NASA @nasa

nasa Now that’s a statement necklace! 💎 Captured here by the @NASAHubble , is an interaction between two doomed stars, which creates this spectacular ring adorned with bright clumps of gas — a diamond necklace of cosmic proportions. Located about 15,000 light-years away, this nebula is part of a small dim constellation of Sagitta (the arrow). Roughly 10,000 years ago, one of the aging stars expanded and engulfed its smaller companion. The smaller star continued to orbit inside its larger companion, increasing the bloated giant’s rotation rate until large parts of it spun outwards into space. This escaping ring of debris formed the Necklace Nebula. Separated by only several million miles – the pair of stars appear as a single bright dot in the center of this image. Despite their close encounter, the stars are still furiously whirling around each other, completing an orbit in just over a day. Credit: NASA, ESA, K. Noll #HubbleFriday #IcedOut #Nebula #Astronomy

nasa We have all the pieces of the puzzle 🧩 The final piece of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that will send our first #Artemis mission to the Moon has arrived at @NASAKennedy in Florida. After completing a successful series of Green Run tests at @NASAStennis in Mississippi, the core stage of the rocket was transported to its new home. The 212-foot-tall core stage, the largest rocket stage we’ve ever built, completed its 900-mile journey aboard the Pegasus barge on April 27. Once it arrived, the SLS core stage was offloaded and moved to Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building, where it will be prepared for integration atop the mobile launcher with the completed stack of solid rocket boosters ahead of the Artemis I launch. Image credit: 1. NASA/Kim Shiflett 2. NASA/Juan Busto 3. NASA/Frank Michaux 4. NASA/Mike Downs 5. NASA/Kim Shiflett 6. NASA/Sam Lott 7. NASA/Ben Smegelsky 8. NASA/Kim Shiflett 9 and 10: NASA/Sam Lott #Rocket #SpecialDelivery #Artemis #NASAKennedy #Space

nasa Rest In Peace Michael Collins (1930 - 2021) Today, we mourn the passing of Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins ( @astromichaelcollins ), who piloted humanity’s first voyage to the surface of another world. An advocate for exploration, Collins inspired generations of scientists, engineers, test pilots, and astronauts, and his legacy propels us further into the cosmos. Michael will be greatly remembered as a tireless promoter of space, human space travel, and exploration. He will be remembered fondly each time we look up to admire the Moon. Images 1-9 Credit: NASA Image 10 Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls #NASA #MichaelCollins #Astronaut #Godspeed #GoneButNeverForgotten

nasa Pulling into the driveway 🚀 On Friday, April 23, the @SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour launched from @NASAKennedy in Florida. After a 23-hour commute, the Endeavour is pictured here from a window of the docked SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience during its approach to the International Space Station ( @ISS ). SpaceX Crew-2 astronauts Shane Kimbrough ( @Astro_Kimbrough ) and Megan McArthur ( @Astro.Megan ) of NASA, Akihiko Hoshide of @JAXAjp , and Thomas Pesquet ( @Thom_Astro ) of the @EuropeanSpaceAgency joined the Expedition 65 crew shortly after docking. This brings the total number of astronauts aboard the space station to 11! The crews on the space station are currently in a handover phase, as the four Crew-1 astronauts prepare to undock their Resilience spacecraft and splash down later this week. 📌Stay tuned for details on how to watch the event live. Credit: NASA #Spacecraft #LaunchAmerica #NASA

nasa We’re blown away! 🤯 A recent discovery made with @NASAChandraXRay could be a major step in pinpointing exactly how some giant stars explode. Located in our galaxy about 11,000 light-years away from Earth, is one of the youngest known supernova remnants called Cassiopeia A, with an age of about 350 years. Scientists have found fragments of titanium (blue hues) blasting out of this famous supernova – which strongly supports the idea of a neutrino-driven explosion to explain some at least some supernovae. Recent 3D computer simulations suggest that these neutrinos – or very low-mass subatomic particles – made in the creation of the neutron star play a crucial role in driving bubbles that speed away from the neutron star. These bubbles continue driving the shock wave forward to trigger the supernova explosion. Picture this: The amount of stable titanium produced in Cas A exceeds the total mass of the Earth. Image credit: NASA/CXC/RIKEN/T. Sato et al.; NuSTAR: NASA/NuSTAR #Supernova #Stellar #Astronomy #Titanium

nasa 31 years ago, @NASAHubble launched into space 🔭 To commemorate the occasion, astronomers aimed the renowned observatory at one of the brightest stars seen in our galaxy: AG Carinae. The glowing halo of gas and dust is about five light-years wide — the same distance between Earth and the nearest star beyond the Sun, Proxima Centauri. 🌟 Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI #GlowGoals #NASA #Hubble #StarPower #Astronomy

