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The predawn hours brought clear skies over much of the eastern United States on October 18, 2026. An astronaut aboard the International Space Station seized the opportunity to capture this wide-angle photo at 4:54 a.m. Central Daylight Time (09:54 Universal Time), with illuminated cities large and small arrayed across the darkened landscape.

The U.S. Midwest’s largest metropolitan areas, such as Chicago, Illinois, and Detroit, Michigan, stand out as some of the brightest features. Mid-sized cities—including Indianapolis, Indiana; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Louisville, Kentucky—and their interconnections along state and interstate highways also shine brightly.

Above the web of nighttime lights and Earth’s lower atmosphere, a diffuse layer of green and orange is visible along the horizon to the left. This band of light is airglow, produced when sunlight strikes atoms and molecules in the upper atmosphere and causes them to eject photons. To the right, light from the Sun arcs across the horizon; sunrise was about an hour away on the East Coast and about two hours away in Chicago.

Astronaut photos and other remote sensing observations of nighttime lights are scientifically valuable for tracking changes in the built environment. For example, Chicago’s lightscape appears a homogeneous pale yellow in the wide view above. But in detailed photos, like the one below, a range of colors stemming from different types of lighting is discernible. Using NASA’s extensive Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth archive, researchers have developed a method for distinguishing lighting types within the pixels of nighttime photos. Systematically quantifying urban lights’ brightness, color, and extent can provide insight into how cities grow and evolve.

Satellite sensors also observe changes to lighting. In particular, NASA’s Black Marble nighttime lights product suite uses satellite observations to produce science-quality records of nighttime lights across the globe at daily, monthly, and yearly time scales. In the eastern U.S., scientists have used these data to track everything from power outages and restoration following major storms to lighting changes associated with new infrastructure to transitions to LED lighting from older forms.

Astronaut photograph ISS075-E-226709 was acquired on October 18, 2026, with a Nikon Z9 digital camera using a focal length of 14 millimeters, and photograph ISS070-E-105097 was acquired on March 1, 2024, with a Nikon D5 digital camera using a focal length of 400 millimeters. They are provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit at NASA Johnson Space Center. The images were taken by members of the Expedition 75 and Expedition 70 crews, respectively. The images have been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast, and lens artifacts have been removed. The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory as part of the ISS National Lab to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. Story by Lindsey Doermann.

References & Resources

• NASA Earth Observatory (2026, May 15) Picturing Earth in a New Light. Accessed November 3, 2026.
• NASA Earth Observatory (2024, November 24) Windy City of Lights. Accessed November 3, 2026.
• NASA Earth Observatory (2017, December 27) Observing Changes in Nighttime Lights. Accessed November 3, 2026.

CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Joshua Kutryk is pictured during the Oct. 29, 2026, spacewalk. The International Space Station was soaring 267 miles above the South Atlantic Ocean at the time of this photograph. Kutryk and NASA astronaut Anil Menon installed a new roll-out solar array on the space station and performed some get-ahead work for their next spacewalk, which will take place on Nov. 5, 2026. The pair will install the eighth and final roll-out solar array; together, the eight arrays will increase the station’s available power by up to 30%.

Image credit: CSA

For more information, contact Joel W. Sills, Langley Research Center, joel.w.sills@nasa.gov.

Download PDF here

Chip resistors are widely used in NASA projects, yet cases of alumina substrate cracking during environmental testing are rare. Two instances of thick-film chip resistor cracking were observed during thermal cycling after vibration, with fractures occurring across the short axis due to bending. Failure analyses ruled out defective lots and fatigue, identifying board flexure, component orientation, excessive solder, and mounting stresses as contributing factors. The bulletin recommends careful component placement, finite element analysis, controlled solder fillet height, thorough inspection, and functional thermal shock testing to mitigate flexure-induced cracking risks in ceramic body components on printed circuit boards.

Background
The NESC noted historical lack of reported cases of chip resistors’ alumina substrate cracking during vibration and thermal cycling, although chip resistors are ubiquitous across NASA projects. Two instances of thick film chip resistor body cracking were observed during environmental acceptance testing on printed circuit board assemblies. Both failures occurred during thermal cycling after vibration testing, exhibiting intermittent open circuit failures at hot dwell temperatures that recovered at room temperature. Transverse fracture occurred at the mid-span of each resistor, running parallel to the terminations. The two resistors were installed in similar locations near the edge of the boards on two identical boards. Cracks in failed resistors were along the short axis of the resistor due to apparent bending of the resistors, Figure 1. Resistors showed no signs of pre-existing defects.

Causal Relationships Initial theories pointed to vibration-induced damage of potentially defective resistors since both resistors came from the same production lot. However, the resistor lot not only meets the requirements of procurement specification MIL-PRF-55342 but additional tests were performed and did not reveal any direct evidence of a defective resistor lot. There was no evidence of an elevated risk of defective resistors within the production lot.

