NASA Shows Off its Best Photos From the Past Year

May 19, 2025

Matt Growcoot

A large full moon glows in the night sky on the left, while a brightly lit, tall rocket stands on the right, silhouetted against the dark background. — “Blue Supermoon Rises over the “Rocket City” – A supermoon rises over Huntsville, Alabama, home to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Aug. 19. Visible through Wednesday, Aug. 21, the full Moon is both a supermoon and a Blue Moon. Supermoons are the biggest and brightest full Moons of the year because the Moon is within 90% of its closest point to Earth. While not blue in color, the third full Moon in a season with four full Moons is called a “Blue Moon.” Huntsville is known as the “Rocket City” because of its proximity to NASA Marshall, which manages vital propulsion systems and hardware, launch vehicles, engineering technologies, and cutting-edge science for the agency. | NASA/Michael DeMocker

NASA has announced the winners of its annual Photographer of the Year Awards with Michael Democker taking home the top prize.

The competition covered the best pictures taken in 2024 and are all shot on Earth. Astronauts such as Don Pettit — who have captured amazing photos from space — don’t appear to be eligible.

A large orange NASA rocket core stage is being wheeled out of a white building at sunset, surrounded by workers and equipment, with dramatic clouds and green fields in the background. — ‘NASA Teams Prepare Artemis II Rocket Stage for Shipment’ – This photo shows NASA and Boeing, the SLS core stage lead contractor, preparing the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket core stage for shipment at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. On July 6, NASA and Boeing moved the Artemis II rocket stage to Building 110. The move comes as teams prepare to roll the massive rocket stage with its four RS-25 engines to the agency’s Pegasus barge for delivery to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in mid-July. Prior to the move, technicians began removing external access stands, or scaffolding, surrounding the core stage to assess the interior elements, including its complex avionics and flight propulsion systems. The stage is fully manufactured at NASA Michoud. | NASA/Michael DeMocker

An astronaut in a spacesuit sits in a futuristic lunar rover with large wheels and bright headlights, holding an American flag, inside a dimly lit hangar with blue lighting. — Production Photography of Lunar Terrain Vehicle Ground Test Unit. | NASA / BILL STAFFORD AND HELEN ARASE VARGAS

A close-up, black-and-white photo of a person wearing an astronaut helmet, gazing directly ahead with a serious expression. The helmet's glass reflects light, emphasizing their focused face. — NASA astronaut Nichole “Vapor” Ayers at the NASA Johnson Space Center photo studio on October 24, 2024. | Josh Valcarcel – Johnson Space Center

Two people in protective gear with large backpacks work at night using equipment on wheeled carts, illuminated by bright lights, in a grassy outdoor setting. — NASA astronaut Kate Rubins conducts a tool audit to ensure she has all of her tools while NASA astronaut Andre Douglas reviews procedures during a nighttime simulated moonwalk in the San Francisco Volcanic Field in Northern Arizona on May 16, 2024. | NASA/Josh Valcarcel

Four people in white cleanroom suits are lying on the floor under a large piece of machinery in a lab, with only their legs visible as they work beneath the equipment. — Engineers and Technicians from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center crawl under the PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) spacecraft to inspect the +X side during payload processing at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, FL on January 27th, 2024. | NASA/Denny Henry

A close-up of a woman’s face inside a space helmet, with reflections on the visor and details of the spacesuit visible. She looks directly at the camera, illuminated by soft light. — NASA astronaut Zena Cardman at the NASA Johnson Space Center photo studio on March 22, 2024. | Josh Valcarcel – Johnson Space Center

Four people stand silhouetted in front of a large, brightly lit screen displaying a detailed image of a star-filled section of space or a galaxy. — Chris Henze demonstrates the newly upgraded hyperwall visualization system to Center Director Eugene Tu, Deputy Center Director David Korsmeyer, and NAS Division management in N258. | NASA/BRANDON TORRES

Black and white photo of a small airplane parked inside a spacious hangar, viewed from behind. Large windows reveal a distant radar tower and sky outside. — The NASA T-34 Plane, waiting to take flight inside the NASA Glenn Research Center Hanger. | Jef Janis- NASA Glenn Research Center

A person wearing a high-tech helmet with illuminated lights looks out from a clear visor, with their face partially obscured by reflections and shadows in a dark environment. — NASA astronaut Andre Douglas wears AR (Augmented Reality) display technology during a nighttime advanced technology run in the San Francisco Volcanic Field in Northern Arizona on May 21, 2024. The monocular lens consists of a pico-projector and waveguide optical element to focus an image for the crew to see their real-world overlaid with digital information. These unique near-eye form factors may be used to improve the usability and minimally impact the complex biomechanics of working in a pressurized suit environment. | NASA/Josh Valcarcel

A person in an astronaut suit looks into a small rectangular mirror on their glove, with their focused eye and part of their face reflected, and their hair partially visible in the foreground. — NASA astronaut Zena Cardman inspects her suit’s wrist mirror at the NASA Johnson Space Center photo studio on March 22, 2024. | Josh Valcarcel – Johnson Space Center

Two astronauts in spacesuits stand outdoors on rocky ground; one waves a large American flag while the other looks on. Red markers are in the background under a partly cloudy sky. — NASA astronaut Andre Douglas raises an American flag as NASA astronaut Kate Rubins looks on during their first simulated moonwalk in a week-long field test consisting of four simulated moonwalks and six advanced technology runs in the San Francisco Volcanic Field in Northern Arizona on May 13, 2024. | NASA/Josh Valcarcel

NASA frequently uploads photos to Flickr. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center is one of the best pages to see fantastic space imagery.

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