NASA

This map shows the size and shape of the ozone hole over the South Pole on September 21, 2023, the day of its maximum extent, as calculated by the NASA Ozone Watch team. Moderate ozone losses (orange) are visible amid widespread areas of more potent ozone losses (red).NASA Earth Observatory The 2023 Antarctic ozone hole reached its maximum size on Sept. 21, according to annual satellite and balloon-based measurements made by NASA and NOAA. At 10 million square miles, or 26 million square kilometers, the hole ranks as the 16th largest since 1979. During the peak of the ozone depletion season from Sept. 7 to Oct. 13, the hole this year averaged 8.9 million square miles (23.1 million square kilometers), approximately the size of North America. “It’s a very modest ozone hole,” said Paul Newman, leader of NASA’s ozone research team and chief scientist for Earth sciences at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “Declining levels of human-produced chlorine compounds, along with help from active Antarctic stratospheric weather slightly improved ozone levels this year.” NOAA scientists launch a weather balloon carrying an ozonesonde at the South Pole on Oct. 1, 2023. Marc Jaquart/IceCube The ozone layer acts like Earth’s natural sunscreen, as this portion of the stratosphere shields our planet from the Sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation. A thinning ozone layer means less protection from UV rays, which can cause sunburns, cataracts, and skin cancer in humans. Every September, the ozone layer thins to form an “ozone hole” above the Antarctic continent. The hole isn’t a complete void of ozone; scientists use the term “ozone hole” as a metaphor for the area in which ozone concentrations above Antarctica drop well below the historical threshold of 220 Dobson Units. Scientists first reported evidence of ozone depletion in 1985 and have tracked Antarctic ozone levels every year since 1979. Antarctic ozone depletion occurs when human-made chemicals containing chlorine and bromine first rise into the stratosphere. These chemicals are broken down and release their chlorine and bromine to initiate chemical reactions that destroy ozone molecules. The ozone-depleting chemicals, including chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), were once widely used in aerosol sprays, foams, air conditioners, fire suppressants, and refrigerators. CFCs, the main ozone-depleting gases, have atmospheric lifetimes of 50 to over 100 years. The 2023 Antarctic ozone hole reached its maximum size on Sept. 21. At 10 million square miles, it ranks as the 16th largest since 1979. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Download this video in HD formats from NASA Goddard’s Scientific Visualization Studio. The 1987 Montreal Protocol and subsequent amendments banned the production of CFCs and other ozone-destroying chemicals worldwide by 2010. The resulting reduction of emissions has led to a decline in ozone-destroying chemicals in the atmosphere and signs of stratospheric ozone recovery. NASA and NOAA researchers monitor the ozone layer over the pole and globally using instruments aboard NASA’s Aura, NOAA-NASA Suomi NPP, and NOAA-20 satellites. Aura’s Microwave Limb Sounder also estimates levels of ozone-destroying chlorine. Scientists also track the average amount of depletion by measuring the concentration of ozone inside the hole. At NOAA’s South Pole Baseline Atmospheric Observatory, scientists measure the layer’s thickness by releasing weather balloons carrying ozonesondes and by making ground-based measurements with a Dobson spectrophotometer. NOAA’s measurements showed a low value of 111 Dobson units (DU) over the South Pole on Oct 3. NASA’s measurements, averaged over a wider area, recorded a low of 99 DUs on the same date. In 1979, the average concentration above Antarctica was 225 DU. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/ Kathleen Gaeta “Although the total column ozone is never zero, in most years, we will typically see zero ozone at some altitudes within the stratosphere over the South Pole,” said NOAA research chemist Bryan Johnson, project leader for the Global Monitoring Laboratory’s ozonesonde group. “This year, we observed about 95% depletion where we often see near 100% loss of ozone within the stratosphere.” The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano — which violently erupted in January 2022 and blasted an enormous plume of water vapor into the stratosphere – likely contributed to this year’s ozone depletion. That water vapor likely enhanced ozone-depletion reactions over the Antarctic early in the season. “If Hunga Tonga hadn’t gone off, the ozone hole would likely be smaller this year,” Newman said. “We know the eruption got into the Antarctic stratosphere, but we cannot yet quantify its ozone hole impact.” View the latest status of the ozone layer over the Antarctic with NASA’s ozone watch. ​​Media Contact: Jacob Richmond NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center jacob.richmond@nasa.gov Visit NASA's Ozone Watch website Explore More 3 min read Ozone Hole Continues Shrinking in 2022, NASA and NOAA Scientists Say Article 1 year ago 2 min read A Story of Ozone: Earth’s Natural Sunscreen Article 9 years ago Share Details Last Updated Nov 01, 2023 Location Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms AuraEarthGeneralMissionsNOAA-20 (JPSS-1)Ozone LayerSuomi NPP (Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership) View the full article

3 min read NASA’s Sandra Irish Wins 2023 Society of Women Engineers Award Sandra Irish, mechanical systems lead structures engineer for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, has been selected to receive the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) Resnik Challenger Medal Award for her visionary contributions to the development, testing, transport, and launch of NASA’s premier space telescope since 2006. The medal was awarded during the World’s Largest Conference for Women in Engineering and Technology or WE23, which took place Oct. 26-28 in Los Angeles. Sandra Irish, lead structures engineer of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, was selected to receive the 2023 Society of Women Engineers Resnick Challenger Medal Award.NASA As an engineer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, for over 40 years, Irish’s mechanical systems expertise has helped to ensure the successful operation of many NASA programs including the Webb telescope. As Webb’s lead structures engineer, Irish led a group of 12 engineers that performed meticulous analysis and testing which helped confirm that the observatory’s mechanical design was fit to survive the rigors of spaceflight and on-orbit operations. While Irish’s primary focus was on preparing the telescope for a long life of service in space, she was also intimately involved in safely transporting the telescope to various locations around the United States for testing and assembly, and ultimately to its final destination where it launched from Europe’s Spaceport located near Kourou, French Guiana. Her steadfast dedication and expansive mechanical systems knowledge were key factors in the success of the notedly complex Webb mission. In addition to performing her duties on Webb, she served, and still actively serves, as the group lead for NASA Goddard’s mechanical systems analysis and simulation branch. Sandra Irish, lead structures engineer for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, stands in front of the nearly fully tested observatory she dedicated a significant part of her career to working on, just prior to its shipment to the launch site.Northrop Grumman “I am honored to be this year’s recipient of SWE’s Resnik Challenger Medal Award for my role in Webb,” said Irish. “For 16 years of my engineering career at NASA, I worked on designing, building, testing, and delivering the most amazing telescope that NASA has ever launched into space. It was a joy to lead Webb’s structures team of such dedicated and talented engineers. Each day we tackled challenging design and test problems together, which resulted in a telescope that is successfully operating a million miles away! I smile every time a new image or discovery is shared with the world. It was wonderful to have been a part of the Webb team!” About the Resnik Challenger Medal Award The Resnik Challenger Medal was established in 1986 to honor SWE’s Dr. Judith A. Resnik, NASA mission specialist on the Challenger space shuttle flight lost Jan. 28, 1986. It is awarded for visionary contributions to space programs to an individual who identifies as a woman with at least ten years of experience. This award acknowledges a specific engineering breakthrough or achievement that has expanded the horizons of human activities in space. SWE strives to advance and honor the contributions of women at all stages of their careers and recognize the successes of SWE members and individuals who enhance the engineering profession through contributions to the industry, education, and the community. The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency. For more information about NASA’s Webb telescope visit: www.nasa.gov/webb Media Contacts Thaddeus Cesari NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System Share Details Last Updated Nov 01, 2023 Editor Marty McCoy Related Terms Goddard Space Flight CenterJames Webb Space Telescope (JWST)People of Goddard View the full article

3 min read November’s Night Sky Notes: Spy the Seventh Planet, Uranus Look out, Saturn! The competition for the best ringed planet is getting larger. This new image of Uranus from NASA Webb displays a prominent ring system. Also in view: a white polar cap at the right side of the planet, and two bright spots likely connected to storm activity. How can the polar cap be on the right, and not the top or bottom? It’s because Uranus rotates at a nearly 90-degree angle from the plane of its orbit. This tilt makes Uranus appear to spin on its side. NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Joseph DePasquale (STScI) by Liz Kruesi of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific You might be familiar with Saturn as the solar system’s ringed planet, with its enormous amount of dust and ice bits circling the giant planet. But Uranus, the next planet out from the Sun hosts an impressive ring system as well. The seventh planet was the first discovered telescopically instead of with unaided eyes, and it was astronomer extraordinaire William Herschel who discovered Uranus March 13, 1781. Nearly two centuries passed before an infrared telescope aboard a military cargo aircraft revealed the planet had rings in 1977. Since that discovery, multiple observatories have revealed more details of Uranus and its ring system. Most recently, the NASA-led JWST space observatory captured the planet and its rings in detail. This recent image combines just 12 minutes of exposure in two filters to reveal 11 of the planet’s 13 rings. Even some of the planet’s atmospheric features are visible in this image. Even with advanced imaging like that from JWST, much of Uranus remains a mystery, including why it orbits the Sun on its side. This is because only one spacecraft has ever visited this planet: NASA’s Voyager 2, which flew by the distant planet in the mid-1980s. Planetary scientists are hoping to change that soon, though. Scientists recommended in a report released last year from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine that Uranus be the focus on the next big planetary science spacecraft mission. Such a large-scale mission would gain insight into this icy giant planet and the similar solar system planet, Neptune. Sky map picturing M45, Uranus and Jupiter Sky map generated by Stellarium If you want to catch a view of Uranus with your own eyes, now is prime time to view it. This ice giant planet lies perfectly positioned in mid-November, at so-called “opposition,” when its position in its orbit places it on the other side of the Sun from Earth. That location means our star’s light reflects off Uranus’ icy atmosphere, and the planet appears as its brightest. Sky map picturing M45 and Uranus Sky map generated by Stellarium To find it, look overhead just after midnight on November 13. Uranus will lie about halfway between the brilliant planet Jupiter and the diffuse glow of the Pleiades star cluster (M45). While Uranus may look like a bright blinking star in the night sky, its blue-green hue gives aways its identity. Binoculars or a telescope will improve the view. For more about this oddball planet, visit NASA’s Uranus page: https://science.nasa.gov/uranus/facts/ You can find a printer-ready version of this article on our Night Sky Notes resource page every month, free to share with your club newsletter, website, or even local paper! View the full article

3 min read JPL Engineers Put Their Skills to the Test With Halloween Pumpkins A display at the annual pumpkin-carving contest at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory turns a white-painted squash into one of the large antennas of the agency’s Deep Space Network, which enables spacecraft at the Moon and beyond to communicate with Earth.Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Using spray paint, power tools, and elaborate props, JPL engineers turn the pumpkins into elaborate displays that can pay tribute to – and poke fun at – popular culture and space exploration. Above, a pumpkin creation that spoofs the film “Oppenheimer.”Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Mechanical engineers at JPL compete in the annual pumpkin-carving contest on Oct. 31, which also marks JPL’s 87th birthday. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Pumpkin carving reaches new heights during the annual competition, where spacecraft-building engineers mix ingenuity and creativity for some spectacular results. When mechanical engineers accustomed to building one-of-a-kind spacecraft turn that focus to pumpkins, the results can be hauntingly good. The annual Halloween pumpkin-carving contest at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California may be all in good fun, but to the 200 or so participants, it’s also serious business. Power tools are involved. Pumpkins can even be turned into musical instruments during JPL’s annual pumpkin-carving contest.Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Dioramas can incorporate flying-saucer gourds, guitar-strumming pumpkins, and squashes that bear a striking resemblance to celebrities or famous deep space missions. Participants carve them on their breaks – 60 minutes of frantic sawing and drilling that sends vegetable detritus flying on a patio at JPL. (This year, one team had a minute-by-minute spreadsheet to make sure they stayed on schedule.) Carving complete, engineers race into two conference rooms in a nearby building to install the pumpkins into displays of up to 4 feet by 4 feet square. Non-pumpkin materials – motorized parts, lights, often elaborate props, and painted backdrops – can be prepared beforehand. “It’s not really a pumpkin-carving contest in the traditional sense. It’s a pumpkin art installation event with very few rules,” said Peter Waydo, who manages JPL’s spacecraft mechanical engineering section and emcees the carving. He’s been participating since the event began in 2011. “This is something everybody looks forward to every year – it just lets their creative juices flow completely unrestricted from the rules and processes we’re normally bound by.” For the 2023 event, more than two dozen teams produced displays. They ranged from a Barbenheimer-themed “atomic makeover” featuring a mirrored disco-ball pumpkin to a space octopus emerging from a Jupiter-colored pumpkin to greet NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft, and there were references to Taylor Swift, “Dune,” and the agency’s James Webb Space Telescope. All of the creations were on display for fellow engineers, scientists, technicians, and other JPL employees to admire. Of course, it wouldn’t be a competition without winners. A panel of judges named the year’s top six, with three from each of the two sections of engineers that participate. A display re-creating favorite items from JPL’s museum and an interactive Indiana Jones-themed display both won first. Second went to the Deep Squash Network – a spoof on NASA’s Deep Space Network, which enables spacecraft to communicate with Earth – and to a creation involving a descendent of NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter on the fictional planet Arrakis. The two third-place winners were an eyeball-pumpkin that resembled Las Vegas’ Sphere and the Barbenheimer display. The event comes on a special day for the lab, which, founded Oct. 31, 1936, was celebrating its 87th birthday. Additional photos from the pumpkin competition are available on JPL’s website. Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages JPL for NASA. News Media Contact Melissa Pamer Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 626-314-4928 melissa.pamer@jpl.nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Oct 31, 2023 Related Terms Jet Propulsion Laboratory Explore More 4 min read Data From NASA’s WISE Used to Preview Lucy Mission’s Asteroid Dinkinesh Article 1 day ago 3 min read See SWOT Mission’s Unprecedented View of Global Sea Levels Article 1 day ago 5 min read NASA Is Locating Ice on Mars With This New Map Article 5 days ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

