Archivo de la etiqueta: Astronomy

Space Station Research Informs New FDA-Approved Cancer Therapy

NASA opens the International Space Station for scientists and researchers, inviting them to use the benefits of microgravity for commercial and public research, technology demonstrations, and more. Today, a portion of the crew’s time aboard station is devoted to private industry, including medical research that addresses complex health challenges on Earth and prepares astronauts for future deep space missions.

In collaboration with scientists at Merck, protein crystal growth research on the space station yielded early insights regarding the structure and size of particles best suited for the development of a new formulation of the company’s cancer medicine pembrolizumab for subcutaneous injection. This new route of delivery was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in September and offers a time-saving alternative to intravenous infusion for certain patients. These research efforts aboard the space station were supported by the ISS National Laboratory.

Originally, the treatment was delivered during an in-office visit via infusion therapy into the patient’s veins, a process that could take up to two hours. Initial delivery improvements reduced infusion times to less than 30 minutes every three weeks. The newly approved subcutaneous injectable form takes about one minute every three weeks, promising to improve quality of life for patients by reducing cost and significantly reducing treatment time for patients and healthcare providers.

Since 2014, Merck has flown crystal growth experiments to the space station to better understand how crystals form, including the monoclonal antibody used in this cancer treatment. Monoclonal antibodies are lab-made proteins that help the body fight diseases. This research focused on producing crystalline suspensions that dissolve easily in liquid, making it possible to deliver the medication by injection. In microgravity, the absence of gravity’s physical forces allows scientists to grow larger, more uniform, and higher-quality crystals than those grown in ground-based labs, advancing medication development and structural modeling.

Research aboard the space station has provided valuable insights into how gravity influences crystallization, helping to improve drug formulations. The work of NASA and its partners aboard the space station improves lives on Earth, grows a commercial economy in low Earth orbit, and prepares for human exploration of the Moon and Mars.

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Christian M. Getteau

First Sky Map from NASA’s SPHEREx Observatory

NASA’s SPHEREx Observatory has mapped the entire sky in 102 infrared colors, as seen here in this image released on Dec. 18, 2025. This image features a selection of colors emitted primarily by stars (blue, green, and white), hot hydrogen gas (blue), and cosmic dust (red).

While not visible to the human eye, these 102 infrared wavelengths of light are prevalent in the cosmos, and observing the entire sky this way enables scientists to answer big questions, including how a dramatic event that occurred in the first billionth of a trillionth of a trillionth of a second after the big bang influenced the 3D distribution of hundreds of millions of galaxies in our universe. In addition, scientists will use the data to study how galaxies have changed over the universe’s nearly 14-billion-year history and learn about the distribution of key ingredients for life in our own galaxy.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

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Monika Luabeya

Diving Into Human Spaceflight Safety with NASA Johnson’s Craig Shannon

Growing up in Houston, Craig Shannon was always inspired by NASA and the spirit of exploration the agency represents. Yet it was a passion for scuba diving that unexpectedly led to his more than 23-year career at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

Shannon became a certified diver and scuba instructor while earning his bachelor’s degree in communications from Stephen F. Austin State University. He happened to meet divers from NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) at a local environmental cleanup event during his senior year. “The encounter planted a seed,” he said.

Shannon was hired as an NBL diver shortly after graduation, launching what would become a 19-year career in dive operations. He progressed through a variety of roles – from utility diver, instructor, and training officer, to dive operations lead, training group lead, and ultimately, dive operations manager. “Each role deepened my understanding of operational excellence, safety, and leadership in high-performance environments,” he said. Shannon added that becoming the dive operations manager was one of the defining points of his career. “I had the privilege of leading an exceptional team and contributing directly to astronaut training and operational excellence.”

Seeking new challenges and opportunities for professional growth, Shannon transitioned to a test safety officer position at Johnson for about four years, expanding his knowledge of technical risk management in different environments. He returned to the NBL in 2025, this time as a safety officer. In that role, Shannon works to protect employees’ well-being and the facility’s operational integrity. His responsibilities are a mix of proactive safety initiatives – such as facility inspections, safety training, and communication – and incident response, which involves investigating mishaps and close calls and developing corrective action plans to prevent recurrence. He also serves as an internal technical consultant, fielding safety-related questions from employees and visitors and providing guidance that complies with Occupational Safety and Health Administration and NASA safety standards.

