TYB
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
August 5, 2026
Spokes on Saturn's B Ring
Don’t get spooked by Saturn’s ghostly spokes! Today we feature a nearly two-hour timelapse of Saturn and its rings looping forwards and backwards. A day on Saturn is only 10 hours long, so two hours of observation covers quite a bit of its rotation. If you look closely, a ghoulish shadow appears and disappears as Saturn’s B ring rotates. Decades of observation with Voyager 2, Cassini, and Hubble show the appearance of Saturn’s spokes varies with the planet’s seasons. Like Earth, Saturn’s spin axis is tilted compared to the plane of its orbit around the Sun. During Saturn’s equinox, the rings are less tilted away from the Sun and the planet receives more evenly distributed sunlight and solar wind. Although their origin is still uncertain, Saturn’s spokes may be shadows of and reflections off of dust and ice levitating above the rings caused by electromagnetic interactions between the solar wind and the planet’s magnetic field.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZ6y3DPrs7w
Homes BURNT to ASH but TREES ARE GREEN ! Spokane Wildfire RAISES QUESTIONS ! Silki and frens
Aug 4, 2026
Why Do Houses Burn But Trees Survive In Wildfires?
Every house on this street burned to ash. The trees six feet away are still green.
It looks impossible — and it was the most common question in the comments after the Old Trails Fire tore through the Indian Trail and Five Mile Prairie neighborhoods of Spokane, Washington.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGQUo4DF3l4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXaXwzx_XmY (Mr Weatherman: Tropical Development More Likely…)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsNXQnSpxOY (Dutchsinse: Large Earthquake strikes Philippines Indonesia Border - M6.4+ forecast area direct hit - live update)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRY61TVn8oI (EarthMaster: 6.3 Earthquake Philippines Region… California Earthquakes increasing tonight! Tuesday Night)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-iXVsvuXvE (MrMBB333: Something BIG caused this!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XT9neQkv_FA (Stefan Burns: BREAKING ⚠️ Huge Explosions Rock Fuego Volcano, Nationwide Orange Alert Activated)
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solar
https://starlust.org/nas-as-punch-mission-stuns-scientists-with-solar-storm-prediction/
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floods and storms
https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-forecasts/flash-flood-threat-returns-as-storms-drench-central-eastern-us/1919004
https://rollingout.com/2026/08/05/large-storm-barrels-toward-four-states/
https://www.thetraveler.org/flash-flood-warnings-snarl-air-travel-across-georgia/
https://www.thetraveler.org/us-flight-disruptions-surge-as-storms-hammer-east-coast/
https://www.kcrg.com/2026/08/04/gov-reynolds-requests-presidential-disaster-declaration-severe-weather-response/
https://www.hawaiicounty.gov/Home/Components/News/News/4477/720
https://www.foxweather.com/weather-news/dust-storms-strong-winds-arizona-unhealthy-air-quality
https://www.gdnonline.com/Details/1402606/Six-killed,-six-injured-in-flash-floods-in-Pakistans-Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
https://www.pratidintime.com/national/india-flood-crisis-over-100-dead-as-monsoon-rains-trigger-floods-and-landslides-12232765
https://www.dimsumdaily.hk/typhoon-dolphin-tipped-to-hit-okinawa-as-super-typhoon/
https://news.laodong.vn/the-gioi/bao-dolphin-va-kujira-cung-hoat-dong-tang-mua-lon-khap-dong-nam-a-1746068.ldo
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fires
https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article316767289.html
https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/08/04/governor-newsom-invites-president-trump-to-deliver-overdue-wildfire-recovery-funding-during-los-angeles-visit/
https://www.hstoday.us/subject-matter-areas/emergency-preparedness/washington-wildfire-arson-suspect-twice-linked-to-other-blazes-authorities-say/
https://komonews.com/news/wildfire/federal-government-grants-washington-emergency-declaration-for-wildfire-response-governor-bob-ferguson-eastern-wa-devastating-wildfires-spokane-county
https://www.war.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/4563880/washington-national-guardsmen-support-statewide-wildfire-response/
https://www.opb.org/article/2026/08/04/grasshopper-fire-clackamas-county-evacuation/
https://apnews.com/photo-gallery/photos-show-destruction-wildfires-greece-blazes-take-hold-europe-parts-31768ccdba35435e8f23425ac05d8ccb
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tornadoes
https://www.accuweather.com/en/case-studies/destructive-tornado-near-appleton-wisconsin-accuweather-exclusively-provides-life-saving-warning-before-tornado-touches-down/1918982
https://abc7chicago.com/post/hazel-crest-illinois-neighbors-work-together-ef1-tornado-knocks-power-spreads-debris/19626226/
