Researchers at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California are testing a new rotor-blade cross-section intended to improve future helicopter flight on Mars. NASA’s October 20 account describes computer simulations and wind-tunnel work on the roamx-0201 airfoil, while stressing that the technology is not yet ready for Mars.
NASA has published nighttime-light comparisons showing parts of the Florida Panhandle becoming darker after Hurricane Isaias and brightening again in subsequent days. The October 16 report focuses on Pensacola and the U.S. Route 98 corridor toward Destin. The imagery offers a view of disruption and recovery, but NASA says the modeled high-definition product is for visual assessment, not a numerical count of outages.
SpaceX’s Dragon cargo spacecraft docked with the International Space Station on October 15, 2026, delivering more than 6,300 pounds of supplies and research equipment, NASA reported. The flight launched from Florida on October 13 and carried the final set of roll-out solar arrays for later installation.
NASA’s Perseverance rover reached 45.22 kilometers of accumulated travel on Mars on October 11, 2026, passing the 45.16-kilometer mark set by Opportunity, according to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. A route animation released in the agency’s October update documents the milestone, highlighting the role of autonomous navigation in the U.S. mission.
NASA has scheduled an Artemis program update at Kennedy Space Center in Florida for October 23, 2026, at 2 p.m. EDT. The agency says the briefing will address preparations for Artemis III and its goal of returning American astronauts to the lunar surface by 2028; the announcement does not confirm that a new Moon landing has occurred.
Students in Orlando, Florida, will have prerecorded science questions answered from the International Space Station during a NASA broadcast scheduled for noon EDT on October 16, 2026. Sally Ride Elementary School is hosting the event for K–12 students and the wider community, according to NASA’s October 14 announcement.
NASA will explain plans for the International Space Station’s final two roll-out solar arrays at a public briefing from Johnson Space Center in Houston on October 20, 2026, at 2 p.m. EDT. The agency’s October 14 advisory lists installation spacewalks for October 29 and November 5, making the briefing the next point for U.S. viewers to check the mission schedule.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on October 6 that Francis Halzen, a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the United States, will receive the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin.
NASA's October guide puts Saturn in the spotlight on 4 October and the Orionid meteor shower later in the month. Moonlight and local conditions will affect the view.
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