APOD

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

The Sky Turns Above Paranal

Explanation: At the latitude of ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile, about 25 degrees south, Earth’s rotation moves the planet’s surface eastward at over 1,500 kilometers per hour. And while that’s faster than the speed of sound at sea level, the motion is imperceptible. Still, that motion can be revealed in the apparent rotation of the night sky by photographing star trails. This star trail image was composed from a digital stack of 300 consecutive 25-second exposures made with a camera fixed to a tripod to trace the star trail arcs. The graceful arcs are concentric and centered at the south celestial pole, the southern hemisphere extension of Earth’s axis of rotation into space. One of the observatory’s operating 1.8 meter auxiliary telescopes, AT 3, appears beneath the south celestial pole, faintly illuminated in the foreground of this well-planned scene from a rotating planet.

APOD’s main NASA site is moving: From apod.nasa.gov to science.nasa.gov/apod

Tomorrow’s picture: pixels in space

Date	August 28, 2026
Credit & Copyright:	Osvaldo Castillo
Authors & editors:	Jerry Bonnell, Cecilia Chirenti, Robert Nemiroff, Keighley Rockcliffe
A service of:	ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

Source: science.nasa.gov

Among the 63 U.S. national parks, few are as defined by a single river’s floodplain as Congaree National Park in South Carolina. While the features are also prominent in other parks, a full 80 percent of Congaree National Park lies within the Congaree River floodplain.

It’s a place home to one of the largest intact tracts of old-growth bottomland hardwood forests in the United States. In this image captured by the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 9, the river winds through the forested plain, along with curving bands of green that trace old channels, ridges, and swales left behind as the river gradually migrated across it. Slight differences in elevation in these paleochannels and other landforms affect how frequently they flood, producing distinct ecosystems that appear in contrasting shades of green.

The river flows through flat, soft terrain, which encourages the formation of bends and meanders. Water typically flows faster on the outside of bends, leading to more rapid erosion as the channel carves into the outer riverbank. It moves more slowly on the inside of bends, resulting in the deposition of sediment and the growth of sandy features called point bars. Over time, this process can cut off a bend from the main river channel, forming U-shaped oxbow lakes.

The National Park Service lists Weston Lake, 1.2 miles (1.9 kilometers) from the visitor center, as one of the park’s most permanent oxbow lakes, noting that it is relatively deep and lacks the shallow clay and silt layer found in most of the park’s other oxbow lakes, such as Devil’s Elbow. On the right side of the image is Bates Old River, a roughly 4-mile-long abandoned channel of the Congaree River and one of the longest oxbow lakes in South Carolina. Over time, abandoned channels and oxbow lakes can fill with sediment and become shallow wetlands. Some of these low-lying, water-filled features are known as sloughs, where flood-tolerant cypress-tupelo forests tend to grow.

While loggers targeted forests along the Congaree in the 1880s, challenges such as frequent flooding, interminably muddy roads, and mosquito-plagued conditions meant that most of the floodplain forests escaped the widespread logging that transformed other parts of the Southeast. By the 1950s, conservationists had begun to recognize how rare old-growth forests of this type had become in the region. Congress designated the area a national monument in 1976, and it became a national park in 2003.

As the river snakes its way through the park’s mostly flat terrain, it overflows its banks several times per year, usually in the winter and early spring but also in the summer and fall after hurricanes and major rainstorms. These floods distribute broad layers of nutrient-rich silt throughout the floodplain, nourishing the forests and contributing to the high concentration of unusually large trees in the park.

Over the decades, Congaree National Park has harbored a remarkable array of giant “champion” trees that have held national and state size records for their species. Though individual trees have gained and lost champion status as they have been damaged, have died, or been surpassed by newly measured trees elsewhere, Congaree trees such as the possumhaw (Ilex decidua), water hickory (Carya aquatica), loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), laurel oak (Quercus laurifolia), swamp tupelo (Nyssa biflora), and sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) have held records at times.

During this National Park Week, celebrate by exploring Earth Observatory’s U.S. National Parks from Space collection. You can also check out the offerings of Earth to Sky, a collaborative program that connects NASA science with park service rangers across the nation.   

NASA Earth Observatory image by Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Story by Adam Voiland.

