Space science is fun! NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Don Pettit fills this sphere of water with food coloring creating a Jupiter-like effect in the microgravity environment of the International Space Station. (More at NASA Picture of The Day)
New Zealand’s stunning scenery has famously provided the backdrop for fictional worlds in fantasy films. A unique cloud that forms over the Otago region of the country’s South Island also evokes the otherworldly, while very much existing in reality. (More at NASA Picture of The Day)
60 Years Ago: Lunar Landing Research Vehicle Takes Flight
NASA test pilot Joe Walker took the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle (LLRV) for its first spin 60 years ago today. NASA used the LLRV, also known as the flying bedstead, to train Apollo astronauts for the descent to the Moon's surface. (More at NASA Picture of The Day)
A witch appears to be screaming out into space in this image from NASA's Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE. The infrared portrait shows the Witch Head nebula, named after its resemblance to the profile of a wicked witch. (More at NASA Picture of The Day)
The Space Shuttle Atlantis returned to work after a refurbishing and a two-year layoff, as liftoff for the mission occurred on Nov. 3, 1994. Five NASA astronauts and an ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut were aboard for the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS-3) mission. (More at NASA Picture of The Day)
"[Now that I work for Safety and Mission Assurance,] it's really cool to read everything about the different types of the scenarios. I always get to see the task orders and the type of work that is going on to keep people safe on the ground and in the air.” — Miranda Meyer, Contract Specialist, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (More at NASA Picture of The Day)
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft sits in its run stall at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California, firing up its engine for the first time. These engine-run tests start at low power and allow the X-59 team to verify the aircraft’s systems are working together while powered by its own engine. The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which seeks to solve one of the major barriers to supersonic flight over land by making sonic booms quieter. (More at NASA Picture of The Day)
As the International Space Station soared 257 miles above northern Mexico, NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 flight engineer Don Pettit captured this long-exposure photograph of city lights streaking across Earth while a green atmospheric glow crowned the horizon. (More at NASA Picture of The Day)