Trending Stocks Today | Redwire Jumps 13.6% Pre-Market  Moomoo

Knicks Courtside Tickets Listed at $595K for NBA Finals in Trending Photo as Cavs Face Elimination  Bleacher Report

Why Sridhar Vembu Is Trending Over Tulsi Gabbard's Bible Post  NDTV

Florida State Offers Trending Quarterback Recruit  Sports Illustrated

NEW MICHIGAN PREDICTION: Wolverines trending for Rivals300 lineman  On3

1. Fitbit Air Review: Health Tracking For The AI Generation  Engadget
2. Fitbit Air Review: Is It Really a Smartwatch Killer?  CNET
3. Google’s Fitbit Air Gives Whoop Some Serious Competition  Bloomberg.com
4. Fitbit Air is the best hardware offering from Google in years  Android Police
5. Google’s New Screen-Less Fitbit Air Proves Less Is More  WIRED

A battery-powered Starlink Mini is likely on the way  The VergeSee more headlines & perspectives on Google News

1. Memorial Day Apple deals: M5 MacBook Air, AirPods Pro on sale  Mashable
2. Red alert: The M5 MacBook Air finally dropped below $900 for Memorial Day  Mashable
3. Apple AirPods, MacBooks, iPads and AirTags are now on sale for Memorial Day  CNN
4. Save $300 on Apple's M5 Pro MacBook Pro with 48GB RAM today only  AppleInsider
5. Apple's M5 MacBook Air Hits New Low Price of $899.99  MacRumors

1. Sennheiser’s new Momentum 5 headphones have upgraded ANC and a replaceable battery  The Verge
2. The Sennheiser Momentum 5 has BIG UPGRADES... but are they enough?  Headphones.com
3. Sennheiser's Momentum 5 Headphones Are All About The Audio And ANC Upgrades  Engadget
4. Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless review: a rich, expressive sound with plenty of overall appeal  What Hi-Fi?
5. Sennheiser's Momentum 5 Wireless headphones are finally here, and they bring promise great upgrades including Dolby Atmos and better noise cancellation — but some of the specs are concerning if they're going to beat the latest hits from Bose and Sony  TechRadar

1. Google Search can now do a lot of things, but ‘searching’ isn't really one of them  The Times of India
2. A new era for AI Search  blog.google
3. Sundar Pichai on AI, the future of search, and what’s happening to the web  The Verge
4. Google Shifts to AI Search, Heralding Major Change in How People Use the Internet  Time Magazine
5. Google is dethroning OpenAI as the king of consumer AI  The Economist

The Payload for Ultrahigh Energy Observations (PUEO) is a NASA Astrophysics Pioneers Program mission designed to detect the most energetic particles in the universe. The PUEO mission flew high above Antarctica on a Long Duration Balloon (LDB) and used the Antarctic ice sheet as an enormous detection volume to look for radio signals generated by the interactions of extremely energetic astrophysical neutrinos as they passed through the ice. In addition to searching for the highest energy neutrinos, PUEO could also detect radio signals from high energy cosmic rays showering in Earth’s atmosphere (a.k.a. air showers), either as the signals entered directly into the instrument or reflected off the ice below. The sensitivity achieved with the PUEO instrument was a result of technology advancements and careful optimization of the experimental design to enable accommodation within the balloon platform’s launch volume. 

The ultra-high energy neutrinos that PUEO was searching for carry information from the most extreme places in the universe, including supermassive black holes that accrete matter at the centers of galaxies, neutron star mergers, and other powerful cosmic accelerators. Because these particles travel large distances along straight lines without being absorbed, they provide a unique view of the distant, most energetic universe. Not only will data collected by PUEO reveal the origin and composition of the highest-energy cosmic rays, it will also test fundamental physics at energies far beyond those achievable in human-made particle accelerators on Earth. 

The PUEO mission built on heritage from the NASA-sponsored Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) mission, which had four successful flights from 2006-2016. Like ANITA, PUEO consisted of an array of radio-frequency antennas, an onboard data acquisition system that is triggered by neutrino-like signals and processes and saves the data, and a navigation and command and control system. From its 120,000-foot altitude, PUEO monitored an extremely large volume of Antarctic ice, looking for signals from very rare, high-energy neutrino interactions.  

