La Luna se eleva detrás del cohete Sistema de Lanzamiento Espacial y la nave espacial Orion de la misión Artemis II de la NASA, situados sobre una plataforma móvil de lanzamiento en el Complejo de Lanzamiento 39B del Centro Espacial Kennedy de la NASA en Florida, el domingo 1 de febrero de 2026. El vuelo de prueba Artemis II llevará al comandante Reid Wiseman, al piloto Victor Glover y a la especialista de misión Christina Koch, de la NASA, y al especialista de misión Jeremy Hansen, de la CSA (Agencia Espacial Canadiense), alrededor de la Luna y de vuelta a la Tierra.
NASA/Ben Smegelsky
Read this story in English
here
.
A fin de lograr el objetivo nacional de llevar astronautas estadounidenses a la superficie de la Luna y mantener la superioridad de Estados Unidos en exploración y descubrimientos, la NASA anunció el 27 de febrero que aumentará la frecuencia de sus misiones con el programa Artemis, estandarizará la configuración del cohete Sistema de Lanzamiento Espacial (SLS, por sus siglas en inglés) y agregará una nueva misión.
Estos planes fueron dados a conocer durante
una conferencia de prensa
(en inglés) en el Centro Espacial Kennedy de la NASA en Florida, e incluyeron una actualización sobre la misión que se dará en el futuro cercano, Artemis II.
Esta actualización se centró en los sistemas de transporte para llevar tripulaciones a la Luna. La arquitectura actualizada de la NASA incluye agregar una nueva misión en 2027 para poner a prueba las capacidades de sistema más cerca de la Tierra antes de enviar astronautas a la superficie de la Luna por primera vez en más de 50 años y tiene como objetivo lograr una misión lunar por año a partir de entonces. Ahora, la estandarización del cohete Sistema de Lanzamiento Espacial (SLS, por sus siglas en inglés) y de otros sistemas ayudará a la NASA a enviar astronautas a explorar el Polo Sur lunar por primera vez en 2028.
Los detalles específicos para lograr este nuevo enfoque, así como otras actualizaciones de la arquitectura, serán dados a conocer próximamente, ya que la agencia sigue centrada en la misión Artemis II, la cual tiene previsto volar alrededor de la Luna no más tarde de abril, y está comprobando sus capacidades para respaldar una mayor frecuencia de las misiones.
Artemis I:
La NASA completó con éxito un vuelo de prueba sin tripulación del cohete SLS y la nave espacial Orion en noviembre de 2022. Esta misión puso a prueba por primera vez el lanzamiento del cohete utilizando nuevos sistemas terrestres de exploración y evaluó los sistemas de Orion sin incluir astronautas ni los sistemas críticos de soporte vital planificados para la siguiente misión.
Artemis II:
Esta misión será el primer vuelo de prueba con tripulación a bordo del cohete SLS y la nave espacial Orion. Después de un exitoso ensayo general con circulación de combustible en febrero, la NASA descubrió un problema del flujo de helio a la etapa de propulsión criogénica provisional, y llevó el cohete y la nave espacial de regreso al Edificio de Ensamblaje de Vehículos para su reparación. Los ingenieros del Centro Espacial Kennedy de la NASA en Florida están trabajando actualmente en el cohete SLS y la nave espacial Orion, que está montada sobre él, para abordar el problema que requirió su retirada, y los equipos también están aprovechando el tiempo para cambiar las baterías y hacer otros trabajos. La
ventana de lanzamiento
se abre en abril.
Los miembros de la tripulación son los astronautas de la NASA Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover y Christina Koch, y el astronauta de la CSA (Agencia Espacial Canadiense) Jeremy Hansen, quienes emprenderán una misión con una duración aproximada de 10 días que los enviará alrededor de la Luna y de regreso a la Tierra.
