NASA

The Legacy of the NASA Worm Logo (Official NASA Broadcast)

The spiral galaxy IC 342, located about 11 million light-years from Earth, lies behind the crowded plane of the Milky Way: Dust, gas, and stars obscure it from our view. Euclid used its near-infrared instrument to peer through the dust and study it.ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO This view of spiral galaxy IC 342 is one of five first science images released by the Euclid mission on Nov. 7, 2023. The ESA-led (European Space Agency) Euclid observatory, which will investigate the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy, is scheduled to begin regular science operations in early 2024. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California delivered critical hardware for one of the Euclid spacecraft’s instruments. In addition, NASA has established a U.S.-based Euclid science data center, and NASA-funded science teams will join other Euclid scientists in studying dark energy, galaxy evolution, and dark matter. See more images from Euclid. Image Credit: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO View the full article

3 min read DART Team Earns Smithsonian Michael Collins Trophy for Successful Planetary Defense Test Mission Eric Long, Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) will be honored with the 2024 Michael Collins Trophy for Current Achievement. For its work developing and managing the first-ever planetary defense test mission, the team comprised by NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) is being lauded for outstanding achievements in the fields of aerospace science and technology. Designed, built and operated by APL for NASA’s PDCO, which oversees the agency’s ongoing efforts in planetary defense, DART was humanity’s first mission to intentionally move a celestial object, impacting the asteroid Dimorphos on Sept. 26, 2022. DART’s collision with Dimorphos changed the asteroid’s orbit period around its companion asteroid, Didymos, by 33 minutes. “Our planetary defense objective is to find any potential asteroid impact many years to decades before it could happen so that, if ever necessary, the object could be deflected with technology tested by DART,” said Lindley Johnson, planetary defense officer at NASA Headquarters. “The DART team was an international collaboration of planetary defenders who turned the kinetic impact concept of asteroid deflection into reality. Their efforts have taken a giant leap forward for humanity’s ability to address the asteroid impact hazard.” The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum awards its Michael Collins Trophy yearly for both Current and Lifetime Achievements. The DART mission has earned the former, joining astronaut Peggy Whitson, who will collect the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award for her distinguished space career. Since 1985, the organization has been recognizing extraordinary accomplishments in aeronautics and spaceflight, and it selected DART for its “extraordinary technological advancements and new scientific breakthroughs in space science.” Launched in November 2021 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, DART embarked on a 10-month journey to Dimorphos. This historic mission showcased the world’s first planetary defense technology demonstration in action as it was live streamed by NASA online when the DART spacecraft intentionally collided with its target asteroid. Scientists worldwide monitored the aftermath through telescopes and radar facilities to assess the impact on Dimorphos’ orbit around Didymos. Pre-impact projections estimated a range of possible deflections, and the postimpact observations revealed a significant deflection of the target asteroid at the high-end of the pre-impact models, a promising result for applying the technique in the future if needed. Images captured by DART’s onboard Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation(DRACO) and the Italian Space Agency’s ride-along Light Italian CubeSat for Imaging of Asteroids(LICIACube), complemented by observations from ground-based telescopes as well as NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope and the Lucy spacecraft, provided critical data. These observations allowed scientists to analyze Dimorphos’ surface composition, the material ejection velocity and quantity due to the collision, and the distribution of particle sizes within the ensuing dust cloud. Scientists on the mission confirmed in four subsequent papers published in Nature the effectiveness of the kinetic impactor technique in altering asteroid trajectories, making it a groundbreaking milestone for planetary defense. Look back at all of DART’s milestones and science successes in the year since impact. More information about the Michael Collins Trophy and a complete list of past winners is available. The DART team will accept the award on March 21, 2024, at the museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. Facebook logo @NASA @NASA@AstroidWatch Instagram logo @NASA Linkedin logo @NASA Explore More 4 min read Mira cómo la NASA construye su primer vehículo lunar robótico Article 4 days ago 3 min read Watch NASA Build Its First Robotic Moon Rover Article 4 days ago 4 min read Data From NASA’s WISE Used to Preview Lucy Mission’s Asteroid Dinkinesh Article 1 week ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Asteroids Overview Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets, are rocky, airless remnants left over from the early formation of our solar system… Didymos & Dimorphos Overview Asteroid Didymos and its small moonlet Dimorphos make up what’s called a binary asteroid system – meaning the small… Our Solar System Overview Our planetary system is located in an outer spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy. We call it the… Planetary Science For decades, NASA’s planetary science program has advanced scientific understanding of our solar system in extraordinary ways, pushing the limits… View the full article

