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NASA TechLeap Prize: Orbital Clarity Challenge

2026-08-19 19:57

1 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)

The Orbital Clarity Challenge — the sixth in the NASA TechLeap Prize series — is a collaborative effort between NASA’s Heliophysics Division, Flight Opportunities program, and Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation. The Heliophysics Division studies space weather, including how it heats and expands Earth’s outer atmosphere during intense solar activity, creating orbital drag through atmospheric density changes. The challenge calls for low-cost methods of measuring thermospheric density, pressure, or drag in low Earth orbit. NASA is seeking approaches that are inexpensive and scalable enough to be produced in quantity and flown as hosted payloads across the commercial fleet. The challenge will unfold across three phases, advancing up to four winners’ concepts to a flight-ready solution within 12 months. At the conclusion of the challenge, NASA intends to offer each winning team a test flight at no cost.

Award: Up to four winners may receive up to $500,000 in prizes across three phases

Challenge Open Date: August 19, 2026

Phase 1 Registration Close Date: October 28, 2026

Phase 1 Submission Close: November 11, 2026

For more information, visit: https://occ.nasatechleap.org/

NASA Updates Next Steps for Commercial Swift Boost Mission

2026-08-19 18:08

NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, shown in this artist’s concept, has orbited Earth for more than 20 years, studying the ever-changing universe.

Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab

Due to an ongoing commercial spacecraft attitude control issue, NASA and Katalyst Space announced Wednesday the LINK spacecraft will not capture or boost an agency satellite to a higher altitude to extend its science mission as planned. However, LINK still will attempt to conduct rendezvous and proximity operations with NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory to demonstrate key capabilities for the future of space exploration.

“NASA should be willing to move quickly and take smart risks when the potential return is worth it, and that is exactly what we did with this mission,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “This is not the outcome we were working toward, but it does not change why this mission was worth attempting. The team moved with extraordinary speed to give Swift a chance to carry out more science while advancing capabilities America will need for satellite servicing in the future. We are going to learn everything we can from LINK’s rendezvous attempt and put those lessons to work on the missions that follow.”

NASA and Katalyst are working closely to assess next steps for rendezvous and gather as much data as possible to inform future satellite servicing operations.

“We knew this was a high-risk, high-reward mission – a first-of-its kind attempt, developed on an unprecedented timeline driven by the Sun’s activity,” said Shawn Domagal-Goldman, director, Astrophysics Division, NASA Headquarters in Washington. “We were all hoping for more science from Swift. But we knew the takeaways from this mission would be worthwhile either way, and we have gained so much through the series of accomplishments up to this point.”

Without intervention, NASA anticipates Swift is likely to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere later this year. As part of the agency’s previous planning for Swift’s end of life, NASA will continue to prioritize finding new options to react rapidly to cosmic events, using current missions to help fill the gap in the meantime.

“Building, testing, and operating this mission has already strengthened America’s space industry pipeline, advancing in-space servicing capabilities in completely new ways,” Domagal-Goldman said. “NASA is committed to supporting our commercial vendors as they take on difficult tasks with the agency, to push the boundaries of what’s possible. We’re so proud of this team for: getting to the launch pad in record time, in a record-setting year for NASA astrophysics launches; its innovative problem-solving up to this point; and the dedication to the exciting capabilities this mission will attempt to demonstrate next.”

Swift was launched in 2004 to study gamma-ray bursts, the most powerful explosions in the universe, and other cosmic objects and events. It was designed for a two-year prime mission. After 21 years of science operations, Swift’s low Earth orbit began to rapidly decay because of increased solar activity. NASA used this opportunity to advance U.S. spacecraft servicing technology, awarding a contract to Katalyst in September 2025 to mount a robotic servicing mission for Swift in less than a year.

The LINK spacecraft launched July 3 on a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket from Kwajalein Atoll in the South Pacific Ocean. Teams established communications with LINK and conducted in-orbit checkouts over the following weeks, before the spacecraft experienced attitude control issues.

Learn more from Katalyst, and monitor NASA’s Swift blog for continued updates throughout rendezvous: 

https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/swift

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Alise Fisher
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2546
alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov

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Aug 19, 2026

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Human-Related Microbes May Survive Moon’s South Pole, NASA Finds

2026-08-19 18:02

The gray-brown, heavily cratered Moon dominates the frame against black space, with a partially lit crescent Earth setting behind its upper-left edge.

This image was taken by an Artemis II astronaut from the Orion capsule in April 2026, as the spacecraft traveled past the Moon and back over 10 days. The gray-brown, heavily cratered Moon dominates the frame against black space, with a partially lit crescent Earth setting behind its upper-left edge.

NASA

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Some of Earth’s microbes likely to hitch a ride to space with human explorers could survive in the shaded nooks and crannies of the Moon’s South Pole region, NASA scientists say.

