Space Nuts Podcast

Billions of years ago, Mars was hypothesized to have been a habitable world with flowing liquid water and the potential for life. But directly studying its ancient past is currently limited to orbiters and rovers, as scientists have yet to obtain direct samples from Mars. However, meteorites have been found on Earth to have potentially originated from Mars during large impacts that flung chunks of the Red Planet into space, eventually being grabbed by Earth’s gravity and crashing into the Earth’s surface.

APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 August 22… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss   APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. Mostly Perseids Explanation: Recorded the night of August 12-13, images from four dedicated meteor-monitoring cameras at an astronomical observatory in Czechia were aligned and combined to create this all-night, all-sky view. On that night, the total count came to 1,706 meteors. And since that coincided with the peak activity of the 2026 Perseid Meteor Shower, most are perseids. Their overwhelming numbers make them easy to spot. Quite convincingly, perseid trails all trace back to a single radiant on the sky at the upper right, a region in the annual shower’s eponymous constellation Perseus. But meteors belonging to other much less active showers can be revealed by finding their radiants too. For example, seen crossing the perseid trails are meteors from a shower whose radiant lies in Cygnus, known as Kappa Cygnids. The antihelion complex, a general region near Aquarius and opposite the Sun in the sky, is also identifiable as a weak source for meteors. Tomorrow’s picture: interplanetary road trip Date August 22, 2026 Credit & Copyright: Jakub Koukal (Valašské Meziříčí Observatory) Authors & editors: Jerry Bonnell, Cecilia Chirenti, Robert Nemiroff, Keighley Rockcliffe A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. Random APOD Generator Yesterday’s Image APOD: 2026 August 21 – Time-Lapse of the Star S301 Orbiting the Black Hole in the Center of the Galaxy Tomorrow’s Image

A tiny UK-developed satellite, roughly the size of a small carry-on suitcase, could help answer one of the biggest questions in cosmology: what happened in the roughly 150 million years of cosmic dark ages, before the universe’s first stars appeared?

The first astronauts to fly to the moon in more than 50 years will receive the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. Artemis II crewmates Red Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen will be presented the award in Houston.

A new national space transportation policy signed by President Donald Trump on Thursday calls for the development of more spaceports to support more than 1,000 launches and reentries per year by 2030. The presidential memorandum replaces a 2013 policy signed by former President Barack Obama. Both policies share an emphasis on supporting the commercial space industry and underscore the importance of assured access to space. But the launch sector has changed immensely since then. There were 176 orbital launch attempts from US soil last year, nearly 10 times the number in 2013. SpaceX led the pack last year with 165 orbital launches of its Falcon 9 rocket, plus five suborbital test flights of the much larger Starship. "By 2030, our space transportation ranges must grow to support more than 1,000 launches and reentries every year," the policy says. "The policies set forth in this memorandum will secure America's continued superiority in space."Read full article Comments

