NASA

5 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Pollinators play a crucial role in both human agriculture and ecosystems by supporting thousands of plant species and crops which feed humans and livestock. Unfortunately, habitat loss, disease, and pesticides contribute to the decline in pollinator biodiversity worldwide, which has led to a substantial reduction in native bee species, impacts to honeybees, and the decline of the iconic Monarch Butterfly. In their efforts to integrate sustainable design, several NASA centers have implemented measures promoting preservation of pollinator habitats though gardens, meadows, and other initiatives. Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) In 2015, budget constraints resulted in the removal of plant beds to make way for low-maintenance turf grass. This prompted the Center’s Environmental Management team to propose a more sustainable landscape option resulting in the 0.1-acre Meadow Demonstration Project. With support from the University of Maryland Extension Service and Maryland Master Gardeners, the meadow became a certified Monarch Waystation. As the meadow flourished under the diligent efforts of staff and volunteers, an increasing number of pollinators were observed. Due to the success of the initial meadow, GSFC partnered with USDA/Natural Resources Conservation Service to convert additional areas around the center with the goal of perfecting restoration methods. GSFC’s grounds provided an ideal environment to test various approaches. The latest addition is a 1.3-acre plot cultivated this year. GSFC partnered with the NRCS to display this project and participate in the Patuxent Wildlife Refuge Festival in May and the Pollinator Day Festival in June at the USDA HQ to showcase their project. GSFC Natural Resources staff will be hosting a Monarch Workshop with the Monarch Joint Venture on September 25th. You may virtually attend the first part of the workshop on TEAMS, but afternoon sessions will be in-person only. You can learn more about ongoing and upcoming events at the Meadow Demonstration Project blog. Johnson Space Center (JSC) The Center is embedded in an urban landscape once dominated by Texas coastal prairies. To support resiliency of coastal prairie remnants on site, an altered mowing schedule promoting wildflower growth is implemented. JSC participates in a Houston Zoo program called the Prairie Pollinator Pathway to restore or recreate green pathways for pollinator movement through an otherwise highly fragmented urban environment. In 2012, a 30,000 square foot green roof was created on Building 12. Initially planted with non-native species that struggled in the Houston heat, the garden was replanted in 2022 with native grasses and flowers. To further protect pollinators, JSC employs alternative management techniques such as relocating honeybee swarms to minimize pesticide use wherever possible. Additionally, JSC continues to raise awareness about the importance of their prairies and pollinators. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Several groups work to enhance pollinator habitat and the understanding of pollinator species around the center. Two pollinator focused project have been completed at MSFC: the pollinator garden and the pollinator meadow. The pollinator garden was constructed by the MSFC Green Team in collaboration with the Northern Alabama Master Gardeners. Garden consists of five beds located just behind the MSFC Wellness Center on the south end of the Walking Trail and is certified with the North American Butterfly Association and a registered Monarch Waystation.​​​​​​​ In the fall of 2023, maintenance of the pollinator garden was handed over to the Pollinator Club. In the spring of 2023, a roughly 2-acre pollinator meadow was planted. The meadow includes a mix of native flowering plants and is mowed once each year. In addition to the pollinator focused projects, MSFC also has a garden club, which maintains individual and club garden plots that attract pollinators to the Center. The MSFC Green Team and clubs hold regular education and outreach events to increase knowledge of pollinators, their importance, and threats to their survival. Langley Research Center (LaRC) In addition to a registered Monarch Waystation, Langley Research Center (LaRC) is home to beehive colonies following two rescue missions on center. The first occurred in April of 2023, when a swarm of honeybees was discovered under a picnic table near the cafeteria. To relocate this colony, the center enlisted the help of LaRC personnel Dr. Jeremy Pinier, a member of the Colonial Beekeepers Association, along with his 6-year-old daughter Olivia, his apprentice beekeeper. The bees were relocated to a habitat near the community garden, which hosts 16 year-round and 24 seasonal plots rented by active members of the LaRC Garden Club. The second hive was relocated in April 2024 from a service vehicle’s truck bed. The bees are flourishing and have earned the nickname “The Artemis Colony,” coined by Dr. Pinier. Center personnel have enjoyed the colony’s honey and remain committed to nurturing its bee population and preserving the garden for the future. White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) To enhance New Mexico’s natural beauty, four pollinator gardens were planted in 2022 on the south sides of B100 and B101 and at the main entrances to the cafeteria and rotunda. They were created to mitigate some function of the natural landscape that was offset to build the Center. These gardens also help to educate visitors on the beauty and names of surrounding desert flora and provide a peaceful place to sit and view the garden, the Jornada del Muerto, and mountains in the distance. The native plants are drought resistant, hardy, and attract bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and other pollinators. There are plans to install a trail camera at one of the garden sites to identify some of the visiting pollinator species. The Center also wants to register the gardens as wildlife habitats through the National Wildlife Federation and Monarch Waystations. Conclusion In addition to the great work already underway across NASA Centers, other sites such as Kennedy Space Center are developing plans for their own programs supporting local pollinators. Keep up to date with agency-wide education efforts and new developments in Pollinator Programs at EMD’s NRM Program EMD’s NRM Program Website. View the full article

Researchers used an interferometer that can precisely measure gravity, magnetic fields, and other forces to study the influence of International Space Station vibrations. Results revealed that matter-wave interference of rubidium gases is robust and repeatable over a period spanning months. Atom interferometry experiments could help create high-precision measurement capabilities for gravitational, Earth, and planetary sciences. Using ultracold rubidium atoms, Cold Atom Lab researchers examined a three-pulse Mach–Zehnder interferometer, a device that determines phase shift variations between two parallel beams, to understand the influence of space station vibrations. Researchers note that atom sensitivities and visibility degrade due to the vibration environment of the International Space Station. The Cold Atom Lab’s interferometer uses light pulses to create a readout of accelerations, rotations, gravity, and subtle forces that could signify new physics acting on matter. Cold Atom Lab experiments serve as pathfinders for proposed space missions relying on the sustained measurement of wave-matter interference, including gravitational wave detection, dark matter detection, seismology mapping, and advanced satellite navigation. Read more here. Researchers developed a novel method to categorize and assess the fitness of each gene in one species of bacteria, N. aromaticavorans. Results published in BMC Genomics state that core metabolic processes and growth-promoting genes have high fitness during spaceflight, likely as an adaptive response to stress in microgravity. Future comprehensive studies of the entire genome of other species could help guide the development of strategies to enhance or diminish microorganism resilience in space missions. The Bacterial Genome Fitness investigation grows multiple types of bacteria in space to learn more about important processes for their growth. Previous studies of microorganism communities have shown that spaceflight can induce resistance to antibiotics, lead to changes in biofilm formation, and boost cell growth in various species. N. aromaticivorans can degrade certain compounds, potentially providing benefits in composting and biofuel production during deep space missions. Read more here. Researchers burned large, isolated droplets of the hydrocarbon n-dodecane, a component of kerosene and some jet fuels, in microgravity and found that hot flames were followed by a prolonged period of cool flames at lower pressures. Results showed that hot flames were more likely to unpredictably reignite at higher pressures. Studying the burn behavior of hydrocarbons assists researchers in the development of more efficient engines and fuels that reduce fire hazards to ensure crew safety in future long-distance missions. The Cool Flames investigation studies the low-temperature combustion of various isolated fuel droplets. Cool flames happen in microgravity when certain fuel types burn very hot and then quickly drop to a much lower temperature with no visible flames. This investigation studies several fuels such as pure hydrocarbons, biofuels, and mixtures of pure hydrocarbons to enhance understanding of low-temperature chemistry. Improved knowledge of low-temperature burning could benefit next-generation fuels and engines. Read more here. NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough completing the Multi-user Droplet Combustion Apparatus reconfiguration to the Cool Flames Investigation setup.NASAView the full article

