3 min read From Hampton to Mars: How NASA Langley Helped Land on the Red Planet This historic image — the first from the surface of Mars — confirmed that NASA’s Viking 1 lander had become the first spacecraft to touch down on the Red Planet on July 20, 1976.Continue Reading
On the morning of July 20, 1976, roughly 40 minutes after mission controllers received word that the Viking 1 lander had successfully touched down on the surface of Mars, this photo gave us our first view from the surface of another planet. NASA/JPL “Touchdown, we have touchdown!” At 5:12 a.m.Continue Reading
Two elephant-sized South American sauropods were unusually well built for standing on their hind legs. Digital tests showed that their robust femurs handled the enormous forces better than those of larger species, especially while the dinosaurs were young. The upright pose may have helped them reach treetops, frighten predators, orContinue Reading
Acompáñanos en esta e di ción especial de Universo curioso de la NASA mientras hacemos un recorrido por la misión Artemis II de principio a fin. Revivimos la expectación en los días previos al despegue, la potencia del histórico lanzamiento y el increíble viaje de la tripulación a través delContinue Reading
ExEP … Meetings/Events 2026 Sagan Summer Workshop –… ExEP Home Overview Team Missions Science Overview Decadal Surveys ExoExplorers Technology Technology Overview Needs and Gap Lists Strategic Astrophysics Technology (SAT) Awards ExEP Technology Colloquium Series In-Space Servicing and Assembly (iSSA) Segmented Coronagraph Design and Analysis (SCDA) Starshade Technology Development Starshade ExoplanetContinue Reading
Earth Observatory Science Earth Observatory Shaping the Emerald City Earth Earth Observatory Image of the Day EO Explorer Topics All Topics Atmosphere Land Heat & Radiation Life on Earth Human Dimensions Natural Events Oceans Remote Sensing Technology Snow & Ice Water More Content Collections Global Maps World of Change ArticlesContinue Reading
Showers and thunderstorms triggered a flash flood warning for Manhattan and northeastern New Jersey on Saturday, but the rain also helped blow out the smoke from Canadian wildfires that had choked the tristate area for days and threatened to disrupt Sunday’s World Cup final at MetLife Stadium.Continue Reading
The asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs was likely an exceptionally rare CO chondrite from a distant region of the solar system. Its unusual chemistry suggests that planet-cooling dust and debris, rather than sulfur inside the asteroid, may have delivered the deadliest blow., Read MoreContinue Reading
Hundreds of wildfires in Canada and the United States have blanketed large sections of North America in dense smoke over the past week.Continue Reading
There were orange skies in 2023, 2025 and now again in 2026. Over the last few years, one thing has become glaringly clear: The East Coast is totally unequipped for the next climate disaster, wildfires. The Opinion writer David Wallace-Wells explains that with every climate disaster, we’re not just adaptingContinue Reading
Fossils from Queensland suggest a newly recognized marsupial order may have survived in Australia for around 35 million years, rewriting part of the story of how the continent’s unique mammals evolved. The discovery challenges the idea that Australia’s marsupials all came from a single straightforward ancestral lineage., Read MoreContinue Reading
A landmark General Assembly resolution adopted on Wednesday is “a powerful affirmation” of international law, climate justice and science, according to UN chief António Guterres.Continue Reading
Meteorologists say smoke from the Canadian wildfires that has engulfed the Northeast in haze is expected to mostly clear from the New Jersey area just in time for the World Cup final on Sunday, thanks to thunderstorms passing through the areaContinue Reading