NASA astronaut Kayla Barron works inside the Life Science Glovebox conducting botany research.NASA As of spring 2023, NASA has invested greater than $60M in more than twenty In Space Production Applications (InSPA) awards to U.S. entities seeking to demonstrate the production of advanced materials and products on the International Space Station. These InSPA awards help the selected companies raise the technological readiness level of their products and move them to market, propelling U.S. industry toward the development of a sustainable, scalable, and profitable non-NASA demand for services and products manufactured in the microgravity environment of low-Earth orbit for use on Earth. NASA Selects Proposals to Enable Manufacturing In Space for Earth (April 15, 2022) NASA Selects Proposals for In-Space Development of Projects Including Optical Fibers and Stem Cells and a Plan to Enable a Low-Earth Orbit Economy (April 7, 2020) Advanced Materials Flawless Photonics – Fabrication of Flawless Glass Contact: Dr. Michael Vestel Flawless Photonics of Los Altos Hills, California, in partnership with the University of Adelaide, Axiom Space, and Visioneering Space has been selected for their proposal to develop specialized glass manufacturing hardware to process Heavy-Metal Fluoride Glasses (HMFG) in microgravity. HMFG glasses are used in the terrestrial manufacturing of exotic optical fibers and other optics applications. Without convective forces present in 1g, HMFG made in microgravity are expected to achieve the ideal amorphous microstructure during synthesis, eliminating light scattering defects that limit lasing power and transmission over long fiber lengths. Apsidal – Intelligent Glass Optics Contact: Dr. Amrit De Apsidal LLC. of Los Angeles, California, is developing the IGO module to process various types of complex glasses in space from which optical fibers, fiber lasers, magnetic fibers, super-continuum sources, capillary optics and adiabatic tapers can be drawn. One of the key innovations is a custom Laser Doppler Sensor for real-time in-situ analysis and feedback control of the manufacturing process. Additionally, this technology is Artificial Intelligence (AI) assisted to be adaptive and to optimize production in a low Earth orbit (LEO) environment. The microgravity environment of space is needed as gravity-induced material convection and sedimentation in complex glasses on Earth subsequently leads to unwanted crystallization, thus creating defects which reduce performance. Market areas for products from this module include specialty fibers for low-loss and high bandwidth communications, high-power fiber-amplifiers, IR counter measures, supercontinuum sources, medical applications, remote sensing, X-ray optics, and laser processing. Fiber Optic Manufacturing in Space – Space Fibers Contact: Dr. Dmitry Starodubov FOMS Inc of San Diego, California, has developed a facility-class instrument for fiber fabrication in the microgravity environment to improve the quality of specialty optical fibers with the promise of up to 100x reduction in insertion loss due to the suppression of crystallization and phase separation. Two previous iterations of the facility have flown to the space station, with the third generation scheduled to launch on the 25th SpaceX cargo resupply services mission in May 2022. Mercury Systems Torrance – Fiber Optic Production Contact: Eric Rucker Mercury Systems of Torrance, California, has developed a facility-class instrument for fiber fabrication in the microgravity environment to improve the quality of specialty optical fibers with the promise of up to two orders of magnitude reduction in insertion loss compared to traditional SiO2 fibers due to the suppression of crystallization and sedimentation. The first generation of the facility has flown to the space station producing over 90m of ZBLAN optical fiber from a fluorinated exotic glass preform composed of Zirconium, Barium, Lanthanum, Aluminum, and Sodium (ZrF4-BaF2-LaF3-AlF3-NaF). The second-generation FOP-2 launches on SpaceX CRS-25 in May 2022 using a nitrogen purge previously demonstrated in reduced gravity on a parabolic flight. Redwire/Made In Space – Turbine Ceramic Manufacturing Module Contact: Justin Kugler Made In Space of Jacksonville, Florida, a Redwire company, is developing the TCMM to provide proof-of-principal for single-piece ceramic turbine blisk (blade + disk) manufacturing in microgravity for terrestrial use. Launched in October 2020 on Northrop Grumman’s CRS-14 mission, TCMM successfully demonstrated ceramic additive manufacturing in space for the first time in history. TCMM was also the first demonstration of stereolithography ceramic fabrication in space. The project focuses on advanced materials engineering ultimately leading to reductions in part mass, residual stress, and fatigue. Strength improvements of even 1-2 percent, as a result of being manufactured in microgravity, can yield years to decades of superior service life. Market applications include high performance turbines, nuclear plants, or internal combustion engines. Redwire/Made In Space – Turbine Superalloy Casting Module Made In Space of Jacksonville, Florida, a Redwire company, is developing the TSCM to provide proof of principle for polycrystal superalloy part manufacturing in microgravity for terrestrial use. Superalloys thermally processed in microgravity could have improved microstructure and mechanical properties over superalloys processed on Earth. This work expands utilization of the ISS National Lab into new commercial product areas not previously investigated. Delivered to space station on SpaceX CRS-24 in December 2021, TSCM investigates potential improvements in superalloy microstructure by heat treating in microgravity. Market applications include turbine engines in industries such as aerospace and power generation. Redwire/Techshot – Pharmaceutical In-space Laboratory Contact: Rachel Ormsby Redwire Corporation Inc. of Greenville, Indiana, has been selected for its proposal to produce small, uniform crystals as stable seed batches for pharmaceutical and institutional research customers seeking improvements/refinements in product purification, formulation and/or delivery using crystalline formulations. Their Pharmaceutical In-space Laboratory Bio-crystal Optimization Xperiment (PIL-BOX) Dynamic Microscopy Cassette (DMC) will be capable of testing multiple crystallization conditions and providing samples to be returned to Earth for analysis. When grown in microgravity, crystals are produced more uniformly and have very low size coefficients of variation thereby allowing a more stable crystal growth, high concentration, and low viscosity parenteral formulation. The proposed innovation will provide manufacturing services to companies, institutions, and agencies pursuing uniform crystallization research. United Semiconductors – Semimetal-Semiconductor Composite Bulk Crystals Contact: Dr. Dutta United Semiconductors of Los Alamitos, California, has been selected for their proposal to produce semimetal-semiconductor composite bulk crystals commonly used in electromagnetic sensors for solving challenges in the energy, high performance computing and national security sectors. Together with teammates Axiom Space of Houston and Redwire of Greenville, Indiana, United Semiconductors intends to validate the scaling and efficacy of producing larger semimetal-semiconductor composite crystals under microgravity conditions with perfectly aligned and continuous semimetal wires embedded across the semiconductor matrix. If successful at eliminating defects found in those manufactured with terrestrial materials, United Semiconductors will have developed a processing technology for creating device-ready wafers from space-grown crystals. Optical Micrograph depicting the expected morphology of Semimetal-Semiconductor Composite (SSC) wafers to be extracted from space grown bulk crystals. The continuous semimetal needles embedded in semiconductor matrix will provide high yield of high-performance electromagnetic sensors. Currently this desirable morphology is seen only in a small fraction of the terrestrial grown bulk crystals. Space grown bulk crystals is anticipated to provide a significant volume of the desirable morphology. United Semiconductors LLC Optical Micrograph depicting the morphology of Semimetal-Semiconductor Composite (SSC) wafers extracted from terrestrial grown bulk crystals. Discontinuous semimetal needles embedded in semiconductor matrix leads to poor yield of high-performance electromagnetic sensors.United Semiconductors LLC Redwire/Made In Space – Industrial Crystallization Facility Contact: Justin Kugler Made In Space of Jacksonville, Florida, a Redwire company, is developing the ICF to provide proof-of-principle for diffusion-based crystallization methods to produce high-quality optical crystals in microgravity relevant for terrestrial use. ICF launched to the International Space Station on Northrop Grumman’s CRS-15 on February 20, 2021. It was the first facility to grow inorganic potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) crystals aboard space station, offering important insight into microgravity-enabled growth processes for industrial crystals, which could yield opportunities for commercial production on-orbit. Market applications include ultra-fast optical switches, optical waveguides, optical circuit lithography, high-efficiency ultraviolet light production, and terahertz wave sensors. Tissue Engineering & Biomanufacturing LambdaVision/Space Tango –Retinal Implant Contact: Alain Berinstain Space Tango of Lexington, Kentucky, and its partner, LambdaVision of Farmington, Connecticut, are developing a system to manufacture protein-based retinal implants, or artificial retinas, in microgravity. The market for this work is the millions of patients suffering from retinal degenerative diseases, including retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of blindness for adults over 55 years old. This effort builds on a validation flight completed in late 2018 that demonstrated the proof of concept for generating multilayered protein-based thin films in space using a miniaturized layer-by-layer manufacturing device. This project will further mature the manufacturing system, producing protein-based artificial retinas in space that would be returned to Earth for preclinical evaluation of the technology. This work will establish the necessary regulatory requirements for producing biomedical products in space station, including current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP). The microgravity environment of space hinders convection and sedimentation in the manufacturing process, enabling more uniform layers, improved stability and higher quality thin films than can be produced on Earth. The team successfully produced 200 layers of protein on their most recent flight on SpaceX Crew-4. Using greater uniformity and better film deposition in microgravity to produce 100 layers of precisely aligned, precisely structured layers of bacterial rhodopsin crystals (vision protein) sandwiched between 100 layers of precisely deposited composite material with sufficient quality to enable an implantable artificial retina to FDA approval.LambdaVision Redwire/Made In Space – Manufacturing of Semiconductors and Thin-film Integrated Coatings (MSTIC) Contact: Justin Kugler Made In Space of Jacksonville, Florida, a Redwire company, is developing the MSTIC facility as an autonomous, high throughput manufacturing capability for production of high quality, lower cost semiconductor chips at a rapid rate. Terrestrial semiconductor chip production suffers from the impacts of convection and sedimentation in the manufacturing process. Fabricating in microgravity is expected to reduce the number of gravity-induced defects, resulting in more usable chips per wafer. Market applications include semiconductor supply chains for telecommunications and energy industries. Auxilium Biotechnologies/Space Tango – Drug Delivery Medical Devices Contact: Dr. Jacob Koffler Auxilium Biotechnologies with Space Tango has been selected for its proposal to develop a second-generation drug-delivery medical device to more effectively treat people who have sustained traumatic peripheral nerve injury. Auxilium’s Gen 1.0 NeuroSpan Bridge is a biomimetic nerve regeneration device that guides and accelerates nerve regeneration, eliminating the need for a patient to sacrifice a nerve in the leg to repair a nerve in the arm or face. Auxilium will use its expertise in fast, high-resolution 3D-printing to adapt its proprietary platform to a Gen 2.0 3D-print device in microgravity by adding novel drug delivery nanoparticles with the potential to substantially accelerate regeneration and improve functional outcomes for people on Earth. Lawrence Livermore National Lab/Space Tango – VAM Organ Production Contact: Dr. Maxim Shusteff Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, located in Livermore, California, in partnership with Space Tango, has been selected for their proposal to adapt their terrestrial volumetric 3D bioprinting device for use in microgravity to demonstrate production of artificial cartilage tissue in space. The Volumetric Additive Manufacturing (VAM) technology is a revolutionary, ultra-rapid 3D printing method that solidifies a complete 3D structure from a photosensitive liquid resin in minutes. Because of the absence of settling and gravity-driven buoyancy and convective flows in the prepolymer, the cartilage tissues manufactured and matured in microgravity are expected to have superior structural, organizational, and mechanical properties suitable for use in long-term tissue repair and replacement. University of Connecticut, STORRS/Axiom – Biomimetic Fabrication of Multifunctional DNA-inspired Nanomaterials Contact: Dr. Yupeng Chen The University of Connecticut, out of Storrs, Connecticut, in partnership with Eascra Biotech of Boston, Massachusetts and Axiom Space of Houston has been selected for their proposed biomimetic fabrication of multifunctional nanomaterials, a cutting-edge breakthrough in biomedicine that can benefit from microgravity in space to accomplish controlled self-assembly of DNA-inspired Janus base nanomaterials (JBNs). These JBNs will be used as effective, safe and stable delivery vehicles for RNA therapeutics and vaccines, as well as first-in-kind injectable scaffolds for regenerative medicine. By leveraging the benefits of microgravity, the UConn/Eascra team expects to mature in-space production of different types of JBNs with more orderly structures and higher homogeneity over what is possible using terrestrial materials, improving efficacy for mRNA therapeutics and structural integrity for cartilage tissue repair. In-space manufacturing of DNA-inspired Janus base nanomaterials for delivery of mRNA therapeutics and vaccines, and tissue repair and regeneration.Dr. Yupeng Chenu BioServe Space Technologies with University of Colorado – Expansion of Hematopoietic Stem Cells Contact: Dr. Louis Stodieck BioServe Space Technologies and The University of Colorado of Boulder, Colorado, in collaboration with the Mayo Clinic, ClinImmune Cell and Gene Therapy (University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus), RheumaGen, and with support from Sierra Space has been selected for their proposal to develop a specialized bioreactor that will produce large populations of Hematopoietic Stem Cells (HSCs) in microgravity to treat serious medical conditions including blood cancers (leukemias, lymphomas, multiple myeloma), blood disorders, severe immune diseases, and certain autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis. Expansion of HSCs in microgravity is expected to result in greater stem cell expansion with less cell differentiation than is seen in 1g. If successful, the technology may enable safe and effective cell therapy transplantation, especially in children and younger adults, where long-term bone marrow cell repopulation is critical to the patient’s lifetime health. Astronaut Thomas Pesquet working in the Space Automated Bioproduct Laboratory (SABL). This image shows two SABL units, one open and one closed. SABL will be used for growing and expanding BioServe’s stem cells on board the ISS.NASA Cedars Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute/Axiom – Stem Cell Therapy Contact: Dr. Clive Svendsen Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute, located in Los Angeles in partnership with Axiom Space of Houston has been selected for proposing to use cutting-edge methods related to the production and differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) on the International Space Station. Cedars-Sinai will explore in-space production of stem cells into heart, brain, and blood tissues in support of regenerative medicine uses on Earth. While stem cells and stem cell-derived tissues hold great promise for use in research and as clinical-grade therapeutic agents, safe and efficient expansion of stem cells and their derivatives continues to be a major challenge on Earth. Generating, expanding, and differentiating cells at scale in the microgravity environment of space with sufficient yields of a constant therapeutic cell product that meets FDA biologics requirements may be the answer to overcome those challenges. Redwire/Techshot – BioFabrication Facility Contact: Rich Boling Techshot of Greenville, Indiana, a Redwire company, is developing the BFF as a space-based 3D biomanufacturing platform capable of printing with live human cells (autologous or allogenic). The facility contains an XYZ gantry with multiple print heads and a bioreactor cassette in the X-Y plane. Without the addition of scaffolding or chemical bio-ink thickening agents, attempts to 3D print with cells on Earth only results in creating a puddle. With scaffolding and thickening agents, organ-like shapes can be printed on Earth, but they cannot function as such. BFF prints in space with low viscosity bio-inks that only contain cells and nutrients, which enable cells to remain healthy and mobile – a necessity for creating solid thick tissue. Following a weeks-long in-space conditioning phase inside a special Redwire bioreactor, the tissue constructs are strong enough to resist gravity and remain viable following their return to Earth. In 2020, Redwire manufactured test prints of a partial human meniscus aboard the International Space Station for the company’s DoD customer, the 4-Dimensional Bioprinting, Biofabrication, and Biomanufacturing, or 4D Bio3 program, based at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. The program is a collaboration between the university and The Geneva Foundation, a non-profit organization that advances military medical research. A second round of printing in space for 4D Bio3 is scheduled for late 2022 after delivery of a 2nd generation printer on SpaceX CRS-26. Redwire is planning additional bioprinting operations with the BFF, such as the Fabrication in Austere Military Environments (FAME) bioprinting program. Market applications include human tissue and organ repair or replacement. Redwire/Techshot – Cell Reprogramming Facility Contact: Rich Boling Techshot of Greenville, Indiana, a Redwire company, is developing the CRF to manufacture induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) in orbit using adult cells, then enabling the cells to develop into many other types of cells, that can be used inside the BFF bioprinter and on Earth for regenerative medicine, especially cell therapies. The first element of the Cell Factory system – the CRF – is in development now. Market applications include cell therapies for restorative health and autologous cell sourcing for bioprinting and vascular applications. Cedars Sinai/Space Tango – Stem Cell Production Contact: Alain Berinstain Space Tango of Lexington, Kentucky, and its partner Cedars-Sinai of Los Angeles, California, are developing pilot-scale systems for the production in space of large batches of stem cells to be used in personalized medical treatment for a variety of diseases. The development of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) for commercial personalized medicine applications is done in space because the work to date on the space station demonstrates stem cells retain their “stemness” for longer durations in microgravity, allowing a delay of differentiation that has the potential to enable larger batches of cells to be produced. The pilot-scale systems, built for the space station to serve as a basis for future commercial manufacturing systems, will incorporate regulatory strategies to support FDA clinical trial production of personalized medicine stem cell therapies on the space station. Including current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) conditions, required for the production of stem cell therapies for human use in patients. Sanford/Space Tango – Integrated Space Stem Cell Orbiting Lab Contact: Alain Berinstain Space Tango of Lexington, Kentucky, and its partners at UC San Diego/Sanford Consortium in La Jolla, California, are working to establish a new on-orbit biomedical sector for stem cell advancement, with a fully operational self-sustaining orbital laboratory anticipated by 2025. The team is working to refine current hardware capabilities and process flows, extending the capabilities of ground-based laboratories with regular access to the space station via secured flight opportunities. Stem cells differentiate into tissue specific progenitors that can be used in microgravity to better understand aging and immune dysfunction, providing an opportunity to accelerate advances in regenerative medicine and the development of potential new therapeutic approaches. The target market for this orbital laboratory is a new approach to stem cell translational medicine. Wake Forest Institute of Regenerative Medicine/Axiom – Engineered Liver Tissue Contact: Dr. Anthony Atala Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM), located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, has partnered with Axiom Space and BioServe Space Technologies to pursue a groundbreaking initiative. Their proposal takes advantage of the microgravity environment to develop and validate a platform that supports a ‘building block’ strategy for in-space manufacturing of vascularized and perfused liver tissue as a bridge to transplantation. This is a continuation of the NASA Centennial Vascular Tissue Challenge, where WFIRM teams won first and second place for creating metabolically active thick liver tissue that retained function for thirty days. The overarching goal is to enhance the formation of a microcapillary system within a perfusable 3D bioprinted vascularized engineered liver tissue constructs for biomanufacturing clinical-scale liver tissue constructs that allow integration into the recipient’s peripheral circulation for the treatment of liver disease. Once validated, this platform technology can produce multiple tissue construct types, including kidney and pancreas, among others. In Phase 1a, the team plans to evaluate various 3D bioprinted designs for vascularized tissue constructs to be evaluated in microgravity to identify the optimal parameters to produce liver tissue that is suitable in size to serve as a bridge to regeneration or transplantation. Phases 2 and 3 will involve biomanufacturing liver tissue constructs of the optimal design for human clinical trials and process scale-up for future commercialization. Keep Exploring Discover More Topics In Space Production Applications Low Earth Orbit Economy Opportunities and Information for Researchers Latest News from Space Station Research View the full article

