National Aeronautics and Space Administrion

Since its inception in 1958, NASA has accomplished many great scientific and technological feats in air and space. NASA technology also has been adapted for many nonaerospace uses by the private sector. NASA remains a leading force in scientific research and in stimulating public interest in aerospace exploration, as well as science and technology in general. Perhaps more importantly, our exploration of space has taught us to view Earth, ourselves, and the universe in a new way. While the tremendous technical and scientific accomplishments of NASA demonstrate vividly that humans can achieve previously inconceivable feats, we also are humbled by the realization that Earth is just a tiny "blue marble" in the cosmos. Check out our "Thinking About NASA History" folder online as an introduction to how history can help you.

Thursday, July 2, 2026

Late 2023, Voyager 1



"In late 2023, one of the most distant machines humanity has ever built started talking nonsense."


https://spacedaily.com/t-in-2024-engineers-rescued-voyager-1-after-it-spent-months-transmitting-gibberish-remotely-rewriting-and-relocating-pieces-of-46-year-old-code-around-a-failed-memory-chip-from-more-than-24-billion-ki/

CHANDRA and the European Space Agency



"The European Space Agency's XMM-Newton and NASA's Chandra X-ray space telescopes have spotted the aftermath of three bright explosions echoing through the outer spiral arms of our galaxy, the Milky Way. By measuring the distance to these echoes, they found the outer arms to be up to 10% farther away than previously thought."

https://phys.org/news/2026-07-xmm-newton-chandra-distance-milky.html#google_vignette

Commercial Crew Program



"NASA’s inspector general released an audit Tuesday of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, and it looks increasingly likely that Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule won’t be certified for operational flights to the International Space Station until next year."

https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/07/nasa-inspector-general-suggests-boeings-starliner-will-now-be-a-decade-late/

High Stakes Mission



"A high-stakes mission is on the cusp of launching an uncrewed spacecraft on a bold journey to save a NASA telescope from certain doom as it plummets back to Earth."

https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/space/2026/06/28/nasa-swift-observatory-boost-rescue-mission-launch/90689507007/?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=newsletter&user_id=66c4c92f5d78644b3ac5d5b4

Swift launch Mission Delay



"NASA is delaying the launch of the Swift Boost mission until July 1."


https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/nasa-to-launch-ambitious-mission-to-save-a-space-telescope-from-burning-up-in-earths-atmosphere

Fluffiest Planets



"Astronomers have identified two of the fluffiest giant planets ever discovered, with densities so low they are actually less dense than cotton candy."


https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/06/260626124659.htm

Quantum Particles



"The study demonstrates how a new critical phase of matter can emerge when quantum particles are pushed far from their normal equilibrium conditions. Using ultracold cesium atoms confined to one dimension, the researchers repeatedly altered how strongly the particles interacted with one another."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/06/260619101330.htm#google_vignette