NASA's New Horizons spacecraft captured this high-resolution enhanced color view of Charon just before closest approach on July 14, 2015. The image combines blue, red and infrared images taken by the spacecraft’s Ralph/Multispectral Visual Imaging Camera (MVIC); the colors are processed to best highlight the variation of surface properties. (More at NASA Picture of The Day)
Hurricane Joaquin From the International Space Station
NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly captured this photo on Oct. 2, 2015, from the International Space Station and wrote on Twitter, "Early morning shot of Hurricane #Joaquin from @space_station before reaching #Bahamas. Hope all is safe. #YearInSpace." (More at NASA Picture of The Day)
Oct. 5, 1984, Launch of History-Making STS-41G Mission
The Space Shuttle Challenger launches from Florida at dawn. On this mission, Kathryn Sullivan became the first U.S. woman to perform a spacewalk and Marc Garneau became the first Canadian in space. The crew of seven was the largest to fly on a spacecraft at that time, and STS-41G was the first flight to include two female astronauts. (More at NASA Picture of The Day)
NASA Completes Successful Heat Shield Testing for Future Mars Exploration Vehicles
As NASA missions to Mars progress with science and complex human exploration missions, spacecraft will require larger heat shields to protect against the extreme heat of entering a planet's atmosphere and decelerating at a safe altitude in the thin Martian atmosphere. (More at NASA Picture of The Day)
The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter often takes images of Martian sand dunes to study the mobile soils. These images provide information about erosion and movement of surface material, about wind and weather patterns, even about the soil grains and grain sizes. (More at NASA Picture of The Day)
Pluto’s haze layer shows its blue color in this picture taken by the New Horizons Ralph/Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC). The high-altitude haze is thought to be similar in nature to that seen at Saturn’s moon Titan. This image was generated by software that combines information from blue, red and near-infrared images. (More at NASA Picture of The Day)
NASA astronaut Scott Kelly captured this photograph from the International Space Station on Oct. 7, 2015. Sharing with his social media followers, Kelly wrote, "The daily morning dose of #aurora to help wake you up. #GoodMorning from @Space_Station! #YearInSpace" (More at NASA Picture of The Day)
The dark area across the top of the sun in this image is a coronal hole, a region on the sun where the magnetic field is open to interplanetary space. (More at NASA Picture of The Day)
Oct. 15, 1997, Launch of Cassini Spacecraft to Saturn
On Oct. 15 1997, a seven-year journey to the ringed planet Saturn began with the liftoff of a Titan IVB/Centaur carrying the Cassini orbiter and its attached Huygens probe. This spectacular streak shot was taken from Hangar AF on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, with a solid rocket booster retrieval ship in the foreground. (More at NASA Picture of The Day)
Scott Kelly Becomes U.S. Astronaut to Spend the Most Time in Space
Just before the 15th anniversary of continuous human presence on the International Space Station on Nov. 2, 2015, U.S. astronaut and commander of the current Expedition 45 crew, Scott Kelly, is breaking spaceflight records. On Friday, Oct. 16, Kelly begins his 383rd day living in space, surpassing U.S. astronaut Mike Fincke’s record. (More at NASA Picture of The Day)
On Oct. 12-13, 2015, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly shared a series of seventeen photographs taken from the International Space Station during a flyover of Australia. This first photo of the series was shared on Twitter with the caption, "#EarthArt in one pass over the #Australian continent. Picture 1 of 17. #YearInSpace". (More at NASA Picture of The Day)
NASA is unveiling mosaics of Pluto and its largest moon Charon, representing the global response to its popular “#PlutoTime” social media campaign. A photo of Clyde Tombaugh, the American who discovered Pluto in 1930, is embedded in this mosaic of hundreds of images shared during the campaign. (More at NASA Picture of The Day)
The galaxy cluster MS 0735.6+7421 is home to one of the most powerful eruptions ever observed. X-rays detected by NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory (blue) show the hot gas that comprises much of the mass of this enormous object. This image is part of a collection of new images released from the Chandra archive to celebrate American Archive Month. (More at NASA Picture of The Day)
NASA's Space Launch System Design 'Right on Track' for Journey to Mars
For the first time in almost 40 years, a NASA human-rated rocket has completed all steps needed to clear a critical design review (CDR). The agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) is the first vehicle designed to meet the challenges of the journey to Mars and the first exploration class rocket since the Saturn V. (More at NASA Picture of The Day)
This image shows the galaxy Messier 94, which lies in the small northern constellation of the Hunting Dogs, about 16 million light-years away. (More at NASA Picture of The Day)
Expedition 45 Commander Scott Kelly tries on his spacesuit for a fit check inside the U.S. Quest airlock of the International Space Station. Kelly and Flight Engineer Kjell Lindgren will venture outside the station for a pair of spacewalks on Wednesday, Oct. 28 and Friday, Nov. 6. (More at NASA Picture of The Day)
Damaging heavy rains fell on South Carolina in the southeastern United States at the beginning of October 2015. Much of that water had, by mid-October, flowed into the Atlantic Ocean bringing with it heavy loads of sediment, nutrients, and dissolved organic material. The above VIIRS image shows the runoff as it interacts with ocean currents. (More at NASA Picture of The Day)
Expedition 45 Commander Scott Kelly took this photograph during a spacewalk on Oct. 28, 2015. Sharing the image on social media, Kelly wrote, "#SpaceWalkSelfie Back on the grid! Great first spacewalk yesterday. Now on to the next one next week. #YearInSpace" (More at NASA Picture of The Day)