“I work across functions with operations, engineering, medical, and training teams to integrate safety into all daily processes and long-term planning,” he said. “It brings full circle my commitment to the safety and success of human spaceflight training.”

Shannon acknowledged that not having an engineering degree has made work more challenging at times, but it has not hindered his advancement. “I’ve earned key positions by committing myself to continuous learning, gaining in-depth knowledge of the technical areas I work in, and consistently demonstrating dedication to both my employers and my career,” he said. “My path has required hard work, adaptability, and a proactive approach to professional growth, which I view as strengths that have allowed me to contribute meaningfully in a highly technical setting.”

Shannon has also learned the importance of embracing change. “Change isn’t always easy, but it’s often where the most learning and development happen,” he said. “Whether it was stepping into leadership for the first time, shifting into a new field, or returning to a familiar place with a new purpose, each transition brought growth I never could have anticipated.” He added that patience, accountability, and empathy are important leadership qualities that help build stronger, more resilient teams.

While Shannon takes pride in his work, he said his family is his greatest achievement. “I’m most proud of raising three amazing children with my wife, Kimberley. They have been my grounding force and greatest inspiration,” he said.

He is also the proud co-owner of a local scuba diving company, which allows him to combine his love for diving, travel, and community. “I’ve had the privilege of leading dive trips around the world with groups of amazing people—sharing unforgettable underwater experiences and fostering a strong, adventurous dive community,” he said. “It’s a way for me to stay connected to the roots of my diving career and continue exploring the world through the lens of curiosity and connection.”

He encourages the next generation to find something they are passionate about. “It’s important to be genuinely excited about what you do and to face the challenges ahead with determination and curiosity,” he said. “That energy, paired with a willingness to adapt and grow, has carried me through each phase of my career. Challenges will come, but how you meet them defines your path.”

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Linda E. Grimm

Reaching the Precipice in Angola 

In southwestern Angola, an expanse of coastal plains comes to an abrupt end at a natural barrier. The Huíla plateau soars above the lowlands to elevations of around 2,300 meters (7,500 feet). The sharp transition results in dramatic landscapes and a sudden change from an arid environment to more-temperate climes.  

The serrated edge of the Huíla plateau zigzags through this image, which is a mosaic of scenes acquired on June 19 and 20, 2025, with the OLI-2 (Operational Land Imager-2) and OLI on the Landsat 9 and Landsat 8 satellites, respectively. Areas around the plateau’s edges appear green with vegetation. But the landscape tends to look much browner by late September, at the end of the region’s dry season, during which almost no rain falls.  

This topography is part of the Great Escarpment of southern Africa, a 5,000-kilometer-long feature running roughly parallel to the continent’s edge. From Angola, it extends south through Namibia, across South Africa, and then northeast into Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The image below, acquired with the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) on the Suomi NPP satellite, shows a longer segment of the escarpment in Angola.  

Scientists believe the escarpment formed after the breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana in the Jurassic period. Since then, erosion has worn away at the continental margin such that the escarpment now sits 50 to 200 kilometers (30 to 120 miles) back from the coast.   

This Angolan section of the escarpment features dizzying, yet beautiful, landscapes. Tundavala Gap, a gouge eroded into the cliff line (below), is one of the most iconic with its well-framed view of the plains below. The precipice also presents a substantial obstacle to transportation. A stretch of the Namibe-Lubango Road overcomes this challenge with a series of scenic hairpin turns climbing to Serra da Leba pass near the town of Leba.  

Lubango, one of Angola’s largest cities, occupies a valley on the Huíla plateau. In addition to its remarkable natural surroundings, the city boasts a diverse mix of cultures, striking architecture, and a wide variety of locally produced foods.  

NASA Earth Observatory images by Wanmei Liang, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey, and VIIRS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE, GIBS/Worldview, the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership, and the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS). Photo of Tundavala Gap © jbdodane.com. Story by Lindsey Doermann. 

References & Resources 

• African Leadership Magazine (2024, May 3) Unveiling Lubango, the Hidden Gem of Southern Angola. Accessed January 5, 2026. 
• The American Alpine Journal (2024) Fenda da Tundavala and Serra da Leba, New Routes. Accessed January 5, 2026. 
• Atlas Obscura (2025, August 18) Serra da Leba Pass. Accessed January 5, 2026. 
• Clark, V.R., et al. (2011) The Great Escarpment of southern Africa: a new frontier for biodiversity exploration. Biodiversity and Conservation, 20, 2543–2561. 
• CNN (2023, November 27) Lubango: The spectacular African destination you’ve probably never heard of. Accessed January 5, 2026.
• NASA Earth Observatory (2017, March 13) South Africa’s “Brown Gold.” Accessed January 5, 2026. 
• NASA Earth Observatory (2013, December 14) South Africa Tribute. Accessed January 5, 2026.

