Thursday, 5 November 2026

Cyprus: Island of Snakes, Cats, and Ophiolites

The bright salt flats of Akrotiri Salt Lake stand out in a satellite image of the Akrotiri peninsula. Gray urban areas around Limassol spread across the landscape north of the lake, and the blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea surround the peninsula to the south.
Seasonal rains had started to fill Akrotiri Salt Lake when the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 8 captured this image of Cyprus’s Akrotiri Peninsula on October 10, 2026.
NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison

The island of Cyprus began to form some 90 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous, with molten rock pouring from the seafloor, solidifying, and building new oceanic crust. Over time, portions of this oceanic rock were wrenched upward by tectonic forces, eventually emerging as a rugged island made of ophiolite, a type of rock with a mottled green appearance said to look like the skin of a snake. Remnants of that ancient island are still visible in the dark rocks of the Troodos Mountains.

During the Miocene, considerably younger layers of chalk, limestone, marl, and other marine sedimentary rocks accumulated around the island, providing material that developed into a second, smaller island to the south during a later period of geologic uplift. Over time, sediment poured from rivers into the channel separating the two islands and combined with marine sediments to create deltas and eventually two land bridges, or tombolos. The joined landmass comprises the Akrotiri Peninsula, now the southernmost tip of Cyprus.

The sandy edges of the peninsula were visible when Landsat 8 captured these images on October 10, 2026. Akrotiri Salt Lake, a coastal lagoon that was once an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, lies between the two tombolos. The more westerly feature, the Kouris River tombolo, formed first, developing about 50,000 years ago from river-deposited gravels and sands. The eastern tombolo extended southward from Cyprus, cutting off the Mediterranean Sea only within the past 2,000 years, according to geologists.

The lake’s water levels now vary markedly with the seasons, typically filling in the late autumn and winter and drying out in the summer. The influx of winter water has historically attracted sizable overwintering flamingo populations, averaging about 4,000 birds. However, the wintering flamingo population has declined in recent years, plummeting to 30 birds in 2025, according to news reports. Flamingos have long flocked to the lake to feed on fairy shrimp, which are rich in colorful substances called carotenoids that give the birds their famously pink hue.

Snakes are another of the island’s more notorious animal inhabitants. In antiquity, Cyprus was known as Ophiousa, or “land of snakes,” likely due to its robust population of blunt-nosed vipers. According to legend, the island’s snake communities grew to be so problematic during a drought in the fourth century that the Roman Empress Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, called for shiploads of cats to be sent from Egypt to control the venomous reptiles.

The first feline imports were released in a particularly snake-infested area on the southeastern part of the Akrotiri Peninsula, an area that came to be known as Cape Gata (Cape Cat in Greek). The cape today is still home to the Holy Monastery of St. Nicholas of the Cats, a place where legend says that monks encouraged newly arrived Egyptian cats to hunt snakes. Today, Cyprus has as many cats as people, with more than one million of the feline predators stalking the island. The handful of nuns who now live in the monastery still care for hundreds of cats, according to the St. Nicholas Center. 

The Troodos Mountains’ vegetation and dark underlying rocks make a swath of land in the southwestern part of the island appear darker green than the rest of the island.
A broader image of Cyprus captured by the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 8 shows the western half of the island on October 10, 2026.
NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison

NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Story by Adam Voiland.

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The Troodos Mountains’ vegetation and dark underlying rocks make a swath of land in the southwestern part of the island appear darker green than the rest of the island.

October 10, 2026

JPEG (42.59 MB)

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NASA Announces X-70 Experimental Aircraft to Advance Flight Research 

Generated image of the silhouette of a dark plane on a dark background surrounded by vapor.
Generated image of NASA’s new X-70 Fractal experimental aircraft, a crewed, rapidly reconfigurable research platform for advanced aviation technologies.

On Wednesday, NASA unveiled its newest experimental aircraft, the X-70 Fractal, during the UP.Summit at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This high-performance, highly adaptable research platform is designed to accelerate the development and testing of advanced aviation technologies. 

