Space Stories: A Dead Galaxy, Newly Discovered Cloud-9, and Preparing for Artemis II

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Image (Credit): GS-10578, also called Pablo’s Galaxy. (JADES Collaboration)

Here are some recent space-related stories of interest.

—innovation News Network: “Astronomers Discover Ancient “Dead Galaxy” Starved by its Supermassive Black Hole“

Using observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), researchers found that a growing supermassive black hole can slowly starve a galaxy rather than destroy it outright. The galaxy, catalogued as GS-10578 and nicknamed Pablo’s Galaxy, existed just three billion years after the Big Bang. Despite this early stage in cosmic history, it is enormous – around 200 billion times the mass of the Sun. Most of its stars formed between 12.5 and 11.5 billion years ago, indicating a rapid burst of star formation before the galaxy suddenly shut down.

—CNN: “‘Cloud-9’ is a Newly Discovered Celestial Object. It Could Help Solve a Cosmic Mystery“

Astronomers may have discovered a previously unknown type of astronomical object, nicknamed “Cloud-9,” that could shed light on dark matter, one of the biggest mysteries in the universe. …Cloud-9 is thought to be a dark matter cloud that could be a remnant of galaxy formation from the early days of the universe, according to new research published Monday in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

—Space.com: “NASA to Roll Out Rocket for Artemis 2 Moon Mission on Jan. 17“

The first crewed moon mission in more than 50 years remains on track to launch as soon as Feb. 6. NASA announced on Friday evening (Jan. 9) that it plans to roll the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft that will fly the Artemis 2 moon mission out to the pad for prelaunch checks on Jan. 17, weather and technical readiness permitting.

Pandora and Friends Start New Missions

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Image (Credit): An artist’s rendering of NASA’s Pandora mission. (NASA)

Earlier today, NASA’s Pandora mission got its start aboard a SpaceX rocket launched from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base.

The Pandora satellite, once fully operational, will view exoplanet atmospheres and their host stars to learn more about these exotic worlds. In its first year, the satellite will focus on approximately 20 known exoplanets. This NASA video describes the process.

The 716-pound Pandora satellite is much smaller than the 14,300-pound James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Of course, the JWST has a much larger mission that expands over a much longer time period.

If you are looking for something small, you might be interested in the two CubeSats launched with Pandora. One is called the Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat (SPARCS), which will study coronal mass ejections on small stars, while the second is named the Black Hole Coded Aperture Telescope (BlackCAT) with the mission of observing X-ray flares from active galaxies with supermassive black holes as well as gamma-ray bursts.

It was a successful Sunday for NASA and space enthusiasts everywhere.

Who is Currently in Space?

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Credit: https://whoisinspace.com/

With all the talk about the current set of astronauts returning early from the International Space Station (ISS) due to medical issues as well as last year’s issue with Chinese astronauts stuck on their station, it is hard to keep track of who is in space these days.

Hence, you may want to stay up to date on those floating in space by using this website – https://whoisinspace.com/. As of today, there are 10 humans in space – 6 on the ISS (3 from the US, 3 from Russia, and 1 from Japan) and 3 on China’s Tiangong space station.

As shown in the image above, the site also gives some stats on the crews, such as the mission that brought them to the station as well as each person total amount of time in space.

Just think of it as a Who’s Who listing for low Earth orbit.

Pic of the Week: Liftoff of the New Glenn Rocket

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Image (Credit): Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket as it launched from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on November 13, 2025. (Blue Origin)

This week’s image comes from Scientific American magazine’s best space photos of 2025. It shows Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket lifting off from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on November 13, 2025. It was carrying NASA’s twin Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) spacecraft, which are destined for Mars. The two identical spacecraft will investigate how the solar wind interacts with Mars’ magnetic environment and how this interaction drives the planet’s atmospheric escape.

Space Quote: NASA Delays ISS Spacewalk

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Image (Credit): Crew-11 mission patch. (NASA)

“NASA is postponing the Thursday, Jan. 8, spacewalk outside the International Space Station. The agency is monitoring a medical concern with a crew member that arose Wednesday afternoon aboard the orbital complex. Due to medical privacy, it is not appropriate for NASA to share more details about the crew member. The situation is stable. NASA will share additional details, including a new date for the upcoming spacewalk, later.”

–Statement on NASA’s website regarding a spacewalk that was to take place tomorrow outside the International Space Station (ISS). The planned spacewalk, which was to fix a solar array and last for six and a half hours, involved astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman. It would have been Cardman’s first and Fincke’s tenth spacewalk.

Update: The four astronauts that are part of Crew-11 on the ISS will be returning to Earth earlier than planned because of health issues. According to NBC News, the matter relates to a single astronaut with a medical condition who is currently in stable condition.