The town of Alice Springs lies near Australia’s geographic center, in a region often called the “Red Centre” for the rusty hue of its desert landscape. After weeks of heavy rainfall in February and March 2026, however, vast areas of desert and surrounding mountains turned lush and green.

The MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image (right) of the southern part of Australia’s Northern Territory on March 10, 2026. For comparison, the left image shows the same area in January 2026, before the onset of heavy rains.

The area’s landscape typically appears red due to the oxidation of iron-rich rock. During periods of sufficient rainfall, water begins to flow in previously dry riverbeds, and dormant vegetation springs to life. February 2026 brought more than enough water to the Northern Territory for the transformation to occur—an area average of 239 millimeters (9 inches)—marking the territory’s third-wettest February on a record that dates back to 1900, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

Beyond the transformation visible from above, the rainfall also caused disruptions on the ground. Thunderstorms earlier in the month produced enough rain to cause water levels on the Todd River and other area rivers to quickly rise, while flash flooding in Alice Springs uprooted trees and left some people stranded, according to news reports. Later in the month, heavy rains returned as another tropical low stalled over central Australia for nearly a week, causing flooding that prompted officials to declare a natural disaster.

As of late March, more extreme weather was on the way for Australia with the approach of Tropical Cyclone Narelle. Bureau of Meteorology forecasts called for severe storm impacts to reach northern Queensland by late on March 19 or March 20. Flooding watches and warnings also extended inland, including to Alice Springs, where past storms have already saturated river catchments.

NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview. Story by Kathryn Hansen.

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References & Resources

Australian Broadcasting Corporation (2026, February 26) In photos: Extreme weather sweeps across large parts of Australia. Accessed March 18, 2026.
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (2026, February 12) Cars submerged, trees torn down, roads inundated: Alice Springs flooding in pictures. Accessed March 18, 2026.
The Conversation (2026, February 22) Severe flooding – in central Australia? How a vast humid air mass could soak the desert. Accessed March 18, 2026.
Bureau of Meteorology (2026, March 2) Northern Territory in February 2026. Accessed March 18, 2026.
Bureau of Meteorology via Facebook (2026, March 15) On rare occasions when the outback gets drenched with rain, dormant plants spring to life. Accessed March 18, 2026.
The Watchers (2026, February 27) Desert rainfall anomaly triggers major flooding across central Australia. Accessed March 18, 2026.

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Curiosity Blog, Sols 4832–4837: Driving the (Contact) Line!

2026-03-18 19:16

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Curiosity Blog, Sols 4832–4837: Driving the (Contact) Line!

A grayscale photo of the surface of Mars shows rough, rocky terrain — knobby, jagged, and racked areas in the top half of the frame, with smoother areas dotted with numerous small rocks in the lower half. Part of the Curiosity rover is visible at the bottom of the frame.

NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image showing the rough, nodular texture in its workspace, using its Mast Camera (Mastcam). This image was taken on March 13, 2026 — Sol 4834, or Martian day 4,834 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — at 01:22:42 UTC.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Written by Catherine O’Connell-Cooper, APXS Strategic Planner and Payload Uplink/Downlink Lead, University of New Brunswick, Canada

Earth planning date: Friday, March 13, 2026

We are in our final phase of the boxwork campaign, investigating the contacts between the boxwork unit and the layered sulfate unit. As my colleague Bill reported here, last week we crossed out of the boxwork unit back into the underlying layered sulfate unit and then back into the boxwork unit for our Monday plan. We are now driving southward across the uppermost portion of the boxwork unit. This unit is characterized by smooth bedrock where the boxwork structures are not as obvious as they were back at our “Nevado Sajama” drill sites, where we took our boxwork “postcard.”

This past week, our goal was to characterize as much as we could before leaving. On Monday, MAHLI imaged the targets (all named after geographic locations around the Andes in South America) “Piedras Bonitas” and “La Calera” — the latter was brushed bedrock also analyzed by APXS. On Friday, MAHLI and APXS analyzed a brushed, nodular bedrock at “Jaruma” and a larger nodule (or cluster of smaller nodules) at the unbrushed “Constancia.” (Click on the name to see the MAHLI images!)

Mastcam had a very busy week! Typically, as we come toward the end of a science campaign, the wish list of Mastcam targets gets very large, and the ending of this boxwork campaign is following that tradition. Mastcam acquired two mosaics on the southern contact between the boxworks and layered sulfate unit: an 18×1 mosaic (i.e., 18 frames along one row) on Monday and 19×3 mosaic (“El Misti”) on Friday. These will be key to helping us understand the origin and evolution of the boxwork unit. Other mosaics include “Yungas” (a highly veined area), “Ujina” (looking at cross-sectional stratigraphy (both on Monday) and two mosaics on Friday on the target “Salar de Maricunga” (to characterize light-toned bedrock in the drive direction).

We did not neglect our environmental monitoring either. We continue to monitor dust in the atmosphere using different tools, including Navcam dust-devil monitoring and surveys, zenith and suprahorizon movies, and Mastcam taus.

The weekend drive is planned to take us about 23 meters to the west-southwest (about 75 feet) as we get closer and closer to leaving the boxwork unit. I have been a member of the boxwork working group (we call ourselves the “Fracture Townies”) since its inception about two years before we ever put a wheel on the unit. It is bittersweet to be so close to the end of this campaign, but we have so much data and imagery from here to work with, we won’t have too much time to be sad.

Want to read more posts from the Curiosity team?