https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16029995/mini-tornado-athletics-meeting-tables-chairs-officials-air.html
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earthquakes
https://newsarenaindia.com/states/3-6-magnitude-earthquake-strikes-upper-siang/83945
https://iranwire.com/en/news/155873-two-earthquakes-shake-hormozgan-province/
https://www.edhat.com/california/news/4-0-earthquake-near-covelo/
https://www.fbcnews.com.fj/news/fiji-records-264-earthquakes-last-month/
https://menafn.com/1111490652/48-Magnitude-Earthquake-Strikes-Off-Coast-Of-Russias-Kuril-Islands
https://watchers.news/2026/08/05/m6-3-earthquake-hits-south-of-the-kermadec-islands/
https://www.thevibes.com/articles/world/125858/strong-6.5-magnitude-earthquake-strikes-southern-philippines
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volcanoes
https://mb.com.ph/2026/08/05/phivolcs-downgrades-mayon-volcano-alert-status-to-level-2
https://www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery/news/world/2026/08/05/guatemala-fuego-volcano-erupts-photos/91180101007/
https://www.geo.tv/latest/676296-central-americas-most-active-volcano-enters-critical-explosive-phase-see-full-details
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dailys
https://schumannresonance.today/
https://www.weatherbug.com/news/Today-s-Weather-Outlook
https://www.nifc.gov/fire-information/nfn
https://www.tornadohq.com/
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map
https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/earthquakes-volcanoes/news/322803/Volcano-earthquake-report-for-Wednesday-5-Aug-2026.html
https://www.spaceweather.gov/
https://spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=05&month=08&year=2026
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HustleBitch
@HustleBitch_
🚨 MAUI ALL OVER AGAIN… SPOKANE GOES UP IN FLAMES AFTER REJECTING DATA CENTER
What just happened in Spokane, Washington is making people sick to their stomachs.
A fast moving fire tore through neighborhoods so quickly that many residents had almost no time to evacuate.
Police were going door to door.
Hundreds of homes were reduced to ash within hours.
Firefighters were nowhere to be seen.
People are pointing out the same strange patterns seen in Maui:
• Homes completely gone
• Cars melted in driveways
• Trees and some structures still standing
Many residents also reported few or no firefighters on scene for hours after the fire started.
Now here’s the part that’s raising the most questions.
Just weeks before the fire, Spokane County commissioners were discussing a temporary ban on data centers.
Residents were strongly against them.
At the same time, a county commissioner was reportedly holding private meetings with a little known company called Apricus Energy Solutions. A firm with almost no track record that wanted to build a massive data center in the area and was pushing for tax breaks.
After the fire destroyed large parts of the community, some are now asking whether the cleared land could be seized through eminent domain and used for the very projects residents fought against.
Homes gone.
Land cleared.
Data centers waiting in the wings.
How many more towns have to burn before people admit these “wildfires” aren’t random?
8:02 AM · Aug 4, 2026
https://x.com/HustleBitch_/status/2084656308557434905
https://x.com/mattvanswol/status/2084343678139568556
https://x.com/ThriftyChiMama/status/2084408321432551676
LIVE AVI LOEB ON THE NEW LUNAR FLEET DISCOVERY!
August 5, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6Zd4jRzrQM
https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/nuclear-explosives-defence-hidden-asteroids-1812563
extra space objects
https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Engineering_Technology/Your_chance_to_run_software_in_deep_space_on_ESA_s_asteroid_mission
https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/08/05/1141200/nasas-roman-telescope-detect-asteroids/
Chinese Researchers Propose Nukes as Backup Amid Warning of 15,000 Hidden 'City-Killer' Asteroids
05 August 2026, 12:39 PM BST
A study by Chinese researchers proposes using nuclear explosives to stop dangerous asteroids that are detected too late for conventional deflection missions.
Chinese scientists have proposed using nuclear explosives as a last-resort defence against potentially catastrophic asteroids after new research suggested thousands of undetected 'city-killer' space rocks could threaten Earth.
The study, conducted by researchers from the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology in Beijing and reported this week, argues that a nuclear device buried deep inside an incoming asteroid could be the most practical option in scenarios where existing planetary defence methods cannot respond in time.
However, it's worth noting that the proposal is based on computer simulations and has not been tested in real-world conditions.
