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NASA awards hydrogen supply contracts to Air Products and Plug Power
Nov 24, 2025
NASA has awarded liquid hydrogen supply contracts to Plug Power and Air Products to deliver around 16,700 tonnes of fuel across its US facilities.
The liquid hydrogen will be used to fuel NASA’s cryogenic rocket engines and support aeronautics and propulsion research at its centres in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Ohio.
Worth a combined $147m, the contracts cover 16,560 tonnes of liquid hydrogen for Kennedy Space Centre, Cape Canaveral, Marshall, and Stennis, while Plug Power will supply the remaining 220 tonnes to the Glenn Research Centre and Armstrong Test Facility.
NASA’s liquid hydrogen awards are fixed-price contracts that guarantee set quantities and prices for future deliveries.
For its cryogenic rockets, the liquid hydrogen will be used with liquid oxygen as fuel. Liquid hydrogen’s ultra-cold and lightweight properties also make it important for wider aeronautics R&D.
Hydrogen has been used by NASA since the early 1960s, including on board its Saturn V.
The new contracts follow NASA’s recent filling of the world’s largest liquid hydrogen storage sphere at Kennedy Space Center with Air Products-supplied molecules, as part of preparations for its Artemis missions.
However, the energy carrier has caused issues in the Artemis missions. In September 2022, hydrogen leaks thwarted two launch attempts of NASA’s Artemis I rocket. It eventually launched in November 2022.
The latest deals with Air Products and Plug underscore hydrogen’s continued central role in NASA’s space exploration strategy.
https://www.gasworld.com/story/nasa-awards-hydrogen-supply-contracts-to-air-products-and-plug-power/2168984.article/
https://www.thetravel.com/nasa-scientists-in-yellowstone-national-park-are-on-the-brink-of-an-alien-discovery/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQxqmA3CTjU
NASA Scientists In Yellowstone National Park Are On The Brink Of An Alien Discovery
November 24, 2025
Yellowstone National Park has recently been in the news after a bison almost gored tourists, and people left their cars in the middle of the road to get closer to bears. However, we sometimes forget that there is plenty of positive news about this park as well.
NASA is financing research at Yellowstone National Park in the hope of finding the answer to one of science’s biggest questions: how did life on Earth begin? The answer may help scientists determine whether alien life could exist on other planets.
So, what is NASA looking for in Yellowstone, exactly? Why is Yellowstone National Park the ideal place to look for the origin of life, and how can this help scientists find out whether extraterrestrial life exists on other planets?
NASA Is Funding Research At Yellowstone To Learn How To Look For Evidence Of Alien Life On Other Planets
In the latest episode of Untold Earth, a series from Atlas Obscura, Nature, and PBS Digital Studios, Eric Boyd, Professor of Microbiology and Cell Biology at Montana State University said that NASA is funding his research at Yellowstone National Park to better understand life’s origins.
While science fiction may have taught us that aliens have green bodies, tentacles, and huge, round eyes, the truth is that when scientists look for life on other planets, they mainly search for signs of microbes.
Among these, extremophiles found in Yellowstone’s geysers are the most scientifically valuable. Commenting on his research, Eric Boyd said:
"If we can understand the kind of conditions that support microbiology and its origins on Earth, that will help narrow our search for life on other planets."
So, why are Yellowstone’s geysers ideal for understanding the origins of life and the potential for alien discovery on other planets? Moreover, what kinds of extremophiles are the NASA-funded scientists looking for?
Yellowstone National Park Geysers May Hold The Secret To The Origins Of Life
Yellowstone National Park is unique in its genre since there are more geysers here than in the rest of the world combined.
According to the NPS, Yellowstone’s hydrothermal features contain modern examples of Earth’s earlier life forms and may therefore be the perfect place to study how life first emerged on our planet.
Despite the incredibly high temperatures of these thermal pools, some microbes not only survive, but actually thrive in these extreme environments, hence the term "extremophiles."
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Eric Boyd stated: "NASA’s very interested in studying extremophiles because, if you understood the environment that led to the emergence of life on Earth, then you could say, 'Well, if everything else is the same on another planet, I should expect to find life there too.'
And so, if we understand how life originated on Earth, we can use that to also narrow our search for life on another planet."
The Importance Of Chemosynthetic Microbes
Today, all life that the naked eye can see is supported by the sun. For instance, plants rely on photosynthesis to thrive, herbivores need plants to survive, and carnivores eat herbivores.
