| In this week’s newsletter, celebrate three years of the James Webb Space Telescope’s stunning scenes of the cosmos with a new look at the Cat’s Paw Nebula (NGC 6334); learn what is known about a recently discovered interstellar traveler, comet 3I/ATLAS; and meet the team developing an airspace management system to enable drones and other aircraft to safely monitor and suppress wildland fires. Plus, more stories you might have missed. |
| THE UNIVERSE Star Formation Flex  |
| To celebrate its third year of revealing stunning scenes of the cosmos in infrared light, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has “clawed” back the thick, dusty layers of a section within the Cat’s Paw Nebula (NGC 6334). “Three years into its mission, Webb continues to deliver on its design—revealing previously hidden aspects of the universe, from the star formation process to some of the earliest galaxies,” said Shawn Domagal-Goldman, acting director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “As it repeatedly breaks its own records, Webb is also uncovering unknowns for new generations of flagship missions to tackle. Whether it’s following up on the mysteries of dark matter with NASA’s nearly complete Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope or narrowing our search for life to Earth-like planets with the Habitable Worlds Observatory, the questions Webb has raised are just as exciting as the answers it’s giving us.” The progression from a large molecular cloud to massive stars entails multiple steps, some of which are still not well understood by astronomers. Located approximately 4,000 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius, the Cat’s Paw Nebula offers scientists the opportunity to study the turbulent cloud-to-star process in great detail. JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE |
 | THE UNIVERSE Power and Shade On June 14 and 16, technicians installed solar panels onto the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, one of the final steps in assembling the observatory. Collectively called the Solar Array Sun Shield, these panels will power and shade the observatory, enabling all the mission’s observations and helping keep the instruments cool. ROMAN SPACE TELESCOPE |
SOLAR SYSTEM
Interstellar Traveler
On July 1, 2025, the NASA-funded Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System survey telescope first reported observations of comet 3I/ATLAS. Observations of the comet’s trajectory show that it does not follow a closed orbital path around the Sun; it is simply passing through our solar system and will continue its journey into interstellar space, never to be seen again.DISCOVERY DETAILS
 EARTH Texas Flood Recovery In response to recent flooding near Kerrville, Texas, NASA has deployed two aircraft to assist state and local authorities in ongoing recovery operations. The aircraft are part of the response from the agency’s Disasters Response Coordination System, which is activated to support emergency response for the flooding and is working closely with the Texas Division of Emergency Management, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the humanitarian groups Save the Children and GiveDirectly. LEARN MORE |  SOLAR SYSTEM Zooming In on Solar Wind On its record-breaking pass by the Sun late last year, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe captured stunning new images from within the Sun’s atmosphere. These newly released images — taken closer to the Sun than we’ve ever been before — are helping scientists better understand the Sun’s influence across the solar system, including events that can affect Earth. LEARN MORE |
| More NASA News |
 | A riotous expanse of gas, dust, and stars stake out the dazzling territory of a duo of star clusters in this combined image from the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes. |
 | As wildland fires grow more intense and unpredictable, NASA is helping first responders gain the upper hand. Meet the team developing an airspace management system to enable drones and other aircraft to safely monitor and suppress wildland fires in the latest episode of the agency’s Small Steps, Giant Leaps podcast. |
 | The unpiloted Roscosmos Progress 92 spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station at 5:25 p.m. EDT, Saturday, July 5. The spacecraft delivered about three tons of food, fuel, and supplies to the Expedition 73 crew aboard the orbiting laboratory, and will remain docked for approximately six months before departing to dispose of trash loaded by the crew. |
| Do You Know? |
 |
| 10 years ago, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft was making history as it zoomed toward the dwarf planet Pluto. Making its closest approach on July 14, 2015, for the first time humanity had the opportunity to observe details about Pluto’s diverse landforms, atmosphere, and its moons. Coincidentally, our first close-up views of Mars were captured 50 years earlier to the day as an early NASA spacecraft flew by. |
| What was the name of this first spacecraft to take close-up photos of another planet? A. Mariner 4 B. Pioneer 5 C. Viking 1 D. Mars 2 |
| Find out the answer in next week’s NASA newsletter! |
 | Last week, we asked how many combined spaceflights the three crew members had flown before the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) launch. The answer? Three! Donald K. “Deke” Slayton had been chosen as one of NASA’s first seven astronauts in 1959 but was grounded after being diagnosed with a heart condition. Years later, his situation changed, and he was returned to flight status with NASA in 1972. ASTP was the first spaceflight for Slayton as well as for command module Pilot Vance Brand (who went on to fly three shuttle missions). ASTP Commander Tom Stafford had flown two Project Gemini missions as well as the Apollo 10 mission to the Moon. |
 |
| Do you have a telescope? Would you like to see some of the same night sky objects from the ground that Hubble has seen 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 the globular cluster Messier 4 (M4), located 5,500 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius. Discovered in 1746 by the Swiss astronomer Jean-Philippe Loys de Chéseaux, M4 holds more than 100,000 stars and is one of the closest globular clusters to Earth. The cluster is relatively bright and will appear as a fuzzy ball of light in a small telescope or binoculars. JOIN THE CELEBRATION |
NOTE: This is a NASA Publication. Used with permission and formatted to fit this screen.