The first of NASA’s Astrophysics Pioneers missions to launch, PUEO took off Dec. 20, 2025, from NASA’s Long Duration Balloon Facility near McMurdo Station, Antarctica, and flew for 23 days before landing approximately 120 miles (200 km) from the South Pole. The full payload has been recovered, including the data drives. The PUEO team is currently analyzing the data collected—an undertaking that may take up to a year due to the complex nature of the task. 

The significant improvement in sensitivity achieved with the PUEO instrument compared to that of ANITA was due to a variety of technology advancements and careful optimization of the experimental design to enable accommodation within the balloon platform’s constrained launch volume. 

Lowering detection threshold with interferometric triggering 

At the heart of PUEO’s technology advancement was a new type of trigger called an interferometric phased array trigger. The PUEO trigger coherently summed signals from multiple antennas in real time, enabling the instrument to detect weaker signals than previously possible. By lowering the trigger threshold, PUEO could dig further into the noise, and find weaker neutrino and cosmic-ray signals than previous experiments. 

More channels in a physically constrained space 

The PUEO antenna collecting area for frequencies above 300 MHz was doubled compared to ANITA, improving the sensitivity to radio emission from particle interactions. To ensure the PUEO payload remained within the allowable launch volume, the team increased the low-frequency cutoff of the PUEO antennas, which enabled them to be even smaller than those used on ANITA. 

Low-frequency instrument for air shower characterization 

To improve sensitivity to extensive air showers produced by cosmic rays and potentially neutrinos, PUEO incorporated a new low-frequency instrument that deployed once the payload reached float altitude (it would have been much too large to fit in the allowable launch volume in its flight configuration). This new low-frequency instrument incorporated antennas that are sensitive down to 50 MHz, and extended PUEOs sensitivity to air showers.  

Many of the technology advancements that were developed for PUEO may also be applicable for mission concepts under development that would use the lunar regolith as a detector for ultra-high energy cosmic rays, and other potential future radio missions on the moon.

Project Lead: Dr. Abigail Vieregg, David N. Schramm Director of the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics and professor of Physics, Astronomy & Astrophysics, and the Enrico Fermi Institute, University of Chicago, assisted by graduate student, Rachel Scrandis 

Sponsoring Organization(s): NASA Astrophysics Division Pioneers Program 

In April 2026, NASA’s Artemis program took humanity back to the Moon, providing a new look at Earth’s only natural satellite. As the world celebrates the return of Artemis II’s four astronauts, the lunar surface continues to play a critical role in missions much closer to Earth.

Since 1972, the NASA/USGS Landsat program has captured the longest continuous record of Earth’s land surface, collecting images that track everything from crop health to glacial change. But with such a long data record, how can scientists trust that images acquired today can be accurately compared to those from days, years, or even decades ago? They look to the Moon.

Unlike Earth, with its constantly changing weather, seasons, and landscape, the Moon is remarkably stable. With no atmosphere and virtually no surface changes, the Moon reflects sunlight in a predictable, consistent way. This stability gives engineers a reference to fine-tune Landsat’s instruments and be confident that the data are accurate.

Once a month, during the full Moon, the spacecraft turns its instruments away from Earth and points them directly at the lunar surface. Over the course of two orbits, the spacecraft maneuvers to image the moon 15 times. During each pass, Landsat captures detailed measurements of light reflected off the Moon’s surface, revealing any unintended sensor change, or “drift,” that needs correction.

The animation above shows the scans acquired by band 4 of the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 9 on January 3, 2026. Each parallel scan was acquired by one of the 14 detector modules that comprise the instrument’s focal plane. The satellite maneuvers so that each module images the Moon, with one module capturing it twice.  

This work is one piece in a complex puzzle called calibration, which is part of what makes NASA the gold standard of science worldwide. From before launch all the way to the end of a satellite’s life, engineers ensure that the data collected by the satellite is accurate and consistent. In addition to looking to the Moon, Landsat also looks to places on Earth where the ground is uniform, like the wide, pale expanse of the White Sands desert in New Mexico.

