NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than Tuesday, Oct. 13 to launch scientific investigations, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station. 

Loaded with more than 6,300 pounds of supplies, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will lift off aboard the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Following its arrival to the orbital complex, Dragon will autonomously dock to the space-facing port of the space station’s Harmony module. 

NASA will stream launch and docking coverage through a variety of platforms. Learn where to watch online:

https://www.nasa.gov/live

For more than 25 years, the International Space Station has supported research by scientists from more than 110 countries, enabling more than 4,000 experiments in microgravity. Research conducted aboard the station helps advance long-duration missions to the Moon as part of the Artemis program and to Mars, while also providing multiple benefits to humanity.

Science Highlights

In addition to cargo for the crew aboard the space station, Dragon will deliver several new science experiments, including:

With LambdaVision-1, NASA is testing how to manufacture artificial eye retinas in microgravity, building them one thin layer at a time. Reduced settling in microgravity may create more uniform, stable layers, potentially improving implants’ performance. These artificial retinas could help restore vision for patients with currently incurable retinal diseases on Earth.

NASA will use the Stellar Spheroids experiment to study how microgravity affects the growth and function of 3D human heart tissue models. Researchers will assess whether microgravity improves the formation of advanced vascular networks. Results could help researchers develop more realistic heart tissue models for disease research and support larger‑scale drug testing on future space missions.

Using non-traditional elements, ELF-Unconventional Glass 2 studies how glass forms in microgravity. Researchers will observe molten behavior in space, then return solid samples to Earth for detailed analysis. These unconventional glasses could offer higher strength, improved optical capabilities, and greater durability for spacecraft, habitats, and other exploration technologies.

The MINDS experiment studies brain organoids to better understand inflammation linked to neurodegenerative diseases. The investigation uses “organoid villages,” which combine cells from multiple people to better represent patient diversity. Results could help identify new treatment targets for diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and multiple sclerosis.

Arrival and Return

NASA astronaut Anil Menon and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Joshua Kutryk will monitor the Dragon spacecraft’s arrival. It will remain docked to the orbiting laboratory for about a month before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, returning critical science and hardware to teams on Earth. 

Cargo Highlights

Launch 

International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays (IROSA) – The final pair of IROSAs that will be installed on the space station, completing the augmentation of its power system to support critical operations, including its safe and controlled deorbit.

Collapsible Continency Urinal and supporting hardware – A demonstration and test unit supporting NASA’s Artemis III mission.  

Canadarm2 joint flight support equipment – A large foam clamshell will fly empty to return the failed robotic arm joint that was replaced during a June 30 spacewalk. After its return to Earth, teams will analyze the joint on the ground.

Additional equipment launching includes a toilet dose pump, a toilet pretreat quality sensor, and a robot micro-conical tool used for space station maintenance and utilization tasks with external replacement units and payloads.

Return

When Dragon returns in mid‑November, it will bring back the failed joint on the Canadarm2 for analysis and refurbishment, a spacesuit for ground refurbishment, a fluid- and pressure-control pump assembly from the urine processor, and a filtration unit for the water processor assembly. 

Source: www.nasa.gov

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NASA’s PRIMA Spacecraft (Artist’s Concept)

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This artist’s concept depicts the proposed design for NASA’s PRobe far-Infrared Mission for Astrophysics (PRIMA), which was selected by the agency in September 2026. The PRIMA observatory is the first in a new class of NASA astrophysics missions, called Probe Explorers, within the agency’s longstanding Explorers Program. By observing far-infrared light, PRIMA will enable scientists to study cosmic objects heavily obscured by dust, providing new insights into the formation of planets, stars, and black holes, and even how water on Earth came to be. If confirmed by the agency, PRIMA will be targeted to launch in 2033, for a planned five-year mission.

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This story is an update to the Arctic sea ice feature in our World of Change series, which tracks long-term change on Earth’s surface through satellite imagery.

A layer of frozen seawater caps the Arctic Ocean. This sea ice grows through the long polar winter, usually peaking in March, then melts through the summer to its annual low in September. It is a natural fluctuation that has persisted for millennia. But satellite records show the ice now covers less of the Arctic Ocean at its annual maximum and minimum than it did a few decades ago.

