In this week's newsletter, discover how a planned two-year mission will survey the sky in optical as well as near-infrared light, serving as a powerful tool for answering cosmic questions; get an update on Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lunar lander as it continues its journey to the Moon carrying 10 NASA science and technology instruments; and take a first look at Planetary Defenders, an upcoming NASA documentary exploring how humanity discovers asteroids near Earth. Plus, more stories you might have missed.

THE UNIVERSE

Mapping the Sky

The Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) is a planned two-year mission launching in late February 2025 that will survey the sky in near-infrared light which, though not visible to the human eye, serves as a powerful tool for answering cosmic questions.


Every six months, SPHEREx will survey the sky using technologies adapted from Earth satellites and interplanetary spacecraft. The mission will create a map of the sky in 102 different color bands, far exceeding the color resolution of previous all-sky maps. It also will identify targets for more detailed study by other missions, such as NASA's James Webb Space Telescope and upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.


MISSION UPDATES

THE UNIVERSE

Studying the Sun’s Corona


PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere), a NASA small explorer mission sharing a ride to space with SPHEREx space telescope, will deploy four suitcase-sized satellites to observe the Sun and space. The satellites will map out the region where the Sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona, transitions to the solar wind, the constant outflow of material from the Sun.



MISSION UPDATES

THE SOLAR SYSTEM

Planetary Defenders


A new NASA documentary delves into the high-stakes world of asteroid detection and planetary defense. Meet the dedicated team of astronomers and scientists working tirelessly to track and monitor near-Earth asteroids.


STREAMING SOON ON NASA+

THE SOLAR SYSTEM

A Comet’s Bright Tail


From Jan. 11-15, 2025, a bright comet surged through images from the European Space Agency and NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory. Named C/2024 G3 (ATLAS), the comet made its closest pass to the Sun on Jan. 13, soaring a mere 8 million miles from our star.


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TECHNOLOGY

Revolutionary Tire Tech for Mars


Ahead of future missions to Mars, the agency has completed rigorous rover testing on Martian-simulated terrain, featuring revolutionary shape memory alloy–metals that can return to their original shape after being bent–spring tire technology to better traverse the planet's uneven, rocky surface.


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More NASA News

Each January, NASA pauses to honor members of the NASA family who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery, including the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia.This year, the Day of Remembrance was observed on Thursday, Jan. 23.

Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lunar lander continues its journey to the Moon carrying 10 NASA science and technology instruments. Four days into the mission, Blue Ghost completed its first main engine burn, the first of several maneuvers that will position the lander in a trajectory toward the Moon.

The small near-Earth asteroid 2024 PT5 captured the world’s attention last year after a NASA-funded telescope discovered it lingering close to, but never orbiting, our planet for several months. Now, researchers have collected evidence that 2024 PT5 appears to be composed of rock broken off from the Moon’s surface and ejected into space after a large impact.

The OSIRIS-APEX (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security-Apophis Explorer) spacecraft kept its cool this past fall after passing within 46.5 million miles of the Sun,between the orbits of Mercury and Venus, and surpassing its designed heat tolerances. To reach asteroid Apophis in 2029, the spacecraft must survive four more close encounters with the Sun, the next of which will occur in May 2025.

NASA’s Artemis campaign aims to return humans to the Moon, develop a sustainable presence there, and lay the groundwork for the first crewed missions to Mars. As the agency prepares for longer stays on and around the Moon, engineers are working diligently to understand the complex behavior of lunar dust, the sharp, jagged particles that can cling to spacesuits and jam equipment.

Applications for the Student Airborne Research Program are due Friday, Jan. 31! This eight-week summer internship provides senior undergraduate students the opportunity to acquire hands-on research experience in all aspects of a scientific campaign using one or more NASA Airborne Science Program flying science laboratories.

Do You Know?

60 years ago, in January 1965, the Gemini III crew prepared for their mission, the first crewed flight of the Gemini spacecraft. Astronauts Virgil “Gus” Grissom and John Young, shown training in this photo, lifted off on March 23, 1965, and returned to Earth less than 5 hours later.

Who served as the backup crew for the Gemini III mission?
A. Walter Schirra and Thomas Stafford
B. L. Gordon Cooper Jr. and Roger Chaffee
C. Alan Shepard and Frank Borman
D. James McDivitt and Edward White II

Find out the answer in next week's edition of the NASA newsletter 🤓

Last week, we asked what was Landsat 1’s original name. The answer? The Earth Resources Technology Satellite! On July 23, 1972, the first Earth Resources Technology Satellite, later renamed Landsat 1, was launched with the explicit purpose of “gathering facts about the natural resources of the Earth from Earth-observing satellites carrying sophisticated remote sensing observation instruments.” After more than five decades of observations and eight operational missions, the Landsat Program continues to deliver scientifically valuable and visually stunning images of the Earth.

Do you have a telescope? Would you like to see some of the same night sky objects from the ground that Hubble has from space? We invite you to commemorate the Hubble Space Telescope’s 35th anniversary by accepting our yearlong stargazing challenge! New challenge objects will be featured weekly.


This week’s object is the Crab Nebula or Messier 1 (M1). Charles Messier originally mistook this remnant of a star’s death for a comet, inspiring him to create his famous catalog of objects. Hubble’s image of M1 is a mosaic that holds 24 individual exposures taken over three months.


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