NASA

Oct. 1, 2024 NASA astronaut Josh Cassada holds a roll-out solar array as he rides the Canadarm2 robotic arm during a spacewalk in support of the Expedition 68 mission aboard the International Space Station on Dec. 3, 2022. Credit: NASA Three-time Spacewalker Josh Cassada to Retire from NASA NASA astronaut Josh Cassada retired Oct. 1, after 11 years of service to the agency across multiple programs, including 157 days in space and three spacewalks. Cassada also is a retired United States Navy captain and naval aviator with more than two decades of service. Cassada served as pilot of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission and Expedition 68 flight engineer aboard the International Space Station, executing myriad maintenance, contingency, and upgrade activities inside the station while also contributing to hundreds of experiments and technology demonstrations. His three spacewalks outside of the orbiting laboratory totaled more than 21 hours, successfully installing a pair of International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays (IROSAs) to boost the station’s electrical capacity. Cassada, alongside crewmate NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, also assembled the infrastructure for a future IROSA installation and fully restored a malfunctioning legacy solar array. “I want to extend my sincere gratitude to Josh for his dedication and service to human space exploration,” said NASA Johnson Space Center Director Vanessa Wyche. “Josh’s contributions and achievements to the advancement of science and exploration will inspire the next generation of explorers, the Artemis generation, and benefit humanity for decades to come.” NASA astronaut Josh Cassada poses for a portrait in his extravehicular mobility unit spacesuit on August 8, 2022. Credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz Throughout Expedition 68, Cassada and his crewmates completed extensive problem-solving with ground teams, including the modification of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to accommodate an additional crew member in the event of an emergency return, and leveraged the crew’s various skill sets and training to ensure continued safe and effective operations for current and future crews. In Houston, Cassada served as a capsule communicator in NASA’s Mission Control Center and assistant to the chief of the Astronaut Office for space station operations. As a physicist and test pilot, Cassada also contributed to the development of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program and Orion spacecraft and represented the Astronaut Office in technical and operational reviews of scientific experiments such as the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and Cold Atom Lab. “Josh has played a significant role in NASA’s deliverance of reliable and cost-effective human transportation to and from the space station,” said Norm Knight, director of flight operations at NASA Johnson. “Through his dedication and commitment to human spaceflight exploration, Josh’s work will continue to push us forward on our journey back to the Moon, and beyond. We will miss him and are excited to see what his next journey entails.” As he transitions from government service, Cassada will return to the private sector, working on extremely low light detection technologies with broad and emerging applications in various areas, including quantum networks and computing, remote sensing, long-range communication, semiconductor manufacturing, and medical imaging. “I am incredibly grateful for my many opportunities here at NASA,” Cassada said, “and especially to have served alongside some of the most amazing people both on and off our planet, accomplishing things that are only possible when we work and innovate together as a team. As humans, we explore . And each scientific adventure, whether in a lab on Earth or in space, requires courage to explore and advance society. I am incredibly fortunate to have been surrounded by explorers during my entire career so far and going forward. An expedition may seem daunting, but it’s a lot less so when you’re prepared and with the right crewmates.” Before his selection by NASA in 2013 as a member of NASA’s 21st Class, Cassada earned his doctorate in High Energy Particle Physics from the University of Rochester, New York and was a U.S. Navy pilot, instructor pilot, test pilot, and instructor test pilot. Throughout his career, Cassada has accumulated more than 4,000 flight hours in over 50 different aircraft and has been awarded various military and civilian awards. Cassada graduated from White Bear Lake Area High School in Minnesota in 1991 and received his bachelor’s in Physics in 1995 from Albion College in Michigan. Learn more about International Space Station research and operations at: https://www.nasa.gov/station -end- Courtney Beasley Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 courtney.m.beasley@nasa.gov View the full article

NASA's SpaceX Crew-8: Science, Innovation, and Discovery

6 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA astronauts Michael Barratt, Matthew Dominick, and Jeanette Epps and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin are returning to Earth after months aboard the International Space Station conducting scientific experiments and technology demonstrations for the agency’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission. The four launched on March 3 aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Here’s a look at some scientific milestones accomplished during their mission: Revealing resistant microorganisms NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps extracts DNA for the Genomic Enumeration of Antibiotic Resistance in Space experiment, which surveys the station for antibiotic-resistant organisms and sequences their DNA to examine adaptations to space. Results could support development of measures to protect astronauts and people in buildings and facilities on Earth, such as hospitals, from resistant bacteria. NASA Brain organoid models NASA astronaut Mike Barratt processes samples for Human Brain Organoid Models for Neurodegenerative Disease & Drug Discovery. This investigation uses human brain organoids created with stem cells from patients to study neuroinflammation, a common feature of neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson’s disease. The organoids provide a platform to study these diseases and their treatments and to potentially address how extended spaceflight affects the brain. NASA Bioprinting human tissues Tissue samples bioprinted in microgravity are higher quality than those printed on the ground. NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick processes cardiac tissue samples for the Redwire Cardiac Bioprinting Investigation. Results could advance the production of organs and tissues for transplant and improve 3D printing of foods and medicines on future long-duration space missions. NASA Growing better drugs NASA astronaut Mike Barratt works on Pharmaceutical In-space Laboratory – 02, which uses the station’s Advanced Space Experiments Processor to study how microgravity affects the production of various types of protein crystals. The ability to produce better crystals could lead to manufacturing improvements and new applications and better performance for pharmaceutical compounds, potentially providing more positive patient experiences. NASA Alloy solidification NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps works on Materials Science Lab Batch 3a, two projects investigating the solidification of metallic alloys in space. Insights gained could help improve alloy solidification processes on the ground, supporting the development of materials with superior chemical and physical properties for applications in space and on Earth. NASA Fueling the flames The Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction- Growth and Extinction Limit investigation determines how fuel temperature affects material flammability. This image shows the fuel surface during a burn (the black part of the sphere) and the distance traveled by the flame (blue). Results could improve researchers’ understanding of fire growth and inform the development of optimal fire suppression techniques to protect crews on future missions. NASA Very long-distance calls NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps wraps up an ISS Ham Radio session on April 10, with students in Italy. The program connects students and enthusiasts with astronauts in space via amateur radio. Participants study space, radio waves, and related topics to prepare questions before their scheduled call. NASA Student robotics competition For Astrobee-Zero Robotics, students compete to have their code control one of the space station’s Astrobee robots. The experience helps inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers, and explorers. NASA astronaut Mike Barratt works with the Astrobee robot named Bumble during operations for the project. NASA Immune function in space NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps prepares samples for Immunity Assay, a study of how spaceflight affects immune function. Previously, astronaut immune function could only be examined pre- and postflight, but a newly developed assay allows for testing during flight. This capability provides a more precise assessment of the immune changes that happen in space. NASA Getting weighed in weightlessness The Space Linear Acceleration Mass Measurement Device calculates a crew member’s mass based on Newton’s Second Law of Motion, which states force equals mass times acceleration. NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick performs maintenance on the device, used in support of multiple NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) investigations on how spaceflight affects the body. NASA Satellites for science NASA astronaut Mike Barratt prepares for the Nanoracks Cubesat Deployer Mission 27on April 16. The mission deployed seven research satellites: a reflectometer to measure sea ice, tests of telemetry instruments and solar cells, a hyperspectral thermal imager, a gamma-ray burst detector, a new remote sensing technique, and a magnetic field measurement test. NASA Remote-controlled robots NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps remotely manipulates a robot on the ground for Surface Avatar. The investigation tests system ergonomics, operator response to feedback, and the potential challenges for actual orbit-to-ground remote control. Such operation is an important capability for future exploration missions to the Moon and Mars. NASA The power of photographs NASA astronauts Mike Barratt, Matthew Dominick, and Loral O’Hara take photographs in the station’s cupola, adding to the more than 4.7 million images produced for Crew Earth Observations. These images support scientific studies on topics ranging from aquatic organisms and icebergs to the effects of artificial lighting at night and inform the response of decision-makers to natural disasters such as volcanoes and floods. NASA Reflections on the Moon For Earthshine from ISS, astronauts photograph the Moon throughout the lunar cycle to study changes in the light it reflects from Earth. Results could help validate the concept of observing Earth’s climate from satellite-borne instruments and add to researchers’ understanding of how the planet’s climate is changing. NASA Packing a Dragon NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Tracy C. Dyson pack frozen samples into the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft for return to Earth and analysis by researchers. The spacecraft launched to the orbiting laboratory on March 21 for NASA’s SpaceX 30th commercial resupply services mission, carrying scientific experiments and supplies, and returned to Earth on April 30. NASA Cygnus delivers Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft attached to the Canadarm2 robotic arm before being released from the space station on July 12. NASA’s Northrop Grumman 20th commercial resupply services mission arrived Feb. 1 with experiments on 3D printing, robotic surgery, tissue cartilage, and more. NASA Melissa Gaskill International Space Station Research Communications Team NASA’s Johnson Space Center Download high-resolution photos and videos of the research mentioned in this article. Search this database of scientific experiments to learn more about those mentioned in this article. Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Missions Humans in Space Expedition 71 Expedition 71 began on April 5, 2024 and ends in September 2024. This crew will explore neuro-degenerative diseases and therapies,… NASA Astronaut Don Pettit, Crewmates Arrive at Space Station View the full article

4 min read NASA’s Instruments Capture Sharpest Image of Earth’s Radiation Belt From Aug. 19-20, ESA’s (European Space Agency’s) Juice (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer) mission made history with a daring lunar-Earth flyby and double gravity assist maneuver, a spaceflight first. As the spacecraft zipped past our Moon and home planet, Juice’s instruments came online for a dry run of what they’ll do when they reach Jupiter. During that time, two of NASA’s onboard instruments added another first to the list: capturing the sharpest-ever image of Earth’s radiation belts – swaths of charged particles trapped in Earth’s magnetic shield, or magnetosphere. The Jovian Energetic Neutrals and Ions (JENI) instrument, built and managed by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, on behalf of NASA, took the image as Juice soared away from Earth. What it captured is invisible to the human eye. Unlike traditional cameras that rely on light, JENI uses special sensors to capture energetic neutral atoms emitted by charged particles interacting with the extended atmospheric hydrogen gas surrounding Earth. The JENI instrument is the newest generation of this type of camera, building on the success of a similar instrument on NASA’s Cassini mission that revealed the magnetospheres of Saturn and Jupiter. An illustration showing the trajectory of ESA’s Juice spacecraft during its lunar-Earth gravity assist, featuring a high-resolution ENA image of the million-degree hot plasma halo encircling Earth captured by NASA’s JENI instrument. The white rings denote equatorial distance of 4 and 6 Earth radii. The inset showcases measurements taken by the NASA’s JENI and JoEE instruments during their passage through the radiation belts, revealing a highly structured energetic ion and electron environment. Credit: ESA/NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Josh Diaz “As soon as we saw the crisp, new images, high fives went around the room,” said Matina Gkioulidou, deputy lead of JENI at APL. “It was clear we had captured the vast ring of hot plasma encircling Earth in unprecedented detail, an achievement that has sparked excitement for what is to come at Jupiter.” On Aug. 19, JENI and its companion particle instrument Jovian Energetic Electrons (JoEE) made the most of their brief 30-minute encounter with the Moon. As Juice zoomed just 465 miles (750 kilometers) above the lunar surface, the instruments gathered data on the space environment’s interaction with our nearest celestial companion. It’s an interaction scientists expect to see magnified at Jupiter’s moons, as the gas giant’s radiation-rich magnetosphere barrels over them. On Aug. 20, Juice hurled into Earth’s magnetosphere, passing some 37,000 miles (60,000 km) above the Pacific Ocean, where the instruments got their first taste of the harsh environment that awaits at Jupiter. Racing through the magnetotail, JoEE and JENI encountered the dense, lower-energy plasma characteristic of this region before plunging into the heart of the radiation belts. There, the instruments measured the million-degree plasma encircling Earth to investigate the secrets of plasma heating that are known to fuel dramatic phenomena in planetary magnetospheres. “I couldn’t have hoped for a better flyby,” said Pontus Brandt, principal investigator of JoEE and JENI at APL. “The richness of the data from our deep-dive through the magnetosphere is astounding. JENI’s image of the entire system we just flew through was the cherry on top. It’s a powerful combination we will exploit in the Jovian system.” Now after using the Moon’s and Earth’s gravity, Juice’s trajectory has been successfully adjusted for a future encounter with Venus in August 2025. That Venus flyby will serve as a gravitational slingshot, propelling Juice back toward Earth and priming it for two additional flybys in September 2026 and January 2029. Only then will the spacecraft, now boosted into high gear, make its grand arrival at Jupiter in July 2031. The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, in Laurel, Maryland, manages the JoEE and JENI instruments, which together make up the Particle Environment Package (PEP-Hi) instrument suite, for NASA on ESA’s Juice mission. The JoEE and JENI instruments are part of the Solar System Exploration Program, managed at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. For more information on NASA’s involvement with ESA’s Juice mission, visit: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/juice/ Facebook logo @NASA @NASA Instagram logo @NASA Linkedin logo @NASA Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Planetary Science Jupiter Asteroids Solar System View the full article