Artemis III:
La NASA añadió una nueva misión de demostración en la órbita terrestre baja para mediados de 2027 a fin de poner a prueba uno o ambos módulos de aterrizaje comerciales de SpaceX y Blue Origin, respectivamente. Esta misión lanzará a la tripulación a bordo de Orion sobre el cohete SLS para poner a prueba las capacidades de encuentro y acoplamiento entre Orion y las naves espaciales comerciales privadas que son necesarias para llevar astronautas a la Luna. Esta prueba se llevará a cabo con uno o ambos proveedores.
Artemis IV:
La NASA sigue teniendo como objetivo que el primer alunizaje de Artemis sea a principios de 2028, que ha sido la fecha de alunizaje prevista desde mediados de 2025. Después del lanzamiento, la tripulación se trasladará a un módulo de aterrizaje lunar comercial para su transporte a la superficie de la Luna. La preparación del módulo de aterrizaje determinará qué proveedor los llevará de manera segura a la superficie y de regreso a Orion en la órbita lunar, antes de que la tripulación regrese a casa a bordo de Orion, para amerizar de manera segura en el océano Pacífico.
Se llevarán a cabo medidas para estandarizar el cohete SLS para la misión Artemis IV. Con este enfoque arquitectónico, la NASA evalúa opciones alternativas para la segunda etapa del cohete. La etapa de propulsión criogénica provisional utilizada para las tres primeras misiones será reemplazada por una nueva segunda etapa, y la agencia ya no planea utilizar la Etapa Superior de Exploración ni el Lanzador Móvil 2, ya que el desarrollo de ambos ha sufrido retrasos.
Artemis V:
Mediante la configuración estandarizada del cohete SLS, la NASA anticipa que el lanzamiento de esta misión a la superficie lunar ocurrirá a finales de 2028 y, a partir de entonces, habrá futuras misiones aproximadamente una vez al año. También se espera que en esta misión la NASA comience a construir su base lunar.
La NASA continúa perfeccionando los planes de la arquitectura de sus misiones, y la agencia dará a conocer más información sobre su estrategia para la exploración lunar y asignaciones de tripulación en el futuro.
Como parte de una edad de oro de innovación y exploración, la NASA enviará astronautas de Artemis en misiones progresivamente más difíciles para explorar más regiones de la Luna a fin de lograr descubrimientos científicos y beneficios económicos, y de utilizar nuestro desarrollo de los programas espaciales para sentar las bases para las primeras misiones tripuladas a Marte.
Para obtener más información sobre el programa Artemis, visita:
The Moon rises behind NASA's Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft atop a mobile launcher at Launch Complex 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. The Artemis II test flight will take Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency), around the Moon and back to Earth.
NASA/Ben Smegelsky
Lee esta historia en español
aquí
.
To achieve the national goal of landing American astronauts on the surface of the Moon and maintaining U.S. superiority in exploration and discovery, NASA
announced
Feb. 27 it is increasing its cadence of missions under the Artemis program, standardizing the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket configuration, and adding a new mission.
The plans were shared during a
news conference
at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and included an update on the near-term mission,
Artemis II
.
This update focused on the transportation systems to take crew to the Moon. NASA's latest architecture includes adding a new mission in 2027 to test system capabilities closer to home prior to sending astronauts to the surface of the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years and aims to achieve one lunar mission per year thereafter. Standardizing SLS and other systems now will help NASA send astronauts to explore the lunar South Pole for the first time in 2028.
Specific details to achieve this new approach as well as other architecture updates are forthcoming as the agency remains focused on the Artemis II mission around the Moon as early as April, and reviews capabilities to support an increased mission cadence.
Here are the basics for the first five missions under the Artemis program:
Artemis I
:
NASA successfully completed an uncrewed test flight of SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft in November 2022. This mission tested launching the rocket for the first time using new exploration ground systems and evaluated Orion systems not including astronauts or critical life support systems planned on the next mission.
