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This close-up view shows fragments of sulfur crystals — the first ever seen on the Red Planet. The crystals were found after NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover happened to drive over a rock and crush it on May 30, 2024. Several days later, Curiosity used a camera on the end of its robotic arm to take this image.

A recent paper in Science suggests that the sulfur formed when magma deep below the surface released fluids or gases that deposited sulfur on the Red Planet’s surface about 3 billion years ago.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Perfusing donor human retinas with blood and oxygen meant they continued to respond to light for up to 10 hours after death, marking a significant step towards eye transplants that restore vision

Perfusing donor human retinas with blood and oxygen meant they continued to respond to light for up to 10 hours after death, marking a significant step towards eye transplants that restore vision

Cyclosporiasis case numbers have skyrocketed from several dozen nationwide in June to now more than 1,000 in the state of Michigan alone

5 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) These four views were captured from a World War II-era aircraft in April 2026, when scientists used instruments aboard the plane to study Arctic sea ice. Their flights were timed to coincide with satellites passing overhead so the airborne and orbital data could be combined.NASA/JPL-Caltech

This month, engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California are testing a spacecraft sensor that will help measure how quickly Arctic sea ice is disappearing. And while that instrument won’t launch for another year, scientists started preparing for its use during a recent field campaign in the Canadian wilderness.

Researchers spent two weeks in April flying above the Arctic Ocean, often watching sunrise from an altitude of 1,500 feet (457 meters) in a World War II-era plane. A variety of cutting-edge sensors used to measure the thickness of sea ice and snow were aboard the plane, including a stand-in for the microwave radiometer now undergoing testing at JPL. Measuring sea ice thickness is tricky, requiring a number of precise figures, including how high the sea ice rises above water, the depth of snow on top of that ice, and microwave emissions from the surface.

Flights were timed to the passage of satellites overhead so coordinated observations could be taken of the same features. Combining the airborne and satellite data will improve scientists’ ability to measure sea ice and understand how climate conditions are evolving across the Arctic.

In recent decades, the extent and thickness of Arctic sea ice have changed. Improving measurements of those changes helps scientists better understand the Arctic system while supporting navigation, weather and ocean research, and future satellite observations. As Arctic shipping activity increases, the region is also becoming strategically and economically more significant.

According to Sahra Kacimi of JPL, who served as the field campaign’s science lead, ongoing warming in the Arctic could potentially impact public safety and economic interests.

Find out what Arctic sea ice looked like as scientists studied it from the air — and using space-based instruments — during a field campaign this past April.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Frequent flyers

Kacimi has spent years studying sea ice using satellite data, but the top-down view she gets from space is different than peering out a plane’s window.

The bewildering diversity of sea ice creates otherworldly landscapes. The ice can be attached to land or adrift in the ocean; it can be rough or smooth. Driven by winds and ocean currents, the ice is constantly shifting, breaking apart, and deforming. Cracks can open into long stretches of exposed ocean, and collisions between floes can push ice rubble into massive ridges that extend for miles.

Some sea ice lasts only one season, while thicker ice can survive for several years (though multiyear sea ice is becoming less common in many parts of the Arctic). Entire ecosystems are affected by these changes, down to the arctic foxes and hares the scientists spotted throughout the trip.

Improving estimates of sea ice thickness helps scientists better understand how the region is changing and supports long-term observations of the Arctic environment. The NASA team logged about 50 hours in the air over the two-week campaign, conducting flights over drifting ice near the town of Inuvik before studying ice fixed to the shore of another location, a hamlet called Cambridge Bay.

For the Inuvik portion of the campaign, the team coordinated with the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission, a satellite jointly developed by NASA and the French space agency, CNES (Centre National d’Études Spatiales), with JPL leading the United States component of the mission. Though it was designed to map the height of the globe’s sea and fresh water, SWOT can also measure the amount of sea ice above the waterline.

In Cambridge Bay, the NASA team joined researchers from ESA (European Space Agency), Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute, and Canada’s University of Calgary. During this part of the campaign, coordinated flights soared over a field camp and under the tracks of satellite missions such as NASA’s Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) and ESA’s CryoSat-2.

To improve sea ice thickness estimates, ESA is developing, with cooperation from NASA, a new polar mission called Copernicus Polar Ice and Snow Topography Altimeter (CRISTAL). During the April airborne campaign, scientists flew instruments similar to what CRISTAL will carry, including the microwave radiometer now being tested at JPL.

“Combining observations from space, air, and ground surface instruments is essential for developing and validating algorithms for current and future missions,” Kacimi said.

For the scientists, it was also a chance to meet locals who see the Arctic’s changes up close. Kacimi spoke to community leaders and students at a STEM camp about how disappearing ice is affecting their communities.

“I’m used to looking at sea ice from space and thinking about its role in the global climate, but for people living in the Arctic, it carries a much deeper meaning,” Kacimi said.

