Thursday, 21 May 2026

New Eruption in the Bismarck Sea

Natural color
False color

Only small patches of the ocean are visible through puffy, white volcanic plumes streaming from the center of the scene. Clouds not directly related to the eruption are visible throughout much of the image.  A false-color inset box shows the infrared signature of the eruption as a series of red dots near the volcanic plumes.
Closely spaced volcanic plumes, surrounded by clouds, stream from a growing underwater volcanic platform in this natural-color image captured by the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 9 on May 11, 2026, three days after the eruption began. The false-color inset emphasizes the infrared signature of the eruption.
NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison

Only small patches of the ocean are visible through puffy, white volcanic plumes streaming from the center of the scene. Clouds not directly related to the eruption are visible throughout much of the image.  A false-color inset box shows the infrared signature of the eruption as a series of red dots near the volcanic plumes.
Closely spaced volcanic plumes, surrounded by clouds, stream from a growing underwater volcanic platform in this natural-color image captured by the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 9 on May 11, 2026, three days after the eruption began. The false-color inset emphasizes the infrared signature of the eruption.
NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison

Only small patches of the ocean are visible through puffy, white volcanic plumes streaming from the center of the scene. Clouds not directly related to the eruption are visible throughout much of the image.  A false-color inset box shows the infrared signature of the eruption as a series of red dots near the volcanic plumes.
Closely spaced volcanic plumes, surrounded by clouds, stream from a growing underwater volcanic platform in this natural-color image captured by the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 9 on May 11, 2026, three days after the eruption began. The false-color inset emphasizes the infrared signature of the eruption.
NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison
Only small patches of the ocean are visible through puffy, white volcanic plumes streaming from the center of the scene. Clouds not directly related to the eruption are visible throughout much of the image.  A false-color inset box shows the infrared signature of the eruption as a series of red dots near the volcanic plumes.
Closely spaced volcanic plumes, surrounded by clouds, stream from a growing underwater volcanic platform in this natural-color image captured by the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 9 on May 11, 2026, three days after the eruption began. The false-color inset emphasizes the infrared signature of the eruption.
NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison

Natural color

False color


Closely spaced volcanic plumes, surrounded by clouds, stream from a growing underwater volcanic platform in this natural-color image captured by the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 9 on May 11, 2026, three days after the eruption began. The right image emphasizes the infrared signature of the eruption. NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison.

It’s a truism among oceanographers that there is more accurate mapping of the surface of the Moon and Mars than of the deep-ocean floor. That’s especially true for the Bismarck Sea, a relatively deep body of water north of Papua New Guinea. It’s an ocean basin with a geologically complex seafloor rife with faults, volcanic features, rifts, scarps, and active subduction and spreading zones at depths that make high-resolution sonar mapping challenging.

When satellites detected signs of an unexpected submarine volcanic eruption in the Central Bismarck Sea on May 8, 2026, volcanologists were confronted with the reality that no high-resolution maps of the area were available, and relatively little is known about the deep-water eruption setting. The new eruption is thought to be occurring along the Titan Ridge, about 16 kilometers (10 miles) southeast of the location of a submarine eruption in 1972. However, there is little clarity or consensus among scientists about precisely which volcanic feature may be erupting, the original depth of the currently active vent, or when it last erupted.

“The good news is that there are huge opportunities to explore and learn using both government and commercial satellite platforms already in orbit,” said Jim Garvin, the chief scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

What is known is that seismometers detected a small swarm of earthquakes on May 8, followed soon after by clear signs of a submarine eruption in satellite observations. Beginning on May 9, NASA’s Aqua and Terra satellites captured optical imagery of white, steam-rich volcanic plumes rising into the atmosphere, while the ocean color sensor on NASA’s PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, Ocean Ecosystem) satellite revealed discolored and disturbed water surrounding the eruption site.

