NASA

Johnson Space Center Vibration Test FacilityNASA Nov. 14, 2024 NASA Johnson Invites Proposals to Lease Vibration Test Facility NASA’s Johnson Space Center is seeking proposals for the use of its historic, but underused, Vibration and Acoustic Test Facility. Prospective tenants must submit facility walk-through requests by Monday, Nov. 18. Final proposals are due by 12 p.m. EST Monday, Dec. 16, and must promote activities that will build, expand, modernize, or operate aerospace-related capabilities at NASA Johnson and help preserve the historic and iconic building through preservation and adaptive reuse. NASA plans to sign a National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) lease agreement for the facility, also known as Building 49, for a five-year base period and one five-year extension to be negotiated between NASA and the tenant. To request a walk-through, send an email to hq-realestate@mail.nasa.gov. “This historic facility has been used for decades to ensure the success and safety of all human spaceflight missions by putting engineering designs and hardware to the ultimate stress tests,” said NASA Johnson Director Vanessa Wyche. “For more than 60 years, NASA Johnson has been the hub of human space exploration and this agreement will be a vital part of the center’s efforts to develop a robust and durable space economy that refines our understanding of the solar system and space exploration.” All proposals must adhere to the guidelines detailed in the Agency Announcement for Proposals describing concept plans for development of the property, including any modifications proposed to the building; a statement of financial capability to successfully achieve and sustain operations, demonstrated experience with aerospace-related services or other space-related activities, and a detailed approach to propelling the space economy. The nine-story building complex has a gross square footage of 62,737 square feet and consists of a north wing measuring 62 feet long, 268 feet wide and 106 feet tall, and a central wing about 64 feet long and 115 feet wide. Building 49 currently houses five laboratories, including the General Vibration Laboratory, Modal Operations Laboratory, Sonic Fatigue Laboratory, Spacecraft Acoustic Laboratory, and Spacecraft Vibration Laboratory. The south administrative portion of the building is not included in the property offered for lease. As the home of Mission Control Center for the agency’s human space missions, astronaut training, robotics, human health and space medicine, NASA Johnson leads the way for the human exploration. Leveraging its unique role and location, the center is developing multiple lease agreements, including the recently announced Exploration Park, to sustain its key role in helping the human spaceflight community foster a robust space. In the coming years, NASA and its academic, commercial, and international partners will see the completion of the International Space Station Program, the commercial development of low Earth orbit, and the first human Artemis campaign missions establishing sustainable human presence on the Moon in preparation for human missions to Mars. Johnson already is leading the commercialization of space with the commercial cargo and crew programs and private astronaut missions to the space station. The center also is supporting the development of commercial space stations in low Earth orbit, and lunar-capable commercial spacesuits and lunar landers that will be provided as services to both NASA and the private sector to accelerate human access to space. Through the development of Exploration Park, the center will broaden the scope of the human spaceflight community that is tackling the many difficult challenges ahead. Learn more about NASA Johnson’s efforts to collaborate with industry partners: https://www.nasa.gov/johnson/frontdoor -end- Kelly Humphries Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 kelly.o.humphries@nasa.gov View the full article

Peru’s Vice Minister of Defense Policies for Ministry of Defense César Medardo Torres Vega, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, and Director of Peru’s National Commission for Aerospace Research and Development (CONIDA) Maj. Gen. Roberto Melgar Sheen meet in Lima, Peru, Nov. 14, 2024, where the U.S. and Peru signed a memorandum of understanding agreeing to study a potential sounding rocket campaign.Credit: U.S. Embassy Peru NASA and Peru’s National Commission for Aerospace Research and Development (CONIDA) laid the groundwork for a potential multi-year scientific rocket launch campaign in the South American country. Both countries signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding Thursday that includes safety training, a joint feasibility study for the potential campaign, and technical assistance for CONIDA on sounding rocket launches. Sounding rockets are small, low-cost rockets that provide suborbital access to space. “We are excited to look at the possibility of once again launching sounding rockets from Peru,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, who signed on behalf of the United States. “This agreement deepens our international partnership with Peru and the scientific research we conduct because of the country’s location along the magnetic equator. Together we will go farther.” Maj. Gen. Roberto Melgar Sheen, head of CONIDA, signed on behalf of Peru. Brian Nichols, assistant secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs for the U.S. State Department, and Stephanie Syptak-Ramnath, U.S. ambassador to Peru, also participated, among other Peruvian officials. The event took place during the week of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum beginning Nov. 9 in Lima. During his visit to Peru, Nelson also discussed the importance of international partnerships and collaboration in space and celebrated Peru’s signing of the Artemis Accords earlier this year. The United States and Peru have a long history of space cooperation. NASA conducted sounding rocket campaigns at CONIDA’s Punta Lobos launch base in 1975 and 1983. NASA uses sounding rockets to carry scientific instruments into space on suborbital flights to collect important science data and test prototype instruments. They yield invaluable data that enhance our understanding of Earth’s atmosphere and weather, our solar system, and the universe, and test equipment for deeper space travel. Understanding our Earth’s atmosphere and how it is influenced by the Sun is crucial to protecting ground and space-based assets that we rely on every day, from the power grid to weather data and even navigation. For more information about NASA’s international partnerships, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/oiir -end- Meira Bernstein / Elizabeth Shaw Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1600 meira.b.bernstein@nasa.gov / elizabeth.a.shaw@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Nov 14, 2024 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related TermsOffice of International and Interagency Relations (OIIR)Sounding Rockets View the full article

In the unforgiving lunar environment, the possibility of an astronaut crewmember becoming incapacitated due to unforeseen circumstances (injury, medical emergency, or a mission-related accident) is a critical concern, starting with the upcoming Artemis III mission, where two astronaut crewmembers will explore the Lunar South Pole. The Moon’s surface is littered with rocks ranging from 0.15 to 20 meters in diameter and craters spanning 1 to 30 meters wide, making navigation challenging even under optimal conditions. The low gravity, unique lighting conditions, extreme temperatures, and availability of only one person to perform the rescue, further complicate any rescue efforts. Among the critical concerns is the safety of astronauts during Extravehicular Activities (EVAs). If an astronaut crewmember becomes incapacitated during a mission, the ability to return them safely and promptly to the human landing system is essential. A single crew member should be able to transport an incapacitated crew member distances up to 2 km and a slope of up to 20 degrees on the lunar terrain without the assistance of a lunar rover. This pressing issue opens the door for innovative solutions. We are looking for a cutting-edge design that is low in mass and easy to deploy, enabling one astronaut crewmember to safely transport their suited (343 kg (~755lb)) and fully incapacitated partner back to the human landing system. The solution must perform effectively in the Moon’s extreme South Pole environment and operate independently of a lunar rover. Your creativity and expertise could bridge this critical gap, enhancing the safety measures for future lunar explorers. By addressing this challenge, you have the opportunity to contribute to the next “giant leap” in human space exploration. Award: $45,000 in total prizes Open Date: November 14, 2024 Close Date: January 23, 2025 For more information, visit: https://www.herox.com/NASASouthPoleSafety View the full article

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy (front center left) discusses NASA 2040 on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, the agency’s strategic initiative for aligning workforce, infrastructure, and technologies to meet the needs of the future with various groups of employees at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The initiative launched in June 2023 to implement meaningful changes to ensure the agency remains the global leader in aerospace and science in the year 2040 while also making the greatest impacts for the nation and the world. NASA will focus on addressing the agency’s aging infrastructure, shaping an agency workforce strategy, improving decision velocity at many levels, and exploring ways to achieve greater budget flexibility. Photo credit: NASA/Glenn Benson View the full article

4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) The laser that transmits between NASA’s Psyche spacecraft and Earth-based observatories for the Deep Space Optical Communications experiment successfully reaches its target thanks, in part, to a vibration isolation platform developed by Controlled Dynamics Inc., and supported by several Space Technology Mission Directorate programs. NASA/JPL-Caltech One year ago today, the future of space communications arrived at Earth as a beam of light from a NASA spacecraft nearly 10 million miles away. That’s 40 times farther than our Moon. That’s like using a laser pointer to track a moving dime from a mile away. That’s pretty precise. That laser — transmitted from NASA’s DSOC (Deep Space Optical Communications) technology demonstration — has continued to hit its target on Earth from record-breaking distances. “NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications features many novel technologies that are needed to precisely point and track the uplink beacon and direct the downlink laser,” said Bill Klipstein, DSOC project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. One of the technologies aiding that extremely precise pointing was invented by a small business and fostered by NASA for more than a decade. Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On (Not!) Part of the challenge with the precision pointing needed for DSOC was isolating the laser from the spacecraft’s vibrations, which would nudge the beam off target. Fortunately for NASA, Controlled Dynamics Inc. (CDI), in Huntington Beach, California, offered a solution to this problem. The company had a platform designed to isolate orbiting experiments from vibrations caused by their host spacecraft, other payloads, crew movements, or even their own equipment. Just as the shocks on a car provide a smoother ride, the struts and actuators on CDI’s vibration isolation platform created a stable setting for delicate equipment. This idea needed to be developed and tested first to prove successful. The Path to Deep Space Success NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate started supporting the platform’s development in 2012 under its Game Changing Development program with follow-on support from the SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) program. The technology really began to take off — pun intended — under NASA’s Flight Opportunities program. Managed out of NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, Flight Opportunities rapidly demonstrates promising technologies aboard suborbital rockets and other vehicles flown by commercial companies. Early flight tests in 2013 sufficiently demonstrated the platform’s performance, earning CDI’s technology a spot on the International Space Station in 2016. But the flight testing didn’t end there. A rapid series of flights with Blue Origin, UP Aerospace, and Virgin Galactic put the platform through its paces, including numerous boosts and thruster firings, pyrotechnic shocks, and the forces of reentry and landing. “Flight Opportunities was instrumental in our development,” said Dr. Scott Green, CDI’s co-founder and the platform’s principal investigator. “With five separate flight campaigns in just eight months, those tests allowed us to build up flight maturity and readiness so we could transition to deep space.” The vibration isolation platform developed by Controlled Dynamics Inc., and used on the Deep Space Optical Communications experiment conducted numerous tests through NASA’s Flight Opportunities program, including this flight aboard Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity in February 2019. Virgin Galactic The culmination of NASA’s investments in CDI’s vibration isolation platform was through its Technology Demonstration Missions program, which along with NASA’s SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation) program supported NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications. On Oct. 13, 2023, DSOC launched aboard the Psyche spacecraft, a mission managed by JPL. The CDI isolation platform provided DSOC with the active stabilization and precision pointing needed to successfully transmit a high-definition video of Taters the cat and other sample data from record-breaking distances in deep space. “Active stabilization of the flight laser transceiver is required to help the project succeed in its goal to downlink high bandwidth data from millions of miles,” said Klipstein. “To do this, we need to measure our pointing and avoid bumping into the spacecraft while we are floating. The CDI struts gave us that capability.” The Deep Space Optical Communications technology demonstration’s flight laser transceiver is shown at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California in April 2021. The transceiver is mounted on an assembly of struts and actuators — developed by Controlled Dynamics Inc. — that stabilizes the optics from spacecraft vibrations. Several Space Technology Mission Directorate programs supported the vibration isolation technology’s development. NASA/JPL-Caltech Onward Toward Psyche The Psyche spacecraft is expected to reach its namesake metal-rich asteroid located between Mars and Jupiter by August 2029. In the meantime, the DSOC project team is celebrating recognition as one of TIME’s Inventions of 2024 and expects the experiment to continue adding to its long list of goals met and exceeded in its first year. By Nancy Pekar NASA’s Flight Opportunities Program Facebook logo @NASATechnology @NASA_Technology Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) Game Changing Development Flight Opportunities Share Details Last Updated Nov 14, 2024 EditorLoura Hall Related TermsSpace Technology Mission DirectorateArmstrong Flight Research CenterDeep Space Optical Communications (DSOC)Flight Opportunities ProgramGame Changing Development ProgramJet Propulsion LaboratoryPsyche MissionSmall Business Innovation Research / Small BusinessSpace Communications & Navigation ProgramTechnologyTechnology Demonstration Missions Program View the full article

NASA The Apollo 12 spacecraft launches from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in this image from Nov. 14, 1969, with astronauts Charles Conrad Jr., Richard F. Gordon Jr., and Alan L. Bean aboard. During liftoff, the Saturn V rocket which carried the Apollo capsule was struck twice by lightning. On Nov. 19, 1969, the lunar module landed on the Moon. About three hours after landing, Conrad emerged from the lunar module, becoming the third person to step on the Moon. He was followed by Bean. Image credit: NASA View the full article