Artemis II
:
The test flight will be the first flight with crew aboard the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft. Following a successful wet dress rehearsal in February, NASA discovered a helium flow issue to the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and rolled the rocket and spacecraft back to the Vehicle Assembly Building for
repairs
. Engineers at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida are currently working on the stacked SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft to address the issue that required rollback, and teams also are taking the time to swap batteries and more. The next
launch window
opens in April. Crew members include NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen to venture on an approximately 10-day mission that will send the around the Moon and back.
Artemis III:
NASA added a new demonstration mission in low Earth orbit in mid-2027 to test one or both commercial landers from SpaceX and Blue Origin respectively. The mission will launch crew in Orion on top of the SLS rocket to test rendezvous and docking capabilities between Orion and private commercial spacecraft needed to land astronauts on the Moon. This test will take place with one or both providers.
Artemis IV:
NASA continues to target the first Artemis lunar landing in early 2028, which has been the target landing date since mid-2025. After launch, crew will transfer from Orion to a commercial lunar lander for transportation to the surface of the Moon. Lander readiness will determine which provider will safely carry them to the surface and back to Orion in lunar orbit before crew return home aboard Orion - splashing down safely in the Pacific Ocean. Work to standardize the SLS rocket will be implemented for Artemis IV. With this architecture approach, NASA is assessing alternative options for the second stage of the rocket. The interim cryogenic propulsion stage used for the first three missions will be replaced with a new second stage, and the agency is no longer planning to use the Exploration Upper Stage or Mobile Launcher 2, as development of both has faced delays.
Artemis V:
Using the standardized configuration of the SLS rocket, NASA anticipates launching this lunar surface mission by late 2028, and future missions about once per year thereafter. This mission also is when NASA is expected to begin building its Moon base.
NASA continues to refine its architecture plans, and the agency will share more information about its approach to lunar exploration and crew assignments in the future.
As part of Golden Age of innovation and exploration, NASA will send Artemis astronauts on increasingly difficult missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.
For more information about the Artemis program, visit:
The food flying aboard Artemis II is designed to support crew health and performance during the mission around the Moon. With no resupply, refrigeration, or late-load capability, all meals must be carefully selected to remain safe, shelf-stable, and easy to prepare and consume in NASA's Orion spacecraft. Food selections are developed in coordination with space food experts and the crew to balance calorie needs, hydration, and nutrient intake while accommodating individual crew preferences.
Here are a frequently asked questions about how NASA designs and prepares food systems for Artemis II to support crew health:
What considerations go into selecting and packaging food for safe use during a mission like Artemis II?
Food selection for Artemis II considers shelf life, food safety, nutritional value, crew preference, and compatibility with Orion's mass, volume, and power requirements. Foods must be easy to prepare and consume in microgravity, minimize crumbs, and remain safe and stable throughout the mission. The crew provided input well before the meals were packed for the test flight.
How are menu items structured to make up an astronaut's typical daily meals?
On a typical mission day-excluding launch and reentry-astronauts have scheduled time for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Each astronaut is allotted two flavored beverages per day, which may include coffee. Beverage options are limited due to upmass constraints, which restrict how much food and drink can be carried onboard.
Fresh foods will not be flying on Artemis II as Orion does not have refrigeration nor the late load capability required for fresh foods. Shelf-stable foods help manage food safety and quality throughout the intended shelf life in a compact, self-contained spacecraft, while also reducing the risk of crumbs or particulates in microgravity.
How do Artemis II menus differ from those used during Apollo, space shuttle, and International Space Station missions?
Artemis II menus reflect decades of advancement in space food systems. Apollo missions relied on early food technologies with limited variety, while space shuttle missions expanded menu options and onboard preparation. The International Space Station benefits from regular resupply and occasional fresh foods. In contrast, Artemis II uses a fixed, pre-selected menu designed for a self-contained space vehicle with no resupply.
How much input does the Artemis II crew have in choosing their meals?
