NASA image of the day (imatge del dia, NASA)

Here is a new version of the “Christmas tree cluster.” NGC 2264 is a cluster of young stars between one and five million years old. (For comparison, the Sun is a middle-aged star about 5 billion years old – about 1,000 times older.)

Through NASA’s Artemis campaign, astronauts will land on the lunar surface and use a new generation of spacesuits and rovers as they live, work, and conduct science in the Moon’s South Pole region, exploring more of the lunar surface than ever before. Recently, the agency completed the first round of testing on three commercially owned and developed LTVs (Lunar Terrain Vehicle) from Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, and Venturi Astrolab at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

During the morning of March 20, 2015, a total solar eclipse was visible from parts of Europe, and a partial solar eclipse from northern Africa and northern Asia. NASA's Terra satellite passed over the Arctic Ocean on March 20 at 10:45 UTC (6:45 a.m. EDT) and captured the eclipse's shadow over the clouds in the Arctic Ocean.

A maze of cables and sensors snakes through a major piece of Gateway, humanity’s first space station around the Moon, during a key testing phase earlier this year to ensure the lunar-orbiting science lab can withstand the harsh conditions of deep space.

NGC 602 is a star cluster that lies on the outskirts of the Small Magellanic Cloud, one of the closest galaxies to the Milky Way. This image combines X-rays from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and infrared data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems transport lower the agency’s 212-foot-tall SLS (Space Launch System) core stage into High Bay 2 at the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. The one-of-a kind lifting beam is designed to lift the core stage from the transfer aisle to High Bay 2 where it will remain while teams stack the two solid rocket boosters on top of mobile launcher 1 for the SLS core stage.

An atmospheric probe model attached upside down to a quad rotor remotely piloted aircraft ascends with the Moon visible on Oct. 22, 2024. The quad rotor aircraft released the probe above Rogers Dry Lake, a flight area adjacent NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The probe was designed and built at the center.

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features a spiral galaxy, named UGC 10043. Located roughly 150 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Serpens, UGC 10043 is one of the somewhat rare spiral galaxies that we see edge-on.

NASA astronauts Loral O’Hara, left, and Jasmin Moghbeli, right, are seen during a tour of the Earth Information Center, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. O’Hara and Moghbeli spent six months in space as part of Expedition 70 aboard the International Space Station.

A portrait of Mary W. Jackson is seen after it was unveiled, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, at the NASA Headquarters Mary W. Jackson Building in Washington. Mary W. Jackson was a pioneering aerospace engineer and mathematician at NASA’s Langley Research Center.

Landsat 9 captured this image of lava coming from an eruptive fissure near Stóra Skógfell peak on Iceland's Reykjanes peninsula. Lava from the eruption flowed across major roads and closed in on the Blue Lagoon, a popular tourist destination. This natural color scene is overlaid with an infrared signal to help distinguish the lava’s heat signature.

NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Commander Suni Williams checks out the Astrobee robotic free-flyer in the Kibo laboratory module outfitted with tentacle-like arms containing gecko-like adhesive pads to demonstrate satellite capture techniques. Development of this robotic technology may increase the life span of satellites and enable the removal of space debris.

Technicians carefully install a piece of equipment to house Gateway’s xenon fuel tanks, part of its advanced electric propulsion system.

“I love my country. I love serving my country. I think that was ingrained in me in the military, where I grew to realize how lucky we are to live in America and have the freedoms that we have. When I returned from [my first duty station] in Germany, I separated from the Air Force for about nine months, but I missed it so much, I was like, 'Well, I guess I could join the reserves." I did want to get my education. I was ready by then. “So, I enrolled in school and went into the Reserves, and then 9/11 happened. That will change a person. I called my unit that afternoon and said, "Whatever you need, I'm ready." I was activated supporting the mission, but I didn't deploy like my husband. [9/11] is what touched my life more than anything: how quickly things can change in the blink of an eye. That's what strengthened my respect of the Air Force core values: service before self and integrity, and excellence in all we do. “Then, when I got pregnant, I thought I might want to be home, so I continued in civil service and just fell in love with my kids. That's when my relationship with loving the Air Force changed. It evolved. I still value all that time I had and served and the lessons I learned growing up [in the Air Force]. The biggest thing I have and will continue to pass on to my kids is respect for your country, even if you don't follow the route I did. Respect your country and the people who serve it.” – Tami Wisniewski, Management and Program Analyst, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

In this photograph astronaut and STS-113 mission specialist John B. Herrington, (center frame), participates in the mission's third spacewalk. The forward section of the Space Shuttle Endeavour is in right frame.

NASA astronaut Victor Glover (right) takes photos during a visit on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, with employees at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The employees support the agency’s Exploration Ground Systems Program to help NASA send astronauts, including Glover, to the Moon and back through the Artemis II launch.

This robot prototype was built at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California to demonstrate the feasibility of a mission concept called SWIM, short for Sensing With Independent Micro-swimmers. SWIM envisions a swarm of dozens of self-propelled, cellphone-size robots exploring the waters of icy moons like Jupiter's Europa and Saturn's Enceladus.

A cyclone is a low-pressure area of winds that spiral inwards. Although tropical storms most often come to mind, these spiraling storms can also form at mid- and high latitudes. Two such cyclones formed in tandem south of Iceland in November 2006.

This illustration depicts a hypothetical uneven ring of dust orbiting KIC 8462852, also known as Boyajian's Star or Tabby's Star. Astronomers have found the dimming of the star over long periods appears to be weaker at longer infrared wavelengths of light and stronger at shorter ultraviolet wavelengths.

The STS-129 crew members posed for a portrait following a joint news conference on Nov. 24, 2009, with the Expedition 21 crew members (out of frame) on the International Space Station. Pictured (clockwise) from bottom left are astronauts Charles O. Hobaugh, commander; Mike Foreman, Leland Melvin, Robert L. Satcher Jr. and Randy Bresnik, all mission specialists; along with Barry E. Wilmore, pilot; and Nicole Stott, mission specialist.