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NASA Welcomes Djibouti as Newest Artemis Accords Signatory

2026-09-14 16:46

NASA Deputy Administrator Matt Anderson, center, Ambassador of Djibouti to the United States, Mohamed Siad Douale, left, and Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Frank Garcia, right, pose for a group photograph after the Artemis Accord signing, Monday, September 14, 2026, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington.

NASA/Bill Ingalls

The Republic of Djibouti became the 72nd nation and eighth African country to sign the Artemis Accords during a ceremony Monday at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The Artemis Accords are the first set of practical principles aimed at enhancing transparency, safety, and coordination among nations as they explore the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

“Djibouti joins this coalition of like-minded nations at an important time,” said NASA Deputy Administrator Matt Anderson, who hosted the ceremony. “President Trump has directed NASA to return Americans to the lunar surface, establish an enduring presence, and lay the foundation for human exploration of Mars. NASA will lead, but we will not do it alone. We are creating opportunities for Artemis Accords nations to contribute hardware, scientific payloads, technology demonstrations, CubeSats, and other capabilities to future missions.”

Ambassador of Djibouti to the United States Mohamed Siad Douale signed on behalf of Djibouti. U.S. State Department Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Frank Garcia also participated in the event.

Djibouti’s national space program, launched in 2020 and managed by the Centre for Studies and Research of Djibouti within the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, has steadily expanded its technical capabilities. The nation successfully launched its first satellites, Djibouti 1A and Djibouti 1B, in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Both reached orbit aboard American Falcon 9 rockets launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, an early example of how the U.S. is supporting Djibouti capabilities in space.

“By joining the Artemis Accords, Djibouti seeks to deepen its partnership with the United States and with the growing community of nations committed to peaceful space cooperation,” said Douale. “We look forward to building partnerships in scientific research, satellite applications, education, and technical training, while creating new opportunities for Djibouti students, researchers, engineers, and entrepreneurs.”

In 2020, NASA and the State Department joined with seven other founding nations to establish the Artemis Accords, responding to the growing interest in lunar activities by both governments and private companies, and committing nations to:

Explore peaceably and transparently
Render aid to those in need
Enable access to scientific data
Ensure activities do not interfere with those of others
Preserve historically significant sites and artifacts by developing best practices

By signing the Artemis Accords, nations open the door to opportunities for future lunar exploration with NASA, advancing humanity’s return to the Moon, and shaping the Golden Age of space exploration and innovation.

Learn more about the Artemis Accords at:

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-accords

-end-

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Sep 14, 2026

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NASA Kicks Off Inspiration Tour with Steelers vs. Falcons Game

2026-09-14 16:00

NASA/Aubrey Gemignani

Fans pose for a photo with an astronaut in the NASA Experience Zone at an NFL game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Atlanta Falcons at Acrisure Stadium, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

NASA’s engagement at NFL games is part of the agency’s Inspiration Tour, aimed at strengthening connections between NASA and its partners and showcasing innovation in air and space in the lead up to the MAX POWER aerospace technology expo and air show at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in early November.

Image Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani

Summer Training: Catching Up With NASA’s Astronaut Candidates

2026-09-14 15:00

3 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)

A group of 10 men and women wearing assorted jeans and button-down shirts hold up rock samples, with a forest in the background.

The members of NASA’s 2025 Astronaut Candidate Class pose with rock samples collected during their geology training at the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, New Mexico, in May 2026.

NASA/Helen Arase Vargas

Did you spend part of your summer camping, hiking, at the pool, or in an aircraft? So did NASA’s 2025 Astronaut Candidate Class.

The 10 candidates have been working their way through a comprehensive and rigorous training program since the agency introduced them to the public on Sept. 22, 2025, from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. They are approximately halfway through the nearly two-year training program, which will equip them for missions to low Earth orbit, the Moon, and ultimately, Mars.

Geology Studies

Since the astronaut candidates can one day be assigned to a future Artemis mission to the lunar surface, geology courses are an important part of their training. In May, candidates completed classroom trainings at Johnson before venturing to the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument in New Mexico for additional classroom instruction and training in the field. Several candidates also joined NASA astronauts and Artemis mission support teams for geology field training in Iceland in July. They practiced geologic observations, sampling with tools, navigation, and teamwork, all skills and processes that translate directly to Artemis lunar missions.