A NASA-developed material made of carbon nanotubes will enable our search for exoplanets—some of which might be capable of supporting life. Originally developed in 2007 by a team of researchers led by Innovators of the Year John Hagopian and Stephanie Getty at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, this carbon nanotube technology is being refined for potential use on NASA’s upcoming Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO)—the first telescope designed specifically to search for signs of life on planets orbiting other stars. As shown in the figure below, carbon nanotubes look like graphene (a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice) that is rolled into a tube. The super-dark material consists of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (i.e., nested nanotubes) that grow vertically into a “forest.” The carbon nanotubes are 99% empty space so the light entering the material doesn’t get reflected. Instead, the light enters the nanotube forest and jiggles electrons in the hexagonal lattice of carbon atoms, converting the light to heat. The ability of the carbon nanotubes to eliminate almost all light is enabling for NASA’s scientific instruments because stray light limits how sensitive the observations can be. When applied to instrument structures, this material can eliminate much of the stray light and enable new and better observations. Left: Artist’s conception of graphene, single and multiwalled carbon nanotube structures. Right: Scanning electron microscope image of vertically aligned multiwalled carbon nanotube forest with a section removed in the center. Credit: Delft University/Dr. Sten Vollebregt and NASA GSFC Viewing exoplanets is incredibly difficult; the exoplanets revolve around stars that are 10 billion times brighter than they are. It’s like looking at the Sun and trying to see a dim star next to it in the daytime. Specialized instruments called coronagraphs must be used to block the light from the star to enable these exoplanets to be viewed. The carbon nanotube material is employed in the coronagraph to block as much stray light as possible from entering the instrument’s detector. The image below depicts a notional telescope and coronagraph imaging an exoplanet. The telescope collects the light from the distant star and exoplanet. The light is then directed to a coronagraph that collimates the beam, making the light rays parallel, and then the beam is reflected off the apodizer mirror, which is used to precisely control the diffraction of light. Carbon nanotubes on the apodizer mirror absorb the stray light that is diffracted off edges of the telescope structures, so it does not contaminate the observations. The light is then focused on the focal plane mask, which blocks the light from the star but allows light from the exoplanet to pass. The light gets collimated again and is then reflected off a deformable mirror to correct distortion in the image. Finally, the light passes through the Lyot Stop, which is also coated with carbon nanotubes to remove the remaining stray light. The beam is then focused onto the detector array, which forms the image. Even with all these measures some stray light still reaches the detector, but the coronagraph creates a dark zone where only the light coming from the exoplanet can be seen. The final image on the right in the figure below shows the remaining light from the star in yellow and the light from the exoplanet in red in the dark zone. Schematic of a notional telescope and coronagraph imaging an exoplanet Credit: Advanced Nanophotonics/John Hagopian, LLC HWO will use a similar scheme to search for habitable exoplanets. Scientists will analyze the spectrum of light captured by HWO to determine the gases in the atmosphere of the exoplanet. The presence of water vapor, oxygen, and perhaps other gases can indicate if an exoplanet could potentially support life. But how do you make a carbon-nanotube-coated apodizer mirror that could be used on the HWO? Hagopian’s company Advanced Nanophotonics, LLC received Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding to address this challenge. Carbon nanotubes are grown by depositing catalyst seeds onto a substrate and then placing the substrate into a tube-shaped furnace and heating it to 1382 degrees F, which is red hot! Gases containing carbon are then flowed into the heated tube, and at these temperatures the gases are absorbed by the metal catalyst and transform into a solution, similar to how carbon dioxide in soda water fizzes. The carbon nanotubes literally grow out of the substrate into vertically aligned tubes to form a “forest” wherever the catalyst is located. Since the growth of carbon nanotubes on the apodizer mirror must occur only in designated areas where stray light is predicted, the catalyst must be applied only to those areas. The four main challenges that had to be overcome to develop this process were: 1) how to pattern the catalyst precisely, 2) how to get a mirror to survive high temperatures without distorting, 3) how to get a coating to survive high temperatures and still be shiny, and 4) how to get the carbon nanotubes to grow on top of a shiny coating. The Advanced Nanophotonics team refined a multi-step process (see figure below) to address these challenges. Making an Apodizer Mirror for use in a coronagraph Credit: Advanced Nanophotonics/John Hagopian, LLC First a silicon mirror substrate is fabricated to serve as the base for the mirror. This material has properties that allow it to survive very high temperatures and remain flat. These 2-inch mirrors are so flat that if one was scaled to the diameter of Earth, the highest mountain would only be 2.5 inches tall! Next, the mirror is coated with multiple layers of dielectric and metal, which are deposited by knocking atoms off a target and onto the mirror in a process called sputtering. This coating must be reflective to direct the desired photons, but still be able to survive in the hot environment with corrosive gases that is required to grow carbon nanotubes. Then a material called resist that is sensitive to light is applied to the mirror and a pattern is created in the resist with a laser. The image on the mirror is chemically developed to remove the resist only in the areas illuminated by the laser, creating a pattern where the mirror’s reflecting surface is exposed only where nanotube growth is desired. The catalyst is then deposited over the entire mirror surface using sputtering to provide the seeds for carbon nanotube growth. A process called liftoff is used to remove the catalyst and the resist that are located where nanotubes growth is not needed. The mirror is then put in a tube furnace and heated to 1380 degrees Fahrenheit while argon, hydrogen, and ethylene gases are flowed through the tube, which allows the chemical vapor deposition of carbon nanotubes where the catalyst has been patterned. The apodizer mirror is cooled and removed from the tube furnace and characterized to make sure it is still flat, reflective where desired, and very black everywhere else. The Habitable Worlds Observatory will need a coronagraph with an optimized apodizer mirror to effectively view exoplanets and gather their light for evaluation. To make sure NASA has the best chance to succeed in this search for life, the mirror design and nanotube technology are being refined in test beds across the country. Under the SBIR program, Advanced Nanophotonics, LLC has delivered apodizers and other coronagraph components to researchers including Remi Soummer at the Space Telescope Science Institute, Eduardo Bendek and Rus Belikov at NASA Ames, Tyler Groff at NASA Goddard, and Arielle Bertrou-Cantou and Dmitri Mawet at the California Institute of Technology. These researchers are testing these components and the results of these studies will inform new designs to eventually enable the goal of a telescope with a contrast ratio of 10 billion to 1. Reflective Apodizers delivered to Scientists across the country Credit: Advanced Nanophotonics/John Hagopian, LLC In addition, although the desired contrast ratio cannot be achieved using telescopes on Earth, testing apodizer mirror designs on ground-based telescopes not only facilitates technology development, but helps determine the objects HWO might observe. Using funding from the SBIR program, Advanced Nanophotonics also developed transmissive apodizers for the University of Notre Dame to employ on another instrument—the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) Upgrade. In this case the carbon nanotubes were patterned and grown on glass that transmits the light from the telescope into the coronagraph. The Gemini telescope is an 8.1-meter telescope located in Chile, high atop a mountain in thin air to allow for better viewing. Dr. Jeffrey Chilcote is leading the effort to upgrade the GPI and install the carbon nanotube patterned apodizers and Lyot Stops in the coronagraph to allow viewing of exoplanets starting next year. Discoveries enabled by GPI may also drive future apodizer designs. More recently, the company was awarded a Phase II SBIR contract to develop next-generation apodizers and other carbon nanotube-based components for the test beds of existing collaborators and new partners at the University of Arizona and the University of California Santa Clara. Tyler Groff (left) and John Hagopian (right) display a carbon nanotube patterned apodizer mirror used in the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center coronagraph test bed. Credit: Advanced Nanophotonics/John Hagopian, LLC As a result of this SBIR-funded technology effort, Advanced Nanophotonics has collaborated with NASA Scientists to develop a variety of other applications for this nanotube technology. A special carbon nanotube coating developed by Advanced Nanophotonics was used on the recently launched NASA Ocean Color Instrument onboard the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission that is observing both the atmosphere and phytoplankton in the ocean, which are key to the health of our planet. A carbon nanotube coating that is only a quarter of the thickness of a human hair was applied around the entrance slit of the instrument. This coating absorbs 99.5% of light in the visible to infrared and prevents stray light from reflecting into the instrument to enable more accurate measurements. Hagopian’s team is also collaborating with the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) team to apply the technology to mitigate stray light in the European Space Agency’s space-based gravity wave mission. They are also working to develop carbon nanotubes for use as electron beam emitters for a project sponsored by the NASA Planetary Instrument Concepts for the Advancement of Solar System Observations (PICASSO) Program. Led by Lucy Lim at NASA Goddard, this project aims to develop an instrument to probe asteroid and comet constituents in space. In addition, Advanced Nanophotonics worked with researcher Larry Hess at NASA Goddard’s Detector Systems Branch and Jing Li at the NASA Ames Research Center to develop a breathalyzer to screen for Covid-19 using carbon nanotube technology. The electron mobility in a carbon nanotube network enables high sensitivity to gases in exhaled breath that are associated with disease. This carbon nanotube-based technology is paying dividends both in space, as we continue our search for life, and here on Earth. For additional details, see the entry for this project on NASA TechPort. PROJECT LEAD John Hagopian (Advanced Nanophotonics, LLC) SPONSORING ORGANIZATION SMD-funded SBIR project Share Details Last Updated Sep 03, 2024 Related Terms Astrophysics Science-enabling Technology Technology Highlights Explore More 2 min read Hubble Zooms into the Rosy Tendrils of Andromeda Article 4 days ago 2 min read Hubble Observes An Oddly Organized Satellite Article 5 days ago 3 min read Eclipse Soundscapes AudioMoth Donations Will Study Nature at Night Article 6 days ago View the full article

Live High-Definition Views from the International Space Station (Official NASA Stream)

The American flag pictured inside the window of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft at the International Space Station.Credit: NASA NASA will provide live coverage of the upcoming activities for Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft departure from the International Space Station and return to Earth. The uncrewed spacecraft will depart from the orbiting laboratory for a landing at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico. Starliner is scheduled to autonomously undock from the space station at approximately 6:04 p.m. EDT Friday, Sept. 6, to begin the journey home, weather conditions permitting. NASA and Boeing are targeting approximately 12:03 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 7, for the landing and conclusion of the flight test. NASA’s live coverage of return and related activities will stream on NASA+, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA programming through a variety of platforms including social media. Ahead of Starliner’s return, NASA will host a pre-departure news conference at 12 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 4, from the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. NASA’s Commercial Crew and International Space Station Program managers and a flight director will participate. To attend the pre-departure news conference in person, U.S. media must contact the NASA Johnson newsroom by 5 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 3, at jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov or 281-483-5111. To join the pre-departure news conference by phone, media must contact the NASA newsroom no later than two hours prior to the start of the call. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on June 5 for its first crewed flight, arriving at the space station on June 6. As Starliner approached the orbiting laboratory, NASA and Boeing identified helium leaks and experienced issues with the spacecraft reaction control thrusters. For the safety of the astronauts, NASA announced on Aug. 24 that Starliner will return to Earth from the station without a crew. Wilmore and Williams will remain aboard the station and return home in February 2025 aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft with two other crew members assigned to NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission. NASA’s coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations): Wednesday, Sept. 4 12 p.m. – Starliner pre-departure news conference from NASA’s Johnson Space Center on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Friday, Sept. 6 5:45 p.m. – Undocking coverage begins on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. 6:04 p.m. – Undocking 10:50 p.m. – Coverage resumes for deorbit burn, entry, and landing on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Saturday, Sept. 7 12:03 a.m. – Targeted landing 1:30 a.m. – Post-landing news conference with the following participants: Joel Montalbano, deputy associate administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida Dana Weigel, manager, International Space Station, NASA Johnson John Shannon, vice president, Boeing Exploration Systems Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager, Boeing Commercial Crew Program Coverage of the post-landing news conference will stream live on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. To attend the post-landing news conference in person, U.S. media must contact the NASA Johnson newsroom by 12 p.m., Sept. 6. To join the post-landing news conference by phone, media must contact the NASA Johnson newsroom no later than one hour prior to the start of the event. See full mission coverage, NASA’s commercial crew blog, and more information about the mission at: https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew -end- Joshua Finch / Jimi Russell Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / james.j.russell@nasa.gov Leah Cheshier Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 leah.d.cheshier@nasa.gov Steve Siceloff Kennedy Space Center, Florida 321-867-2468 steven.p.sieceloff@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Aug 30, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related TermsHumans in SpaceCommercial CrewCommercial SpaceInternational Space Station (ISS)ISS ResearchJohnson Space Center View the full article

Learn Home Co-creating authentic STEM… Community Partners Overview Learning Resources Science Activation Teams SME Map Opportunities More Science Stories Science Activation Highlights Citizen Science 2 min read Co-creating authentic STEM learning experiences with Latino communities Led by Arizona State University, the NASA Science Activation Program’s “Engaging Hispanic Communities in Authentic NASA Science” project advances NASA’s vision for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education by co-creating learning experiences with Latino communities in six locations in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Partners at each site – including educational organizations, community groups, and subject matter experts – are collaborating to offer culturally sustaining learning experiences that reflect the people, priorities, and assets of each community. In the San Francisco Bay area, the University of California Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science is working with Bay Area Community Resources to offer hands-on Earth and space activities at hundreds of out-of-school-time programs. In San Diego, the Fleet Science Center and the San Ysidro STEM Committee are planning an annual STEM festival. In the Phoenix/Mesa metro area, Arizona State University and RAIL Community Development Corporation are working with community members and local artists to create STEAM (STEM + art) experiences that will be embedded in Hispanic neighborhoods. In Albuquerque, Explora and Horizons Albuquerque are hosting a teen summit to co-create a new futures-oriented exhibition for the science center. The Brownsville Children’s Museum in Texas is working with a variety of partners to engage families in STEM learning at community events across the area. Finally, in Houston, the Children’s Museum of Houston and Community Family Centers are offering STEM summer camp experiences in underserved Hispanic neighborhoods. These activities have spanned across Spring and Summer 2024 and engaged over 10,000 learners in authentic STEM learning experiences. Looking ahead to the future, team members will continue to deepen their relationships among organizations and broaden participation across their local communities. The six sites also convene regularly as a community of practice, sharing insights, strategies, and practices. Learnings from the project and professional resources will also be shared widely across the STEM engagement and education professionals. The Engaging Hispanic Communities in Authentic NASA Science project is supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number 80NSSC22M0122 and is part of NASA’s Science Activation Portfolio. Learn more about how Science Activation connects NASA science experts, real content, and experiences with community leaders to do science in ways that activate minds and promote deeper understanding of our world and beyond: https://science.nasa.gov/learn Family doing a hands-on activity at a science center. NISE Network/Guillermo Delgado Share Details Last Updated Aug 30, 2024 Editor NASA Science Editorial Team Related Terms Community Partners Opportunities For Educators to Get Involved Science Activation Explore More 3 min read Eclipse Soundscapes AudioMoth Donations Will Study Nature at Night Article 2 days ago 2 min read Solar Eclipse Data Story Helps the Public Visualize the April 2024 Total Eclipse Article 2 weeks ago 3 min read New TEMPO Cosmic Data Story Makes Air Quality Data Publicly Available Article 2 weeks ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA James Webb Space Telescope Webb is the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It studies every phase in the… Perseverance Rover This rover and its aerial sidekick were assigned to study the geology of Mars and seek signs of ancient microbial… Parker Solar Probe On a mission to “touch the Sun,” NASA’s Parker Solar Probe became the first spacecraft to fly through the corona… Juno NASA’s Juno spacecraft entered orbit around Jupiter in 2016, the first explorer to peer below the planet’s dense clouds to… View the full article