The crewed X-70 features advanced, rapidly reconfigurable flight-control technology that will allow NASA to explore aircraft maneuverability in ways never before demonstrated in crewed flight. The aircraft can also accommodate up to 2,000 pounds of experimental payloads in internal and external locations, enabling a wide range of research and flight-testing opportunities. 

“The X-70 Fractal gives NASA a crewed, high-performance platform to test advanced flight-control, maneuverability, and other cutting-edge technologies in real flight,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “Its modular design and ability to rapidly swap internal and external payloads will keep our teams flying, learning, and moving quickly from one experiment to the next. We expect her first flight under the NASA banner within the next two years, and X-70 is just one part of this new beginning for aeronautics. This is why people come to NASA: to build, to learn, and most importantly, to fly.” 

The X-70 Fractal has a takeoff weight of 10,000 pounds and is designed to cruise at Mach .75, reach altitudes of up to 45,000 feet, and provide an operational range exceeding about 1,726 miles (1,500 nautical miles). These capabilities will enable NASA to conduct demanding flight research across a broad range of operating conditions. 

“For decades, NASA Aeronautics has used X-planes to develop technologies that advance aviation,” said Laurie Grindle, director of the Aeronautics Division within NASA’s Research and Technology Mission Directorate. “It’s exciting to bring on another X-plane to accelerate and drive aeronautics research.” 

The X-70 joins a storied legacy of experimental aircraft that have helped establish America’s leadership in aviation. From the Bell X-1, which first broke the sound barrier in 1947, to the X-15 hypersonic research aircraft and today’s X-59 quiet supersonic demonstrator, NASA has spent decades pushing the boundaries of flight. 

With the X-70, NASA will expand its capacity to conduct experimental flight research, accelerate the testing of emerging technologies, and advance the next generation of American aviation. 

For more information about NASA’s aeronautics research, visit: 

https://www.nasa.gov/aeronautics

-end- 

George Alderman / Cheryl Warner
Headquarters, Washington 
202-358-1600
george.a.alderman@nasa.gov / cheryl.m.warner@nasa.gov 

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Last Updated
Nov 04, 2026
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NASA Shares Plans to Accelerate Artemis, Return to Moon

4 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)

In an update on Oct. 23, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and other agency leaders shared the agency’s path to returning Americans to the lunar surface in 2028.

Agency leadership provided updates on the previously announced acceleration plans for the Artemis program, advancing toward the agency’s Artemis III test flight in 2027 and Artemis IV Moon landing mission in 2028. Building on the priorities  announced at Ignition earlier this year, NASA leadership shared the agency’s significant progress across its missions, working with industry partners to test critical capabilities, reduce risk, and build toward a sustained American presence on the Moon.

This graphic shows NASA’s concept of operations for Artemis III. The mission will send four astronauts to low Earth orbit next year to test critical systems needed for future lunar landings.
This graphic shows NASA’s concept of operations for Artemis III. The mission will send four astronauts to low Earth orbit next year to test critical systems needed for future lunar landings.
NASA

“This is a very energized NASA, and these updates are only a small part of that story. We are bringing extreme focus to the mission to ensure delivery of world-changing outcomes as quickly, safely, affordably, and successfully as possible,” said Isaacman. “NASA is driving outcomes to make Moon missions a reality, and we’re not waiting for others to bring their plans to us — the campaign must move with urgency as strategic competitors pursue a permanent presence beyond Earth.”

The agency shared details of the Artemis III mission, which will test rendezvous, docking, and operations between NASA’s Orion spacecraft and lunar lander test vehicles from SpaceX and Blue Origin in Earth orbit. Four astronauts will fly aboard Orion, launched on NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, for a planned 14-day mission in Earth orbit to reduce risk ahead of the Artemis IV moon landing mission.

The Artemis III mission will unfold in sequence: Blue Origin will launch a Blue Moon lander test article into Earth orbit, SLS will launch Orion and its crew, docking with the Blue Moon lander test article, then SpaceX will launch a Version 3 Starship lander test article while Orion will undock from Blue Moon and dock with Starship.

The Oct. 23 updates follow other recent updates about the Artemis missions. Hardware for Artemis III is on track, with processing timelines sharply reduced by about half. NASA also redesigned, built, and tested a critical fuel-line component in-house in five months, at roughly a tenth of the cost of an earlier outside-vendor estimate.