5 Min Read Deploying and Demonstrating Navigation Aids on the Lunar Surface – PROJECT Lunar Node-1 (LN-1) SNAPSHOT NASA is developing lunar navigation beacons to be deployed on spacecraft or the lunar surface to aid in localization and help future space vehicles determine position, velocity, and time to high accuracy. The Lunar Node-1 payload in the test chamber at the Deep Space Network’s Development and Test Facility (DTF)-21 radio frequency (RF) compatibility testing lab. The large block seen in the image is the antenna hat used to collect RF energy for ground testing and integration. “Are we there yet?” is a constant question on any journey. As humanity expands its presence on, near, and around the Moon, new systems are needed to provide navigation signals similar those provided by the Global Positioning System (GPS) on Earth. To enable this capability, NASA is supporting research on a range of sensors, architectures, and techniques for providing reference signals to help spacecraft and humans find their way. Lunar Node 1 (LN-1) is an S-band navigation beacon for lunar applications that was recently designed and built at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). As part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, this beacon is scheduled to be delivered to the Moon’s surface on Intuitive Machine’s NOVA-C lunar lander on the IM-1 mission in early 2024. The Lunar Node-1 flight payload installed on the Intuitive Machines NOVA-C lander for the IM-1 mission. The payload is mounted near the top deck of the vehicle to provide a clear field of view for its antenna back to Earth. Image Credit: Intuitive Machines/Nick Rios During this mission, LN-1’s goal will be to demonstrate navigation technologies that can support local surface and orbital operations around the Moon, enabling autonomy and decreasing dependence on heavily utilized Earth-based communication assets like NASA’s Deep Space Network demonstrate these capabilities, LN-1’s design leverages CubeSat components as well as the Multi-spacecraft Autonomous Positioning System (MAPS) algorithms, which enable autonomous spacecraft positioning using navigation measurements. In addition to demonstrating the MAPS algorithms, LN-1’s radio will also be used to conduct pseudo-noise (PN)-based, one-way, non-coherent ranging and Doppler tracking to provide alternate approaches and comparisons for navigation performance. To provide a real-time solution similar to GPS, but in the lunar environment, multiple references must be in view of users at the same time. As this future lunar communication network is deployed, LN-1 hardware and capabilities could be part of a much larger infrastructure. Over the course of the transit to the Moon from Earth and during its the nominal lunar surface operations, LN-1 will broadcast its state and timing information back to Earth. Once it lands on the lunar surface, the payload will enter into a 24/7 operational period, and will also provide a navigation reference signal back to Earth. To validate LN-1 capabilities, DSN ground stations will be used to capture measurements and measure performance. Upon reception of the LN-1 data, high-accuracy packet reception timestamps will be used (along with atmospheric data for induced delays) to assess a ranging observation. This data will be captured during multiple passes to compute a navigation state of the payload during the mission. The LN-1 team is also partnering with other NASA researchers to collect Very Long Baseline Interferometry observations of the navigation signals as an independent truth reference. Concept of Operations. This diagram shows the dual data paths being exercised by the LN-1 payload. The primary operational command and data handling is done through a hardwire connection between the payload and the host lander. Using its onboard transmitter, LN-1 will transmit its navigation signals independently, providing the lander’s current time and state information via both a reference one-way PN solution as well as the transmission of MAPS packets. The compact size of the LN-1 payload can be seen in the LN-1 CAD models in the figures below. The primary LN-1 structure is approximately 175x220x300 cm in volume with a mass of approximately 2.8 kg. The dominating feature of the design is the large top surface, which is a radiator. The hot environment on the lunar surface, combined with the heat generated by the LN-1 radio while transmitting, require the LN-1 design to incorporate a radiator to dissipate heat during operation so that a clean interface with the host vehicle will be maintained. While the LN-1 payload is not designed to survive the lunar night, it uses a modular design that could be integrated into a variety of host vehicles; if adequate power generation/storage were provided, the design may be able to offer long-term operation at any lunar landing site. Interior views of LN-1. These images provide a look inside the payload showing the primary components: radiator hat, antenna mount adapter, SWIFT SL-X transmitter, FPGA-based controller board, and power conditioning electronics. LN-1 successfully passed vibration, electromagnetic interference testing, and thermal vacuum testing at Marshall Space Flight Center in 2020 and 2021. After completion and delivery of the LN-1 payload, testing with the planned operational ground stations began. This testing included RF compatibility testing between the DSN and the LN-1 payload as well as tests of the data flows between the DSN and MSFC’s Huntsville Operations Support Center. Performed at the DSN’s Development and Test Facility (DTF)-21 facility in early 2021, these tests successfully verified RF compatibility between DSN and the LN-1 payload. Specifically, the tests showed that the DSN can receive S-band telecommunication signals in all the planned operational modes required to process telemetry and ranging data from LN-1. LN-1 Principal Investigator, Evan Anzalone, performing RF Compatibility Testing at DTF-21. This testing was important to characterize the stability of the one-way ranging tone and demonstrate integration with the DSN ground network for flight operations. The LN-1 team is currently setting up the flight spare with a flight-matching radio and is preparing to conduct another round of testing to capture long-term stability data with ground receivers to demonstrate improved capability with improved clocks and signal generation algorithms. In the future, this new technology and the MAPS algorithms demonstrated by LN-1 could enable autonomous navigation for lunar assets. As NASA invests in communication and navigation infrastructure around, near, and on the Moon, the LN-1 team continues to develop future iterations of the navigation beacon to support broad lunar surface coverage. The team is currently maturing the capabilities of the payload in preparation for continued laboratory assessments and field demonstrations using updated navigation signals as defined for LunaNet. Three key capabilities will be the focus of the development of a follow-on payload to LN-1: Demonstration of inter-spacecraft navigation, providing support to operational vehicles in lunar orbit by acting as a fixed ground reference The capability to survive the lunar night onboard the payload to demonstrate technologies needed for a long-term navigation beacon Maturation of signal to match the Augmented Forward Signal standard as defined in the LunaNet Interoperability Specification for integration, operation, and compatibility with other planned NASA assets and infrastructure PROJECT LEAD Dr. Evan Anzalone and Tamara Statham, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) SPONSORING ORGANIZATION NASA-Provided Lunar Payloads Program View the full article

(Oct. 3, 2023) — Expedition 70 Commander Andreas Mogensen from ESA (European Space Agency) assists NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli as she dons her spacesuit and tests its components in the Quest airlock in preparation for an upcoming International Space Station spacewalk.Credits: NASA Students from Brighton Elementary School in Brighton, Tennessee, will have an opportunity this week to hear from NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The space-to-Earth call will air live at 11:45 a.m. EST Wednesday, Nov. 8, on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli and ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen will answer prerecorded questions from students. Media interested in covering the event should contact Kathryn Vaughn no later than 5 p.m. Nov. 7 at kvaughn@tipton-county.com or 901-237-1004. For almost 23 years, astronauts have continuously lived and worked aboard the space station, testing technologies, performing science, and developing the skills needed to explore farther from Earth. Astronauts living in space aboard the orbiting laboratory communicate with NASA’s Mission Control Center in Houston 24 hours a day through the Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Near Space Network. Important research and technology investigations taking place aboard the International Space Station benefits people on Earth and lays the groundwork for future exploration. As part of Artemis, NASA will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future human exploration of Mars. Inspiring the next generation of explorers – the Artemis Generation – ensures America will continue to lead in space exploration and discovery. See videos and lesson plans highlighting research on the International Space Station at: https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation -end- Katherine Brown Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1288 katherine.m.brown@nasa.gov Sandra Jones Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Nov 07, 2023 Location NASA Headquarters Related Terms AstronautsHumans in Space View the full article

Other Worlds: New Series Coming Soon to NASA+

2 min read NASA’s Curious Universe Podcast Unveils New Season of Adventures NASA’s short-form, narrative podcast, NASA’s Curious Universe, returns for its sixth season Nov. 7. This season will bring listeners on new “wild and wonderful” adventures from the farthest reaches of the cosmos to right here on planet Earth. NASA In season six, listeners will meet researchers who are using sounds from the Sun to learn crucial details about our star, explore the “dark side” of the universe with scientists who study dark matter and dark energy, and get a behind-the-scenes look at the first NASA mission to deliver an asteroid sample to Earth. Listen to the first episode "Welcome to the Dark Side" The trailer for season six of NASA’s Curious Universe launched Oct. 31, and new episodes will be published every Tuesday morning through Dec. 19. In each episode, host Dr. Padi Boyd, a NASA astrophysicist, brings listeners on a unique, sound-rich journey through our solar system and beyond. She is joined by a lineup of expert interviewees such as scientists, astronauts, and engineers. NASA’s Curious Universe first debuted in March 2020 and features a catalog of episodes focused on a wide variety topics, from spacesuit design to exoplanet hunting. In 2022, the show received a People’s Voice Webby Award in the category “Best Limited Series—Health, Science & Education,” recognizing the team’s in-depth reporting on the science, engineering, people, and launch of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. NASA’s Curious Universe is a podcast created with the “first-time space explorer” in mind and doesn’t require prior knowledge of NASA or its missions. All you need is your curiosity! NASA’s Curious Universe, and the show’s companion Spanish podcast, Universo Curioso de la NASA, are now available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Soundcloud. Curious Universe is written and produced by NASA’s audio team, based at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. About NASA Audio From long-form interviews with astronauts and engineers to stories that take you on a tour of the galaxy, NASA’s audio offerings let you experience the thrill of space exploration without ever leaving Earth. Discover all of NASA’s podcasts at: nasa.gov/podcasts Media Contact Katie Konans NASA Audio and Podcasting Lead NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Share Details Last Updated Nov 07, 2023 Editor Jamie Adkins Location NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms AudioGoddard Space Flight CenterPodcasts Explore More 3 min read Hubble Tangos with a Dancer in Dorado This vibrant Hubble Space Telescope image features the spiral galaxy NGC 1566, sometimes informally referred… Article 4 days ago 3 min read NASA Goddard’s ‘Spiky’ Antenna Chamber: Signaling Success for 50 Years Rows upon rows of cobalt-blue spires in Goddard’s antenna chamber evoke a soundproof room from… Article 5 days ago 3 min read Hubble Provides Unique Ultraviolet View of Jupiter This newly released image from the NASA Hubble Space Telescope shows the planet Jupiter in… Article 5 days ago View the full article