In November 1969, Apollo 12 astronauts Commander Charles “Pete” Conrad, Command Module Pilot (CMP) Richard F. Gordon, and Lunar Module Pilot (LMP) Alan L. Bean completed the second crewed lunar landing mission. Conrad and Bean achieved a pinpoint landing in the Ocean of Storms within walking distance of the Surveyor 3 spacecraft that landed there in April 1967. While Gordon conducted science from lunar orbit, Conrad and Bean completed two spacewalks on the lunar surface, deploying science instruments, collecting geology samples, and inspecting Surveyor including retrieving several of it parts for study back on Earth. Preparations continued for the next two missions, Apollo 13 and 14, tentatively planned for March and July 1970, respectively. Apollo 12 Left: The crew of Apollo 12 – Charles “Pete” Conrad, left, Richard F. Gordon, and Alan L. Bean. Right: The Apollo 12 crew patch. Left: The Apollo 12 crew of Charles “Pete” Conrad, center, Richard F. Gordon, and Alan L. Bean, facing them, at the traditional prelaunch breakfast, with their mascot “Irving” behind Conrad. Right: Conrad leads Gordon and Bean onto the astronaut van for the ride to Launch Pad 39A. Left: Apollo 12, moments before liftoff into rainy skies. Middle: Liftoff of Apollo 12. Right: Lightning strikes Launch Pad 39A shortly after the Apollo 12 launch. Lift off came precisely at 11:22 a.m. EST on Nov. 14, 1969, with the Saturn V launching Apollo 12 into a dark and rainy sky. The flight proceeded normally for the first 36 seconds, with Conrad even commenting that, “It’s a lovely liftoff. It’s not bad at all.” Then everything went haywire. With Apollo 12 at about 6,600 feet altitude and flying through clouds, observers on the ground noted lightning striking the launch pad. Onboard the spacecraft, the astronauts saw a bright flash, followed by many of the spacecraft’s electronics going offline, causing the three power-generating fuel cells to also go offline. A second event 52 seconds into the flight caused the spacecraft guidance navigation system to go offline. In the Mission Control Center (MCC) at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), now NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, a young engineer named John W. Aaron monitored the spacecraft’s systems through the two incidents. He correctly deduced that the spacecraft’s Signal Conditioning Equipment (SCE) must have suffered some unknown upset and went offline. The simple solution to restoring it to normal function involved moving a seldom-used switch from its Normal to its Auxiliary position. Bean recalled the switch’s location on his panel, carried out the requested action, and restored the spacecraft’s systems. Aaron’s quick action saved the launch from two lightning strikes. Once Conrad understood the cause of the excitement, he radioed to Houston, “I think we need to do a little more all-weather testing.” Left: View of the Earth shortly after Trans Lunar Injection, with one of the Spacecraft Lunar Module (LM) Adapter panels silhouetted against the clouds. Middle: During Transposition and Docking, the LM Intrepid still attached to the S-IVB third stage. Right: The receding Earth during the translunar coast. The rest of the ascent continued without incident and Apollo 12 settled into orbit around the Earth. After verifying that all systems continued functioning properly following the lightning strikes, the astronauts received the call, “The good word is you’re Go for TLI,” the Trans Lunar Injection, the second burn of the third stage engine to send them on their way to the Moon. In his characteristic fashion, Conrad replied, “Hoop-ee-doo! We’re ready! We didn’t expect anything else!” The next major event, the Transposition and Docking (T&D) maneuver, began about 25 minutes later. After the separation of the Command and Service Module (CSM) Yankee Clipper from the S-IVB stage, Gordon turned it around and slowly guided it to a docking with the LM Intrepid still attached to the top of the S-IVB. Conrad commented during the maneuver, “I got an awful pretty looking Intrepid sitting out the window here, gang. We’ll go get her.” After the docking, Gordon backed away from the third stage, extracting the LM in the process, and completing the T&D maneuver. For the next three days, the astronauts continued their journey toward the Moon. Along the way, they inspected Intrepid to verify it came to no harm from the lightning strikes, conducted one midcourse maneuver to ensure their accurate arrival near the Moon, and provided two TV broadcasts showing views of Earth and their spacecraft. Left: Image from lunar orbit of the Fra Mauro highlands, the proposed landing site for Apollo 13 (inside white circle). Middle: The Lunar Module Intrepid as seen from the Command Module Yankee Clipper shortly after undocking. Right: Yankee Clipper as seen from Intrepid. The Apollo 12 astronauts awoke for their fourth mission day to find themselves within the Moon’s gravitational sphere of influence. Apollo 12 sailed behind the Moon, losing contact with Earth. Thirteen minutes later, the astronauts fired the Service Propulsion System (SPS) engine for the Lunar Orbit Insertion burn, placing them into an elliptical orbit around the Moon. Left: Still from 16 mm film looking out Alan L. Bean’s window at about 3,500 feet during the descent, showing the location of Surveyor Crater, the Apollo 12 landing site. Right: Illustration of the Apollo 12 landing site and the two surface traverses. During the third lunar orbit, the crew fired the SPS engine again to circularize their orbit. The next day, Conrad and Bean donned their spacesuits and reactivated the LM for the separation and landing, extending Intrepid’s landing legs. After undocking and while behind the Moon, Conrad and Bean fired the LM’s Descent Propulsion System engine to lower Intrepid’s orbit. Exactly half a revolution later, Intrepid began the burn to drop it from orbit all the way to the landing in the Ocean of Storms. With Bean providing updates from the guidance computer, Conrad skillfully piloted Intrepid to a smooth landing just northwest of Surveyor Crater, and as they learned later, only 538 feet from Surveyor 3. Without much fanfare, Conrad and Bean completed the postlanding checklist, although Bean allowed himself a little exuberant “Good landing, Pete! Outstanding, man! Beautiful!” Conrad radioed to Mission Control, “Okay, we’re in hot shape, Houston. We’re in real good shape!” They had a chance to look out the windows, with Bean exclaiming, “Holy cran, it’s beautiful out here!” Conrad replied, “It sure is; it’s something else,” later adding, “Man! I can’t wait to get outside!” Left: Charles “Pete” Conrad on the Lunar Module ladder about to descend to the surface. Middle: Alan L. Bean takes his first steps on the Moon. Right: Conrad working on the central station of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiment Package, with its various instruments deployed around it. Conrad and Bean donned their Portable Life Support System (PLSS) backpacks that provided oxygen and communications while on the surface and donned their helmets and gloves. They depressurized the LM, opened the hatch, and Conrad backed out onto the porch, slowly climbing down the ladder. Halfway down, he pulled a lanyard that deployed a color TV camera on the side of the LM’s descent stage, providing a view of him on the LM ladder. After he jumped from the bottom rung onto the footpad, Conrad exclaimed, “Whoopie! Man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but that’s a long one for me,” in reference to Armstrong’s famous words as he took humanity’s first step on the Moon and Conrad’s shorter stature. As he stepped off the pad, he remarked, “Oooh is that soft and queasy.” After taking a few tentative steps, Conrad informed everyone that he could see Surveyor 3 sitting inside the crater. He collected the contingency sample – in case they had to leave quickly due to an emergency, geologists would have one small sample from the Ocean of Storms. Bean joined Conrad on the surface, both acclimating rapidly to working in one-sixth g. Conrad set up the S-band antenna for communications with Earth, but while setting up the TV camera, Bean accidentally pointed it at the Sun and damaged the vidicon tube, ending the live TV transmission from the Moon. Bean deployed the Solar Wind Collector (SWC), a Swiss experiment that collected particles from the solar wind, and then he and Conrad set up the American flag. They began the primary task of the first spacewalk – setting up the various instruments of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiment Package (ALSEP). Conrad and Bean carried them to their deployment location about 430 feet to the northwest of Intrepid. They explored the area around the ALSEP site, visiting craters of interest and collecting rock and soil samples before heading back toward Intrepid. They remarked on several occasions how the lunar dust clung to their suits and equipment, and as Conrad quipped, “We’re going to be a couple of dirty boogers.” First Bean then Conrad climbed up the ladder and once inside Intrepid they closed the hatch and repressurized the cabin. Their first spacewalk lasted 3 hours and 56 minutes. They set up hammocks in Intrepid and went to sleep. Left and middle: Charles “Pete” Conrad and Alan L. Bean with the Surveyor 3 spacecraft, with their Lunar Module (LM) Intrepid visible in the background. Right: View from inside the LM through Bean’s window following the second spacewalk. After a short night’s rest, Conrad and Bean prepared for their second spacewalk. As before, first Conrad and then Bean descended the ladder to the surface. Conrad walked to the ALSEP to inspect one of the instruments, the seismometer they deployed during the first spacewalk picking up his footsteps. Both then headed west from Intrepid, where Conrad rolled two rocks down into a crater, the vibrations captured by the seismometer. They collected several documented samples, often preceded with expressions like “Oooooh!” and “That’s a beauty!” and dug a trench to expose subsurface material, collecting a sample from about eight inches deep. They set off toward the main objective of this spacewalk – Surveyor 3, resting on the inner slope of 600-foot-wide Surveyor Crater. Entering the crater from the south rim, they walked counterclockwise while descending down the slope until they reached the robotic spacecraft. After taking “tourist” pictures with Surveyor, the two photographed the craft from all angles, noting that the trenches left by its scoop and the marks from its footpads when it bounced after landing looked as fresh as when Surveyor photographed them in 1967. Using cutters, Conrad removed the craft’s camera, scoop, and other parts for return to Earth, where engineers and scientists examined them for the effects of 31 months in the harsh lunar environment. The work at Surveyor completed, the two returned to Intrepid. Bean retrieved the SWC experiment, overcoming difficulties in rolling it back up. Compared with a short 77-minute exposure during Apollo 11, this SWC collected samples of the solar wind for nearly 19 hours. With everything packed up, Bean followed by Conrad headed up the ladder. After closing the hatch, they repressurized Intrepid, ending the 3-hour 49-minute excursion. The Apollo 12 landing site photographed by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2011, the inset showing the Lunar Module Intrepid’s descent stage. Left: A still from 16 mm film recorded aboard Yankee Clipper of Intrepid’s approach just prior to docking. Middle: The Moon shortly after Trans Earth Injection. Right: A receding Moon during the trans Earth coast. After returning inside Intrepid, Conrad and Bean took photographs out the windows, showing the signs of their visit – numerous footprints, the American flag, the S-band antenna, and in the distance, the ALSEP station. As Gordon in Yankee Clipper flew overhead on his 30th lunar revolution, Intrepid’s Ascent Stage engine ignited, and Conrad and Bean lifted off from the Moon after 31 hours and 31 minutes on the surface. Conrad exclaimed, “Liftoff! And away we go!” with Bean adding, “Boy, did it fire!” Intrepid and Yankee Clipper executed a series of maneuvers that led to their docking about three and a half hours after liftoff from the Moon. Their independent flights had lasted 37 hours and 42 minutes. The three astronauts opened the hatches between the two spacecraft and began transfers from Intrepid into Yankee Clipper, including the lunar samples, cameras, and film. Gordon transferred some unneeded items to be jettisoned in Intrepid. The transfers completed, they closed the hatches between the spacecraft and jettisoned the LM. To calibrate the seismometer left on the Moon, controllers sent a command to Intrepid to fire its thrusters to drop it out of orbit and send it crashing onto the surface. The seismometer recorded signals for nearly one hour after the impact. Left: Recording from the Apollo 12 seismometer of the intentional crash of Intrepid’s ascent stage. Right: LRO image of the impact area and debris field of Intrepid’s ascent stage, east of the Fra Mauro B crater. The primary activity for their remaining time around the Moon consisted of photographing potential landing sites for future Apollo missions, such as the Fra Mauro highlands and the Descartes region. On their 45th revolution, they went around to the Moon’s back side for the last time and they fired the SPS for the Trans Earth Injection burn. Apollo 12 left lunar orbit after 3 days 17 hours and 2 minutes. Conrad radioed to Mission Control, “Hello, Houston. Apollo 12’s en route home.” During the three-day return trip to Earth, the astronauts conducted a midcourse maneuver to refine their trajectory, answered questions from geologists and other scientists, and held a press conference at the end of which they held up a homemade sign to the camera that read, “Yankee Clipper sailed with Intrepid to the Sea of Storms, Moon, November 14, 1969,” signed by all three crew members. With the Sun and the Earth nearly aligned, the astronauts could only see a very thin crescent of their home planet, prompting Conrad to comment, “Houston, we just got our first glimpse of you this morning, and there’s not very much of you out there.” Left: The Moon continues to shrink in size as Apollo 12 heads for home. Middle: The Earth appearing as a thin crescent. Right: The Apollo 12 astronauts observed a total solar eclipse as they passed into Earth’s shadow shortly before reentry. Left: The Apollo 12 Command Module Yankee Clipper descends on its three main parachutes seconds before splashdown. Middle: A recovery helicopter hovers over Yankee Clipper in the Stable II, or apex down, position, seconds after splashdown. Right: Image taken by a recovery diver of the decontamination officer assisting Alan L. Bean out of Yankee Clipper, with Richard F. Gordon, left, and Charles “Pete” Conrad already aboard the life raft. Shortly before reentry, orbital mechanics had a show in store for the astronauts – their trajectory passed through the Earth’s shadow, treating them to a total solar eclipse. Gordon radioed Mission Control, “We’re getting a spectacular view at eclipse,” and Bean added that it was a “fantastic sight.” The excitement of the eclipse over, the astronauts prepared the cabin for reentry. The CM separated from the Service Module and rotated to point its heatshield into the direction of flight. At 400,000 feet, Yankee Clipper now travelling at 24,625 miles per hour encountered the first tendrils of Earth’s atmosphere. About four minutes of radio blackout followed as ionized gases created by the heat of reentry surrounded the spacecraft. As Apollo 12 came out of the blackout, the prime recovery ship U.S.S. Hornet established radar contact with the spacecraft at a distance of 119 miles. At about 24,000 feet, the spacecraft jettisoned its apex cover, then deployed its two drogue parachutes to slow and stabilize the capsule. At 10,000 feet, the three main orange and white parachutes deployed, with Conrad reporting, “Three gorgeous beautiful chutes.” Precisely 244 hours and 36 minutes after lifting off from Florida, Apollo 12 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean less than four miles from Hornet, bringing the second lunar landing mission to a successful conclusion. Left: Apollo 12 astronauts Richard F. Gordon, left, Alan L. Bean, and Charles “Pete” Conrad aboard the recovery helicopter. Middle: Conrad, front, Gordon, and Bean walk from the helicopter to the Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF). Right: Admiral John S. McCain addresses the Apollo 12 astronauts in the MQF. The capsule assumed the apex down Stable 2 position in the water, but in less than five minutes three self-inflating balloons righted the spacecraft into the Stable 1 upright orientation. Five minutes later, a helicopter dropped the first three recovery team swimmers into the water, tasked with securing a flotation collar and rafts to the spacecraft. Decontamination officer Ernest “Ernie” L. Jahncke next dropped into the water and once the crew opened the hatch, he handed them fresh flight suits and respirators. A few minutes later, the crew reopened the hatch, and first Conrad, then Gordon, and finally Bean climbed aboard a life raft where Jahncke used a disinfectant solution to decontaminate the astronauts and the spacecraft. The recovery helicopter lowered a Billy Pugh net to haul the astronauts up from the raft, first Gordon, then Bean, and finally Conrad. Aboard the helicopter, NASA flight surgeon Dr. Clarence A. Jernigan gave each astronaut a brief physical examination during the short flight back to Hornet, declaring all three healthy. After it landed on Hornet’s deck, sailors lowered the helicopter to the hangar deck, where Conrad, Gordon, and Bean, followed by Dr. Jernigan, walked the few steps to the Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF) where NASA engineer Brock R. “Randy” Stone awaited them. He sealed the door of the MQF exactly one hour after splashdown. The five men spent the next five days together in the MQF until they arrived at the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) at MSC. The astronauts took congratulatory phone calls from President Richard M. Nixon, who field-promoted all three from U.S. Navy Commanders to Captains, and from NASA Administrator Thomas O. Paine. After the astronauts talked briefly with their families, Commander-in-Chief of Pacific Naval Forces Admiral John S. McCain formally welcomed them back to Earth, followed by brief speeches by Rear Admiral Donald C. Davis, Commander of Recovery Forces, and Capt. Carl J. Seiberlich, Hornet’s skipper. Left: Apollo 12 Command Module Yankee Clipper in the water with U.S.S. Hornet approaching as a rescue helicopter circles. Middle: Recovery team members lift Yankee Clipper out of the water. Right: Sailors haul Yankee Clipper aboard the Hornet. Within an hour after the astronauts arrived on board Hornet, the recovery team hauled Yankee Clipper out of the water and towed it below to the hangar deck next to the MQF. As Hornet set sail for Pearl Harbor, arriving there four days later, workers attached a hermetically sealed plastic tunnel between the MQF and Yankee Clipper, allowing Stone to leave the MQF and open the hatch to the capsule without breaking the biological barrier. He retrieved the two rock boxes containing the lunar samples, the bags containing the Surveyor parts, film cassettes, and mission logs from the capsule. He brought them to the MQF where he sealed them in plastic bags and transferred them to the outside through a transfer lock that included a decontamination wash. Outside the MQF, NASA engineers placed these items into transport containers and loaded them aboard two separate aircraft. The first aircraft carrying one rock box and a second package containing film departed Hornet within nine hours of the recovery, flying to Pago Pago, American Samoa. From there the two containers were placed aboard a cargo aircraft and flown directly to Ellington Air Force Base (AFB) near MSC in Houston, arriving there late in the afternoon of Nov. 25. A second aircraft departed Hornet 14 hours after the first and included the second rock box, additional film as well as the astronaut medical samples. It flew to Pago Pago where workers transferred the containers to another cargo plane that flew them to Houston. Less than 48 hours after splashdown, scientists in the LRL were examining the lunar samples and processing the film. Left: Technicians carry the first box of Apollo 12 lunar samples from the cargo plane after its arrival at Ellington Air Force Base in Houston. Middle: Technicians log in the first set of Apollo 12 lunar samples and film at the Lunar Receiving Laboratory’s (LRL) loading dock. Right: A technician weighs the first Apollo 12 Sample Return Container in the LRL. Left: Technicians place the first Apollo 12 Sample Return Container (SRC) inside a glovebox at the Lunar Receiving Laboratory. Middle: The first Apollo 12 SRC inside a glovebox. Right: Scientists get the first glimpse of the Moon rocks inside the first SRC. Left: Apollo 12 astronauts Richard F. Gordon, second from left, Alan L. Bean and Charles “Pete” Conrad prepare their mission report inside the MQF. Middle: Workers at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu offload the Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF) from Hornet with the Apollo 12 crew inside. Right: Workers at Ellington Air Force Base in Houston offload the MQF with the astronauts inside. Meanwhile, in the Pacific Ocean, Hornet sailed for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, with the astronauts inside the MQF to maintain the strict back-contamination protocols. They also celebrated Thanksgiving on Nov. 27. Dr. Jernigan conducted regular medical examinations of the astronauts, who showed no ill effects from their ten-day spaceflight or any signs of infection by any lunar microorganisms. The crew members availed themselves of one amenity aboard the MQF that was a novelty at the time – a microwave oven for meal preparation. On Nov. 28, Hornet arrived at Pearl Harbor. Workers lifted the MQF with the astronauts inside onto a flat-bed trailer. After a brief welcoming ceremony including traditional Hawaiian flower leis, ukulele music, and hula dancers, they drove the MQF to nearby Hickam AFB, where Air Force personnel loaded it onto a cargo aircraft. After an eight-hour flight, the aircraft arrived at Ellington on the morning of Nov. 29, where the MQF was offloaded in front of a waiting crowd of well-wishers including MSC Director Robert R. Gilruth and Apollo 11 astronaut Neil A. Armstrong. The astronauts’ wives and children were on hand to welcome them home to Houston. Workers placed the MQF on a flat-bed truck and drove it to the LRL. Less than two hours after landing in Houston the astronauts arrived inside the Crew Reception Area (CRA) where they spent the next 11 days. During their time in quarantine, they completed many of the postflight debriefs and examined the lunar rocks as well as the parts of Surveyor 3 such as its camera that they returned from the Ocean of Storms. Left: Robert R. Gilruth, director of the Manned Spacecraft Center, now NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, welcomes the Apollo 12 astronauts home. Middle: The Apollo 12 astronauts’ wives Barbara Gordon, left, Jane Conrad, and Sue Bean and their children welcome their husbands home. Right: Apollo 11 astronaut Neil A. Armstrong greets the Apollo 12 crew upon their return to Ellington. Left: Workers drive the Apollo 12 astronauts inside the Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF) from Ellington Air Force Base to the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), now NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Middle: The MQF approaches MSC. Right: The MQF docked the MSC’s Building 37, the Lunar Receiving Laboratory. Left: Charles “Pete” Conrad examines some of the Moon rocks he and Alan L. Bean returned from the Moon. Middle: Conrad and Richard F. Gordon place the rocks samples back in the collection bags. Right: Conrad examines the camera from Surveyor 3 that he and Bean returned from the Moon. Left: The Apollo 12 Command Module Yankee Clipper arrives at the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) at the Manned Spacecraft Center, now NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Middle: Yankee Clipper temporarily parked outside the LRL before workers roll it inside. Right: In the LRL, Richard F. Gordon writes on Yankee Clipper that served as his home for 10 days. After the astronauts departed Hornet in Pearl Harbor, workers lifted Yankee Clipper from the carrier’s flight deck to the dock and drove it to Hickam AFB where technicians safed the vehicle by draining its toxic fuels. To preserve back-contamination protocols, Yankee Clipper’s hatch remained sealed. On Dec. 1, workers loaded Yankee Clipper onto a cargo aircraft at Hickam AFB. It arrived at Ellington AFB the next day and workers trucked it to the LRL, then towed it inside the spacecraft room of the CRA. The Apollo 12 astronauts signed their names on the capsule below the same words they held up during their inflight news conference – “Yankee Clipper Sailed with Intrepid to The Ocean of Storms, Moon, November 14, 1969.” Left: The Apollo 12 Command Module Yankee Clipper on display at the Virginia Air and Space Center in Hampton. Middle: A technician examines the Surveyor 3 camera returned by Apollo 12. Right: The Surveyor 3 camera on display at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Visitors to the Virginia Air and Space Center in Hampton can view the Apollo 12 CM Yankee Clipper on display. Surveyor’s camera is on display at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Apollo 13 Left: Apollo 13 astronaut James A. Lovell preparing to test his spacesuit in a vacuum chamber in the Space Environment Simulation Laboratory at the Manned Spacecraft Center, now NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Middle: Workers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida prepare the Apollo 13 Command and Service Module. Right: Lovell during the geology field trip to Kilbourne Hills, New Mexico. The next Moon landing mission, Apollo 13, planned to launch on March 12, 1970, and visit the Fra Mauro highlands region of the Moon. With the mission’s increased emphasis on science, geology training for the Apollo 13 prime crew of Commander James A. Lovell, CMP Thomas K. “Ken” Mattingly, and LMP Fred W. Haise, and their backups John W. Young, Jack L. Swigert, and Charles M. Duke, took on greater importance. Lovell, Haise, Young, and Duke, accompanied by several geologists, traveled to Kilbourne Hole, New Mexico, for a one-day geology field trip on Nov. 11. The area’s volcanic origins served as appropriate training for their planned landing site, then believed to be a result of volcanic activity. The astronauts practiced deploying their ALSEP set of instruments, including during suited tests in a vacuum chamber in MSC’s Space Environment Simulation Laboratory. At KSC, workers in the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building (MSOB) continued preparing both the CSM and the LM for Apollo 13 prior to stacking with the Saturn V rocket in December. Apollo 14 Left: The Apollo 14 Command and Service Modules arrive at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) for preflight processing. Middle: The Apollo 14 Lunar Module (LM) descent stage arrives at KSC. Right: The Apollo 14 LM ascent stage arrives at KSC. Spacecraft components for Apollo 14, then planned for launch around July 1970, arrived at KSC in November 1969. The CM and SM arrived on Nov. 19 and workers in the MSOB mated the two components five days later. The two stages of the LM arrived in the MSOB on Nov. 24. With special thanks to Robert B. Fish for his expertise on U.S.S. Hornet recovery operations. To be continued … News from around the world in November 1969: November 10 – Sesame Street premieres on PBS. November 12 – Five Americans and one New Zealander became the first women to visit the South Pole. November 15 – Wendy’s Hamburgers opens in Columbus, Ohio. November 20 – Brazilian soccer star Pelé scores his 1,000th goal. November 22 – Isolation of a single gene announced by scientists at Harvard University. Explore More 12 min read 40 Years Ago: STS-51A – “The Ace Repo Company” Article 6 days ago 1 min read Oral History with Jon A. McBride, 1943 – 2024 Article 7 days ago 9 min read 30 Years Ago: STS-66, the ATLAS-3 Mission to Study the Earth’s Atmosphere Article 1 week ago View the full article