Sea ice in 2026 reached its annual minimum extent on September 12 (above), when it covered an estimated 4.6 million square kilometers (1.78 million square miles), according to NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). That ties 2008, 2010, and 2025 for the 10th-lowest minimum in the satellite record.

The maps below pair each September since 1990 (left), around the ice’s annual minimum, with the following March (right), near its annual maximum, through March 2026.

Lower Lows, Thinner Ice

Scientists have used satellites to observe the annual growth and retreat of Arctic sea ice continuously since late 1978. While sea ice extent has declined overall during that time, the downward trend steepened in the 2000s and set off a run of record and near-record lows. Each of the past 20 summers, from 2007 through 2026, ranks among the 20 lowest minimum extents in the satellite record. The lowest occurred in September 2012.

More recently, the September sea ice extent has been relatively steady. Weather can make a big difference in how much ice melts from one summer to the next. For example, over the past decade, increased cloud cover has prevented sunlight from accelerating the melt, according to NASA scientists. Despite this recent plateau, the summer minimum remains well below the long-term average.

Across the Arctic, the ice that remains is younger and thinner. Observations show a decline in multiyear ice—that which survives at least one melt season—leaving an Arctic dominated by thinner first-year ice. Winter ice is also shrinking. The March 2026 maximum statistically tied the 2025 maximum for the lowest in the satellite record.

Cycles of natural variability such as the Arctic Oscillation are known to play a role in Arctic sea ice extent, but the decline observed throughout the satellite record cannot be explained by natural variability alone. Natural variability and rising global temperatures have worked together to melt greater amounts of Arctic sea ice. Scientists have projected an essentially ice-free Arctic could occur at least once before the middle of the 21st century.

Seeing Through the Clouds

To determine sea ice extent, scientists rely on satellites with passive microwave sensors that measure the microwave energy Earth naturally emits. Sea ice emits more of this energy than open water, so it stands out in microwave images. Because microwaves pass through clouds, the satellites can observe sea ice regularly, regardless of weather.

The record began in 1978 with data collected by NASA’s Nimbus-7, followed by Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites starting in 1987 and NASA’s Aqua satellite between 2002 and 2011. Starting in 2025, scientists began using observations from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s GCOM-W satellite. The white circle at the center of each image is the “pole hole,” north of which satellite sensors have historically been unable to collect data. The sea ice estimates assume that this hole is ice-filled.

NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison, using data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

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September 12, 2026

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References & Resources

• IPCC (2021) Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Accessed October 6, 2026.
• NASA Earthdata (2026, October) Sea Ice. Accessed October 6, 2026.
• NASA Earth Observatory (2026, October 6) World of Change: Arctic Sea Ice. Accessed October 6, 2026.
• NASA Earth Observatory (2016, September 16) Sea Ice. Accessed October 6, 2026.
• NASA Earth Science (2026, September 23) Arctic Sea Ice Reaches 2026 Annual Minimum Extent. Accessed October 6, 2026.
• National Snow and Ice Data Center (2026, September 23) Arctic sea ice minimum ties for tenth lowest. Accessed October 6, 2026.
• National Snow and Ice Data Center (2026, March 26) Arctic sea ice record low maximum strikes again. Accessed October 6, 2026.

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NASA’s Curiosity Looks Back After Reaching Elevation Milestone

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NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover captured this view looking back at the floor of Gale Crater, with the crater’s rim visible in the distance, on Sept. 5, 2026, the 5,006th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Just nine days prior, on Aug. 26 (Sol 4,996), Curiosity set a mission milestone by reaching 1 kilometer of elevation above the crater floor. Since 2014, Curiosity has been climbing the lower foothills of Mount Sharp, a 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer-tall) mountain located within Gale Crater. 

A sand ridge extends across the foreground of the image, and a trench left by the rover’s right front wheel is visible at right. Geologic layering inside the ridge, as well as the size and composition of its sand grains, will provide clues to how the feature formed.