A single asteroid impact may explain both Deimos’ huge south-polar depression and the thick blanket of debris covering the Martian moon. Simulations point to a roughly 320-meter asteroid striking at about a 45-degree angle without breaking Deimos apart. Future observations from missions including JAXA’s MMX could test predictions about the moon’s weak surface, porous interior and buried craters. Deimos looks unusually smooth for a battered moon. Its surface is muted by dust and rubble, while a broad depression cuts across its south pole. A new simulation study suggests both features may trace back to the same violent event. The work, published in Nature Astronomy and led by Sabina Raducan, used high-resolution impact simulations developed at the University of Bern. The team found that a single asteroid strike could have excavated the southern depression while spreading debris across nearly the entire moon. Deimos is Mars’ smaller and outer moon, measuring about 12 kilometers across. Unlike heavily cratered Phobos, it is covered by a loose regolith layer that softens older surface features. The south-polar depression spans about 10 kilometers. Animation showing modelling of the proposed impact theorised to have created the Deimos south-polar depression and the subsequent reaccumulation of regolith, which would account for the smooth appearance of Deimos. Yellow indicates the reaccumulated material. (CREDIT: S.D. Raducan / ESA) Rebuilding a moon before the collision To test whether one impact could explain both features, the researchers first reconstructed what Deimos may have looked like before the depression formed. They used a detailed shape model with topography resolved to roughly 100 meters. The simulations relied on the Bern Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics code, or SPH. It represents colliding bodies as millions of particles and tracks how they respond to gravity, material strength, friction, cohesion and crushing. The team varied projectile size, impact angle, location and Deimos’ mechanical properties. Their simulations tested asteroid diameters from 300 to 360 meters and used an impact speed of 8.2 kilometers per second. Each collision was followed for eight hours so debris could escape or fall back. Two independent comparisons pointed to the same best fit. An asteroid about 320 meters wide, striking at roughly a 45-degree angle and offset from the center of the south pole, produced the closest match to the moon’s present shape. More direct or centrally located impacts created the wrong crater geometry. Larger projectiles sometimes delivered enough energy to fragment Deimos. Hera will perform a swingby of Mars in March 2025 as a way of gathering extra momentum on its way to the Didymos binary asteroid system. The spacecraft will fly within the orbits of both Martian moons Deimos and Phobos. (CREDIT: ESA-Science Office) A global blanket of fallen debris The favored collision was violent, but not catastrophic. Less than about 1% of Deimos’ mass reached escape speed, while roughly 10% to 20% of the moon’s material moved across the surface. Much of that ejecta later fell back. The simulations produced a debris blanket at least several meters thick across the moon, with deposits reaching more than 200 meters on the Mars-facing hemisphere. “Our simulation thus shows that a single impact was sufficient to decisively shape the current landscape of Deimos,” said Martin Jutzi of the University of Bern. “The impact was violent enough to redistribute material globally, but not so strong that it would have shattered the moon.” The predicted deposits also help explain why many Deimos craters are unusually shallow. Measurements of the 14 largest craters, each wider than 450 meters, suggest older features were partly buried. The analysis independently supports a global debris layer about 120 meters thick. Viking images also show a bright ring near the southern depression and bright streaks running downhill from ridges and crater rims. The simulations placed heavily disturbed material in similar regions. ESA’s Hera science team, including astrophysicist, stereoscopist and guitarist Sir Brian May, foreground left, and Principal Investigator Patrick Michel, right, celebrate as images from the mission’s gravity-assist Mars flyby on 12 March 2025. (CREDIT: Max Alexander/ESA) Why ancient craters survived the shock A collision large enough to carve a 10-kilometer depression should send strong shock waves through a moon only 12 kilometers wide. Yet Deimos still preserves old craters, including circular features seen more clearly during ESA’s Hera flyby in March 2025. That survival gave the researchers another clue about the moon’s interior. They tested how a pre-existing farside crater would respond if Deimos behaved like different materials. In a relatively rigid, lunar-like model, the crater vanished. With more compressible material, it survived increasingly well. The best preservation occurred when the interior behaved like a highly porous, easily crushed rubble pile. Such material absorbs impact energy and weakens shock waves before they can erase structures on the opposite side. “In terms of its physical properties, Deimos more closely resembles the so-called rubble-pile asteroids than Earth’s moon,” Raducan said. “But that doesn’t necessarily mean that Deimos is actually an asteroid. It could also have formed from material ejected during impacts on Mars.” Martian moon Deimos appears dark, framed by the brighter planet Mars behind it, in this visible light monochromatic Asteroid Framing Camera image, acquired by ESA’s Hera spacecraft during its gravity-assist flyby on 12 March 2025. (CREDIT: ESA) The surface appears similarly weak. Simulations showed that material with cohesion above about 100 pascals kept the crater walls too steep. Lower cohesion allowed the rim to collapse and debris to slump downhill, producing the shallow bowl seen today. The impact would not have thrown Deimos off course The collision also appears compatible with Deimos’ present orbit and rotation. The modeled strike would have changed its speed by only about 35 centimeters per second, compared with an orbital speed of 1.35 kilometers per second. Its orbital eccentricity would have shifted by no more than about 0.0005, while its inclination would have changed by no more than about 0.015 degrees. Those changes do not conflict with Deimos’ current orbit. Any disruption to its rotation likely would have faded relatively quickly. Depending on its tidal properties, synchronization could have returned within about 200 to 20,000 years. The authors stress that their scenario is not the only possible explanation. Other resurfacing processes may also have contributed to the moon’s present appearance. Still, one impact provides a single mechanism for the southern depression, the global debris layer and several surface patterns. Martian moon Deimos shines much brighter than the red planet beneath it in this Thermal Infrared Imager image acquired during the Hera mission’s 12 March 2025 gravity-assist flyby of Mars. (CREDIT: ESA/JAXA) Practical implications of the research The model gives future missions specific features to test. JAXA’s Martian Moons eXploration mission, or MMX, is expected to observe both Martian moons in detail and return samples from Phobos. For Deimos, high-resolution imaging could test whether the south-polar depression has the shape expected from a large oblique impact. Better crater measurements could refine estimates of regolith thickness, while spectral mapping could reveal how redistributed material varies across the surface. The Hera flyby has already added useful evidence. Images taken during its March 2025 gravity assist exposed previously unrecognized circular features on Deimos’ farside, helping researchers test whether older structures could survive the proposed collision. If future observations confirm the predicted weak surface and porous interior, they would strengthen the case that Deimos behaves mechanically like rubble-pile asteroids, even if its origin is entirely different. Dig deeper into Deimos and Martian moon origins These resources explore how Mars’ moons formed, what their fragile interiors may be like, how impacts reshape small bodies and how upcoming missions could resolve long-running questions about Phobos and Deimos. Origin of Mars’s moons by disruptive partial capture of an asteroidThis work proposes another route for forming Phobos and Deimos: an asteroid passing Mars could have been partly torn apart, leaving fragments that evolved into a debris disk and eventually moons. The model offers an important alternative to both direct asteroid capture and formation after a giant impact on Mars. (Icarus, 2025) Origin of Phobos and Deimos Awaiting Direct ExplorationThis comprehensive review examines the competing explanations for the Martian moons, including asteroid capture and formation from material placed into orbit around Mars. It also explains which observations and sample measurements could finally distinguish between those scenarios. (Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 2024) Physical properties of asteroid Dimorphos as derived from the DART impactImpact simulations indicate that Dimorphos is an extremely weak, porous rubble-pile asteroid whose shape may have changed globally after NASA’s DART collision. Those properties provide a useful comparison for the similarly weak and porous structure proposed for Deimos. (Nature Astronomy, 2024) Mixing model of Phobos’ bulk elemental composition for the determination of its origin: Multivariate analysis of MMX/MEGANE dataResearchers modeled how Phobos’ elemental composition should differ depending on whether the Martian moons originated from captured asteroid material or debris involving Mars. The work shows how measurements from JAXA’s MMX mission could help discriminate between competing formation histories. (Icarus, 2024) Mars and Deimos viewed by Hera’s Asteroid Framing CameraESA’s resource presents one of Hera’s close observations of Deimos during its March 2025 Mars gravity-assist flyby, including a view acquired from about 1,000 kilometers away. These observations provide new surface information for testing models of Deimos’ craters, regolith and geological history. (European Space Agency, 2025) Research findings are available online in the journal Nature Astronomy. The original story “Mars moon Deimos may be hiding ancient craters beneath 120 meters of debris” is published in The Brighter Side of News. Related Stories 50 years later, Viking 1’s legacy is powering NASA’s next giant leap on Mars NASA is looking for four volunteers willing to spend a year inside a simulated Mars mission Enormous, Earth-like magma systems once existed inside Mars Like these kind of feel good stories? Get The Brighter Side of News’ newsletter. The post Mars moon Deimos may be hiding ancient craters beneath 120 meters of debris appeared first on The Brighter Side of News.