Published on Aug. 19, 2026, in Science Advances, these findings highlight a need to better understand microbial persistence in extreme lunar environments. As humans build a permanent presence on the Moon, it may become difficult to distinguish ancient lunar chemistry from contamination delivered by visiting astronauts. The concern extends beyond the Moon and on to Mars, scientists say.

“Humans are natural explorers, and with them come their voices, their memories … and their microbes,” said Prabal Saxena, a planetary scientist who led the study from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “For some scientists, myself included, that reality can be unsettling. But it also creates an opportunity to turn an imperfect situation into a useful experiment.”

Bringing microbes along is unavoidable: Humans have, on average, 1 million bacteria living on each patch of skin the size of a pencil eraser, for example. These bacteria vent from spacesuits and habitats. Though the paper’s authors worry about contamination interfering with the search for chemical clues to ancient geology or biology, they also argue that the Moon should be used as a natural lab. In shaded areas around the South Pole, scientists could carefully test the real-life limits of microbial survival in an environment that can’t easily be reproduced on Earth.

The Apollo program landed six pairs of astronauts on the Moon between 1969 and 1972. All six landing sites are near the lunar equator. In this visualization, the Apollo sites are contrasted with the South Pole, an area with enormous potential for future exploration. Time passes as we zoom toward Shackleton crater at the South Pole, revealing illumination conditions quite different from those near the equator. While many craters remain in permanent shadow, some nearby mountains and ridges are in persistent sunshine, making them attractive candidates for solar power and long-term habitation.

NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio/Ernie Wright

Before any surface science can happen, scientists need a baseline measurement of what contaminants humans bring, the authors say.

“We need to understand what was there before us, because when we go to Mars to search for signs of life beyond our planet, we will want to make sure it’s not stuff we brought,” said Andrew Needham, a NASA Goddard-based paper co-author who is an Artemis contamination‑control scientist for lunar samples.

Even with strict sterilization procedures, some organisms are stubbornly resilient. A good example is Aspergillus niger, which is a fungus that thrives in warm, damp places like household bathrooms and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems. Astronauts have sampled it inside the International Space Station, and experiments demonstrate that the fungus can survive outside the station as well. Aspergillus niger was one of five microbes, including bacteria and fungi, selected for this study because of its known toughness in spaceflight environments.

That microbes survived on the space station’s exterior surprised scientists. These species are typically not considered “extremophiles” that can withstand harsh conditions, such as the vacuum of space, according to Aaron Regberg, a geomicrobiologist at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

“I would have expected these microbes to have dried out,” said Regberg, who studies space station bacteria and was a co-author on the paper.

Astronaut conducts scientific work aboard the International Space Station, floating in microgravity surrounded by equipment and research tools.

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins on Oct. 14, 2016, collecting microbes in the Japanese Experiment Module aboard the International Space Station.

JAXA/Takuya Onishi

He pointed out that NASA often bakes robotic spacecraft at temperatures above 400 degrees Fahrenheit to reduce the number of living organisms on them. But that’s not possible with astronauts, so contamination concerns take on new meaning in crewed exploration of the Moon’s south polar environment.

A clearer picture of where microbes might survive comes from understanding how sunlight behaves at the poles. Survival in this study means the microbe can stay alive for at least one Earth day, which does not mean that it can grow and reproduce.

Because the Moon has a very small tilt on its axis, the view from its poles is of a Sun that appears to hover just above the horizon, skimming the surface like a flashlight laying on a table. As a result, elevated parts of the surface, including crater ridges, mountains, and even small bumps, block light from reaching low-lying terrain. This produces pockets of shadowed areas that can remain cold and preserve water, as well as shield fragile molecules and possible microorganisms from lethal radiation.

With that scientific context in mind, the team set out to test which Earth microbes could survive extreme polar conditions. They focused on organisms commonly found in spaceflight environments and those common on human skin. Besides Aspergillus niger, these included Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Deinococcus radiodurans, and several species of Fusarium. Based on an analysis of previous studies, the scientists noted the maximum amount of heat and ultraviolet (UV) radiation each organism can withstand.

Then, the organisms were tested in simulations of three regions near the lunar South Pole — Nobile Rim, Connecting Ridge, and De Gerlache Rim. Those simulations used detailed environmental maps built from elevation and temperature data collected by instruments aboard NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, combined with models of how radiation strikes the surface.

The models showed maps of “survivable niches” that range in size from a miles-wide crater floor to an astronaut’s boot print. Aspergillus niger, which was most resistant to UV radiation, was able to survive even in areas with some sunlight exposure. UV radiation is so deadly to most microbes that it’s used for sterilization in hospitals.

“When we think of the Moon, we don’t typically think of biology,” said Heather Graham, a paper co-author at NASA Goddard who helps develop tools and techniques for detecting biology that may look nothing like Earth’s. “But the Moon is a place where a cell can survive, so our first exploration of these sites should pay extra attention to our microbial hitchhikers and work hard to characterize lunar chemistry before our visits change what we will find.”