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the Dragon capsule, lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 5, 2023, on the company’s 28th commercial resupply services mission for the agency to the International Space Station. NASA’s SpaceX’s 29th commercial resupply services mission is targeted for liftoff no earlier than 8:28 p.m. EST Thursday, Nov. 9.SpaceX NASA is inviting the public to take part in virtual activities ahead of the launch of SpaceX’s 29th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft is targeted for no earlier than 8:28 p.m. EST Thursday, Nov. 9, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will carry scientific research, technology demonstrations, crew supplies, and hardware to the space station to support its Expedition 70 crew. The science on board includes NASA’s ILLUMA-T (Integrated Laser Communications Relay Demonstration Low Earth Orbit User Modem and Amplifier Terminal), which will demonstrate the use of laser communications systems to transmit data in space, and AWE (Atmospheric Waves Experiment), designed to study bands of light in Earth’s atmosphere and improve our understanding of space weather in the upper atmosphere. Members of the public can register to attend the launch virtually. As a virtual guest, you have access to curated resources, schedule changes, and mission-specific information delivered straight to your inbox. Following each activity, virtual guests will receive a commemorative stamp for their virtual guest passport. The live launch broadcast with commentary will begin at 8 p.m. EST Thursday, Nov. 9, and will air on NASA Television, YouTube, X, the NASA App, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms. For more information about the mission, visit NASA’s launch blog to learn more. View the full article

One of the first images captured by Euclid shows the Perseus cluster, a group of thousands of galaxies located 240 million light-years from Earth. The closest galaxies appear as swirling structures while hundreds of thousands of background galaxies are visible only as points of light.ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO The new images from the Euclid mission include a cluster of thousands of distant galaxies, demonstrating the spacecraft’s unique abilities. The Euclid mission, which will investigate the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy, released its first five science images Tuesday, Nov. 7 The observatory, led by ESA (European Space Agency) with NASA contributions, is scheduled to begin regular science operations in early 2024. The new images include views of a large cluster of thousands of distant galaxies, close-ups of two nearby galaxies, a gravitationally bound group of stars called a globular cluster, and a nebula (a cloud of gas and dust in space where stars form) – all depicted in vibrant colors. “The Euclid observatory will uncover a treasure trove of scientific discoveries that will be used across the world, including by U.S. scientists, for years to come,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Together, NASA and ESA are paving the way for a new era of cosmology for NASA’s forthcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which will build upon what Euclid learns and will additionally survey objects on the outskirts of our solar system, discover thousands of new planets, explore nearby galaxies, and more.” The spiral galaxy IC 342, located about 11 million light-years from Earth, lies behind the crowded plane of the Milky Way: Dust, gas, and stars obscure it from our view. Euclid used its near-infrared instrument to peer through the dust and study it.ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO Euclid launched on July 1 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, then traveled nearly 1 million miles to its vantage point. Following a period of commissioning (testing of the instruments and other components), the space telescope is performing as expected. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California delivered critical hardware for one of the Euclid spacecraft’s instruments. In addition, NASA has established a U.S.-based Euclid science data center, and NASA-funded science teams will join other Euclid scientists in studying dark energy, galaxy evolution, and dark matter. The agency’s Nancy Grace Roman mission will also study dark energy – in ways that are complementary to Euclid. Mission planners will use Euclid’s findings to inform Roman’s dark energy work. Surveying the Dark Universe During its planned six-year mission, Euclid will produce the most extensive 3D map of the universe yet, covering nearly one-third of the sky and containing billions of galaxies up to 10 billion light-years away from Earth. The galaxy NGC 6822 is located 1.6 million light-years from Earth. Euclid was able to capture this view of the entire galaxy and its surroundings in high resolution in about one hour, which isn’t possible with ground-based telescopes or targeted telescopes (such as NASA’s Webb) that have narrower fields of view.ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO To do this, Euclid needs a wide field of view, which enabled these new images covering a relatively large area. In this way, Euclid differs from targeted observatories like NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope that focus on a smaller area of the sky at any one time but typically offer higher-resolution images. Wide-field observatories like Euclid can observe large sections of the sky much faster than targeted telescopes. In addition, Euclid has high resolution compared to previous survey missions, which means it will be able to see more galaxies in each image than previous telescopes. For example, Euclid’s wide view was able to capture the entirety of the Perseus galaxy cluster, and many galaxies beyond it, in just one image. Located 240 million light-years from Earth, Perseus is among the most massive structures known in the universe. Euclid’s full survey will ultimately cover an area 30,000 times larger than this image. The Horsehead Nebula, also known as Barnard 33, is part of the Orion constellation. About 1,375 light-years away, it is the closest giant star-forming region to Earth. With Euclid, which captured this image, scientists hope to find many dim and previously unseen Jupiter-mass planets in their celestial infancy, as well as baby stars. Full image here.ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO The telescope’s survey approach is necessary to study dark energy, the mysterious driver behind our universe’s accelerating expansion. While gravity should pull everything in the universe together, everything is instead moving apart faster and faster. “Dark energy” is the term scientists use for this unexplained expansion. To study the phenomenon, scientists will map the presence of another cosmic mystery, dark matter. This invisible substance can be observed only by its gravitational effect on “regular” matter and objects around it, like stars, galaxies, and planets. Dark matter is five times more common in the cosmos than regular matter, so if dark energy’s expansive influence on the universe has changed over time, the change should be recorded in how dark matter is distributed on large scales across the universe, and Euclid’s 3D map should capture it. This sparkly image shows Euclid’s view of a globular cluster – a collection of gravitationally bound stars that don’t quite form a galaxy – called NGC 6397. No other telescope can capture an entire globular cluster in a single observation and distinguish so many stars within it.ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO “Euclid’s first images mark the beginning of a new era of studying dark matter and dark energy,” said Mike Seiffert, Euclid project scientist at JPL. “This is the first space telescope dedicated to dark universe studies, and the sheer scale of the data we’re going to get out of this will be unlike anything we’ve had before. These are big mysteries, so it’s exciting for the international cosmology community to see this day finally arrive.” NASA’s Roman mission will study a smaller section of sky than Euclid, but it will provide higher-resolution images of hundreds of millions of galaxies and peer deeper into the universe’s past, providing complementary information. Scheduled to launch by May 2027. The data from the new Euclid images is now available to the scientific community, and scientific papers analysing that data are expected to follow. As the mission progresses, Euclid’s bank of data will grow. New batches will be released once per year and will be available to the global scientific community via the Astronomy Science Archives hosted at ESA’s European Space Astronomy Centre in Spain. More About the Mission Euclid is a European mission, built and operated by ESA, with contributions from NASA. The Euclid Consortium – consisting of more than 2,000 scientists from 300 institutes in 13 European countries, the U.S., Canada, and Japan – is responsible for providing the scientific instruments and scientific data analysis. ESA selected Thales Alenia Space as prime contractor for the construction of the satellite and its service module, with Airbus Defence and Space chosen to develop the payload module, including the telescope. NASA provided the detectors of the Near-Infrared Spectrometer and Photometer, NISP. Euclid is a medium-class mission in ESA’s Cosmic Vision Programme. News Media Contacts Calla Cofield Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 626-808-2469 calla.e.cofield@jpl.nasa.gov Elizabeth Landau NASA Headquarters, Washington 202-358-0845 elandau@nasa.gov ESA Media Relations media@esa.int 2023-161 Share Details Last Updated Nov 07, 2023 Related Terms AstrophysicsDark Matter & Dark EnergyEuclidGalaxies, Stars, & Black HolesGalaxies, Stars, & Black Holes ResearchJet Propulsion LaboratoryNancy Grace Roman Space TelescopeStarsThe Universe Explore More 5 min read NASA’s Curiosity Rover Clocks 4,000 Days on Mars Article 19 hours ago 5 min read NASA Telescopes Discover Record-Breaking Black Hole Article 21 hours ago 3 min read Hubble Tangos with a Dancer in Dorado This vibrant Hubble Space Telescope image features the spiral galaxy NGC 1566, sometimes informally referred… Article 4 days ago View the full article