Astronomers have discovered a hitherto unseen population of so-called "radio galaxies" with fading "radio lobes." The discovery reveals what happens when the supermassive black hole engines that power these vast, blooming outflows of plasma stall. This discovery increases our understanding of the life cycles of galaxies.The team behind this research studied 14 candidates for faded or remnant radio galaxies found in a region of the sky over Earth, studied intensely by the XMM-Newton X-ray spacecraft, called the XMM–Newton Large-Scale Structure (XMM–LSS) field.Radio galaxies are extremely bright in radio waves and feature vast lobes of gas that can stretch out for millions of light-years. Remnant radio galaxies represent the final stage in the evolution of radio galaxies, at which point the jets from the galaxies' central regions, or active galactic nuclei (AGNs) powered by feeding supermassive black holes, have switched off. Therefore, these jets can no longer replenish the vast radio lobes, causing them to gradually fade.The researchers studied the XMM–LSS field using the MeerKAT radio telescope, an array of 64 antennas located in the desert-like region of the Northern Cape, South Africa, the Jansky Very Large Array, and the LOFAR (Low-Frequency Array) network.This powerful combination of observations allowed them to study how radio emissions from the lobes of radio galaxies change as the particles within them "age" and lose energy.This allowed the researchers to determine that 12 of the 14 candidates actually are remnant radio galaxies, while the other two remain active radio galaxies.The team also discovered something striking about the 12 confirmed radio galaxy remnants.Two examples of the newly discovered giant radio galaxies, each spanning millions of light-years. (Image credit: Pal, et al (2025))One thing that really stood out in this study was the ages of these remnants, which appeared to have been fading for between 8 million and 42 million years, with the average "fade age" being 12 million years.This age is younger than the ages measured for radio galaxy remnants, which could indicate that astronomers have been missing a population of short-lived remnants.This wasn't the only extraordinary finding in this study. The scientists also found that the remnants they looked at exist in a wide range of evolutionary stages, with some having jets that have only just switched off, while others are more evolved, having "powered down" long ago.The 'double boomerang' of an x-shaped radio galaxy. (Image credit: NRAO/AUI/NSF; SARAO; DES)The new findings represent a major step forward in understanding the life cycles of radio galaxies, and also how supermassive black holes function as the engines powering jets that drive vast radio lobes.The team's research was published on July 14 in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Rocky planets may have gotten their start far earlier than anyone expected, almost as soon as the first stars gave the universe the ingredients to build them. New computer simulations suggest that planetesimals, the solid precursors of planets like Earth, could have formed only about 100 million years after the Big Bang. At that point, [...]