For years, scientists have become increasingly concerned about smaller near-Earth asteroids that are difficult to detect but still capable of causing widespread destruction if they strike populated areas.
NASA scientists have warned that as many as 15,000 asteroids measuring several hundred feet across may remain undiscovered.
Because some of these objects could be detected only days or weeks before a possible impact, researchers are exploring emergency response options that go beyond existing asteroid deflection missions.
Hidden Asteroids Could Leave Little Time for Defence
According to the study, conventional planetary defence strategies may be ineffective if a hazardous asteroid is discovered shortly before it reaches Earth.
One example is NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, which successfully altered the orbit of the asteroid Dimorphos in 2022 by deliberately crashing a spacecraft into it.
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While DART demonstrated that asteroid trajectories can be changed, that approach depends on identifying a threat well in advance. Researchers argue that shorter warning times would make it difficult to launch and complete a similar mission before impact.
To examine an alternative, the Chinese team modelled a scenario in which a spacecraft drills deep into an incoming asteroid before placing a nuclear device inside the cavity.
Rather than detonating the weapon on the surface, the researchers found that an underground explosion would transfer far more energy into the rock, increasing the chances of destroying or significantly altering its course.
The researchers wrote that the study 'can provide references for the engineering design of defense against large near-Earth asteroids.'
Nuclear Asteroid Plan Relies on Early Detection
The team tested different asteroid sizes, speeds and flight paths using computer simulations.
According to results published online, a 164-foot asteroid could be destroyed using a 300-kiloton nuclear explosion, roughly equivalent to 20 Hiroshima bombs.
A much larger object measuring nearly 1,000 metres would require a 3-megaton explosion under the same modelling.
The depth of the detonation also proved significant. Researchers found that placing the nuclear device around 100 metres below the asteroid's surface tripled the change in its velocity compared with a shallower explosion, suggesting that drilling would be a key part of any future mission.
Even so, the concept faces major practical challenges. Any mission would require enough warning to identify the asteroid, launch a spacecraft, reach the target and successfully drill into its surface before a collision became unavoidable.
It would also depend on developing spacecraft capable of transporting both specialised drilling equipment and a nuclear payload through deep space.
Despite those obstacles, the researchers said the work 'holds profound strategic significance for enhancing humanity's capability to respond to asteroid impact threats'.
The proposal is not the first time nuclear technology has been considered as a planetary defence measure. Last autumn, scientists also discussed whether a nuclear option might be necessary for asteroid 2024 YR4 after it briefly raised concerns over a possible Earth impact on 23 December 2032.
Those fears have since eased. NASA's Center for Near Earth Objects has reduced the probability of 2024 YR4 striking Earth to just 0.00081%. However, the likelihood of the asteroid hitting the Moon on that date has increased to more than 4%, according to the report.
Researchers noted that a lunar impact could still have consequences. Debris created by such a collision could threaten satellites and spacecraft orbiting Earth, while material falling back onto the Moon could complicate future robotic missions and pose risks for astronauts involved in the Artemis programme.
Although the latest study presents nuclear detonation as a possible emergency response, its findings are based entirely on simulations.
No decision has been made to pursue such a strategy, and any future use of nuclear devices for planetary defence would require technological advances, international cooperation and confirmation that the approach is both safe and effective.
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NASA’s Perseverance Rover Watches Earth Vanish Behind Martian Moon
Aug. 5, 2026
The first observation of its kind captures our home planet slipping behind Phobos in the Martian evening sky.
Earth and the Martian moon Phobos dance together in a series of images recently acquired by NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover.
Earth appears as a point of light in the Martian sky, disappearing behind the crescent of Phobos, the larger of Mars’ two moons.
This is the first time humanity has captured from the surface of another planet an observation of Earth disappearing behind an object.
The image sequence was taken by the rover’s Mastcam-Z instrument at about 7 p.m. local solar time (the Martian evening time where the rover is located) on July 2, the 1,907th Martian day, or sol, of the mission.
In the composite image, Earth travels from the upper left of the frame toward the lower right while Phobos, moving from lower left to upper right, sweeps across its path. In the third frame of the sequence, the two meet, and our planet winks out behind the little moon’s shadowed edge.
“The composite image makes for a unique Earth self-portrait, taken from the surface of another planet, with a Phobos photobomb,” said Justin Maki, the Mastcam-Z deputy principal investigator and imaging scientist for Perseverance at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
From where Perseverance sits on the rim of Mars’ Jezero Crater, the two objects could hardly look more different. Phobos, a lumpy, potato-shaped moon about 17 miles (27 kilometers) across at its widest, orbits so close to Mars (4,850 miles, or 7,800 kilometers, away) that when the images were taken, Phobos appears roughly one-third the width of Earth’s Moon as seen from our planet. Some 195 million miles (314 million kilometers) away at the time, Earth is reduced to a single, pixel-size dot.
