NASA

Teams at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida pose inside the Space Station Processing Facility’s high bay to celebrate 25 years of supporting the International Space Station. NASA/Ben Smegelsky Built to be the last stop for components of the International Space Station, the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, has been given a new name that honors this legacy while embracing its role as a multi-tenant processing facility. Agency officials have updated the name of the 457,000 square foot, three-story building to “Space Systems Processing Facility,” recognizing its progression into a workplace for processing hardware bound for the station as well as to the Moon and beyond. Inside the Space Station Processing Facility high bay at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians assist as a crane is used to lower a set of International Space Station Roll Out Solar Arrays (iROSA) onto a platform on March 23, 2023.NASA/Isaac Watson “Kennedy Space Center has a strong history of supporting the missions that have improved life on our planet while inspiring the world,” said Kennedy Space Center Director Janet Petro. “For the last 25 years, the facility has processed many of the critical components and elements necessary to build and sustain the work of the International Space Station. This name change reflects its remarkable evolution into a dynamic, multi-user processing environment in the wake of the center’s transformation to the nation’s premier spaceport, and we are seeing our vision of igniting space exploration and discovery come to life.” Today, NASA programs such as Artemis and Commercial Resupply Services use the SSPF processing areas, with Gateway processing set to begin within the next few years. Commercial companies such as Northrop Grumman, Sierra Space, and SpaceX also manufacture and process payloads and hardware in the facility. The Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft’s pressurized cargo module (PCM) for the company’s 20th commercial resupply mission is lifted and moved by crane inside the high bay in the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, Sept. 18, 2023. NASA/Ben Smegelsky “All of the tenants in the facility are under contract with NASA to develop a product,” said Kevin Zari, associate director for the International Space Station and Exploration. “The next step in the evolution of the SSPF is going from government to commercial, just like we did with Low Earth Orbit launch vehicles. Soon, commercial entities might be using the facility, or some parts of the facility, on purely commercial ventures.” Built originally for assembling and processing components for the space station, the SSPF hosted processing of the first U.S.-built component of the station, Node 1 – or the Unity connecting module – which was carried to orbit on STS-88 from Kennedy in December 1998. Node 1 helped kick off a 25-year legacy of 275 launches to the station, 337 dockings or redockings of spacecraft or modules, and over 3,700 science investigations since Expedition 0. This includes hosting 273 people from 21 countries – and counting – visiting or living on the orbiting laboratory. The SSPF played a key role each step of the way as the main site for processing station components, flight hardware, and science experiments in the clean room environment of its processing bays. Workers in the SSPF high bay oversee the lifting of the Unity connecting module for its move to another location in the SSPF on Oct. 10, 1998. In the SSPF, Unity is undergoing testing such as the Pad Demonstration Test to verify the compatibility of the module with the Space Shuttle.NASA “The SSPF started off with the need to meet the requirements of the space station program,” Zari said. “Since the space shuttle was the lift vehicle for assembling the space station, with the exception of the Russian module and components, all NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) equipment came here to the SSPF for processing prior to launch.” Space shuttle missions delivered nine elements of the station processed in the SSPF: Unity, Z1 truss, P6 integrated truss, Destiny, Canadarm 2, the joint airlock, and the S0, S1, and P1 trusses. All preparation and postflight maintenance for other vital parts of space station assembly was conducted in the SSPF, including multi-purpose logistics modules with critical supplies and science experiments that were flown to the station. In this panoramic view of the SSPF taken Aug. 27, 1998, visible is (left to right) the Unity connecting module, the Rack Insertion Device and the first Multi-Purpose Launch Module, the Leonardo. Windows at the right above Leonardo allow visitors on tour to watch the activities in the SSPF. NASA “Even while the space station was still being built in the SSPF, you had science being checked out and ready to fly up to the station,” Curt Horanic, International Space Station technical director. “The SSPF was critical to assemble the space station, to test space station hardware on the ground, and to the science. First and foremost, the station is a laboratory and the research that’s happening is helping humans on Earth. And all of that research, for the most part, is coming through the SSPF.” Both Horanic and Zari are among the small group of Kennedy employees who have been a part of the SSPF’s evolution since the beginning. Located just east of the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building, groundbreaking for the SSPF took place in March 1991 and dedication occurred in June 1994. Construction of the SSPF as seen in an aerial view from January 1992. NASA “I remember being across the street at the Operations and Checkout Building when they used a golden shovel to dig the dirt that was here,” said Zari. “It’s been an amazing journey to watch it transform from a facility with only the space station in mind to a multi-program, multi-tenanted facility.” View the full article

5 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Digital content creators are invited to register to attend the launch of NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud Ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission and create content based on the experience. PACE is a NASA mission scheduled to launch no earlier than Feb. 6, 2024, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The PACE mission will continue and improve NASA’s 20-year record of satellite observations of global ocean biology, aerosols, and clouds. PACE will help us better understand how the ocean and atmosphere exchange carbon dioxide, measure key atmospheric variables associated with air quality and Earth’s climate, and monitor ocean health, in part by studying phytoplankton, tiny plants and algae that sustain the marine food web. If your passion is to communicate and engage the world online, then this is the event for you! Seize the opportunity to see and share the #PACE mission launch. A maximum of 50 social media users will be selected to attend this three-day event and will be given access similar to news media. NASA Social participants will have the opportunity to: View a launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and PACE spacecraft. Tour NASA facilities at Kennedy Space Center. Meet and interact with PACE subject matter experts. Meet fellow space enthusiasts who are active on social media. NASA Social registration for the PACE mission launch opens on Thursday, Dec. 14, and the deadline to apply is at 3 p.m. EST Tuesday, Dec. 19. All social applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis. APPLY NOW Do I need to have a social media account to register? Yes. This event is designed for people who: Actively use multiple social networking platforms and tools to disseminate information to a unique audience. Regularly produce new content that features multimedia elements. Have the potential to reach a large number of people using digital platforms, or reach a unique audience, separate and distinctive from traditional news media and/or NASA audiences. Must have an established history of posting content on social media platforms. Have previous postings that are highly visible, respected and widely recognized. Users on all social networks are encouraged to use the hashtag #NASASocial. Updates and information about the event will be shared on X via @NASASocial and @NASAKennedy, and via posts to Facebook and Instagram. How do I register? Registration for this event opens Thursday, Dec. 14, and closes at 3 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Dec. 19. Registration is for one person only (you) and is non-transferable. Each individual wishing to attend must register separately. Each application will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Can I register if I am not a U.S. citizen? Because of the security deadlines, registration is limited to U.S. citizens. If you have a valid permanent resident card, you will be processed as a U.S. citizen. When will I know if I am selected? After registrations have been received and processed, an email with confirmation information and additional instructions will be sent to those selected. We expect to send the acceptance notifications on Jan. 8. What are NASA Social credentials? All social applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Those chosen must prove through the registration process they meet specific engagement criteria. If you do not make the registration list for this NASA Social, you still can attend the launch offsite and participate in the conversation online. Find out about ways to experience a launch here. What are the registration requirements? Registration indicates your intent to travel to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and attend the three-day event in person. You are responsible for your own expenses for travel, accommodations, food, and other amenities. Some events and participants scheduled to appear at the event are subject to change without notice. NASA is not responsible for loss or damage incurred as a result of attending. NASA, moreover, is not responsible for loss or damage incurred if the event is cancelled with limited or no notice. Please plan accordingly. Kennedy is a government facility. Those who are selected will need to complete an additional registration step to receive clearance to enter the secure areas. IMPORTANT: To be admitted, you will need to provide two forms of unexpired government-issued identification; one must be a photo ID and match the name provided on the registration. Those without proper identification cannot be admitted. For a complete list of acceptable forms of ID, please visit: NASA Credentialing Identification Requirements. All registrants must be at least 18 years old. What if the launch date changes? Many different factors can cause a scheduled launch date to change multiple times. If the launch date changes, NASA may adjust the date of the NASA Social accordingly to coincide with the new target launch date. NASA will notify registrants of any changes by email. If the launch is postponed, attendees will be invited to attend a later launch date. NASA cannot accommodate attendees for delays beyond 72 hours. NASA Social attendees are responsible for any additional costs they incur related to any launch delay. We strongly encourage participants to make travel arrangements that are refundable and/or flexible. What if I cannot come to the Kennedy Space Center? If you cannot come to the Kennedy Space Center and attend in person, you should not register for the NASA Social. You can follow the conversation online using #NASASocial. You can watch the launch on NASA Television or www.nasa.gov/live. NASA will provide regular launch and mission updates on @NASA, @NASAKennedy, and @NASA_LSP. If you cannot make this NASA Social, don’t worry; NASA is planning many other Socials in the near future at various locations! Facebook logo @NASA@NASAKennedy@NASALSP @NASA@NASAKennedy@NASA_LSP@NASASocial Instagram logo @NASA@NASAKennedy@SpaceX Linkedin logo @NASA View the full article

Water from the subsurface ocean of Saturn’s moon Enceladus sprays from huge fissures out into space. NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, which captured this image in 2010, sampled icy particles and scientists are continuing to make new discoveries from the data.NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute A study zooms in on data that NASA’s Cassini gathered at Saturn’s icy moon and finds evidence of a key ingredient for life and a supercharged source of energy to fuel it. Scientists have known that the giant plume of ice grains and water vapor spewing from Saturn’s moon Enceladus is rich with organic compounds, some of which are important for life as we know it. Now, scientists analyzing data from NASA’s Cassini mission are taking the evidence for habitability a step further: They’ve found strong confirmation of hydrogen cyanide, a molecule that is key to the origin of life. The researchers also uncovered evidence that the ocean, which is hiding below the moon’s icy outer shell and supplies the plume, holds a powerful source of chemical energy. Unidentified until now, the energy source is in the form of several organic compounds, some of which, on Earth, serve as fuel for organisms. The findings, published Thursday, Dec. 14, in Nature Astronomy, indicate there may be much more chemical energy inside this tiny moon than previously thought. The more energy available, the more likely that life might proliferate and be sustained. “Our work provides further evidence that Enceladus is host to some of the most important molecules for both creating the building blocks of life and for sustaining that life through metabolic reactions,” said lead author Jonah Peter, a doctoral student at Harvard University who performed much of the research while working at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “Not only does Enceladus seem to meet the basic requirements for habitability, we now have an idea about how complex biomolecules could form there, and what sort of chemical pathways might be involved.” NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured this image of reflective Enceladus, seen at center, as it orbits Saturn. Also in the 2007 image are two other moons: Pandora, a bright speck hovering near the rings, and Mimas, at lower right.NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Versatile and Energetic “The discovery of hydrogen cyanide was particularly exciting, because it’s the starting point for most theories on the origin of life,” Peter said. Life as we know it requires building blocks, such as amino acids, and hydrogen cyanide is one of the most important and versatile molecules needed to form amino acids. Because its molecules can be stacked together in many different ways, the study authors refer to hydrogen cyanide as the Swiss army knife of amino acid precursors. “The more we tried to poke holes in our results by testing alternative models,” Peter added, “the stronger the evidence became. Eventually, it became clear that there is no way to match the plume composition without including hydrogen cyanide.” In 2017, scientists found evidence at Enceladus of chemistry that could help sustain life, if present, in its ocean. The combination of carbon dioxide, methane, and hydrogen in the plume was suggestive of methanogenesis, a metabolic process that produces methane. Methanogenesis is widespread on Earth, and may have been critical to the origin of life on our planet. Click on this interactive visualization of Saturn’s moon Enceladus and take it for a spin. The full interactive experience is at Eyes on the Solar System. The new work uncovers evidence for additional energy chemical sources far more powerful and diverse than the making of methane: The authors found an array of organic compounds that were oxidized, indicating to scientists that there are many chemical pathways to potentially sustain life in Enceladus’ subsurface ocean. That’s because oxidation helps drive the release of chemical energy. “If methanogenesis is like a small watch battery, in terms of energy, then our results suggest the ocean of Enceladus might offer something more akin to a car battery, capable of providing a large amount of energy to any life that might be present,” said JPL’s Kevin Hand, co-author of the study and principal investigator of the effort that led to the new results. Math Is the Way Unlike earlier research that used lab experiments and geochemical modeling to replicate the conditions Cassini found at Enceladus, the authors of the new work relied on detailed statistical analyses. They examined data collected by Cassini’s ion and neutral mass spectrometer, which studied the gas, ions, and ice grains around Saturn. By quantifying the amount of information contained in the data, the authors were able to tease out subtle differences in how well different chemical compounds explain the Cassini signal. “There are many potential puzzle pieces that can be fit together when trying to match the observed data,” Peter said. “We used math and statistical modeling to figure out which combination of puzzle pieces best matches the plume composition and makes the most of the data, without overinterpreting the limited dataset.” Scientists are still a long way from answering whether life could originate on Enceladus. But as Peter noted, the new work lays out chemical pathways for life that could be tested in the lab. Meanwhile, Cassini is the mission that keeps giving – long after it revealed that Enceladus is an active moon. In 2017, the mission ended by deliberately plunging the spacecraft into Saturn’s atmosphere. “Our study demonstrates that while Cassini’s mission has ended, its observations continue to provide us with new insights about Saturn and its moons – including the enigmatic Enceladus,” said Tom Nordheim, a JPL planetary scientist who’s a co-author of the study and was a member of the Cassini team. More About the Mission The Cassini-Huygens mission was a cooperative project of NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), and the Italian Space Agency. JPL, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, managed the mission for NASA’s Space Mission Directorate in Washington. JPL designed, developed, and assembled the Cassini orbiter. For more information about Cassini, visit: http://nasa.gov/cassini News Media Contacts Gretchen McCartney Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 818-287-4115 gretchen.p.mccartney@jpl.nasa.gov Karen Fox / Alana Johnson NASA Headquarters, Washington 301-286-6284 / 202-358-1501 karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / alana.r.johnson@nasa.gov 2023-183 Share Details Last Updated Dec 14, 2023 Related TermsCassiniAstrobiologyEnceladusPlanetary ScienceSaturnSaturn MoonsThe Solar System Explore More 6 min read NASA’s NEOWISE Celebrates 10 Years, Plans End of Mission Article 19 hours ago 6 min read 2023 in Review: Highlights from NASA in Silicon Valley Article 21 hours ago 5 min read NASA: Some Icy Exoplanets May Have Habitable Oceans and Geysers Article 1 day ago View the full article

