| In this week’s newsletter, explore how NASA is preparing the agency’s X‑59 experimental aircraft for expanded flight testing in 2026; find out when and where to watch live launch coverage of the Roscosmos Progress 94 cargo spacecraft as it delivers food, fuel, and supplies to the crew aboard the International Space Station; and catch up on the latest Artemis II mission updates. Plus, discover more stories you may have missed. |
| AERONAUTICS Supersonic Flight Without the Boom  |
| NASA is preparing the agency’s X‑59 experimental aircraft for expanded flight testing in 2026. Over the coming months, NASA will take the quiet supersonic jet faster and higher, validating its safety and performance. The X‑59 completed its first flight on Oct. 28, 2025, with NASA test pilot Nils Larson at the controls. Since then, NASA and Lockheed Martin have carried out extensive post‑flight maintenance and inspections. The work included removing the engine, the lower empennage, the seat, and more than 70 panels to conduct detailed checks. All components have now been reinstalled. The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which aims to usher in a new age of quiet, commercial supersonic flight over land. NASA’S QUESST MISSION |
 | HUMANS IN SPACE Roscosmos Progress 94 NASA will provide live coverage of the launch and docking of a Roscosmos cargo spacecraft carrying approximately three tons of food, fuel, and supplies for the crew aboard the International Space Station on Sunday, March 22. Launch is scheduled for 7:59 a.m. EDT from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Live coverage begins at 7:30 a.m. LAUNCH COVERAGE DETAILS |
| ARTEMIS Artemis II Update At 11:21 a.m. EDT on March 20, the Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft arrived at Launch Pad 39B after an 11‑hour rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. With the rocket now in place, NASA teams are entering the final phase of prelaunch preparations ahead of a targeted launch no earlier than Wednesday, April 1. Meanwhile, the Artemis II crew—NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen—entered quarantine at 6 p.m. EDT on March 18 in Houston to ensure they remain healthy before liftoff. MISSION BLOG |  |
 SCIENCETesting Roman The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has successfully completed three major assessments—electromagnetic interference, vibration testing, and acoustic testing—confirming that the observatory can withstand launch conditions and operate as intended once in space. Early this summer, it will be transported to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to begin final launch preparations. LEARN MORE |  THE SOLAR SYSTEM Jagged, Rugged World In one of the biggest surprises of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission, its target asteroid, Bennu, turned out to be a jagged, rugged world covered in large boulders, with few of the smooth patches that earlier observations from Earth-based instruments had indicated. Data collected by the spacecraft during its survey campaign at the asteroid suggested a possible explanation: the boulders could be much more porous than expected. LEARN MORE |
| More NASA News |
 | For any crew returning to Earth from space, the journey home includes a carefully choreographed recovery effort to bring them safely back on dry land after splashing down in the ocean. Christine St. Germain, NASA Recovery Director for the Commercial Crew Program, breaks down this phase of flight in the latest episode of the Small Steps, Giant Leaps podcast. |
 | At 3:54 p.m. EDT on March 18, NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Chris Williams concluded U.S. spacewalk 94, preparing the orbiting laboratory for future installation of International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays. The spacewalk was Meir’s fourth and Williams’ first. |
 | The Parker Solar Probe completed its 27th close approach to the Sun on March 11, again matching its record distance of 3.8 million miles from the solar surface. The flyby allowed the spacecraft to conduct measurements of the solar wind and solar activity, contributing to our understanding of how the Sun’s atmosphere changes throughout the solar cycle. |
 | In a fortunate twist of timing, the Hubble Space Telescope has captured a comet in the act of breaking apart—an extraordinarily unlikely event to witness in real time. The comet, K1, whose full name is C/2025 K1 (ATLAS), wasn’t even the original target of the Hubble study. |
 | The unpiloted Roscosmos Progress 92 spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station at 9:24 a.m. EDT on March 16. The spacecraft launched in July 2025 on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, carrying about three tons of food, fuel, and supplies for the space station’s crew. |
| Do You Know? |
 |
| Today is the equinox, one of two times in the year when Earth’s axis is tilted neither toward nor away from the Sun and day and night are of nearly equal length everywhere on Earth. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is the first day of spring, while in the Southern Hemisphere, it is the first day of autumn. Earth’s axis of rotation has a tilt of about 23.4 degrees in comparison to its plane of rotation around the Sun. This tilt is responsible for our annual seasons. |
| Which planet in our solar system has the smallest axial tilt? A. Mercury B. Venus C. Jupiter D. Uranus |
| Find out the answer in next week’s NASA newsletter! |
 | Last week, we asked which Apollo astronaut was also born on Pi Day, March 14. The answer? Both Frank Borman and Eugene Cernan had the distinction of being Pi Day babies. |
NOTE; This is a NASA publication. Used with permission and formatted to fit this web page.