Cosmic Dispatch
Space
Eyes on the void.
NASA · Astronomy Picture of the Day
M74: A Grand Design Spiral
If not the most grand, then this spiral galaxy is at least one of the most photogenic. An island universe of about 100 billion stars, 32 million light-years away toward the constellation Pisces, M74 presents a gorgeous face-on view. Classified as an Sc galaxy, the grand design of M74's graceful spiral arms are traced by bright blue star clusters and dark cosmic dust lanes. Constructed from archival images, this sharp composite is from the Hubble Space Telescope. Spanning about 30,000 light-years across the face of M74, it includes exposures recording emission from hydrogen atoms, highlighting the reddish glow of the galaxy's large star-forming regions. APOD's main NASA site is moving: From apod.nasa.gov to science.nasa.gov/apod
Open HD ↗
New method tests magnet-powered braking for safer, more reusable spacecraft reentry
Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have created a new system to test magnetohydrodynamic aerobraking for spacecraft reentering the atmosphere. Their platform generates intense magnetic …
NASA's Roman Space Telescope is ready for launch aboard SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket is poised to lift off with the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope on Aug. 30. This observatory is on a mission to usher in a new wave of astronomical discovery.
NASA's Roman telescope set to launch on cosmic mapping mission
NASA is preparing to launch its new flagship space telescope on Sunday, embarking on a multiyear mission to create an unprecedented map of the cosmos and shed light on some of the biggest mysteries…
This Week In Space podcast: Episode 225 — Get a Grip!
On Episode 225 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik are joined by Adam Kall of KMI to discuss their work on the ISS may provide answers for orbital debris mitigation.
When is the next lunar eclipse?
When will Earth's shadow cover the moon next following the August 2026 partial lunar eclipse?
SpaceX test-fires Starship Super Heavy booster ahead of critical Flight 14 (video)
SpaceX fired up all 33 engines of its Super Heavy booster to gear up for the next Starship test flight, which will mark the first time the vehicle goes orbital.
Meeting Nancy Grace Roman: What was the 'mother of Hubble' really like?
Nearly a decade ago, I found myself laughing alongside Nancy Grace Roman: one of the most iconic women in astronomy.
Scientists melted a diamond and cracked a secret of ice giants
Some of the strangest weather in the solar system doesn't happen on Earth or even in Jupiter's Great Red Spot—it happens in the interiors of ice giants like Neptune and Uranus. Specifically, scient…
Who was Nancy Grace Roman? NASA's next big space telescope is named after the 'Mother of Hubble'
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is about to launch on an incredible adventure to help scientists explore the great mysteries of the universe. But who was Nancy Grace Roman?
On this day in space! Aug. 29, 1965: NASA's Gemini 5 breaks spaceflight duration record after 2 astronauts spent '8 days in a garbage can'
On Aug. 29, 1965, two NASA astronauts returned to Earth after spending eight days in space on the record-setting Gemini 5 mission, setting the stage for longer trips to the moon.
NASA’s Artemis II Crew Receives Congressional Space Medal of Honor
From left to right: NASA astronauts Victor Glover and Christina Koch, CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, and NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman receive the Congressional Space Medal of H…
NASA Awards First Prize in Phase 2 of Agency’s LunaRecycle Challenge
NASA named a team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as the first prize winner for Phase 2 of the agency’s LunaRecycle Challenge, which focused on developing solutions for reducin…
President Honors NASA’s Artemis II Crew with Highest US Space Award
President Donald J. Trump awarded NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen with the Congressional Space Medal of Hono…
President Trump Signs Executive Order to Create US Space Academy
To strengthen the nation’s space workforce and develop the next generation of space leaders, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order on Friday to establish the nation’s first U.S. Space…
What time will SpaceX launch NASA's Roman Space Telescope today? (Full mission timeline)
SpaceX will launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, NASA's next great observatory, atop a Falcon Heavy rocket on Aug. 30. Here's what time it flies.
Our choice as one of the best budget telescopes now has 17% off — this telescope deal is worth grabbing fast
Our expert tester rated the Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ telescope with an impressive review and it's now at one of its lowest prices this year in this limited-time Amazon deal.
The night we nearly saw a 'blood moon' (and why I love near-misses in astronomy)
Astronomy is often about being close to extraordinary things without fully experiencing them. Here's why to love partials, grazings, faint objects and other almost-events.
'It's going to be beautiful': President Trump signs order to create US Space Academy
President Trump just signed an executive order creating the U.S. Space Academy, which will train students for a career studying, exploring, exploiting or helping to protect the final frontier.
Relive private Chinese rocket's explosive 1st landing attempt (video)
LandSpace's first attempt to land its Zhuque-3 rocket was quite a spectacle, as newly released video footage reminds us.