This panorama is made up of 95 individual images taken by Curiosity’s Mast Camera, or Mastcam. The color in these images has been adjusted to match the lighting conditions as the human eye would see them on Earth.

Curiosity was built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California. JPL leads the mission on behalf of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington as part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program portfolio. Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego built and operates Mastcam.

To learn more about Curiosity, visit:

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/msl-curiosity/

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NASA’s Curiosity Captures Dawn Breaking on Wind-Carved Cliffs

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NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover captured this panorama of sunrise illuminating distant, wind-carved features called yardangs on Aug. 11, 2026, the 4,982nd Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Scientists are eager to learn more about how the yardang layer formed.

Figure A is a crop zooming in on the distant yardangs.

Since 2014, Curiosity has been ascending 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer-tall) Mount Sharp, which is made up of a series of distinct layers that were deposited one on top of the other. In the area of the vast mountain’s shoulder where the rover is climbing, that stack of layers ends with the yardang layer. Before the yardang layer was laid down, Mount Sharp may have begun eroding, creating a gap in the otherwise continuous record of climate history that Curiosity has been reading from the layers. Scientists aren’t entirely sure how the layer formed; one theory is that it’s a pile of volcanic ash, similar to what’s seen along the Red Planet’s equator.

This panorama was captured by Curiosity’s Mastcam and is made up six individual images that were stitched together after being sent back to Earth. Unlike most of Curiosity’s Mastcam images, this one was processed without the usual white balancing, an artistic choice that preserves the early morning appearance.

Curiosity was built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California. JPL leads the mission on behalf of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington as part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program portfolio. Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego built and operates Mastcam.

To learn more about Curiosity, visit:

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/msl-curiosity/

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A visualization of a dark Moon eclipsing the Sun is marked with handwritten notes in this April 6, 2026, screenshot from an Artemis II crew member’s tablet.

NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman (in blue) and Victor “Ike” Glover (in green) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) Jeremy Hansen (in red) observed impact flashes and their locations, which are noted on the image. Overall, the astronauts reported seeing five extremely faint “pinprick” bursts of light from their view aboard Orion, which was 46,000 miles away from the Moon at the time. These flashes are sparked by rocky fragments hitting the Moon.

From April 1 through April 10, 2026, NASA’s Artemis II crew traveled to the Moon and back and along the way, captured stunning imagery and scientific observations of our nearest neighbor. Now, the full lunar science dataset from their journey is available to the global science community, and to the public, for further study. Read about the report, listen to crew audio observations, and explore more.

Image credit: NASA

Source: www.nasa.gov

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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.

Supernova Remnant Pa 30

Explanation: “Happy New Year!” No, wait, this is not a fireworks display. This image shows Nebula Pa 30, observed with the Gemini North Telescope in Hawai’i. It is likely the remnant of an old supernova explosion: separate historical records by Chinese, Japanese and Arabic astronomers tell of a “guest star” that appeared in the sky for 185 days in the year 1181. It is believed that this bright new point of light came from the supernova that caused the fireworks in Pa 30. Astronomers don’t know exactly what happened in this unusual explosion, classified as a Type Iax supernova, but it is thought to be caused by the merger of two white dwarfs. The mysterious central star in the image is extremely hot and produces a strong wind, possibly forming the radial filaments. Look closely at them: those pearl-like knots stringing the filaments are 4 light-days in diameter. Understanding how a supernova created this amazing nebula continues an 845-year old mystery (and counting).

Tomorrow’s picture: smörgåsbord

Date	October 7, 2026
Credit & License	International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA. Acknowledgment: PI: T. Cunningham (Center for Astrophysics – Harvard & Smithsonian). Image Processing: J. Miller & M. Rodriguez (International Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab), T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF NOIRLab), D. de Martin & M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab).
Authors & editors:	Cecilia Chirenti, Robert Nemiroff, Jerry Bonnell, Keighley Rockcliffe
A service of:	ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

Source: science.nasa.gov

After delivering more than 11,000 pounds of supplies, science experiments, and other cargo to the International Space Station for NASA, Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL spacecraft is scheduled to depart Friday, Oct. 9, as part of the company’s Commercial Resupply Services-24 mission, or Northrop Grumman CRS-24.