NASA Explorers Season 6, Episode 5: Sample Return

On Dec. 17, 1903, humanity’s long-held dream of flying came true. Ideas of flying date back centuries, from the Greek legend of Icarus and Daedalus, to kite flying in China, to the development of hydrogen-filled balloons in 18th century France, to early experiments with gliders in 19th century England and Germany. Around the turn of the 20th century, advances in engine technology and aerodynamics enabled powered flight using heavier-than-air machines, but attempts by leading designers proved unsuccessful. The honor of the first sustained and controlled flight of a powered heavier-than-air aircraft went to two bicycle shop owners from Dayton, Ohio, Orville and Wilbur Wright. The brothers combined the mechanical experience from their business with the fundamental breakthrough invention of three-axis control to enable them to steer the aircraft and maintain its equilibrium. Their 12-second flight changed the world forever. Left: Orville Wright during the first powered flight of a heavier-than-air aircraft; Wilbur is standing to the right of the aircraft. Right: The Wrights’ third flight on Dec. 17, 1903. Image credits: courtesy National Park Service. After several unsuccessful attempts, on Dec. 17, 1903, at Kill Devil Hills near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville Wright completed the first powered flight of a heavier-than-air aircraft known as the Wright Flyer. The flight lasted just 12 seconds, traveled 120 feet, and reached a top speed of 6.8 miles per hour. Amazing for the day, one of the five people to witness this historic first flight snapped a photograph of the event. The brothers completed three more flights that day, taking turns piloting, the longest traveling 852 feet in 59 seconds. The highest altitude reached in any of the flights was about 10 feet. The aircraft sustained damage at the end of its fourth flight, and gusty winds tipped it over, wrecking it beyond repair. The aircraft never flew again, but Orville took the wreckage home to Ohio and restored it. It went on display at the London Science Museum until 1948 when the Smithsonian Institution took ownership. Visitors can view the Wright Flyer in the Wright Brothers & The Invention of the Aerial Age exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum (NASM) in Washington, D.C. Distant view of the Wright Flyer, at left, after its fourth flight on Dec. 17, 1903. Image credit: courtesy Library of Congress. Bronze statues recreate the day of the first powered flight at the Wright Brothers National Memorial near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Image credit: courtesy National Park Service. Left: Wilbur, left, and Orville Wright. Image credit: courtesy Carillon Historical Park. Right: The Wright Flyer at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum (NASM) in Washington, D.C. Image credit: courtesy NASM. The Wrights continued flying, building more and more advanced aircraft, and paving the way for future aerial explorers. By 1905, they completed a 24-mile flight in their Flyer III. Others in the United States and Europe made advances in the rapidly expanding field of aviation, and World War I (1914-1918) saw the first use of aircraft in warfare. The first scheduled commercial passenger flight took place on Jan. 1, 1914, between St. Petersburg and Tampa, Florida, shortening travel between the two cities by more than 90 minutes. The Post Office emerged as one of the first major users of airplanes to speed up the delivery of mail across the country. Left: Seal of NACA, including an illustration of the first flight at Kitty Hawk. Middle: Seal of NASA. Right: Apollo 14 Lunar Module Kitty Hawk on the surface of the Moon. Within a dozen years after the first powered flight, the U.S. government formed the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA) to advance the field of aeronautics. Research conducted at NACA facilities – Langley Aeronautical Laboratory in Hampton, Virginia; Ames Aeronautical Laboratory in Mountain View, California; Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory in Cleveland, Ohio; and Muroc Flight Test Unit at Edwards Air Force Base near Lancaster, California – led to breakthroughs that greatly advanced the field of aeronautics including supersonic flight. In 1958, in response to Soviet advances in space flight, the U.S. government established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a civilian agency to lead American space activities. At its core, the new agency incorporated NACA’s facilities and employees. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy gave NASA the goal of landing a man on the Moon within the decade. Just 65 years after the Wrights made their pioneering flight on the sands of Kitty Hawk, Apollo 11 astronauts left humanity’s first footprints on the dusty surface of the Moon. To honor the Wrights’ accomplishment, the Apollo 14 astronauts named their Lunar Module Kitty Hawk. Left: Display of the wood and fabric pieces of the Wright Flyer that Apollo 11 astronaut Neil A. Armstrong took to the Moon. Image credit: courtesy National Air and Space Museum. Right: Display of the pieces of wood and fabric from the Wright Flyer that launched on space shuttle Challenger’s STS-51L mission and recovered from the wreckage. Image credit: courtesy North Carolina Museum of History. Pieces of the Wright Flyer, sometimes called Kitty Hawk, have flown in space, carried there by astronauts with a geographic connection and a sense of history. In 1969, under a special arrangement with the U.S. Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio, Apollo 11 astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, like the Wright brothers a native of Ohio, took with him a piece of wood from the Wright Flyer’s left propeller and a piece of muslin fabric (8 by 13 inches) from its upper left wing. The items, stowed in his Lunar Module Eagle personal preference kit, landed with him and fellow astronaut Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin at Tranquility Base, and returned to Earth with third crew member Michael Collins in the Command Module Columbia. Visitors can view these items near the Wright Flyer at the NASM. In 1986, North Carolina native NASA astronaut Michael J. Smith arranged with the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh to take a piece of wood and a swatch of fabric salvaged, and authenticated by Orville Wright, from the damaged Wright Flyer aboard space shuttle Challenger’s STS-51L mission. Although Challenger and its crew perished in the tragic accident, divers recovered the artifacts from the wreckage and visitors can view them at the North Carolina Museum of History. Astronaut John H. Glenn, an Ohioan like the Wrights and Armstrong, took different pieces of the Wright Flyer when he returned to space aboard STS-95 in 1998. In October 2000, North Carolina native NASA astronaut William S. McArthur, on behalf of North Carolina’s First Flight Centennial Commission, flew a piece from the Wright Flyer donated by the National Park Service. McArthur carried a fragment of muslin fabric from the aircraft’s wing to the International Space Station during the STS-92 mission, the 100th space shuttle flight, to promote the then-upcoming 100th anniversary of the first powered flight. Left: The autonomous helicopter Ingenuity, near center of photograph, makes the first powered flight on Mars, imaged by the Perseverance rover. Middle: Routes of the Perseverance rover, white, and the Ingenuity helicopter, yellow, in Mars’ Jezero Crater. Right: A piece of cloth from the Wright Flyer’s wing attached to the underside of Ingenuity’s solar panel. A piece of the Wright Flyer has even traveled beyond the Earth-Moon system. When the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover landed in Mars’ Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021, it carried underneath it a four-pound autonomous helicopter named Ingenuity. Engineers attached a small piece of cloth the size of a postage stamp from the Wright Flyer’s wing to a cable underneath the helicopter’s solar panel. On April 19, 2021, when Ingenuity lifted off to a height of 10 feet, it marked the first powered aircraft flight on a world other than Earth. Ingenuity’s first flight lasted 39 seconds in an area NASA named Wright Brothers Field. The United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization gave the field the airport code of JZRO – for Jezero Crater – and the helicopter type designator IGY, with the call-sign INGENUITY. With no humans present to record the event, the Perseverance rover imaged Ingenuity’s first flight. As of Dec. 2, 2023, Ingenuity has completed 67 flights over 947 Sols, far exceeding its technology demonstration goal of five flights over 30 Sols (Martian days), with a total flight time of 2 hours 1 minute 5 seconds, traveling a total distance of 9.6 miles and reaching a maximum altitude of 78.7 feet. Its ground-breaking mission continues, paving the way for future aerial explorers of Mars. Share Details Last Updated Dec 14, 2023 Related TermsNASA History Explore More 3 min read Contributions of the DC-8 to Earth System Science at NASA: A Workshop Article 3 days ago 3 min read 25 Years Ago: NASA, Partners Begin Space Station Assembly Article 1 week ago 14 min read 30 Years Ago: STS-61, the First Hubble Servicing Mission Article 1 week ago View the full article

16 Min Read The Marshall Star for December 13, 2023 Marshall Team Members Celebrate Holiday Season By Jessica Barnett Marshall team members gather at the center’s holiday reception Dec. 7 in Activities Building 4316. From left are Cory Brown, Leigh Martin, Lisa Watkins, Shaun Baek, and Randy Silver. NASA/Alex Russell For hundreds of team members at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, “eat, drink, and be merry” was the afternoon theme for Dec. 7. Marshall team members sign up for door prizes while Marshall Acting Center Director Joseph Pelfrey offers welcoming remarks at the center’s holiday reception. NASA/Alex Russell The center hosted a holiday celebration in Activities Building 4316, complete with food, door prizes, and plenty of opportunity to wish one happy holidays. Acting Center Director Joseph Pelfrey welcomed team members to the festivities with a brief recap of 2023 and look forward to 2024. Hundreds of Marshall team members enjoy the buffet-style food offerings at the center’s holiday reception. NASA/Alex Russell “I was thrilled to see such an excellent turnout at the holiday reception,” Pelfrey said after the reception. “This has been an exceptional year for us at Marshall, and it’s important we take time this season to celebrate our successes and recharge for 2024.” The NASA worm logo flanked by two holiday trees was just one of the ways Activities Building 4316 was decked out for a merry holiday reception Dec. 7. NASA/Alex Russell Barnett, a Media Fusion employee, supports the Marshall Office of Communications. › Back to Top IXPE Marks 2 Years of Groundbreaking X-ray Astronomy By Rick Smith On Dec. 9, astronomers and physicists commemorated two years of landmark X-ray science by NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) mission. IXPE is the joint NASA-Italian Space Agency mission to study polarized X-ray light. Polarization is a characteristic of light that can help reveal information about where that light came from, such as the geometry and inner workings of the ultra-powerful energy sources from which it emanates. This image of supernova remnant SN 1006 combines data from IXPE and NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. The red, green, and blue elements reflect low, medium, and high energy X-rays, respectively, as detected by Chandra. IXPE data is shown in purple in the upper left corner, with the addition of lines representing the outward movement of the remnant’s magnetic field.X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO (Chandra); NASA/MSFC/Nanjing Univ./P. Zhou et al. (IXPE); IR: NASA/JPL/CalTech/Spitzer; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/J.Schmidt Launched Dec. 9, 2021, IXPE orbits Earth some 340 miles high, studying X-ray emissions from powerful cosmic phenomena thousands to billions of light-years from Earth, including quasars, blazars, remnants of supernova explosions, and high-energy particle streams spewing from the vicinity of black holes at nearly the speed of light. “Adding X-ray polarization to our arsenal of radio, infrared, and optical polarization is a game changer,” said Alan Marscher, a Boston University astronomer who leads a research group that uses IXPE’s findings to analyze supermassive black holes. Martin Weisskopf, the astrophysicist who led the development of IXPE at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and served as its principal investigator until his retirement from NASA in spring 2022, agreed. “There can be no question that IXPE has shown that X-ray polarimetry is important and relevant to furthering our understanding of how these fascinating X-ray systems work,” Weisskopf said. Scientists have long understood, for example, the fundamentals of blazars such as Markarian 501 and Markarian 421. A blazar is a massive black hole feeding off material swirling around it in a disk, creating powerful jets of high-speed cosmic particles which rush away in two directions perpendicular to the disk. But how are those particles accelerated to such high energies? IXPE data published in November 2022 in the journal Nature identified the culprit at Markarian 501 as a shock wave within the jet. “This is a 40-year-old mystery that we’ve solved,” said Yannis Liodakis, a NASA Postdoctoral Program researcher at Marshall. “We finally had all of the pieces of the puzzle, and the picture they made was clear.” IXPE also conducted unprecedented studies of three supernova remnants – Cassiopeia A, Tycho, and SN 1006 – helping scientists further their understanding of the origin and processes of the magnetic fields surrounding these phenomena. IXPE is even shedding new light on fundamental mechanisms of our own galaxy. According to studies IXPE conducted in early 2022, Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, woke up about 200 years ago to devour gas and other cosmic detritus, triggering an intense, short-lived X-ray flare. By combining data from IXPE, Chandra, and the European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton mission, researchers determined the event occurred around the start of the 19th century. This NASA illustration shows the structure of a black hole jet as inferred by recent IXPE observations of the blazar Markarian 421. The jet is powered by an accretion disk, shown at the bottom of the image, which orbits and falls into the black hole over time. Helical magnetic fields are threaded through the jet. IXPE observations have shown that the X-rays must be generated in a shock originating within material spiraling around the magnetic fields. The inset shows the shock front itself.NASA/Pablo Garcia “We know change can happen to active galaxies and supermassive black holes on a human timescale,” said IXPE project scientist Steve Ehlert at Marshall. “IXPE is helping us better understand the timescale on which the black hole at the center of our galaxy is changing. We’re eager to observe it further to determine which changes are typical and which are unique.” IXPE also has supported observations of unanticipated cosmic events – such as the brightest pulse of intense radiation ever recorded, which swept through our solar system in October 2022. The pulse stemmed from a powerful gamma-ray burst likely to occur no more than once in 10,000 years, researchers said. Backing up data from NASA’s Fermi Space Telescope and other imagers, IXPE helped determine how the pulse was organized and confirmed that Earth imagers viewed the jet almost directly head-on. Perhaps most exciting to space scientists is how IXPE data is upending conventional wisdom about various classes of high-energy sources. “So many of the polarized X-ray results we’ve seen over the past two years were a big surprise, tossing theoretical models right out the window,” Ehlert said. “Seeing results we didn’t anticipate sparks new questions, new theories. It’s really exciting!” That excitement continues to build among IXPE partners around the world. In June, the mission was formally extended for 20 months beyond its initial two-year flight – meaning IXPE will continue to observe high-energy X-ray emissions across the cosmos through at least September 2025. The new year also will mark the start of the IXPE General Observer Program, which invites astrophysicists and other space scientists around the world to propose and take part in studies using the IXPE telescope. Beginning in February 2024, as much as 80% of IXPE’s time will be made available to the broader scientific community. IXPE is a collaboration between NASA and the Italian Space Agency with partners and science collaborators in 12 countries. Led at Marshall, IXPE’s spacecraft operations are jointly managed by Ball Aerospace in Broomfield, Colorado, and the University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics in Boulder. Smith, a Manufacturing Technical Solutions employee, supports the Marshall Office of Communications. › Back to Top This Holiday Season, Take Care of Yourself and Others Dear Marshall family, As 2023 comes to a close, my thoughts seem to be focused more than ever upon gratitude. As is true for many of you I’m sure, I am so incredibly thankful for my loved ones, for good health for me and my loved ones, and for the life that I enjoy. The life that I enjoy encompasses a great deal. I have a comfortable home, with heat for the winter, air conditioning for the summer, hot and cold water all year long, good food to eat, reliable vehicles to drive, nice clothes and shoes to wear, access to entertainment, the ability to be a part of a community, and I could go on and on. The point is, I have a great deal to be thankful for, and being thankful helps me to be more aware of the fact that many in our community and our world are not so fortunate. I hope that you, too, will take some time to consider the people, circumstances, and things for which you are grateful, and also to consider looking for opportunities to help those in our community who are less fortunate. Dr. Terry Sterry.NASA With the holidays upon us, this can be a very demanding time of year, and that can add a good deal of stress to our lives. The stressors of the season will be different for each of us, but some common ones include attending more parties and other events, hosting parties, being around people whom we would prefer to avoid, spending too much on gifts, and trying to make everything turn out perfectly. Please be deliberate in taking good care of yourselves during the holiday season. That, too, will look different for everyone, but some tips include giving ourselves permission to get enough sleep and rest, setting a budget and sticking to it, striving for enjoyment rather than perfection, limiting our indulgence in all the good food of the season, not drinking to excess, and giving ourselves permission to say ‘no’ to things that will cause us to be stretched too thin or pushed beyond our limits. While we typically think of the holidays as a time of joy and celebration, it can also be a time of intense sadness, grief, and feeling overwhelmed. Pay attention to those around you and if you see opportunities to offer support, please do. The holidays are very family focused, and this can be especially difficult for those who have discord within their family, for those with little or no remaining family, or those who have lost loved ones over this past year. If you find yourself struggling, please reach out to those you trust, be that family members, friends, spiritual leaders, or counselors (including the Marshall Employee Assistance Program), for support. Don’t suffer alone or in silence. It’s OK to ask for help. I’ll close with a couple of requests. First, please use your leave – take some time off to enjoy the holiday season, or just to go out and do something that you’ve been wanting to do. Second, if you have leave that you can’t use, please consider donating it to the leave bank. Donated leave makes a tremendous difference for those who have exhausted their own leave due to illness or accident, or to care for loved ones who are ill or recovering. Your generosity has the potential to help someone avoid the painful situation of having to take leave without pay. Happy Holidays! Be safe and well. Dr. Terry Sterry Licensed psychologist and Marshall Employee Assistance Program coordinator For more information, team members can visit the Employee Assistance Program page on Inside Marshall. › Back to Top NASA Teams Prepare Moon Rocket-to-Spacecraft Connector for Assembly The elements of the super-heavy lift SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for NASA’s Artemis II mission are undergoing final preparations before shipment to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for stacking and pre-launch activities in 2024. Teams at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center recently rotated the Orion stage adapter – a ring structure that connects NASA’s Orion spacecraft to the SLS rocket’s interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS) – in preparation for the installation of its diaphragm. The installation Nov. 30 marks one of the final steps for the adapter before it is readied for shipment to Kennedy via NASA’s Super Guppy cargo aircraft. Teams at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center recently rotated the Orion stage adapter – a ring structure that connects NASA’s Orion spacecraft to the SLS rocket’s interim cryogenic propulsion stage – in preparation for the installation of its diaphragm. The installation Nov. 30 marks one of the final steps for the adapter before it is readied for shipment to Kennedy via NASA’s Super Guppy cargo aircraft.NASA/Sam Lott “The diaphragm is a composite, dome-shaped structure that isolates the volume above the ICPS from that below Orion,” said Brent Gaddes, lead for the Orion stage adapter, in the Spacecraft/Payload Integration & Evolution Office for the SLS Program at Marshall. “It serves as a barrier between the two, preventing the highly flammable hydrogen gas that could escape the rocket’s propellant tanks from building up beneath the Orion spacecraft and its crew before and during launch.” At five feet tall and weighing in at 1,800 pounds, the adapter is the smallest major element of the SLS rocket that will produce more than 8.8 million pounds of thrust to launch four Artemis astronauts inside Orion around the Moon. The adapter is fully manufactured by engineering teams at Marshall. NASA is working to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with Orion and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, and commercial human landing systems. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single launch. › Back to Top 25 Years Ago: NASA, Partners Begin Space Station Assembly On Dec. 6, NASA marked 25 years since the first two elements of the International Space Station were launched and joined in space. Today, the space station remains a global endeavor, with 273 people from 21 countries now having visited the microgravity laboratory and has hosted more than 3,700 research and educational investigations from people in 108 countries and areas. On Nov. 20 and Dec. 4, 1998, Zarya and Unity, respectively, launched into orbit as the first two modules of the International Space Station. On Dec. 6, 1998, the space shuttle Endeavour STS-88 crew, NASA astronauts Bob Cabana, Rick Sturckow, Nancy Currie, Jerry Ross, and James Newman, along with Russian Space Agency (now Roscosmos) cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, captured the Zarya module with the space shuttle’s robotic arm and mated it to Unity. The Unity Node 1 module being lifted out of the cargo bay. On Nov. 20 and Dec. 4, 1998, Zarya and Unity, respectively, launched into orbit as the first two modules of the International Space Station. On Dec. 6, 1998, the space shuttle Endeavour STS-88 crew captured the Zarya module with the space shuttle’s robotic arm and mated it to Unity.NASA Engineers thousands of miles apart designed and built the two modules and the elements first met in space. The STS-88 crew, commanded by Cabana, spent the next few days and three spacewalks making connections between the two modules before releasing the early station. Since the joining of Zarya and Unity, the space station has grown with additions from international partners, resulting in the largest and most complex piece of technology constructed in space. In November 2000, the space station received its first long-duration residents, Expedition 1, including NASA astronaut William Shepard, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Krikalev and Yuri Gidzenko. Since that time, international teams have kept the space station permanently inhabited, performing routine operations and maintenance including dozens of spacewalks, and conducting world-class research in a wide array of scientific disciplines. From visiting spacecraft with cargo, crew, and private astronauts, to spacewalks for station upgrades, to science investigations and technology demonstrations, to commercial activities, to public outreach and STEM downlinks, the International Space Station is a busy orbital outpost and microgravity laboratory. The International Space Station as it appeared in 2021, compared to Zarya and Unity at the same scale in the inset The seven-member Expedition 70 crew called down to Earth on Dec. 6 and discussed with NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana and International Space Station Program Manager Joel Montalbano the orbital outpost’s accomplishments since the assembly era began on Dec. 6, 1998. Cabana was the commander of Endeavour when both modules were robotically mated then outfitted during a series of spacewalks. Montalbano, NASA’s sixth station leader since the program’s inception, said, “We want to celebrate today all the people who designed, built, and operate the International Space Station.” The Payload Operations Integration Center at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center operates, plans, and coordinates the science experiments onboard the space station 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. › Back to Top Hubble Captures a Cluster in the Cloud A striking Hubble Space Telescope image shows the densely packed globular cluster known as NGC 2210, which is situated in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The LMC lies about 157,000 light-years from Earth and is a so-called satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, meaning that the two galaxies are gravitationally bound. Globular clusters are very stable, tightly bound clusters of thousands or even millions of stars. Their stability means that they can last a long time, and therefore globular clusters are often studied to investigate potentially very old stellar populations. NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope can resolve individual stars in the densely packed cores of globular clusters like NGC 2210.ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Sarajedini In fact, 2017 research using some of the data that were also used to build the image revealed that a sample of LMC globular clusters were incredibly close in age to some of the oldest stellar clusters found in the Milky Way’s halo. They found that NGC 2210 specifically probably clocks in at around 11.6 billion years old. Even though this is only a couple of billion years younger than the universe itself, it made NGC 2210 by far the youngest globular cluster in their sample. All other LMC globular clusters studied in the same work were found to be even older, with four of them over 13 billion years old. This tells astronomers that the oldest globular clusters in the LMC formed contemporaneously with the oldest clusters in the Milky Way, even though the two galaxies formed independently. As well as being a source of interesting research, this old-but-relatively-young cluster is also extremely beautiful, with its highly concentrated population of stars. The night sky would look very different from the perspective of an inhabitant of a planet orbiting one of the stars in a globular cluster’s center: the sky would appear to be stuffed full of stars, in a stellar environment that is thousands of times more crowded than our own. › Back to Top Webb Stuns with New High-Definition Look at Exploded Star Like a shiny round ornament ready to be placed in the perfect spot on a holiday tree, supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A) gleams in a new image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. As part of the 2023 Holidays at the White House, First Lady of the United States Dr. Jill Biden debuted the first-ever White House Advent Calendar. To showcase the “Magic, Wonder, and Joy” of the holiday season, Dr. Biden and NASA are celebrating with this new image from Webb. While all is bright, this scene is no proverbial silent night. Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) view of Cas A displays this stellar explosion at a resolution previously unreachable at these wavelengths. This high-resolution look unveils intricate details of the expanding shell of material slamming into the gas shed by the star before it exploded. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s new view of Cassiopeia A in near-infrared light is giving astronomers hints at the dynamical processes occurring within the supernova remnant. Tiny clumps represented in bright pink and orange make up the supernova’s inner shell, and are comprised of sulfur, oxygen, argon, and neon from the star itself. A large, striated blob at the bottom right corner of the image, nicknamed Baby Cas A, is one of the few light echoes visible NIRCam’s field of view. In this image, red, green, and blue were assigned to Webb’s NIRCam data at 4.4, 3.56, and 1.62 microns (F444W, F356W, and F162M, respectively).NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, D. Milisavljevic (Purdue University), T. Temim (Princeton University), I. De Looze (University of Gent) Cas A is one of the most well-studied supernova remnants in all of the cosmos. Over the years, ground-based and space-based observatories, including NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory, Hubble Space Telescope, and retired Spitzer Space Telescope have assembled a multiwavelength picture of the object’s remnant. However, astronomers have now entered a new era in the study of Cas A. In April 2023, Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) started this chapter, revealing new and unexpected features within the inner shell of the supernova remnant. Many of those features are invisible in the new NIRCam image, and astronomers are investigating why. The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency. › Back to Top Gorgeously Green: Geminids Peak Dec. 13-14 By Lauren Perkins The Geminid meteor shower is active for much of December, but the peak occurs the night of the 13th into the morning of the 14th. Meteor rates in rural areas can be upwards of one per minute this year with minimal moonlight to interfere. Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, haunted skies over the island of Kvaløya, near Tromsø Norway on Dec. 13. This 30 second-long exposure records their shimmering glow gently lighting the wintery coastal scene. A study in contrasts, it also captures the sudden flash of a fireball meteor from December’s excellent Geminid meteor shower. Streaking past familiar stars in the handle of the Big Dipper, the trail points back toward the constellation Gemini, off the top of the view. Bjørnar G. Hansen Bill Cooke, lead for the Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, shares why the Geminids particularly excite him: “Most meteors appear to be colorless or white, however the Geminids appear with a greenish hue. They’re pretty meteors!” Depending on the meteor’s chemical composition, the meteor will emit different colors when burned in the Earth’s atmosphere. Oxygen, magnesium, and nickel usually produce green. As with all meteor showers, all you need is a clear sky, darkness, a bit of patience, and perhaps warm outer wear and blankets for this one. You don’t need to look in any particular direction; meteors can generally be seen all over the sky. Perkins, a Media Fusion employee, supports the Marshall Office of Communications. › Back to Top View the full article

