Bursts of pink and red, dark lanes of mottled cosmic dust, and a bright scattering of stars — this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows part of a messy barred spiral galaxy known as NGC 428. via NASA http://ift.tt/1WoQCD7

At NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility, engineers are welding together the Orion crew module pathfinder in preparation for the welding process set to begin later this summer on the Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission-1. This pathfinder, including the barrel section shown here, is a full-scale version of the current spacecraft design. via NASA http://ift.tt/1HIG9Yn

Among the many discoveries by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter since the mission was launched on Aug. 12, 2005, are seasonal flows on some steep slopes. via NASA http://ift.tt/1WiS1uZ

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly took this photograph of a sunrise over the western United States and posted it to social media on Aug. 10, 2015. Kelly wrote, “#GoodMorning to those in the western #USA. Looks like there’s a lot going on down there. #YearInSpace” via NASA http://ift.tt/1ICJwE0

Saturn’s unusual appearance in this picture is a result of the planet being imaged via an infrared filter. via NASA http://ift.tt/1HBGnQN

This colorful bubble is a planetary nebula called NGC 6818, also known as the Little Gem Nebula. The rich glow of the cloud is just over half a light-year across — humongous compared to its tiny central star — but still a little gem on a cosmic scale. via NASA http://ift.tt/1K7fc2m

This new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows the center of the Lagoon Nebula, an object with a deceptively tranquil name, in the constellation of Sagittarius. The region is filled with intense winds from hot stars, churning funnels of gas, and energetic star formation, all embedded within an intricate haze of gas and pitch-dark dust. via NASA http://ift.tt/1gdKYmi

Astronauts on the International Space Station continue testing the VEGGIE hardware for growing vegetables and plants in space. VEGGIE provides lighting and nutrient supply for plants in the form of a low-cost growth chamber and planting “pillows” — helping provide nutrients for the root system. via NASA http://ift.tt/1E8ffZG

On July 28, 2015, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on the Landsat 8 satellite captured images of algal blooms around the Great Lakes, visible as swirls of green in this image of Lake St. Clair and in western Lake Erie. via NASA http://ift.tt/1VZie1w

The International Space Station, with a crew of six onboard, is seen in silhouette as it transits the moon at roughly five miles per second, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2015, Woodford, VA. via NASA http://ift.tt/1IRWKQp