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By NASA
NASA’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer), a space telescope, is situated on a work stand ahead of prelaunch operations at the Astrotech Processing Facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Jan. 16, 2025.Credit: BAE Systems/Benjamin Fry Members of the team behind NASA’s newest space telescope will ring the New York Stock Exchange closing bell in New York City at 4 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, April 22. The team helped build, launch, and operates NASA’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) mission to explore the origins of the universe. The New York Stock Exchange will share a recording of the closing bell ceremony on YouTube after the event.
After launching March 11 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, SPHEREx will soon begin collecting data on more than 450 million galaxies and 100 million stars in the Milky Way, to improve our understanding of how the universe evolved and search for key ingredients for life in our galaxy. The observatory’s first images confirmed all of the telescope’s systems are working as expected, as the team prepares SPHEREx to begin mapping the entire sky.
Bell ringers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which manages the mission, will be joined by team members from BAE Systems Inc., Space & Mission Systems, which built the telescope and spacecraft’s main structure, known as a bus, for NASA.
For more information on SPHEREx, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/spherex
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Alise Fisher
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov
Calla Cofield
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
626-808-2469
calla.e.cofield@jpl.nasa.gov
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Last Updated Apr 21, 2025 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe and Ices Explorer) Jet Propulsion Laboratory NASA Headquarters Science Mission Directorate
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By NASA
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon spacecraft lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 4:15 a.m. EDT on April 21 2025, on the company’s 32nd commercial resupply services mission for the agency to the International Space Station.Credit: NASA Following the successful launch of NASA’s SpaceX 32nd Commercial Resupply Services mission, new scientific experiments and supplies are bound for the International Space Station.
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, carrying approximately 6,700 pounds of cargo to the orbiting laboratory for NASA, lifted off at 4:15 a.m. EDT Monday, on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Live coverage of the spacecraft’s arrival will begin at 6:45 a.m., Tuesday, April 22, on NASA+. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms.
The spacecraft is scheduled to autonomously dock at approximately 8:20 a.m. to the zenith, or space-facing, port of the space station’s Harmony module.
The resupply mission will support dozens of research experiments during Expedition 73. Along with food and essential equipment for the crew, Dragon is delivering a variety of science experiments, including a demonstration of refined maneuvers for free-floating robots. Dragon also carries an enhanced air quality monitoring system that could help protect crew members on exploration missions to the Moon and Mars, and two atomic clocks to examine fundamental physics concepts, such as relativity, and test global synchronization of precision timepieces.
These are just a sample of the hundreds of investigations conducted aboard the orbiting laboratory each year in the areas of biology and biotechnology, physical sciences, and Earth and space science. Such research benefits humanity and helps lay the groundwork for future human exploration through the agency’s Artemis campaign, which will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future missions to Mars.
The Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to remain at the orbiting laboratory until May, when it will depart and return to Earth with time-sensitive research and cargo, splashing down off the coast of California.
Learn more about the commercial resupply mission at:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/nasas-spacex-crs-32/
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Julian Coltre / Josh Finch
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
julian.n.coltre@nasa.gov / joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov
Stephanie Plucinsky / Steven Siceloff
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-876-2468
stephanie.n.plucinsky@nasa.gov / steven.p.siceloff@nasa.gov
Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Apr 21, 2025 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
International Space Station (ISS) Commercial Resupply ISS Research Johnson Space Center Kennedy Space Center SpaceX Commercial Resupply View the full article
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By NASA
The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft is seen as it lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan with Expedition 72 NASA astronaut Don Pettit, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner aboard, April 19, 2025 (April 20, 2025, Kazakhstan time). The trio are returning to Earth after logging 220 days in space as members of Expeditions 71 and 72 aboard the International Space Station.NASA/Bill Ingalls NASA astronaut Don Pettit returned to Earth Saturday, accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, concluding a seven-month science mission aboard the International Space Station.
The trio departed the space station at 5:57 p.m. EDT aboard the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft before making a safe, parachute-assisted landing at 9:20 p.m. (6:20 a.m. on Sunday, April 20, Kazakhstan time), southeast of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan. Pettit also celebrates his 70th birthday on Sunday, April 20.
Spanning 220 days in space, Pettit and his crewmates orbited the Earth 3,520 times, completing a journey of 93.3 million miles. Pettit, Ovchinin, and Vagner launched and docked to the orbiting laboratory on Sept. 11, 2024.
During his time aboard the space station, Pettit conducted research to enhance in-orbit metal 3D printing capabilities, advance water sanitization technologies, explore plant growth under varying water conditions, and investigate fire behavior in microgravity, all contributing to future space missions. He also used his surroundings aboard station to conduct unique experiments in his spare time and captivate the public with his photography.
This was Pettit’s fourth spaceflight, where he served as a flight engineer for Expeditions 71 and 72. He has logged 590 days in orbit throughout his career. Ovchinin completed his fourth flight, totaling 595 days, and Vagner has earned an overall total of 416 days in space during two spaceflights.
NASA is following its routine postlanding medical checks, the crew will return to the recovery staging area in Karaganda, Kazakhstan. Pettit will then board a NASA plane bound for the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. According to NASA officials at the landing site, Pettit is doing well and in the range of what is expected for him following return to Earth.
For more than two decades, 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 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 focus on providing human space transportation services and destinations as part of a strong low Earth orbit economy, NASA is focusing more resources on deep space missions to the Moon as part of Artemis in preparation for future astronaut missions to Mars.
Learn more about International Space Station research and operations at:
https://www.nasa.gov/station
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Joshua Finch
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov
Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Apr 19, 2025 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 72 Humans in Space ISS Research View the full article
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By NASA
NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers works at the controls of the robotics workstation in the International Space Station’s Destiny Laboratory. Credit: NASA Students from Woodland Park, Colorado, will connect with NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers as she answers prerecorded science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-related questions from aboard the International Space Station.
Watch the 20-minute space-to-Earth call at 11:55 a.m. EDT on Monday, April 21, on the NASA STEM YouTube Channel.
The event, hosted by Woodland Park High School, also is open to students from Woodland Park Middle School. The Colorado high school wants to show students that even though they reside in a small town, they can achieve big dreams. Ayers, who considers Colorado Springs and Divide, Colorado, home, is a graduate of Woodland Park.
Media interested in covering the event must RSVP by 5 p.m., Friday, April 18 to Lindsey Prahl at lprah@wpsdk12.org or 719-922-1019.
For more than 24 years, astronauts have continuously lived and worked aboard the space station, testing technologies, performing science, and developing skills needed to explore farther from Earth. Astronauts aboard the orbiting laboratory communicate with NASA’s Mission Control Center in Houston 24 hours a day through SCaN’s (Space Communications and Navigation) Near Space Network.
Important research and technology investigations taking place aboard the space station benefit people on Earth and lays the groundwork for other agency missions. As part of NASA’s Artemis campaign, the agency will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future human exploration of Mars; inspiring Artemis Generation explorers and ensuring the United States continues to lead in space exploration and discovery.
See videos and lesson plans highlighting space station research at:
https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation
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Tiernan Doyle
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
tiernan.doyle@nasa.gov
Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Apr 17, 2025 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Astronauts Humans in Space International Space Station (ISS) ISS Research Johnson Space Center Nichole Ayers STEM Engagement at NASA View the full article
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