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This website is not affiliated with, maintained, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with NASA or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates. All NASA imagery is in the public domain unless otherwise noted. Data sourced from NASA Open APIs, Launch Library 2, and other open data services.

NASA Gallery

Explore NASA's vast collection of space images, videos, and audio from missions past and present.

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NASA's Image and Video Library: A Visual Archive of Space Exploration

NASA's Image and Video Library is one of the most comprehensive public archives of space imagery in the world, containing over 140,000 images, videos, and audio recordings spanning more than six decades of space exploration. From the earliest Mercury and Gemini missions through the Apollo Moon landings, the Space Shuttle era, and today's cutting-edge observations from the James Webb Space Telescope, this collection documents humanity's journey into the cosmos.

The library includes imagery from diverse sources: telescopes like Hubble and Webb that capture deep-space nebulae, galaxies, and exoplanets; planetary missions like the Mars rovers ( browse Mars photos) and Cassini at Saturn; Earth observation satellites ( see EPIC imagery); astronaut photography from the ISS; and documentation of rocket launches, spacecraft assembly, and ground testing. Most NASA images are in the public domain and free to download at full resolution for educational, editorial, and personal use.

Use the search bar above to find specific subjects — try queries like "Apollo 11," "Hubble Deep Field," "Mars surface," or "astronaut EVA." You can also filter by media type (image, video, or audio). For a daily curated experience, visit the Astronomy Picture of the Day.

Showing results for "Photon"

61 results found - Page 1 of 3

NASA image: DSOC's Superconducting Nanowire Single Photon Detector
Image
Oct 4, 2023

DSOC's Superconducting Nanowire Single Photon Detector

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

JPL
NASA image: SPHEREx Photon Shields Assembled
Image
Nov 9, 2023

SPHEREx Photon Shields Assembled

Part of one of the protective photon shields for NASA's SPHEREx telescope are shown here being assembled at Applied...

JPL
NASA image: SPHEREx Outer Photon Shield
Image
Nov 9, 2023

SPHEREx Outer Photon Shield

Sara Susca, deputy payload manager and payload systems engineer for the NASA's SPHEREx mission, looks up at one of...

JPL
NASA image: GRC-2022-C-10555
Image
Nov 10, 2022

GRC-2022-C-10555

Dan Raible, an Electronics Engineer in NASA Glenn Research Center’s Optics and Photonics Branch. Raible has a long...

GRC
NASA image: OCI Fiber Optic and Photonic Team Configure Fibers
Image
Jun 21, 2021

OCI Fiber Optic and Photonic Team Configure Fibers

Alejandro Rodriguez Perez and Joe Thomes, members of the fiber optic & photonic team, configure the Ocean Color...

GSFC
NASA image: ATLAS: Laser Focus: Receiver
Video
Jan 7, 2015

ATLAS: Laser Focus: Receiver

Opto-Mechanical Engineer Tyler Evans explains how the photons that bounce back from Earth are received and filtered...

GSFC
NASA image: Ancient Light Deflected
Image
Oct 21, 2013

Ancient Light Deflected

This artist impression shows how photons from the early universe are deflected by the gravitational lensing effect...

JPL
NASA image: A Journey of Light Through Space and Time
Image
Mar 21, 2013

A Journey of Light Through Space and Time

This frame from an artist animation depicts the life of a photon, or particle of light, as it travels across space...

JPL
NASA image: The Creation of Titanium in Stars
Image
Feb 19, 2014

The Creation of Titanium in Stars

This diagram illustrates why NASA NuSTAR can see radioactivity in the remains of exploded stars for the first time....

JPL
NASA image: ATLAS: Laser Focus: Timing
Video
Jan 7, 2015

ATLAS: Laser Focus: Timing

Deputy Systems Engineer Phil Luers explains how the ATLAS transmitter and receiver subsystems come together to...

GSFC
NASA image: ARC-1987-AC87-0211-2
Image
Mar 18, 1987

ARC-1987-AC87-0211-2

Autonomous Perception Vision project - Intelligent Systems - Machine Vision, Fusing Photonics and A.I. - Fiber-Optic...

ARC
NASA image: PEACOQ: New Quantum Detector Could Help Quantum Computers Communicate
Image
Mar 2, 2023

PEACOQ: New Quantum Detector Could Help Quantum Computers Communicate

This close-up photograph shows a single Performance-Enhanced Array for Counting Optical Quanta (PEACOQ) detector....