4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) The Aerostar Thunderhead balloon carries the STRATO payload into the sky to reach the stratosphere for flight testing. The balloon appears deflated because it will expand as it rises to higher altitudes where pressures are lower.Credit: Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control Center of Excellence for Advanced Technology Aerial Firefighting/Austin Buttlar NASA is participating in a collaborative effort to use high-altitude balloons to improve real-time communications among firefighters battling wildland fires. The rugged and often remote locations where wildland fires burn mean cell phone service is often limited, making communication between firefighters and command posts difficult. The flight testing of the Strategic Tactical Radio and Tactical Overwatch (STRATO) technology brought together experts from NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, the U.S. Forest Service, high-altitude balloon company Aerostar, and Motorola to provide cell service from above. The effort was funded by the NASA Science Mission Directorate’s Earth Science Division Airborne Science Program and the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate Flight Opportunities program. “This project leverages NASA expertise to address real problems,” said Don Sullivan, principal investigator for STRATO at NASA Ames. “We do a lot of experimental, forward-thinking work, but this is something that is operational and can make an immediate impact.” Flying High Above Wildland Fires Soaring above Earth at altitudes of 50,000 feet or more, Aerostar’s Thunderhead high-altitude balloon systems can stay in operation for several months and can be directed to “station keep,” staying within a radius of few miles. Because wildland fires often burn in remote, rugged areas, firefighting takes place in areas where cell service is not ideal. Providing cellular communication from above, from a vehicle that can move as the fire changes, would improve firefighter safety and firefighting efficiency. The STRATO project’s first test flight took place over the West Mountain Complex fires in Idaho in August and demonstrated significant opportunities to support future firefighting efforts. The balloon was fitted with a cellular LTE transmitter and visual and infrared cameras. To transmit between the balloon’s cell equipment and the wildland fire incident command post, the team used a SpaceX Starlink internet satellite device and Silvus broadband wireless system. When tested, the onboard instruments provided cell coverage for a 20-mile radius. By placing the transmitter on a gimbal, that cell service coverage could be adjusted as ground crews moved through the region. The onboard cameras gave fire managers and firefighters on the ground a bird’s-eye view of the fires as they spread and moved, opening the door to increased situational awareness and advanced tracking of firefighting crews. On the ground, teams use an app called Tactical Awareness Kit (TAK) to identify the locations of crew and equipment. Connecting the STRATO equipment to TAK provides real-time location information that can help crews pinpoint how the fire moves and where to direct resources while staying in constant communication. Soaring Into the Future The next steps for the STRATO team are to use the August flight test results to prepare for future fire seasons. The team plans to optimize balloon locations as a constellation to maximize coverage and anticipate airflow changes in the stratosphere where the balloons fly. By placing balloons in strategic locations along the airflow path, they can act as replacements to one another as they are carried by airflow streams. The team may also adapt the scientific equipment aboard the balloons to support other wildland fire initiatives at NASA. As the team prepares for further testing next year, the goal is to keep firefighters informed and in constant communication with each other and their command posts to improve the safety and efficiency of fighting wildland fires. “Firefighters work incredibly hard saving lives and property over long days of work,” said Sullivan. “I feel honored to be able to do what we can to make their jobs safer and better.” Share Details Last Updated Nov 14, 2024 Related TermsAmes Research CenterAirborne ScienceEarth Science DivisionFlight Opportunities Program Explore More 5 min read NASA’s EMIT Will Explore Diverse Science Questions on Extended Mission Article 17 mins ago 3 min read Entrevista con Instructor de OCEANOS Samuel Suleiman Article 1 day ago 4 min read Entrevista con Instructora de OCEANOS María Fernanda Barberena-Arias Article 2 days ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Ames Research Center Improving Firefighter Safety with STRATO Airborne Science at Ames Space Technology Mission Directorate View the full article