The Artemis II crew has direct input into menu selection. Crew members sample, evaluate, and rate all foods on the standard menu during preflight testing, and their preferences are balanced with nutritional requirements and what Orion can accommodate. Final, crew-specific menus are set well before launch. Two to three days' worth of food for each crewmember is packed together in a single container, providing flexibility for meal selection during the mission.
How are menus tailored for different mission phases, such as launch, transit, and re-entry?
Menus are tailored based on the spacecraft's food preparation capabilities during each hase of flight. Certain foods - such as freeze-dried meals - require hydration using Orion's potable water dispenser, which is not available during some phases, including launch and landing. As a result, foods selected for those phases must be ready-to-eat and compatible with the spacecraft's operational constraints, while a broader range of food options are available once full food preparation systems are up and running.
How is space food prepared in the Orion spacecraft?
Food aboard Orion is ready-to-eat, rehydratable, thermostabilized, or irradiated. The crew uses Orion's potable water dispenser to rehydrate foods and beverages and a compact, briefcase-style food warmer to heat meals as needed.
What challenges come with designing and preparing food for a contained spacecraft like Orion?
Designing food systems for Orion requires balancing nutrition, safety, and crew preference within strict mass, volume, and power limits inside a compact, shared cabin.
Foods must be easy to store, prepare, and consume in microgravity while minimizing crumbs and waste. Preparation is intentionally simple, using ready-to-eat, rehydratable, thermostabilized, or irradiated foods that can be safely prepared without interfering with crew operations or spacecraft systems.
Watch: How to Eat in Space Aboard Orion
Victoria Segovia
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
victoria.segovia@nasa.gov
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4818-4824: Thinking Out of the Boxwork
NASA's Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image using its Front Hazard Avoidance Camera (Front Hazcam), showing the rover's Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) instrument investigating a target. APXS is a spectrometer that measures the abundance of chemical elements in rocks and soils, is about the size of a cupcake, and is located on the turret at the end of Curiosity's robotic arm. Curiosity captured this image on Feb. 26, 2026 - Sol 4820, or Martian day 4,820 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission - at 13:03:08 UTC.
NASA/JPL-Caltech
Written by Ashley Stroupe, Operations Systems Engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Earth planning date: Friday, Feb. 27, 2026
This week we had three planning sessions, exploring the eastern side of the boxwork unit. As a Rover Planner on Monday, I worked on the arm and drive activities, while on Friday I served as the Engineering Uplink Lead (planning all of our engineering activities like heating and managing our onboard data). We had two small drives this week to put different targets into our workspace for each plan. The months-long careful and systematic investigation of the boxwork unit will hopefully provide the science team insights on what was going on in this area of Mars that resulted in this interesting and unique terrain. As we wrap it up, we are already thinking ahead to our future investigations of the sulfate unit, where we will be heading after finishing here and continuing our climb up Mount Sharp.
With three plans and short drives, we were able to do a total of 19 Mastcam stereo mosaics, getting a full 360-degree panorama as well as additional documentation of the nearby ridges/hollows and the nearby sulfate unit. Some of the rocks in the hollows show a return of the polygonal structures that we saw in abundance prior to entering the boxwork unit, but have only seen sparsely in other hollows. As we are entering deeper into the warmer months, the start of dust-storm season, we have also been doing a lot of atmospheric measurements. We did multiple observations of the crater rim (to watch it fading into the haze), Mastcam solar Tau measurements (looking at the Sun to measure dust in the atmosphere), dust-devil movies, and other sky observations.
We investigated a total of four targets with MAHLI and APXS, two of which we were able to brush. The accompanying image shows the APXS down on one of the targets near the contact. Most of the targets were not very complicated for the Rover Planners because the rocks have been mostly smooth and flat. But our Wednesday target, "Los Monos," was slightly under the front of the rover, and we had to do some additional intermediate arm motions to reach underneath safely. We won't actually know if today's targets are on the other side of the contact (in the sulfate unit) or not until we can study the data.
