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 SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft carrying the four-member Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) crew is pictured approaching the International Space Station 260 miles above China north of the Himalayas. NASA will provide live coverage of the undocking and departure of the Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) private astronaut flight from the International Space Station before the crew returns to Earth. The four-member astronaut crew is scheduled to undock no earlier than 6:05 a.m. EST Saturday, Feb. 3, from the space-facing port of the station’s Harmony module in a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to begin the journey home and splashdown off the coast of Florida. NASA will provide live covera…
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NASA and SpaceX technicians safely encapsulate NASA’s PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) spacecraft in SpaceX’s Falcon 9 payload fairings on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024, at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.Photo Credit: NASA Goddard/Denny Henry NASA is hosting virtual activities ahead of the launch of the PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) mission and invites you to share in the fun. The PACE mission will help us better understand how the ocean and atmosphere exchange carbon dioxide, measure key atmospheric variables associated with air quality and Earth’s climate, and monitor ocean health, …
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2 min read UNITE All-Nighter Delights Amateur Astronomers Fadi Saibi and his daughter Sophie, age 14, pose for a photograph with their Unistellar telescope in their backyard in Sunnyvale, Calif., on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. Credit: Bay Area News Group/Nhat V. Meye Maybe you read about them in the papers–amateur astronomers in Japan, Russia, France, Finland, and the United States have been pulling all-nighters to spot extraordinary exoplanets, planets orbiting stars other than the Sun. NASA’s UNITE project holds these planetary stakeouts several times every month, and you can join in! This October, the UNITE team undertook a 20-hour marathon as part of tracki…
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On Feb. 3, 1994, space shuttle Discovery took off on its 18th flight, STS-60. Its six-person crew of Commander Charles F. Bolden, Pilot Kenneth S. Reightler, and Mission Specialists N. Jan Davis, Ronald M. Sega, Franklin R. Chang-Díaz, who served as payload commander, and Sergei K. Krikalev of the Russian Space Agency, now Roscosmos, flew the first mission of the Shuttle-Mir Program. Other objectives of the mission included the first flight of the Wake Shield Facility, a free-flying satellite using the ultra-vacuum of space to generate semi-conductor films for advanced electronics and the second flight of a Spacehab commercially developed pressurized module to enable mult…
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This new NASA Hubble Space Telescope image shows ESO 185-IG013, a luminous blue compact galaxy (BCG). BCGs are nearby galaxies that show an intense burst of star formation. They are unusually blue in visible light, which sets them apart from other high-starburst galaxies that emit more infrared light. Astrophysicists study BCGs because they provide a relatively close-by equivalent for galaxies from the early universe. This means that BCGs can help scientists learn about galaxy formation and evolution that may have been happening billions of years ago. Hubble imaged ESO 185-IG013 in ultraviolet, visible, and infrared wavelengths to reveal details about its past. Hundre…
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4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Say cheese, Moon. We’re coming in for a close-up. As Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lander descends toward the Moon, four tiny NASA cameras will be trained on the lunar surface, collecting imagery of how the surface changes from interactions with the spacecraft’s engine plume. The Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies will help us to land larger payloads as we explore space. Olivia Tyrrell from the SCALPPS photogrammetry team explains how a small array of cameras will capture invaluable imagery during lunar descent and landing, and how that imagery can inform our future missio…
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2 min read Hubble Views a Dim but Distinct Galaxy Both visible and ultraviolet wavelengths of light comprise this Hubble Space Telescope image of the spiral galaxy UGC 11105. ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. J. Foley (UC Santa Cruz) This image of the softly luminous spiral galaxy UGC 11105 is from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. It lies about 110 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Hercules. Astronomers have different ways of quantifying how bright celestial objects are. Apparent magnitude is one of those methods. It describes how bright an object appears to an observer on Earth, which is not the same thing as measuring how bright an object actua…
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2 min read Hubble Sees a Merged Galaxy This new NASA Hubble Space Telescope image reveals the luminous blue compact galaxy called ESO 185-IG013. NASA, ESA, and R. Chandar (University of Toledo); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America) This new NASA Hubble Space Telescope image shows ESO 185-IG013, a luminous blue compact galaxy (BCG). BCGs are nearby galaxies that show an intense burst of star formation. They are unusually blue in visible light, which sets them apart from other high-starburst galaxies that emit more infrared light. Astrophysicists study BCGs because they provide a relatively close-by equivalent for galaxies from the early…
