A Soyuz rocket lifts off from rom the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on March 19, (March 18 U.S. time) carrying Expedition 47 to the International Space Station. via NASA http://ift.tt/1pRW2L3

The gantry arms close around the Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft to secure the rocket, as seen in this long exposure photograph taken on Wednesday, March 16, 2016 at launch pad 1 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Launch of the Expedition 47 crew is scheduled for 5:26 p.m. EDT Friday, March 18. via NASA http://ift.tt/1SYozdh

This image of haze layers above Pluto’s limb was taken by the Ralph/Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC) on NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft. About 20 haze layers are seen; the layers have been found to typically extend horizontally over hundreds of kilometers, but are not strictly parallel to the surface. via NASA http://ift.tt/1MpKPpM

On March 16, 1966, command pilot Neil Armstrong and pilot David Scott successfully docked their Gemini VIII spacecraft with the Agena target vehicle, the first-ever linking of two spacecraft together in Earth orbit. This crucial spaceflight technology milestone would prove vital to the success of future moon landing missions. via NASA http://ift.tt/1VcGwFr

The remotely controlled Sally Ride EarthKAM aboard the International Space Station snapped this striking photograph of South Africa on Feb. 9, 2016. The EarthKAM program allows students to request photographs of specific Earth features, which are taken by a special camera mounted on the space station when it passes over those features. via NASA http://ift.tt/1RLHIu8

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured this view of Saturn’s moon Enceladus that shows wrinkled plains that are remarkably youthful in appearance, being generally free of large impact craters. via NASA http://ift.tt/22dWNj0

Containing countless galaxies, this parallel field observation is nearly as deep as the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field. When compared to other deep fields, it will help astronomers understand how similar the universe looks in different directions. via NASA http://ift.tt/1RUEhUy

“Frontier Fields” galaxy cluster MACS J0717, one of the most complex and distorted galaxy clusters known, is the site of a collision between four clusters. It is located about 5.4 billion light years away from Earth. via NASA http://ift.tt/1QPz8L0

During the afternoon of March 9, 2016, a total solar eclipse was visible in parts of southeast Asia. An eclipse occurs when the moon passes directly between Earth and the sun. The MODIS instrument on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this image of the total solar eclipse moving across the south Pacific Ocean at 03:05 UTC […]