“Phobos crosses the Martian sky three times a day, and Earth is visible for months at a stretch, but catching one directly behind the other takes planning and a little luck,” said Mark Lemmon, a Mastcam-Z co-investigator at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado, who planned the observation and assembled the composite.
Transits, occultations, eclipses
Astronomers call the event captured in this observation an occultation: when a larger-appearing body completely blocks the one behind it from the viewer’s standpoint.
By contrast, an eclipse occurs when one object moves into the shadow of another. When the Moon passes through Earth’s shadow, it’s called a lunar eclipse; when one object that appears to be the same size as another blocks it, like when the Moon passes before the Sun, it’s known as a solar eclipse.
When the roles are reversed, with a smaller-looking object crossing the face of a larger-looking one, astronomers call that a transit.
Perseverance has observed those, too: when Phobos or Deimos crosses the disk of the Sun as seen from Mars. These are sometimes described informally as “Martian solar eclipses.”
More about Perseverance
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which is managed by Caltech, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover on behalf of the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington, as part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program portfolio.
Arizona State University leads the operations of the rover’s Mastcam-Z instrument, working in collaboration with Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego, on the design, fabrication, testing, and operation of the cameras.
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-perseverance-rover-watches-earth-vanish-behind-martian-moon/
moar
https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/science-news/2026/08/05/nasas-new-horizons-finds-evidence-of-recent-liquid-on-plutos-surface/
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-engineers-help-prolong-voyager-2s-science-mission/
https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/eyes/2026/08/04/nasas-eyes-software-july-release-notes/
https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/the-paradox-of-lencois-maranhenses-national-park/
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/moon-base/nasa-provides-updates-on-moon-base-cargo-landers-tech-demonstrations/
https://dailygalaxy.com/2026/08/nasa-laser-drone-moons-underground-caves/
moar
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2026/08/04/thursday-spacewalk-preps-continue-crew-installs-advanced-earth-imaging-gear/
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/roman-space-telescope-plaque-install/
https://www.nasa.gov/general/ames-science-stars-of-the-month-august-2026/
https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/august-2026-satellite-puzzler/
NASA Provides Updates on Moon Base Cargo Landers, Tech Demonstrations
Aug 04, 2026
NASA is making progress in building the Moon Base, which will become a resilient outpost near the Moon’s South Pole for science, technology, and eventual human operations.
To advance lunar surface infrastructure development, commercial partners such as Blue Origin, Firefly Aerospace, Intuitive Machines, and Voyager Lunar Systems are working toward delivering landers by 2028.
These landers will deliver the foundational architecture for a sustained presence on the Moon. Their progress represents major advances in commercial lunar delivery and lays the groundwork for the systems and surface capabilities the Moon Base will rely on.
Phase I of the Moon Base architecture plan, taking place now through 2029, includes more than twenty robotic landings, with each mission designed to incrementally advance system capabilities and validate operational components for those that follow.
Before astronauts arrive, robotic missions will deploy critical scientific instruments that characterize the lunar environment, test new technologies, and begin assembling the infrastructure needed for human habitation.
These early robotic missions also will create opportunities to gather insights and improve the overall reliability of the Moon Base architecture.
Recurring deliveries under NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative will play a vital role in building a dependable lunar supply chain, advancing the agency’s efforts toward a permanent human and robotic presence on the Moon.
On Tuesday, NASA released a Moon Base video update offering a closer look at the progress these four companies are making to advance their flights and hardware to further the agency’s Moon Base objectives.
Blue Origin
Blue Origin’s Blue Moon MK1 lander is progressing through integrated testing to prepare for its upcoming lunar delivery. This first mission, named Endurance, represents a new class of commercial landers designed to deliver large-scale payloads to the lunar surface.
The lander successfully completed an extensive environmental test campaign, including a thermal‑vacuum assessment at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, verifying its capability to perform under lunar‑like conditions.
Teams are advancing through a series of integration milestones that will lead MK1 into its next test campaign.
The structure, propulsion elements, and avionics systems are fully assembled, and upcoming assessments will verify the wiring harnesses connections that enable payload integration.
The lander completed communications checkouts with NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System and the Deep Space Network. Up next, cryogenic propellants will be loaded as one of the final tests prior to integration for launch.