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov (Credit: NASA) Editor’s note: This release was updated on Aug. 30, 2024, to correct Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov’s role to mission specialist. NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will launch no earlier than Tuesday, Sept. 24, on the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station. NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson, previously announced as crewmates, are eligible for reassignment on a future mission. Hague and Gorbunov will fly to the space station as commander and mission specialist, respectively, as part of a two-crew member flight aboard a SpaceX Dragon. The updated crew complement follows NASA’s decision to return the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test uncrewed and launch Crew-9 with two unoccupied seats. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who launched aboard the Starliner spacecraft in June, will fly home with Hague and Gorbunov in February 2025. The decision to fly Hague was made by NASA chief astronaut Joe Acaba at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Acaba had to balance flying a NASA crew member with previous spaceflight experience to command the flight, while ensuring NASA maintains an integrated crew with a Roscosmos cosmonaut who can operate their critical systems for continued, safe station operations. “While we’ve changed crew before for a variety of reasons, downsizing crew for this flight was another tough decision to adjust to given that the crew has trained as a crew of four,” said Acaba. “I have the utmost confidence in all our crew, who have been excellent throughout training for the mission. Zena and Stephanie will continue to assist their crewmates ahead of launch, and they exemplify what it means to be a professional astronaut.” The agency will share reassignment details for Cardman and Wilson when available. “I am deeply proud of our entire crew,” said Cardman, “and I am confident Nick and Alex will step into their roles with excellence. All four of us remain dedicated to the success of this mission, and Stephanie and I look forward to flying when the time is right.” Wilson added, “I know Nick and Alex will do a great job with their work aboard the International Space Station as part of Expedition 72.” With 203 days logged in space, this will be Hague’s third launch and second mission to the orbiting laboratory. During his first launch in March 2018, Hague and his crewmate, Roscosmos’ Alexey Ovchinin, experienced a rocket booster failure, resulting in an in-flight, post-launch abort, ballistic re-entry, and safe landing in their Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft. Five months later, Hague launched aboard Soyuz MS-12 and served as a flight engineer aboard the space station during Expeditions 59 and 60. Hague conducted three spacewalks to upgrade space station power systems and install a docking adapter for commercial spacecraft. An active-duty colonel in the U.S. Space Force, Hague completed a developmental rotation at the Defense Department, and served as the Space Force’s director of test and evaluation from 2020 to 2022. In August 2022, Hague resumed duties at NASA, working on the Boeing Starliner Program until this flight assignment. Follow @astrohague on X and Instagram. This will be Gorbunov’s first trip to space and the station. Born in Zheleznogorsk, Kursk region, Russia, he studied engineering with qualifications in spacecraft and upper stages from the Moscow Aviation Institute. Gorbunov graduated from the military department with a specialty in operating and repairing aircraft, helicopters, and aircraft engines. Before his selection as a cosmonaut in 2018, he worked as an engineer for Rocket Space Corp. Energia and supported cargo spacecraft launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Hague and Gorbonov will become members of the Expedition 72 crew aboard the station. They will join Wilmore, Williams, fellow NASA astronaut Don Pettit, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner conducting scientific research and maintenance activities into the station’s 24th year of continuous human presence. Learn more about International Space Station research and operations at: https://www.nasa.gov/station -end- Josh Finch / Jimi Russell Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / james.j.russell@nasa.gov Courtney Beasley Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 courtney.m.beasley@nasa.gov View the full article

Mars: Perseverance (Mars 2020) Perseverance Home Mission Overview Rover Components Mars Rock Samples Where is Perseverance? Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Mission Updates Science Overview Objectives Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Perseverance 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 3 min read Behind the Scenes at the 2024 Mars 2020 Science Team Meeting The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Science Team meets in person and online during the July 2024 team meeting in Pasadena, CA. Credits: R. Hogg and J. Maki. The Mars 2020 Science Team meets in Pasadena for 3 days of science synthesis It has become a fun tradition for me to write a summary of our yearly in-person Science Team Meetings (2022 meeting and 2023 meeting). I’ve been particularly looking forward to this year’s update given the recent excitement on the team and in the public about Perseverance’s discovery of a potential biosignature, a feature that may have a biological origin but needs more data or further study before reaching a conclusion about the absence or presence of life. This past July, ~160 members of the Mars 2020 Science Team met in-person in Pasadena—with another ~50 team members dialed in on-line—for three days of presentations, meetings, and team discussion. For a team that spends most of the year working remotely from around the world, we make the most of these rare opportunities for in-person discussion and synthesis of the rover’s latest science results. We spent time discussing Perseverance’s most recent science campaign in the Margin unit, an exposure of carbonate-bearing rocks that occurs along the inner rim of Jezero crater. As part of an effort to synthesize what we’ve learned about the Margin unit over the past year, we heard presentations describing surface and subsurface observations collected from the rover’s entire payload. This was followed by a thought-provoking series of presentations that tackled the three hypotheses we’re carrying for the origin of this unit: sedimentary, volcanic (pyroclastic), or crystalline igneous. Some of our liveliest discussion occurred during presentations about Neretva Vallis, Jezero’s inlet valley that once fed the sedimentary fan and lake system within the crater. Data from the RIMFAX instrument took center stage as we debated the origin and age relationship of the Bright Angel outcrop to other units we’ve studied in the crater. This context is especially important because the Bright Angel outcrop is home to the Cheyava Falls rock, which contains intriguing features we’ve been calling “leopard spots,” small white spots with dark rims observed in red bedrock of Bright Angel. On the last day of the team meeting, data from our recent “Apollo Temple” abrasion at Cheyava Falls was just starting to arrive on Earth, and team members from the PIXL and SHERLOC teams were huddled in the hallway and at the back of the conference room trying to digest these new results in real time. We had special “pop-up” presentations during which SHERLOC reported compelling evidence for organics in the new abrasion, and PIXL showed interesting new data about the light-toned veins that crosscut this rock. Between debates about the Margin unit, updates on recently published studies of the Jezero sedimentary fan sequence, and discussion of the newest rocks at Bright Angel, this team meeting was one of our most exciting yet. It also marked an important transition for the Mars 2020 science mission as we prepare to ascend the Jezero crater rim, leaving behind—at least for now—the rocks inside the crater. I can only imagine the interesting new discoveries we’ll make during the upcoming year, and I can’t wait to report back next summer! Written by Katie Stack Morgan, Mars 2020 Deputy Project Scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Share Details Last Updated Aug 30, 2024 Related Terms Blogs Explore More 4 min read Sols 4289-4290: From Discovery Pinnacle to Kings Canyon and Back Again Article 1 day ago 3 min read Sols 4287-4288: Back on the Road Article 2 days ago 3 min read Perseverance Kicks off the Crater Rim Campaign! Perseverance is officially headed into a new phase of scientific investigation on the Jezero Crater… Article 3 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

5 min read NASA, ESA Missions Help Scientists Uncover How Solar Wind Gets Energy Since the 1960s, astronomers have wondered how the Sun’s supersonic “solar wind,” a stream of energetic particles that flows out into the solar system, continues to receive energy once it leaves the Sun. Now, thanks to a lucky lineup of a NASA and an ESA (European Space Agency)/NASA spacecraft both currently studying the Sun, they may have discovered the answer — knowledge that is a crucial piece of the puzzle to help scientists better forecast solar activity between the Sun and Earth. A paper published in the Aug. 30, 2024, issue of the journal Science provides persuasive evidence that the fastest solar winds are powered by magnetic “switchbacks,” or large kinks in the magnetic field, near the Sun. “Our study addresses a huge open question about how the solar wind is energized and helps us understand how the Sun affects its environment and, ultimately, the Earth,” said Yeimy Rivera, co-leader of the study and a postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, part of Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. “If this process happens in our local star, it’s highly likely that this powers winds from other stars across the Milky Way galaxy and beyond and could have implications for the habitability of exoplanets.” This artist’s concept shows switchbacks, or large kinks in the Sun’s magnetic field. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Conceptual Image Lab/Adriana Manrique Gutierrez Previously, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe found that these switchbacks were common throughout the solar wind. Parker, which became the first craft to enter the Sun’s magnetic atmosphere in 2021, allowed scientists to determine that switchbacks become more distinct and more powerful close to the Sun. Up to now, however, scientists lacked experimental evidence that this interesting phenomenon actually deposits enough energy to be important in the solar wind. “About three years ago, I was giving a talk about how fascinating these waves are,” said co-author Mike Stevens, astrophysicist at the Center for Astrophysics. “At the end, an astronomy professor stood up and said, ‘that’s neat, but do they actually matter?’” To answer this, the team of scientists had to use two different spacecraft. Parker is built to fly through the Sun’s atmosphere, or “corona.” ESA’s and NASA’s Solar Orbiter mission is also on an orbit that takes it relatively close to the Sun, and it measures solar wind at larger distances. The discovery was made possible because of a coincidental alignment in February 2022 that allowed both Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter to measure the same solar wind stream within two days of each other. Solar Orbiter was almost halfway to the Sun while Parker was skirting the edge of the Sun’s magnetic atmosphere. This conceptual image shows Parker Solar Probe about to enter the solar corona. NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ben Smith An artist’s concept shows Solar Orbiter near the Sun. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab “We didn’t initially realize that Parker and Solar Orbiter were measuring the same thing at all. Parker saw this slower plasma near the Sun that was full of switchback waves, and then Solar Orbiter recorded a fast stream which had received heat and with very little wave activity,” said Samuel Badman, astrophysicist at the Center for Astrophysics and the other co-lead of the study. “When we connected the two, that was a real eureka moment.” Scientists have long known that energy is moved throughout the Sun‘s corona and the solar wind, at least in part, through what are known as “Alfvén waves.” These waves transport energy through a plasma, the superheated state of matter that makes up the solar wind. However, how much the Alfvén waves evolve and interact with the solar wind between the Sun and Earth couldn’t be measured — until these two missions were sent closer to the Sun than ever before, at the same time. Now, scientists can directly determine how much energy is stored in the magnetic and velocity fluctuations of these waves near the corona, and how much less energy is carried by the waves farther from the Sun. The new research shows that the Alfvén waves in the form of switchbacks provide enough energy to account for the heating and acceleration documented in the faster stream of the solar wind as it flows away from the Sun. “It took over half a century to confirm that Alfvenic wave acceleration and heating are important processes, and they happen in approximately the way we think they do,” said John Belcher, emeritus professor from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who co-discovered Alfvén waves in the solar wind but was not involved in this study. In addition to helping scientists better forecast solar activity and space weather, such information helps us understand mysteries of the universe elsewhere and how Sun-like stars and stellar winds operate everywhere. “This discovery is one of the key puzzle pieces to answer the 50-year-old question of how the solar wind is accelerated and heated in the innermost portions of the heliosphere, bringing us closer to closure to one of the main science objectives of the Parker Solar Probe mission,” said Adam Szabo, Parker Solar Probe mission science lead at NASA. By Megan Watzke Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian Share Details Last Updated Aug 30, 2024 Related Terms Goddard Space Flight Center Heliophysics Heliophysics Division Parker Solar Probe (PSP) Science & Research Science Mission Directorate Solar Flares Solar Orbiter Solar Science Solar Wind Space Weather The Sun The Sun & Solar Physics Explore More 2 min read Hubble Zooms into the Rosy Tendrils of Andromeda Article 2 hours ago 2 min read Hubble Observes An Oddly Organized Satellite Article 1 day ago 6 min read NASA Discovers a Long-Sought Global Electric Field on Earth An international team of scientists has successfully measured a planet-wide electric field thought to be… Article 2 days ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

