Saturday, 7 March 2026

NASA Invites Media to Northrop Grumman CRS-24 Station Resupply Launch

Northrop Grumman's Cygnus XL cargo craft, carrying over 11,000 pounds of new science and supplies for the Expedition 73 crew, is pictiured moments before its capture with the International Space Station's Canadarm2 robotic arm. Both spacecraft were orbiting 257 miles above Namibia. Cygnus XL is Northrop Grumman's expanded version of its previous Cygnus cargo craft increasing its payload capacity and pressurized cargo volume.
Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL cargo craft, carrying over 11,000 pounds of new science and supplies for the Expedition 73 crew, is pictured moments before its capture with the International Space Station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm. Both spacecraft were orbiting 257 miles above Namibia. Cygnus XL is Northrop Grumman’s expanded version of its previous Cygnus cargo craft increasing its payload capacity and pressurized cargo volume.
NASA

Media accreditation is open for the next launch to deliver NASA science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station. A Northrop Grumman Cygnus XL spacecraft will launch in April to the orbital laboratory on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for NASA.

The mission is known as NASA’s Northrop Grumman Commercial Resupply Services 24 (NASA’s Northrop Grumman CRS-24). Liftoff is targeted for no earlier than Wednesday, April 8, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Following launch, astronauts aboard the space station will use the Canadarm2 robotic arm to capture Cygnus and install the spacecraft to the Unity module’s Earth-facing port for cargo unloading. The spacecraft will remain at the space station until October. This is the company’s 24th spacecraft built to deliver supplies to the International Space Station under contract with NASA.

Credentialing to cover prelaunch and launch activities is open to U.S. media. The application deadline for U.S. citizens is 11:59 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, March 18. All accreditation requests must be submitted online at:

https://media.ksc.nasa.gov

Credentialed media will receive a confirmation email following approval. NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online. For questions about accreditation, or to request special logistical support, email: ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov. For other questions, please contact NASA’s Kennedy Space Center newsroom at: 321-867-2468.

In addition to food, supplies, and equipment for the crew, Cygnus will deliver research to the space station, including a new module to advance quantum science that could improve computing technology and aid in the search for dark matter and hardware to produce a greater number of therapeutic stem cells for blood diseases and cancer. Cygnus also will carry model organisms to study the gut microbiome and a receiver that could enhance space weather models that protect critical space infrastructure, such as GPS and radar.

Each resupply mission to the station delivers scientific investigations in the areas of biology and biotechnology, Earth and space science, physical sciences, and technology development and demonstrations. Cargo resupply from U.S. companies ensures a national capability to deliver scientific research to the space station, increasing NASA’s ability to conduct new investigations aboard humanity’s laboratory in space.

For more than 25 years, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and making research breakthroughs that are not possible on Earth. The station is an important testbed for NASA to understand and overcome the challenges of long-duration spaceflight and to expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit. As commercial companies concentrate on providing human space transportation services and destinations as part of a strong low Earth orbit economy, NASA is focusing its resources on deep space missions to the Moon as part of the Artemis program to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.

Learn more about International Space Station research and operations at:

https://www.nasa.gov/station

-end-

Josh Finch / Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / james.j.russell@nasa.gov

Steven Siceloff
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-876-2468
steven.p.siceloff@nasa.gov

Sandra Jones / Leah Cheshier
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov / leah.d.cheshier@nasa.gov



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NASA’s DART Mission Changed Orbit of Asteroid Didymos Around Sun

The Italian Space Agency’s LICIACube traveled alongside NASA’s DART to capture the spacecraft’s collision with Dimorphos. In this LICIACube image, taken moments after impact on Sept. 26, 2022, rocky debris can be seen fanning out from the smaller asteroid below its larger binary partner, Didymos.
ASI/NASA
This image of asteroids Didymos, left, and Dimorphos was captured by NASA’s DART mission a few seconds before the spacecraft smashed into Dimorphos on Sept. 26, 2022. The impact on the smaller asteroid had a measurable effect on the orbit of its larger partner.
NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

The spacecraft changed the binary system’s orbit, confirming that a kinetic impactor can be an effective planetary defense technique for deflecting a near-Earth object.