Planning the short drives has been interesting, as with most of the boxwork unit drives, because we must navigate around the sand and steeper slopes in hopes of minimizing slip. In this weekend's plan our drive will head south towards the southern end of the boxwork unit, where the terrain smooths out a bit and driving should be easier.
The Space Environments Complex at NASA's Glenn Research Center at Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio, shown here in September 2024. Armstrong Test Facility sits on 6,400 acres of land.
Credit: NASA/Jordan Salkin
NASA's Glenn Research Center is seeking proposals to lease select land parcels at its Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio. Proposals are due by 5 p.m. EST on July 2, 2026.
The parcels are part of an area of land that currently serves as a buffer for ongoing NASA operations.
The solicitation
includes the land parcels, any existing facilities on the property, and access to supporting infrastructure needed for a tenant to operate onsite.
The available land includes five parcels ranging in size from approximately 184 to 516 acres, for a total of about 1,736 acres. Two of the parcels currently sit within Armstrong Test Facility's controlled-access area. Proposers may submit proposals for individual parcels, portions of parcels, or combinations of parcels and acreage.
If selected, the proposer(s) would enter a lease with NASA using a Model Enhanced Use Lease Agreement, which provides the rights needed to occupy, operate, modify, and maintain the land for one 20-year base period and two consecutive 10-year option periods.
Proposals may identify other term options, which will be evaluated and considered by NASA.
During the proposal and review period, NASA plans to request feedback from the community on factors most important to them for NASA to consider when evaluating proposals.
NASA Glenn first
announced plans to lease
property and facilities in May 2024 under the government's Enhanced Use Lease authority. These lease agreements allow space, aeronautics, and other related industries to use agency land and facilities, reducing NASA's maintenance costs while fostering strategic partnerships that spur innovation.
"As we modernize our Cleveland and Sandusky campuses to support NASA's future missions, Enhanced Use Leases help ensure full use of government land and facilities while creating regional economic opportunities," said Dr. Jimmy Kenyon, Glenn's center director.
Armstrong Test Facility, formerly known as Plum Brook Station, spans more than 6,400 acres of controlled land. Located near Lake Erie and several popular tourist destinations, it is home to unique, world-class test facilities that support complex ground testing for the international aerospace community.
Interested parties should contact NASA HQ Real Estate at
hq-realestate@mail.nasa.gov
to submit a request to view the property.
For more information about Armstrong Test Facility, visit:
Two Observatories, One Cosmic Eye: Hubble and Euclid View Cat's Eye Nebula
Hubble and Euclid teamed up in this image of the Cat's Eye Nebula, NGC 6543.
Credits:
ESA/Hubble & NASA, ESA Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA/Q1-2025, J.-C. Cuillandre & E. Bertin (CEA Paris-Saclay), Z. Tsvetanov
ESA/Hubble & NASA, ESA Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA/Q1-2025, J.-C. Cuillandre & E. Bertin (CEA Paris-Saclay), Z. Tsvetanov
This new NASA/ESA
Hubble Space Telescope
image features one of the most visually intricate remnants of a dying star: the Cat's Eye Nebula, also known as NGC 6543. This extraordinary
planetary nebula
lies in the constellation Draco and has captivated astronomers for decades with its elaborate and multilayered structure. Observations with
ESA's Gaia
mission place the nebula at 4,400 light-years away.
Planetary nebulae, so-called because of their round shape, which made them appear to look like planets when viewed through early telescopes, are in fact expanding gas thrown off by stars in their final stages of evolution. It was the Cat's Eye Nebula itself where this fact was first discovered in 1864 - examining the
spectrum
of its light reveals the emission from individual molecules that's characteristic of a gas, distinguishing planetary nebulae from stars and galaxies.