On Cloud 9: Have astronomers discovered the first starless galaxy?
Astronomers are closer than ever to confirming the discovery of the first starless or "failed" galaxy, packed with dark matter and gas but with virtually no stars.
SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket launching NASA's Roman Space Telescope on Aug. 30: How to watch it live
NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is scheduled to lift off atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket early Sunday morning (Aug. 30). Here's how to watch it live.
Grants
*Notice* The Payment Management System (PMS) is currently experiencing issues affecting Federal Financial Report (FFR) generation. Impacted NASA grant recipients will not be considered noncompliant…
Curiosity climbs to new heights on Mars | Space photo of the day for Aug. 28, 2026
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover captured a gorgeous new panorama to celebrate climbing a total of 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) throughout its now 14-year exploration of the Red Planet.
Week in images: 24-28 August 2026
Week in images: 24-28 August 2026 Discover our week through the lens
Ariane 6 launch with MTG-I2 – highlights
Video: 00:04:28 The Meteosat Third Generation-Imager2 (MTG-I2) satellite, has been launched on board an Ariane 6 launcher from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Liftoff was on 27 August 2026 at …
President Trump gives Artemis II moon astronauts the Congressional Space Medal of Honor
The astronauts of NASA's Artemis II mission, who flew around the moon this past April, just received the United States' highest space honor.
'Silo' season 3: Common and Alexandria Riley talk shocking truths and writers tearing their on-screen marriage apart (interview)
"I love that they’ve given our characters this much of a journey."
APOD: 2026 August 28 – The Sky Turns Above Paranal
APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 August 28 – The… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a di…
Partial lunar eclipse stuns skywatchers with an ‘almost blood moon’. Here are the best photos
See the best photos of the August 2026 partial lunar eclipse
Observing Samba and Tango’s reentries
The final two of ESA's pioneering Cluster spacecraft, Samba and Tango, will end their journeys as they burn up in our atmosphere on 31 August and 1 September respectively. Their targeted reentries …
On this day in space! Aug. 28, 1993: Galileo spacecraft flies by asteroid Ida on the way to Jupiter only to find a tiny moon!
On Aug. 28, 1993, NASA's Galileo spacecraft flew by the asteroid Ida on its way to Jupiter. Here's why it mattered.
SpaceX recovers Starship from the Indian Ocean a month after launch and is shipping it back to Texas
SpaceX has pulled off its biggest salvage operation yet, recovering its most recently launched Starship from the Indian Ocean.
Mercury's crust points to deeper, hotter volcanic origins than expected
The evolutionary histories of Earth and Mercury differ fundamentally. The smallest planet, closest to the sun, likely began cooling early on, much like a setting pudding: As early as about 1 billio…
NASA telescope honors Nancy Grace Roman, architect of space-based astronomy
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is set to launch this weekend aboard a SpaceX rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. When it becomes operational early next year, it will transform our v…
Will new telescope Roman help reveal long-kept secrets of the universe? Q&A with an expert
On Sunday, Aug. 30, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is expected to launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The observatory will join the Hubble Space Telescope, launched in 1990, …
James Webb Space Telescope observes 72 stars and finds planet formation is a race against time
Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have studied 72 young sun-like stars to discover that forming planets is a real race against time.
MTG-I2 completes Europe’s latest weather trio
The second Meteosat Third Generation Imager satellite (MTG-I2) has been launched on board Ariane 6, flight VA270, from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. It will complete the first family of MTG …
Astronaut Jonny Kim leaves NASA, will return to active military duty
NASA astronaut Jonny Kim is leaving the space agency to continue his military career. Kim, who's also a medical doctor, completed one spaceflight during his NASA career.
After failure of private rescue mission, NASA's Swift space telescope will crash back to Earth. But when and where?
A private spacecraft failed to rescue NASA's Swift space telescope, meaning the big observatory will come crashing back to Earth in the near future. But details are sparse at the moment.
Discovery reveals rapid pathways to complex aromatic molecules in space
A team of researchers led by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Department of Chemistry has uncovered a faster way large carbon-based molecules may form in space, helping solve a long-standing myst…
ASTRID traces 13.5 billion years of black hole and galaxy evolution
In dark skies at night, distant starlight twinkles and speaks to vast cosmic histories almost as old as time itself. New data from instruments such as NASA's James Webb Space Telescope are helping …
Milky Way's own gravity can mimic dark matter clues, stellar stream simulations suggest
Most of the stars in our Milky Way galaxy sit neatly on a flat plane. But the space around our galaxy is much more chaotic. Rogue bands of stars called "stellar streams" orbit the Milky Way much li…