1. Valve will finally let you build your own Steam Machine with SteamOS for desktop  The Verge
2. The Steam Machine is the most ambitious game console I’ve ever played  The Verge
3. Review: Steam Machine: Beautiful Hardware, Console Performance - At A Price  Digital Foundry
4. Steam Machine Review: Is Valve’s $1,049 Console/PC Hybrid Worth It?  IGN
5. Valve's Steam Machine price starts at $1049 / £879; original pricing "no longer viable" due to hardware supply issues  GamesIndustry.biz

1. Sounds Like a Steal: 40+ Apple, Sony and Bose Deals Are Live With Prime Day Starting Tomorrow  CNET
2. Apple’s AirPods Max 2 are $150 off for the first time  The Verge
3. Prime Day MacBook deals guide: Should you wait to buy?  Mashable
4. These are the best new MacBook deals currently: June 2026 Buyer’s Guide  9to5Mac
5. We're already tracking Prime Day Apple deals—these are the best picks  USA Today

1. Google quietly added a major high-res audio feature to Pixels with Android 17  Android Authority
2. Android 17 brings a surprisingly big upgrade for wireless earbuds  Android Central
3. Your Google Pixel just got a secret Hi-Fi audio boost with Android 17  SoundGuys
4. Music on your Pixel just got better with this new Android 17 feature  Android Headlines

1. iOS 27 adds brand new widgets for your iPhone’s Home Screen  9to5Mac
2. Beyond Siri: Here are the practical AI features coming to your iPhone in iOS 27  TechCrunch
3. iOS 27 beta 2 now available as Apple tests major Siri AI upgrade  9to5Mac
4. Apple Seeds iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 Second Betas to Developers  MacRumors
5. Second developer betas of iOS 27, macOS 27 are out  AppleInsider

1. Apple reportedly decides on a release date for its smart glasses  PhoneArena
2. Apple’s Smart Glasses Slipped to Late 2027 and Google’s Are Shipping This Fall  The Gadgeteer
3. Vision AR Is Coming as Apple Pushes AI Into Real-World Vision - AppleMagazine  AppleMagazine
4. Apple Takes Aim at $200 Billion Eyewear Market  Yahoo Finance
5. Apple Smart Glasses Could Debut in 2027 Amid Rising Competition in AI Hardware  Analytics Insight

NASA astronauts will venture outside the International Space Station on Tuesday, June 30, to replace a wrist joint on the orbital complex’s Canadarm2 robotic arm. The spacewalk is scheduled to begin at approximately 8:35 a.m. EDT.

Experts from NASA and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) will preview the upcoming spacewalk during a news conference at 2 p.m. on Thursday, June 25, on the agency’s YouTube channel. The briefing will take place at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.

Participants include:

• Bill Spetch, operations and integration manager, International Space Station Program, NASA Johnson
• Fiona Antkowiak, spacewalk flight director, NASA Johnson
• Jason Dyer, deputy liaison manager, CSA

United States-based media interested in attending in person must contact the Johnson newsroom no later than 5 p.m. Wednesday, June 24, at: jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov. Media joining by phone should request dial‑in details by the same deadline. To ask a question, media must dial in no later than 15 minutes before the start of the news conference.

Tuesday, June 30

NASA astronauts Chris Williams and Jessica Meir will exit the station’s Quest airlock to replace a wrist joint that malfunctioned during normal Canadarm2 operations on May 27 after the arm drew elevated motor current and did not move as expected.

Watch NASA’s live U.S. spacewalk 95 coverage beginning at 7 a.m. EDT on NASA+, Amazon Prime, Netflix, and the agency’s YouTube channel. The spacewalk is expected to last roughly six-and-a-half hours.

NASA worked alongside CSA to understand the issue and determined a spacewalk was required to replace the joint using a spare already aboard the space station. Repairs to robotics, like Canadarm2, are normal and expected after more than 25 years of continuous operations, as the system was designed with replaceable components and planned maintenance in mind.