A long gray line extends west and joins with a patch of discolored green water and a cloud-like volcanic plume near the center of the image.
Floating pumice and green, discolored water extend southwest from the eruption site as a white volcanic plume drifts west overhead in this image acquired by the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA’s Terra satellite on May 15, 2026.
NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison

Other satellites observed ash plumes soaring several kilometers into the atmosphere. Higher resolution imagery from the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 and the NASA/USGS Landsat 9 (top) satellites, acquired on May 10 and 11, respectively, captured detailed views of activity near the water surface. The right image at the top of the page shows the same scene in false color (bands 7-6-5), with the inset highlighting the infrared signature of the eruption. On May 12, the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) on Suomi NPP detected thermal anomalies spanning roughly seven square kilometers. 

“There must be a lot of hot material near the surface to generate so many thermal anomalies,” said Simon Carn, a volcanologist at Michigan Tech. “This suggests a fairly shallow eruption vent—much shallower than what’s implied by the existing bathymetry, which shows water depths of several hundred meters or more.”

Optical satellite imagery shows intense activity in near-surface water, including large plumes of discolored water and widely distributed steam and ash vents. Both medium– and high-resolution sensors—from both government sources and commercial satellite companies—have captured images of expansive pumice rafts (floating volcanic rocks) forming long bands in the surface currents in recent days. 

“We’re now eagerly waiting to see if a new island is about to be born—something that we’ve only rarely been able to observe with satellites as it happens,” Garvin said. If a new island does emerge, volcanologists will be watching it closely to see how it evolves. It could build a tuff cone with a long-lived vent crater, or it could collapse and erode rapidly. The eruption could also take a much more explosive turn if seawater finds its way into the shallow magma chamber that has risen within the growing underwater structure.         

To date, the eruption has been much less explosive than other recent submarine eruptions, such as those at Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai in 2022 and Fukutoku-Okanobain 2021. It seems unlikely that this event will become highly explosive because it appears to be associated with a volcanic ridge near the junction of a transform fault and a back-arc spreading center, Carn said. “Spreading centers are associated with less explosive activity, while the most explosive eruptions are usually along subduction zones and involve large stratovolcanoes.”

How long the current eruption will persist is unclear. The 1972 event in this general region lasted for just four days, while another submarine eruption that occurred about 100 kilometers away in the St. Andrew Strait in 1957 lasted nearly four years.

Garvin and scientists from other institutions are tracking developments closely. He plans to analyze radar data from the NASA-ISRO NISAR satellite and the Canadian Space Agency’s RADARSAT Constellation Mission to map the contours of any new land that emerges and track how its shape changes over time. If a permanent island forms, Garvin also sees opportunities for researchers, or “island-nauts,” to visit the area and study how the infant island responds to plant and animal colonization, rainfall, chemical weathering, and other erosive forces, just as happened after the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha‘apai eruption.

“This new eruption could present an even better opportunity for ‘island-naut’ exploration as we prepare to return to the Moon with women and men via Artemis IV,” he said.

NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey and MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview. Story by Adam Voiland.

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Only small patches of the ocean are visible through puffy, white volcanic plumes streaming from the center of the scene. Clouds not directly related to the eruption are visible throughout much of the image.  A false-color inset box shows the infrared signature of the eruption as a series of red dots near the volcanic plumes.

May 11, 2026

JPEG (1.20 MB)

Only small patches of the ocean are visible through puffy, white volcanic plumes streaming from the center of the scene. Clouds not directly related to the eruption are visible throughout much of the image.  A false-color inset box shows the infrared signature of the eruption as a series of red dots near the volcanic plumes.

May 11, 2026 (false color)

JPEG (1.41 MB)

A long gray line extends west and joins with a patch of discolored green water and a cloud-like volcanic plume near the center of the image.

May 15, 2026

JPEG (2.63 MB)

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NASA Announces Winners in University Aeronautics Competition

The members of team WINGMAN stand in the center of the photo holding their first place certificate for NASA's Gateways to Blue Skies Competition.
Team WINGMAN from South Dakota State University, comprised of (from left to right) Todd Letcher (advisor), Matthew Wieberdink, Owen Diede, Christian Lee, and Anders Olsen, took home first place at the 2026 Gateways to Blue Skies Forum held at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Steven Holz, NASA sponsor and GBS Chair and judge, presented the award.
Credit: NASA/Mark Knopp

The South Dakota State University team took first place at NASA’s fifth annual Gateways to Blue Skies Competition, which challenged student teams to address a critical element of U.S. aviation: aircraft maintenance.

