Astrobotic unveils Griffin-1 lunar lander for NASA Moon Base mission

• NASA is reportedly shifting its priorities away from the active search for life on Mars, placing the long-standing quest in a state of limbo. • This pivot comes 50 years after the Viking 1 mission initiated the search for Martian organisms, a goal once championed by scientists like Carl Sagan and Joshua Lederberg.

• NASA's SpaceX CRS-34 Dragon spacecraft has returned to Earth, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean after completing its mission. • The spacecraft is transporting a significant volume of biological samples, materials samples, and tested hardware from the International Space Station.

• Research scientist Nigel Meredith of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has collaborated with professional artists to transform space weather data into music. • The project converts radio waves, used by the BAS to study the links between outer space and Earth’s climate, into melodic and "weird" sounds.

• NASA is inviting digital creators and social media users to register for a "NASA Social" event to commemorate the launch of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. • As NASA's next flagship astrophysics mission, the telescope is designed to study the outer solar system, dark energy, and the overall structure of the cosmos.

• NASA astronauts Chris Williams and Jessica Meir will answer prerecorded STEM-related questions from students in New Jersey while aboard the International Space Station. • The event is hosted by Newton Public Schools in Newton, New Jersey, and is open to K-12 students and the local community.

• Mercury will reach its widest angular separation from the sun on June 15, making it the optimal time for observers to view the planet. • The event will coincide with a planetary lineup featuring Jupiter and Venus, which will be visible in the sky during the hours following sunset.

• NASA’s Roman Space Telescope is projected to revolutionize the search for alien worlds by discovering approximately 100,000 exoplanets. • This discovery potential far exceeds the combined totals of all previous astronomical missions.

• A new 30-day photographic collage documents the gradual approach of Venus and Jupiter in the western sky. • The visual sequence captures the planets appearing to move closer together from Earth's perspective, despite actually drifting further apart in space.

• NASA utilized an unconventional method to notify the Artemis 3 astronauts of their specific crew assignments. • Rather than a formal announcement, crew members were informed through enigmatic, individual meetings with their supervisors.

• The Sentinel Mission provides a step-by-step look at space exploration, covering mission planning and launch. • The process involves raw telemetry being converted into calibrated data, and then into usable science products.

• Japanese scientists successfully deployed SORA-Q, an autonomous rolling rover, to explore a portion of the moon in 2024. • The robot features a unique "Transformer-like" design, allowing it to shift from a spherical shape into a robot with extending wheels, a flip-up camera, and a transforming tail.