NASA has awarded the Kennedy Operational and Institutional Support (KOIS) contract to Chiricahua-Logical Joint Venture of Albuquerque, New Mexico, to provide services at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. KOIS is an Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity, Level of Effort contract that includes a one-month phase-in period beginning Nov. 1, 2023, followed by a 22-month base period and three 1-year option periods. The maximum total award value is not to exceed $20 million. The scope includes a broad range of operational and institutional support services including internal controls for property, logistics, American Sign Language interpreter, institutional training and development, and export control support. The contract covers onsite and offsite work at Kennedy, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, and other locations authorized by the contracting officer, including other NASA Centers if the need arises. For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit: https://www.nasa.gov -end- Patti Bielling Kennedy Space Center, Florida 321-501-7575 patricia.a.bielling@nasa.gov View the full article

Although no ghouls or goblins or trick-or-treaters come knocking at the International Space Station’s front hatch, crew members aboard the orbiting facility still like to get in the Halloween spirit. Whether individually or as an entire crew, they dress up in sometimes spooky, sometimes scary, but always creative costumes, often designed from materials available aboard the space station. Please enjoy the following scenes from Halloweens past even as we anticipate the costumes of the future. Left: Wearing a black cape, Expedition 16 NASA astronaut Clayton C. Anderson channels his inner vampire for Halloween 2007. Image credit: courtesy Clayton C. Anderson. Middle: For Halloween 2009, the Expedition 21 crew shows off its costumes. Right: Expedition 21 Flight Engineer NASA astronaut Nicole P. Stott shows off her Halloween costume. Left: Italian Space Agency astronaut Luca S. Parmitano finally gets his wish to fly like Superman during Expedition 37. Right: Who’s that behind the scary mask? None other than NASA astronaut Scott J. Kelly celebrating Halloween in 2015 during his one-year mission. Left: Expedition 53 Commander NASA astronaut Randolph J. “Randy” Bresnik showing off his costume. Middle: Expedition 53 Flight Engineer NASA astronaut Joseph M. Acaba wearing Halloween colors. Right: Expedition 53 European Space Agency astronaut Paolo A. Nespoli showing off his Spiderman skills. Left: Expedition 57 crewmembers in their Halloween best – European Space Agency astronaut and Commander Alexander Gerst, left, and NASA astronaut Serena M. Auñón-Chancellor. Right: Members of Expedition 61, NASA astronaut Christina H. Koch, top left, European Space Agency astronaut Luca S. Parmitano, NASA astronaut Andrew R. “Drew” Morgan, and NASA astronaut Jessica U. Meir, show off their Halloween spirit in 2019. Left: Expedition 66 crewmembers NASA astronaut R. Shane Kimbrough, left, Thomas G. Pesquet of the European Space Agency, Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and NASA astronaut Mark T. Vande Hei showing off their Halloween cards. Right: A hand rising from the grave? In October 2021, Crew-3 NASA astronauts Raja J. Chari, Thomas H. Marshburn, Kayla S. Barron, and Matthias J. Maurer of the European Space Agency (ESA), had some undisclosed plans for when they reached the space station just before Halloween. However, bad weather at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida thwarted those super-secret spooky Halloween plans, delaying their launch until Nov. 11. Undeterred, Expedition 66 crewmembers who awaited them aboard the station held their own Halloween shenanigans. ESA astronaut Thomas G. Pesquet posted on social media that “Strange things were happening on ISS for Halloween. Aki rising from the dead (or is it from our observation window?),” referring to fellow crew member Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Left: In 2022, Expedition 68 astronauts Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, left, and NASA astronauts Francisco “Frank” C. Rubio, Nicole A. Mann, and Josh A. Cassada dressed as popular video game and cartoon characters, using stowage containers in their Halloween costumes and holding improvised trick-or-treat bags. Right: Expedition 70 astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli of NASA, left, Satoshi Furakawa of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara, and European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen celebrate Halloween 2023. The spookiness continues… Explore More 8 min read 25 Years Ago: STS-95, John Glenn Returns to Space Article 1 day ago 5 min read 25 Years Ago: Launch of Deep Space 1 Technology Demonstration Spacecraft Article 1 week ago 7 min read 30 Years Ago: The STS-58 Spacelab Life Sciences-2 Mission Article 2 weeks ago View the full article

High quality production photos of Robonaut (R2) in Building 14 EMI chamber and R1/EMU photos in Building 32 – Robonaut Lab. Photo Date: June 1, 2010. Location: Building 14 – EMI Chamber/Building 32 – Robonaut Lab.NASA / Robert Markowitz & Bill Stafford NASA knows it takes a village to make commercial manufacturing in space a reality. NASA is collaborating with experts from industry, academia and other U.S. Government agencies on the technologies in play with the InSPA portfolio. By joining forces with these experts, NASA can better support its commercial partners, accelerating the transition from proof-of-concept demonstrations on the International Space Station to commercial operations in future commercial low Earth orbit (LEO) destinations. NASA’s InSPA awards help the selected companies raise the technological readiness level of their products and move them to market, propelling U.S. industry toward the development of a sustainable, scalable, and profitable non-NASA demand for services and products manufactured in the microgravity environment of LEO for use on Earth. NASA is recruiting agency, government and industry experts to inform NASA’s InSPA priorities, accelerate learning and increase commercialization success. Establishing Priorities We will provide input on NASA Technology Roadmaps and/or evaluate proposals to inform awards for applications that serve national needs and U.S. competitiveness. We will also participate in working group discussions. CHIPS and Science Act Concepts that support the goals of the “CHIPS and Science Act” through semiconductor manufacturing in microgravity are of special interest to NASA. Those selected for further assessment will be invited to submit full proposals. NASA is seeking funding from the CHIPS and Science Act through the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to ensure US leadership in semiconductor manufacturing in microgravity. To support this initiative, NASA’s InSPA program may grant awards that come with funding for facilities, workforce development, academic support, and program development. SHERPA Support Space Hardware Experts for Research, Production, and Applications (SHERPA) shares knowledge as subject matter experts on science, technology, manufacturing, markets, and investors. Provide support directly to principal investigators or through NASA Technical Monitors to accelerate learning. Specific SHERPA activities: Identify new InSPA candidates important to other government agencies where gravity is impeding development. Assist in prioritization and decisions on down-selects. Peer review at major milestones (design reviews, science requirements, ground and in-flight testing). Develop performance goals and metrics that must be met to exceed current state-of-the-art. Leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) and expand space databases to improve models and increase value from each flight, across the years and programs. Perform independent analysis and validation of flight results. Conduct outreach to industry and other government agencies for Phase 2 and 3 sponsorships. Points of Contact Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Directed Energy Directorate Don Ufford, Advanced Manufacturing Policy Fellow, Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office, Department of Commerce – National Institute of Standards and Technology Danilo A. Tagle, Ph.D., Director, Office for Special Initiatives, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences at the National Institutes of Health Jas S. Sanghera, Ph.D., Branch Head of Optical Materials and Devices, Naval Research Laboratory Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Keep Exploring Discover More Topics In Space Production Applications Low Earth Orbit Economy Opportunities and Information for Researchers Latest News from Space Station Research View the full article

