NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and space research.
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“The public perception of NASA has a lot to do with our technological successes and the discoveries that we’ve made, but none of that is possible without the people. “In the six or so years that I’ve worked at NASA, I’ve learned a lot of incredible stories — not just of the struggles that different spacecraft encounter on their journeys throughout the universe. There are so many problems that need to be solved and fixes that need to be made, but there are also so many stories of teams that had to work together to accomplish their goals. And a lot of time, these teams are working after hours, on weekends, working late nights and early mornings. These are people who ha…
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5 min read How NASA Citizen Science Fuels Future Exoplanet Research This artist’s concept shows the exoplanet K2-33b transiting its host star. Many citizen science projects at NASA invite the public to use transit data to make discoveries about exoplanets. NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA’s upcoming flagship astrophysics missions, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope and the Habitable Worlds Observatory, will study planets outside our solar system, known as exoplanets. Over 5,000 exoplanets have been confirmed to date — and given that scientists estimate at least one exoplanet exists for every star in the sky, the hunt has just begun. Exoplanet discoveries from Roman and…
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Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Curiosity Raw Images Images Videos Audio More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions The Solar System The Sun Mercury Venus Earth The Moon Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto & Dwarf Planets Asteroids, Comets & Meteors The Kuiper Belt The Oort Cloud 3 min read Sols 4266-4267: Happy ‘Landiversary,’ Curiosity Earth planning date: Monday…
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5 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) This artist’s concept shows how NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover was lowered to the planet’s surface using the sky crane maneuver.NASA / JPL-Caltech The rocket-powered descent stage that lowered NASA’s Curiosity onto the Martian surface is guided over the rover by technicians at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in September 2011, two months before the mission’s launch. NASA/Kim Shiflett Twelve years ago, NASA landed…
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23 Min Read The Marshall Star for August 7, 2024 NASA Additive Manufacturing Project Shapes Future for Agency, Industry Rocket Makers The widespread commercial adoption of additive manufacturing technologies, commonly known as 3D printing, is no surprise to design engineers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center whose research created stronger, lighter weight materials and new manufacturing processes to make rocket parts. NASA’s RAMPT (Rapid Analysis and Manufacturing Propulsion Technology) project is on the cutting edge of additive manufacturing – helping the agency and industry…
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5 Min Read NASA Optical Navigation Tech Could Streamline Planetary Exploration Optical navigation technology could help astronauts and robots find their ways using data from cameras and other sensors. Credits: NASA As astronauts and rovers explore uncharted worlds, finding new ways of navigating these bodies is essential in the absence of traditional navigation systems like GPS. Optical navigation relying on data from cameras and other sensors can help spacecraft — and in some cases, astronauts themselves — find thei…
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Erosion, tectonic uplift, and a human-built dam have all helped shape the Upper Lake Powell area in Utah. This astronaut photograph was acquired on July 28, 2023, with a Nikon D5 digital camera using a focal length of 1,150 millimeters. It is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, Johnson Space Center. The image has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast, and lens artifacts have been removed. The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory as part of the International Space Station National Lab to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists a…
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Julia Khodabandeh once adorned her walls with rockets, fighter jets, and Air Force pilots. Now, she is the solid rocket motor lead for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System).NASA/Sam Lott Unlike most of her friends in the 80s who covered their walls with posters of bands, Julia Khodabandeh plastered hers with posters of rockets and fighter jets. Khodabandeh’s interest in aerospace and aeronautics developed at a young age. Her parents were avid fans of the Apollo Program and were heavily invested in her education. Khodabandeh’s father always encouraged her to tackle math and science problems without fear. She recalls him telling her that “you can take any problem and break…
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Eta Carinae may be about to explode. But no one knows when – it may be next year, it may be one million years from now. Eta Carinae’s mass – about 100 times greater than our Sun – makes it an excellent candidate for a full blown supernova. Historical records do show that about 170 years ago Eta Carinae underwent an unusual outburst that made it one of the brightest stars in the southern sky. Eta Carinae, in the Keyhole Nebula, is the only star currently thought to emit natural LASER light. This featured image brings out details in the unusual nebula that surrounds this rogue star. Diffraction spikes, caused by the telescope, are visible as bright multi-colored streaks…