NEOWISE is depicted in an artist’s concept in front of an image of the infrared sky captured by the mission showing asteroid Holda (the string of red dots moving across the sky). Holda was the first near-Earth object the mission detected shortly after the space telescope was reactivated in 2013.NASA/JPL-Caltech The asteroid and comet-hunting infrared space telescope has gathered an impressive haul of observations, but it’s now at the mercy of the Sun, which is accelerating its demise. NASA’s NEOWISE has had a busy decade. Since its reactivated mission began on Dec. 13, 2013, the space telescope has discovered a once-in-a-lifetime comet, observed more than 3,000 near-Earth objects, bolstered international planetary defense strategies, and supported another NASA mission’s rendezvous with a distant asteroid. And that’s just a partial list of accomplishments. But all good things must come to an end: Solar activity is causing NEOWISE – short for Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer – to fall out of orbit. By early 2025, the spacecraft is expected to drop low enough into Earth’s atmosphere that it will become unusable. Eventually, it will reenter our atmosphere, entirely burning up. About every 11 years, the Sun experiences a cycle of increased activity that peaks during a period called solar maximum. Explosive events, such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections, become more frequent and heat up our planet’s atmosphere, causing it to expand. Atmospheric gases increase drag on satellites orbiting Earth, slowing them down. With the Sun currently approaching its next maximum, NEOWISE will no longer be able to maintain its orbit above our atmosphere. Comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE appears as a trio of fuzzy red dots in this composite of several infrared images captured by the NEOWISE mission on March 27, 2020. These observations helped astronomers determine the comet’s path shortly after its discovery.NASA/JPL-Caltech “The mission has planned for this day a long time. After several years of calm, the Sun is waking back up,” said Joseph Masiero, NEOWISE’s deputy principal investigator and a scientist at IPAC, a research organization at Caltech in Pasadena, California. “We are at the mercy of solar activity, and with no means to keep us in orbit, NEOWISE is now slowly spiraling back to Earth.” WISE Beginnings The past 10 years represent a second life for the spacecraft. Managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, NEOWISE repurposed a different mission that launched in 2009: the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). Data from WISE and NEOWISE has been used to study distant galaxies, cool stars, exploding white dwarf stars, outgassing comets, near-Earth asteroids, and more. In 2010, WISE achieved its scientific goal of conducting an all-sky infrared survey with far greater sensitivity than previous surveys. The WISE mission also found tens of millions of actively feeding supermassive black holes across the sky. Through the Disk Detective project, citizen scientists have used WISE data to find circumstellar disks, which are spinning clouds of gas, dust, and rubble around stars. Invisible to the naked eye, infrared wavelengths are emitted by warm objects. To keep the heat generated by WISE itself from interfering with its observations of infrared wavelengths, the spacecraft relied on cryogenic coolant. After the coolant ran out and WISE had mapped the sky twice, NASA put the spacecraft into hibernation in February 2011. Explore NASA's interactive Eyes on Asteroids Without coolant, the space telescope could no longer observe the universe’s coldest objects, but it could still see near-Earth asteroids and comets, which are heated by the Sun. So NASA reactivated the spacecraft in 2013 with a more specialized role in mind: aiding planetary defense efforts by surveying and studying those objects, which can stray into our planet’s orbital neighborhood and create a potential impact hazard. Astronomers could not only rely on the mission to seek out these objects, but also use its data to figure out their size and albedo – how much sunlight their surfaces reflect – and to gather clues about the minerals and rocks they’re composed of. “NEOWISE has showcased the importance of having an infrared space survey telescope as part of NASA’s planetary defense strategy while also keeping tabs on other objects in the solar system and beyond,” said Amy Mainzer, the mission’s principal investigator at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Mainzer is also leading NASA’s upcoming NEO Surveyor, which will build on NEOWISE’s legacy. The next-generation infrared space telescope will seek out some of the hardest-to-find near-Earth objects, such as dark asteroids and comets that don’t reflect much visible light, as well as objects that approach Earth from the direction of the Sun. Scheduled for launch in 2027, the JPL-managed mission will also search for objects known as Earth Trojans – asteroids that lead or trail our planet’s orbit – the first of which WISE discovered in 2011. Comet NEOWISE and Beyond Since becoming NEOWISE, the mission has scanned the entire sky over 20 times and made 1.45 million infrared measurements of over 44,000 solar system objects. That includes more than 3,000 near-Earth objects, 215 of which NEOWISE discovered. Data from the mission has contributed to refining the orbits of these objects while gauging their size as well. Its forte is characterizing near-Earth asteroids. In 2021, NEOWISE became a key component of an international planetary defense exercise that focused on the hazardous asteroid Apophis. The mission has also discovered 25 comets, including the long-period comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE). The comet became a dazzling celestial object visible in the Northern Hemisphere for several weeks in 2020 and the first comet that could be seen by the naked eye since 2007, when Comet McNaught was primarily visible in the Southern Hemisphere. Future researchers will continue to rely on the vast archive of NEOWISE observations to make new discoveries, similar to the way researchers used WISE data from 2010 long after the observations were made to characterize asteroid Dinkinesh in support of NASA’s Lucy mission before its October 2023 encounter. “This is a bittersweet moment. It’s sad to see this trailblazing mission come to an end, but we know there’s more treasure hiding in the survey data,” said Masiero. “NEOWISE has a vast archive, covering a very long period of time, that will inevitably advance the science of the infrared universe long after the spacecraft is gone.” More About the Mission NEOWISE and NEO Surveyor support the objectives of NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The NASA Authorization Act of 2005 directed NASA to discover and characterize at least 90% of the near-Earth objects more than 140 meters (460 feet) across that come within 30 million miles (48 million kilometers) of our planet’s orbit. Objects of this size can cause significant regional damage, or worse, should they impact the Earth. JPL manages and operates the NEOWISE mission for PDCO within the Science Mission Directorate. The Space Dynamics Laboratory in Logan, Utah, built the science instrument. Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. of Boulder, Colorado, built the spacecraft. Science data processing takes place at IPAC at Caltech. Caltech manages JPL for NASA. For more information about NEOWISE, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/neowise Share Details Last Updated Dec 13, 2023 Related TermsNEOWISECometsJet Propulsion LaboratoryNear-Earth Asteroid (NEA)NEO Surveyor (Near-Earth Object Surveyor Space Telescope)Planetary DefensePlanetary Defense Coordination OfficeWISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) Explore More 6 min read NASA’s Perseverance Rover Deciphers Ancient History of Martian Lake Article 1 day ago 5 min read NASA Sensor Produces First Global Maps of Surface Minerals in Arid Regions Article 2 days ago 3 min read Students Create Elaborate Homemade Machines for JPL Competition Article 5 days ago View the full article

NASA currently is working with several commercial companies as part of the agency’s VADR (Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare) launch services contract, providing new opportunities for science, and technology payloads. These include: ABL Space Systems of El Segundo, California Astra Space Inc. of Alameda, California Blue Origin Florida, LLC of Merritt Island, Florida Firefly Space Transport Services of Cedar Park, Texas L2 Solutions DBA SEOPS, LLC of Houston, Texas Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation of Chandler, Arizona Phantom Space Corporation of Tucson, Arizona Relativity Space Inc. of Long Beach, California Rocket Lab USA Inc. of Long Beach, California SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corp.) of Hawthorne, California United Launch Services LLC of Centennial, Colorado Building on NASA’s previous procurement efforts to foster development of a growing U.S. commercial launch market, VADR provides Federal Aviation Administration -licensed commercial launch services for payloads that can tolerate higher risk. By using a lower level of mission assurance, and commercial best practices for launching rockets, these highly flexible contracts help broaden access to space through lower launch costs. Awards Update Task orders under the VADR contract include launch services for several small satellite missions. CubeSats are a class of nanosatellites that use a standard size and form factor. The standard CubeSat size uses a “one unit” or “1U” measuring 10x10x10 centimeters and is extendable to larger sizes; 1.5, 2, 3, 6, and even 12U. A CubeSat typically weighs less than 2 kilogram (4.4 pounds) per unit. Given the standardized size of these payloads and the ability to launch as a rideshare, rockets and launch dates are subject to change for these missions by the launch provider. This flexibility is one of the reasons NASA can cost-efficiently secure launch services for these small satellites. NASA awarded L2 Solutions DBA SEOPS, LLC a task order to secure the launch of two 6U CubeSats for the agency’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley as part of the agency’s Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator (PTD) series of missions. The demonstration flight tests the operation of a variety of novel CubeSat technologies in low Earth orbit, providing significant enhancements to the performance of these small and effective spacecraft. Over the course of multiple planned PTD missions, the successful demonstration of new subsystem technologies will increase small spacecraft capabilities, enabling direct infusion into a wider range of future science, and exploration missions. The two nanosatellites, PTD-4 and PTD-R, will launch on SpaceX’s Transporter-11 mission out of Vandenberg Space Force Base in Lompoc, California. NASA awarded SpaceX a task order to launch Dione under the agency’s CubeSat Launch Initiative. The 6U CubeSat from Goddard Spaceflight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, will quantify how Earth’s ionosphere and thermosphere respond to electromagnetic and kinetic energy inputs from the magnetosphere. The mission is a collaboration with Catholic University of America, Utah State University, and Virginia Tech. NASA’s Science Mission Directorate Heliophysics Division is funding this effort. Dione is targeted to launch no earlier than mid-2024. NASA awarded SpaceX a task order to launch ARCSTONE under the agency’s CubeSat Launch Initiative. The 6U CubeSat, built at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, will carry a spectrometer to low Earth orbit to establish a lunar calibration standard that will improve weather and climate sensors. ARCSTONE will use the Moon’s spectral reflectance for Earth science observations and is targeted to launch no earlier than mid-2025. NASA awarded SpaceX a task order for the launch of TSIS-2 (Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor-2). TSIS-2 will measure the Sun’s energy input to Earth. Since 1978, various satellites have measured the Sun’s brightness above Earth’s atmosphere. TSIS-2 will add solar irradiance measurements. Unlike its predecessor TSIS-1, which operates from the International Space Station, TSIS-2 will ride on a free-flying spacecraft. Managed by NASA Goddard, TSIS-2 has instruments from the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder. A launch date is under review. Previously Announced Task Orders: PREFIRE CubeSats for Phantom Space Corp. EscaPADE Two CSLI Missions Awarded to SpaceX TROPICS TRACERS View the full article

Bruce Askins Growing up, Bruce Askins was passionate about space and oceanography. His desire to explore other worlds always made him want to be an astronaut. Though he did not become an astronaut, Askins has built a 42-year career at NASA, and, as the infrastructure management lead for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) Program at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Askins is an integral part for the next generation of explorers. Askins and his team are the gatekeepers and protectors of data and responsible for both cyber- security and physical security for the SLS Program. Under Askins’ leadership, his team ensures all data is stored properly, that information about the rocket shared outside NASA is done with proper data markings, and access is given to those that need it. Askins wasn’t always familiar with the world of infrastructure and cyber security. As a mechanical engineering graduate from the University of Alabama in Huntsville, Askins began his career as part of NASA’s internship program. He considered himself imaginative, or “creatively driven,” which is why Askins originally pursued a career at NASA. “I always loved the design aspect of my early position in special test equipment,” Askins says. “Back then I drew everything by hand with a pencil before eventually transitioning to computers.” His creativity and interest in underwater worlds, along with his scuba diver certification, led him to have a hand in designing early test elements for NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. At the Neutral Buoyancy Simulator, a former underwater training facility at Marshall, Askins interacted with a crew of astronauts supporting Hubble and designed the flight simulation hardware used for crew training on the Canadarm2 robotic arm that is still a part of the International Space Station today. Askins has been a part of the NASA family for almost half a century and is thrilled to be a part of the next era of space exploration to the Moon under Artemis. “To explore is one of the greatest things that we can all do, and with the Artemis Generation the sky’s the limit,” Askins said. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with the Orion spacecraft, advanced spacesuits and rovers, the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, and commercial human landing systems. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single launch. Check out some of our other “I am Artemis” features. View the full article