NASA’s In Space Production Applications (InSPA) implementation strategy consists of a multi-phase award process to demonstrate proof-of-concept, advance to high production quality, and ultimately to achieve scalability on a commercial low Earth orbit (LEO) destination or platform. InSPA seeks to identify awardees who propose promising manufacturing efforts in microgravity that will invigorate markets on Earth. These InSPA awards help the selected companies raise the technological readiness level of their products and move them to market, propelling U.S. industry toward the development of a sustainable, scalable, and profitable non-NASA demand for services and products manufactured in the microgravity environment of LEO for use on Earth. NASA Award Process On an annual and ongoing basis, NASA releases two calls for white papers by U.S. entities through Special Focus Area #1 (In Space Production Applications) of the NASA Research Announcement (NRA) NNJ13ZBG001N, “Research Opportunities for International Space Station Utilization.” Those entities with the highest rated white papers are then invited to submit a full proposal. After the proposal evaluation period, NASA makes selections, and awardees sign a Firm Fixed Price contract with NASA to develop and demonstrate their concept on the ISS National Laboratory. NRA white paper and proposal submissions are required at each phase of the lifecycle. Access to ISS National Laboratory Awardees are provided access to the ISS National Laboratory and all necessary on-orbit resources: upmass, downmass, U.S. Operating Segment (USOS) crew time, data transmission, and power, including flight manifesting and increment operations planning, at no cost. Payloads are subject to review and approval by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), the operator of the ISS National Laboratory. Award Phases NASA has identified three InSPA phases (reference Figure 1) to characterize technology maturation from early concept studies through financially self-sustaining LEO production technologies. InSPA Phase 1 Enable early proof-of-concept studies and/or basic flight hardware development and test through multiple demonstrations on parabolic, sub-orbital, and orbital missions on the ISS to achieve TRL of 6 and MRL of 3. Proposals should identify the improvements sought and describe the number and type of demonstration tests appropriate to achieve exit criteria for the Phase. The goals of Phase 1 (i.e., exit criteria) are: To demonstrate hardware performance and validate the scientific basis for the technology benefit in a LEO space environment.  To establish a minimum level of production control to repeatedly produce the intended product to a quality or performance level comparable to Earth-based controls or state of the art.  To refine the business case with preliminary revenue forecasts based on actual microgravity demonstrations and gain support from potential partners or investors to capture a moderate level of non-NASA investment for Phase 2. InSPA Phase 2 Enable design maturation and advanced flight hardware development with additional demonstrations on ISS to achieve a TRL of 8 and MRL of 7. NASA has an expectation of some degree of cost-sharing in this phase (reference Cost Sharing guideline in section 1.2.3 of the NRA). The goals of Phase 2 (i.e., exit criteria) are: To demonstrate full control of hardware, environments, and processes to meet specific performance standards for the application.  These standards are often set by the customer and should be to a level of performance or quality within the application setting that is significantly better than possible on Earth.  To refine the business case to a level that successfully captures significant investor commitment for Phase 3. InSPA Phase 3 Enable scaled flight hardware production on ISS or an alternative commercial LEO destination/platform to demonstrate commercial operations and end-to-end logistics model producing sufficient quantities to achieve a TRL of 9 and MRL of 9 and to close the business case. NASA expects a significant degree of cost-sharing by industry for a Phase 3 award (reference Cost Sharing guideline in Section 1.2.3 of the NRA). The goals of Phase 3 are: Demonstrate scaling to commercial quantities and quality to support market demand, including supply chain and regulatory approvals.  To establish formal agreements with U.S. LEO transportation and destination partners for transition to commercial operations.  Begin transition to commercial platform(s) and achieve sustainable revenues. Reference NASA Research Announcement (NRA) NNJ13ZBG001N, “Research Opportunities for International Space Station Utilization” Keep Exploring Discover More Topics In Space Production Applications Low Earth Orbit Economy Opportunities and Information for Researchers Latest News from Space Station Research View the full article

In microgravity, crystals grow more slowly, but the molecules have time to align more perfectly on the surface of the crystal, which returns much better research outcomes.NASA After four decades of microgravity research, NASA and the ISS National Lab have identified numerous applications that are within reach for NASA’s In Space Production Applications (InSPA) portfolio. Uniform crystals, semiconductors, specialized glass and optical fibers are just a few of the many advanced materials that can benefit from production in microgravity. Artificial retinas, drug delivery medical devices, as well as the production of pluripotent stem cells and bio inks are examples of how microgravity can stimulate the medical and bioscience industries. The most promising may be the production of small molecule crystalline proteins for pharmaceutical therapies. NASA’s InSPA objective is to enable sustainable, scalable, and profitable non-NASA demand for services and products manufactured in the microgravity environment of low-Earth orbit for use on Earth. Applications of Special Interest InSPA supports the goals of the White House’s “Cancer Moonshot” by seeking new applications that will accelerate the rate of progress against cancer. These projects are of special interest and may include manufacturing of compounds or therapeutics to address oncology applications on Earth. InSPA also supports the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which provides the Department of Commerce with $50 billion for a suite of programs strengthen and revitalize the U.S. position in semiconductor research, development, and manufacturing. InSPA projects centered around semiconductor manufacturing are of special interest and can ensure United States leadership in semiconductor production. (Source: https://www.nist.gov/chips) InSPA awards fall into two categories, Advanced Materials and Tissue Engineering and Biomanufacturing. Advanced Materials Advanced Materials use microgravity phenomena singly and in combination to produce a growing range of new products. For example: Removing sedimentation and buoyancy enables unique alloys and compositions. Surface tension processes can eliminate voids and ensure continuous contact between dissimilar materials. Lack of convection provides quiescent environments that can remove or minimize defects. Crystal Production in microgravity has numerous applications in drug development, testing, and delivery, as well as semiconductors and inorganic frameworks. For example, crystals have the following properties in microgravity: They grow more slowly, enabling optical fiber manufacturing that suppresses crystallization defects. They grow in a more uniform manner that can better inform and enable better quality protein-based therapeutics. They grow larger and more perfect enabling exceptional quality industrial crystals and macromolecular structures. A 2x-magnification of protein crystals grown during RTPCG-1, using techniques to be used in RTPCG-2.NASA Thin Layer Deposition in microgravity has applications in layering for medical devices, semiconductors, and ceramic coatings. For example: Absence of sedimentation and buoyancy allow surface tension effects to dominate, resulting in more uniform and atomically and molecularly precise layering for artificial retinas and other devices. Tissue Engineering and Biomanufacturing In microgravity, tissues can be formed in three dimensions without supporting architecture, and living matter adapts to microgravity through a variety of mechanisms that can be used to model cellular dysfunction, which occurs on Earth. For example: Gravity constrains tissue engineering on Earth by flattening and deforming 3D tissue constructs. Microgravity allows larger tissues to be constructed and used to inform medicine. Growing evidence indicates that the interaction of microgravity and living systems elicits responses similar to rapid aging on Earth that can be used to accelerate disease modeling and therapeutic development. Combined 3D tissue engineering with accelerated aging effects, informed by latest biotech and artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) offers new and rapidly growing knowledge, opportunities, and products for disease modeling, testing, and drug development. Keep Exploring Discover More Topics In Space Production Applications Low Earth Orbit Economy Opportunities and Information for Researchers Latest News from Space Station Research View the full article

NASA supports In Space Production Applications (InSPA) awards to help the selected companies raise the technological readiness level of their products and move them to market, propelling U.S. industry toward the development of a sustainable, scalable, and profitable non-NASA demand for services and products in low-Earth orbit. These commercialization awards provide opportunities for NASA to reduce its future costs in LEO enabling deep-space missions farther from Earth, including the Moon and Mars. NASA is leading commercial LEO development efforts to stimulate non-NASA demand for commercially owned and operated orbital destinations from which NASA can purchase services as one of many customers. As new commercial orbital destinations become available, NASA intends to foster an orderly transition from current space station operations and research to the new commercial enterprise as laid out in NASA’s International Space Station Transition Report. Mission Ensuring U.S. leadership of in-space manufacturing in low-Earth orbit by enabling the use of the ISS National Laboratory to demonstrate the production of advanced materials and products for terrestrial markets. Vision A robust and sustainable space economy where a diverse portfolio of U.S. companies operates a broad array of commercially owned productions facilities alongside government and private astronauts living and training on the LEO Commercial Destinations that follow the space station. Goals Serve national interests by developing in-space production applications for Earth that strengthen U.S. technological leadership, improve national security, and create high-quality jobs, and/or   Provide benefits to humanity by developing products in LEO that significantly improve the quality of life for people on Earth, and  Enable the development of a robust economy in LEO by stimulating scalable and sustainable non-NASA utilization of future commercial LEO destinations or orbital platforms. For more information about InSPA, please read: In Space for Earth! – In Space Production Applications Overview White Paper and InSPA Awards Provide Funding and Expertise to Help Promising U.S. Innovators. For contact information and frequently asked questions, please see: NASA Points of Contact and FAQs Download the InSPA logo here. Keep Exploring Discover More Topics In Space Production Applications Low Earth Orbit Economy Opportunities and Information for Researchers Latest News from Space Station Research View the full article

5 min read NASA’s Webb Telescope Improves Simulation Software The James Webb Space Telescope captures a tightly bound pair of actively forming stars, known as Herbig-Haro 46/47, in high-resolution near-infrared light. The James Webb Space Telescope truly explores the unknown, displaying stunning images of previously unseen corners of the universe only possible because of the telescope’s 21-foot segmented mirror that unfurled and assembled itself in space. Decades of testing went into the materials, design, and processes needed to develop the largest telescope in space. However, the whole project was too complex to test on the ground, at scale, at minus 400 degrees Fahrenheit, and in other space-like conditions. Instead, engineers relied on software simulations to understand how the telescope would behave under different in-space conditions, and that work has helped advance the whole field of integrated computer modeling. The Ansys Zemax OpticStudio software package, pictured here in a demo of James Webb Space Telescope mirror modeling, was equipped with new capabilities and features as a result of being used in the observatory’s development. Ansys Inc. “We pushed everything, all the simulation, just as hard as it would go,” said Erin Elliott, an optical engineer at Ansys, Inc., which makes Ansys Zemax OpticStudio, one of the design software suites used to develop hardware and software for the Webb telescope. Simulation technology has improved dramatically over the last two decades because of increases in computing power and new ways of accessing offsite computing power as a cloud service. But additional improvements trace back directly to Webb’s development. Elliott used OpticStudio to support the Webb telescope while working for other NASA contractors, beginning in the early 2000s, before starting work in 2015 for Zemax ¬– which later became Ansys Zemax ¬– headquartered in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. In the early days, Elliott said, Zemax tweaked its software for the Webb telescope effort. “They made some specific changes for us at the time having to do with handling the coordinate systems of the segments,” she said, referring to the 18 hexagonal segments that make up the telescope’s primary mirror. Elliott also recalled talking to Zemax leadership numerous times about the need for the software to communicate better with other Microsoft Windows programs. The company introduced an API, or application programming interface, for OpticStudio, which enables the suite to work with other programs and allows for further customization. There were plenty of reasons to add that technology but Webb demands were likely significant among them, Elliott said. An engineer examines the Webb telescope primary mirror Engineering Design Unit segment in the clean room at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. NASA Joseph Howard, an optical engineer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, where Webb and its science instrument module were assembled, noted that using several modeling packages helped drive innovation in the field. “It’s important to have multiple software companies out there that can help you not only for cross-checking the modeling, but because they make each other better through competition,” he said. In addition to improvements made to OpticStudio during Webb telescope development, Ansys Zemax in 2021 introduced the Structural, Thermal, Analysis, and Results (STAR) module, which benefited from the knowledge Elliott gained working on the NASA project. The first six flight-ready James Webb Space Telescope primary mirror segments are prepped to begin final cryogenic testing at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.NASA When a mirror or lens changes shape due to temperature swings, the optics move. Much of the OpticStudio modeling was completed in smaller pieces — engineers would run a thermal simulation independently and add that data to the next optical model, generating more data for the next run. The STAR module incorporates analyses from other simulation software directly into OpticStudio optical models — an efficiency applicable to telescope and aerospace designs. This feature is also increasingly important for autonomous vehicles, cell phone lenses, and other optics working in tough environments. Future telescopes and other spacecraft are likely to involve elements of the Webb design. More will travel in segments that must self-assemble in space, and the development of the increasingly complicated robotics and optics will rely on improved modeling software. “When we built Webb, we knew we couldn’t fully test it on the ground prior to flight, so we depended a whole lot upon modeling and doing analysis to get ready for flight,” Howard said. “The next great observatory will be even more dependent on modeling software.” Meanwhile, designers of more earthly technologies are already seeing the benefits of an improved OpticStudio, using it to design precision endoscopes, a thermal imager to detect COVID-19 exposures in a crowd, augmented reality displays and headsets, a laser thruster technology for nanosatellites, and, of course, more telescopes. Elliott also noted that the Webb telescope project trained the next cohort of telescope and optical device builders – those designing and using the telescope’s technological spinoffs. “The people who built the Hubble Space Telescope were leading the Webb Telescope,” she said. “And now the younger engineers who cut our teeth on this project and learned from it are becoming the group of people who will build the next structures.” Elliott maintains that the project “was worth it alone for training this huge cohort of young engineers and releasing them into high-tech fields.” NASA has a long history of transferring technology to the private sector. The agency’s Spinoff publication profiles NASA technologies that have transformed into commercial products and services, demonstrating the broader benefits of America’s investment in its space program. Spinoff is a publication of the Technology Transfer program in NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). For more information on how NASA brings space technology down to Earth, visit: www.spinoff.nasa.gov Facebook logo @NASATechnology @NASA_Technology Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate Technology Transfer & Spinoffs James Webb Space Telescope This placeholder has been created to fill a slot in the Topic Cards block on pages imported for the Hubble… Goddard Space Flight Center Share Details Last Updated Oct 31, 2023 Editor Loura Hall Contact Ann M. Harkeyann.m.harkey@nasa.gov Related Terms Space Technology Mission DirectorateTechnologyTechnology Transfer & Spinoffs View the full article