Hubble also revolutionized our understanding of planetary nebulae; its detailed images showed that the simple, circular appearance of a planetary nebula seen from the ground belies a very complex morphology. This was particularly true of the Cat's Eye Nebula, where
Hubble images
in 1995 revealed never-before-seen structures that broadened our understanding of how planetary nebulae come to be.
In this new image, Hubble captures the very core of billowing gas with the High Resolution Channel sub-instrument on its Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). This instrument is optimized for taking very sharp images of fine details in a small area, such as the complex features at the heart of the Cat's Eye Nebula. The data reveal a tapestry of concentric shells, jets of high-speed gas and dense knots sculpted by shock interactions, features that appear almost surreal in their intricacy. These structures are believed to record episodic mass loss from the dying star at the nebula's center, creating a kind of cosmic "fossil record" of its final evolutionary stages. Part of these data were also used in a previous image of the Cat's Eye Nebula, released in 2004. Previously unused data from ACS is combined with state-of-the-art image processing to create this new image, the sharpest yet taken of this nebula.
ESA/Hubble & NASA, Z. Tsvetanov
This time, Hubble is joined by
ESA's Euclid
space telescope to create a new image of NGC 6543. The combined eyes of Hubble and Euclid reveal the remarkable complexity of stellar death in this object. Though primarily designed to map the distant universe, Euclid captures the Cat's Eye Nebula as part of its
deep imaging surveys
. In Euclid's wide, near-infrared, and visible light view, the arcs and filaments of the nebula's bright central region are situated within a halo of colorful fragments of gas zooming away from the star. This ring was ejected from the star at an earlier stage, before the main nebula at the center formed. The whole nebula stands out against a backdrop teeming with distant galaxies, demonstrating how local astrophysical beauty and the farthest reaches of the cosmos can be seen together with Euclid.
In Euclid's wide, near-infrared, and visible light view, the arcs and filaments of the nebula's bright central region are situated within a halo of colorful fragments of gas zooming away from the star. This ring was ejected from the star at an earlier stage, before the main nebula at the center formed. Hubble captures the very core of the billowing gas with high-resolution visible-light images, adding extra detail in the center of this image. The whole nebula stands out against a backdrop teeming with distant galaxies, demonstrating how local astrophysical beauty and the farthest reaches of the cosmos can be seen together in modern astronomical surveys. Together, these missions provide a rich and complementary view of NGC 6543 - revealing the delicate interplay between stellar end-of-life processes and the vast cosmic tapestry beyond.
ESA/Hubble & NASA, ESA Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA/Q1-2025, J.-C. Cuillandre & E. Bertin (CEA Paris-Saclay), Z. Tsvetanov
Within this broad view of the nebula and its surroundings, Hubble captures the very core of the billowing gas with a new high-resolution visible-light image, adding extra detail in the center of this image. The data reveal a tapestry of concentric shells, jets of high-speed gas and dense knots sculpted by shock interactions, features that appear almost surreal in their intricacy. These structures are believed to record episodic mass loss from the dying star at the nebula's center, creating a kind of cosmic "fossil record" of its final evolutionary stages.
Combining the focused view of Hubble with Euclid's deep field observations not only highlights the nebula's exquisite structure but also places it within the broader context of the universe that both space telescopes explore. Together, these missions provide a rich and complementary view of NGC 6543 - revealing the delicate interplay between stellar end-of-life processes and the vast cosmic tapestry beyond.
Download a 12.1 MB Tiff (4000 X 1667) of the Euclid and Hubble image (left) and the Hubble image (right) of the Cat's Eye Nebula.
Hubble Image of the Cat's Eye Nebula 2026
Download a 14.3 MB Tiff (1546 X 1608) of Hubble's latest image of the Cat's Eye Nebula.
Euclid and Hubble's Image of the Cat's Eye Nebula
Download a 18.9 MB Tiff (4000 X 2195) of the combined Euclid and Hubble view of the Cat's Eye Nebula.