This spacewalk will be the second for Williams and the fifth for Meir. Williams will serve as spacewalk crew member 1 and will wear a suit with red stripes. Meir will serve as crew member 2 and will wear an unmarked suit. It will be the 280th spacewalk in support of space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.

To learn more about International Space Station research, operations, and its crews, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/station

-end-

Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
james.j.russell@nasa.gov

Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov

4 Min Read

NASA’s Webb Finds Clues to Ancient, Distant Origin of Comet 3I/ATLAS

As interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS began moving away from the Sun in December 2025, astronomers took the opportunity to turn NASA’s powerful James Webb Space Telescope in its direction and capture detailed measurements of its chemical components. The comet was freshly warmed from its closest pass by the Sun, and its ancient ice had been converted to a bright coma of gas ideal for observation. 

Webb captured detailed data, including chemical ratios of carbon and deuterium, also known as heavy hydrogen, that are not found in solar system comets. The results surprised researchers. Working backward, astronomers used the components that make up comet 3I/ATLAS to understand the environment in which it formed. 

A paper detailing the findings published June 22 in the journal Nature. 

Image: Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS (NIRSpec IFU)

The comet’s name comes from its status as the third confirmed interstellar comet, meaning it originated outside the solar system, and the telescope that first spotted it, the NASA-funded ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System).

“This was a unique opportunity to study an ancient object from the distant galaxy, probably pre-dating our Sun and solar system,” said astro-chemist Martin Cordiner of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and lead author of the study. “On the one hand, we get direct insight into that distant time and place, and on the other, we learn something about how unusual our own solar system may be.”

Cordiner and the research team joined astronomers from many sub-disciplines in taking the opportunity to get a look at 3I/ATLAS on its journey through the solar system. They received approval to interrupt Webb’s planned schedule of observations to make use of its NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph) instrument to study the comet. 

NIRSpec revealed exceptionally high levels of deuterium, about 30 times more than seen in solar system comets. This implies that 3I/ATLAS may have originated in a very cold system much earlier in the history of our galaxy. During its formation, the material that became incorporated into 3I/ATLAS was likely exposed to plenty of radiation, but not any long-term warmth that would have reprocessed its “heavy water” ice, with deuterium, into the type of H₂O ice we are familiar with on Earth.

Image: 3I/ATLAS Compared to Solar System Comets

Additionally, NIRSpec showed only traces of carbon-13 compared to lighter-weight carbon-12. This also points to a very old origin for 3I/ATLAS, as stellar systems become enriched with carbon-13 over time as generations of stars are born and die in the galaxy. That is why there are higher levels of carbon-13 in our system, around our Sun, which formed relatively recently, 4.5 billion years ago.

The research team estimates that 3I/ATLAS could have formed as long as 10 to 12 billion years ago, during the universe’s “cosmic noon,” when star formation was at its height. Its young origin system was likely ensconced in a relatively cold, dense cloud. The abundance of heavy water shows that 3I/ATLAS spent its formative years in a deeply frozen state. 

A separate study using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope, led by astronomer Cyrielle Opitom of the University of Edinburgh, complements Webb’s findings with an analysis of 3I/ATLAS’s carbon and nitrogen varieties in the form of the chemical cyanide.

“For us as scientists, finding these rare isotopes is fascinating, but the bigger picture here is looking at the possibilities of prebiotic chemistry elsewhere in the galaxy,” said Stefanie Milam of NASA Goddard and co-author of the study with Cordiner. “So far, we know of only one place in the vast cosmos where chemical ingredients led to life – our solar system, our Earth. Analysis of these interstellar objects is a major step towards learning how common, or uncommon, the conditions for the evolution of life are in the universe.”

The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).

To learn more about Webb, visit:

https://science.nasa.gov/webb

Downloads & Related Information

The following sections contain links to download this article’s images and videos in all available resolutions followed by related information links, media contacts, and if available, research paper and Spanish translation links.