This enhanced image of the Jovian moon Ganymede was obtained by the JunoCam imager aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft during the mission’s June 7, 2021, flyby of the icy moon. Data from that pass has been used to detect the presence of salts and organics on Ganymede. NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Kalleheikki Kannisto (CC BY) This look at the complex surface of Jupiter’s moon Ganymede came from NASA’s Juno mission during a close pass in June 2021. At closest approach, the spacecraft came within just 650 miles (1,046 kilometers) of Ganymede’s surface.Image data: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS Image processing by Thomas Thomopoulos (CC BY) Data collected by NASA’s Juno mission indicates a briny past may be bubbling to the surface on Jupiter’s largest moon. NASA’s Juno mission has observed mineral salts and organic compounds on the surface of Jupiter’s moon Ganymede. Data for this discovery was collected by the Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) spectrometer aboard the spacecraft during a close flyby of the icy moon. The findings, which could help scientists better understand the origin of Ganymede and the composition of its deep ocean, were published on Oct. 30 in the journal Nature Astronomy. Larger than the planet Mercury, Ganymede is the biggest of Jupiter’s moons and has long been of great interest to scientists due to the vast internal ocean of water hidden beneath its icy crust. Previous spectroscopic observations by NASA’s Galileo spacecraft and Hubble Space Telescope as well as the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope hinted at the presence of salts and organics, but the spatial resolution of those observations was too low to make a determination. Processed data from the Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) spectrometer aboard NASA’s Juno mission is superimposed on a mosaic of optical images from the agency’ s Galileo and Voyager spacecraft that show grooved terrain on Jupiter’s moon Ganymede.NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/ASI/INAF/JIRAM/Brown University On June 7, 2021, Juno flew over Ganymede at a minimum altitude of 650 miles (1,046 kilometers). Shortly after the time of closest approach, the JIRAM instrument acquired infrared images and infrared spectra (essentially the chemical fingerprints of materials, based on how they reflect light) of the moon’s surface. Built by the Italian Space Agency, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, JIRAM was designed to capture the infrared light (invisible to the naked eye) that emerges from deep inside Jupiter, probing the weather layer down to 30 to 45 miles (50 to 70 kilometers) below the gas giant’s cloud tops. But the instrument has also been used to offer insights into the terrain of moons Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto (known collectively as the Galilean moons for their discoverer, Galileo). The JIRAM data of Ganymede obtained during the flyby achieved an unprecedented spatial resolution for infrared spectroscopy – better than 0.62 miles (1 kilometer) per pixel. With it, Juno scientists were able to detect and analyze the unique spectral features of non-water-ice materials, including hydrated sodium chloride, ammonium chloride, sodium bicarbonate, and possibly aliphatic aldehydes. “The presence of ammoniated salts suggests that Ganymede may have accumulated materials cold enough to condense ammonia during its formation,” said Federico Tosi, a Juno co-investigator from Italy’s National Institute for Astrophysics in Rome and lead author of the paper. “The carbonate salts could be remnants of carbon dioxide-rich ices.” Exploring Other Jovian Worlds Previous modeling of Ganymede’s magnetic field determined the moon’s equatorial region, up to a latitude of about 40 degrees, is shielded from the energetic electron and heavy ion bombardment created by Jupiter’s hellish magnetic field. The presence of such particle fluxes is well known to negatively impact salts and organics. During the June 2021 flyby, JIRAM covered a narrow range of latitudes (10 degrees north to 30 degrees north) and a broader range of longitudes (minus 35 degrees east to 40 degrees east) in the Jupiter-facing hemisphere. “We found the greatest abundance of salts and organics in the dark and bright terrains at latitudes protected by the magnetic field,” said Scott Bolton, Juno’s principal investigator from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. “This suggests we are seeing the remnants of a deep ocean brine that reached the surface of this frozen world.” Ganymede is not the only Jovian world Juno has flown by. The moon Europa, thought to harbor an ocean under its icy crust, also came under Juno’s gaze, first in October 2021 and then in September 2022. Now Io is receiving the flyby treatment. The next close approach to that volcano-festooned world is scheduled for Dec. 30, when the spacecraft will come within 932 miles (1,500 kilometers) of Io’s surface. More About the Mission NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Juno mission for the principal investigator, Scott Bolton, of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. Juno is part of NASA’s New Frontiers Program, which is managed at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Italian Space Agency (ASI) funded the Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built and operates the spacecraft. More information about Juno is available at: https://www.nasa.gov/juno News Media Contacts DC Agle Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 818-393-9011 agle@jpl.nasa.gov Karen Fox / Alana Johnson NASA Headquarters, Washington 301-286-6284 / 202-358-1501 karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / alana.r.johnson@nasa.gov Deb Schmid Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio 210-522-2254 dschmid@swri.org Marco Galliani National Institute for Astrophysics +39 06 355 33 390 Marco.galliani@inaf.it 2023-157 View the full article

On Oct. 29, 1998, NASA astronaut John H. Glenn made history again when he returned to space aboard space shuttle Discovery’s STS-95 mission, nearly 37 years after becoming the first American in orbit during his February 1962 Friendship 7 mission. The seven-member STS-95 crew consisted of Commander Curtis L. Brown, Pilot Steven W. Lindsey, Mission Specialists Stephen K. Robinson, Dr. Scott E. Parazynski, and Pedro F. Duque of the European Space Agency, and Payload Specialists Dr. Chiaki Mukai of the National Space Development Agency of Japan, now the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Glenn, who at age 77 became the oldest person to orbit the Earth, a record that stands to this day. During the nine-day mission, they conducted more than 80 experiments, many of them to study how exposure to weightlessness might relate to the aging process. Left: The STS-95 crew during their introductory press conference. Right: President William J. “Bill” Clinton introduces the STS-95 crew, including Senator John H. Glenn, during a ceremony at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Glenn, whom NASA essentially grounded after his historic 1962 mission for fear of losing a national hero in a spaceflight accident, had always dreamed of returning to space. Upon learning about the physiological changes that occur during spaceflight, and how they somewhat resemble those brought about by aging, now Senator Glenn began lobbying NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin for an opportunity to put that theory to the test, by volunteering himself as a subject. Goldin agreed in principle, providing Glenn passed the same physicals as all the other astronauts and that the flight included valuable peer-reviewed research. Glenn did, and teams at NASA working with the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Aging to put together a research program of experiments to study bone and muscle loss, balance disorders, sleep disturbances, and changes in the immune system. In addition, the mission conducted other experiments in fields such as materials processing, protein crystal growth, cell biology, and plant growth. Also part of the mission, the SPARTAN 201-5 free-flyer pallet carried instruments to study the Sun’s corona and the solar wind. On Jan. 16, 1998, NASA announced that Glenn would fly as a payload specialist on STS-95. On Feb. 13, the agency announced the rest of the STS-95 crew, who held a press conference at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) on Feb. 20, coincidentally the 36th anniversary of Glenn’s Friendship 7 flight. During a visit to JSC on April 14, President William J. “Bill” Clinton introduced the STS-95 astronauts. Left: STS-95 astronauts Steven W. Lindsey, seated left, and Curtis L. Brown; Scott E. Parazynski, standing left, Stephen K. Robinson, Chiaki Mukai of the National Space Development Agency of Japan, now the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Pedro F. Duque of the European Space Agency, and John H. Glenn. Middle: The STS-95 crew patch. Right: Liftoff of space shuttle Discovery on the STS-95 mission, returning Glenn to orbit. Space shuttle Discovery’s 25th liftoff took place at 2:19 p.m. EDT on Oct. 29, 1998, from Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, carrying a double Spacehab module filled with scientific equipment. Brown, making his fifth trip into space and second as commander, and Pilot Lindsey on his second launch, monitored Discovery’s systems as they climbed into orbit, assisted by Mission Specialist Parazynski, a physician making his third trip into space, serving as the flight engineer. Mission Specialist Duque accompanied them on the flight deck. Mission Specialist Robinson, on his second mission, and Payload Specialists Mukai, also a physician and on her second trip to space, and Glenn experienced launch in the shuttle’s middeck. Left: View of the Spacehab module and the Canadian robotic arm in Discovery’s payload bay. Middle: The crew’s first view of the interior of the Spacehab module. Right: Chiaki Mukai, left, and Stephen K. Robinson begin activating the Spacehab. Upon reaching orbit, the crew opened the payload bay doors, thus deploying the shuttle’s radiators. Shortly after, the crew opened the hatch from the shuttle’s middeck, translated down the transfer tunnel, and entered Spacehab for the first time, activating the module and turning on the first experiments. These included the life sciences experiments that Glenn conducted to compare the effects of weightlessness and aging. Left: Physician astronaut Dr. Scott E. Parazynski, left, prepares to draw a blood sample from John H. Glenn. Middle: Glenn, left, and Parazynski prepare to centrifuge the collected blood sample. Right: Glenn, instrumented for a sleep study, prepares to begin his sleep period. Left: The STS-95 astronauts use the Canadian-built Remote Manipulator system, or robotic arm, to release the SPARATAN 201-5 free flyer. Middle: Stephen K. Robinson operates the RMS to retrieve the SPARTAN after its four-day autonomous flight. Right: Robinson places the SPARTAN back in the shuttle’s payload bay. On the mission’s second day, the crew deployed the PANSAT, a small experimental communications satellite built by the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. Later in the day, Robinson used the Canadian-built Remote Manipulator System (RMS) or robotic arm to grapple the SPARTAN free flyer. He removed it from its cradle in the payload bay and deployed it for its four-day independent mission. It successfully completed its autonomous flight, traveling up to 30 miles from the shuttle. On flight day 6, Robinson used the RMS to capture SPARTAN and placed it back in its cradle in the payload bay. Left: Stephen K. Robinson processes a sample in the Advanced Gradient Heating Facility (AGHF). Right: John H. Glenn operates the Osteoporosis Experiment in Orbit (OSTEO) payload investigating the behavior of bone cells in microgravity. Left: Scott E. Parazynski prepares an experiment in the Microgravity Science Glovebox. Right: Chiaki Mukai examines plants grown in the Biological Research in Canisters (BRIC) experiment. For the remainder of the mission, the seven-member crew busied itself with conducting the 80 experiments in the shuttle’s middeck, the Spacehab, and in the payload bay. Left: Chiaki Mukai operates the Vestibular Function Experiment Unit (VFEU) investigation the vestibular systems of toadfish. Middle: John H. Glenn removes cartridges from the Advanced Separation (ADSEP) experiment. Right: Steven Lindsey operates the BIOBOX used to store biological samples. Left: Pedro F. Duque operates the Microencapsulation Electrostatic Processing System (MEPS) experiment. Middle: Chiaki Mukai operates the high-definition camcorder provided by the Japanese company NHK. Right: John H. Glenn takes one of the 2,500 Earth observation images obtained during the STS-95 mission. A selection of the Earth observation photographs taken by the STS-95 crew. Left: The Hawaiian Islands. Middle left: Houston. Middle right: Florida. Right: Yemen and the Horn of Africa. Left: STS-95 astronauts, clockwise from lower left, Pedro F. Duque, Chiaki Mukai, Scott E. Parazynski, John H. Glenn, Curtis L. Brown, Steven W. Lindsey, and Stephen K. Robinson. Middle: Brown, left, and Lindsey review entry checklists before donning their launch and entry suits in preparation for returning to Earth. Right: Mukai, left, and Duque help Glenn, center, put on his launch and entry suit for reentry. On their last day in space, the crew finished the experiments, closed up the Spacehab module, donned their launch and entry suits, and strapped themselves into their seats to prepare for their return to Earth. They fired the shuttle’s Orbital Maneuvering System engines to begin the descent from orbit. Brown piloted Discovery to a smooth landing at KSC’s Shuttle Landing Facility on Nov. 7, after completing 134 orbits around the Earth in 8 days, 21 hours, and 44 minutes. The astronauts exited Discovery about one hour after landing and immediately began their postflight data collection to measure their immediate physiological responses after returning to a 1 g environment. Ground crews towed Discovery to the Orbiter Processing Facility to begin preparing it for its next mission, STS-96, the first shuttle docking to the International Space Station. The astronauts returned to Houston’s Ellington Field, where a large crowd of well-wishers, including government officials and the media, welcomed them home. Left: Space Shuttle Discovery lands at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida to end the nine-day STS-95 mission. Middle: Dignitaries including Isao Uchida, president of Japan’s National Space Development Agency, KSC Director Roy D. Bridges, and NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin greet the returning STS-95 crew after their landing. Right: Dignitaries including Houston Mayor Lee P. Brown, left, U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Administrator Goldin, and Johnson Space Center Director George W.S. Abbey greet the STS-95 crew at Ellington Field in Houston. Left: U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison addresses the crowd at Ellington Field gathered to welcome the STS-95 crew back to Houston. Right: NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin addresses the crowd at Ellington as the STS-95 astronauts listen. Enjoy the crew-narrated video about the STS-95 mission. Explore More 5 min read 25 Years Ago: Launch of Deep Space 1 Technology Demonstration Spacecraft Article 6 days ago 7 min read 30 Years Ago: The STS-58 Spacelab Life Sciences-2 Mission Article 2 weeks ago 11 min read 55 Years Ago: Nine Months Before the Moon Landing Article 2 weeks ago View the full article

