NEW FROM NASA
NEW FROM NASA NEWS
Put This on Your Long-Range Radar
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, “NASA’s Leading Center for Robotic Exploration of the Universe,” is celebrating its 90th year of operation this year. To help celebrate, JPL is inviting the public to an open-house event called “Explore JPL.” The two-day event will occur on October 10/11, from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM each day. It’s a wonderful opportunity to learn more about four important JPL themes: Missions That Changed the World, Moon to Mars, In Flight, and Makerspace. Tickets (free) are required but will certainly be in big demand; they become available on August 29. Check out more about the event and how to get tickets at the Explore JPL webpage: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/explore-jpl!
NASA Plans to Explore Mars in ERNEST
JPL is developing and testing the next generation of Mars rovers with a new prototype called the Exploration Rover for Navigating Extreme Sloped Terrain (ERNEST). The ERNEST test vehicle is proving that it can handle rougher terrain with less human guidance, than could previous rovers Curiosity and Perseverance. For more info on this really-cool rover, see: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-testing-advanced-capabilities-for-moon-mars-rovers.
An El Niño is Coming!
I learned recently that Inca-era priests could advise crop planting schedules based on the appearance of the Pleiades star cluster when it first appears in the morning sky. Warm ocean surface temperatures associated with an El Niño made it difficult to see all of the stars of the Pleiades, suggesting that planting should be delayed. Clearer morning skies, hence more Pleiades stars, meant “plant now.”
Today, NASA and ESA use a somewhat more high-tech method to determine ocean temperatures, the E.U. Copernicus Programme, built around the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite, which measures subtle water heights associated with the warmer surface temperatures of an El Niño event. This particular satellite was launched in 2020; the newest Sentinel satellite was launched last November; see: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-spacex-launch-us-european-satellite-to-monitor-earths-oceans.The data show that an El Niño event is likely this year. But check out the Pleiades, just to make sure! For more information about the Copernicus Programme, see: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-european-sea-level-mission-homes-in-on-el-nino and https://science.nasa.gov/mission/sentinel-6-michael-freilich/sentinel-6-michael-freilich-stories.
Astrobiology Clue from South Korea
“A hidden crater in South Korea may hold clues to one of the biggest turning points in Earth’s history: the rise of oxygen. Scientists discovered fossil-like stromatolites — layered structures built by ancient microbes — inside the Hapcheon impact crater, suggesting that asteroid strikes may have created warm, mineral-rich lakes where early oxygen-producing life could flourish.”
“According to the researchers, the stromatolites likely formed in a hydrothermal lake that developed after an asteroid strike. The impact would have generated intense heat, melting surrounding rock and warming the water for long periods of time. Those warm, mineral rich conditions may have provided an ideal environment for ancient microbes to survive and grow.
“The discovery could also help scientists better understand the Great Oxidation Event (GOE), which occurred about 2.4 billion years ago when oxygen levels in Earth's atmosphere rose dramatically.”
For more information, see: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/05/260521072357.htm.
NEW FROM NASA FYI
SpaceX Files Plans with FCC for One-million Satellite Data Center in LEO: SpaceX is seeking Federal Communications Commission approval for a satellite constellation of unprecedented scale intended to function as an orbital data center.
“In a filing with the FCC late Jan. 30, SpaceX proposed an orbital data center constellation of up to one million satellites in low Earth orbit. The satellites would operate at altitudes between 500 and 2,000 kilometers, in 30-degree and sun-synchronous inclinations, to maximize time in sunlight for solar power generation.
“A constellation of one million satellites would far exceed any system seriously considered. China filed plans with the International Telecommunication Union in late December for two constellations totaling nearly 200,000 satellites. In 2021, Rwanda filed ITU plans for constellations exceeding 300,000 satellites, linked to proposals by startup E-Space, which no longer appears to be pursuing such a system.”
The announcement does not address issues such as orbit management, the impact on ground-based astronomy, the environmental effects of deorbiting satellites, or space debris management. For the full quotes and more news on this topic, see: https://spacenews.com/spacex-files-plans-for-million-satellite-orbital-data-center-constellation.
FOLLOW UP: The July 2026 issue of Sky and Telescope magazine has a news item about the one-million satellites proposal, on page 11.
NOT NERVOUS YET? The see: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2512.09643!
MORE? The dangers of the Kessler Syndrome happening by accidents are serious. What if a conflict develops where satellites are purposely targeted in LEO as a High Frontier version of a “denial of service” calamity…
Good News for Asteroid Mining: The Psyche spacecraft successfully used Mars last month to provide a gravitational slingshot to direct it toward an unusual body. Asteroid 15 Psyche was discovered in 1852. “Psyche is irregular and potato-like. If the asteroid were sliced in half horizontally at the equator – picture a squished oval – it would measure 173 miles (280 kilometers) across at its widest point and 144 miles (232 kilometers) long. Its surface area is 64,000 square miles (165,800 square kilometers).