New research reveals that when NASA’s DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) spacecraft intentionally impacted the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos in September 2022, it didn’t just change the motion of Dimorphos around its larger companion, Didymos; the crash also shifted the orbit of both asteroids around the Sun. Linked together by gravity, Didymos and Dimorphos orbit each other around a shared center of mass in a configuration known as a binary system, so changes to one asteroid affect the other.

As detailed in a study published on Friday in the journal Science Advances, observations of the pair’s motion revealed that the 770-day orbital period around the Sun changed by a fraction of a second after the DART spacecraft’s impact on Dimorphos. That change marks the first time a human-made object has measurably altered the path of a celestial body around the Sun.

The Hubble Space Telescope observed two tails of dust ejected from the Didymos-Dimorphos asteroid system several days after NASA’s DART spacecraft impacted the smaller asteroid.
NASA, ESA, Jian-Yang Li (PSI), Joe Depasquale (STScI)

“This is a tiny change to the orbit, but given enough time, even a tiny change can grow to a significant deflection,” said Thomas Statler, lead scientist for solar system small bodies at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “The team’s amazingly precise measurement again validates kinetic impact as a technique for defending Earth against asteroid hazards and shows how a binary asteroid might be deflected by impacting just one member of the pair.”

High impact

When DART struck Dimorphos, the impact blasted a huge cloud of rocky debris into space, altering the shape of the asteroid, which measures 560 feet (170 meters) wide. Because the debris carried its own momentum away from the asteroid, it gave Dimorphos an explosive thrust — what scientists call the momentum enhancement factor. More debris being kicked out means more oomph. According to the new research, the momentum enhancement factor for DART’s impact was about two, meaning that the debris loss doubled the punch created by the spacecraft alone.

Earlier research showed that the smaller asteroid’s 12-hour orbital period around the nearly half-mile-wide (805-meter-wide) Didymos shortened by 33 minutes. The new study shows the impact ejected so much material from the binary system that it also changed the binary’s orbital period around the Sun by 0.15 seconds.

“The change in the binary system’s orbital speed was about 11.7 microns per second, or 1.7 inches per hour,” said Rahil Makadia, the study’s lead author at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. “Over time, such a small change in an asteroid’s motion can make the difference between a hazardous object hitting or missing our planet.”

Although Didymos was not on an impact trajectory with Earth and it was impossible for the DART mission to put it on one, that change in orbital speed underscores the role spacecraft — aka kinetic impactors in this context — could play if a potentially hazardous asteroid is found to be on a collision course in the future. The key is detecting near-Earth objects far enough in advance to send a kinetic impactor.

To that end, NASA is building the Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor mission. Managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, this next-generation space survey telescope is the first to be built for planetary defense. The mission will seek out some of the hardest-to-find near-Earth objects, such as dark asteroids and comets that don’t reflect much visible light.

How they did it

To prove DART had a detectable influence on both asteroids — not just on the smaller Dimorphos — the researchers needed to measure Didymos’ orbit around the Sun to exquisite precision. So, in addition to making radar and other ground-based observations of the asteroid, they tracked stellar occultations, which occur when the asteroid passes exactly in front of a star, causing the pinpoint of light to blink out for a fraction of a second. This technique provides extremely precise measurements of the asteroid’s speed, shape, and position.

Measuring stellar occultations is challenging: Astronomers have to be in the right place at the right time with several observing stations, sometimes miles apart, to track the predicted path of the asteroid in front of a specific star. The team relied on volunteer astronomers around the globe who recorded 22 stellar occultations between October 2022 and March 2025.

“When combined with years of existing ground-based observations, these stellar occultation observations became key in helping us calculate how DART had changed Didymos’ orbit,” said study co-lead Steve Chesley, a senior research scientist at JPL. “This work is highly weather dependent and often requires travel to remote regions with no guarantee of success. This result would not have been possible without the dedication of dozens of volunteer occultation observers around the world.”

Studying changes in Didymos’ motion also helped the researchers calculate the densities of both asteroids. Dimorphos is slightly less dense than previously thought, supporting the theory that it formed from rocky debris shed by a rapidly spinning Didymos. This loose material eventually clumped together to form Dimorphos, a “rubble pile” asteroid.

More about DART

The DART spacecraft was designed, built, and operated by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, for NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office, which oversees the agency’s ongoing efforts in planetary defense. It was humanity’s first mission to intentionally move a celestial object.