2 min read Daily Minor Planet Volunteers Spot an Asteroid Passing Close to Earth The Catalina Sky Survey telescope “G96” with the follow-up telescope “I52” in the background. Credit: David Rankin Volunteers working with The Daily Minor Planet have made the project’s first big discovery: an asteroid passing very near planet Earth. On the night of October 3rd, a telescope for the Catalina Sky Survey snapped four pictures of a far northern section of the sky. The next day, volunteers H. N. DiRuscio, X. Liao, V. Gonano and E. Chaghafi spotted a clear streak moving through each image and quickly notified the Daily Minor Planet team. Other telescopes from around the world went on the hunt for this space rock to find where it was heading. Observations of the asteroid came in from New Mexico and Croatia confirming the asteroid’s trajectory. It was found that the asteroid would pass by Earth about twice as far as the moon the next week and that it was about 50 meters (164 feet) in diameter! The Catalina Sky Survey is a NASA funded project to find dangerous Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs) based at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory of the University of Arizona. The Daily Minor Planet is a citizen science project hosted by the Zooniverse that asks volunteers to review animated nightly images taken by this survey to determine if they are real asteroids or false detections. The Daily Minor Planet team has already submitted observations of over 1,000 main belt asteroids and a few dozen NEA candidates since it started in May of this year. This is the first one to be independently confirmed and published by the Minor Planet Center. Fortunately, further observations of this object ruled out any possibility of this asteroid hitting the Earth. But the Daily Minor Planet volunteers continue to search! New data is uploaded after each clear night of observing, so there are always new discoveries to be made. To join the search, visit https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/fulsdavid/the-daily-minor-planet NASA’s Citizen Science Program: Learn about NASA citizen science projects Follow on X Follow on Facebook View the full article

6 Min Read Accounts Receivable ACH Credit Payment ACH Credit is a payment method that allows a payer to initiate payment through their financial institution through the ACH/Federal Reserve network. ACH Credit allows the payer to control the initiation and timing of payments as well as when the date the funds are sent. Please view the instructions by accessing ACH Credit Payment Instructions. Payments to NASA For your convenience and fast results, you have the following options to pay online: Option 1: Pay Via Bank Account (ACH Direct Debit, also known as electronic check); or Option 2: Pay Via Plastic Card (any credit or debit card with Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover, debit cards are accepted by Pay.gov). For information on other payment, options please contact NASA Shared Services Center (NSSC) Customer Contact Center: 1.877.677.2123. NSSC Accounts Receivable does not process checks for returned funds from Grantees. Grantees should refer to Health and Human Services website for instructions on returning funds. For other payment options, please contact the Customer Contact Center. Check Payments Make checks payable to: NSSC/For the account (s) of [applicable center] Please include the bill number on your check. Send all check payments to the following address: NASA Shared Services Center (NSSC) Building 1111, Jerry Hlass Road Stennis Space Center, MS 39529 Credit/Debit Card Payments to NASA To begin, please go to the Treasury Financial Manual at: https://tfm.fiscal.treasury.gov/v1/p5/c700.html. Please reference the following sections for more guidance on the following items: Credit Card Section 7045—Limitations on Card Collection Transactions Section 7045.10—Transaction Maximums Debit Card Section 7010—Scope, Applicability, and Network Rules Section 7025—Honoring of Cards and Surcharges Section 7025.10—Honoring of Cards Section 7025.20—Surcharges Testing Agencies wishing to test the new credit card daily dollar value limits can do so using the Vanity emulator. Use the $1.72 amount. The return code will be V2. Please refer to section 10.10 and Appendix A of the Pay.gov Agency Guide to the Collections Service for additional information on using the Vanity emulator. Fedwire Payments for NASA The Federal Reserve Banks provide the Fedwire Funds Service, a real-time gross settlement system that enables participants to initiate funds transfer that are immediate, final, and irrevocable once processed. Depository institutions and certain other financial institutions that hold an account with a Federal Reserve Bank are eligible to participate in the Fedwire Funds Services. There are approximately 7,300 participants who make Fedwire funds transfers. The Fedwire Funds Service is generally used to make large-value, time-critical payments. International and Domestic financial institutions can use Fedwire to send a wire transfer in United States dollars directly to the bank to the United States Treasury, which then forwards the payment to NASA. The Fedwire Funds Service is a credit transfer service. Participants originate funds transfers by instructing a Federal Reserve Bank to debit funds from its own account and credit funds to the account of another participant. Participants may originate funds transfers online, by initiating a secure electronic message, or off line, via telephone procedures. The Fedwire Funds Service business day begins at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the preceding calendar day and ends at 6:30 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, excluding designated holidays. For example, the Fedwire Funds Service opens for Monday at 9:00 p.m. on the preceding Sunday. The deadline for initiating transfers for the benefit of a third party (such as a bank’s customer) is 6:00 p.m. ET each business day. Under certain circumstances, Fedwire Funds Service operating hours may be extended by the Federal Reserve Banks. For more information, please visit: https://frbservices.org/financial-services/wires/index.html Sending A Fedwire Payments can be made through your Financial Institution. Your Financial Institution may charge additional fees for this service which will be incurred by the customer. Please also include a point of contact for your business in case NASA has any questions about the payment once it is received. Include any other identifying information with the payment, such as the bill of collection number, reference numbers and identify where to apply the payment. Customers should use the following instructions that meet their payment requirements. Note: NASA does not charge the Fedwire fee. Pay.Gov Payments Online payments to NASA can be made through Pay.Gov through NASA Online Payment link only. Customers should use the following instructions for Pay.Gov that meet their payment requirements: 1. Reimbursable Customers requesting to make an Advance Payment, please view instructions by accessing NASA Online Payments via Pay.Gov (Advances). 2. Direct Customers (Non-Reimbursable) requesting to make a payment on a Bill of Collection, please view instructions by accessing NASA Online Payments via Pay.Gov (Direct). 3. Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) Customers requesting to make a payment on a SEWP Fee, please view instructions by accessing NASA Online Payments via Pay.Gov (SEWP). 4. Click to view a Pay.Gov Screen Shot Example. SWIFT Payment Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) payment is an interbank communications system in which financial institutions worldwide can send and receive information about financial transactions in a secure, standardized and reliable environment. SWIFT does not facilitate funds transfer; rather, it sends payment orders, which must be settled by correspondent accounts that the institutions have with each other. Each financial institution, to exchange banking transactions, must have a banking relationship by either being a bank or affiliating itself with one or more. SWIFT is linked to more than 9,000 financial institutions in 209 countries and territories. For payments to NASA, the SWIFT message directs funds to a United States Treasury account, which then references and forwards the payment to a NASA Center. Please view the instructions by accessing SWIFT Payment Instructions. Note: NASA does not charge the SWIFT fee. Foreign Payments International Treasury Service (ITS) or ITS.gov is a comprehensive payment and collection system. ITS.gov is the federal government’s single portal for all types of international transactions, including payments and collections. Wire transfers allow for the individualized transmission of funds from single individuals or entities to others while still maintaining the efficiencies associated with the fast and secure movement of money. By using a wire transfer, people in different geographic locations can safely transfer money to locales and financial institutions around the globe. International wire transfers are monitored by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and agency of the U.S. Treasury tasked with preventing money from going to or coming from countries that are the subject of sanctions by the U.S. government. Please reference Foreign Currency Accounts and ITS Collection Instructions for more information. View the full article

4 min read NASA X-ray Telescopes Reveal the “Bones” of a Ghostly Cosmic Hand Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Stanford Univ./R. Romani et al. (Chandra); NASA/MSFC (IXPE); Infared: NASA/JPL-Caltech/DECaPS; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Schmidt) Rotating neutron stars with strong magnetic fields, or pulsars, serve as laboratories for extreme physics, offering high-energy conditions that cannot be replicated on Earth. Young pulsars can create jets of matter and antimatter moving away from the poles of the pulsar, along with an intense wind, forming a “pulsar wind nebula”. In 2001, NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory first observed the pulsar PSR B1509-58 and revealed that its pulsar wind nebula (referred to as MSH 15-52) resembles a human hand. The pulsar is located at the base of the “palm” of the nebula. Now Chandra’s data of MSH 15-52 have been combined with data from NASA’s newest X-ray telescope, the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) to unveil the magnetic field “bones” of this remarkable structure, as reported in our press release. IXPE stared at MSH 15-52 for 17 days, the longest it has looked at any single object since it launched in December 2021. By combining data from Chandra and IXPE, astronomers are learning more about how a pulsar is injecting particles into space and shaping its environment. The X-ray data are shown along with infrared data from the Dark Energy Camera in Chile. Young pulsars can create jets of matter and antimatter moving away from the poles of the pulsar, along with an intense wind, forming a “pulsar wind nebula”. This one, known as MSH 15-52, has a shape resembling a human hand and provides insight into how these objects are formed.Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Stanford Univ./R. Romani et al. (Chandra); NASA/MSFC (IXPE); Infared: NASA/JPL-Caltech/DECaPS; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Schmidt In a new composite image, Chandra data are seen in orange (low-energy X-rays), green, and blue (higher-energy X-rays), while the diffuse purple represents the IXPE observations. The pulsar is in the bright region at the base of the palm and the fingers are reaching toward low energy X-ray clouds in the surrounding remains of the supernova that formed the pulsar. The image also includes infrared data from the second data release of the Dark Energy Camera Plane Survey (DECaPS2) in red and blue. The IXPE data provides the first map of the magnetic field in the ‘hand’. It reveals information about the electric field orientation of X-rays determined by the magnetic field of the X-ray source. This is called “X-ray polarization”. An additional X-ray image shows the magnetic field map in MSH 15-52. In this image, short straight lines represent IXPE polarization measurements, mapping the direction of the local magnetic field. Orange “bars” mark the most precise measurements, followed by cyan and blue bars with less precise measurements. The complex field lines follow the `wrist’, ‘palm’ and ‘fingers’ of the hand, and probably help define the extended finger-like structures. Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Stanford Univ./R. Romani et al. (Chandra); NASA/MSFC (IXPE); Infared: NASA/JPL-Caltech/DECaPS; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Schmidt The amount of polarization — indicated by bar length — is remarkably high, reaching the maximum level expected from theoretical work. To achieve that strength, the magnetic field must be very straight and uniform, meaning there is little turbulence in those regions of the pulsar wind nebula. One particularly interesting feature of MSH 15-52 is a bright X-ray jet directed from the pulsar to the “wrist” at the bottom of the image. The new IXPE data reveal that the polarization at the start of the jet is low, likely because this is a turbulent region with complex, tangled magnetic fields associated with the generation of high-energy particles. By the end of the jet the magnetic field lines appear to straighten and become much more uniform, causing the polarization to become much larger. A paper describing these results by Roger Romani of Stanford University and collaborators was published in The Astrophysical Journal on October 23, 2023, and is available at https://arxiv.org/abs/2309.16067 IXPE is a collaboration between NASA and the Italian Space Agency with partners and science collaborators in 12 countries. IXPE is led by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Ball Aerospace, headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, manages spacecraft operations together with the University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics in Boulder. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Chandra X-ray Center controls science operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts. Read more from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. For more Chandra images, multimedia and related materials, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/chandra Megan Watzke Chandra X-ray Center Cambridge, Mass. 617-496-7998 Jonathan Deal Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, Ala. 256-544-0034 Share Details Last Updated Oct 30, 2023 Related Terms AstrophysicsChandra X-Ray ObservatoryIXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer)Marshall Space Flight CenterThe Universe Explore More 5 min read The Crab Nebula Seen in New Light by NASA’s Webb Article 5 hours ago 6 min read NASA Rocket to See Sizzling Edge of Star-Forming Supernova A new sounding rocket mission is headed to space to understand how explosive stellar deaths… Article 3 days ago 2 min read Hubble Captures a Galactic Dance This striking image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captures the interacting galaxy pair known… Article 3 days ago View the full article