The authors note that while some microbes can survive in a dormant state in regions around the South Pole, and thereby confuse some future scientific investigations, there is no evidence the Moon has key ingredients to sustain growth and replication. Such ingredients include liquid water, which typically requires an atmosphere and moderate temperatures.

For more information, visit:

https://science.nasa.gov/astrobiology

Learn More and Get Involved

International Observe the Moon Night, Sept. 19, 2026

Each year, observers around the world come together to celebrate Earth’s Moon through direct observations, hands-on activities, lunar-themed music, artwork, readings, and more.

The Moon

From lighting up our skies to preserving evidence of our solar system’s history, Earth’s closest neighbor plays a pivotal role in the study of our planet and beyond.

About the Author

Lonnie Shekhtman

Senior Science Writer

Shekhtman helps communicate NASA planetary science to the world through news and feature stories on NASA.gov, videos for NASA+ and YouTube, and by working with the media. She reports on lunar and Mars science and exploration; NASA’s search for life; missions to Venus, Titan, and Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids; and many other topics related to NASA’s exploration of our solar system and beyond.

Ancient Milky Way Merger

2026-08-19 16:18

An illustration of two galaxies in the midst of a collision against a dark, star-filled background. The collision takes up the middle third of the illustration. On the right, a larger galaxy is viewed at an angle from 11 o’clock to 4 o’clock, with a white-yellow core surrounded by mottled brown dust lanes and faint bluish spiral arms. To the left, a smaller, bright blue-white galaxy is stretched into a curved, hook-like shape as gravity distorts it. A broad, glowing bridge of pale blue gas and stars extends off the galaxy at the left, while wispy streams extend above and below the larger galaxy at the right. The words “Artist’s Concept” appear in the lower left corner.

About 12 billion years ago, a dwarf galaxy known as LKH collided with a young Milky Way and merged with it. This artist’s concept portrays that collision. NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope uncovered definitive evidence of this collision by studying globular star clusters.

NASA, ESA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)

This artist’s concept, released on Aug. 17, 2026, depicts a collision between our Milky Way galaxy and a dwarf galaxy known as LKH that happened about 12 billion years ago. A study of data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, recently published in the journal Nature Astronomy, shows definitive evidence of a dwarf galaxy merging with the young Milky Way galaxy in the earliest phases of its evolution. This finding extends our knowledge of our galaxy’s history 1.8 billion years further back in time than before.

Read about this discovery.

Image credit: NASA, ESA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)

NASA Establishes State Hubs to Grow Technical Aerospace Workforce

2026-08-19 15:55

From left, Sean McCrary and Katie Mortensen, mechanical engineering technicians, paint NASA’s Artemis logo on the White Room connected to the crew access arm and mobile launcher inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025.

Credit: NASA/Frank Michaux

NASA has awarded approximately $10.5 million to seven institutions to help strengthen and streamline state-based pathways for students into skilled technical jobs in the aerospace industry.

The awards were made through the new NASA Aerospace Skilled Technical Workforce Hubs initiative, or NASA State Hubs. This investment in state ecosystems is designed to accelerate the development of technical roles to meet the talent demands of the space industry.

“The need for technical talent is already urgent and will only continue to grow as we return humanity to the Moon and set our sights on Mars and beyond,” said Elaine Ho, associate administrator for the Office of STEM Engagement at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “NASA is uniquely positioned to be the catalyst and convener that accelerates America’s aerospace workforce development and fosters the next generation of technicians.”

The newly awarded NASA State Hubs, represented across seven states, will function as strategic conveners that align industry employers, community colleges, high school career and technical education programs, and workforce systems to facilitate bringing students into high‑demand technical jobs, including welders, electricians, machinists, and other highly trained workers who use advanced STEM knowledge and technical skills in their occupations.

Over the next three years, the selected organizations will create programs that build critical skills identified by industry leaders, illuminate career pathways through education and apprenticeships, and build connections between employers and job seekers.

The awarded organizations are:

Antelope Valley Community College District in Lancaster, California
Georgia Tech Research Corporation
Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
Southern Utah University
Space Florida
State Board for Community Colleges and Occupation Education, Arapahoe Community College in Littleton, Colorado
Texas Space Commission

NASA State Hubs cooperative agreements are funded by the Office of STEM Engagement through its Next Gen STEM Project. The Office of STEM Engagement advances NASA’s mission by boosting the nation’s research capacity, building technical expertise, and strengthening participation in aerospace fields. The Next Gen STEM project extends this impact by preparing high school and community college students for future aerospace careers through strategic partnerships and competitive awards that develop the vital skills needed to power our Golden Age of exploration and innovation.

For more information on NASA State Hubs, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/nasa-state-hubs

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Gerelle Dodson
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
gerelle.q.dodson@nasa.gov