However, during the first billion years of life’s history on Earth, microbes relied on chemical energy instead of solar energy.
This is why the first living organisms to appear on Earth are now believed to have been chemosynthetic microbes, which obtain energy from inorganic chemicals.
It wasn’t until about 2.8 billion years ago that organisms started to harvest energy from the sun.
So, how can these chemosynthetic microbes help us find life on other planets?
How Can Chemosynthetic Microbes Help Us Find Evidence For Life On Other Planets?
When searching for life on other planets, scientists often look for extremophiles, such as chemosynthetic microbes. According to the NPS, this is because if life on other planets emerged, it probably did without relying on solar energy:
"Such chemical energy sources provide the most likely habitable environments for life on Mars or on the moons of Jupiter—Ganymede, Europa, and Callisto—where uninhabitable surface conditions preclude photosynthesis.
Chemical energy sources, along with extensive groundwater systems (such as those on Mars, either today or in its distant past), or oceans beneath icy crusts (such as those on Jupiter’s moons), could provide habitats for life."
But how can scientists find such microbes? Luckily, extremophiles often leave behind evidence of their shapes as biological "signatures" which can indeed be found and studied at Yellowstone National Park.
NASA scientists are now looking for similar signatures in rocks on other planets in the hope of finding evidence of past microbial life beyond Earth.
This means that by studying the biological signatures of extremophiles at Yellowstone, we can get a better idea of what to look for when analyzing rocks from other planets.
Hopefully, research at Yellowstone National Park will help experts get one step closer not only to understanding how life on Earth emerged, but also to determining whether othe alien life forms exist on neighboring planets.
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The Overview Effect: Astronaut Perspectives from 25 Years in Low Earth Orbit
Nov 23, 2025
To see Earth from space is to be forever changed by the view.
Since Alan Shepard became the first American to lay eyes on our home planet from above, countless NASA astronauts have described feeling awed by the astonishing sight and a profound shift in perspective that followed.
This unique experience is known as the overview effect – a term coined in 1987 by space philosopher and author Frank White in a book of the same name.
The phenomenon creates powerful changes in the way astronauts think about Earth and life and can be particularly strong for those who lived and worked aboard the International Space Station during its 25 years of continuous human presence.
The orbiting laboratory’s cupola module, equipped with seven windows looking down on Earth, provides the perfect place for observation and reflection.
As Artemis II Mission Specialist Christina Koch explained:
“The overview effect is when you’re looking through the cupola and you see the Earth as it exists with the whole universe in the background.
You see the thin blue line of the atmosphere, and then when you’re on the dark side of the Earth, you actually see this very thin green line that shows you where the atmosphere is.
What you realize is every single person that you know is sustained and inside of that green line and everything else outside of it is completely inhospitable. You don’t see borders, you don’t see religious lines, you don’t see political boundaries.
All you see is Earth and you see that we are way more alike than we are different.”
Koch’s Artemis II crewmate, NASA astronaut Victor Glover, said the overview effect’s potency is closely tied to the “sea level effect” – humanity’s shared experience on Earth.
“You come back to sea level, and then you have a choice,” he explained. “Are you going to try to live your life a little differently? Are you going to really choose to be a member of this community of Earth?”
Many astronauts emphasize the importance of unity after experiencing the overview effect. “You see that it’s a single planet with a shared atmosphere. It’s our shared place in this universe,” said former NASA astronaut Bob Behnken.
“I think that perspective, as we go through things like the pandemic or we see the challenges across our nation or across the world, we recognize that we all face them together.”
Seeing the Earth from space can also change their concept of home. Former NASA astronaut Nicole Stott recalls wanting to see her home state of Florida during her first mission to the International Space Station.
“Finally, we were flying over Florida. I wanted to go to the window and see it, and then realized somewhere down the line that I wasn’t looking at Florida that same way anymore,” she said.
“I still wanted to see Florida, but Florida had just become this special part of home, which is Earth. We’re all earthlings.”
For some astronauts, their perspective shift inspired them to make changes on the ground. “I think if you’re not a conservationist before you go to space, you’re at least partly a conservationist when you come back.
Because when you see how thin that atmosphere is, that protective layer that we have here, you think, wow, we really have to take care of this because it does look so fragile from space,” said retired NASA astronaut Mike Foreman.
Others hope to share the overview effect with more people. “That perspective helps you grow. It has really inspired me to try to get more people this experience and to get a permanent foothold in the stars for our species,” said former NASA astronaut Jack Fischer.