For more information about the DART mission visit:

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/dart/

Media Contacts

Ian J. O’Neill
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-2649
ian.j.oneill@jpl.nasa.gov

Karen Fox / Molly Wasser
NASA Headquarters, Washington
240-285-5155 / 240-419-1732
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov

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Friday, 6 March 2026

NASA to Cover Northrop Grumman Cargo Spacecraft Departure

Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft, loaded with more than 11,000 pounds of science and supplies for Expedition 73, is seen grasped by the International Space Station’s Canadarm2 after its capture on Sept. 18, 2025, as both spacecraft orbited 257 miles above Tanzania.
Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft, loaded with more than 11,000 pounds of science and supplies for Expedition 73, is seen grasped by the International Space Station’s Canadarm2 after its capture on Sept. 18, 2025, as both spacecraft orbited 257 miles above Tanzania.
Credit: NASA

After delivering more than 11,000 pounds of supplies, science investigations, hardware, and other cargo to the International Space Station for NASA and its international partners, the Cygnus XL spacecraft supporting Northrop Grumman’s 23rd Commercial Resupply Services mission is scheduled to depart the orbiting laboratory Thursday, March 12.

Watch NASA’s live coverage of undocking and departure beginning at 6:45 a.m. EDT on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and the agency’s YouTube channel. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of online platforms, including social media.

Flight controllers on the ground will send commands for the space station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm to detach the Cygnus XL spacecraft from the Unity module’s Earth‑facing port and maneuver it into position for release at 7 a.m. ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot will monitor Cygnus’ systems as it departs.

Cygnus XL will be commanded to deorbit on Saturday, March 14, to dispose of several thousand pounds of trash during its reentry into Earth’s atmosphere, where it will harmlessly burn up.

The Northrop Grumman spacecraft launched in September 2025 atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This mission is the first flight of the larger, more cargo-capable version of the solar-powered spacecraft.

Learn more about this NASA commercial resupply mission at:

https://www.nasa.gov/mission/nasas-northrop-grumman-crs-23/

-end-

Josh Finch / Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / james.j.russell@nasa.gov

Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov



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Ailing “Megaberg” Sparks Surge of Microscopic Life

Natural color
Chlorophyll
Iceberg A-23A floats in dark ocean waters colored by greenish-blue swirls of phytoplankton. Light blue pools of meltwater are visible on the surface of the iceberg. Much smaller bergs are scattered across a large area east of A-23A. Clouds along the edges of the image frame the scene.
NASA Earth Observatory
A map of the same area shows chlorophyll-a plumes appearing to emanate from many icebergs scattered throughout the region. Plumes with higher concentrations of chlorophyll-a—a proxy for phytoplankton—appear in lighter shades and dissipate as they drift and swirl in ocean currents.
NASA Earth Observatory
Iceberg A-23A floats in dark ocean waters colored by greenish-blue swirls of phytoplankton. Light blue pools of meltwater are visible on the surface of the iceberg. Much smaller bergs are scattered across a large area east of A-23A. Clouds along the edges of the image frame the scene.
NASA Earth Observatory
A map of the same area shows chlorophyll-a plumes appearing to emanate from many icebergs scattered throughout the region. Plumes with higher concentrations of chlorophyll-a—a proxy for phytoplankton—appear in lighter shades and dissipate as they drift and swirl in ocean currents.
NASA Earth Observatory

Natural color

Chlorophyll

January 25, 2026


Iceberg A-23A has had a more eventful run than most of the large Antarctic icebergs that have calved from the continent’s ice shelves in recent decades. Over its winding, forty-plus-year journey, the “megaberg” spent decades grounded in the Weddell Sea before drifting north, twirling in an ocean vortex for months, and nearly colliding with an island in 2025.

By 2026, the iconic iceberg, sopping with meltwater and shedding smaller bergs as it moved into warmer ocean waters, put on one more show. The chunks of ice and frigid glacial meltwater left in its wake appear to have fueled a surge in phytoplankton abundance, known as a bloom, observed in surface waters by NASA satellites.

Phytoplankton, which harvest sunlight to carry out photosynthesis, form the base of the marine food web. They also produce up to half of the oxygen on Earth and serve as part of the ocean’s “biological carbon pump,” which transfers carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to the deep ocean.

The VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) on the Suomi NPP satellite captured this image (left) of the splintering tabular berg on January 25, 2026. The image was acquired after several large pieces had drifted northwestward and then curled toward the northeast following the iceberg breaking apart on January 9. A debris field full of brash ice, small icebergs, and bergy bits was visible east of the largest remaining pieces. Also on January 25, the OCI (Ocean Color Instrument) on NASA’s PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, Ocean Ecosystem) satellite detected plumes of chlorophyll-a (right) drifting around the remaining bergs and debris field. Researchers use chlorophyll concentrations as a marker of phytoplankton abundance.

A more detailed view of large fragments of A-23A shows distinct melt pools and channels on the surfaces of irregularly shaped icebergs against dark ocean waters. Dozens of much smaller icebergs are scattered around the largest bergs, particularly on the right side of the image.
January 25, 2026

“This bloom is too big and too clearly spreading from the icebergs not to be strongly linked to them,” said Grant Bigg, an emeritus oceanographer at the University of Sheffield. Bigg, who has studied how large icebergs have enhanced phytoplankton activity in this region, noted that while blooms unconnected to icebergs do occur regularly here, satellite imagery shows a connection that has persisted for weeks—increasing his confidence that the iceberg and phytoplankton bloom are related.

The primary factors that limit phytoplankton in this region are access to light and nutrients, explained Heidi Dierssen, an oceanographer at the University of Connecticut. Light can be limiting even in the summer because phytoplankton are often mixed too deeply in the water column due to high winds and turbulence.

Melting icebergs can boost phytoplankton by both creating a stable surface layer with favorable growth conditions and releasing plumes of meltwater rich in iron—a key nutrient for phytoplankton that can be scarce in this part of the South Atlantic, she said. Research indicates that icebergs also often contain significant amounts of manganese and macronutrients, such as nitrates and phosphates, that can benefit phytoplankton. These nutrients often accumulate on icebergs through windblown dust or through contact with bedrock or soil.

The Landsat 8 image above, captured by the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on January 25, 2026, shows blue meltwater pooling on several of the larger fragments. The linear patterns are likely related to striations that were etched hundreds of years ago when the ice was part of a glacier moving across Antarctic bedrock. Brown staining, perhaps soil or sediment, is visible on some of the bergs.

Bigg also noted that the phytoplankton signal appears to be more concentrated near the smaller bergs, possibly because these are melting faster, releasing nutrient-rich material at a higher rate. Dierssen added that it’s also possible that chlorophyll concentrations may be higher near the largest bergs than they appear because algorithms sometimes overcorrect for “adjacency effects” near bright surfaces, like ice, when processing chlorophyll data.

Ivona Cetinić, a researcher on NASA’s PACE science team, checked a database for clues about the smallest, or “pico,” phytoplankton swirling around the bergs. The tool, called MOANA (Multiple Ordination ANAlysis), taps into hyperspectral satellite observations of ocean color from PACE.

MOANA indicated that picoeukaryotic phytoplankton—microscopic eukaryotic organisms that respond quickly to changes in temperature or nutrient availability—were thriving in these waters when the image was captured. The swirls to the west of the berg were made of a slightly larger group of cyanobacteria called Synechococcus, she said. The PACE team is currently developing additional tools that will help identify communities of larger types of phytoplankton, which were likely present as well.

Some research suggests that icebergs may have contributed significantly to phytoplankton blooms in this region in recent years, possibly accounting for up to one-fifth of the Southern Ocean’s total carbon sequestration. Other research teams have concluded that surface waters trailing icebergs were about one-third more likely to have increased amounts of phytoplankton compared to background levels.  

How long iceberg A-23A will enhance phytoplankton productivity before and after disintegrating completely remains an open question. NASA scientists watching the berg say it continued to shrink and shed mass in February, but as of March 3, 2026, it remained just slightly above the size threshold required for naming and tracking by the U.S. National Ice Center.

Past research indicates that icebergs can sustain elevated chlorophyll concentrations for more than a month after passing through in trails that stretch for hundreds of kilometers. Icebergs and the blooms surrounding them have also been known to attract fish, seabirds, and other types of marine life, highlighting the important ecological role they play.   

NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison, using VIIRS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE, GIBS/Worldview, and the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership, PACE data from the NASA Ocean Biology Distributed Active Archive Center OB.DAAC, and Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Story Adam Voiland.