3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Crews at NASA’s Stennis Space Center cleared a milestone Dec. 11, installing a key component in preparation for future Green Run testing of NASA’s new Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) vehicle for use on the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. Four large diffusers, each weighing 14 tons, were lifted by crane for installation on the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-2). The diffusers are a critical component designed to help direct engine exhaust away from the EUS during hot fire testing to minimize heat exposure to sensitive vehicle systems. NASA Stennis teams lift and install large diffusers onto the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-2).NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA Stennis teams lift and install large diffusers onto the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-2).NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA Stennis teams lift and install large diffusers onto the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-2).NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA Stennis teams lift and install large diffusers onto the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-2).NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA Stennis teams lift and install large diffusers onto the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-2).NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA Stennis teams lift and install large diffusers onto the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-2).NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA Stennis teams lift and install large diffusers onto the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-2).NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA Stennis teams lift and install large diffusers onto the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-2).NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA Stennis teams lift and install large diffusers onto the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-2).NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA Stennis teams lift and install large diffusers onto the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-2).NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA Stennis teams lift and install large diffusers onto the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-2).NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA Stennis teams lift and install large diffusers onto the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-2).NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA’s new EUS is being built at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans as a more powerful SLS second stage to send the Orion spacecraft and heavier payloads to deep space as NASA continues its mission to explore the secrets of the universe for the benefit of all. The EUS is expected to fly on the Artemis IV mission following a series of Green Run tests of its integrated systems at NASA Stennis to demonstrate it is ready to fly. The test series will culminate with a hot fire of the four RL10 engines that will power the EUS. NASA Stennis teams lifted and installed large diffusers onto the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-2) on December 11, 2023, in preparation for future Green Run testing of the new Exploration Upper Stage before it flies on the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket as part of NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond. During an actual flight, critical EUS systems will be protected by the SLS interstage. To protect the systems during Green Run testing, teams are using an interstage simulator, a size-and-weight replica of the actual SLS interstage, and the connected diffusers. The system requires a high level of precision. The diffusers will be connected to the EUS engine nozzles using a flexible seal so gimbaling, or moving a rocket engine a few degrees along a tight circular axis to direct the thrust and “steer” the vehicle, can occur during testing. They also are designed to facilitate propellant connections and allow test teams access to the engine area as needed. The carbon steel diffusers were precisely designed by a joint NASA Stennis and Jacobs Engineering team, using computational models, subscale testing, and historical data. The units then were made by Custom Steel Fabricators in Columbia, Tennessee, and delivered by truck to NASA Stennis. Following lift and installation on the test stand, the diffuser system will be connected to the facility water and hydraulic supplies. A final checkout of the system will include a full test stand water flow demonstration. Share Details Last Updated Dec 13, 2023 EditorNASA Stennis CommunicationsContactC. Lacy Thompsoncalvin.l.thompson@nasa.gov / (228) 688-3333LocationStennis Space Center Related TermsStennis Space CenterMarshall Space Flight CenterMichoud Assembly FacilitySpace Launch System (SLS) Explore More 3 min read NASA Stennis Engineers Share the Stage on Test Day Article 1 day ago 5 min read NASA’s IXPE Marks Two Years of Groundbreaking X-ray Astronomy Article 5 days ago 23 min read The Marshall Star for December 6, 2023 Article 7 days ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Doing Business with NASA Stennis About NASA Stennis Visit NASA Stennis NASA Stennis Media Resources View the full article

It’s been another great year at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. Join us as we review some of the highlights of the science, engineering, and innovation from 2023. Announcing a New Innovation Hub Planned for NASA Research Park at Ames NASA Berkeley Space Center is a proposed new campus of the University of California, Berkeley, and an innovation hub for research and advances in astronautics, aeronautics, quantum computing, climate studies, and more. Planning to join Ames as a tenant of our NASA Research Park in Silicon Valley, 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. Mapping Water Distribution on the Moon’s South Pole NASA Using data collected by the now-retired Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), researchers shared the first detailed, wide-area map of water distribution on the Moon. Understanding how much water lies beneath the lunar surface, and how it’s distributed, will help guide future missions like VIPER, as well as prospective sites for human habitats. Colliding Moons May Have Formed Saturn’s Rings NASA New research suggests Saturn’s icy moons and rings were formed by a collision a few hundred million years ago, creating debris that gathered into the planet’s dusty, icy rings or clumped together to form moons. NASA and Airlines Partner to Save Fuel and Reduce Delays NASA/James Blair This year, NASA partnered with five major U.S. airlines on an air traffic decision-making tool that saved more than 24,000 pounds of jet fuel in 2022 for flights departing from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field Airport. Partners include American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines. NASA Leaders View Climate Science, Wildfire Innovations at Ames NASA/Dominic Hart NASA’s top leadership, industry experts, and legislative officials visited Ames in April to learn about about the center’s climate science efforts and innovations in aeronautics that will help scientists and engineers better understand climate change and mitigate natural disasters like wildland fires. Starling Takes Flight Blue Canyon Technologies/NASA In July NASA’s Starling mission, managed at Ames, launched four CubeSats into low-Earth orbit to test robotic swarm technologies for space. You can track mission milestones via the Small Satellite Missions blog, and follow the mission live in NASA’s Eyes on the Solar System 3D visualization. NASA’s First Robotic Moon Rover NASA/Robert Markowitz This year engineers began assembling NASA’s first robotic Moon rover, VIPER — short for the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover — and the agency is giving the public a front row seat to watch along as the rover takes shape. While individual components, such as the rover’s science instruments, lights, and wheels, were assembled and tested, the VIPER team also completed software development, mission planning, and tricky tests of the rover’s ability to drive off the Astrobotic Griffin lunar lander and onto the lunar surface. Bringing Home Ancient Space Rocks NASA/Keegan Barber NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission – short for the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer – returned to Earth in Sept. 2023, bringing with it extraterrestrial rocks and dust that it scooped up from an asteroid estimated to be 4.5 billion years old. Ames contributed to the spacecraft’s heat shield, anti-contamination systems, post-landing sample curation, and more. Preparing to Send Yeast to the Moon’s Surface for Astronaut Health NASA/Dominic Hart NASA’s plans to explore the Moon and eventually go to Mars will bring humans deeper into space for longer duration missions than ever before. These extended missions beyond low Earth orbit pose certain health risks to astronauts. The Lunar Explorer Instrument for Space Biology Applications team is preparing an experiment to study yeast’s biological response to the lunar environment to help understand and mitigate health risks for astronauts. X-59 Team Moves Toward First Flight in 2024 Lockheed Martin/Gary Tice This year, NASA’s X-59 team installed the finishing touches to the aircraft’s tail structure and moved it from its assembly facility to the flight line to perform structural testing. The X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft will take its first flight in 2024. Celebrating a Stellar Year for Webb Telescope Science NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, and S. Crowe (University of Virginia) The James Webb Space Telescope’s Near-Infrared Camera instrument produced a feast for the eyes with a view into a star-forming region, named Sagittarius C, in the heart of the Milky Way. The image reveals a portion of the dense center of our galaxy in unprecedented detail, including never-before-seen features astronomers have yet to explain. Supercomputer Simulations Lead to Air and Space Innovations NASA Simulations and models developed using technology at the NASA Advanced Supercomputing Facility (NAS) help researchers and engineers develop innovations in air and space. Modeling turbofan engines could lead to designs that reduce engine noise and improve efficiency by understanding where noise is generated inside the machine. S-MODE Sails the Seas and Soars through the Sky NASA/Avery Snyder The Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment (S-MODE) logged its final field expedition, and they took a team from the TODAY Show along for the ride. S-MODE combined airborne instruments, research ships, and autonomous ocean gliders to get an unprecedented look at how gas and heat exchange at the ocean’s surface impacts Earth’s climate. From Intern to Astronaut, and Back to Ames NASA/Dominic Hart NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins, who was once an intern at Ames, returned to the Bay Area in Feb. 2023 to visit with local elementary schools and speak with Ames employees. Watkins started her career with NASA at Ames, where she conducted research on Mars soil simulant supporting the Phoenix Mars Lander mission. Second Gentleman Joins East Bay Kids for STEM Activities NASA/Dominic Hart Nearly 100 East Bay kids and their families got to experience the thrill of “launching a rocket” and “making clouds” at a fun-filled STEM event hosted in honor of Women’s History Month at the East Oakland Youth Development Center in Oakland, California, in March 2023. Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, NASA Ames Research Center Director Dr. Eugene Tu, and NASA astronaut Dr. Yvonne Cagle joined kids at the Manzanita Community School for hands-on activities and to distribute approximately 500 STEM Artemis Learning Lunchboxes aimed to inspire the Artemis generation to learn about NASA’s Artemis Program. Top Leaders in Our Midst Hailed from the White House and Australia NASA/Dominic Hart In January, U.S. President Joe Biden landed at Moffett Federal Airfield, at Ames, on his way to visit storm-damaged regions in the state. Research conducted at our Silicon Valley center could help predict extreme climate-related weather events. Later in the spring, Vice President Kamala Harris arrived at Moffett before delivering remarks at a local company, and leaders of the Australian Space Agency visited Ames to learn about the center’s missions supporting NASA’s Artemis program, including the VIPER Moon rover, which will launch to the lunar South Pole in late 2024. View the full article

NASA / Kim Shiflett On Aug. 8, 2023, Artemis II crew members (from left) Jeremy Hansen, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Christina Koch took a photo in front of their Orion crew module at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Announcing the crew and continuing work on the Space Launch System rocket and Orion are part of the significant steps taken this year toward the agency’s goal of landing the first woman and first person of color on the Moon. Look back on NASA’s achievements in 2023. Image Credit: NASA View the full article

3 Min Read NASA’s Space Station Laser Comm Terminal Achieves First Link NASA’s ILLUMA-T payload at Goddard Space Flight Center fully tested and integrated prior to its delivery to Kennedy Space Center. Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center A NASA technology experiment on the International Space Station completed its first laser link with an in-orbit laser relay system on Dec. 5, 2023. Together, they complete NASA’s first two-way, end-to-end laser relay system. NASA’s LCRD (Laser Communications Relay Demonstration) and the new space station demonstration, ILLUMA-T (Integrated LCRD Low Earth Orbit User Modem and Amplifier Terminal), successfully exchanged data for the first time. LCRD and ILLUMA-T are demonstrating how a user mission, in this case the space station, can benefit from a laser communications relay located in geosynchronous orbit. NASA’s ILLUMA-T payload communicating with LCRD over laser signals.NASA / Dave Ryan Laser communications, also known known as optical communications, uses infrared light rather than traditional radio waves to send and receive signals. The tighter wavelength of infrared light allows spacecraft to pack more data into each transmission. Using laser communications greatly increases the efficiency of data transfer and can lead to a faster pace of scientific discoveries. The benefits of laser communications: more efficient, lighter systems, increased security, and more flexible ground systems.NASA / Dave Ryan On Nov. 9, NASA’s SpaceX 29th commercial resupply services mission launched cargo and new science experiments, including ILLUMA-T, to the space station. Following its arrival, the payload was installed onto the station’s Japanese Experiment Module-Exposed Facility. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon spacecraft lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023, on the company’s 29th commercial resupply services mission for the agency to the International Space Station. Liftoff was at 8:28 p.m. EST. SpaceX ILLUMA-T and LCRD are a part of the NASA Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program’s effort to demonstrate how laser communications technologies can significantly benefit science and exploration missions. “ILLUMA-T’s first link with LCRD – known as first light – is the latest demonstration proving that laser communications is the future.” said Dr. Jason Mitchell, director of SCaN’s Advanced Communications and Navigation Technology division. “Laser communications will not only return more data from science missions, but could serve as NASA’s critical, two-way link to keep astronauts connected to Earth as they explore the Moon, Mars, and beyond.” To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video NASA's ILLUMA-T payload achieved First Light with LCRD. In this video, Matt Magsamen explains the First Light milestone. Shortly after space station installation, operation engineers began conducting on-orbit testing to ensure the ILLUMA-T payload operated nominally. Now, it is communicating with LCRD, a relay launched in 2021 that has conducted over 300 experiment configurations to help NASA refine laser communications technologies. LCRD and ILLUMA-T are exchanging data at 1.2 gigabits-per-second. “We have demonstrated that we can overcome the technical challenges for successful space communications using laser communications. We are now performing operational demonstrations and experiments that will allow us to optimize our infusion of proven technology into our missions to maximize our exploration and science,” said David Israel, a NASA space communications and navigation architect. NASA’s Laser Communications Roadmap: Demonstrating laser communications capabilities on multiple missions in a variety of space regimes.NASA/Dave Ryan The LCRD experiments are conducted with industry, academia, and other government agencies. ILLUMA-T is now LCRD’s first in-space user experiment. NASA is still accepting experiments to work with LCRD. Interested parties should contact lcrd-experiments@nasa.onmicrosoft.com for more information. ILLUMA-T is funded by NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The payload is managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Partners include the International Space Station program office at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, Massachusetts. For more information: https://nasa.gov/scan About the AuthorKatherine SchauerKatherine Schauer is a writer for the Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program office and covers emerging technologies, commercialization efforts, exploration activities, and more. Share Details Last Updated Dec 13, 2023 ContactKatherine Schauerkatherine.s.schauer@nasa.govLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related TermsLaser Communications RelayGeneralSpace Communications & Navigation ProgramTechnology Demonstration Explore More 5 min read NASA’s First Two-way End-to-End Laser Communications Relay System Article 2 months ago 6 min read NASA’s Laser Communications Relay: A Year of Experimentation NASA’s first two-way laser relay system completed its first year of experiments on June 28… Article 6 months ago 4 min read NASA to Demonstrate Laser Communications from Space Station In 2023, NASA is sending a technology demonstration known as the Integrated LCRD Low Earth… Article 4 months ago View the full article

6 Min Read NASA’s Webb Identifies Tiniest Free-Floating Brown Dwarf Webb Telescope's Near-Infrared Camera shows the central portion of the star cluster IC 348. Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, K. Luhman (Penn State University), and C. Alves de Oliveira (ESA) Brown dwarfs are objects that straddle the dividing line between stars and planets. They form like stars, growing dense enough to collapse under their own gravity, but they never become dense and hot enough to begin fusing hydrogen and turn into a star. At the low end of the scale, some brown dwarfs are comparable with giant planets, weighing just a few times the mass of Jupiter. What are the smallest stars? Astronomers are trying to determine the smallest object that can form in a star-like manner. A team using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has identified the new record-holder: a tiny, free-floating brown dwarf with only three to four times the mass of Jupiter. “One basic question you’ll find in every astronomy textbook is, what are the smallest stars? That’s what we’re trying to answer,” explained lead author Kevin Luhman of Pennsylvania State University. Search Strategy To locate this newfound brown dwarf, Luhman and his colleague, Catarina Alves de Oliveira, chose to study the star cluster IC 348, located about 1,000 light-years away in the Perseus star-forming region. This cluster is young, only about 5 million years old. As a result, any brown dwarfs would still be relatively bright in infrared light, glowing from the heat of their formation. The team first imaged the center of the cluster using Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) to identify brown dwarf candidates from their brightness and colors. They followed up on the most promising targets using Webb’s NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph) microshutter array. Image: Star Cluster IC438 This image from the NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope shows the central portion of the star cluster IC 348. The wispy curtains filling the image are interstellar material reflecting the light from the cluster’s stars – what is known as a reflection nebula. The material also includes carbon-containing molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. Winds from the most massive stars in the cluster may help sculpt the large loop seen on the right side of the field of view.NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, K. Luhman (Penn State University), and C. Alves de Oliveira (ESA) Webb’s infrared sensitivity was crucial, allowing the team to detect fainter objects than ground-based telescopes. In addition, Webb’s sharp vision enabled them to determine which red objects were pinpoint brown dwarfs and which were blobby background galaxies. This winnowing process led to three intriguing targets weighing three to eight Jupiter masses, with surface temperatures ranging from 1,500 to 2,800 degrees Fahrenheit (830 to 1,500 degrees Celsius). The smallest of these weighs just three to four times Jupiter, according to computer models. Explaining how such a small brown dwarf could form is theoretically challenging. A heavy and dense cloud of gas has plenty of gravity to collapse and form a star. However, because of its weaker gravity, it should be more difficult for a small cloud to collapse to form a brown dwarf, and that is especially true for brown dwarfs with the masses of giant planets. “It’s pretty easy for current models to make giant planets in a disk around a star,” said Catarina Alves de Oliveira of ESA (European Space Agency), principal investigator on the observing program. “But in this cluster, it would be unlikely this object formed in a disk, instead forming like a star, and three Jupiter masses is 300 times smaller than our Sun. So we have to ask, how does the star formation process operate at such very, very small masses?” A Mystery Molecule In addition to giving clues about the star-formation process, tiny brown dwarfs also can help astronomers better understand exoplanets. The least massive brown dwarfs overlap with the largest exoplanets; therefore, they would be expected to have some similar properties. However, a free-floating brown dwarf is easier to study than a giant exoplanet since the latter is hidden within the glare of its host star. Two of the brown dwarfs identified in this survey show the spectral signature of an unidentified hydrocarbon, or molecule containing both hydrogen and carbon atoms. The same infrared signature was detected by NASA’s Cassini mission in the atmospheres of Saturn and its moon Titan. It has also been seen in the interstellar medium, or gas between stars. “This is the first time we’ve detected this molecule in the atmosphere of an object outside our solar system,” explained Alves de Oliveira. “Models for brown dwarf atmospheres don’t predict its existence. We’re looking at objects with younger ages and lower masses than we ever have before, and we’re seeing something new and unexpected.” Image: Three Brown Dwarfs This image from the NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope shows the central portion of the star cluster IC 348. Astronomers combed the cluster in search of tiny, free-floating brown dwarfs: objects too small to be stars but larger than most planets. They found three brown dwarfs that are less than eight times the mass of Jupiter, which are circled in the main image and shown in the detailed pullouts at right. The smallest weighs just three to four times Jupiter, challenging theories for star formation.NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, K. Luhman (Penn State University), and C. Alves de Oliveira (ESA) Brown Dwarf or Rogue Planet? Since the objects are well within the mass range of giant planets, it raises the question of whether they are actually brown dwarfs, or if they’re really rogue planets that were ejected from planetary systems. While the team can’t rule out the latter, they argue that they are far more likely to be a brown dwarf than an ejected planet. An ejected giant planet is unlikely for two reasons. First, such planets are uncommon in general compared to planets with smaller masses. Second, most stars are low-mass stars, and giant planets are especially rare among those stars. As a result, it’s unlikely that most of the stars in IC 348 (which are low-mass stars) are capable of producing such massive planets. In addition, since the cluster is only 5 million years old, there probably hasn’t been enough time for giant planets to form and then be ejected from their systems. The discovery of more such objects will help clarify their status. Theories suggest that rogue planets are more likely to be found in the outskirts of a star cluster, so expanding the search area may identify them if they exist within IC 348. Future work may also include longer surveys that can detect fainter, smaller objects. The short survey conducted by the team was expected to detect objects as small as twice the mass of Jupiter. Longer surveys could easily reach one Jupiter mass. These observations were taken as part of Guaranteed Time Observation program 1229. The results were published in the Astronomical Journal. The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency. Media Contacts Laura Betz – laura.e.betz@nasa.gov, Rob Gutro– rob.gutro@nasa.gov NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, , Greenbelt, Md. Hannah Braun – hbraun@stsci.edu , Christine Pulliam – cpulliam@stsci.edu Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md. Downloads Download full resolution images for this article from the Space Telescope Science Institute. Read/Download the research results released in The Astronomical Journal. Right click the images in this article to open a larger version in a new tab/window. Related Information Lifecycle of Stars More Webb News – https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/latestnews/ More Webb Images – https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/multimedia/images/ Webb Mission Page – https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/ Related For Kids How do we weigh planets? What is a nebula? What is the Webb Telescope? SpacePlace for Kids En Español Ciencia de la NASA NASA en español Space Place para niños Keep Exploring Related Topics James Webb Space Telescope Webb is the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It studies every phase in the… Stars Overview Stars are giant balls of hot gas – mostly hydrogen, with some helium and small amounts of other elements.… Galaxies Overview Galaxies consist of stars, planets, and vast clouds of gas and dust, all bound together by gravity. The largest… Universe Discover the universe: Learn about the history of the cosmos, what it’s made of, and so much more. Share Details Last Updated Dec 13, 2023 EditorSteve SabiaContactLaura Betz Related TermsJames Webb Space Telescope (JWST)AstrophysicsBrown DwarfsExoplanetsGoddard Space Flight CenterMissionsScience & ResearchStarsThe Universe 6 Min Read NASA’s Webb Identifies Tiniest Free-Floating Brown Dwarf This image from the NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope shows the central portion of the star cluster IC 348. The wispy curtains filling the image are interstellar material reflecting the light from the cluster’s stars – what is known as a reflection nebula. The material also includes carbon-containing molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. Winds from the most massive stars in the cluster may help sculpt the large loop seen on the right side of the field of view. Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, K. Luhman (Penn State University), and C. Alves de Oliveira (ESA) View the full article