NASA astronaut candidates study rock samples during a geology classroom training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
NASA/Helen Arase Vargas

Two women wearing matching button-down shirts study a rock sample with an instructor looking over them in the background. — NASA astronaut candidates Anna Menon, left, and Imelda Muller study a rock sample during a geology classroom training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

A group of four men and women dressed in hiking attire pause on a rocky hillside to point at something off-camera. — NASA astronaut candidates hiked through Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, New Mexico, during geology field training.
NASA/Helen Arase Vargas

JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and NASA astronaut candidates Cameron Jones and Yuri Kubo participated in geology field training in Iceland, alongside NASA astronauts, Artemis mission support teams, and geology instructors.
NASA/James Blair

Flight Training

Whether learning to become a pilot or sharpening their existing piloting skills, astronaut candidates train in aircraft to build confidence, coordination, adaptability, and resilience in high-stakes environments. This summer, that training included flights on NASA’s WB-57s – a trio of long-range, high-altitude airplanes that have flown research missions since the 1960s. The class also began flying NASA’s T-38 supersonic jets.

NASA astronaut candidate Lauren Edgar prepares for flight training in one of NASA’s T-38 jets.

Two people wearing yellow flight suits and white helmets ride in the back of a van. — NASA astronaut candidate Rebecca Lawler, right, rides out to one of NASA’s WB-57 aircraft ahead of flight training at Ellington Field.
NASA/Josh Valcarcel

A man in a blue flight suits inspects the cockpit of a WB-57 aircraft. — NASA astronaut candidate Adam Fuhrmann completes preflight checks of a WB-57 aircraft at Ellington Field.
NASA/Josh Valcarcel

A man wearing a yellow flight suit and white helmet is shown, seated inside the cockpit of a WB-57 aircraft. — NASA astronaut candidate Adam Furhmann sits inside the cockpit of a WB-57 aircraft as he prepares for flight training.
NASA/Josh Valcarcel

Altitude Chamber Runs

Candidates have also spent time in one of Johnson’s altitude chambers as part of their flight training. These unique facilities allow NASA to simulate physical pressure levels ranging from those at sea level to near vacuum. After donning flight suits and helmets, candidates enter the chamber to familiarize themselves with the conditions they will face on high-altitude flights and in space, and to practice different protocols and interventions designed to keep them safe.

A person wearing a yellow flight suit and white helmet sits inside an altitude chamber with the door propped open, while four technicians, one instructor, and another individual wearing a yellow flight suit observes the proceedings. — April 8, 2025
NASA astronaut candidates Adam Fuhrmann and Rebecca Lawler prepare to conduct altitude chamber runs as part of their flight training.

A man wearing a yellow flight suit and a white helmet sits inside an altitude chamber. — NASA astronaut candidate Adam Fuhrmann sits inside the altitude chamber at NASA’s Sonny Carter Training Facility in Houston.
NASA/James Blair

A woman wearing earmuffs watches a computer monitor showing a man in a yellow flight suit sitting inside an altitude chamber. — A NASA team member observes astronaut candidate Adam Fuhrmann as he completes an altitude chamber run.
NASA/James Blair

Water Survival Training

Candidates continued survival training to prepare for the unlikely event of landing in remote environments after a mission. Water survival exercises in Johnson’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, or NBL, simulate these scenarios while also building teamwork and decision-making skills.

A person in a yellow flight suit and white helmet sits in an airlift rescue basket, hovering above the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory pool. — Some components of astronaut candidates’ water survival training are completed during simulated storms inside of the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory.
NASA/Morgan Gridley

A person wearing an orange flight suit and white helmet is lifted from the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory pool with a flotation device secured around their waist. — A NASA astronaut candidate practices being lifted out of the water during survival training in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory.
NASA/Robert Markowitz

A woman in an orange flight suit and white helmet floats inside a small raft while speaking to a diver at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory. — NASA astronaut candidate Rebecca Lawler floats in a raft during water survival training at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory.
NASA/Robert Markowitz

On top of these exercises, candidates are completing intensive Russian language classes and cross-cultural training to prepare for missions spanning countries and continents. They are learning to operate spacecraft systems used in human spaceflight missions, conducting spacewalk training at the NBL, and training inside other mockups of space vehicles. They are also learning emergency procedures, maintenance, and repair of spacecraft.

