NASA Gallery

An engineer inspects NEO Surveyor’s Infrared Detectors

An engineer inspects the surface of four mid-wavelength infrared science detectors for NASA’s Near-Earth Object...

The Heart of NEO Surveyor: Its Infrared Detectors

Four mid-wavelength infrared science detectors for NASA’s Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor mission are shown here on...

Shake, Rattle and Roll: James Webb Telescope Components Pass Tests

This image shows a model of one of three detectors for the Mid-Infrared Instrument on NASA James Webb Space Telescope.

Dark Reflections in the Southern Cross

NASA Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer captured this colorful image of the reflection nebula IRAS 12116-6001. This...

NASA WISE Cryostat

Initial assembly of NASA Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer cryostat. The cryostat is a 2-stage solid hydrogen...

It Raining Comets Artist Concept

This artist conception illustrates a storm of comets around a star near our own, called Eta Corvi. Evidence for this...

A Robot or a Science Instrument?

Some say the science instrument on NASA Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer mission resembles the Star Wars robot...

Lighting up a Dead Star Layers

This image from NASA Spitzer Space Telescope shows the scattered remains of an exploded star named Cassiopeia A....

Spitzer California Nebula Mosaic

This series of image taken by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope on Jan. 25, 2020, shows part of the California Nebula,...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in KSC's Vertical Processing Facility lower the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) into the Second Axial Carrier. NICMOS is one of two new scientific instruments that will replace two outdated instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). NICMOS will provide HST with the capability for infrared imaging and spectroscopic observations of astronomical targets. The refrigerator-sized NICMOS is HST's first cryogenic instrument -- its sensitive infrared detectors must operate at very cold temperatures of minus 355 degrees Fahrenheit or 58 derees Kelvin. NICMOS will be installed in Hubble during STS-82, the second Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Liftoff is targeted Feb. 11 aboard Discovery with a crew of seven.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in KSC's Vertical Processing Facility lower the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) into the Second Axial Carrier. NICMOS is one of two new scientific instruments that will replace two outdated instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). NICMOS will provide HST with the capability for infrared imaging and spectroscopic observations of astronomical targets. The refrigerator-sized NICMOS also is HST's first cryogenic instrument — its sensitive infrared detectors must operate at very cold temperatures of minus 355 degrees Fahrenheit or 58 degrees Kelvin. NICMOS will be installed in Hubble during STS-82, the second Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Liftoff is targeted Feb. 11 aboard Discovery with a crew of seven.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in KSC's Vertical Processing Facility inspect the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) on its handling fixture. NICMOS is one of two new scientific instruments that will replace two outdated instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). NICMOS will provide HST with the capability for infrared imaging and spectroscopic observations of astronomical targets. The refrigerator-sized NICMOS also is HST's first cryogenic instrument — its sensitive infrared detectors must operate at very cold temperatures of minus 355 degrees Fahrenheit or 58 degrees Kelvin. NICMOS will be installed in Hubble during STS-82, the second Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Liftoff is targeted Feb. 11 aboard Discovery with a crew of seven.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-82 crew members and workers at KSC's Vertical Processing Facility get a final look at the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) in its flight configuration for the STS-82 mission. The crew is participating in the Crew Equipment Integration Test (CEIT). NICMOS is one of two new scientific instruments that will replace two outdated instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). NICMOS will provide HST with the capability for infrared imaging and spectroscopic observations of astronomical targets. The refrigerator-sized NICMOS also is HST's first cryogenic instrument - its sensitive infrared detectors must operate at very cold temperatures of minus 355 degrees Fahrenheit or 58 degrees Kelvin. NICMOS will be installed in Hubble during STS-82, the second Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Liftoff is scheduled Feb. 11 aboard Discovery with a crew of seven.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in KSC's Vertical Processing Facility lift the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) prior to its installation in the Second Axial Carrier. NICMOS is one of two new scientific instruments that will replace two outdated instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). NICMOS will provide HST with the capability for infrared imaging and spectroscopic observations of astronomical targets. The refrigerator-sized NICMOS also is HST's first cryogenic instrument — its sensitive infrared detectors must operate at very cold temperatures of minus 355 degrees Fahrenheit or 58 degrees Kelvin. NICMOS will be installed in Hubble during STS-82, the second Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Liftoff is targeted Feb. 11 aboard Discovery with a crew of seven.

First Images From NASA's SPHEREx

Some of the first images from NASA's SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of...

Microgravity

The objective of this facility is to investigate the potential of space grown semiconductor materials by the vapor...

ED07-0210-3

The instruments that make up the Ames Autonomous Module Scanner (AMS) that provided precise thermal-infrared imaging...

SPHEREx Scans the Sky

This video shows the SPHEREx observatory's field of view as it scans across a section of the sky, observing the...

DSOC's Downlink Detector Prototype

Shown here is a prototype of the Deep Space Optical Communications, or DSOC, ground receiver detector built by the...

DSOC's Superconducting Nanowire Single Photon Detector

Shown here is an identical copy of the Deep Space Optical Communications, or DSOC, superconducting nanowire...

NASA's newly painted Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy 747SP is pushed back from L-3 Communications' Integrated Systems hangar in Waco, Texas

NASA's freshly painted Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) 747SP aircraft sits outside a hangar...

NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy 747SP shows off its new blue-and-white livery at L-3 Communications' Integrated Systems in Waco, Texas

NASA's freshly painted Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) 747SP is shown at L-3 Communications...

SPHEREx Telescope at JPL

The telescope for NASA's SPHEREx mission undergoes testing at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern...

Microgravity

The purpose of the experiments for the Advanced Automated Directional Solidification Furnace (AADSF) is to determine...