3 min read NASA, Partners Explore Sustainable Fuel’s Effects on Aircraft Contrails NASA Armstrong’s DC-8 aircraft flies over the northwestern U.S. to monitor emissions from Boeing’s ecoDemonstrator Explorer aircraft. As the largest flying science laboratory in the world, the DC-8 is equipped to collect crucial data about the sustainable aviation fuel and its effects on condensation trail formation.NASA/Jim Ross Contrails, the lines of clouds left by high-flying aircraft that crisscross the skies, are familiar sights, but they may have an unseen effect on the planet – trapping heat in the atmosphere. Working with Boeing, United Airlines, and other industry, government, and international partners, NASA researchers are collecting data to see how new, greener aviation fuels can help reduce the problem. Throughout October, NASA has supported contrail research through Boeing’s ecoDemonstrator program, a multi-year effort to analyze sustainable aviation fuel its capacity to benefit the environment. Boeing’s current ecoDemonstrator Explorer aircraft, a 737-10, has conducted test flights switching between tanks filled either with 100% sustainable aviation fuel or conventional fuel. NASA’s DC-8 aircraft, the world’s largest flying science laboratory, has followed, measuring emissions and contrail ice formation from each type of fuel. This data will help determine whether sustainable aviation fuels help reduce the formation of contrails. “Contrails are believed to be a major source of pollution,” said Rich Moore, a research physical scientist in NASA’s Langley Aerosol Research Group Experiment. Moore was among the researchers who flew aboard the DC-8. “With this mission, we’re looking not so much at correcting contrails, but at preventing them.” In addition to the DC-8, which is based at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, the agency contributed other critical capabilities, including a mobile laboratory for ground testing. Other collaborators for the ecoDemonstrator flights include General Electric Aerospace, the German Aerospace Center, National Research Council Canada, and the Federal Aviation Administration. Within a year, the researchers will publish their results. “One of the most amazing things about this collaboration is that this data will be released publicly with the world,” Moore said. Contrail clouds form when aircraft operate in the cold temperatures at high altitudes and water vapor in engine exhaust condenses and freezes. Made up of ice particles, contrail clouds can have both a cooling and warming effect based on ambient conditions, timing, and persistence – but scientists estimate that their warming effect is greater on a global scale. Over the past decade, NASA-funded research has shown that sustainable aviation fuels have significant benefits for reducing engine particle emissions that can influence local air quality near airports and contribute to the formation of contrails. Efforts to develop and evaluate sustainable aviation fuels focus on delivering the performance of conventional jet fuel without releasing new carbon dioxide into the environment. These fuels can be derived from sustainable sources such as feedstocks and waste resources. Flight testing remains the gold standard for understanding aerospace innovations and their environmental impacts, making partnerships like ecoDemonstrator and research aircrafts like NASA’s DC-8 important sources for data that can help make aviation more sustainable, protecting the environment and improving life on Earth. Share Details Last Updated Oct 30, 2023 Editor Ryan M. Henderson Contact Location Armstrong Flight Research Center Related Terms Armstrong Flight Research CenterAtmospheric CompositionClimate ChangeDC-8Earth's AtmosphereScience in the Air Explore More 3 min read See SWOT Mission’s Unprecedented View of Global Sea Levels Article 2 hours ago 4 min read NASA Technologies Receive Multiple Nods in TIME Inventions of 2023 Article 3 days ago 4 min read Aviones de movilidad aérea avanzada: un viaje suave en el futuro Article 4 days ago View the full article

Two artist’s concepts show the WISE spacecraft, left, in front of an image of the infrared sky it observed during its prime mission, and NASA’s Lucy mission, right, during its Nov. 1 encounter with asteroid Dinkinesh. NASA/JPL-Caltech and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Researchers have utilized infrared survey data to refine the asteroid’s size and surface brightness in support of the Nov. 1 encounter by NASA’s Lucy mission. NASA’s Lucy mission will soon have its first asteroid encounter as the spacecraft travels through deep space en route to Jupiter’s orbit. But before the spacecraft passes 265 miles (425 kilometers) from the surface of the small asteroid Dinkinesh, researchers have used 13-year-old infrared data from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) to support the mission’s flyby. Their new study provides updated estimates of the asteroid’s size and albedo – a measurement of surface reflectivity – that could help scientists better understand the nature of some near-Earth objects. Located between Mars and Jupiter, the main asteroid belt is home to most asteroids in our solar system, including Dinkinesh, which is following an orbit around the Sun that places it near Lucy’s path. The Lucy mission is using the Dinkinesh encounter as an opportunity to test systems and procedures that are designed to keep the asteroid within the science instruments’ fields of view as the spacecraft flies past at 10,000 mph (4.5 kilometers per second). This will help the team prepare for the mission’s primary objective: investigating the Jupiter Trojan asteroids, a population of primitive small bodies orbiting in tandem with Jupiter. In the new study, published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, University of Arizona researchers used observations made by the WISE spacecraft, which serendipitously scanned Dinkinesh in 2010 during its prime mission. Managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, WISE launched on Dec. 14, 2009, to create an all-sky infrared map of the universe. Although the signal was weak in the exposures captured by WISE, the authors managed to identify 17 infrared observations of the region of sky where Dinkinesh’s signal could be seen. Then they used an algorithm to align and stack the images. The observations were made in March 2010 and represent 36.5 hours of observing time. “Dinkinesh wasn’t initially detected by WISE, because the asteroid’s infrared signal was too weak for the software that was designed to find objects in a single exposure,” said Kiana De’Marius McFadden, a graduate student at the University of Arizona and lead author of the study. “But the asteroid’s dim infrared signal was still there, so our main challenge was to first find Dinkinesh and then to stack multiple exposures of the same region of sky to get its signal to emerge from the noise.” Beyond WISE Dinkinesh was discovered in 1999 – over a decade before WISE made the observations – and although its approximate size has been known, the new analysis refines not only its size, but also its albedo. The WISE observations suggest the asteroid has a diameter of about a half-mile (760 meters) and an albedo consistent with stony (S-type) asteroids. Although WISE’s purpose wasn’t to detect asteroids, the spacecraft was sensitive to the infrared light (which is invisible to the naked eye) radiating from them as a result of sunlight heating their rocky surfaces. WISE had recorded about 190,000 asteroid observations by the end of its prime mission. In 2013, NASA reactivated WISE and renamed the mission Near-Earth Object Wide-field Survey Explorer (NEOWISE). Its purpose: to detect and track asteroids and comets that stray close to Earth’s orbit. “Dinkinesh is the smallest main belt asteroid to be studied up-close and could provide valuable information about this type of object,” said the University of Arizona’s Amy Mainzer, a study co-author and the principal investigator for NEOWISE. “This population of main-belt asteroids overlap in size with the potentially hazardous near-Earth object population. Studying Dinkinesh could provide insights as to how these small main-belt asteroids form and where near-Earth asteroids come from.” Targeting a late-2027 launch, NASA’s Near-Earth Object Surveyor (NEO Surveyor) will take over where NEOWISE leaves off. Scanning the sky in infrared wavelengths for hard-to-find asteroids and comets, NEO Surveyor could also utilize the same technique used to detect faint signals hiding in WISE observations, boosting the next-generation space telescope’s power. Mainzer is the principal investigator for NEO Surveyor. More About the Mission Lucy’s principal investigator, Hal Levison, is based at the Boulder, Colorado, branch of Southwest Research Institute, headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, provides overall mission management, systems engineering, and safety and mission assurance. Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado, built the spacecraft. Lucy is the 13th mission in NASA’s Discovery Program. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Discovery Program for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Explore Lucy's flyby of Dinkinesh with NASA's Eyes on the Solar System News Media Contact Ian J. O’Neill Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 818-354-2649 ian.j.oneill@jpl.nasa.gov 2023-155 Share Details Last Updated Oct 30, 2023 Related Terms AsteroidsJet Propulsion LaboratoryLucyNear-Earth Asteroid (NEA)NEO Surveyor (Near-Earth Object Surveyor Space Telescope)NEOWISEPlanetary DefenseTrojan AsteroidsWISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) Explore More 3 min read See SWOT Mission’s Unprecedented View of Global Sea Levels Article 2 hours ago 5 min read NASA Is Locating Ice on Mars With This New Map Article 4 days ago 5 min read How NASA Is Protecting Europa Clipper From Space Radiation Article 6 days ago View the full article

NASA Iron-rich sediment colors the red-orange waters of the Betsiboka River Delta in Madagascar in this image taken by an astronaut on the International Space Station on Sept. 30, 2023. The sediment can clog waterways in the delta’s estuarial environment, but it can also form new islands that become colonized by mangroves. Despite its rusty color, this artery of water is important for biodiversity. Within the Betsiboka River Delta, the estuary supplies food, such as seagrasses, to the endangered green turtle and vulnerable dugong, or sea cow. Text credit: Sara Schmidt Image Credit: NASA View the full article

This animation shows global sea level data collected by the Surface Water and Ocean Topography satellite from July 26 to Aug. 16. Red and orange indicate higher-than-average ocean heights, while blue represents lower-than-average heights. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Data on sea surface heights around the world from the international Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission yields a mesmerizing view of the planet’s ocean. The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite is sending down tantalizing views of Earth’s water, including a global composite of sea surface heights. The satellite collected the data visualized above during SWOT’s first full 21-day science orbit, which it completed between July 26 and Aug. 16. SWOT is measuring the height of nearly all water on Earth’s surface, providing one of the most detailed, comprehensive views yet of the planet’s oceans and freshwater lakes and rivers. The satellite is a collaboration between NASA and the French space agency, CNES (Centre National d’Études Spatiales). The animation shows sea surface height anomalies around the world: Red and orange indicate ocean heights that were higher than the global mean sea surface height, while blue represents heights lower than the mean. Sea level differences can highlight ocean currents, like the Gulf Stream coming off the U.S. East Coast or the Kuroshio current off the east coast of Japan. Sea surface height can also indicate regions of relatively warmer water – like the eastern part of the equatorial Pacific Ocean during an El Niño – because water expands as it warms. The SWOT science team made the measurements using the groundbreaking Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn) instrument. With two antennas spread 33 feet (10 meters) apart on a boom, KaRIn produces a pair of data swaths (tracks visible in the animation) as it circles the globe, bouncing radar pulses off the water’s surface to collect surface-height measurements. “The detail that SWOT is sending back on sea levels around the world is incredible,” said Parag Vaze, SWOT project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “The data will advance research into the effects of climate change and help communities around the world better prepare for a warming world.” More About the Mission Launched on Dec. 16, 2022, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in central California, SWOT is now in its operations phase, collecting data that will be used for research and other purposes. SWOT was jointly developed by NASA and CNES, with contributions from CSA (Canadian Space Agency) and the UK Space Agency. JPL, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California, leads the U.S. component of the project. For the flight system payload, NASA provided the KaRIn instrument, a GPS science receiver, a laser retroreflector, a two-beam microwave radiometer, and NASA instrument operations. CNES provided the Doppler Orbitography and Radioposition Integrated by Satellite (DORIS) system, the dual frequency Poseidon altimeter (developed by Thales Alenia Space), the KaRIn radio-frequency subsystem (together with Thales Alenia Space and with support from the UK Space Agency), the satellite platform, and ground operations. CSA provided the KaRIn high-power transmitter assembly. NASA provided the launch vehicle and the agency’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy Space Center, managed the associated launch services. To learn more about SWOT, visit: https://swot.jpl.nasa.gov/ News Media Contacts Jane J. Lee / Andrew Wang Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 818-354-0307 / 626-379-6874 jane.j.lee@jpl.nasa.gov / andrew.wang@jpl.nasa.gov 2023-156 Share Details Last Updated Oct 30, 2023 Related Terms Climate ChangeEarthJet Propulsion LaboratoryOceansSWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography)Water on Earth Explore More 4 min read NASA Technologies Receive Multiple Nods in TIME Inventions of 2023 Article 3 days ago 6 min read NASA-ISRO Radar Mission to Provide Dynamic View of Forests, Wetlands Article 3 days ago 5 min read NASA Is Locating Ice on Mars With This New Map Article 4 days ago View the full article