The class is on track to graduate in 2027, when they will join NASA’s active astronaut corps and await their first flight assignments. Whether they go on to contribute to research taking place aboard the International Space Station or venture to the Moon to prepare for future Mars missions, the graduates will have the operational expertise, scientific knowledge, and technical background necessary to advance NASA’s deep space exploration goals and sustain a long-term human presence beyond low Earth orbit.

About the Author

Linda E. Grimm

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Sep 10, 2026

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APOD: 2026 September 14 – Where Your Elements Came From

2026-09-14 04:05

APOD

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

A table with each entry being a separate element. The entries depict where each element comes from (i.e., the big bang, stellar deaths, etc).

Where Your Elements Came From

Explanation: The hydrogen in your body and present in every molecule of water came from the Big Bang. There are no other appreciable sources of hydrogen in the universe. The carbon in your body was made by nuclear fusion in the interior of stars, as was the oxygen. Much of the iron in your body was made during supernovas of stars that occurred long ago and far away. The gold in your jewelry was likely made from neutron stars during collisions that may have been visible as short-duration gamma-ray bursts or gravitational wave events. Elements like phosphorus and copper are present in our bodies in only small amounts but are essential to the functioning of all known life. The featured periodic table is color coded to indicate humanity‘s best guess as to the nuclear origin of all known elements. The sites of nuclear creation of some elements, such as copper, are not really well known and are continuing topics of observational and computational research.

APOD’s main NASA site is moving: From apod.nasa.gov to science.nasa.gov/apod
Tomorrow’s picture: Sun triple

Date:	September 14, 2026
Credit:	NASA GSFC‘s SVS
Authors & editors:	Robert Nemiroff, Jerry Bonnell, Cecilia Chirenti, Keighley Rockcliffe
A service of:	ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

Yesterday’s Image

APOD: 2026 September 13 – Comet NEOWISE Rising over the Adriatic Sea

Tomorrow’s Image

An Early Look at Fall Color in Canada

2026-09-14 04:00

July 27

September 6

A river winds through a mostly green tundra landscape in summer, dotted with numerous lakes.

NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison

A river winds through the same tundra landscape in autumn, now colored red and orange. Some green vegetation remains visible along the river.

NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison

July 27

September 6

Autumn color sweeps across the low-growing shrubs and tundra vegetation of Nunavut, Canada, in this image pair captured by the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 9. NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison.

As North America rode out a summer of remarkable heat, fall foliage and cool, crisp weather still seemed like distant, alien concepts across much of the continent in early September 2026. But fall comes early in the tundra and subarctic ecosystems of Nunavut, in far northern Canada.

Vivid signs of the season were already sweeping across the landscape on September 6 when the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 9 captured this image (right) of the Coppermine River winding through low-growing shrubs and tundra vegetation upriver of Kugluktuk, a community at the river’s mouth. The other image (left) shows the same area on July 27, 2026, when vegetation was still green.

The region is known for willow and birch shrubs, blueberries, bearberries, and other low-growing tundra plants that turn shades of red, orange, and yellow each fall. A NASA and South Dakota State University analysis of seven years of satellite data found that foliage in the region begins to change in early September and peaks in mid-month, making this one of the first places on the North American continent to change color. But blink and you might miss it: the analysis also showed that far northerly regions tend to have shorter periods of peak color—sometimes a week or less—compared to many lower-latitude areas.

In the fall, leaves change colors as they lose chlorophyll, the molecule that plants use to synthesize food. Chlorophyll makes plants appear green because it absorbs the red and blue light from sunlight as it strikes leaf surfaces. However, chlorophyll is not a stable compound, and plants must continuously synthesize it, a process that requires ample sunlight and warm temperatures. As temperatures drop and days shorten in autumn, levels of chlorophyll fall as well.

As concentrations of chlorophyll decline, the green fades from leaves, presenting an opportunity for other pigments—carotenoids and anthocyanins—to take the stage. Carotenoids absorb blue-green and blue light, so in the absence of chlorophyll, they cause leaves to appear yellow. Anthocyanins absorb blue, blue-green, and green light, so light reflecting off the pigments appears red.

Citizen scientists have an opportunity to help NASA scientists track fall color and contribute to long-term environmental databases with the GLOBE North American Phenology Campaign. Participants observe and record leaf color changes during the spring and fall, helping scientists understand plant responses to climate and environmental changes.

NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Story by Adam Voiland.