NASA’s T-38 jets fly in formation above the Space Launch System rocket on Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Aircraft designations and passengers: 901: Chris Condon / Astronaut Zena Cardman. 902: Astronaut Candidate Nicole Ayers / Astronaut Christina Koch. 903: Canadian Space Agency Astronaut Jeremy Hansen / Astronaut Drew Morgan. 904: Chief Astronaut Reid Wiseman / Astronaut Joe Acaba. 905 (Photo Chase): Astronaut Candidate Jack Hathaway / Josh Valcarcel Image Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel View the full article

Portraits of NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. (Credit: NASA) NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will launch no earlier than Tuesday, Sept. 24, on the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station. NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson, previously announced as crewmates, are eligible for reassignment on a future mission. Hague and Gorbunov will fly to the space station as commander and pilot, respectively, as part of a two-crew member flight aboard a SpaceX Dragon. The updated crew complement follows NASA’s decision to return the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test uncrewed and launch Crew-9 with two unoccupied seats. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who launched aboard the Starliner spacecraft in June, will fly home with Hague and Gorbunov in February 2025. The decision to fly Hague was made by NASA chief astronaut Joe Acaba at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Acaba had to balance flying a NASA crew member with previous spaceflight experience to command the flight, while ensuring NASA maintains an integrated crew with a Roscosmos cosmonaut who can operate their critical systems for continued, safe station operations. “While we’ve changed crew before for a variety of reasons, downsizing crew for this flight was another tough decision to adjust to given that the crew has trained as a crew of four,” said Acaba. “I have the utmost confidence in all our crew, who have been excellent throughout training for the mission. Zena and Stephanie will continue to assist their crewmates ahead of launch, and they exemplify what it means to be a professional astronaut.” The agency will share reassignment details for Cardman and Wilson when available. “I am deeply proud of our entire crew,” said Cardman, “and I am confident Nick and Alex will step into their roles with excellence. All four of us remain dedicated to the success of this mission, and Stephanie and I look forward to flying when the time is right.” Wilson added, “I know Nick and Alex will do a great job with their work aboard the International Space Station as part of Expedition 72.” With 203 days logged in space, this will be Hague’s third launch and second mission to the orbiting laboratory. During his first launch in March 2018, Hague and his crewmate, Roscosmos’ Alexey Ovchinin, experienced a rocket booster failure, resulting in an in-flight, post-launch abort, ballistic re-entry, and safe landing in their Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft. Five months later, Hague launched aboard Soyuz MS-12 and served as a flight engineer aboard the space station during Expeditions 59 and 60. Hague conducted three spacewalks to upgrade space station power systems and install a docking adapter for commercial spacecraft. An active-duty colonel in the U.S. Space Force, Hague completed a developmental rotation at the Defense Department, and served as the Space Force’s director of test and evaluation from 2020 to 2022. In August 2022, Hague resumed duties at NASA, working on the Boeing Starliner Program until this flight assignment. Follow @astrohague on X and Instagram. This will be Gorbunov’s first trip to space and the station. Born in Zheleznogorsk, Kursk region, Russia, he studied engineering with qualifications in spacecraft and upper stages from the Moscow Aviation Institute. Gorbunov graduated from the military department with a specialty in operating and repairing aircraft, helicopters, and aircraft engines. Before his selection as a cosmonaut in 2018, he worked as an engineer for Rocket Space Corp. Energia and supported cargo spacecraft launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Hague and Gorbonov will become members of the Expedition 72 crew aboard the station. They will join Wilmore, Williams, fellow NASA astronaut Don Pettit, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner conducting scientific research and maintenance activities into the station’s 24th year of continuous human presence. Learn more about International Space Station research and operations at: https://www.nasa.gov/station -end- Josh Finch / Jimi Russell Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / james.j.russell@nasa.gov Courtney Beasley Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 courtney.m.beasley@nasa.gov View the full article

2 min read Hubble Zooms into the Rosy Tendrils of Andromeda NASA, ESA, M. Boyer (Space Telescope Science Institute), and J. Dalcanton (University of Washington); Image Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America) Clusters of stars set the interstellar medium ablaze in the Andromeda Galaxy about 2.5 million light-years away. Also known as M31, Andromeda is the Milky Way’s closest major galaxy. It measures approximately 152,000 light-years across and, with almost the same mass as our home galaxy, is headed for a collision with the Milky Way in 2-4 billion years. In the meantime, Andromeda remains an object of study for many astronomers. As a spiral galaxy, Andromeda’s winding arms are one of its most remarkable features. NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope zoomed in to get a close look at one of its tendrils in the northeast, revealing swathes of ionized gas. These regions — which are common in spiral and irregular galaxies — often indicate the presence of recent star formation. The combination of stellar nurseries and supernovae create a dynamic environment that excites the surrounding hydrogen gas, flourishing it into a garden of star-studded roses. NASA, ESA, M. Boyer (Space Telescope Science Institute), and J. Dalcanton (University of Washington); Image Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America) Scientists probed Andromeda’s spiral arms using Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) and Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) to analyze the collection of stars buried in its cosmic bouquets. With ACS and WFC3’s wide spectral coverage, Hubble could peer through the hedges of gas and observe a valuable sample of these stars. The extent of the study spanned a vast range of stars, providing not just a clear view of Andromeda’s stellar history and diversity, but also more insight on stellar formation and evolution overall. By examining these stars in our local cosmic neighborhood, scientists can better understand those within galaxies in the distant universe. Download First Image Download Second Image This inset image shows the location of Hubble’s view within the Andromeda galaxy. NASA, ESA, M. Boyer (Space Telescope Science Institute), J. Dalcanton (University of Washington), and KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/Adam Block; Image Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America) This inset image shows the location of Hubble’s view within the Andromeda galaxy. NASA, ESA, M. Boyer (Space Telescope Science Institute), J. Dalcanton (University of Washington), and KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/Adam Block; Image Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America) Explore More Hubble’s Galaxies 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 Aug 30, 2024 Editor Michelle Belleville Location NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms Astrophysics Galaxies Goddard Space Flight Center Hubble Space Telescope Stars Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Hubble Space Telescope Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe. Hubble Science Hubble’s Galaxies Stars View the full article

4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA’s Student Launch, a STEM competition, officially kicks off its 25th anniversary with the 2025 handbook. By Wayne Smith NASA’s Student Launch competition kicks off its 25th year with the release of the 2025 handbook, detailing how teams can submit proposals by Wednesday, Sept. 11, for the event scheduled next spring near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Student Launch is an annual competition challenging middle school, high school, and college students to design, build, test, and launch a high-powered amateur rocket with a scientific or engineering payload. After a team is selected, they must meet documentation milestones and undergo detailed reviews throughout the school year. Each year, NASA updates the university payload challenge to reflect current scientific and exploration missions. For the 2025 season, the payload challenge will again take inspiration from the Artemis missions, which seek to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon. As Student Launch celebrates its 25th anniversary, the payload challenge will include “reports” from STEMnauts, non-living objects representing astronauts. The 2024 challenge tasked teams with safely deploying a lander mid-air for a group of four STEMnauts using metrics to support a survivable landing. The lander had to be deployed without a parachute and had a minimum weight limit of five pounds. “This year, we’re shifting the focus to communications for the payload challenge,” said John Eckhart, technical coordinator for Student Launch at Marshall. “The STEMnaut ‘crew’ must relay real-time data to the student team’s mission control. This helps connect Student Launch with the Artemis missions when NASA lands astronauts on the Moon.” Thousands of students participated in the 2024 Student Launch competition – making up 70 teams representing 24 states and Puerto Rico. Teams launched their rockets to an altitude between 4,000 and 6,000 feet, while attempting to make a successful landing and executing the payload mission. The University of Notre Dame was the overall winner of the 2024 event, which culminated with a launch day open to the public. Student Launch began in 2000 when former Marshall Director Art Stephenson started a student rocket competition at the center. It started with just two universities in Huntsville competing – Alabama A&M University and the University of Alabama in Huntsville – but has continued to soar. Since its inception, thousands of students have participated in the agency’s STEM competition, with many going on to a career with NASA. “This remarkable journey, spanning a quarter of a century, has been a testament to the dedication, ingenuity, and passion of countless students, educators, and mentors who have contributed to the program’s success,” Eckhart said. “NASA Student Launch has been at the forefront of experiential education, providing students from middle school through university with unparalleled opportunities to engage in real-world engineering and scientific research. The program’s core mission – to inspire and cultivate the next generation of aerospace professionals and space explorers – has not only been met but exceeded in ways we could have only dreamed of.” To encourage students to pursue degrees and careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), Marshall’s Office of STEM Engagement hosts Student Launch, providing them with real-world experiences. Student Launch is one of NASA’s nine Artemis Student Challenges – a variety of activities that expose students to the knowledge and technology required to achieve the goals of Artemis. In addition to the NASA Office of STEM Engagement’s Next Generation STEM project, NASA Space Operations Mission Directorate, Northrup Grumman, National Space Club Huntsville, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, National Association of Rocketry, Relativity Space and Bastion Technologies provide funding and leadership for the competition. “These bright students rise to a nine-month challenge for Student Launch that tests their skills in engineering, design, and teamwork,” said Kevin McGhaw, director of NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement Southeast Region. “They are the Artemis Generation, the future scientists, engineers, and innovators who will lead us into the future of space exploration.” For more information about Student Launch, please visit: https://www.nasa.gov/studentlaunch Taylor Goodwin Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. 256.544.0034 taylor.goodwin@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Aug 29, 2024 LocationMarshall Space Flight Center Related TermsMarshall Space Flight Center Explore More 27 min read The Marshall Star for August 28, 2024 Article 2 days ago 4 min read NASA Expands Human Exploration Rover Challenge to Middle Schools Article 2 days ago 3 min read NASA, Boeing Optimizing Vehicle Assembly Building High Bay for Future SLS Stage Production Article 3 days ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