nasa 🚀 Crew-2 lifts off! ⁣⁣ ⁣ The skies over @NASAKennedy lit up like a fiery sunrise this morning, April 23, 2021, as a @SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Crew Dragon Endeavour launched off the pad, rattling the Earth with 1.7 million pounds of thrust. Four astronauts from three different countries -- a first for a Commercial Crew mission -- are now en route to the International Space Station ( @iss ).⁣⁣ ⁣ At 5:49 a.m. EDT (9:49 a.m. UTC), @NASAAstronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, @EuropeanSpaceAgency astronaut Thomas Pesquet, and JAXA (Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, launched from @NASAKennedy to begin a six-month science mission aboard our orbiting laboratory. Once there, they will conduct science experiments in biology, Earth science, and medicine, including a university student-led investigation to study possible causes for suppressed immune response in microgravity. They will also continue working on technology demonstrations that will prepare future Artemis astronauts for missions to the Moon.⁣⁣ ⁣ The Crew Dragon will dock autonomously to the @iss on Saturday morning at approximately 5:10 a.m. EDT (9:10 a.m. UTC). You can watch it live on NASA TV: nasa.gov/live.⁣⁣ ⁣ Credits: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani/Joel Kowsky

nasa An international crew of four are just hours from launch to the @ISS !⁣ ⁣ Astronauts Shane Kimbrough ( @Astro_Kimbrough ) and Megan McArthur ( @Astro.Megan ) of NASA, Thomas Pesquet ( @Thom_Astro ) of the @EuropeanSpaceAgency , and Akihiko Hoshide of @JAXAjp will board their @SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft and lift off at 5:49 a.m. EDT (9:49 UTC), Fri., April 23.⁣ ⁣ 📸 The Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 rocket are seen at sunset on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Crew-2 mission, Wednesday, April 21, 2021, at @NASAKennedy in Florida. ⁣ ⁣ Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky⁣ ⁣ #Crew2 #CapeCanaveral #SpaceX #CrewDragon #Rocket #LaunchAmerica

nasa ⁣ ⁣ From above, we can see how we’re all #ConnectedByEarth – we depend on our planet and it depends on us. For decades our data has tracked how all these Earth systems interact. Check out some ways @NASAEarth is dedicated to studying our changing world, improving lives and safeguarding our future.⁣ ⁣ Credit: Amy Leniart/NASA⁣ ⁣ #EarthDay #HomeSweetHome #EarthScience #OurWorld

nasa ~8 billion humans, 1 home 🏠🌍 Earth Week is about connections — to our home planet and to each other. As we prepare for #EarthDay here at NASA, we're thinking about the ways we're all connected by our home on the big blue marble. 📸 What are some of your favorite memories or favorite spots on the planet? Where did you last plant a tree or go explore in the ocean or lakes? When did you last feel the soft wind on your face at the beach? We’d love to see! Share pictures and videos with us of your little place in space, using #ConnectedByEarth . Credit: NASA #NASA #Earth #Planet #BlueMarble #EarthDay2021

nasa 🚁💨Do you even LIFT? Today, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter made history by being the first craft to liftoff and achieve controlled, powered flight on a planet beyond Earth! Ingenuity snapped this incredible black-and-white shot while hovering over the Martian surface. It used its navigation camera, which autonomously tracks the ground during flight. We've been talking for so long about our Wright brothers moment. And here it is. Now, we will work on unpacking the data from the little rotorcraft that could. Credit: @NASAJPL #NASA #MarsHelicopter #CountdownToMars #RedPlanet #Mars #Success #MondayMotivation #Galaxy #Space

nasa Welcome home, astronaut & scientist Kate Rubins! 🏠⁣ ⁣ Rubins, along with cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, undocked their Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft from the International Space Station ( @ISS ) at 9:34 p.m. EDT Friday, April 16th and landed safely under parachutes at 12:55 a.m. (10:55 a.m. Kazakhstan time) Saturday, April 17, southeast of the town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan. It was the second spaceflight for Rubins and Ryzhikov and the first for Kud-Sverchkov.⁣ ⁣ During the past six months on the station, Rubins spent hundreds of hours working on experiments, talking with the researchers behind the studies, and serving as an ambassador for science in downlinks with @NSFGov , @NIHGov , @CDCGov , and others. Rubins built on experiments she conducted during her first mission in 2016, working on new heart research and DNA sequencing. ⁣ ⁣ Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls⁣ ⁣ #WelcomeHome #Landing #Astronauts #Scientists #WomenInSTEM