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The International Space Station was pictured flying 263 miles above the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Credit: NASA NASA will host a media teleconference at 12:30 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, Aug. 7, to discuss ongoing International Space Station operations, including the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test and NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission. Audio of the briefing will stream live on NASA’s website. Agency participants include: Ken Bowersox, associate administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program Dana Weigel, manager, International Space Station Program To ask questions during the teleconference, me…
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4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Warming global climate is changing the vegetation structure of forests in the far north. It’s a trend that will continue at least through the end of this century, according to NASA researchers. The change in forest structure could absorb more of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, or increase permafrost thawing, resulting in the release of ancient carbon. Millions of data points from the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite 2 (ICESat-2) and Landsat missions helped inform this latest research, which will be used to refine climate forecasting computer models. La…
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4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Students attending the 2024 Blue Skies Competition toured NASA’s Ames Research Center during the Forum. NASA In the 2025 Gateways to Blue Skies Competition, the theme is AgAir: Aviation Solutions for Agriculture. NASA asks collegiate teams to investigate either new or improved aviation capabilities that could assist the agriculture industry by improving production, efficiency, environmental impact and extreme weather/climate resilience. The agriculture industry plays a vital role in providing food, fuel, and fiber for the global population; however, it is facing several challenges, inc…
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Learn Home Celebrate Heliophysics Big… Heliophysics Overview Learning Resources Science Activation Teams SME Map Opportunities More Science Stories Science Activation Highlights Citizen Science 2 min read Celebrate Heliophysics Big Year: Free Monthly Webinars on the Sun Touches Everything Once a month (usually on the first Tuesday), the Heliophysics Education Community meets online to share knowledge and opportunities. During the Heliophysics Big Year (HBY) – a global celebration of the Sun’s influence on Earth and the entire solar system, beginning with the Annular Solar Eclipse on October 14, 2023, continuing through the Total Solar Eclipse o…
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Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program, in preparation for the agency’s Artemis II crewed mission to the Moon, conduct testing of four emergency egress baskets on the mobile launcher at Launch Complex 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in July 2024. The baskets are used in the case of a pad abort emergency to allow astronauts and other pad personnel to escape quickly from the mobile launcher to the base of the pad to be driven to safety by emergency transport vehicles.NASA/Amanda Arrieta Since NASA began sending astronauts to space, the agency has relied on emergency systems for personnel to safely leave the launch pad and escape the hazar…
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Bindu Rani had childhood dreams of flight. Today she lifts her gaze even higher, helping researchers study stars, planets beyond our solar system, and black holes billions of times more massive than our Sun. Name: Bindu Rani Title: Astrophysicist, Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory Guest Investigator Program Lead Scientist Organization: Astroparticle Physics Laboratory, Science Directorate (Code 661) Bindu Rani is an astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.Photo credit: NASA/Jay Friedlander What do you do and what is most interesting about your role here at Goddard? I study supermassive black holes using both space-based and ground-…
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2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Akeem Shannon showcasing Flipstik attached to a smartphone. The product’s design was improved by looking at NASA research to inform its gecko-inspired method of adhering to surfacesCredit: Flipstik Inc. When it comes to innovative technologies, inventors often find inspiration in the most unexpected places. A former salesman, Akeem Shannon, was inspired by his uncle, who worked as an engineer at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, to research the agency’s published technologies. He came across a sticky NASA invention that would help him launch his breakout product. …
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6 min read Quantum Scale Sensors used to Measure Planetary Scale Magnetic Fields Magnetic fields are everywhere in our solar system. They originate from the Sun, planets, and moons, and are carried throughout interplanetary space by solar wind. This is precisely why magnetometers—devices used to measure magnetic fields—are flown on almost all missions in space to benefit the Earth, Planetary, and Heliophysics science communities, and ultimately enrich knowledge for all humankind. These instruments can remotely probe the interior of a planetary body to provide insight into its internal composition, structure, dynamics, and even evolution based on the magnetic history f…