Downloads

Iceberg A-23A floats in dark ocean waters colored by greenish-blue swirls of phytoplankton. Light blue pools of meltwater are visible on the surface of the iceberg. Much smaller bergs are scattered across a large area east of A-23A. Clouds along the edges of the image frame the scene.

Suomi NPP, January 25, 2026

JPEG (1.71 MB)

A map of the same area shows chlorophyll-a plumes appearing to emanate from many icebergs scattered throughout the region. Plumes with higher concentrations of chlorophyll-a—a proxy for phytoplankton—appear in lighter shades and dissipate as they drift and swirl in ocean currents.

PACE, January 25, 2026

JPEG (1.29 MB)

A more detailed view of large fragments of A-23A shows distinct melt pools and channels on the surfaces of irregularly shaped icebergs against dark ocean waters. Dozens of much smaller icebergs are scattered around the largest bergs, particularly on the right side of the image.

Landsat, January 25, 2026

JPEG (2.52 MB)

References & Resources

You may also be interested in:

Stay up-to-date with the latest content from NASA as we explore the universe and discover more about our home planet.
A Giant Iceberg’s Final Drift
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After a long, turbulent journey, Antarctic Iceberg A-23A is signaling its demise as it floats in the South Atlantic.

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Meltwater Turns Iceberg A-23A Blue
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After a four-decade run, the massive, waterlogged berg is leaking meltwater and on the verge of disintegrating.

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Blooming Seas Around the Chatham Islands
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A vibrant display of phytoplankton encircled the remote New Zealand islands.

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About Air Traffic Management and Safety Project

2 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)

Animated gif showing air traffic management and safety (ATMS) project levels in airspace and the various vehicles.
Computer simulation showing how aircraft and other vehicles of all types can safely navigate through the National Air Space.
NASA / Kyle Jenkins

The Air Traffic Management and Safety (ATMS) project defines, validates, and transfers advanced requirements and technologies to shift air traffic management from tactical to strategic. 

This change enables efficient, productive, and resilient operations while reducing safety assurance and compliance costs for highly automated systems.  

ATMS researches and develops technologies that safely integrate new air vehicles with traditional aviation operations to meet growing demand. Through close collaboration with the FAA, ATMS delivers actionable automation solutions, advanced operational concepts, and proactive safety management frameworks that accelerate airspace modernization. 

ATMS strengthens system resilience and expands human capacity by reducing cognitive workload, minimizing airline delays, and lowering operating costs while enhancing terminal safety and optimizing operational performance. 

ATMS tackles barriers in the increasingly complex and diverse airspace by focusing its research on three areas: 

Strategic Harmonization for Integrated Flows and Trajectories

The National Airspace System (NAS) is evolving toward greater complexity and demand. Current tactical approaches limit scalability, efficiency, and predictability. ATMS research represents a paradigm change—from reactive, tactical decision-making to proactive, strategic management of traffic flows and trajectories. 

Safely Enable Routine Autonomous Operations 

Advancements in automation can reduce human workload, mitigate hazards, and enable new entrants across advanced air mobility. Critical gaps—in hazard perception and avoidance, seamless ATC integration, and flight procedures—still pose safety and operational risks. Without ATMS’ targeted research, autonomous taxi, approach, and landing will remain fragmented and heavily human-dependent, limiting efficiency and innovation. 

Assurance Methods for Aircraft Automation

The aviation community is converging on assurance approaches that balance trust, evidence, and scalability. To ensure innovation and adoption of key automation capabilities, ATMS helps to define explicit safety objectives and meaningful notions of traceability across development and operations. Scaled adoption requires assurance processes that integrate design and operational assurance, so that requirements flow down to models, scenarios, analysis, test cases and metrics—and that these generate traceable, reusable evidence and operational outcomes. 

ATMS delivers practical solutions that benefit every stakeholder in the aviation ecosystem—from air traffic controllers and pilots to passengers and operators—ensuring America ‘s skies remain the safest and most efficient in the world.  

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Last Updated
Mar 05, 2026
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Jim Banke
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NASA Invites Media to Northrop Grumman CRS-24 Station Resupply Launch

Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL cargo craft, carrying over 11,000 pounds of new science and supplies for the Expedition 73 crew, is pictur...