Downloads

August 18, 2025

JPEG (13.48 MB)

References & Resources

• American Forests (2009) Congaree: Where The Trees Are Still Tall. Accessed August 27, 2026.
• Atlas Obscura (2025, May 12) How One Biologist Drew a Hyper-Accurate, Ranger-Approved Map of Congaree National Park. Accessed August 27, 2026.
• Discover South Carolina, Champion Trees are Star Attraction at Congaree National Park. Accessed August 27, 2026.
• National Parks Conservation Association (2024, March 27) Congaree: ‘Champion’ Trees, Synchronous Fireflies and More. Accessed August 27, 2026.  
• National Parks Conservation Association (2017) The Wild Congaree. Accessed August 27, 2026.  
• National Park Maps, Congaree Forest Map. Accessed August 27, 2026.  
• National Park Service, Last Stand for Floodplain Forests. Accessed August 27, 2026.
• National Park Service, Congaree National Park. Accessed August 27, 2026.  
• National Park Service (2014) Congaree National Park: Geologic Resources Inventory Report. Accessed August 27, 2026.
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Bottomland Hardwoods. Accessed August 27, 2026.
• U.S. Geological Survey Ecology of Congaree National Park. Accessed August 27, 2026.

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Turkey will sign the Artemis Accords during a ceremony at 2:30 p.m. EDT Monday, Aug. 31, at NASA Headquarters in Washington, becoming the 71st country signatory.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman will host Turkish Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır for the ceremony, together with U.S. Department of State officials.

This event is in person only. Media interested in attending must RSVP no later than 11 a.m. on Aug. 31, to: [email protected]. NASA’s media accreditation policy is online.

In 2020, during the first Trump Administration, the United States, led by NASA and the State Department, joined with seven other founding nations to establish the Artemis Accords, responding to the growing interest in lunar activities by both governments and private companies.

The Artemis Accords introduced the first set of practical principles aimed at enhancing the safety, transparency, and coordination of civil space exploration on the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

Learn more about the Artemis Accords at:

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-accords

-end-

Camille Gallo / Elizabeth Shaw 
Headquarters, Washington 
202-358-1600 
[email protected] / [email protected] 

Source: www.nasa.gov

President Donald J. Trump awarded NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen with the Congressional Space Medal of Honor Friday for their service during the Artemis II mission. He presented the awards during a ceremony at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, honoring the first medal recipients since 2023.

NASA’s historic Artemis II mission launched on April 1, and splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean on April 10. The crew members were the first astronauts to launch on the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, flying aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft, which the crew named Integrity. During their record-setting mission, the astronauts traveled 252,756 miles from Earth, farther than any humans have traveled before, surpassing a previous record set by Apollo 13 astronauts in 1970. In total, they flew 695,081 miles, including a lunar flyby.

“We gather on these historic grounds to celebrate the immense courage of four intrepid space heroes whose sense of daring and adventure led them further from Earth than anyone has ever traveled ever before,” said President Trump. “Today we’re proudly awarding the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to the remarkable crew of Artemis II. These astronauts did not do it alone. I want to salute all of the engineers, and scientists, launch and landing specialists, everyone at NASA who helped make this mission a great success.”

The Congressional Space Medal of Honor was authorized by Congress in 1969 to recognize an astronaut who in the performance of duties has distinguished himself or herself by exceptionally brave and meritorious efforts, and contributions to the welfare of the nation and humanity. There now are 34 recipients of the award since the beginning of the space program, including the crews of Apollo 1, Challenger, and Columbia who received the award posthumously.

“President Trump’s leadership has put America back on a path to lead the world in space, from creating the Artemis program to giving NASA the resources and mandate to win this new space race,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “The Artemis II crew answered that call with extraordinary skill and courage, showing the world the Moon again and what American leadership and exploration look like at their best. Their achievement was made possible by the exceptional NASA workforce, alongside our industry and international partners, who showed once again what can be accomplished when we commit to big, bold endeavors. We will build on this success as we return to the lunar surface and establish an enduring presence on the Moon.”

The first crewed mission under NASA’s Artemis program paved the way for the 2027 Artemis III test flight in low Earth orbit to demonstrate rendezvous and docking capabilities between Orion and commercial human landing systems, and the Artemis IV mission in 2028, which will return American astronauts to the lunar surface.

“It was the honor of my lifetime to fly on Integrity around the Moon with Victor, Christina, and Jeremy. Having President Trump here at the agency’s Johnson Space Center to honor NASA and my crew underscores the significance of what our teams accomplished,” said Wiseman, who served as commander of the mission. “I can’t wait to see my friends continue this legacy on Artemis III.”

Glover served as pilot of the Orion spacecraft.

“Piloting Orion for the first time in space was a profound honor, made possible because of the years of hard work, dedication, and expertise by countless individuals dedicating their time and talents to the mission,” said Glover. “We share this recognition with the thousands of people who launched us around the Moon and brought us safely back to Earth.”

Koch served as a mission specialist.

“The response to our mission here on Earth was beyond anything we ever imagined and all we ever hoped for. We are grateful every time we hear from people who followed along with our journey. As team members on this shared mission, we accept this award to honor those who made it happen, from factory floors to clean rooms and mission control rooms,” said Koch.

Hansen also served as a mission specialist.