Here’s a look back at 2023’s most significant events at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida: JANUARY Day of Remembrance Marks 20th Anniversary of Columbia Tragedy NASA senior management and guests paid tribute to the crew members of space shuttle Columbia, as well as other astronauts who perished in the line of duty, during the agency’s Annual Day of Remembrance held at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. NASA’s Day of RemembranceNASA/Kim Shiflett JANUARY Facilities, Spacecraft Prepped for Artemis II Mission Teams with Exploration Ground Systems began upgrading and modifying facilities at Kennedy to support Artemis II, paving the way for human exploration to the Moon and Mars. Artemis II will be the first crewed flight of the agency’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft. NASA’s mobile launcher arrives at the Vehicle Assembly BuildingNASA/Ben Smegelsky FEBRUARY ‘Famous’ Eagles Build New Nest at Kennedy When storms badly damaged their original nest at the Florida spaceport, a well-known pair of American bald eagles built a new home nearby along Kennedy Parkway, providing a magnificent view of the majestic birds in their natural habitat. A southern bald eagle occupies its new nestNASA/Ben Smegelsky FEBRUARY New Orion Test Article Makes a Splash NASA’s Landing and Recovery team completed a rigorous round of testing on the new mock-up of the agency’s Orion spacecraft. This test article will be used to train NASA, Navy, and other Department of Defense personnel to retrieve astronauts from the Pacific Ocean after splashing down on Artemis Moon missions. The Crew Module Test Article in actionNASA/Kim Shiflett MARCH Crew-6 Lights up Florida Early-Morning Sky A Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft roared off of Kennedy’s Launch Pad 39A at 12:34 a.m. EST March 2, kickstarting NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission. The launch carried NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg, along with UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev to the International Space Station for a six-month science expedition mission. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 on the launch padNASA/Joel Kowsky MARCH Crew-5 Comes Back to Earth NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Koichi Wakata, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina splashed down safely in the SpaceX Dragon Endurance in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Tampa, Florida, at 9:02 p.m. EST March 11, returning to Earth after 157 days in space. Crew-5 astronauts return to EarthNASA/Joel Kowsky MARCH CRS-27 Launches to the Space Station At 8:30 p.m. EDT March 14, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket rumbled off the pad at Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A, starting Dragon’s two-day journey to the International Space Station to deliver new science investigations, supplies, and equipment for Expedition 68 and 69 crews aboard the orbiting laboratory. CRS-27 liftoffSpaceX MARCH Swamp Works Celebrates a Decade of Discoveries In 2023, Swamp Works, which drew its inspiration from Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works in California, celebrated 10 years. The facility is devoted to innovation and leveraging skills and capabilities across the center, focusing on granular mechanics and regolith operations, applied chemistry, electrostatics and surface physics, advanced materials and systems, applied physics, and corrosion technology. ISRU Pilot Excavator testing inside Swamp Works NASA/Frank Michaux MAY Astronauts Complete Second All-Private Mission Four private astronauts completed a successful Axiom Mission 2, the second all-private astronaut mission to the space station. Axiom Space astronauts Peggy Whitson, John Shoffner, Ali Alqarni, and Rayyanah Barnawi spent 10 days on the orbiting laboratory after lifting off at 5:37 p.m. EDT on May 21 from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center. The Axiom Mission-2 and Expedition 69 crew members aboard the International Space StationNASA JUNE Solar Arrays Delivered on CRS-28 Several thousand pounds of important research, crew supplies and hardware, including new solar arrays, were delivered to the space station following the June 5 launch of SpaceX’s 28th commercial resupply services mission for NASA from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A. CRS-28 liftoffSpaceX JULY Artemis Crews Get New Ride to the Pad Teams from manufacturer Canoo Technologies Inc. of Torrance, California, delivered three specially designed, fully electric, environmentally friendly crew transportation vehicles to Kennedy on July 11. The vehicles will take Artemis crews on the final Earth-bound leg of their journey to the Moon before boarding their rocket and spacecraft. Fully electric, environmentally friendly crew transportation vehicles arrived at KennedyNASA/Isaac Watson AUGUST Crew-7 Carries International Crew to Space Station A Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance, launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket, carrying NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov to the space station on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission. Liftoff occurred at 3:27 a.m. EDT on Saturday, Aug. 26. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 NASA/Joel Kowsky AUGUST Artemis II Crew Meets Their Ride Around the Moon Inside the high bay of Kennedy’s Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building, Artemis II NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen visited the Orion spacecraft that will take them on a 10-day journey around the Moon as the first Artemis crew. Artemis II crew members view their Orion spacecraftNASA/Kim Shiflett SEPTEMBER Crew-6 Completes Six-Month Mission NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg, along with UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev splashed down safely in SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida, at 12:17 a.m. EDT Monday, Sept. 24, after 186 days in space. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 astronauts return to EarthNASA/Kim Shiflett SEPTEMBER Artemis II Astronauts Conduct Launch-Day Demonstration NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, practiced the procedures they will undergo on launch day to prepare for their mission around the Moon. The Artemis II crew and teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program successfully completed the critical ground system tests at Kennedy on Sept. 20. Artemis II astronauts at Launch Pad 39BNASA/Frank Michaux OCTOBER Psyche Launches to a Metal Asteroid NASA’s Psyche spacecraft began its six-year voyage to an asteroid of the same name, a metal-rich world that could tell us more about the formation of rocky planets, after successfully launching aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy on Oct. 13. Psyche mission lifts offNASA/Aubrey Gemignani OCTOBER Progress Continues Toward NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight to Station NASA and Boeing are working to complete the agency’s verification and validation activities ahead of the Starliner spacecraft’s first flight with astronauts to the International Space Station. While Boeing is targeting March 2024 to have the spacecraft ready for flight, teams decided during a launch manifest evaluation that a launch in April will better accommodate upcoming crew rotations and cargo resupply missions this spring. The Starliner team works on module for NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight TestBoeing/John Grant OCTOBER Sea Turtle Nests Set Kennedy Record A record number of sea turtle nests were built on the undisturbed beaches of the Florida spaceport in 2023. Biologists counted 13,935 sea turtle nests along Kennedy’s shoreline during the 2023 nesting season, 639 more nests than 2022 and the most found on center in a single year since record-keeping began in 1984. Sea turtle hatchlings at Kennedy Space Center in FloridaNASA NOVEMBER NASA, SpaceX Launch New Science, Hardware to Space Station Following a successful launch of NASA’s SpaceX 29th commercial resupply mission from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A, scientific experiments and technology demonstrations – including studies of enhanced optical communications and measurement of atmospheric waves – were delivered to the space station. The Integrated LCRD Low Earth Orbit User Modem and Amplifier Terminal loaded into Dragon’s unpressurized spacecraft trunkSpaceX DECEMBER Kennedy Celebrates 25 Years of International Space Station Science NASA Kennedy marked a quarter of a century of assembling and processing components and science missions for the International Space Station. In December 1998, the Unity module of the International Space Station was carried to orbit on STS-88 from Kennedy, helping kick off a 25-year legacy that includes over 3700 science investigations conducted to date on the orbiting laboratory by 273 people from 21 countries. View the full article

5 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) A NASA study expands the search for life beyond our solar system by indicating that 17 exoplanets (worlds outside our solar system) could have oceans of liquid water, an essential ingredient for life, beneath icy shells. Water from these oceans could occasionally erupt through the ice crust as geysers. The science team calculated the amount of geyser activity on these exoplanets, the first time these estimates have been made. They identified two exoplanets sufficiently close where signs of these eruptions could be observed with telescopes. The search for life elsewhere in the Universe typically focuses on exoplanets that are in a star’s “habitable zone,” a distance where temperatures allow liquid water to persist on their surfaces. However, it’s possible for an exoplanet that’s too distant and cold to still have an ocean underneath an ice crust if it has enough internal heating. Such is the case in our solar system where Europa, a moon of Jupiter, and Enceladus, a moon of Saturn, have subsurface oceans because they are heated by tides from the gravitational pull of the host planet and neighboring moons. NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured this image of Enceladus on Nov. 30, 2010. The shadow of the body of Enceladus on the lower portions of the jets is clearly visible.NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute These subsurface oceans could harbor life if they have other necessities, such as an energy supply as well as elements and compounds used in biological molecules. On Earth, entire ecosystems thrive in complete darkness at the bottom of oceans near hydrothermal vents, which provide energy and nutrients. “Our analyses predict that these 17 worlds may have ice-covered surfaces but receive enough internal heating from the decay of radioactive elements and tidal forces from their host stars to maintain internal oceans,” said Dr. Lynnae Quick of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “Thanks to the amount of internal heating they experience, all planets in our study could also exhibit cryovolcanic eruptions in the form of geyser-like plumes.” Quick is lead author of a paper on the research published on October 4 in the Astrophysical Journal. The team considered conditions on 17 confirmed exoplanets that are roughly Earth-sized but less dense, suggesting that they could have substantial amounts of ice and water instead of denser rock. Although the planets’ exact compositions remain unknown, initial estimates of their surface temperatures from previous studies all indicate that they are much colder than Earth, suggesting that their surfaces could be covered in ice. The study improved estimates of each exoplanet’s surface temperature by recalculating using the known surface brightness and other properties of Europa and Enceladus as models. The team also estimated the total internal heating in these exoplanets by using the shape of each exoplanet’s orbit to get the heat generated from tides and adding it to the heat expected from radioactive activity. Surface temperature and total heating estimates gave the ice layer thickness for each exoplanet since the oceans cool and freeze at the surface while being heated from the interior. Finally, they compared these figures to Europa’s and used estimated levels of geyser activity on Europa as a conservative baseline to estimate geyser activity on the exoplanets. They predict that surface temperatures are colder than previous estimates by up to 60 degrees Fahrenheit (16 degrees Celsius). Estimated ice shell thickness ranged from about 190 feet (58 meters) for Proxima Centauri b and one mile (1.6 kilometers) for LHS 1140 b to 24 miles (38.6 kilometers) for MOA 2007 BLG 192Lb, compared to Europa’s estimated average of 18 miles (almost 29 kilometers). Estimated geyser activity went from just 17.6 pounds per second (about 8 kilograms/second) for Kepler 441b to 639,640 pounds/second (290,000 kilograms/second) for LHS 1140 b and 13.2 million pounds/second (six million kilograms/second) for Proxima Centauri b, compared to Europa at 4,400 pounds/second (2,000 kilograms/second). “Since our models predict that oceans could be found relatively close to the surfaces of Proxima Centauri b and LHS 1140 b, and their rate of geyser activity could exceed Europa’s by hundreds to thousands of times, telescopes are most likely to detect geological activity on these planets,” said Quick, who is presenting this research December 12 at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco, California. This activity could be seen when the exoplanet passes in front of its star. Certain colors of starlight could be dimmed or blocked by water vapor from the geysers. “Sporadic detections of water vapor in which the amount of water vapor detected varies with time, would suggest the presence of cryovolcanic eruptions,” said Quick. The water might contain other elements and compounds that could reveal if it can support life. Since elements and compounds absorb light at specific “signature” colors, analysis of the starlight would let scientists determine the geyser’s composition and evaluate the exoplanet’s habitability potential. For planets like Proxima Centauri b that don’t cross their stars from our vantage point, geyser activity could be detected by powerful telescopes that are able to measure light that the exoplanet reflects while orbiting its star. Geysers would expel icy particles at the exoplanet’s surface which would cause the exoplanet to appear very bright and reflective. The research was funded by NASA’s Habitable Worlds Program, the University of Washington’s Astrobiology Program, and the Virtual Planetary Laboratory, a member of the NASA Nexus for Exoplanet System Science coordination group. Share Details Last Updated Dec 13, 2023 EditorWilliam SteigerwaldContactWilliam Steigerwaldwilliam.a.steigerwald@nasa.govLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related TermsAstrobiologyGoddard Space Flight CenterOuter Planets & Ocean Worlds Program Explore More 5 min read New NASA Satellite To Unravel Mysteries About Clouds, Aerosols Article 20 hours ago 5 min read NASA’s MAVEN Observes the Disappearing Solar Wind Article 2 days ago 6 min read NASA’s Webb Stuns With New High-Definition Look at Exploded Star Article 3 days ago View the full article