High Above, Down Under: New Series Coming Soon to NASA+

4 min read Worm Designer Receives NASA’s Exceptional Public Achievement Medal NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana, right, shakes hands with Richard Danne after awarding him the Exceptional Public Achievement Medal for his outstanding achievement in creating the NASA worm logotype, Monday, Nov. 6, 2023, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington.NASA/Keegan Barber NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana presented an award to Richard Danne Monday for his outstanding achievement in creating the NASA worm logotype and inspiring the world through the medium of design for the benefit of humanity. The Exceptional Public Achievement Medal was presented to Danne following a panel discussion at NASA Headquarters in Washington featuring the designer, as well as NASA and industry design experts, discussing the iconic logotype and its cultural influence. The award is given to non-government employees for specific achievement or substantial improvement in contribution to the mission of NASA. “Making the impossible possible through innovation, inspiring through discoveries that transform our knowledge of the universe and our place in it, and providing benefits to all of humanity are what we do at NASA, and what people think of when they see this simple yet striking logo,” said NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana. “Thank you for giving the agency an image that fit the time and also that continues to endure alongside the iconic NASA meatball as one of the most recognizable and popular symbols of what we can achieve when we work together.” A simple, red unique type style of the word NASA, the worm replaced the agency’s logo for several decades beginning in the 1970s before it was retired. It has since been brought back for limited use to complement the agency’s official insignia, known as the meatball. “This event, a culmination of a 50-year trek, is extremely rewarding. Creating the worm for NASA has been a singular achievement in my own career and in the history of design. It has not always been easy but it was a glorious experience and I feel fortunate to be part of the NASA family and to have helped the agency achieve its missions and goals,” said Danne. NASA was strategically chosen to implement the first new brand identity as part of the Federal Design Improvement Program. The agency hired the New York firm, Danne & Blackburn, who delivered their visionary worm design accompanied by a detailed manual that made it accessible across all centers. At the time, the worm won some of industries biggest design awards, including the first Presidential Design Award in 1985. In 1992, the worm was retired. However, in 2017 NASA began permitting the worm once again on souvenir merchandise and in 2020, almost 30 years later, the agency used the worm logo once again to mark the return of human spaceflight on American rockets from American soil. In November 2022, NASA also used the worm logo on its first rocket around the Moon in more than 50 years as part of its Artemis program. Since its launch, the worm logotype has resurfaced on signage, spacecraft, and spacesuits for the agency. Most recently, NASA opened its Earth Information Center at its headquarters, featuring a giant NASA worm sculpture directly outside its front doors. As part of his visit to Washington, Danne saw the sculpture for the first time. The original NASA insignia, designed by James Modarelli in 1958, remains a powerful global symbol, and is the official logo as the agency innovates, inspires, and explores for the benefit of all. NASA’s merchandise team receives hundreds of requests every month for permission to use its graphics. “Thanks to the worm and the meatball, NASA’s brand is one of the most recognizable in the world. These symbols have inspired countless students in the past, and now inspire the future generation of engineers, scientists, and innovators – the Artemis Generation,” said Marc Etkind, associate administrator, Office of Communications at NASA Headquarters. To rewatch the panel discussion, visit NASA’s YouTube channel at: www.youtube.com/NASA -end- News Media Contacts: Claire O’Shea / Stephanie Schierholz Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1600 claire.a.oshea@nasa.gov / stephanie.schierholz@nasa.gov Read More Share Details Last Updated Nov 06, 2023 Editor Claire A. O'Shea Location NASA Headquarters Related Terms NASA History Explore More 7 min read 65 Years Ago: NASA Formally Establishes The Space Task Group Article 8 hours ago 3 min read Halloween on the International Space Station Article 6 days ago 8 min read 25 Years Ago: STS-95, John Glenn Returns to Space Article 1 week ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

NASA / Joel Kowsky The NASA Worm Logo sign at the NASA Headquarters building in Washington is unveiled in this image from June 21, 2023. The unveiling occurred just before NASA’s Earth Information Center, an immersive experience combining live data sets with cutting-edge data visualization and storytelling, opened to the public. On Nov. 6, 2023, NASA held a discussion on the design and cultural significance of the worm logotype with its creator Richard Danne. The logotype, a simple, red unique type style of the word NASA, replaced the agency’s official logo (the “meatball”) for several decades beginning in the 1970s before it was retired. The worm has since been revived for limited use. Learn more about the “worm” on “Houston We Have a Podcast,” the official podcast of the NASA Johnson Space Center. Image Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky View the full article