“It is a privilege to receive the Congressional Space Medal of Honor alongside my Artemis II crewmates,” said Hansen. “I share this recognition with the dedicated teams in Canada, the United States, and our international partners who made the mission possible. Artemis II showed what we can accomplish for humanity when we set ambitious goals and work together. For Canada, the mission and the Artemis program as a whole are about much more than just going back to the Moon. It is about the pursuit of excellence and collaboration.”

As part of a Golden Age of innovation and exploration, NASA will send Artemis astronauts on a series of challenging missions to explore more of the Moon and establish a Moon Base on the lunar surface for long-term exploration. These missions will set the stage for sending the first astronauts — Americans — to Mars. Learn more:

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis

-end-

Bethany Stevens / Cheryl Warner
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
[email protected] / [email protected]

Brandi Dean / Chelsey Ballarte
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
[email protected] / [email protected]

Source: www.nasa.gov

To strengthen the nation’s space workforce and develop the next generation of space leaders, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order on Friday to establish the nation’s first U.S. Space Academy.

The order highlights how space is a critical domain for American national security, economic growth, scientific discovery, and technological innovation. The proposed academy would focus technical education with leadership development, discipline, and a commitment to public service, helping ultimately advance U.S. interests in space.

“Given the rapid growth of the U.S. Space Force and commercial space industry, and the expansion of our ambitions to the Moon and far beyond the Moon, it’s clear we will need to educate and train an entire generation of skilled service members, engineers, and civil operators,” said President Trump. “That’s why I will sign an Executive Order to begin the process of creating a new a national academy called the U.S. Space Academy.”

The order also calls on NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman to serve as the chair of a new Presidential Commission on the United States Space Academy, and NASA Deputy Administrator Matt Anderson to serve as the executive director. They will work with vice chairs — Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Michael Kratsios, and Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, Kevin Hassett — and other representatives from the White House and the interagency on the commission.

“President Trump’s vision for a new academy is a transformational step to educate the engineers, scientists, technicians, operators and even the astronauts who will be necessary for the inspiring future we are pursuing in space. In the years ahead, we will return NASA astronauts to the lunar surface, build the Moon Base, get underway on nuclear power, ignite the orbital economy and launch more missions of science and discovery,” said Isaacman. “I have no doubt that so much of the future talent that will graduate and contribute to these exciting endeavors will be educated at the United States Space Academy.”

A report from the commission to the President is due within 120 days of the signing with recommendations on governance framework, service obligations for graduates, physical location of the academy, legislative requirements, and more.

The signing of “Establishing the United States Space Academy Executive Order,” took place at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston where the President also presented the Artemis II crew members with the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.

The Executive Order is the latest from President Trump that demonstrates his commitment to maintaining U.S. leadership in space and advancing NASA’s Golden Age exploration and innovation. In December 2025, he signed the Ensuring American Space Superiority, and recently, a new National Space Transportation Policy memorandum on Aug. 20.

Read the full Executive Order on The White House website: 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/08/establishing-the-united-states-space-academy

-end-

Bethany Stevens / Cheryl Warner
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
[email protected] / [email protected]

Source: www.nasa.gov

6 Min Read

Grants

*Notice*

The Payment Management System (PMS) is currently experiencing issues affecting Federal Financial Report (FFR) generation. Impacted NASA grant recipients will not be considered noncompliant. NASA is working with PMS to resolve the issue. Updates will be posted here.

Grants Status Requests

To submit a request, visit NASA General Information Request Form and complete the form. You will receive an automated email with the most commonly requested grant status information.

Important Instructions:

• Ensure you enter a valid email address, as replies will only be sent via email.
• The confirmation email may take a few minutes to arrive in your inbox.

How to Fill Out the Form:

1. Category: Select “Procurement including Grants & Cooperative Agreements.”
2. Procurement Area: Choose “Grants/Agreements.”
3. Grants/Agreements Activity: Select “Grant Status.”
4. Required Information: Provide either a Grant Number, Purchase Requisition Number, or both.

Memorandum for NASA Grantee Community

Guidance Regarding OMB Memorandum M-25-14 and Recent Temporary Restraining Orders

Update on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Executive Orders – January 29, 2025
On January 23, 2025, NASA’s Office of Procurement (OP) released a memorandum for the NASA contractor and grant community regarding Executive Order “Initial Rescission of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions” and the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) memorandum “Initial Guidance Regarding DEIA Executive Orders.”

Per OP’s memo, NASA grant and cooperative agreement recipients shall immediately cease and desist all DEIA activities required for their grant. This work may include but is not limited to: DEIA plan requirements, training, workshops, reporting, considerations for staffing, or any other direct or indirect grant activity related to DEIA. All grant recipients shall notify their cognizant Grant Officer if they identify requirements within their grants that are in violation of this guidance. Your Grant Officer’s contact information can be found on your NF 1687, Notice of Award for Grant and Cooperative Agreement (NOA).

