Elizabeth Howell

🇨🇦 freelance space writer who saw astro launches to moon or ISS (shuttle, Soyuz, Artemis). Copy editor @payloadspace. 5 books. Latin language learner. Ph.D.

[Elizabeth Howell @howellspace]

My jaw, dropping: "There's no way you can hear me right now."
Literal @projecthailmary: "Can hear."

All my thanks to #projecthailmary for broadcasting the amaze response that @Astro_Jeremy, on his way to the moon, gave us @CanadaInSpace. Fist my bump.

https://t.co/lAw2n02WiA

[Project Hail Mary @projecthailmary]

From Artemis II astronauts to the @todayshow team. #ProjectHailMary is an amaze family experience for audiences across the galaxy. 💫

[NASA Artemis @NASAArtemis]

The boosters for the Artemis III mission are getting stacked!

Technicians are stacking the twin solid rocket boosters for the Space Launch System rocket at @NASAKennedy. The boosters will provide more than 75% of the rocket’s total thrust at launch — scheduled for 2027.

[NASA Artemis @NASAArtemis]

NASA will host a virtual webinar about Artemis for the blind and low-vision community at 2pm ET on Friday, Oct. 2.

The webinar will cover the RS-25 engine, the Artemis missions, and accessibility in space and science.

Register by Friday, Sept. 25: https://t.co/ejDXAWURET

[HiRISE: Beautiful Mars (NASA) @HiRISE]

HiPOD: A Pyramidal Mound

Our target is a pyramidal mound whose slopes expose bright-toned material in Context Camera data. To the north, there is a crater that excavated bright material from the subsurface. Are the two materials the same composition?

https://t.co/JaePuzCE0Q

[NASA's Johnson Space Center @NASAJohnson]

The moment after.

On Tuesday, September 1, 2026, after nearly seven hours working outside the station, @esa astronaut @Soph_astro pauses in the Quest airlock, her gold visor still down from the spacewalk. Alongside @NASA commander @Astro_Jessica, she spent the day installing new navigation hardware, gathering microbial samples from the @Space_Station's exterior, and preparing a cosmic particle detector for future upgrades.

[Stonehenge U.K @ST0NEHENGE]

Sunrise at Stonehenge today (5th September) was at 6.26am, sunset is at 7.44pm ☀️

[Anil Menon @astro_anil]

Chez ISS - episode 3: next evolution, combining simple ingredients to get that “back on Earth flavor”

[Elizabeth Howell @howellspace]

And the funniest part was there were two variants of the spelling in the OED!

[Elizabeth Howell @howellspace]

Achievement unlocked: I busted out the literal @OED this morning to spell-check something in a daily journalistic newsletter. cc @tectonicdefense

[Susie Dent @susie_dent]

Word of the Day is a reminder of ‘tsundoku’: the pile of unread books you can’t help but add to at every opportunity.

[#WOMENSART @womensart1]

Sarah Evans, contemporary landscape painter from Wales #WomensArt
#September

[Stonehenge U.K @ST0NEHENGE]

Sunrise at Stonehenge today (4th September) was at 6.24am, sunset is at 7.46pm ☁️

[Tom Holland @holland_tom]

For all who've wondered what a mash-up of the Bayeux Tapestry & Winnie the Pooh wld look like, here's the answer:

[#WOMENSART @womensart1]

Georgia O'Keeffe,
Blue Wave Maine, 1926 #WomensArt

[NASA's Johnson Space Center @NASAJohnson]

Chasing the Moon’s shadow for science. ✈️ 🌑

During the Aug. 12 total solar eclipse, NASA Johnson pilots based at Ellington Field flew a WB-57F from Iceland through the path of totality. Observations collected in flight gave scientists a clearer look at the Sun’s corona, helping them better understand space weather. Read more: https://t.co/b6f5ilMJ7q

[Don Pettit @astro_Pettit]

A free floating bundle of Russian rubber bands used on ISS. These are a long elastic piece that can easily be wrapped around an object and tied into a loop. Very useful on orbit to keep objects from floating away! When bundled together they remind me of a fungal colony.

[Library of Parliament @LibraryParlCA]

A Library made of sugar?

To mark the Library of Parliament’s 100th anniversary in 1976, chef John Van Dierendonck created a one-of-a-kind sugar model of the building. It remained on display for more than 25 years. #LibraryParl150

[Orkney Library @OrkneyLibrary]

Having the #BayeuxTapestry in the UK just now is exciting but DID YOU KNOW that in the #Orkney Archive we have our very own tapestry which tells the story of St Magnus?

It's not as old/long/historically significant as the Bayeux Tapestry but it's still well worth a visit. 🪡

[European Space Agency @esa]

Mercury Transfer Module separation confirmed! 📡 ✅

After nearly eight years in space and billions of kilometres travelled, #BepiColombo's Mercury Transfer Module has successfully separated.

Signal acquired via our Cebreros deep-space antenna confirms the spacecraft is healthy and operating as expected.

The MPO and Mio spacecrafts are now on their way to Mercury orbit insertion on 21 November.

Farewell, MTM. Mercury awaits. ☀️🛰️

[Stonehenge U.K @ST0NEHENGE]

Sunrise at Stonehenge today (3rd September) was at 6.25am, sunset is at 7.50pm ☁️

[Jessica Meir @Astro_Jessica]

Photo or it didn’t happen. Some initial views from my camera during Tuesday’s spacewalk. 1) Earth reflected in my helmet in a selfie taken while I rode the @csa_asc Canadarm2 (ride of my life, more to come!). 2) @soph_astro under the @Space_Station airlock. 3) Another selfie taken from the arm, with the limb of Mother Earth at my side. Stay tuned for more spacewalk views! Photos taken with Nikon D5.