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover captured this 360-degree panorama using its black-and-white navigation cameras, or Navcams, at a location where it collected a sample from a rock nicknamed “Sequoia.” The panorama was captured on Oct. 21 and 26, 2023.NASA/JPL-Caltech The mission team is making sure the robotic scientist, now in its fourth extended mission, is staying strong, despite wear and tear from its 11-year journey. Four thousand Martian days after setting its wheels in Gale Crater on Aug. 5, 2012, NASA’s Curiosity rover remains busy conducting exciting science. The rover recently drilled its 39th sample then dropped the pulverized rock into its belly for detailed analysis. To study whether ancient Mars had the conditions to support microbial life, the rover has been gradually ascending the base of 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer-tall) Mount Sharp, whose layers formed in different periods of Martian history and offer a record of how the planet’s climate changed over time. The latest sample was collected from a target nicknamed “Sequoia” (all of the mission’s current science targets are named after locations in California’s Sierra Nevada). Scientists hope the sample will reveal more about how the climate and habitability of Mars evolved as this region became enriched in sulfates –minerals that likely formed in salty water that was evaporating as Mars first began drying up billions of years ago. Eventually, Mars’ liquid water disappeared for good. NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover used the drill on the end of its robotic arm to collect a sample from a rock nicknamed “Sequoia” on Oct. 17, 2023, the 3,980th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The rover’s Mastcam captured this image.NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS “The types of sulfate and carbonate minerals that Curiosity’s instruments have identified in the last year help us understand what Mars was like so long ago. We’ve been anticipating these results for decades, and now Sequoia will tell us even more,” said Ashwin Vasavada, Curiosity’s project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which leads the mission. Deciphering the clues to Mars’ ancient climate requires detective work. In a recent paper published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, team members used data from Curiosity’s Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) instrument to discover a magnesium sulfate mineral called starkeyite, which is associated with especially dry climates like Mars’ modern climate. The team believes that after sulfate minerals first formed in salty water that was evaporating billions of years ago, these minerals transformed into starkeyite as the climate continued drying to its present state. Findings like this refine scientists’ understanding of how the Mars of today came to be. Time-Tested Rover Despite having driven almost 20 miles (32 kilometers) through a punishingly cold environment bathed in dust and radiation since 2012, Curiosity remains strong. Engineers are currently working to resolve an issue with one of the rover’s main “eyes” – the 34 mm focal length left camera of the Mast Camera, or Mastcam, instrument. In addition to providing color images of the rover’s surroundings, each of Mastcam’s two cameras helps scientists determine from afar the composition of rocks by the wavelengths of light, or spectra, they reflect in different colors. This anaglyph version of Curiosity’s panorama taken at “Sequoia” can be viewed in 3D using red-blue glasses.NASA/JPL-Caltech To do that, Mastcam relies on filters arranged on a wheel that rotates under each camera’s lens. Since Sept. 19, the left camera’s filter wheel has been stuck between filter positions, the effects of which can be seen on the mission’s raw, or unprocessed, images. The mission continues to gradually nudge the filter wheel back toward its standard setting. If unable to nudge it back all the way, the mission would rely on the higher resolution 100 mm focal length right Mastcam as the primary color-imaging system. As a result, how the team scouts for science targets and rover routes would be affected: The right camera needs to take nine times more images than the left to cover the same area. The teams also would have a degraded ability to observe the detailed color spectra of rocks from afar. Along with efforts to nudge the filter back, mission engineers continue to closely monitor the performance of the rover’s nuclear power source and expect it will provide enough energy to operate for many more years. They have also found ways to overcome challenges from wear on the rover’s drill system and robotic-arm joints. Software updates have fixed bugs and added new capabilities to Curiosity, too, making long drives easier for the rover and reducing wheel wear that comes from steering (an earlier addition of a traction-control algorithm also helps reduce wheel wear from driving over sharp rocks). Meanwhile, the team is preparing for a break of several weeks in November. Mars is about to disappear behind the Sun, a phenomenon known as solar conjunction. Plasma from the Sun can interact with radio waves, potentially interfering with commands during this time. Engineers are leaving Curiosity with a to-do list from Nov. 6 to 28, after which period communications can safely resume. More About the Mission Curiosity was built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California. JPL leads the mission on behalf of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego built and operates Mastcam. For more about Curiosity, visit: http://mars.nasa.gov/msl https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/index.html 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 2023-160 Share Details Last Updated Nov 06, 2023 Related Terms Curiosity (Rover)Jet Propulsion LaboratoryMarsMars Science Laboratory (MSL)The Solar System Explore More 3 min read Hubble Provides Unique Ultraviolet View of Jupiter This newly released image from the NASA Hubble Space Telescope shows the planet Jupiter in… Article 4 days ago 5 min read NASA Flights Link Methane Plumes to Tundra Fires in Western Alaska Article 5 days ago 3 min read November’s Night Sky Notes: Spy the Seventh Planet, Uranus Spot this green-blue ice giant mid-November, between the gas giant Jupiter, and the seven sisters… Article 5 days ago View the full article

Artist concept of an In-situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) demonstration on the Moon. Many technologies in six priority areas encompassed by NASA’s Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative will need testing, such as advancing ISRU technologies that could lead to future production of fuel, water, or oxygen from local materials, expanding exploration capabilities.NASA NASA is hosting a virtual industry forum on Nov. 13, 2023, to introduce the agency’s Lunar Infrastructure Foundational Technologies (LIFT-1) demonstration Request for Information (RFI). At this event, representatives of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) will discuss the relevant Moon-to-Mars Objectives, STMD Envisioned Future Priorities (EFPs), and will answer questions from potential respondents interested in the RFI. Written responses to the Q&A will be posted to NSPIRES after the meeting. Although the primary focus for this activity is a future lunar surface resource utilization (ISRU) demonstration it will require multiple capabilities that may address other infrastructure objectives. The Industry Day offers an opportunity for respondents to gain insight and understanding of the ISRU objectives as well as those other foundational infrastructure objectives. LIFT-1 REQUEST FOR INFORMATION INDUSTRY FORUM (virtual) Monday, Nov. 13, 2023 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. EST Speakers: Niki Werkheiser, director of Technology Maturation, NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters Jerry Sanders, lead for NASA’s In-Space Resource Utilization (ISRU), NASA Capability Leadership Team (CLT) (multiple NASA centers) Mike Ching, technical advisor, NASA’s Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative (LSII); Space Technology Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters Platform: The Industry Forum will be conducted via the Webex application. To connect to the industry forum Webex meeting, participants must first register. Once registered, participants will receive a meeting invitation to the registered email address with options to join via Webex or audio only (phone). MORE INFORMATION The LIFT-1 RFI is available on NSPIRES and open for responses through December 18, 2023 (5:00 p.m. EST) Please direct questions related to the RFI and industry day by email to: HQ-STMD-LIFT-1-RFI@nasaprs.com For media inquiries, please contact Jimi Russell, james.j.russell@nasa.gov. Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate NASA’s Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative Game Changing Development Projects STMD Solicitations and Opportunities View the full article