3 Min Read October’s Night Sky Notes: Catch Andromeda Rising! Hot stars burn brightly in this new image from NASA’s Galaxy Evolution Explorer, showing the ultraviolet side of a familiar face. At approximately 2.5 million light-years away, the Andromeda galaxy, or M31, is our Milky Way’s largest galactic neighbor. Credits: NASA If you’re thinking of a galaxy, the image in your head is probably the Andromeda Galaxy! Studies of this massive neighboring galaxy, also called M31, have played an incredibly important role in shaping modern astronomy. As a bonus for stargazers, the Andromeda Galaxy is also a beautiful sight. Spot the Andromeda Galaxy! M31’s more common name comes from its parent constellation, which becomes prominent as autumn arrives in the Northern Hemisphere. Surprising amounts of detail can be observed with unaided eyes when seen from dark sky sites. Hints of it can even be made out from light polluted areas. Use the Great Square of Pegasus or the Cassiopeia constellation as guides to find it. Credit: Stellarium Web Have you heard that all the stars you see at night are part of our Milky Way galaxy? While that is mostly true, one star-like object located near the border between the constellations of Andromeda and Cassiopeia appears fuzzy to unaided eyes. That’s because it’s not a star, but the Andromeda Galaxy, its trillion stars appearing to our eyes as a 3.4 magnitude patch of haze. Why so dim? Distance! It’s outside our galaxy, around 2.5 million light years distant – so far away that the light you see left M31’s stars when our earliest ancestors figured out stone tools. Binoculars show more detail: M31’s bright core stands out, along with a bit of its wispy, saucer-shaped disc. Telescopes bring out greater detail but often can’t view the entire galaxy at once. Depending on the quality of your skies and your magnification, you may be able to make out individual globular clusters, structure, and at least two of its orbiting dwarf galaxies: M110 and M32. Light pollution and thin clouds, smoke, or haze will severely hamper observing fainter detail, as they will for any “faint fuzzy.” Surprisingly, persistent stargazers can still spot M31’s core from areas of moderate light pollution as long as skies are otherwise clear. Generated version of the Andromeda Galaxy and its companion galaxies M32 and M110. Stellarium Web Modern astronomy was greatly shaped by studies of the Andromeda Galaxy. A hundred years ago, the idea that there were other galaxies beside our own was not widely accepted, and so M31 was called the “Andromeda Nebula.” Increasingly detailed observations of M31 caused astronomers to question its place in our universe – was M31 its own “island universe,” and not part of our Milky Way? Harlow Shapley and Heber Curtis engaged in the “Great Debate” of 1920 over its nature. Curtis argued forcefully from his observations of dimmer than expected nova, dust lanes, and other oddities that the “nebula” was in fact an entirely different galaxy from our own. A few years later, Edwin Hubble, building on Henrietta Leavitt’s work on Cepheid variable stars as a “standard candle” for distance measurement, concluded that M31 was indeed another galaxy after he observed Cepheids in photos of Andromeda, and estimated M31’s distance as far outside our galaxy’s boundaries. And so, the Andromeda Nebula became known as the Andromeda Galaxy. This illustration shows the location of the 43 quasars scientists used to probe Andromeda’s gaseous halo. These quasars—the very distant, brilliant cores of active galaxies powered by black holes—are scattered far behind the halo, allowing scientists to probe multiple regions. Looking through the immense halo at the quasars’ light, the team observed how this light is absorbed by the halo and how that absorption changes in different regions. By tracing the absorption of light coming from the background quasars, scientists are able to probe the halo’s material. NASA, ESA, and E. Wheatley (STScI) These discoveries inspire astronomers to this day, who continue to observe M31 and many other galaxies for hints about the nature of our universe. One of the Hubble Space Telescope’s longest-running observing campaigns was a study of M31: the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT). Dig into NASA’s latest discoveries about the Andromeda Galaxy, on their Messier 31 page. Originally posted by Dave Prosper: September 2021 Last Updated by Kat Troche: September 2024 View the full article

2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) President and CEO of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation Jose Antonio Tijerino, left, and NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, sign a Space Act Agreement between the HHF and NASA to collaborate and expand STEM opportunities for Latino K-12 and university students and reduce barriers to agency activities and opportunities, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, at the NASA Headquarters Mary W. Jackson Building in Washington.NASA/Bill Ingalls During an event at NASA Headquarters in Washington Monday, the agency and the Hispanic Heritage Foundation signed a Space Act Agreement to collaborate and expand STEM opportunities for Latino K-12 and university students and reduce barriers to agency activities and opportunities. The signing is the latest in a series of efforts by NASA to expand access to STEM education for underrepresented communities across the nation. “Through this agreement, NASA and the Hispanic Heritage Foundation are not just formalizing a partnership; we are igniting a commitment to innovation that will shape the future of our endeavors,” said Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy. “This initiative will help build a diverse future science, technology, engineering, and mathematics workforce, showcasing our commitment to making America’s space agency accessible to all.” As part of the agreement, the Hispanic Heritage Foundation will incorporate NASA STEM education resources, content, and themes into its Latinos on the Fast Track (LOFT) program, which aims to connect, inspire, and empower young Latino professionals and college students on their career journey. In turn, NASA will provide access to aerospace STEM education professionals to support technical reviews for the development of new curriculum materials and facilitate information sharing with NASA experts and mentors who will lead presentations and workshops to expose students to STEM careers. “The Hispanic Heritage Foundation is thrilled to partner with NASA to expand STEM opportunities and expose Latinos to career pathways in aerospace and space travel,” said Antonio Tijerino, president and CEO of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation. “This innovative partnership with NASA will allow us to expand our mission even beyond our planet!” While initial efforts will be led by NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement, the umbrella agreement also allows for further collaboration and partnership in the future. Specifically, the agency and the Hispanic Heritage Foundation will look to support certain areas of NASA’s Equity Action Plan. NASA works to explore the secrets of the universe and solve the world’s most complex problems, which requires creating space for all people to participate in and learn from its work in space. Providing access to opportunities where young minds can be curious and see themselves potentially at NASA and beyond is how the agency will continue to inspire the next generation of STEM innovators. For more information on how NASA inspires students to pursue STEM visit: https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources Share Details Last Updated Sep 30, 2024 Related TermsGeneral Explore More 3 min read NASA’s BioSentinel Studies Solar Radiation as Earth Watches Aurora Article 4 days ago 9 min read SARP West 2024 Oceans Group Article 5 days ago 10 min read SARP West 2024 Whole Air Sampling (WAS) Group Article 5 days ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

Space for Earth is an immersive experience that is part of the Earth Information Center. Credit: NASA Media is invited to preview and interview NASA leadership ahead of the opening of the Earth Information Center at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History at 10 a.m. EDT, Monday, Oct. 7. The 2,000-square-foot exhibit includes a 32-foot-long, 12-foot-high video wall displaying Earth science data visualizations and videos, an interpretive panel showing Earth’s connected systems, information on our changing world, and an overview of how NASA and the Smithsonian study our home planet. Visitors also can explore Earth observing missions, changes in Earth’s landscape over time, and how climate is expected to change regionally through multiple interactive experiences. The event will take place at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History 1000 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Members of the media interested in attending should email Liz Vlock at: elizabeth.a.vlock@nasa.gov. NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online. Participants will be available for media interviews starting at the following times: 10 a.m.: NASA Administrator Bill Nelson 10 a.m.: Kirk Johnson, Sant director, Museum of Natural History 10:30 a.m.: Karen St. Germain, division director, NASA Earth Sciences Division 10:30 a.m.: Julie Robinson, deputy director, NASA Earth Sciences Division The Earth Information Center draws insights from across all NASA centers and its fellow partners – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Agency for International Development, Environmental Protection Agency, and Federal Emergency Management Administration. It allows viewers to see how our home planet is changing and gives decision makers information to develop the tools they need to mitigate, adapt, and respond to climate change. NASA’s Earth Information Center is a virtual and physical space designed to aid people to make informed decisions on Earth’s environment and climate. It provides easily accessible, readily usable, and scalable Earth information – enabling global understanding of our changing planet. The expansion of the physical Earth Information Center at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Museum makes it the second location in the Washington area. The first is located at NASA Headquarters in Washington at 300 E St., SW. To learn more about the Earth Information Center visit: https://earth.gov -end- Elizabeth Vlock Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1600 elizabeth.a.vlock@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Sep 30, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related TermsEarth Science DivisionEarth ScienceNASA HeadquartersScience Mission Directorate View the full article

4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) By Savannah Bullard A new NASA competition, the LunaRecycle Challenge, is open and offering $3 million in prizes for innovations in recycling material waste on deep space missions. As NASA continues efforts toward long-duration human space travel, including building a sustained human presence on the Moon through its Artemis missions, the agency needs novel solutions for processing inorganic waste streams like food packaging, discarded clothing, and science experiment materials. While previous efforts focused on the reduction of trash mass and volume, this challenge will prioritize technologies for recycling waste into usable products needed for off-planet science and exploration activities. NASA’s LunaRecycle Challenge will incentivize the design and development of energy-efficient, low-mass, and low-impact recycling solutions that address physical waste streams and improve the sustainability of longer-duration lunar missions. Through the power of open innovation, which draws on the public’s ingenuity and creativity to find solutions, NASA can restructure the agency’s approach to waste management, support the future of space travel, and revolutionize waste treatments on Earth, leading to greater sustainability on our home planet and beyond. “Operating sustainably is an important consideration for NASA as we make discoveries and conduct research both away from home and on Earth,” said Amy Kaminski, program executive for NASA’s Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing program. “With this challenge, we are seeking the public’s innovative approaches to waste management on the Moon and aim to take lessons learned back to Earth for the benefit of all.” NASA’s LunaRecycle Challenge will offer two competition tracks: a Prototype Build track and a Digital Twin track. The Prototype Build Track focuses on designing and developing hardware components and systems for recycling one or more solid waste streams on the lunar surface. The Digital Twin Track focuses on designing a virtual replica of a complete system for recycling solid waste streams on the lunar surface and manufacturing end products. Offering a Digital Twin track further lowers the barrier of entry for global solvers to participate in NASA Centennial Challenges and contribute to agency missions and initiatives. Teams will have the opportunity to compete in either or both competition tracks, each of which will carry its own share of the prize purse. The LunaRecycle Challenge also will address some of the aerospace community’s top technical challenges. In July 2024, NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate released a ranked list of 187 technology areas requiring further development to meet future exploration, science, and other mission needs. The results integrated inputs from NASA mission directorates and centers, industry organizations, government agencies, academia, and other interested individuals to help guide NASA’s space technology development and investments. This list and subsequent updates will help inform future Centennial Challenges. The three technological needs that LunaRecycle will address include logistics tracking, clothing, and trash management for habitation; in-space and on-surface manufacturing of parts and products; and in-space and on-surface manufacturing from recycled and reused materials. “I am pleased that NASA’s LunaRecycle Challenge will contribute to solutions pertaining to technological needs within advanced manufacturing and habitats,” said Kim Krome, acting program manager for agency’s Centennial Challenges, and challenge manager of LunaRecycle. “We are very excited to see what solutions our global competitors generate, and we are eager for this challenge to serve as a positive catalyst for bringing the agency, and humanity, closer to exploring worlds beyond our own.” NASA has contracted The University of Alabama to be the allied partner for the duration of the challenge. The university, based in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, will coordinate with former Centennial Challenge winner AI Spacefactory to facilitate the challenge and manage its competitors. To register as a participant in NASA’s LunaRecycle Challenge, visit: lunarecyclechallenge.ua.edu. NASA’s LunaRecycle Challenge is led by the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida, with support from Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The competition is a NASA’s Centennial Challenge, based at NASA Marshall. Centennial Challenges are part of NASA’s Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing program within the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. For more information on LunaRecycle, visit: LunaRecycle Challenge Website Jasmine Hopkins Headquarters, Washington 321-432-4624 jasmine.s.hopkins@nasa.gov Lane Figueroa Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. 256-544-0034 lane.e.figueroa@nasa.gov Facebook logo @nasaprize @NASAPrize Instagram logo @nasaprize Share Details Last Updated Sep 30, 2024 EditorBeth RidgewayLocationMarshall Space Flight Center Related TermsCentennial ChallengesMarshall Space Flight CenterPrizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing Program Explore More 1 min read Let It Go: (After Latching) Challenge Article 4 days ago 29 min read The Marshall Star for September 25, 2024 Article 5 days ago 3 min read NASA Michoud Continues Work on Evolved Stage of SLS Rocket for Future Artemis Missions Article 5 days ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson works on a computer inside the International Space Station. Credit: NASA NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson will share details of her recent six-month mission aboard the International Space Station in a news conference at 11 a.m. EDT Friday, Oct. 4, at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The news conference will air live on NASA+ and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media. Media interested in participating in person must contact the NASA Johnson newsroom no later than 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 3, at 281-483-5111 or jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov. Media wishing to participate by phone must contact the newsroom no later than two hours before the start of the event. NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online. To ask questions by phone, media must dial into the news conference no later than 10 minutes prior to the start of the call. Questions may also be submitted on social media by using #AskNASA. Spanning 184 days in space, Dyson’s third spaceflight covered 2,944 orbits of the Earth and a 78-million-mile journey as an Expedition 70/71 flight engineer. Dyson also conducted one spacewalk of 31 minutes, bringing her career total to 23 hours, 20 minutes on four spacewalks. Dyson returned to Earth on Sept. 23, as planned, along with her crewmates, Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub. Dyson launched on March 23 and arrived at the station March 25 alongside Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy and spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus. Novitskiy and Vasilevskaya were aboard the station for 12 days before returning home with NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara on April 6. While aboard the orbiting lab, Dyson conducted dozens of scientific and technology activities to benefit future exploration in space and life back on Earth. She remotely controlled a robot on Earth’s surface from a computer aboard the station and evaluated orbit-to-ground operations. She operated a 3D bioprinter to print cardiac tissue samples, which could advance technology for creating replacement organs and tissues for transplants on Earth. Dyson also participated in the crystallization of model proteins to evaluate the performance of hardware that could be used for pharmaceutical production and ran a program that uses student-designed software to control the station’s free-flying robots, inspiring the next generation of innovators. Learn more about space station activities by following @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook, ISS Instagram, and the space station blog. -end- Joshua Finch / Claire O’Shea Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / claire.a.o’shea@nasa.gov Courtney Beasley Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 courtney.m.beasley@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Sep 30, 2024 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related TermsHumans in SpaceAstronautsExpedition 70Expedition 71International Space Station (ISS)ISS ResearchTracy Caldwell Dyson View the full article