Paris, France | August 2026– More than 6,500 Earth observation (EO) satellites are expected to launch by 2035, generating $155.9 billion in manufacturing revenues as governments expand sovereign intelligence, surveillance, […] The post New Novaspace forecast: 6,500+ EO satellites to launch by 2035 appeared first on SpaceNews.

HELSINKI — A Chinese startup building a constellation to detect and geolocate radio-frequency emissions from orbit has closed a funding round as China’s commercial sector expands. Tianjin-based Xingkan Jiuzhou Technology, […] The post Chinese radio-frequency intelligence startup StarRF closes new funding round appeared first on SpaceNews.

Filming a high-profile episodic TV series like "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" is often a Herculean task for any professional cast and crew, but toss in massive spaceship sets, a colorful constellation of costume changes, tone and stylistic shifts, hand-to-hand combat, horseback riding, and puppets, and you’ve got a mad sci-fi circus.We connected with Ethan Peck (Spock), Christina Chong (La’an Noonien-Singh) and Paul Wesley (James T. Kirk) for Paramount+’s "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds'" penultimate season to hear more about the rigors of shooting, genre-hopping, and character evolution."Every season feels kind of manic," Peck tells Space. "Grind has such a negative connotation, but it really is a marathon. We lose so much sleep, we have crazy hours, we say crazy things, we even look crazy. "But I’d say we really found our groove in season four because we’ve had all this experience with these characters. And the writers have had all this experience writing for these actors playing these characters. So we grow over time and become more comfortable. I think that's what allows us to pull off these crazy swings in season four and five, perhaps."Christina Chong plays La'an in "Strange New Worlds" season 4 (Image credit: Paramount+)Chong echoes those thoughts and felt like leaping from one genre to the other was far more intense this time around than previous seasons."I was also taking horse riding lessons throughout, I was doing fight rehearsals, and then getting to see the digital mockups of our puppets," she shares. "Then we were thinking about how to approach the puppet episode and then obviously the horror of it all. It was a lot of jumping around because of the big genre swings. "Every season has been incredible so far, and I think this was really upping the stakes. For horse riding, I’ve ridden once before for a show, but it was ten years ago, so it was like starting from scratch again. But we had plenty of time to rehearse. And I absolutely loved my puppet; I thought she was brilliant." Puppet transformations for La'an and Una in "Five-Level Transporter Accident" (Image credit: Paramount+)For Wesley, being able to stretch his performance skills by portraying the legendary spacefaring hero and exploring his transcendent connection to Spock has been an immensely rewarding challenge."The writers are very good at identifying our strengths and identifying what dialog would suit us, not as our characters but also as actors," he notes. "Having been on the show now for two seasons, I think the writers really were able to give me the ability to play a variety of things like comedy and horror. "These big swings carry a lot of risk, and what’s so brilliant about this show is that they somehow pull it off," continues Wesley. "It all works. Kudos to the writers, and I'm just really excited for the audience to experience the evolution of Kirk becoming the man they know he’ll be eventually."You know these characters as having one of the most iconic friendships on television, but you don’t really know how they met and what brought them there. In the shore leave episode, you get to see Spock express his vulnerabilities inadvertently to Kirk, and they will, in turn, allow them to become closer. These little things are so important because they begin to establish why these characters are so connected in 'TOS.'"Paul Wesley's Kirk and Ethan Peck's Spock in "Strange New Worlds." (Image credit: Paramount+)Peck instinctively recognizes that these episodes do a fantastic job of slowly and naturally helping Kirk and Spock build trust with one another. "It's a great joy and privilege to be able to convey this relationship because it is so iconic," Peck reveals. "And that’s so strange as an actor, to be filling in some of this missing history for these characters that have been around for so long and that were so beautifully performed by other actors before us.""Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" season 4 is currently streaming on Paramount+, with new episodes arriving each Thursday through the finale episode on Sept. 24, 2026.