3 Min Read September’s Night Sky Notes: Marvelous Moons Jupiter’s largest moons, from left to right: Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto. Credits: NASA by Kat Troche of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific September brings the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn back into view, along with their satellites. And while we organize celebrations to observe our own Moon this month, be sure to grab a telescope or binoculars to see other moons within our Solar System! We recommend observing these moons (and planets!) when they are at their highest in the night sky, to get the best possible unobstructed views. The More the Merrier As of September 2024, the ringed planet Saturn has 146 identified moons in its orbit. These celestial bodies range in size; the smallest being a few hundred feet across, to Titan, the second largest moon in our solar system. The Saturnian system along with various moons around the planet Saturn: Iapetus, Titan, Enceladus, Rhea, Tethys, and Dione. Stellarium Web Even at nearly 900 million miles away, Titan can be easily spotted next to Saturn with a 4-inch telescope, under urban and suburban skies, due to its sheer size. With an atmosphere of mostly nitrogen with traces of hydrogen and methane, Titan was briefly explored in 2005 with the Huygens probe as part of the Cassini-Huygens mission, providing more information about the surface of Titan. NASA’s mission Dragonfly is set to explore the surface of Titan in the 2030s. Enceladus is an icy world much like Hoth, except that it has an ocean under its frozen crust. Astronomers believe this moon of Saturn may be a good candidate for having extraterrestrial life beneath its surface. NASA/ESA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute Saturn’s moon Enceladus was also explored by the Cassini mission, revealing plumes of ice that erupt from below the surface, adding to the brilliance of Saturn’s rings. Much like our own Moon, Enceladus remains tidally locked with Saturn, presenting the same side towards its host planet at all times. The Galilean Gang The King of the Planets might not have the most moons, but four of Jupiter’s 95 moons are definitely the easiest to see with a small pair of binoculars or a small telescope because they form a clear line. The Galilean Moons – Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa – were first discovered in 1610 and they continue to amaze stargazers across the globe. The Jovian system: Europa, Io, Ganymede, and Callisto. Stellarium Web Ganymede: largest moon in our solar system, and larger than the planet Mercury, Ganymede has its own magnetic field and a possible saltwater ocean beneath the surface. Callisto: this heavily cratered moon is the third largest in our solar system. Although Callisto is the furthest away of the Galilean moons, it only takes 17 days to complete an orbit around Jupiter. Io: the closest moon and third largest in this system, Io is an extremely active world, due to the push and pull of Jupiter’s gravity. The volcanic activity of this rocky world is so intense that it can be seen from some of the largest telescopes here on Earth. Europa: Jupiter’s smallest moon also happens to be the strongest candidate for a liquid ocean beneath the surface. NASA’s Europa Clipper is set to launch October 2024 and will determine if this moon has conditions suitable to support life. Want to learn more? Rewatch the July 2023 Night Sky Network webinar about Europa Clipper here. Be sure to celebrate International Observe the Moon Night here on Earth September 14, 2024, leading up to the super full moon on September 17th! You can learn more about supermoons in our mid-month article on the Night Sky Network page! View the full article

Live High-Definition Views from the International Space Station (Official NASA Stream)

Live Video from the International Space Station (Official NASA Stream)

Home ASSURE 2018 has successfully concluded. UPDATES New! 2018-07-30: The ASSURE 2018 program has been announced. The final program is contingent on registration. If you haven’t already done so, please register for ASSURE 2018 via SAFECOMP 2018. 2018-06-21: ASSURE 2018 will be held on Tuesday, Sep. 18, 2018. The accepted papers and program will be posted here soon. 2018-06-12: Authors of accepted papers have been notified. The final, camera-ready version and a signed copyright release form are due on June 21, 2018. Instructions on submitting both the final version and the copyright form also have been posted. 2018-05-30: Paper submission deadlines have passed. Submission is now closed. 2018-05-18: ASSURE deadlines have been extended by a week, to May 29, 2018. 2018-04-09: The deadline to submit papers to ASSURE 2018 is May 22, 2018. Submit a paper now! 2018-03-28: See the call for papers or download the PDF call for papers. 2018-03-26: The ASSURE 2018 website is live! Introduction The 6th International Workshop on Assurance Cases for Software-intensive Systems (ASSURE 2018) is being collocated this year with SAFECOMP 2018, and aims to provide an international forum for high-quality contributions on the application of assurance case principles and techniques to provide assurance that the dependability properties of critical, software-intensive systems have been met. The main goals of the workshop are to: Explore techniques for the creation and assessment of assurance cases for software-intensive systems Examine the role of assurance cases in the engineering lifecycle of critical systems Identify the dimension of effective practice in the development and evaluation of assurance cases Investigate the relationship between dependability techniques and assurance cases Identify critical research challenges and define a roadmap for future development We invite original, high-quality research, practice, tools and position papers that have not been published/submitted elsewhere. See the full Call for Papers, for more details on topics. Also view the submission deadlines, and guidelines. Program September 18, 2017, from 08:00 – 17:30 08:00 – 09:00 Registration 09:00 – 11:00 Session 1. Welcome, Introduction, Keynote and Confidence Assessment 09:00 – 09:05 Welcome and Introduction, ASSURE 2018 Organizers 09:05 – 10:00 Keynote Talk. Assurance Cases: Mindsets, Methodologies and Convergence, Robin Bloomfield 10:00 – 10:30 Research on the Classification of the Relationships Among the Same Layer Elements in Assurance Case Structure for Evaluation, B. Xu, M. Lu, T. Gu, and D. Zhang 10:30 – 11:00 Morning Coffee/Tea Break 11:00 – 12:30 Session 2. Patterns and Processes 11:00 – 11:30 The Assurance Recipe: Facilitating Assurance Patterns, J. Firestone and M. Cohen 11:30 – 12:00 Incorporating Attacks Modeling into Safety Process, A. Surkovic, D. Hanic, E. Lisova, A. Causevic, K. Lundqvist, D. Wenslandt, and C. Falk 12:00 – 12:30 Assurance Case Considerations for Interoperable Medical Systems, Y. Zhang, B. Larson, and J. Hatcliff 12:30 – 13:30 Lunch Break 13:30 – 15:30 Session 3. Tools and Automation 13:30 – 14:00 Two Decades of Assurance Case Tools: A Survey, M. Maksimov, N. Fung, S. Kokaly, and M. Chechik 14:00 – 14:30 MMINT–A: A Tool for Automated Change Impact Assessment on Assurance Cases, N. Fung, S. Kokaly, A. Di Sandro, R. Salay, and M. Chechik 14:30 – 15:00 D–Case Steps: New Steps for Writing Assurance Cases, Y. Onuma, T. Takai, T. Koshiyama, and Y. Matsuno 15:00 – 15:30 Continuous Argument Engineering: Tackling Uncertainty in Machine Learning based Systems, F. Ishikawa, and Y. Matsuno 15:30 – 16:00 Afternoon Coffee/Tea Break 16:00 – 17:20 Session 4. Panel Session. What are Assurance Case Tools For? 17:20 – 17:30 ASSURE 2018 Conclusion and Wrap-Up Important Dates EVENTDEADLINEWorkshop Papers Due29 May 2018Notification of Acceptance11 June 2018Camera-ready Copies Due21 June 2018ASSURE 2018 WorkshopSeptember 18, 2018SAFECOMP 2018September 19 – 21, 2018 Call for Papers Software plays a key role in high-risk systems, e.g., safety-, and security-critical systems. Several certification standards/guidelines now recommend and/or mandate the development of assurance cases for software-intensive systems, e.g., defense (UK MoD DS-0056), aviation (CAP 670, FAA’s operational approval guidance for unmanned aircraft systems), automotive (ISO 26262), and healthcare (FDA infusion pumps total product lifecycle guidance). As such, there is a need to develop models, techniques and tools that target the development of assurance arguments for software. The goals of the 2018 Workshop on Assurance Cases for Software-intensive Systems (ASSURE 2018) are to: explore techniques for creating/assessing assurance cases for software-intensive systems; examine the role of assurance cases in the engineering lifecycle of critical systems; identify the dimensions of effective practice in the development and evaluation of assurance cases; investigate the relationship between dependability techniques and assurance cases; and, identify critical research challenges and define a roadmap for future development. We solicit high-quality contributions: research, practice, tools and position papers on the application of assurance case principles and techniques to assure that the dependability properties of critical software-intensive systems have been met. Papers should attempt to address the workshop goals in general. Topics Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: Assurance issues in emerging paradigms, e.g., adaptive and autonomous systems, including self-driving cars, unmanned aircraft systems, complex health care and decision making systems, etc. Standards: Industry guidelines and standards are increasingly requiring the development of assurance cases, e.g., the automotive standard ISO 26262 and the FDA guidance on the total product lifecycle for infusion pumps. Certification and Regulations: The role and usage of assurance cases in the certification of critical systems, as well as to show compliance to regulations. Empiricism: Empirical assessment of the applicability of assurance cases in different domains and certification regimes. Dependable architectures: How do fault-tolerant architectures and design measures such as diversity and partitioning relate to assurance cases? Dependability analysis: What are the relationships between dependability analysis techniques and the assurance case paradigm? Safety and security co-engineering: What are the impacts of security on safety, particularly safety cases, and how can safety and security cases (e.g., as proposed in ISO 26262 and SAE J 3061 respectively) be reconciled? Tools: Using the output from software engineering tools (testing, formal verification, code generators) as evidence in assurance cases / using tools for the modeling, analysis and management of assurance cases. Application of formal techniques for the creation, analysis, reuse, and modularization of arguments. Exploration of relevant techniques for assurance cases for real-time, concurrent, and distributed systems. Assurance of software quality attributes, e.g., safety, security and maintainability, as well as dependability in general, including tradeoffs, and exploring notions of the quality of assurance cases themselves. Domain-specific assurance issues, in domains such as aerospace, automotive, healthcare, defense and power. Reuse and Modularization: Contracts and patterns for improving the reuse of assurance case structures. Relations between different formalisms and paradigms of assurance and argumentation, such as Goal Structuring Notation, STAMP, IBIS, and goal-oriented formalisms such as KAOS. Submit Submission Instructions for Accepted Papers If your paper has been accepted for the ASSURE 2018 Program, please follow ALL the instructions below, when preparing your final, camera-ready paper for the proceedings. Deadline The final paper and the signed copyright form are due on June 21, 2018. This is a firm deadline for the production of the proceedings. Acknowledgements Include acknowledgements of the support your work/project has received, as appropriate and if applicable, at the end of the paper. Final Paper Submission Submit your final, camera-ready paper using your EasyChair author account, for inclusion into the Workshop Proceedings. After you have logged in, select the Proceedings Author role to be directed to the submission page. Springer reserves the right to reformat your paper to meet their print and digital publication requirements. Consequently, you will need to submit all the source files associated with your paper. Follow the instructions after logging in, to upload two files: either a zipped file containing all your LaTeX sources or a Word file in the RTF format, and a PDF version of your camera-ready paper. Plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and publication in multiple venues are not permitted. Copyright Release Your paper will not be published in the proceedings unless a completed and signed copyright transfer form has been received. Authors must fill and sign the Springer “Consent to Publish” copyright release form using the following information: Title of the Book or Conference Name: Computer Safety, Reliability and Security – SAFECOMP 2018 Workshops – ASSURE, DECSoS, SASSUR, STRIVE, and WAISE. Volume Editor(s): Barbara Gallina, Amund Skavhaug, Erwin Schoitsch, and Friedemann Bitsch. One author may sign on behalf of all authors. Springer does not accept digital signatures. Please physically sign the form, scan, and email it in PDF or any standard acceptable image format, to the SAFECOMP 2018 Publication Chair by the deadline above. Alternatively, upload the signed, and completed form via EasyChair using your author account. Corresponding Authors Please nominate a corresponding author, whose name and email address must be included in the copyright release form. If sending the copyright release form by email, please include the corresponding author’s name and email address in the email. This author will be responsible for checking the pre-print proof of the final version of your paper that Springer will prepare. Pre-print Checking The publisher has recently introduced an extra control loop: once data processing is finished, they will contact all corresponding authors and ask them to check their papers within 72 hours. We expect this to happen shortly before the printing of the proceedings. At that time your quick interaction with Springer-Verlag will be greatly appreciated. Formatting and Page Limits Papers should strictly conform to the LNCS paper formatting guidelines. Please do not change the spacing and dimensions associated with the paper template files. Please ensure that your paper meets the page limits for your paper type. Page limits are strict. Regular research/practice papers: Up to 10 pages including figures, references, and appendices. Tools papers: Up to 10 pages, including figures, references, and appendices. Position papers: 6 pages including figures, references, and any appendices. Committees Workshop Chairs Ewen Denney, SGT / NASA Ames, USA Ibrahim Habli, University of York, UK Richard Hawkins ,University of York, UK Ganesh, Pai, SGT / NASA Ames, USA Program Committee Simon Burton, Bosch Research, Germany Isabelle Conway, ESA/ESTEC, Netherlands Martin Feather, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, USA Alwyn Goodloe, NASA Langley Research Center, USA Jérémie Guiochet, LAAS-CNRS, France Joshua Kaizer, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, USA Tim Kelly, University of York, UK Yoshiki Kinoshita, Kanagawa University, Japan Andrew Rae, Griffith University, Australia Philippa Ryan, Adelard, UK Mark-Alexander Sujan, University of Warwick, UK Kenji Taguchi, CAV Technologies Co. Ltd., Japan Sean White, NHS Digital, UK Past Workshops Previous ASSURE Workshops ASSURE 2017, Trento, Italy ASSURE 2016, Trondheim, Norway ASSURE 2015, Delft, The Netherlands ASSURE 2014, Naples, Italy ASSURE 2013, San Francisco, USA Contact Us Contact the Organizers If you have questions about paper topics, submission and/or about ASSURE 2018 in general, please contact the Workshop Organizers. View the full article

