NASA

4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Leslie Livesay is JPL’s new deputy director.NASA/JPL-Caltech The first woman to serve as JPL’s deputy director, Livesay serves under Laurie Leshin, the first woman to lead the lab. Leslie Livesay begins her tenure as deputy director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Monday, March 18. She succeeds Larry D. James, who served as deputy director since September 2013. During a career spanning more than 37 years at JPL, Livesay has managed teams in the development of technologies and flight systems for planetary, Earth science, and astrophysics missions. She served as the project manager of the Kepler space telescope mission, led the lab’s Engineering and Science Directorate, was director for Astronomy and Physics, and most recently served as associate director for Flight Projects and Mission Success, overseeing the implementation and operations of all JPL flight missions. “Having served a variety of roles at JPL, I’ve been fortunate to be able to work up close with the many remarkable organizations that make this lab such a special place. I’m looking forward to my new role as we dare mighty things together, boldly driving transformative science and technology,” said Livesay. Born in Chicago, Livesay holds a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Southern California. She is the recipient of the American Astronautical Society Carl Sagan Memorial Award, Aviation Week Network’s Laureate Award, NASA’s Exceptional Achievement Medal, and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal. As the first woman to be named JPL’s deputy director, Livesay serves under Laurie Leshin, who in May 2022 became the first woman to lead JPL. Functioning as the laboratory’s chief operating officer, the deputy director is responsible for the day-to-day management of its resources and activities. Managed by Caltech for NASA, JPL employs about 6,000 scientists, engineers, technicians, and business support personnel, and manages over three dozen flight missions and science instruments, with more in development. “Leslie has blazed a path in numerous senior leadership positions across JPL. She brings remarkable experience and capabilities to the role as we look toward the enormous and exciting opportunities that lay ahead,” said Leshin. “I also want to express my deep gratitude to Larry James, whose tenure is marked with multiple successful missions, significant improvement in JPL’s operations, and exemplary institutional stewardship.” Lt. Gen. James was the Air Force deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance in Washington before retiring from active duty and coming to JPL. Earlier in his career, he trained as an Air Force payload specialist for the Space Shuttle Program. James also served as vice commander of the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center in Los Angeles and as commander of the 14th Air Force at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, where he was responsible for all Department of Defense satellite and launch systems. “I’ve been a space enthusiast from an early age, so it’s been a privilege to have been part of JPL,” said James. “Although my time here is done, I’m eager to see the full manifest of missions and projects that we’ve been working on come to fruition, and I know Leslie will thrive in her new role. As for me, I’ll be taking a new position in Australia to help build their space capabilities and continue to strengthen the U.S.-Australia partnership.” A division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, JPL began in 1936, going on to build and help launch America’s first satellite, Explorer 1, in 1958. By the end of that year, Congress established NASA, and JPL became a part of the agency. Since then, JPL has managed such historic missions as Voyager, Galileo, Cassini, the Mars Exploration Rover program, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, and many more. Veronica McGregor / Matthew Segal Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 818-354-9452 / 818-354-8307 veronica.c.mcgregor@jpl.nasa.gov / matthew.j.segal@jpl.nasa.gov 2024-027 Share Details Last Updated Mar 18, 2024 Related TermsJet Propulsion Laboratory Explore More 5 min read NASA Unveils Design for Message Heading to Jupiter’s Moon Europa Article 1 week ago 2 min read NASA Pi Day Challenge Serves Up a Mathematical Marvel Article 2 weeks ago 4 min read SWOT Satellite Catches Coastal Flooding During California Storms Article 2 weeks ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Roland Wescott, representing the range at NASA Wallops, engages with participants during the Junior Achievement Inspire event at the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center.NASA/Olivia Littleton NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, partners, and area employers joined forces on a mission to inspire more than 4,500 eighth-grade students seeking answers to all questions “career” at the 2024 Junior Achievement (JA) Inspire event. The annual career-exploration event was held March 12-13 at the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center in Salisbury, Maryland, featuring more than 100 local businesses in 15 career clusters. Public and private school students from Sussex County, Delaware; Talbot, Queen Anne’s, Caroline, Dorchester, Wicomico, Worcester, and Somerset counties in Maryland; and Accomack and Northampton counties in Virginia, attended JA Inspire to connect with community members representing various career fields. Students were offered an engaging experience full of insight into the education and skills needed for specific careers, and information on how to find jobs when entering the workforce. The event featured hands-on activities, industry tools and equipment, and inspiration for students as they begin to map high-school coursework and future career paths. “At Wallops, we are delivering on NASA’s mission today, while planning the mission of tomorrow. And that includes our workforce,” said David L. Pierce, director of NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. “Wallops is partnering with local institutions to build a diverse, highly-skilled workforce.” The event’s Aerospace Industry exhibit cluster included nearly 40 NASA Wallops employees, showcasing career opportunities in sounding rockets, scientific balloons, small satellites, launch range operations, robotics, and education. An additional 35 representatives from Wallops’ partners also joined the cluster, including personnel from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy’s Surface Combat Systems Center, and Virginia Spaceport Authority. “Wallops is committed to supporting JA Inspire because it connects students from across the Eastern Shore between what they are learning in the classroom to the outside world right here on Delmarva,” said Pierce. Pat Benner, directorate education coordinator at NASA Wallops, demonstrates Ultraviolet light exposure during the Junior Achievement Inspire event at the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center.NASA/Olivia Littleton Career inspiration and education doesn’t stop at the conclusion of the JA Inspire event. The Wallops’ team will continue to reach out to area students at the Wallops Flight Facility Junior Achievement Storefront located inside the Perdue Henson Junior Achievement Center in Salisbury, Maryland. Wallops will join approximately 20 storefronts inside the center, which offers experiential learning of financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship to more than 10,000 students each year. The center serves students from six counties on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and one county in Virginia. Storefronts are sponsored by area businesses and run by JA staff and respective business volunteers, who guide students through a designed program for a 4.5- to 5-hour period during school hours. Programs offered at the center include Biz Town where students experience a “day in the life” of a working person and running a business. Students learn how a business operates, pays its bills and employees, and earns revenue. Another program, called Finance Park, focuses on how to plan a household budget, pay bills, and look for housing and transportation. Wallops volunteers will have a chance to offer their expertise to these learning opportunities, while promoting NASA and STEAM careers on Delmarva. “JA Inspire helps students have a better understanding of how the real world operates,” said Pierce. “In our fourth year of supporting JA Inspire and with the start of our storefront, Wallops continues to motivate students to take up a STEM-related study track in high school, and hopefully one day come to work here at Wallops.” Wallops’ storefront is slated for completion by mid-April. Share Details Last Updated Mar 18, 2024 EditorOlivia F. LittletonContactOlivia F. Littletonolivia.f.littleton@nasa.govLocationWallops Flight Facility Related TermsWallops Flight FacilitySTEM Engagement at NASA Explore More 2 min read NASA Pi Day Challenge Serves Up a Mathematical Marvel Article 2 weeks ago 4 min read GUSTO Breaks NASA Scientific Balloon Record for Days in Flight Article 3 weeks ago 5 min read Math, Mentorship, Motherhood: Behind the Scenes with NASA Engineers Article 4 weeks ago View the full article

NASA selected its Wildfire Climate Tech Challenge winners, awarding three teams $100,000 for their diverse, innovative approaches to address the escalating effects of wildfires and climate change. The challenge combined the expertise of Minority Serving Institutions – including Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, and others – with NASA resources to enhance Earth science and technological capabilities to support operational fire management agencies. Participants focused on integrated solutions using NASA Earth observational data to address wildfire and wildland fire risks. After evaluation by a panel of experts, three winners and three runners-up emerged, each demonstrating exceptional creativity, technical expertise, and a high potential for real-world impact. Winners: Team Howard U • Team members: Lauren Taylor, Amy Quarkume, and Joseph Wilkins, with Howard University • Concept: Fire Smart Health Guardian + Taylor: Addresses critical gaps in wildfire risk communication and air quality monitoring by integrating NASA data, empowering communities with accurate information to make informed decisions with Generative AI in Natural Language Processing technology, mitigating risk, and protecting their health. Team HorizonForce • Team members: Jay Desai with the University of North Carolina Pembroke and Elikem Des-Amekudi, North Carolina A&T State University • Concept: A Next-Generation Solution for Wildfire Detection, Monitoring, and Elimination: System integrating a network of low-cost Internet of Things sensors, NASA MODIS and VIIRS satellite imagery, and high-payload Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to detect, accurately localize, monitor, and autonomously extinguish emerging wildfires before they escalate. Team FLARE • Team members: Andrew Saah and Owen Sordillo with the University of San Francisco • Concept: Fuel Load Analysis and Risk Estimation (FLARE): A software suite leveraging Terrestrial Laser Scanning methods and conventional Earth observation technologies to revolutionize wildfire risk assessments at sub-meter resolution. Runners-up: Team FIRESENCE • Team members: Neftaly Lara, Jose Marquez, and Shuaiang Rong with the University of Illinois, Chicago • Concept: Computer Vision-Based Situational Awareness: A software suite using low Earth orbit data and other video and image sources to address pre-, active- and post-fire requirements of firefighting agencies, electric power companies, U.S. Forest Service, and other stakeholders. Team Sireen • Team members: Vania Arrendondo, Thi Thuy, and Ishel Zain with Florida International University • Concept: Smart Forests: An Internet of Things solution utilizing sensors, drones, and advanced computing to enable enhanced forest monitoring and protection through comprehensive data collection, capturing a wide range of environmental indicators for immediate alerts and swift responses to threats like fires or illegal logging. Team Project FireWatch • Team members: Riannon Reagan, Sofia Silva, and Huston Scharnagl with San Jose State University • Concept: Wildfire Drone and Fire Trajectory Software: Wildfire drones and fire trajectory software aiming to improve wildfire management technologies and combat wildfires using machine learning and AI to display fire direction and implement smoke/fire detection capabilities. “These innovative solutions hold tremendous promise in addressing the complex challenges of wildfires and climate change, and we commend the winners for their dedication and ingenuity,” said Michael Seablom, associate director in the Earth Science Division at NASA Headquarters. “The unique perspectives and diverse talent pool of participants made them invaluable partners in this endeavor. ” In the competition’s opening round, participants submitted a five-page white paper and a short video describing their proposed idea, highlighting the existing NASA resources or technologies used. From these submissions, NASA chose semi-finalists to present their ideas in a live startup pitch event on March 14 at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. The three winning teams earned a spot in the NASA MSI Incubator program’s second round where they will create commercial opportunities around their ideas. This multi-week program, running from March through May, offers a blend of hybrid workshops and an in-person finale. Participants will gain insights into forming a startup, product-market fit, raising capital, giving an engaging pitch, and more. The program culminates in a Demo Day during Wildfire Week in June. The three challenge runners-up will participate in the NASA Innovation (I-Corps) Pilot: Wildfire Technology Management Cohort. The NASA I-Corps Pilot supports participation in the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps Program that trains faculty, students in higher education, post-docs, and other researchers to “get out of their comfort zone” and talk to customers. Cornell University will teach this course, where the cohort will explore their technology’s product-market fit and have the opportunity to attend the Institute for Defense and Government Advancement Wildfire Technology Management Conference in April. “We believe that these winning solutions have the potential to make a significant difference in wildfire management and resilience efforts,” said Ian Mccubbin, Startup and Venture Capital Engagement manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. The NASA Tournament Lab – part of the Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing program within the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate – managed the challenge. The NASA Tournament Lab facilitates crowdsourcing to tackle agency science and technology challenges, engaging the global community to seek new ideas and approaches that will ultimately benefit all of humanity. Blue Clarity administered the challenge for NASA. To learn more about NASA prizes and challenges opportunities, visit: www.nasa.gov/get-involved View the full article

Discussing the Strong State of NASA on This Week @NASA – March 15, 2024

NASA's SpaceX 30th Commercial Resupply Services Launch

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon spacecraft lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023, on the company’s 29th commercial resupply services mission for the agency to the International Space Station.Credits: SpaceX New research and technology demonstrations for NASA are set to launch aboard the agency’s SpaceX 30th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. Launch is targeted for 4:55 p.m. EDT Thursday, March 21, lifting off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Live launch coverage will air on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website, with prelaunch events starting Tuesday, March 19. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms. SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft will deliver new scientific investigations, food, supplies, and equipment to the international crew. NASA and its partners will send studies aboard the mission on plant metabolism in space and a set of new sensors for free-flying Astrobee robots to provide 3D mapping capabilities. Other research includes a fluid physics study that could benefit solar cell technology and a university project from CSA (Canadian Space Agency) that will monitor sea ice and ocean conditions. Arrival at the station is scheduled for approximately 7:30 a.m. Saturday, March 23. The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will dock autonomously to the zenith port of the station’s Harmony module. The spacecraft is expected to spend about a month attached to the orbiting outpost before it returns to Earth with research and cargo, splashing down off the coast of Florida. Full mission coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on operations): Tuesday, March 19 3 p.m. – Prelaunch media teleconference with the following participants: Kristi Duplichen, deputy manager, NASA’s International Space Station Transportation Integration Office Heidi Parris, associate program scientist, NASA’s International Space Station Program Research Office Sarah Walker, director, SpaceX Dragon mission management Melody Lovin, launch weather officer, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron Media may ask questions during the media teleconference by phone only. For the dial-in number and passcode, please contact NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida no later than 2 p.m. EDT March 19, at: ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov. Thursday, March 21 4:35 p.m. – Launch coverage begins 4:55 p.m. – Launch Saturday, March 23 5:30 a.m. – NASA arrival coverage begins 7:30 a.m. – Targeted docking to the zenith port of the station’s Harmony module NASA’s coverage is subject to change based on real-time operational activities. Follow the International Space Station blog for updates. NASA Television launch coverage Live coverage of the launch on NASA Television will begin at 4:35 p.m. Thursday, March 21. For downlink information, schedules, and links to streaming video, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv Audio only of the news conferences and launch coverage will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, -1240, or -7135. On launch day, the full mission broadcast can be heard on -1220 and -1240, while the countdown net only can be heard on -7135 beginning approximately one hour before the mission broadcast begins. On launch day, live coverage of the launch without NASA Television commentary will be carried on the NASA Television media channel. NASA website launch coverage Launch day coverage of the mission will be available on the NASA website. Coverage will include live streaming and blog updates beginning no earlier than 4:35 p.m. Thursday, March 21, as the countdown milestones occur. On-demand streaming video and photos of the launch will be available shortly after liftoff. For questions about countdown coverage, contact the Kennedy newsroom at 321-867-2468. Follow countdown coverage on our commercial resupply services mission blog for updates. Attend launch virtually Members of the public can register to attend this launch virtually. Registrants will receive mission updates and activities by email. NASA’s virtual guest program for this mission also includes curated launch resources, notifications about related opportunities, and a virtual guest passport stamp following a successful launch. Watch, engage on social media Let people know you’re watching the mission on X, Facebook, and Instagram by following and tagging these accounts: Twitter: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @NASASocial, @Space_Station, ISS_Research, @ISS National Lab Facebook: NASA, NASAKennedy, ISS, ISS National Lab Instagram: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @ISS, @ISSNationalLab Para obtener información sobre cobertura en español en el Centro Espacial Kennedy o si desea solicitor entrevistas en español, comuníquese con Antonia Jaramillo o Messod Bendayan a: antonia.jaramillobotero@nasa.gov o messod.c.bendayan@nasa.gov. Learn more about NASA commercial resupply services missions at: https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/commercial-resupply/ -end- Julian Coltre / Claire O’Shea Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 julian.n.coltre@nasa.gov / claire.a.o’shea@nasa.gov Stephanie Plucinsky / Steven Siceloff Kennedy Space Center, Florida 321-876-2468 stephanie.n.plucinsky@nasa.gov / steven.p.siceloff@nasa.gov Sandra Jones Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Mar 15, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related TermsInternational Space Station (ISS)ISS ResearchSpaceX Commercial Resupply View the full article

2 Min Read NASA Volunteers Find Fifteen Rare “Active Asteroids” NASA’s Active Asteroids project Credits: Henry Hsieh Some extraordinary asteroids have “activity”–comet-like tails or envelopes of gas and dust. NASA’s Active Asteroids project announced the discovery of activity on fifteen asteroids, challenging conventional wisdom about the solar system. To find these fifteen rare objects, more than 8000 volunteers combed through 430,000 images from the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) on the Victor M. Blanco telescope in Chile. A paper about the results, now published in the Astronomical Journal, includes nine volunteers among the co-authors. “For an amateur astronomer like me it’s a dream come true.” said volunteer Virgilio Gonano from Udine, Italy. “Congratulations to all the staff and the friends that also check the images!” Volunteers from the NASA’s “Active Asteroids” Citizen Science project identified a comet tail coming from Asteroid 2015 VA108, one of the active asteroids spotted by volunteers from NASA’s “Active Asteroids” Citizen Science project. The object, indicated by the green arrow, orbits entirely within the main asteroid belt (located between Mars and Jupiter), but sports a tail like a comet. Credit: Colin Orion Chandler (University of Washington) Studying these rare active asteroids teaches scientists about the formation and evolution of the solar system, including the origins of water here on Earth. These objects may also aid future space exploration because the same ices that cause comet-like tails can power rockets or provide breathable air. “I have been a member of the Active Asteroids team since its first batch of data,” said volunteer Tiffany Shaw-Diaz from Dayton, Ohio. “And to say that this project has become a significant part of my life is an understatement. I look forward to classifying subjects each day, as long as time or health permits, and I am beyond honored to work with such esteemed scientists on a regular basis.” The Active Asteroids project was founded by Dr. Colin Orion Chandler, a LINCC Frameworks project scientist at the University of Washington and DiRAC Institute. To join the project and help discover the next active asteroid, visit https://www.activeasteroids.net. Facebook logo @DoNASAScience @DoNASAScience Share Details Last Updated Mar 15, 2024 Related Terms Citizen Science Planetary Science Explore More 3 min read GLOBE Eclipse Challenge: Clouds and Our Solar-Powered Earth Article 5 hours ago 5 min read Eclipse Photographers Will Help Study Sun During Its Disappearing Act Article 1 day ago 3 min read Hubble Tracks Jupiter’s Stormy Weather Article 1 day ago View the full article

1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Second Gentleman Douglass Emhoff and Deputy Center Director Laurie Grindle shake hands as the meet before the National Space Council’s Women in Space Roundtable in Hawthorne, California, on Monday, March 12, 2024. Grindle, from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards California, moderated a discussion with the Second Gentleman on a wide range of topics related to women in space.White House/Katie Ricks The National Space Council hosted the Women in Space Roundtable on Monday, March 12, and Deputy Center Director Laurie Grindle from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, was there to welcome Second Gentleman Mr. Douglass Emhoff and moderate a panel discussion. NASA has partnered with the National Space Council, and our private partners, to invest in building a workforce, needed to support the growing private space sector. The Space Council, along with the Vice President as its chair, has been an important voice in the White House for how NASA’s work directly benefits the lives of people here on Earth, from tackling climate change, to creating good paying jobs, to inspiring the next generation. The discussion included Second Gentleman Douglass Emhoff, National Space Council Chief of Staff Tahara Dawkins, Cal Poly Pomona student Ericka Ontiveros, while moderated by Grindle. The panel shared its experience and thoughts with the group on a wide range of topics related to women in space. The event was hosted by the South Bay Workforce Investment Board in Hawthorne, California. Panelists from the National Space Council’s Women in Space Roundtable are hosted by the South Bay Workforce Investment Board in Hawthorne, California. Pictured from left to right: Laurie Grindle, Deputy Center Director NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center; Cal Poly Pomona student Ericka Ontiveros; Second Gentleman Douglass Emhoff; Chris Cagle with the South Bay Workforce Investment Board; and Tahara Dawkins, National Space Council Chief of Staff.White House/Katie Ricks Panelists from the National Space Council’s Women in Space Roundtable are hosted by the South Bay Workforce Investment Board in Hawthorne, California. Panel members included Second Gentleman Douglass Emhoff, Cal Poly Pomona student Ericka Ontiveros, and Tahara Dawkins, National Space Council Chief of Staff. Laurie Grindle, Deputy Center Director NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center moderated the discussion. The panel is pictured with attendees from the event.White House/Katie Ricks Share Details Last Updated Mar 15, 2024 EditorDede DiniusContactMegan Personmegan.person@nasa.gov Related TermsArmstrong Flight Research CenterPeople of NASAWomen at NASAWomen's History Month Explore More 4 min read Women’s History Month: Meet Sarah Mann Article 4 hours ago 3 min read NASA Armstrong Updates 1960s Concept to Study Giant Planets Article 2 days ago 9 min read Jennifer Krottinger: Designing Ways to Serve Article 1 week ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center Armstrong People Women at NASA Women’s History Month View the full article

3 min read NASA Delivers Science Instrument to JAXA’s Martian Moons Mission On March 14, NASA delivered its gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer instrument to JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) for integration onto JAXA’s MMX (Martian Moons eXploration) mission spacecraft and final system-level testing. U.S. and Japanese team members gather around and discuss the gamma-ray spectrometer portion of the MEGANE instrument during its development at Johns Hopkins APL. NASA/JAXA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman NASA’s Mars-moon Exploration with Gamma Ray and Neutrons (MEGANE) instrument, developed by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, in collaboration with colleagues from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California, will play a major role in the MMX mission, which aims to characterize and determine the origin of Mars’ moons Phobos and Deimos and deliver a sample from Phobos to Earth. Scientists suspect the asteroid-sized bodies either are remnants of an ancient collision between Mars and a large impactor or are themselves asteroids captured by Mars’ gravity. By measuring the energies of neutrons and gamma rays emitted from the surface of Phobos, MEGANE will let MMX “see” the elemental composition of the moon’s surface and help peg the likely origin of the moon. “MEGANE will be a key instrument on MMX, making a big contribution toward the goal of understanding the origin of the Martian moons,” said Thomas Statler, MEGANE program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “NASA is glad to see MEGANE ready for integration, another step in NASA’s continuing collaboration with JAXA on this groundbreaking mission.” The instrument team received the green light last fall to ship MEGANE (pronounced meh-GAH-nay, the Japanese word for “eyeglasses”) after the project’s standing review board evaluated the device’s readiness. That milestone marked the end of a demanding 6-year design and development process, which met NASA’s cost and schedule constraints. “Passing the pre-ship review and delivering the hardware are significant steps for all those working on MEGANE,” said APL’s David Lawrence, the instrument’s principal investigator. “Like all spaceflight builds, we have had challenges getting to this point, but we are excited to see how MEGANE works with all the other spacecraft components for this exciting MMX mission.” With MEGANE now in Japan, the MMX team will begin integrating the scientific instruments, including MEGANE, with other spacecraft components, before putting the entire system through a series of tests in preparation for launch, which is scheduled for fiscal year 2026, aboard a JAXA H3 rocket. “For me personally, I’m looking forward to all the integration and test operations that are to come,” said Sarah Bucior, a space systems engineer in SES and the MEGANE I&T Lead Engineer. “I love rockets, so I’m really interested to see how they build their spacecraft and then follow it along to launch operations and liftoff.” MEGANE was developed under NASA’s Discovery Program, which provides low-cost access to space. The Discovery Program is managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The instrument science team includes investigators from APL, LLNL, Marietta College, NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, and JAXA. To learn more about MEGANE and the MMX mission, visit http://megane.jhuapl.edu. Facebook logo @NASA @NASA Instagram logo @NASA Linkedin logo @NASA Explore More 2 min read Hubble Views a Galaxy Under Pressure Article 7 hours ago 5 min read Eclipse Photographers Will Help Study Sun During Its Disappearing Act Article 1 day ago 3 min read Hubble Tracks Jupiter’s Stormy Weather Article 1 day ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Asteroids Planetary Science Our Solar System Asteroids, Comets & Meteors View the full article

This majestic image of the dazzling green lights of the aurora borealis was captured on March 17, 2015, around 5:30 a.m. EDT in Donnelly Creek, Alaska. The aurora borealis and aurora australis, often called the northern lights and southern lights, are common occurrences at high northern and southern latitudes, less frequent at mid-latitudes, and seldom seen near the equator. These colorful ribbons of light are the visible manifestation of the solar wind – the flow of charged particles from the Sun – interacting with the Earth’s magnetosphere. Strong geomagnetic storms stimulate our atmosphere and light up the night sky, creating auroras. See how you can help track auroras around the world with the Aurorasaurus project. Image Credit: Sebastian Saarloos View the full article

The Power to Explore 2024 logo pays homage to the upcoming total eclipse in the United States.NASA NASA selected 45 student essays as semifinalists of its 2024 Power to Explore Challenge, a national competition for K-12 students featuring the enabling power of radioisotopes. Contestants were challenged to explore how NASA has powered some of its most famous science missions and to dream up how their personal “superpower” would energize their success on their own radioisotope-powered science mission. The competition asked students to learn about Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS), “nuclear batteries” that NASA uses to explore the harshest, darkest, and dustiest parts of our solar system. RPS have enabled many spacecraft to conduct otherwise impossible missions in total darkness. In 250 words or less, students wrote about a mission of their own that would use these space power systems and described their own power to achieve their mission goals. The challenges of space exploration without solar power are especially relevant ahead of the United States’ upcoming April 8 total solar eclipse, which will offer a momentary glimpse into what life would be like without sunlight. We have been thrilled to read their creative RPS-powered mission concepts and have been inspired learning about their many ‘superpowers’ that make them the bright future of NASA – the Artemis Generation. Carl Sandifer Program Manager, Radioisotope Power Systems Program. The Power to Explore Challenge offered students the opportunity to learn more about these reliable power systems, celebrate their own strengths, and interact with NASA’s diverse workforce. This year’s contest received 1,787 submitted entries from 48 states and Puerto Rico. “It has been so exciting to see how many students across the nation have submitted essays to NASA’s Power to Explore Challenge,” said Carl Sandifer, program manager of the Radioisotope Power Systems Program at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. “We have been thrilled to read their creative RPS-powered mission concepts and have been inspired learning about their many ‘superpowers’ that make them the bright future of NASA – the Artemis Generation.” Entries were split into three categories: grades K-4, 5-8, and 9-12. Every student who submitted an entry received a digital certificate, and over 4,094 participants who signed up received an invitation to the Power Up virtual event. With NASA’s Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate Nicola Fox, NASA’s Radioisotope Power Systems Program Manager Carl Sandifer, and Kim Rink of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, students learned about what powers the NASA workforce to dream big and work together to explore. Fifteen national semifinalists in each grade category (45 semifinalists total) have been selected. These participants also will receive a NASA RPS prize pack. Finalists for this challenge will be announced on April 8 in celebration of the total solar eclipse. Semifinalists: Grades K-4 Maryam Asif, Sarasota, FL Thashvi Balaji, Riverview, FL Yavuz Bastug, Peckville, PA Claire Bennett, La Grange, NC Ada Brolan, Somerville, MA Joseph Brown, Huntsville, AL Ashwin Cohen, Washington, D.C. Adara George, Lithia, FL Katerine Leon, Long Beach, CA Rainie Lin, Lexington, KY Connor Personette, Lakeland, FL Yash Rajan, Issaquah, WA Camila Rymzo, Belmont, MA Arslan Soner, Columbia, SC Zachary Tolchin, Guilford, CT Semifinalists: Grades 5-8 Nithilam Arivuchelvan, Short Hills, NJ Nandini Bandyopadhyay, Short Hills, NJ Cooper Basi, Rocklin, CA Joshua Cheng, Rockville, MD Kaitlyn Chu, Mercer Island, WA Mayson Howell, Troy, MO Dhiraj Javvadi, Louisville, KY Aadya Karthik, Redmond, WA Subham Maiti, Bloomington, MN Meadow McCarthy, Corvallis, OR Elianna Muthersbaugh, Bluffton, SC Archer Prentice, Koloa, HI Andrew Tavares, Bridgewater, MA Sara Wang, Henderson, NV Anna Yang, Austin, TX Semifinalists: Grades 9-12 Sabrina Affany, Fresno, CA Alejandro Aguirre, Mission Viejo, CA Sai Meghana Chakka, Charlotte, NC Khushi Jain, San Jose, CA Aiden Johnson, Virginia Beach, VA Robert Kreidler, Cincinnati, OH Zoie Lawson, Tigard, OR Thomas Liu, Ridgewood, NJ Madeline Male, Fairway, KS Dang Khoi Pham, Westminster, CA Sofia Anna Reed-Gomes, Coral Gables, FL Ava Schmidt, Leavenworth, WA Madden Smith, Loveland, OH Kailey Thomas, Las Vegas, NV Warren Volles, Lyme, CT One of last year’s winners shared drawings with his essay.Courtesy of Pollack Family About the Challenge The challenge is funded by the Radioisotope Power Systems Program Office in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and administered by Future Engineers under the NASA Open Innovation Services 2 contract. This contract is managed by the NASA Tournament Lab, a part of the Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing Program in NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. Kristin Jansen NASA’s Glenn Research Center View the full article

4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Sarah MannNASA Graphics In honor of Women’s History Month, we recently sat down with Sarah Mann, public affairs specialist and member of the Women’s Networking Group (WNG) at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, to learn more about her role and working at NASA. What do you do at NASA and how do you help support Armstrong’s mission? I get to tell the story about the exciting developments that happen with various programs and projects happening at NASA’s primary center for high-risk, atmospheric flight research. In writing for web and social, working with media, my job informs the public on the status and successes of programs and projects. Why did you choose to work at NASA and how long have you worked here? Who wouldn’t want to work for NASA?! I have been working for NASA for just over three years – and I have loved every minute! Growing up in “Aerospace Valley” it feels natural to work for NASA, and especially at Armstrong, where NASA develops the most cutting-edge technology for the first “A” in NASA. What has been your proudest accomplishment or highlight of your career? Before I worked for NASA, I did public relations for a local charter school that focused on STEM education; within my first week working for this school, it was decided to build a brand-new school and public outreach was a major component of the project. It was incredible to be a part of something from the very beginning; community outreach meetings to the groundbreaking ceremony, beam signing, getting the certificate of occupancy, to finally the grand opening of a brand-new school. I don’t think I will ever forget during the ribbon cutting ceremony and looking around to see so many students, families, and the community and thinking how far we had come from those initial conversations to now walking into the front door of a beautiful new school. What is one piece of advice you’ve never forgotten? My favorite professor in undergrad told us to keep our textbooks. Hardcover textbooks may be a thing of the past, but for me, they are still valuable reference tools, idea generators, reminders, and in some ways just a way to reminisce about the good old college days. Do you have any advice for others like yourself who may be contemplating a career at NASA? Network! Apply! Throughout my career, I have found that networking has been important for my career goals. Also, apply to all possible jobs – even those positions that are a little bit of a stretch for your experience. But with every interview you learn more and more and it helps prepare for future positions. What is the most exciting aspect of your job? It is really hard to identify just one exciting aspect of my job. Every day I get to work with the best people in their field and I get to tell the story about what they are working on to move the NASA mission forward. What did you want to be when you were growing up? Did you think you would ever work for NASA? Growing up I really thought I was going to be a professional ballet dancer, however, physically that wasn’t going to be possible, so I had to pivot. Thinking that being a lawyer would be very cool so I could afford to have a BMWZ8 – but I really wasn’t passionate about law. While in high school I took a lot of advanced science classes (chemistry and physics) but being in a lab all day wasn’t really appealing to me either. Then my senior year of high school, I learned about public affairs, and the rest is history. Never did I think I would work for NASA, an aerospace company probably, but NASA – it was such an exciting day when I got the call being offered a position to work for NASA. What’s the strangest tradition in your family? Or a unique family tradition? We all sit in the same exact spots in my parents’ house on Christmas morning to open gifts. It started when we were very little and still happens today – we also take turns opening gifts. If you could master a skill without any work, what would it be? Being a nuclear engineer would be so cool, so all the skills that would come with that job! Read More About Women at Armstrong Share Details Last Updated Mar 15, 2024 EditorDede DiniusContactAmber YarbroughLocationArmstrong Flight Research Center Related TermsArmstrong Flight Research CenterFeatured CareersLife at NASANASA Centers & FacilitiesPeople of NASAWhat We DoWomen at NASAWomen's History Month Explore More 2 min read Hubble Views a Galaxy Under Pressure This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows LEDA 42160, a galaxy about 52 million light-years… Article 4 hours ago 3 min read NASA Artemis Mission Progresses with SpaceX Starship Test Flight Article 19 hours ago 4 min read NASA Lights ‘Beacon’ on Moon With Autonomous Navigation System Test Article 1 day ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center People of NASA Women’s History Month Armstrong People View the full article

2024 Total Eclipse Total Eclipse Overview Safety Prepare Where and When What to Expect Total Eclipse FAQ Events Science NASA Research Citizen Science The Eclipse and NASA For Media More All Eclipses 3 min read GLOBE Eclipse Challenge: Clouds and Our Solar-Powered Earth The GLOBE Program invites you to participate in the natural experiment provided by April 8’s total solar eclipse by recording changes in cloud conditions and in temperature everywhere (both inside and outside the eclipse path). Heather Mortimer, GLOBE Observer/NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Imagine standing outside on a cool spring day when all at once, the clouds shift and sunlight streams down, bathing you with warmth. In moments like this, you might notice – and appreciate – the Sun just a little bit more, but you feel the Sun’s influence every day, even when you don’t feel the Sun itself. Solar energy drives the water cycle and cloud formation. It fuels winds and nourishes growing plants. The Sun is intricately connected to the rhythm of life on Earth because we live on a solar-powered planet. So what happens on Earth when the Sun is blocked during an eclipse? How cold will it get in the Moon’s shadow? What will happen to the clouds? Will the temperature change? Will winds shift? To answer these questions, The GLOBE Program invites you to participate in the natural experiment provided by April 8’s total solar eclipse by recording changes in cloud conditions and in temperature everywhere (both inside and outside the eclipse path). Volunteers measuring changes in temperature and clouds with GLOBE Observer saw a drop in air temperature. Some volunteers also saw puffy (cumulus) clouds dissipate or collapse and flatten out. The GLOBE Program To participate in GLOBE Eclipse: Download the free GLOBE Observer app and register with an active email address. Get an air temperature thermometer so you are ready to record the temperature during the eclipse. Begin observing clouds now (before eclipse day) so that you are comfortable with the process. To get ready, we encourage you to participate in the GLOBE Eclipse Challenge: Clouds and Our Solar-Powered Earth, March 15-April 15. During the challenge, you will record cloud conditions at varying times during the day. On April 8, tap on “Eclipse” in the GLOBE Observer app and start recording your temperature and sky conditions before, during, and after the eclipse. You will measure temperature every 5-10 minutes and clouds every 15-30 minutes or whenever you see change. You can explore the Eclipse protocol in the app without entering data (practice mode) starting in mid-March. You can start entering actual temperature data the week before the eclipse. Participating in GLOBE Eclipse as a volunteer requires the GLOBE Observer app and a thermometer. Training is provided in the app. No prior experience is necessary. Heather Mortimer/GLOBE Observer/NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center You can find videos and additional training resources at: https://observer.globe.gov/eclipse. The GLOBE Program is an international science and education program that engages students and volunteers from around the globe in monitoring the environment in support of Earth system science. Through GLOBE Observer, the app of The GLOBE Program, volunteers document clouds every day, creating a years-long record of change across seasons. The GLOBE Eclipse tool with the app extends routine cloud observations to provide insight into what happens in the sky when the Sun is blocked. By Holli Kohl GLOBE Observer, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Share Details Last Updated Mar 15, 2024 Related Terms 2024 Solar Eclipse Citizen Science Eclipses Skywatching Solar Eclipses Explore More 2 min read Partner with Local NASA Volunteers Partner with NASA’s Solar System Ambassadors and Night Sky Network and help bring the wonders… Article 5 hours ago 5 min read Eclipse Photographers Will Help Study Sun During Its Disappearing Act Article 23 hours ago 5 min read Total Solar Eclipse 2024: The Moon’s Moment in the Sun To know exactly where and when the solar eclipse will cast its shadow, we study… Article 4 days ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

2 min read Hubble Views a Galaxy Under Pressure This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows dwarf galaxy, LEDA 42160. ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. Sun This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows LEDA 42160, a galaxy about 52 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Virgo. The dwarf galaxy is one of many forcing its way through the comparatively dense gas in the massive Virgo cluster of galaxies. The pressure exerted by this intergalactic gas, known as ram pressure, has dramatic effects on star formation in LEDA 42160. The gas and dust that permeates space exerts pressure on a galaxy as it moves. This resistance, called ram pressure, can strip a galaxy of its star-forming gas and dust, reducing or even stopping the creation of new stars. However, ram pressure can also compress gas in the galaxy, which can boost star formation. The Hubble data used to create this image of LEDA 42160 is part of a project that studied dwarf galaxies undergoing ram pressure stripping that are part of large galaxy clusters, like the Virgo cluster. Studies show that ram pressure stripping can initially cause new stars to form in larger galaxies. The researchers wanted to see if the same holds true for smaller galaxies, like LEDA 42160. The bright patches on LEDA 42160’s lower-right flank may be star-forming regions spurred on by ram pressure stripping. Hubble’s observations of LEDA 42160 will help astronomers determine the processes that created the features we see in this small galaxy. Download this image Media Contact: Claire Andreoli NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD claire.andreoli@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Mar 15, 2024 Editor Andrea Gianopoulos Location Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms Astrophysics Astrophysics Division Galaxies Goddard Space Flight Center Hubble Space Telescope Missions The Universe Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Hubble Space Telescope Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe. Galaxies Stories Stars Stories NASA Astrophysics View the full article

SpaceX launched the third integrated flight test of its Super Heavy booster and Starship upper stage from the company’s Starbase orbital launch pad at 8:25 a.m. CT on March 14. This flight test is an important milestone toward providing NASA with a Starship HLS for its Artemis missions. SpaceX As part of NASA’s Artemis campaign to return humans to the Moon for the benefit of all, the agency is working with SpaceX to develop the company’s Starship human landing system (HLS), which will land astronauts near the Moon’s South Pole during the Artemis III and Artemis IV missions. On March 14, SpaceX launched the third integrated flight test of its Super Heavy booster and Starship upper stage, an important milestone toward providing NASA with a Starship HLS for its Artemis missions. A complement of 33 Raptor engines, fueled by super-cooled liquid methane and liquid oxygen, powered the Super Heavy booster with Starship stacked on top, from the company’s Starbase orbital launch pad at 8:25 a.m. CDT. Starship, using six Raptor engines, separated from the Super Heavy booster employing a hot-staging technique to fire the engines before separation at approximately three minutes into the flight, in accordance with the flight plan. This was the third flight test of the integrated Super Heavy-Starship system. “With each flight test, SpaceX attempts increasingly ambitious objectives for Starship to learn as much as possible for future mission systems development. The ability to test key systems and processes in flight scenarios like these integrated tests allows both NASA and SpaceX to gather crucial data needed for the continued development of Starship HLS,” said Lisa Watson-Morgan, HLS Program Manager at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. This test accomplished several important firsts that will contribute to the development of Starship for Artemis lunar landing missions. The spacecraft reached its expected orbit and Starship completed the full-duration ascent burn. One objective closely tied to future Artemis operations is the transfer of thousands of pounds of cryogenic propellant between internal tanks during the spacecraft’s coast phase as part of NASA’s Space Technology Missions Directorate 2020 Tipping Point awards. The propellant transfer demonstration operations were completed, and the NASA-SpaceX team is currently reviewing the flight data that was received. This Tipping Point technology demonstration is one of more than 20 development activities NASA is undertaking to solve the challenges of using cryogenic fluids during future missions. As a key step toward understanding how super-cooled propellant sloshes within the tanks when the engines shut down, and how that movement affects Starship’s stability while in orbit, engineers will study flight test data to assess the performance of thrusters that control Starship’s orientation in space. They are also interested to learn more about how the fluid’s movement within the tanks can be settled to maximize propellant transfer efficiency and ensure Raptor engines receive needed propellant conditions to support restart in orbit. “Storing and transferring cryogenic propellant in orbit has never been attempted on this scale before,” said Jeremy Kenny, project manager, NASA’s Cryogenic Fluid Management Portfolio at Marshall. “But this is a game-changing technology that must be developed and matured for science and exploration missions at the Moon, Mars, and those that will venture even deeper into our solar system.” Under NASA’s Artemis campaign, the agency will land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the lunar surface and prepare for human expeditions to Mars. Commercial human landing systems are critical to deep space exploration, along with the Space Launch System rocket, Orion spacecraft, advanced spacesuits and rovers, exploration ground systems, and the Gateway space station. Learn more about NASA’s Human Landing System Program: https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/human-landing-system/ News Media Contact Jenalane (Rowe) Strawn Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, Ala. 256-544-0034 View the full article

(8 de noviembre de 2021) — La Estación Espacial Internacional, fotografiada desde la nave Crew Dragon Endeavour de SpaceX durante un vuelo alrededor del laboratorio orbital que tuvo lugar tras el desacoplamiento de Dragon del puerto orientado al espacio del módulo Harmony de la estación.Crédito: NASA Read this release in English here. La NASA ofrecerá una rueda de prensa con cuatro astronautas a las 9:30 a.m. EDT (hora del este de EE.UU.) del martes 19 de marzo en la sede de la agencia en Washington. La tripulación, entre la que se encuentra el astronauta de la NASA de origen salvadoreño Frank Rubio, hablará de su reciente misión a bordo de la Estación Espacial Internacional, donde llevaron a cabo una amplia gama de experimentos científicos en beneficio de la vida en la Tierra y de la exploración con seres humanos del espacio. Rubio, así como sus compañeros astronautas de la NASA Stephen Bowen y Woody Hoburg, y el astronauta de los EAU (Emiratos Árabes Unidos) Sultan Alneyadi, formaron parte de la Expedición 69 de la estación espacial y participarán en la conferencia de prensa. Durante su primera misión espacial, Rubio completó aproximadamente un viaje de más de 157 millones de millas y 5.936 órbitas a la Tierra, lo que equivale a 328 viajes de ida y vuelta a la Luna. La misión extendida de Rubio brindó a los investigadores la oportunidad de observar los efectos de los vuelos espaciales de larga duración en el ser humano, ya que la agencia planea volver a la Luna a través de la campaña Artemis y prepararse para explorar Marte. Rubio regresó a la Tierra en septiembre de 2023 a bordo de la nave espacial Soyuz de Roscosmos tras pasar 371 días en el espacio, un récord para Estados Unidos. Como parte de la misión SpaceX Crew-6 de la NASA, Bowen, Hoburg y Alneyadi regresaron a la Tierra en septiembre de 2023 a bordo de una nave espacial Dragon tras pasar 186 días a bordo del laboratorio en microgravedad. Como parte de la misión SpaceX Crew-6 de la NASA, Bowen, Hoburg y Alneyadi regresaron a la Tierra en septiembre de 2023 a bordo de una nave espacial Dragon tras pasar 186 días a bordo del laboratorio en microgravedad. Durante su misión, Bowen y Hoburg llevaron a cabo dos caminatas espaciales, y Alneyadi se convirtió en el primer astronauta de los EAU en realizar una caminata espacial. Con 10 caminatas espaciales realizadas durante sus varias misiones, Bowen está empatado con otros cuatro astronautas por el récord de mayor número de caminatas completadas por un astronauta estadounidense. Ocupa el tercer puesto en la lista de mayor número de horas acumuladas en caminatas espaciales. Además de sus investigaciones, los miembros de la tripulación también realizaron demostraciones tecnológicas y actividades de mantenimiento de la estación espacial. Bowen, Hoburg y Alneyadi recorrieron 78.875.292 millas durante su misión y completaron 2.976 órbitas alrededor de la Tierra. La misión Crew-6 fue el primer vuelo espacial para Hoburg, Alneyadi y Fedyaev. Bowen ha pasado en total 227 días en el espacio, acumulados en cuatro misiones. Los medios de comunicación interesados en participar deben confirmar su asistencia antes de las 5 pm EDT del lunes 18 de marzo a Joshua Finch (joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov) y María José Viñas (maria-jose.vinasgarcia@nasa.gov). La política de acreditación de medios de comunicación de la NASA está disponible en línea. El encuentro con los medios de comunicación tendrá lugar en el Auditorio Webb de la sede central de la NASA, en el edificio Mary W. Jackson, 300 E. Street SW, en Washington. Aprende más sobre la Estación Espacial Internacional: https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/ (inglés) https://go.nasa.gov/3wUF46G (español) -fin- Joshua Finch Sede, Washington 202-358-1100 joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov María José Viñas Sede, Washington 240-458-0248 maria-jose.vinasgarcia@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Mar 14, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related TermsNASA en españolAstronautsExpedition 69Frank RubioHumans in SpaceInternational Space Station (ISS)ISS ResearchNASA HeadquartersStephen G. Bowen View the full article

(Nov. 8, 2021) — The International Space Station is pictured from the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour during a fly around of the orbiting lab that took place following its undocking from the Harmony module’s space-facing port.Credits: NASA Lee esta nota de prensa en español aquí. NASA will host a media availability with four astronauts at 9:30 a.m. EDT Tuesday, March 19, at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. The crew, including record-breaking NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, will discuss their recent mission aboard the International Space Station where they conducted a broad range of science experiments to benefit life on Earth and human space exploration. Rubio, as well as fellow NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg, and UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, served as part of space station Expedition 69 and will participate in the media opportunity. During his first spaceflight mission, Rubio completed approximately 5,936 orbits and a journey of more than 157 million miles, roughly the equivalent of 328 trips to the Moon and back. Rubio’s extended mission provided researchers the opportunity to observe the effects of long-duration spaceflight on humans as the agency plans to return to the Moon through the Artemis campaign and prepare for exploration of Mars. He returned to Earth in September 2023 aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz spacecraft after spending an American record-breaking 371 days in space. As part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission, Bowen, Hoburg, and Alneyadi returned to Earth in September 2023 aboard a Dragon spacecraft after spending 186 days aboard the microgravity laboratory. During the mission, Bowen and Hoburg completed two spacewalks, and Alneyadi became the first UAE astronaut to conduct a spacewalk. With 10 spacewalks throughout his missions, Bowen ties the record for most excursions by a U.S. astronaut, also held by four others. He ranks third on the all-time list for cumulative hours of spacewalking. In addition to their research, crew members also conducted technology demonstrations, and space station maintenance activities. Bowen, Hoburg, and Alneyadi traveled 78,875,292 miles during their mission and completed 2,976 orbits around Earth. The Crew-6 mission was the first spaceflight for Hoburg, Alneyadi, and Fedyaev. Bowen has logged 227 days in space over four flights. Media interested in participating must RSVP by 5 p.m., Monday, March 18, to Joshua Finch at joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov. NASA’s media accreditation policy is online. The media opportunity will take place in the Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters in the Mary W. Jackson building, 300 E. Street SW in Washington. Learn more about the International Space Station: https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/ -end- Joshua Finch Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Mar 14, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related TermsInternational Space Station (ISS)AstronautsExpedition 69Frank RubioHumans in SpaceISS ResearchNASA HeadquartersStephen G. Bowen View the full article

In this image from March 13, 2023, NASA astronaut and Expedition 68 Flight Engineer Stephen Bowen holds a small pie that is festively decorated in commemoration of Pi Day aboard the International Space Station. March 14 marks the annual celebration of the mathematical constant pi, aka the Greek letter π. Its infinite number of digits is usually rounded to 3.14, hence the date of Pi Day. For some people, the occasion marks an annual excuse to eat pizza or pie (or both), but to truly honor this wondrously useful number, a serving of mathematics is in order, too. Continuing a decade-long tradition, the Education Office at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has cooked up a set of illustrated math problems involving real-life NASA science and engineering. Learn more about the NASA Pi Day Challenge. Image Credit: NASA/Warren Hoburg View the full article

5 min read Eclipse Photographers Will Help Study Sun During Its Disappearing Act As the Sun temporarily disappears from midday skies over North America on April 8, 2024, hundreds of volunteers will capture photos of the total solar eclipse to help us better understand the Sun and its relationship with Earth. These photographers will be participating in three NASA-funded citizen science projects to study the Sun’s ghostly outer atmosphere – the corona – during totality, when the Moon completely covers the bright disk of the Sun and the corona is revealed. The Sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona, appears like a feathery white halo around the dark disk of the Moon during a total solar eclipse, as seen in this photo taken from Madras, Oregon, on Aug. 21, 2017. NASA/Aubrey Gemignani The corona is the birthplace of the solar wind – a constant stream of particles and material flowing from the Sun that impacts Earth and other planets. The best time to see the full range of dynamics in the corona is during a total solar eclipse. However, in any one location along April’s eclipse path, totality will last less than four and a half minutes – not long enough to watch the corona change. By staging observers all along the eclipse path, though, these NASA projects hope to essentially extend totality for over 90 minutes – the time it takes for the Moon’s shadow to cross from Mexico to Canada. Afterward, the projects will combine their images into “movies” revealing activity in the corona that would otherwise be hard to see. This map shows the locations of Eclipse Megamovie participants during the April 8, 2024, solar eclipse. Eclipse Megamovie/Jeffrey Reedy This map shows the locations of the DEB Initiative teams during the April 8, 2024, solar eclipse. Courtesy of GeoCollaborate/StormCenter Communications This map shows the locations of the CATE 2024 teams during the April 8, 2024, solar eclipse. CATE 2024/SwRI/Sarah Kovac Eclipse Megamovie Eclipse Megamovie is a NASA-funded citizen science project that engages photographers across the United States to capture images of the Sun’s outermost atmosphere – the corona – during the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. Volunteers will use DSLR cameras on mounts that will track the Sun’s position in the sky to record changes in the Sun’s corona during the eclipse. NASA/Lacey Young Led by Laura Peticolas of Sonoma State University in California, the Eclipse Megamovie project is asking photographers to capture the corona using their own DSLR cameras on mounts that will track the Sun’s position in the sky during the eclipse. The project has already selected and sent tracking mounts to over 70 individuals who will be stationed along the eclipse path in the U.S. and Mexico. Over 80 additional photographers who have their own DSLR cameras and tracking mounts and who plan to be in the Moon’s shadow on April 8 have also joined the project. Others are welcome to participate if they sign up by March 18. “Citizen scientists are the perfect volunteers for this type of research,” Peticolas said. “They’re coming with their own cameras. They’re coming with the expertise on how to use those cameras. They’re coming with enthusiasm. And with this group of amazing volunteers, we’re going to get a dataset that is literally impossible to get in any other way.” The project is also seeking volunteers with experience in databases, Python coding, and machine learning to help process the images and reveal hard-to-spot changes in the corona. DEB Initiative The Dynamic Eclipse Broadcast (DEB) Initiative, led by Bob Baer and Matt Penn of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, organizes volunteers as they capture images of the corona during the 2024 eclipse. Using identical instruments at more than 70 different locations across North America, participants document the moment-by-moment appearance of the corona throughout the eclipse. NASA/Beth Anthony The Dynamic Eclipse Broadcast (DEB) Initiative, led by Bob Baer and Matt Penn of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, has recruited 82 volunteer teams to image the eclipse from Mexico, the U.S., and Canada. All teams, which range in size from a few people to as many as 30, have been selected and have received identical astrophotography equipment provided by the project. Many of them will be in the path of totality to capture views of the corona, but some will be outside the path, imaging the Sun itself. “We’re looking at the evolution of the solar corona along the entire path,” Baer said. “And we’re also looking outside of the path of totality at the solar disk to connect the changes we see in the solar corona back to the surface of the Sun.” During the eclipse, DEB teams will upload images of the partial phases every minute to the project’s image server, while some teams will also stream live video. During totality, teams in the path will collect images more rapidly, each contributing a single detailed image of the corona. CATE 2024 Led by Amir Caspi of the Southwest Research Institute in Colorado, the Citizen Continental-America Telescopic Eclipse (CATE) 2024 project will place 35 teams in the eclipse path from Texas to Maine to capture the corona in polarized light. NASA/Joy Ng Led by Amir Caspi of the Southwest Research Institute in Colorado, the Citizen Continental-America Telescopic Eclipse (CATE) 2024 project will place 35 teams in the eclipse path from Texas to Maine to capture the corona in polarized light. Light travels in waves, but those waves can be oriented in different directions, or polarization angles. Caspi explains that light we see from the corona is sunlight that gets bounced around by the corona before it reaches our eyes. “That bouncing process makes the light polarized and it makes it go in a particular direction,” he said. “By measuring that you can understand what’s going on in the corona.” All of the CATE 2024 teams have been selected and have received identical telescopes, mounts, and cameras. Teams are currently practicing and receiving feedback in preparation for the eclipse. To learn more about these projects or to sign up to participate, visit the websites below. NASA Funds 3 Citizen Science Projects to Study 2024 U.S. Solar Eclipse Eclipse Megamovie DEB Initiative CATE 2024 by Vanessa Thomas NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Share Details Last Updated Mar 14, 2024 Related Terms 2024 Solar Eclipse Citizen Science Eclipses Heliophysics Heliophysics Division Skywatching Solar Eclipses The Sun The Sun & Solar Physics Explore More 3 min read NASA-Supported Team Discovers Aurora-Like Radio Bursts Above Sunspot Article 24 hours ago 5 min read Total Solar Eclipse 2024: The Moon’s Moment in the Sun To know exactly where and when the solar eclipse will cast its shadow, we study… Article 3 days ago 2 min read NASA Launches Snap It! Computer Game to Learn About Eclipses Article 6 days ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Eclipse 2024 Citizen Science Eclipse 2024 Science 2024 Total Eclipse Safety View the full article

3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Media are invited to attend the 61st annual Goddard Space Science Symposium (formerly the Robert H. Goddard Memorial Symposium), which will take place March 20-22, 2024, at the Brendan Iribe Center on the campus of the University of Maryland, College Park. The symposium will also be streamed online. The 61st annual Goddard Space Science Symposium will take place March 20-22, 2024, at the Brendan Iribe Center on the campus of the University of Maryland, College Park.University of Maryland/John T. Consoli Organized by the American Astronautical Society (AAS) in collaboration with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, the symposium gathers leaders from across government, industry, policy, and academia to discuss the current landscape of space exploration and collectively chart a path forward amid the challenges that lie ahead. The theme of this year’s event – “Space 2040: Pathways to the Future” – leverages NASA and Goddard’s plans for the coming decades and applies them to a broader discourse about exploration and discovery, technology, the workforce, and other elements of the space business. “The Goddard Space Science Symposium is an annual dose of inspiration and motivation. Experts from all over the country come together to look at what is happening in space science now and what’s coming in the future,” said Goddard’s Michelle Thaller, co-chair of the symposium’s planning committee. “Goddard’s new strategic plan was rolled out last year, and this symposium is part of how we start to flesh that out.” AAS President Ron Birk and Goddard Center Director Makenzie Lystrup will deliver opening remarks on Wednesday, March 20, followed by panels on cislunar space, workforce opportunities, and space weather. Nicola Fox, associate administrator for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, will deliver a keynote address to close out the first day. Ellen Stofan, under secretary for science and research at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, will provide the opening luncheon keynote on Thursday, March 21. Panels on the second day will focus on Earth and climate science, digital technologies, and lunar surface science. The third and final day of the symposium on Friday, March 22, will include discussions on habitable worlds, interplanetary missions, and planetary sample returns. David Grinspoon, senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, will give a brief presentation. Dante Lauretta, principal investigator of the OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission and professor at the University of Arizona in Tucson, will serve as the closing luncheon keynote speaker. Media interested in arranging interviews with NASA speakers should contact Robert Garner, Goddard news chief. For more information on the Goddard Space Science Symposium and the updated program, or to register as a media representative, visit https://astronautical.org/events/goddard/. For more information on NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, visit https://www.nasa.gov/goddard/. Media Contact: Robert Garner NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Share Details Last Updated Mar 14, 2024 EditorJamie AdkinsContactRob Garnerrob.garner@nasa.govLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related TermsGoddard Space Flight Center rob.garner@nasa.gov View the full article

4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) For 30 total minutes in February, NASA lit a beacon on the Moon – successfully testing a sophisticated positioning system that will make it safer for Artemis-era explorers to visit and establish a permanent human presence on the lunar surface. The Lunar Node 1 demonstrator, or LN-1, is an autonomous navigation system intended to provide a real-time, point-to-point communications network on the Moon. The system – tested during Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 mission as part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative – could link orbiters, landers, and even individual astronauts on the surface, digitally verifying each explorer’s position relative to other networked spacecraft, ground stations, or rovers on the move. Evan Anzalone, at lower left, principal investigator for the Lunar Node-1 demonstrator payload, monitors the LN-1 mission from the Lunar Utilization Control Area in the Huntsville Operations Support Center at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. LN-1 successfully tested an autonomous navigation and geo-positioning system that will make Artemis-era lunar explorers safer as they work to establish a permanent human presence on the lunar surface. That system would be a marked improvement over conventional, Earth-based radio data relays, NASA researchers said – even more so compared to Apollo-era astronauts trying to “eyeball” distance and direction on the vast, mostly grey lunar surface. “We’ve lit a temporary beacon on the lunar shore,” said Evan Anzalone, LN-1 principal investigator at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “Now, we seek to deliver a sustainable local network – a series of lighthouses that point the way for spacecraft and ground crews to safely, confidently spread out and explore.” The experiment was launched Feb. 15 as a payload on the IM-1 mission. The Nova-C lander, named Odysseus, successfully touched down Feb. 22 near Malapert A, a lunar impact crater near the Moon’s South Pole region, executing the first American commercial uncrewed landing on the Moon. The lander spent its subsequent days on the surface conducting six science and technology demonstrations, among them LN-1, before it officially powered down on Feb. 29. “This feat from Intuitive Machines, SpaceX, and NASA demonstrates the promise of American leadership in space and the power of commercial partnerships under NASA’s CLPS initiative,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement after the landing. “Further, this success opens the door for new voyages under Artemis to send astronauts to the Moon, then on to Mars.” During IM-1’s translunar journey, the Marshall team conducted daily tests of the LN-1 beacon. The original plan was for the payload to transmit its beacon around the clock upon landing. NASA’s Deep Space Network, the international giant radio antenna array, would have received that signal for, on average, 10 hours daily. Instead, due to the lander’s touchdown orientation, LN-1 conducted two 15-minute transmissions from the surface. DSN assets successfully locked on the signal, feeding telemetry, navigation measurements, and other data to researchers at Marshall, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky. The team continues to evaluate the data. LN-1 even provided critical backup to IM-1’s onboard navigation system, noted Dr. Susan Lederer, CLPS project scientist at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The LN-1 team “really stepped up to the task,” she said, by relaying spacecraft positioning data during translunar flight to NASA’s Deep Space Network satellites at the Goldstone and Madrid Deep Space Communications Complexes in Fort Irwin, California, and Robledo de Chavela, Spain, respectively. Taken on Tuesday, Feb. 27, Odysseus captured an image using its narrow-field-of-view camera.Intuitive Machines In time, navigation aids such as Lunar Node-1 could be used to augment navigation and communication relays and surface nodes, providing increased robustness and capability to a variety of users in orbit and on the surface. As the lunar infrastructure expands, Anzalone envisions LN-1 evolving into something akin to a network that monitors and maintains a busy metropolitan subway system, tracking every “train” in real time, and operating as one part of a larger, LunaNet-compatible architecture, augmenting other NASA and international investments, including the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Lunar Navigation Satellite System. And the technology promises even greater value to NASA’s Moon to Mars efforts, he said. LN-1 may improve data delivery to lunar explorers by just a matter of seconds over conventional relays – but real-time navigation and positioning becomes much more vital on Mars, where transmission delays from Earth can take up to 20 minutes. “That’s a very long time to wait for a spacecraft pilot making a precision orbital adjustment, or humans traversing uncharted Martian landscapes,” Anzalone said. “LN-1 can make lighthouse beacons of every explorer, vehicle, temporary or long-term camp, and site of interest we send to the Moon and to Mars.” Marshall engineers designed, developed, integrated, and tested LN-1 as part of the NPLP (NASA-Provided Lunar Payloads) project funded by the agency’s Science Mission Directorate. Marshall also developed MAPS (Multi-spacecraft Autonomous Positioning System), the underlying networked computer navigation software. MAPS previously was tested on the International Space Station in 2018, using NASA’s Space Communications and Navigations (SCaN) Testbed. NASA’s CLPS initiative oversees industry development, testing, and launch of small robotic landers and rovers supporting NASA’s Artemis campaign. Learn more here. Jonathan Deal Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. 256-544-0034 jonathan.e.deal@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Mar 14, 2024 LocationMarshall Space Flight Center Related TermsMarshall Space Flight Center Explore More 5 min read NASA to Demonstrate Autonomous Navigation System on Moon Article 1 month ago 4 min read NASA Collects First Surface Science in Decades via Commercial Moon Mission Article 2 weeks ago 2 min read NASA’s LRO Images Intuitive Machine’s Odysseus Lander Article 2 weeks ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

“If I knew that I was going to get to where I’m at [today], I would have gone through it all over again. I would have went through changing my major. I would have gone through the divorce. I would have went through the heartbreak of thinking, ‘I’m not going to be what I wanted to be when I grow up.’ That’s OK. “Back then, when I realized that I wasn’t going to be an on-air meteorologist, it was heartbreaking. But now, I’m all right with that. It’s been a bumpy ride for me, but in the end, it’s been the greatest thing. “…I love to share the messy ride. It’s OK that you have bumps. It’s OK if there’s obstacles. You have your goals, but it’s OK if there’s hiccups. You can still be a mess and be successful.” – Emily Timko, Icing Cloud Characterization Engineer, NASA’s Glenn Research Center Image Credit: NASA/Quentin Schwinn Interviewer: NASA/Thalia Patrinos Check out some of our other Faces of NASA. View the full article

3 min read Hubble Tracks Jupiter’s Stormy Weather NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope imaged both sides of the giant planet, Jupiter, on January 5-6, 2024. NASA, ESA, STScI, Amy Simon (NASA-GSFC) Download this image Download the January 5, 2024 image Download the January 6, 2024 image The giant planet Jupiter, in all its banded glory, is revisited by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope in these latest images, taken on January 5-6, 2024, capturing both sides of the planet. Hubble monitors Jupiter and the other outer solar system planets every year under the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy program (OPAL). This is because these large worlds are shrouded in clouds and hazes stirred up by violent winds, causing a kaleidoscope of ever-changing weather patterns. [left image] – Big enough to swallow Earth, the classic Great Red Spot stands out prominently in Jupiter’s atmosphere. To its lower right, at a more southerly latitude, is a feature sometimes dubbed Red Spot Jr. This anticyclone was the result of storms merging in 1998 and 2000, and it first appeared red in 2006 before returning to a pale beige in subsequent years. This year it is somewhat redder again. The source of the red coloration is unknown but may involve a range of chemical compounds: sulfur, phosphorus, or organic material. Staying in their lanes, but moving in opposite directions, Red Spot Jr. passes the Great Red Spot about every two years. Another small red anticyclone appears in the far north. [right image] – Storm activity also appears in the opposite hemisphere. A pair of storms, a deep red cyclone and a reddish anticyclone, appear next to each other at right of center. They look so red that at first glance, it looks like Jupiter skinned a knee. These storms are rotating in opposite directions, indicating an alternating pattern of high- and low-pressure systems. For the cyclone, there’s an upwelling on the edges with clouds descending in the middle, causing a clearing in the atmospheric haze. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Lead Producer: Paul Morris Download this video The storms are expected to bounce past each other because their opposing clockwise and counterclockwise rotation makes them repel each other. “The many large storms and small white clouds are a hallmark of a lot of activity going on in Jupiter’s atmosphere right now,” said OPAL project lead Amy Simon of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Toward the left edge of the image is the innermost Galilean moon, Io – the most volcanically active body in the Solar System, despite its small size (only slightly larger than Earth’s moon). Hubble resolves volcanic outflow deposits on the surface. Hubble’s sensitivity to blue and violet wavelengths clearly reveals interesting surface features. In 1979 NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft discovered Io’s pizza-like appearance and volcanism, to the surprise of planetary scientists because it is such a small moon. Hubble picked up where Voyager left off by keeping an eye on restless Io year by year. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The Hubble Space Telescope images used in this animated science visualization present a full rotation of the giant planet Jupiter. This is not a real-time movie. Instead, Hubble snapshots of the colorful planet, taken January 5-6, 2024, have been photo-mapped onto a sphere, and the model is then rotated in animation. The planet’s real rotation rate is nearly 10 hours, which is easily plotted by watching the Great Red Spot come and go with each completed rotation. Hubble monitors Jupiter and the other outer Solar System planets every year under the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy program (OPAL). Credit: NASA, ESA, Amy Simon (NASA-GSFC) Download this video The Hubble Space Telescope has been operating for over three decades and continues to make ground-breaking discoveries that shape our fundamental understanding of the universe. Hubble is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. Goddard also conducts mission operations with Lockheed Martin Space in Denver, Colorado. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, conducts Hubble and Webb science operations for NASA. Learn More Studying the Outer Planets and Moons Hubble Provides Unique Ultraviolet View of Jupiter Hubble Captures Crisp New Portrait of Jupiter’s Storms Hubble’s New Portrait of Jupiter NASA’s Hubble Shows Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is Smaller than Ever Measured Jupiter’s Great Red Spot Getting Taller as it Shrinks Share Details Last Updated Mar 14, 2024 Editor Andrea Gianopoulos Location Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms Astrophysics Astrophysics Division Goddard Space Flight Center Hubble Space Telescope Jupiter Missions Planetary Environments & Atmospheres Planetary Science Planets The Solar System Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Hubble Space Telescope Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe. Jupiter Jupiter Moons 2024 Total Eclipse View the full article

3 min read Compact Robot Takes Flight to Support CERISS Initiative NASA’s TechFlights 2023 Selections Advance Space Science in Collaboration with Industry A new robot will be taking flight soon to test its ability to support biological and physical science experiments in microgravity. As one of NASA’s 2023 TechFlights selections, this compact robot will have a chance to fly on a commercial suborbital flight to see just how well it can perform in a space environment. Managed by NASA’s Flight Opportunities program, the TechFlights 2023 solicitation included a call for technologies to support the agency’s Commercially Enabled Rapid Space Science (CERISS) initiative. CERISS, administered by NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences Division, uses the spaceflight environment to study phenomena in ways that cannot be done on Earth. One of the 11 TechFlights selections that will undergo flight testing is a compact robot designed to prepare samples for science experiments in microgravity, improve in-flight sample preparation capabilities and potentially reduce astronauts’ time tending to such research while on the International Space Station or future commercial destinations in low Earth orbit. Led by principal investigator Phil Putman, manager of advanced projects at Sierra Lobo, Inc, in Fremont, Ohio, the tests will leverage parabolic flights from Zero Gravity Corporation to evaluate the technology’s performance in microgravity. “We need transformative capabilities to conduct research in space as NASA continues its exploration mission,” said BPS division director Lisa Carnell. “The commercial testing supported by Flight Opportunities will help CERISS advance a key research spaceflight innovation with the goal of improving in-flight sample analysis and advancing our study of biological and physical systems in space.” CERISS aims to advance biological and physical research capabilities with the commercial space industry, including sample preparation and analysis technologies for use in microgravity. The project’s long-term goals include conducting scientist astronaut missions on commercial space stations as well as developing automated hardware for experiments beyond low Earth orbit, such as on the lunar surface. Benefits include an increase in the pace of research for a wide range of research leading to an increased demand for research and development in low Earth orbit, facilitating growth of the commercial space industry. Learn More Commercially Enabled Rapid Space Science Initiative (CERISS) TechFlights 2023 Selections About Flight Opportunities Commercial Destinations in Low Earth Orbit About BPS NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences Division pioneers’ scientific discovery and enables exploration by using space environments to conduct investigations not possible on Earth. Studying biological and physical phenomenon under extreme conditions allows researchers to advance the fundamental scientific knowledge required to go farther and stay longer in space, while also benefitting life on Earth. Share Details Last Updated Mar 13, 2024 Related Terms Biological & Physical Sciences Flight Opportunities Program Physical Sciences Program Space Biology Program View the full article