5 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA’s EMIT collected this hyperspectral image of the Amazon River in northern Brazil on June 30 as part of an effort to map global ecosystem biodiversity. The instrument was originally tasked with mapping minerals over deserts; its data is now being used in research on a diverse range of topics. NASA/JPL-Caltech The imaging spectrometer measures the colors of light reflected from Earth’s surface to study fields such as agriculture, hydrology, and climate science. Observing our planet from the International Space Station since July 2022, NASA’s EMIT (Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation) mission is beginning its next act. At first the imaging spectrometer was solely aimed at mapping minerals over Earth’s desert regions to help determine the cooling and heating effects that dust can have on regional and global climate. The instrument soon added another skill: pinpointing greenhouse gas emission sources, including landfills and fossil fuel infrastructure. Following a mission extension this year, EMIT is now collecting data from regions beyond deserts, addressing topics as varied as agriculture, hydrology, and climate science. Imaging spectrometers like EMIT detect the light reflected from Earth, and they separate visible and infrared light into hundreds of wavelength bands — colors, essentially. Scientists use patterns of reflection and absorption at different wavelengths to determine the composition of what the instrument is observing. The approach echoes Isaac Newton’s prism experiments in 1672, in which the physicist discovered that visible light is composed of a rainbow of colors. Perched on the International Space Station, NASA’s EMIT can differentiate between types of vegetation to help researchers understand the distribution and traits of plant communities. The instrument collected this data over the mid-Atlantic U.S. on April 23.NASA/JPL-Caltech “Breakthroughs in optics, physics, and chemistry led to where we are today with this incredible instrument, providing data to help address pressing questions on our planet,” said Dana Chadwick, EMIT’s applications lead at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. New Science Projects In its extended mission, EMIT’s data will be the focus of 16 new projects under NASA’s Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science (ROSES) program, which funds science investigations at universities, research institutions, and NASA. For example, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Research Service are exploring how EMIT can assess climate-smart agricultural practices. Those practices — winter cover crops and conservation tillage — involve protecting cropland during non-growing seasons with either living plants or dead plant matter to prevent erosion and manage nitrogen. Imaging spectrometers are capable of gathering data on the distribution and characteristics of plants and plant matter, based on the patterns of light they reflect. The information can help agricultural agencies incentivize farmers to use sustainable practices and potentially help farmers manage their fields. “We’re adding more accuracy and reducing error on the measurements we are supplying to end users,” said Jyoti Jennewein, an Agricultural Research Service research physical scientist based in Fort Collins, Colorado, and a project co-lead. The USGS-USDA project is also informing analytical approaches for NASA’s future Surface Biology and Geology-Visible Shortwave Infrared mission. The satellite will cover Earth’s land and coasts more frequently than EMIT, with finer spatial resolution. Looking at Snowmelt Another new project will test whether EMIT data can help refine estimates of snowpack melting rates. Such an improvement could inform water management in states like California, where meltwater makes up the majority of the agricultural water supply. Imaging spectrometers like EMIT measure the albedo of snow — the percentage of solar radiation it’s reflecting. What isn’t reflected is absorbed, so the observations indicate how much energy snow is taking in, which in turn helps with estimates of snow melt rates. The instruments also discern what’s affecting albedo: snow-grain size, dust or soot contamination, or both. For this work, EMIT’s ability to measure beyond visible light is key. Ice is “pretty absorptive at near-infrared and the shortwave infrared wavelengths,” said Jeff Dozier, a University of California, Santa Barbara professor emeritus and the project’s principal investigator. Other ROSES-funded projects focus on wildflower blooming, phytoplankton and carbon dynamics in inland waters, ecosystem biodiversity, and functional traits of forests. Dust Impacts Researchers with EMIT will continue to study the climate effects of dust. When lofted into the air by windstorms, darker, iron-filled dust absorbs the Sun’s heat and warms the surrounding air, while lighter-colored, clay-rich particles do the opposite. Scientists have been uncertain whether airborne dust has overall cooling or warming effects on the planet. Before EMIT, they could only assume the color of particles in a region. The EMIT mission is “giving us lab-quality results, everywhere we need to know,” said Natalie Mahowald, the mission’s deputy principal investigator and an Earth system scientist at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Feeding the data into Earth system computer models, Mahowald expects to get closer to pinpointing dust’s climate impact as Earth warms. Greenhouse Gas Detection The mission will continue to identify point-source emissions of methane and carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gases most responsible for climate change, and observations are available through EMIT’s data portal and the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Center. The EMIT team is also refining the software that identifies and measures greenhouse-gas plumes in the data, and they’re working to streamline the process with machine-learning automation. Aligning with NASA’s open science initiative, they are sharing code with public, private, and nonprofit organizations doing similar work. “Making this work publicly accessible has fundamentally pushed the science of measuring point-source emissions forward and expanded the use of EMIT data,” said Andrew Thorpe, the JPL research technologist heading the EMIT greenhouse gas effort. More About EMIT The EMIT instrument was developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California. Launched to the International Space Station in July 2022, EMIT is on an extended three-year mission in which it’s supporting a range of research projects. EMIT’s data products are available at the NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center for use by other researchers and the public. To learn more about the mission, visit: https://earth.jpl.nasa.gov/emit/ How the new NISAR satellite will track Earth’s changing surface A planet-rumbling Greenland tsunami seen from above News Media Contacts Andrew Wang / Jane J. Lee Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 626-379-6874 / 818-354-0307 andrew.wang@jpl.nasa.gov / jane.j.lee@jpl.nasa.gov 2024-159 Share Details Last Updated Nov 14, 2024 Related TermsEMIT (Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation)EarthEarth ScienceEarth Science DivisionJet Propulsion Laboratory Explore More 4 min read NASA and Forest Service Use Balloon to Help Firefighters Communicate Article 12 mins ago 9 min read The Earth Observer Editor’s Corner: Fall 2024 On September 18, 2024, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shared the first images… Article 35 mins ago 3 min read Summary of Aura 20th Anniversary Event Snippets from The Earth Observer’s Editor’s Corner The last of NASA’s three EOS Flagships –… Article 37 mins ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

