Hurricane Dorion in GIFs, a new extraterrestrial mineral and exploratory microrobots that flap and jump. These are just some of the top space photos this week on Space.com. 

Hurricane Dorian's power in animations

NASA and NOAA are keeping a close eye on Hurricane Dorian as it makes its way into North Carolina and Virginia this weekend. This collection of GIFs taken over the past few days are helping scientists make better predictions for this storm, and future ones. The data you see examines everything from water vapor to dust. There also are some images of the hurricane lashing the Kennedy Space Center (which suffered no major damage after the storm) and moving under the gaze of satellites in Earth orbit.

Full story: Watch Hurricane Dorian in Action in These Gifs by NASA and NOAA

A relaxing Labor Day in space

While astronauts often have to contend with tightly packed schedules, NASA and other space agencies make sure to schedule downtime so everyone has a day or a few hours to relax. Labor Day Weekend was one of those times, and NASA astronaut Christina Koch talked about the importance of taking time off. Even astronauts need to chill, Koch wrote on Twitter Tuesday (Sept. 3). Spending this Labor Day weekend reading and relaxing by my favorite window. After a long week packed with science, a spacewalk, and a re-docking, it's important to recharge your batteries to keep focused on bringing your best.

Full Story: Astronauts Celebrate Labor Day 2019 in Space

A Newfound Secret Inside This Famous Meteorite

Who knew that this meteorite, found nearly 70 years ago, could still host such a secret? Scientists recently found a mineral that doesn't appear in natural form on our planet. This mineral doesn't even have a name, but the researchers had one ready: edscottite. It's named after Edward R.D. Scott, the cosmochemist from the University of Hawaii at Manoa who first identified the mineral's formula in the 1970s. But until now, we've only seen this mineral after artificial creation in labs on Earth.

Full Story: Extraterrestrial Mineral Never Before Seen on Earth Found Inside a Famous Meteorite

A Top-Secret Satellite Took This Photo, Later Declassified In Trump Tweet

It didn't take long before amateur detectives found the satellite that took this high-resolution photo of the damage from an Iranian missile disaster. President Donald Trump tweeted out the photograph on Aug. 30, prompting concern from the intelligence community that his choice to declassify it could reveal information not known about a U.S. satellite or drone. Days later, satellite trackers determined the likely source was the USA 224 satellite, whose capabilities are poorly known to the public.

Full Story: Sleuths Find the Top-Secret (and Classified) Satellite Behind Trump's Tweeted Photo

Underwater Astronaut Mission in California Uses Cool Retro Tech

In an underwater example of old meets new, this picture shows a retro futuristic spacesuit exploring the ocean floor along with submarine tech. It's a shot from the recently completed NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) mission off the coast of California, called NEEMO NXT. NASA astronaut Drew Feustel, ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet and Japanese astronaut Norishige Kanai took part in this new NEEMO concept, which saw the astronauts diving and resurfacing daily rather than remaining for days at a time in an underwater habitat. 

Full Story: Astronauts Test Retro Spacesuit Tech for Mock Mars Missions Under the Sea

These Tiny Bots Could Change Future Exploration

Could insect robots one day roam faraway worlds? This picture of a wing of a fruit fly microbot shows just one of the technological pieces developed by researchers. Doctoral student Palak Bhushan designed two microbots as part of his thesis at the University of California, Berkeley: one that jumps, and one that flaps its wings. These tiny bots could be capable of tackling extraterrestrial terrain that is too tough for a traditional rover. Better yet, these bots could be sent to Mars or other destinations in swarms – meaning that if some of these robots crash, science could still be returned to Earth.

Full Story: These Jumping, Flapping Microrobots Could Swarm On Far-Off Worlds