions globally, and induction heating for domestic and industrial requirements.
According to the firm, its devices can also “drastically decrease the risk profile for space missions.” In a demonstration video last year, Durairajan explained how Hylenr’s technology works- “Hydrogen cold fusion is taking place here,” he said.
“Two hydrogen atoms come and generate fusion. That creates Helium3, which is still unstable and then another hydrogen atom fuses and this creates Helium4, which is stable. The release of this excess hydrogen is creating this heat.”
What is cold fusion?
It’s worth taking Hylenr’s claim regarding the world’s first clean energy generation via cold fusion technology with a pinch of salt. There is a great deal of skepticism within the scientific community when it comes to cold fusion.
Cold fusion is a hypothesized type of nuclear reaction that occurs at, or near, room temperature. The first report on the process came in 1989 from electrochemists Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons.
Many scientists tried and failed to replicate their results. However, claims that the process is possible occasionally resurface.
Early this year, Nobel laureate Prof Brian Josephson and co-authors claimed cold fusion’s time is here.
In an op-ed for The Guardian, they wrote that companies can “make these reactions work quite reliably”, with the promise of “ending reliance on fossil fuels”.
In a rebuttal, Dr Philip Thomas, a researcher at the University of Exeter, said cold fusion is a “pseudo-scientific fringe theory” in violation of the “laws of nature”.
If Hylenr does indeed validate its technology in space, it would be a world-changing discovery.
https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/cold-fusion-to-be-tested-in-space?group=test_b
https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/hylenr-and-takeme2space-to-test-lenr-powered-compute-modules-302411904.html
China conducts 15th space launch this year
Updated: 2025-03-27 13:46
China launched a relay satellite from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Southwest China's Sichuan province late Wednesday night, according to China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, the nation's major space contractor.
A Long March 3B carrier rocket blasted off at 11:55 pm deploying the Tianlian II-04 satellite into orbit, the State-owned company said in a news release.
The mission marked the country's 15th space launch this year and the 565th flight of the Long March rocket family.
Developed by the company's China Academy of Space Technology, the satellite is tasked with providing telemetry, flight control and data relay services to manned spacecraft, remote-sensing satellites and the Tiangong space station, according to the release.
It is the fourth in the Tianlian II series, China's second generation of data relay satellites, to be deployed. The first was launched at the Xichang center in March 2019.
China's first-generation data relay satellite network, the Tianlian I, consists of five satellites. The first was launched from Xichang in April 2008.
They have served several important space functions such as rendezvous and dockings in the nation's manned spaceflights.
Compared to the first-generation model, satellites in the Tianlian II series feature stronger capabilities, heavier carrying capacity and longer life spans, designers said.
The Long March 3B model, developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, also a CASC subsidiary, is one of China's most used rocket types with good operational record.
It is mainly used to launch satellites into geostationary transfer orbit and can transport 5.5 tons of payloads to such orbit. It can also send spacecraft to other kinds of orbits, such as medium-Earth and lunar transfer orbits.
https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202503/27/WS67e4e634a3101d4e4dc2b316.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgaYlvvoRLg
Japanese Astronaut Koichi Wakata plays solo baseball in space, Elon Musk shares video
updated: March 27, 2025 | 16:56
Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata recently shared an out-of-this-world moment aboard the International Space Station (ISS), capturing a fun and unique twist on America's favourite pastime.
In a video posted to X earlier this month, Wakata is seen playing a solo baseball game in the weightless space environment.
His timing couldn't have been better, as his post coincided with the MLB season opener in Japan, quickly catching the attention of millions— including none other than SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
Wakata, a seasoned astronaut with five space missions under his belt, including his most recent assignment on NASA's SpaceX Crew-5 mission from October 2022 to March 2023, has spent more than 150 days aboard the ISS.
His career with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is renowned for his significant contributions to scientific research and space station operations.
In the viral video, Wakata floats effortlessly within the JAXA module of the ISS.
Holding a baseball, he pitches the ball with one hand, swings an imaginary bat, and then catches it in one smooth motion, all while drifting through the microgravity environment.
He captioned the playful clip: "It's baseball season – the MLB season opener is kicking off in Japan.
During Expedition 68, I played a solo game of baseball. In microgravity, you don't need a whole team; you can play all positions!"
The video quickly gained attraction, spreading across social media and even attracting the attention of high-profile figures in the space and entertainment world.
Elon Musk, whose SpaceX program helped facilitate Wakata's recent mission, shared the clip with his followers, boosting its popularity.
Retired Canadian astronaut Colonel Chris Hadfield also shared the video, commenting, "That's friend Koichi Wakata inside the JAXA module of the International Space Station – Japan plays great baseball!"
Wakata's lighthearted moment aboard the ISS reminds us that even in the most serious and high-tech environments, astronauts find ways to enjoy moments of levity and creativity, capturing people's imagination back on Earth.
https://gulfnews.com/world/look-japanese-astronaut-koichi-wakata-plays-solo-baseball-in-space-elon-musk-shares-video-1.500074605
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1904513372269514941