WeeklyTrailExpedition 75 swaps crews as Crew-13 settles in and Crew-12 prepares to leave
Four new Crew-13 members are adjusting to life aboard the International Space Station while the Crew-12 quartet packs for a return to Earth, NASA reported on Oct. 5, 2026.
Space
Hubble archival data points to possible second-generation planet at white dwarf
Astronomers re-examining 1999 Hubble data from the white dwarf HS 0209+0832 report strong niobium signatures, a chemical clue they say could indicate a planet formed from material ejected by a dying star.
Star slowly consuming brown dwarf 300 light years away, study reports
A star roughly 300 light years from Earth is slowly consuming material from a closely orbiting brown dwarf, MIT-led researchers reported in Nature Astronomy on October 5, 2026; the system is named ZTF J0440+2325.
Deep View of Sombrero Galaxy Reveals Tidal Streams and a Diagonal Ring
A long-exposure image of M104, the Sombrero Galaxy, shows a hazy halo extending beyond its central disk and containing structures, including a diagonal ring, that suggest past collisions and mergers.
NASA astronaut photo shows Moon-like anorthosite massif in southern Madagascar
An astronaut aboard the International Space Station photographed the Saririaky anorthosite massif on August 28, 2026. NASA's Earth Observatory highlighted the image on October 5, noting the rock type is common on the Moon.
NASA Engineer Documents Data Gaps for Moon and Mars Planning
At NASA's Langley Research Center, aerospace engineer Richard Spolzino works on mission architecture and systems interoperability for Moon Base, turning unknowns about the Moon and Mars into formal data gaps that partners and industry can address.
NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows supernumerary rainbows over New Jersey
NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day for October 4, 2026 features a 2018 photograph of at least five supernumerary rainbows over the Jersey Shore, New Jersey, after the remnants of Hurricane Florence passed.
NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day features Curiosity selfie at Vera Rubin Ridge
A 2018 mosaic of 61 exposures taken by Curiosity's Mars Hand Lens Imager shows the rover at the south rim of Vera Rubin Ridge, NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day for October 3, 2026, explains.
NASA's SpaceX Crew-12 Ends Space Station Science Mission
NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev were scheduled to return in early October after a mission that included research on bone loss, quantum physics and drug crystallization.
Crew-13 Arrives at Station, Crew-12 Prepares for Return
NASA's SpaceX Crew-13 reached the International Space Station on Oct. 1, bringing the orbiting population to 11 as four Crew-12 members prepare to head home.
Sharpless Catalog of 313 Nebulas Assembled in One Image
NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day for October 2, 2026 features Bing Xin's compilation of the entire Sharpless Catalog, 313 objects captured over roughly 800 hours from dark skies in Eastern China and Inner Mongolia.
SpaceX Dragon docks with ISS carrying Crew-13
NASA reports the SpaceX Dragon carrying four Crew-13 members docked at the International Space Station on October 1, 2026, in what it calls the fastest launch-to-docking by a U.S. spacecraft in station history.