NASA Minute: Dec. 12, 2025

This week, NASA gained new insights from the James Webb Space Telescope, improved next-generation aviation technology, and there was a change-of-command aboard the International Space Station.

What is said in the film

New insights from the James Webb Space Telescope, next-generation aviation technology, and a crew handoff aboard the International Space Station, NASA teams have been busy innovating flight and pursuing discovery this week. Let's get into it in this week's NASA minute. On Monday, a bipartisan vote in the Senate Commerce Committee advanced Jared Isaacman’s nomination to serve as President Trump's NASA Administrator to the full Senate for consideration. On Sunday, the entire International Space Station crew took part in the change-of-command ceremony, as NASA astronaut Mike Fincke was handed the symbolic key representing command of the orbital complex. On Monday, NASA astronaut Jonny Kim and his two Roscosmos crewmates began the process of returning to Earth.

Later that evening, after bidding farewell to the station, the trio separated from the space station, reentered the atmosphere, and safely returned aboard a Soyuz early on Tuesday morning. This crew had been in space for 245 days, where Jonny Kim helped advance scientific discovery and technological innovation in the orbital laboratory. Welcome home Jonny! NASA and Boeing recently took to the skies to test next-generation data communications designed to make air travel safer and more efficient. Using NASA developed technology, these flight tests improved how controllers can predict and track a plane's path, especially when weather or turbulence forces a course change.

As a result, flight management will be smarter, landings will be smoother, delays will decrease for travelers around the world. And finally, researchers using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope have found the strongest evidence yet of an atmosphere around a rocky planet beyond our solar system. The ultra-hot super-Earth known as TOI-561 b appears to be wrapped in a dense layer of gas above a global ocean of magma, a discovery that helps explain the planet's surprisingly low density. These findings challenge our previous understanding of small, close-orbiting worlds, and mark another step forward as NASA continues to lead humanity's exploration of the universe, from the Moon to Mars, and far beyond. From Earth's atmosphere to the farthest corners of the universe, NASA continues to drive exploration forward and inspire the next generation of explorers.

That's a wrap on your NASA minute. See you next week.

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