NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover used its dual-camera Mastcam-Z imager to capture this image of “Santa Cruz,” a hill about 1.5 miles (2.5 kilometers) away from the rover, on April 29, 2021.

Credit: NASA

On Thursday, NASA issued a Request for Proposal (RFP), seeking industry collaboration for the Mars Telecommunications Network.

Reliable, high bandwidth communications is necessary to relay science data, high-definition imagery, and critical information during Mars missions. The network will use high-performance Mars telecommunications orbiters at the Red Planet to support future surface, orbital, and human exploration.

This RFP builds on a draft released April 2, as well as insights gathered during the accompanying industry day at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, where commercial partners provided feedback on agency objectives for the Mars Telecommunications Network.

The request seeks responses that address both current and future operational missions. It also seeks a science payload accommodation that will be selected by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. Industry is asked to respond within 30 calendar days of the posting, and the network should be ready to operate at Mars no later than 2030.

The Mars Telecommunications Network is part of NASA’s evolving space architecture, extending continuous network services beyond Earth to the Moon and Mars. The Mars Telecommunications Network is part of NASA’s SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation) Program’s Moon to Mars strategy, and is enabled by the direction and funding provided by Congress in the Working Families Tax Cut Act.

To learn more about NASA’s deep space exploration, visit:

https://nasa.gov/esdmd

Share

Details

Last Updated

May 14, 2026

Location

NASA Headquarters

Related Terms

NASA, Industry Prepare Cryogenic Fuel Technology Demo

2026-05-14 16:32

2 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)

NASA is collaborating with Eta Space of Rockledge, Florida, on an in‑orbit technology demonstration to advance a key capability for future deep space missions. The Liquid Oxygen Flight Demonstration, or LOXSAT, will test cryogenic fluid management technologies necessary for creating in-space propellant depots, essentially gas stations in space, that could support long-term exploration.

The LOXSAT payload is displayed inside Rocket Lab’s Spacecraft Production Complex in Long Beach, California.

Rocket Lab

During a nine-month mission, LOXSAT will demonstrate 11 cryogenic fluid management technologies. Eta Space built LOXSAT as part of a NASA Tipping Point opportunity, and Rocket Lab is providing spacecraft and launch services to deliver it to low Earth orbit. The LOXSAT payload has been integrated with a Rocket Lab Photon satellite bus and will launch aboard the company’s Electron rocket from Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula no earlier than July 17.

The technologies that LOXSAT will demonstrate were selected to address the core challenges of using cryogenic, or super-cold, propellants in microgravity, including reducing boiloff, transferring propellant, maintaining tank pressure, and gauging propellant levels. Data collected from these tests will support development of future in-space propellant depots that could refuel spacecraft as they journey to the Moon, Mars, or other deep space destinations.

Members of NASA’s Cryogenic Fluid Management project tour Rocket Lab’s Spacecraft Production Complex in Long Beach, California, on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026 . The portfolio project team had the opportunity to view the LOXSAT payload and the setup for vibration testing. Credit

Rocket Lab

NASA’s LOXSAT team is composed of members of the Cryogenic Fluid Management Portfolio Project from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, and Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The cryogenic portfolio’s work is part of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate and includes more than 20 individual technology development activities.

To learn more, visit:

https://go.nasa.gov/49nbAO5

Share

Details

Last Updated

May 14, 2026

Editor

Lee Mohon

Contact

Joel Wallace

joel.w.wallace@nasa.gov

Location

Marshall Space Flight Center

Related Terms

Keep Exploring

Discover Related Topics

Missions

Humans in Space

Climate Change

Solar System

Fresh Food Delivery for Space Station

2026-05-14 14:55

NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway (bottom left), Jessica Meir (middle left), and Chris Williams (bottom right), and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot (top right) pose for a group photo aboard the International Space Station, as fruits and vegetables float around them.

You’re allowed to play with your food when you’re on the International Space Station!

NASA/Chris Williams

NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway (bottom left), Jessica Meir (middle left), and Chris Williams (bottom right), and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot (top right) have some fun with food and microgravity in this April 19, 2026, photo.

Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft delivered a shipment of fresh food, including oranges, apples, onions, and peppers, to the International Space Station. Cygnus XL also brought over 2,300 pounds of new research hardware and science experiments that the space station crew will use to explore blood stem cells to treat cancers and blood disorders and study ways to protect astronaut gut health. Other gear delivered aboard Cygnus XL include an advanced exercise system from ESA, new eye-imaging hardware, oxygen and nitrogen tanks to recharge spacesuits, and more.

Image credit: NASA/Chris Williams

Ice Moves Out of Aniak

2026-05-14 04:01

April 21, 2026

May 7, 2026

A frozen river winds from east to west past Aniak, Alaska. Nearby meandering channels are also frozen, and much of the surrounding land is snow-covered.

NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison

A river winds from east to west past Aniak, Alaska. Some stretches of the wide channel are still frozen over, while others contain broken-up ice. Most of the surrounding land is snow-free.

NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison

A frozen river winds from east to west past Aniak, Alaska. Nearby meandering channels are also frozen, and much of the surrounding land is snow-covered.

NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison

A river winds from east to west past Aniak, Alaska. Some stretches of the wide channel are still frozen over, while others contain broken-up ice. Most of the surrounding land is snow-free.

NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison

April 21, 2026

May 7, 2026

The landscape along the Kuskokwim River near Aniak, Alaska, is frozen on April 21, 2026 (left), while spring melt and river ice breakup are evident on May 7, 2026 (right). Both images were acquired with the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 9. NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison.