Endurance will demonstrate precision landing capabilities, characterize the lunar environment, and tests autonomous systems for future Moon Base missions.
Firefly Aerospace
Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 2 builds on its first successful lunar landing with a larger, dual‑spacecraft configuration built specifically for operations on the Moon’s far side.
Blue Ghost is stacked on top of Elytra, Firefly’s orbital spacecraft, forming a 22‑foot‑tall system nearly three times the height of the spacecraft flown for Blue Ghost Mission 1 in 2025.
With the ability to deploy payloads in orbit and on the lunar surface, Elytra brings added versatility to Moon Base logistics and science.
Planned to be the first American landing on the Moon’s far side, Blue Ghost Mission 2 will explore a uniquely quiet region, allowing study of lunar far side geology and the cosmic Dark Ages, a time when newly-formed stars were just becoming visible.
Carrying three NASA payloads, the mission aims to advance scientific research and test technologies for future habitation and infrastructure development.
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The autonomous landing sequence demonstrated during its first mission exhibits Firefly’s performance in lunar flight and will play a role in supporting mission operations.
Reusing subsystems from the previous mission allows Firefly to accelerate development and reduce risk, supporting Moon Base objectives for scalable and repeatable commercial lander capabilities.
Intuitive Machines
Intuitive Machines’ IM‑3 mission highlights how commercial landers are essential infrastructure to establish the Moon Base.
This mission represents Intuitive Machines’ third Nova-C lunar landing on the Moon, and introduces Altus-1, the company’s first lunar data‑relay satellite, which will fly alongside the lander.
Named Trinity, Intuitive Machines’ Nova‑C lander assembly and integration are progressing to help meet the long-term need for regular cargo and science deliveries.
The top deck is aligned, and internal wiring is undergoing extensive testing before closeout panels are added. Recently, Intuitive Machines along with the X-Ray Cryogenic Facility crew at NASA’s Marshall Space Center in Huntsville, Alabama successfully completed long-range thermal vacuum testing to confirm that Intuitive Machines’ sensors operate accurately under both ends of the thermal range they may encounter during lunar descent.
In the coming weeks, teams will complete the final stages of development, including engine integration and hot fire tests.
By deploying Altus-1 in lunar orbit with its three payloads and delivering five NASA payloads along with six commercial and one civil payload to the surface on IM-3, Intuitive Machines aims to advance Moon Base science objectives in Reiner Gamma’s geomagnetic environment, a magnetic anomaly on the lunar surface. The IM-3 mission will be the first to explore the surface of a lunar swirl, enabling robotics and deployed instruments to deepen the scientific investigation of this mysterious region.
Voyager Technologies
Voyager Technologies’ Griffin‑1 lander is undergoing testing in the Environmental Test Laboratory at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, a critical step toward being ready for its mission to the Moon.
Testing at NASA JPL verifies commercial lunar landers meet the precision and durability needed to support Moon Base operations.
Griffin-1, built as an infrastructure‑class lander, plans to launch in late 2026 and will transport the largest commercial payload ever delivered to the lunar surface.
Five NASA payloads will be mounted on the Astrolab FLIP (FLEX Lunar Innovation Platform) rover that together will enable the mission objective of advancing surface mobility capabilities, technology demonstrations, and long‑duration lunar operations.
Griffin‑1 recently completed mass properties testing, providing fundamental data for guidance, navigation, control, and flight dynamics.
Over the next several weeks, additional environmental tests replicating anticipated conditions, from launch through lunar landing, will further reduce mission risk and strengthen readiness for operations in the lunar environment.
Once environmental testing concludes, Griffin‑1 will return to Voyager’s Lunar System Pittsburgh facility for final assembly.
The spacecraft will proceed through final launch-readiness operations before being shipped to Cape Canaveral.
Northrop Grumman
NASA is working with Northrop Grumman to develop three technology demonstration payloads slated for delivery to the lunar surface.
These demonstrations build on power and avionics hardware developed for the Gateway program’s HALO (Habitation And Logistics Outpost) module, now being repurposed following NASA’s shift from an orbital-focused lunar strategy to one centered on surface operations.
The initial demonstrations will test survive-the-night systems capable of enduring the Moon’s extreme conditions, including multi-day shadow periods.
They also will test shared surface power infrastructure designed to support critical payloads or other Moon Base assets, along with essential avionics and power capabilities.