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NASA’s IXPE Measures White Dwarf Star for First Time

By Michael Allen 
 
For the first time, scientists have used NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarization Explorer) to study a white dwarf star. Using IXPE’s unique X-ray polarization capability, astronomers examined a star called the intermediate polar EX Hydrae, unlocking the geometry of energetic binary systems. 
 
In 2024, IXPE spent nearly one week focused on EX Hydrae, a white dwarf star system located in the constellation Hydra, approximately 200 light-years from Earth. A paper about the results published in the Astrophysical Journal. Astrophysics research scientists based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge led the study, along with co-authors at the University of Iowa, East Tennessee State University, University of Liége, and Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. 
 
A white dwarf star occurs after a star runs out of hydrogen fuel to fuse in its core but is not massive enough to explode as core-collapse supernovae. What remains is very dense, roughly the same diameter as Earth with as much mass as our Sun.  
 
EX Hydrae is in a binary system with a main sequence companion star, from which gas is continuously falling onto the white dwarf. How exactly the white dwarf is accumulating, or accreting, this matter and where it arrives on the white dwarf depends on the strength of the white dwarf star’s magnetic field. 
 
In the case of EX Hydrae, its magnetic field is not strong enough to focus matter completely at the star’s poles. But, it is still rapidly adding mass to the accretion disk, earning the classification “intermediate polars. 

By Michael Allen

For the first time, scientists have used NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarization Explorer) to study a white dwarf star. Using IXPE’s unique X-ray polarization capability, astronomers examined a star called the intermediate polar EX Hydrae, unlocking the geometry of energetic binary systems.

In 2024, IXPE spent nearly one week focused on EX Hydrae, a white dwarf star system located in the constellation Hydra, approximately 200 light-years from Earth. A paper about the results published in the Astrophysical Journal. Astrophysics research scientists based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge led the study, along with co-authors at the University of Iowa, East Tennessee State University, University of Liége, and Embry Riddle Aeronautical University.

A white dwarf star occurs after a star runs out of hydrogen fuel to fuse in its core but is not massive enough to explode as core-collapse supernovae. What remains is very dense, roughly the same diameter as Earth with as much mass as our Sun.

EX Hydrae is in a binary system with a main sequence companion star, from which gas is continuously falling onto the white dwarf. How exactly the white dwarf is accumulating, or accreting, this matter and where it arrives on the white dwarf depends on the strength of the white dwarf star’s magnetic field.

In the case of EX Hydrae, its magnetic field is not strong enough to focus matter completely at the star’s poles. But, it is still rapidly adding mass to the accretion disk, earning the classification “intermediate polars.

In an intermediate polar system, material forms an accretion disk while also being pulled towards its magnetic poles. During this phenomenon, matter reaches tens of millions of degrees Fahrenheit, bouncing off other material bound to the white dwarf star, creating large columns of gas that emit high-energy X-rays – a cosmic situation perfect for IXPE to study.

“NASA IXPE’s one-of-a-kind polarimetry capability allowed us to measure the height of the accreting column from the white dwarf star to be almost 2,000 miles high – without as many assumptions required as past calculations,” said Sean Gunderson, MIT scientist and lead author on the paper. “The X-rays we observed likely scattered off the white dwarf’s surface itself. These features are far smaller than we could hope to image directly and clearly show the power of polarimetry to ‘see’ these sources in detail never before possible.”

Information from IXPE’s polarization data of EX Hydrae will help scientists understand other highly energetic binary systems.

More about IXPE 

 The IXPE mission, which continues to provide unprecedented data enabling groundbreaking discoveries about celestial objects across the universe, is a joint NASA and Italian Space Agency mission with partners and science collaborators in 12 countries. It is led by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. BAE Systems, Inc., headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, manages spacecraft operations together with the University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics in Boulder. Learn more about IXPE’s ongoing mission here: 

https://www.nasa.gov/ixpe

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Lee Mohon