On Jan. 16, 2016, Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly shared photographs of a blooming zinnia flower in the Veggie plant growth facility on the International Space Station. Kelly wrote, “First ever flower grown in space makes its debut!” and “Yes, there are other life forms in space! #SpaceFlower #YearInSpace” via NASA http://ift.tt/1JfKxWu

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is seen as it launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base Space Launch Complex 4 East with the Jason-3 spacecraft onboard, , Sunday, Jan. 17, 2016, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. via NASA http://ift.tt/1Rux4gf

In the SpaceX Payload Processing Facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the Jason-3 satellite is prepared for encapsulation in its payload faring. Liftoff of Jason-3 atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is targeted for the opening of a 30-second launch window at 10:42:18 a.m. PST (1:42 EST) on Sunday, Jan. 17. via NASA http://ift.tt/1U0gpiu

Scientists with NASA’s New Horizons mission have assembled this highest-resolution color view of one of two potential cryovolcanoes spotted on the surface of Pluto by the New Horizons spacecraft in July 2015. via NASA http://ift.tt/1nlrIaw

An international scientific team recently published a new map of the ocean floor based on Earth’s gravity field, and it is a particularly useful tool. The maps were created through computer analysis and modeling of new satellite data from ESA’s CryoSat-2 and from the NASA-CNES Jason-1, as well as older data from missions flown in the 1980s and 90s. via NASA http://ift.tt/1P11qGS

European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Tim Peake (@astro_timpeake) shared this photo taken aboard the International Space Station on Jan. 11, 2015, during preparations for a spacewalk, or extra-vehicular activity (EVA). Peake wrote, “Final suit fit check prior to Friday’s EVA – feels just great! #Principia #spacewalk” via NASA http://ift.tt/1TSFE6i

Mars’ seasonal cap of carbon dioxide ice has eroded many beautiful terrains as it sublimates (goes directly from ice to vapor) every spring. In the region where the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took this image on Feb. 4, 2009, we see troughs that form a starburst pattern. via NASA http://ift.tt/1SJIc8a

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows the spiral galaxy NGC 4845, located over 65 million light-years away in the constellation of Virgo (The Virgin). The galaxy’s orientation clearly reveals the galaxy’s striking spiral structure: a flat and dust-mottled disk surrounding a bright galactic bulge. via NASA http://ift.tt/1S8lWWe

Astronomers have made the most detailed study yet of an extremely massive young galaxy cluster using three of NASA’s Great Observatories. via NASA http://ift.tt/1S6CRIE

ESA astronaut Tim Peake (@astro_timpeake) took this photograph over the west coast of Canada from the International Space Station on Dec. 31, 2015, and shared it with his Twitter followers on Jan. 5, writing, “I was lucky enough to fly a helicopter in these Rocky Mountains once – I’m a bit higher this time! #Principia” via NASA http://ift.tt/1mGs2A2