| In this week’s newsletter, discover the NASA technologies improving daily life in ways you might not even realize in the latest Spinoff publication; view the drifting, twilight Martian clouds captured by NASA’s Curiosity rover; and join Hubble’s Night Sky Challenge to gaze upon some of the same iconic nebulae and galaxies the space telescope has observed. Plus, more stories you might have missed. |
| TECHNOLOGY The NASA Technology Improving Your Life  |
| The latest edition of NASA’s Spinoff publication, which highlights the successful transfer of agency technology to the commercial sector, is now available online. For nearly 25 years, NASA has supported crews working in low Earth orbit to learn about the space environment and perform research to advance deep space exploration. Astronauts aboard the International Space Station have learned a wealth of lessons and tried out a host of new technologies, leading to ongoing innovations benefiting people on Earth. “The work we do in space has resulted in navigational technologies, lifesaving medical advancements, and enhanced software systems that continue to benefit our lives on Earth,” said Clayton Turner, associate administrator, Space Technology Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Technologies developed today don’t just make life on our home planet easier—they pave the way to a sustained presence on the Moon and future missions to Mars.” NASA’S SPINOFF PUBLICATION |
| TECHNOLOGY Spinoffs of Tomorrow When a company, academic institution, nonprofit, or individual has a technology problem, NASA might just have the solution in the agency’s patent portfolio. The Technology Transfer program team helps anyone consider which of the 1,000-plus patented technologies might be exactly what they’re looking for. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER |
| THE UNIVERSE A Star on the Move Astronomers may have discovered a scrawny star bolting through the middle of our galaxy with a planet in tow. If confirmed, the pair sets a new record for the fastest-moving exoplanet system, nearly double our solar system’s speed through the Milky Way. A CHANCE ALIGNMENT |  |
 THE UNIVERSEA Perfect Einstein Ring Euclid, a European Space Agency mission with NASA contributions, has made a surprising discovery in our cosmic backyard: a phenomenon called an Einstein ring—light from a distant galaxy bending to form a ring that appears aligned with a foreground object. LEARN MORE |  THE SOLAR SYSTEMCloud Mystery The Curiosity Mars rover captured these drifting noctilucent, or twilight, clouds in a 16-minute recording on Friday, Jan. 17. While the Martian clouds may look like the kind seen in Earth’s skies, they include frozen carbon dioxide, or dry ice. LEARN MORE |
| More NASA News |
 | After a successful trans lunar injection burn on Saturday, Feb. 8, Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost spacecraft carrying NASA science to the Moon has departed Earth’s orbit and begun its four-day transit to the Moon’s orbit. |
 | In a new study, researchers from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration used satellite radar to track more than a thousand miles of California coast rising and sinking in new detail. They pinpointed hot spots—including cities, beaches, and aquifers—at greater exposure to rising seas now and in coming decades. |
 | Join the NASA Space Apps Global Community as a Local Lead and work alongside the NASA Space Apps GO Team to develop the largest annual global hackathon! Taking place Oct. 4-5, participants from around the world will use NASA open data to address real challenges on Earth and in space. Applications close on Sunday, June 1. |
 | In preparation for the first flight of NASA’s supersonic research aircraft, the X-59, the agency and Lockheed Martin successfully completed the aircraft’s engine run tests in January. The engine, a modified F414-GE-100, performed to expectations during three increasingly complicated tests. |
 | The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope team has successfully integrated the mission’s deployable aperture cover—a visor-like sunshade that will help prevent unwanted light from entering the telescope—into the outer barrel assembly, another structure designed to shield the telescope from stray light. Next, the components will undergo thermal vacuum testing together to ensure they will function as planned in the temperature and pressure environment of space. |
 | Three small rovers that will explore the lunar surface as a team have been packed up and shipped out for inclusion aboard Intuitive Machines’ third lunar delivery, currently scheduled for 2026. The rovers are part of a technology demonstration called CADRE (Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration), which aims to show that a group of robots can collaborate to gather data without receiving direct commands from mission controllers on Earth. |
| Do You Know? |
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| 35 years ago today, NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft was speeding out of our solar system when mission managers instructed it to look back one final time before turning off its cameras forever. One of the images it took was this one of Earth as seen from a distance of billions of miles away. The image was later dubbed “The Pale Blue Dot” inspired by the title of a book written by Carl Sagan |
| For how many years had Voyager 1 been in space when it took this photo? A. 6 years B. 10 years C. 12 years D. 17 years |
| Find out the answer in next week’s edition of the NASA newsletter. |
 | Last week, we asked for the name of the asteroid NASA’s NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft orbited. The answer? Eros! The NEAR spacecraft first flew by Eros on Dec. 23, 1998, at a distance of about 2,400 miles and found that the asteroid was smaller than expected and had two medium-sized craters, a long surface ridge, and a density similar to that of Earth’s crust. After several trajectory adjustments, NEAR finally moved into orbit around Eros on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, 2000. After nearly a year in orbit, the mission carried out humanity’s first asteroid landing on Feb. 12, 2001. |
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| Do you have a telescope? Would you like to see some of the same night sky objects from the ground that Hubble has from space? We invite you to commemorate the Hubble Space Telescope’s 35th anniversary by accepting our yearlong stargazing challenge! New challenge objects will be featured weekly. This week’s object is Messier 46, an open cluster of stars in the constellation Puppis. It is a relatively easy cluster to find by using the bright star Sirius in the constellation Canis Major as a starting point. JOIN THE CELEBRATION |
NOTE: This is a NASA Publication. Formatted to fit this screen.