Media Contacts

Andrew Good
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-2433
andrew.c.good@jpl.nasa.gov

Liz Vlock
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
elizabeth.a.vlock@nasa.gov

2026-043

Share

Details Last Updated Jul 09, 2026 Related Terms

• Airborne Science
• ICESat-2 (Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2)
• SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography)

Explore More 3 min read NASA’s 777 Aircraft Returns Home with Science Flights on the Horizon Article 3 months ago 3 min read Arctic Winter Sea Ice Ties Record Low, NASA, NSIDC Scientists Find

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Article 4 months ago 1 min read SWOT Mission Unlocks a New View of Our Waterways

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5 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) These four views were captured from a World War II-era aircraft in April 2026, when scientists used instruments aboard the plane to study Arctic sea ice. Their flights were timed to coincide with satellites passing overhead so the airborne and orbital data could be combined.NASA/JPL-Caltech

This month, engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California are testing a spacecraft sensor that will help measure how quickly Arctic sea ice is disappearing. And while that instrument won’t launch for another year, scientists started preparing for its use during a recent field campaign in the Canadian wilderness.

Researchers spent two weeks in April flying above the Arctic Ocean, often watching sunrise from an altitude of 1,500 feet (457 meters) in a World War II-era plane. A variety of cutting-edge sensors used to measure the thickness of sea ice and snow were aboard the plane, including a stand-in for the microwave radiometer now undergoing testing at JPL. Measuring sea ice thickness is tricky, requiring a number of precise figures, including how high the sea ice rises above water, the depth of snow on top of that ice, and microwave emissions from the surface.

Flights were timed to the passage of satellites overhead so coordinated observations could be taken of the same features. Combining the airborne and satellite data will improve scientists’ ability to measure sea ice and understand how climate conditions are evolving across the Arctic.

In recent decades, the extent and thickness of Arctic sea ice have changed. Improving measurements of those changes helps scientists better understand the Arctic system while supporting navigation, weather and ocean research, and future satellite observations. As Arctic shipping activity increases, the region is also becoming strategically and economically more significant.

According to Sahra Kacimi of JPL, who served as the field campaign’s science lead, ongoing warming in the Arctic could potentially impact public safety and economic interests.

Find out what Arctic sea ice looked like as scientists studied it from the air — and using space-based instruments — during a field campaign this past April.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Frequent flyers

Kacimi has spent years studying sea ice using satellite data, but the top-down view she gets from space is different than peering out a plane’s window.

The bewildering diversity of sea ice creates otherworldly landscapes. The ice can be attached to land or adrift in the ocean; it can be rough or smooth. Driven by winds and ocean currents, the ice is constantly shifting, breaking apart, and deforming. Cracks can open into long stretches of exposed ocean, and collisions between floes can push ice rubble into massive ridges that extend for miles.

Some sea ice lasts only one season, while thicker ice can survive for several years (though multiyear sea ice is becoming less common in many parts of the Arctic). Entire ecosystems are affected by these changes, down to the arctic foxes and hares the scientists spotted throughout the trip.

Improving estimates of sea ice thickness helps scientists better understand how the region is changing and supports long-term observations of the Arctic environment. The NASA team logged about 50 hours in the air over the two-week campaign, conducting flights over drifting ice near the town of Inuvik before studying ice fixed to the shore of another location, a hamlet called Cambridge Bay.

For the Inuvik portion of the campaign, the team coordinated with the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission, a satellite jointly developed by NASA and the French space agency, CNES (Centre National d’Études Spatiales), with JPL leading the United States component of the mission. Though it was designed to map the height of the globe’s sea and fresh water, SWOT can also measure the amount of sea ice above the waterline.

In Cambridge Bay, the NASA team joined researchers from ESA (European Space Agency), Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute, and Canada’s University of Calgary. During this part of the campaign, coordinated flights soared over a field camp and under the tracks of satellite missions such as NASA’s Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) and ESA’s CryoSat-2.

To improve sea ice thickness estimates, ESA is developing, with cooperation from NASA, a new polar mission called Copernicus Polar Ice and Snow Topography Altimeter (CRISTAL). During the April airborne campaign, scientists flew instruments similar to what CRISTAL will carry, including the microwave radiometer now being tested at JPL.

“Combining observations from space, air, and ground surface instruments is essential for developing and validating algorithms for current and future missions,” Kacimi said.

For the scientists, it was also a chance to meet locals who see the Arctic’s changes up close. Kacimi spoke to community leaders and students at a STEM camp about how disappearing ice is affecting their communities.

“I’m used to looking at sea ice from space and thinking about its role in the global climate, but for people living in the Arctic, it carries a much deeper meaning,” Kacimi said.