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Lava Flows Down Mayon

2026-03-18 15:19

The upper slopes of Mayon volcano appear brown, with several narrow channels radiating from the crater. A red infrared heat signature appears near the summit, with red streaks extending east and southeast. The lower slopes are green and forested. Farmland and towns are visible in the lower part of the image.

At any given moment, about 20 volcanoes on Earth are actively erupting. Often among them is Mayon—the most active volcano in the Philippines.

Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey

The OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 8 acquired this rare, relatively clear image of Mayon, the most active volcano in the Philippines, on Feb. 26, 2026. The natural-color scene is overlaid with infrared observations to highlight the lava’s heat signature. On that day, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) reported volcanic earthquakes, rockfalls, and hot clouds of ash and debris called pyroclastic flows. Along with PHIVOLCS, multiple NASA satellites also monitored the volcano’s sulfur dioxide emissions, showing sizable plumes of the gas drifting southwest on February 4 and March 6.

From Service to Space Systems: A Pathways Journey to NASA

2026-03-18 15:06

For Corey Elmore, the path to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center did not begin in engineering. It began in service.

Today he serves as a NASA Pathways engineering intern in the Technical Processes and Tools Branch (KSC-NE-TA) at Kennedy Space Center. Through the Pathways program, he is gaining hands-on experience supporting the engineering environments, technical tools and processes that help NASA teams design, analyze, and operate complex mission systems.

NASA Pathways intern Corey Elmore stands near Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center, with the Space Launch System rocket and Artemis infrastructure in the background. Through the Pathways program, Elmore supports engineering tools and processes that help enable NASA missions.

NASA/Corey Elmore

Within the branch, his work explores how artificial intelligence, machine learning, and automation can enhance engineering workflows. As modern missions generate massive amounts of data across interconnected systems, these tools help engineers organize information, improve analysis, and make faster decisions.

By studying how intelligent systems can support engineers, he hopes to help teams focus more deeply on solving the technical challenges that enable exploration.

"What excites me most about being at NASA is the chance to work on problems that are bigger than any one person. In a place like this, even small improvements in how we think, build, or support engineers can ripple outward into missions that push exploration forward."

Corey Elmore

NASA Pathways Intern

The Pathways program provides students the opportunity to work alongside experienced engineers while contributing to real projects across NASA centers. At Kennedy Space Center, the experience offers a front-row view of how large-scale technical systems come together, from engineering processes and technical documentation to the collaborative teams responsible for supporting mission operations.

A NASA intern stands inside a large industrial facility with rocket hardware and structural platforms in the backgrou

NASA Pathways intern Corey Elmore stands inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center, where large-scale hardware and engineering systems are prepared for mission operations.

Mentorship and collaboration have been central to the experience. Working with engineers across multiple disciplines has reinforced the importance of systems thinking: understanding how people, processes, and technology interact within complex mission environments.

His path to NASA, however, did not begin in engineering. Before entering the STEM field, he served in the U.S. Navy as a hospital corpsman supporting Marine Corps and Navy units. During that time, he also served as an instructor working with Navy Seabees, helping train and mentor service members in mission-critical skills.

That role required breaking down complex information, leading under pressure, and ensuring others could perform effectively in demanding environments. These skills translate naturally into engineering problem solving.

U.S. Navy personnel conduct a field training exercise while assisting a simulated casualty in an outdoor environment.

Before joining NASA, Corey Elmore served in the U.S. Navy as a hospital corpsman, supporting Marine Corps and Navy units and training service members in mission-critical skills.

NASA/Corey Elmore

My transition from military service to NASA has shown me that purpose does not end when the uniform comes off. The setting changes, the tools change, but the deeper mission remains: Serving something larger than yourself.

Corey Elmore

NASA Pathways Intern

Following military service, the next chapter unfolded in the defense and shipbuilding industry, supporting naval maintenance and logistics systems connected to fleet readiness. Working in shipbuilding environments provided firsthand exposure to the scale and coordination required to sustain complex operational platforms.

Maintaining ships at sea and preparing spacecraft for launch share a common challenge. Both depend on integrating engineering disciplines, operational processes, and reliable technology into a cohesive system.

While building professional experience, he continued pursuing higher education. During his time in the Navy, he earned a bachelor’s degree in supply chain and operations management from Western Governors University. Today, he is continuing his studies while working at NASA, pursuing both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science with a focus on artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Combining operational experience, systems thinking, and emerging technologies is helping shape a foundation aligned with the increasingly complex challenges of modern space exploration.

Equally meaningful has been the community at Kennedy Space Center. Through the Pathways program, interns work alongside experienced mentors and engineering teams across NASA, creating an environment where curiosity, learning, and collaboration drive growth.

For this Navy veteran, the opportunity represents more than a career milestone; it represents a continuation of service.

A group of approximately 18 young professionals, identified as NASA Pathways interns, posing for a group photo inside a large industrial assembly facility. They are standing on a concrete platform under a steel support structure. In the background, a massive orange rocket stage is visible within a complex gray gantry and scaffolding system. The interns are dressed in professional-casual attire and most are wearing NASA-branded lanyards.

Pathways interns at KSC get a front-row seat to the hardware that will power our next giant Artemis leap.

For those transitioning from military careers, the path into engineering and exploration may look different, but the mission often feels familiar. Programs like NASA Pathways provide veterans the chance to bring their discipline, leadership, and operational experience into fields that support the next generation of discovery.

As his journey at Kennedy Space Center continues, he remains focused on contributing to the systems and technologies that will help enable the future of human exploration.

For more information about the Pathways program, visit nasa.gov/careers/pathways.