“Psyche is dense, estimated at about 212 to 256 pounds per cubic foot (3,400 to 4,100 kilograms per cubic meter). The surface gravity on Psyche is much less than it is on Earth – even less than it is on Earth’s Moon. On Psyche, lifting a car would feel like lifting a large dog.
“Scientists think Psyche may consist of significant amounts of metal from the core of a planetesimal, one of the building blocks of our solar system. The asteroid is most likely a survivor of multiple violent hit-and-run collisions, common when the solar system was forming.
“There are still contradictions in the data, but scientific analysis indicates that Psyche is likely made of a mixture of rock and metal, with metal composing 30% to 60% of its volume. The asteroid’s composition has been determined by radar observations and by the measurements of the asteroid’s thermal inertia (how quickly an object gains or re-radiates heat).”
The quoted material and more can be found here: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/psyche/mission-overview ; the news about the fly-by of Mars can be found here: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/05/260525040421.htm.
NEW FROM NASA LINKS AND OTHER INFORMATION
NASA Administrator Isaacman “Bullish”: From the Aviation Week website: “NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman told a House panel April 27 he is confident the agency can return astronauts to the Moon to establish a sustainable human presence ahead of China.
“Isaacman made the assertion during a hearing before the House Appropriations Commerce Justice and Science (CJS) subcommittee that also discussed the White House’s proposed cut in NASA’s 2027 budget. The $18.83 billion topline is $5.61 billion, or 23% less, than the $24.44 billion budgeted for 2026.
“Isaacman also offered assurances that back efforts to achieve major space and Earth science objectives, as well as bolstering the current and future skill levels of the agency’s workforce.
“Isaacman compared NASA’s current Moon race with China to the former Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite, in 1957 and the Cold War that followed.
“’If you want to talk about a Sputnik moment, when people pause to see Chinese astronauts step off their lander onto the Moon, they are going to take notice, and I will tell you up until a few months ago, the odds were in their favor for it to happen before American returned,’ Isaacman testified. ‘We have a far more achievable plan now.’”
NASA Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel: “The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel is a senior advisory committee that reports to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Congress. The Panel was established by Congress after the Apollo 204 Command and Service Module spacecraft fire in January 1967.
“The Panel’s statutory duties, established under Section 6 of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 1968, and as amended under 51 U.S.C. § 31101 are as follows:
- Review safety studies and operations plans referred to it, including evaluating the Administration’s compliance with the return-to-flight and continue-to-fly recommendations of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, and make reports thereon;
- Advise the Administrator and Congress with respect to-
(A) the hazards of proposed or existing facilities and proposed operations;
(B) the adequacy of proposed or existing safety standards; and
(C) management and culture related to safety; and
- Perform such other duties as the Administrator may request.”
The Panel is Chaired by Lt.Gen. Susan Helms. USAF (retired); the Panel members and their bios, and the annual reports (through 2025) are available here: https://www.nasa.gov/asap.
Apollo 12 Graphic Novel Updated! Tuesday (11/19) was the 56th anniversary of the landing on the Moon of Apollo 12’s LM, Intrepid, with astronauts Pete Conrad and Al Bean aboard. Celebrate this milestone two ways: See the two previous Items of the Week that spotlight the mission hereand my personal hero, Al Bean, here. Also, check out the NASA graphic novel of the Apollo 12 mission augmented by info about Artemis (The NASA links to it are dead, but I downloaded it from Wikipedia Commons, and it is listed as being fully in the public domain; you can find it in the “Archive: Other Stuff” section of my website at: https://www.airandspacethisweek.com/otherstuff.
JPL Von Kármán Lectures: Theodore von Kármán was an aerodynamics expert who came to the USA in 1930, fleeing rising tide of Nazism. He was a member of the National Academy of Science and one of the founders of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. JPL hosted a lecture series named for him that offered a number of interesting Space-related lectures, “Shake and Bake,” being one from last year. For more information on the Von Kármán Lectures, see the archive at: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/jpl-and-the-community/lecture-series.
Did you know that NASA has an entire Scientific Visualization Studio at the Goddard Space Flight Center? The data they make relatable is really terrific; see: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov.
Latest News Releases:https://www.nasa.gov/2026-news-releases
Media Contact Info:https://www.nasa.gov/news/media/info/index.html
JPL News:https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news