Scientists also collect measurements on the ground to check against those collected from space. For example, they ensure that surface temperature readings match those recorded by Landsat’s thermal band. All these efforts are part of what make a Landsat image different from photos taken by consumer cameras. Landsat images contain crucial information that scientists can use to map changes in habitats, tree species, agricultural patterns, and more.

Video and animation by Ross Walter, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Story by Ross Walter and Madeleine Gregory, Landsat Project Science Support.

References & Resources

• Landsat Project Science Support (2025, December 16) Maintaining the Gold Standard: The Future of Landsat Calibration and Validation. Accessed May 22, 2026.
• NASA (2025, December 2) Calibration & Validation. Accessed May 22, 2026.
• NASA Earth Observatory (2022, July 5) Landsat Looks at the Moon. Accessed May 22, 2026.
• NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio (2014, July 11) Landsat 8 Lunar Calibration. Accessed May 22, 2026.

For Jaclyn Kagey, preparing astronauts to put boots on the Moon is part of her daily work. 

As the Artemis extravehicular activity lead in NASA’s Flight Operations Directorate, Kagey plays a central role in preparing astronauts to safely explore the lunar surface. 

During Artemis missions, astronauts will explore the Moon’s South Pole, a region never visited by humans, paving the way for future deep space exploration.  

Kagey helps define how astronauts will work on the Moon, from planning detailed spacewalk timelines to guiding real-time operations. Crews will conduct these activities after stepping outside NASA’s human landing system, a commercial lander designed to safely transport astronauts from lunar orbit to the surface and back.  

Kagey’s NASA career spans more than 25 years and includes work across some of the agency’s most complex programs.  

While studying at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, she watched space shuttle launches that solidified her goal of working at NASA. “From a young age, my aspirations were singularly focused on contributing to the nation’s aircraft and spaceflight endeavors,” she said. 

That goal became reality through United Space Alliance, where she and her husband began their careers as contractors.  

One of her career-defining moments came during a high-pressure operation aboard the International Space Station. 

“I’ve planned and executed seven spacewalks, but one that stands out was U.S. EVA 21,” she said. “We had a critical ammonia leak on the station, and from the time the issue was identified, we had just 36 hours to plan, prepare the spacesuits, and execute the repair.” 

The team successfully completed the spacewalk and restored the system. “The agility, dedication, and teamwork shown during that operation were remarkable,” Kagey said. “It demonstrated what this team can accomplish under pressure.” 

Throughout her career, Kagey has learned that adaptability is an essential skill. 

“Things rarely go exactly as planned, and my job is to respond in a way that keeps the crew safe and the mission moving forward,” she said.  

Kagey’s influence also extends to the future of spacesuit development. Standing on the shorter end of the height spectrum, she once could not complete a full test in the legacy Extravehicular Mobility Unit despite passing the fit check. Although Kagey could don the suit, its proportions were too large for her and made it difficult to move as needed for the test. That experience drove her to advocate for designs that better support a wider range of body types.  

That effort came full circle when she recently completed her first test in Axiom Space’s lunar spacesuit, called the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU), on the Active Response Gravity Offload System (ARGOS) at Johnson Space Center in Houston. 

“It’s exciting to literally fit into the future of spacewalks!” Kagey said. 

The origins of Memorial Day lie in the U.S. Civil War, a conflict that led to the deaths of nearly 700,000 Americans. By the waning days of the war, makeshift military cemeteries had sprung up throughout the country, but especially in the South and Mid-Atlantic, where much of the fighting occurred. 

By the time the leader of the veterans’ group Grand Army of the Republic declared May 30, 1868, as “Decoration Day”—a day for “strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in the defense of their country”—informal memorials and commemorative events were already happening.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs notes that at least 25 places played a role in the early years of the holiday, including Columbus, Mississippi; Macon, Georgia; Columbus, Georgia; Richmond, Virginia; Boalsburg, Pennsylvania; and Carbondale, Illinois.

One of the earliest and largest ceremonies documented by historians occurred in Charleston, South Carolina. Confederate control of the badly damaged city had ended in February 1865, and Union troops had emancipated thousands of people there. Among the first tasks taken on was ensuring a proper burial for 257 soldiers found in mass graves near a racetrack at the Washington Race Course and Jockey Club, which had been used as a prison camp during the war.