“I want to do everything I possibly can to help the human species, humanity as a whole, go further and grow and evolve like I know they’re capable of.”
Future crews to the orbiting laboratory can look forward to a similar experience.
“In that instant, when you’re overwhelmed with that vista, when your eyes see nothing but the beauty of the Earth – every single crew member that I brought in [the cupola] for that exposure, cried,” said retired NASA astronaut T.J. Creamer.
“It is heart stopping. It is soul pounding. It is breathtaking.”
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/johnson/the-overview-effect-astronaut-perspectives-from-25-years-in-low-earth-orbit/
US military wants to track 'potential threats' coming from the moon
November 24, 2025
As the moon becomes the center of the new space race, the United States military is looking for new ways to keep track of spacecraft and other objects flying close to or from lunar space.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has issued a contract solicitation for new ways to process optical signals that allow for continuous space-based detection and tracking of objects in cislunar space.
Cislunar space is a vast region of space influenced by the gravitational forces of both Earth and the moon.
Because most tracking systems are designed for keeping tabs on satellites and spacecraft operating from low Earth orbit to geosynchronous orbit (GEO), there is a gap in the United States' ability to detect and track objects much farther away, especially near the moon.
And as commercial, governmental or military activity ramps up in this region, most notably by the U.S. and China, the U.S. government sees a need for improved abilities to keep eyes on what is moving in and out of cislunar space.
DARPA's program, known as Track at Big Distances with Track-Before-Detect (TBD2), aims to "improve early warning capabilities for defense and civilian agencies who track potential threats and objects of interest originating from or transiting cislunar space."
It's not stated what these potential threats might be, but the solicitation comes at a moment of heightened geopolitical saber-rattling in the race to become the first nation to put boots on the moon in the 21st century.
TBD2 aims to develop software algorithms that can be paired with commercially available optical sensors onboard spacecraft.
The signals detected would need to be processed onboard the spacecraft and provide tracking of faint objects up that are over 1,40,000 miles (2 gigameters) away within hours, according to the solicitation.
DARPA's current TBD2 contract solicitation seeks two different payload designs that would combine optical sensors with an onboard computer; one designed for use at Lagrange Point 1, and one that could be placed "beyond GEO/cislunar orbits."
The Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 1 is a gravitationally stable location in space 932,000 miles (1.5 million km) from Earth at which the gravitational pulls of Earth and the sun are equal, allowing spacecraft to remain in place with minimal energy expenditure.
There are also Lagrange points between Earth and the moon (Earth-Moon Lagrangians, or EMLs).
Placing TBD2 spacecraft at these points, or beyond them, could allow them to monitor what the solicitation calls the "Earth-Moon corridor" and enable the detection and tracking of objects as small as 10-20 centimeters at distances of 125,000 miles to 250,000 miles (200,000-400,000 km), DARPA says.
TBD2 isn't the only U.S. military program attempting to keep better tabs on what's in cislunar space.
The U.S. Space Force's Space Systems Command (SSC) and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) are testing new propulsion technologies aimed at developing spacecraft that can "provide persistent situational awareness in cislunar space."
The push for better tracking of objects near the moon comes as U.S. space agency leaders and lawmakers continue to push for more urgency in returning American flags and footprints to the lunar surface.
Some see American and Chinese efforts to reach the moon as a new space race, one many experts have said the United States is in jeopardy of losing.
"Unless something changes, it is highly unlikely the United States will beat China's projected timeline," former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told the Senate earlier this year.
Lawmakers and industry experts have stressed that whichever nation reaches the moon first in this new race will be able to dictate the rules for accessing and using lunar resources, controlling access to the moon, and setting the tone for international partnerships.
Mike Gold, president of civil and international space at Redwire, told the Senate that "we will see a global realignment that will impact our economy, our tax base, our ability to innovate, and our national security."
China says it will land astronauts on the moon in 2030. NASA is currently aiming to put astronauts back on the moon in mid-2027 with its Artemis 3 mission, but the agency's lunar exploration program has faced setbacks and delays with rocket and lunar lander development.
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/us-military-wants-to-track-potential-threats-coming-from-the-moon
https://thedebrief.org/darpa-launches-tbd2-the-first-deep-space-surveillance-network-to-track-tiny-spacecraft-millions-of-miles-from-earth/
https://defencescienceinstitute.com/funding-opportunity/darpa-track-at-big-distances-with-track-before-detect-tbd2-darpa-ps-26-01/
Investigate his clone too
Starlab, developer of commercial space stations, secures strategic investment
November 23, 2025
Janus Henderson Group (NYSE: JHG; “Janus Henderson”) and Voyager Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: VOYG) are reporting that the former will make a strategic investment in Starlab Space, which develops next generation commercial space stations.
