Research lab
NASA field centre in Greenbelt, Maryland, focused on space science missions and management of the Explorers Program.
L3Harris will build the Engineering Test Unit for NASA's all-glass LISA telescope, the agency's last pre-flight unit before flight hardware. NASA is supplying the telescopes and laser system for the ESA-led gravitational-wave observatory, due to launch in the mid-2030s.
Reality
Arctic sea ice shrank to 4.6 million square kilometers on Sept. 12, tying for the 10th-lowest minimum on record, NASA and NSIDC said. Matching a 2008 value puts 2026 in the middle of a low band the ice has held since 2007.
Reality
NASA's Swift observatory, in orbit since 2004, will re-enter by year's end after the Katalyst spacecraft sent to boost it developed faults in orbit. NASA now presents the year-long effort as practice for fast commercial satellite servicing.
Reality
Hubble imaging and Gaia orbits separate a third population of ancient star clusters in the galaxy's inner regions, evidence of a dwarf galaxy swallowed about 11.8 billion years ago.
Perspective Coverage
3 publishersReality
Saturn's northern hexagon has looked the same for more than 40 years, so a second polygon that only shows up in images from 2023 onward hands atmospheric modellers a formation they can watch happen rather than a finished structure to explain.
Perspective Coverage
10 publishersReality
PRIMA, a 1.8-metre far-infrared telescope managed by JPL, moves into preliminary design with a project cost ceiling of $1.2 billion that excludes launch, a 2033 launch target and a confirmation review still ahead.
Reality