Watch NASA’s live coverage of undocking and departure beginning at 12:30 p.m. EDT through a variety of platforms. Learn where to watch online:

https://www.nasa.gov/live

Flight controllers on the ground will send commands for the space station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm to detach the Cygnus XL spacecraft from the Unity module’s Earth-facing port and maneuver it into position for release at 12:45 p.m. NASA astronaut Luke Delaney will monitor the operation from aboard the orbital complex.

Loaded with thousands of pounds of disposal items and other unneeded cargo, Cygnus XL will deorbit Sunday, Oct. 11, for a destructive re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, where it will safely burn up. NASA will not provide coverage of the spacecraft’s deorbit.

The resupply spacecraft launched on April 11 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Learn more about this NASA commercial resupply mission at:

https://www.nasa.gov/mission/nasas-northrop-grumman-crs-24/

-end-

Josh Finch / Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
[email protected] / [email protected]

Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
[email protected]

Source: www.nasa.gov

As an astronaut traverses the lunar South Pole, tribocharging from walking on the lunar surface and plasma charging from the ambient plasma generate electric charge on the spacesuit. This problem is severely compounded when entering lunar shadows and Permanently Shadowed Regions (PSRs). In these dark zones, the spacesuit can buildup a substantial negative potential due to a lack of ambient ion flux and the absence of photoelectron emission to balance ambient electron collection.

The risk occurs when an astronaut returns to the spacecraft. Because the lunar surface lacks a natural environmental mechanism to bleed the charge accumulated on spacesuit away, the astronaut may become a walking, high voltage capacitor.

In the sunlit region, the stationary lander will hold slightly positive electrical potential. When a highly negatively-charged astronaut approaches the vehicle, the extreme voltage differential can trigger electrostatic discharge (an instantaneous electrical arc, or a spark) during physical contact. A rapid discharge from the astronaut to the lander risks degrading vital suit layers, damaging sensitive suit electronics, threatening the oxygen-rich environment inside the suit, and delivering dangerous electrical shocks to the crew.

Through the Lunar Grounding Challenge, NASA is seeking innovative designs and operational solutions to provide a lunar bringing to equilibrium capability to safely discharge a suited astronaut from high triboelectric charge buildup during lunar surface EVAs in the South Pole. This challenge seeks innovative concepts for an Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) mitigation solution to neutralize the astronaut in a safe and timely manner under this extreme charge differential before astronauts directly interact with the lander.

Award: Up to $150,000 in prizes

Challenge Open Date: October 5, 2026

Submissions Close Date: January 15, 2027

For more information, visit: https://work.crowdplat.com/challenge/lunar-grounding-challenge

Source: www.nasa.gov

NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland is seeking Phase 1 proposals for the design and construction of the Aerospace Power Systems Laboratory. The principal purpose of this procurement is to deliver a laboratory facility to support the testing and development of power systems, with associated site work, infrastructure, and systems.

The laboratory will provide modern test facilities to advance power research and enable NASA to meet current and future mission needs. Glenn’s expertise in power is crucial to the Artemis program, the Moon Base, and the exploration of Mars and beyond.

Proposals submitted in response to this solicitation are due no later than Oct. 30, 2026, at 1 p.m. EST.

NASA will conduct this acquisition as a full and open competition. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 236220, and the small business size standard of $45 million.

The anticipated contract award date is Dec. 16, 2026. The contract will be performed on-site at NASA Glenn and off-site at the contractor’s facilities.

Proposals for this solicitation are required to be submitted through NASA’s Enterprise File Sharing and Sync Box (EFSS Box), a FedRAMP Moderate certified platform.

All questions regarding this request should be submitted electronically, in writing, to John Christel, contracting officer, at [email protected] on or before Oct. 12, 2026. Offerors are encouraged to submit questions as soon as possible for consideration.

For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov

-end-

Kristen Parker
Glenn Research Center, Cleveland
216-990-4386
[email protected]

Source: www.nasa.gov