As a radio frequency wireless engineer in NASA’s Johnson Space Center Avionic Systems Division in Houston, Melissa Moreno makes an impact in space exploration while proudly sharing her cultural heritage in the NASA community. Moreno works in the Electronic Systems Test Laboratory, developing communication systems critical to Gateway, NASA’s first lunar-orbiting space station. But her success stretches far beyond the lab. Image courtesy of Melissa Moreno In addition to her technical work, Moreno co-founded Johnson’s Hispanic Employee Resource Group’s mariachi ensemble, Mariachi Celestial. She performs as a violinist and vocalist at employee events and community engagements. “Mariachi is a large part of my culture and identity, and I enjoy sharing it,” said Moreno. Melissa Moreno performs with NASA’s Johnson Space Center Hispanic Employee Resource Group mariachi ensemble, Mariachi Celestial, in Houston. Originally from New Mexico, Moreno earned her master’s degree in electrical engineering from New Mexico State University—a milestone she considers her greatest achievement. “I am the only one in my family that has graduated with a master’s in engineering,” she said. Working on Gateway has taken Moreno to various NASA facilities, where she collaborates with engineers across the country to develop the lunar outpost. She also supports communication testing for the International Space Station as needed. “This has been an invaluable experience for me,” said Moreno. Her career has not come without challenges. As a young Hispanic woman in engineering, Moreno has faced self-doubt and the pressure of perfectionism. “I can be very hard on myself,” she said. “While I’ve made progress, I’m still working on overcoming these challenges by thinking positively, believing in myself, and doing my absolute best.” One key lesson she has learned along the way is the importance of adaptability. “There are times when things don’t go as planned, and adapting to such situations is important for continued success,” she said. Melissa Moreno, far left, performs with the Mariachi Celestial at a Cinco de Mayo event in May 2024. Moreno is also a strong advocate for NASA’s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. “NASA should continue to highlight stories that showcase diversity in the workplace because they can inspire current and future underrepresented groups at NASA,” she said. Melissa Moreno hikes in the Wichita Mountains in Oklahoma. Looking ahead, Moreno is excited about NASA’s plans to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon, Gateway’s orbit around the Moon, and the eventual human landing on Mars. “I hope to pass on dedication and passion for the Artemis campaign,” she said. View the full article

Researchers found that long-duration spaceflight affected the mechanical properties of eye tissues, including reducing the stiffness of tissue around the eyeball. A better understanding of these changes could help researchers prevent, diagnose, and treat the vision impairment often seen in crew members. SANSORI, a Canadian Space Agency investigation, examined whether reduced stiffness of eye tissue contributes to vision impairment in astronauts on long-term missions. This condition, known as Spaceflight Associated Neuro-Ocular Syndrome, or SANS, includes a range of physical changes to the eyes. This paper suggests that biomechanical changes in the eye caused by microgravity contribute to SANS. On Earth, changes in the tissue around the eyeball (the scleral wall or white of the eye) related to ocular rigidity have been associated with aging and pathological conditions such as glaucoma and myopia. An optical coherence tomography image of the eye’s posterior segment shows choroidal thickness, with segmentation lines marking retinal boundaries. The bottom graph displays choroidal thickness and oximeter signal variations over time. Image courtesy of the University of Montreal In April 2022, researchers identified more than 80 Transient Luminous Events (TLEs) such as Emissions of Light and Very-Low-Frequency perturbations from Electro-magnetic pulses (ELVES) and blue corona discharges, rare phenomena that are part of a group of upper atmospheric thunderstorm discharges called blue optical emissions. Insights into blue optical emissions could help scientists understand how thunderstorms affect Earth’s atmosphere and help improve meteorological and climatological predictions. ILAN-ES (Ax-1) collected images of lightning and TLEs during Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1). TLEs are electrical phenomena above thunderstorms, which include ELVES. Researchers combined observations from the International Space Station with a global network of ground-based cameras to calculate the energy, structure, and other parameters of TLEs. This work contributes to understanding of these events and their relationship to lightning, geographic distribution, and global occurrence rate. Read more here. An artist’s impression of a blue jet observed from the International Space Station. The European Space Agency’s Thor-Davis investigation photographs lightning from the vantage point of space.Image courtesy of Mount Visual/University of Bergen/Technical University of Denmark Space Two civilian astronauts from the 17-day Ax-1 mission showed normal ranges for 14 health biomarkers and both maintained good cardiac, liver, and renal health as well as adequate glucose and electrolyte balance. As more civilians travel to space, scientists need to assess their health risks and develop mitigation measures, and this study provides a baseline for beginning that process. Cardioprotection Ax-1 analyzed cardiovascular changes in private astronaut mission crew members. Human research in space has focused on professional astronauts, but as spaceflight opportunities expand, more diverse populations have a chance to experience the space environment. The Ax-1 mission provided an opportunity to monitor civilian responses to space and yielded an initial record of civilian in-flight bioanalytics. The 11-person crew aboard the International Space Station includes (clockwise from bottom right) Expedition 67 Commander Tom Marshburn, and Flight Engineers Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveev, Sergey Korsakov, Raja Chari, Kayla Barron, and Matthias Maurer; and Axiom Mission 1 astronauts (center row from left) Mark Pathy, Eytan Stibbe, Larry Conner, and Michael Lopez-Alegria.View the full article

5 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Aerospace Medicine Clerkship montage of imagesNASA The application window for the April 2025 session is open. The next available session will convene Monday, March 31- Friday, April 25. Applications for the April 2025 session will close on Monday, December 2, 2024 at 1159 CT. If you have read the FAQ and still have questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me via email at amy.n.honors@nasa.gov, as hybrid work schedules are in place at JSC, and office phones may be manned sporadically until further notice.​ When submitting your application, electronic submissions are strongly preferred. Please refer to the instructions in the application document and ensure that you are using a secure encrypted platform that may require a password or code to access upon receipt. (O365 is the preferred encryption platform, and if your institution has a similar platform, this may be used as well). Not encrypted applications will not be accepted and must be deleted immediately to adhere to NASA JSC policies to protect and handle your PII accordingly. Also, please confirm application receipt and do not assume your application has been received unless confirmed via email by Amy Honors. Work Tour Description The four-week Aerospace Medicine Clerkship is offered twice annually during April and October at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (located in Houston, TX) and typically begins the first Monday and concludes on the last Friday of the month. The clerkship involves formal lectures on space medicine topics and issues, familiarization with the medical aspects of International Space Station operations, design, and function as well as Exploration Medical Capability for deep space exploration. Clerkship participants are required to complete a research project and scientific poster with an accompanying 250 word abstract in a current focus area of space medicine, which will be presented in an open forum poster session for not only the JSC Space Medicine Operations and clinical community, but other interested divisions/elements at JSC. Eligibility Requirements Interested persons must be a US Citizen (or hold dual citizenship to include the US) The MINIMUM educational requirement is to be in your final year of medical school. (residents and attending physicians are eligible to apply) Must have an interest in Aerospace Medicine and plan to apply in future career goals Application and Selection Process All applicants must include the following: Application Statement of Interest Curriculum vitae (CV) A letter of good standing and recommendation from the school or institution and an official transcript (or diploma if applicable) from the medical school is required. Applications are due June 1st for the October clerkship and December 1st for the April clerkship. Upon completion of the application period, a maximum of 20 students will be selected for each of the clerkships by a committee of NASA flight surgeons and other Space Medicine Training and or Clinical Operations team members. Selection is based upon demonstrated interest and career goals involving Aerospace Medicine, academic standing, the content of a Dean’s recommendation (or direct supervisor if graduated) *, research, and work experience. * Letter can be from the medical school Dean or Departmental Dean. Supervisor letter would apply to those beyond the 4th year and can provide their diploma. Application File Download Aerospace Medicine Clerkship Application Sep 14, 2023 PDF (127.36 KB) Aerospace Medicine Clerkship group picture at JSC Neutral Buoyancy LabNASA You must send your application package via a secure email platform. Many institutions have a secure email platform in which I will create an account/password to access your attachments. Please do not submit your application via regular email as I cannot open them and they will be deleted. ***The email platform MUST be secure/encrypted to comply with NASA/JSC policies to protect your Private Identifiable Information (PII) and in order for your application to be accepted.*** If you find it necessary to Mail your application, please use USPS or a courier to send your application to: Amy N. Honors NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center Mail Code SD222 2101 NASA Parkway Houston, Texas 77058 Logistics of the Clerkship All costs incurred during the clerkship are your responsibility. NASA JSC or KBR provides no monies for the clerkship. If selected, to assist with lodging, you will be supplied with access to our local JSC Housing Co-Op as well as recommendations for local hotels, extended stays, and areas to target for AirBnB and VRBO, etc. You will be supplied with a computer to be used for research purposes only, and access to several collaborative work areas on-site at JSC. Participants are responsible for their transportation during the clerkship. Participants are also encouraged to carpool with other clerks. Aerospace Medicine Clerkship participant view altitude chamber at NASA NBL.NASA During The Clerkship During the clerkship, you will be exposed to a variety of space medicine topics given in presentations, lectures, and tours, such as the medical equipment available to crew members in space, space physiology, radiation monitoring, tours of the training facilities, etc. The daily activities will include both presentations and tours, as well as time for you to work on your project. The schedules are always subject to change. You will be present/available M-F 8:00 am – 5:00 pm. (40 hrs/week) and no required activities scheduled on the weekends. This clerkship is considered an educational/research clerkship and is non-clinical. Therefore, contact/interaction with patients during the clerkship should not be expected. Point of Contact Amy Honors 281-483-7050 Additional Resources for Aerospace Medicine Below are additional resources for Aerospace Medicine knowledge and networking, some of which may also provide opportunities for non-U.S. citizens.** Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA) Aerospace Medicine Student and Resident Organization (AMSRO) University of Texas Medical Branch Principles of Aviation and Space Medicine Short course. Information: 4-week course, also 4th/final year of medical school eligibility. DOES accept foreign national applications. It has many aspects that are not in the clerkship, such as commercial spaceflight and general aviation medicine. NASA Internships – wide range of opportunities. Clerkship FAQ’s Aerospace Medicine Clerkship FAQ’s (PDF, 190KB) Education and Outreach Share Details Last Updated Sep 30, 2024 EditorRobert E. LewisLocationJohnson Space Center Related TermsHuman Health and Performance Explore More 2 min read Book on Space Nutrition Article 1 year ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Humans In Space Missions International Space Station Solar System View the full article

Earth Observer Earth Home Earth Observer Home Editor’s Corner Feature Articles Meeting Summaries News Science in the News Calendars In Memoriam More Archives 21 min read Summary of the 10th SWOT Applications Workshop Introduction The tenth Surface Water Ocean Topography (SWOT) Applications Workshop took place December 7–8, 2023 at the California Institute of Technology Keck Institute for Space Studies. The meeting was organized to highlight the work and project status of the SWOT Early Adopters (EAs). NASA’s Applied Sciences Program (which is now housed within the NASA Earth Science in Action element of NASA’s Earth Science Division), the SWOT Project, the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES’s), or French space agency’s SWOT Downstream Program, the SWOT Applications Working Group (SAWG), and members of the SWOT science community have coordinated efforts in support of the SWOT Applications Program since 2010. The 2023 meeting, which was the latest in an annual series organized by the SAWG, welcomed over 100 participants online and in person during the two days, with many joining virtually across different time zones, to share their project status and explore the many facets of operational and applied uses of SWOT data. Presentations covered the current state of and near-term plans for using SWOT data products and highlighted related applied science efforts focused on SWOT. A significant focus explored the use of the new mission data to improve hydrology and ocean models. After a brief introduction to SWOT and its instruments and a short update on the SWOT EAs, the remainder of this article contains a select group of summaries from EA projects. The complete meeting agenda and a list of presentations are available on the 10th SWOT Application Meeting website. SWOT Mission Overview and Update SWOT launched December 16, 2022, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. After a successful checkout of the satellite systems, instruments, and data systems, SWOT entered Science Mode on July 21, 2023. It continues to operate nominally as of this writing. A detailed account of SWOT Significant Events since launch is available online. The goal of SWOT is to make the first global survey of Earth’s surface water, observe the fine details of the ocean’s surface topography, and measure how water bodies change over time. The international partnership is led by NASA and CNES, with contributions from the U.K. Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. The SWOT Science Team is made up of researchers from all over the world with expertise in oceanography and hydrology. Together the team is using SWOT data to study a range of topics, including availability of Earth’s freshwater resources and our changing ocean and coasts. Studies like these are crucial to meet society’s growing needs for clean air and water, to help prepare for and mitigate impacts of extreme weather, and to help the world adapt to long-term changes in climate on continental scales. SWOT’s payload has been designed to provide the data that allow the SWOT team to study the topics listed in the previous paragraph. While the complete compliment of instruments is listed on the website, the three most relevant to the current article are described here. Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn). This state-of-the-art, wide-swath, interferometric radar can measure the ocean, major lake, river, and wetland levels over a 120-km (75-mi) wide swath with a ~20-km (~12-mi) gap along nadir, which is filled by the Jason-class altimeter described below. KaRIn can operate in two modes: It uses low-resolution mode over the ocean with significant onboard processing to reduce data volume; and high-resolution mode over broad, primarily continental regions defined by the SWOT Science Team, where the focus is on hydrological studies as opposed to oceanographic ones. Jason-class Altimeter (nadir altimeter). The altimeter flying on SWOT is similar to those flown on the series of ocean surface topography missions that have operated since 1992, including the (TOPEX)/Poseidon, Jason-1, Jason-2, and Jason-3 missions, and the newest mission, Sentinel 6 Michael Freilich (S6MF), developed in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA). The altimeter sends and receives signals that travel straight up and down beneath the spacecraft (or nadir-pointing) making it ideal to fill in the “gap” between KaRIn swaths. Microwave Radiometer (radiometer). This radiometer measures the amount of water vapor between SWOT and Earth’s surface. More water vapor present in the atmosphere slows down the radar signals and this instrument aids in correcting the signal. SWOT’s sea surface height (SSH) measurements will be added to the existing 32-year time series of measurements of oceans and large water bodies compiled by the series NASA–CNES altimetry missions listed above. With higher resolution observations, SWOT will enable hydrological research and applications and provide more detailed information on heights and extent of rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and wetlands, as well as derived parameters such as river discharge. SWOT Early Adopter Overview and Update The SWOT Early Adopters Program was initiated in 2018 to ensure community preparedness to make use of SWOT data. The program comprises a growing community working to incorporate SWOT data into the operational and applied science activities of their organizations – see Figure 1. The current SWOT EA cohort spans surface hydrology and oceanography domains and organizations, including both U.S. and international private-sector companies, academia, nonprofits, operational agencies, state and national government organizations, and research communities. Figure 1. Forty SWOT Early Adopter (EA) teams span the globe with a wide range of operational and applied science project topics. Figure credit: NASA The 2023 SWOT Applications Workshop offered an opportunity to assess how the SWOT user community is using the data in anticipation of future SWOT data reprocessing and releases. The 2023 meeting explored three themes: 1) planned and current operational and applied uses of SWOT data; 2) the current state of the data products and access to the data; and 3) a variety of other projects that may/will include SWOT data in their applications. The first public release of SWOT data came in June 2023, with the release of nadir altimeter and radiometer data. These data had a head-start in processing due to the instrument and processing heritage. These early releases allowed the EA community to begin incorporating SWOT into their operational models and systems. A public release of beta pre-validated SWOT KaRIn data products took place in November 2023, and the subsequent public release of pre-validated SWOT KaRIn data products in February 2024. SWOT KaRIn, nadir altimeter, and radiometer products are now in operational production and routinely available. Workshop Overview This workshop focused on the achievements of the SWOT EAs, offering a platform to share their projects with the community as they transition from “early adoption” to simply “adoption” of SWOT as a valuable resource in their system management toolbox. In addition, the meeting provided a space for discussions, an increased community awareness of the gaps and challenges of incorporating SWOT data into operational and decision-support framework for models, modeling systems, and other operational uses. Feedback from these discussions – especially concerning the known limitations of SWOT data with respect to data latency and mission length – will be exceptionally useful to the SWOT Project and Applications Teams. Meeting Welcome and “Keynote” Presentations Brad Doorn [NASA Headquarters (HQ)—Programmatic Lead], Annick Sylvestre-Baron [CNES—Programmatic Lead], Parag Vaze [JPL—SWOT Project Manager], and Pierre Sengenes [CNES—Project Lead] gave remarks to open the meeting. They welcomed attendees on behalf of NASA and CNES. The first morning session closed with two highly relevant and illuminating presentations. Jinbo Wang [JPL] spoke about SWOT KaRIn performance and calibration/validation (Cal/Val) activities. Curtis Chen [JPL] detailed critical and important proclivities of KaRIn data products that EAs may find beneficial as they interpret data results. Understanding the information in Chen’s talk is critical for those planning to use the data. SWOT Early Adopter Project Updates The EA project summaries selected for this article provide an overview of the range and depth of the extensive work accomplished by the SWOT EA community to date. These examples illustrate the potential of SWOT data as a tool to manage surface water resources and forecast ocean and coastal conditions via operational systems in the coming years. Daniel Moreira [Brazil Geological Society (BGS)—Project Investigator] explained that the current gauge network on rivers across the Amazon basin is limited. SWOT data offers unprecedented spatial and temporal coverage of water storage processes and may be beneficial to prepare for floods and extreme events in the basin. Moreira’s group has compared several sites using Global Navigation Satellite System data and a gauge station elevation time series with very good results. In addition, BGS maintains a weekly water level report and a web application that leverages satellite altimetry data from the S6MF and Jason-3 missions for comparison across the Amazon Basin. BGS plans to produce discharge datasets over the Amazon using altimetry. Isabel Houghton [Sofar Ocean] introduced the Sofar Ocean ship route optimization and navigational safety platform, incorporating 10-day, data-assimilating marine weather forecasts. That data includes significant wave height estimates from both the Sofar spotter buoy network and estimates derived from nadir altimeters on NASA’s S6MF and Jason-3 missions and the joint CNES–Indian Space Research Agency (ISRO) Satellite with ARgos and ALtiKa (SARAL) satellites. (Argos collects data from a floating oceanic buoy network with the same name that CNES operates; AltiKa is a CNES-contributed Ka-band altimeter.) TheWaveWatch III model improves on the forecast through the addition of altimeter data. Houghton explained that Sofar Ocean is in the preliminary stages of using SWOT significant wave height data in their model, which is less noisy than the predecessor altimeters reducing forecast error. Sofar expects SWOT to improve their observation numbers by 50–100% in a given 24-hour period. Additionally, Sofar plan to use KaRIn observations in an Earth system model under development to address waves, circulation, and atmosphere. Robert Dudley [U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)] presented a project that involved the team integrating data from SWOT and in situ sources together to derive discharge and flow velocity for the Tanana and Yukon Rivers in Alaska. The USGS is collaborating with the Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive (PO.DAAC) to integrate SWOT in SatRSQ measurements to develop the Water Information from Space (WISP) dashboard to access time series of SWOT hydrology products. WISP is in development and not yet publicly available. When operational, it will enable comparisons with collocated, ground-gauged time series. WISP contains SWOT orbital ground tracks and will add the SWOT lake database in the future. The dashboard should be publicly available later in 2024. Gregg Jacobs [U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL)] explained how NRL has evaluated SWOT KaRIn SSH data accuracy and integrated it into ocean forecast models by characterizing along-track errors in early data products to determine the necessary corrections. Jacobs then explained how the team computed daily interpolation of nadir altimeter data at SWOT crossover locations. They found good agreement between the corrected SWOT estimates and interpolated SSH from nadir altimeters and conducted ocean forecast experiments on California SWOT crossover Cal/Val sites – see Figure 2. NRL has had success in assimilating KaRIn data at a resolution of 5 km (~3 mi). Figure 2. Altimetry data collected over calibration/validation (Cal/Val) sites using traditional nadir altimeter data only [left], a combination of traditional nadir altimeter data and in situ observations [center], and a combination of traditional altimeter data and SWOT altimeter data. The dotted lines indicate the satellite ground track paths. Figure credit: U.S. Naval Research Laboratory Pierre Yves Le Traon [Mercator Ocean International (MOi)] explained that MOi is a non-profit that is now transforming into an intergovernmental organization. He began with a description of the Copernicus Marine Service, which is a long-term partnership between CNES, MOi, and a French company called Collecte Localisation Satellites (CLS) that focuses on ocean monitoring and forecasting. SWOT data will be used to constrain small scales in models – see Figure 3. The preliminary results are in good agreement with CNES Level-3 (L3) products. SWOT KaRIn data will be integrated into the operational Copernicus Marine Service operational forecast portfolio in 2025. Figure 3. Both these maps show the root mean square (RMS) error in the SWOT 21-day phase data in sea level anomaly (SLA) over one month on the 1/12° Mercator Ocean global forecasting system The image pair contrasts the SLA RMS error without including SWOT data in the assimilation [left] versus when SWOT data are included in the assimilation [right]. Note that including SWOT data make smaller scale errors in the data become more apparent. Figure credit: Mercator Ocean International Guy Schumann [Water in Sight]explained this Swedish start-up company uses SWOT data to validate in situ gauge data in Malawi. Gauge readers and observers collect data at monitoring stations from south to north Malawi to support the government’s efforts in managing water and climate risks. They have used free Short Message Service and leveraged citizen science to develop a cloud platform for data access. For the next step, the project plans to integrate SWOT data into two-dimensional (2D) flood models. This EA project aims to address latency – time delay between collection and transmission of data – and interoperability challenges, enhancing hydrological network optimization as well as demonstrating the diverse complementary value of satellite observations. The group supports codesigned joint explorations, engagement activities, and technology alignment. The CNES hydroweb tool may be very useful in this endeavor, but Schumann acknowledges that there are interoperability challenges that need to be overcome. Jerry Wegiel [NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center] explained that the U.S. Air Force’s Weather Land Information System (LIS) is a software framework used by multiple agencies for simulating land/hydrology processes. The Global Hydrology Intelligence (GHI) system (rebranding of LIS) is a comprehensive framework for hydrologic analysis, forecasting, and projections across scales encompassing all aspects of water security and addressing significant hydro-intelligence gaps identified by the defense and national security communities. Integration of SWOT L2 products operationally into the LIS Hydrological Modeling and Analysis Platform (HyMAP) model is expected to improve the global hydrological model data analysis system, as well as improve extreme hydrological event monitoring, reduce forecasting uncertainty, and support water security conflicts. Alexandre de Amorim Teixeira and Alexandre Abdalla Araujo [both at Agência Nacional de Águas e Saneamento Básico (ANA), or Brazilian National Water and Sanitation Agency] began by explaining that the ANA hydrography datasets [e.g., Base Hidrográfica Ottocodificada (BHO)] and water atlases [e.g., Base Hidrográfica Atlas-Estudos (BHAE)] have been extended using information from the SWOT River Database (SWORD) river reaches, which are roughly 10 km (~6 mi) SWORD-specified sections of a river, in Brazil – see Figure 4. By incorporating SWORD data into the BHAE, over 400,000 reaches have been identified – compared to 20,000 identified previously using SWORD alone. The latest version (6.2) of BHO will combine SWORD and BHAE data increasing numbers exponentially to nearly 5.5 million. The ANA EA project will use SWOT data to support water resource management in Brazil. ANA is working in collaboration with University Brasilia to integrate available gauge information on rivers and reservoirs to fulfill their mandate to determine and report on water availability in the country. They described a sophisticated hexagonal hierarchical geospatial indexing system that will support hydrological and hydrodynamical modeling and cross-validation. The team will use SWOT data pixel cloud or raster products to best serve their needs. Figure 4. The Agência Nacional de Águas e Saneamento Básico’s (ANA) [Brazilian National Water and Sanitation Agency] SWOT Early Adopter project is extending hydrography datasets, e.g., Base Hidrográfica Ottocodificada (BHO) [top] and water atlases, e.g., Base Hidrográfica Atlas-Estudos (BHAE) [middle] using the SWOT data to produce the SWOT River Database (SWORD) product [bottom] that expands on the extent of the BHO hydrography dataset. Image credit: ANA Data Systems and Products for Early Adopters In 2021, the SWOT Project Science Team made simulated datasets available for select hydrologic and oceanographic regions. These datasets shared many characteristics in common with future SWOT data products (e.g., formats, metadata, and data contents) and were intended to familiarize users with the expected SWOT science data products. At this meeting, teams from both the NASA and CNES mission data system and data repositories shared timely and valuable information and updates with the EA community. The talks provided information and insight into what users can expect from SWOT products. Lionel Zawadzki and Cyril Germineaud [both at CNES] described the use of SWOT data available from CNES through the AVISO (ocean and coastal) and hydroweb.next (hydrology and ocean) data portals. Systems supporting data access include data acquisition and production, data repositories, and ultimately cloud data access through thematic portals. Catalina Taglialatela and Cassandra Nickles [both at JPL] discussed the use of KaRIn high-resolution and low-resolution SWOT data products available through PO.DAAC, which provides centralized, searchable access that is available using an in-cloud commercial web service through the NASA EarthData portal. The team demonstrated resources and tutorials available via the online PO.DAAC Cookbook: SWOT Chapter, as well as the new Hydrocron SWOT time series applications programming interface (API) for generating time series over water features identified in SWORD and SWODLR, which is a system for creating on-demand L2 SWOT raster products. Shailen Desai [JPL] explained how KaRIn products depend on upstream orbit, attitude, and radiometer products for optimal accuracy. SWOT KaRIn, nadir altimeter, and radiometer products are now in operational production and routinely available. Product description documents and SWOT algorithm theoretical basis documents are all publicly available. Curtis Chen [JPL] discussed how the SWOT science data system team have reduced complexities of the KaRIn measurements to ensure robust interpretation of the results. Knowledge of measurement details may be especially important in trying to interpret the pre-validated data products. During his presentation, Chen addressed practical aspects of interpreting KaRIn data products, including answers to frequently asked questions and tips to avoid confusion and misinterpretation in using the data. Yannice Faugere [CNES] explained how CNES will assimilate SWOT data into Mercator Ocean with value-added elements, including multimission calibration, noise mitigation, and images that blend KaRIn and nadir instruments. A preliminary assessment of L4 products was conducted using one-day Cal/Val orbit measurements with promising results. Tests on 21-day data and an L4 data challenge for community feedback to compare mapping and validation methods are in process. Complementary Projects Participants spoke about a number of other projects and programs during the meeting. The selected presentations address elements relevant to SWOT applications. Charon Birkett [NASA] discussed how SWOT data will be incorporated into the Global REservoir and LAke Monitor (G-REALM) and Global Water Measurements (GWM) portal, to integrate nadir radiometer and KaRIn measurements. G-REALM maintains a 30-plus-year time series of nadir altimeter data from the NASA/CNES reference missions for this measurement (i.e., Topex/Poseidon; Jason -1, -2, and -3; and S6MF) as well as the European Remote Sensing Satellite. GWM is focused on lakes and reservoirs, rivers, and wetland water levels to derive surface extents and storage change. Stephanie Granger [JPL] introduced the Western Water Applications Office (WWAO), which provides NASA data, technology, and tools for water management to water managers in the western U.S. The WWAO team completes needs assessments for basins – a task complicated by the more than 100 agencies involved in water management activities in the western U.S. Granger identified several activities that could benefit from SWOT data, such as extreme event predictions and impacts, timely streamflow predictions at a sub-basin level, wet/dry indicators from streamflow monitoring, and flood plain mapping. Babette Tchonang, Dimitris Menemenlis,and Matt Archer [all from JPL] presented a study that evaluates the feasibility of applying the Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean 4-Dimensional Variational (MITgcm-ECCO 4DVAR) data assimilation framework to a sub-mesoscale resolving model [grid resolution of 1 km (~0.6 mi)] in preparation for future studies to assimilate SSH measurements from SWOT. Two model solutions are nested within the global 1/12° Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM)/Navy Coupled Ocean Data Assimilation (NCODA) analysis. Comparing the two model solutions against assimilated and withheld in situ observations indicates that the MITgcm-ECCO 4DVAR framework can be applied to the reconstruction of sub-mesoscale ocean variability. This data assimilation system is now being used by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography to support SWOT post-launch activities. Matt Bonnema [JPL] presented the Observational Products for End-Users from Remote Sensing Analysis (OPERA) project, which produces a suite of surface water extent products, such as Dynamic Surface Water extent (DSWx). The products are based on a variety of optical and radar sensors built on existing satellite data that are freely available from NASA. DSWx gives two dimensions of surface water measurements (i.e., spatial extent), whereas SWOT produces three dimensions of surface water measurement (i.e., spatial extent and elevation). DSWx has the potential to fill in temporal gaps in SWOT observations and to cross-compare DSWx and SWOT when observations are concurrent. DSWx is a valuable source of global water information that can be used to interpret and enhance SWOT’s capabilities. Renato Frasson [JPL] explained how the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers support the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), which uses water storage and lake/reservoir flux information primarily from NASA’s MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) that flies on both the Terra and Aqua platforms. SWOT data has a higher spatial resolution for river widths, and NASA–ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) observations are planned to be incorporated into the OPERA platform. Cedric David [NASA/JPL] discussed how SWOT data can improve state-of-the-art hydrologic models to address environmental and societal challenges in river system science (e.g., flooding, water security, river biodiversity, changing deltas, and transboundary issues). Model advancements (e.g., U.S. National Water Model) can be realized in areas such as uncertainty quantification, data assimilation, bias correction, and decreasing numbers of in situ observation systems. Incorporating SWOT data into river models will lead to more realistic representations of these rivers, which in turn will improve the users’ ability to understand and effectively manage these critical and threatened water resources. Workshop Recommendations and Feedback This 2023 SWOT Applications Workshop provided an opportunity to share early experiences with SWOT data and insight into integration of the data into operational and decision-support workflows and models (e.g., ocean circulation and hydrologic, hydrodynamic, and decision support). Understanding how EAs integrate SWOT data and the associated challenges is critical to provide a clear analytical path for assessing the value of SWOT’s observations. Integrating satellite observations into models enhances the model’s capability to forecast natural phenomena and monitor remote or inaccessible regions, expanding modeling capabilities dynamically and spatially. The EA-user community shared information on the potential of incorporating SWOT data into local- or community-wide models or modeling systems. SWOT’s high-resolution data – particularly from the KaRIn instrument – can enhance the precision of hydrology and ocean models by enabling detailed simulations of water dynamics. This includes accurate mapping of freshwater bodies and SSH. Both these measurements are crucial for managing water resources, predicting floods, and understanding ocean circulation patterns. The incorporation of SWOT data into model systems enables significant advancement and insights that can inform environmental management policies and practices by supporting more informed decision-making. Although the SWOT nadir altimeter data products are being operationally produced and distributed through the data centers, the new data products from the novel KaRIn instrument continue to be assessed. An entire year of data is necessary for a more comprehensive assessment of value, ease of use, and degree to which SWOT data will impact operations and decision-making. Throughout the workshop, EAs shared their experiences and specific needs in regard to early use of SWOT data in their modeling frameworks. Overall impressions were positive, but the actual use of SWOT beta product data was limited to a few projects (e.g., NRL, Sofar Ocean, and Copernicus Marine Service). Overall, the meeting participants supported the need for lower-latency products. In the coming year, the impact of SWOT data with lower 21-day science orbital repeat frequency and latency on various applications will be understood further. Ultimately, the most important feedback from SWOT EAs is yet to come. SWOT has the potential to provide invaluable information to operational user communities through its ability to advance understanding of global surface water dynamics. The SWOT Applications Program has successfully engaged a diverse cohort of agencies and the commercial sector to support integrating SWOT data into operational workflows. Moving forward, the program aims to highlight societal benefits, support applied research in hydrology and oceanography, expand user engagement, and provide ongoing training to maximize the effective use of fully validated SWOT data products. Conclusion The 2023 SWOT Applications meeting was a successful and timely engagement opportunity, further strengthening the connection between the different collaborating organizations. Many EAs demonstrated early ingest of the preliminary release of KaRIn data, with some having already started using the nadir altimeter data in their operational processes. Engagement will continue as more data, including pre-validated and validated science products, become regularly available with support to the EA community. Future SWOT Application activities will include continued communication at community meetings and conferences as well as with a broader audience to engage new users for both applied research and operational activities through workshops, hackathons, and telecons. The SAWG will continue working with EAs and the applied and operational user communities to identify and apply value of SWOT to support decision makers and operational agencies. NASA and CNES data distribution centers will continue to train users in cloud data access, data formats, and preferred formats for different topics, as well as provide EA feedback to improve data products and platform services. NASA and CNES will continue to work with EAs to overcome technical hurdles, help complete their projects, and generate high-impact success stories, as well as expand the extent of SWOT EAs and applied science users to build recognition of SWOT among practitioners. Acknowledgment: The author wishes to acknowledge the contribution of Stacy Kish [NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)/Global Science and Technology, Inc. (GST)] for her editing work to reduce/repurpose the full summary report to create a version suitable for the context of The Earth Observer. Margaret Srinivasan NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology margaret.srinivasan@jpl.nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Sep 30, 2024 Related Terms Earth Science View the full article