Home ASSURE 2017 has successfully concluded. UPDATES 2017-10-01: ASSURE 2017 concluded successfully. The accepted papers appear in the SAFECOMP 2017 Workshop Proceedings. Thank you for attending! See you in 2018. 2017-08-28: The ASSURE 2017 Program has been announced. The final program is contingent on registration. If you haven’t already done so, please register for ASSURE 2017 via SAFECOMP 2017. 2017-08-27: ASSURE 2017 will be held on Tuesday, Sep. 12, 2017. The accepted papers and program will be posted here soon. 2017-06-02: Authors of accepted papers have been notified. The final, camera-ready version and a signed copyright release form are due on June 12, 2017. Instructions on submitting both the final version and the copyright form also have been posted. 2017-05-24: Paper submission deadlines have passed. Submission is now closed. 2016-05-16: ASSURE deadlines have been extended by a week, to May 24, 2017. 2017-03-27: Dr. Simon Burton, Chief Expert Safety, Reliability and Availability at Robert Bosch GmbH Central Research Division, Germany, has generously accepted to give an invited keynote talk! Watch this space for the topic and abstract for the talk. 2017-03-22: The deadline to submit papers to ASSURE 2017 is May 17, 2017. Submit a paper now! 2017-03-01: The ASSURE 2017 website is live! Introduction The 5th International Workshop on Assurance Cases for Software-intensive Systems (ASSURE 2017) is being collocated this year with SAFECOMP 2017, and aims to provide an international forum for high-quality contributions on the application of assurance case principles and techniques to provide assurance that the dependability properties of critical, software-intensive systems have been met. The main goals of the workshop are to: Explore techniques for the creation and assessment of assurance cases for software-intensive systems Examine the role of assurance cases in the engineering lifecycle of critical systems Identify the dimension of effective practice in the development and evaluation of assurance cases Investigate the relationship between dependability techniques and assurance cases Identify critical research challenges and define a roadmap for future development We invite original, high-quality research, practice, tools and position papers that have not been published/submitted elsewhere. See the full Call for Papers, for more details on topics. Also view the submission deadlines, and guidelines. Program ASSURE 2017 Program September 12, 2017, from 08:00 – 17:30 08:00 – 09:00 Registration 09:00 – 11:00 Session 1. Welcome, Introduction, Keynote and Assurance Case Frameworks 09:00 – 09:05 Welcome and Introduction, ASSURE 2017 Organizers 09:05 – 10:00 Keynote Talk: Making the Case for Safety of Machine Learning in Highly Automated Driving, Simon Burton (with Lydia Gauerhof and Christian Heinzemann) 10:00 – 10:30 A Thought Experiment on Evolution of Assurance Cases – from a Logical Aspect, Y. Kinoshita and S. Kinoshita 10:30 – 11:00 Morning Coffee/Tea Break 11:00 – 12:30 Session 2. Assurance Case Tool Support 11:00 – 11:30 Uniform Model Interface for Assurance Case Integration with System Models, A. Wardziński and P. Jones 11:30 – 12:00 ExplicitCase: Integrated Model-based Development of System and Safety Cases, C. Cârlan, S. Barner, A. Diewald, A. Tsalidis and S. Voss 12:00 – 12:30 D-Case Communicator: A Web-Based GSN Editor for Multiple Stakeholders, Y. Matsuno 12:30 – 13:30 Lunch Break 13:30 – 15:30 Session 3. Assurance Cases for Security 13:30 – 14:00 Reconciling Systems-Theoretic and Component-Centric Methods for Safety and Security Co-Analysis, W. Temple, Y. Wu, B. Chen and Z. Kalbarczyk 14:00 – 14:30 Towards combined safety and security constraints analysis, D. Pereira, C. Hirata, R. Pagliares and S. Nadjm-Tehrani 14:30 – 15:00 Attack Modeling for System Security Analysis and Assurance Case, A. Altawairqi and M. Maarek 15:00 – 15:30 Using an Assurance Case Framework to Develop Security Strategy and Policies, R. Bloomfield, P. Bishop, E. Butler and K. Netkachova 15:30 – 16:00 Afternoon Coffee/Tea Break 16:00 – 17:25 Session 4. Guided Discussion 17:25 – 17:30 ASSURE 2017 Conclusion and Wrap-Up Important Dates EVENTDEADLINEWorkshop Papers Due24 May 2017Notification of Acceptance31 May 2017Camera-ready Copies Due12 June 2017ASSURE 2017 WorkshopSeptember 12, 2017SAFECOMP 2017September 13 – 15, 2017 Call for Papers Software plays a key role in high-risk systems, e.g., safety-, and security-critical systems. Several certification standards/guidelines now recommend and/or mandate the development of assurance cases for software-intensive systems, e.g., defense (UK MoD DS-0056), aviation (CAP 670, FAA’s operational approval guidance for unmanned aircraft systems), automotive (ISO 26262), and healthcare (FDA infusion pumps total product lifecycle guidance). As such, there is a need to develop models, techniques and tools that target the development of assurance arguments for software. The goals of the 2017 Workshop on Assurance Cases for Software-intensive Systems (ASSURE 2017) are to: explore techniques for creating/assessing assurance cases for software-intensive systems; examine the role of assurance cases in the engineering lifecycle of critical systems; identify the dimensions of effective practice in the development and evaluation of assurance cases; investigate the relationship between dependability techniques and assurance cases; and, identify critical research challenges and define a roadmap for future development. We solicit high-quality contributions: research, practice, tools and position papers on the application of assurance case principles and techniques to assure that the dependability properties of critical software-intensive systems have been met. Papers should attempt to address the workshop goals in general. Topics Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: Assurance issues in emerging paradigms, e.g., adaptive and autonomous systems, including self-driving cars, unmanned aircraft systems, complex health care and decision making systems, etc. Standards: Industry guidelines and standards are increasingly requiring the development of assurance cases, e.g., the automotive standard ISO 26262 and the FDA guidance on the total product lifecycle for infusion pumps. Certification and Regulations: The role and usage of assurance cases in the certification of critical systems, as well as to show compliance to regulations. Empiricism: Empirical assessment of the applicability of assurance cases in different domains and certification regimes. Dependable architectures: How do fault-tolerant architectures and design measures such as diversity and partitioning relate to assurance cases? Dependability analysis: What are the relationships between dependability analysis techniques and the assurance case paradigm? Safety and security co-engineering: What are the impacts of security on safety, particularly safety cases, and how can safety and security cases (e.g., as proposed in ISO 26262 and SAE J 3061 respectively) be reconciled? Tools: Using the output from software engineering tools (testing, formal verification, code generators) as evidence in assurance cases / using tools for the modeling, analysis and management of assurance cases. Application of formal techniques for the creation, analysis, reuse, and modularization of arguments. Exploration of relevant techniques for assurance cases for real-time, concurrent, and distributed systems. Assurance of software quality attributes, e.g., safety, security and maintainability, as well as dependability in general, including tradeoffs, and exploring notions of the quality of assurance cases themselves. Domain-specific assurance issues, in domains such as aerospace, automotive, healthcare, defense and power. Reuse and Modularization: Contracts and patterns for improving the reuse of assurance case structures. Relations between different formalisms and paradigms of assurance and argumentation, such as Goal Structuring Notation, STAMP, IBIS, and goal-oriented formalisms such as KAOS. Submit Submission Instructions for Accepted Papers If your paper has been accepted for the ASSURE 2017 Program, please follow the instructions below, when preparing your final, camera-ready paper for the proceedings. 1. Deadline The final paper and the signed copyright form are due on June 12, 2017. This is a firm deadline for the production of the proceedings. 2. Copyright Release Authors must fill and sign the Springer “Consent to Publish” copyright release form using the following information: Title of the Book or Conference Name: Computer Safety, Reliability, and Security – SAFECOMP 2017 Workshops – ASSURE, DECSoS, SASSUR, TELERISE, and TIPS Volume Editor(s): Stefano Tonetta, Erwin Schoitsch, Friedemann Bitsch One author may sign on behalf of all authors. Springer does not accept digital signatures, unfortunately. Please physically sign the form, scan, and email it in PDF or any acceptable image format, to the SAFECOMP 2017 Publication Chair by the deadline above. Alternatively, upload the signed, and completed form via EasyChair using your author account. 3. Corresponding Authors Please nominate a corresponding author, whose name and email address must be included in the email containing the copyright release form. This author will be responsible for checking the pre-print proof of your paper prepared by Springer. 4. Pre-print Checking The publisher has recently introduced an extra control loop: once data processing is finished, they will contact all corresponding authors and ask them to check their papers. We expect this to happen shortly before the printing of the proceedings. At that time your quick interaction with Springer-Verlag will be greatly appreciated. 5. Formatting and Page Limits Please do not change the spacing and dimensions associated with the paper template files. Please ensure that your paper meets the page limits for your paper type. Page limits are strict. Regular research/practice papers: 12 pages including figures, references, and appendices. Tools papers: 10 pages, including figures, references, and appendices. Position papers: 4 – 6 pages including figures, references, and any appendices. 6. Final Paper Submission Submit your camera ready paper using your EasyChair author account, for inclusion into the Workshop Proceedings. After you have logged in, select the Proceedings Author role to be directed to the submission page. Springer reserves the right to reformat your paper to meet their print and digital publication requirements. Consequently, you will need to submit all the source files associated with your paper. Follow the instructions after the login for uploading two files: either a zipped file containing all your LaTeX sources or a Word file in the RTF format, and a PDF version of your camera-ready paper. Please follow the LNCS paper formatting guidelines when preparing the final version. Committees Workshop Chairs Ewen Denney, SGT / NASA Ames, USA Ibrahim Habli, University of York, UK Ganesh Pai, SGT / NASA Ames, USA Kenji Taguchi, AIST, Japan Program Committee Robin Bloomfield, City University, and Adelard, UK Simon Burton, Bosch Research, Germany Isabelle Conway, ESA/ESTEC, Netherlands Martin Feather, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, USA Jérémie Guiochet, LAAS-CNRS, France Richard Hawkins, University of York, UK Joshua Kaizer, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, USA Tim Kelly, University of York, UK Yoshiki Kinoshita, Kanagawa University, Japan Terrence Martin, Queensland University of Technology, Australia Andrew Rae, Griffith University, Australia Philippa Ryan, Adelard, UK Roger Rivett, Jaguar Land Rover, UK Mark-Alexander Sujan, University of Warwick, UK Sean White, NHS Digital, UK Previous ASSURE Workshops ASSURE 2016, Trondheim, Norway ASSURE 2015, Delft, The Netherlands ASSURE 2014, Naples, Italy ASSURE 2013, San Francisco, USA Contact the Organizers If you have questions about paper topics, submission and/or about ASSURE 2016 in general, please contact the Workshop Organizers. View the full article

