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a close-up of a metal wheel with deep cracks and caved-in sections as it rests on a reddish-orange rocky surface
Curiosity Mars rover inspects cracked wheel | Space photo of the day for July 27, 2026

By Brett Tingley Published

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has experienced some serious wear and tear during its nearly 14 years on the Red Planet, as seen in new images of its wheels.

31 Comments
Mars Rovers
Bronze shiny spacecraft electronics in a room with blue padding on the walls.
Planet hunter gets the silent treatment | Space photo of the day for July 24, 2026

By Chelsea Gohd Published

ESA's Plato spacecraft completes critical testing ahead of its spaceflight.

Space Exploration
A black and white hummingbird shape appears in data of a mountaintop.
Satellite spots a 'hummingbird' in Antarctica | Space photo of the day for July 23, 2026

By Chelsea Gohd Published

A hummingbird shape in satellite data from NISAR is actually a mountaintop spotted in Antarctica.

Earth
A black-and-white image of the surface of Mars with rocks and part of the Viking 1 lander.
Our 1st-ever up-close look at the Martian surface | Space photo of the day for July 22, 2026

By Chelsea Gohd Published

What might seem like a simple black-and-white picture of some rocks is actually the first photograph ever taken on the surface of Mars.

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Mars
A black space background is speckled by yellow, white, blue and orange stars including blue stars with long diffraction spikes.
James Webb Space Telescope looks back in time 4.4 billion years | Space photo of the day for July 21, 2026

By Chelsea Gohd Published

The James Webb Space Telescope captured this image of a young galaxy cluster, MACS J0553.4-3342.

4 Comments
Astronomy
Sandy-colored large and small rocks on the Mars surface.
Ancient sandstorm leaves behind wreckage on Mars | Space photo of the day for July 20, 2026

By Chelsea Gohd Published

Remnants from Martian history stay scattered across the planet's surface.

Mars
This image from space shows wildfires over Canada.
Smoke from devastating Canada wildfires visible from space | Space photo of the day for July 17, 2026

By Chelsea Gohd Published

Satellites have captured images of the billowing smoke.

Earth
A telescope sits underneath a speckled, colorful night sky as a beam of laser light shoots up as a laser star guide.
A laser disappears into the Milky Way's heart | Space photo of the day for July 16, 2026

By Chelsea Gohd Published

That is quite a view.

Astronomy
Glaciers spotted flowing across the Himalayas from space | Space photo of the day for July 15, 2026

By Chelsea Gohd Published

Glacial ice carves its way downhill.

6 Comments
Earth
Workers stand near the base of the Extremely Large Telescope.
Extremely Large Telescope reaches a major milestone | Space photo of the day for July 13, 2026

By Chelsea Gohd Published

The Extremely Large Telescope is looking quite large in this exciting moment.

2 Comments
Astronomy
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