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Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)

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Advanced Diagnostics for High-Enthalpy Test Facilities Simulating Spacecraft Atmospheric Entry

• Damiano Baccarella
  University of Tennessee, Knoxville
  Application of Resonance Enhanced Multi-Photon Ionization Diagnostics to the Characterization of Arcjet Flows​
• Ciprian Dumitrache
  Colorado State University
  Ultrafast Laser Diagnostics for Nonequilibrium Flowfields Characterization in Atmospheric Entry Studies​
• Dan Fries
  University of Kentucky, Lexington
  Multiplexed Polarization Spectroscopy for Single-Shot Multi-Species Diagnostics in High-Enthalpy Flows​
• Yi Mazumdar
  Georgia Institute of Technology
  Simultaneous Temperature, Species, and Velocity Measurements using Ultrafast Laser Diagnostics for Ground Testing of Spacecraft Atmospheric Entry Systems​

Planning for Autonomous Spacecraft Using Machine Learning Methods to Enable Onboard Guidance, Navigation, and Control

• Glen Chou
  Colorado School of Mines
  Robust Real-Time Hierarchical Neural Planning and Control with System-Level Guarantees
• Roshan Eapen
  University of California, Berkeley
  Hamilton-Jacobi aided Planning and Reasoning for Intelligent Spacecraft Maneuvers (HJ-PRISM)
• Bin Hu
  Stanford University 
  Safety-Enabled and Efficient Onboard Planning for Autonomous Spacecraft via Physics-Informed Reinforcement Learning

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The Zooniverse, a NASA grantee that runs the world’s largest platform for online people-powered research, has reached an extraordinary milestone: 1 billion classifications contributed by volunteers around the world. This milestone is a celebration of everyone who has marked a dip in a light curve, confirmed the presence of a moving object in a short video, or identified species in a camera trap image. Each of these small contributions collectively advances our understanding of the universe.

A total of 31 NASA-sponsored citizen science projects have been hosted on Zooniverse, accounting for 120 million classifications by 324 thousand volunteers since 2020. Through projects like Planet Hunters TESS, Daily Minor Planet, Backyard Worlds: Planet 9, Space Umbrella, and Snapshot Wisconsin, volunteers help discover exoplanets, identify near-Earth objects and asteroids, search for brown dwarfs and planetary systems, analyze effects of the solar wind, and inform wildlife management decisions. These projects have led to 96 scientific publications, and 56 of these articles feature NASA citizen scientists as co-authors to recognize the significance of their research contributions. These efforts demonstrate how public participation can accelerate discovery by combining human curiosity and pattern recognition with data from NASA missions and observatories. Collaboration between volunteers, scientists, and computing technology will be even more important in the future as we tackle enormous and complex datasets, like those from NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. 

“One billion classifications represent far more than a number; it’s one billion moments of curiosity transformed into meaningful contributions to research,” said Laura Trouille, principal investigator of Zooniverse and vice president of Science Engagement at the Adler Planetarium. “Every classification on Zooniverse brings us one step closer to new discoveries and a deeper understanding of our universe, our world, and ourselves.” 

Zooniverse is the world’s largest platform for people-powered research. Co-founded by the Adler Planetarium and the University of Oxford, with the University of Minnesota serving as a key institutional partner, Zooniverse enables anyone, anywhere to contribute directly to real scientific research. Through its six-year collaboration with NASA, Zooniverse provides science-enabling infrastructure to NASA researchers through tools and a community of more than 3 million registered volunteers.

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Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA photographer Jim Ross flies above the Washington Monument in Washington on Saturday, July 4, 2026, in an F-18 aircraft, as part of a flyover to celebrate America’s 250th birthday. This aircraft is from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, and it joined other NASA aircraft for the flyover.NASA/Jim Ross

NASA flight photographers capture history from a perspective few ever experience, getting a rare bird’s-eye view of the agency’s missions in action. Their photos document key NASA research and give the public a front-row seat to the work happening behind the scenes.