Hubble Image of the Cat's Eye Nebula 2004
This detailed Hubble image of the Cat's Eye Nebula looks like the penetrating eye of the disembodied sorcerer Sauron from the film adaptation of "The Lord of the Rings."
Hubble Image of the Cat's Eye Nebula 1995
This Hubble image shows one of the most complex planetary nebulae ever seen, NGC 6543, nicknamed the "Cat's Eye Nebula."
Hubble Science: The Death Throes of Stars
When stars die, they throw off their outer layers, creating the clouds that birth new stars.
Universe Uncovered: Hubble's Nebulae
These ethereal veils of gas and dust tell the story of star birth and death.
On February 22, 2026, a wildland fire was discovered in Big Cypress National Preserve, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of Naples, Florida. The blaze, dubbed the National fire, moved through dry vegetation and sent a plume of smoke billowing over parts of the preserve and nearby communities.
The
MODIS
(Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA's
Aqua
satellite captured this image on the afternoon of February 25. By then, the fire had burned around 24,000 acres (9,700 hectares),
according to the National Park Service
.
After carrying smoke southward in previous days,
winds
shifted to start pushing it north by the time Aqua captured this image. According to news reports, the smoke
reduced visibility
and led to the
brief closure
of I-75-the interstate nicknamed "Alligator Alley" that runs east-west through the northern part of the preserve. It also contributed to
smog over Lake Okeechobee
.
The fire continued to spread over the next several days, reaching just over 35,000 acres (14,000 hectares) by February 28, according to
InciWeb
. As of March 2, it remained roughly the same size and was 38 percent contained.
The fire's cause remains under investigation.
Officials noted
, however, that its spread was driven by ample
fuel
, including vegetation that was dry from persistent,
extreme drought
and damaged by recent frost. The National Interagency Fire Center's
wildland fire outlook
calls for above-normal fire potential across Florida through May.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, using MODIS data from NASA
EOSDIS LANCE
and
GIBS/Worldview
. Story by Kathryn Hansen.
Downloads
February 25, 2026
JPEG (1.81 MB)
References & Resources
Big Cypress National Preserve (2026, February 27)
News Releases
. Accessed March 2, 2026.
A total lunar eclipse glows red, Venus and Saturn get close, and we ring in the vernal equinox
A total lunar eclipse blood moon takes centre stage, Venus and Saturn cozy up for a conjunction, and we celebrate the vernal equinox.
Skywatching Highlights
March 3:
Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)
March 8:
Venus + Saturn Conjunction
March 20:
Vernal Equinox
Transcript
A total lunar eclipse blood moon takes center stage, Venus and Saturn cozy up for a conjunction and we celebrate the vernal equinox.
That's What's Up this March.
Is it Mars or is it the Moon? On March 3rd, a total lunar eclipse will turn the Moon bright red.
Photograph showing a full lunar eclipse progression across the night sky over a city skyline.
Trevor Dobson via Flick_CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
During a lunar eclipse, which can only happen during a full Moon, Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon, casting a shadow on the lunar surface.
During a partial lunar eclipse, the Moon moves only partially into the dark shadow, or umbra, cast by Earth.
But, during a full lunar eclipse, the Sun, Earth, and Moon are exactly aligned, leaving the Moon completely enveloped in Earth's shadow.
When this happens, the Moon actually turns blood red.
While you might imagine a full lunar eclipse would leave the Moon completely dark, Earth's atmosphere scatters the light, illuminating the Moon in this orange-reddish hue.
So look up and bask in the red glow of our lunar companion.
This full lunar eclipse will be visible from eastern Asia and Australia in the evening, from the Pacific at night, and from most of North and Central America as well as western South America in the early morning.
On March 8th, Venus and Saturn will cozy up for a conjunction in the evening sky.
Sky chart showing a conjunction between Saturn and Venus constellation on March 8, 2026. "Saturn" is labeled as well as "Venus."