This year’s competition, RepAir: Advancing Aircraft Maintenance, asked teams of postsecondary students to develop innovative systems and practices that could  advance commercial aircraft maintenance and repair operations by 2035. The competition, sponsored by NASA’s University Innovation project within the agency’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, supported the agency’s objectives of fostering innovative research and strengthening the future aviation workforce.

“This year’s finalists proposed novel ideas to equip companies and their workers with innovative technologies to help keep our nation’s planes airworthy. This is especially critical in a time where flight safety is more commonly in the spotlight and where workforce shortages lead to challenges and opportunities in aviation,” said Steven Holz, associate project manager for NASA’s University Innovation Project and judging panel chair for Gateways to Blue Skies. “Our panel of industry and subject matter experts were excited about the possibilities these concepts could bring, as well as shared insights needed for these teams to push forward for real-world implementation.”

The winning project, WINGMAN, proposed augmented reality safety glasses equipped with voice-controlled manuals, automatic documentation, and photo recognition that could assist aircraft mechanics during routine daily servicing and minor repairs. The glasses would function as the mechanic’s “wingman,” enabling hands-free access to the information and reporting mechanisms required for line inspections.

The WINGMAN team presented their research along with eight finalists at the 2026 Gateways to Blue Skies Forum held May 18 and 19 at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. The forum was judged by subject matter experts from NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration, and industry, including representatives from Southwest Airlines and American Airlines. Students at the forum had the opportunity to network with NASA and industry experts, tour the center, and gain insight into potential careers. The event was livestreamed, and the presentations were recorded.

The winning team members will have the opportunity to intern at one of NASA’s four aeronautics research centers during the 2026-27 academic year, including NASA Langley, NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, and NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. 

“It was super exciting to participate in Gateways to Blue Skies, especially with the really interesting concepts this year,” said Owen Diede, WINGMAN team lead. “We couldn’t have done it without the feedback and support from our faculty advisor, Dr. Todd Letcher, as well as our design review committee, Dr. Ruyi Lian and Dr. Cody Christensen. This was a fantastic opportunity to learn and grow, and we are incredibly thankful for the experience.”

Other recognitions included:

  • Best Infographic: University of California, Irvine
    Aishield: Aircraft Structural Health Intelligence for Evaluation and Lifecycle Detection
  • Future Game-Changer: University of Georgia
    Quasar: Quantum Sensing Aerial Reporting
  • Safety Spotlight: South Dakota State University
     SPIDER (Surveying Platform and Inspection Device for Enclosed Regions)

The commercial aviation industry is a crucial component of the U.S. economy, yet it faces significant challenges due to a shortage of qualified maintenance workers and increasing demands to keep aircraft running for longer. NASA is dedicated to working with commercial, academic, and government partners to advance the capabilities and performance of U.S. aviation.

The Gateways to Blue Skies Challenge is part of the Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Program in NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. The NASA Tournament Lab, part of the Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing Program in the Space Technology Mission Directorate, manages the challenge through the National Institute of Aerospace on behalf of NASA.

For more information about NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/aeronautics



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NASA TechLeap Prize: Robotically Manipulated Payload Challenge

TechLeap Prize: Robotically Manipulated Payload Challenge

The Robotically Manipulated Payload Challenge — the fifth in the NASA TechLeap Prize series — is a competition to advance persistent infrastructure for in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing. NASA Flight Opportunities invites applicants to propose a payload that can be manipulated by a robotic arm in low Earth orbit. Up to three winners will each receive up to $500,000 to develop a flight-ready payload. In addition, NASA intends to provide an opportunity for the winning teams to demonstrate their payload in orbit (at no additional cost). These TechLeap payloads will fly aboard an orbital spacecraft that will rendezvous with the Fly Foundational Robots (FFR) platform. The FFR mission is expected to launch in late 2027, and the TechLeap payloads are slated to launch in early 2028.

