NASA

NASA astronaut Joe Acaba with one of the Microbial Air Samplers, devices that monitor microbes in the air of the space station.NASA Wherever there are humans, there are microbes, too. Bacteria and fungi live all around us, in our homes, offices, industrial areas, the outdoors – even in space. People literally could not live without these tiny organisms, many of which are beneficial. The trick is limiting potentially harmful ones, particularly in a contained environment such as a spacecraft. So from the launch of the very first module of the International Space Station, NASA has monitored its microbial community. Because the station is an enclosed system, the only way that microbes get there is hitching a ride on the contents of resupply spacecraft from Earth and on arriving astronauts. The NASA Johnson Space Center Microbiology Laboratory puts a lot of effort into knowing which microbes ride along. “We can’t sterilize everything we send into space, and don’t want to, but we do a lot to limit potential pathogens from making their way to the station,” says NASA microbiologist Sarah Wallace, Ph.D. “At launch, the cargo, food, vehicles, and crew members each have their own microbiome, or suite of microbes. When everything gets to the station, these microbiomes become part of the space station microbiome.” The lab uses the traditional method of culturing a sample in a growth medium, similar to Petri dishes from high school science class, to sample a portion of everything during packing for launch and the launch vehicles themselves. This sampling confirms that contamination control plans are working properly – essentially making sure the numbers of microbes remain low and that those present are the ones normally expected. Astronauts sample a surface on the International Space Station for this microbial culture slide.NASA Then the lab continues monitoring after the vehicle, cargo, and crew arrive at the station. Crew members sample and culture microbes from the air, surfaces, and water on the station. “It’s kind of a spot check to see how well housekeeping procedures are being implemented and how well the water system and the air filters are working,” Wallace says. She calls the station’s water processing system “a phenomenal piece of engineering” that produces water much cleaner than most of us drink on Earth. In addition, the station itself is remarkably clean thanks to HEPA filters for the air and housekeeping practices for surfaces. “What microbes we see are really what we’d see if we looked at your home. In fact, we’ve done several studies comparing the station to a typical home and it is similar but usually cleaner,” she adds. This monitoring over the lifetime of the orbiting lab has created a unique, long-term database that helps microbiologists know what to expect. “Our requirements are two-fold, how much is there and what is there,” Wallace says. For years, the scientists didn’t know the ‘what’ until samples came back to ground. Now the equipment exists to perform direct swab-to-sequencer identification, eliminating the need to culture samples and return them to Earth. That equipment includes the miniPCR, a device that amplifies or makes many copies of a DNA strand using a process called polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and the MinION, a portable DNA sequencer. The Genes in Space 3 collaboration between Boeing and NASA paired these two platforms together, which led to the first identification of unknown bacteria off Earth. NASA’s lab then conducted tests and confirmed that microbe identifications from the inflight process matched those determined on the ground down to the species level1. “For the first time ever, we identified unknown microbes collected and cultured off Earth,” says Wallace. “We followed that up with the swab-to-sequencer, which lets us move away from culturing completely. We can swab a surface and sequence whatever is there.” Plates for culturing samples collected by the Microbial Air Samplers on the space station.NASA Subsequent work advanced the use of sequencing in space and later tests found that the culture-independent method showed the same microbial distributions as the standard culture-dependent method2. The swab-and-sequence method has been streamlined so that crew members can easily complete it in an extreme environment. That is a critical capability for future missions to the Moon and Mars, both to continue to protect crew health and safety and to make sure that we do not contaminate other worlds. If explorers detect microbial life on another planet, they need to know whether it was already there or came from Earth. Researchers also use the space station to conduct long-term microbial studies. The Microbial Tracking series studied what kinds of microbes are on the space station, both in the environment and in the astronauts’ bodies. In addition to surveying the types of microbes present on the station, the lab studies whether those microbes could be harmful, as microgravity and radiation in space can render innocuous microorganisms potentially harmful and microbial behavior can change as the organisms adapt to the spaceflight environment. So far, microbial issues on Earth far exceed any seen in space, Wallace says. “In addition to all the preflight monitoring, crew members are quarantined prior to launch. These steps were started back during Apollo missions and still are effective toward keeping our crews healthy.” Because where people go, scientists want to know what microbes follow. Citations 1 Burton AS, Stahl-Rommel SE, John KK, Jain M, Juul S, Turner DJ, Harrington ED, Stoddart D, Paten B, Akeson M, Castro-Wallace SL. Off Earth Identification of Bacterial Populations Using 16S rDNA Nanopore Sequencing. Genes. 2020 January 9; 76(11): 76 (https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/11/1/76) 2 Stahl-Rommel S, Jain M, Nguyen HN, Arnold RR, Aunon-Chancellor SM, Sharp GM, Castro CL, John KK, Juul S, Turner DJ, et al. Real-Time Culture-Independent Microbial Profiling Onboard the International Space Station Using Nanopore Sequencing. Genes. 2021; 12(1):106. (https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/12/1/106) Facebook logo @ISS @ISS_Research@ISS Instagram logo @ISS Linkedin logo @company/NASA Keep Exploring Discover More Topics Station Science 101: Biology and Biotechnology Latest News from Space Station Research ISS National Laboratory NASA Biological & Physical Sciences NASA’s Division of Biological and Physical Sciences (BPS) uses the spaceflight environment to study phenomena in ways that cannot be… View the full article