1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA astronaut Steve Swanson harvests a crop of red romaine lettuce plants aboard the International Space Station. Grown from seeds in the Veggie facility, this crop is part of the Veg-01 study to help researchers test and validate the Veggie hardware.NASA NASA Life Sciences Portal (NLSP) The NASA Life Sciences Portal (NLSP) is the gateway to discovering and accessing all archive data from investigations sponsored by NASA’s Human Research Program (HRP). The HRP conducts research and develops technologies that allow humans to travel safely and productively in space. The Program uses evidence from data collected from astronauts, animals, and plants over many decades, and stored in several repositories accessible via the NLSP, including the Life Sciences Data Archive (LSDA) and Lifetime Surveillance of Astronaut Health and Standard Measures repositories. Life Sciences Data Archive (LSDA) NASA’s Life Sciences Data Archive (LSDA) is an archive that provides information and data from 1961 (Mercury Project) through current flight and flight analog studies (International Space Station) involving human, plant and animal subjects. ​ Much of the information and data are publicly available on this site. Some data are potentially attributable to individual human subjects, and thus restricted by the Privacy Act, but can be requested for research. Human Health and Performance Products Share Details Last Updated Aug 29, 2024 EditorRobert E. LewisLocationJohnson Space Center Related TermsHuman Health and Performance Explore More 1 min read Participate in the Mission – Be a Human Test Subject! Article 1 year ago 1 min read Lifetime Surveillance of Astronaut Health (LSAH) Article 1 year ago 1 min read Human Health and Performance Data Sharing Article 1 year ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Humans In Space Missions International Space Station Solar System View the full article

On Aug. 29, 1789, German-born British astronomer William Herschel observed a tiny bright dot orbiting around Saturn. His son later named the object Enceladus. Because of its distance from Earth and proximity to bright Saturn, for the next two centuries little remained known about Enceladus other than its size, orbital parameters, and that it held the honor as the most reflective body in the solar system. It took the Voyager flybys through the Saturn system in the early 1980s and especially the detailed observations between 2005 and 2015 by the Saturn orbiter Cassini to reveal Enceladus as a truly remarkable world, interacting with Saturn and its rings. Harboring a subsurface ocean of salty water, Enceladus may possibly be hospitable to some forms of life. Left: Portrait (1785) of William Herschel by Lemuel Francis Abbott. Image credit: courtesy National Portrait Gallery, London. Middle: Drawing of Herschel’s 40-foot telescope. Right: Portrait (1867) of John Herschel by Julia Margaret Cameron. Image credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art. Herschel’s previous astronomical accomplishments include the discovery of Uranus in 1781 and two of its moons, Oberon and Titania, in 1787. He also catalogued numerous objects he termed nebulae, but remained frustrated by the limitations of telescopes of his age. He began to build ever larger instruments, finally building the world’s largest reflecting telescope of its time. At 40 feet long, and with a 49-inch diameter primary mirror weighing a ton, it looked impressive although its optical characteristics did not advance the field as much as he had hoped. Nevertheless, Herschel used this telescope to observe Saturn and its five known moons, looking for others. On Aug. 28, 1789, he observed a bright point orbiting the planet and believed he had discovered a sixth moon. On Sept. 17, he discovered a seventh moon orbiting the ringed planet. He did not name these moons, that task fell to his son John who believed Saturn’s moons should be named after the Titans of Greek mythology. He named the first moon Enceladus and the second Mimas. Left: Relative sizes of Earth, Earth’s Moon, and Enceladus. Right: Best Voyager 2 image of Enceladus. For nearly two centuries, Enceladus remained not much more than a point of light orbiting Saturn, just another icy moon in the outer solar system. Astronomers estimated its diameter at around 310 miles and its orbital period around Saturn at 1.4 days, with a mean distance from the planet’s center of 148,000 miles. Enceladus has the distinction as one of the brightest objects in the solar system, reflecting almost 100 percent of the Sun’s light. Unusual telescope observations during the 20th century showed an increase in brightness on its trailing side, with no known explanation at the time. In 1966, astronomers discovered a diffuse ring around Saturn, the E-ring, and found in 1980 that its density peaked near Enceladus. The Voyager 1 spacecraft flew within 125,570 miles of Enceladus during its passage through the Saturn system on Nov. 12, 1980. Its twin Voyager 2 came within 54,000 miles on Aug. 26, 1981, during its flyby. These close encounters enabled the spacecraft to return the first detailed images of the moon, showing various terrains, including heavily cratered areas as well as smooth crater-free areas, indicating a very young surface. Left: False color image of Enceladus from Cassini showing the tiger stripes at bottom. Middle: Limb view of Enceladus showing plumes of material emanating from its surface. Right: Cassini image of Enceladus backlit by the Sun showing the fountain-like plumes of material. After the Cassini spacecraft entered orbit around Saturn in July 2004, our understanding of Enceladus increased tremendously, and of course raised new questions. Between 2005 and 2015, Cassini encountered Enceladus 22 times, turning its various instruments on the moon to unravel its secrets. It noted early on that the moon emitted gas and dust or ice particles and that they interacted with the E-ring. Images of the moon’s south polar region revealed cracks on the surface and other instruments detected a huge cloud of water vapor over the area. The moon likely had a liquid subsurface and some of this material reached the outside through these cracks. Scientists named the most prominent of these areas “tiger stripes” and later observations confirmed them as the source of the most prominent jets. During the most daring encounter in October 2015, Cassini came within 30 miles of the Enceladus’ surface, flying through the plume of material emanating from the moon. Analysis of the plumes revealed an organic brew of volatile gases, water vapor, ammonia, sodium salts, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide. These plumes replenish Saturn’s E-ring, and some of this material enters Saturn’s upper atmosphere, an interaction unique in the solar system. More recently, the James Webb Space Telescope imaged the water vapor plume emanating from Enceladus’ south pole, extending out 40 times the size of the moon itself. The confirmation of a subsurface ocean of salty water has led some scientists to postulate that Enceladus may be hospitable to some forms of life, making it a potential target for future exploration. Enceladus may yet have more surprises, even as scientists continue to pore over the data returned by Cassini. Left: James Webb Space Telescope image of a water vapor plume emanating from Enceladus. Right: Illustration of the interaction of Enceladus and Saturn’s E-ring. Map of Enceladus based on imagery from Cassini, turning our view of Enceladus from a small point of light into a unique world with its own topography. Events in world history in 1789: January 29 – Vietnamese emperor Quang Trung defeats Chinese Qing forces at Ngọc Hồi-Đống Đa in one of the greatest military victories in Vietnamese history. March 10 – In Japan, the Menashi-Kunashir rebellion begins between the Ainu people and the Japanese. April 7 – Selim III succeeds Abdul Hamid I as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. April 28 – Aboard the HMS Bounty in the Pacific Ocean, Fletcher Christian leads the mutiny against Captain William Bligh. April 30 – Inauguration of George Washington as the first President of the United States of America. July 14 – Citizens storm The Bastille fortress in Paris during the French Revolution. September 15 – Birth of American writer James Fenimore Cooper in Burlington, New Jersey. December 11 – Founding of the University of North Carolina, the oldest public university in the United States. Explore More 11 min read 15 Years Ago: STS-128 Delivers Cargo to Enable Six-Person Space Station Crew Article 1 day ago 10 min read 40 Years Ago: President Reagan Announces Teacher in Space Project Article 2 days ago 12 min read 55 Years Ago: Apollo 11 Astronauts End Quarantine, Feted from Coast to Coast Article 1 week ago View the full article

An artist’s concept of Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander on the Moon’s South Pole.Credit: Intuitive Machines A new set of NASA science experiments and technology demonstrations will arrive at the lunar South Pole in 2027 following the agency’s latest CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative delivery award. Intuitive Machines of Houston will receive $116.9 million to deliver six NASA payloads to a part of the Moon where nighttime temperatures are frigid, the terrain is rugged, and the permanently shadowed regions could help reveal the origin of water throughout our solar system. Part of the agency’s broader Artemis campaign, CLPS aims to conduct science on the Moon for the benefit of all, including experiments and demos that support missions with crew on the lunar surface. “This marks the 10th CLPS delivery NASA has awarded, and the fourth planned for delivery to the South Pole of the Moon,” said Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington. “By supporting a robust cadence of CLPS flights to a variety of locations on the lunar surface, including two flights currently planned by companies for later this year, NASA will explore more of the Moon than ever before.” NASA has awarded Intuitive Machine’s four task orders. The company delivered six NASA payloads to Malapert A in the South Pole region of the Moon in early 2024. With this lunar South Pole delivery, Intuitive Machines will be responsible for payload integration, launch from Earth, safe landing on the Moon, and mission operations. “The instruments on this newly awarded flight will help us achieve multiple scientific objectives and strengthen our understanding of the Moon’s environment,” said Chris Culbert, manager of the CLPS initiative at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “For example, they’ll help answer key questions about where volatiles – such as water, ice, or gas – are found on the lunar surface and measure radiation in the South Pole region, which could advance our exploration efforts on the Moon and help us with continued exploration of Mars.” The instruments, collectively expected to be about 174 pounds (79 kilograms) in mass, include: The Lunar Explorer Instrument for Space Biology Applications will deliver yeast to the lunar surface and study its response to radiation and lunar gravity. The payload is managed by NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California. Package for Resource Observation and In-Situ Prospecting for Exploration, Characterization and Testing is a suite of instruments that will drill down to 3.3 feet (1 meter) beneath the lunar surface, extract samples, and process them in-situ in a miniaturized laboratory, to identify possible volatiles (water, ice, or gas) trapped at extremely cold temperatures under the surface. This suite is led by ESA (European Space Agency). The Laser Retroreflector Array is a collection of eight retroreflectors that will enable lasers to precisely measure the distance between a spacecraft and the reflector on the lander. The array is a passive optical instrument and will function as a permanent location marker on the Moon for decades to come. The retroflector array is managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The Surface Exosphere Alterations by Landers will investigate the chemical response of lunar regolith to the thermal, physical, and chemical disturbances generated during a landing, and evaluate contaminants injected into the regolith by the lander. It will give insight into how a spacecraft landing might affect the composition of samples collected nearby. This payload is managed by NASA Goddard. The Fluxgate Magnetometer will characterize certain magnetic fields to improve the understanding of energy and particle pathways at the lunar surface and is managed by NASA Goddard. The Lunar Compact Infrared Imaging System will deploy a radiometer – a device that measures infrared wavelengths of light – to explore the Moon’s surface composition, map its surface temperature distribution, and demonstrate the instrument’s feasibility for future lunar resource utilization activities. The imaging system is managed by the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Under CLPS, multiple commercial deliveries to different geographic regions will help NASA conduct science and continue working toward a long-term human presence on the Moon. Future deliveries will include sophisticated science experiments, and technology demonstrations as part of the agency’s Artemis campaign. Two upcoming CLPS flights slated to launch near the end of 2024 will deliver NASA payloads to the Moon’s nearside and South Pole, including the Intuitive Machines-2 delivery of NASA’s first on-site demonstration of searching for water and other chemical compounds 3.3 feet below the surface of the Moon, using a drill and mass spectrometer. Learn more about CLPS and Artemis at: https://www.nasa.gov/clps -end- Karen Fox Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1275 karen.c.fox@nasa.gov Laura Sorto / Natalia Riusech Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 laura.g.sorto@nasa.gov / natalia.s.riusech@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Aug 29, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related TermsCommercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS)Commercial SpaceCommercial Space ProgramsEarth's MoonJohnson Space CenterNASA Headquarters View the full article