This 360-degree mosaic from the “Airey Hill” location inside Jezero Crater was generated using 993 individual images taken by the Perseverance Mars rover’s Mastcam-Z from Nov. 3-6. The rover remained parked at Airey Hill for several weeks during solar conjunction.NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS Now at 1,000 days on Mars, the mission has traversed an ancient river and lake system, collecting valuable samples along the way. Marking its 1,000th Martian day on the Red Planet, NASA’s Perseverance rover recently completed its exploration of the ancient river delta that holds evidence of a lake that filled Jezero Crater billions of years ago. The six-wheeled scientist has to date collected a total of 23 samples, revealing the geologic history of this region of Mars in the process. One sample called “Lefroy Bay” contains a large quantity of fine-grained silica, a material known to preserve ancient fossils on Earth. Another, “Otis Peak,” holds a significant amount of phosphate, which is often associated with life as we know it. Both of these samples are also rich in carbonate, which can preserve a record of the environmental conditions from when the rock was formed. The discoveries were shared Tuesday, Dec. 12, at the American Geophysical Union fall meeting in San Francisco. “We picked Jezero Crater as a landing site because orbital imagery showed a delta – clear evidence that a large lake once filled the crater. A lake is a potentially habitable environment, and delta rocks are a great environment for entombing signs of ancient life as fossils in the geologic record,” said Perseverance’s project scientist, Ken Farley of Caltech. “After thorough exploration, we’ve pieced together the crater’s geologic history, charting its lake and river phase from beginning to end.” This image of Mars’ Jezero Crater is overlaid with mineral data detected from orbit. The green color represents carbonates – minerals that form in watery environments with conditions that might be favorable for preserving signs of ancient life. NASA’s Perseverance is currently exploring the green area above Jezero’s fan (center).NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/JHU-APL Jezero formed from an asteroid impact almost 4 billion years ago. After Perseverance landed in February 2021, the mission team discovered the crater floor is made of igneous rock formed from magma underground or from volcanic activity at the surface. They have since found sandstone and mudstone, signaling the arrival of the first river in the crater hundreds of millions of years later. Above these rocks are salt-rich mudstones, signaling the presence of a shallow lake experiencing evaporation. The team thinks the lake eventually grew as wide as 22 miles (35 kilometers) in diameter and as deep as 100 feet (30 meters). Later, fast-flowing water carried in boulders from outside Jezero, distributing them atop of the delta and elsewhere in the crater. “We were able to see a broad outline of these chapters in Jezero’s history in orbital images, but it required getting up close with Perseverance to really understand the timeline in detail,” said Libby Ives, a postdoctoral fellow at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which manages the mission. Enticing Samples The samples Perseverance gathers are about as big as a piece of classroom chalk and are stored in special metal tubes as part of the Mars Sample Return campaign, a joint effort by NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). Bringing the tubes to Earth would enable scientists to study the samples with powerful lab equipment too large to take to Mars. This animated artist’s concept depicts water breaking through the rim of Mars’ Jezero Crater, which NASA’s Perseverance rover is now exploring. Water entered the crater billions of years ago, forming a lake, delta, and rivers before the Red Planet dried up. NASA/JPL-Caltech To decide which samples to collect, Perseverance first uses an abrasion tool to wear away a patch of a prospective rock and then studies the rock’s chemistry using precision science instruments, including the JPL-built Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry, or PIXL. At a target the team calls “Bills Bay,” PIXL spotted carbonates – minerals that form in watery environments with conditions that might be favorable for preserving organic molecules. (Organic molecules form by both geological and biological processes.) These rocks were also abundant with silica, a material that’s excellent at preserving organic molecules, including those related to life. “On Earth, this fine-grained silica is what you often find in a location that was once sandy,” said JPL’s Morgan Cable, the deputy principal investigator of PIXL. “It’s the kind of environment where, on Earth, the remains of ancient life could be preserved and found later.” Perseverance’s instruments are capable of detecting both microscopic, fossil-like structures and chemical changes that may have been left by ancient microbes, but they have yet to see evidence for either. PIXL, one of the instruments aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover, analyzed the chemical makeup of an area of abraded rock dubbed “Ouzel Falls,” finding it rich in minerals containing phosphate, a material found in the DNA and cell membranes of all known life.NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Analyzing this abraded rock patch dubbed “Bills Bay,” the PIXL instrument on NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover found it rich in carbonates (purple) and silica (green), both of which are good at preserving signs of ancient life. The image is overlaid with the instrument’s chemical data.NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS At another target PIXL examined, called “Ouzel Falls,” the instrument detected the presence of iron associated with phosphate. Phosphate is a component of DNA and the cell membranes of all known terrestrial life and is part of a molecule that helps cells carry energy. After assessing PIXL’s findings on each of these abrasion patches, the team sent up commands for the rover to collect rock cores close by: Lefroy Bay was collected next to Bills Bay, and Otis Peak at Ouzel Falls. “We have ideal conditions for finding signs of ancient life where we find carbonates and phosphates, which point to a watery, habitable environment, as well as silica, which is great at preservation,” Cable said. Perseverance’s work is, of course, far from done. The mission’s ongoing fourth science campaign will explore Jezero Crater’s margin, near the canyon entrance where a river once flooded the crater floor. Rich carbonate deposits have been spotted along the margin, which stands out in orbital images like a ring within a bathtub. More About the Mission A key objective for Perseverance’s mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet’s geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust). Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis. The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover. For more about Perseverance: mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/ Learn about all the samples collected by Perseverance Where is Perseverance right now? News Media Contacts Andrew Good Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 818-393-2433 andrew.c.good@jpl.nasa.gov Karen Fox / Alana Johnson NASA Headquarters, Washington 301-286-6284 / 202-358-1501 karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / alana.r.johnson@nasa.gov 2023-181 Share Details Last Updated Dec 12, 2023 Related TermsPerseverance (Rover)Jet Propulsion LaboratoryMarsMars 2020The Solar System Explore More 5 min read NASA Sensor Produces First Global Maps of Surface Minerals in Arid Regions Article 1 day ago 5 min read NASA’s MAVEN Observes the Disappearing Solar Wind Article 1 day ago 3 min read Students Create Elaborate Homemade Machines for JPL Competition Article 4 days ago View the full article

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s new view of Cassiopeia A (Cas A) in near-infrared light is giving astronomers hints at the dynamical processes occurring within the supernova remnant. Tiny clumps represented in bright pink and orange make up the supernova’s inner shell, and are comprised of sulfur, oxygen, argon, and neon from the star itself. A large, striated blob at the bottom right corner of the image, nicknamed Baby Cas A, is one of the few light echoes visible NIRCam’s field of view. In this image, red, green, and blue were assigned to Webb’s NIRCam data at 4.4, 3.56, and 1.62 microns (F444W, F356W, and F162M, respectively).NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, D. Milisavljevic (Purdue University), T. Temim (Princeton University), I. De Looze (University of Gent) Supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A) shines in a new image from Dec. 10, 2023, from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) view of Cas A displays this stellar explosion at a resolution previously unreachable at these wavelengths, revealing intricate details of the expanding shell of material slamming into the gas shed by the star before it exploded. Cas A is one of the most well-studied supernova remnants in all the cosmos. Over the years, ground-based and space-based observatories, including NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory, Hubble Space Telescope, and retired Spitzer Space Telescope have assembled a multiwavelength picture of the object’s remnant. However, astronomers have now entered a new era in the study of Cas A. In April 2023, Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) started this chapter, unveiling new and unexpected features within the inner shell of the supernova remnant. Many of those features are invisible in the new NIRCam image, and astronomers are investigating why. Read on to find out what we can learn from this new image of Cassiopeia A. Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, D. Milisavljevic (Purdue University), T. Temim (Princeton University), I. De Looze (University of Gent) View the full article