In October 1968, the American human spaceflight program took significant steps toward achieving President John F. Kennedy’s goal of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth before the end of the decade. American astronauts returned to space after a 23-month hiatus. The success of the 11-day Apollo 7 mission heralded well for NASA to decide to send the next mission, Apollo 8, to orbit the Moon in December. The Saturn V rocket for that flight rolled out to its seaside launch pad two days before Apollo 7 lifted off. Preparations for later missions to test the Lunar Module (LM) in Earth orbit and around the Moon continued in parallel, as did work in anticipation of astronauts and their lunar samples returning from the Moon. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union also resumed its human spaceflight program. Left: Apollo 7 astronauts Donn F. Eisele, left, Walter M. Schirra, and R. Walter Cunningham review flight trajectories with Director of Flight Crew Operations Donald K. “Deke” Slayton shortly before launch. Middle: Schirra, left, Eisele, and Cunningham suit up for launch. Right: Liftoff of Apollo 7, returning American astronauts to space! The liftoff of Apollo 7 astronauts Walter M. Schirra, Donn F. Eisele, and R. Walter Cunningham on Oct. 11, 1968, signaled the end of a 23-month hiatus in American human spaceflights resulting from the tragic Apollo 1 fire. To prevent a recurrence of the fire and to increase overall safety, NASA and North American Rockwell in Downey, California, redesigned the Apollo spacecraft, and Schirra, Eisele, and Cunningham spent months training to test it in Earth orbit. By the time they lifted off from Launch Pad 34 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, the Saturn V rocket for the Apollo 8 mission had already rolled out to Launch Pad 39A a few miles away. Left: View of Apollo 7 lifting off from Launch Pad 34, with the Saturn V for Apollo 8 on Launch Pad 39A in the background. Middle: The Apollo 7 S-IVB third stage, used as a rendezvous target. Right: Apollo 7 astronauts Donn F. Eisele, left, Walter M. Schirra, and R. Walter Cunningham on the prime recovery U.S.S. Essex following their successful 11-day mission. During their 11-day mission, Schirra, Eisele, and Cunningham thoroughly tested the redesigned Apollo spacecraft. Early in the mission, they performed rendezvous maneuvers with their rocket’s S-IVB second stage, a maneuver planned for later missions to retrieve the LM. They thoroughly tested the Service Propulsion System engine, critical on later lunar missions for getting into and out of lunar orbit, by firing it on eight occasions, including the critical reentry burn to bring them home. The three astronauts conducted the first live television broadcasts from an American spacecraft, providing viewers on the ground with tours of their spacecraft. Teams from the U.S.S. Essex (CV-9) recovered Schirra, Eisele, and Cunningham and their Command Module (CM) from the Atlantic Ocean on Oct. 22. Apollo program managers declared that Apollo 7 “accomplished 101%” of its planned objectives. Left: Apollo 8 astronauts James A. Lovell, left, William A. Anders, and Frank Borman attend the rollout of their Saturn V from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39A. Middle: The Apollo 8 Saturn V at Launch Pad 39A. Right: Borman, left, Lovell, and Anders pose with their Saturn V following a crew egress exercise from their spacecraft. The success of Apollo 7 gave NASA the confidence to announce in November that the next mission, Apollo 8, would attempt to enter orbit around the Moon. In early October, workers in High Bay 2 of KSC’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) completed the stacking of the Saturn V rocket for Apollo 8 by adding the Command and Service Module (CSM). On Oct. 9, two days before Apollo 7 lifted off, as the Apollo 8 crew of Frank Borman, James A. Lovell, and William A. Anders and other NASA officials looked on, the completed Saturn V rolled out from the VAB to begin its eight-hour journey to Launch Pad 39A, three and a half miles away. After the rocket arrived at the pad and engineers began testing it, on Oct. 23, Borman, Lovell, and Anders suited up and practiced emergency egress from the spacecraft, as did their backups Neil A. Armstrong, Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, and Fred W. Haise. Left: Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, left, William A. Anders, and James A. Lovell on the deck of the M/V Retriever prepare for their water egress test. Middle: Anders, left, Lovell, and Borman inside the boilerplate Apollo spacecraft during the water egress test. Right: Anders, left, Lovell, and Borman in the life raft after egressing from their spacecraft. As part of their training, Borman, Lovell, and Anders conducted water egress training in the Gulf of Mexico near Galveston, Texas. On Oct. 25, sailors aboard the Motor Vessel M/V Retriever lowered a mockup CM with the crew inside into the water in a nose-down position. Flotation bags inflated to right the spacecraft to a nose-up position. The astronauts then exited the capsule onto life rafts and recovery personnel hoisted them aboard a helicopter. The next day, backups Armstrong, Aldrin, and Haise repeated the test. Left: Workers in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida lower the S-IVB third stage onto the S-II second stage during stacking operations of the Apollo 9 Saturn V. Middle: Apollo 9 astronaut Russell L. Schweickart practices entering and leaving the Command Module while wearing a pressure suit during brief periods of weightlessness aboard a KC-135 aircraft. Right: Engineers conduct a docking test between the Apollo 9 CM, bottom, and Lunar Module in an altitude chamber in KSC’s Manned Spacecraft Operations Building. Preparations for Apollo 9 included training for the first spacewalk of the Apollo program. According to the mission plan, with the LM and CM docked, crew members in both spacecraft would open their hatches. During the spacewalk, one astronaut would transfer from the LM to the CM using handrails for guidance and enter the CM in a test of an emergency rescue capability. The training for this activity took place aboard a KC-135 aircraft from Patrick Air Force Base (AFB) in Florida. By flying repeated parabolic trajectories, the aircraft could simulate 20-30 seconds of weightlessness at a time, during which the astronauts wearing space suits practiced entering and exiting a mockup of the CM. Backup crew members Alan L. Bean and Richard F. Gordon completed the training on Oct. 9 followed by David R. Scott and Russell L. Schweickart of the prime crew the next day. North American Rockwell delivered the Apollo 9 CSM to KSC in early October. At the end the month, technicians in KSC’s Manned Spacecraft and Operations Building (MSOB) conducted a docking test of the Apollo 9 LM and CSM to verify the interfaces between the two vehicles. In the VAB’s High Bay 3, workers stacked the three stages of the Saturn V rocket for Apollo 9 during the first week of October. Left: Workers in the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building (MSOB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida uncrate the Apollo 10 Lunar Module (LM) descent stage shortly after its arrival. Middle: MSOB workers unwrap the Apollo 10 LM ascent stage. Right: MSOB workers prepare to mate the Apollo 10 LM ascent stage to its descent stage. In preparation for Apollo 10, planned as a test of the CSM and LM in lunar orbit, the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation in Bethpage, New York, delivered the LM for that mission to KSC. The descent stage arrived Oct. 11, followed by the ascent stage five days later. Technicians in the MSOB mated the two stages and installed the assembled vehicle into a vacuum chamber on Nov. 2 to begin a series of altitude tests. Left: A flight of the Lunar Landing Training Vehicle at Ellington Air Force Base in Houston. Middle: The forward instrument panel of the Lunar Module Test Article-8. Right: Richard Wright, administrative assistant for the Lunar Receiving Laboratory, gives astronaut Michael Collins a tour of the gloveboxes for examining lunar samples. The Lunar Landing Training Vehicle (LLTV), built by Bell Aerosystems of Buffalo, New York, allowed Apollo astronauts to master the intricacies of landing on the Moon by simulating the LM’s performance in the final few hundred feet of the descent to the surface. Although an excellent training tool, the LLTV and its predecessor the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle (LLRV) also carried some risk. Astronaut Armstrong ejected from an LLRV on May 6, 1968, moments before it crashed at Houston’s Ellington AFB. The final accident investigation report, issued on Oct. 17, cited a loss of helium pressure that caused depletion of the fuel used for the reserve attitude thrusters, with inadequate warning to the pilot as a contributing factor. By that time, Chief of Aircraft Operations Joseph S. “Joe” Algranti piloted the properly modified LLTV during its first flight on Oct 3. Algranti and NASA pilot H.E. “Bud” Ream completed 14 checkout flights before a crash in December grounded the LLTV. In October, NASA began a series of critical thermal-vacuum tests to certify the Apollo LM for lunar missions. The tests, conducted in the Space Environment Simulation Laboratory (SESL), at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), now NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, involved Grumman pilots Gerald P. Gibbons and Glennon M. Kingsley and astronaut James B. Irwin. The tests using Lunar Module Test Article-8, concluded in November, and simulated the temperatures expected during a typical flight to the Moon and descent to the surface. To receive astronauts and their lunar samples after their return from the Moon, NASA built the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) in MSC’s Building 37. The LRL’s special design isolated astronauts and rock samples returning from the Moon to prevent back-contamination of the Earth by any possible lunar micro-organisms. By October 1968, with the Moon landing likely less than a year away, the LRL had reached a state of readiness that warranted a simulation of some its capabilities. Between Oct. 22 and Nov. 1, managers, scientists, and technicians carried out a 10-day simulation of LRL operations following a lunar landing mission. Although the exercise uncovered many deficiencies, enough time remained to correct them before the actual Moon landing. Left: Lift off of Soyuz 3 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome carrying cosmonaut Georgi T. Beregovoi. Middle: Beregovoi during a television broadcast from Soyuz 3. Right: The Soyuz 3 spacecraft carrying Beregovoi descends under its parachute for a soft-landing. Image credits: courtesy Roscosmos. As a reminder that a race to the Moon still existed, the Soviet Union also resumed crewed missions, halted in April 1967 by the death of Soyuz 1 cosmonaut Vladimir M. Komarov. Just three days after the Apollo 7 splashdown, the Soviets launched Soyuz 2, but without a crew. The next day, Soyuz 3 lifted off with cosmonaut Georgi T. Beregovoi aboard, at 47 the oldest person to fly in space up to that time. Although Beregovoi brought the two spacecraft close together, he could not achieve the intended docking. Soyuz 2 landed on Oct. 28 and Beregovoi in Soyuz 3 two days later. Following the Zond 5 circumlunar flight in September, rumors persisted that the next Zond mission may soon carry two cosmonauts on a similar circumlunar flight. The apparently successful Zond 5 mission coupled with the rumors of an imminent Soviet crewed lunar mission possibly contributed to the decision to send Apollo 8 on its historic circumlunar flight in December 1968. News from around the world in October 1968: Oct. 2 – Redwood National Park established to preserve the tallest trees on Earth. Oct. 7 – The Motion Picture Association of America adopts a film rating system. Oct. 12 – Equatorial Guinea gains independence from Spain. Oct. 12 – The XIX Olympic Games open in Mexico City, the first time the games held in Latin America. Oct. 14 – The Beatles finish recording the double “White Album.” Oct. 16 – The Jimi Hendrix Experience releases its last studio album “Electric Ladyland.” Oct. 17 – Release of the film “Bullitt,” starring Steve McQueen. Oct. 20 – American high jumper Dick Fosbury introduces the Fosbury Flop technique at the Mexico City Olympics. Oct. 24 – The 199th and last flight of the X-15 hypersonic rocket plane takes place at Edwards Air Force Base in California, piloted by NASA pilot William H. Dana. Oct. 25 – Led Zeppelin gives its first concert, at Surrey University in England. Explore More 13 min read 60 Years Ago: NASA Selects Its Third Group of Astronauts Article 1 day ago 7 min read 40 Years Ago: Space Shuttle Discovery Makes its Public Debut Article 2 days ago 21 min read 65 Years Ago: First Factory Rollout of the X-15 Hypersonic Rocket Plane Article 5 days ago View the full article

The maps above show sea levels in the Pacific Ocean during early October of 1997, 2015, and 2023, in the run up to El Niño events. Higher-than-average ocean heights appear red and white, and lower-than-average heights are in blue and purple. Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich is the latest satellite contributing to a 30-year sea level record that researchers are using to compare this year’s El Niño with those of the past. Not all El Niño events are created equal. Their impacts vary widely, and satellites like the U.S.-European Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich help anticipate those impacts on a global scale by tracking changes in sea surface height in the Pacific Ocean. Water expands as it warms, so sea levels tend to be higher in places with warmer water. El Niños are characterized by higher-than-normal sea levels and warmer-than-average ocean temperatures along the equatorial Pacific. These conditions can then propagate poleward along the western coasts of the Americas. El Niños can bring wetter conditions to the U.S. Southwest and drought to regions in the western Pacific, including Indonesia. This year’s El Niño is still developing, but researchers are looking to the recent past for clues as to how it is shaping up. There have been two extreme El Niño events in the past 30 years: the first from 1997 to 1998 and the second from 2015 to 2016. Both caused shifts in global air and ocean temperatures, atmospheric wind and rainfall patterns, and sea level. The maps above show sea levels in the Pacific Ocean during early October of 1997, 2015, and 2023, with higher-than-average ocean heights in red and white, and lower-than-average heights in blue and purple. Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich captured the 2023 data, the TOPEX/Poseidon satellite collected data for the 1997 image, and Jason-2 gathered data for the 2015 map. By October 1997 and 2015, large areas of the central and eastern Pacific had sea levels more than 7 inches (18 centimeters) higher than normal. This year, sea levels are about 2 or 3 inches (5 to 8 centimeters) higher than average and over a smaller area compared to the 1997 and 2015 events. Both of the past El Niños reached peak strength in late November or early December, so this year’s event may still intensify. “Every El Niño is a little bit different,” said Josh Willis, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “This one seems modest compared to the big events, but it could still give us a wet winter here in the Southwest U.S. if conditions are right.” More About the Mission Launched in November 2020, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich is named after former NASA Earth Science Division Director Michael Freilich. The satellite is one of two that compose the Copernicus Sentinel-6/Jason-CS (Continuity of Service) mission. Sentinel-6/Jason-CS was jointly developed by ESA (European Space Agency), the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), NASA, and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, with funding support from the European Commission and technical support on performance from the French space agency CNES (Centre National d’Études Spatiales). To learn more about Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/sentinel-6 News Media Contacts Jane J. Lee / Andrew Wang Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 818-354-0307 / 626-379-6874 jane.j.lee@jpl.nasa.gov / andrew.wang@jpl.nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Oct 18, 2023 Related Terms EarthEarth ScienceOceansSea IceSentinel-6 Michael Freilich SatelliteWeather and Atmospheric Dynamics Explore More 3 min read All Together Now: Drill Joins Other Moon Rover Science Instruments Article 2 hours ago 2 min read NASA’s Global Science Hackathon Attracts Thousands of Participants Article 2 weeks ago 8 min read Goddard Earth Science Projects Featured at the American Geophysical Union For a week in December, nearly 23,000 people roam the large Chicago convention center where… Article 2 weeks ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