Artist concept of an In-situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) demonstration on the Moon. Many technologies in six priority areas encompassed by NASA’s Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative will need testing, such as advancing ISRU technologies that could lead to future production of fuel, water, or oxygen from local materials, expanding exploration capabilities. As NASA ushers in an exciting era of long-term exploration on the Moon with Artemis, new strategies are being formulated to determine how technology, infrastructure, and operations will function together as a cohesive and cross-cutting system. As a sustained presence grows at the Moon, opportunities to harvest lunar resources could lead to safer, more efficient operations with less dependence on Earth. Many new technologies in six priority areas encompassed by NASA’s Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative will need testing. For example, advancing In-situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) technologies could lead to future production of fuel, water, or oxygen from local materials, expanding exploration capabilities. To support ISRU technology maturation, NASA issued a Request for Information (RFI) on Nov. 6 to formulate its future Lunar Infrastructure Foundational Technologies (LIFT-1) demonstration. Led by the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), NASA’s primary objective for LIFT-1 is to demonstrate ISRU technologies to extract oxygen from lunar soil, to inform eventual production, capture, and storage. Additional LIFT-1 objectives may include demonstrating new landing technologies, surface operations, and scalable power generation in the Moon’s South Pole region. With the RFI, NASA is asking for input from the lunar community to inform an integrated approach inclusive of launch, landing, and demonstration of surface infrastructure technologies as part of a subscale ISRU demonstration. “The LIFT-1 demonstration creates a viable path to launch, land, and conduct operations on the lunar surface. This is the infusion path we need for ongoing industry and NASA center-led technology development activities,” said Dr. Prasun Desai, acting associate administrator of STMD at the agency’s Headquarters in Washington. “Using in-situ resources is essential to making a sustained presence farther from Earth possible. Just as we need consumables and infrastructure to live and work on our home planet, we’ll need similar support systems on the Moon for crew and robots to operate safely and productively.” NASA has several current ISRU investments through partnerships with industry and academia. Prospecting, extraction, and mining initiatives are advancing our capabilities to find and harness resources from the lunar regolith. Chemical and thermal process developments may provide options to break down naturally occurring minerals and compounds found on the Moon and convert them to propellant or human consumables. Other potential longer-term applications could lead to extraterrestrial metal processing and construction of lunar surface structures using resources found on the Moon. Many of these technologies could be demonstrated and advanced on the Moon for future use at Mars. While the Moon has almost no atmosphere, Mars has an atmosphere rich in carbon dioxide, and NASA is investing in initiatives to use CO2 to create other useful elements or compounds. MOXIE on NASA’s Mars Perseverance Rover marked the beginning of off-Earth ISRU technology demonstrations, successfully extracting oxygen from atmospheric carbon dioxide throughout a series of tests. NASA intends to demonstrate a similar capability on the lunar surface from its resources, and this RFI will help NASA capture stakeholder interest and ideas on how to partner, preferred acquisition approaches, and funding feasibility. This kind of input is critical to advancing innovative solutions that will help NASA and its partners explore the surface of the Moon for longer periods of time than ever before possible. “An ISRU technology demonstration approach has been a topic of discussion within the Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative and Consortium communities for several years,” said Niki Werkheiser, director of Technology Maturation in STMD. “This RFI is the next phase to make it a reality.” The Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium (LSIC) was established by NASA in 2020 to coalesce government, academia, non-profit institutions, and the private sector to identify technological capabilities and hurdles that must be retired to achieve a sustained presence on the surface of the Moon, both human and robotic. The LIFT-1 RFI is available on NSPIRES and open for responses through Dec. 18, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. EST. NASA will host an industry forum on Monday, Nov. 13, 2023, at 1:00 p.m. EST. Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate NASA’s Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative Game Changing Development Projects STMD Solicitations and Opportunities View the full article

An image shows the cover of the NASA Stennis Strategic Plan for 2024-2028. NASA Stennis NASA’s Stennis Space Center began with a single mission – to test Apollo rocket stages to carry humans to the Moon. Moving forward, the site has a renewed vision – to evolve as a unique, multifaceted aerospace and technology hub. It also has a clear blueprint for getting there. The NASA Stennis Strategic Plan 2024-2028, available online at nasa-stennis-strategic-plan-2024-2028.pdf, outlines goals and objectives in five critical areas – propulsion, the federal city, autonomous systems, range operations, and workforce development. For the center, the overarching focus is to align itself with the NASA mission, adapt to the changing aerospace and technology landscape, and grow into the future. “A famous quote I really like says, ‘The best way to predict the future is to create it,’” NASA Stennis Center Director Rick Gilbrech said. “We are committed to doing just that by embracing the possibilities and seizing the opportunities before us. We want to ensure the road to space, and innovation continues to go through Mississippi for the benefit of all.” Much has changed in the aerospace and technology world since NASA and NASA Stennis were established more than 60 years ago. Thanks in large part to NASA’s involvement, commercial space has flourished and continues to grow. Technology moves at a breakneck speed. NASA Stennis has mirrored the nation’s space program, testing engines and propulsion systems for all three U.S. human space exploration eras – Apollo, space shuttle, and now, SLS (Space Launch System). Along the way, the site also grew into a federal city with about 40 resident companies, agencies, and entities on site. More recently, it emerged as a leader in working with commercial aerospace companies, both large and small. It now seeks to take the next step by building on past success, using its skilled workforce and unique infrastructure and location to attract new tenants onsite, and expanding into such areas as autonomous systems and range operations. “We have the chance to invent the future of NASA Stennis, and we have to be very strategic about it,” said Duane Armstrong, manager of the NASA Stennis Strategic Business Development Office. “The new plan is our guide to help make sure we are aligning ourselves with the NASA mission and the needs of our commercial partners.” Key goals in the plan include: (1) transforming into a multi-user propulsion test enterprise; (2) growing as a sustainable and long-term federal city; (3) designing intelligent and autonomous aerospace systems and services; (4) utilizing its unique range location and infrastructure to support the testing and operation of uncrewed air, land, and marine systems; and (5) cultivating and optimizing the NASA Stennis workforce for the future. “There is a lot of change likely in the years ahead, and we have to rethink our role and how we can continue to provide value,” Armstrong said. “This plan will serve as a framework to guide our actions and decisions.” In six decades, NASA Stennis has grown into a powerful economic engine while also meeting challenges head-on and negotiating change. The challenge – and opportunity – now, Armstrong said, is to adapt to an evolving aerospace and technology landscape, connect people to purpose, and open a world of new possibilities. C. Lacy Thompson Stennis Space Center, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi 228-363-5499 calvin.l.thompson@nasa.gov Keep Exploring Discover More Topics from NASA Stennis Doing Business with NASA Stennis About NASA Stennis Visit NASA Stennis NASA Stennis Media Resources View the full article

