The Soyuz MS-05 rocket is launched with Expedition 52 flight engineer Sergei Ryazanskiy of Roscosmos, flight engineer Randy Bresnik of NASA, and flight engineer Paolo Nespoli of ESA (European Space Agency), Friday, July 28, 2017 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. via NASA http://ift.tt/2tKAz9d

This false-color view from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft gazes toward the rings beyond Saturn’s sunlit horizon. via NASA http://ift.tt/2uFPXVE

The Soyuz MS-05 spacecraft is seen as it is raised into a vertical position on the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, July 26, 2017. The Expedition 52 crew is scheduled to launch to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz on Friday, July 28, at 11:41 a.m. EDT (9:41 p.m. Baikonur time). via NASA http://ift.tt/2vIFr0f

Expedition 52 Flight Engineer Jack Fischer of NASA shared photos and time-lapse video of a glowing green aurora seen from his vantage point 250 miles up, aboard the International Space Station. This aurora photo was taken on June 26, 2017. via NASA http://ift.tt/2uU3SKy

Tucked away in the small northern constellation of Canes Venatici (The Hunting Dogs) is the galaxy NGC 4242. via NASA http://ift.tt/2twOBzs

Toward the right side of this enhanced-color scene is a broad notch in the crest of the western rim of Endeavour Crater on Mars. Wheel tracks in that area were left by NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity as it observed “Perseverance Valley” from above in the spring of 2017. via NASA http://ift.tt/2uhwo7D

This photograph of the Lunar Module at Tranquility Base was taken by Neil Armstrong during the Apollo 11 mission, from the rim of Little West Crater on the lunar surface. Armstrong’s shadow and the shadow of the camera are visible in the foreground. This is the furthest distance from the lunar module traveled by either astronaut while on the moon. via NASA http://ift.tt/2tiLhDM

A medium-sized (M2) solar flare and a coronal mass ejection erupted from the same, large active region of the sun on July 14, 2017. The flare lasted almost two hours, quite a long duration. The coils arcing over this active region are particles spiraling along magnetic field lines. via NASA http://ift.tt/2uJ7lf4

When astronauts return to Earth from destinations beyond the moon in NASA’s Orion spacecraft and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, they’ll still need to safely get out of the spacecraft and back on dry land. Using the waters off the coast of Galveston, a NASA and Department of Defense team tested Orion exit procedures on July 10-14, 2017. via NASA http://ift.tt/2vefiGn

Neil Armstrong trained for the Apollo 11 mission at NASA Langley’s Lunar Landing Research Facility on equipment that cancelled all but one-sixth of Earth’s gravitational force. Armstrong offered perhaps the greatest tribute to the importance of his training when asked what it was like to land on the moon, replying, “Like Langley.” via NASA http://ift.tt/2tjeylH