Scott Bellamy, left, and Brian Key, right, received the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals. Bellamy and Key accepted on behalf of the entire DART team during a ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington on Oct. 17.Allison Shelley for the Partnership for Public Service NASA’s Brian Key and Scott Bellamy accepted the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal on behalf of a mission team for the first planetary defense test during a ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington on Oct. 17. 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. Known as DART, NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission successfully impacted a known asteroid in September 2022 and altered its orbit, demonstrating one planetary defense method that could be used to protect Earth from a potentially hazardous asteroid on a collision course with our home planet if one were ever discovered. Key and Bellamy served as program manager and mission manager for DART, respectively, and are based in the Planetary Missions Program Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. For their work on the mission, the team was honored in the Science, Technology, and Environment category of the Heyman 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 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 defend our home world,” Key said, who oversees management of NASA’s $2 billion 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 planets, moons, asteroids, comets and other destinations of interest in the solar system. Bellamy was tasked with keeping the team on track to launch and operate the mission. He echoed Key’s praise for the entire DART team. “We’re just the managers,” Bellamy 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, pencilwork-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. “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.” 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. 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 in Southern California; Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston; Glenn Research Center in Cleveland; and Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Learn more about NASA’s Planetary Missions Program and Planetary Defense Coordination Offices online. -end- News Media Contacts Jackie McGuinness Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1600 jackie.mcguinness@nasa.gov Jonathan Deal Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. 256-544-0034 jonathan.e.deal@nasa.gov Read More Share Details Last Updated Oct 18, 2023 Editor Claire A. O'Shea Location NASA Headquarters Related Terms DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) Explore More 1 min read Double Asteroid Redirection Test Post-Impact Image Gallery Article 2 days ago 8 min read From Impact to Innovation: A Year of Science and Triumph for Historic DART Mission From Impact to Innovation: A Year of Science and Triumph for Historic DART Mission Article 3 weeks ago 6 min read Hubble Sees Boulders Escaping from Asteroid Dimorphos The popular 1954 rock song “Shake, Rattle and Roll,” could be the theme music for… Article 3 months ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

NASA / Jasmin Moghbeli While aboard the International Space Station, astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli took this picture of the Moon passing in front of the Sun during the annular solar eclipse on Oct. 14, 2023. As the space station orbits Earth, astronauts take images of the planet below and phenomena in space. Visible in parts of the United States, Mexico, and many countries in South and Central America, millions of people in the Western Hemisphere experienced this eclipse. If you weren’t in the path of the annular eclipse, or you want to relive this exciting event, watch our coverage of the 2023 annular solar eclipse. Image credit: NASA/Jasmin Moghbeli View the full article

A team of engineers from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and Honeybee Robotics in Altadena, California inspect TRIDENT – short for The Regolith Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrain – shortly after its arrival at the integration and test facility.NASA/Robert Markowitz A team of engineers from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and Honeybee Robotics in Altadena, California, inspect TRIDENT – short for The Regolith Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrain – shortly after its arrival at the integration and test facility. In the coming months, the team will integrate the drill into NASA’s first robotic Moon rover, VIPER – short for the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover. TRIDENT is the fourth and final science instrument for VIPER to arrive at the clean room, where the vehicle is being built. NASA engineers have already successfully integrated VIPER’s three other science instruments into the rover. These include: the MSOLO (Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations), which was integrated in July, and the NSS (Neutron Spectrometer System) and NIRVSS (Near-Infrared Volatiles Spectrometer System) instruments, which were integrated in August. TRIDENT will dig up soil cuttings from as much as three feet below the lunar surface using a rotary percussive drill – meaning it both spins to cut into the ground and hammers to fragment hard material for more energy-efficient drilling. In addition to being able to measure the strength and compactedness of the lunar soil, the drill features a tip that carries a temperature sensor to take readings below the surface. MSOLO is a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer modified to withstand the harsh lunar environment by engineers and technicians at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. MSOLO will help NASA analyze the chemical makeup of the lunar soil and study water on the surface of the Moon. NIRVSS will detect which types of minerals and ices are present, if any, and identify the composition of the lunar soil. NSS will help scientists study the distribution of water and other potential resources on the Moon, by targeting its search for hydrogen – the element that’s the telltale sign of water, or H2O. Over the past few months, engineers and technicians from the agency’s Johnson, Kennedy, and Ames Research Center, performed pre-integration operations, such as installing external heaters, harnesses, instrumentation sensors, and multi-layer insulation onto the instruments. This critical hardware will help monitor and control how hot or cold the instruments get as the rover encounters different temperature conditions on the Moon; depending on whether the rover is in sunlight or shade, temperatures can vary by as many as 300 degrees Fahrenheit. VIPER will launch to the Moon aboard Astrobotic’s Griffin lunar lander on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative. It will reach its destination at Mons Mouton near the Moon’s South Pole in November 2024. During VIPER’s approximately 100-day mission, these four instruments will work together to better understand the origin of water and other resources on the Moon, which could support human exploration as part of NASA’s Artemis program. View the full article

2 min read 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 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 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 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, near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. 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. View the full article

