December 2025: ISS Cameras, Expanded Gallery & UI Polish
Major feature update adding live ISS camera feeds, expanded telescope observations, real images in Citizen Science, and significant UI/UX improvements.
December 2025: ISS Cameras, Expanded Gallery & UI Polish
This update brings several exciting new features and improvements to NebulaX, including live ISS camera feeds, expanded telescope coverage, and a streamlined user interface.
ISS Live Cameras
The Events page now features live camera feeds from the International Space Station. Users can watch Earth from space in real-time through three NASA streams:
- NASA Live - Official NASA TV featuring ISS views and mission coverage
- ISS HD Earth Viewing - High-definition cameras mounted on the ISS exterior
- NASA Media Channel - Public affairs events and press conferences
- Camera selector with descriptions
- Live indicator badge
- Direct YouTube links
- ISS orbital statistics (27,600 km/h, 408 km altitude, 92-min orbit)
- Info card explaining dark/blue screens during orbital night
class="code-keyword">const ISS_CAMERAS = [
{
id: 'nasa-live',
name: 'NASA Live',
embedUrl: 'https:class="code-comment">//www.youtube.com/embed/P9C25Un7xaM',
class="code-comment">// ...
},
class="code-comment">// More cameras...
]Expanded Telescope Observations
Hubble Space Telescope
Added 7 new Hubble observations to the Explore gallery with verified NASA Images API URLs:
- Helix Nebula (NGC 7293)
- Sombrero Galaxy (M104)
- Crab Nebula (M1)
- Orion Nebula (M42)
- Horsehead Nebula
- Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC 6543)
- Milky Way Center
Australian Radio Telescopes
Expanded radio telescope data with new observations:
ASKAP (4 total):
- EMU Pilot Survey
- WALLABY HI Survey
- VAST Transient Discovery
- Odd Radio Circles (ORCs)
- Lorimer Burst (First FRB)
- Pulsar Timing Array
- LMC HI Survey
- Epoch of Reionization
- GLEAM All-Sky Survey
- Solar Radio Bursts
Citizen Science Improvements
The classification interface now displays real NASA images instead of placeholder graphics:
class="code-comment">// Before: Placeholder
subjectUrl: 'https:class="code-comment">//panoptes-uploads.zooniverse.org/placeholder.jpg'
class="code-comment">// After: Real NASA images
subjectUrl: 'https:class="code-comment">//images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA04230/PIA04230~medium.jpg'
Added 12 classification tasks across 6 projects, each with verified working image URLs from NASA's Images API.
Sky Map Fixes
Improved Aladin Lite initialization:
overflow-hidden and min-h-[500px] for proper sizingUI Cleanup
Header
- Removed Sign In button (no authentication required for current features)
- Simplified navigation structure
Footer
- Removed "Made with heart for space enthusiasts" tagline
- Removed Twitter icon
- Removed Forums & Discord links
- Updated GitHub link to project repository
New Accessibility Page
Created comprehensive accessibility page at /accessibility covering:
- WCAG 2.1 AA compliance commitment
- Feature list (keyboard navigation, screen readers, contrast, etc.)
- Technical standards documentation
- Feedback instructions
Technical Notes
Image URL Verification
All NASA image URLs were verified to return HTTP 200:
# Verification process
curl -sI "https:class="code-comment">//images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA18164/PIA18164~medium.jpg" | head -1
HTTP/2 200
URLs returning 403 Forbidden were replaced with working alternatives.
Build Optimisation
- Removed unused auth imports (next-auth)
- Cleaned up unused components
- Build size reduced for Header component
What's Next
- Further Sky Map debugging for survey loading edge cases
- Additional telescope observations
- Performance optimisation for large galleries
- Mobile experience improvements