On Jan. 3, 1962, the newly announced Mercury Mark II project was renamed Project Gemini. This artist’s concept of a two-person Gemini spacecraft in flight shows a cutaway view. via NASA http://ift.tt/2Czgzz0

THE OSIRIS-REx mission will map and return samples from asteroid Bennu, a carbon-rich hunk of rock that might contain organic materials or molecular precursors to life. OSIRIS-Rex is expected to reach Bennu in August, 2018. via NASA http://ift.tt/2CFwXLi

In September 2017, a new iceberg calved from Pine Island Glacier—one of the main outlets where the West Antarctic Ice Sheet flows into the ocean. via NASA http://ift.tt/2EcblGs

An astronaut aboard the International Space Station took this photograph of the city lights of Naples and the Campania region of southern Italy. via NASA http://ift.tt/2Dsv57t

These images show a subtle feature on dwarf planet Ceres called Kwanzaa Tholus. via NASA http://ift.tt/2Ccnzye

The Hubble Space Telescope captured what looks like a colorful holiday ornament in space. It’s actually an image of NGC 6326, a planetary nebula with glowing wisps of outpouring gas. via NASA http://ift.tt/2CV8qkg

On Dec. 21, 1968, the Apollo 8 crew leaves the Kennedy Space Center’s then-named Manned Spacecraft Operations Building during the mission’s prelaunch countdown on the way to their history-making lunar orbiting flight. via NASA http://ift.tt/2zbwlJX

Greetings from @Astro_Sabot, otherwise known as Mark Vande Hei, from aboard the International Space Station. via NASA http://ift.tt/2z6xNx8

Acquired on November 29 by Operation IceBridge during a flight to Victoria Land, this image shows an iceberg floating in Antarctica’s McMurdo Sound. via NASA http://ift.tt/2kjgNz4

This schlieren image shows an Air Force Test Pilot School T-38 in a transonic state, meaning the aircraft is transitioning from a subsonic speed to supersonic. via NASA http://ift.tt/2kHqUNB