6 min read Mercury’s Strange Hollows Enigmatic depressions on the surface have puzzled scientists since the 1970s NASA’s MESSENGER probe has discovered a surprise on Mercury: Something is digging “hollows” in the surface of the innermost planet. NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft discovered strange hollows on the surface of Mercury. Images taken from orbit revealed thousands of mysterious depressions, pitted and uneven, in areas all across the planet, up to a half-mile (800 meters) across and 120 feet (37 meters) deep. This mosaic view of the Raditladi impact basin includes individual frames capturing areas about 12 miles (20 km) wide, which merged high-resolution monochrome images from MESSENGER’s Narrow Angle Camera with a lower-resolution enhanced-color image from its Wide Angle Camera. For decades, scientists have been puzzling over strange hollows on Mercury’s surface, thousands of peculiar depressions at a variety of longitudes and latitudes, ranging in size from 60 feet to more than a half-mile across (18-800 meters), and up to 120 feet deep (37 meters). No one knows how they got there. And while none are as spooky as the Sleepy Hollow of Washington Irving’s legend, Mercury’s hollows are just as mysterious and, so far, seen nowhere else in the universe. NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution for Science “There’s essentially no atmosphere on Mercury,” said planetary geologist David Blewett, of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland. “With no atmosphere, wind doesn’t blow and rain doesn’t fall, so the hollows weren’t carved by wind or water. Other forces must be at work.” Mercury, the smallest planet in the solar system and closest to the Sun, is battered by heat, radiation, and solar wind; its extreme temperatures range from 800°F (430°C) on the sunny side, to as low as -290°F (-180°C) on the night side. It’s slightly larger, and similar to our Moon – airless, rocky, and peppered with impact craters large and small – but Mercury has rarely been visited by spacecraft, and retains many of its secrets. Scientists got their first tantalizing glimpses of the hollows when the Mariner 10 probe flew past Mercury in the 1970s, and captured low-resolution shots of curious bright areas in some craters. NASA returned to the small planet with the MESSENGER mission, which first flew past Mercury in 2008, then settled into orbit in 2011. That spacecraft circled the planet more than 4,000 times in four years, collecting hundreds of thousands of images and other data, and giving researchers new insights into this little-explored world. Mariner had cataloged less than half the planet’s surface during its brief visits 40 years earlier. A view of hollows on the crater named for author Edgar Allan Poe on Mercury, “This sinfully scintillant planet.” In this representation, Poe’s raven-colored rim stands out from the tan volcanic plains that surround it. Tiny hollows speckle the dark rim like blue-white stars in the blackness of night. The image was one of hundreds of high-resolution targeted color observations by MESSENGER’s Wide Angle Camera, using filters of red, green, and blue. NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution for Science “A Little Valley…Among High Hills” MESSENGER (the Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging mission) finally provided a sharper view of the enigmatic tracts. To differentiate them from other surface features, researchers dubbed them “hollows” (akin to Washington Irving’s description of the terrain in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” – “a little valley or rather lap of land among high hills.”) The probe sent back finely detailed, beautiful images of the hollows, looking in some color-enhanced mosaics like sheets of copper corroded with blue-green patina. In others – such as shots of Sander crater in Mercury’s vast Caloris basin – the strange landforms, etched and ragged, glow bright blue amid the surrounding crater walls and mounds. And yet the images and other data, from MESSENGER’s X-Ray Spectrometer, Laser Altimeter, and other instruments, gave only hints and no definitive answers about the hollows. This enhanced-color image from the MESSENGER mission shows (from left to right) the craters Munch (38 miles, or 61 km, wide), Sander (32 miles, or 52 km), and Poe (50 miles, 81 km), which lie in the northwest portion of Mercury’s Caloris basin. The hollows are the bright blue areas covering the floor of Sander and dotting the rims of Munch and Poe. The hollows are highly reflective and naturally appear bluish; in images like this, the spacecraft’s Wide Angle Camera used its 11 color filters to exaggerate the color spectrum, to highlight the variation among surface materials. NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution for Science ”When we got high-resolution views back of Sander, the floor of the crater just looked amazing,” said Carolyn Ernst of Johns Hopkins APL, a deputy instrument scientist on the MESSENGER mission. “It had all these crazy-shaped, irregular depressions, and it had this bright material outside of it. And to this day, we don’t fully know what causes them.” Researchers observed that the hollows are among the youngest and brightest features on the planet, especially compared to the impact craters where most reside, which date back as far as 4 billion years. The hollows, on the other hand, are relatively shiny and new – about 100,000 years old, on average – and may still be evolving today. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video MESSENGER mission scientists Ralph McNutt and Carolyn M. Ernst, both with Johns Hopkins APL, discuss what they’ve learned about Mercury’s hollows, and how much more needs to be figured out. Clues and Theories “We’ve been thinking of Mercury as a relic – a place that’s really not changing much anymore, except by impact cratering,” Blewett said. “But the hollows appear to be younger than the craters in which they are found, and that means Mercury’s surface is still evolving in a surprising way.” One possible clue to their formation is that many of the hollows are associated with central mounds or mountains inside Mercury’s impact craters. These so-called “peak rings” are thought to be made of material forced up from the depths by an impact that formed the crater. Ernst suggested a large object slamming into the planet, with the meteorite forming a new crater and tossing material from deep underground onto Mercury’s surface. The newly-excavated material could be unstable, finding itself suddenly exposed at the surface. Because Mercury is so close to the Sun, it’s battered by fierce heat and extreme space weather – factors that might play a role in forming hollows, added Blewett, a member of the science team for MESSENGER. ”Certain minerals, for example those that contain sulfur and other volatiles, would be easily vaporized by the onslaught of heat, solar wind, and micrometeoroids that Mercury experiences on a daily basis,” he said. “Perhaps sulfur is vaporizing, leaving just the other minerals, and therefore weakening the rock and making it spongier. Then the rock would crumble and erode more readily, forming these depressions.” Looking Ahead NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spotted similar depressions in the carbon dioxide ice at Mars’ south pole, giving that surface a “swiss cheese” appearance. But on Mercury the depressions are found in rock and often have bright interiors and halos. “We’ve never seen anything quite like this on a rocky surface,” Blewett said. Other theories include the idea that darker areas on Mercury’s surface are graphite deposits that, when pummeled and destroyed by solar wind, collapse and leave behind pitted, hollowed areas of only the much brighter, blue-tinged materials. We’ve never seen anything quite like this on a rocky surface. David Blewett Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory MESSENGER mission participating scientist MESSENGER finally ran out of fuel and crashed into Mercury in April 2015, but researchers are still sifting through the data it collected. Scientists are also eagerly anticipating the arrival of BepiColombo to Mercury in 2025 and what secrets the mission will reveal. A joint European-Japanese venture, with two orbiters riding together, the craft made their first flyby of Mercury in October 2021 – only the third mission ever to visit the planet. In 1820, Washington Irving wrote of Sleepy Hollow being a place of “strange sights, …haunted spots, and twilight superstitions; stars shoot and meteors glare oftener across the valley than in any other part of the country.” Likewise, Mercury has its own “ghosts” – craters in a previous life, later shrouded by lava – and has seen shooting stars and meteors peppering every part of its surface for billions of years. The craters they leave are named for artists and authors, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Edgar Allan Poe, whose namesake crater contains hollows. Maybe one day Irving, their mentor and contemporary, will join their company. By then the true nature of Mercury’s strange hollows may be unmasked. A Ghost Story About the Author agreicius Share Details Last Updated Oct 17, 2023 Related Terms The Solar System Explore More 3 min read Trick or Treat: Sidewalk Astronomy! Find events in your area and see what neighboring clubs are up to by checking… Article 1 day ago 2 min read NASA’s Lucy Spacecraft Continues Approach to Asteroid Dinkinesh Article 5 days ago 3 min read Five Tips for Photographing the Annular Solar Eclipse on Oct. 14 Article 1 week ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

6 min read Lynn Bassford Prioritizes Learning as a Hubble Mission Manager Name: Lynn Bassford Title: Hubble Space Telescope Mission Flight Operations Manager Formal Job Classification: Multifunctional Engineering and Science Manager Organization: Astrophysics Project Division, Hubble Space Telescope Operations Project, Code 441 Lynn Bassford’s long career enables her to keep learning. “It’s just a fact of my life to learn something new every day until the day I die,” she says. “I’m not happy being stagnant.”NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Tim Childers What do you do and what is most interesting about your role here at Goddard? How do you help support Goddard’s mission? I help Goddard’s Hubble Space Telescope Mission Operations Team to make sure that we’re taking care of the health and safety of the spacecraft. This includes commanding and playing back data from Hubble and working with the ground system and subsystems engineering teams to coordinate procedures, train people, schedule everyone, and manage resources. How did you find your path to Goddard? I graduated and wasn’t quite sure where a physics major would go for a position. So, I picked up a copy of Physics Today, went through every company in there, and sent out my résumé. After sending approximately 200, an application came back from Lockheed. It said to fill it out and send it to the Lockheed closest to you. There were 10 different locations, so I sent it to all 10. One day, there was a message on the answering machine that said, “Hey, Lynn, just wondering if you would like to work on a telescope in space for NASA.” The person who called, his name sounded like “Mr. Adventure,” and I gave him a call back and found out his name was Mr. Ed Venter. I can’t help but think it’s pretty cool, actually, because it has indeed been a great adventure! What is your favorite part of working at Goddard? Working with the spacecraft! Physically sending a command up and seeing it come back is just utterly amazing. Over the years, I’ve had the luck of being able to meet several astronauts that have gone up in our servicing missions. In a couple cases, we had them visit us in the middle of the night on our long shifts. Meeting them is like meeting a rock star. What first sparked your interest in space? Space was a combination of sci-fi and reality. The Apollo 11 Moon landing took place a couple of months after I was born, so my dad and I like to say that I was in front of the TV watching and it just got absorbed into my persona. One day, I saw Sally Ride up working in space and the TV said she had a background in physics, so I did physics. Lynn Bassford says her favorite part of working at Goddard has always been working directly with the Hubble Space Telescope. “Physically sending a command up and seeing it come back is just utterly amazing,” she says.Courtesy of Lynn Bassford What is your educational background? I was always very good at science and math and absolutely loved them. In middle school, I wanted to do astrogeology, but everyone I talked to said I kind of made that up. Now it’s all around the place! I went to University of Lowell for physics, which became UMass at Lowell. I ended up working for a physics professor who was also the head of the astronomy department. You’ve held many roles over your years at Goddard. How do you feel that they’ve contributed to your current role as a manager? Everything I’ve done aligns. I learn from everyone at all levels that I interact with. I did eight-and-a-half years of rotating shift work with flight operations, and I made sure that I moved across the room from console to console learning the different areas. Then I went into science instruments system engineering for over five years, where I became the lead. Then I moved into this role in mission operations, which combines those but also brings in employee performance, career growth, safety, diversity and inclusion, and engagement. Understanding what each area does and how they work together helps you optimize everything. It’s just a fact of my life to learn something new every day until the day I die. I’m not happy being stagnant. How do you manage stressful situations when working with the telescope? I don’t even think about how stressful it is because of the training I had in those early days: working with and learning from the experts about what you look at, who you call, what you do, and how to keep the telescope in a safe condition. Even during issues or service missions, we’re actually a very calm team. What is your proudest accomplishment at Goddard? When I was a Flight Operations Team shift supervisor in charge of my own crew for Hubble, on Jan. 6, 1996, we got hit with a three-foot snowstorm. Back in those days, we were on rotating shift work. When I left work that day, there was a light layer of snow, so I went home and collected whatever I could in the house for food, knowing there were at least five people on-site that might not go home. I drove back to work with half-a-foot of snow. Seven people stayed for two-and-a-half days straight. We pulled the foam coverings off the walls, piled them up in layers, and made a mattress out of it. We put it in one of the warmer inner offices so we could take turns sleeping eight hours and splitting 16 hours between working real-time operations and moving our vehicles from lot to lot for the Goddard snowplows. NASA gave us a small award afterwards. Lynn Bassford and the 1996 Hubble flight operations team received an award for keeping Hubble running during a three-foot snowstorm. “Seven people stayed for two-and-a-half days straight,” Lynn recalls.NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center What is the coolest part of your job? Hubble’s mission is just generally the coolest. It’s helping to discover, and to rewrite science books. Helping humanity discover what’s out there and move forward into the universe is groundbreaking. What advice would you give to people looking to have jobs at Goddard? For students, make sure you work hard even though college can be quite a challenge. That’s the intention – to get you thinking in all different ways and broaden your mind. Don’t give up, even when it’s challenging. For workers, diversifying your interests and not specializing in one area will make you open to a lot of different opportunities that you might not know about. You need to keep learning in order to be the best asset to an employer. Do you have a favorite space or Hubble fact? Hubble is a green telescope! We had solar panels before houses did. Lynn Bassford frequently helps out with Hubble outreach. “Hubble’s mission is just generally the coolest,” she says. “Helping humanity discover what’s out there and move forward into the universe is groundbreaking.” Courtesy of Jim Jeletic How do you like to spend your time outside of work? My dedication to work and family takes up most of my time, admittedly. If I can fit it in, I like to walk outside, do artwork that involves Hubble, and do challenging sports like white water rafting and bungee jumping. In the ’90s, I played on the men’s softball team at Goddard. I was a pitcher for the Hubble team. What is your “six-word memoir”? A six-word memoir describes something in just six words. We’re all made of stardust, IDIC. IDIC stands for infinite diversity in infinite combinations – it comes from Star Trek’s Spock. Conversations With Goddard is a collection of Q&A profiles highlighting the breadth and depth of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center’s talented and diverse workforce. The Conversations have been published twice a month on average since May 2011. Read past editions on Goddard’s “Our People” webpage. By Hannah Richter NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Share Details Last Updated Oct 17, 2023 Related Terms Goddard Space Flight CenterHubble Space TelescopePeople of Goddard Explore More 6 min read Webb Detects Tiny Quartz Crystals in the Clouds of a Hot Gas Giant Article 1 day ago 3 min read NASA’s Webb Captures an Ethereal View of NGC 346 Article 1 week ago 5 min read NASA’s Roman Mission Gears Up for a Torrent of Future Data Article 1 week ago View the full article