JPL
NASA image: Detector for CheMin
Image
Oct 30, 2012

Detector for CheMin

This charged couple device CCD is part of the CheMin instrument on NASA Curiosity rover. When CheMin directs X-rays...

JPL
NASA image: DSOC's Downlink Detector Prototype
Image
Oct 4, 2023

DSOC's Downlink Detector Prototype

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

JPL
NASA image: DSOC's Table Mountain Facility Uplink Laser – Infrared vs. Visible Light
Image
Sep 18, 2025

DSOC's Table Mountain Facility Uplink Laser – Infrared vs. Visible Light

This infrared photograph shows the uplink laser beacon for NASA's Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC)...

JPL
NASA image:  SPHEREx in Horizontal Orientation
Image
Jan 23, 2025

SPHEREx in Horizontal Orientation

NASA's SPHEREx observatory is oriented in a horizontal position, revealing all three layers of photon shields as...

JPL
NASA image: New NASA Satellite Reveals Profiles of Ice, Forests and Oceans
Video
Dec 11, 2018

New NASA Satellite Reveals Profiles of Ice, Forests and Oceans

Less than three months into its mission, NASA’s Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2, or ICESat-2, is already...

GSFC
NASA image: Table Mountain Facility Sends DSOC Laser Beacon to NASA's Psyche (Infrared Image)
Image
Sep 18, 2025

Table Mountain Facility Sends DSOC Laser Beacon to NASA's Psyche (Infrared Image)

In this infrared photograph, the Optical Communications Telescope Laboratory (OCTL) at NASA Jet Propulsion...

JPL
NASA image: LighSail Students Testing - ELaNa XI
Image
Sep 23, 2014

LighSail Students Testing - ELaNa XI

Students Alex Diaz and Riki Munakata of California Polytechnic State University testing the LightSail CubeSat....

KSC
NASA image: Earth Observations taken by the Expedition 23 Crew
Image
May 29, 2010

Earth Observations taken by the Expedition 23 Crew

ISS023-E-058455 (29 May 2010) --- Aurora Australis is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 23 crew...

JSC
NASA image: SPHEREx in Orbit (Artist's Concept)
Image
Jan 23, 2025

SPHEREx in Orbit (Artist's Concept)

NASA's SPHEREx mission will operate in low Earth orbit, detecting hundreds of millions of stars and galaxies and...

JPL
NASA image: Lumina Experiment
Image
Mar 18, 2021

Lumina Experiment

jsc2021e029985 (3/18/20210 --- A preflight view of the Lumina imvestigation. Fiber-optic Active Dosimeter (Lumina)...

JSC
NASA image: SPHEREx Telescope at JPL
Image
Nov 9, 2023

SPHEREx Telescope at JPL

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

JPL
NASA image: Lumina Experiment
Image
Mar 18, 2021

Lumina Experiment

jsc2021e029984 (3/18/20210 --- A preflight view of the Lumina imvestigation. Fiber-optic Active Dosimeter (Lumina)...

JSC
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Frequently Asked Questions About NASA Images

Are NASA images free to use?+
Yes, most NASA images are in the public domain and are free to use for educational, informational, and personal purposes. NASA's media usage guidelines state that NASA material is not copyrighted unless otherwise noted. However, the NASA logo and certain insignia are protected. Some images may include identifiable individuals or third-party content that requires additional permissions. Always check the specific image's usage rights and credit NASA as the source.
How many images does NASA have?+
NASA's Image and Video Library contains over 140,000 publicly accessible images, videos, and audio files spanning the agency's entire history, from the Mercury program of the 1960s to the latest James Webb Space Telescope discoveries. The collection grows daily as new missions capture imagery and archival materials are digitized. Individual mission archives, such as Mars rover photos, contain hundreds of thousands of additional images.
Can I download NASA images?+
Yes, you can download NASA images in multiple resolutions directly from this gallery. Each image detail page provides download links for original (full resolution), large (1920px), medium (960px), small (480px), and thumbnail sizes. NASA encourages the public to use these images for education, media, and personal projects. High-resolution originals are ideal for printing and professional use.

Explore More NASA Content

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Daily curated space image

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Mission updates & discoveries