Thawing may be a welcome sight for Alaskans following a remarkably cold winter and early spring in much of the state. But with melting comes the threat of rapid flooding in low-lying areas as river ice breaks up and periodically jams.

The landscape along the Kuskokwim River appeared frozen in a Landsat 9 image acquired on April 21, 2026 (left). According to observations published by the Alaska-Pacific River Forecast Center, river ice near the town of Aniak was thick and still covered in deep snow as of April 16. The Kuskokwim ice road connecting numerous villages traces a dark line down the river. The thick river ice supported a route that extended about 350 miles (560 kilometers) in winter 2025-2026 and shut down for the season on April 10, according to news reports.

Conditions were changing quickly around May 7, when the right image was acquired. The previous day, the front of the ice breakup had nearly reached Aniak, and a sheet of grounded ice caused a jam that stretched 21 miles (34 kilometers) upstream. News reports showed ice chunks several feet thick piled up on riverbanks around the town. Ice became unstuck by May 7, and the backup, visible above (right), had started to flow downstream.

Aniak remained at risk, however, as ice clogged the river later that night, this time several miles downstream from the community. Waters began to rise, and a flood watch was issued for the town on May 8. Water inundated low-lying areas and encroached on homes and businesses near the east side of the runway, according to reports, before receding two days later.

Flooding caused by spring breakup can be most hazardous when heavy snowpack and thick ice remain in place from the winter and there’s a sudden transition from freezing to warmer temperatures. In what is known as a dynamic breakup, snowmelt encounters intact ice and causes water to back up quickly. On the other hand, if ice weakens before significant snowmelt or ice from upstream arrives, jams are less likely to form.

Forecasters noted that spring 2026 showed warning signs of a dynamic breakup. Snowpack was above average in some major river drainages, and historically low temperatures marked the winter and spring months in many places. For example, the March average temperature in Bethel, downstream of Aniak, was 14 degrees Fahrenheit (8 degrees Celsius) below normal. However, floods had been relatively minor along the large rivers through early May, experts noted, while cautioning that more severe flooding still has the potential to develop quickly.

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

Downloads

April 21, 2026

JPEG (21.62 MB)

May 7, 2026

JPEG (21.49 MB)

References & Resources

Alaska and Arctic Climate Newsletter (2026, May 8) Spring 2026 River Break-up to May 8th. Accessed May 13, 2026.
Alaska’s News Source (2026, May 9) Mother’s Day weekend: May weather action. Accessed May 13, 2026.
Alaska’s News Source (2026, April 24) A projected late river breakup could lead to dangerous flooding potential in Alaska. Accessed May 13, 2026.
Alaska-Pacific River Forecast Center (2026) River Notes. Accessed May 13, 2026.
KYUK (2026, May 9) Thermal breakup on the Kuskokwim may bode well for many communities, while Aniak remains under flood warning. Accessed May 13, 2026.
Lindsey, S. (2019) Spring breakup on the Yukon: What happens when the ice stops. Alaska Park Science, 18(1): 70-75.

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.

3 min read

Ice in the Hudson River hugged the shore of Manhattan amid a deep freeze.

Article

3 min read

Nearly 50 years ago, the first Landsat satellite captured the rare sight of Mid-Atlantic waterways frozen over.

Article

5 min read

Scientists relied on satellite data to understand how the Antarctic glacier lost so much ice so rapidly.

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

NASA-Supported Space Tech Advances Earthly Construction

2026-05-13 19:47

3 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)

Two boxy structures, one with an office-like interior and the other with an eating area, side-by-side in a hangar-like location

Branch’s work outfitting a prototype of a lunar surface habitat they developed, pictured here, under a cooperative agreement with Marshall Space Flight Center, helped the company evolve its printing processes.

Credit: Branch Technology Inc.

An innovative 3D printing process that advanced NASA’s approach to outfitting a lunar habitat is making buildings on Earth beautiful, efficient, and strong.

Instead of building structures layer by layer, Branch Technology Inc. of Chattanooga, Tennessee, has developed a process the company calls Freeform 3D Printing, which creates shapes with lightweight lattice structures that can be filled or covered. The company uses the technique to manufacture visually interesting, modular building elements, such as wall panels and cladding.

“Our process eliminates a ton of material from something that otherwise might be printed solid all the way through,” said David Goodloe, who leads Branch Technology’s Advanced Concepts team, which manages the company’s NASA collaborations.

In 2017, the company won Phase II of NASA’s 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge, a public competition to build a habitat for deep space exploration.

Tracie Prater, a technical manager in the Habitat Systems Development Branch at NASA’s Marshall Spaceflight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, served as a subject matter expert for the challenge and worked with Branch Technology on a cooperative agreement.

“With the 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge, teams were focused on how to build a large habitat structure on a planetary surface,” said Prater. “But once that structure is pressurized and ready for crew occupancy, how do you populate it with systems and supplies? That’s what Branch was looking at through the cooperative agreement — what their on-demand fabrication process enables in terms of novel designs for interior items.”

NASA’s parameters for the habitat challenge led Branch to develop its nozzles to extrude unique lattice structures as well as more traditional layers. The company uses this dual capability frequently in its wall panels where traditionally printed sections offer solid substrates for attaching fasteners.

The polymers Branch extrudes were informed by its materials science research for the 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge, which asked that print material be made of something like the dust and rocks found on the Martian surface and mission recyclables. Branch came up with a basalt fiber-reinforced plastic and from that work went on to develop an optimal loading recipe for its terrestrial “inks.”

These innovations exemplify the purpose of NASA’s Technology Transfer program within the Space Technology Mission Directorate, which uses space-based solutions to improve life on Earth. For 50 years, NASA has documented the everyday benefits of space technology through the agency’s Spinoff publication.