3 min read NASA Makes It Easier to Find Assistive Technologies for Licensing Alter-G Inc. licensed NASA technology in 2005 and commercialized it through an “anti-gravity” treadmill that is now used by a variety of patients, including professional and collegiate athletes, people learning to walk again after injury or surgery and people suffering from other stresses on the joints such as arthritis or obesity. Alter-G Inc. NASA develops a variety of technologies to explore space and beyond for the benefit of humanity. One measure of its success is the impact on the daily lives of millions of people with injuries and disabilities who are assisted with innovative treatments and products developed from NASA-derived technology. Kennedy Space Center engineer Adam Kissiah is inducted into the Space Foundation’s Space Technology Hall of Fame in 2003 for his invention of the cochlear implant. Left to right are former astronaut Donald McMonagle, Kissiah, former astronaut and NASA administrator Vice Adm. Richard Truly, and Space Foundation president and CEO Elliot Pulham. Space Foundation After all, it was thanks to NASA’s resources that Adam Kissiah, an electronics instrumentation engineer at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, was able to create what would become the cochlear implant. This assistive technology is now considered a medical wonder and has restored hearing to hundreds of thousands of adults and children across the planet since its creation nearly 50 years ago. And now, NASA is making it easier than ever to find and access patented inventions born from space exploration that could help design or manufacture assistive technologies. To help spur the next generation of assistive technologies, NASA has compiled patented technologies with potential applications to this industry in one place. Companies are invited to browse the list for innovations that can help improve an existing product or launch the creation of something new. “NASA is no stranger to improving the world of health and medicine. Our technologies benefit all humanity, and making them easier to find for companies creating these tools to improve people’s quality of life just made sense,” said Dan Lockney, program executive for NASA’s Technology Transfer program. “We can’t wait to learn how these innovations born from NASA expertise will help people lead healthy, productive, and independent lives.” According to the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA), assistive technologies are products, equipment, and systems that enhance learning, working, and daily living for people with disabilities. This includes everything from hardware, such as prosthetics, hearing aids, and wheelchairs, to software like screen readers and communication programs. The Joint Optical Reflective Display (JORDY) wearable device helps people with low vision see by letting them change contrast, brightness, and display modes and by magnifying objects up to 50 times. The technology grew out of a joint effort by NASA, the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.Enhanced Vision Another notable NASA assistive technology spinoff is JORDY, or Joint Optical Reflective Display. The device enables people with low vision to read and write. JORDY enhances an individual’s remaining sight by magnifying objects up to 50 times and allowing them to change contrast, brightness, and display modes, depending on what works best for their low-vision condition. Swedish company Bioservo Technologies’ Ironhand, based on a set of patents from NASA and General Motors’ (GM) Robo-Glove, is the world’s first industrial-strength robotic glove for factory workers and others who perform repetitive manual tasks.Bioservo Technologies/Niklas Lagström The curated list on technology.nasa.gov features hardware and software available for licensing, including: A robotic upper body exoskeleton that helps the user control the shoulder and elbow to rehabilitate people suffering from the effects of a stroke or traumatic brain injury A glove to help reduce the grasping force needed to operate tools for an extended period of time, born from a collaboration to build a robotic astronaut 3D printing techniques to help build delicate or complex parts New and improved processes to fabricate circuitry In January 2024, representatives from NASA’s Technology Transfer program will be present at the ATIA conference in Orlando, Florida. Attendees will be able to learn more about the assistive technologies available for licensing. NASA’s Technology Transfer program, managed by the Space Technology Mission Directorate, ensures technologies developed for missions of exploration and discovery are broadly available to the public, maximizing the benefit to humanity. Learn more by visiting the Technology Transfer Portal at: https://technology.nasa.gov Facebook logo @NASATechnology @NASA_Technology Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate Technology Transfer & Spinoffs Technology NASA News Share Details Last Updated Oct 17, 2023 Editor Loura Hall Contact Ann M. Harkeyann.m.harkey@nasa.gov Related Terms Space Technology Mission DirectorateTechnologyTechnology Transfer & Spinoffs View the full article

NASA The crew of the International Space Station saw this view of the north coast of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur as the space station orbited 258 miles above on Oct. 14, 2023. In 24 hours, the space station makes 16 orbits of Earth, traveling through 16 sunrises and sunsets. The station’s orbital path takes it over 90 percent of the Earth’s population, with astronauts taking millions of images of the planet below. See more photos of our planet here. Image credit: NASA View the full article