1 min read One Year of Spritacular Science! Have a camera? The Spritacular project needs your help capturing images of sprites and other Transient Luminous Events (TLEs) above thunderstorms. Credit: Rachel Lense. Gigantic Jet Image Credit: Frankie Lucena Sprites, those beguiling electrical flashes of light above thunderstorms, raise so many questions: Why do they take the shapes they do? What conditions in the upper atmosphere trigger them? How do sprites affect Earth’s global electric circuit, and what is their contribution to the energy in Earth’s upper atmosphere? On October 26, 2022, NASA’s Spritacular project began asking volunteers to help answer these questions. Happy Birthday, Spritacular! “It has been an amazing journey,” said Dr. Burcu Kosar, space physicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland and Spritacular principal investigator. “Our community is growing steadily. We have been so thankful for all the participation so far.” The project has 308 volunteers that have contributed 189 observations from 13 different countries. The database analysis is underway, so stay tuned for some exciting research outcomes! Have a camera? Join the chase of sprites from the ground, engage with our global community of observers, and contribute your observations for NASA Science! NASA’s Citizen Science Program: Learn about NASA citizen science projects Facebook logo @DoNASAScience @DoNASAScience Share Details Last Updated Nov 06, 2023 Related Terms Citizen Science Earth Science Heliophysics View the full article

Astronomers have discovered the most distant black hole yet seen in X-rays, using NASA telescopes. The black hole is at an early stage of growth that had never been witnessed before, where its mass is similar to that of its host galaxy. This result may explain how some of the first supermassive black holes in the universe formed. By combining data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, a team of researchers was able to find the telltale signature of a growing black hole just 470 million years after the big bang. This image contains the most distant black hole ever detected in X-rays, a result that may explain how some of the first supermassive black holes in the universe formed. As we report in our press release, this discovery was made using X-rays from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory (purple) and infrared data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (red, green, blue).X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/Ákos Bogdán; Infrared: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare & K. Arcand See full image “We needed Webb to find this remarkably distant galaxy and Chandra to find its supermassive black hole,” said Akos Bogdan of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA) who leads a new paper in the journal Nature Astronomy describing these results. “We also took advantage of a cosmic magnifying glass that boosted the amount of light we detected.” This magnifying effect is known as gravitational lensing. Bogdan and his team found the black hole in a galaxy named UHZ1 in the direction of the galaxy cluster Abell 2744, located 3.5 billion light-years from Earth. Webb data, however, has revealed the galaxy is much more distant than the cluster, at 13.2 billion light-years from Earth, when the universe was only 3% of its current age. Then over two weeks of observations with Chandra showed the presence of intense, superheated, X-ray emitting gas in this galaxy – a trademark for a growing supermassive black hole. The light from the galaxy and the X-rays from gas around its supermassive black hole are magnified by about a factor of four by intervening matter in Abell 2744 (due to gravitational lensing), enhancing the infrared signal detected by Webb and allowing Chandra to detect the faint X-ray source. This discovery is important for understanding how some supermassive black holes can reach colossal masses soon after the big bang. Do they form directly from the collapse of massive clouds of gas, creating black holes weighing between about 10,000 and 100,000 Suns? Or do they come from explosions of the first stars that create black holes weighing only between about 10 and 100 Suns? “There are physical limits on how quickly black holes can grow once they’ve formed, but ones that are born more massive have a head start. It’s like planting a sapling, which takes less time to grow into a full-size tree than if you started with only a seed”, said Andy Goulding of Princeton University. Goulding is a co-author of the Nature Astronomy paper and lead author of a new paper in The Astrophysical Journal Letters that reports the galaxy’s distance and mass using a spectrum from Webb. Bogdan’s team has found strong evidence that the newly discovered black hole was born massive. Its mass is estimated to fall between 10 and 100 million Suns, based on the brightness and energy of the X-rays. This mass range is similar to that of all the stars in the galaxy where it lives, which is in stark contrast to black holes in the centers of galaxies in the nearby universe that usually contain only about a tenth of a percent of the mass of their host galaxy’s stars. The large mass of the black hole at a young age, plus the amount of X-rays it produces and the brightness of the galaxy detected by Webb, all agree with theoretical predictions in 2017 by co-author Priyamvada Natarajan of Yale University for an “Outsize Black Hole” that directly formed from the collapse of a huge cloud of gas. “We think that this is the first detection of an ‘Outsize Black Hole’ and the best evidence yet obtained that some black holes form from massive clouds of gas,” said Natarajan. “For the first time we are seeing a brief stage where a supermassive black hole weighs about as much as the stars in its galaxy, before it falls behind.” The researchers plan to use this and other results pouring in from Webb and those combining data from other telescopes to fill out a larger picture of the early universe. “Results like this show why NASA has a portfolio of elite telescopes,” said Mark Clampin, director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters. “Each has their own superpowers, so to speak, and they can accomplish amazing things when they join forces.” NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope previously showed that light from distant galaxies is highly magnified by matter in the intervening galaxy cluster, providing part of the motivation for the Webb and Chandra observations described here. The paper describing the results by Bogdan’s team appears in Nature Astronomy, and a preprint is available online. The Webb data used in both papers is part of a survey called the Ultradeep Nirspec and nirCam ObserVations before the Epoch of Reionization (UNCOVER). The paper led by UNCOVER team member Andy Goulding appears in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, and a preprint is available online. The co-authors include other UNCOVER team members, plus Bogdan and Natarajan. A detailed interpretation paper that compares observed properties of UHZ1 with theoretical models for Outsize Black Hole Galaxies is forthcoming. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Chandra X-ray Center controls science operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts. 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. Read more from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. For more Chandra images, multimedia and related materials, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/mission/chandra-x-ray-observatory/ Megan Watzke Chandra X-ray Center Cambridge, Mass. 617-496-7998 Jonathan Deal Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, Ala. 256-544-0034 View the full article

The Legacy of the NASA Worm Logo (Official NASA Broadcast)

