| In this week’s newsletter, explore new images of Mars captured by NASA’s Psyche spacecraft during its flyby just 2,864 miles above the Red Planet’s surface; take a deeper look at the past year’s research achievements aboard the International Space Station; and learn how to participate in NASA’s TechLeap Prize, a competition designed to advance persistent infrastructure for in‑space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing. Plus, find more stories you might have missed. |
| THE SOLAR SYSTEM A Unique Martian View  |
| NASA’s Psyche spacecraft completed its close approach of Mars on May 15, passing just 2,864 miles above the planet’s surface. The flyby used Mars’ gravity to boost the spacecraft’s speed and shift its orbital plane — an adjustment achieved without expending onboard propellant — setting Psyche on course for its namesake, the metal-rich asteroid. In the days leading up to and during the flyby, Psyche powered up its science instruments for calibration, including its imagers, magnetometers, and gamma‑ray and neutron spectrometer. The planetary encounter served as a valuable rehearsal for operations at the asteroid and, as a bonus, provided rare-perspective images of Mars. With Mars in the rearview mirror, Psyche will resume solar‑electric propulsion as it heads toward the main asteroid belt. When it arrives in August 2029, it will enter orbit around asteroid Psyche, believed to be the exposed core of an early planetesimal — a building block of the terrestrial planets. If confirmed, the asteroid could offer an unprecedented look into the interior structure of rocky worlds like Earth. PSYCHE ACES MARS FLYBY |
 | THE SOLAR SYSTEM Martian Atmosphere Dynamics In December 2023, scientists looking over data from Mars stumbled onto something they never expected — an atmospheric effect never before seen in the Red Planet’s skies. Instruments aboard NASA’s MAVEN, or Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, mission identified a phenomenon familiar from Earth’s magnetosphere: charged particles being squeezed along magnetic structures called flux tubes. Now, a new study reports the first detailed observations of this same effect in Mars’ atmosphere. MAVEN’S OBSERVATIONS |
| HUMANS IN SPACE Space Station Science On the International Space Station, scientists conduct both fundamental and applied research, each driving progress in the other. Studies that explore basic questions in physics, biology, and human health often lead to real‑world innovations that improve life on Earth and help humans thrive in space. In 2025, researchers carried out more than 750 studies aboard the orbital laboratory, advancing understanding of life in microgravity, driving new technologies for use on Earth, and supporting NASA’s efforts to explore the Moon and Mars. 2025 RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS |  |
 HUMANS IN SPACE Science Delivered At 6:37 a.m. EDT on May 17, a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft docked with the International Space Station, delivering nearly 6,500 pounds of food, equipment, and new science for the Expedition 74 crew. Among the experiments are a study testing how well Earth-based simulators mimic microgravity; a wood‑based bone scaffold that could lead to new treatments for fragile bones; and hardware to examine how red blood cells and the spleen change in space. NASA’s SpaceX CRS-34 mission launched at 6:05 p.m. on May 15 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. LEARN MORE |  THE UNIVERSE Unusually Luminous An international team studying data from NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has concluded the mission detected a rare, unusually luminous supernova. The researchers say it likely received its power-up from a supermagnetized neutron star born in the stellar collapse that triggered the explosion. Dubbed SN 2017egm, this supercharged outburst occurred in galaxy NGC 3191, located about 440 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. Even at this distance, the explosion remains one of the closest of its type to us on Earth. LEARN MORE |
| More NASA News |
 | On May 21, Matt Anderson was sworn in as NASA’s 16th deputy administrator by NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. As deputy administrator, Anderson will help lead the agency’s efforts to execute the president’s national space policy, strengthen America’s leadership in space, and advance NASA’s missions in exploration, science, and aeronautics. |
 | NASA’s TechLeap Prize: The Robotically Manipulated Payload Challenge is now open for applications. The competition aims to advance persistent infrastructure for in‑space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing. Applicants are invited to propose a payload that can be manipulated by a robotic arm in low Earth orbit. Up to three winners will be selected, with the opportunity to win up to $500,000 each across three phases. The agency intends to fly the winning payloads on an orbital spacecraft that will rendezvous with the Fly Foundational Robots platform. |
 | NASA has transferred management of two lunar science instruments to Intuitive Machines after the instruments’ principal investigators and key science team members joined the company. Intuitive Machines now manages the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera on NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and ShadowCam, a NASA instrument flying on South Korea’s Danuri spacecraft, also known as the Korean Pathfinder lunar orbiter. |
 | NASA’s coverage of the historic Artemis II mission—which brought global audiences together to witness the first human journey around the Moon in more than 50 years—was among the agency’s productions honored with four 2026 Telly Awards, recognizing excellence in video and television across all screens. Two additional NASA projects, Preparing for Artemis: NASA’s Geology Training for Lunar Exploration and The Fellowship of the Telescopes, narrated by actor John Rhys‑Davies, were also award recipients. |
 | The Sun sprays an extremely fast stream of charged particles called solar wind. At approximately 56,000 miles in front of Earth toward the Sun, the solar wind collides with the Earth’s protective magnetic field, generating a long-lasting shock wave that stretches for hundreds of thousands of miles. Now, you can help scientists examine data about this “bow shock” to better understand how solar wind affects the Earth by joining a new research project: Shock Detectives. |
| Do You Know? |
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| Sixty-five years ago this week, President John F. Kennedy delivered his “Urgent National Needs” address to a joint session of Congress. In this landmark speech—given just weeks after the first U.S. crewed spaceflight—Kennedy outlined several bold objectives for the nation. Among them was a call for major achievements in space that would demonstrate the United States’ technological capability and resolve. |
| Which of these achievements did President Kennedy urge the nation to pursue in this address? A. Sending an American safely to the Moon and returning them to Earth B. Establishing a permanently crewed laboratory in Earth orbit C. Completing a crewed flyby of Mars before 1975 D. Building a reusable spacecraft capable of runway landings |
| Find out the answer in next week’s NASA newsletter! |
 | Last week, we asked how close the Apollo 10 Lunar Module “Snoopy” came to the Moon during its low‑altitude operations completed on May 22, 1969. The answer? Approximately 9 miles. Commander Tom Stafford and Lunar Module Pilot Gene Cernan guided Snoopy to about 47,000 feet from the lunar surface—an important step that verified guidance, navigation, and control procedures used just weeks later on the Apollo 11 mission. In comparison, the Artemis II Orion spacecraft’s closest approach this April was about 4,067 miles above the Moon’s surface. |
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