In 2023, as NASA pushed the limits of exploration for the benefit of humanity, the agency celebrated astronaut Frank Rubio becoming the first American astronaut to spend more than one year in space; delivered samples from an asteroid to Earth; sent a spacecraft to study a metal-rich asteroid for the first time; launched multiple initiatives to share climate data; advanced developments in sustainable aircraft; all while continuing preparations to send the first Artemis astronauts to the Moon. “This year, NASA continued to make the impossible, possible while sharing our story of discovery with the world,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “We’ve launched missions that are helping tell the oldest stories of our solar system; continued to safely transport astronauts to the International Space Station to conduct groundbreaking science; our Earth satellites are providing critical climate data to all people; we’re making great strides to make aviation more dependable and sustainable; and we’re growing our commercial and international partnerships as we venture back to the Moon and on to Mars. NASA is home to the world’s finest workforce, and there is no limit to what we can achieve when we work together.” In support of the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to address climate change, NASA is leading the development of U.S. government-wide initiatives focused on bringing Earth science information to the public. The Earth Information Center, a new interactive exhibit at NASA Headquarters in Washington, also includes an online experience that invites visitors to see Earth as NASA sees it from space while providing critical data needed by researchers and policymakers. Among other notable mentions, the agency’s James Webb Space Telescope – the largest, most powerful telescope humanity has ever put in space – celebrated one year of science. NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced the two organizations will partner on DRACO (Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations) to test a nuclear-powered rocket in space as soon as 2027. This year NASA celebrated 25 years of International Space Station operations as the agency continued to foster the growth of the commercial space economy, supporting the development of commercial space station partnerships. It also marks the 65th anniversary of the agency. While celebrating these achievements, NASA also unveiled its NASA 2040 vision for the agency to ensure it remains a global leader in aerospace for decades to come. Below are additional highlights of NASA’s endeavors in 2023 to explore the unknown in air and space, innovate for the benefit of humanity, and inspire the world through discovery. Understanding Our Changing Planet NASA has used its unique vantage point of space to better understand our changing planet since launching its first Earth science satellites in the 1960s. In 2023, NASA’s Office of the Chief Scientist established a cross-agency working group and released a climate strategy. Other agency efforts to share scientific data on Earth.gov and other areas include: Working with its partners, NASA launched the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Center, opening access to trusted data on greenhouse gases. Data from NASA’s Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) instrument aboard the International Space Station is part of the gas center. EMIT identifies point-source emissions of greenhouse gases with a proficiency greater than expected. NASA’s tracking of greenhouse gases includes both global and focused estimates. Building on the month-by-month worldwide temperature data collected and released by NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration both agencies are expected to announce soon 2023 was the warmest year in recorded history. A NASA airborne campaign helped show that methane ‘hot spots’ in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta are more likely to be found where recent wildfires burned into the tundra, altering carbon emissions from the land. After successfully launching to space earlier this year, NASA’s TEMPO (Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution) mission to study air quality now is successfully transmitting information about major air pollutants over North America. NASA’s SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography) mission offered the its first detailed perspectives of Earth’s surface water. Among natural hazards, NASA data was put to use in monitoring the heavy rains occurring in the drought-stricken areas, heat waves, wildfires, and subsequent health affects worldwide, as well as expansion of NASA landslide data. Local students participate in an Earth Information Center (EIC) student engagement event, Friday, June 23, 2023, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. The EIC is a new immersive experience that combines live data sets with cutting-edge data visualization and storytelling to allow visitors to see how our planet is changing.NASA/Keegan Barber The sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission is seen shortly after touching down in the desert, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, at the Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training Range. The sample was collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020 by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft.NASA/Keegan Barber NASA astronaut and Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Frank Rubio poses for a portrait while working inside the International Space Station’s Destiny laboratory module.NASA Artemis II crew members, shown inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, stand in front of their Orion crew module on Aug. 8, 2023. From left are: Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist; Victor Glover, pilot; Reid Wiseman, commander; and Christina Hammock Koch, mission specialist. The crew module is undergoing acoustic testing ahead of integration with the European Service Module. Artemis II is the first crewed mission on NASA’s path to establishing a long-term lunar presence for science and exploration under Artemis.NASA NASA’s X-59 sits in support framing while undergoing the installation of its lower empennage, or tail section, at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California in late March. Lockheed Martin/NASA Advancing Moon to Mars Exploration This year, NASA shared results of its first Moon to Mars Architecture Concept Review as it builds a blueprint for human exploration throughout the solar system for the benefit of humanity. The agency also continues to take significant steps toward landing the first woman and first person of color on the Moon as part of Artemis. Notably in 2023, NASA announced crew for the Artemis II mission, the first Artemis mission with astronauts around the Moon and back to Earth. The crew completed fundamentals training, and is now focusing on training for mission operations. Additional highlights for human deep space exploration include: All major elements for the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for Artemis II are complete or nearing completion including booster segments delivered to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and final core state assembly testing at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Upgrades and refurbishments continue at Kennedy with the mobile launcher and launch pad, including a water flow test and launch operations simulation. NASA made progress on Artemis III, which will send the first humans to explore the region near the lunar South Pole, building on the previous flight tests and adding a human landing system and advanced spacesuits for moonwalks. The solid rocket booster segments and the four RS-25 engines are complete for the Artemis III SLS, as well as three of the five major core stage elements. Teams are integrating elements of Orion’s crew module, and the European Service Module. NASA selected the geology team to develop a lunar surface science plan for Artemis III. Beyond Artemis III, teams completed welding the primary structure for Gateway’s HALO (Habitation and Logistics Outpost), where astronauts will live and work in lunar orbit. Fabrication is complete on the primary structure of the Power and Propulsion Element that will provide power, communications, and maintain Gateway’s orbit. In addition to other hardware assembly and certification work for later missions, Artemis V will include a lunar terrain vehicle. NASA asked SpaceX to further develop Starship for Artemis IV, and also selected Blue Origin to develop a human lunar lander for Artemis V. Experiments aboard the International Space Station focused on helping astronauts go farther and stay longer in space. This research included growing sustainable crops such as dwarf tomatoes, understanding how microbes adapt to space to protect crew health, and developing innovative materials that can weather the harsh environments of the Moon and Mars. To support future NASA Moon missions with crew, the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative is in the final phases of preparations for the first two launches and landings to deliver NASA science and technology demonstrations to the lunar surface. Five NASA payloads are aboard Astrobotic’s Peregrine Mission 1 lander, which is set to launch no earlier than Monday, Jan. 8. Soon after, another six NASA payloads will launch no earlier than Friday, Jan. 12, aboard Intuitive Machine’s Nova-C spacecraft. Since launching CLPS, NASA has contracted with five companies for eight deliveries to the lunar surface. Most recently in 2023, NASA selected Firefly Aerospace for a delivery. Among future CLPS payloads is NASA’s first robotic lunar rover, VIPER – short for the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover. The rover will trek into permanently shadowed areas to unravel the mysteries of the Moon’s water and better understand the environment. In preparation for a landing in late 2024, scientists named VIPER’s mission area in honor of NASA mathematician Melba Roy Mouton. Development, assembly and testing also continues for the rover’s solar and battery systems. While NASA is leading Artemis, international partnerships are a key part of advancing Moon to Mars exploration. In 2023, 10 additional countries signed the Artemis Accords, which lay out a common set of principles governing the civil exploration and use of outer space. So far, 33 countries have signed the Artemis Accords. Maintaining Low Earth Orbit Operations Closer to Earth, the International Space Station – humanity’s home in space – passed 25 years of operations. NASA and its partners officially extended operations plans for the microgravity science laboratory for the benefit of humanity. Other space station milestones in 2023 include: NASA and SpaceX continued regular crew rotation flights to and from station, helping maximize science in space, including: NASA astronauts Frank Rubio, Nicole Mann, Josh Cassada, Stephen Bowen, Woody Hoburg, Loral O’Hara, and Jasmin Moghbeli lived and worked aboard the station. Rubio spent a U.S. record-breaking 371 days in space, contributing to a better understanding of long-duration spaceflight as we explore beyond our home planet. Crew-5 returned to Earth with Mann and Cassada, as well as JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Koichi Wakata, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina. Crew members tested hydroponic and aeroponic techniques to grow plants without using soil, released Uganda and Zimbabwe’s first satellites, studied how liquids move in a container in simulated lunar gravity to generate data to improve Moon rover designs, and reinstalled the station’s bioprinting facility. Crew-6 included Bowen and Hoburg, as well as UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. The crew assisted a student robotic challenge, studying plant genetic adaptations to space, and monitoring human health in microgravity. The crew also released Saskatchewan’s first satellite, which tests a new radiation detection and protection system. Crew-7 carried Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov. This crew is conducting a variety of scientific research in areas such the collection of microbial samples from the exterior of the space station, the first study of human response to different spaceflight durations, and a study on astronaut’s sleep. NASA and Boeing continued to make progress on the company’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft. Starliner and its crew of NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams are preparing for the first flight with astronauts in 2024, the final demonstration prior to regular flights to the microgravity complex. Space station crew members completed 12 spacewalks to upgrade and conduct maintenance at the orbiting laboratory before the year’s end. NASA astronauts continued work to install the International Space Station Rollout Solar Arrays (IROSA), which will increase power generation capability by up to 30% when fully complete. Six commercial cargo missions and international partner missions delivered about 28,000 pounds of science investigations, tools, and critical supplies to the space station. By year’s end about 12,500 pounds of investigations and equipment are planned to be returned researchers on Earth. Space station crew members welcomed the second NASA-enabled private astronaut mission, Axiom Mission 2, to the orbital complex advancing the agency’s goal of commercializing low-Earth orbit. NASA also selected Axiom Space for the third private astronaut mission and signed an order for the fourth mission with the company. Some additional key investigations launched, and operating, on station included NASA and ISS National Lab releasing a joint solicitation to address the goals of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Cancer Moonshot initiative, which aims to conduct science in space to help cure disease on Earth; NASA’s ILLUMA-T (Integrated Laser Communications Relay Demonstration Low-Earth-Orbit User Modem and Amplifier Terminal) is now on station, which aims to test high data rate laser communications via the agency’s LCRD (Laser Communications Relay Demonstration); upgraded NASA’s Cold Atom Laboratory to continue pioneering quantum discovery in space; and launched and installed its Atmospheric Wave Experiment on station to provide insight into how terrestrial weather impacts space weather, which may affect satellite communications and tracking in orbit. Also on the commercial front, NASA partnered with seven U.S. companies with unfunded Space Act Agreements, and released its third Request for Information for commercials space station services, while working toward a formal call for proposals to provide the agency with low Earth orbit services after the space station’s retirement. Commercial space station partners met major design and engineering milestones, and are on track to serve as potential replacements for the agency’s microgravity research needs. Two companies also are combining efforts, which will allow NASA to apply funding to the other stations to accelerate development. Reaching Farther into Solar System, Beyond As part of its first year of operations, NASA’s Webb telescope pulled back the curtain on some of the farthest galaxies, stars, and black holes ever observed; solved a longstanding mystery about the early universe; found methane and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a planet outside our solar system; and offered new views and insights into our own cosmic backyard. Additional achievements beyond the solar system included: NASA made important contributions to two missions that international partners launched this year: ESA’s Euclid mission to study dark energy and dark matter, as well as JAXA’s XRISM mission, a powerful new satellite that will revolutionize how we understand the hot, X-ray universe. The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, NASA’s next flagship observatory, finished camera assembly, and its coronagraph instrument passed its first big optics test. Autumn was host to mission milestone events that showcased the importance of our solar system’s smaller bodies. NASA’s OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer) spacecraft capped its seven-year journey with the successful deposit of a pristine sample of surface material from the asteroid Bennu in the Utah desert. NASA showed off material from the asteroid Bennu for the first time. Initial studies of the 4.5-billion-year-old asteroid Bennu sample collected in space and brought to Earth show evidence of high-carbon content and water, which together could indicate the building blocks of life on Earth may be found in the rock. The Psyche spacecraft launched from NASA Kennedy toward the asteroid Psyche. NASA’s Lucy spacecraft conducted its first target asteroid flyby of asteroid Dinkinesh at the inner edge of the main asteroid belt, and the first images now are online. An annular eclipse occurred on Oct. 14, visible in parts of the United States, Mexico, and many countries in South and Central America. NASA supported the event with engagement activities, as well as science research. Three Black Brant IX sounding rockets were launched to study the ionosphere – an electrically charged layer of the atmosphere – before, during, and after the peak eclipse. NASA also kicked off Heliophysics Big Year, a public engagement campaign to make science and information accessible to all and showcase heliophysics-related efforts. Technology Innovations to Benefit All NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications experiment launched aboard the Psyche spacecraft and achieved first light, beaming back a laser encoded with test data from nearly 10 million miles away. NASA will demonstrate data transmission rates 10 to 100 times greater than current radio frequency systems. The following are additional space technology advancements: Partnered with Aerojet Rocketdyne for qualification testing on the Advanced Electric Propulsion System, a cutting-edge solar electric propulsion thruster that will propel Gateway. NASA provided two navigation systems to Astrobotic for use on its CLPS flight: a Navigation Doppler Lidar to provide enhanced guidance and navigation capabilities, and the Terrain Relative Navigation to increase landing accuracy and help avoid hazards near the surface. NASA selected 11 U.S. companies to develop technologies in support of long-term space exploration. The agency also selected 12 companies to use subject matter expertise and facilities to advance capabilities related to NASA’s Moon to Mars Objectives. Launched the Starling swarm of small satellites to prove the agency’s ability to coordinate and cooperate satellites without real-time input from mission control. Tested multiple additively manufactured rocket engine nozzle designs, including on the ground, as well and aboard Relativity Space’s Terran-1 rocket. Finished MOXIE (Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment) operations, and proved it is possible to extract oxygen from Mars. Evolving Aviation’s Frontier In 2023, NASA advanced aviation and aeronautics technologies to improve passenger experiences, stimulate U.S. economic growth, and create a future of cleaner, quieter, safer skies. Through its Sustainable Flight National Partnership and other efforts, NASA supported the U.S. goal of reaching net-zero aviation greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and the agency released a new strategic implementation plan to guide research for the next 20 years and beyond. NASA also: Made new progress in its Quesst mission, as the X-59 quiet supersonic experimental aircraft had its tail structure installed and was moved from the assembly facility for structural testing. Worked with Boeing on the Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project to produce and test the X-66A, a full-sized, experimental transonic truss brace wing aircraft that will inform a new generation of sustainable airliners. Enhanced transonic truss braced wing research for sustainable aircraft designs using wind tunnel tests for model wings and supercomputing to look at aircraft concepts. Used NASA’s DC-8 flying lab to test emissions from Boeing’s ecoDemonstrator Explorer aircraft to evaluate sustainable aviation fuels’ effects on contrails.. Progressed its Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration project, which works to create hybrid powertrains for regional and single-aisle aircraft, with GE Aerospace and magniX testing power systems and demonstrator aircraft Entered into an agreement with the U.S. Air Force AFWERX Agility Prime program that will allow NASA to test a new air taxi from the manufacturer Joby Aviation to see how such vehicles could fit into the national airspace Debuted the Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations project, which uses drones and advanced aviation technologies to improve wildland fire coordination and operations, and tested a mobile air traffic management kit. Demonstrated a breakthrough, 3D-printable, high-temperature-resistant alloy called GRX-810 that could be used for applications like components of aircraft and rocket engines. Aeronautics efforts led to advancements in construction of the Flight Dynamics Research Facility, the agency’s first major wind tunnel in more than 40 years. NASA used simulators to collect data on how operating electric air taxis could affect pilots and passengers, and gathered data on new ways to use aviation including autonomous air cargo delivery and air taxi operations. Finally, research from the X-57 Maxwell provided aviation researchers with hundreds of lessons learned, as well as revolutionary development in areas ranging from battery technology to cruise motor control design. Maintaining Focus on Advancing DEIA, Reaching Diverse Communities NASA remained committed to advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) at NASA and the STEM industry in 2023. NASA also took its “The Color of Space” documentary on a road tour, providing free in-person screenings at historically Black colleges and universities, conferences, and festivals nationwide. And, the agency made its Spot the Station app available for download in multiple languages. As part of its plans to reach more audiences, NASA continued to focus on developing Spanish-language content. This year, the agency digitally released its second issue of the “First Woman: Expanding Our Universe,” graphic novel series in English and Spanish. NASA also: Launched its first full season of the Spanish-language podcast Universo curioso de la NASA. Following Rubio’s record-breaking year in space, NASA conducted news conferences in English and Spanish upon his return. Rubio also hosted the first tour of the space station in Spanish. Produced a live broadcast in Spanish for the arrival of the OSIRIS-REx samples, as well as co-streamed another broadcast in Spanish for the annular eclipse produced by the NASA-funded Exploratorium Museum. Revamped its Spanish-language science website, and launched a hub for all Spanish content on the new NASA.gov site. With the launch of NASA’s streaming platform NASA+, the agency debuted Spanish content also available for streaming, and developed Spanish-language content for Europa Clipper’s Message in a Bottle, among other activities. Inspiring New Generation of STEM Students Through a variety of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) outreach activities, NASA continues to inspire the Artemis Generation of students and encourage them to become the next scientists, engineers, and astronauts. NASA conducts its STEM work through partnering with key organizations, awarding a variety of grants, and more. Many of these efforts tie closely to NASA’s DEIA activities. Other STEM highlights in 2023 include: Awarded $11.7 million to eight Historically Black Colleges and Universities through the new Data Science Equity, Access, and Priority in Research and Education opportunity. These awards will enable students and faculty to conduct innovative data science research that contributes to NASA’s missions. Partnered with the U.S. Department of Education to strengthen the collaboration between the two agencies, including efforts to increase access to high-quality STEM and space education to students and schools across the nation; and partnered with U.S. Forest Service to bring Artemis Moon Trees to schools and education institutions through NASA’s Artifact Module. NASA received more than 1,200 requests. NASA announced its first women’s universities and college awards, as part of a Biden-Harris Administration initiative. The awards provided more than $5 million in funding to seven women’s colleges and universities to research and develop strategies that increase retention of women in STEM degree programs and careers. Among Earth to space calls, Louisiana, Wyoming and Rhode Island hosted their first downlinks with the space station crew and students. NASA’s Human Rover Exploration Challenge hosted student competitors in-person for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 500 students from around the world participated. Issued the NASA Space Tech Catalyst Prize to expand the agency’s network of proposers and foster effective engagement approaches within NASA’s Early-Stage Innovations and Partnerships portfolio. Invited teams to participate in NASA’s TechRise Student Challenge to design, build, and launch science and technology experiments on commercial suborbital rockets and high-altitude balloons. Summer 2023 marked a series of flight tests that successfully flew 80 student payloads on high-altitude balloons with Aerostar and World View. By partnering with Minecraft to inspire students in a game-based learning platform, children were encouraged to build and launch rockets on Moon adventures in the Minecraft universe. NASA’s Space Technology Research Grants program, which supports academic researchers, surpassed a significant milestone, having funded more than 1,000 grants pursuing exciting space technology research since. NASA’s Growing Public Engagement Efforts Public Engagement remains a cornerstone of NASA’s mission to share the agency’s work with the world by participating in opportunities to engage the public in a variety of venues, activities, and events. NASA continued to connect with more people than ever before: Grew the agency’s social media following to 389.5 million so far in 2023 – up 18 percent from 330 million in 2022. Shares on social media posts across the agency reached 6.36 million in 2023, lower than the 2022 total (8.7 million shares). NASA accounts reached follower milestones this year, passing 78 million (X), 26 million (Facebook) and 97 million (Instagram). NASA’s flagship YouTube channel passed 11 million. NASA elevated its digital platforms by revamping its flagship and science websites, adding its first on-demand streaming service, and upgrading the NASA app. With these changes, everyone now has access to a new world of content from the space agency. NASA’s new streaming service, NASA+, launched on Nov. 8, and as of Nov. 28 had 38,000 hours of content watched. The NASA app had about 34 million lifetime installs across all platforms. Apple Podcasts Latin America selected “Universo Curioso de la NASA” as a “Show We Loved” in 2023. This is the first time a NASA podcast has received this recognition. NASA podcasts surpassed 8 million all-time plays on Apple Podcasts this year. Supported White House events to reach the public in new and engaging ways including participating in the White House Easter Egg Roll, bringing in astronauts and STEM activities we engaged over 30,000 visitors, including students and children, with more than 148,000 mentions on social media across all platforms, as well as participating in Halloween at the White House engaging 6,000 local schoolchildren and military families with STEM activities. Worked with Elmo to introduce a video greeting from NASA astronauts aboard the space station for the Independence Day celebration and concert. NASA centers around the country hosted more than 1,289 in-person and virtual events with local, regional, national, and international reach, and engaged with more than 6.3 million people through these efforts. Participated in one of the largest state fairs in the United States in Columbus, Ohio, reaching an estimated 100,000 of the one million attendees through talks. Hosted an in-person International Observe the Moon Night, an annual celebration of lunar science and exploration, for the first time since 2019. NASA’s Arts program curated the first exhibition of work from the NASA art collection titled “Launching the Future: Looking Back to Look Forward” and displayed 16 pieces at the National Academy of Sciences. Since opening its doors, NASA’s Earth Information Center has received more 3,400 visitors and hosting more than 1,500 guided tours. More than 100 eligible schools, universities, museums, libraries, and planetariums applied to participate in the NASA Artifacts Module program to receive more than 200 historic NASA objects for their STEM programs. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson was among the participants for “Our Blue Planet, A Concert Celebrating Earth, and its Waters.” Snoopy’s zero-gravity indicator rode on NASA’s Artemis I mission and was returned to Peanuts, and now is on public display at the Schulz Museum. NASA partnered with Google Arts & Culture on a digital artist project titled ‘A Passage of Water’ that incorporated NASA freshwater data from the SWOT mission and GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) satellites. NASA partnered with Crayola Education for its 2023 Creativity Week, reaching 3.5 million kids with Artemis information and creative activities. The U.S. Postal Service issued an OSIRIS-REx postal stamp in association with the return of the asteroid Bennu sample in September. NASA approved and collaborated on 96 documentaries, 21 TV, Web and streaming shows, 16 feature films, and five immersive experiences, including the Tom Hanks’ new immersive experience “Moonwalkers” and ARTCHOUSE’s “Beyond the Light,” and an upcoming collaboration with influencer, “Mr. Beast.” NASA received 4,500 requests for NASA branded merchandise and/or novelty items from notable brands like Adidas, Garmin, Wham-O, LEGO, Prada, Crate + Barrel, Pottery Barn Kids, Odyssey Toys, H+M, Casio Electronics, Smithsonian, GAP, Round 2, Timex, Sprayground and many more. Published its branding guidelines as part of the NASA Brand Center. Collaborated with Amazon Studios on the “A Million Miles Away” film, starring Michael Peña, telling the story of retired NASA astronaut Jose Hernandez. Rubio narrated a special video from space highlighting Hernandez and other Latino pioneers for Hispanic Heritage Month. Celebrated designer Richard Danne with an agency Exceptional Public Achievement Medal for his outstanding achievement in creating the NASA worm logotype. Collaborated on more than a dozen Artemis documentaries with outlets ranging from PBS to National Geographic/Disney. The Artemis II crew was featured on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Talk, and at the “Guardians of the Galaxy” premiere. Artemis II NASA astronaut Victor Glover participated in the premieres of National Geographic’s “The Space Race” at the Tribeca Film Festival and DC/Dox. Attracted major talent for various mission-related projects and outreach initiatives, including: Chris Pratt, Harry Styles, Lance Bass for the Annular Solar Eclipse, Aisha Tyler, Adam Driver, Paul Rudd, Scarlett Johansson, Jeffrey Wright, Jason Schwartzmann, and an International Space Station downlink with Post Malone for Earth Day. NASA also participated in concerts at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for Earth Day and Wolf Trap for “Star Wars” and Holst’s “The Planets.” Feature films included “A Million Miles Away” and Disney’s “The Marvels” were uploaded to the International Space Station for the astronauts to enjoy at their leisure. More than 1 million people around the world joined NASA’s Message in a Bottle campaign, inviting people to sign their names to a special message that will travel 1.8 billion miles on the agency’s Europa Clipper mission to explore Jupiter’s icy moon Europa. The message, a poem titled “In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa,” written by U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón, will be engraved on the robotic spacecraft. For more about NASA’s missions, research, and discoveries, visit: https://www.nasa.gov -end- Faith McKie / Cheryl Warner Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1600 faith.d.mckie@nasa.gov / cheryl.m.warner@nasa.gov View the full article

5 Min Read Seeing and Believing: 15 Years of Exoplanet Images Beta Pictoris is located about 60 light-years away toward the constellation of Pictor (the Painter’s Easel) and is one of the best-known examples of a star surrounded by a dusty debris disk. Earlier observations showed a warp of the disc, a secondary inclined disc and comets falling onto the star, all indirect, but tell-tale signs that strongly suggested the presence of a massive planet. Observations by ESO proved the presence of a planet around Beta Pictoris, and another planet was later discovered. To see the planets, we must block the light of the star. Credits: ESO/Digitized Sky Survey 2 First there was a gloriously dusty disk. Then the traceable tracks of “exocomets.” But 15 years ago this fall, the star system Beta Pictoris yielded one of the most iconic pictures in astrophysics: a direct image of a planet orbiting another star. The young, bright star, some 63 light-years distant and visible to the naked eye, all but overwhelmed the faint light of the planet. When astronomers, using a European Southern Observatory telescope, subtracted the starlight, all that remained of the planet was a tiny dot, a few pixels. But it was enough to throw open a new window on direct imaging. This composite image represents the close environment of Beta Pictoris as seen in near infrared light. The exoplanet Beta Pictoris b is the small dot next to the masked star at the center. This very faint environment is revealed after a very careful subtraction of the much brighter stellar halo. The outer part of the image shows the reflected light on the dust disk, as observed in 1996 by a European Southern Observatory ground telescope. The newly detected source is more than 1000 times fainter than Beta Pictoris, aligned with the disc, at a projected distance of 8 times the Earth-Sun distance. ESO/A.-M. Lagrange et al. “After that, I knew what I wanted to do in astronomy,” said Marie Ygouf, a researcher who specializes in direct imaging of exoplanets – planets around other stars – at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. An undergraduate when she first saw the image of the planet, called Beta Pictoris b, Ygouf said she was awestruck. “It was so exciting to try to take pictures of exoplanets, to try to detect life on another planet,” she said. “I was sold.” Today the Beta Pictoris system, called Beta Pic for short, is famous for the early, breathtaking images of its surrounding disk of dusty debris, and for abundant evidence of exocomets, or comets detected in star systems other than our own. The discovery of a second planet in the system, Beta Pictoris c, was revealed to much scientific excitement in 2018. It is, as one astronomer said, the gift that keeps on giving. But the scientists deeply involved in early observations of the system had a bit of an uphill struggle convincing some colleagues that their groundbreaking discoveries were real, said Anne-Marie Lagrange, an astronomer at LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, who has been working to understand the system for more than 30 years. As an intern, Lagrange began her work on Beta Pic in the mid-1980s, just after the disk image made its big splash. Among her research milestones was the discovery, in the late 1980s, of massive clumps of gas falling onto the surface of the system’s central star – and at high rates of speed, up to 200 miles (350 kilometers) per second. Lagrange and her fellow researchers relied on observations from the IUE (International Ultraviolet Explorer) satellite – “an ancestor” of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, she said – to propose that the infalling gas was caused by evaporating comets. “They were the first exocomets [observed] around another star,” she said. “At the beginning, many people were laughing at it.” The findings held up, and the presence of exocomets in the system was confirmed by further observations announced in 2022. With this technique, we may be able to answer that very fundamental question: Is there any life in the universe outside of Earth?” Marie Ygouf Researcher on the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope science team In the mid 1990s, relying on the recently launched Hubble as well as increasingly sophisticated ground-based instruments, scientists realized that the debris disk around Beta Pictoris was warped, like a vinyl record left too long in the Sun. Computer modeling results suggested the warp was a gravitational skew caused by an orbiting planet. And in 2008, after long effort, Lagrange and her team hit paydirt: a direct image of the giant, gaseous planet, so young it was still glowing from its recent formation. “The nice thing is, we predicted it 10 years before,” she said. The future of exoplanet imaging Still a relatively minor player in the detection of exoplanets, direct imaging’s role will expand in the years and decades to come, promising deep insights into the nature of distant planets as technology improves. But even then, each “image” of a planet will still be just a handful of pixels. That might sound disappointing, especially in the era of spectacular sci-fi movie effects. If we find an “Earth-like” planet, we won’t see continents and oceans – at least not yet. But that tiny dot of light will contain a flood of information: details of the planet’s atmosphere, clouds, temperature, and perhaps even signs of some form of life. By splitting the light from that tiny dot into a spectrum of colors, scientists can spot missing lines from that spectrum – slices of light absorbed by molecules in the planet’s atmosphere as starlight is reflected from the atmosphere or surface. The missing slices correspond to specific gases and molecules in the planet’s atmosphere, a detection method known as spectroscopy. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is already using onboard spectrographs to tease out the components of exoplanet atmospheres. In the years ahead, the agency’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, to be launched by May 2027, is designed to study the cloudy atmospheres of mature, Jupiter-sized exoplanets. The Habitable Worlds Observatory, a mission concept now in the early planning stages, is expected to refine this technology, to measure the atmospheric composition of small, rocky planets like our own, all from those little dots of directly imaged exoplanets. Ygouf is part of the project science team for the Roman telescope’s coronagraph instrument, which will block the glare from a parent star so the light from its planets can be detected. Meant to be a technology demonstration, the instrument includes two flexible mirrors to correct distortions in the light caused by the instrument and by the telescope itself. She says the direct imaging techniques that caught fire with Beta Pictoris could someday solve one of the ultimate mysteries. “With this technique, we may be able to answer that very fundamental question: Is there any life in the universe outside of Earth?” she said. “It’s astonishing, incredible, that from a few pixels we’ll be able to learn so many things about a planet: whether those planets are terrestrial or gaseous, whether they have an atmosphere or not. If it’s done right, in the future we may be able to create pretty maps of those planets, seeing potential clouds. It may be a few pixels, but [there’s] so much information you can get from that.” Share Details Last Updated Dec 12, 2023 Related Terms Exoplanet DiscoveriesExoplanet TransitsExoplanetsHubble Space TelescopeJames Webb Space Telescope (JWST)Nancy Grace Roman Space TelescopeUncategorized Explore More 3 min read NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope Returns to Science Operations Article 4 days ago 2 min read Hubble Captures a Cluster in the Cloud Article 4 days ago 6 min read Hubble Celebrates 30th Anniversary of Servicing Mission 1 Article 2 weeks ago View the full article