Failure Analyses
Independent failure analyses concluded that the cracked chip resistors were due to bending/tensile failures. There was no clear-cut root cause or visible defect identifying a crack initiation site. Both resistors exhibited a single, straight crack across the short axis (perpendicular to the long axis), indicating a bending/tensile failure without twisting.

The damage signatures are not consistent with cyclic fatigue, likely ruling out fatigue failure during vibration. In addition, NESC independent optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Figure 2, of both resistors did not identify any clear flaw locations for fatigue damage initiation and progression; therefore, the possibility of defective resistors as well as fatigue vibration as the root cause becomes unlikely.

Cause Conclusions
No direct root cause was identified, but contributing factors leading to increased design consideration needed for large footprint ceramic components located near the edges of a printed circuit board that can lead to stress cracks due to manufacturing or installation bow/twist of the printed circuit board include:

• Location of the relatively large resistors (case size 2512) next to the edge of the board with resistor’s long axis parallel to the card edge, increasing susceptibility to board flexure-induced damage.
• Excessive solder that extended to the top pads on the resistor terminations.
• Excessive bending moments or loads resulting from board bow/twist.
• Hard mounting the board to a rigid frame, which can store and amplify these bow/twist stresses.
• Suboptimal fastener torquing patterns, which may concentrate mounting stresses specifically at the resistor locations.

Guidelines for Assembly of Ceramic Body Components to Printed Circuit Boards
The following guidelines are to be considered given the recent experience.

• Component Orientation: Avoid orienting the long axis of large footprint ceramic components parallel to nearby printed circuit board edges to reduce susceptibility to global and local flexure damage.

• Finite Element Analysis: Perform sufficient Finite Element Analysis to demonstrate adequate stress and displacement margins on large components when they must be placed near the edge of the board.

• Solder Joint Fillet Limits: Keep solder off the top surface of terminations. Solder on top creates a rigid joint that transfers printed circuit board flexure directly into the ceramic increasing risk of flexure-induced cracking. Consult the individual parts manufacturers for guidance, as they may place specific limits on solder fillet height.

• Solder Joint Inspection: Inspect physical solder joints or review photographic images of the joints to verify that components have sufficient, but not excessive, solder fillets according to manufacturer limits.

• Functional Thermal Shock Testing: Perform one to three thermal cycles, including a hot-dwell functional test, prior to vibration testing, to document as built component integrity.

References
1. MIL-PRF-55342 Resistor, Chip, Fixed, Film, Nonestablished Reliability, Established Reliability, Space Level
2. MIL-PRF-55342/9 Resistor, Fixed, Film, Chip, Nonestablished Reliability, Established Reliability, Space Level, Style RM2512
3. MIL-STD-202 Method 218 Board Flex

Students across the country will have the opportunity to connect directly with the International Space Station during a live, interactive in-flight call with NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Mark Rober STEM content creator and founder of ClassCrunchLabs Foundation. The event, hosted by NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement, celebrates National STEM Day by bringing real‑world science, engineering, and exploration into classrooms nationwide.

The Earth-to-space call will begin at 11 a.m. EST on Wednesday, Nov. 4, and will be available to watch on the agency’s flagship YouTube with additional engagement across Learn With NASA channels.

From aboard the space station, Menon will answer questions from students about living and working in microgravity, the path to becoming an astronaut, and the technologies that make human spaceflight possible. Rober, joining from California, will share how curiosity, creativity, and hands‑on problem‑solving shaped his career from NASA engineer to STEM creator.

A look at STEM in action

During the downlink, students will see the space station in real time as Menon demonstrates how everyday activities, from eating to experimenting, change in microgravity. The downlink supports NASA’s broader effort to connect students with authentic STEM experiences to help build technical skills and introduce aerospace careers to students. National STEM Day is an opportunity to recognize the power of hands‑on learning and to inspire the next generation of scientists, technicians, engineers, and innovators who will carry NASA’s exploration goals forward.

A new collaboration to expand STEM access

This downlink also marks the launch of a new collaboration between NASA and the ClassCrunchLabs Foundation. Together, the organizations will work to broaden access to STEM learning experiences for students across the country by aligning NASA’s mission‑driven educational resources with CrunchLabs’ hands‑on engineering content. Through shared programming and outreach, the partnership aims to inspire more learners to engage with science, engineering, and problem‑solving skills that prepare them for future opportunities in the aerospace sector and beyond.

Educators and families are encouraged to tune in and celebrate National STEM Day with an inspiring conversation between a NASA astronaut in orbit and a STEM educator on Earth.

For more information on NASA in-flight calls, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation

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