PELS TECH

On Nov. 20, the International Space Station passes 25 years since the first module launched into orbit. The Zarya module lifted off in November 1998 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and would shortly be joined by the Unity module less than a month later. Through this global endeavor, 273 people from 21 countries now have visited the unique microgravity laboratory that has hosted more than 3,000 research and educational investigations from people in 108 countries and areas.

This mosaic depicts the International Space Station pictured from the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour during a fly around of the orbiting lab that took place following its undocking from the Harmony module's space-facing port on Nov. 8, 2021.
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Go the distance

The first spacecraft to study Pluto up close - New Horizons captured this image in blue, red, and infrared colors to help scientists distinguish Pluto's complex geological and climatological story. New Horizons launched in 2006 and arrived in Pluto's system in 2015, capturing images of Pluto and its moons before heading out further into the Kuiper Belt to study our solar system's beginning.

Evidence from New Horizons suggests that Pluto's surface, marked with craters, mountains, plains, and valleys, is being reshaped due to tectonic forces. Mountains on Pluto can reach as high as 6,500 to 9,800 ft (2-3 km), made of water ice and a thin sheen of frozen gasses.

Image description: Craters and cracks etch the surface of Pluto which appears in deep red, white, tan, light blue, and orange. Black space surrounds the dwarf planet.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute
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Name that planet! Too easy?

Fine. Yes, it's Saturn. Our Cassini spacecraft captured many images like this one as it studied the infamous gas giant's rings.

What's your favorite planet?

Image description: A black-and-white image of Saturn's rings as seen at an angle. A portion of the planet's sphere is visible at the right of the image.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
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Have an ice day

The cracked and etched surface of one of Saturn's icy moons, Enceladus, is the most reflective in our solar system, contributing to frigid cold surface temperatures that hover around -330°F (-201°C).

Beneath the icy shell of Enceladus lies a large subsurface ocean that sprays particles through fissures in the frozen surface into space. The icy water particles produce Saturn's E ring, which extends about 75,000 miles (120,000 kilometers) to about 260,000 miles (420,000 kilometers) above Saturn's equator.

Our Cassini spacecraft captured this mosaic of Enceladus from around 38,090 to 6,897 miles (61,300 to 11,100 km) as it studied the icy moon. Scientists studying data collected by Cassini speculate that Enceladus could be a possible habitat for life beyond our home due to its ocean and chemical composition.

Image description: Enceladus' half-lit white surface starkly contrasts the blackness of space. Cracks and bumps meander across the surface in shades of blue and white.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
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