On Oct. 17, 1963, NASA announced the selection of its third group of astronauts. Chosen from 720 military and civilian applicants, the newest group of 14 astronauts comprised the best educated class up to that time. Seven represented the U.S. Air Force, four the U.S. Navy, one the U.S. Marine Corps, and two were civilians. NASA selected them to fly the two-seat Gemini spacecraft designed to test techniques for the Apollo Moon landing program as well as the Apollo missions themselves. Tragically, four of their members died before making their first spaceflight. The 10 surviving members of the group flew 18 important missions in the Gemini and Apollo programs, with seven traveling to the Moon and four walking on its surface. In addition, one flew a long-duration mission aboard Skylab. The Group 3 astronauts pose following their introduction during the Oct. 17, 1963, press conference – front row, Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, left, William A. Anders, Charles M. Bassett, Alan L. Bean, Eugene A. Cernan, and Roger B. Chaffee; back row, Michael Collins, left, R. Walter Cunningham, Donn F. Eisele, Theodore C. Freeman, Richard F. Gordon, Russell L. Schweickart, David R. Scott, and Clifton C. Williams. On June 5, 1963, NASA announced that it would select 10-15 new candidates to augment the existing cadre of 15 active duty astronauts from its first two selections in 1959 and 1962. The agency had enough astronauts to staff the Gemini missions, but with Apollo missions then expected to begin in 1965, with up to four flights per year, it needed more astronauts. Selection criteria at the time for the candidates included U.S. citizenship, a degree in engineering or physical science, test pilot experience or 1,000 hours flying jets, 34 years old or younger, and no taller than six feet. From the 720 applications received by the July deadline, the selection board chose 136 candidates for further screening and narrowed that field down to 34 for extensive medical evaluations at Brooks Air Force Base (AFB) in San Antonio between July 31 and Aug. 15. The chair of the selection board, coordinator of astronaut activities Donald K. “Deke” Slayton, presented the names of the top 14 applicants to Robert R. Gilruth, director of the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), now NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, who approved the list. Slayton then called each of the winning candidates with the good news. On Oct. 17, he introduced the new astronauts during a press conference in Houston. On average, this third group of astronauts were younger, slightly taller and heavier than the previous two groups, and better educated, six with master’s degrees and one having earned a doctorate. Mercury 7 astronaut and chief of operations and training for the astronaut office Walter M. Schirra, with back to camera, briefs the newly arrived 14 astronauts at the Manned Spacecraft Center, now NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The Fourteen reported to work on Feb. 3, 1964, stationed initially at Houston’s Ellington AFB while construction of the MSC main campus on Clear Lake continued. During their first few months as astronauts, they visited various NASA centers and contractor facilities to become familiar with the space program’s major elements. Each astronaut received a technical assignment to gain expertise in specific aspects of spaceflight to pass their knowledge on to the rest of the group, and to help in the design of spacecraft, rockets, spacesuits, control systems, and simulators. Additionally, their 240-hour course work covered topics such as astronomy, aerodynamics, rockets, communications, space medicine, meteorology, upper atmospheric physics, navigation, orbital mechanics, computers, and geology. Because some of the group members could potentially receive assignments to land on the Moon, training including field trips to geologically interesting sites where they received instruction from geologists. They conducted jungle survival training in Panama, desert survival training around Reno, Nevada, and water survival training at the Pensacola, Florida, Naval Air Station. Left: Group 3 astronaut Russell L. “Rusty” Schweickart, center, gets hands on experience as capsule communicator (capcom) during Gemini IV, the first flight controlled from the Mission Control Center at the Manned Spacecraft Center, now NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Middle: Schweickart, geologist Uel Clanton, Michael Collins, and Roger B. Chaffee during geology training near Bend, Oregon. Right: David R. Scott, left, and Richard F. Gordon examine a rock sample during a geology field trip to the Nevada Test Site at Yucca Flats. Of the 14, seven came from the U.S. Air Force (USAF), four from the U.S. Navy (USN), one from the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC), and two were civilians at the time of selection but had military experience. The astronauts included Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin (USAF), William A. Anders (USAF), Charles M. Bassett (USAF), Alan L. Bean (USN), Eugene A. Cernan (USN), Roger B. Chaffee (USN), Michael Collins (USAF), R. Walter Cunningham (civilian), Donn F. Eisele (USAF), Theodore C. “Ted” Freeman (USAF), Richard F. Gordon (USN), Russell L. “Rusty” Schweickart (civilian), David R. Scott (USAF), and Clifton C. “CC” Williams (USMC). Williams had the distinction as the first bachelor astronaut, a distinction he lost in July 1964. Group 3 astronauts Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, left, William A. Anders, and Charles M. Bassett. Aldrin, who wrote his thesis on orbital rendezvous techniques for his Ph.D. in astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, earned the nickname Dr. Rendezvous. Appropriately, Slayton tasked him to help with mission planning. Aldrin received his first crew assignment as the backup pilot for Gemini IX that included training for a spacewalk. He put that experience, plus additional training in a neutral buoyancy simulator, or underwater training to better simulate weightlessness, during his four-day Gemini XII flight during which he successfully completed three spacewalks. Moving on to the Apollo program, Aldrin next served as the backup Command Module Pilot (CMP) for the Apollo 8 first lunar orbital mission. As the prime Lunar Module Pilot (LMP) on Apollo 11, Aldrin became the second man to walk on the Moon in July 1969. He retired from NASA the following year. Slayton assigned Anders, who held a master’s degree in nuclear engineering, to follow the development of environmental controls for Gemini and Apollo spacecraft. His first mission assignment came as the backup pilot for Gemini XI, and then as prime LMP on Apollo 8. He is credited with taking the famous Earthrise photo while he and his crewmates orbited the Moon. He served as backup CMP on Apollo 11, before retiring from NASA in August 1969 to join the National Aeronautics and Space Council. Bassett’s technical assignment included training and simulators. Slayton assigned him as pilot on Gemini IX, a mission that included docking and a spacewalk. Tragically, on Feb. 28, 1966, just three months before their planned mission, Bassett and his command pilot Elliott M. See died in the crash of their T-38 Talon aircraft as they approached Lambert International Airport in St. Louis in inclement weather. Group 3 astronauts Alan L. Bean, left, Eugene A. Cernan, and Roger B. Chaffee. Bean’s primary technical assignment involved spacecraft recovery systems. Slayton first assigned him as backup command pilot on Gemini X with Williams as his pilot. He next served as the backup LMP on Apollo 9, the first mission to test the Lunar Module (LM) in Earth orbit. That put him in position as the prime LMP on Apollo 12. During that mission he became the fourth man to walk on the Moon. He later served as the commander for the 59-day Skylab 3 mission in 1973 and as the backup commander for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) in 1975. He retired from NASA in 1981. Cernan, with a master’s in aeronautical engineering, followed the development of spacecraft propulsion and the Agena docking target for Gemini missions. Slayton assigned him as backup pilot for Gemini IX, and following the deaths of See and Bassett, Cernan and his commander Thomas P. Stafford took over as the prime crew. As luck would have it, they did not have a chance to dock with an Agena as it did not make it to orbit. Cernan conducted the second American spacewalk during that mission. He served as Aldrin’s backup on Gemini XII and then as the backup LMP on Apollo 7. That rotated him to the prime crew on Apollo 10, the dress rehearsal for the Moon landing during which he and Stafford took their LM to within nine miles of the lunar surface. He served as backup commander for Apollo 14, and then as prime commander of Apollo 17, the final Apollo Moon landing mission, he left the last footprints of that program in the lunar soil in December 1972. He remains one of only three people to have traveled to the Moon twice. He retired from NASA in 1976. Chaffee’s technical assignment led him to follow the development of spacecraft communications systems. In March 1966, Slayton assigned him to the first crewed Apollo mission, along with commander Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom and senior pilot Edward H. White. Tragically, the three died on Jan. 27, 1967, in a fire aboard their spacecraft during a ground test on the launch pad. Group 3 astronauts Michael Collins, left, R. Walter Cunningham, and Donn F. Eisele. Collins, who had applied for the 1962 class but did not get selected, followed the development of pressure suits and spacewalking systems. As his first crew assignment, he served as the backup pilot for the long duration Gemini VII mission. He next served as the pilot for Gemini X, the first mission to complete a rendezvous with two Agena targets, and during which he conducted two spacewalks. He briefly served as the CMP on the Apollo 8 crew before being sidelined by surgery to correct a bone spur in his neck. After his recovery, he served as the CMP on Apollo 11, the first Moon landing mission. He retired from NASA in 1970, and went on to serve as the director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., overseeing the building of its new facility that opened for the nation’s bicentennial in 1976. Cunningham, who held a master’s degree in physics and had nearly completed work on his Ph.D. when selected, oversaw the development of ground-based experiments to support spaceflights. Slayton assigned him to the second crewed Apollo mission, along with classmate Eisele and Walter M. Schirra as their commander. Later, Slayton reassigned them to back up the first Apollo crew of Grissom, White, and Chaffee. After the Apollo fire, Schirra, Eisele, and Cunningham became the prime crew for Apollo 7, the first crewed Apollo flight. After working on the Skylab program, he retired from NASA in 1971. Slayton assigned Eisele, who held a master’s degree in astronautics, to oversee the development of spacecraft attitude control systems. Slayton assigned Eisele, along with Schirra and Cunningham to the second crewed Apollo mission, then reassigned them to back up the first Apollo crew. After the fire, Schirra, Eisele, and Cunningham became the prime crew for the first Apollo mission, completing the 11-day Apollo 7 mission in October 1968. Eisele later served as the backup CMP for Apollo 10. He retired from NASA in 1972. Group 3 astronauts Theodore C. Freeman, left, Richard F. Gordon, and Russell L. “Rusty” Schweickart. With a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering, Freeman’s technical assignment involved following the development of the various boosters for the Gemini and Apollo programs. Tragically, before he received a flight assignment, Freeman died in the crash of a T-38 Talon aircraft on Oct. 31, 1964, near Ellington AFB in Houston. He was the first active duty astronaut to perish. Slayton put Gordon in charge of following the design of cockpit controls. Gordon’s first crew assignment was as backup pilot for Gemini VIII, the first docking mission. He next served as the pilot for Gemini XI that completed the docking with their Agena target on the first revolution. He conducted two spacewalks during that mission. On his next assignment, he served as the backup CMP for Apollo 9, and then as prime CMP on Apollo 12, the second Moon landing mission. His last official assignment as backup commander of Apollo 15 would have led him to most likely be commander of Apollo 18, but budget cuts in September 1970 canceled that mission. He retired from NASA the following year. Schweickart, the youngest member of this astronaut class and with a master’s in aeronautics and astronautics, oversaw the development and integration of inflight experiments. First assigned in March 1966 as Chaffee’s backup on the first crewed Apollo mission, Schweickart and his crew mates James A. McDivitt and fellow classmate Scott were reassigned to the mission to carry out the first in-orbit test of the LM. They flew that mission as Apollo 9 in March 1969. Schweickart later served as the backup commander of the first Skylab crew. He retired from NASA in 1977. Group 3 astronauts David R. Scott, left, and Clifton C. “CC” Williams. Slayton placed Scott, who held a master’s degree in aeronautics and astronautics, in charge of monitoring the development of guidance and navigation systems. On his first crew assignment, he served as pilot on Gemini VIII, the mission that featured the first docking with an Agena target and the first in-space emergency requiring an immediate return to Earth. Just days after that harrowing flight in March 1966, Scott was named to the backup crew for the first Apollo mission, but later he, McDivitt, and Schweickart were reassigned to the first flight to test the LM in space, the flight that flew as Apollo 9 in March 1969. Scott next served as backup commander of Apollo 12, then as prime commander of Apollo 15. He became the seventh man to walk on the Moon and the first to drive there, using the Lunar Roving Vehicle. After leaving the astronaut corps, he served first as the deputy director and then the director of NASA’s Dryden, now Armstrong, Flight Research Center at Edwards AFB in California’s Mojave Desert. He retired from NASA in 1977. Williams, the only Marine and lone bachelor of the group (he married in July 1964), oversaw range operations and crew safety. Slayton assigned Williams as the backup pilot for Gemini X, and later he served as the LMP on a backup crew for the first flight of the LM in Earth orbit, along with Charles “Pete” Conrad and fellow classmate Gordon. Tragically, Williams died in the crash of a T-38 Talon aircraft near Tallahassee, Florida, on Oct. 5, 1967. Bean replaced him on Conrad’s crew, that became the Apollo 9 backup crew and ultimately the prime crew for Apollo 12. At Bean’s suggestion, Williams is memorialized on the Apollo 12 crew patch as a fourth star, the other three stars representing the actual flight crew. Summary of spaceflights by Group 3 astronauts. The boxes with flight names in italics represent astronauts who died before they could undertake the mission. As a group, The Fourteen tragically had the highest mortality rate of any astronaut class. The surviving 10 astronauts completed a total of 18 flights, five Gemini missions, 12 Apollo missions, and one Skylab mission. Of the group, Collins received the first crew assignment as Gemini VII backup pilot, while Scott made the first spaceflight on Gemini VIII. Bean made the last spaceflight by a Fourteen, as commander of Skylab 3 in 1973, and also the last to receive a crew assignment as the backup commander for the ASTP mission in 1975. Seven of The Fourteen traveled to the Moon, one of them twice, and four walked on its dusty surface. One even drove on it. Left: Michael Collins, lower left, the first of The Fourteen to receive a crew assignment as backup pilot on Gemini VII. Middle: David R. Scott, lower left, received the first assignment to a prime crew as Gemini VIII pilot – fellow Fourteen Richard F. Gordon was assigned as his backup. Right: Scott awaits launch inside Gemini VIII. Explore More 7 min read 40 Years Ago: Space Shuttle Discovery Makes its Public Debut Article 1 day ago 21 min read 65 Years Ago: First Factory Rollout of the X-15 Hypersonic Rocket Plane Article 4 days ago 23 min read NASA Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month 2023 Article 6 days ago View the full article

iss070e003079 (Oct. 12, 2023) — As the International Space Station orbited 260 miles above, two high saline lakes Uvs (left) and Khyargas (right) located in the Northwestern region of Mongolia were photographed. Both basins are nestled amongst mountain regions home to many different ecosystems.View the full article

iss070e000668 (Sept. 30, 2023) — NASA astronaut and Expedition 70 Flight Engineer Loral O’Hara poses for a photo after receiving her first haircut in microgravity.NASAView the full article

iss070e001602 (Oct. 2, 2023) — NASA astronaut and Expedition 70 Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli works with the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device, or ARED, removing and replacing cables. The device uses adjustable resistive mechanisms to provide crew members a weight load while exercising to maintain muscle strength and mass in microgravity.NASAView the full article