The United States is updating its approach to managing spaceflights that lift off and land within its borders, and aims to expand the nation's capabilities to support more than 1,000 rocket launches per year by 2030.President Donald Trump just signed a new National Space Transportation Policy that lays out priorities for commercial, civil and national security missions to orbit. The memorandum, published Thursday (Aug. 20), introduces the first update to the policy since 2013, and comes as commercial operators such as SpaceX have driven U.S. launch cadences up more than 800% since 2015.The policy centers on expanding the infrastructure and procedures needed to support a much busier space industry. It directs federal agencies to identify and broaden commercial access to additional launch and reentry sites, and to incorporate spaceflight operations and critical launch corridors into air traffic control management and modernization efforts. The document gives agencies a deadline to get the work started.Within 180 days of the memo's publication, NASA, the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Department of Defense (DOD) are directed to begin identifying potential locations for future launch activities, as well as existing facilities that could be upgraded to further increase capacity. Agencies were also directed to establish leases and commercial investment opportunities to incentivize the co-development of new launch sites. The new properties can be funded, in part, by the same private entities that are lined up to use them.Rocket landing sites are getting extra attention, with the president's policy designating agencies to identify federal lands available for development as independent launch vehicle reentry sites within the next 90 days. It also reinforces a framework to expedite environmental review processes first laid out in a commercial space executive order that Trump signed in August 2025, which sought to remove regulatory hurdles for commercial launches and spaceport construction.SpaceX is already planning for launch rates far beyond the administration’s 2030 target. The company's Starship rocket, which remains in development, is poised to become the first fully reusable launch vehicle in history. In response to the new policy on Thursday, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said his company is aiming to launch 30 or more Starship flights a day by 2030, which equates to more than 10,000 flights per year.For government missions, the strategy also emphasizes having more than one ride to orbit, with NASA and DOD tasked with maintaining multiple launch options and developing adaptable interfaces that would allow payloads to move between rockets from varying providers.SpaceX's Starship launches on its second test flight on Nov. 18, 2023. (Image credit: Space.com / Josh Dinner)Commercial launch services are already standard for most NASA and DOD missions, but the memorandum broadens that approach to transportation after reaching orbit, including spacecraft servicing and logistics. And the DOD is specifically being asked to investigate commercial options for in-space transportation and more diverse orbital delivery systems, like space planes. Speed is particularly important for national security launches, and the new policy addresses one effort already ongoing by the Pentagon: achieving consistently dependable access to space within a 48-hour timeframe. The Space Force's Space Systems Command has been testing that capability through its Tactically Responsive Space program, launching the Victus Nox mission with Firefly Aerospace with 27 hours' notice in 2023 and the Victus Haze mission in June, which Rocket Lab launched within just 17 hours.The White House highlighted some of the economic benefits beyond transportation that the policy is poised to impact in a fact sheet accompanying its publication. According to that fact sheet, the new policy will lead to advancements in things like in-space manufacturing and the development of pharmaceuticals and "high-value materials," while improvements to satellite positioning, navigation and timing services could support more precise agricultural operations and weather forecasts on Earth.The transportation strategy also extends far beyond low Earth orbit. NASA is being asked to develop a commercial lunar logistics architecture capable of moving cargo and other payloads to and from the moon's surface. The agency is already engaged in these efforts through its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) and Artemis programs, which share a complementary focus of returning astronauts to the lunar surface and building out the infrastructure necessary to sustain a lunar base, and is now tasked with extending that reach much farther.Trump's policy directs the space agency to develop partnerships to facilitate commercial robotic access to Mars and, down the road, architectures capable of carrying astronauts to the Martian surface and back to Earth.