On Sept. 30, 1994, space shuttle Endeavour took to the skies on its 7th trip into space. During the 11-day mission, the STS-68 crew of Commander Michael A. Baker, Pilot Terrence “Terry” W. Wilcutt, and Mission Specialists Steven L. Smith, Daniel W. Bursch, Peter J.K. “Jeff” Wisoff, and Payload Commander Thomas “Tom” D. Jones operated the second Space Radar Laboratory (SRL-2) as part of NASA’s Mission to Planet Earth. Flying five months after SRL-1, results from the two missions provided unprecedented insight into Earth’s global environment across contrasting seasons. The astronauts observed pre-selected sites around the world as well as a volcano that erupted during their mission using SRL-2’s U.S., German, and Italian radar instruments and handheld cameras. Left: The STS-68 crew patch. Right: Official photo of the STS-68 crew of Thomas D. Jones, front row left, Peter J.K. “Jeff” Wisoff, Steven L. Smith, and Daniel W. Bursch; Michael A. Baker, back row left, and Terrence W. Wilcutt. In August 1993, NASA named Jones as the SRL-2 payload commander, eight months before he flew as a mission specialist on STS-59, the SRL-1 mission. When NASA could not meet JPL’s request to fly their personnel as payload specialists on the SRL missions, the compromise solution reached had one NASA astronaut – in this case, Jones – fly on both missions. Selected as an astronaut in 1990, STS-59 marked Jones’ first flight and STS-68 his second. In October 1993, NASA named the rest of the STS-68 crew. For Baker, selected in 1985, SRL-2 marked his third trip into space, having flown on STS-43 and STS-52. Along with Jones, Wilcutt, Bursch, and Wisoff all came from the class of 1990, nicknamed The Hairballs. STS-68 marked Wilcutt’s first spaceflight, while Bursch had flown once before on STS-51 and Wisoff on STS-57. Smith has the distinction as the first from his class of 1992 – The Hogs – assigned to a spaceflight, but the Aug. 18 launch abort robbed him of the distinction of the first to actually fly, the honor going instead to Jerry M. Linenger when STS-64 ended up flying before STS-68. Left: The Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C (SIR-C) in Endeavour’s payload bay in the Orbiter Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Middle: Endeavour on Launch Pad 39A. Right: STS-68 crew in the Astrovan on its way to Launch Pad 39A for the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test. The SRL payloads consisted of three major components – the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C (SIR-C), built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, the X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (X-SAR) sponsored by the German Space Agency DLR and the Italian Space Agency ASI, and the Measurement of Air Pollution from Satellites (MAPS), built by NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Scientists from 13 countries participated in the SRL data gathering program, providing ground truth at preselected observation sites. The SIR system first flew as SIR-A on STS-2 in November 1981, although the shortened mission limited data gathering. It flew again as SIR-B on STS-41G in October 1984, and gathering much useful data. Building on that success, NASA planned to fly an SRL mission on STS-72A, launching in March 1987 into a near-polar orbit from Vandenberg Air Force, now Space Force, Base in California, but the Challenger accident canceled those plans. With polar orbits no longer attainable, a 57-degree inclination remained the highest achievable from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, still allowing the radar to study more than 75% of Earth’s landmasses. As originally envisioned, SRL-2 would fly about six months after the first mission, allowing data gathering during contrasting seasons. Shuttle schedules moved the date of the second mission up to August 1994, only four months after the first. But events intervened to partially mitigate that disruption. Left: Launch abort at Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Right: A few days after the launch abort, space shuttle Discovery arrives at Launch Pad 39B, left, with space shuttle Endeavour still on Launch Pad 39A, awaiting its rollback to the Vehicle Assembly Building. Endeavour arrived back at KSC following its previous flight, the STS-59 SRL-1 mission, in May 1994. Workers in KSC’s Orbiter Processing Facility refurbished the SRL-1 payloads for their reflight and serviced the orbiter, rolling it over to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) on July 21 for mating with its External Tank and Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs). Endeavour rolled out to Launch Pad 39A on July 27. The six-person STS-68 crew traveled to KSC to participate in the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test on Aug. 1, essentially a dress rehearsal for the launch countdown. They returned to KSC on Aug. 15, the same day the final countdown began. Following a smooth countdown leading to a planned 5:54 a.m. EDT launch on Aug. 18, Endeavour’s three main engines came to life 6.6 seconds before liftoff. With just 1.8 seconds until the two SRBs ignited to lift the shuttle stack off the pad, the Redundant Set Launch Sequencer (RSLS) stopped the countdown and shutdown the three main engines, two of which continued running past the T-zero mark. It marked the fifth and final launch abort of the shuttle program, and the closest one to liftoff. Bursch now had the distinction as the only person to have experienced two RSLS launch aborts, his first one occurring on STS-51 just a year earlier. Engineers traced the shutdown to higher than anticipated temperatures in a high-pressure oxygen turbopump in engine number three. The abort necessitated a rollback of Endeavour to the VAB on Aug. 24 to replace all three main engines with three engines from Atlantis on its upcoming STS-66 mission. Engineers shipped the suspect engine to NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi for extensive testing, where it worked fine and flew on STS-70 in July 1995. Meanwhile, Endeavour returned to Launch Pad 39A on Sept. 13. Liftoff of Endeavour on the STS-68 mission. On Sept. 30, 1994, Endeavour lifted off on time at 6:16 a.m. EDT, and eight and half minutes later delivered its crew and payloads to space. Thirty minutes later, a firing of the shuttle’s Orbiter Maneuvering System (OMS) engines placed them in a 132-mile orbit inclined 57 degrees to the equator. The astronauts opened the payload bay doors, deploying the shuttle’s radiators, and removed their bulky launch and entry suits, stowing them for the remainder of the flight. Left: The Space Radar Laboratory-2 payload in Endeavour’s cargo bay, showing SIR-C (with the JPL logo on it), X-SAR (the long bar atop SIR-C), and MAPS (with the LaRC logo on it). Middle: The STS-68 Blue Team of Daniel W. Bursch, top, Steven L. Smith, and Thomas D. Jones in their sleep bunks. Right: Tile damage on Endeavour’s starboard Orbital Maneuvering System pod caused by a strike from a tile from Endeavour’s front window rim that came loose during the ascent. Left: Steven L. Smith, left, and Peter J.K. “Jeff” Wisoff set up the bicycle ergometer in the shuttle’s middeck. Middle: The STS-68 Red Team of Terrence W. Wilcutt, top, Wisoff, and Michael A. Baker in their sleep bunks. Right: Wilcutt consults the flight plan for the next maneuver. The astronauts began to convert their vehicle into a science platform, and that included breaking up into two teams to enable 24-hour-a-day operations. Baker, Wilcutt, and Wisoff made up the Red Team while Smith, Bursch, and Jones made up the Blue Team. Within five hours of liftoff, the Blue Team began their sleep period while the Red Team started their first on orbit shift by activating the SIR-C and X-SAR instruments in the payload bay and some of the middeck experiments. During inspection of the OMS pods, the astronauts noted an area of damaged tile, later attributed to an impact from a tile from the rim of Endeavour’s front window that came loose during the ascent to orbit. Engineers on the ground assessed the damage and deemed it of no concern for the shuttle’s entry. Left: Michael A. Baker prepares to take photographs through the commander’s window. Middle: Thomas D. Jones, left, Daniel W. Bursch, and Baker hold various cameras in Endeavour’s flight deck. Right: Terrence W. Wilcutt with four cameras. Left: Thomas D. Jones, left, and Daniel W. Bursch consult a map in an atlas developed specifically for the SRL-2 mission. Middle: Jones takes photographs through the overhead window. Right: Steven L. Smith takes photographs through the overhead window. By sheer coincidence, the Klyuchevskaya volcano on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula began erupting on the day STS-68 launched. By the mission’s second day, the astronauts trained not only their cameras on the plume of ash reaching 50,000 feet high and streaming out over the Pacific Ocean but also the radar instruments. This provided unprecedented information of this amazing geologic event to scientists who could also compare these images with those collected during SRL-1 five months earlier. Left: Eruption of Klyuchevskaya volcano on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. Middle: Radar image of Klyuchevskaya volcano. Right: Comparison of radar images of Mt. Pinatubo in The Philippines taken during SRL-1 in April 1994 and SRL-2 in October 1994. The STS-68 crew continued their Earth observations for the remainder of the 11-day flight, having received a one-day extension from Mission Control. On the mission’s eighth day, they lowered Endeavour’s orbit to 124 miles to begin a series of interferometry studies that called for extremely precise orbital maneuvering to within 30 feet of the orbits flown during SRL-1, the most precise in shuttle history to that time. These near-perfectly repeating orbits allowed the construction of three-dimensional contour images of selected sites. The astronauts repaired a failed payload high rate recorder and continued working on middeck and biomedical experiments. Left: Steven L. Smith, left, conducts a biomedical experiment as Michael A. Baker monitors. Right: Peter J.K. “Jeff” Wisoff, left, and Smith repair a payload high rate recorder. A selection of STS-68 crew Earth observation photographs. Left: The San Francisco Bay area. Middle left: The Niagara Falls and Buffalo area. Middle right: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Right: Another view of the Klyuchevskaya volcano on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. The high inclination orbit afforded the astronauts great views of the aurora australis, or southern lights. On this mission in particular, the STS-68 astronauts spent considerable time looking out the window, their images complementing the data taken by the radar instruments. Their high inclination orbit enabled views of parts of the planet not seen during typical shuttle missions, including spectacular views of the southern lights, or aurora australis. Two versions of the inflight STS-68 crew photo. On flight day 11, with most of the onboard film exposed and consumables running low, the astronauts prepared for their return to Earth the following day. Baker and Wilcutt tested Endeavour’s reaction control system thrusters and aerodynamic surfaces in preparation for deorbit and descent through the atmosphere, while the rest of the crew busied themselves with shutting down experiments and stowing away unneeded equipment. Left: Endeavour moments before touchdown at California’s Edwards Air Force Base. Middle: Michael A. Baker brings Endeavour home to close out STS-68 and a successful SRL-2 mission. Right: Baker gets a congratulatory tap on the shoulder from Terrence W. Wilcutt following wheels stop. Left: As workers process Endeavour on the runway, Columbia atop a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) flies overhead on its way to the Palmdale facility for refurbishment. Right: Mounted atop an SCA, Endeavour departs Edwards for the cross-country trip to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. On Oct. 11, the astronauts closed Endeavour’s payload bay doors, donned their launch and entry suits, and strapped themselves into their seats for entry and landing. Thick cloud cover at the KSC primary landing site forced first a two-orbit delay in their landing, then an eventual diversion to Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) in California. The crew fired Endeavour’s OMS engines to drop out of orbit. Baker piloted Endeavour to a smooth landing at Edwards, ending the 11-day 5-hour 46-minute flight. The crew had orbited the Earth 182 times. Workers at Edwards safed the vehicle and placed it atop a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft for the ferry flight back to KSC. The duo left Edwards on Oct. 19, and after stops at Biggs Army Airfield in El Paso, Texas, Dyess AFB in Abilene, Texas, and Eglin AFB in the Florida panhandle, arrived at KSC the next day. Workers there began preparing Endeavour for its next flight, STS-67, in March 1995. Meanwhile, a Gulfstream jet flew the astronauts back to Ellington Field in Houston for reunions with their families. Diane Evans, SIR-C project scientist, summarized the scientific return from STS-68, “We’ve had a phenomenally successful mission.” The radar instrument collected 60 terabits of data, filling 67 miles of magnetic tape during the mission. In 1990s technology, that equated to a pile of floppy disks 15 miles high! In 2006, using an updated comparison, astronaut Jones equated that to a stack of CDs 65 feet high. The radar instruments completed 910 data takes of 572 targets during about 80 hours of imaging. To complement the radar data, the astronauts took nearly 14,000 photographs using 14 different cameras. To image the various targets required more than 400 maneuvers of the shuttle, requiring 22,000 keystrokes in the orbiter’s computer. The use of interferometry, requiring precision orbital tracking of the shuttle, to create three-dimensional topographic maps, marks another significant accomplishment of the mission. Scientists published more than 5,000 papers using data from the SRL missions. Enjoy the crew narrate a video about the STS-68 mission. Read Wilcutt’s recollections of the mission in his oral history with the JSC History Office. Explore More 15 min read 55 Years Ago: Celebrations for Apollo 11 Continue as Apollo 12 Prepares to Revisit the Moon Article 2 weeks ago 8 min read 65 Years Ago: First Powered Flight of the X-15 Hypersonic Rocket Plane Article 2 weeks ago 8 min read 55 Years Ago: Space Task Group Proposes Post-Apollo Plan to President Nixon Article 2 weeks ago View the full article

Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Curiosity Raw Images Images Videos Audio More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions The Solar System The Sun Mercury Venus Earth The Moon Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto & Dwarf Planets Asteroids, Comets & Meteors The Kuiper Belt The Oort Cloud 2 min read Sols 4318-4320: One Last Weekend in the Channel This image from NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity shows the bright-toned rocks of the “Sheep Creek” target location, intriguing because of their resemblance to previous targets that contained unexpectedly high levels of elemental sulfur. The Left Navigation Camera aboard Curiosity captured this image on Sol 4316 — Martian day 4,316 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — on Sept. 26, 2024, at 21:10:13 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech Earth planning date: Friday, Sept. 27, 2024 We’re wrapping up our time in the channel with the highly anticipated examination of the “Sheep Creek” white stones. Last plan’s reposition was a success, so we are able to go ahead with contact science on them this weekend. MAHLI and APXS picked three targets to investigate: “Cloud Canyon,” “Moonlight Lake,” and “Angora Mountain,” all of which sound so lovely and soft, and are quite evocative of these pale stones, which stand out so much against the background. ChemCam is also examining another of the white stones, “Pee Wee Lake.” Since this is looking like it will be our last weekend in the channel, we’re packing the plan with all the other last-chance targets before we leave them behind. Mastcam is making a large survey of some other light-toned rocks in the middle distance dubbed “Orchid Lake,” as well as getting a bit more context for an old target, “Marble Falls,” which we first imaged almost two weeks ago. A bit closer to the rover, it will examine a target we’re calling “Brown Bear Pass,” to study the surface properties of the soil. Mastcam will also be looking backwards at our tracks to see if we turned up anything interesting in our travels. And ChemCam has a couple of long-distance observations of another familiar target, “Buckeye Ridge.” After all that, it’s time for us to turn back around and head toward the edge of the channel with a drive of 55 meters (about 180 feet) back to our exit point. Even then, our weekend still isn’t over. We have a ChemCam-filled third sol, using AEGIS to autonomously select a target, and then getting a passive sky observation to keep an eye on the amount of different gases like oxygen and water vapor in the atmosphere. Speaking of the atmosphere, here on the environmental side we’re kept busy this weekend looking for dust devils and clouds, and keeping an eye on the amount of dust in the air around us. We’ll wrap up the weekend as we often do — with an early morning dedicated environmental science block. Written by Alex Innanen, Atmospheric Scientist at York University Share Details Last Updated Sep 29, 2024 Related Terms Blogs Explore More 4 min read Sols 4316-4317: Hunting for Sulfur Article 3 days ago 3 min read Sols 4314-4315: Wait, What Was That Back There? Article 5 days ago 3 min read A Striped Surprise Last week, team scientists and the internet alike were amazed when Perseverance spotted a black-and-white… Article 6 days ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It’s the only planet we know of inhabited… All Mars Resources Explore this collection of Mars images, videos, resources, PDFs, and toolkits. Discover valuable content designed to inform, educate, and inspire,… Rover Basics Each robotic explorer sent to the Red Planet has its own unique capabilities driven by science. Many attributes of a… Mars Exploration: Science Goals The key to understanding the past, present or future potential for life on Mars can be found in NASA’s four… View the full article

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 commander Nick Hague is pictured in his flight suit during training at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. Hague will perform human health and performance research on the International Space Station as part of his mission.SpaceX NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will soon dock with the International Space Station as part of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission, a venture which will enhance scientific research and bolster the knowledge about how people can live and work in space. During the planned five-month mission, Hague’s mission tasks will include participating in a variety of research projects for NASA’s Human Research Program. Each study is designed to help address the health challenges that astronauts may face during future long-duration missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. “Hague’s experiences and research may potentially lead to scientific breakthroughs that may not be possible on Earth,” said Steven Platts, chief scientist for human research at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. A major focus for Hague’s time aboard the station is to study the suite of space-related vision disorders called Spaceflight Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome (SANS) which occur as body fluids shift toward the head in weightlessness. These shifts can cause changes to the eye: the optic nerve can swell, the retina may develop folds, and the back of the eye can even flatten. Earlier research suggests multiple factors contribute to the syndrome, so two vision-related studies on this mission will tackle different yet distinct approaches that may help address or even prevent such changes during future missions. One project, called Thigh Cuff, will explore whether wearing fitted cuffs could counter the syndrome by keeping more bodily fluids in the legs. Thigh cuffs are compact, lightweight, and easy to use, which makes them appealing for potential use during long-duration, deep space missions. For this study, Hague will wear the thigh cuffs for six hours during two sessions. To help researchers measure how well the cuffs work, he will record ultrasound images of blood flow in his legs and neck veins during the sessions. Researchers will also compare this data against ultrasounds taken without the cuff to examine flow differences. “Thigh cuffs like these may allow researchers to better investigate medical conditions that result in extra fluid in the brain or too much blood returning to the heart,” said study leader Brandon Macias at NASA Johnson. In another study, Hague will test if a vitamin regimen may help combat SANS. The study, led by Sara Zwart, a nutritional biochemist at NASA Johnson, seeks to examine if a daily vitamin B supplement—taken before, during, and after flight—can prevent or mitigate swelling at the back of the eye. The research will also assess how an individual’s genetics may influence the response. “Earlier research suggests that some people are more susceptible to this ocular syndrome than others based on genetics that can influence B vitamin requirements, so taking daily vitamins may make all the difference,” Zwart said. “We think by giving the B vitamins, we could be taking that piece of genetic variability out of the equation.” The work also may eventually improve care options for women on Earth with polycystic ovary syndrome, a condition that can cause eye changes and infertility in women. Researchers hope that patients may similarly benefit from targeting the same genetic pathways and vitamin supplementation as crew members in space. Hague also will record data to study whether a new way of administering a common anti-nausea medicine can help alleviate motion sickness following launch and landing. In this study, Hague can self-administer a novel nasal gel formulation of the medication scopolamine. Hague will note his experiences using this medicine and any other motion sickness aides, including alternative medications or behavioral interventions like specific head movements. This research, led by neuroscientist Scott Wood of NASA Johnson, eventually will include 48 people. “Our goal is to understand how to help future space travelers adapt to motion sickness when living and working in space,” Wood said. “Crew members must stay healthy and perform key tasks, including landing on the Moon and other destinations.” To help NASA plan future missions, Hague also will participate in human research studies that tackle other space challenges, such as avoiding injury upon landing back on Earth and learning how space travel affects the human body on a molecular level. ____ NASA’s Human Research Program pursues the best methods and technologies to support safe, productive human space travel. The program studies how spaceflight affects human bodies and behaviors through science conducted in laboratories, ground-based analogs, commercial missions, and the International Space Station. Such research continues to drive NASA’s mission to innovate ways that keep astronauts healthy and mission-ready as space exploration expands to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Explore More 1 min read NASA Invites Public to Join as Virtual Guests for SpaceX Crew-9 Launch Article 2 days ago 4 min read Educational Activities in Space Article 4 days ago 4 min read NASA Astronaut Tracy C. Dyson’s Scientific Mission aboard Space Station Article 1 week ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Living in Space Artemis Human Research Program Space Station Research and Technology View the full article

