| In this week’s newsletter, learn how NASA’s newest space telescope—SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer)—plans to create and share an all-sky map of the universe; tune in to the third season of the Universo curioso de la NASA podcast; and discover how data from NASA missions is helping scientists learn why some coronal mass ejections have more intense effects and how future solar eruptions could impact our lives. Plus, more stories you might have missed. |
| THE UNIVERSE Sharing an All-Sky Map of the Universe  |
| NASA’s newest space telescope—SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer)—launched in March 2025 on a mission to create an all-sky map of the universe. Now settled into low-Earth orbit, SPHEREx has begun delivering data to a public archive on a weekly basis, allowing anyone to use the data to probe the secrets of the cosmos. NASA is committed to the sharing of scientific data, promoting transparency and efficiency in scientific research. In line with this commitment, data from SPHEREx appears in the public archive within 60 days after the telescope collects each observation. The SPHEREx mission contributes to NASA’s key scientific goals to discover the secrets of the universe and search for life beyond Earth. Its all-sky map will help scientists answer major questions about why the large-scale structure of the universe looks the way it does, how galaxies form and evolve, and the origins and abundance of water and other key ingredients for life in our galaxy. SPHEREX SCIENCE |
| THE UNIVERSE Hubble’s AI Revolution Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing how we explore the cosmos, turning vast amounts of space data into meaningful discoveries at unprecedented speeds. Huge sets of data pulled in from telescopes and observatories around the world, including the Hubble Space Telescope, would take countless hours for individuals to sort through, but artificial intelligence programs can use pattern recognition to swiftly identify key components for astronomical investigations. AIDING SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY |
| PODCASTS Universo curioso de la NASA ¡Universo curioso de la NASA está de regreso con una tercera temporada! En el primer episodio, descubre cómo las misiones robóticas allanan el camino para el regreso de la humanidad a la Luna con Artemis, y por qué nuestro satélite será clave para explorar el sistema solar. ESCUCHA EL NUEVO EPISODIO |  |
 STREAMING NASA+ is Coming to Netflix Starting this summer, NASA+ programming will be available on Netflix! Audiences will now have another option to stream live rocket launches, astronaut spacewalks, and breathtaking live views of Earth from the International Space Station. LEARN MORE |  SOLAR SYSTEM What’s Up? This month, skywatchers have the opportunity to view Mars in the evening, Venus and Jupiter in the morning, and the eagle constellation, Aquila, high in the sky. LEARN MORE |
| More NASA News |
 | On July 1, the NASA-funded ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) survey telescope in Rio Hurtado, Chile, first reported observations of a comet that originated from interstellar space, now officially named 3I/ATLAS. The comet poses no threat to Earth and will remain at a distance of at least 1.6 astronomical units—about 150 million miles. 3I/ATLAS should remain visible to ground-based telescopes through September, after which it will pass too close to the Sun to observe. |
 | A giant planet some 400 light-years away, HIP 67522 b, orbits its parent star so tightly that it appears to cause frequent flares from the star’s surface. The star and the planet form a powerful but likely destructive bond. In a manner not yet fully understood, the planet hooks into the star’s magnetic field, triggering flares on the star’s surface; the flares then whiplash energy back to the planet. |
 | Images taken of Asteroid Donaldjohanson by the Lucy spacecraft’s L’LORRI imager a few minutes before its closest approach on April 20, 2025, provide the highest resolution views yet of the entire asteroid, taken just before it overfilled the L’LORRI field of view. |
 | An unexpectedly strong solar storm rocked our planet on April 23, 2023, sparking auroras as far south as southern Texas in the U.S. and taking the world by surprise. Two days earlier, the Sun blasted a coronal mass ejection — a cloud of energetic particles, magnetic fields, and solar material — toward Earth. Space scientists took notice, but the coronal mass ejection wasn’t especially fast or massive and was preceded by a relatively weak solar flare, suggesting the storm would be minor — but it became severe. Using data from NASA missions, new studies of this storm are helping scientists learn why some coronal mass ejections have more intense effects and how future solar eruptions could impact our lives. |
| Do You Know? |
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| 50 years ago, three NASA astronauts—Thomas P. Stafford, Donald K. “Deke” Slayton, and Vance D. Brand—were preparing for the July 15 launch of their spacecraft for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP). It would be the last launch of a Saturn rocket and the final flight of the Apollo spacecraft. |
| How many combined spaceflights had these three crew members flown before the ASTP launch? A. 1 B. 3 C. 5 D. 7 |
| Find out the answer in next week’s NASA newsletter! |
 | Last week, we asked which celebrity attended the STS-4 landing at Edwards, California, on July 4, 1982. The answer? The “King of Cowboys,” Roy Rogers! Rogers, a space fan, posed for a photo with astronauts Jerry L. Ross, left, and Guy S. Gardner at the event. Also present at the landing was Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin Jr., seen to the right of Gardner’s shoulder. The final research and development flight of the Space Transportation System was also the last shuttle mission to have a crew of only two astronauts, Thomas K. Mattingly and Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr. |
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| Do you have a telescope? Would you like to see some of the same night sky objects from the ground that Hubble has seen from space? We invite you to commemorate the Hubble Space Telescope’s 35th anniversary by accepting our yearlong stargazing challenge! New challenge objects will be featured weekly. This week’s object is the globular cluster Messier 13 (M13), one of the brightest star clusters visible from the Northern Hemisphere. English astronomer Edmond Halley, best known for recognizing the periodic nature of the comet that carries his name, discovered Messier 13 in 1714. Stars are so densely packed together that near the core of M13, they can, at times, run into each other and even form a new star. The resulting “blue stragglers” appear younger than the other stars in their immediate vicinity. Located 25,000 light-years from Earth, look for this glittering metropolis of stars in the constellation Hercules. JOIN THE CELEBRATION |