NASA 2023: Nothing is Beyond Our Reach

5 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Some of the same properties of light and optics that make the sky blue and cause rainbows can also help scientists unlock mysteries about cloud formation and the effects of tiny particles in our air. NASA’s upcoming PACE mission will offer important insights on airborne particles of sea salt, smoke, human-made pollutants, and dust – collectively called aerosols – by observing how they interact with light. With PACE data, scientists will provide better answers to key questions such as how aerosols affect cloud formation or how ice clouds and liquid clouds differ. Understanding the nature of airborne particles and clouds is crucial to deciphering how climate and air quality are changing. Two instruments on NASA’s upcoming PACE mission will look at aerosols and clouds – the A and C in the name of the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem satellite. After launch in early 2024, the PACE mission will scan the Earth and gather data on the chemical composition, movement, and interaction of aerosols and clouds through the use of two cutting-edge polarimeters – instruments that measure light properties. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Download this video in HD formats from NASA Goddard’s Scientific Visualization Studio: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14454/ There are characteristics of light that we can see with our eyes, such as color. Other characteristics are invisible to the human eye, like what scientists call polarization. “Polarization is something that we don’t have an intuitive sense for because our eyes don’t see it,” said Kirk Knobelspiesse, polarimetry lead for the PACE mission at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “If you saw the world through eyes that could see polarization, like our sensors can, you would see rainbows everywhere.” Light leaving the Sun moves in all different directions like a wave – this is called unpolarized light, said Brian Cairns, deputy project scientist for PACE. When it interacts with something like a cloud or an aerosol particle, however, light can oscillate more in one direction than the others: It is now polarized light. This quirk of light behavior can help scientists learn more about the characteristics and interactions of aerosols and water droplets in the sky. Polarimeters measure the angle at which the light is polarized, which reveals specific characteristics of whatever the light had bounced off of. With these instruments, scientists can piece together the size, composition, abundance, and other traits of the particles in the atmosphere. An example of a cloud bow, taken late on a winter afternoon in Santa Cruz, California. The cloud in this case was light coastal fog, so this could also be referred to as a fog bow. In the scene, the sun was positioned low in the sky directly behind the viewer so that backscattered light is observed. While this observation geometry is rare from the surface of the earth, it will be common for PACE/HARP2.NASA/Kirk Knobelspiesse The two polarimeters on PACE – HARP2 and SPEXone – make a great pair because of the complementary differences in what they measure. HARP2, built at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will observe four wavelengths of light from up to 60 different angles. SPEXone, built at the Netherlands Institute for Space Research (SRON) and Airbus Netherlands B.V., will peer down at a narrower swath, using five viewing angles but looking at light at hyperspectral resolution – the full range of colors in a rainbow. Together the polarimeters will offer a picture of Earth’s atmosphere in unprecedented detail. Scientists have been observing aerosols from space for decades, though the community has not had polarimetry data for a decade, noted Otto Hasekamp, senior scientist at SRON. PACE will provide polarimeter data from multiple vantage points and, due to technological advancements in the instruments, the data will be of better quality than ever before. “It’s exciting to see the culmination of working actively on instrument models and prototypes,” said Jeroen Rietjens, instrument scientist at SRON, “then finally seeing it end up on a real satellite.” Jeroen Rietjens in Goddard cleanroom with PACE. “Very proud to be in the Goddard cleanroom and to pose with the fully assembled and tested PACE satellite, which hosts our small SPEXone instrument. The instrument is neatly wrapped in grey thermal blankets and still has the red radiator cover in place. It is surreal to realize that In a few months it will be staring at the Earth and collecting multi-angle spectro-polarimetric data that will enable scientists to infer the amount and type of aerosols in the Earth atmosphere and contribute to a better understanding of the effects of aerosols on climate,” said Rietjens.NASA/Denny Henry After PACE is launched in early 2024, the satellite will scan Earth every two days, gathering immense quantities of data on the chemical composition, movement, and interaction of aerosols and clouds. “We want to measure properties of aerosols because aerosols affect climate,” said Hasekamp. They reflect light back into space and can also absorb it, which plays a role in how much of the Sun’s energy reaches Earth’s surface. Aerosols also affect cloud formation and properties, but the details of these relationships are not fully known to scientists. The data PACE collects will help to clarify some of these unknowns. The new polarimetry data will also offer real-time insights on air pollution. “PACE measurements will not only answer fundamental science questions, but will also improve people’s quality of life,” said Marcela Loría-Salazar, assistant professor at the School of Meteorology at the University of Oklahoma and PACE early adopter. The PACE Early Adopters program promotes the integration of PACE data into practical applications of science. Loría-Salazar is particularly interested in how aerosols change over time and with location, with an extra emphasis on the altitude of aerosols over the middle of the United States. There, PACE will allow scientists to identify aerosols, while also deciphering what they mean for air quality. The measurements from PACE’s polarimeters will also help improve our understanding of Earth’s climate. By adding PACE atmospheric data to models, scientists will be able to replace the estimates now used to fill data gaps in those models with data from current measurements. “I’m hoping to help gather the data that will reduce model uncertainty and help us make better predictions for how we expect our climate to play out in the next decades and centuries,” Knobelspiesse said. By Erica McNamee NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Share Details Last Updated Dec 12, 2023 EditorErica McNameeContactErica McNameeerica.s.mcnamee@nasa.govLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related TermsEarthGoddard Space Flight CenterPACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, Ocean Ecosystem) Explore More 5 min read NASA Sensor Produces First Global Maps of Surface Minerals in Arid Regions Article 1 day ago 5 min read NASA’s MAVEN Observes the Disappearing Solar Wind Article 1 day ago 6 min read NASA’s Webb Stuns With New High-Definition Look at Exploded Star Article 2 days ago View the full article

Three NASA-funded commercial space station partners are on track for the design and development of their orbital destinations and the transition of agency’s low Earth orbit needs from the International Space Station. “We are ending the year on a high note with multiple important milestones being completed by our partners,” said Angela Hart, manager of the Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Program at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston. “Over the past few months, we have been able to dig into the details of the specific hardware and processes of these stations and are moving forward to multiple comprehensive design reviews next year.” Axiom Space A hatch of the Axiom Hab One module, which will attach the module to the International Space Station.Axiom Space Axiom Space, which holds a firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract with NASA, is on schedule to launch and attach its first module, named Axiom Hab One, to the International Space Station in 2026. A total of four modules are planned for the Axiom Commercial Segment attached to the station. After the space station’s retirement, the Axiom Commercial Segment will separate and become a free-flying commercial destination named Axiom Station. The hatches of the Axiom Hab One module are fabricated and prepared to undergo pressure testing to ensure a strong enough seal to withstand the vacuum of space. Manufacturing of the Axiom Hab One module is underway, and the critical design review will occur in 2024. During this review, NASA will assess the maturity of the Axiom Space design and provide feedback necessary to ensure safe operations when it is attached to the International Space Station. Orbital Reef NASA engineers work alongside Blue Origin team members to conduct testing on prototype windows for the Orbital Reef commercial space station. Blue Origin Blue Origin, which NASA awarded a Space Act Agreement in 2021 to develop a free-flying space station named Orbital Reef, recently completed tests for a window system and a structural demonstration. For the structural test, Blue Origin used a prototype of their space station’s main module, called the Core, to demonstrate the manufacturing processes required to build the final pressurized modules of the station. The test supports validation of the structural models and analytical tools for the Core’s structural design. The International Space Station’s cupola, a room with seven windows overlooking the Earth, is the cornerstone of crewed missions for both research and astronaut morale. Orbital Reef will incorporate multiple windows on its Core, with each window spanning about twice the size of a car windshield. For the window test, Blue Origin evaluated the window integration structure design concept and its performance against the pressures and temperatures the windows will be exposed to while in orbit. Starlab A test unit of a water recovery system used on board the International Space Station in 2015 that helped transform urine from crew members into usable water. NASA NASA also awarded Starlab, a station being developed by Voyager Space’s Exploration Segment, a Space Act Agreement in 2021. Voyager Space recently announced a partnership with Airbus and Northrop Grumman. Voyager’s Exploration Segment, which includes Nanoracks, recently completed three milestones: a system definition review and the initiation of two pairs of milestones for an optical link demonstration and alternative urine processor demonstration. Free-space optical, also called laser communications, allows for higher data rates and more energy-efficient communications than radio frequency communication systems. A major goal of the optical communication demonstration is to conduct testing from the International Space Station to the ground to establish the capabilities needed for Starlab. This initial milestone, within the optical link demonstration milestone pair scope, validated the Starlab testing plan. The optical link is planning to be tested next on the International Space Station. As on the International Space Station, Starlab will recover purified water from urine to reduce water needed to resupply the station. Starlab will test an alternative urine processor under realistic operating conditions to validate functional performance and reduce implementation risk. Similar to the optical link demonstration, the processor demonstration is divided into a pair of milestones, with this initial completed milestone validating the testing plan. Starlab’s third recently completed milestone was a system definition review. Teams examined how NASA’s potential commercial space station requirements aligned to the functional areas of the Starlab system to define the space station architecture. The completion of this milestone initiated preparations for the next step in the comprehensive review process, the preliminary design review. NASA is working closely with commercial companies to develop new space stations capable of providing services to NASA and others, which will ensure that the U.S. maintains a continuous human presence in low Earth orbit and provides direct benefits for people on Earth. Leading into NASA’s future procurement for commercial low Earth orbit services, the agency recently released its third request for information. For more information about NASA’s commercial space strategy, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/commercial-space/ Joshua Finch Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov Rebecca Turkington Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 rebecca.turkington@nasa.gov Keep Exploring Discover More Topics Low Earth Orbit Economy Commercial Space Humans In Space Space Station Research and Technology View the full article

3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA engineers Josh Greiner, a native of Dothan, Alabama (left) and Peyton Pinson, a Madison, Mississippi native, stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, outside the building where they began as interns in 2016. Almost eight years later, the two are part of a team that leads engine tests for NASA and commercial companies at the nation’s premier rocket engine test site. NASA/Danny Nowlin The last Wednesday in November proved to be a full-circle moment for two engineers at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Josh Greiner heard a familiar voice on the headset as he prepared to conduct an RS-25 engine test on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Nov. 29. It was Peyton Pinson, speaking from the same nearby test complex building where he and Greiner once shared a cubicle as interns seven years earlier. As Greiner listened in, Pinson announced he would conduct a hot fire on the E-1 Test Stand for commercial company Launcher Space in 30 minutes. “It was a pretty cool moment,” Greiner said. “We used to sit there and look at the test conductor kind of in awe and were amazed they could keep up with all these different console operators at the same time. Now, we both are part of the test team and both part of the rotation that gets to conduct tests.” Pinson and Greiner arrived at NASA Stennis in May 2016 to participate in the NASA Pathways work study (co-op) program. Pinson was a mechanical engineering major at Mississippi State University in Starkville. Greiner, still unsure of what direction he wanted to go in the field, was majoring in aerospace engineering at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. He ultimately finished with a mechanical engineering degree and credits his work study experience for providing clarity for his future. “If you can get a co-op, I’m 100 percent in favor of that,” Greiner said. “You get exposure to a breadth of disciplines that make it a lot easier to start narrowing in what you really want to do. In college, we all come out with a pretty standardized foundation of engineering that’s an incredible knowledge base, but you really learn a lot with on-the-job training. Getting to the right place with the right people is going to help your growth more so than getting the perfect engineering degree.” The right place proved to be NASA Stennis. Pinson and Greiner spent multiple semesters soaking up knowledge from the experienced, diverse workforce at the south Mississippi NASA center. They rotated throughout the center complex where teams fulfill NASA and commercial space company test needs. “When we started as co-ops, Josh and I were given a good bit of responsibility and trusted with a lot,” Pinson said. “We had so many people who were a part of the team that really wanted to help us learn and develop and get to where we are now.” After completing the work-study program and earning their degrees, Pinson and Greiner were hired by NASA in 2018. “Our management put us in a position to be successful,” Greiner said. “We started running consoles as co-ops, and they helped move us onto the test stands with projects that had a lot going on and gave us a huge share of responsibility in leading projects early in our career.” Both now have years of experience that includes conducting various engine tests, such as the successful Nov. 29 hot fires at the nation’s premier rocket engine test site. “We all work together in the mechanical operations group to get to that point,” Pinson said. “There’s a lot of opportunity for a new mechanical operations engineer to learn along the way and to sit in the test conductor seat with an experienced test conductor to back you up and guide you through it. Eventually, you have enough on-the-job training to run it yourself.” For information about the NASA Pathways program, visit: NASA Careers: Pathways – NASA Share Details Last Updated Dec 12, 2023 EditorNASA Stennis CommunicationsContactC. Lacy Thompsoncalvin.l.thompson@nasa.gov / (228) 688-3333LocationStennis Space Center Related TermsStennis Space Center Explore More 1 min read NASA Delivers Inclusion Message to Annual Bayou Classic Participants Article 2 weeks ago 2 min read NASA Tests In-Flight Capability of Artemis Moon Rocket Engine Article 2 weeks ago 3 min read NASA to Highlight Inclusion During Bayou Classic Event Article 3 weeks ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics About NASA Stennis Stennis People Employers and Careers at NASA Stennis NASA Careers: Pathways View the full article

2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) The official Expedition 69 crew portrait with (from left) flight engineers Frank Rubio from NASA, Dmitri Petelin from Roscosmos, Sultan Alneyadi from UAE (United Arab Emirates), Woody Hoburg from NASA, Stephen Bowen from NASA, Andrey Fedyaev from Roscosmos, and Commander Sergey Prokopyev from Roscosmos. NASA NASA astronauts Frank Rubio, Stephen Bowen, and Woody Hoburg, as well as UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi will visit the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama at 1 p.m. CST Thursday, Dec. 14, to discuss their recent missions to the International Space Station. Media are invited to speak with the astronauts at 2 p.m. about their science missions aboard the microgravity laboratory. Members of the media interested in covering the visit should contact Lance D. Davis in the Marshall Office of Communications no later than 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 13. at 256-640-9065 or lance.d.davis@nasa.gov. Media must report by 12 p.m. to the Redstone Arsenal Joint Visitor Control Center Gate 9 parking lot, located at the Interstate 565 interchange at Research Park Boulevard. The event will take place in the Activities Building 4316. Vehicles are subject to a security search at the gate, so please allow extra time. All members of media and drivers will need photo identification. Drivers will need proof of insurance if requested. The seven-member Expedition 69 crew gathers for a portrait inside the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory module. Clockwise from left are, Flight Engineers Woody Hoburg of NASA and Dmitri Petelin of Roscosmos; Commander Sergey Prokopyev from Roscosmos; Flight Engineers Frank Rubio and Stephen Bowen, both from NASA; and Flight Engineers Sultan Alneyadi from UAE (United Arab Emirates) and Andrey Fedyaev from Roscosmos. NASA NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission with Bowen, Hoburg, and Alneyadi launched March 2 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and docked to the space station the next day. Marshall’s commercial crew support team provided oversight to safety standards for the Crew-6 mission’s spacecraft, along with monitoring launch conditions. Rubio launched Sept. 21, 2022, on a Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the International Space Station. During his mission, he broke the record for longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut having spent 371 days in space. Marshall’s Payload Operations Integration Center, which operates, plans, and coordinates science experiments onboard the space station 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, also supported Crew-6 and Expedition 69, managing communications between the International Space Station crew and researchers worldwide. NASA’s Commercial Crew Program has worked with several American aerospace industry companies to facilitate the development of U.S. human spaceflight systems since 2010. The goal is to have safe, reliable, and cost-effective access to and from the International Space Station and foster commercial access to other potential low Earth orbit destinations. Learn more about NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 and Expedition 69. Lance D. Davis Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama 256-640-9065 lance.d.davis@nasa.gov Facebook logo @NASAMarshallCenter @NASA_Marshall Instagram logo @NASA_Marshall Share Details Last Updated Dec 12, 2023 Related TermsMarshall Space Flight Center Explore More 5 min read NASA’s IXPE Marks Two Years of Groundbreaking X-ray Astronomy Article 4 days ago 23 min read The Marshall Star for December 6, 2023 Article 6 days ago 4 min read Six Finalists Named in NASA’s $3.5 Million Break the Ice Challenge Article 6 days ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article