Across three phases, applicants will move from ideation to payload build over 12 months. The timeline for this challenge is intentionally rapid, with the goal of increasing the pace of space.

Award: Up to three winners may receive up to $500,000 in prizes across three phases

Challenge Open Date: May 20, 2026

Phase 1 Registration Close Date: July 29, 2026

Application Close Date: August 12, 2026

For more information, visit: https://rmpc.nasatechleap.org/



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Wednesday, 20 May 2026

NASA’s Psyche Mission Images the Crescent of Mars

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NASA’s Psyche Mission Images the Crescent of Mars

A slender, glowing crescent of Mars curves across the bottom of a completely black void, revealing its dusty reddish-orange surface and a thin, hazy blue atmospheric glow along the illuminated edge.
PIA26771
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NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU

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NASA’s Psyche Mission Images the Crescent of Mars

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This view of a crescent Mars was captured on May 15, 2026, at about 5:03 a.m. PDT by NASA’s Psyche mission as it approached the planet for a gravity assist. Captured by the spacecraft’s multispectral imager instrument, this was the last view of the whole planet before it began to overfill the field of view of the camera.

Because Psyche approached Mars from a high phase angle, the planet appeared as a thin crescent in the days running up to the close approach, lit by sunlight reflecting off its surface. In observations from the spacecraft’s multispectral imagers, the crescent appeared brighter and extended farther around the planet’s disk than anticipated because of the strong scattering of sunlight through the planet’s dusty atmosphere.

The image was acquired with Imager A. It has been processed into a natural-color view (approximating what the human eye would see) using red, green, and blue data from imager filters.

For more information about NASA’s Psyche mission, visit:

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



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NASA’s Psyche Mission Aces Mars Flyby, Targets Metal-Rich Asteroid

5 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)

A slender, glowing crescent of Mars curves across the bottom of a completely black void, revealing its dusty reddish-orange surface and a thin, hazy blue atmospheric glow along the illuminated edge.
This view of a crescent Mars was captured on May 15, 2026, at about 5:03 a.m. PDT by NASA’s Psyche mission as it approached the planet for a gravity assist. The image has been processed into a natural-color view using red, green, and blue data from the multispectral imager instrument.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU

NASA’s Psyche spacecraft completed its close approach of Mars on May 15, coming within 2,864 miles (4,609 kilometers) of the planet’s surface. This flyby used a gravity assist from Mars to provide a critical boost in speed and to adjust the spacecraft’s orbital plane without using any onboard propellant, sending it on its way toward the metal-rich asteroid Psyche.

The spacecraft is now headed directly toward the asteroid, located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. After the Mars flyby, the flight team analyzed radio signals between the spacecraft and NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN), the agency’s global system for communicating with interplanetary spacecraft, to confirm that Psyche was on the correct trajectory.

“Although we were confident in our calculations and flight plan, monitoring the DSN’s Doppler signal in real time during the flyby was still exciting,” said Don Han, Psyche’s navigation lead at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “We’ve confirmed that Mars gave the spacecraft a 1,000 mile‑per‑hour boost and shifted its orbital plane by about 1 degree relative to the Sun. We are now on course for arrival at the asteroid Psyche in summer 2029.”

A grayscale view of the Martian globe against a black background, showcasing a brilliant white polar ice cap in sharp contrast with the planet's textured, cratered terrain.
This is the first view of a nearly “full Mars” as seen by NASA’s Psyche spacecraft shortly after its closest approach to the planet on May 15, 2026. The view extends from the south polar cap northwards to the Valles Marineris canyon system and beyond.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU
A close-up, grayscale image of the Martian surface, highlighting the intricate, swirling edges and dark troughs of a bright white polar ice cap next to surrounding plains textured with faint craters.
This is the highest-resolution view of the water ice-rich south polar cap of Mars captured by NASA’s Psyche mission after it made its close approach with the planet for a gravity assist. The cap is more than 430 miles (700 kilometers) across.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU

Unique Martian view

In the days running up to and during close approach, all of Psyche’s instruments were powered up for calibration efforts, including its imagers, magnetometers, and gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer. The planetary encounter provided the mission a valuable practice run for when it reaches the asteroid Psyche; as a bonus, it captured Mars images from a rare perspective. 

