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On the left side of the frame is the full circle of the Sun. It appears in a golden yellow color, but splotchy and with thin yellow wisps extending from the surface. Some areas are very bright and others almost black. The whole Sun rotates steadily, with one full rotation taking 12 minutes in this time lapse. There are usually only a few bright regions visible at a time and they shift and flash like small fires. From these regions there are wispy loops reaching up above the surface that rapidly change shape and size.

The 18th Northrop Grumman commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station carries scientific investigations of topics such as 3D printing of knee cartilage, plant mutations, and mudflow structure—along with a demonstration of camera technology and small satellites from Japan, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

The Simplified High Impact Energy Landing Device (SHIELD) is a lander concept being tested at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). It could one day provide a new way for low-cost missions to land on Mars. Rather than rely on parachutes or retrorockets, SHIELD would include a collapsible, accordion-like base to absorb the energy of a landing. A full-size prototype of the base was tested on Aug. 12, 2022. The prototype was hurled at the ground from the top of a nearly 90-foot-tall (27-meter-tall) drop tower at JPL. A steel plate ensured the impact was even harder than what would be experienced on Mars. The design worked: After crushing against the steel plate at 110 mph (177 kph), several electronic components inside the SHIELD prototype, including a smartphone, survived the impact.

When it comes to space, humans and robots go way back. We rely heavily on our mechanical friends to perform tasks that are too dangerous, difficult or out of reach for humans. We’re even working on a new generation of robots that will help us explore in advanced and novel ways. With NASA’s CADRE — Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration — project, a new network of mini rovers could enable future autonomous robotic exploration of the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Subha Comandur from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory explains more.

NASA Stennis recently completed a critical infrastructure project to refurbish the gates of the center’s waterway lock system. The project involved installed temporary stop logs, removing the existing gates for offsite refurbishment, and reinstalling the gates to restore the lock system to full operational status. The lock system – built in the 1960s – provides valuable waterway access to the site for transport of equipment and large test articles and also helps maintain the function of the seven-and-a-half-mile canal system connecting all of the large test stands on site.