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NASA/Danny Nowlin Clouds of white vapor pile up at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi during a full-duration, 500-second hot fire of an RS-25 certification engine Jan. 17, 2024. This test series is critical for future flights of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket in support of the Artemis campaign. During the Jan. 17 test, operators followed a “test like you fly” approach, firing the engine for the same amount of time – almost eight-and-a-half minutes (500 seconds) – needed to launch SLS and at power levels ranging between 80% to 113%. Image Credit: NASA/Danny Nowlin View the full article
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5 min read OpenET Moisture Measurement Tool is Proving Highly Accurate This is a false-color image, acquired December 26, 2018, with the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 8, and shows flooded rice fields along the Sacramento and Feather Rivers. Inundated fields appear dark blue; vegetation is bright green. NASA Earth Observatory / Lauren Dauphin As the world looks for sustainable solutions, a system tapping into NASA satellite data for water management has passed a critical test. Called OpenET, the system uses an ensemble of six satellite-driven models that harness publicly available data from the Landsat program to calculate evapotranspiration (ET)—…
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4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Alabama A&M University Agribition Center will host the final Break the Ice Lunar Challenge featuring a large dirt-based indoor arena on 40 acres of land, offering plenty of green space to build Break the Ice’s complex testing infrastructure.Photo Courtesy: Alabama A&M University Extension By Savannah Bullard NASA has selected Alabama A&M University’s Agribition Center in Huntsville, Alabama, to host the final level of the agency’s Break the Ice Lunar Challenge, using indoor and outdoor space to ground test the finalists’ solutions. The challenge opened in 2020 to find no…
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Jennifer Kunz, associate director, technical, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, participates in a virtual Town Hall meeting on Jan. 13, 2022, for Kennedy employees. NASA/Kim Shiflett Jennifer Kunz, associate director technical of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, released the following statement after speaking Thursday at the SpaceCom / 50th Space Congress in Orlando, Florida. “NASA’s Moon to Mars strategy rests on three pillars: pursuing science to better understand the universe and our origins; inspiring the next generation to achieve the seemingly impossible; and building on American preeminence in science, technology and exploration while strength…
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5 Min Read Lagniappe for February 2024 Explore the February 2024 issue, highlighted by NASA reaching the halfway point for the Artemis Moon Rocket Engine Certification Series, NASA’s Day of Remembrance, and what fuels a NASA Stennis Test Operations Leader. Explore the February 2024 edition featuring: RS-25 Test on Jan. 27 Day of Remembrance NASA Spinoff Gator Speaks Gator SpeaksNASA Stennis There are two reasons why the last Thursday in January and the month of February are important at NASA moving ahead as the Artemis Generation.…
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5 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) In February 2024, Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 mission will launch to the Moon’s South Polar region, as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services, or CLPS, initiative. This mission is part of CLPS’ ongoing effort to bring down the cost for science investigations and technology demonstrations going to the Moon and to make them more routine in the lead-up to the Artemis landings later this decade. Among the NASA-provided research flying aboard IM-1 will be an instrument designed to observe the Moon’s surface environment in radio frequencies, to determine how natural and human-generated acti…
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Long-term space exploration exposes humans to radiation that can damage deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA, which carries the genetic information for our development and functioning. Conditions in space also affect the way the body repairs such damage, potentially compounding the risk. Research on the International Space Station studies DNA damage and repair using tools and techniques to sequence, analyze, and even edit DNA. Those tools and techniques have been developed especially for use in space, which has unique safety considerations and where there are limits on the size and weight of equipment. This specialization has made this type of research possible and resulted i…
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5 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA’s 2024 Spinoff publication features more than 40 medical and other commercialized technologies using the agency’s research and development expertise. It also features new technology developed at various agency centers, including NASA’s Stennis Space Center.NASA As NASA innovates for the benefit of all, what the agency develops for exploration has the potential to evolve into other technologies with broader use here on Earth. Many of those examples are highlighted in NASA’s annual Spinoff book including dozens of NASA-enabled medical innovations, as well other advancements in 3D printin…
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Tony Goretski stands at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, where he has worked more than 24 years supporting NASA’s mission of space exploration.NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA inspires as it explores secrets of the universe for the benefit of all – just ask Tony Goretski, the senior employee in the Office of Procurement at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Goretski felt the inspiration long ago on a school trip to the Gulf Coast site, vowing to one day become employed with NASA. Now, he is doing his part to support the NASA mission and inspire the next generation of great explorers – the Artemis Generation. “NASA has a phenomenal way of including ev…