Earth Observer Earth Home Earth Observer Home Editor’s Corner Feature Articles Meeting Summaries News Science in the News Calendars In Memoriam More Archives 9 min read The Earth Observer Editor’s Corner: Fall 2024 On September 18, 2024, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shared the first images of the Western Hemisphere from the GOES-19 satellite, its newest geostationary satellite launched on June 25, 2024 onboard a Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Previously known as GOES-U, the satellite was renamed GOES-19 upon reaching geostationary orbit on July 7, 2024. GOES-19 orbits about 35,785 km above the equator at the same speed the Earth rotates, allowing the satellite to constantly view the same area of the planet and track weather conditions and hazards as they happen. The satellite’s Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) instrument recently captured stunning views of Earth in 16 spectral channels. This data provides researchers information about Earth’s atmosphere, land, and ocean for short-term forecasts and tracking severe weather – see Figure. ABI data is also used for detecting and monitoring environmental hazards, such as wildfires, smoke, dust storms, volcanic eruptions, turbulence, and fog. Data from multiple ABI channels can be combined to create imagery that approximates what the human eye would see from space referred to as GeoColor (see Figure). Figure. [Left] The GOES-19 images show the contiguous U.S. observed by each of the Advanced Baseline Imager’s (ABI) 16 channels on August 30, 2024, at 6:00 PM UTC. This 16-panel image [progressing left to right, across each row] shows the ABI’s two visible (gray scale), four near-infrared (IR) (gray scale), and 10 infrared channels (warmer brightness temperatures of the IR bands map to warmer colors). Each band’s appearance illustrates how it reflects or absorbs radiation. [Right] The GOES-19 full disk GeoColor image combines data from multiple ABI channels to approximate what the human eye would see from space. Figure Credit: NOAA GOES-19 is the final satellite in NOAA’s GOES-R series and serves as a bridge to a new age of advanced satellite technology. NOAA and NASA are currently developing NOAA’s next generation geostationary satellites, called Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO), to advance operational geostationary Earth observations. NASA Earth sciences celebrated several satellite milestone anniversaries in 2024. The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory (CO) celebrated its 10th anniversary in February while Aura and Orbiting Carbon Observatory–2 (OCO–2) celebrated their 20th and 10th anniversaries, respectively, in July. Here, we focus on GPM and Aura. The GPM CO launched on February 27, 2024, aboard a Japanese H-IIA rocket from Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan, as a joint Earth-observing mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). To celebrate its 10th anniversary, GPM has been hosting special outreach activities. One example is the GPM 10-in-10 webinar series that began on February 8, 2024. This series of 10 public webinars explores GPM and the story behind the mission, which is aimed at anyone interested in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and the synergy of these disciplines to better understand and protect our home planet. Now over 10 years into the mission, GPM continues to provide important data on precipitation around the globe leading to new scientific discoveries and contributing data to help society, from monitoring storms to supporting weather forecasts and aiding water-borne disease public health alerts. As an example, GPM made several passes of Hurricane Milton, which made landfall near Siesta Key, FL on October 9, 2024 as a Category 3 storm. As a complement to GPM CO observations, a multi-satellite sensor IMERG animation shows rainfall rates and accumulation over the course of Milton’s history. To read more about how GPM continues to observe important precipitation characteristics and gain physical insights into precipitation processes, please see the article “GPM Celebrates Ten Years of Observing Precipitation for Science and Society” in The Earth Observer. The last of NASA’s three EOS Flagships – Aura – marked 20 years in orbit on July 15, 2024, with a celebration on September 18, 2024, at Goddard Space Flight Center’s (GSFC) Recreational Center. The 120 attendees – including about 40 participating virtually – reminisced about Aura’s (originally named EOS-CHEM) tumultuous beginning, from the instrument and Principal Investigator (PI) selections up until the delayed launch at Vandenberg Space Force Base (then Air Force Base) in California. They remembered how Bill Townsend, who was Deputy Director of GSFC at the time, and Ghassem Asrar, who was NASA’s Associate Administrator for Earth Science, spent many hours on site negotiating with the Vandenberg and Boeing launch teams in preparation for launch (after several delays and aborts). Photo 1 shows the Aura mission program scientist, project scientists (PS), and several instrument principal investigators (PI) at Vandenberg shortly before launch. Photo 1. The Aura (formerly EOS CHEM) mission program scientist, project scientists (PS), and several of instrument principal investigators (PI) at Vandenberg Space Force Base (then Air Force Base) shortly before launch on July 15, 2004. The individuals pictured [left to right] are Reinhold Beer [NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)—Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) PI]; John Gille [University of Colorado, Boulder/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)—High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS) PI]; Pieternel Levelt [Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut (KNMI), Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute—Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) PI]; Ernest Hilsenrath [NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)—Aura Deputy Scientist and U.S. OMI Co-PI]; Anne Douglass [GSFC—Aura Deputy PS]; Mark Schoeberl [GSFC—Aura Project Scientist];Joe Waters [NASA/JPL—Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) PI]; P.K. Bhartia [GSFC—OMI Science Team Leader and former Aura Project Scientist]; and Phil DeCola [NASA Headquarters—Aura Program Scientist]. NOTE: Affiliations/titles listed for individuals named were those at the time of launch. Photo Credit: Ernest Hilsenrath At the anniversary event, Bryan Duncan [GSFC—Aura Project Scientist] gave formal opening remarks. Aura’s datasets have given a generation of scientists the most comprehensive global view of gases in Earth’s atmosphere to better understand the chemical and dynamic processes that shape their concentrations. Aura’s objective was to gather data to monitor Earth’s ozone layer, examine trends in global air pollutants, and measure the concentration of atmospheric constituents contributing to climate forcing. To read more about Aura’s incredible 20 years of accomplished air quality and climate science, see the anniversary article “Aura at 20 Years” in The Earth Observer. To read more about the anniversary event, see Summary of Aura 20th Anniversary Event. It has been over a year and a half since the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission began collecting data on the height of nearly all water on Earth’s surface, including oceans, lakes, rivers, and reservoirs. During that time, data collected by the satellite has started to improve our understanding of energy in the ocean, yielding insights on surface currents and waves, internal tides, the vertical mixing of seawater, as well as atmosphere–ocean interactions. Notably, SWOT has been measuring the amplitude of solitary internal waves in the ocean. These waves reflect the dynamics of internal tides (tides that occur deep in the ocean rather than at the surface) that can influence biological productivity as well as ocean energy exchanges through their contribution to mixing and general oceanic circulation. SWOT measurements are also being used to study inland and coastal flooding to inform water management strategies. Earlier this year, researchers used SWOT data to measure the total volume of water during major floods in southern Brazil in April to improve understanding of these events and prepare for the future. In addition, the Water Ministry of Bangladesh is working to incorporate SWOT water elevation maps, along with other near-real time satellite data, into their flood forecasts. Researchers at Alexandria University, Egypt are using SWOT data in the Nile River Basin to improve dam operations. A detailed account of SWOT Significant Events since launch is available online. To learn more about project status and explore the many facets of operational and applied uses of SWOT data, please see The Earth Observer article, “Summary of the 10th SWOT Applications Workshop.” In September 2024, the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem–Postlaunch Airborne eXperiment (PACE–PAX) gathered data for the validation of the PACE mission, which launched in February 2024. The operations spanned Southern and Central California and nearby coastal regions, logging 81 flight hours for the NASA ER-2, which operated out of NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) in Edwards, CA, and 60 hours for Twin Otter aircraft, which was operated by the Center for Interdisciplinary Remotely Piloted Aircraft Studies (CIRPAS) at the Naval Postgraduate School (Monterey, CA) out of Marina Municipal Airport in Marina, CA – see Photo 2. Photo 2. The Twin Otter aircraft operated out of the Center for Interdisciplinary Remotely Piloted Aircraft Studies (CIRPAS) during the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem–Postlaunch Airborne eXperiment (PACE–PAX) campaign. The image shows the Twin Otter aircraft missing the approach at Marina Airport to check instrument performance on the aircraft against identical instrumentation on an airport control tower. Photo credit: ???TBD ??? Congratulations to PACE-PAX leads Kirk Knobelspiesse [GSFC], Brian Cairns [NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS)], and Ivona Cetinić [GSFC/Morgan State University] for successfully executing and planning this campaign. PACE–PAX data will be available in March 2025 via NASA’s Langley Research Center Suborbital Science Data for Atmospheric Composition website and NASA’s SeaWiFS Bio-optical Archive and Storage System (SeaBASS). Photo 3. Clockwise from top left: Mike Ondrusek (NOAA), mission scientist of the R/V Shearwater, waves to the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) Twin Otter as it samples at low altitude. Bridge fire in San Gabriel mountains, September 10, 2024. Photo by NASA ER-2 pilot Kirt Stallings. Carl Goodwin (JPL) performs calibration reference measurements at Ivanpah Playa, California. Scott Freeman (GSFC) and Harrison Smith (GSFC) deploy instrumentation from the R/V Shearwater in the Santa Barbara Channel. Instrument integration on the NASA ER-2 in preparation for PACE-PAX. San Francisco observed by the NPS Twin Otter as it samples at low altitude over the San Francisco Bay. The R/V Shearwater seen from the NPS Twin Otter. Photo credit: ???TBD ??? Shifting venues, NASA’s BlueFlux Campaign conducted a series of ground-based and airborne fieldwork missions out of the Miami Homestead Air Reserve Base and the Miami Executive Airport in Miami-Dade County, which are adjacent to the eastern border of the Everglades National Park. The full study region – broadly referred to as South Florida – is narrowly defined by the wetland ecosystems that extend from Lake Okeechobee and its Northern estuaries to the saltwater marshland and mangrove forests along the state’s southernmost shore. Glenn Wolfe [GSFC] and Erin Delaria [GSFC/UMD] organized more than 34 flights across 5 separate fieldwork deployments during the campaign. The data during BlueFlux are intended to contribute to a more robust understanding of how Florida’s coastal ecology fits into the carbon cycle. The article, “NASA’s BlueFlux Campaign Supports Blue Carbon Management in South Florida,” provides additional information about this program, which was made possible by David Lagomasino [East Carolina University], Cheryl Doughty [GSFC/UMD], Lola Fatoyinbo [GSFC], and Peter Raymond [Yale University]. To learn more about PACE-PAX and BlueFlux, see: Updates on NASA Field Campaigns. Notable recent Science Support Office (SSO) outreach activities include the 2024 Eclipse outreach and engagement efforts on April 7, 2024, in Kerrville, TX and Cleveland, OH. The two locations are among a dozen that NASA set up along path of totality. To read about the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse through the eyes of NASA outreach and engagement activities, please see The Earth Observer feature article, “Looking Back on Looking Up: The 2024 Total Solar Eclipse.” The SSO also supported the United Nations (UN) Summit of the Future event and the 79th General Assembly High Level week, September 19–27, 2024 at UN Headquarters (HQ) in New York City, NY. SSO supported the NASA Sea Level Change Team (N-SLCT) during the High-level Meeting on Sea-Level Rise by having Hyperwall content available for the release of the new Pacific Flooding Analysis Tool. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson visited the Hyperwall on September 23 with Aarti Holla-Maini [UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)—Director]. Karen St. Germain [NASA HQ—Director of the Earth Science Division], Julie Robinson [NASA HQ—Deputy Director of the Earth Science Division], Kate Calvin [NASA HQ—NASA Chief Scientist], Lesley Ott [GSFC— Climate Scientist], and Anjali Tripathi [NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)—Astrophysicist] talked with delegates and members about NASA Science and accessed NASA global datasets. Photos from the event are available at the SSO Flickr Page. Looking ahead, the SSO is once again leading the planning and logistics for the NASA exhibit at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting, which will be held December 9–13, 2024 in Washington, DC. Nearly 40 NASA projects and missions will have hands-on activities within the perimeter of the NASA Science exhibit, from the James Webb Space Telescope to the Airborne Science Fleet. The NASA Hyperwall, a video wall used for visual-forward science storytelling, will host approximately 50 Hyperwall stories and presentations throughout the meeting, including presentations delivered by the 2024 winners of the NASA-funded AGU Michael H. Freilich Student Visualization Competition. The exhibit will also feature roughly 40 tech demonstrations throughout the week, covering a wide range of hands-on introductions to everything from the capabilities of the OpenSpace data visualization software to the scientific applications of augmented reality. Please be sure to stop by the NASA exhibit when you are at AGU. Steve Platnick EOS Senior Project Scientist Share Details Last Updated Nov 14, 2024 Related Terms Earth Science View the full article

Earth Observer Earth Home Earth Observer Home Editor’s Corner Feature Articles Meeting Summaries News Science in the News Calendars In Memoriam More Archives 3 min read Summary of Aura 20th Anniversary Event Snippets from The Earth Observer’s Editor’s Corner The last of NASA’s three EOS Flagships – Aura – marked 20 years in orbit on July 15, 2024, with a celebration on September 18, 2024, at the Goddard Space Flight Center’s (GSFC) Recreational Center. The 120 attendees – including about 40 virtually – reminisced about Aura’s (originally named EOS-CHEM) tumultuous beginning, from the instrument and Principal Investigator (PI) selections up until the delayed launch at the Vandenberg Space Force Base (then Vandenberg Air Force Base) in California. They remembered how Bill Townsend, who was Deputy Director of GSFC at the time, and Ghassem Asrar, who was NASA’s Associate Administrator for Earth Science, spent many hours on site negotiating with the Vandenberg and Boeing launch teams in preparation for launch (after several delays and aborts). The Photo shows the Aura mission program scientist, project scientists (PS), and several instrument principal investigators (PI) shortly before launch. Photo 1. The Aura (formerly EOS CHEM) mission program scientist, project scientists (PS), and several of instrument principal investigators (PI) at Vandenberg Space Force Base (then Air Force Base) shortly before launch on July 15, 2004. The individuals pictured [left to right] are Reinhold Beer [NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)—Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) PI]; John Gille [University of Colorado, Boulder/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)—High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS) PI]; Pieternel Levelt [Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut (KNMI), Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute—Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) PI]; Ernest Hilsenrath [NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)—Aura Deputy Scientist and U.S. OMI Co-PI];Anne Douglass [GSFC—Aura Deputy PS]; Mark Schoeberl [GSFC—Aura Project Scientist]; Joe Waters [NASA/JPL—Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) PI]; P.K. Bhartia [GSFC—OMI Science Team Leader and former Aura Project Scientist]; and Phil DeCola [NASA Headquarters—Aura Program Scientist]. NOTE: Affiliations/titles listed for individuals named were those at the time of launch. Photo Credit: Ernest Hilsenrath At the anniversary event, Bryan Duncan [GSFC—Aura Project Scientist] gave formal opening remarks. Aura’s datasets have given a generation of scientists the most comprehensive global view of gases in Earth’s atmosphere to better understand the chemical and dynamic processes that shape their concentrations. Aura’s objective was to gather data to monitor Earth’s ozone layer, examine trends in global air pollutants, and measure the concentration of atmospheric constituents contributing to climate forcing. To read more about Aura’s incredible 20 years of accomplished air quality and climate science, see the anniversary article “Aura at 20 Years” in The Earth Observer. Bill Guit [GSFC—Aqua and Aura Program Manager and former Aura Mission Operations Lead] gave brief remarks focusing on how Aura became part of the international Afternoon Constellation, or “A-Train,” of satellites, including Aqua, which launched in 2002, and joined by several other NASA and international missions. Aura and Aqua have provided data for over two decades of multidisciplinary Earth science discovery and enhancement. Both current and former Aura instrument PIs gave brief remarks. Each discussed Aura’s scientific legacy and their instrument’s contributions. They thanked their engineering teams for the successful development and operation of their instruments, and the members of the instrument science teams for developing the algorithms, discovering new science, and demonstrating how the science will serve the public. The PIs were particularly grateful that their instruments or the variants thereof will continue to fly on current and/or future NASA science missions or on international operational satellites. Steve Platnick EOS Senior Project Scientist Share Details Last Updated Nov 14, 2024 Related Terms Earth Science View the full article

