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By NASA
NASA’s SPHEREx space observatory was photographed at BAE Systems in Boulder, Colorado, in November 2024 after completing environmental testing. The spacecraft’s three concentric cones help direct heat and light away from the telescope and other components, keeping them cool. Credit: BAE Systems NASA will host a news conference at 12 p.m. EST Friday, Jan. 31, to discuss a new telescope that will improve our understanding of how the universe evolved and search for key ingredients for life in our galaxy.
Agency experts will preview NASA’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) mission, which will help scientists better understand the structure of the universe, how galaxies form and evolve, and the origins and abundance of water. Launch is targeted for no earlier than Thursday, Feb. 27.
The news conference will be hosted at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. Watch live on NASA+, as well as JPL’s X and YouTube channels. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.
Laurie Leshin, director, NASA JPL, will provide opening remarks. Additional briefing participants include:
Shawn Domagal-Goldman, acting director, Astrophysics Division, NASA Headquarters James Fanson, project manager, SPHEREx, NASA JPL Beth Fabinsky, deputy project manager, SPHEREx, NASA JPL Jamie Bock, principal investigator, SPHEREx, Caltech Cesar Marin, SPHEREx integration engineer, Launch Services Program, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida To ask questions by phone, members of the media must RSVP no later than two hours before the start of the event to: rexana.v.vizza@jpl.nasa.gov. NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online. Questions also can be asked on social media during the briefing using #AskNASA.
The SPHEREx observatory will survey the entire celestial sky in near-infrared light to help answer cosmic questions involving the birth of the universe, and the subsequent development of galaxies. It also will search for ices of water and organic molecules — essentials for life as we know it — in regions where stars are born from gas and dust, as well as disks around stars where new planets could be forming. Astronomers will use the mission to gather data on more than 450 million galaxies, as well as more than 100 million stars in our own Milky Way galaxy.
The space observatory will share its ride on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with NASA’s PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) mission, which will lift off from Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in Central California.
The SPHEREx mission is managed by NASA JPL for the agency’s Astrophysics Division within the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The principal investigator is based at Caltech in Pasadena, California, which manages NASA JPL for the agency.
The spacecraft is supplied by BAE Systems. The Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute contributed the non-flight cryogenic test chamber. Mission data will be publicly available through IPAC at Caltech.
For more information about the mission, visit:
https://nasa.gov/spherex
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Alise Fisher
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2546
alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov
Val Gratias / Calla Cofield
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-6215 / 626-808-2469
valerie.m.gratias@jpl.nasa.gov / calla.e.cofield@jpl.nasa.gov
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Last Updated Jan 27, 2025 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe and Ices Explorer) Astrophysics Division Jet Propulsion Laboratory Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) Science Mission Directorate View the full article
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By NASA
The 2024 Annual Highlights of Results from the International Space Station is coming soon. This new edition contains updated bibliometric analyses, a list of all the publications documented in fiscal year 2024, and synopses of the most recent and recognized scientific findings from investigations conducted on the space station. These investigations are sponsored by NASA and all international partners – CSA (Canadian Space Agency), ESA (European Space Agency), JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), and the State Space Corporation Roscosmos (Roscosmos) – for the advancement of science, technology, and education.
Dr. Dmitry Oleynikov remotely operates a surgical robot aboard the Space Station using controls at the Virtual Incision offices in Lincoln, Nebraska. Robotic Surgery Tech Demo tests techniques for performing a simulated surgical procedure in microgravity using a miniature surgical robot that can be remotely controlled from Earth. Credits: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Between Oct. 1, 2023, and Sept. 30, 2024, more than 350 publications were reported. With approximately 40% of the research produced in collaboration between more than two countries and almost 80% of the high-impact studies published in the past seven years, station has continued to generate compelling and influential science above national and global standards since 2010.
The results achieved from station research provide insights that advance the commercialization of space and benefit humankind.
Some of the findings presented in this edition include:
Improved machine learning algorithms to detect space debris (Italian Space Agency) Visuospatial processing before and after spaceflight (CSA) Metabolic changes during fasting intervals in astronauts (ESA) Vapor bubble production for the improvement of thermal systems (NASA) The survival of microorganisms in space (Roscosmos) Immobilization of particles for the development of optical materials (JAXA) The content in the Annual Highlights of Results from the International Space Station has been reviewed and approved by the International Space Station Program Science Forum, a team of scientists and administrators representing NASA and international partners that are dedicated to planning, improving, and communicating the research operated on the space station.
For the Annual Highlights of Results 2023, click here.
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By NASA
4 Min Read NASA Space Tech’s Favorite Place to Travel in 2025: The Moon!
The first image from space of Firefly's Blue Ghost mission 1 lunar lander as it begins its 45-day transit period to the Moon. Credits: Firefly Aerospace NASA Space Technology has big travel plans for 2025, starting with a trip to the near side of the Moon!
Among ten groundbreaking NASA science and technology demonstrations, two technologies are on a ride to survey lunar regolith – also known as “Moon dust” – to better understand surface interactions with incoming lander spacecraft and payloads conducting experiments on the surface. These dust demonstrations and the data they’re designed to collect will help support future lunar missions.
Blue Ghost Mission 1 launched at 1:11 a.m. EST aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The company is targeting a lunar landing on Sunday, March 2.