4 min read More than Grants: Perspectives from Past NASA-funded Researchers Monique McClain inspects the print quality of surrogate propellants that were 3D-printed in her laboratory.Credits: Jared Pike/Purdue University Each year, researchers nationwide embark on journeys of discovery facilitated by funding from NASA’s Space Technology Research Grants (STRG) program. They uncover innovations that benefit future research and their careers after graduation. In 2023, STRG hit a significant milestone, making its thousandth award through the most recent cohort of NASA Space Technology Graduate Research Opportunity (NSTRGO) selections. The STRG program supports academic researchers – graduate students to senior faculty –­ through five unique solicitations to examine ideas and approaches critical to making science and space exploration more effective, affordable, and sustainable. The vast majority of STRG awards go to graduate students through NSTGRO, resulting in the development of innovative technology while enriching the careers of students and the aerospace workforce. To date, more than 750 awards have supported graduate student research across the country. For those NASA Space Tech fellows, post-graduation employment is diverse: approximately 19% worked for NASA (or agency contractors), 16% worked in aerospace, 11% at other Federal agencies, 17% in academia, and 20% in other advanced technology industries.Credit: NASA The next 2024 NSTGRO opportunity is open for proposals through Nov. 1, 2023. It marks the 14th consecutive year that STMD has sponsored U.S. citizen and legal permanent resident graduate students who show significant potential to contribute to NASA’s goal of creating innovative new space technologies for our nation’s science, exploration, and economic future. This space technology research investment milestone prompted NASA to reflect on three grantees inspiring and developing a diverse U.S. aerospace technology community. Eliad Peretz wanted to apply before becoming a graduate student at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Growing up in Israel, working on his grandfather’s olive grove taught him the value of planning and working hard at a young age. “I knew NASA was the place for me,” said Peretz. He viewed STRG as a way in the door, to work directly with NASA and, maybe, one day for NASA. Eliad Peretz poses for a photo. Credits: Jon Reis Funded by a 2015 grant, Peretz used artificial intelligence to design lightweight spacecraft solar cells. He spent summers at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. There, he had direct access to agency experts who helped advance the research while discovering something along the way. “I realized that I didn’t want to be a person who can only solve a single problem; I wanted to solve many problems for spaceflight,” said Peretz. “For me, it was a life-changing program and experience.” Today, Peretz works in the Heliophysics Division mission at NASA Goddard. He asks scientists and engineers for their most challenging problems and comes up with concepts, unlike anything that’s been done before. Monique McClain, a 2017 grant recipient, embarked on a different path after graduating from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. She is an assistant professor in Purdue’s School of Mechanical Engineering, using the NSTRF experience to help her students. “I was hooked on science fiction as a kid and thought the chief engineer in ‘Star Trek’ was the coolest job,” said McClain. “They got to solve all the challenging problems.” The “problem” of her research was to improve control over how a solid rocket motor burns by creating complex propellant shapes using a new 3D printing technology. “Space Tech Research Grants stood out because it was more than just a stipend,” said McClain. “It allowed me to make research decisions, visit government labs, and develop professionally.” McClain tested her 3D-printed components at NASA Marshall and the U.S. Naval Air Weapons Station at China Lake, California. Her current work focuses on understanding multi-material properties and improving 3D printer designs, while other researchers continue to build on her graduate project and are exploring technology commercialization opportunities. "Sometimes in academia, you are hyper-focused on a small problem, and this NASA opportunity helps you see the bigger picture." MONIQUE McClain Space Technology Research Grant recipient In graduate school at the University of Texas in Austin, Kaci Madden worked on robotic exoskeletons. Her uncle is an amputee; growing up, she saw how prosthetic technology evolved. Madden wanted to design devices that helped people. Funded by a 2015 NASA grant, she learned how to evaluate fatigue using robots to monitor astronaut health and performance more accurately. At NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Madden tested Robo-Glove, collected data, and built her professional network. “NASA has a sense of comradery, vision and mission,” said Madden. “Everyone I met was willing to help or introduce me to someone who could further my research and support theirs.” Madden said the opportunity propelled her career forward. She found a different mechanism for helping people and currently works for a healthcare start-up that empowers researchers to study rare diseases. “I have a lot of gratitude to the STRG program itself for offering these funds and the people I got to work with,” said Madden. “They deserve a lot of credit – they are the shoulders I stood on to complete my dissertation under this fellowship.” NASA Space Technology Research Grants are part of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). This program is one of many early-stage funding opportunities for researchers in academia. To browse other funding opportunities, visit: https://techport.nasa.gov/opportunities Share Details Last Updated Oct 17, 2023 Editor Anyah Dembling Contact Related Terms Space Technology Mission DirectorateSpace Technology Research GrantsTechnologyTechnology Research Explore More 4 min read NASA Seeks Development of Universal Payload Interface Article 22 hours ago 1 min read Who Let the Gas Out?: NASA Tank Venting in Microgravity Challenge Article 5 days ago 6 min read 5 Things to Know About NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications Article 7 days ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate Space Technology Research Grants STMD Solicitations and Opportunities Get Involved View the full article

1 min read Near-Earth Asteroids as of August 31, 2023 Near-Earth objects (NEOs) are asteroids and comets that orbit the Sun like the planets with orbits that come within 30 million miles of Earth’s orbit. NASA established the Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) to manage the agency’s ongoing efforts in Planetary Defense, which is the “applied planetary science” to address the NEO impact hazard. One key element of the PDCO is NASA’s NEO Observations program, which is composed of projects to find, track, and characterize NEOs. Here’s what we’ve found so far. This page is updated monthly with the most up-to-date numbers. Facebook logo @NASA@Asteroid Watch @NASA@AsteroidWatch Instagram logo @NASA Linkedin logo @NASA Explore More 1 min read Double Asteroid Redirection Test Post-Impact Image Gallery Article 3 hours ago 5 min read Journey to a Metal-Rich World: NASA’s Psyche Is Ready to Launch Article 5 days ago 2 min read Hubble Examines Entrancing Galaxy in Eridanus Hubble is sharing a brand new galaxy image every day through October 7, 2023! Visit… Article 1 week ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Asteroids Overview Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets, are rocky, airless remnants left over from the early formation of our solar system… Kuiper Belt Overview Both Pluto and Arrokoth are in the Kuiper Belt, the doughnut-shaped region of icy bodies extending far beyond the… Our Solar System Overview Our planetary system is located in an outer spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy. We call it the… Planetary Science For decades, NASA’s planetary science program has advanced scientific understanding of our solar system in extraordinary ways, pushing the limits… Share Details Last Updated Oct 16, 2023 Editor Tricia Talbert Related Terms AsteroidsPlanetary DefensePlanetary Defense Coordination OfficePlanetary SciencePlanetary Science DivisionScience Mission Directorate View the full article

iss070e003846 (Oct. 14, 2023) — The north coast of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur on the Pacific Ocean is pictured from the International Space Station as it orbited 258 miles above.NASAView the full article

iss070e003785 (Oct. 14, 2023) — The Moon passes in front of the sun casting its shadow, or umbra, and darkening a portion of the Earth’s surface during the annular solar eclipse. The International Space Station was soaring 260 miles above the U.S.-Canadian border as this picture was taken pointing southward toward Texas.NASAView the full article

iss070e003409 (Oct. 14, 2023) — The Moon passes in front of the sun during the annular solar eclipse in this photograph taken by Expedition 70 Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli aboard the International Space Station.NASAView the full article

1 min read Double Asteroid Redirection Test Post-Impact Image Gallery After 10 months flying in space, NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) – the world’s first planetary defense technology demonstration – successfully impacted its asteroid target on Monday, September 26 at 7:14 p.m. EDT. as the world’s first attempt to move an asteroid in space. Over the coming weeks, ground based observatories around the world will characterize the ejecta produced by DART’s impact and precisely measure Dimorphos’ orbital change to determine how effectively DART deflected the asteroid. Below you will find a gallery that will continue to be updated as new images are taken of the Didymos asteroid system. DART’s target asteroid is not a threat to Earth but is the perfect testing ground to see if this method of asteroid deflection – known as the kinetic impactor technique – would be a viable way to protect our planet if an asteroid on a collision course with Earth were discovered in the future. This movie uses images from the LUKE camera on ASI’s LICIACube, captured just after the impact of NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirect Test, or DART, spacecraft with the asteroid Dimorphos on Sept. 26, 2022. The video begins with LICIACube around 500 miles away from the asteroid, passes by, and then continues to around 200 miles away. The video clearly shows the ejection of material streaming off of Dimorphos due to the impact.ASI/NASAView the full article