Long-period Radio Transients are sources that emit repeating radio and x-ray signals. The signals are polarized and coherent, and are similar to pulsars in some respects. But the type of astrophysical object responsible for them has been vigorously debated. New research says that at least one of them comes from a cataclysmic variable, a binary star where a white dwarf and a red dwarf orbit closely.

NASA's Artemis II moon astronauts will join a very exclusive club next week.President Donald Trump will award those spaceflyers the Congressional Space Medal of Honor next Friday (Aug. 28) at Johnson Space Center in Houston to recognize their historic journey around the moon this past April.The ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT) and will feature NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, President Trump and the Artemis II astronauts. You'll be able to watch it live when the time comes.Artemis II sent NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, as well as the Canadian Space Agency's Jeremy Hansen, on a 10-day trip around Earth's nearest neighbor. It was the first crewed voyage beyond low Earth orbit since 1972, when the Apollo 17 astronauts returned home from the moon.The mission's success was a huge step for NASA's Artemis program, which aims to establish a base near the lunar south pole in the coming years.The Congressional Space Medal of Honor is the highest award that the U.S. government can bestow upon an astronaut. It's possible that only Wiseman, Glover and Koch will receive it next week; NASA's media advisory about the event states that Trump will give the medal to "each of NASA's Artemis II crew members," suggesting that Hansen might not be included.Thirty people have received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to date. They are:Neil A. ArmstrongFrank BormanCharles "Pete" Conrad, Jr.John H. Glenn, Jr.Virgil I. "Gus" GrissomAlan B. ShepardJohn W. YoungThomas P. StaffordJames A. LovellShannon W. LucidRoger B. ChaffeeEdward H. White, IIWilliam M. ShepherdRick D. HusbandWilliam C. McCoolMichael P. AndersonKalpana ChawlaDavid M. BrownLaurel B. ClarkIlan RamonFrancis R. (Dick) ScobeeMichael J. SmithJudith A. ResnikRonald E. McNairEllison S. OnizukaGregory B. JarvisSharon Christa McAuliffeRobert L. CrippenDouglas G. HurleyRobert L. Behnken

