How Gravitational Waves Can Reveal New Worlds

NASA Scientists Show How Gravitational Waves Can Reveal New Worlds

https://science.nasa.gov/missions/lisa/gravitational-waves-can-reveal-new-worlds/ The LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) observatory, now in development, will detect gravitational waves, the tiny ripples in space-time caused by orbiting masses. Now two studies led by NASA astrophysicists show in new detail how LISA could reveal a new and unique population of exoplanets — worlds beyond our solar system — throughout our galaxy.

Ozone Hole Reaches Its 2026 Maximum

https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/ozone-hole-reaches-its-2026-maximum/ This story is an update to the Antarctic ozone hole feature in our World of Change series, which documents how Earth changes over months, seasons, and years. The stratospheric ozone layer protects life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet light, which damages DNA in plants and animals (including humans) and leads to sunburns and skin cancer. Prior to 1979, scientists had not observed atmospheric ozone concentrations below 220 Dobson Units. But in 1985, British Antarctic Survey scientists using ground-based measurements at Halley Research Station reported that Earth’s natural sunscreen was thinning dramatically over Antarctica each spring. NASA satellite instruments revealed the continental scale of this Antarctic ozone thinning, and it came to be known as the ozone hole.

CHAPEA Mission 2 Crew Reflects After 378 Days on Simulated Mars

https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/johnson/chapea-mission-2-crew-reflects-after-378-days-on-simulated-mars/ After 378 days without windows, the sounds of the outside world, or real-time calls with family and friends, four research volunteers stepped out of NASA’s Mars Dune Alpha habitat on Oct. 31, completing the agency’s second yearlong Mars surface simulation. Ross Elder, Ellen Ellis, James Spicer, and Matthew Montgomery entered the roughly 1,700-square-foot, 3D-printed habitat at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Oct. 19, 2025, for CHAPEA (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog) Mission 2.

NASA’s Chandra Finds Source of Star’s Mysterious Outbursts

https://science.nasa.gov/missions/chandra/nasas-chandra-finds-source-of-stars-mysterious-outbursts/ Using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers have discovered what is triggering repeated outbursts from a giant, unstable star. A new study, published Monday in the latest issue of The Astrophysical Journal, details the discovery of a previously hidden companion object that keeps pulling material away from the massive star every 113 days as they orbit one another. This partner is either a stellar-mass black hole, or the dense collapsed core of a massive star called a neutron star.

Microbiology, Spacesuits, and Cargo Mission Preps Keep Crew Busy

https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2026/11/10/microbiology-spacesuits-and-cargo-mission-preps-keep-crew-busy/ Microbiology and spacesuit maintenance kept the Expedition 75 crew busy aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday. The orbital residents are also preparing for upcoming cargo missions at the orbital outpost.

NASA’s ESCAPADE Completes Powered Earth Flybys, Now En Route to Mars

https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/heliophysics/nasas-escapade-completes-powered-earth-flybys-now-en-route-to-mars/ NASA’s two ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) spacecraft have each successfully completed a powered Earth flyby, using Earth’s gravity in combination with a sustained engine burn to slingshot themselves toward Mars. With these successful maneuvers complete, the twin spacecraft are on target to reach the Red Planet in September 2027. “This is the first time NASA has used a powered Earth flyby to propel a spacecraft toward Mars, and we’ve now executed this maneuver twice, flawlessly, in just two days,” said Asal Naseri, acting associate flight director for the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington.