NASA

The 29th SpaceX commercial resupply services (CRS) mission for NASA carries scientific experiments and technology demonstrations, including studies of enhanced optical communications and measurement of atmospheric waves. The uncrewed SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to launch to the International Space Station from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida no earlier than Nov. 5. Download high-resolution photos and videos of the research mentioned in this article. Here are details on some of the research launching to the orbiting lab: Laser Communication from Space NASA’s ILLUMA-T investigation tests technology to provide enhanced data communication capabilities on the space station. A terminal mounted on the station’s exterior uses laser or optical communications to send high-resolution information to the agency’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) system, which is in geosynchronous orbit around Earth. LCRD then beams the data to optical ground stations in Haleakala, Hawaii, and Table Mountain, California. The system uses invisible infrared light and can send and receive information at higher data rates than traditional radio frequency systems, making it possible to send more images and videos to and from the space station in a single transmission. The ILLUMA-T demonstration also paves the way for placing laser communications terminals on spacecraft orbiting the Moon or Mars. ILLUMA-T and LCRD create NASA’s first two-way laser communications relay system. Laser communications can supplement the radio frequency systems that most space-based missions currently use to send data to and from Earth. According to acting ILLUMA-T project manager Glenn Jackson at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, laser systems are smaller, more lightweight, and use less power than radio systems. The smaller size frees up more room for science instruments, the lighter weight reduces launch costs, and lower power use results in less drain on spacecraft batteries. Managed by NASA Goddard in partnership with NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory, ILLUMA-T is funded by the Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The ILLUMA-T laser communications system being prepared for launch at Goddard Space Flight Center.NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Watching Waves in the Atmosphere NASA’s Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE) uses an infrared imaging instrument to measure the characteristics, distribution, and movement of atmospheric gravity waves (AGWs). These waves roll through Earth’s atmosphere when air is disturbed much like waves created by dropping a stone into water. “Atmospheric gravity waves are one mechanism for transporting energy and momentum within the climate system and they play a role in defining the climate and its evolution,” says co-investigator Jeff Forbes of the University of Colorado Boulder. He explains that these waves are relatively small at the source but amplified at altitudes, and potentially indicate climate changes not readily observable at lower altitudes. This investigation’s long-term observations of physical processes in atmospheric circulation could increase insight into AGWs and improve understanding of Earth’s atmosphere, weather, and climate. Researchers also are looking at how AGWs contribute to space weather, which refers to the varying conditions within the Solar System, including solar wind. Space weather affects space- and ground-based communications, navigation, and tracking systems. Scientists know little about exactly how AGWs influence space weather and this investigation could help fill in these knowledge gaps. Results could support development of ways to mitigate the effects of space weather. The space station provides an ideal platform for the investigation given its altitude and geographic and time coverage. “AWE is pioneering research, making the first global measurements of gravity waves at the edge of space,” Forbes says. “This is an important step forward in understanding waves in the atmosphere and their contributions to near-Earth space weather.” The Atmospheric Waves Experiment is managed by Goddard for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. Scientists prepare the optical assembly for AWE for launch in a clean room at Space Dynamics Laboratory facilities.Space Dynamics Laboratory/Allison Bills More science going to the space station Space Flight Induced Ovarian and Estrogen Signaling Dysfunction, Adaptation, and Recovery is a fundamental science investigation sponsored by NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences Division. It advances previous microgravity studies that seek to better understand the combined effects of spaceflight, nutritional, and environmental stresses on control of ovulation and resulting effects on the skeleton. Results of this study could help identify and treat the effects of stress on ovulation and improve bone health on Earth. A section of ovarian tissue prepared for an investigation of ovarian function and bone health in space.University of Kansas Medical Center Aquamembrane-3, an investigation from ESA (European Space Agency), continues evaluation of replacing the multi-filtration beds used for water recovery on the space station with a type of membrane known as an Aquaporin Inside Membrane (AIM). These are membranes that incorporate proteins found in biological cells, known as aquaporins, to filter water faster while using less energy. Initial testing of AIM technology in 2015 showed that water filtration by membranes is possible in microgravity, and this follow-up testing could demonstrate how effectively the membranes eliminate contaminants in space station wastewater. Results could advance development of a complete and full-scale membrane-based water recovery system, improving water reclamation and reducing the amount of material that needs to be launched to the space station. This water filtration technology also could have applications in extreme environments on Earth, such as military and emergency settings, and for decentralized water systems in remote locations. A pre-launch view of equipment for the Aquamembrane-3 investigation.ESA Gaucho Lung, sponsored by the ISS National Lab, studies how mucus lining the respiratory system affects delivery of drugs carried in a small amount of injected liquid, known as a liquid plug. Conducting this research in microgravity makes it possible to isolate the factors involved, including capillary or wicking forces, mucus characteristics, and gravity. Understanding the role of these factors could inform the development and optimization of targeted respiratory treatments. In addition, the work could contribute to new strategies to control contamination in tubing for liquids used in the health care and food industries. An investigator at University of California Santa Barbara prepares the camera and work light for recording images from the Gaucho Lung investigation prior to launch.BioServe Space Technologies Search this database of scientific experiments to learn more about those mentioned above. Facebook logo @ISS @ISS_Research@ISS Instagram logo @ISS Linkedin logo @company_NASA Keep Exploring Discover More Topics Latest News from Space Station Research ISS National Laboratory Station Benefits for Humanity Commercial Space View the full article

(April 18, 2022) — Cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev waves to the camera while working outside the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module during a spacewalk that lasted for six hours and 37 minutes to outfit Nauka and configure the European robotic arm on the International Space Station’s Russian segment. NASA will provide live coverage as two Roscosmos cosmonauts conduct a spacewalk outside the International Space Station Wednesday, Oct. 25, to install communications hardware and inspect a portion of the orbital complex. Coverage begins at 1:45 p.m. EDT on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. The spacewalk is expected to begin at 2:10 p.m. and could last up to seven hours. Expedition 70 cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub will venture outside of the station’s Poisk module to install a synthetic radar communications system and release a nanosatellite to test solar sail technology. While outside the station, they also will inspect and photograph an external backup radiator on the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module that experienced a coolant leak on Oct. 9. The spacewalk will be the 268th in support of space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades. It will be the sixth for Kononenko, who will wear the Orlan spacesuit with red stripes and the first for Chub, who will wear the spacesuit with blue stripes. Get breaking news, images and features from the space station on the station blog, Instagram, Facebook, and X. Learn more about International Space Station research and operations at: https://www.nasa.gov/station -end- Julian Coltre / Lora Bleacher Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 julian.n.coltre@nasa.gov / lora.v.bleacher@nasa.gov Sandra Jones Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Oct 23, 2023 Related Terms Humans in SpaceInternational Space Station (ISS)International Space Station Division View the full article

Highlighting the “Ring of Fire” Solar Eclipse on This Week @NASA – October 20, 2023

2 Min Read NASA Academy at Langley Research Center 2021 NASA Aeronautics Academy UAS flight test for mapping ability. Credits: NASA About the NASA Academy at Langley Langley’s NASA Academy’s rigorous and diverse summer research program prioritizes collaboration, teamwork, leadership, innovation, and creativity. Academy participants experience the challenges aerospace professionals face while conducting their research. Along with a team research project, the program includes: Invited lectures on technical topics Weekly discussions with NASA professionals Access to NASA’s advanced research facilities What are the eligibility requirements?  Be a U.S. Citizen Be pursuing a major in Engineering (Aero, Computer, Electrical, Mechanical, Systems), Computer Science, Mechatronics, Electronics Technology, Applied Math, Applied Physics, or a similar field.  Be a full-time student or recent graduate with a minimum GPA of 3.2 or higher.  Candidates are preferred to have completed at least three full college years (except for two-year college students transferring to a four-year institution), but those who have completed two full college years are welcome to apply.  Duration: The summer program runs for 10-12 weeks, from mid-May through August. The exact dates will be determined before the start of the program. How to Apply? To apply, you must submit a personal statement, a current resume, an unofficial transcript, two letters of recommendation from supervisors or college professors, and contact information (emails/phone) for the two references. Ready to apply? Please visit the Academy Application website to apply and learn more information about the eligibility requirements. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Elizabeth Ward, Program Director, at elizabeth.b.ward@nasa.gov. Images of 2022 NASA ARD (Aeronautics Research Directorate) MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH ACADEMY Learn more about past NASA Academies The 2022 Academy had 17 students nationwide and multidisciplinary participation from multiple states. The 2021 NASA Academy at Langley Research Center had 23 students from 16 different universities and six different disciplines.  They were able to spend time on the center for one day to test sensors they had developed for a NASA UAV. Share Details Last Updated Oct 21, 2023 Related Terms AeronauticsLangley Research Center View the full article

Solicitation Number: NNH16ZCQ001K-CIS-Appendix_L June 12, 2023 – Presolicitation July 6, 2023 – Solicitation released Sept. 13, 2023 — Selections announced Solicitation Overview NASA has released a solicitation notice under the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships-2 (Next STEP-2) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) to seek industry-led capabilities studies to inform future communication and navigation activities. NASA’s long-term vision is to provide for a resilient space and ground communications and navigation infrastructure in which space mission users can seamlessly “roam” between an array of space-based and ground-based networks. Initially, NASA seeks to create an interoperable architecture composed of a mixture of existing NASA assets and commercial networks and services. In the long-term, this will allow for a smooth transition to fully commercialized communications services for near-Earth users. The overarching goal is to create a reliable, robust, and cost-effective set of commercial services in which NASA is one of many customers. The Commercialization, Innovation, and Synergies (CIS) Office’s second Capability Studies BAA seeks industry insights and innovative guidance in the following three (3) Thrust Areas: Wideband Satellite Communications Phased Array Ground Systems Constellation Topology Analysis Near Space Network antennas at NASA’s White Sands Complex in Las Cruces, New Mexico.NASA -end- View the full article

NASA / Joel Kowsky NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, second from right, NASA associate administrator Bob Cabana, far right, and NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy (back to camera) speak with the 2021 Astronaut Candidate Class, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. After two years of training, they could be assigned to missions that involve performing research aboard the International Space Station, launching from American soil on spacecraft built by commercial companies, as well as deep space missions to destinations including the Moon on NASA’s Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket. Get to know the 2021 Astronaut Candidate Class. Image Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky View the full article

4 min read Join NASA to Discuss High-Rate Laser Comms Demo, Space Station Science NASA astronaut and Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Stephen Bowen works on the Plant Habitat-03B Science Carrier, a space botany research device, in the International Space Station’s Harmony module.NASA NASA will host a media teleconference at 11 a.m. EDT Thursday, Oct. 26, to discuss a laser communications system and new research to understand the interactions between weather on Earth and in space. The investigations are two of many research and technology experiments bound for the International Space Station next month aboard the agency’s SpaceX 29th commercial resupply services mission. Audio of the media call will stream live at: https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv Launch is targeted for no earlier than 10:01 p.m. EST Sunday, Nov. 5. The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, carried on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket, will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will carry scientific research, technology demonstrations, crew supplies, and hardware to the space station to support its Expedition 70 crew, including NASA’s Integrated Laser Communications Relay Demonstration Low Earth Orbit User Modem and Amplifier Terminal (ILLUMA-T) and Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE). To ask questions during the teleconference, media must RSVP no later than two hours before the event to Claire O’Shea at claire.a.o’shea@nasa.gov. NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online. The public can submit questions on social media using #AskNASA. David Brady, associate program scientist for the International Space Station Program at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, will provide an overview of the research and technology launching aboard the Dragon spacecraft. Other teleconference participants include: Jason Mitchell, director for the Advanced Communications and Navigation Technologies Division in the Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) Program, Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington Glenn Jackson, acting project manager for ILLUMA-T, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland David Cheney, program executive for the Heliophysics Science Division, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters Jeff Forbes, deputy principal investigator for AWE, University of Colorado, Boulder Once installed on the station’s exterior, ILLUMA-T aims to test high data rate laser communications from the space station to the agency’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration in geosynchronous orbit, which will relay the data to Earth. The system uses invisible infrared light to send and receive information at higher data rates than traditional radio frequency systems. Working together, ILLUMA-T and the Laser Communications Relay Demonstration will complete NASA’s first two-way laser communications relay system. Also installed on the station’s exterior, AWE will use an infrared imaging instrument to measure the characteristics, distribution, and movement of atmospheric gravity waves, which roll through the Earth’s atmosphere when air is disturbed. Researchers also will look at how atmospheric gravity waves contribute to space weather, which affects space-based and ground-based communications, navigation, and tracking systems. Increased insight into atmospheric gravity waves could improve understanding of Earth’s atmosphere, weather, and climate and development of ways to mitigate the effects of space weather. Goddard manages ILLUMA-T in partnership with Johnson and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory for SCaN. As a Mission of Opportunity, AWE is under NASA’s Heliophysics Explorers Program. The program is managed by Goddard for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate. The International Space Station continues to advance scientific knowledge in Earth, space, physical, and biological sciences for the benefit of people living on our home planet. The station also is the world’s leading laboratory where researchers conduct cutting-edge research and technology development that will enable human and robotic exploration of destinations beyond low Earth orbit, including the Moon and Mars. Learn more about the space station, including research and technology at: https://www.nasa.gov/station -end- News Media Contacts Julian Coltre / Lora Bleacher Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 julian.n.coltre@nasa.gov / lora.v.bleacher@nasa.gov Stephanie Plucinsky Kennedy Space Center, Fla. 321-876-2468 stephanie.n.plucinsky@nasa.gov Sandra Jones Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov Read More Share Details Last Updated Oct 20, 2023 Editor Claire A. O'Shea Location NASA Headquarters Related Terms Explore More 5 min read NASA’s Voyager Team Focuses on Software Patch, Thrusters Article 1 hour ago 7 min read 30 Years Ago: The STS-58 Spacelab Life Sciences-2 Mission Article 21 hours ago 4 min read NASA’s Innovative Rocket Nozzle Paves Way for Deep Space Missions Article 1 day ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

2 min read NASA Invites Media to 2023 von Braun Space Exploration Symposium NASA invites media to the 16th Annual von Braun Space Exploration Symposium from Wednesday to Friday, Oct. 25-27, at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Among the NASA participants, Administrator Bill Nelson will provide remarks during the awards luncheon beginning about 1:15 p.m. CDT Oct. 25. The luncheon also includes a discussion on human landing systems. This year’s theme is “Advancing Space: From LEO to Lunar and Beyond.” Speakers from government, industry, and academia will focus on the latest developments, future opportunities, and challenges in space science and exploration. Joseph Pelfrey, acting director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, will deliver opening remarks and moderate an Artemis panel on Wednesday morning. Other Marshall speakers include: Shane Canerday, aerospace engineer John Honeycutt, manager, Space Launch Systems Program Dayna Ise, deputy manager, Science and Technology Office Mallory James, aerospace engineer Mary Beth Koelbl, director, Engineering Directorate Jason Turpin, senior technical leader, Propulsion Lisa Watson-Morgan, manager, Human Landing System Program To attend, media members must contact American Astronautical Society Executive Director Jim Way at jimway@astronautical.org or 703-866-0021 for credentials. Media interested in speaking to the administrator must contact Jackie Mcguinness at jackie.mcguinness@nasa.gov. To request interviews with other NASA speakers, contact Molly Porter at molly.a.porter@nasa.gov or 256-424-5158. For more information about the symposium and the full program, visit: astronautical.org/events/vbs. -end- Molly Porter NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama 256-544-0034 molly.a.porter@nasa.gov View the full article

2 min read Nicky Notes – Inaugural Blog Post October 2023 I am pleased to welcome you to this new blog series – what my team affectionally calls, “Nicky Notes.” Through this platform, I hope to regularly share updates about all of the exciting work we do in the Science Mission Directorate, while offering some more candid reflections. My first post is dedicated to a topic near and dear to me – our efforts in the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) space. SMD’s IDEA Annual Report covering July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023, has been published online here: https://science.nasa.gov/about-us/idea. This is the second year we have formally documented our efforts striving towards NASA’s core value of inclusion and in it you will find significant work accomplished across every organization within SMD. My heartfelt thanks go to all of you for your commitment to creating an inclusive work environment and ensuring our missions, programs, and research are conducted in alignment with our values. Fostering diversity on our teams is essential to producing excellent science, and ensuring inclusion is paramount to our pursuit of exploration and discovery. As we look ahead, SMD remains committed to our IDEA values. We will continue to strive to be an environment where all SMD team members are valued for their diversity of thought, unique backgrounds, and whole selves. We will also continue to ensure IDEA principles and practices are embedded across the SMD portfolio. This year, we plan continued reflection on our internal practices, updates of the IDEA strategy, and further implementation of actions towards our goals. In recent conversations with many science divisions and cross-cutting organizations across the NASA Science family, I have been heartened to hear your questions and comments that exemplified your steadfast commitment to IDEA. Thanks to all of you for your dedication to ensuring SMD lives our value of Inclusion. As I read through all that has been accomplished, I am reminded of the words our NASA Administrator, Bill Nelson, who stated, “We each must embrace a culture of IDEA principles in the same way that we have successfully created a safety-conscious culture at NASA”. This kind of change requires time, but I am encouraged by the commitment across our organization and what is to come. Thanks to all of you for making SMD a more inclusive work environment. Nicky Share Details Last Updated Oct 20, 2023 Related Terms Science Mission Directorate View the full article

Spacewalk with Astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O'Hara: Oct. 30, 2023 (Official NASA Broadcast)

NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft is depicted in this artist’s concept traveling through interstellar space, or the space between stars, which it entered in 2012. Traveling on a different trajectory, its twin, Voyager 2, entered interstellar space in 2018.NASA/JPL-Caltech The efforts should help extend the lifetimes of the agency’s interstellar explorers. Engineers for NASA’s Voyager mission are taking steps to help make sure both spacecraft, launched in 1977, continue to explore interstellar space for years to come. One effort addresses fuel residue that seems to be accumulating inside narrow tubes in some of the thrusters on the spacecraft. The thrusters are used to keep each spacecraft’s antenna pointed at Earth. This type of buildup has been observed in a handful of other spacecraft. The team is also uploading a software patch to prevent the recurrence of a glitch that arose on Voyager 1 last year. Engineers resolved the glitch, and the patch is intended to prevent the issue from occurring again in Voyager 1 or arising in its twin, Voyager 2. Thruster Buildup The thrusters on Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 are primarily used to keep the spacecraft antennas pointed at Earth in order to communicate. Spacecraft can rotate in three directions – up and down, to the left and right, and around the central axis, like a wheel. As they do this, the thrusters automatically fire and reorient the spacecraft to keep their antennas pointed at Earth. Propellant flows to the thrusters via fuel lines and then passes through smaller lines inside the thrusters called propellant inlet tubes that are 25 times narrower than the external fuel lines. Each thruster firing adds tiny amounts of propellant residue, leading to gradual buildup of material over decades. In some of the propellant inlet tubes, the buildup is becoming significant. To slow that buildup, the mission has begun letting the two spacecraft rotate slightly farther in each direction before firing the thrusters. This will reduce the frequency of thruster firings. The adjustments to the thruster rotation range were made by commands sent in September and October, and they allow the spacecraft to move almost 1 degree farther in each direction than in the past. The mission is also performing fewer, longer firings, which will further reduce the total number of firings done on each spacecraft. The adjustments have been carefully devised to ensure minimal impact on the mission. While more rotating by the spacecraft could mean bits of science data are occasionally lost – akin to being on a phone call where the person on the other end cuts out occasionally – the team concluded the plan will enable the Voyagers to return more data over time. Engineers can’t know for sure when the thruster propellant inlet tubes will become completely clogged, but they expect that with these precautions, that won’t happen for at least five more years, possibly much longer. The team can take additional steps in the coming years to extend the lifetime of the thrusters even more. “This far into the mission, the engineering team is being faced with a lot of challenges for which we just don’t have a playbook,” said Linda Spilker, project scientist for the mission as NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “But they continue to come up with creative solutions.” Patching Things Up In 2022, the onboard computer that orients the Voyager 1 spacecraft with Earth began to send back garbled status reports, despite otherwise continuing to operate normally. It took mission engineers months to pinpoint the issue. The attitude articulation and control system (AACS) was misdirecting commands, writing them into the computer memory instead of carrying them out. One of those missed commands wound up garbling the AACS status report before it could reach engineers on the ground. The team determined the AACS had entered into an incorrect mode; however, they couldn’t determine the cause and thus aren’t sure if the issue could arise again. The software patch should prevent that. “This patch is like an insurance policy that will protect us in the future and help us keep these probes going as long as possible,” said JPL’s Suzanne Dodd, Voyager project manager. “These are the only spacecraft to ever operate in interstellar space, so the data they’re sending back is uniquely valuable to our understanding of our local universe.” Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 have traveled more than 15 billion and 12 billion miles from Earth, respectively. At those distances, the patch instructions will take over 18 hours to travel to the spacecraft. Because of the spacecraft’s age and the communication lag time, there’s some risk the patch could overwrite essential code or have other unintended effects on the spacecraft. To reduce those risks, the team has spent months writing, reviewing, and checking the code. As an added safety precaution, Voyager 2 will receive the patch first and serve as a testbed for its twin. Voyager 1 is farther from Earth than any other spacecraft, making its data more valuable. The team will upload the patch and do a readout of the AACS memory to make sure it’s in the right place on Friday, Oct. 20. If no immediate issues arise, the team will issue a command on Saturday, Oct. 28, to see if the patch is operating as it should. More About the Mission The Voyager mission was originally scheduled to last only four years, sending both probes past Saturn and Jupiter. NASA extended the mission so that Voyager 2 could visit Uranus and Neptune; it is still the only spacecraft ever to have encountered the ice giants. In 1990, NASA extended the mission again, this time with the goal of sending the probes outside the heliosphere, a protective bubble of particles and magnetic fields created by the Sun. Voyager 1 reached the boundary in 2012, while Voyager 2 (traveling slower and in a different direction than its twin) reached it in 2018. A division of Caltech in Pasadena, JPL built and operates the Voyager spacecraft. The Voyager missions are a part of the NASA Heliophysics System Observatory, sponsored by the Heliophysics Division of the Science Mission Directorate in Washington. For more information about the Voyager spacecraft, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/voyager News Media Contact Calla Cofield Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 626-808-2469 calla.e.cofield@jpl.nasa.gov 2023-148 Share Details Last Updated Oct 20, 2023 Related Terms Jet Propulsion LaboratoryThe Solar SystemVoyager 1Voyager 2Voyager Program Explore More 5 min read NASA’s Webb Discovers New Feature in Jupiter’s Atmosphere Article 1 day ago 8 min read Mercury’s Strange Hollows Enigmatic depressions on the surface have puzzled scientists since the 1970s NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft discovered… Article 3 days ago 4 min read Trick or Treat: Sidewalk Astronomy! Find events in your area and see what neighboring clubs are up to by checking… Article 3 days ago View the full article

2 min read Hubble Captures a Galaxy Face-On NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope captures the face-on spiral galaxy, IC 5332. ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. Chandar, J This glittering image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the spiral galaxy IC 5332. The galaxy lies about 30 million light-years away in the constellation Sculptor and has an almost face-on orientation to Earth. To understand the term ‘face-on,’ it is helpful to visualize a spiral galaxy as an extremely large disk. If the galaxy’s orientation makes it appear circular and disk-shaped from our perspective on Earth, then we say that it is ‘face-on.’ In contrast, if the galaxy’s orientation is such that it appears squashed and oval-shaped, then we say that it is ‘edge-on.’ The key thing is that the same galaxy would look extremely different from our perspective depending on whether it was face-on or edge-on as seen from Earth. IC 5332 is an SABc-type galaxy in the De Vaucouleurs system of galaxy classification. The ‘S’ identifies it as a spiral galaxy, which it clearly is, given its well-defined arms of bright stars and darker dust that curl outwards from the galaxy’s dense and bright core. The ‘AB’ designation is a little more complex. It means that the galaxy is weakly barred, which refers to the shape of the galaxy’s center. The majority of spiral galaxies do not spiral out from a single point, but rather from an elongated bar-type structure. SAB galaxies – which are also known as intermediate spiral galaxies – do not have a clear bar-shape at their core, but also do not spiral out from a single point, instead falling somewhere in between. The lowercase ‘c’ describes how tightly wound the spiral arms are: ‘a’ would indicate very tightly wound, and ‘d’ very loosely wound. Thus, IC 5332 is an intermediate spiral galaxy on many fronts: weakly barred, with quite loosely wound arms, and almost completely face-on! Text credit: European Space Agency Media Contact: Claire Andreoli NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD claire.andreoli@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Oct 20, 2023 Editor Andrea Gianopoulos Contact Related Terms Astrophysics Division Galaxies Goddard Space Flight Center Hubble Space Telescope Missions Spiral Galaxies The Universe Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Stars Stories Galaxies Stories Exoplanets Our Solar System View the full article

On Oct. 18, 1993, space shuttle Columbia lifted off in support of the STS-58 Spacelab Life Sciences 2 (SLS-2) mission to conduct cutting edge research on physiological adaptation to spaceflight. The seven-member crew of STS-58 consisted of Commander John E. Blaha, Pilot Richard A. Searfoss, Payload Commander Dr. M. Rhea Seddon, Mission Specialists William S. McArthur, Dr. David A. Wolf, and Shannon M. Lucid, and Payload Specialist Dr. Martin J. Fettman, the first veterinarian in space. Dr. Jay C. Buckey and Laurence R. Young served as alternate payload specialists. During the second dedicated life sciences shuttle mission, they conducted 14 experiments to study the cardiovascular, pulmonary, regulatory, neurovestibular, and musculoskeletal systems to provide a better understanding of physiological responses to spaceflight. The 14-day mission ended on Nov. 1, the longest shuttle flight up to that time. Left: STS-58 astronauts David A. Wolf, seated left, Shannon M. Lucid, M. Rhea Seddon, and Richard A. Searfoss; John E. Blaha, standing left, William S. McArthur, and Martin J. Fettman. Middle: The STS-58 crew patch. Right: The Spacelab Life Sciences 2 mission patch. As its name implies, SLS-2 was the second space shuttle mission dedicated to conducting life sciences research. Because of an oversubscription in the original Spacelab-4 mission, managers decided to split the research flight into two missions to optimize the science return for the principal investigators. The nine-day SLS-1 mission flew in June 1991, its seven-member crew conducting nine life science experiments. Because of her experience as a mission specialist on SLS-1, managers named Seddon as the payload commander for SLS-2. Eight of the 14 experiments used the astronauts as test subjects, and six used 48 laboratory rats housed in 24 cages in the Rodent Animal Holding Facility. Left: Liftoff of space shuttle Columbia on the STS-58 Spacelab Life Sciences 2 mission. Right: View of the Spacelab module in Columbia’s payload bay. Space shuttle Columbia’s 15th liftoff took place at 10:53 a.m. EST on Oct. 18, 1993, from Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, carrying the SLS-2 mission into space. Blaha, making his fourth trip into space and second as commander, and Pilot Searfoss on his first launch, monitored Columbia’s systems as they climbed into orbit, assisted by McArthur, also on his first flight, serving as the flight engineer. Seddon, making her third trip into space, accompanied them on the flight deck. Wolf, Lucid, and Fettman experienced launch in the shuttle’s middeck. Upon reaching orbit, the crew opened the payload bay doors, thus deploying the shuttle’s radiators. Shortly after, the crew opened the hatch from the shuttle’s middeck, translated down the transfer tunnel, and entered Spacelab for the first time, activating the module, and getting to work on the experiments, including the first blood draws for the regulatory physiology experiments. The blood samples, stored in the onboard refrigerator for postflight analysis, investigated calcium loss in bone and parameters of fluid and electrolyte regulation. Left: Dr. David A. Wolf draws a blood sample from Dr. Martin J. Fettman as part of a regulatory physiology experiment. Middle: Payload Commander Dr. M. Rhea Seddon processes blood samples. Right: William S. McArthur uses a metabolic gas analyzer to monitor his pulmonary or lung function. During the 14-day mission, the seven-member SLS-2 crew served as both experiment subjects and operators. The majority of the science activities took place in the Spacelab module mounted in the shuttle’s payload bay, with SLS-2 marking the ninth flight of the ESA-built pressurized module since its first flight on STS-9 in 1983. The experiments had, of course, begun long before launch with extensive baseline data collection. For Lucid and Fettman, data collection for one of the cardiovascular experiments began four hours before launch and continued through ascent and for the first day or so of the mission. Both volunteered to have catheters threaded through an arm vein and into their hearts to directly measure the effect on central venous pressure from the fluid shift caused by the transition to weightlessness. Two views of the rotating dome experiment, used to measure astronauts’ motion perception, with John E. Blaha, left, and Dr. M. Rhea Seddon, as test subjects. Two views of the rotating chair, with Dr. Martin J. Fettman as the subject and Dr. M. Rhea Seddon as the operator, used to test the astronauts’ vestibular systems. A group of experiments studied the astronauts’ sensory motor adaptation to spaceflight. In one study, the astronauts placed their heads inside a rotating dome with colored dots painted on its inside surface. Using a joystick, the astronauts indicated in which direction they perceived the rotation of the dots. A rotating chair measured how reflexive eye movements change in weightlessness. Using a bungee harness to simulate falling, astronauts reported on their sensation of and their reflexes to “falling” in microgravity. A selection of the Earth observation photographs taken by the STS-58 crew. Left: The Memphis, Tennessee, area. Middle left: The Richat Structure in Mauritania. Middle right: Cyprus, Türkiye, and the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Right: Tokyo Bay. In addition to the complex set of SLS-2 experiments, the STS-58 astronauts’ activities also included other science and operational items. They conducted several experiments as part of the Extended Duration Orbiter Medical Program, including the use of lower body negative pressure as a potential countermeasure to cardiovascular changes, in particular orthostatic intolerance, as shuttle missions flew ever longer missions. The astronauts talked to ordinary people on the ground using the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment, or ham radio. As on all missions, they enjoyed looking at the Earth. When not participating as a test subject for the various experiments or needing to monitor Columbia’s systems, Searfoss in particular took advantage of their unique vantage point, taking more than 4,000 photographs of the Earth below. Blaha and Searfoss tested the Portable In-flight Landing Operations Trainer (PILOT), a laptop computer to help them maintain proficiency in landing the shuttle. Left: STS-58 astronauts William A. McArthur, top, Martin J. Fettman, David A. Wolf, Richard A. Searfoss, John E. Blaha, M. Rhea Seddon, and Shannon M. Lucid inside the Spacelab module. Middle: McArthur operates the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment, or ham radio. Right: Pilot Searfoss uses the Portable In-flight Landing Operations Simulator, a laptop computer to practice landing the space shuttle. On their last day in space, the astronauts finished the experiments, Wolf deactivated the Spacelab module, and they strapped themselves into their seats to prepare for the return to Earth. They fired the shuttle’s Orbital Maneuvering System engines to begin the descent from orbit. Blaha piloted Columbia to a smooth landing on Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base in California’s Mojave Desert on Nov. 1, after completing 225 orbits around the Earth in 14 days and 12 minutes. The astronauts exited Columbia about one hour after landing and transferred to the Crew Transport Vehicle, a converted people-mover NASA purchased from Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C. This allowed them to remain in a supine position to minimize the effects of gravity on the early postflight measurements. While Blaha, Searfoss, and McArthur returned to Houston a few hours after landing, Seddon, Wolf, Lucid, and Fettman continued extensive data collection at the Dryden, now Armstrong, Fight Research Center at Edwards for several days before returning to Houston. Ground crews towed Columbia from the runway to the Mate-Demate Facility to begin preparing it for its ferry flight back to KSC atop the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft and its next mission, STS-62, the United States Microgravity Payload-2 mission. Left: Space Shuttle Columbia lands at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to end the 14-day STS-58 Spacelab Life Sciences 2 (SLS-2) mission. Right: The seven STS-58 SLS-2 crew members have exited Columbia and transferred to the Crew Transport Vehicle to begin postflight data collection. Summarizing the scientific return from the flight, Mission Scientist Howard J. Schneider said, “All of our accomplishments exceeded our expectations.” Program Scientist Frank M. Sulzman added, “This has been the best shuttle mission for life sciences to date.” Principal investigators published the results of the experiments from SLS-1 and SLS-2 in a special edition of the Journal of Applied Physiology in July 1996. Enjoy the crew-narrated video about the STS-58 SLS-2 mission. Explore More 11 min read 55 Years Ago: Nine Months Before the Moon Landing Article 1 day ago 13 min read 60 Years Ago: NASA Selects Its Third Group of Astronauts Article 2 days ago 7 min read 40 Years Ago: Space Shuttle Discovery Makes its Public Debut Article 3 days ago View the full article

2 min read Public Invited to International Observe the Moon Night Oct. 21 NASA NASA’s Planetary Mission’s Program Office is hosting an International Observe the Moon Night event Saturday, Oct. 21, from 5:30 – 8 p.m. at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center’s Davidson Center for Space Exploration in Huntsville, Alabama. The event is free and open to the public. This family-friendly event will feature Moon and solar system exhibits along with a variety of hands-on activities for children and adults. The Von Braun Astronomical Society will be outside with telescopes, providing guided tours of the Moon, planets, and other celestial objects for visitors after sunset. Mister Bond & the Science Guys of Nashville will lead space science experiments and Janet Ivey, host of the PBS series “Janet’s Planet,” will give a talk on lunar landers. Other highlights include a LED mirror robot show, face painting, a photo booth, and DJ dance party. Guests should enter the Davidson Center through the doors facing the parking lot beginning at 5:30 p.m. International Observe the Moon Night is a worldwide public event that encourages understanding of the Moon and NASA’s mission of exploration and scientific discovery. The U.S. Space & Rocket Center is the official visitor center of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. Marshall manages the Planetary Missions Program Office for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. To participate in International Observe the Moon Night from wherever you may be, check out our official NASA TV broadcast at 7- 8 p.m. EDT here: https://moon.nasa.gov/observe-the-moon-night/participate/live-streams/ Jonathan Deal NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center jonathan.e.deal@nasa.gov 256-544-0034 View the full article

On October 14, 2023, the Moon aligned with the Sun and Earth to produce an annular solar eclipse. The spectacle bathed millions of Americans in a lunar shadow as the Moon blocked the Sun’s rays. The above image was acquired during the eclipse by NASA’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera imager aboard the Deep Space Climate Observatory, a joint NASA, NOAA, and U.S. Air Force satellite.NASA NASA’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera aboard the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) captured the lunar shadow during the Oct. 14 annular solar eclipse. The sensor provides frequent global views of Earth from its position at Lagrange Point 1, a gravitationally stable point between the Sun and Earth about 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. DSCOVR is a space weather station that monitors changes in the solar wind, providing space weather alerts and forecasts for geomagnetic storms that could disrupt power grids, satellites, telecommunications, aviation and GPS. Image Credit: NASA View the full article

4 Min Read NASA’s Innovative Rocket Nozzle Paves Way for Deep Space Missions The RAMFIRE nozzle performs a hot fire test at Marshall’s East test area stand 115. The nozzle, made of the novel aluminum alloy 6061-RAM2, experiences huge temperature gradients. As hot gasses approach 6000 degrees Fahrenheit and undergo combustion, icicles are forming on the outside of the engine nozzle. Credits: NASA By Ray Osorio NASA recently built and tested an additively-manufactured – or 3D printed – rocket engine nozzle made of aluminum, making it lighter than conventional nozzles and setting the course for deep space flights that can carry more payloads. Under the agency’s Announcement of Collaborative Opportunity, engineers from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, partnered with Elementum 3D, in Erie, Colorado, to create a weldable type of aluminum that is heat resistant enough for use on rocket engines. Compared to other metals, aluminum is lower density and allows for high-strength, lightweight components. However, due to its low tolerance to extreme heat and its tendency to crack during welding, aluminum is not typically used for additive manufacturing of rocket engine parts – until now. Meet NASA’s latest development under the Reactive Additive Manufacturing for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, or RAMFIRE, project. Funded under NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), RAMFIRE focuses on advancing lightweight, additively manufactured aluminum rocket nozzles. The nozzles are designed with small internal channels that keep the nozzle cool enough to prevent melting. At the RPM Innovation (RPMI) facility in Rapid City, South Dakota, manufacturing for a large-scale aerospike demonstration nozzle with integral channels is underway. The laser powder directed energy deposition (LP-DED) process creates a melt pool using a laser and blows powder into the melt pool to deposit material layer by layer. NASA engineers will use the nozzle as a proof of concept to inform future component designs. RPM Innovation With conventional manufacturing methods, a nozzle may require as many as thousand individually joined parts. The RAMFIRE nozzle is built as a single piece, requiring far fewer bonds and significantly reduced manufacturing time. NASA and Elementum 3D first developed the novel aluminum variant known as A6061-RAM2 to build the nozzle and modify the powder used with laser powder directed energy deposition (LP-DED) technology. Another commercial partner, RPM Innovations (RPMI) in Rapid City, South Dakota, used the newly invented aluminum and specialized powder to build the RAMFIRE nozzles using their LP-DED process. “Industry partnerships with specialty manufacturing vendors aid in advancing the supply base and help make additive manufacturing more accessible for NASA missions and the broader commercial and aerospace industry,” Paul Gradl, RAMFIRE principal investigator at NASA Marshall, said. We’ve reduced the steps involved in the manufacturing process, allowing us to make large-scale engine components as a single build in a matter of days. Paul Gradl RAMFIRE Principal Investigator NASA’s Moon to Mars objectives require the capability to send more cargo to deep space destinations. The novel alloy could play an instrumental role in this by enabling the manufacturing of lightweight rocket components capable of withstanding high structural loads. Seen here at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and developed with the same 6061-RAM2 aluminum material used under the RAMFIRE project, is a vacuum jacket manufacturing demonstrator tank. The component, made for cryogenic fluid application, is designed with a series of integral cooling channels that have a wall thickness of about 0.06 inches. NASA “Mass is critical for NASA’s future deep space missions,” said John Vickers, principal technologist for STMD advanced manufacturing. “Projects like this mature additive manufacturing along with advanced materials, and will help evolve new propulsion systems, in-space manufacturing, and infrastructure needed for NASA’s ambitious missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.” Earlier this summer at Marshall’s East Test Area, two RAMFIRE nozzles completed multiple hot-fire tests using liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, as well as liquid oxygen and liquid methane fuel configurations. With pressure chambers in excess of 825 pounds per square inch (psi) – more than anticipated testing pressures – the nozzles successfully accumulated 22 starts and 579 seconds, or nearly 10 minutes, of run time. This event demonstrates the nozzles can operate in the most demanding deep-space environments. NASA Engineers, Tessa Fedotowsky and Ben Williams, from Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, inspect the RAMFIRE nozzle following successful hot-fire testing. “This test series marks a significant milestone for the nozzle,” Gradl said. “After putting the nozzle through the paces of a demanding hot-fire test series, we’ve demonstrated the nozzle can survive the thermal, structural, and pressure loads for a lunar lander scale engine.” In addition to successfully building and testing the rocket engine nozzles, the RAMFIRE project has used the RAMFIRE aluminum material and additive manufacturing process to construct other advanced large components for demonstration purposes. These include a 36-inch diameter aerospike nozzle with complex integral coolant channels and a vacuum-jacketed tank for cryogenic fluid applications. NASA and industry partners are working to share the data and process with commercial stakeholders and academia. Various aerospace companies are evaluating the novel alloy and the LP-DED additive manufacturing process and looking for ways it can be used to make components for satellites and other applications. Learn More about NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center Ramon J. Osorio Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama 256-544-0034 ramon.j.osorio@nasa.gov About the AuthorBeth Ridgeway Share Details Last Updated Oct 19, 2023 Related Terms Game Changing Development ProgramMarshall Space Flight Center Explore More 24 min read The Marshall Star for October 18, 2023 Article 18 hours ago 3 min read NASA Prepares Artemis II Moon Rocket Core Stage for Final Assembly Phase NASA and industry partners Aerojet Rocketdyne and Boeing have installed all four RS-25 engines onto… Article 6 days ago 18 min read The Marshall Star for October 11, 2023 Article 1 week ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli (center) assists astronauts Andreas Mogensen (left) from ESA (European Space Agency) and Loral O’Hara (right) from NASA as they try on their spacesuits and test the suits’ components aboard the International Space Station’s Quest airlock in preparation for an upcoming spacewalk.NASA Two NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station will conduct a spacewalk Monday, Oct. 30, to complete maintenance activities at the orbital complex. Live coverage of the spacewalk begins at 6:30 a.m. EDT on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. The spacewalk is scheduled to begin about 8:05 a.m., and last about six-and-a-half hours. NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara will exit the station’s Quest airlock to remove an electronics box called the Radio Frequency Group from a communications antenna on station. They also will replace one of 12 trundle bearing assemblies on a solar alpha rotary joint. The bearings enable the station’s solar arrays to rotate properly to track the Sun as the station orbits the Earth. When looking at the space station, the antenna is on the starboard (right side) truss, and the rotary joint is on the port, or left side. U.S. spacewalk 89 will be the first for both Moghbeli and O’Hara. Moghbeli will serve as extravehicular activity crew member 1 and will wear a suit with red stripes. O’Hara will serve as extravehicular crew member 2 and will wear an unmarked suit. Station managers continue planning for another spacewalk with O’Hara, as well as ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, to collect samples for analysis to see whether microorganisms may exist on the exterior of the orbital complex. That spacewalk, which now is U.S. spacewalk 90, has been postponed to no earlier than December. Get breaking news, images and features from the space station on the station blog, Instagram, Facebook, and X. Learn more about International Space Station research and operations at: https://www.nasa.gov/station -end- News Media Contacts Josh Finch / Julian Coltre Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / julian.n.coltre@nasa.gov Sandra Jones Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov Read More Share Details Last Updated Oct 19, 2023 Editor Claire A. O'Shea Location NASA Headquarters Related Terms Humans in SpaceInternational Space Station (ISS) Explore More 4 min read First Artemis Crew Trains for Mission Around Moon Article 1 hour ago 5 min read Station Science 101: Growing Plants in Space Article 21 hours ago 5 min read Station Science 101: Microbiology Article 22 hours ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

As another inspiring Hispanic Heritage Month concludes, we wanted to take the moment to highlight one of our own, Tracy Hudspeth. Tracy Hudspeth is the Communication Specialist at NASA Office of Small Business Programs. She plays a pivotal role in shaping the organization’s public image and ensuring effective communication internally and externally. National Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans to the United States. How do you feel about being part of this celebration, especially in the context of your work with NASA? I’m honored to be recognized in this celebration as an Afro-Latina working for NASA. In this position, I have the pleasure of planning our monthly Learning Series and quarterly Outreach Events. I take pride in the fact that we create events that provide resources and help to promote the growth and development of Hispanic-owned businesses in the United States. This is personal to me because several members of my family, including my mom, utilized available programs and resources to start their businesses. Can you share an exciting project you recently worked on? All of my projects have been exciting but if I had to choose, I would say the NASA Small Business Opportunities and Resources Networking Conference which took place on Wednesday, October 11th! Who inspires you? All the women in my family. I come from a long line of strong women. Their traits include being self-confident, productive, optimistic, caring, fearless women who stand up for what they believe in and unbothered by what others say or think. They have always inspired me to be true to myself and a go-getter! Do you have a favorite memory where you most strongly felt a sense of community? I recently attended a block party in my old neighborhood. This event is special to me because my son who was 5 at the time came up with the idea of having an “outside party” after having a conversation with an original homeowner who had been living there since the 1960’s. With the assistance of our neighbors, my son’s dream of bringing the block party back to life came true and they have continued the tradition ever since. It was wonderful to attend this year to see the community come together to celebrate and fellowship. Editor: Maliya Malik, NASA Office Of Small Business Programs Intern OSBP Home Share Details Last Updated Oct 19, 2023 Related Terms Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP) Explore More 1 min read Navigating Tomorrow’s Opportunities Article 2 weeks ago 4 min read NASA and Bastion: A Collaborative Teamwork Advancing Deep Space Exploration and Ensuring Safety in Missions Article 2 weeks ago 2 min read Honoring Hispanic Heritage Month: Patriot Construction Supports NASA Ames Research Center Article 3 weeks ago View the full article

2 Min Read Metrics Services Catalog The catalogs provide service description, chargeback rate, unit of measure, and service level indicators for each NSSC service. Service Level Agreement (SLA) The SLA provides information about roles, responsibilities, rates, and service level indicators for all NASA Centers. The SLA is negotiated on an annual basis in line with the fiscal year. A single SLA is shared by all NASA Centers and signed by the Associate Administrator, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Information Officer, and the Office of Inspector General. The SLA provides for the delivery of specific services from the NSSC to NASA Centers and Headquarters Operations in the areas of: Financial Management Procurement Human Resources Information Technology Agency Business Services Customer Satisfaction Surveys The NSSC is fundamentally changing the way NASA does business. In order to maintain customer loyalty and satisfaction, we must not only deliver a higher level of service, but also be customer focused. Executive Summary of Broad-Based Survey Results for 2016 Executive Summary of Broad-Based Survey Results for 2013 NSSC Bill (Formerly know as Performance and Utilization Report (PUR)) *** On-Line Course Management and Training Purchases have been realigned to the OLC &Training Purchases section of the bill in accordance with the realignment of training funds. Center Special Projects have been consolidated into one Special Projects bill with the funding Center identified for each project.*** FY 2023 – Utilization Reports M September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2023 November 2023 October 2022 FY 2022 – Utilization Reports September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 FY 2021 – Utilization Reports September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 View the full article

Narrow jet stream near equator has winds traveling 320 miles per hour NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has discovered a new, never-before-seen feature in Jupiter’s atmosphere. The high-speed jet stream, which spans more than 3,000 miles (4,800 kilometers) wide, sits over Jupiter’s equator above the main cloud decks. The discovery of this jet is giving insights into how the layers of Jupiter’s famously turbulent atmosphere interact with each other, and how Webb is uniquely capable of tracking those features. Image: Webb’s View of Jupiter This image of Jupiter from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) shows stunning details of the majestic planet in infrared light. In this image, brightness indicates high altitude. The numerous bright white ‘spots’ and ‘streaks’ are likely very high-altitude cloud tops of condensed convective storms. Auroras, appearing in red in this image, extend to higher altitudes above both the northern and southern poles of the planet. By contrast, dark ribbons north of the equatorial region have little cloud cover.Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, R. Hueso (University of the Basque Country), I. de Pater (University of California, Berkeley), T. Fouchet (Observatory of Paris), L. Fletcher (University of Leicester), M. Wong (University of California, Berkeley), J. DePasquale (STScI) “This is something that totally surprised us,” said Ricardo Hueso of the University of the Basque Country in Bilbao, Spain, lead author on the paper describing the findings. “What we have always seen as blurred hazes in Jupiter’s atmosphere now appear as crisp features that we can track along with the planet’s fast rotation.” The research team analyzed data from Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) captured in July 2022. The Early Release Science program – jointly led by Imke de Pater from the University of California, Berkeley and Thierry Fouchet from the Observatory of Paris – was designed to take images of Jupiter 10 hours apart, or one Jupiter day, in four different filters, each uniquely able to detect changes in small features at different altitudes of Jupiter’s atmosphere. “Even though various ground-based telescopes, spacecraft like NASA’s Juno and Cassini, and NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have observed the Jovian system’s changing weather patterns, Webb has already provided new findings on Jupiter’s rings, satellites, and its atmosphere,” de Pater noted. While Jupiter is different from Earth in many ways – Jupiter is a gas giant, Earth is a rocky, temperate world – both planets have layered atmospheres. Infrared, visible, radio, and ultraviolet light wavelengths observed by these other missions detect the lower, deeper layers of the planet’s atmosphere – where gigantic storms and ammonia ice clouds reside. Image: Jupiter’s Equatorial Jet Stream This image of Jupiter from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) shows stunning details of the majestic planet in infrared light. In this image, brightness indicates high altitude. The numerous bright white ‘spots’ and ‘streaks’ are likely very high-altitude cloud tops of condensed convective storms. Auroras, appearing in red in this image, extend to higher altitudes above both the northern and southern poles of the planet. By contrast, dark ribbons north of the equatorial region have little cloud cover. In Webb’s images of Jupiter from July 2022, researchers recently discovered a narrow jet stream traveling 320 miles per hour (515 kilometers per hour) sitting over Jupiter’s equator above the main cloud decks.Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, R. Hueso (University of the Basque Country), I. de Pater (University of California, Berkeley), T. Fouchet (Observatory of Paris), L. Fletcher (University of Leicester), M. Wong (University of California, Berkeley), J. DePasquale (STScI) On the other hand, Webb’s look farther into the near-infrared than before is sensitive to the higher-altitude layers of the atmosphere, around 15-30 miles (25-50 kilometers) above Jupiter’s cloud tops. In near-infrared imaging, high-altitude hazes typically appear blurry, with enhanced brightness over the equatorial region. With Webb, finer details are resolved within the bright hazy band. The newly discovered jet stream travels at about 320 miles per hour (515 kilometers per hour), twice the sustained winds of a Category 5 hurricane here on Earth. It is located around 25 miles (40 kilometers) above the clouds, in Jupiter’s lower stratosphere. By comparing the winds observed by Webb at high altitudes, to the winds observed at deeper layers from Hubble, the team could measure how fast the winds change with altitude and generate wind shears. Image: Jupiter’s Winds Researchers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) have discovered a high-speed jet stream sitting over Jupiter’s equator, above the main cloud decks. At a wavelength of 2.12 microns, which observes between altitudes of about 12-21 miles (20-35 kilometers) above Jupiter’s cloud tops, researchers spotted several wind shears, or areas where wind speeds change with height or with distance, which enabled them to track the jet. This image highlights several of the features around Jupiter’s equatorial zone that, between one rotation of the planet (10 hours), are very clearly disturbed by the motion of the jet stream.: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, R. Hueso (University of the Basque Country), I. de Pater (University of California, Berkeley), T. Fouchet (Observatory of Paris), L. Fletcher (University of Leicester), M. Wong (University of California, Berkeley), A. James (STScI) While Webb’s exquisite resolution and wavelength coverage allowed for the detection of small cloud features used to track the jet, the complementary observations from Hubble taken one day after the Webb observations were also crucial to determine the base state of Jupiter’s equatorial atmosphere and observe the development of convective storms in Jupiter’s equator not connected to the jet. “We knew the different wavelengths of Webb and Hubble would reveal the three-dimensional structure of storm clouds, but we were also able to use the timing of the data to see how rapidly storms develop,” added team member Michael Wong of the University of California, Berkeley, who led the associated Hubble observations. The researchers are looking forward to additional observations of Jupiter with Webb to determine if the jet’s speed and altitude change over time. Image: Zoom in on Webb’s View of Jupiter A zoomed in view of Webb’s Jupiter image. Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, R. Hueso (University of the Basque Country), I. de Pater (University of California, Berkeley), T. Fouchet (Observatory of Paris), L. Fletcher (University of Leicester), M. Wong (University of California, Berkeley), J. DePasquale (STScI) “Jupiter has a complicated but repeatable pattern of winds and temperatures in its equatorial stratosphere, high above the winds in the clouds and hazes measured at these wavelengths,” explained team member Leigh Fletcher of the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom. “If the strength of this new jet is connected to this oscillating stratospheric pattern, we might expect the jet to vary considerably over the next 2 to 4 years – it’ll be really exciting to test this theory in the years to come.” “It’s amazing to me that, after years of tracking Jupiter’s clouds and winds from numerous observatories, we still have more to learn about Jupiter, and features like this jet can remain hidden from view until these new NIRCam images were taken in 2022,” continued Fletcher. The researchers’ results were recently published in Nature Astronomy. 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. Media Contacts Laura Betz – laura.e.betz@nasa.gov NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Hannah Braun – hbraun@stsci.edu , Christine Pulliam – cpulliam@stsci.edi Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md. Downloads Download full resolution images for this article from the Space Telescope Science Institute. Related Information NASA’s Jupiter Website – https://science.nasa.gov/jupiter/ NASA’s Solar System Website – https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/ More Webb News – https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/latestnews/ More Webb Images – https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/multimedia/images/ Webb Mission Page – https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/ Keep Exploring Related Topics Jupiter Overview Jupiter is the fifth planet from our Sun and is, by far, the largest planet in the solar system… Our Solar System Overview Our planetary system is located in an outer spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy. We call it the… Planets Our solar system can be divided into three regions: the inner solar system, the outer solar system, and the Kuiper… Universe Explore the universe: Learn about the history of the cosmos, what it’s made of, and so much more. Share Details Last Updated Oct 19, 2023 Editor Steve Sabia Contact Location Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)JupiterPlanetary SciencePlanetsThe Solar System View the full article

Four astronauts are busy training for Artemis II, the first mission to carry humans on NASA’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft, testing systems to support life in deep space on future Moon missions and expanding the space frontier beyond Earth orbit. In August, the crew – NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen – finished the first part of their training known as fundamentals, establishing a foundational knowledge of all SLS and Orion systems. The quartet began the process of learning every inch of their Orion crew module’s interior, which will serve as their home for the approximately 10-day flight test. They reviewed the building blocks for navigating the spacecraft’s displays and executing the procedures they will use to fly and monitor Orion. While some training activities included all four crew members together, other activities involved one-on-one sessions with trainers. “The crew is making incredible progress getting ready for their flight as the first people to fly inside NASA’s newest spacecraft built for deep space,” said Jacki Mahaffey, chief training officer for Artemis II, based at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “Their training is preparing them to do everything from planned mission tasks and daily operations, to how to recognize and deal with unexpected situations.” Artemis II crew members Reid Wiseman (foreground) and Jeremy Hansen participate in training in the Orion simulator at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.(Credit: NASA/James Blair) In September, Koch and Hansen, alongside several other astronauts, took part in geology training in the remote Mistastin Crater in Canada, an area in Newfoundland scientists have identified as one of the sites on Earth that’s most analogous to the Moon. While there, Koch and Hansen worked on identifying instruments and techniques for exploring the lunar surface, demonstrated sampling techniques, and practiced identifying and photographing geological features. While Hansen and Koch will not walk on the Moon during Artemis II, the training helped prepare them for key lunar observations during their mission and will pave the way for future Artemis crews as they train for surface science and discovery. CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen and NASA astronaut Christina Koch sample rocks using rock hammers during a field geology training expedition in northern Labrador in Canada. (Credit: CSA) The full crew also took part in the first dry run for launch day operations at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The test gave the Exploration Ground Systems Program team an opportunity to share and demonstrate the steps involved in preparing the crew to get to their rocket and spacecraft on launch day, including donning their spacesuits, traveling to the launch pad, taking the elevator up the mobile launcher, and walking the crew access arm to the white room, where technicians will help them take their spacecraft seats and check out their systems atop the giant rocket. “Our training has been very smooth so far and we have enjoyed meeting the men and women around the globe working to bring Artemis missions to reality,” said NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, the mission commander. “From the crew side, Victor, Christina, Jeremy, and I have developed a strong interpersonal chemistry that will be crucial as we work together to learn more about the Artemis II mission.” Artemis II NASA astronauts (left to right) Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen stand in the white room on the crew access arm of the mobile launcher at Launch Pad 39B as part of an integrated ground systems test at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023. The test ensures the ground systems team is ready to support the crew timeline on launch day.(Credit: NASA) This month, the crew is beginning orbit operations training, including practicing operations in the Orion mission simulator at Johnson. They also are learning details about how to use cameras inside Orion to take photos of their activities inside the spacecraft, and document views of Earth and the Moon through the spacecraft’s four primary windows. Medical training will prepare the crew to handle potential medical situations that could arise during their mission. In the coming months, they also will delve deeper into training for the last leg of the mission, their return to Earth and recovery by a combined NASA and U.S. Navy team, They’ll prepare for both normal and emergency exits from their spacecraft in the ocean. With Artemis missions, NASA is collaborating with commercial and international partners to explore the Moon for scientific discovery and technology advancement and establish the first long-term presence on the Moon. The Moon missions will serve as training for how to live and work on another world as NASA prepares for human exploration of Mars. View the full article

24 Min Read The Marshall Star for October 18, 2023 Students from Alabama A&M University near Huntsville, Alabama, pilot their vehicle through the obstacle course at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center during NASA’s Human Exploration Rover Challenge event on April 22, 2023. Credits: NASA Credits: NASA Marshall Managers Win Top Federal Award for DART Asteroid Deflection Mission By Rick Smith Brian Key and Scott Bellamy of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center accepted the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals, presented by Partnership for Public Service Oct. 17 during a ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington. The awards program for career federal employees, known as the Sammies, aims to highlight key accomplishments that benefit the nation, seeks to build trust in government, and inspire people to consider careers in public service. Scott Bellamy, left, and Brian Key, right, pictured moments after receiving the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals, known as the Sammies. Bellamy and Key accepted the prestigious awards on behalf of the entire DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) team during a ceremony on Oct. 17 at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in WashingtonPartnership for Public Service/Allison Shelley Key and Bellamy led NASA’s DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) team, which successfully altered the orbit of an asteroid in September 2022, providing the first-ever planetary defense test capable of protecting Earth from celestial threats. As part of the PMPO (Planetary Missions Program Office) at Marshall, Key and Bellamy served as program manager and mission manager, respectively, for DART. For their work on the mission, the duo was honored in the Science, Technology, and Environment category of the Sammie awards. “DART was a first-of-its-kind mission that marked a watershed moment for planetary defense. The DART team members are some of the very best of NASA, and we are so excited to see Brian Key and Scott Bellamy recognized for their contributions and leadership,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said. “Brian, Scott, and the entire DART team have shaped the course of human space exploration, inspiring people around the world through innovation. Thanks to their dedication and hard work, NASA is better prepared to defend our home planet, and will be ready for whatever the universe throws at us.” In his role on DART, Key maintained budget, staff, and schedule oversight for the mission and worked directly with DART spacecraft developers at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. “I’m elated to see our team honored with this award, and hope it will bring more attention to the valuable work NASA does to protect our home world,” said Key, who as program manager oversees NASA’s science exploration portfolio spanning the Discovery Program, the New Horizons Program, and the Solar System Exploration Program, which covers the full range of large and small science missions exploring the solar system, planets, and other targets of interest. Bellamy was tasked with keeping the team on track to launch and execute the mission – echoed Key’s praise for the entire DART team. “We’re just the managers,” he said. “Our role has been to serve the team, keeping things moving forward as smoothly as possible to enable them to do the actual hands-on, pencil-to-hardware that brought this mission from concept to reality.” That mission could not have gone more flawlessly, they agreed. Launched in November 2021, the DART spacecraft traveled to more than 6.8 million miles from Earth with one simple goal: to intentionally impact into Dimorphos, a 492-foot-diameter asteroid, at roughly 14,000 miles per hour, thus altering its orbit around its much larger parent asteroid, Didymos. DART’s collision with Dimorphos altered the asteroid’s roughly 12-hour orbit period around its parent by about a half-hour. An illustration of the DART spacecraft.NASA “I don’t even have the words to describe the release of emotion in the control room when we got confirmation that DART had impacted,” Bellamy said. “The whole team went from nail-biting suspense to unbelievable excitement in a matter of seconds.” Neither Key, Bellamy, nor the Planetary Missions Program Office is resting on these newly acquired laurels. Key continues to serve as program manager on NASA’s Juno mission, which since its arrival at Jupiter in 2016 has sought new clues about the gas giant’s evolution and role in the formation of our solar system. He’s also program manager for NASA’s Psyche mission, launched Oct. 13 to begin a six-year journey to study a metal-rich asteroid of the same name in solar orbit between Mars and Jupiter. Bellamy, meanwhile, is mission manager for NASA’s Lucy mission, which over a 12-year period will tour the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and closely study seven Jovian asteroids. Launched in 2021, Lucy will be the first spacecraft ever to return to Earth from the outer solar system. Bellamy also leads development of NASA’s Europa Clipper mission, which could launch in late 2024 to fly to Jupiter’s moon and conduct an intensive survey of the potentially life-sustaining seas beneath Europa’s icy surface. As for future planetary defense activities, NASA and its partners will build on DART’s success. A follow-up mission by ESA (European Space Agency), called Hera, is scheduled to launch in 2024 to further assess DART’s impact on Dimorphos. NASA also is developing the NEO Surveyor mission, which is designed to accelerate the rate at which the agency can discovery potentially hazardous near-Earth objects, asteroids and comets which can come close to Earth and could pose an impact risk. “Even small asteroids could do a tremendous amount of damage to a city or metropolitan area,” Key said. “We need to be more aware of the very real threat they pose and develop the means to avoid calamity.” Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory managed the DART mission for NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office. The agency provided support for the mission from several centers, including the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Goddard Space Flight Center, Johnson Space Center, Glenn Research Center, and Langley Research Center. Created in 2002, the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals, named for the organization’s late founder, recognize excellence and leadership in the federal government. Presented annually by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, the awards honor public servants whose significant achievements help the nation innovate, engage globally, and deliver vital services to the public. Learn more about the awards. Smith, a Manufacturing Technical Solutions employee, supports Marshall’s Office of Communications. › Back to Top Mission Success is in Our Hands to Showcase New Look at Oct. 19 Event By Wayne Smith An initiative highlighting mission success and the safety culture at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center will showcase a new look at its Oct. 19 event. Mission Success is in Our Hands is a safety initiative collaboration between NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and Jacobs Engineering. As part of the final Shared Experiences Forum of the year, the Mission Success committee will display eight new testimonial banners featuring Marshall team members as part of its rebranding. The banners will be placed across the center. Garrett Harencak, Jacobs Engineering vice president and president of Mission Support and Test Services LLC, will be the Mission Success is in Our Hands Shared Experiences Forum speaker Oct. 19. The forum is available to the public virtually through Teams. Garrett Harencak, Jacobs Engineering vice president and president of Mission Support and Test Services LLC, will be the Mission Success is in Our Hands hybrid Shared Experiences Forum speaker from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 19. Marshall team members are encouraged to attend the meeting in Building 4203, Room 1201. Light refreshments will be served. The forum is available to NASA employees and the public virtually via Teams. Harencak will share his experiences in working and leading nuclear safety, high hazard projects, and conducting operations in the nuclear and national security industries. “The Mission Success is in Our Hands initiative brings awareness to our workforce of the importance of their individual contributions to the overall success of the NASA and Marshall missions,” said Bill Hill, director of the Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate at Marshall. “Through our banners, the Golden Eagle award, and the Shared Experience Forum, we highlight the risk environment in which we work and in which our launch vehicles and spacecraft operate. Many Shared Experiences Forum events bring in risk practitioners from other industries to provide a comparison and illuminate lessons learned that we could gain from in our everyday activities and missions.” Hill said Marshall has a strong safety culture. The new banners feature team members expressing that message to the workforce and they will be featured with individual profiles in upcoming editions of the Marshall Star.. “The Mission Success is in Our Hands initiative is one of the few tools that we employ at Marshall to keep Safety and Mission Success in the forefront of everyone’s mind,” Hill said. “It is important that we keep people safe at work and allow all to go home at night healthy and safe. Our Incident and Injury Free workshops, which we are soon to begin in-person sessions, offer our employees the opportunity to learn how to identify risky or unsafe behaviors and situations, and how to have those critical conversations to mitigate or eliminate those behaviors among colleagues before an incident or injury occurs.” Eight NASA Marshall Flight Center team members will be featured in new testimonial banners that will be placed around the center as part of the Mission Success is in Our Hands initiative The banners will feature, from left, Matthew Pruitt, Human Landing System schedule lead; Brandon Reeves, Integrated Avionics Test Facilities deputy manager; Dr. Greg Drayer, Jacobs/Aerodyne Modeling & Simulation technical fellow; Dr. Chelsi Cassilly, Jacobs Planetary Protection microbiologist; Jeramie Broadway, strategy lead; Dr. Baraka Truss, Avionics & Software Branch chief; Ashley Marlar, Jacobs Operations Support team lead; and Dr. Amit Patel, Jacobs Solid Rocket Motor design engineer. NASA/Charles Beason Jeff Haars, Jacobs vice president and program manager for Jacobs Space Exploration Group, said team members working on NASA missions must not lose sight of the hazards present in the workplace or the risks of crewed spaceflight. “The Shared Experiences Forum is probably our most impactful initiative,” Haars said. “Leaders from across NASA and industry share their personal experiences around safety and mission success. The forum provides an opportunity for learning and applying lessons and best practices from personal experiences. Ultimately, our goal is to help team members keep safety and mission assurance in their day to day decision making.” Since 2015, the Golden Eagle Award has been presented by Mission Success is in Our Hands. The award promotes awareness and appreciation for flight safety, as demonstrated through the connections between employees’ everyday work, the success of NASA and Marshall’s missions, and the safety of NASA astronauts. The award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to flight safety and mission assurance above and beyond their normal work requirements. Management or peers can nominate any team member for the award. Honorees are typically recognized at quarterly Shared Experiences forums. Smith, a Media Fusion employee and the Marshall Star editor, supports the Marshall Office of Communications. › Back to Top Alabama Doctors Praise ‘Unique’ NASA Panel on Aerospace Psychiatry By Jessica Barnett Medical professionals from across the U.S. gathered for a different kind of panel discussion during the annual Alabama Psychiatric Physicians Association’s Fall Conference held Oct. 12 at The Westin Huntsville. The Alabama Psychiatric Physicians Association is a district branch of the American Psychiatric Association and the only association exclusively representing psychiatrists in the state of Alabama. Ian Maddox, a systems engineer at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, discussing future Artemis missions during a panel at the Alabama Psychiatric Physicians Association’s Fall Conference held Oct. 12 at The Westin Huntsville. Joining him onstage are Erin Hayward, an engineer on the Marshall Space Environmental Effects team, and Julie Mason, a space propulsion and thermal engineer working on NASA’s Space Launch System with Boeing. NASA/Christopher Blair Psychiatrists were treated to a panel of NASA experts who shared insight from their work supporting human spaceflight research and habitation design for extended duration missions on the lunar and Martian surfaces. Panelists included Ian Maddox, a systems engineer supporting Artemis at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center; Erin Hayward, an engineer on the Marshall Space Environmental Effects team; and Julie Mason, a space propulsion and thermal engineer working on NASA’s Space Launch System with Boeing. During the panel, Hayward and Mason shared their experiences serving as crew members in multiple NASA analog missions, including HERA (Human Exploration Research Analog) and Desert RATS. Both involve space habitat design, isolation, and confinement studies, as well as identifying if certain stressors could affect astronauts during off-world missions. Such stressors include changes to sleep patterns, food intake, gravity, exercise routines, and more. Maddox explained that it’s part of NASA’s ongoing work to prepare for longer missions to the Moon and beyond. “Humanity has always explored, and NASA is really the organization responsible for making sure that continues to happen safely and peacefully,” he said. Maddox, Hayward, and Mason share a laugh with the audience during the Q&A portion of their panel at the Alabama Psychiatric Physicians Association’s Fall Conference held Oct. 12 at The Westin Huntsville. NASA/Jessica Barnett Audience members were particularly interested in the analog missions, with several taking part in the Q&A portion of the panel. Many thanked the experts for presenting such a unique and fascinating topic, while some expressed interest in hosting similar discussions at future conferences across the nation. Panelists answered questions about the crew selection process, explaining NASA’s careful screening procedures for identifying candidates to serve together for weeks or months in confined spaces and with very limited access to the outside world. Hayward and Mason also answered questions about their day-to-day lives inside the habitats, from smells and privacy concerns to handling downtime, and how it felt returning to their families and jobs after their campaigns. “It took me a while to turn my phone notifications back on, just to ease back into the world,” Mason said. “I learned to be present and have more gratitude for the little things, like getting to feel the humidity, especially after 45 days without weather.” The three NASA panelists encouraged audience members to submit a research proposal or even consider applying to participate in a future analog. Barnett, a Media Fusion employee, supports the Marshall Office of Communications. › Back to Top Dozens of Student Teams Worldwide to Compete in NASA Rover Challenge NASA has selected 72 student teams to begin an engineering design challenge to build human-powered rovers that will compete next April at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, near the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center. Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2024, the Human Exploration Rover Challenge tasks high school, college, and university students to design, build, and test lightweight, human-powered rovers on an obstacle course simulating lunar and Martian terrain, all while completing mission-focused science tasks. Students from Alabama A&M University near Huntsville, Alabama, pilot their vehicle through the obstacle course at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center during NASA’s Human Exploration Rover Challenge event on April 22, 2023. Credits: NASANASA Participating teams represent 42 colleges and universities and 30 high schools from 24 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 13 other nations from around the world. NASA’s handbook has complete proposal guidelines and task challenges. “Throughout this authentic learning challenge, NASA encourages students to improve their understanding of collaboration, inquiry, and problem-solving strategies,” said Vemitra Alexander, rover challenge activity lead, Office of STEM Engagement at NASA Marshall. “Improving these critical real-world skills will benefit our students throughout their academic and professional careers.” Throughout the nine-month challenge, students will complete design and safety reviews to mirror the process used by NASA engineers and scientists. The agency also incorporates vehicle weight and size requirements encouraging students to consider lightweight construction materials and stowage efficiency to be replicate similar payload restrictions of NASA launch operations. Teams earn points throughout the year by successfully completing design reviews and fabricating a rover capable of meeting all criteria while completing course obstacles and mission tasks. The teams with the highest number of points accumulated throughout the project year will win their respective divisions. The challenge will conclude with an event April 19 and April 20, 2024, at the U.S. Rocket and Space Center. This competition is one of nine Artemis Student Challenges and reflects the goals of NASA’s Artemis program, which includes landing the first woman and first person of color on the Moon. It is managed by NASA’s Southeast Regional Office of STEM Engagement at Marshall. NASA uses challenges and competitions to further the agency’s goal of encouraging students to pursue degrees and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. › Back to Top NASA Prepares Artemis II Moon Rocket Core Stage for Final Assembly Phase By Megan Carter NASA and its partners have fully secured the four RS-25 engines onto the core stage of the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for the Artemis II flight test. The core stage, and its engines, is the backbone of the SLS mega rocket that will power the flight test, the first crewed mission to the Moon under Artemis. Engineers have begun final integration testing at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility, in preparation for acceptance ahead of shipment of the stage to Kennedy Space Center in the coming months. These photos and videos show how technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans installed the third and fourth RS-25 engines onto the core stage for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that will help power NASA’s first crewed Artemis mission to the Moon. Technicians added the first engine to the SLS core stage Sept. 11. The second engine was installed onto the stage Sept. 15 with the third and fourth engines following Sept. 19 and Sept. 20. Engineers consider the engines to be “soft” mated to the rocket stage. Technicians with NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company and the RS-25 engines lead contractor, along with Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, will now focus efforts on the complex tax of fully securing the engines to the stage and integrating the propulsion and electrical systems within the structure. NASA is working to land the first woman and first person of color 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. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission.Credits: NASA The 212-foot-tall core stage includes two massive liquid propellant tanks and four RS-25 engines at its base. For Artemis II, the core stage and its engines act as the powerhouse of the rocket, providing more than two million pounds of thrust for the first eight minutes of flight to send the crew of four astronauts inside NASA’s Orion spacecraft on an approximately 10-day mission around the Moon. NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company and the RS-25 engines lead contractor, along with Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, secured the engines to the maze of propulsion and avionics systems within the core stage Oct. 6. In the coming weeks, engineers will perform testing on the entire stage and its avionics and electrical systems, which act as the “brains” of the rocket to help control it during flight. Once testing of the stage is complete and the hardware passes its acceptance review, the core stage will be readied for shipping to Kennedy via the agency’s Pegasus barge, based at Michoud. As teams prepare the core stage for Artemis II, rocket hardware is also under construction on our factory floor for Artemis III, IV, and V that will help send the future Artemis astronauts to the lunar South Pole. The engines were first soft mated one by one onto the stage beginning in early September. The last RS-25 engine was structurally installed onto the stage Sept. 20. Installing the four engines is a multi-step, collaborative process for NASA, Boeing, and Aerojet Rocketdyne. Following the initial structural connections of the individual engines, securing and outfitting all four engines to the stage is the lengthiest part of the engine assembly process and includes securing the thrust vector control actuators, ancillary interfaces, and remaining bolts before multiple tests and checkouts. All major hardware elements for the SLS rocket that will launch Artemis II are either complete or in progress. The major components for the rocket’s two solid rocket boosters are at Kennedy. The rocket’s two adapters, produced at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, along with the rocket’s upper stage, currently at lead contractor United Launch Alliance’s facility in Florida near Kennedy, will be prepared for shipment in the spring. Marshall manages the SLS Program. NASA is working to land the first woman and first person of color 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. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission. Carter, a Media Fusion employee, supports the Marshall Office of Communications. › Back to Top NASA Conducts 1st Hot Fire of New RS-25 Certification Test Series NASA conducted the first hot fire of a new RS-25 test series Oct. 17, beginning the final round of certification testing ahead of production of an updated set of the engines for the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. The engines will help power future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond. NASA completed a full duration, 550-second hot fire of the RS-25 certification engine Oct. 17, beginning a critical test series to support future SLS (Space Launch System) missions to deep space as NASA explores the secrets of the universe for the benefit of all. NASA / Danny Nowlin Operators fired the RS-25 engine for more than nine minutes (550 seconds), longer than the 500 seconds engines must fire during an actual mission, on the Fred Haise Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. Operators also fired the engine up to the 111% power level needed during an SLS launch. The hot fire marked the first in a series of 12 tests scheduled to stretch into 2024. The tests are a key step for lead SLS engines contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company, to produce engines that will help power the SLS rocket, beginning with Artemis V. The test series will collect data on the performance of several new key engine components, including a nozzle, hydraulic actuators, flex ducts, and turbopumps. The components match design features of those used during the initial certification test series completed at the south Mississippi site in June. Aerojet Rocketdyne is using advanced manufacturing techniques, such as 3D printing, to reduce the cost and time needed to build the new engines. Four RS-25 engines help power SLS at launch, including on its Artemis missions to the Moon. Through Artemis, NASA is returning humans, including the first woman and the first person of color, to the Moon to explore the lunar surface and prepare for flights to Mars. SLS is the only rocket capable of sending the agency’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission. › Back to Top Psyche Launch Highlighted on ‘This Week at NASA’ NASA’s Psyche launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Oct. 13. The mission is featured in “This Week @ NASA,” a weekly video program broadcast on NASA-TV and posted online. Psyche is on its way to a metal-rich asteroid of the same name. The mission could teach us more about how rocky planets like Earth formed. Managed by the Planetary Missions Program Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Psyche is the 14th planetary exploration mission in NASA’s Discovery program, which is also managed for the agency by Marshall. Read more about Marshall’s role in Psyche. View this and previous episodes at “This Week @NASA” on NASA’s YouTube page. › Back to Top Lucy Spacecraft Continues Approach to Asteroid Dinkinesh Since NASA’s Lucy spacecraft first imaged the asteroid Dinkinesh on Sept. 3, Lucy has traveled over 33 million miles and is now 4.7 million miles away from the small asteroid. However, as Dinkinesh continues on its orbit around the Sun, Lucy still has another almost 16 million miles to travel to its meet-up with the asteroid on Nov. 1. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video This data visualization overlays some of the images taken by the Lucy spacecraft’s L’LORRI from Sept. 3 to Oct. 3 on the Lucy trajectory (red) and the orbit of the asteroid Dinkinesh (gold). These images were taken as part of the optical navigation program in advance of the encounter on Nov. 1. The stars indicate the locations at closest approach on Nov. 1. (NASA/SwRI/APL) Over the last month, the spacecraft team has seen the target asteroid generally brightening as Lucy approaches it and has also seen a subtle brightness variation consistent with the previously observed 52.7-hour rotation period. Since Lucy first observed the asteroid on Sept. 3, the team has used images collected by the spacecraft’s high-resolution camera, L’LORRI, to refine their knowledge of the relative positions of the spacecraft and asteroid, optically navigating Lucy towards the encounter. Using this information, on Sept. 29 the spacecraft carried out a small trajectory correction maneuver, changing the spacecraft’s speed by just 6 cm/s (around 0.1 mph). This nudge is predicted to send the spacecraft on a path that will pass within 265 miles of the asteroid. In late October the team will have another opportunity to adjust the trajectory if necessary. On Oct. 6, the spacecraft passed behind the Sun as viewed from Earth, beginning a planned communications blackout. The spacecraft has continued to image the asteroid and will return these images to Earth once communications resume after the end of the solar conjunction period in mid-October. Lucy’s principal investigator, Hal Levison, is based out of the Boulder, Colorado, branch of Southwest Research Institute, headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center provides overall mission management, systems engineering, and safety and mission assurance. Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado, built the spacecraft. Lucy is the 13th mission in NASA’s Discovery Program. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center manages the Discovery Program for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. › Back to Top Webb Detects Tiny Quartz Crystals in the Clouds of a Hot Gas Giant Researchers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have detected evidence for quartz nanocrystals in the high-altitude clouds of WASP-17 b, a hot Jupiter exoplanet 1,300 light-years from Earth. The detection, which was uniquely possible with MIRI (Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument), marks the first time that silica (SiO2) particles have been spotted in an exoplanet atmosphere. “We were thrilled!” said David Grant, a researcher at the University of Bristol in the UK and first author on a paper published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. “We knew from Hubble observations that there must be aerosols – tiny particles making up clouds or haze – in WASP-17 b’s atmosphere, but we didn’t expect them to be made of quartz.” This artist concept shows what the exoplanet WASP-17 b could look like.NASA, ESA, CSA, and R. Crawford (STScI)Science: Nikole Lewis (Cornell University), David Grant (University of Bristol), Hannah Wakeford (University of Bristol) Crawford (STScI) Silicates (minerals rich in silicon and oxygen) make up the bulk of Earth and the Moon as well as other rocky objects in our solar system, and are extremely common across the galaxy. But the silicate grains previously detected in the atmospheres of exoplanets and brown dwarfs appear to be made of magnesium-rich silicates like olivine and pyroxene, not quartz alone – which is pure SiO2. The result from this team, which also includes researchers from NASA’s Ames Research Center and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, puts a new spin on our understanding of how exoplanet clouds form and evolve. “We fully expected to see magnesium silicates,” said co-author Hannah Wakeford, also from the University of Bristol. “But what we’re seeing instead are likely the building blocks of those, the tiny ‘seed’ particles needed to form the larger silicate grains we detect in cooler exoplanets and brown dwarfs.” With a volume more than seven times that of Jupiter and a mass less than one-half Jupiter, WASP-17 b is one of the largest and puffiest known exoplanets. This, along with its short orbital period of just 3.7 Earth-days, makes the planet ideal for transmission spectroscopy : a technique that involves measuring the filtering and scattering effects of a planet’s atmosphere on starlight. Webb observed the WASP-17 system for nearly 10 hours, collecting more than 1,275 brightness measurements of 5- to 12-micron mid-infrared light as the planet crossed its star. By subtracting the brightness of individual wavelengths of light that reached the telescope when the planet was in front of the star from those of the star on its own, the team was able to calculate the amount of each wavelength blocked by the planet’s atmosphere. What emerged was an unexpected “bump” at 8.6 microns, a feature that would not be expected if the clouds were made of magnesium silicates or other possible high temperature aerosols like aluminum oxide, but which makes perfect sense if they are made of quartz. While these crystals are probably similar in shape to the pointy hexagonal prisms found in geodes and gem shops on Earth, each one is only about 10 nanometers across – one-millionth of one centimeter. “Hubble data actually played a key role in constraining the size of these particles,” explained co-author Nikole Lewis of Cornell University, who leads the Webb GTO (Guaranteed Time Observation) program designed to help build a three-dimensional view of a hot Jupiter atmosphere. “We know there is silica from Webb’s MIRI data alone, but we needed the visible and near-infrared observations from Hubble for context, to figure out how large the crystals are.” Unlike mineral particles found in clouds on Earth, the quartz crystals detected in the clouds of WASP-17 b are not swept up from a rocky surface. Instead, they originate in the atmosphere itself. “WASP-17 b is extremely hot – around 1,500 degrees Celsius (2,700°F) – and the pressure where they form high in the atmosphere is only about one-thousandth of what we experience on Earth’s surface,” explained Grant. “In these conditions, solid crystals can form directly from gas, without going through a liquid phase first.” Understanding what the clouds are made of is crucial for understanding the planet as a whole. Hot Jupiters like WASP-17 b are made primarily of hydrogen and helium, with small amounts of other gases like water vapor (H2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2). “If we only consider the oxygen that is in these gases, and neglect to include all of the oxygen locked up in minerals like quartz (SiO2), we will significantly underestimate the total abundance,” explained Wakeford. “These beautiful silica crystals tell us about the inventory of different materials and how they all come together to shape the environment of this planet.” Exactly how much quartz there is, and how pervasive the clouds are, is hard to determine. “The clouds are likely present along the day/night transition (the terminator), which is the region that our observations probe,” said Grant. Given that the planet is tidally locked with a very hot day side and cooler night side, it is likely that the clouds circulate around the planet, but vaporize when they reach the hotter day side. “The winds could be moving these tiny glassy particles around at thousands of miles per hour.” WASP-17 b is one of three planets targeted by the JWST-Telescope Scientist Team’s DREAMS (Deep Reconnaissance of Exoplanet Atmospheres using Multi-instrument Spectroscopy) investigations, which are designed to gather a comprehensive set of observations of one representative from each key class of exoplanets: a hot Jupiter, a warm Neptune, and a temperate rocky planet. The MIRI observations of hot Jupiter WASP-17 b were made as part of GTO program 1353. 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 the project, including NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. › Back to Top View the full article

Thale cress plants from the Plant Habitat-03 investigation just before a harvest.NASA As NASA plans missions to the Moon and Mars, a key factor is figuring out how to feed crew members during their weeks, months, and even years in space. Astronauts on the International Space Station primarily eat prepackaged food, which requires regular resupply and can degrade in quality and nutrition. Researchers are exploring the idea of crews growing some of their food during a mission, testing various crops and equipment to figure out how to do this without a lot of extra hardware or power. Picking the right plants The first step in this research is identifying which plants to test. NASA started a project in 2015 with the Fairchild Botanical Garden in Miami called “Growing Beyond Earth.” The program has recruited hundreds of middle and high school science classes across the U.S. to grow different seeds in a habitat similar to one on the space station. Seeds that grow well in the classrooms are then tested in a chamber at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Ones that do well there are sent to the station to test how they grow in microgravity. Gardens in space NASA also has tested facilities to host future microgravity gardens. One is the Vegetable Production System, or Veggie, a simple, low-power chamber that can hold six plants. Seeds are grown in small fabric “pillows” that crew members look after and water by hand, similar to caring for a window garden on Earth. Another system, the Passive Orbital Nutrient Delivery System, or Veggie PONDS, works with the Veggie platform but replaces seed pillows with a holder that automatically feeds and waters the plants. The Advanced Plant Habitat is a fully automated device designed to study growing plants in ways that require only minimal crew attention. Mark Vande Hei harvests for the Veggie PONDS investigation. NASA The right light and food A series of experiments aboard the space station known as Veg-04A, Veg-04B, and Veg-05 grew Mizuna mustard, a leafy green crop, under different light conditions and compared plant yield, nutritional composition, and microbial levels. The investigation also compared the space-grown plants to ones grown on Earth, and had crew members rate the flavor, texture, and other characteristics of the produce. Plant Habitat-04 analyzed plant-microbe interactions and assessed the flavor and texture of chile peppers. The first crop, harvested on Oct. 29, 2021, was eaten by the crew and 12 peppers from the second harvest were returned to Earth for analysis. This experiment demonstrated that research about space crop production is on the right path and researchers plan to apply lessons learned to testing other plants. NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Shane Kimbrough, JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and NASA astronaut Megan McArthur with chile peppers grown for Plant Habitat-04.NASA The influence of gravity An early experiment, PESTO, found that microgravity alters leaf development, plant cells, and the chloroplasts used in photosynthesis, but did not harm the plants overall. In fact, wheat plants grew 10% taller compared to those on Earth. The Seedling Growth investigations showed that seedlings can acclimate to microgravity by modulating expression of some genes related to the stressors of space, a discovery that adds to knowledge about how microgravity affects plant physiology [1]. One way that plants sense gravity is via changes to calcium within their cells. Plant Gravity Sensing, a JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) investigation, measured how microgravity affects calcium levels, which could help scientists design better ways to grow food in space. ADVASC, an investigation that grew two generations of mustard plants using the Advanced Astroculture chamber, showed that seeds were smaller but germination rates near normal in microgravity [2]. Close-up view of Apogee Wheat Plants grown as part of the PESTO experiment during Expedition 4.NASA Water delivery One significant challenge for growing plants in microgravity is providing enough water to keep them healthy without drowning them in too much water. Plant Water Management demonstrated a hydroponic (water-based) method for providing water and air to plant roots. The XROOTS study tested using both hydroponic and aeroponic (air-based) techniques to grow plants rather than traditional soil. These techniques could enable large-scale crop production for future space exploration. NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Bob Hines work on the XROOTS investigation.NASA Transplanting veggies During a series of investigations called VEG-03, which cultivated Extra Dwarf Pak Choi, Amara Mustard, and Red Romaine Lettuce, NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins noticed some of the plants were struggling. Hopkins conducted the first plant transplant in space, moving extra sprouts from thriving plant pillows into two of the struggling pillows in Veggie. The transplants survived and grew, opening new possibilities for future plant growth. Plant genetics Plants exposed to spaceflight undergo changes that involve the addition of extra information to their DNA, affecting how genes turn on or off without changing the sequence of the DNA itself. This process is known as epigenetic change. Plant Habitat-03 assesses whether such adaptations in one generation of plants grown in space can transfer to the next generation. The long-term goal is to understand how epigenetics contribute to adaptive strategies that plants use in space and, ultimately, develop plants better suited for providing food and other services on future missions. Results also could support the development of strategies for adapting crops and other economically important plants for growth in marginal and reclaimed habitats on Earth. The human effect Gardens need tending, of course. The Veg-04A, Veg-04B, and Veg-05 investigations also looked at how tending plants contributed to the well-being of astronauts. Many astronauts reported they found caring for plants an enjoyable and relaxing activity – another important contribution to future long-duration missions. NASA astronauts Shannon Walker and Michael Hopkins collect leaf samples from plants growing inside the European Columbus laboratory for the Veg-03 experiment during Expedition 64.NASA Citations: 1 Medina F, Manzano A, Herranz R, Kiss JZ. Red Light Enhances Plant Adaptation to Spaceflight and Mars g-Levels. Life. 2022, 12(10), 1484; https://doi.org/10.3390/life12101484 2 Link BM, Busse JS, Stankovic B. Seed-to-Seed-to-Seed Growth and Development of Arabidopsis in Microgravity. Astrobiology. 2014 October; 14(10): 866-875. DOI: 10.1089/ast.2014.1184.PMID: 25317938 Explore more pictures of plants aboard the space station here. Facebook logo @ISS @ISS_Research Instagram logo @ISS Linkedin logo @company/NASA Keep Exploring Discover More Topics Station Science 101: Biology and Biotechnology Biological & Physical Science Stories Station Benefits for Humanity Latest News from Space Station Research View the full article

NASA’s “Spacey Casey” welcomes visitors to NASA Langley Research Center.NASA 2 min read News Media Invited to NASA Langley’s Open House HAMPTON, Virginia – Members of the media are invited to cover the Open House at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. The event takes place 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. Media will have photo, video, and interview opportunities. Center Director Clayton Turner and NASA astronaut Victor Glover will be available to answer media questions at 9 a.m. on Saturday. This is the first time since 2017 Langley has opened its gates and doors to the public, inviting them to learn more about the center’s innovative aerospace research. Event: Open House Date: Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023 Time: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Location: NASA’s Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va. RSVP Deadline: Friday, Oct. 20, 2023 at 2 p.m. Please note! In order to cover the event and have access to parking on center, media outlets must RSVP with Brittny McGraw at 757-769-3763 or brittny.v.mcgraw@nasa.gov no later than 2 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20. Media who attempt to come to the center without an RSVP will not have vehicle access. Media interested in interviewing Clayton Turner and Victor Glover should follow the procedures listed above, but must arrive no later than 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 21. Helpful links: NASA Langley Research Center: https://www.nasa.gov/langley/ NASA Langley’s Open House: https://openhouse.larc.nasa.gov/ Please contact: Brittny McGraw Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va. 757-769-3763 brittny.v.mcgraw@nasa.gov David Meade Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va. 757-751-2034 davidlee.t.meade@nasa.gov -end- View the full article

Space Life Sciences Training Program An investment in tomorrow The Space Life Sciences Training Program (SLSTP) provides undergraduate students entering their junior or senior years, and entering graduate students, with professional experience in space life science disciplines. This challenging ten-week summer program is hosted by NASA’s Ames Research Center in the heart of California’s Silicon Valley. The primary goal of the program is to train the next generation of scientists and engineers, enabling NASA to meet future research and development challenges in the space life sciences. Summer 2023 SLSTP students present their projects during midterm.NASA / Stephanie Perreau Rainey The SLSTP Experience In this rigorous program, students work closely with renowned NASA scientists and engineers on cutting-edge research, benefitting from the concentration of bioscience expertise at Ames. In addition to conducting hands-on research, SLSTP students attend technical lectures given by experts on a wide range of topics and tour NASA research facilities. This program provides opportunities for students to develop professional skills. These include technical and professional development training, presenting their scientific work and submitting an abstract to a professional scientific organization (e.g. the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research.) SLSTP participants are exposed to a broad scope of space biosciences research performed by NASA scientists. While learning about the tools and methodology that enable biological experiments to be conducted in flight, students acquire skills and knowledge required for the design and execution of life science research conducted in microgravity. Participants in the program receive a stipend and may be eligible to attend a scientific conference to formally present their research. Research Areas Students in SLSTP undertake research projects in multiple areas, including: The effects of spaceflight on living systems, conducted both on the ground and also in space aboard the International Space Station and other spacecraft. The development and operation of specialized research facilities to support investigations in microgravity, partial gravity, and hypergravity. Research and development of advanced biotechnologies that enable NASA’s exploration of distant destinations. Information for Applicants The SLSTP is an equal opportunity program. Admission is by competitive application process. Past student participants were selected for their outstanding merit, passion for space, and desire to study space life science. Applicants must fulfill the following requirements: be a US citizen, age 18 or older in high academic standing (GPA of 3.2 or greater). Applicants should be junior or senior undergraduate student next Fall or a senior graduating in 2024 and entering graduate school for Fall 2024. How to Apply: Applications for the summer 2024 program will be opening soon in late 2023. Applications will be open in the NASA Gateway. SLSTP Mailing List To subscribe to our mailing list and to receive e-mail announcements about the program and application process, please send an email to arc-slstp@mail.nasa.gov with “subscribe” in the subject to be added to our mailing list. Program Support The SLSTP is funded by NASA’s Space Biology Program, which is part of the Biological and Physical Sciences Division of NASA. The SLSTP is managed by the Space Biology Project within the Science Directorate at Ames Research Center. For more information, contact: arc-slstp@mail.nasa.gov View the full article