2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA Deputy Associate Administrator Casey Swails examines a sample of algae through a microscope in the Space Biosciences Research Lab. Swails, alongside Director of Cross Agency Strategy Integration John Keefe and Associate Administrator Jim Free, toured the NASA Ames campus on Aug. 28.NASA/Donald Richey NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free, Deputy Associate Administrator Casey Swails, and Director of Cross-Agency Strategy John Keefe visited NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley on Aug. 28. The visit was an opportunity for the leaders to meet with center leadership and tour multiple Ames facilities. Free, Swails, and Keefe also met with employees to discuss the agency’s strategic initiative, NASA 2040, a strategic agency initiative aimed at driving meaningful changes that will allow the agency to realize its long-term vision for what leaders and employees want the agency to be in 2040 and beyond. During their tour, researchers at the Space Biosciences Research Lab presented on innovative projects like the Lunar Explorer Instrument for space biology Applications, an instrument that will study how yeast reacts to the lunar environment. The three leaders also learned about innovative wildfire research and other projects that seek to advance space exploration through scientific discoveries and technical developments. The group ended their tour by visiting NASA Research Park tenants like the USGS National Innovation Center, and viewing the proposed future site of the UC Berkeley Space Center, a 36-acre campus and innovation hub for research and advancements in aeronautics, quantum computing, climate studies, social sciences, and more. Share Details Last Updated Aug 29, 2024 Related TermsAmes Research Center Explore More 7 min read NASA Project in Puerto Rico Trains Students in Marine Biology Article 1 day ago 4 min read NASA Seeks Input for Astrobee Free-flying Space Robots Article 3 days ago 2 min read NASA Develops Pod to Help Autonomous Aircraft Operators Article 3 days ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

For 25 years, the Office of STEM Engagement (OSTEM) at NASA’s Johnson Space Center has inspired and provided high school students across the state of Texas with NASA-focused learning experiences through the High School Aerospace Scholars (HAS) program. The OSTEM team celebrated the milestone on Monday, July 29 at Johnson’s Gilruth Center with poster sessions, special presentations, and a networking reception. Fifty-one students who participated in the 2024 High School Aerospace Scholars program were invited to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to participate in an on-site experience. NASA/James Blair An authentic STEM learning experience for Texas high school juniors, HAS provides opportunities for students to engage with NASA’s missions and become the next generation of explorers. The year-long program begins in the fall with an online, state-aligned STEM learning experience focused on Earth science, technology, aeronautics, the solar system, the International Space Station, and NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration approach. Students engage in approximately four months of virtual learning through curriculum including interactive lessons, rubric-based activities, and quizzes. Students who complete the online courses with an overall average of 70% or greater receive an invitation to a five-day virtual summer experience called Moonshot. While actively mentored by NASA scientists and engineers, students work with a team to complete an Artemis-themed Moon to Mars mission and design challenge. The summer session also includes numerous gamified activities and guidance towards pathways to STEM careers. High School Aerospace Scholars collaborated on an engineering design challenge during their on-site experience at Johnson Space Center. NASA/Bill Stafford The top performing Moonshot teams are then invited to a four-day residential experience at Johnson, with lodging, meals, and transportation provided at no cost to the students. During the on-site session, students participate in NASA facility tours, complete engineering design challenges, and meet with NASA scientists and engineers who offer guidance on STEM careers. At the completion of the program, students can earn up to one full science elective credit for school. The HAS 25th anniversary celebration coincided with this year’s on-site experience. During the 2023-2024 school year, 798 students participated in the HAS online course, with 359 advancing to the summer Moonshot experience. The top six Moonshot teams (51 students) were invited to Johnson. High School Aerospace Scholars presented their Moonshot projects to Johnson Space Center team members during a poster session. NASA/James Blair The 51 selected students kicked off the anniversary celebration with a poster session to present their Moonshot projects. Following the session, students heard from Johnson Center Director Vanessa Wyche and Deputy Director Steve Koerner during a fireside chat. Speakers included Pam Melroy, NASA Deputy Administrator; Arturo Sanchez, Johnson External Relations Office Director; Mike Kincaid, NASA OSTEM Associate Administrator; Greg Bonnen, member of the Texas House of Representatives; Brian Freedman, Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership President; and Shelly Tornquist, director of Texas A&M University College of Engineering’s education outreach program, Spark! NASA astronaut Mike Fincke meets with 2024 High School Aerospace Scholars.NASA/Helen Arase Vargas Other notable attendees included NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, HAS activity managers from the past 25 years, and current HAS activity manager, Jakarda Varnado. Continuing the celebration, HAS hosted the second annual Alumni Social on Wednesday, July 31 encouraging current and former HAS students and mentors to connect over lunch. The annual student rocket launch was also held onsite on Thursday, August 1. 2024 High School Aerospace Scholars prepare their model rockets for launch during the program’s on-site activities at Johnson Space Center. NASA/Josh Valcarcel Additionally, the HAS team activated a mobile exhibit at two different on-site locations throughout the week. Over 150 guests stopped by the exhibit, which featured a HAS video montage and the opportunity to touch a lunar sample. Several of the visitors communicated their appreciation for HAS, noting the program has made significant impact on their children’s motivation, school performance, and career paths. Many alumni have gone on to pursue careers within STEM, including nearly 30 HAS participants who have been employed by NASA within the past five years. 2024 High School Aerospace Scholars connected with program alumni and HAS mentors during the Alumni Social held onsite at Johnson Space Center. NASA/Helen Arase Vargas For alumni who wish to continue their experience beyond the year-long program, HAS recently launched a mentorship course, for high school seniors. The course contains modules about leadership and STEM career opportunities and was designed to continue to engage the students as they prepare for the next step in their education or to launch their careers. Alumni also act as an additional layer of support for the junior scholars as they navigate their HAS experience. HAS is made possible through collaborations among NASA, the State of Texas, Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership, Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and Rotary National Award for Space Achievement. Applications will reopen in September for students interested in participating in the 2025 HAS experience. View the full article

2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) In a series of baseline flights beginning on June 24, 2024, the G-IV aircraft flew over the Antelope Valley to analyze aircraft performance. To accommodate a new radar instrument developed by JPL, NASA’s Airborne Science Program has selected the Gulfstream-IV aircraft to be modified and operated by Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California and will accommodate new instrumentation on board in support of the agency’s science mission directorate. Baseline flights began at NASA Armstrong in June 2024NASA/Carla Thomas In June 2024, a new tail number swept the sky above NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. Pilots conducted flights of a Gulfstream IV (G-IV) to evaluate its handling characteristics and to familiarize pilots with it before it begins structural modifications. The research plane is joining the center’s fleet serving NASA’s Airborne Science program. The G-IV will carry the Next Generation Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (AIRSAR-NG), which sends and receives microwave signals to collect information about Earth’s topographic features and how they change over time. The goal for the team at NASA Armstrong is to modify the G-IV to accommodate three radars simultaneously. “The AIRSAR-NG will be composed of three different Synthetic Aperture Radar antennas in one instrument to provide new insight into Earth’s surface more efficiently,” said Yunling Lou, principal investigator for the instrument at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “The capabilities of this new instrument will facilitate new techniques, such as three-dimensional imaging, that will be useful for future space-borne missions.” With those and other modifications being made, the G-IV will also be able to accommodate an increased load of science instruments, which could enable NASA to support more dynamic airborne science missions. “This aircraft will aid Armstrong in continuing our long history of supporting airborne science for the agency and maintain the expertise in conducting successful science missions for years to come,” said Franzeska Becker, the G-IV project manager at NASA Armstrong. Transferred in February from NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, the G-IV will undergo additional modifications overseen by NASA Armstrong’s team. Their goal is to enrich the agency’s airborne science program by outfitting the aircraft to function as a more capable and versatile research platform. The knowledge and expertise of professionals at NASA centers like Armstrong (G-IV, ER-2, C-20) and Langley (777, G-III) will help enable the agency to produce a well-defined and airworthy platform for science instruments and airborne science missions. Learn more about NASA’s Airborne Science program Learn more about NASA’s AirSar project Share Details Last Updated Aug 29, 2024 EditorDede DiniusContactErica HeimLocationArmstrong Flight Research Center Related TermsArmstrong Flight Research CenterNASA AircraftScience in the AirScience Mission Directorate Explore More 2 min read First NASA-Supported Researcher to Fly on Suborbital Rocket Article 24 hours ago 7 min read NASA Project in Puerto Rico Trains Students in Marine Biology Article 1 day ago 6 min read Work Is Under Way on NASA’s Next-Generation Asteroid Hunter Article 1 day ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center Armstrong Programs & Projects Armstrong Technologies Armstrong Flight Research Center History View the full article

NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, using VIIRS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE, GIBS/Worldview, and the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership The Suomi NPP satellite acquired this image of a plume of Saharan dust as winds lofted it over the Atlantic Ocean on Aug. 24, 2024. The Sahara Desert is Earth’s largest source of airborne dust, and the particles can travel for thousands of miles. From late spring to early fall, it is common for the dry, dusty Saharan Air Layer to carry the particles westward across the Atlantic Ocean high in the atmosphere. Saharan Air Layer activity subsides after mid-August, according to NOAA, making it less likely that the plume shown here is bound for a transoceanic journey. Instead, it arcs to the north after blowing out over the ocean. Earlier in the summer, however, several clouds of fine dust from the Sahara reached the United States, creating hazy skies over Texas. Read more about Saharan dust and why it’s interesting to scientists. Text Credit: Lindsey Doermann Image Credit: NASA/Lauren Dauphin, using VIIRS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE, GIBS/Worldview, and the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership View the full article