The first image from space of Firefly’s Blue Ghost mission 1 lunar lander as it begins its 45-day transit period to the Moon. Firefly Aerospace NASA Space Technology on Blue Ghost Mission 1
NASA’s Electrodynamic Dust Shield (EDS) will lift, transport, and remove particles using electric fields to repel and prevent hazardous lunar dust accumulation on surfaces. The agency’s Stereo Camera for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies (SCALPSS) technology will use stereo imaging to capture the impact of rocket plumes on lunar regolith as the lander descends to the Moon’s surface, returning high-resolution images that will help in creating models to predict regolith erosion – an important task as bigger, heavier payloads are delivered to the Moon in close proximity to each other.
The EDS and SCALPSS technologies will be delivered to the Moon on Firefly’s first Blue Ghost mission, named Ghost Riders in the Sky, as part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative. Its landing target is a 300-mile-wide basin located on the Moon’s near side, called Mare Crisium – a large, dark, basaltic plain that filled an ancient asteroid impact. First-of-their-kind experiments will deploy after landing to gather important data in a broad spectrum of areas including geophysical characteristics, global navigation, radiation tolerant computing, and the behavior of lunar regolith.
Replicating the Moon’s harsh environment on Earth is a significant challenge because of extreme temperatures, low gravity, radiation, and dusty surface. The CLPS initiative provides unprecedented access to the lunar surface, allowing us to demonstrate technologies in the exact conditions they were designed for. Missions like Blue Ghost Mission 1 are a true game changer for NASA technology advancement and demonstration.”
Michael Johansen
Flight Demonstrations Lead for NASA’s Game Changing Development program
Dust particles scatter during an experiment for the Electrodynamic Dust Shield in a laboratory at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA NASA’s Stereo Camera for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies technology integrated on Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander. Firefly Aerospace A complex wrinkle ridge in Mare Crisium at low Sun, seen in an image captured by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera.NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University Understanding regolith
The Moon’s dusty environment was one of the greatest challenges astronauts faced during Apollo Moon missions, posing hazards to lunar surface systems, space suits, habitats, and instrumentation. What was learned from those early missions – and from thousands of experiments conducted on Earth and in space since – is that successful surface missions require the ability to eliminate dust from all kinds of systems. Lunar landings, for example, cause lunar dust to disperse in all directions and collect on everything that lands there with it. This is one of the reasons such technologies are important to understand. The SCALPSS technology will study the dispersion of lunar dust, while EDS will demonstrate a solution to mitigate it.
Getting this new data on lunar regolith with be pivotal for our understanding of the lunar surface. We’ve long known that lunar dust is a huge challenge. The Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative has enabled us to initiate lunar dust mitigation efforts across the agency, working with industry and international partners. The lunar science, exploration, and technology communities are eager to have new quantitative data, and to prove laboratory experiments and develop technology solutions.”
Kristen John
Technical Integration Lead for NASA’s Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative (LSII)
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[VIDEO] Dust on the lunar surface is a significant hazard for systems and astronauts living and working on the Moon. NASA space technologies are developing solutions to retire hurdles in this capability area. NASA Space Technology Dust mitigation technology has come a long way, but we still have a lot to learn to develop surface systems and infrastructure for more complex missions. LSII is actively engaged in this effort, working with the lunar community across sectors to expand knowledge and design new approaches for future technologies. Working alongside the Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium, LSII has a unique opportunity to take a holistic look at dust’s role in the development of surface infrastructure with other key capability areas including in-situ resource utilization, surface power, and surviving the lunar night.
Learning from the the Moon benefits Mars science and exploration
Capabilities for minimizing dust interaction are as important for future missions on Mars as it is for missions on the Moon. Like the Moon, Mars is also covered with regolith, also called Martian dust or Martian soil, but the properties are different than lunar regolith, both in shape and mineralogy. The challenges Mars rovers have encountered with Martian regolith have provided great insight into the challenges we will face during lunar surface missions. Learning is interwoven and beneficial to future missions whether hundreds of thousands of miles from Earth, on the Moon, or millions, on Mars.
Scientist-astronaut Harrison Schmitt, Apollo 17 lunar module pilot, uses an adjustable sampling scoop to retrieve lunar samples during the second Apollo 17 extravehicular activity (EVA). NASA NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover snagged two samples of regolith – broken rock and dust – on Dec. 2 and 6, 2022. This set of images, taken by the rover’s left navigation camera, shows Perseverance’s robotic arm over the two holes left after the samples were collected.NASA/JPL-Caltech Learn more from a planetary scientist about how science factors into lunar dust mitigation technologies:
LSIC Lunar Engineering 101 video series (Dust/Regolith module) Share
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Last Updated Jan 24, 2025 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Missions Artemis Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) Earth's Moon Game Changing Development Program Kennedy Space Center Langley Research Center Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative NASA Headquarters Space Technology Mission Directorate Explore More
4 min read NASA Cameras to Capture Interaction Between Blue Ghost, Moon’s Surface
Article 1 month ago 4 min read NASA Technology Helps Guard Against Lunar Dust
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Game Changing Development projects aim to advance space technologies, focusing on advancing capabilities for going to and living in space.
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The goal of the CLPS project is to enable rapid, frequent, and affordable access to the lunar surface by helping…
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By Space Force
The Space Campus is a major initiative aimed at enhancing the base's space operations and capabilities in the area. The project is designed to provide a state-of-the-art facility for personnel to work together and advance the mission, supporting the growing demands of space-related activities.
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By European Space Agency
Image: The Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission captured Cyclone Dikeledi south of Madagascar on 16 January, just a few days after it made landfall on Africa’s southeastern coast causing widespread destruction in several countries and islands. View the full article
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