Can you spot the spacewalkers? 🔍
Six years ago, Expedition 59 Flight Engineers @nasaastronauts Anne McClain and @canadianspaceagency astronaut David Saint-Jacques performed a six-and-a-half hour spacewalk outside the International Space Station (@iss ).
Fast forward to now, McClain (@astro_annimal ) and Nichole Ayers (@astro_ayers ) of Expedition 72 currently on board the space station are preparing their spacesuits for a spacewalk! Targeted for the beginning of May to ready the station for a new rollout solar array, this will be McClain’s third spacewalk, and Ayers’ first.
📸: NASA
#NASA #spacewalk #space #astronauts
Suit up with NASA astronaut @astro_anil .
Johnson’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory in Houston provides astronauts an underwater atmosphere resembling zero gravity (weightlessness) to train for spacewalks.
For years, @nasaastronauts have performed spacewalks outside the @iss for maintenance and upgrades while wearing the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuit. The spacesuit can weigh anywhere from about 250-300 pounds on the ground.
Spacewalks are some of the most physically and mentally demanding tasks an astronaut can do, with each excursion typically six to eight hours in duration.
Cover image credit: NASA/David DeHoyos
#nasa #space #astronaut #dive #pool #houston #training
A view earned only by leaving the world that made us.
From low Earth orbit, the planet reveals itself in motion — aurora sweeping across the night side, the atmosphere glowing in thin, electric layers, and pieces of the International Space Station drifting quietly through view. In this timelapse, astronauts capture the rhythm of Earth as only orbit can show it: fast, fluid, and alive.
Every frame is a reminder of why we study our home planet from above — to understand its systems, protect its future, and witness the beauty that unfolds just beyond the horizon.
In the suit that symbolizes exploration, he stands on the edge of his own first chapter.
@NASA astronaut Anil Menon is preparing for his first journey to space as he launches aboard Soyuz MS‑29 targeted for Tuesday, July 14, joining Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina for an eight‑month stay on the International Space Station as part of Expeditions 74/75.
Selected as a NASA astronaut in 2021, Menon graduated with the agency’s 23rd astronaut class in 2024. Since completing his initial training, he’s been preparing for this moment — a mission that will mark the beginning of his work living and conducting research in orbit. As he takes this next step, Menon joins the long legacy of explorers supported by teams at NASA’s Johnson Space Center who make human spaceflight possible.
Image: NASA astronaut and Expedition 75 flight engineer Anil Menon poses in a spacesuit for a portrait at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz
When your ‘office’ is a lunar lander prototype😏
Located in the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility at NASA's Johnson Space Center, the full-scale prototype of the crew cabin of Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 2 crew lander is now ready for training and testing.
NASA and our industry partners will use this crew cabin for mission simulations as we prepare for future Artemis missions. Overtime, this model will evolve to support more advanced mission and training needs. It will become an integrated simulator with interactive systems that help astronauts practice for their flight with ground flight control teams.
Following the successful Artemis II test flight that took four astronauts around the Moon, NASA will launch the Artemis III mission next year to test critical systems in Earth orbit, including rendezvous and docking with one or both commercial landers from Blue Origin and SpaceX.
#NASA #BlueOrigin #Artemis #LunarLander #Moon
A little love for our OG mom, Earth. 💙🌍 Happy Mother’s Day weekend.
At NASA’s Johnson Space Center, astronauts and teams on the ground work every day to better understand and protect our home planet. From studying Earth’s climate from orbit to advancing technologies that support sustainable exploration, the work happening here helps us care for the world that has always cared for us.
As we head into Mother’s Day weekend, it’s a fitting moment to appreciate the world that has always taken care of us — and celebrate the mothers, caregivers, and communities who do the same.
200 days into the yearlong mission! 🚀
NASA's CHAPEA crew continues their simulated Mars journey, contributing valuable research insights for future deep space exploration.
Inside the 1,700-square-foot-habitat, the four volunteers are growing crops, completing ‘Marswalks,’ conducting robotic operations, habitat maintenance, and more. Their work also is taking a look at how extended periods of isolation affect cognitive and physical performance.
Each step brings us closer to Mars! Check out some photos to see what they’ve been up to.
Image 1: Members of NASA’s Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) Mission 2 pose for a group photo. (From left to right: Ellen Ellis, Ross Elder, James Spicer, Matthew Montgomery) Credit: NASA
Image 2: CHAPEA mission 2 commander Ross Elder shows geological samples collected during a simulated extravehicular activity. Credit: NASA
Image 3: CHAPEA crew members perform blood collections to monitor their health. (From left: James Spicer and Matthew Montgomery) Credit: NASA
Image 4: CHAPEA mission 2 crew members during off-duty time. (From left: Matthew Montgomery, Ellen Ellis, and Ross Elder) Credit: NASA
While Artemis II made its journey back to Earth, people on the ground captured the heart of exploration in their own words.
As Integrity made its final descent toward splashdown, guests gathered at @nasa ’s Johnson Space Center, sharing messages of hope, pride, and gratitude. Each one served as a reminder of how exploration connects us. Written in the moments surrounding splashdown, these handwritten notes carry the voices of those inspired by the mission and the team behind it.
From quiet reflections to joyful cheers, every word reflects the same truth: @nasaartemis isn’t just a mission, it’s a shared journey. One that brings communities together, sparks imagination, and reminds us what’s possible when we dare to go farther.
As the crowd rose to their feet, celebrating the crew’s return, their voices echoed the spirit of the moment itself: unity, courage, and the promise of what comes next
Ever wonder what it's actually like to be a NASA intern?
Meet Lauren Coffman! She's taking you behind the scenes for a real day in the life on a Human Factors Team at Johnson Space Center. From unexpected wildlife encounters to spacesuit inspo - and maybe even a dodgeball game with astronauts - you never know what's coming next.
Thinking "that could be me"? It can! Fall internship applications are open until May 22 on intern.nasa.gov
Suit up. Crew‑13 is almost ready to write the next chapter in orbit. 🧑🚀
@nasa ’s @spacex Crew‑13 astronauts are gearing up for their long‑duration mission to the International Space Station, launching no earlier than mid‑September 2026 from Florida’s Space Coast. The crew includes Commander Jessica Watkins, Pilot Luke Delaney, and Mission Specialists Joshua Kutryk and Sergey Teteryatnikov, representing NASA, the Canadian Space Agency, and Roscosmos.
Once aboard the space station as part of Expedition 75, Crew‑13 will support a full slate of scientific investigations and technology demonstrations designed to advance human exploration of the Moon and Mars while delivering benefits back on Earth. Their work will help maintain continuous staffing on the station, ensure smooth handovers between crews, and keep research operations running at full capacity.
This mission also marks the first journey to space for Delaney, Kutryk, and Teteryatnikov. Together, they carry forward the international collaboration that keeps the International Space Station operating as a testbed for the future of human spaceflight.
In every great leap, there’s a moment that changes everything.
The Artemis II launch marked a defining moment in our return to deep space exploration, a mission built on decades of innovation, teamwork, and the drive to push farther than ever before. The launch of Artemis II was a moment suspended between past and future, a bridge from where we have been to where we are determined to go and a reminder that progress is built one bold step at a time.
As the first crewed flight of the Artemis campaign, Artemis II represents more than a test of systems; it reflects a renewed commitment to exploration, scientific discovery, and the spirit of human possibility. Each milestone brings us closer to sending astronauts back to the lunar surface and preparing for the next giant leap toward Mars. This is history in motion, powered by the people who make exploration possible.