Media Contacts

Andrew Good
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-2433
andrew.c.good@jpl.nasa.gov

Liz Vlock
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
elizabeth.a.vlock@nasa.gov

2026-043

Share

Details Last Updated Jul 09, 2026 Related Terms

• Airborne Science
• ICESat-2 (Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2)
• SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography)

Explore More 3 min read NASA’s 777 Aircraft Returns Home with Science Flights on the Horizon Article 3 months ago 3 min read Arctic Winter Sea Ice Ties Record Low, NASA, NSIDC Scientists Find

For the second consecutive year, winter sea ice in the Arctic reached a level that…

Article 4 months ago 1 min read SWOT Mission Unlocks a New View of Our Waterways

Explore how rivers move, change, and sustain life across the planet with SWOT data.

Article 4 months ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Explore Earth Science

From its origins, NASA has studied our planet in novel ways, using a fleet of satellites and ambitious airborne and ground-based…

Earth Science at Work

NASA Earth Science helps Americans respond to challenges and societal needs — such as wildland fires, hurricanes, and water supplies…

Earth Science Data

Open access to NASA’s archive of Earth science data

Earth Science Missions

In order to study the Earth as a whole system and understand how it is changing, NASA develops and supports…

Shielding astronauts from the killer radiation they face is a central challenge facing any designer of a deep-space crewed mission. Even relatively low levels of exposure for long periods of time can lead to everything from central nervous system damage to cancer. But current solutions, such as passive water shells or active superconducting magnets, have their own limitations. To get around those, a new paper, available in pre-print on arXiv by Valerio Parisi and a team of researchers from Italy and Germany, looks at the feasibility of using a permanent magnet (and its associated permanent magnetic field) to potentially block some of that deadly radiation without the costs of competing technologies.

Thirty years after the European Space Agency first demonstrated the power of flying two satellites in very close formation, the concept was recently recreated. By temporarily positioning two Copernicus Sentinel-1 radar satellites to replicate the pioneering ERS-1–ERS-2 ‘tandem mission’, ESA achieved one-day repeat radar imaging of the same Antarctic region.

The results once again demonstrate how this approach can be used to measure glacier motion and pinpoint the critical grounding line with exceptional precision.

NASA is serious about going back to the Moon. Ongoing missions like the recently completed Artemis II trip around the Moon are just one such sign. But perhaps more importantly, NASA is recognizing how much additional work will have to go into funding technology development if we hope to stay on the lunar surface permanently. To reflect that understanding, the agency recently released a request for public feedback on what it calls the Lunar Enabling Infrastructure Accelerator - which might have been named after a Star Wars fan, since its acronym is LEIA.

We’ve talked plenty of times here about the infeasibility of launching a mirror big enough to directly image exoplanets using current rocket fairings - at least as long as we’re not sending them 500+ AU away to a gravitational lensing point. We’ve also talked at length about the potential solution to that problem - interferometry, where multiple smaller satellites link up precisely, but are spaced far enough apart to act as one gigantic mirror. The problem is, from a technical standpoint, it’s really hard to build these kinds of systems. But the field has taken another step forward with a new paper from researchers at Xidian University and the Beijing Institute of Control Engineering, published in Space: Science & Technology, which describes a system to both control and calibrate a free-floating interferometer.

The laws of physics that concern heat and work could gain a firmer mathematical footing thanks to “gauge theory”, which already helps us understand quantum fields

The laws of physics that concern heat and work could gain a firmer mathematical footing thanks to “gauge theory”, which already helps us understand quantum fields

Egg cells missing a key protein may be more likely to end up with the wrong number of chromosomes, but an mRNA injection that helps the cells make the protein reduces the problem

Egg cells missing a key protein may be more likely to end up with the wrong number of chromosomes, but an mRNA injection that helps the cells make the protein reduces the problem

New research identifies five distinct sleep subtypes, revealing links between brain patterns, behavior and health

Fossils of Spriggina floundersi provide the earliest evidence of animals favouring one side of the body over the other – a feature of nervous systems that we see in our own right- and left-handedness

Fossils of Spriggina floundersi provide the earliest evidence of animals favouring one side of the body over the other – a feature of nervous systems that we see in our own right- and left-handedness

Scientists at UCF have found that the harsh conditions of spaceflight, radiation and weightlessness combined, can trigger changes in the liver that closely resemble accelerated ageing, and remarkably, the same genetic fingerprints show up in real astronaut blood samples. The discovery could shape how we protect future Mars explorers, and might just hold clues to slowing ageing back here on Earth too.

When a fireball streaked across the Alaska sky in broad daylight, the cameras meant to capture it saw nothing useful. Undeterred, scientists turned to sound waves too low for human ears and faint tremors picked up by earthquake sensors, piecing together an extraordinary account of the object's final seconds. What they discovered points to a surprising new way of tracking dangers falling from space, whether we can see them coming or not.

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