On Oct. 1, 1958, NASA, the newly established agency to lead America’s civilian space program, officially began operations, with T. Keith Glennan and Hugh L. Dryden as administrator and deputy administrator, respectively. One of the new agency’s top priorities involved the development of a spacecraft capable of sending a human into space and returning him safely to Earth. On Oct. 7, Glennan approved the project, and the next day informally established the Space Task Group (STG) to implement it. On Nov. 5, the STG formally came into existence, with Robert R. Gilruth named as project manager and Charles J. Donlan as his assistant. In January 1959, the STG selected a contractor to build the spacecraft for Project Mercury and in April chose the seven astronauts to fly it in space. Left: NASA Deputy Administrator Hugh L. Dryden, left, and NASA Administrator T. Keith Glennan address the employees of the newly established NASA. Right: Space Task Group leaders Charles J. Donlan, left, Robert R. Gilruth, Maxime “Max” A. Faget, and Robert O. Piland at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Glennan established the STG at the newly renamed Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Thirty-five Langley employees plus 10 more detailed from the Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, formed the initial core of the STG. In early 1959, 25 engineers from AVRO Canada added their talents to the core team, with more following later. Since 1952, when the Langley Aeronautical Laboratory formed a part of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, NASA’s predecessor agency, engineers there including Gilruth and Donlan had studied the problems associated with putting humans in space. An engineer named Maxime “Max” A. Faget, who in the STG led the Flight Systems Division, had determined that a cone-shaped object with a blunt end to act as a heat shield during reentry into Earth’s atmosphere would make the optimal spacecraft for humanity’s first foray into space. When presented to Glennan on Oct. 7, 1958, he approved the project by saying, “Let’s get on with it.” Left: The headquarters building for the Space Task Group (STG) at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Middle: An early cutaway representation of the Mercury capsule. Right: A technician, right, demonstrates a model of a Mercury spacecraft to STG leaders Charles J. Donlan, left, Robert R. Gilruth, and Maxime “Max” A. Faget. The advance work allowed STG engineers to quickly draft specifications for the crewed capsule. The STG presented the project to representatives of 40 companies on Nov. 7, and 10 days later mailed detailed specifications to 20 firms that had expressed an interest in submitting a proposal. On Nov. 26, NASA formally designated the project as Project Mercury. Eleven companies submitted proposals by the Dec. 11 deadline, and STG engineers began reviewing them the next day. On Jan. 9, 1959, NASA selected the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation of St. Louis as the prime contractor to develop and build the Mercury spacecraft. McDonnell delivered the first three capsules within 12 months. Plans for the program envisioned suborbital and orbital missions, in both cases beginning with uncrewed test flights, followed by flights with primates, leading eventually to astronaut missions. Suborbital flights would utilize the Redstone missile with orbital flights using the larger Atlas rocket. On Dec. 8, 1958, NASA ordered nine Atlas missiles from the U.S. Air Force. Left: The Mercury 7 astronauts Donald K. Slayton, left, Alan B. Shepard, Walter M. Schirra, Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, John H. Glenn, L. Gordon Cooper, and M. Scott Carpenter during their introductory press conference. Right: The Mercury 7 astronauts in a more relaxed setting in front of a Mercury capsule at Ellington Air Force Base facilities leased by the Manned Spacecraft Center, now NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. In addition to building the spacecraft, the STG focused its attention on selecting the pilots to fly it. President Dwight D. Eisenhower decided that military test pilots would make the most suitable astronauts. On Jan. 5, 1959, NASA established the qualifications for the astronauts: less than 40 years of age; less than 5 feet 11 inches tall; excellent physical condition; bachelor’s degree or equivalent; graduate of test pilot school; and 1,500 hours of jet flight time. A screening in late January of the files of 508 graduates of the Navy and Air Force test pilot schools who met the basic age and flying requirements resulted in 110 qualified candidates. The selection committee ranked these candidates and divided them into three groups of about 35 each. The first two groups, comprising 69 candidates, received classified briefings at the Pentagon about the Mercury spacecraft and their potential participation. From this group, 53 volunteered for further evaluation and NASA decided not to call in the third group of candidates. Following an initial medical screening, 32 from this group advanced to undergo thorough medical evaluations at the Lovelace Foundation for Medical Education and Research, commonly known as the Lovelace Clinic, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Beginning on Feb. 7, the candidates in six groups of five or six spent one week at Lovelace undergoing comprehensive medical examinations. From there, 31 of the 32 (one candidate failed a blood test at Lovelace) advanced to the Aero Medical Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, where weeklong testing of the six groups took place between Feb. 15 and March 28. Rather than simply examining them physically, testing at AML consisted of stressing the candidates in centrifuges, altitude chambers, and other devices to gauge their reactions. The selection committee met at Langley in late March and based on all the available data selected seven candidates for Project Mercury. The 24 unsuccessful candidates were notified by telephone on April 1 with a follow up letter from Donlan on April 3, also advising them to apply for any possible future astronaut selections. The seven selected as Mercury astronauts received telephone calls from Donlan on April 2. On April 9, NASA Administrator Glennan introduced them to the public during a press conference at the Dolley Madison House, NASA’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. They reported for work at Langley on April 27. Left: Space Task Group (STG) Director Robert R. Gilruth, left, and his special assistant Paul E. Purser hold the Nov. 1, 1961, edition of the Space News Roundup employee newsletter announcing the move of the STG to Houston and its renaming as the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), now NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Middle: The initial edition dated Nov. 1, 1961, of the Space News Roundup. Right: The location of the MSC showing initial site preparation in 1962. For the next two years, the STG busied itself with putting the first American in space as part of Project Mercury. Among other ground-breaking activities, this included overseeing the building of the Mercury spacecraft, training the astronauts, putting the necessary infrastructure in place such as Mercury Mission Control Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida, and a worldwide tracking network, acquiring Redstone and Atlas rockets from the U.S. Air Force, and working with the U.S. Navy to arrange for recovery of the astronauts after splashdown. The efforts paid off and on May 5, 1961, Alan B. Shepard became the first American in space during his 15-minute suborbital Mercury-Redstone 3 mission. Twenty days later, in an address to a Joint Session of Congress, President John F. Kennedy committed the nation to land a man on the Moon and return him safely to Earth before the end of the decade. The work to achieve this new challenge compelled the STG to seek larger facilities. Talk of a dedicated field center to manage human spaceflight begun in early 1961 intensified, with a site selection team established in August 1961. On Sept. 19, NASA Administrator James E. Webb announced the selection of a site 25 miles southeast of Houston on Clear Lake to build the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), now NASA’s Johnson Space Center, and named Gilruth as the center’s director. Although the STG ceased to exist in name, the work on Project Mercury continued at Langley, while advanced work on the Gemini and Apollo programs transitioned to the MSC’s temporary facilities in Houston as construction began on the new center on Clear Lake in April 1962. Although some STG personnel elected to remain in Virginia, 751 made the move to Houston, a workforce soon expanded by 689 new hires. Explore More 3 min read Halloween on the International Space Station Article 6 days ago 8 min read 25 Years Ago: STS-95, John Glenn Returns to Space Article 7 days ago 5 min read 25 Years Ago: Launch of Deep Space 1 Technology Demonstration Spacecraft Article 2 weeks ago View the full article

The NESC has released a technical bulletin for the Avionics community. Material degradation during the fabrication of microelectronic devices has plagued the space industry for many years owing to the layering of many dissimilar metals to create these devices. Often, commonly used materials and systems are overlooked as potential sources of material degradation. This technical bulletin highlights extensive research to isolate probable causes of this degradation. Download the full technical bulletin here. For more information, contact Donald S. Parker, donald.s.parker@nasa.gov View the full article

The Traveler: New Series Coming Soon to NASA+

Lucy: New Series Coming Soon to NASA+

Space Out: New Series Coming Soon to NASA+

Stepping Out for a Spacewalk at the Space Station on This Week @NASA – November 3, 2023