Related Images & Videos

Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS (NIRSpec IFU)

Researchers used the NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph) instrument on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to map specific chemical contents of comet 3I/ATLAS as it moved away from the Sun.

3I/ATLAS Compared to Solar System Comets

These graphs lay out the significant difference in composition between the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS and comets originating in our solar system. This very specific data helps researchers build a picture of the comet’s original planetary system.

Related Links

Read more: NASA’s Webb Detects Methane on Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS

Explore more: NASA’s 3I/ATLAS Observation Timeline

Watch: Interstellar Visitor is Fastest Comet Ever Recorded

Watch: ViewSpace | Interstellar Comet Measured

More Webb: News | Images | Science | Home Page

Keep Exploring

Related Topics

James Webb Space Telescope

Webb is the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It studies every phase in the…

Asteroids, Comets & Meteors

Asteroids, Comets, and Meteors Stories

Exploring Our Solar System with Webb

natural color

false color

natural colorfalse color

natural color

false color

CurtainToggle2-Up

Image Details

Sea ice fragments drift near Alaska’s Saint Lawrence and Nunivak islands and colorful water surrounds the Yukon Delta in natural-color (left) and false-color (right) images acquired with the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA’s Terra satellite on June 3, 2026. NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison.

When clouds parted in early June 2026, satellites glimpsed hints of summer’s approach in the Bering Sea off Alaska’s coast. Sea ice, broken into small fragments, took a few final spins on its way to melting completely, while rivers swollen with snowmelt washed sediment and organic material out to sea.

These images, acquired with the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA’s Terra satellite on June 3, 2026, capture the seasonal transition. A false-color view of the area (right) brings out features of the landscape that are more subtle in the natural-color scene (left), as human eyes would see it. In false color, the tundra and marsh vegetation appear green, and ice-free rivers and thermokarst lakes are dark blue. Sea ice and snow, where they still linger, appear light blue.

Amid the seasonal phenomena playing out in the images stand Saint Lawrence and Nunivak islands. Both have volcanic origins and are among the largest islands in the United States. They contain extensive basaltic lava flows forming small shield volcanoes, along with other features such as cinder cones and maars, or low-lying volcanic craters.

Saint Lawrence Island lies about 150 miles (240 kilometers) directly south of the Bering Strait, separating Alaska and the Russian Far East. It is one of the few pieces of the land bridge that connected Asia and North America during the Pleistocene that remain above water. Pack ice persisted along the northeast side of the island in early June, while other sea ice drifted and curled into intricate patterns with the winds and currents. The smaller the ice fragments, the wispier their swirling patterns appear when observed by satellites.

Brownish water, likely containing a mixture of suspended sediment and colored dissolved organic matter, lines the coast of mainland Alaska. The colorful water appears to enter the sea around the Yukon Delta, a vast wetland where the Yukon River branches into many circuitous channels. Sediment concentrations in this area typically increase starting in late May or early June. That’s after river ice has broken up and runoff from rain and snowmelt carries eroded material downstream.

NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview. Story by Lindsey Doermann.

Downloads

June 3, 2026: Natural color

JPEG (2.37 MB)

June 3, 2026: False color

JPEG (2.56 MB)

References & Resources

• Alaska Volcano Observatory, Nunivak Island. Accessed June 18, 2026.
• Chikita, K. A., et al. (2021) Effects of River Discharge and Sediment Load on Sediment Plume Behaviors in a Coastal Region: The Yukon River, Alaska and the Bering Sea. Hydrology, 8(1), 45.
• NASA Earth Observatory (2021, June 21) Yukon-Kuskokwim in Colorful Transition. Accessed June 18, 2026.
• NASA Earth Observatory (2008, February 14) Sea Ice in the Bering Strait. Accessed June 18, 2026.
• Patton, W.W., et al. (2011) Geologic map of Saint Lawrence Island, Alaska. U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3146.