Founded in 2021 and headquartered in Houston, Starlab is a global joint venture led by Voyager Technologies with partners Airbus, Mitsubishi Corporation, MDA Space, Palantir Technologies, and Space Applications Services, with strategic partners including Northrop Grumman, Hilton, Journey, and The Ohio State University.
Starlab’s AI-enabled commercial space station aims to ensure continuous human presence in LEO and a seamless transition of microgravity science and research with the retirement of the International Space Station (ISS).
Janus Henderson’s heritage in small cap equity investing can be traced back to more than 40 years with the firm’s experienced global equity teams managing more than $40 billion in active small and mid cap equities.
The firm’s investment team leverages its global presence, extensive research capabilities, and deep sector knowledge to identify promising small cap investments across various geographies and sectors.
Janus Henderson’s investment in Starlab builds on its recent investments in other compelling private companies including the firm’s previously announced investment in Kardium Inc., the developer of the Globe® Pulsed Field System – an innovative treatment for atrial fibrillation (AF).
We are excited to announce our investment in Starlab, a leader in the development of a commercial space station to replace the ISS,” said Jonathan Coleman, Small Cap Growth Portfolio Manager at Janus Henderson.
“We have strong conviction that Starlab has the best design, lowest cost profile, and most compelling business model of any of the contenders vying to replace the ISS after its de-orbit in 2030.
The U.S.-led global partnership is a distinctive model that makes the business a more attractive partner to NASA and international space agencies.
As an investor in multiple strategic backers of Starlab, Janus Henderson looks forward to working closely with Starlab’s joint venture partners and believes their combined expertise, track record, and scale in commercial space mean Starlab is exceptionally well positioned.”
The investment from a global financial leader such as Janus Henderson is a strong market signal that the commercial space economy is entering a new phase of maturity,” said Dylan Taylor, Chairman and CEO, Voyager Technologies.
“This partnership underscores the confidence from customers, partners and financial institutions that Starlab offers the right design, the right team, and the right business model for the post-ISS era.
We are building a commercially sustainable, transformative platform, and this investment reinforces that we’re on the path to delivering it.”
https://news.satnews.com/2025/11/23/starlab-developer-of-commercial-space-stations-secures-strategic-investment/
Start your week with this awesome ‘space ballet’ at the ISS
November 23, 2025 8:05 PM
NASA astronaut Jonny Kim has shared some sublime footage (below) of the International Space Station’s robotic Canadarm2 “dancing” above Earth.
According to Kim, the 49-second timelapse, which uses more than two hours of footage, was recorded while Mission Control at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston practiced various maneuvers in preparation for capturing the NG-23 Cygnus spacecraft in the coming days.
“In advance of the NG-23 Cygnus capture with the Canadarm, Houston gave our crew onboard an opportunity to practice moving the arm and capturing a simulated grapple fixture (i.e. target),” Kim wrote in a post on X.
Set to music, we can see the robotic arm performing a range of moves as it passes over Earth some 250 miles below.
The Cygnus NG-23 cargo spacecraft arrived at the ISS in September and is set to remain at the orbital outpost until March next year.
However, the spacecraft will soon be temporarily unberthed from the station’s Unity module to clear a path for the incoming Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft, which will dock with the Rassvet module on the Russian part of the space station.
For the uninitiated, the Canadarm2 is a vital part of the space station’s equipment and over the years has been used for multiple spacecraft maneuvers and astronaut activities.
During ISS spacewalks, for example, Canadarm2 functions as a movable work platform with foot-restraints, handrails, and safety tether attachment points that allow astronauts to be safely transported and positioned on the outside of the ISS for maintenance work and other tasks.
The 17-meter-long robotic device is actually mobile and can “walk” around the station by moving end-over-end, using grapple fixtures located throughout the station to anchor itself as it moves.
Besides teams on the ground at NASA and the Canadian Space Agency, the arm cab also be controlled by astronauts on board the ISS.