4 Min Read NASA C-130 Makes First-Ever Flight to Antarctica for GUSTO Balloon Mission NASA's Wallops Flight Facility C-130 aircraft delivered the agency’s Galactic/Extragalactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory (GUSTO) payload to McMurdo Station, Antarctica, on Oct. 28, 2023. The GUSTO mission will launch on a scientific balloon in December 2023. Credits: NASA/Scott Battaion On Oct. 28, 2023, NASA’s C-130 Hercules and crew safely touched down at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, after an around-the-globe journey to deliver the agency’s Galactic/Extragalactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory (GUSTO). The United States research station, operated by the National Science Foundation, is host to NASA’s Antarctic long-duration balloon campaign in which the GUSTO mission will take a scientific balloon flight beginning December 2023. The C-130 crew, which has now completed half of the 26,400-nautical-mile round-trip journey, first stopped at Fort Cavazos, Texas, on Oct. 17, to load the GUSTO observatory and members of its instrument team. Additional stops to service the aircraft and for crew rest included Travis Air Force Base (AFB), California; Hickman AFB, Hawaii; Pago Pago, American Samoa; and Christchurch, New Zealand, before finally reaching McMurdo, Antarctica – a mere 800 miles from the South Pole. Aircraft Office teams prepare the C-130 aircraft for departure at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The aircraft will deliver the agency’s Galactic/Extragalactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory (GUSTO) payload to McMurdo Station, Antarctica. The GUSTO mission will launch on a scientific balloon in December 2023.NASA/Terry Zaperach GUSTO, part of NASA’s Astrophysics Explorers Program, is set to fly aboard a football-stadium-sized, zero-pressure scientific balloon 55 days and beyond, on a mapping mission of a portion of the Milky Way Galaxy and nearby Large Magellanic Cloud. A telescope with carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen emission line detectors will measure the interstellar medium, the cosmic material found between stars, and trace the full lifecycle of that matter. GUSTO’s science observations will be performed in a balloon launch from Antarctica to allow for enough observation time aloft, access to astronomical objects, and solar power provided by the austral summer in the polar region. NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility Aircraft Office in Wallops Island, Virginia, which manages the C-130, spent nearly a year in coordination efforts preparing for GUSTO’s trip to its launch site. From international clearances with agencies, cargo configurations with NASA’s Balloon Program Office, logistical support with the National Science Foundation at McMurdo, to specialized training on nontraditional navigation systems in Antarctica, the Aircraft Office developed an extensive plan to safely deliver the intricate science payload. The first-ever mission to Antarctica for the NASA C-130 aircraft presented several long-haul cargo flight challenges. Mission managers and NASA’s Office of International and Interagency Relations (OIIR) started early to stay ahead of coordination of international flight clearances. “We work very hard to make sure that we execute the mission at a high standard of technical competence and professionalism to maintain NASA’s international reputation,” said John Baycura, Wallops research pilot on the GUSTO mission. Large time-zone changes challenge the crew’s circadian rhythm. Ninety hours in flight across multiple time zones requires an extra pilot and flight engineer on the mission to share the workload. Mandatory crew rest days at strategic locations, per NASA policy, ensure the crew receives enough time to rest, adjust to the schedule, and proceed safely. Visit NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Flickr for more photos. Unexpected weather also tops the list of most pressing challenges for this type of flight. Oceanic crossings come with the added risk of weather complicated by no radar coverage over the ocean. The crew uses DOD and civilian weather agencies to identify hazardous weather and adjust flight routes, altitude, and timings accordingly. “For the specific case of McMurdo, while en route, we called the weather shop at McMurdo Station to get a forecast update before we reached our ‘safe return’ point. Using a conservative approach, we decided whether to continue to McMurdo Station or return to Christchurch and try again the next day,” said Baycura. For this mission, no commercial entities supported the final leg to Antarctica. U.S. Air Force C-17’s and the New York Air National Guard LC-130’s that typically transport to McMurdo Station had limited space in their schedules. By using NASA’s C-130 for this specialized cargo mission, “the balloon program gained a dedicated asset with a highly experienced crew and support team. This greatly reduced the standard project risks to schedule, cargo, and cost,” said Baycura. For more information, visit nasa.gov/wallops. Share Details Last Updated Oct 30, 2023 Editor Jamie Adkins Contact Olivia F. Littletonolivia.f.littleton@nasa.gov Location Wallops Flight Facility Related Terms AeronauticsNASA AircraftScientific BalloonsWallops Flight Facility Explore More 4 min read NASA Technologies Receive Multiple Nods in TIME Inventions of 2023 Article 3 days ago 4 min read Aviones de movilidad aérea avanzada: un viaje suave en el futuro Article 4 days ago 3 min read NASA Retires UHF SmallSat Tracking Site Ops at Wallops Article 5 days ago View the full article

Exquisite, never-before-seen details help unravel the supernova remnant’s puzzling history. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has gazed at the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant located 6,500 light-years away in the constellation Taurus. Since the recording of this energetic event in 1054 CE by 11th-century astronomers, the Crab Nebula has continued to draw attention and additional study as scientists seek to understand the conditions, behavior, and after-effects of supernovae through thorough study of the Crab, a relatively nearby example. Image: Crab Nebula This image by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) reveals new details in infrared light. The supernova remnant is comprised of several different components, including doubly ionized sulfur (represented in red-orange), ionized iron (blue), dust (yellow-white and green), and synchrotron emission (white). In this image, colors were assigned to different filters from Webb’s NIRCam and MIRI: blue (F162M), light blue (F480M), cyan (F560W), green (F1130W), orange (F1800W), and red (F2100W). : Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, T. Temim (Princeton University). Using Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), a team led by Tea Temim at Princeton University is searching for answers about the Crab Nebula’s origins. “Webb’s sensitivity and spatial resolution allow us to accurately determine the composition of the ejected material, particularly the content of iron and nickel, which may reveal what type of explosion produced the Crab Nebula,” explained Temim. Image: Webb and Hubble This side-by-side comparison of the Crab Nebula as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope in optical light (left) and the James Webb Space Telescope in infrared light (right) reveals different details. By studying the recently collected Webb data, and consulting previous observations of the Crab taken by other telescopes like Hubble, astronomers can build a more comprehensive understanding of this mysterious supernova remnant.: Hubble Image: NASA, ESA, J. Hester, A. Loll (Arizona State University); Webb Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, T. Temim (Princeton University). At first glance, the general shape of the supernova remnant is similar to the optical wavelength image released in 2005 from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope: In Webb’s infrared observation, a crisp, cage-like structure of fluffy gaseous filaments are shown in red-orange. However, in the central regions, emission from dust grains (yellow-white and green) is mapped out by Webb for the first time. Additional aspects of the inner workings of the Crab Nebula become more prominent and are seen in greater detail in the infrared light captured by Webb. In particular, Webb highlights what is known as synchrotron radiation: emission produced from charged particles, like electrons, moving around magnetic field lines at relativistic speeds. The radiation appears here as milky smoke-like material throughout the majority of the Crab Nebula’s interior. This feature is a product of the nebula’s pulsar, a rapidly rotating neutron star. The pulsar’s strong magnetic field accelerates particles to extremely high speeds and causes them to emit radiation as they wind around magnetic field lines. Though emitted across the electromagnetic spectrum, the synchrotron radiation is seen in unprecedented detail with Webb’s NIRCam instrument. Video: Tour of Webb Image To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video This video tours the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant that lies 6,500 light-years away in the constellation Taurus. Despite this distance from Earth, the Crab Nebula is a relatively close example of what remains after the explosive death of a massive star. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope captures in unprecedented detail the various components that comprise the Crab, including the expanding cloud of hot gas, cavernous filaments of dust, and synchrotron emission. The synchrotron emission is the result of the nebula’s pulsar: a rapidly rotating neutron star that is located in the center. To locate the Crab Nebula’s pulsar heart, trace the wisps that follow a circular ripple-like pattern in the middle to the bright white dot in the center. Farther out from the core, follow the thin white ribbons of the radiation. The curvy wisps are closely grouped together, outlining the structure of the pulsar’s magnetic field, which sculpts and shapes the nebula. At center left and right, the white material curves sharply inward from the filamentary dust cage’s edges and goes toward the neutron star’s location, as if the waist of the nebula is pinched. This abrupt slimming may be caused by the confinement of the supernova wind’s expansion by a belt of dense gas. The wind produced by the pulsar heart continues to push the shell of gas and dust outward at a rapid pace. Among the remnant’s interior, yellow-white and green mottled filaments form large-scale loop-like structures, which represent areas where dust grains reside. The search for answers about the Crab Nebula’s past continues as astronomers further analyze the Webb data and consult previous observations of the remnant taken by other telescopes. Scientists will have newer Hubble data to review within the next year or so from the telescope’s reimaging of the supernova remnant. This will mark Hubble’s first look at emission lines from the Crab Nebula in over 20 years, and will enable astronomers to more accurately compare Webb and Hubble’s findings. Learn More Want to learn more? Through NASA’s Universe of Learning, part of NASA’s Science Activation program, explore images of the Crab Nebula from other telescopes, a 3D visualization, data sonification, and hands-on activities. These resources and more information about supernova remnants and star lifecycles can be found at NASA’s Universe of Learning. The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency. NASA’s Universe of Learning materials are based upon work supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number NNX16AC65A to the Space Telescope Science Institute, working in partnership with Caltech/IPAC, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, and Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Media Contacts Laura Betz – laura.e.betz@nasa.gov NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Hannah Braun – hbraun@stsci.edu , Christine Pulliam – cpulliam@stsci.edi Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md. Downloads Download full resolution images for this article from the Space Telescope Science Institute. Related Information Neutron Stars – https://universe.nasa.gov/stars/types/#otp_neutron_stars Universe/Stars Basics – https://universe.nasa.gov/stars/basics/ Universe Basics – https://universe.nasa.gov/universe/basics/ More Webb News – https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/latestnews/ More Webb Images – https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/multimedia/images/ Webb Mission Page – https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/ En Español Ciencia de la NASA NASA en español Space Place para niños Keep Exploring Related Topics Stars Overview Stars are giant balls of hot gas – mostly hydrogen, with some helium and small amounts of other elements.… How does the universe work? How does the universe work? Understanding the universe’s birth and its ultimate fate are essential first steps to unveil the… The Big Bang Overview The origin, evolution, and nature of the universe have fascinated and confounded humankind for centuries. New ideas and major… Universe Explore the universe: Learn about the history of the cosmos, what it’s made of, and so much more. Share Details Last Updated Oct 30, 2023 Editor Steve Sabia Contact Location NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms Galaxies, Stars, & Black Holes ResearchGoddard Space Flight CenterJames Webb Space Telescope (JWST)Neutron StarsOrigin & Evolution of the UniverseStarsThe Universe View the full article

5 min read NASA’s Modern History Makers: Sarah Tipler Sarah Tipler poses in front of a mural of NASA astronaut Michael Anderson in Plattsburgh, New York. Credit: Sarah Tipler <back to gallery Growing up, Sarah Tipler always felt out of place. She had trouble with time management, structuring her day, and focusing her attention, but she didn’t know why. “For all of my undergraduate education, I really struggled to keep up despite understanding the material,” Tipler said. “It took a ton of work to make good grades happen, including asking for extensions and pulling last-minute all-nighters. I used to beat myself up for my apparent lack of self-control.” Tipler enrolled in college after high school but withdrew after facing depression and other mental health challenges. A few years later, she took another stab at school to become a French teacher but found the career wasn’t for her. After realizing studying computer science and engineering fascinated her, she applied for a Pathways internship at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. “At NASA, I knew that I was working on the kinds of projects that are helping advance humanity’s knowledge of the universe and the world we live in,” she said. It wasn’t until transitioning to a full-time computer scientist job at Glenn that she finally got some answers about herself. “At NASA, I was feeling happy, I was in a great place in my life, and I was excited about where I was, but I was still struggling to effectively manage my workload,” she said. “That’s what led me to seek help and obtain a diagnosis of ADHD [attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder], which has really helped me understand a lot of the issues that I’ve had in my life and put a lot of things in a different perspective.” Tipler’s colleagues provided her encouragement and a support system, and she’s now helping NASA take its next giant leap with the Artemis missions. Tipler’s team develops code that models the power systems of the International Space Station, the Orion spacecraft, and the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) that will help propel Gateway, NASA’s future lunar space station. This SPACE (or system power analysis for capability evaluation) code can predict how much power is generated by solar arrays and determine whether it is sufficient to support important spacecraft systems, like life support and propulsion. For example, throughout Gateway’s journey, the solar arrays that generate power for PPE won’t always be able to face the sun and generate maximum energy. “We need to make sure that when Gateway is using its thrusters, which require a lot of electrical power, we’ll have enough for the rest of the spacecraft,” Tipler explains. Tipler’s team is also developing a graphical user interface that will make it easier for the Flight Operations Directorate at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to use the code. “It’s an incredible feeling to know that I’m some small part of that giant puzzle,” she said. “It makes all of the challenges and obstacles that I go through feel worth it when I get to sit down and look at things from the big picture.” Learning to navigate ADHD has been a long journey, Tipler says, but her family, friends, fiancé, and five rambunctious cats have been there to cheer her up and encourage her. In addition, being able to work remotely from her home in northern New York has been critical to her success at work. “I have found that teleworking and being fully remote has really helped with my ADHD because my focus isn’t always consistent, so this adds a lot more flexibility into my work life and has helped me be the best productive person I can be,” she said. Ensuring open communication with coworkers and having conversations about expectations has also kept Tipler on the right track, and she has found ways to thrive. “I think there are some really cool, unique perspectives that people living with different disabilities can bring to the workplace in the ways we think differently or work to overcome obstacles or problems,” she said. Often, practices that help people with disabilities can be beneficial to all workers, Tipler says, such as offering written agendas and notes instead of just verbal information or being open to new workplace approaches. “You don’t always need to know what someone is dealing with to make things better for everyone,” she said. Tipler wants people working to overcome their own obstacles to know that they are not alone and to remind others that some disabilities, like ADHD, can seem invisible. “Remember that you never know what someone else is going through,” she said. “The best approach is to operate with kindness.” NASA is in a Golden Era of aeronautics and space exploration. In partnership with commercial and private businesses, NASA is currently making history with significant missions such as Artemis, Quesst, and electrified aviation. The NASA’s Modern History Makers series highlights members of NASA Glenn’s workforce who make these remarkable missions possible. Ellen Bausback NASA’s Glenn Research Center Explore More 4 min read NASA, JAXA Benefit from Collaborative Fellowship Experience Article 3 days ago 4 min read Progress Continues Toward NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test to Station Article 3 days ago 3 min read NASA Updates Commercial Crew Planning Manifest Article 3 days ago View the full article

Celebrating International Observe the Moon Night on This Week @NASA – October 27