You may also be interested in:

Stay up-to-date with the latest content from NASA as we explore the universe and discover more about our home planet.

Barents Sea Tied to Low Arctic Sea Ice

4 min read

Patches of open water in the region contributed to low sea ice extent across the Arctic in March 2026, which…

Article

Ice Moves Out of Aniak

3 min read

Spring melt along Alaska’s Kuskokwim River caused ice jams and flooding.

Article

Cañon Fiord’s Whirling Waters

3 min read

During the 2022 summer melt season, sediment plumes and fractured sea ice traced swirling eddies in a branch of the…

Article

Keep Exploring

Discover More from NASA Earth Science

Subscribe to Earth Observatory Newsletters

Subscribe to the Earth Observatory and get the Earth in your inbox.

Earth Observatory Image of the Day

NASA’s Earth Observatory brings you the Earth, every day, with in-depth stories and stunning imagery.

Explore Earth Science

Earth Science Data

Open access to NASA’s archive of Earth science data

Natural color

brightness temperature

Natural colorbrightness temperature

Natural color

brightness temperature

CurtainToggle2-Up

Image Details

Images from the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA’s Terra satellite show Tropical Storm Arthur on the morning of June 17, 2026. The left image is natural color; the right shows infrared signals known as brightness temperature. NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison.

Tropical Storm Arthur, the first named storm of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, brought high winds and heavy rain to the U.S. Gulf Coast in mid-June.

NASA’s Terra satellite captured this natural-color image (left) at 10:30 a.m. Central Time (15:30 Universal Time) on June 17. The second image (right) depicts infrared signals known as brightness temperature, which help distinguish cooler cloud tops (white and purple) from the warmer surface below (yellow and orange). Around the time these images were acquired, the system had just recently been designated a tropical storm, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

Though Arthur stayed below hurricane strength, it still delivered strong winds to parts of the Gulf Coast as it tracked northeast. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 40 miles (65 kilometers) per hour around the time these images were captured. Tropical-storm-force winds extended 175 miles (280 kilometers) from the storm’s center, the NHC reported. Measurements at Galveston, Texas, for instance, showed a gust of 48 miles per hour.

The storm also produced heavy rainfall that the National Weather Service warned could lead to life-threatening flash flooding. Estimates from IMERG (the Integrated Multi-Satellite Retrievals for GPM), a product of the GPM (Global Precipitation Measurement) mission, showed high rainfall rates over Gulf waters and extending inland on June 17.

As Arthur weakened and became less organized, it continued to bring abundant moisture to central Gulf Coast states on June 18. The National Weather Service reported rainfall rates of 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) per hour in southeastern Louisiana. Forecasts indicated that storm-total rainfall amounts could exceed 12 inches (30 centimeters) in areas, with some locations seeing totals approaching 20 inches (51 centimeters).

NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview. Story by Kathryn Hansen.

Downloads

June 17, 2026: Natural color

JPEG (2.94 MB)

June 17, 2026: Brightness temperature

JPEG (2.51 MB)

References & Resources

• National Hurricane Center (2026, June 17) Tropical Storm ARTHUR Advisory Archive. Accessed June 18, 2026.
• National Public Radio (2026, June 17) Tropical Storm Arthur is the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. Accessed June 18, 2026.
• National Weather Service, Office of Water Prediction (2026, June 18) Experimental: Tropical Flood Hazard Outlook Product Archive. Accessed June 18, 2026.

You may also be interested in:

Stay up-to-date with the latest content from NASA as we explore the universe and discover more about our home planet.

Typhoon Jangmi

2 min read

The sprawling storm promised to deliver torrential rain across a wide swath of southern Japan.

Article

Tropical Cyclone Narelle Crosses Australia

3 min read

The powerful storm lashed the northern edge of the continent with damaging winds and drenching rain as it made landfall…

Article

Super Typhoon Sinlaku

3 min read

The violent storm aimed at the U.S. Northern Mariana Islands and Guam in mid-April 2026.