Jim Ross, a photographer at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, flew over Washington during the Fourth of July celebration to document a NASA flyover commemorating America’s 250th birthday. He’s captured some of the agency’s most exhilarating milestones, like early SR-71 flights, the delivery flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour to Los Angeles, and first flights of NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft.

“I grew up in Bozeman, Montana, when it was still considered a small town, so if someone told that little kid that he would be flying in a F-18 over the National Mall, he would have never believed it,” Ross said. “I love documenting history, and having the opportunity to capture flights and launches has kept me doing it for almost 37 years.”

Ross began his aviation photography career in 1989 when he joined the staff at NASA Armstrong (then Dryden). He became the photo lead in 1997, a title he retains.

Check out his images from the flyover here: https://www.nasa.gov/gallery/freedom-250/

NASA photographer Jim Ross takes a selfie from the rear seat of a NASA F/A‑18 during a cross‑country flight from Spokane, Washington, to Washington, D.C., on Thursday, July 2, 2026. The agency’s F‑15, flying alongside the aircraft, is visible through the window. Both aircraft, from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, participated in the Freedom 250 flyover with other NASA and military aircraft on Saturday, July 4, 2026.NASA/Jim Ross NASA photographer Jim Ross flies above Washington on Saturday, July 4, 2026, in an F-18 aircraft, as part of a flyover to celebrate America’s 250th birthday. This aircraft is from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, and it joined other NASA aircraft for the flyover. A NASA F-15 is seen flying to the side of the NASA F-18.NASA/Jim Ross Share

Details Last Updated Jul 10, 2026 EditorDede DiniusContactTeresa Whitingteresa.whiting@nasa.gov Related Terms

• Aeronautics
• Armstrong Flight Research Center
• Flight Innovation
• NASA Aircraft

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When a massive star reaches the end of its life, it explodes as a supernova that can light up the sky for months. But some supernovae stay luminous for much longer, and astrophysicists have wondered what causes their extended brightness. New research points to binary stars, where one star expels material right before the explosion that creates a cocoon of circumstellar medium.

A list of global space launches designed to calm cold war tensions and promote transparency has been missing from the UN's website for months

NASA

The waxing gibbous moon is nestled in the darkness of space in this June 26, 2026, image from the International Space Station. The space station was 264 miles above the Indian Ocean southeast of Madagascar at the time.

The waxing gibbous phase comes before the full moon phase. During this time, the Moon appears brighter in the night sky to viewers on Earth.

Image credit: NASA

Climate change is already having a big impact on crop yields, and the subsequent financial losses will continue to rise as the world keeps warming

At an event in London, mathematicians have made unexpectedly fast progress on formalising Fermat's last theorem using AI

At an event in London, mathematicians have made unexpectedly fast progress on formalising Fermat's last theorem using AI

How can you have a proof without proving anything? Mathematicians found a way and, in the process, came to blows over it – but 100 years on, this trick is a common part of modern maths, says columnist Jacob Aron

How can you have a proof without proving anything? Mathematicians found a way and, in the process, came to blows over it – but 100 years on, this trick is a common part of modern maths, says columnist Jacob Aron

A strange class of comet could explain the enigmatic behavior of ‘Oumuamua, the first known interstellar object—and even shed light on how Earth became habitable

The bright, distinctive pattern of Upper Scorpius is on its best display in the south right after nightfall. Telescopic treasures await. In the west, Regulus now departs from Venus.

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, July 10 – 19 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

During the August 2026 solar eclipse, scientists will be rushing to gather data on the sun, but even if you aren't a professional scientist, you can still help the research

During the August 2026 solar eclipse, scientists will be rushing to gather data on the sun, but even if you aren't a professional scientist, you can still help the research

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How do you capture the mood of the 1960s space race in a fictional universe where the Soviets beat the Americans to the moon? The production team for Apple TV's "Star City" series rose to the challenge.

Swift Boost Mission

Where can you find dragons fighting in the night sky?