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In honor of Black History Month, we recognize the contributions of Black astronauts to our nation’s space programs. Coming to NASA from a variety of backgrounds as military pilots, engineers, scientists, and physicians, these astronauts have made history-making contributions participating in space shuttle missions to perform critical tasks such as deploying and retrieving satellites, performing spacewalks, conducting science and technology research, and piloting and commanding space shuttle missions. More recently, Black astronauts have played key roles in the assembly of the International Space Station, performing numerous spacewalks and robotic operations, and conductin…
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Maury Vander stands at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, where he has worked more than 30 years supporting NASA’s mission of space exploration. NASA/Danny Nowlin One thing has remained constant throughout Maury Vander’s career with NASA – the satisfaction of being part of a team working to innovate and benefit the agency and the aerospace industry at large. As chief of the Test Operations Division at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, Vander provides guidance and help with technical challenges to a group of electrical and mechanical engineers performing test operations for NASA and commercial companies. “With the test team at NASA Stennis, the work doesn’t happen because o…
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2 min read Hubble Captures a Suspected Galaxy Encounter This new NASA Hubble Space Telescope image is of the spiral galaxy UGC 3912. NASA, ESA, and C. Kilpatrick (Northwestern University); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America) UGC 3912 is classified as a spiral galaxy … but you wouldn’t know it from this detailed NASA Hubble Space Telescope image. UGC 3912’s distorted shape is typically indicative of a gravitational encounter with another galaxy. When galaxies interact – either brush up against each other’s gravitational fields or even collide – their stars, dust, and gas can be pulled into new paths. UGC 3912 might have once been an…
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2 min read February’s Night Sky Notes: Constant Companions: Circumpolar Constellations, Part I by Kat Troche of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific Winter in the northern hemisphere offers crisp, clear (and cold!) nights to stargazers, along with better views of several circumpolar constellations. What does circumpolar mean when referring to constellations? This word refers to constellations that surround the north and south celestial poles without ever falling below the horizon. Depending on your latitude, you will be able to see up to nine circumpolar constellations in the northern hemisphere. Today, we’ll focus on three that have gems within: Auriga, Cassiope…
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26 Min Read The Marshall Star for January 31, 2024 Marshall Commemorates NASA’s Day of Remembrance By Celine Smith Team members across NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center congregated Jan. 25 in the lobby of Building 4221 to observe NASA’s Day of Remembrance. Each January, the agency pauses to honor members of the NASA family who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery, including the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia. Bill Hill, left, director of Marshall’s Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate, observes Larry L…
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4 min read Discovery Alert: A ‘Super-Earth’ in the Habitable Zone This illustration shows one way that planet TOI-715 b, a super-Earth in the habitable zone around its star, might appear to a nearby observer. NASA/JPL-Caltech The discovery: A “super-Earth” ripe for further investigation orbits a small, reddish star that is, by astronomical standards, fairly close to us – only 137 light-years away. The same system also might harbor a second, Earth-sized planet. Key facts: The bigger planet, dubbed TOI-715 b, is about one and a half times as wide as Earth, and orbits within the “conservative” habitable zone around its parent star. That’s the distance from the st…
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NASA has selected five companies to provide environmental restoration and compliance services at NASA centers, facilities, and other agency assets. The awardees are: AECOM Technical Services, Inc., Orlando, Florida HydroGeoLogic, Inc., Reston, Virginia ISMS-Navarro LLC, Richland, Washington Jacobs Geosyntec A Joint Venture, Cape Canaveral, Florida Tetra Tech Inc., Pittsburgh The NASA Environmental Restoration and Compliance Contract is an indefinite- delivery/indefinite-quantity fixed price contract not to exceed $375 million. The performance period begins Wednesday and runs through Jan. 30, 2029. The array of work includes support for environmen…
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Official Crew-9 Crew Portraits with Zena Cardman, Nick Hague, Stephanie Wilson and Aleksandr GorbunovNASA As part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission, four crew members are preparing to launch to the International Space Station and conduct a wide-ranging set of operational and research activities for the benefit of all. Launching aboard the Dragon spacecraft, NASA astronauts Commander Zena Cardman, Pilot Nick Hague, and Mission Specialist Stephanie Wilson, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Mission Specialist Aleksandr Gorbunov, will join Expedition 71 and 72 crew members no earlier than August. They will arrive to the space station for a short duration handover with NASA’s SpaceX…
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