Article

Keep Exploring

Discover More from NASA Earth Science

Subscribe to Earth Observatory Newsletters

Subscribe to the Earth Observatory and get the Earth in your inbox.

Earth Observatory Image of the Day

NASA’s Earth Observatory brings you the Earth, every day, with in-depth stories and stunning imagery.

Explore Earth Science

Earth Science Data

Open access to NASA’s archive of Earth science data

Written by William Farrand, Senior Research Scientist, Space Science Institute

Earth planning date: Friday, June 12, 2026

Rather than going from stage to stage at a music festival to hear different bands playing different varieties of music, Curiosity has been ascending up Mount Sharp through physical bands of exposed rocks with textural and tonal differences.

Planning for sols 4920 and 4921 were done with the rover in the middle of a unit with a rougher texture and dark-toned bedrock. With the rougher-textured bedrock, brushing wasn’t possible, but APXS chemistry and MAHLI micro-imaging were planned on “as is” bedrock targets “Salto La Cascada” and “Puerto de Rosas.” ChemCam was targeted to perform LIBS spectroscopy on a bedrock target “Kishuara” and a small, layered float rock “La Rosita.” ChemCam’s Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) collected views of the “Mishe Mokwa” butte and another looking at dunes with tonal differences. Mastcam mosaics were collected on the “Valle Grande” channel, “Kimsa Chata” butte, nearby troughs, and the aircraft carrier shaped rock “El Matir.”

Another drive brought Curiosity closer to the upper border of the dark-toned band. Again, brushing of the rocks was not possible, but APXS and MAHLI were collected on dark-toned bedrock targets “Santa Gracia” and “Laguna San Rafael” with ChemCam LIBS also targeting the bedrock. Mastcam mosaics were collected of a layered rock and nearby troughs and a mosaic of the nearby smaller butte, “Miraflores” which displays an interesting layered structure with ragged dark-toned rocks on one side and a stack of dust piled on top (see accompanying image). Other activities included a long-distance RMI mosaic of a bright unit on “Mishe Mokwa”, and Navcam dust-devil surveys in both sols.

Communicating between Earth and Mars has come to seem routine, but at times can still be a challenging endeavor and this was demonstrated to the team on Friday when we did not get a timely downlink of data for the drive planned for Sol 4923. Without these images another drive, in situ examinations, or targeted remote sensing could not be planned. However, there are always interesting things to be done on Mars and the three-sol plan (4924 to 4926) included a 360-degree Mastcam mosaic, the automatic AEGIS targeting of LIBS measurements on each sol, a Navcam dust-devil survey, APXS atmospheric measurements, as well as several other environmental activities.

On Monday, the delayed downlink will be used to plan the first investigation of the next band of surface materials, this one being smooth-textured and light-toned, as well as another drive to continue the surveying of the bands.

• Want to read more posts from the Curiosity team?

  
  
  Visit Mission Updates
  
  

• Want to learn more about Curiosity’s science instruments?

  
  
  Visit the Science Instruments page
  
  

Explore More

3 min read

Curiosity Blog: Sols 4913-4919: Planetary Explorers, Freewheeling to the Yardang Unit!

Article


1 week ago

5 min read

Curiosity Blog, Sols 4908-4912: Goodbye Campo Marte, It’s Been Fun!

Article


2 weeks ago

3 min read

Curiosity Blog, Sols 4900-4907: Pasadena, We Have a Drill Sample!

Article


3 weeks ago

Keep Exploring

Discover More Topics From NASA

Mars

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It’s the only planet we know of inhabited…

All Mars Resources

Explore this collection of Mars images, videos, resources, PDFs, and toolkits. Discover valuable content designed to inform, educate, and inspire,…

Rover Basics

Each robotic explorer sent to the Red Planet has its own unique capabilities driven by science. Many attributes of a…

Mars Exploration: Science Goals

The key to understanding the past, present or future potential for life on Mars can be found in NASA’s four…