“NASA should be expected to do this kind of work, and we have some of the best technical knowledge in the world on rocket hardware and operations to do it,” said Jeremy Parsons, the agency’s Artemis program manager. “It’s an example of how we are rebuilding our core competencies and developing centers of excellence in technical functions instead of continuing to outsource expertise.”

Artemis IV: Pursuing multiple paths to Moon landing

For the agency’s Artemis IV mission in 2028, astronauts will launch aboard Orion on the SLS rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA is working with SpaceX and Blue Origin to develop lunar landers to carry those astronauts to the Moon’s surface. Both companies have redesigned their approaches to simplify the missions and make them more efficient and flexible as compared to previous mission designs.

SpaceX’s Starship will refuel in Earth orbit, rendezvous with Orion, and then carry the spacecraft toward the Moon. Blue Origin’s approach involves transfer stages in Earth orbit to push its Blue Moon Mark 2 lander toward the Moon, where it will meet Orion in a closer lunar orbit before descending to the surface.

Artemis IV Concept of Operations (SpaceX Starship Lander) infographic.
NASA
Artemis IV Concept of Operations (Blue Origin Moon Mark 2 Lander) infographic.
NASA

Both SpaceX and Blue Origin are targeting to be able to support a crewed lunar landing in 2028.  

For Artemis IV, NASA is pursuing two upper-stage options for the SLS rocket: its current stage, the interim cryogenic propulsion stage; and a stretched version of ULA’s Centaur V which can carry more propellant. Pursuing both options ensures NASA is maintaining flexibility and preventing single-point dependency.

NASA also announced plans with spacesuit provider Axiom Space to develop a second, lighter suit design called the “Sortie suit” to enable the first moonwalks. The Sortie suit will not replace Axiom’s primary suit, which will be used for longer, more demanding missions in the future. The Sortie suit is roughly half the weight of the larger suit and lets NASA move faster on the earliest surface missions.

As part of a Golden Age of innovation and exploration, NASA will send Artemis astronauts on increasingly difficult missions at the lunar South Pole to explore more of the Moon than ever before. In addition to providing economic benefits and advancing scientific discovery through its Moon missions, NASA will establish an enduring human presence on the lunar surface and build on the agency’s foundation for the first crewed mission to Mars.
Learn more about Artemis:

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis

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Wednesday, 4 November 2026

NASA Space Grant Students Fuel Agency’s Inspiration Tour

4 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman addresses a standing-room-only crowd during an Inspiration Tour stop at Iowa State University.
Credit: NASA

NASA’s Inspiration Tour spread the excitement of space exploration and aeronautical innovation by connecting the public, industry, and academia with the people, technologies, and organizations that drive American leadership in space. At nearly every stop across the country, NASA Space Grant has brought students into the heart of the action.

In Iowa, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman toured the Make to Innovate program lab at Iowa State University. Students from the Iowa Space Grant Consortium’s Mission Moon program, along with consortium-funded student organizations including Cardinal Space Mining, CySat, and CyLaunch, shared research findings and demonstrated the institution’s strong connection to NASA via agency-funded projects. During a well-attended town hall event NASA experts briefed students on the agency’s Moon Base efforts and how their work can contribute to future exploration.

“We’re grateful for the opportunity to welcome NASA leadership to Iowa State,” said Sara Nelson Iowa Space Grant director. “The excitement among students was incredible, and the visit highlighted how the research and innovation happening in Iowa can help advance Artemis and NASA’s future exploration efforts.”

At the University of Arizona, the NASA administrator saw firsthand the space research and engineering capabilities that are enabled by the Arizona Space Grant Consortium. From satellite communications testing to complex optics for peering into deep space to student-built high-altitude balloon payloads and even small satellites, students at the University of Arizona have a long history of contributing to NASA missions and making aerospace career connections. This tour stop also included a Q&A session where the NASA administrator answered questions from local high school and college students.

