NSA RESEARCH CENTER

MTG-I2, FLEX and Sentinel-3C on show at TAS cleanrooms

https://www.esa.int/Space_in_Member_States/Austria/Drei_von_der_ESA_gebaute_Satelliten_werden_in_Frankreich_praesentiert =c282840e-6eaf-4e65-b117-2543d3840300

Three Earth observation satellites developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) have completed their functional and environmental tests and are ready to travel to the European spaceport in French Guiana.

ESA's Fluorescence Earth Explorer satellite, known as FLEX , together with the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) Imager weather satellite, MTG-I2, as well as the next satellite in the European Commission's Copernicus program, Sentinel-3C , were all on show at a media event hosted by Thales Alenia Space at their cleanrooms in Cannes, France.

Your NASA Virtual Invitation: Northrop Grumman Commercial Resupply Services 24

Join us as a NASA Virtual Guest for the launch of Northrop Grumman Commercial Resupply Services 24, delivering science, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station aboard a Northrop Grumman Cygnus XL spacecraft.

NASA's Northrop Grumman Commercial Resupply Services 24 mission is targeted to lift off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida no earlier than Wednesday, April 8 at 8:49 a.m. EDT.
In addition to food, supplies, and equipment for the crew, Cygnus will deliver research to the space station, including a new module to advance quantum science that could improve computing technology and aid in the search for dark matter and hardware to produce a greater number of therapeutic stem cells for blood diseases and cancer. Cygnus also will carry model organisms to study the gut microbiome and a receiver that could enhance space weather models that protect critical space infrastructure, such as GPS and radar.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog.
Register now by clicking the button below or visiting https://NASA-NG-CRS24.eventbrite.com/?aff=invite. Registration includes mission updates, curated resources, interactive opportunities, and a stamp for your NASA virtual guest passport following launch. All resources, participation, and registration are FREE. Register to let NASA know that you're virtually participating!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nasas-northrop-grumman-crs-24-launch-registration-1983820675042?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=wsa&aff=ebdsshwebmobile

Sincerely,

NASA Guest Operations

NASA's Northrop Grumman CRS-24 Launch All resources, participation, and registration are FREE. Register to let NASA know that you're virtually participating!

Hello, World
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/hello-world/

NASA astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman took this picture of Earth from the Orion spacecraft’s window after completing the translunar injection burn. There are two auroras (top right and bottom left) and zodiacal light (bottom right) is visible as the Earth eclipses the Sun.

This and another photo of Earth are the first downlinked images from the Artemis II astronauts. See and hear what the astronauts do with our 24/7 feed.

Image credit: NASA/Reid Wiseman

Webb Studies Cranium Nebula
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/webb-studies-cranium-nebula/

Nebula PMR 1 is a cloud of gas and dust that bears an uncanny resemblance to a brain in a transparent skull, inspiring its nickname, the “Exposed Cranium” nebula. Webb captured its unusual features in both near- and mid-infrared light. The nebula was first revealed in infrared light by a predecessor to Webb, NASA’s now-retired Spitzer Space Telescope, more than a decade ago. Webb’s advanced instruments show detail that enhances the nebula’s brain-like appearance. This image, released on Feb. 25, 2026, is in near-infrared light.

The nebula appears to have distinct regions that capture different phases of its evolution — an outer shell of gas that was blown off first and consists mostly of hydrogen, and an inner cloud with more structure that contains a mix of different gases. Both Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) show a distinctive dark lane running vertically through the middle of the nebula that defines its brain-like look of left and right hemispheres. Webb’s resolution shows that this lane could be related to an outburst or outflow from the central star, which typically occurs as twin jets burst out in opposite directions.

Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

Crew-12 Launches
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company’s Dragon spacecraft is launched on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev onboard, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission is the twelfth crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Meir, Hathaway, Adenot, and Fedyaev launched at 5:15 a.m. EST from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to begin a mission aboard the orbital outpost.

After NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev arrive at the space station, they will conduct various experiments and technology demonstrations to benefit life on Earth and in orbit, furthering our journey back to the Moon, to Mars, and beyond.
Image Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani

Space Station