NASA is advancing development of the Moon Base by pursuing long-term lunar exploration and infrastructure initiatives designed to enable a sustained human presence on the Moon, supported by scientific deliveries and commercial lunar landers.
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NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman
@NASAAdmin
For those interested in a spent booster impacting the lunar surface, this rare occurrence has decades of history, going back to the Apollo era, when NASA intentionally crashed spent stages into the Moon for science and seismic research.
The reality is that meteoroids strike the lunar surface hourly, with impacts comparable to this upper stage occurring roughly every six days.
The future lunar base will incorporate reusable spacecraft that not only deliver astronauts and payloads, but also become part of the infrastructure itself.
9:23 AM · Aug 5, 2026
https://x.com/NASAAdmin/status/2085039026545758218
extra Isaacman
https://x.com/TimSheehyMT/status/2085009807975624997
https://x.com/NASAAdmin/status/2085038794877595746
https://x.com/NASAAdmin/status/2085001938450395384
https://x.com/NASAAdmin/status/2084987018820386846
The High Tea Dept
NASA's Johnson Space Center
@NASAJohnson
Crew‑13 briefings from Houston: leadership insights and crew perspectives. 🚀
Johnson Space Center hosted two briefings yesterday: NASA leadership outlined the mission’s goals in the Mission Overview, and the Crew‑13 astronauts shared their training and plans for Expedition 75.
Jessica Watkins, Luke Delaney, Joshua Kutryk, and Sergey Teteryatnikov will carry forward station operations, science, and maintenance when they launch to the International Space Station this September.
If you missed it, catch up here 👉 https://youtube.com/watch?v=x8344PSeH30
10:54 AM · Aug 4, 2026
https://x.com/NASAJohnson/status/2084699452514672695
extra
https://x.com/NASA_Marshall/status/2084761775560437966
https://x.com/NASA/status/2084734580737634576
https://x.com/NASA/status/2085033654846189941
https://x.com/NASA/status/2084712464466190650
NASA Will Attempt to Observe Rocket Part’s Lunar Impact
Aug 04, 2026
Using ground-based telescopes and space-based assets, NASA and SpaceX are tracking a used Falcon 9 upper stage from a commercial mission expected to impact the Moon on Wednesday, Aug. 5, near the Einstein and Bell craters.
The impact poses no danger to Earth and NASA scientists are planning to collect lunar data from the event and refine techniques for tracking objects in space.
On Jan. 15, 2025, SpaceX launched the Falcon 9 rocket and successfully deployed Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost 1 lunar lander to the Moon under NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative.
Solar activity and gravitational forces caused the stage’s unplanned return to the Moon. NASA and SpaceX remain in communication about the upper stage and its flight path.
Independent astronomers first identified the trajectory using publicly available data.
NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which tracks natural objects that could pose hazards to Earth, later confirmed the stage has a 100% chance of impacting the Moon.
NASA will continue tracking it as part of training operations.
Because the Moon has no atmosphere to slow incoming objects, it is struck by meteoroids daily. Human‑made object impacts are far less common but do occur.
The rocket stage is expected to create a crater about 60 feet wide and 12 feet deep and throw dust and rock outward as ejecta. For comparison, a meteoroid with the same energy as the upper stage hits the Moon about every six days, so the lunar surface is constantly absorbing impacts with the same force.
Despite the disturbance, observing impacts gives scientists valuable insight by revealing how ejecta plumes behave, helping to understand the Moon’s geology and refine models that guide future exploration and science missions.
The impact will not be visible to the naked eye on Earth, but NASA will attempt to observe it in real time.
The Meteoroid Environments Office at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, will use ground‑based telescopes to image the impact; however, weather and lighting conditions may make viewing difficult.
Additionally, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the ShadowCam instrument aboard South Korea’s Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter will look for chances to image the site before and after the impact.
Image availability will depend on lighting, orbital timing, and spacecraft position, and it may take several days to receive imagery. Any data collected will help scientists better understand artificial impacts and their exploration implications.
Although unplanned in this instance, disposing of upper stages on the lunar surface is a technically accepted and safe method and, in some cases, can be the only practical option for missions in low lunar orbit. Many operators choose controlled impacts because they provide predictable and trackable end of life outcomes.
NASA is committed to debris mitigation and demonstrating responsible disposal practices that safeguard Earth, its orbital environment, and other planetary bodies while enabling discoveries that deepen our understanding of the solar system and benefit humanity.
https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/commercial-space/nasa-will-attempt-to-observe-rocket-parts-lunar-impact/
https://x.com/RT_com/status/2085015745986208031