Because Psyche approached Mars from a high phase angle, the planet appeared as a thin crescent in the days running up to the close approach, lit by sunlight reflecting off its surface. In observations from the spacecraft’s multispectral imager, the crescent appeared brighter and extended farther around the planet’s disk than anticipated because of the strong scattering of sunlight through the planet’s dusty atmosphere. As Psyche passed from Mars’ nighttime skies to daytime, it took a rapid series of pictures of the surface around the time of closest approach. 

“We’ve captured thousands of images of the approach to Mars and of the planet’s surface and atmosphere at close approach. This dataset provides unique and important opportunities for us to calibrate and characterize the performance of the cameras, as well as test the early versions of our image processing tools being developed for use at the asteroid Psyche,” said Jim Bell, the Psyche imager instrument lead at Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe. “As the spacecraft continues its journey after the flyby, we’ll continue calibration imaging of Mars for the rest of the month as it recedes into the distance.”  

Bell also leads the Mastcam-Z imaging investigation on NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover mission team, which was among several missions that provided complementary surface and atmospheric imaging as well as navigation data during the flyby to help with calibration efforts. Other missions involved include NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter, and Curiosity rover, along with ESA’s (European Space Agency’s) Mars Express and ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter. 

In addition to the imager, early calibration measurements made by Psyche’s magnetometers may have detected Mars’ bow shock as the spacecraft passed the planet. The gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer team was also quickly gathering data to calibrate the instrument by comparing their measurements with the large pool of existing Mars data.

This view of the Martian surface shows streaks that have formed due to wind blowing over impact craters in the Syrtis Major region. The wind streaks extend to about 30 miles (50 kilometers) long, and the large craters near center-bottom of the scene average around 30 miles in diameter.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU
A false-color, top-down view of a Martian surface densely pockmarked with impact craters of various sizes, highlighted in vivid shades of blue, tan, and purple to differentiate geological materials.
Captured by Psyche’s multispectral imager instrument, this is an enhanced-color view of the large double-ring crater Huygens (upper left; about 290 miles, or 470 kilometers, in diameter) and the surrounding heavily cratered southern highlands.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU

Onward to asteroid Psyche

With Mars in the rearview mirror, the spacecraft will soon resume using its solar-electric propulsion system to make a beeline to the main asteroid belt. When it arrives in August 2029, it will insert itself into orbit around the asteroid Psyche, which is thought to be the partial core of a planetesimal, a building block of an early planet. Through a series of circular orbits that go lower and then higher in altitude around Psyche, which is about 173 miles (280 kilometers) across at its widest point, the spacecraft will map the asteroid and gather science data.  

If the asteroid proves to be the metallic core of an ancient planetesimal, it could offer a one-of-a-kind window into the interior of rocky planets like Earth. 

“We’ve been anticipating the Mars flyby for years, but now it’s complete. We can thank the Red Planet for giving our spacecraft a critical gravitational slingshot farther into the solar system,” said Lindy Elkins-Tanton, principal investigator for Psyche at the University of California, Berkeley. “Onward to the asteroid Psyche!”

More about Psyche

The Psyche mission is led by ASU. A division of Caltech in Pasadena, JPL is responsible for the mission’s overall management, system engineering, integration and test, and mission operations. Intuitive Machines in Palo Alto, California, provided the high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis. The operations of the imager instrument are led by ASU, collaborating with Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego on the design, fabrication, and testing of the cameras. 

Psyche is the 14th mission selected as part of NASA’s Discovery Program, managed by the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, managed the launch service. 

For more information about NASA’s Psyche mission, visit:

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

News 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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Last Updated
May 19, 2026

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New Eruption in the Bismarck Sea

Science Earth Observatory New Eruption in the Bismarck Sea Earth Earth Observatory Image of the Day EO Explorer All To...