25 Min Read The Marshall Star for March 13, 2024 Marshall Celebrates Alabama Space Day in Montgomery By Jessica Barnett Team members from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center joined Montgomery-area students, the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, NASA’s aerospace partners, and elected officials in celebrating the aerospace industry’s impact in Alabama on March 5. This year’s event kicked off at the state Capitol in Montgomery with a proclamation from Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey declaring March 5 as Alabama Space Day. Students from the Montgomery area were then invited to take part in various STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) activities, chat with an astronaut, hear what it takes to become a NASA intern or work at Marshall, and check out exhibits highlighting NASA’s many programs, including the Space Launch System, Human Landing System, and Centennial Challenges. Joseph Pelfrey, director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, speaks inside the House Chamber of the Alabama State House during Alabama Space Day in Montgomery on March 5. Dionne Whetstone NASA astronaut Raja Chari attended the event and spoke to students about his experience serving as flight engineer of Expedition 66 and 67 aboard the International Space Station for 177 days. Ivey said she felt honored to host the annual event, which aims to highlight Alabama’s contributions to space exploration as well as encourage the next generation of scientists and engineers by pursuing degrees and careers in aerospace. Students from middle and high schools in the Montgomery area visit a series of exhibits featuring many NASA programs managed at Marshall. The displays were part of Alabama Space Day, celebrated March 5 at the state Capitol in Montgomery. NASA/Christopher Blair “We are blessed to have such a world-class space and technology presence in our state,” Ivey said. “Alabama is very proud of its historic contributions to the American space program, which go back well over 60 years.” Marshall Center Director Joseph Pelfrey echoed the sentiment, calling it “a great day to celebrate space in Alabama.” “Alabama Space Day was a huge success, thanks to the workforce at Marshall, as well as our aerospace partners and sponsors,” Pelfrey said. “We truly appreciate the bipartisan support we receive across the state and enjoy highlighting these partnerships through events like this. I especially valued speaking on panels today with my colleagues and engaging with local high school and college students, who will be the first generation to travel to Mars.” Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, right, greets Pelfrey during Alabama Space Day as NASA astronaut Raja Chari, center, looks on. The governor issued a proclamation declaring the state holiday in honor of the aerospace industry’s impact on Alabama.Hal Yeager Barnett, a Media Fusion employee, supports the Marshall Office of Communications. › Back to Top President’s NASA Fiscal Year 2025 Funding Supports US Space, Climate Leadership The Biden-Harris Administration on March 11 released the President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2025, which includes funding to invest in America and the American people and will allow NASA to continue advancing our understanding of Earth and space while inspiring the world through discovery. “As history has proven, as the present has shown, and as the future will continue to demonstrate, an investment in NASA is an investment in America for the benefit of humanity,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “President Biden’s budget will fund our nation’s abilities and leadership for the future of space exploration, scientific discovery, cutting-edge technology, climate data, the next generation of aeronautics, and inspiring our future leaders – the Artemis Generation.” The budget allows NASA to launch the Artemis II mission, which will send astronauts around the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years, research Earth’s changing climate, grow commercial markets to serve America’s interests in space, and inspire the Artemis Generation of science, technology, engineering, and math professionals. “This budget shows NASA’s value in contributing to the global leadership of the United States,” said Nelson. “Every dollar supports our ability to continue exploring new cosmic shores and making the impossible possible, all while creating competitive and good-paying jobs in all 50 states.” At NASA, the budget request would: Invest in the U.S.-led Artemis campaign of lunar exploration: The budget includes $7.8 billion for the Artemis campaign, which will bring astronauts – including the first woman, first person of color, and first international astronaut – to the lunar surface starting this decade as part of a long-term journey of science and exploration. Enhance climate science and information: The budget invests $2.4 billion in the Earth science program for missions and activities that advance Earth systems science and increase access to information to mitigate natural hazards, support climate action, and manage natural resources. Advance U.S. space industry technology development: The budget provides $1.2 billion for NASA’s space technology portfolio to foster innovative technology research and development to meet the needs of NASA, support the expanding U.S. space industry, which is creating a growing number of good jobs, and keep America ahead of competitors at the forefront of space innovation. Support highly efficient and greener commercial airliners: The budget invests $966 million in NASA’s aeronautics program, which will develop hybrid-electric jet engines, lightweight aircraft structures, and a major new flight demonstrator to pave the way for new commercial airliners that would be cheaper to operate and produce less pollution. Continue the transition to commercial space stations:The budget funds continued operation of the International Space Station, a vehicle to safely de-orbit the space station after it is retired in 2030, and the commercial space stations that NASA will use as soon as they become available. Increase STEM opportunities at minority-serving institutions: The budget provides $46 million to the Minority University Research and Education Project, to increase competitive awards to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, tribal colleges and universities, and other minority-serving institutions, and recruit and retain underrepresented and underserved students in STEM fields. Find more information on NASA’s fiscal year 2025 budget request at nasa.gov. › Back to Top Jason Adam Named Deputy Manager of Marshall’s Science and Technology Office Jason Adam has been named as deputy manager of the Science and Technology Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. Adam will assist in leading the organization responsible for projects and programs in support of the Science Mission Directorate and Space Technology Mission Directorate. This includes the Planetary Missions Program Office, the Technology Demonstration Missions Program Office, deep space and planetary exploration, fundamental research in heliophysics, astrophysics, and Earth science, and technology development, including Centennial Challenges and Technology Transfer. Jason Adam has been named as deputy manager of the Science and Technology Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.NASA He has been the Cryogenic Fluid Management Portfolio Project manager since the project office’s inception in February 2021. From February 2020 to 2021, Adam worked an executive-level detail as a senior technical assistant in the center director’s office. From 2017 to 2021, he was the manager of the Exploration and Systems Development Office in the Science and Technology Office. Adam managed technology and flight projects in support of NASA’s science and human exploration missions from 2008 to 2017. In 2014, he was selected as a member of the NASA Mid-level Leadership Program. During that time, Adam completed a detail at NASA Headquarters working for the agency’s associate administrator on the Technical Capability Assessments team. He joined Marshall in 2008 to work on the Constellation rocket Ares I. Adam began his NASA career at Stennis Space Center in 2003, focusing on propulsion testing of the space shuttle main engines. He completed a program management detail in 2007, supporting the Space Shuttle Program as a technical assistant. A federally certified senior/expert project manager, Adam is a graduate of the Office of Personnel Management Federal Executive Institute’s Leadership for a Democratic Society. He is the recipient of NASA’s Outstanding Leadership Medal. An engineering graduate from North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota, Adam and his wife, Jessica, live in Huntsville. They have three children. › Back to Top NASA Expanding Lunar Exploration with Upgraded SLS Mega Rocket Design By Martin Burkey As NASA prepares for its first crewed Artemis missions, the agency is making preparations to build, test, and assemble the next evolution of its SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. The larger and power powerful version of SLS, known as Block 1B, can send a crew and large pieces of hardware to the Moon in a single launch and is set to debut for the Artemis IV mission. “From the beginning, NASA’s Space Launch System was designed to evolve into more powerful crew and cargo configurations to provide a flexible platform as we seek to explore more of our solar system,” said John Honeycutt, SLS Program manager. “Each of the evolutionary changes made to the SLS engines, boosters, and upper stage of the SLS rocket are built on the successes of the Block 1 design that flew first with Artemis I in November 2022 and will, again, for the first crewed missions for Artemis II and III.” This graphic shows an expanded view of the larger and power powerful version of SLS, known as Block 1B. It can send a crew and large pieces of hardware to the Moon in a single launch and is set to debut for the Artemis IV mission.NASA Early manufacturing is already underway at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility, while preparations for the green run test series for its upgraded upper stage are in progress at nearby Stennis Space Center. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center manages the SLS Program and Michoud. While using the same basic core stage and solid rocket booster design, and related components as the Block 1, Block 1B features two big evolutionary changes that will make NASA’s workhorse rocket even more capable for future missions to the Moon and beyond. A more powerful second stage and an adapter for large cargos will expand the possibilities for future Artemis missions. “The Space Launch System Block 1B rocket will be the primary transportation for astronauts to the Moon for years to come,” said James Burnum, deputy manager of the NASA Block 1B Development Office. “We are building on the SLS Block 1 design, testing, and flight experience to develop safe, reliable transportation that will send bigger and heavier hardware to the Moon in a single launch than existing rockets.” This graphic shows some of the benefits of the exploration upper stage, which will replace the interim cryogenic propulsion stage on the SLS Block 1B rocket.NASA The in-space stage used to send the first three Artemis missions to the Moon, called the interim cryogenic propulsion stage, uses a single engine and will be replaced by a larger, more powerful four-engine stage called the exploration upper stage. A different battery is among the many changes that will allow the exploration upper stage to support the first eight hours of the mission following launch compared to the current interim cryogenic propulsion stage two hours. All new hardware and software will be designed and tested to meet the different performance and environmental requirements. The other configuration change is a universal stage adapter that connects the rocket to the Orion spacecraft. It also offers more than 10,000 cubic feet of space to carry large components, such as modules for NASA’s future Gateway outpost that will be in lunar orbit to support crew between surface missions and unique opportunities for science at the Moon. Together, those upgrades will increase the payload capability for SLS from 59,000 pounds to approximately 84,000 pounds. The four RL10 engines that will be used during the exploration upper stage green run test series at Stennis are complete, and work on the Artemis IV core stage is in progress at nearby Michoud. Technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility on Feb. 22 prepare elements that will form part of the midbody for the exploration upper stage. The midbody struts, or V-struts, will create the cage-like outer structure of the midbody that will connect the upper stage’s large liquid hydrogen tank to the smaller liquid oxygen tank.NASA The evolved design also gives astronaut explorers more launch opportunities on a path to intercept the Moon. With four times the engines and almost four times the propellant and thrust of interim cryogenic propulsion stage, the exploration upper stage also enables two daily launch opportunities compared to Block 1’s more limited lunar launch availability. Among other capabilities, both astronauts and ground teams will be able to communicate with the in-space stage and safely control it while using Orion’s docking system to extract components destined for Gateway from the stage adapter. NASA is working to land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with Orion and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon and commercial human landing systems, next-generation spacesuits, and rovers on the lunar surface. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single launch. Burkey, a Media Fusion employee, is a technical writer supporting the SLS Program. › Back to Top NASA Continues Artemis Moon Rocket Engine Test Series NASA conducted a full-duration RS-25 engine hot fire March 6, continuing a final round of certification testing for production of new engines to help power the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket on future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond. The full-duration test on the Fred Haise Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, marked the ninth in a scheduled 12-test series. NASA astronauts and Artemis II crew members Reid Wiseman, commander, and Christina Koch, mission specialist, attended the test. NASA conducts a full-duration RS-25 engine hot fire March 6 at the agency’s Stennis Space Center.NASA/Danny Nowlin Engineers are collecting test data to certify an updated engine production process, using innovative manufacturing techniques, for lead engines contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company. During the March 6 test, operators fired the certification engine for 10 minutes (600 seconds), longer than the amount of time needed to help launch the SLS rocket and send astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft into orbit. The test team also fired the engine at power levels between 80% and 113% to test performance in multiple scenarios. Four RS-25 engines, along with a pair of solid rocket boosters, launch NASA’s powerful SLS rocket, producing more than 8.8 million pounds of thrust at liftoff for Artemis missions. While clear skies were over Stennis Space Center on March 6, two special guests experienced a brief “rain shower” from water vapor produced during the RS-25 hot fire test on the Fred Haise Test Stand. NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch – both of whom will fly around the Moon as Artemis II crew members – were hosted by Acting Center Director John Bailey and Engineering & Test Directorate Director Joe Schuyler to view the test and meet the test team. (NASA) NASA is working to land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with the Orion spacecraft and Gateway in orbit around the Moon and commercial human landing systems, next-generational spacesuits, and rovers on the lunar surface. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single launch. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center manages the SLS and human landing system programs. RS-25 tests at NASA Stennis are conducted by a diverse team of operators from NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne, and Syncom Space Services, prime contractor for site facilities and operations. › Back to Top Splashdown! NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 Finishes Mission, Returns to Earth NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 completed the agency’s seventh commercial crew rotation mission to the International Space Station on March 12 after splashing down safely in a Dragon spacecraft off the coast of Pensacola, Florida. The international crew of four spent 199 days in orbit. NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov returned to Earth splashing down at 4:47 a.m. CDT. Teams aboard SpaceX recovery vessels retrieved the spacecraft and its crew. After returning to shore, the crew was flown to NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, left, European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen, NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Satoshi Furukawa are seen inside the SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship MEGAN shortly after having landed in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, March 12. Moghbeli, Mogensen, Furukawa, and Borisov are returning after nearly six months in space as part of Expedition 70 aboard the International Space Station.NASA/Joel Kowsky “After more than six months aboard the International Space Station, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 has safely returned home,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “This international crew showed that space unites us all. It’s clear that we can do more – we can learn more – when we work together. The science experiments conducted during their time in space will help prepare for NASA’s bold missions at the Moon, Mars, and beyond, all while benefitting humanity here on Earth.” The Crew-7 mission lifted off at 2:27 a.m. Aug. 26, 2023, on a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. About 30 hours later, Dragon docked to the Harmony module’s space-facing port. Crew-7 undocked at 10:20 a.m. March 11 to begin the trip home. Moghbeli, Mogensen, Furukawa, and Borisov traveled 84,434,094 miles during their mission, spent 197 days aboard the space station, and completed 3,184 orbits around Earth. The Crew-7 mission was the first spaceflight for Moghbeli and Borisov. Mogensen has logged 209 days in space over his two flights, and Furukawa has logged 366 days in space over his two flights. Throughout their mission, the Crew-7 members contributed to a host of science and maintenance activities and technology demonstrations. Moghbeli conducted one spacewalk, joined by NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara, replacing one of the 12 trundle bearing assemblies on the port solar alpha rotary joint, which allows the arrays to track the Sun and generate electricity to power the station. The crew contributed to hundreds of experiments and technology demonstrations, including the first study of human response to different spaceflight durations, and an experiment growing food on the space station. This was the third flight of the Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance. It also previously supported the Crew-3 and Crew-5 missions. The spacecraft will return to Florida for inspection and processing at SpaceX’s refurbishing facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, where teams will inspect the Dragon, analyze data on its performance, and process it for its next flight. The Crew-7 flight is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program and its return to Earth follows on the heels of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 launch, which docked to the station March 5, beginning another science expedition. The goal of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the space station and low Earth orbit. This already is providing additional research time and has increased the opportunity for discovery aboard humanity’s microgravity testbed for exploration, including helping NASA prepare for human exploration of the Moon and Mars. The HOSC (Huntsville Operations Support Center) at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center provides engineering and mission operations support for the space station, the Commercial Crew Program, and Artemis missions, as well as science and technology demonstration missions. The Payload Operations Integration Center within the HOSC operates, plans, and coordinates the science experiments onboard the space station 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. › Back to Top Webb, Hubble Telescopes Affirm Universe’s Expansion Rate, Puzzle Persists When you are trying to solve one of the biggest conundrums in cosmology, you should triple check your homework. The puzzle, called the “Hubble Tension,” is that the current rate of the expansion of the universe is faster than what astronomers expect it to be, based on the universe’s initial conditions and our present understanding of the universe’s evolution. Scientists using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and many other telescopes consistently find a number that does not match predictions based on observations from ESA’s (European Space Agency’s) Planck mission. Does resolving this discrepancy require new physics? Or is it a result of measurement errors between the two different methods used to determine the rate of expansion of space? This image of NGC 5468, a galaxy located about 130 million light-years from Earth, combines data from the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes. This is the farthest galaxy in which Hubble has identified Cepheid variable stars. These are important milepost markers for measuring the expansion rate of the universe. The distance calculated from Cepheids has been cross-correlated with a type Ia supernova in the galaxy. Type Ia supernovae are so bright they are used to measure cosmic distances far beyond the range of the Cepheids, extending measurements of the universe’s expansion rate deeper into space. NASA Hubble has been measuring the current rate of the universe’s expansion for 30 years, and astronomers want to eliminate any lingering doubt about its accuracy. Now, Hubble and NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have tag-teamed to produce definitive measurements, furthering the case that something else – not measurement errors – is influencing the expansion rate. “With measurement errors negated, what remains is the real and exciting possibility we have misunderstood the universe,” said Adam Riess, a physicist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Riess holds a Nobel Prize for co-discovering the fact that the universe’s expansion is accelerating, due to a mysterious phenomenon now called “dark energy.” As a crosscheck, an initial Webb observation in 2023 confirmed that Hubble measurements of the expanding universe were accurate. However, hoping to relieve the Hubble Tension, some scientists speculated that unseen errors in the measurement may grow and become visible as we look deeper into the universe. Stellar crowding could affect brightness measurements of more distant stars in a systematic way. The Supernova H0 for the Equation of State of Dark Energy (SH0ES) team, led by Riess, obtained additional observations with Webb of objects that are critical cosmic milepost markers, known as Cepheid variable stars, which now can be correlated with the Hubble data. “We’ve now spanned the whole range of what Hubble observed, and we can rule out a measurement error as the cause of the Hubble Tension with very high confidence,” Riess said. The team’s first few Webb observations in 2023 were successful in showing Hubble was on the right track in firmly establishing the fidelity of the first rungs of the so-called cosmic distance ladder. Astronomers use various methods to measure relative distances in the universe, depending upon the object being observed. Collectively these techniques are known as the cosmic distance ladder – each rung or measurement technique relies upon the previous step for calibration. But some astronomers suggested that, moving outward along the “second rung,” the cosmic distance ladder might get shaky if the Cepheid measurements become less accurate with distance. Such inaccuracies could occur because the light of a Cepheid could blend with that of an adjacent star – an effect that could become more pronounced with distance as stars crowd together and become harder to distinguish from one another. At the center of these side-by-side images is a special class of star used as a milepost marker for measuring the universe’s rate of expansion – a Cepheid variable star. The two images are very pixelated because they are a very zoomed-in view of a distant galaxy. Each of the pixels represents one or more stars. The image from the James Webb Space Telescope is significantly sharper at near-infrared wavelengths than Hubble, which is primarily a visible-ultraviolet light telescope. By reducing the clutter with Webb’s crisper vision, the Cepheid stands out more clearly, eliminating any potential confusion. NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Adam G. Riess (JHU, STScI The observational challenge is that past Hubble images of these more distant Cepheid variables look more huddled and overlapping with neighboring stars at ever farther distances between us and their host galaxies, requiring careful accounting for this effect. Intervening dust further complicates the certainty of the measurements in visible light. Webb slices though the dust and naturally isolates the Cepheids from neighboring stars because its vision is sharper than Hubble’s at infrared wavelengths. “Combining Webb and Hubble gives us the best of both worlds. We find that the Hubble measurements remain reliable as we climb farther along the cosmic distance ladder,” Riess said. The new Webb observations include five host galaxies of eight Type Ia supernovae containing a total of 1,000 Cepheids and reach out to the farthest galaxy where Cepheids have been well measured – NGC 5468 – at a distance of 130 million light-years. “This spans the full range where we made measurements with Hubble. So, we’ve gone to the end of the second rung of the cosmic distance ladder,” said co-author Gagandeep Anand of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, which operates the Webb and Hubble telescopes for NASA. Hubble and Webb’s further confirmation of the Hubble Tension sets up other observatories to possibly settle the mystery. NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will do wide celestial surveys to study the influence of dark energy, the mysterious energy that is causing the expansion of the universe to accelerate. ESA’s Euclid observatory, with NASA contributions, is pursuing a similar task. At present it’s as though the distance ladder observed by Hubble and Webb has firmly set an anchor point on one shoreline of a river, and the afterglow of the big bang observed by Planck’s measurement from the beginning of the universe is set firmly on the other side. How the universe’s expansion was changing in the billions of years between these two endpoints has yet to be directly observed. “We need to find out if we are missing something on how to connect the beginning of the universe and the present day,” Riess said. These finding were published in the Feb. 6, 2024, issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters. The Hubble Space Telescope has been operating for over three decades and continues to make ground-breaking discoveries that shape our fundamental understanding of the universe. Hubble is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center manages the telescope. Goddard also conducts mission operations with Lockheed Martin Space in Denver, Colorado. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, conducts Hubble and Webb science operations for NASA. The agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center was the lead field center for the design, development, and construction of the space telescope. 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. Several NASA centers contributed to Webb’s development, including Marshall. › Back to Top NASA Unveils Design for Message Heading to Jupiter’s Moon Europa Following in NASA’s storied tradition of sending inspirational messages into space, the agency has special plans for Europa Clipper, which later this year will launch toward Jupiter’s moon Europa. The moon shows strong evidence of an ocean under its icy crust, with more than twice the amount of water of all of Earth’s oceans combined. A triangular metal plate on the spacecraft will honor that connection to Earth in several ways. At the heart of the artifact is an engraving of U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón’s handwritten “In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa,” along with a silicon microchip stenciled with more than 2.6 million names submitted by the public. The microchip will be the centerpiece of an illustration of a bottle amid the Jovian system – a reference to NASA’s “Message in a Bottle” campaign, which invited the public to send their names with the spacecraft. This side of a commemorative plate mounted on NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft features U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón’s handwritten “In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa.” It will be affixed with a silicon microchip stenciled with names submitted by the public.NASA/JPL-Caltech Made of the metal tantalum and about 7 by 11 inches, the plate features graphic elements on both sides. The outward-facing panel features art that highlights Earth’s connection to Europa. Linguists collected recordings of the word “water” spoken in 103 languages, from families of languages around the world. The audio files were converted into waveforms (visual representations of sound waves) and etched into the plate. The waveforms radiate out from a symbol representing the American Sign Language sign for “water.” To hear audio of the spoken languages and see the sign, go to: go.nasa.gov/MakeWaves. In the spirit of the Voyager spacecraft’s Golden Record, which carries sounds and images to convey the richness and diversity of life on Earth, the layered message on Europa Clipper aims to spark the imagination and offer a unifying vision. “The content and design of Europa Clipper’s vault plate are swimming with meaning,” said Lori Glaze, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters. “The plate combines the best humanity has to offer across the universe – science, technology, education, art, and math. The message of connection through water, essential for all forms of life as we know it, perfectly illustrates Earth’s tie to this mysterious ocean world we are setting out to explore.” In 2030, after a 1.6-billion-mile journey, Europa Clipper will begin orbiting Jupiter, making 49 close flybys of Europa. To determine if there are conditions that could support life, the spacecraft’s powerful suite of science instruments will gather data about the moon’s subsurface ocean, icy crust, thin atmosphere, and space environment. The electronics for those instruments are housed in a massive metal vault designed to protect them from Jupiter’s punishing radiation. The commemorative plate will seal an opening in the vault. The art on this side of the plate, which will seal an opening of the vault on NASA’s Europa Clipper, features waveforms that are visual representations of the sound waves formed by the word “water” in 103 languages. At center is a symbol representing the American Sign Language sign for “water.”NASA/JPL-Caltech Because searching for habitable conditions is central to the mission, the Drake Equation is etched onto the plate as well – on the inward-facing side. Astronomer Frank Drake developed the mathematical formulation in 1961 to estimate the possibility of finding advanced civilizations beyond Earth. The equation has inspired and guided research in astrobiology and related fields ever since. In addition, artwork on the inward-facing side of the plate will include a reference to the radio frequencies considered plausible for interstellar communication, symbolizing how humanity uses this radio band to listen for messages from the cosmos. These frequencies match the radio waves emitted in space by the components of water and are known by astronomers as the “water hole.” On the plate, they are depicted as radio emission lines. Finally, the plate includes a portrait of one of the founders of planetary science, Ron Greeley, whose early efforts to develop a Europa mission two decades ago laid the foundation for Europa Clipper. “We’ve packed a lot of thought and inspiration into this plate design, as we have into this mission itself,” said project scientist Robert Pappalardo of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). “It’s been a decades-long journey, and we can’t wait to see what Europa Clipper shows us at this water world.” Learn more about how Europa Clipper’s vault plate engravings were designed and the inspiration for the plate’s multilayered message. (NASA/JPL-Caltech) Once assembly of Europa Clipper has been completed at JPL, the spacecraft will be shipped to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in preparation for its October launch. Europa Clipper’s main science goal is to determine whether there are places below Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, that could support life. The mission’s three main science objectives are to determine the thickness of the moon’s icy shell and its surface interactions with the ocean below, to investigate its composition, and to characterize its geology. The mission’s detailed exploration of Europa will help scientists better understand the astrobiological potential for habitable worlds beyond our planet. Managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California, JPL leads the development of the Europa Clipper mission in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. APL designed the main spacecraft body in collaboration with JPL and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The Planetary Missions Program Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center executes program management of the Europa Clipper mission. › Back to Top View the full article