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Nestled among high snowy peaks in northern Italy, Cortina d’Ampezzo is hosting athletes in the 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics who are skiing, sliding, and curling toward a spot on the podium. The scenic mountain town is the co-host, along with Milan, of the international sporting extravaganza.

Cortina sits within the Dolomites, a mountain range in the northern Italian Alps known for its sheer cliffs, rock pinnacles, tall peaks, and deep, narrow valleys. In this three-dimensional oblique map, several peaks over 3,000 meters (10,000 feet) tall rise above the town. To create the map, an image acquired with the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 8 on January 27, 2026, was overlaid on a digital elevation model.

Tofana di Mezzo, the third-highest peak in the Dolomites at 3,244 meters (10,643 feet), is the site of the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre, the venue for the Olympic women’s Alpine skiing and all Paralympic skiing events. Competitors on the Olympia delle Tofane course descend 750 meters (2,460 feet), reaching high speeds and catching big air along the way. A highlight is the steep, 33-degree drop through the Tofana Schuss, a chute bounded by tall rock walls near the top of the course.

More adrenaline-filled races are taking place at the Cortina Sliding Centre, the venue for bobsled, luge, and skeleton events. Athletes are competing on a rebuilt version of the track used in the 1956 Olympics, hosted by Cortina. And curlers, trading speed for strategy, are going for gold at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium, built for the 1956 Olympic figure skating competition and opening ceremony. (There is indeed a theme: almost all of the 2026 Games are being held in existing or refurbished facilities.)

These Landsat images show Cortina and its surrounding alpine terrain in natural color and false color. The band combination (6-5-4) highlights areas of snow (light blue), while steep, mostly snow-free cliffs stand out as areas of light brown, and forests appear green.

Locations across the Italian Alps join Cortina in hosting the snow sports, which also include cross-country skiing, ski jumping, ski mountaineering, and snowboarding. As with many past Olympics, the 2026 Winter Games are manufacturing snow at the various venues to ensure consistent conditions. New high-elevation reservoirs were created to store water for snowmaking, according to reports. Automated systems are being used to limit snow production to the minimum amount required, and most snowmaking operations are being powered by renewable energy, the International Olympic Committee said.

Snowfall in northern Italy was below average at the start of the season, but a storm on February 3—three days before the opening ceremony—eased some of the need for snowmaking. Still, snow coverage and the ability of Winter Olympic venues to maintain consistent conditions are areas of concern as global temperatures rise. Researchers studying the issue have suggested several ways to address this, including holding competitions at higher elevations, choosing regional or multi-country hosts, and shifting the Paralympic Games from early March to January or February when it’s typically colder and snowier.

NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey and elevation data from TINITALY. Story by Lindsey Doermann.

References & Resources

• AP News (2026, January 23) Italian expert’s manufactured snow will play big role at the Milan Cortina Games. Accessed February 11, 2026.
• The Conversation (2026, February 3) Climate change threatens the Winter Olympics’ future – and even snowmaking has limits for saving the Games. Accessed February 11, 2026.
• International Olympic Committee (2026) The Olympic Venues. Accessed February 11, 2026.
• NASA Earth Observatory (2026, February 5) Milano Cortina 2026. Accessed February 11, 2026.
• NBC Sports (2025, February 11) 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic venues: city arenas, scenic mountains, iconic ceremony landmarks. Accessed February 11, 2026.
• Scott, D., et al. (2026). Advancing climate change resilience of the Winter Olympic-Paralympic Games. Current Issues in Tourism, 1–8.
• UNESCO World Heritage Convention (2009) The Dolomites. Accessed February 11, 2026.

NASA completed the first flight test of a scale-model wing designed to improve laminar flow, reducing drag and lowering fuel costs for future commercial aircraft. 

The flight took place Jan. 29 at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, using one of the agency’s F-15B research jets. The NASA-designed, 40-inch Crossflow Attenuated Natural Laminar Flow (CATNLF) wing model was attached to the aircraft’s underside vertically, like a fin. 

The flight lasted about 75 minutes, during which the team ensured the aircraft could maneuver safely in flight with the additional wing model. 

“It was incredible to see CATNLF fly after all of the hard work the team has put into preparing,” said Michelle Banchy, research principal investigator for CATNLF. “Finally seeing that F-15 take off and get CATNLF into the air made all that hard work worth it.” 

NASA designed the CATNLF technology to improve the smooth flow of air, known as laminar flow, over swept-back wings, used in everything from airliners to fighter jets, by reducing disruptions that lead to drag. Maintaining laminar flow could help lower fuel burn and costs. 

This flight was the first of up to 15 planned for the CATNLF series, which will test the design across a range of speeds, altitudes, and flight conditions. 

“First flight was primarily focused on envelope expansion,” Banchy said. “We needed to ensure safe dynamic behavior of the wing model during flight before we can proceed to research maneuvers.” 

During the flight, the team performed several maneuvers, such as turns, steady holds, and gentle pitch changes, at altitudes ranging from about 20,000 to nearly 34,000 feet, providing the first look at the aerodynamic characteristics of the wing model and confirming that it is working as expected. 

The team measured laminar flow using several tools, including an infrared camera mounted on the aircraft and aimed at the wing model to collect thermal data during flight tests. They will use this data to confirm key aspects of the design and evaluate how effectively the model maintains smooth airflow. 

“CATNLF technology opens the door to a practical approach to getting laminar flow on large, swept components, such as a wing or tail, which offer the greatest fuel burn reduction potential,” Banchy said.  

Early results showed airflow over the aircraft closely matched predictions made using computer models, she said. 