Operating at the ISS for more than two decades, the Canadarm2 is now so deeply embedded in Canadian culture as a symbol of the nation’s innovation and pride in space technology that it appears on Canadian stamps and also its $5 banknote.
https://www.digitaltrends.com/space/start-your-week-with-this-awesome-space-ballet-at-the-iss/
https://twitter.com/JonnyKimUSA/status/1991693590502772831
China to launch an empty Shenzhou 22 spacecraft to help stranded astronauts on Tiangong space station
November 24, 2025
China will launch an empty spacecraft to the Tiangong space station overnight tonight (Nov. 24), to provide a lifeboat for its 3 stranded astronauts currently living and working aboard.
A Long March 2F/G rocket is scheduled to launch the Shenzhou 22 spacecraft today, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, located in China's Gobi Desert.
Liftoff is scheduled during a 30-minute launch window that begins at 11:11 p.m. EST (0411 GMT, Nov. 25; 11:11 a.m. Beijing Time).
Chinese state media channels confirmed the launch online, and indicated that propellant loading for the rocket was completed early Friday morning.
The Shenzhou 22 mission patch was also revealed Monday, with images of the Long March 2F rocket and Shenzhou spacecraft rising from China's Great Wall to the Tiangong space station in the stars - symbols that showcase, "a sense of 'ready to launch' and a steadfast belief in 'mission accomplished,'" according to China Manned Space.
he three astronauts aboard Tiangong currently have no way of departing the station, either in an emergency or at the end of their crew rotation.
The spacecraft that ferried the Shenzhou 21 crew to space was repurposed to return their predecessors, Shenzhou 20 astronauts, after the Shenzhou 20 return vehicle was struck by space debris.
Now, Shenzhou 21 Taikonauts Zhang Lu, Zhang Hongzhang and Wu Fei are stuck in orbit until a new vessel arrives.
The three astronauts began their stint aboard Tiangong after a successful launch Oct. 31.
Their arrival kicked off departure procedures for the Shenzhou 20 crew, who had been scheduled to return to Earth Nov. 5. Just before their departure, however, the Shenzhou 20 spacecraft was struck with debris.
Out of an abundance of caution, Chinese officials made the decision to return the Shenzhou 20 crew aboard the Shenzhou 21 spacecraft that had just arrived.
The astronauts successfully landed Nov. 14, and the Shenzhou 21 crew has now gone without a ride home for the past 10 days.
The Shenzhou 20 spacecraft still remains docked with Tiangong, but it will either need to be repaired and returned to Earth or abandoned on orbit to free up the docking port before the Shenzhou 23 mission arrives to relieve the station's current crew.
With the launch and subsequent arrival of the empty Shenzhou 22 spacecraft, Shenzhou 21 astronauts aboard Tiangong are expected to serve through the remainder of their crew rotation, and be relieved by Shenzhou 23 sometime in April 2026.
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/china-to-launch-an-empty-shenzhou-22-spacecraft-to-help-stranded-astronauts-on-tiangong-space-station
Do it Q
Multiple Ukrainian drones downed en route to Moscow – mayor
24 Nov, 2025 15:35
At least ten Ukrainian long-range drones were intercepted on Monday as they headed toward Moscow, the Russian capital’s Mayor Sergey Sobyanin has announced. No casualties or damage were reported.
Russia’s Defense Ministry had stated earlier that ten Ukrainian drones had been downed between 8am and 2pm Moscow time, including two believed to be targeting the capital.
Overnight, Russian air defenses intercepted 93 Ukrainian unmanned aircraft over various regions of Russia as well as the Black and Azov seas, according to the military.
The attempted strikes come as Ukrainian forces face mounting battlefield setbacks. On Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry said its troops had liberated two neighborhoods in the city of Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk) in the Donetsk People’s Republic over the preceding 24 hours.
The Ukrainian government is also under pressure amid a major corruption scandal involving close associates of Vladimir Zelensky, who allegedly ran a large-scale kickback operation in the energy sector using foreign funds.
Compounding the pressure, the US has presented Kiev with peace plan proposal reportedly requiring territorial concessions to Russia. Ukraine’s European backers have taken issue with the terms of the deal, calling for substantial revisions.
US and Ukrainian officials held discussions on the proposed deal in Geneva over the weekend, with the Trump administration reportedly arguing that Kiev risks worse terms in the future if it refuses to compromise.
Moscow has distanced itself from the debate over the leaked drafts. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russia only comments on proposals received through official diplomatic channels and will not react to documents circulated in the media.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously stated that his country has the upper hand on the battlefield and will achieve its strategic aims regardless of whether Ukraine accepts US-brokered mediation.
https://www.rt.com/russia/628312-ukrainian-drones-moscow-sobyanin/