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission launched at 1:17 p.m. EDT Sept. 28, 2024, from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Credits: NASA The two crew members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission launched at 1:17 p.m. EDT Saturday, for a science expedition aboard the International Space Station. This is the first human spaceflight mission launched from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, and the agency’s ninth commercial crew rotation mission to the space station. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket propelled the Dragon spacecraft into orbit carrying NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. The spacecraft will dock autonomously to the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module at approximately 5:30 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 29, where Hague and Gorbunov will join Expedition 72 for a five-month stay aboard the orbiting laboratory. “This mission required a lot of operational and planning flexibility. I congratulate the entire team on a successful launch today, and godspeed to Nick and Aleksandr as they make their way to the space station,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Our NASA wizards and our commercial and international partners have shown once again the success that comes from working together and adapting to changing circumstances without sacrificing the safe and professional operations of the International Space Station.” During Dragon’s flight, SpaceX will monitor a series of automatic spacecraft maneuvers from its mission control center in Hawthorne, California. NASA will monitor space station operations throughout the flight from the Mission Control Center at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. NASA will provide live coverage of rendezvous, docking, and hatch opening, beginning at 3:30 p.m., Sept. 29, on NASA+ and the agency’s website. NASA also will broadcast the crew welcome ceremony once Hague and Gorbunov are aboard the orbital outpost. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media. The duo will join the space station’s Expedition 72 crew of NASA astronauts Michael Barratt, Matthew Dominick, Jeanette Epps, Don Pettit, Butch Wilmore, and Suni Williams, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexander Grebenkin, Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner. The number of crew aboard the space station will increase to 11 for a short time until Crew-8 members Barratt, Dominick, Epps, and Grebenkin depart the space station in early October. The crewmates will conduct more than 200 scientific investigations, including blood clotting studies, moisture effects on plants grown in space, and vision changes in astronauts during their mission. Following their stay aboard the space station, Hague and Gorbunov will be joined by Williams and Wilmore to return to Earth in February 2025. With this mission, NASA continues to maximize the use of the orbiting laboratory, where people have lived and worked continuously for more than 23 years, testing technologies, performing science, and developing the skills needed to operate future commercial destinations in low Earth orbit and explore farther from Earth. Research conducted at the space station benefits people on Earth and paves the way for future long-duration missions to the Moon under NASA’s Artemis campaign, and beyond. More about Crew-9 Hague is the commander of Crew-9 and is making his second trip to the orbital outpost since his selection as an astronaut in 2013. He will serve as a mission specialist during Expedition 72/73 aboard the space station. Follow @AstroHague on X and Instagram. Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov is flying on his first mission. He will serve as a flight engineer during Expeditions 72/73. Learn more about NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission and the agency’s Commercial Crew Program at: https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew -end- Josh Finch / Jimi Russell Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / james.j.russell@nasa.gov Steven Siceloff / Danielle Sempsrott / Stephanie Plucinsky Kennedy Space Center, Florida 321-867-2468 steven.p.siceloff@nasa.gov / danielle.c.semprott@nasa.gov / stephanie.n.plucinsky@nasa.gov Leah Cheshier / Sandra Jones Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 leah.d.cheshier@nasa.gov / sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Sep 28, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related TermsMissionsHumans in SpaceInternational Space Station (ISS)ISS Research View the full article

International Space Station: Humanity’s Lab in Space (Narrated by Adam Savage)

2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Research into phase-change material (PCM) options for NASA helped one of the researchers find the ideal material to use in a mug that maintains the ideal temperature of a hot beverage for hours. ThermAvant International now offers mugs and tumblers.Credit: ThermAvant International LLC Dr. Hongbin Ma was tired of drinking coffee that had gone cold. Fortunately, Ma, the CEO of ThermAvant Technologies LLC in Columbia, Missouri, was working on a NASA-funded study of phase-change materials, which are used to hold a steady temperature. Materials absorb or release more heat as they transition from solid to liquid or vice versa than they do before or after this phase change. NASA has long used phase-changing materials to manage temperature extremes in space. The Apollo lunar rover, International Space Station, Orion capsule, and headlights on the newest spacesuit design all utilize phase-change material. As part of his NASA-funded research, Ma tested and recommended a phase-change material that could be used in a spacesuit-cooling system, a modified version of those used in spacecraft. A phase-change material needs to transition at the desired temperature, but it also needs to be safe. Paraffin wax and refrigerants are effective but are toxic to humans, which would make a leak hazardous. Ma’s team ultimately recommended a bio-based option for spacesuits. Bio-based waxes also proved to be the perfect solution for maintaining optimal temperature for coffee. In this case, it was a beeswax-like soy substance. Ma’s company, ThermAvant Technologies, took the opportunity to infuse the bio-based waxes into a product on Earth. A phase-change heat exchanger like this one uses uses a PCM that will help maintain a comfortable temperature in the Orion spacecraft. NASA-funded research into spacesuit material alternatives helped ThermAvant International LLC develop the Burnout thermal mug for coffee. Credit: NASA Released in 2018, the Burnout Mug is vacuum insulated with the wax called HeatZorb, sealed between the inner and outer shells. The wax is formulated to maintain the ideal temperature for hot drinks over time. As soon as hot liquid goes in, the wax absorbs excess heat and melts, resulting in a drinkable temperature in just a few moments. As the coffee starts to cool, that stored heat is released back into it. The company is developing other uses for the same technology to meet unique needs in the medical field. Two in development are a small insulin container and a donor organ transportation box – both of which rely on specific, controlled temperatures. From hot beverages to life-saving medical equipment, NASA’s research continues to drive innovation across industries. Read More Share Details Last Updated Sep 27, 2024 Related TermsSpinoffsTechnology TransferTechnology Transfer & Spinoffs Explore More 3 min read Measuring Moon Dust to Fight Air Pollution Article 1 week ago 2 min read Printed Engines Propel the Next Industrial Revolution Efforts to 3D print engines produce significant savings in rocketry and beyond Article 2 weeks ago 2 min read Tech Today: Flipping NASA Tech and Sticking the Landing NASA tech adds gecko grip to phone accessory Article 2 months ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Technology Transfer & Spinoffs Humans in Space Orion Spacecraft Spacesuits View the full article

NASA/Cory S Huston The Stanley Cup, won in 2024 by the Florida Panthers, made a visit to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Sept. 17, 2024, as part of its championship tour. The VAB currently houses components of the agency’s Artemis II mission, the first crewed mission on NASA’s path to establishing a long-term presence at the Moon for science and exploration through Artemis. Artemis II will send four astronauts around the Moon, testing NASA’s foundational human deep space exploration capabilities, the SLS rocket, and Orion spacecraft. Image Credit: NASA/Cory S Huston View the full article

“From my earliest childhood, flight had always captivated me. I lived out in the boonies and the farmlands, so I didn’t have neighbors to go and play with. If I wasn’t working, I was left to my own devices, and often, I would just be captivated by the wildlife and in particular, the birds of prey that I would see. “To me, they represented a freedom of some kind or another. These birds and the view they have — they can take in so much. So, from that point on, I knew I wanted to be involved in flight and aviation. “I [enjoyed] all things flight, all things spaceflight. I couldn’t get enough of it. I became an avid reader, whereas before, I wasn’t much of a reader. I couldn’t get enough material to read about my heroes from flight and space. They became my role models and the path that they took involved, at some point or another, a pretty rigorous education and dedication to doing well academically, physically, or athletically. So, I threw myself into that entire sort of mindset. “When I was working for the Air Force, I was able to fly and work on aircraft that I would dream about, looking at in the magazines Aviation Week and Space Technology. Here they are, right in front of me. “… So, my career has been as close as possible to that of a flight test engineer. And then, right on the heels of being captivated by atmospheric flight, working in human spaceflight has put me over the Moon.” —Dr. Donald Mendoza, Chief Engineer, NASA Engineering & Safety Center, NASA’s Ames Research Center Image Credit: NASA/Dominic Hart Interviewer: NASA/Thalia Patrinos Check out some of our other Faces of NASA. View the full article