The first flight builds on earlier work accomplished through computer modeling, wind tunnel testing, ground tests, and high-speed taxi tests. NASA plans to continue flight tests to gather research data that will help further validate the CATNLF test article and its potential for future commercial aircraft designs. 

The CATNLF testing is a collaboration under NASA’s Flight Demonstrations and Capabilities project and Subsonic Vehicle Technologies and Tools project. The CATNLF concept has been supported through the combined efforts of NASA’s Advanced Air Vehicles Program and Integrated Aviation Systems Program under the agency’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate.

Listen to this audio excerpt from Jesse Berdis, Artemis II mobile launcher 1 deputy project manager:

Jesse Berdis’s dream of becoming a structural engineer began with visions of skyscrapers rising above the Dallas and Oklahoma skyline. Today, that dream has soared beyond city limits, reaching towering heights at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Berdis, the deputy project manager for mobile launcher 1 for the agency’s Artemis II mission, had a path to NASA which was anything but planned. While attending an engineering leadership conference in Orlando, he left a copy of his resume with NASA recruiters. Four weeks later, that simple gesture turned into a life-changing opportunity: a role at Kennedy as a launch infrastructure engineer with the Exploration Ground Systems Program, working on Artemis I, the uncrewed test flight of SLS and Orion.

The mobile launcher serves as a backbone to the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft for the Artemis missions before and during launch. It is designed to support the integration, testing, and checkouts of the rocket and spacecraft, in addition to serving as the structural platform, or as Berdis calls it, “the shoulders, at liftoff.” Standing more than 400 feet tall, the mobile launcher houses the umbilicals that provide power, communications, coolant, fuel, and stabilization prior to launch, as well as access for the Artemis II crew to safely board Orion.

When Berdis first arrived on center, the sight of massive ground systems left an unforgettable impression. To him, these weren’t just structures, they were skyscrapers for space exploration.

After the historic launch of Artemis I, Berdis and his team turned their focus to an even greater challenge: preparing for Artemis II, NASA’s first crewed Moon mission in more than 50 years.

One of the most critical upgrades for Artemis II is the emergency egress system, an abort system for personnel to use in the unlikely event of an emergency at the launch pad. Located on the 274-foot level of the mobile launcher, four baskets will provide a rapid escape route from the mobile launcher to the base of the pad in case of emergency, using electromagnetic braking technology.

Berdis recently set his sights on the Artemis human landing system lander ground operations, to develop and maintain an integrated schedule. Under his leadership, the team ensures accuracy of combined schedules, risks, and insights, ensuring the ground operations and human lander development remain in sync.

From left, Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway and Jessica Meir, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot pose next to their mission insignia inside the Astronaut Crew Quarters in the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 crew members will launch aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 to the International Space Station no earlier than 5:15 a.m. EST on Friday, Feb. 13, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40.

During their eight-month mission, Crew-12 will conduct a variety of science experiments to advance research and technology for future Moon and Mars missions and benefit humanity back on Earth. This research includes studies of pneumonia-causing bacteria to improve treatments, on-demand intravenous fluid generation for future space missions, automated plant health monitoring, investigations of plant and nitrogen-fixing microbe interactions to enhance food production in space, and research on how physical characteristics may affect blood flow during spaceflight.

Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Water flowing out. Data flowing in.

A water system activation at the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-2) on Jan. 30 at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, helped capture critical data to support testing a new SLS (Space Launch System) stage expected to fly on the Artemis IV mission.

The activation milestone tested new cooling systems that were added for the future Green Run test series of NASA’s exploration upper stage (EUS). The more powerful upper stage is a four-engine liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen in-space stage for the evolved Block 1B version of SLS.

For Green Run, teams at NASA Stennis will activate and test all systems to ensure the stage is ready to fly. It will culminate with a hot fire of the stage’s four RL10 engines, just as during an actual mission.

As part of the test stand modification, crews have added water-cooled diffusers to act as a heat shield to manage the super-hot exhaust from all four RL10 engines; water-cooled fairings to direct engine exhaust to align with the diffuser walls; and a purge ring that supplies cooling water and gaseous nitrogen to protect a flexible seal that allows the engines to move, or gimbal, during testing.

These three systems all were integrated by the NASA Stennis team with the existing flame deflector and acoustic suppression equipment used during previous core stage testing for NASA’s SLS rocket ahead of the successful Artemis I launch.

The exercise also pushed the high pressure industrial water system to maximum capacity. While a typical RS-25 engine test at NASA Stennis runs a subset of the 10 diesel pumps and one electric pump, testing the exploration upper stage will require all eleven pumps running simultaneously.

The 14-million gallons of water used during the exercise on Jan. 30 was recycled throughout the test complex. A 66-million-gallon reservoir feeds water to the test stand through an underground 96-inch diameter pipe, with water distributed to various cooling components. The water ultimately flows into the flame deflector, then through a concrete flume to the stand’s catch pond. When the catch pond fills up, the excess water drains back to the canal through a drainage ditch, ready to be recycled for future use.

“We will use the data gathered to set the final timing of when valves are cycled, determine our redline pressures, and select the operating pressure,” said Nick Nugent, NASA Stennis project engineer. “This exercise also put the water system under a full load prior to the final stress test. It is always good to give the system a good shake down run prior.”

The exploration upper stage is being built by Boeing at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The four RL10 engines for the upper stage are manufactured by L3Harris Technologies. Before it all arrives at NASA Stennis, crews will perform a final 24-hour check, or stress test, across all test complex facilities to demonstrate readiness for the test series.

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