Thank you for your work and partnership with NASA. 

NASA Grant and Cooperative Agreement Terms and Conditions

In FY2025, NASA separated the Terms and Conditions from the GCAM to create a standalone document. This document outlines both the general and specific terms and conditions and applies to all awards issued under 2 CFR 1800 (NASA’s adoption of 2 CFR 200.)
NASA Grant and Cooperative Agreement Terms and Conditions 7-15-2026

Request for Supplemental Grant and Cooperative Agreement Actions

Administrative Supplement Requests Templates :

No Cost Extension (NCE) Request Form

Other Administrative Supplement Request Form

Principal Investigator (PI) Change Request Form

Period of Performance (POP) Change Form

Submit via email to NSSC-ADMIN-SUPPLEMENT REQUEST

PI Transfer Requests:

Submit via email to NSSC-Grants-PI-Transfer

NASA Insignia Guidelines

Grantees are strongly encouraged to use the NASA Insignia Format identified in the guidelines at NASA Insignia Guidelines for NASA Grantees. These guidelines aim to increase awareness of NASA’s mission activities via Grantee partnerships for a broader and more diverse population.

Payment Management System

NASA uses a service provider, currently the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Payment Management System (PMS), to provide Federal funds to recipients. PMS will provide instructions to the recipients for registering and requesting funds through the system.
 

Routine Monitoring

NASA is responsible for routine post-award monitoring on all awards, regardless of the award’s risk determination. At a minimum, routine monitoring includes reviewing award recipients’ annual performance reports, semi-annual Federal Financial Report (FFR), and Transactions Testing Review.

Research Performance Progress Reports

All NASA award recipients must submit annual performance reports. Annual reports are due to NASA 60 days prior to the annual anniversary of the award’s POP start date (e.g., if the POP of an award is October 1 – September 30, the report would be due 60 days prior to October 1.)

• Final Performance Reports: Submit via email to [email protected]

• Performance Reports: Submit via email to [email protected]

Federal Financial Reports (SF-425)

Recipients will submit their semi-annual FFRs in PMS:

Period 1 (October 1 – March 31): Due by April 30 each year.

Period 2 (April 1 – September 30): Due by October 30 of each year.

Final FFRs are due 120 days after the end of the POP

Additional information and training are available on the Payment Management System website at https://pms.psc.gov/. The PMS help desk number is 1-877-614-5533. 

Forms

Post-Award Certifications and Representations

NASA Biographical Sketch Form

Current and Pending Support (CPS) Form

NASA Pre-Award and Post-Award Disclosure Requirements

Regulations and Guidance

Regulations

Electronic Code of Federal Regulations

• Title 2: Grants and Agreements
• 14 CFR 1274: Cooperative Agreements with Commercial Firms (Rescinded January 2021)
• 14 CFR 1275: Research Misconduct

Guidance

NASA Grant and Cooperative Agreement Manual (GCAM): NASA’s Grant Manual for Proposers and Recipients

The NASA Grant and Cooperative Agreement Manual (GCAM) provides pre and post award policy guidance to NASA proposers and award-managing personnel and award recipients to implement government-wide and NASA-specific regulations for applying for, awarding and administering grants and cooperative agreements with educational and non-profit organizations; State, local, and Indian tribal governments; and for-profit organizations.

• NASA Grant Cooperative Agreement Manual (GCAM)

NASA Grant and Cooperative Agreement Terms and Conditions

In FY2025, NASA separated the Terms and Conditions from the GCAM to create a standalone document. This document outlines both the general and specific terms and conditions and applies to all awards issued under 2 CFR 1800 (NASA’s adoption of 2 CFR 200.)

Research Terms and Conditions (For Research Awards Issued Prior to October 1, 2024)

NASA implemented the Federal-wide research terms and conditions for all research and research-related grant and cooperative agreement awards issued under 2 CFR 1800 (NASA’s adoption of 2 CFR 200). The Research Terms and Conditions implement the requirements of the Uniform Guidance and includes three companion documents:

RTC Appendix A: Prior Approval Matrix, RTC Appendix B: Subaward Requirements, and RTC Appendix C: National Policy Requirements).

The Research Terms and Conditions and companion documents are accessible on the NSF website.

NASA Office of Inspector General

To file a complaint regarding denial of equal opportunity or discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age; go to

https://oig.nasa.gov/hotline.html
1-800-424-9183
300 E Street, S.W. Suite 8V39
Washington, DC 20546-0001
NASA OIG Hotline
 http://missionstem.nasa.gov/filing-a-complaint.html​​​​​​​

Resources

Grants.gov
NSSC Grants Payment Package
NASA Research Opportunities Online (NSPIRES)
System for Award Management (SAM)

Source: www.nasa.gov