Earth Observer Earth Home Earth Observer Home Editor’s Corner Feature Articles Meeting Summaries News Science in the News Calendars In Memoriam More Archives 5 min read Updates on NASA Field Campaigns Snippets from The Earth Observer’s Editor’s Corner PACE-PAX PACE–PAX had as its primary objective to gather data to validate measurements from NASA’s PACE mission. A secondary objective was validation of observations by the European Space Agency’s recently launched Earth Cloud, Aerosol, and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) mission. The operations spanned Southern and Central California and nearby coastal regions, logging 81 flight hours for the NASA ER-2, which operated out of NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) in Edwards, CA, and 60 hours for the Twin Otter aircraft, which was operated by the Center for Interdisciplinary Remotely Piloted Aircraft Studies (CIRPAS) at the Naval Postgraduate School (Monterey, CA) out of Marina Municipal Airport in Marina, CA – see Photo. Photo. The Twin Otter aircraft operated out of the Center for Interdisciplinary Remotely Piloted Aircraft Studies (CIRPAS) during the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem–Postlaunch Airborne eXperiment (PACE–PAX) campaign. The image shows the Twin Otter aircraft missing the approach at Marina Airport to check instrument performance on the aircraft against identical instrumentation on an airport control tower. Photo credit: NASA NASA’s ER-2 aircraft flies at an altitude of approximately 20 km, well above the troposphere. PACE–PAX researchers used the unique high-altitude vantage point to make observations of the atmosphere, ocean, and land surface in a similar manner to that of PACE. In so doing, they can verify the accuracy of data gathered by the satellite in orbit. Meanwhile, the Twin Otter flew at a much lower altitude in the atmosphere (~3 km). The instrumentation onboard the Twin Otter was used to sample and measure cloud droplet size, aerosol size, and the amount of light scattered or absorbed by the particles. These aircraft observations are the same atmospheric properties that PACE observes from its broader vantage point in polar orbit. In addition to the PACE and aircraft observations, the R/V Shearwater operated 15 day trips out of Santa Barbara, CA, gathering additional surface-based observations along with other vessels and floats. Field campaigns, such as PACE–PAX, are designed to collect measurements at different scales and conditions for comparison to satellite observations. When it comes to doing this successfully, timing is everything. PACE–PAX observations were carefully coordinated so that the two aircraft were in flight and taking observations at the same time, so observations were being obtained at the surface (e.g., on the ship) as well as the satellite passing overhead. This takes a tremendous amount of effort on the part of the organizers. BlueFlux BlueFlux was set up to study the wetland ecosystems of South Florida. Wetland ecosystems represent the ever-changing line between land and sea, and are exceptionally vulnerable to climate disturbances, such as sea level rise and tropical cyclones. As these threats intensify, wetland ecology – and its role as a critical sink of CO2 – faces an uncertain future. BlueFlux observations will contribute to the development of a new, remote-sensing data product called “Daily Flux Predictions for South Florida,” which will help research teams led by Ben Poulter [GSFC] explain and quantify the changing relationship between wetlands and atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations (GHG). The goal is to refine global GHG budget analyses and provide regional stakeholders with information to evaluate how Florida’s wetlands are responding to natural and anthropogenic pressures in real time. The “Daily Flux Predictions for South Florida” product will use retrievals of surface spectral reflectance captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on NASA’s Aqua and Terra satellites to estimate the rate at which various gasses are exchanged between Earth’s surface and the atmosphere. Such flux measurements in coastal wetlands are historically limited on account of the relative inaccessibility of these ecosystems. To contribute to a more robust understanding of how Florida’s coastal ecology fits into the carbon cycle, BlueFlux conducted a series of airborne fieldwork deployments out of the Miami Homestead Air Reserve Base and the Miami Executive Airport in Miami-Dade County, which are adjacent to the eastern border of the Everglades National Park. The full study region – broadly referred to as South Florida – is narrowly defined by the wetland ecosystems that extend from Lake Okeechobee and its Northern estuaries to the saltwater marshland and mangrove forests along the state’s southernmost shore. Flux measurements were made along each flight track using a payload known as the CARbon Airborne Flux Experiment (CARAFE) flying at between about 90 m and 3000 m. The researchers configured airborne observations, along with additional ground-based flux measurements, to match the spatial and temporal resolution of spectra collected by MODIS sensors, which produce surface reflectance retrievals at a 500 m daily resolution. Mirroring the scale of MODIS observations was necessary to both train the flux product’s underlying machine-learning algorithms and validate the accuracy of predictions made using satellite data alone. Data collected during BlueFlux fieldwork campaigns is available to the general public through NASA’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC). The “Daily Flux Predictions for South Florida” data product will also be accessible through NASA’s ORNL DAAC by early 2025. Steve Platnick EOS Senior Project Scientist Share Details Last Updated Nov 14, 2024 Related Terms Earth Science View the full article

3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA Energy Program Manager for Facility Projects Wayne Thalasinos, left, stands with NASA Stennis Sustainability Team Lead Alvin Askew at the U.S. Department of Energy in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 30. The previous day, the Department of Energy announced NASA Stennis will receive a $1.95 million grant for an energy conservation project at the south Mississippi center. The Stennis Sustainability Team consists of NASA personnel and contract support. NASA members include Askew, Missy Ferguson and Teenia Perry. Contract members include Jordan McQueen (Synergy-Achieving Consolidated Operations and Maintenance); Michelle Bain (SACOM); Matt Medick (SACOM); Thomas Mitchell (SACOM); Lincoln Gros (SACOM), and Erik Tucker (Leidos). NASA Stennis NASA’s Stennis Space Center has been awarded a highly competitive U.S. Department of Energy grant to transform its main administration building into a facility that produces as much renewable energy as it uses. Following an Oct. 29 announcement, NASA Stennis, located near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, will receive $1.95 million through the Assisting Federal Facilities with Energy Conservation Technologies (AFFECT) Program. The grant will fund installation of a four-acre solar panel array onsite that can generate up to 1 megawatt of electricity. “This is a flagship project for our NASA center,” said NASA Stennis Director John Bailey. “It will provide renewable energy to help reduce our carbon footprint, contributing to NASA’s agencywide goal of zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.” The AFFECT Program awards grants to help the federal government achieve its goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by all federal buildings by 2045. More than $1 billion in funding proposals was requested by federal agencies for the second, and final, phase of the initiative. A total of $149.87 million subsequently was awarded for 67 energy conservation and clean energy projects at federal facilities across 28 U.S. states and territories and in six international locations. NASA Stennis is the only agency in Mississippi to receive funding. The site’s solar panel array will build on an $1.65 million energy conservation project already underway at the south Mississippi site to improve energy efficiency. The solar-generated electricity can be used in a number of ways, from powering facility lighting to running computers. The array also will connect to the electrical grid to allow any excess energy to be utilized elsewhere onsite. “This solar panel addition will further enhance our energy efficiency,” said NASA Stennis Sustainability Team Lead Alvin Askew. “By locating the solar photovoltaic array by the Emergency Operations Center, it also has potential future benefits in providing backup power to that facility during outages.” The NASA Stennis proposal was one of several submitted by NASA centers for agency consideration. Following an agency review process, NASA submitted multiple projects to the Department of Energy for grant consideration. “This was a very competitive process, and I am proud of the NASA Stennis Sustainability Team,” NASA Stennis Center Operations Director Michael Tubbs said. “The team’s hard work in recent years and its commitment to continuous improvement in onsite energy conversation laid the groundwork to qualify for this grant. Mr. Askew, in particular, continues to be a leader in creative thinking, helping us meet agency sustainability goals.” The NASA Stennis administration building was constructed in 2008 as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified, all-electric facility and currently has net-zero emissions. For information about NASA’s Stennis Space Center, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/stennis Explore More 5 min read NASA Stennis – An Ideal Place for Commercial Companies Article 1 day ago 4 min read NASA Stennis Propulsion Testing Contributes to Artemis Missions Article 1 day ago 5 min read NASA Stennis Test Team Supports Space Dreams with Proven Expertise Article 1 day ago Share Details Last Updated Nov 14, 2024 EditorNASA Stennis CommunicationsContactC. Lacy Thompsoncalvin.l.thompson@nasa.gov / (228) 688-3333LocationStennis Space Center Related TermsStennis Space Center Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Stennis Multi-User Test Complex Propulsion Test Engineering NASA Stennis Front Door NASA Stennis Media Resources View the full article

As the agency continues to explore for the benefit of all, NASA is in the process of searching for a new headquarters facility in Washington or the immediate surrounding area. The current NASA Headquarters lease expires in August 2028, and the agency already has evaluated multiple options including leasing or purchasing within the District of Columbia. Through a request for information published Thursday, NASA took a small step in a longer process to determine the best outcome for the agency and U.S. taxpayers. “With a new facility on the horizon, NASA has a unique opportunity to better meet the needs of a new generation of explorers, discoverers, and public servants – the Artemis Generation,” said Bob Gibbs, associate administrator, Mission Support Directorate. “The next NASA Headquarters will reflect our journey in a facility that inspires and engages the public, aligns with new ways of working, fosters innovation and connection, and maximizes taxpayer funding.” NASA is asking for responses from members of the development community, local and state jurisdictions, academia, other federal agencies, commercial aerospace partners, and other interested parties to help inform its decision. Needs for a new headquarters includes approximately 375,000 to 525,000 square feet of office space to house NASA’s workforce. The desired location is within walking distance to a Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority station. In addition, the new location also needs parking options, as well as convenient access to food establishments. Other ideal characteristics for a new setting include the capability to renovate the space to create a dynamic, flexible, and adaptive work environment inclusive of open work areas, enclosed offices, open collaboration areas, teaming rooms, conference rooms, sensitive compartmented information facilities, and secured storage spaces, to include potential stakeholder meeting, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) educational outreach, and storage spaces. Responses to the request for information are due no later than 12 p.m. EST on Jan. 15, 2025. This call for ideas is for informational purposes only and is intended to assist NASA with its planning and strategic decisions regarding a future facility. It is not a request for a lease proposal or a solicitation for a contract or other agreement, and it does not obligate NASA in any way. Under the leadership of the administrator, NASA Headquarters provides overall guidance and direction to the agency, through 10-field centers and a variety of installations nationwide. To learn more about NASA and its missions, visit: https://www.nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Nov 14, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related TermsNASA HeadquartersNASA Centers & Facilities View the full article

Hubble Space Telescope Home NASA’s Hubble Sees… Hubble Space Telescope Hubble Home Overview About Hubble The History of Hubble Hubble Timeline Why Have a Telescope in Space? Hubble by the Numbers At the Museum FAQs Impact & Benefits Hubble’s Impact & Benefits Science Impacts Cultural Impact Technology Benefits Impact on Human Spaceflight Astro Community Impacts Science Hubble Science Science Themes Science Highlights Science Behind Discoveries Hubble’s Partners in Science Universe Uncovered Explore the Night Sky Observatory Hubble Observatory Hubble Design Mission Operations Missions to Hubble Hubble vs Webb Team Hubble Team Career Aspirations Hubble Astronauts News Hubble News Hubble News Archive Social Media Media Resources Multimedia Multimedia Images Videos Sonifications Podcasts E-books Lithographs Fact Sheets Glossary Posters Hubble on the NASA App More Online Activities 5 Min Read NASA’s Hubble Sees Aftermath of Galaxy’s Scrape with Milky Way This artist’s concept shows a closeup of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy that is one of the Milky Way galaxy’s nearest neighbors. Credits: NASA, ESA, Ralf Crawford (STScI) A story of survival is unfolding at the outer reaches of our galaxy, and NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope is witnessing the saga. The Large Magellanic Cloud, also called the LMC, is one of the Milky Way galaxy’s nearest neighbors. This dwarf galaxy looms large on the southern nighttime sky at 20 times the apparent diameter of the full Moon. Many researchers theorize that the LMC is not in orbit around our galaxy, but is just passing by. These scientists think that the LMC has just completed its closest approach to the much more massive Milky Way. This passage has blown away most of the spherical halo of gas that surrounds the LMC. Now, for the first time, astronomers been able to measure the size of the LMC’s halo – something they could do only with Hubble. In a new study to be published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, researchers were surprised to find that it is so extremely small, about 50,000 light-years across. That’s around 10 times smaller than halos of other galaxies that are the LMC’s mass. Its compactness tells the story of its encounter with the Milky Way. “The LMC is a survivor,” said Andrew Fox of AURA/STScI for the European Space Agency in Baltimore, who was principal investigator on the observations. “Even though it’s lost a lot of its gas, it’s got enough left to keep forming new stars. So new star-forming regions can still be created. A smaller galaxy wouldn’t have lasted – there would be no gas left, just a collection of aging red stars.” This artist’s concept shows the Large Magellanic Cloud, or LMC, in the foreground as it passes through the gaseous halo of the much more massive Milky Way galaxy. The encounter has blown away most of the spherical halo of gas that surrounds the LMC, as illustrated by the trailing gas stream reminiscent of a comet’s tail. Still, a compact halo remains, and scientists do not expect this residual halo to be lost. The team surveyed the halo by using the background light of 28 quasars, an exceptionally bright type of active galactic nucleus that shines across the universe like a lighthouse beacon. Their light allows scientists to “see” the intervening halo gas indirectly through the absorption of the background light. The lines represent the Hubble Space Telescope’s view from its orbit around Earth to the distant quasars through the LMC’s gas. NASA, ESA, Ralf Crawford (STScI) Download this image Though quite a bit worse for wear, the LMC still retains a compact, stubby halo of gas – something that it wouldn’t have been able to hold onto gravitationally had it been less massive. The LMC is 10 percent the mass of the Milky Way, making it heftier than most dwarf galaxies. “Because of the Milky Way’s own giant halo, the LMC’s gas is getting truncated, or quenched,” explained STScI’s Sapna Mishra, the lead author on the paper chronicling this discovery. “But even with this catastrophic interaction with the Milky Way, the LMC is able to retain 10 percent of its halo because of its high mass.” A Gigantic Hair Dryer Most of the LMC’s halo was blown away due to a phenomenon called ram-pressure stripping. The dense environment of the Milky Way pushes back against the incoming LMC and creates a wake of gas trailing the dwarf galaxy – like the tail of a comet. “I like to think of the Milky Way as this giant hairdryer, and it’s blowing gas off the LMC as it comes into us,” said Fox. “The Milky Way is pushing back so forcefully that the ram pressure has stripped off most of the original mass of the LMC’s halo. There’s only a little bit left, and it’s this small, compact leftover that we’re seeing now.” As the ram pressure pushes away much of the LMC’s halo, the gas slows down and eventually will rain into the Milky Way. But because the LMC has just gotten past its closest approach to the Milky Way and is moving outward into deep space again, scientists do not expect the whole halo will be lost. Only with Hubble To conduct this study, the research team analyzed ultraviolet observations from the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes at STScI. Most ultraviolet light is blocked by the Earth’s atmosphere, so it cannot be observed with ground-based telescopes. Hubble is the only current space telescope tuned to detect these wavelengths of light, so this study was only possible with Hubble. The team surveyed the halo by using the background light of 28 bright quasars. The brightest type of active galactic nucleus, quasars are believed to be powered by supermassive black holes. Shining like lighthouse beacons, they allow scientists to “see” the intervening halo gas indirectly through the absorption of the background light. Quasars reside throughout the universe at extreme distances from our galaxy. This artist’s concept illustrates the Large Magellanic Cloud’s (LMC’s) encounter with the Milky Way galaxy’s gaseous halo. In the top panel, at the middle of the right side, the LMC begins crashing through our galaxy’s much more massive halo. The bright purple bow shock represents the leading edge of the LMC’s halo, which is being compressed as the Milky Way’s halo pushes back against the incoming LMC. In the middle panel, part of the halo is being stripped and blown back into a streaming tail of gas that eventually will rain into the Milky Way. The bottom panel shows the progression of this interaction, as the LMC’s comet-like tail becomes more defined. A compact LMC halo remains. Because the LMC is just past its closest approach to the Milky Way and is moving outward into deep space again, scientists do not expect the residual halo will be lost. NASA, ESA, Ralf Crawford (STScI) Download this image The scientists used data from Hubble’s Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) to detect the presence of the halo’s gas by the way it absorbs certain colors of light from background quasars. A spectrograph breaks light into its component wavelengths to reveal clues to the object’s state, temperature, speed, quantity, distance, and composition. With COS, they measured the velocity of the gas around the LMC, which allowed them to determine the size of the halo. Because of its mass and proximity to the Milky Way, the LMC is a unique astrophysics laboratory. Seeing the LMC’s interplay with our galaxy helps scientists understand what happened in the early universe, when galaxies were closer together. It also shows just how messy and complicated the process of galaxy interaction is. Looking to the Future The team will next study the front side of the LMC’s halo, an area that has not yet been explored. “In this new program, we are going to probe five sightlines in the region where the LMC’s halo and the Milky Way’s halo are colliding,” said co-author Scott Lucchini of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. “This is the location where the halos are compressed, like two balloons pushing against each other.” The Hubble Space Telescope has been operating for over three decades and continues to make ground-breaking discoveries that shape our fundamental understanding of the universe. Hubble is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope and mission operations. Lockheed Martin Space, based in Denver, Colorado, also supports mission operations at Goddard. The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, conducts Hubble science operations for NASA. Facebook logo @NASAHubble @NASAHubble Instagram logo @NASAHubble Media Contacts: Claire Andreoli (claire.andreoli@nasa.gov) NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD Ann Jenkins, Ray Villard Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD Share Details Last Updated Nov 14, 2024 Editor Andrea Gianopoulos Location NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms Astrophysics Astrophysics Division Galaxies Hubble Space Telescope Irregular Galaxies Spiral Galaxies The Milky Way 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. Galaxy Details and Mergers Hubble’s Galaxies Explore the Night Sky View the full article