After these soldiers had been re-interred in a new cemetery nearby, a crowd of roughly 10,000 people, including freedmen, missionaries, teachers, and soldiers, assembled at the racetrack and held a parade on May 1, 1865. The day featured thousands of schoolchildren carrying armloads of roses, women bearing flowers and wreaths, double-time marches by troops, choir performances of the “Star-Spangled Banner,” and Bible recitations by local ministers.

Much has changed in Charleston since the Civil War. The city has been rebuilt, and it has grown from a pre-war population of 40,000 to 160,000 today. Yet signs of the racetrack in what is now Hampton Park, where the early memorial event took place, remain visible—even to a sensor orbiting Earth on Landsat 9 (above).

In 1968, the federal government declared Memorial Day an official national holiday with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which moved Decoration Day celebrations from May 30 to the last Monday in May. This act followed a congressional resolution in 1966 that recognized a century of Memorial Day events in Waterloo, New York, acknowledging its claim as the “birthplace” of Memorial Day in honor of a commemorative event held there on May 5, 1866.

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

References & Resources

• American Battle Monuments Commission (2014, May 23) From Decoration Day to Memorial Day: An American Tradition for Nearly 150 Years. Accessed May 21, 2026.
• American Battlefield Trust (2012, November 16) Civil War Casualties. Accessed May 21, 2026.
• Blight, D. (2015, April 27) The First Decoration Day. Accessed May 21, 2026.
• Charleston Area Branch of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (2024, May 23) Decoration Day & Charleston’s Gullah Community: Honoring the Fallen First – Memorial Day. Accessed May 21, 2026.
• The College Today (2017, May 29) Memorial Day Uncovered: Charleston’s ‘Martyrs of the Race Course.’ Accessed May 21, 2026.
• The Historical Marker Database (2025, January 12) First Memorial Day. Accessed May 21, 2026.
• History.com (2026, May 4) One of the Earliest Memorial Day Ceremonies Was Held by Freed African Americans. Accessed May 21, 2026.
• National Archives (2018, May 24) The Nation’s Sacrifice: The Origins and Evolution of Memorial Day. Accessed May 21, 2026.
• National Archives (2024, May 23) Memorial Day: A Commemoration. Accessed May 21, 2026.
• National Cemetery Administration (2026) Memorial Day History. Accessed May 21, 2026.
• Time (2018, May 25) Lots of Places Claim to Be the Birthplace of Memorial Day. Here’s the Truth, According to an Expert. Accessed May 21, 2026.
• U.S. Army Airborne & Special Operations, The History of Memorial Day. Accessed May 21, 2026.
• U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, The Origins of Memorial Day. Accessed May 21, 2026.
• WCBD News2 (2022, May 29) First recorded Memorial Day observance took place in Hampton Park in 1865. Accessed May 21, 2026.

As NASA pushes the boundaries of exploration and innovation for the benefit of humanity, the agency is looking for partners to share mission stories covering Artemis Moon missions, nuclear propulsion, aeronautics, and more.

NASA published an Announcement for Proposals on May 21 asking filmmakers, documentarians, songwriters, storytellers, poets, and others to submit proposals to partner with the agency by Tuesday, June 30.

In this initial round, NASA is seeking up to 10 partners for unfunded Space Act Agreements to share the stories behind, and insights into, multiple NASA missions, including, but not limited to, the following:

• Artemis program, including the recently added Artemis III mission in 2027, and Artemis IV lunar landing in 2028, as well as plans for the agency to develop a Moon Base. Learn more about Artemis on the agency’s website.
• NASA’s advancement of nuclear propulsion, including the Space Reactor-1 Freedom mission to Mars in 2028 carrying the Skyfall payload.
• NASA’s cutting-edge aviation work through flight tests and other efforts.

While this opportunity is focused on U.S. creators, the agency will consider proposals with a minority of international participants. Proposals should detail which area of focus is desired, funding and distribution arrangements, and any specifics needs from NASA to move forward (access to facilities, personnel, etc.).

Full requirements and other details are available online:

https://go.nasa.gov/CreatorProposals

-end-

Camille Gallo / Cheryl Warner
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
camille.m.gallo@nasa.gov / cheryl.m.warner@nasa.gov

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