NASA Updates Next Steps for Commercial Swift Boost Mission - NASA

• NASA's Perseverance rover captured images of a solar eclipse occurring on the surface of Mars. • The event occurred as one of Mars' moons passed between the planet and the Sun, partially blocking the sunlight.

• NASA and Katalyst Space Technologies announced on Wednesday that the mission to save the Swift space telescope has been officially called off. • The effort was intended to rescue the telescope, which was described as "sinking" or facing critical failure.

• NASA has launched the Orbital Clarity Challenge, the sixth installment in the TechLeap Prize series, in collaboration with the agency's Heliophysics Division and Flight Opportunities program. • The challenge seeks innovative technical solutions to improve orbital clarity and data acquisition for space-based observations.

• Several federal agencies are facing significant shifts, including NOAA withdrawing support for the Arctic Report Card and the DOJ declaring certain NSF programs unconstitutional. • The NIH is proposing to replace numerical peer-review scores for grant proposals with qualitative labels such as “most competitive” or “not discussed.”

• The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced $1.5 billion in funding dedicated to science and engineering research. • The agency is implementing more flexible grant structures specifically designed to support emerging research and long-term projects.

• Astronomers have discovered three supermassive black holes on the verge of colliding within a single distant galaxy. • The galaxy dates back to a period less than 1.3 billion years after the Big Bang, indicating an unusually high concentration of black holes for its size.

• NASA has captured images of a new lunar crater created after a defunct component of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket crashed into the moon. • The rocket part struck the lunar surface uncontrolled this month, traveling at an estimated speed of 5,400 mph.

• European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot is scheduled to perform a spacewalk today, August 18. • This mission marks a historic milestone as Adenot becomes the first French woman to ever conduct a spacewalk.

• The deadline to reach a diplomatic deal between the US and Iran expires on August 17, 2026, prompting President Trump to issue threats against Oman. • Simultaneously, Jared Kushner met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss a ceasefire plan for Gaza.

• NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day highlights an upcoming total solar eclipse scheduled to occur over Spain on August 13, 2026. • The event provides a critical opportunity for scientists to study the solar corona and investigate why it remains millions of degrees hotter than the Sun's surface.

• Scientists achieved a quantum breakthrough on May 5, 2026, by successfully connecting a "time crystal"—a form of matter that oscillates indefinitely without energy input—to a real-world device. • A separate study published on May 4, 2026, discovered that manipulating magnetic fields over time can create entirely new forms of matter that are otherwise impossible under normal conditions.