This photo shows the Optical Telescope Assembly for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which was recently delivered to the largest clean room at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.NASA/Chris Gunn NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is one giant step closer to unlocking the mysteries of the universe. The mission has now received its final major delivery: the Optical Telescope Assembly, which includes a 7.9-foot (2.4-meter) primary mirror, nine additional mirrors, and supporting structures and electronics. The assembly was delivered Nov. 7. to the largest clean room at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, where the observatory is being built. The telescope will focus cosmic light and send it to Roman’s instruments, revealing many billions of objects strewn throughout space and time. Using the mission’s Wide Field Instrument, a 300-megapixel infrared camera, astronomers will survey the cosmos all the way from the outskirts of our solar system toward the edge of the observable universe. Scientists will use Roman’s Coronagraph Instrument to test new technologies for dimming host stars to image planets and dusty disks around them in far better detail than ever before. “We have a top-notch telescope that’s well aligned and has great optical performance at the cold temperatures it will see in space,” said Bente Eegholm, optics lead for Roman’s Optical Telescope Assembly at NASA Goddard. “I am now looking forward to the next phase where the telescope and instruments will be put together to form the Roman observatory.” In this photo, optical engineer Bente Eegholm inspects the surface of the primary mirror for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. This 7.9-foot (2.4-meter) mirror is a major component of the Optical Telescope Assembly, which also contains nine additional mirrors and supporting structures and electronics.NASA/Chris Gunn Designed and built by L3Harris Technologies in Rochester, New York, the assembly incorporates key optics (including the primary mirror) that were made available to NASA by the National Reconnaissance Office. The team at L3Harris then reshaped the mirror and built upon the inherited hardware to ensure it would meet Roman’s specifications for expansive, sensitive infrared observations. “The telescope will be the foundation of all of the science Roman will do, so its design and performance are among the largest factors in the mission’s survey capability,” said Josh Abel, lead Optical Telescope Assembly systems engineer at NASA Goddard. The team at Goddard worked closely with L3Harris to ensure these stringent requirements were met and that the telescope assembly will integrate smoothly into the rest of the Roman observatory. The assembly’s design and performance will largely determine the quality of the mission’s results, so the manufacturing and testing processes were extremely rigorous. Each optical component was tested individually prior to being assembled and assessed together earlier this year. The tests helped ensure that the alignment of the telescope’s mirrors will change as expected when the telescope reaches its operating temperature in space. Then, the telescope was put through tests simulating the extreme shaking and intense sound waves associated with launch. Engineers also made sure that tiny components called actuators, which will adjust some of the mirrors in space, move as predicted. And the team measured gases released from the assembly as it transitioned from normal air pressure to a vacuum –– the same phenomenon that has led astronauts to report that space smells gunpowdery or metallic. If not carefully controlled, these gases could contaminate the telescope or instruments. Upon arrival at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, the Optical Telescope Assembly for the agency’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope was lifted out of the shipping fixture and placed with other mission hardware in Goddard’s largest clean room. Now, it will be installed onto Roman’s Instrument Carrier, a structure that will keep the telescope and Roman’s two instruments optically aligned. The assembly’s electronics box –– essentially the telescope’s brain –– will be mounted within the spacecraft along with Roman’s other electronics.NASA/Chris Gunn Finally, the telescope underwent a month-long thermal vacuum test to ensure it will withstand the temperature and pressure environment of space. The team closely monitored it during cold operating conditions to ensure the telescope’s temperature will remain constant to within a fraction of a degree. Holding the temperature constant allows the telescope to remain in stable focus, making Roman’s high-resolution images consistently sharp. Nearly 100 heaters on the telescope will help keep all parts of it at a very stable temperature. “It is very difficult to design and build a system to hold temperatures to such a tight stability, and the telescope performed exceptionally,” said Christine Cottingham, thermal lead for Roman’s Optical Telescope Assembly at NASA Goddard. Now that the assembly has arrived at Goddard, it will be installed onto Roman’s Instrument Carrier, a structure that will keep the telescope and Roman’s two instruments optically aligned. The assembly’s electronics box –– essentially the telescope’s brain –– will be mounted within the spacecraft along with Roman’s other electronics. With this milestone, Roman remains on track for launch by May 2027. “Congratulations to the team on this stellar accomplishment!” said J. Scott Smith, the assembly’s telescope manager at NASA Goddard. “The completion of the telescope marks the end of an epoch and incredible journey for this team, and yet only a chapter in building Roman. The team’s efforts have advanced technology and ignited the imaginations of those who dream of exploring the stars.” Virtually tour an interactive version of the telescope The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is managed at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, with participation by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Caltech/IPAC in Southern California, the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, and a science team comprising scientists from various research institutions. The primary industrial partners are BAE Systems Inc. in Boulder, Colorado; L3Harris Technologies in Rochester, New York; and Teledyne Scientific & Imaging in Thousand Oaks, California. By Ashley Balzer NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. ​​Media Contact: Claire Andreoli NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. claire.andreoli@nasa.gov 301-286-1940 Explore More 3 min read NASA’s Roman Space Telescope’s ‘Eyes’ Pass First Vision Test Article 7 months ago 6 min read NASA Successfully Integrates Coronagraph for Roman Space Telescope Article 2 weeks ago 6 min read Primary Instrument for Roman Space Telescope Arrives at NASA Goddard Article 3 months ago Share Details Last Updated Nov 14, 2024 EditorAshley BalzerContactAshley Balzerashley.m.balzer@nasa.govLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related TermsNancy Grace Roman Space TelescopeExoplanetsGoddard Space Flight CenterThe Universe View the full article

Continuing his engagement to deepen international collaboration and promote the peaceful use of space, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson will travel to Lima on Wednesday. Nelson will meet with Maj. Gen. Roberto Melgar Sheen, director of Peru’s National Commission for Aerospace Research and Development (CONIDA) Thursday, Nov. 14, and sign a non-binding memorandum of understanding to enhance space cooperation. The memorandum of understanding between NASA and CONIDA will include safety training, a joint feasibility study for a potential sounding rockets campaign, and technical assistance for CONIDA on sounding rocket launches. Nelson will discuss the importance of international partnerships and collaboration in space and celebrate Peru’s signing of the Artemis Accords earlier this year. For more information about NASA’s international partnerships, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/oiir -end- Meira Bernstein Headquarters, Washington 202-615-1747 meira.b.bernstein@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Nov 13, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related TermsOffice of International and Interagency Relations (OIIR)Bill Nelson View the full article

NASA In this photo taken on Sept. 16, 1993, NASA astronauts James H. Newman (left), and Carl E. Walz evaluate procedures and gear for an upcoming Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission with the Caribbean Sea and part of the Bahama Islands chain in view. Newman and Walz’s spacewalk, part of the STS-51 mission, lasted seven hours, five minutes and 28 seconds. Image credit: NASA View the full article

3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Samuel Suleiman, instructor de la pasantía OCEANOS, enseña a los estudiantes sobre el sargazo y la ecología costera en la Isla Culebra, Puerto Rico, durante la sección de trabajo de campo del proyecto. Suleiman también es el Director Ejecutivo de Sociedad Ambiente Marino: una ONG puertorriqueña que trabaja en la conservación y restauración de arrecifes de coral.NASA ARC/Milan Loiacono Read this interview in English here ¿Cuál es tu nombre y tu rol en OCEANOS? Mi nombre es Samuel Suleiman. Soy director ejecutivo de la Sociedad Ambiente Marino, una organización sin fines de lucro que se dedica a la conservación de las costas y los arrecifes en Puerto Rico desde hace más de 25 años. Trabajo en este gran proyecto de OCEANOS como investigador y participante de los recursos costeros y marinos, particularmente los ecosistemas marinos en la Isla de Culebra. ¿Cómo llegaste a la ciencia? Yo empecé en ciencias desde bien pequeños con el interés de ser pediatra. Luego cambiaron un poco los intereses y me tiré hacia la educación secundaria en ciencia, manteniendo las ciencias como base, y tuve una mezcla de la pasión del agua. A los cinco años estuve por ahogarme, y en vez de congelarme entre el miedo y el susto que había pasado de estar casi ahogándome. Me puse una careta y desde ese entonces no me he quitado la careta, aprendiendo cada vez un poquito más del océano, de nuestros mares, nuestras costas. ¿Cuál es la importancia de un programa como OCEANOS, particularmente en Puerto Rico? Yo creo que debería haber muchos más proyectos como OCEANOS en Puerto Rico que le den la oportunidad a jóvenes de explorar los recursos naturales que tiene nuestra isla. Si nosotros no aprendemos a cuidar nuestros recursos, no lo vamos a tener en el futuro. Así que una experiencia en un océano que nos permita a los internos tener en vida una experiencia en la que les acerque más a estos recursos marinos que tenemos tan bellos, que permitan que se envuelvan y se apasionen por la defensa de los mismos. ¿Qué crecimiento o cambio ve en los estudiantes a lo largo de la pasantía? El programa OCEANOS le ha permitido a los estudiantes tener un cambio de actitud, de pensamiento, en el que entiendo que han ido creciendo a lo largo de las experiencias. No solamente han tenido experiencias académicas y de instrucción, sino también experiencias prácticas en el campo, y cada uno de ellos se ha soltado de una manera increíble. Algunos han tenido la posición de liderazgo en sus grupos de trabajo y colaboración, en su grupo de trabajo y en otros grupos de trabajo, por lo que yo creo que la experiencia de OCEANOS le ha permitido madurar de cierta manera a estos jóvenes lo que es tan importante para el país y para el planeta. ¿Qué es algo que espera que los estudiantes se lleven con ellos cuando se vayan? A mí me gustaría que los estudiantes, y estoy muy seguro de que lo van a hacer, van a llevar una pasión bien grande por el océano, por nuestros mares, nuestras costas, nuestros arrecifes. Y definitivamente estoy muy confiado en que van a ser embajadores para la protección de estos recursos. Así que creo que programas como OCEANOS deben asfixiarse en muchos sectores para que podamos tener una participación un poquito más amplia alrededor de lugares y estudiantes que tienen acceso a este tipo de recursos y apoyo. Share Details Last Updated Nov 13, 2024 Related TermsGeneralAmes Research Center's Science DirectorateEarth ScienceEarth Science Division Explore More 2 min read NASA Glenn Employees Named AIAA Associate Fellows Article 2 hours ago 4 min read Entrevista con Instructora de OCEANOS María Fernanda Barbarena-Arias Article 16 hours ago 4 min read Entrevista con Instructor de OCEANOS Roy Armstrong Article 16 hours ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

