Earth’s cloudy nature is unmistakable in this global cloud fraction map, based on data collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite. This version of the map shows an average of all of the satellite’s cloud observations between July 2002 and April 2015. via NASA http://ift.tt/1cfuCI7

Engineers are using carbon dioxide snow to clean James Webb Space Telescope’s mirrors without scratching them. via NASA http://ift.tt/1EkcF1x

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun constantly, captured these images of a significant solar flare – as seen in the bright flash on the left – peaking at 6:11 p.m. EDT on May 5, 2015. Each image shows a different wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights a different temperature of material on the sun. via NASA http://ift.tt/1KLRniC

Fifty-four years ago on May 5, 1961 only 23 day after Yuri Gagarin of the then-Soviet Union became the first person in space, NASA astronaut Alan Shepard launched at 9:34 a.m. EDT aboard his Freedom 7 capsule powered by a Redstone booster to become the first American in space. His historic flight lasted 15 minutes, 28 seconds. via NASA http://ift.tt/1FMOPRm

The great eye of Saturn’s moon Mimas, a 130-kilometer-wide (80-mile) impact crater called Herschel, stares out from the battered moon. Several individual ringlets within the F ring are resolved here, and the small moon Atlas is also seen faintly outside the main rings. via NASA http://ift.tt/1E0rtTI

A team at NASA’s Langley Research Center is developing a concept of a battery-powered plane that has 10 engines and can take off like a helicopter and fly efficiently like an aircraft. The prototype, called Greased Lightning or GL-10, is currently in the design and testing phase. via NASA http://ift.tt/1QU3iz8

On April 30th, this region of Mercury’s surface will have a new crater! Traveling at 3.91 kilometers per second (over 8,700 miles per hour), the MESSENGER spacecraft will collide with Mercury’s surface, creating a crater estimated to be 16 meters (52 feet) in diameter. via NASA http://ift.tt/1IrJm3c

On April 29, 1990, the Space Shuttle Discovery approaches for landing on a concrete runway at Edwards Air Force Base to complete a highly successful five-day mission during which the Hubble Space Telescope was released into orbit. via NASA http://ift.tt/1FxFQn9

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly delivers remarks from onboard the International Space Station during the Space Shuttle Enterprise dedication ceremony Monday, April 27, 2015, at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City. Enterprise was dedicated to the fallen crews who gave their lives in pursuit of space exploration. via NASA http://ift.tt/1JOwG4D

To learn more about the minerals and surface processes on Mercury, instruments aboard NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft have been collecting surface measurements since MESSENGER entered Mercury orbit on March 17, 2011. via NASA http://ift.tt/1zeU37k