9 min read Launch Your Creativity with These Space Crafts! In honor of the completion of our Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope’s spacecraft — the vehicle that will maneuver the observatory to its place in space and enable it to function once there — we’re bringing you some space crafts you can complete at home! Join us for a journey across the cosmos, starting right in your own pantry. Stardust Slime Did you know that most of your household ingredients are made of stardust? And so are you! Nearly every naturally occurring element was forged by living or dying stars. Take the baking soda in this slime recipe, for example. It’s made up of sodium, hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen. The hydrogen was made during the big bang, right at the start of the universe. But the other three elements were created by dying stars. So when you show your friends your space-y slime, you can tell them it’s literally made of stardust! Instructions: 1 5 oz. bottle clear glue ½ tablespoon baking soda food coloring 1 tablespoon contact lens solution 1 tablespoon glitter Directions: Pour the glue into a bowl Mix in the baking soda Add food coloring (we recommend blue, purple, black, or a combination). Add contact lens solution and use your hands to work it through the slime. It will initially be very sticky! You can add a little extra contact lens solution to make it firmer and less goopy. Add glitter a teaspoon at a time, using as much or as little as you like! Space Suckers Now let’s travel a little farther, past Earth’s atmosphere and into the realm of space. That’s where Roman is headed once the whole observatory is complete and passes all of its testing! Roman will scan the skies from space to make it extra sensitive to faint infrared light. It’s harder to see from the ground because our atmosphere scatters and absorbs infrared radiation, which obscures observations. Some astronauts have reported that space smells metallic or like gunpowder, but don’t worry — you can choose a more pleasant flavor for your space suckers! Ingredients 2 cups sugar 2/3 cup light corn syrup 2/3 cup water gel food coloring flavor oil edible glitter dust sucker sticks sucker mold Directions Prep the molds by adding sucker sticks. Mix sugar, light corn syrup, and water together in a pot on the stove over medium heat. Turn it up to medium-high heat and let it boil without stirring for about 6 minutes. Quickly stir in the flavor oil of your choice, gel food coloring, plus as much edible glitter as you like (reserve some for dusting). Carefully but quickly spoon the mixture into the molds. Spin the sticks so they’re evenly coated. Add a sprinkle of reserved edible glitter and allow to harden.” An image on the left side of the card shows the result: a deep purple sucker with silver glitter embedded. Fizzy Planets As we move toward our outer solar system, we’ll pass the orbits of the gas giant planets Jupiter and Saturn. While they don’t actually fizz like the mini planets you can make at home, they do have some pretty exotic chemistry that stems from their extreme pressures, temperatures, and compositions. For example, the hydrogen in their cores behaves like liquid metal instead of a gas. It even conducts electricity! Roman will use multiple planet-spotting techniques –– microlensing, transits, and direct imaging –– to help us study a variety of worlds, including both gas giants and rocky worlds similar to our own. Ingredients 3 cups baking soda ¾ cup water food coloring ¼ cup vinegar Directions Mix a few drops of food coloring into ¼ cup of water and pour into a bowl with 1 cup of baking soda. Repeat step one two more times using different colors. Scoop together bits from each mixture to form small balls. Add an extra splash of water to any mixture that’s too crumbly. Douse the balls with vinegar using an eye dropper or teaspoon and watch them fizz! Marshmallow Constellations As we venture farther out into space, we’ll reach some familiar stars! Constellations are groups of stars that appear close together in the sky as seen from Earth. But if you actually journeyed out to them, you might be surprised to discover that they’re often super far apart from each other! Though constellations aren’t made of stars that are actually bound together in any way, they can still be useful for referencing a cosmic object’s location in the sky. For example, you can use a pair of binoculars or a telescope to take a look at the nebula found beneath Orion’s Belt, marked by the glitter patch in the recipe card above! You can find the constellation printables here. Supplies toothpicks or mini pretzel sticks mini marshmallows constellation printables scissors Directions Attach marshmallows to toothpicks or pretzel sticks using the constellation cards as a guide. Carefully trim toothpicks or pretzel sticks as needed using scissors. Black Hole Bath Bombs Black holes –– objects with such strong gravity that not even light can escape their clutches –– lurk unseen throughout our galaxy. Stray too close to one and you’re in for a wild ride! But they aren’t cosmic vacuum cleaners, despite what you may have grown to believe. Just keep your distance and they’ll affect you the same way as any other object of the same mass. Astronomers have found dozens of black holes in our galaxy by seeing how their gravity affects nearby objects. But there may be 100 million more that lack a visible companion to signal their presence. Roman will find some of these solitary black holes by seeing how their gravity focuses the light from farther stars. Ingredients 1 cup baking soda ½ cup citric acid ½ cup cornstarch 2 tablespoons coconut oil black food coloring optional: 2 teaspoons essential oil for scent optional: ½ cup Epsom salt Directions Mix the baking soda, citric acid, cornstarch, and Epsom salt (optional) together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the coconut oil, food coloring, and essential oil (optional). Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture slowly while whisking it all together. Add a couple tiny splashes of water and whisk it in quickly. Tightly press the mixture into round molds. Leave them for a few hours and then they’ll be ready to use! Galaxy in a Jar Now let’s go so far we can see our Milky Way galaxy from the outside — something many astronomers probably wish they could do at times! Sort of like how Earth’s atmosphere can affect our view of space, dust in our galaxy can get in the way, too. That makes it easier to study other galaxies than our own in some ways! Roman’s combination of a large field of view, crisp resolution, and the ability to peer through dust make it the ideal instrument to study the Milky Way. The mission will build on previous observations to generate the most detailed map of our galaxy to date. Ingredients hot water glitter glue glitter super glue (optional) Directions Mostly fill a 16 oz. glass jar with very hot water, leaving a couple inches of space at the top. Add at least ¼ cup of glitter glue in colors of your choosing. Add loose glitter a couple of teaspoons at a time, using as much or as little as you like! You can use a combination of fine and chunky glitter for an extended swirling effect. Optional: Super glue the lid to the jar. Once the water has sufficiently cooled, give the jar a gentle shake to see your galaxy swirl! NOTE: Closely monitor children to ensure the jar doesn’t break. Pinwheel Galaxy Pinwheels As we continue our cosmic excursion, you’ll see other galaxies sprinkled throughout space. Many are spiral galaxies, like our Milky Way and the Pinwheel Galaxy from the craft described above. (You can find more detailed instructions and the printout you’ll need here.) But galaxies come in other varieties, too. Through Roman’s wide, deep surveys, astronomers are sure to see every type. Scientists will study the shapes and distances of billions of galaxies to help us understand dark energy — a mysterious pressure that’s speeding up the universe’s expansion. Supplies Pinwheel Galaxy printout pipe cleaner or chopsticks scissors popsicle stick single hole puncher Directions Cut out the hexagonal shape for your galaxy pinwheel. Make cuts down the white lines. Punch holes in the white dots: six around the edges and one in the center. Turn the paper so it’s face-down. Thread a pipe cleaner through the center hole. Going around the circle, fold each flap so the pipe cleaner goes through the hole. Tie a knot in the pipe cleaner to secure the front of the pinwheel. Wrap the other side of the pipe cleaner around a popsicle stick. Universe Dough We’re nearing the end of our voyage, having traveled so far through space and time that we can take in the whole universe! We’ve learned a lot about it, but there are still plenty of open questions. Some of its biggest components, dark energy and dark matter (invisible matter seen only via its gravitational influence), are huge mysteries Roman will explore. And since the observatory will reveal such large, deep swaths of space, who knows what new puzzles we’ll soon uncover! Ingredients 1 cup flour ½ cup salt 1 tablespoon vegetable oil ½ cup hot water food coloring glitter Directions Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Add several drops of food coloring to hot water, and stir into dry mixture along with the oil. Add as much glitter as you like and knead it into the dough for several minutes. Add water or flour as needed to adjust the consistency. Still feeling crafty? Try your hand at these 3D and paper spacecraft models. If you’re eager for a more advanced space craft, check out these embroidery creations for inspiration! Or if you’re ready for a break, take a virtual tour of an interactive version of the Roman Space Telescope here. Share Details Last Updated Sep 27, 2024 Related Terms For Kids and Students Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope NASA STEM Projects View the full article

Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Curiosity Raw Images Images Videos Audio More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions The Solar System The Sun Mercury Venus Earth The Moon Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto & Dwarf Planets Asteroids, Comets & Meteors The Kuiper Belt The Oort Cloud 4 min read Sols 4316-4317: Hunting for Sulfur This image was taken by the Left Navigation Camera (NavCam) aboard NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity, and captures the bright stones of the “Sheep Creek” target — just above the rover wheel – which strongly resemble elemental sulfur blocks identified earlier in the traverse. This image was taken on sol 4314, Martian day 4,314 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission, on Sept. 24, 2024, at 20:24:50 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech Earth planning date: Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024 Navigating the rugged, unforgiving Martian terrain is always a challenge, and our recent attempt to reach the “Sheep Creek” target highlights this. We had aimed for small, distant bright rocks, but from 50 meters away (about 164 feet), the limited resolution of our images made it difficult to fine-tune navigation. After an ambitious drive, the rover came agonizingly close — stopping just short of these small bright rocks. The rocks, with their distinctive rounded and pitted “weathering” pattern (pictured), strongly resemble elemental sulfur blocks that we’ve encountered before. Frustratingly, although the target rocks were right under the front wheel and clearly visible in our navigation cameras, they remained just out of reach of the rover’s arm. While the rover’s arm couldn’t quite reach the bright stones of Sheep Creek, we didn’t let that stop us and planned to use other onboard instruments to help us analyze the composition, textures, and context before we move to our next position. As the Keeper of the Plan for the Geology and Mineralogy theme group, my role was to ensure all those activities were recorded in the plan. To find out the composition of the stones of Sheep Creek, we used ChemCam (our onboard laser) to observe two promising stones we’ve named “Arch Rock” and “Ash Mountain.” We’re hoping to see if they have any evidence of elemental sulfur as their appearance suggests. For a closer look at the texture, we will take high-resolution, color images with Mastcam (which you can also view in 3D with red and blue anaglyph glasses!). We also want to look at an interesting transition between light-colored and dark-colored bedrock nearby, which we will cover with more high-resolution, colored images. This transition could give us clues about where the unusual white rocks of Sheep Creek came from and how they formed. We had our eye on another bright rock in the area, named “Beryl Lake.” It had an interesting bright-toned crusty appearance and as we could reach it with the rover arm, we used our APXS tool (think of it as a chemical scanner) to see its composition and if it had any traces of sulfur. We took a closer look with our rover hand lens (MAHLI) at a rock called “Aster Lake,” which had intriguing white patches that might be similar to the stones of Sheep Creek. Ultimately, our science goal this plan was to collect data on whether these bright-toned stones had evidence of elemental sulfur and increase our understanding on how they formed. Next, we’ll carefully reposition the rover to move closer to these interesting targets — a maneuver that we call a “bump” — so that next plan, set to occur over the weekend, we’ll be able to get up close and personal with the white stones of Sheep Creek. While the rover waits for the weekend plan, we’re setting up the rover to do some “untargeted” science after the drive. This includes using an automated tool called AEGIS that finds interesting targets on its own and zaps them with the ChemCam laser. Plus, it’s a good time to record some observations of the modern Martian environment, so we’ll make the most of the time to measure dust levels, take movies that will hopefully capture some dust devils, and look at clouds — if any — in the Martian sky. We’re looking forward to the weekend plan to hopefully get another chance to do some contact science on targets that may be rich in sulfur! Written by Amelie Roberts, Ph.D. Candidate at Imperial College London Share Details Last Updated Sep 27, 2024 Related Terms Blogs Explore More 3 min read Sols 4314-4315: Wait, What Was That Back There? Article 3 days ago 3 min read A Striped Surprise Last week, team scientists and the internet alike were amazed when Perseverance spotted a black-and-white… Article 4 days ago 3 min read Sols 4311–4313: A Weekend of Engineering Curiosity Article 4 days ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It’s the only planet we know of inhabited… All Mars Resources Explore this collection of Mars images, videos, resources, PDFs, and toolkits. Discover valuable content designed to inform, educate, and inspire,… Rover Basics Each robotic explorer sent to the Red Planet has its own unique capabilities driven by science. Many attributes of a… Mars Exploration: Science Goals The key to understanding the past, present or future potential for life on Mars can be found in NASA’s four… View the full article

Hubble Space Telescope Home Hubble Captures Steller… Hubble Space Telescope Hubble Home Overview About Hubble The History of Hubble Hubble Timeline Why Have a Telescope in Space? Hubble by the Numbers At the Museum FAQs Impact & Benefits Hubble’s Impact & Benefits Science Impacts Cultural Impact Technology Benefits Impact on Human Spaceflight Astro Community Impacts Science Hubble Science Science Themes Science Highlights Science Behind Discoveries Hubble’s Partners in Science Universe Uncovered Explore the Night Sky Observatory Hubble Observatory Hubble Design Mission Operations Missions to Hubble Hubble vs Webb Team Hubble Team Career Aspirations Hubble Astronauts News Hubble News Hubble News Archive Social Media Media Resources Multimedia Multimedia Images Videos Sonifications Podcasts E-books Lithographs Fact Sheets Glossary Posters Hubble on the NASA App More Online Activities 2 min read Hubble Captures Steller Nurseries in a Majestic Spiral This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the spiral galaxy IC 1954. ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Thilker, J. Lee and the PHANGS-HST Team This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope features the spiral galaxy IC 1954, located 45 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Horologium. It sports a glowing bar in its core, majestically winding spiral arms, and clouds of dark dust across it. Numerous glowing, pink spots across the disc of the galaxy are H-alpha regions that offer astronomers a view of star-forming nebulae, which are prominent emitters of red, H-alpha light. Some astronomers theorize that the galaxy’s ‘bar’ is actually an energetic star-forming region that just happens to lie over the galactic center. The data featured in this image come from a program that extends the cooperation among multiple observatories: Hubble, the infrared James Webb Space Telescope, and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, a ground-based radio telescope. By surveying IC 1954 and over 50 other nearby galaxies in radio, infrared, optical, and ultraviolet light, astronomers aim to fully trace and reconstruct the path matter takes through stars, mapping the interstellar gas and dust in each galaxy. Hubble’s observing capabilities form an important part of this survey: it can capture younger stars and star clusters when they are brightest at ultraviolet and optical wavelengths, and its H-alpha filter effectively tracks emission from nebulae. The resulting dataset will form a treasure trove of research on the evolution of stars in galaxies, which Webb can build upon as it continues its science operations into the future. Download this image Facebook logo @NASAHubble @NASAHubble Instagram logo @NASAHubble Media Contact: Claire Andreoli NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD claire.andreoli@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Sep 26, 2024 Editor Andrea Gianopoulos Location NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms Astrophysics Astrophysics Division Galaxies Hubble Space Telescope Spiral Galaxies Stars Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From Hubble Hubble Space Telescope Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe. Hubble’s Galaxies Science Behind the Discoveries Universe Uncovered View the full article

Sandra Connelly, deputy associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, left, Lori Glaze, acting deputy associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, Robyn Gatens, director of the International Space Station at NASA Headquarters, and Carrie Olsen, manager of the Next Gen STEM project for NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement, discuss key takeaways at the conclusion of NASA’s LEO Microgravity Strategy Industry and Academia Workshop, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, at Convene in Washington. NASA’s LEO Microgravity Strategy effort aims to develop and document an objectives-based approach toward the next generation of human presence in low Earth orbit to advance microgravity science, technology, and exploration.NASA/Joel Kowsky As part of NASA’s effort to advance microgravity science, technology, and exploration in low Earth orbit (LEO), the agency conducted two stakeholder workshops in London and Washington to solicit feedback from the international community, including NASA’s international partners, American industry, and academia on Sept. 6 and Sept. 13, respectively. The agency released a draft set of 42 objectives in late August, seeking input from U.S. industry, academia, international communities, NASA employees, and others to ensure its framework for the next generation of human presence in low Earth orbit, set to be finalized this winter, includes ideas and contributions from a range of stakeholders. The objectives span six categories: science, exploration-enabling research and technology development, commercial low Earth orbit infrastructure, operations, international cooperation, and workforce and engagement. “As we chart the future of human exploration, it’s vital that we harness the insights and expertise of our diverse stakeholders,” said NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy. “These workshops provide an invaluable platform for stakeholders to share their insights, helping us create a strategy that reflects our shared ambitions for the future of space exploration.” Consultation is a fundamental aspect of NASA’s LEO Microgravity Strategy, emphasizing the importance of collaboration and the integration of diverse perspectives in advancing scientific research and technology development in low Earth orbit. By actively engaging with stakeholders –including scientists, industry partners, and educational institutions –NASA aims to gather valuable insights and align its objectives with the broader goals of the space community. “Engaging with a wide array of voices allows us to tap into innovative ideas that will enhance our missions,” stated Robyn Gatens, director of the International Space Station and acting director of Commercial Spaceflight. “This collaborative approach not only strengthens our current initiatives but also lays the groundwork for future advancements in space exploration.” To contribute to NASA’s low Earth orbit microgravity strategy, visit: www.leomicrogravitystrategy.org View the full article