This illustration shows a red, early-universe dwarf galaxy that hosts a rapidly feeding black hole at its center. Using data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory, a team of astronomers have discovered this low-mass supermassive black hole at the center of a galaxy just 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang. It is pulling in matter at a phenomenal rate — over 40 times the theoretical limit. While short lived, this black hole’s “feast” could help astronomers explain how supermassive black holes grew so quickly in the early universe.NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. da Silva/M. Zamani A rapidly feeding black hole at the center of a dwarf galaxy in the early universe, shown in this artist’s concept, may hold important clues to the evolution of supermassive black holes in general. Using data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory, a team of astronomers discovered this low-mass supermassive black hole just 1.5 billion years after the big bang. The black hole is pulling in matter at a phenomenal rate — over 40 times the theoretical limit. While short lived, this black hole’s “feast” could help astronomers explain how supermassive black holes grew so quickly in the early universe. Supermassive black holes exist at the center of most galaxies, and modern telescopes continue to observe them at surprisingly early times in the universe’s evolution. It’s difficult to understand how these black holes were able to grow so big so rapidly. But with the discovery of a low-mass supermassive black hole feasting on material at an extreme rate so soon after the birth of the universe, astronomers now have valuable new insights into the mechanisms of rapidly growing black holes in the early universe. The black hole, called LID-568, was hidden among thousands of objects in the Chandra X-ray Observatory’s COSMOS legacy survey, a catalog resulting from some 4.6 million Chandra observations. This population of galaxies is very bright in the X-ray light, but invisible in optical and previous near-infrared observations. By following up with Webb, astronomers could use the observatory’s unique infrared sensitivity to detect these faint counterpart emissions, which led to the discovery of the black hole. The speed and size of these outflows led the team to infer that a substantial fraction of the mass growth of LID-568 may have occurred in a single episode of rapid accretion. LID-568 appears to be feeding on matter at a rate 40 times its Eddington limit. This limit relates to the maximum amount of light that material surrounding a black hole can emit, as well as how fast it can absorb matter, such that its inward gravitational force and outward pressure generated from the heat of the compressed, infalling matter remain in balance. These results provide new insights into the formation of supermassive black holes from smaller black hole “seeds,” which current theories suggest arise either from the death of the universe’s first stars (light seeds) or the direct collapse of gas clouds (heavy seeds). Until now, these theories lacked observational confirmation. The new discovery suggests that “a significant portion of mass growth can occur during a single episode of rapid feeding, regardless of whether the black hole originated from a light or heavy seed,” said International Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab astronomer Hyewon Suh, who led the research team. A paper describing these results (“A super-Eddington-accreting black hole ~1.5 Gyr after the Big Bang observed with JWST”) appears in the journal Nature Astronomy. About the Missions NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Chandra X-ray Center controls science operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts. The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency). Read more from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. Learn more about the Chandra X-ray Observatory and its mission here: https://www.nasa.gov/chandra https://chandra.si.edu News Media Contact Elizabeth Laundau NASA Headquarters Washington, DC 202-923-0167 elizabeth.r.landau@nasa.gov Lane Figueroa Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama 256-544-0034 lane.e.figueroa@nasa.gov View the full article

1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Callista PuchmeyerCredit: NASA Cleveland State University (CSU) inducted Callista Puchmeyer, chief counsel at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, into the CSU College of Law Hall of Fame during a ceremony on Nov. 1. Puchmeyer provides expert legal advice to NASA Glenn’s center director and other senior leaders. She also manages Glenn’s Office of the General Counsel, a diverse legal staff that advises Glenn clients on a broad spectrum of federal matters. Established in 2017, CSU’s Law Hall of Fame honors the outstanding contributions of its distinguished alumni, faculty, staff, friends, and community leaders. Return to Newsletter View the full article

1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Shauntina Lilly, a NASA Glenn public affairs officer, speaks to students about NASA’s available internships and educational resources during the STEM Goes Red for Girls event at Great Lakes Science Center, home of the NASA Glenn Visitor Center, on Oct. 21.Credit: NASA/Debbie Welch NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland supported this year’s STEM Goes Red for Girls event at Great Lakes Science Center on Oct. 21. The program provides seventh and eighth grade students exposure to some of Greater Cleveland’s leading STEM companies. The event also featured a hands-on exhibitor fair, speed mentoring, and educational classes. Hosted by the American Heart Association, this year’s event welcomed its largest audience to date with 352 students and educators from 32 schools within Northeast Ohio. NASA Glenn’s presence focused heavily on internships and career advice, but also highlighted the center’s work with the Space Communications and Navigation program’s Deep Space Network. Glenn’s Julie Sufka also served as a mentor, speaking to young girls about STEM opportunities in mathematics.  Return to Newsletter Explore More 1 min read NASA Glenn Chief Counsel Named to CSU Law Hall of Fame Article 2 mins ago 5 min read NASA Funds New Studies Looking at Future of Sustainable Aircraft Article 20 hours ago 4 min read X-59 Fires Up its Engine for First Time on its Way to Takeoff Article 7 days ago View the full article

2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) has named two distinguished engineers at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland AIAA Associate Fellows. The grade of Associate Fellow recognizes individuals who have accomplished or overseen important engineering or scientific work, done original work of outstanding merit, or have otherwise made outstanding contributions to the arts, sciences, or technology of aeronautics or astronautics. To be selected as an Associate Fellow, an individual must be an AIAA Senior Member in good standing, with at least 12 years of professional experience, and be recommended by three AIAA members. L. Danielle KochCredit: NASA L. Danielle Koch, aerospace engineer, performs research and educational outreach at NASA Glenn. Her 34-year career at NASA has been dedicated to conducting research for safer, cleaner, and quieter aircraft engines; high-performance ventilation systems for spacecraft; and bio-inspired broadband acoustic absorbers. She has authored over 50 technical publications and has been granted three patents. Koch has been recognized for excellence in engineering and educational outreach with many awards, most recently named as one of the 2024 Women of Distinction by the Girl Scouts of Northeast Ohio. Dr. Sam LeeCredit: NASA Dr. Sam Lee, a research engineer supporting the Aircraft Icing Branch, conducts research in NASA Glenn’s Icing Research Tunnel to study how ice builds up, or accretes, on aircraft surfaces. The results from the experiments are used to understand the physics of how ice accretes on aircraft during flight and to provide the validation data to develop computational tools to predict ice accretion. He also performs research on the effects of ice accretion on aircraft performance in aerodynamic wind tunnels. Lee has authored 17 conference papers and journal papers. He has contributed to the development of many future engineers and scientists as a mentor for NASA’s Explorer Scouts program and various college internship programs. Lee has been part of the Aircraft Icing Branch since 2002. AIAA will formally honor and induct the class at the AIAA Associate Fellows Induction Ceremony and Dinner on Jan. 8, 2025, during the 2025 AIAA SciTech Forum in Orlando.  Return to Newsletter Explore More 4 min read Entrevista con Instructora de OCEANOS María Fernanda Barbarena-Arias Article 14 hours ago 4 min read Entrevista con Instructor de OCEANOS Roy Armstrong Article 14 hours ago 4 min read Entrevista con Instructor de OCEANOS Juan Torres-Pérez Article 14 hours ago View the full article

4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Coastal locations, such as Drakes Bay on the Point Reyes peninsula in Northern California, are increasingly vulnerable to sea level rise.NOAA/NMFS/WCR/CCO The information will help people who live in coastal areas prepare for impacts caused by rising sea levels. Earth’s ocean is rising, disrupting livelihoods and infrastructure in coastal communities around the world. Agencies and organizations are working to prepare people as their world changes around them, and NASA information is helping these efforts. The agency’s global data is now available in the sea level section of the Earth Information Center. NASA developed the global sea level change website in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Defense, the World Bank, the U.S. Department of State, and the United Nations Development Programme. The site includes information on projected sea level rise through the year 2150 for coastlines around the world, as well as estimates of how much flooding a coastal community or region can expect to see in the next 30 years. The projections come from data collected by NASA and its partners and from computer models of ice sheets and the ocean, as well as the latest sea level assessment from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and other sources. “NASA innovates for the benefit of humanity. Our cutting-edge instruments and data-driven information tools help communities and organizations respond to natural hazards and extreme weather, and inform critical coastal infrastructure planning decisions,” said Karen St. Germain, director of the Earth science division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Information to Action International organizations such as the World Bank will use the data from the global sea level change site for tasks including the creation of Climate Risk Profiles for countries especially vulnerable to sea level rise. The Defense Department will continue to incorporate sea level rise data into its plans to anticipate and respond to hazards posed to its facilities by the effects of rising oceans. Similarly, the State Department uses the information for activities ranging from disaster preparedness to long-term adaptation planning to supporting partners around the world in related efforts. “We are at a moment of truth in our fight against the climate crisis. The science is unequivocal and must serve as the bedrock upon which decision-making is built. With many communities around the world already facing severe impacts from sea-level rise, this new resource provides a vital tool to help them protect lives and livelihoods. It also illustrates what is at stake between a 1.5-degree-Celsius world and a current-policies trajectory for all coastal communities worldwide,” said Assistant Secretary-General Selwin Hart, special adviser to the United Nations secretary-general on climate action and just transition. Rising Faster NASA-led data analyses have revealed that between 1970 and 2023, 96% of countries with coastlines have experienced sea level rise. The rate of that global rise has also accelerated, more than doubling from 0.08 inches (0.21 centimeters) per year in 1993 to about 0.18 inches (0.45 centimeters) per year in 2023. As the rate of sea level rise increases, millions of people could face the related effects sooner than previously projected, including larger storm surges, more saltwater intrusion into groundwater, and additional high-tide flood days — also known as nuisance floods or sunny day floods. “This new platform shows the timing of future floods and the magnitude of rising waters in all coastal countries worldwide, connecting science and physics to impacts on people’s livelihoods and safety,” said Nadya Vinogradova Shiffer, director of the ocean physics program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Data released earlier this year found that Pacific Island nations will experience at least 6 inches (15 centimeters) of sea level rise in the next 30 years. The number of high-tide flood days will increase by an order of magnitude for nearly all Pacific Island nations by the 2050s. “The data is clear: Sea levels are rising around the world, and they’re rising faster and faster,” said Ben Hamlington, a sea level researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California and head of the agency’s sea level change science team. “Having the best information to make decisions about how to plan for rising seas is more crucial than ever.” To explore the global sea level change site: https://earth.gov/sealevel News Media Contacts Karen Fox / Elizabeth Vlock NASA Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1600 karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / elizabeth.a.vlock@nasa.gov Jane J. Lee / Andrew Wang Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 818-354-0307 / 626-379-6874 jane.j.lee@jpl.nasa.gov / andrew.wang@jpl.nasa.gov 2024-158 Share Details Last Updated Nov 13, 2024 Related TermsOceansClimate ChangeEarthJet Propulsion LaboratoryNatural Disasters Explore More 5 min read JPL Workforce Update Article 17 hours ago 6 min read Inia Soto Ramos, From the Mountains of Puerto Rico to Mountains of NASA Earth Data Dr. Inia Soto Ramos became fascinated by the mysteries of the ocean while growing up… Article 22 hours ago 4 min read NASA-developed Technology Supports Ocean Wind Speed Measurements from Commercial Satellite A science antenna developed with support from NASA’s Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) is now… Article 1 day ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

Credit: NASA Following a signing ceremony Wednesday in Denmark’s capital city, Copenhagen, NASA embraced Denmark as the 48th nation to commit to the safe and responsible exploration of space that benefits humanity. “We welcome Denmark’s signing of the Artemis Accords today,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Denmark, as a founding member of the European Space Agency (ESA), has contributed to space exploration for decades, including collaborating with NASA on Mars exploration. Denmark’s signing of the Artemis Accords will further international cooperation and the peaceful exploration of space.” Christina Egelund, minister of higher education and science, signed the Artemis Accords on behalf of Denmark. Alan Leventhal, U.S. ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark also participated in the ceremony, and Nelson contributed recorded remarks. “With the Artemis program, the United States is leading the way back to the moon, and Denmark wants to strengthen the strategic partnership with the United States and other partners for the benefit of both science and industry,” said Egelund. “The signing of the Accords is in line with the Danish government’s upcoming strategy for space research and innovation. As part of the strategy, Denmark seeks to strengthen ties with our allies such as the United States. Space holds great potential, and we want – in cooperation with other countries – to advance scientific breakthroughs and influence the development and use of the space sector in the future.” In 2020, the United States, led by NASA and the U.S. Department of State, and seven other initial signatory nations established the Artemis Accords, identifying a set of principles promoting the beneficial use of space for humanity. The Artemis Accords are grounded in the Outer Space Treaty and other agreements including the Registration Convention, the Rescue and Return Agreement, as well as best practices and norms of responsible behavior that NASA and its partners have supported, including the public release of scientific data. The commitments to the Artemis Accords and efforts by the signatories to advance implementation of these principles support the safe and sustainable exploration of space. Learn more about the Artemis Accords at: https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-accords -end- Meira Bernstein / Elizabeth Shaw Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1600 meira.b.bernstein@nasa.gov / elizabeth.a.shaw@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Nov 13, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related TermsArtemis AccordsOffice of International and Interagency Relations (OIIR) View the full article