NASA/JPL-Caltech
The pair will be about one degree apart, which is roughly the width of a single finger if you hold it at arm's length.
A conjunction happens when two objects in the night sky appear close together, even if they're far apart in space. In reality, Venus and Saturn are nearly a billion miles apart!
But to see the pair get close in the sky from our perspective, look close to the horizon in the western sky just after sunset.
On March 20th, we ring in the vernal equinox, marking a transition into the next season.
An illustration of the March (spring) and September (fall or autumn) equinoxes. During the equinoxes, both hemispheres receive nearly equal amounts of daylight. (Image not to scale)
NASA/GSFC/Genna Duberstein
While this is colloquially known as the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere and the first day of autumn in the southern hemisphere, astronomically this equinox occurs when the Sun crosses above Earth's equator while traveling from south to north.
On this day, northern and southern hemispheres experience roughly equal amounts of sunlight
and
day and night are also about equal, each lasting almost exactly 12 hours.
So enjoy the start of a new season with a day of perfectly balanced sunlight.
Here are the phases of the Moon for March.
The phases of the Moon for March 2026.
NASA/JPL-Caltech
You can stay up to date on all of NASA's missions exploring the solar system and beyond at
science.nasa.gov
.
I'm Chelsea Gohd from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and that's What's Up for this month.
Sunlight beams off a partly cloudy Atlantic Ocean just after sunrise as the International Space Station orbited 263 miles above on March 5, 2025. This is an example of
sunglint,
an optical phenomenon that occurs when sunlight reflects off the surface of water at the same angle that a satellite sensor views it. The result is a mirror-like specular reflection of sunlight off the water and back at the satellite sensor or astronaut.
While sunglint often produces visually stunning images, the phenomenon can create problems for remote sensing scientists because it obscures features that are usually visible. This is particularly true for oceanographers who use satellites to study phytoplankton and
ocean color.
As a result, researchers have developed
several methods
to screen sunglint-contaminated imagery out of data archives.
Despite the challenges posed by sunglint, the phenomenon does offer some unique scientific opportunities. It makes it easier, for instance, to detect oil on the water surface, whether it is from natural oil seeps or human-caused oil spills. This is because a layer of oil smooths water surfaces.
Text credit: Adam Voiland
Image credit: NASA
The new HTV‑X1 cargo spacecraft from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), carrying science, supplies, and hardware for NASA and its international partners, is pictured on Oct. 29, 2025, after its capture by the International Space Station's Canadarm2 robotic arm.
Credit: NASA
After delivering about 12,000 pounds of supplies, scientific investigations, hardware, and other cargo to the International Space Station for NASA and its international partners, JAXA's (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's) uncrewed HTV‑X1 cargo spacecraft is scheduled to depart Friday, March 6.
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On Thursday, March 5, flight controllers will use the space station's Canadarm2 robotic arm to detach HTV-X1 from the Harmony module's Earth-facing port on the station and maneuver it into position for release. NASA will not provide live coverage of the spacecraft's detachment from the orbiting laboratory. NASA astronaut Chris Williams will monitor HTV-X1's systems during undocking and departure.
The HTV-X1 spacecraft will remain in orbit for more than three months acting as a scientific platform for JAXA's experiments. Following the deorbit command, the spacecraft will dispose of several thousand pounds of trash during re-entry into Earth's atmosphere, where it will burn up harmlessly.
The spacecraft arrived at the space station on Oct. 29, 2025, after launching Oct. 25 on an H3 rocket from Japan's Tanegashima Space Center.
For more than 25 years, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and making research breakthroughs that are not possible on Earth. The space station is a critical testbed for NASA to understand and overcome the challenges of long-duration spaceflight and to expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit. As commercial companies concentrate on providing human space transportation services and destinations as part of a strong
low Earth orbit economy
, NASA is focusing its resources on deep space missions to the Moon as part of the Artemis campaign in preparation for future astronaut missions to Mars.
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