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Technicians with the University of Kansas prepare their KUbeSat-1 for integration at Firefly’s Payload Processing Facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California on Thursday, April 25, 2024.Credit: NASA NASA announced a new round of opportunities for CubeSat, developers to build spacecrafts on that will fly on upcoming launches through the agency’s CSLI (CubeSat Launch Initiative). CubeSats are a class of small spacecraft called nanosatellites. The initiative provides space access to U.S. educational institutions, certain non-profit organizations, and informal educational institutions such as museums and science centers, as well as NASA centers focused on workfo…
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The NASA Disasters Response Coordination System (DRCS) formally launched on 6/13/24 during a ceremony at NASA Headquarters with Administrator Nelson as the keynote speaker. The DRCS is a revamped one NASA approach in how the agency responds to natural hazards and disasters domestically and internationally to support partners and stakeholders The DRCS will be organized by the Program Office located at LaRC. MSFC and Earth Science Branch Disasters team will continue to support the DRCS and events that agency respond too by tapping into expertise and subject matter expertise here at MSFC. MSFC was represented at the DRCS launch by Center Response Coordinators Jordan Bell (ST…
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This graphic shows a three-dimensional map of stars near the Sun. The blue haloes represent stars observed with NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA’s XMM-Newton. Astronomers are using these X-ray data to determine how habitable exoplanets may be based on whether they receive lethal radiation from the stars they orbit. This research will help guide observations with the next generation of telescopes aiming to make the first images of planets like Earth. Researchers used almost 10 days of Chandra observations and 26 days of XMM observations to examine the X-ray behavior of 57 nearby stars, some of them with known planets. Results were presented at the 244th meeting of …
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May 2024 was a very active month for severe weather across the United States, with several hundred tornadoes occurring throughout the United States. The MSFC Disasters team has been working with several National Weather Service (NWS) Offices across the Southeast this spring to help support their damage surveys with high-resolution commercial imagery and derived products. The imagery and products are created using data provided by NASA’s Commercial Smallsat Data Acquisition (CSDA) Program. The MSFC Disasters Team’s support and expertise are providing another tool for forecasters to use when trying to understand the impacts of severe weather on their forecast area. The MSFC…
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Personnel from the MSFC Earth Science Branch and local partners participated in the Investigation of Microphysics and Precipitation for Atlantic Coast-Threatening Snowstorms (IMPACTS), and they are members of the IMPACTS team that recently won the prestigious Presidential Rank Group Achievement Award from NASA. IMPACTS was a highly successful NASA Earth Venture Suborbital airborne field campaign that examined why and how heavy snowfalls occur, as well as how NASA missions can better detect and measure these events. The suborbital mission had three flight campaigns in 2020, 2022, and 2023, and used the NASA ER-2 and P-3 aircraft. MSFC contributed the Advanced Microwave Pre…
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Michael Zanetti (ST13), Kyle Miller (EV42), and Chris Whetsel (ES52) conducted a technology demonstration and field work with the NASA JSC 5th Joint EVA Test Team (JETT-3) from 5/17-23/24, near SP Crater, Flagstaff, AZ. JETT5 tested full-up mission operations with communication to JSC-Houston, and included astronauts Kate Rubins and Andre Douglas testing ATLAS suits and 4-6 hr. planned traverses near SP-Crater – a former Apollo astronaut geology training site. The Kinematic Navigation and Cartography Knapsack (KNaCK) team members were invited to demonstrate GPS-denied navigation solutions using our person-mounted velocity-sensing LiDAR sensors that provide local position …
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Muthukumaran Ramasubramanian, Slesa Adhikari, and Nish Pantha from IMPACT/ST11 organized hands-on workshops and a hackathon in collaboration with the Department of Computational Intelligence at SRMIST’s School of Computing in Chennai, India. These sessions were held as part of the IEEE GRSS-ESI TC (Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society – Earth Science Informatics Technical Committee) Remote Sensing Working Group (RSDS) outreach activities during 4/23-26/24. The team provided students with materials and resources on remote sensing data systems, large language models, and natural language processing for data discovery and visualization. Following the workshops, 15 teams com…
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On 5/13/24, in alignment with the NASA Interagency Agreement with the US Department of State Advancing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math in Bhutan through Increased Earth Observation Capacity, Aparna R. Phalke, Sarah Cox and Tony Kim (ST11) traveled to Thimphu, Bhutan, to represent the SERVIR SCO at the official launch on 5/17/24 of the “Farm Action Toolkit” service (https://crops.servirglobal.net/dashboard/) with the implementing partners from Bhutan Druk Holdings and Investments (DHI) Super Fablab, National Statistical Bureau (NSB), Department of Agriculture, National Center of Organic Agriculture, National Land Commission and GovTech Bhutan. The service was pr…
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