“It was incredible to present the high-altitude ballooning research we do in SEDS (Students for the Exploration and Development of Space) to Jared Isaacman and those at NASA,” said Ella Miller, a junior studying mechanical engineering at the University of Arizona. “Arizona Space Grant has allowed me to get hands-on experience through an entire mission design process every semester, helping me pursue a career in space research and secure internships in this field.”

Space Grant students from the University of Alaska Fairbanks shared their research with NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman during a Science Fair event in conjunction with the agency’s Inspiration Tour stop.
Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

At the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, the Administrator toured two Geophysical Institute facilities: Poker Flat Research Range, the university’s scientific rocket launching facility, and the Alaska Satellite Facility. During an Alaska Space Grant science fair, students shared research in hibernation biology and showcased CubeSat technology advancements. Students were also able to learn about the agency’s Moon Base program and ask questions about opportunities available to the next generation of innovators and explorers.

In North Dakota, the Inspiration Tour focused on future exploration capabilities. Space Grant-funded research at the University of North Dakota is helping to shape the future of exploration across STEM fields. Student fellows and NASA interns shared their projects on supercell mergers using satellite imagery, geomagnetic conditions of aurora borealis, and in-situ resource utilization, to name a few. North Dakota Space Grant STEM ambassador students also shared robotics and drone activities as part of “Mission Moon”, which centers Artemis initiatives in statewide collaborations with educators and other North Dakota colleges and universities.

“Getting to speak with the NASA Administrator was an amazing opportunity!” said research fellow and STEM ambassador Malissa Reinhardt. “He genuinely cared about what we students had to say and the research we’re working on, which makes all the hard work we put into our research and North Dakota Space Grant Consortium so rewarding.”

Students at the University of North Dakota’s spacesuit lab demonstrated design advancements for lunar surface spacesuits for NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman during a tour of their lab during the agency’s Inspiration Tour stop
Credit: NASA

NASA’s Inspiration Tour will culminate in MAX POWER, a public showcase of air and space innovation on Nov. 7 and 8, highlighting the agency’s commitment to preparing the next generation of innovators and explorers for humanity’s next giant leap. As NASA enters a Golden Age of innovation and exploration, the national network of Space Grant consortia is expanding opportunities for students to lead the way in an aerospace workforce that is evolving and growing. At learning institutions from coast to coast, today’s Space Grant students are launching America’s future in space.

To find ways to engage with NASA’s exciting missions, broad range of careers, and unique learning opportunities, visit:

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



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Hubble Reveals Cosmic Mystery

Clumpy, irregular, cloud-like dwarf galaxy in a roughly rectangular shape is speckled with small, bright, blue points of light and larger, light pink patches throughout. Dark brown and milky white areas are also smudged throughout the center of the galaxy. The galaxy appears against a mostly black background lightly dotted with tiny white, blue and red stars and galaxies.
This is an image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope of NGC 4449, one of the dwarf galaxies in the Galaxies Losing Oxygen via Winds (GLOW) study. Researchers found that dwarf galaxies can hold onto only a small fraction of the oxygen made by their stars.
NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage–ESA/Hubble Collaboration, Alessandra Aloisi (STScI, ESA)

This photo released on Nov. 2, 2026, showcases NGC  4449, a dwarf irregular. Researchers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope studied 37 nearby dwarf galaxies — small galaxies containing a few thousand to hundreds of millions of stars — including NGC 4449 and found that much of the oxygen they expected to see is missing.

Read more about this mystery.

Image credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage–ESA/Hubble Collaboration, Alessandra Aloisi (STScI, ESA)



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Before the Dawn in America’s Heartland

A nighttime photo taken from space shows a network of city lights in the U.S. Midwest, while colorful airglow and bright sunlight arc across Earth's curved horizon.
October 18, 2026

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.

Windy City of Lights
March 1, 2024

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.

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A nighttime photo taken from space shows a network of city lights in the U.S. Midwest, while colorful airglow and bright sunlight arc across Earth's curved horizon.

October 18, 2026

JPEG (8.59 MB)

Windy City of Lights

March 1, 2024

JPEG (21.81 MB)

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Cyprus: Island of Snakes, Cats, and Ophiolites

Science Earth Observatory Cyprus: Island of Snakes,… Earth Earth Observatory Image of the Day EO Explorer All Topics ...