3 Min Read NASA Shares Views of August Solar Eclipse from Ground, Air, Space This composite image shows the progression of a total solar eclipse as the Sun sets over San Millán de los Caballeros, Spain, on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. Credits: NASA/Bill Ingalls On Aug. 12, a total solar eclipse darkened skies over Greenland, Iceland, and Spain. As the Moon covered the Sun, it briefly revealed the Sun’s wispy outer atmosphere — the corona — to those in the path of totality who were lucky enough to have clear skies. NASA researchers and photographers were along the eclipse path to study the corona, capture the phenomenon, and observe how the eclipse affected our planet. One NASA photographer in Spain captured the total solar eclipse as well as the partial phases before and after, until the Sun set below the horizon. This composite image shows the progression of a total solar eclipse over a field of sunflowers in San Millán de los Caballeros, Spain, on Aug. 12, 2026. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls The solar corona appears in this photograph of a total solar eclipse captured from San Millán de los Caballeros, Spain, on Aug. 12, 2026. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls A solar prominence, a plume of electrically charged gas suspended above the Sun by strong magnetic forces, appears as a pink feature along the left edge of the eclipsed Sun in this photograph taken from San Millán de los Caballeros, Spain, on Aug. 12, 2026. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls This composite image shows the progression of a total solar eclipse as the Sun sets in San Millán de los Caballeros, Spain, on Aug. 12, 2026. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls In northern Maine, where only a partial eclipse was visible, another NASA photographer captured the International Space Station, with its crew of seven aboard, speeding past the partially eclipsed Sun. In this image of a partial solar eclipse, which is veiled by clouds, the International Space Station, with a crew of seven aboard, appears in silhouette as it transits at roughly five miles per second on Aug. 12, 2026, as seen near Hodgdon, Maine. Aboard the station as part of Expedition 75 are NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, Anil Menon, and Jack Hathaway; ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot; and Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov, Andrey Fedyaev, and Anna Kikina. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky Twelve frames assembled in sequence show the International Space Station, with a crew of seven aboard, in silhouette as it transits the Sun at roughly five miles per second during a partial solar eclipse on Aug. 12, 2026, as seen near Hodgdon, Maine. Clouds partially obscure the view of the Sun. Aboard the station as part of Expedition 75 are NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, Anil Menon, and Jack Hathaway; ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot; and Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov, Andrey Fedyaev, and Anna Kikina. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky Meanwhile, from about 250 miles above the ground, a NASA astronaut aboard the International Space Station snapped a few photos of the partial eclipse from their perspective as well. NASA astronaut Jessica Meir captured this photo of the partial solar eclipse from the International Space Station on Aug. 12, 2026, as the orbital outpost soared 262 miles above southern Quebec, Canada. From the station, the Moon covered about 18% of the Sun at the peak of the eclipse. Credit: NASA/Jessica Meir Between the ground and the space station, NASA pilots flew NASA’s WB-57F research jet at an altitude of 50,000 feet, passing through the eclipse’s shadow to lengthen their time in the eclipse. The jet carried a suite of cameras that captured high-resolution images of the corona and prominences, plumes of electrically charged gas rising off the Sun, in several different wavelengths of light. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The total solar eclipse on Aug. 12, 2026, was captured by a camera mounted inside the cockpit window of NASA’s WB-57F aircraft as it flew around 50,000 feet altitude off the coast of Iceland. NASA A suite of cameras installed on NASA’s WB-57F aircraft captured images of the solar corona and prominences in different wavelengths of visible and infrared light during the total solar eclipse on Aug. 12, 2026. A science team led by the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, will analyze the images to learn more about complex and dynamic features in the Sun’s outer atmosphere. Credit: NASA/SwRI/Will Ashfield In both Iceland and Spain, teams of students participating in the NASA-funded Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project launched scientific balloons that carried instruments to capture images of the eclipse’s shadow and study the eclipse’s effects on our atmosphere. Even though clouds obscured the view of the eclipse from the ground in Iceland, the weather did not interfere with the balloon-borne instruments’ ability to gather information about how the brief loss of light and heat affected the lower atmosphere. Students participating in the NASA-funded Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project prepare to launch a scientific balloon in Mosfellsbær, Iceland, during the total solar eclipse on Aug. 12, 2026. Credit: NASA/Abbey Interrante To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The Moon’s shadow passes over the atmosphere during the total solar eclipse on Aug. 12, 2026. The video was taken by a camera carried by a scientific balloon launched from Spain by a student team from Montana State University participating in the NASA-funded Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project. The video captures about six minutes of time but is sped up to play at four times real speed. Passing through the foreground are some other science instruments carried by the same balloon. Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project/Montana State University Before the eclipse, scientists at Predictive Science Inc., with support from NASA grants and supercomputers, used observations of the Sun from NASA spacecraft and ground-based telescopes to predict what the corona would look like during the eclipse. Below, their corona prediction is compared to a composite image of the corona, which combines multiple images captured by the NASA-supported DEB Initiative project during the total eclipse near León, Spain. prediction image This image shows a prediction from the morning of Aug. 12, 2026, of what the solar corona would look like to the human eye during the total solar eclipse that day. Predictive Science Inc. This processed, composite image of the corona combines multiple images captured near León, Spain, during the total solar eclipse on Aug. 12, 2026. DEB Initiative Team/Zack Stockbridge predictionimage This image shows a prediction from the morning of Aug. 12, 2026, of what the solar corona would look like to the human eye during the total solar eclipse that day. Predictive Science Inc. This processed, composite image of the corona combines multiple images captured near León, Spain, during the total solar eclipse on Aug. 12, 2026. DEB Initiative Team/Zack Stockbridge prediction image CurtainToggle2-Up Image Details The left image shows a prediction from the morning of Aug. 12, 2026, of what the solar corona would look like to the human eye during the total solar eclipse that day. The right image is processed, composite image of the corona that combines multiple images captured near León, Spain, during the total solar eclipse on Aug. 12, 2026. Left image credit: Predictive Science Inc.; right image credit: DEB Initiative Team/Zack Stockbridge Over the coming months, scientists will analyze the observations and images captured during the solar eclipse on Aug. 12 and present what they have learned about the Sun and its effects on our home planet. These observations will also help prepare science teams to investigate future solar eclipses, such as a much longer total solar eclipse that will be visible from southern Spain and northern Africa on Aug. 2, 2027. Read more about NASA’s research during the eclipse and rewatch NASA’s eclipse broadcast to hear from some of the scientists and students who conducted the experiments. About the Author Vanessa Thomas Vanessa Thomas is a science writer with the heliophysics communications team at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Share Details Last Updated Aug 21, 2026 Related Terms Heliophysics Eclipses Solar Eclipses The Sun The Sun & Solar Physics Explore More 5 min read NASA’s COFFIES Uses AI to Predict Storm-Causing Active Regions on Sun  Article 1 week ago 4 min read NASA’s PUNCH Sharpens Solar Storm Forecasting in First Test Article 2 weeks ago 4 min read What’s Up: August 2026 Skywatching Tips from NASA Article 3 weeks ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System

ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot tries on a spacesuit to verify its comfort, mobility, and functionality inside the International Space Station’s Quest.NASA/Jessica Meir The Expedition 75 crew wrapped up the work week getting ready for a spacewalk to finish installing a high-speed antenna on the International Space Station. The orbital residents also explored new space exercise techniques, studied the human respiratory system, and completed an Earth observation session. On Friday, flight engineers Anil Menon of NASA and Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) took turns inside the Quest airlock organizing the tools they will use during a spacewalk scheduled for 8:35 a.m. EDT on Tuesday. The pair configured the tethers they will use to stay secured to the orbital outpost, checked the bags carrying an array of specialized tools and parts, and staged them for readiness inside Quest. Adenot also studied her spacewalking procedures on a computer using 3D animation software that depicts her tasks outside of the orbital outpost. The spacewalkers will be assisted throughout Tuesday’s excursion by flight engineer Jack Hathaway and station commander Jessica Meir, both NASA astronauts. Hathway and Meir joined each other Friday and studied the Canadarm2 robotic arm maneuvers necessary to support Menon and Adenot as they install a spare space-to-ground antenna to the Z1 truss segment above the station’s Unity module. During Tuesday’s spacewalk, Menon will ride the Canadarm2 and retrieve a spare antenna released by Adenot from an external platform. The duo will then translate to Z1, install the antenna, and make the precise electrical and data connections required to activate high‑speed transmissions with mission control. Next, Adenot will hand Menon the failed space-to-ground antenna from its temporary stowage on Z1. They will then install the old antenna on the same external platform that housed the spare finishing the swap. If time allows, the spacewalkers will also replace a retroreflector on the forward port of the Harmony module, which improves navigation, tracking, and alignment data for visiting spacecraft such as the SpaceX Dragon. Hathway and Adenot still had time scheduled on Friday to study advanced workout methods to maintain muscle and bone health while living and working in microgravity. Hathaway began his shift collecting his blood sample to be analyzed as part of the Muscle Stimulation experiment. Afterward, he applied electrodes to his legs that sent electrical signals stimulating his muscles as he strapped himself in the Columbus laboratory module and relaxed. Adenot wore the EasyMotion-2 suit packed with electrodes that triggered muscle contractions while she jogged on the Tranquility module’s treadmill. Results from the investigations may enhance space exercise and enable faster muscle recovery after returning to Earth’s gravity. Menon and Meir focused on hardware maintenance with their extra time at the end of the week. Menon worked in the Kibo laboratory module and removed a scientific payload from Kibo’s airlock that had been exposed to the vacuum of space. Meir refilled a spacesuit tank and a liquid cooling and ventilation garment with water to provide thermal conditioning to suit systems and keep astronauts comfortable during a spacewalk. Roscosmos flight engineer Andrey Fedyaev started Friday helping scientists understand how weightlessness affects the respiratory system by wearing an acoustic sensor around his neck that recorded his rapid exhalation. Next, he documented radiation exposure measurements collected from the Nauka, Zvezda, and Zarya modules. Flight engineers Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina joined each other at the beginning of their shift and uninstalled automated Earth observation gear that photographed landmarks on the ground during the crew’s sleep shift. Dubrov then inspected ethernet cables and network connections while Kikina took inventory and photographed lab hardware stowed throughout the station’s Roscosmos segment. Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts. Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here.