2 min read Celebrate International Observe the Moon Night at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center The public is invited to celebrate International Observe the Moon Night on Saturday, Oct. 21, from 6 to 9 p.m. EDT rain or shine at NASA Goddard’s Visitor Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. International Observe the Moon Night occurs annually in September or October, when the Moon is around first quarter – a great phase for evening observing. NASA/Vi Nguyen International Observe the Moon Night is a time to come together with fellow Moon enthusiasts and curious people around the world. The public is invited to learn about lunar science and exploration, take part in celestial observations, and honor cultural and personal connections to the Moon. During the Goddard event, attendees will be able to participate in a variety of interactive hands-on activities, including making your own eclipse art, exploring rocks from Earth and space, recreating the Moon’s phases with cookies, designing your own lunar lander, and much more! We’ll also have a photo booth, Moon-themed presentations, and lunar and astronomical observing with telescopes. International Observe the Moon Night occurs annually in September or October, when the Moon is around first quarter – a great phase for evening observing. A first-quarter Moon offers excellent viewing opportunities along the terminator (the line between night and day), where shadows enhance the Moon’s cratered landscape. International Observe the Moon Night is sponsored by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission and the Solar System Exploration Division of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, with support from many partners. LRO is managed by Goddard for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. No registration is needed. 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/ For directions to the Goddard Visitor Center, go to: https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/visitor/directions/index.html To learn more about the program, visit: https://moon.nasa.gov/observe-the-moon-night/ For more information about LRO, visit: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/lro Nancy Neal Jones NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Nancy.N.Jones@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Oct 16, 2023 Editor Jamie Adkins Contact Location Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms Earth's MoonGoddard Space Flight Center View the full article

Aerial view of NASA’s Ames Research Center, NASA Research Park, and Moffett Field in California’s Silicon ValleyNASA NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley today hosted an announcement by the University of California Berkeley and San Francisco-based developer SKS Partners of a proposed new campus and innovation hub for research and advancements in astronautics, aeronautics, quantum computing, climate studies, social sciences, and more. The new campus, called Berkeley Space Center, aims to offer lab, office, and educational spaces along with student and faculty housing, a conference center, and retail space on 36 acres within the NASA Research Park (NRP) at Ames. Berkeley Space Center follows on a NASA-UC Berkeley partnership created to explore potential mutually beneficial learning opportunities, including accelerating local and national capabilities for transporting cargo and passengers using emerging automation and electric propulsion technologies; examining how biomanufacturing can enable deep space exploration; and leveraging NASA’s high-performance computing assets. The new campus aims to bring together researchers from the private sector, academia, and the government to tackle the complex scientific, technological, and societal issues facing our world. “The diverse portfolios of NASA Ames and Berkeley open potential future collaborations in a variety of areas including interplanetary exploration, air transportation capabilities, the search for life beyond our planet, and environmental studies for the benefit of all,” said Eugene Tu, Ames center director. NASA Research Park is a world-class research and development hub for government, academia, non-profits, and industry, located at Ames in Moffett Field, California. Ames has a long history of partnering with diverse entities – from space technology start-ups to the Federal Aviation Administration – to combine strengths to tackle great challenges. Through the Berkeley Space Center, UC Berkeley joins Carnegie Mellon as the second major university to choose NASA Research Park for a new campus. “The Berkeley Space Center will bring together leading experts in academia, government, and industry to enable new collaboration in aerospace, bioengineering, advanced air mobility, and other areas of research,” said U.S. Rep. Anna G. Eshoo. “Bravo to NASA Ames and UC Berkeley on this watershed moment in the transformation of Moffett Field into an innovation hub and a model for bringing together the brightest minds in academia and government.” The United States Geological Survey serves as another model partnership at Ames, with development of a new campus collocating at NASA Research Park to support joint research in lunar prospecting, earthquake simulations, ecology, remote sensing work, and more. Learn more about Ames’ world-class research and development in aeronautics, science, and exploration technology at: https://www.nasa.gov/ames For news media: Members of the news media interested in covering this topic should reach out to the Ames newsroom. View the full article

NASA / Aubrey Gemignani NASA’s Psyche spacecraft launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on Friday, Oct. 13, 2023, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This image captures the beginning of the spacecraft’s journey to a metal-rich asteroid of the same name. The body of the Psyche spacecraft is about the size of a small van, and it’s powered by solar electric propulsion. It has a magnetometer, a gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer, and a multispectral imager to study asteroid Psyche’s composition. The spacecraft will start sending images to Earth as soon as it spots the asteroid. See more photos from the launch. Image Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani View the full article

The third TechLeap Prize challenges applicants to make it easier to integrate diverse technology payloads onto various commercial suborbital vehicles, orbital flight platforms, and planetary landers. Pictured here is Arizona State University’s CubeSounder payload integration at the World View facility for an October 2021 high-altitude balloon flight supported by NASA’s Flight Opportunities program. Arizona State University NASA is calling on innovators to help solve some of the challenges in rapidly testing technology payloads across a wide range of commercial flight vehicles and test environments. As NASA explores the unknown in air and space, the agency is making increased use of commercial suborbital vehicles, spacecraft, and lunar landers to help advance new capabilities. However, the process to ensure payloads can properly interface with a host vehicle is currently complex, time-consuming, and can vary greatly from vehicle to vehicle, as well as between suborbital flights, orbital flights, and beyond. To change the pace of space by moving technologies into flight testing and between different flight environments as quickly as possible, NASA’s Flight Opportunities program is asking businesses, academic institutions, entrepreneurs, and other innovators to develop a flight-ready universal payload interface for its third NASA TechLeap Prize. The NASA TechLeap Prize’s Universal Payload Interface Challenge invites applicants to propose an optimized “system of systems” to enable easy integration of diverse technology payloads onto various commercial suborbital vehicles, orbital platforms, and planetary landers. The proposed universal payload interfaces should seamlessly adapt a wide range of small space payloads – be they technologies, laboratory instruments, or scientific experiments – for flight testing. The third TechLeap Prize challenges applicants to make it easier to integrate diverse technology payloads onto various commercial suborbital vehicles, orbital flight platforms, and planetary landers. Pictured here is a Starling CubeSat. A maximum of three winners will receive up to $650,000 each to build their system plus the opportunity to flight test it at no cost. The focus is on achieving a simplified and streamlined payload integration process that has the potential to accelerate future flight-testing timelines. The challenge with payload integration is the variety of vehicles used for flight testing, such as the commercial suborbital rocket-powered vehicles and landers, high-altitude balloons, and aircraft flying parabolic profiles that Flight Opportunities uses. The program also works in close cooperation with the Small Spacecraft Technology programto offer access to platforms hosting payloads in orbit. “The TechLeap Prize is a great way to engage the greater community to find a solution for payload integration that will reduce the time to flight test and ultimately accelerate the development of technologies that are critical for addressing key gaps for NASA and the nation,” said Danielle McCulloch, program manager for NASA’s Flight Opportunities program, which is managed at Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. “This has the potential to be a huge step forward for advancing space exploration and expanding the space economy.” Reducing the cost and complexity of payload integration will support future missions. Facilitating the operations and safety of disparately designed and developed payloads and ensuring that they function across a variety of vehicles is critical. Through this challenge, NASA aims to find affordable and easy-to-use solutions that enable the rapid transition of payloads from the bench to integration for testing on a wide range of commercial flight vehicles. Apply to the Universal Payload Interface Challenge Registration deadline: February 1, 2024, at 5pm ET Application deadline: February 22, 2024, at 5pm ET To register, apply, review the technical details, and read the rules, visit the TechLeap Prize website. The third TechLeap Prize challenges applicants to make it easier to integrate diverse technology payloads onto various commercial suborbital vehicles, orbital flight platforms, and planetary landers. Pictured here is a Cal Poly Pomona team integrating their technology onto a high-altitude balloon in May 2023 for a flight test supported by NASA’s Flight Opportunities program. About the NASA TechLeap Prize The NASA TechLeap Prize, funded by NASA’s Flight Opportunities program, was initiated to rapidly identify and develop technologies of significant interest to the agency through a series of challenges. This is the third challenge conducted as part of the NASA TechLeap Prize. Past challenges include Autonomous Observation Challenge No. 1 and Nighttime Precision Landing Challenge No. 1. Flight Opportunities, part of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) helps space technologies reach maturity more quickly by testing them on suborbital flights as well as on hosted orbital platforms, which are available in cooperation with STMD’s Small Spacecraft Technology program. These flight tests can provide critical data and insight into how a technology is expected to perform in its intended space environment, as well as help reduce risk prior to much more costly missions. The NASA Tournament Lab, part of the Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing program within STMD, manages the TechLeap Prize, which is administered by Carrot. Share Details Last Updated Oct 16, 2023 Editor Ryan M. Henderson Contact Location Armstrong Flight Research Center Related Terms Armstrong Flight Research CenterFlight Opportunities ProgramPrizes, Challenges & CrowdsourcingSpace Technology Mission Directorate Explore More 3 min read NASA Targets 2024 for First Flight of X-59 Experimental Aircraft Article 4 days ago 1 min read Who Let the Gas Out?: NASA Tank Venting in Microgravity Challenge Article 4 days ago 6 min read 5 Things to Know About NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications Article 6 days ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center Space Technology Mission Directorate STMD Flight Opportunities NASA Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing View the full article