NASA

1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) A NASA logo-themed cake serves as a centerpiece for the event. Credit: NASA/Jef Janis Over 4,300 visitors joined in the fun to commemorate the 65th birthday of NASA’s iconic logo on July 15 at Great Lakes Science Center (GLSC) in downtown Cleveland. The birthday celebration featured a cake-cutting ceremony and special NASA activities throughout the day, including presentations from NASA’s Glenn Research Center photographers and videographers, a talk from a NASA librarian on the history of the logo, photo opportunities with Glenn’s Eva the Astronaut mascot, a coloring contest, a performance by the NASA Glenn Band, live science shows, and more. Three of NASA Glenn Research Center’s photographers and videographers talk about their careers and the intersection of art and science. Credit: NASA/Steven Logan   The iconic symbol, known affectionately as “the meatball,” was developed at NASA’s Lewis Research Center in Cleveland (now called NASA Glenn). Employee James Modarelli, who started his career at the center as an artist and technical illustrator, was its chief designer. Left to right: James Modarelli III, Vice President of STEM Learning at GLSC Scott Vollmer, James Modarelli IV, and NASA Glenn Deputy Center Director Dawn Schaible participate in a cake-cutting ceremony. Credit: NASA/Jef Janis NASA Glenn Deputy Center Director Dawn Schaible, GLSC Vice President of STEM Learning Scott Vollmer, and members of the Modarelli family cut the special NASA logo-themed cake. Participants explored the many activities and presentations honoring the history and significance of NASA’s logo. Return to Newsletter Explore More 2 min read Automated Technology Developed at Glenn Launches to Space Article 4 mins ago 1 min read Cleveland High School Students Land STEM Career Exploration Experience Article 5 mins ago 1 min read NASA Lands at National Cherry Festival Article 5 mins ago View the full article

1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Cast and crew members from Back to the Future: The Musical and NASA’s Glenn Research Center engineer Kyle Johnson, back row, pose with different types of tires in NASA Glenn’s Simulated Lunar Operations Laboratory. Credit: NASA/Jef Janis Cast and crew members from Back to the Future: The Musical learned how NASA is tackling challenges and preparing for future missions during a tour at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland on July 1. The tour included stops at the Icing Research Tunnel (IRT), where technicians test the effects of icing conditions on aircraft, and the Simulated Lunar Operations Lab, an indoor laboratory that mimics lunar and planetary surface operations. NASA’s Glenn Research Center Director Dr. Jimmy Kenyon, center, shares details on the Icing Research Tunnel with Back to the Future: The Musical cast and crew members while on tour. Credit: NASA/Jef Janis Center Director Dr. Jimmy Kenyon welcomed the visitors at the IRT and provided additional information about the facility. Back to the Future: The Musical was performed at KeyBank State Theatre in Cleveland from June 11 to July 7. Return to Newsletter Explore More 2 min read Automated Technology Developed at Glenn Launches to Space Article 4 mins ago 1 min read Cleveland High School Students Land STEM Career Exploration Experience Article 5 mins ago 1 min read NASA Lands at National Cherry Festival Article 5 mins ago View the full article

Learn Home New TEMPO Cosmic Data Story… Astrophysics Overview Learning Resources Science Activation Teams SME Map Opportunities More Science Stories Science Activation Highlights Citizen Science 3 min read New TEMPO Cosmic Data Story Makes Air Quality Data Publicly Available On May 30th, 2024, NASA and the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian announced the public release of “high-quality, near real-time air quality data” from NASA’s TEMPO (Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution) mission. The NASA Science Activation program’s Cosmic Data Stories team, led by Harvard University in Cambridge, MA, has since released a new “Data Story” – an interactive, digital showcase of new science imagery, including ideas for exploration and scientific highlights shared in a brief video and narrative text – that provides a quick and easy way for the public to visualize this important, large data set from TEMPO. TEMPO allows unprecedented monitoring of air quality down to neighborhood scales, with its hourly daytime scans over North America. Air pollutants like NO2, produced, for example, by the burning of fossil fuels, can trigger significant health issues, especially among people with pre-existing illnesses such as asthma. The interactive views in the TEMPO Data Story provide public access to the same authentic data that scientists use and invite the public to explore patterns in their local air quality. For example, how do NO2 emissions vary in our area throughout the day and week? What are possible sources of NO2 in our community? How does our air quality compare with that of other communities with similar population densities, or with nearby urban or rural communities? TEMPO’s hyper-localized data will allow communities to make informed decisions and take action to improve their air quality. The Cosmic Data Story team is grateful to TEMPO scientists, Xiong Liu and Caroline Nowlan, for providing the team with early access to the data and guidance on NO2 phenomena that learners can explore in the data. The TEMPO Data Story, featured on TEMPO’s webpage for the public, adds Earth science data to the portfolio of Cosmic Data Stories that is already making astrophysics data accessible to the public. TEMPO Team Atmospheric Physicist from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Caroline Nowlan, had this to say: “TEMPO produces data that are really useful for scientists, but are also important for the general public and policy makers. We are thrilled that the Cosmic Data Stories team has made a tool that allows everyone to explore TEMPO data and learn about pollution across North America and in their own communities.” The Cosmic Data Stories project is supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number 80NSSC21M0002 and is part of NASA’s Science Activation Portfolio. Learn more about how Science Activation connects NASA science experts, real content, and experiences with community leaders to do science in ways that activate minds and promote deeper understanding of our world and beyond: https://science.nasa.gov/learn A view from the TEMPO Data Story, shows TEMPO’s NO2 data overlaid on a map of North America. A large plume of NO2, caused by large wildfires, arcs from Northern California all the way to Idaho. Other “hot spots” of NO2 are seen over cities across the US, Canada, and Mexico. Users can view any available date, as well as explore some featured dates and locations that describe phenomena of interest that are visible in the data. Share Details Last Updated Aug 13, 2024 Editor NASA Science Editorial Team Related Terms Astrophysics Earth Science Science Activation Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) Explore More 3 min read Earth Educators Rendezvous with Infiniscope and Tour It Article 1 day ago 2 min read Astro Campers SCoPE Out New Worlds Article 4 days ago 2 min read Hubble Spotlights a Supernova Article 4 days ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA James Webb Space Telescope Webb is the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It studies every phase in the… Perseverance Rover This rover and its aerial sidekick were assigned to study the geology of Mars and seek signs of ancient microbial… Parker Solar Probe On a mission to “touch the Sun,” NASA’s Parker Solar Probe became the first spacecraft to fly through the corona… Juno NASA’s Juno spacecraft entered orbit around Jupiter in 2016, the first explorer to peer below the planet’s dense clouds to… View the full article

NASA’s Cold Atom Lab, shown where it’s installed aboard the International Space Station, recently demonstrated the use of a tool called an atom interferometer that can precisely measure gravity and other forces — and has many potential applications in space.NASA/JPL-Caltech Future space missions could use quantum technology to track water on Earth, explore the composition of moons and other planets, or probe mysterious cosmic phenomena. NASA’s Cold Atom Lab, a first-of-its-kind facility aboard the International Space Station, has taken another step toward revolutionizing how quantum science can be used in space. Members of the science team measured subtle vibrations of the space station with one of the lab’s onboard tools — the first time ultra-cold atoms have been employed to detect changes in the surrounding environment in space. The study, which appeared in Nature Communications on Aug. 13, also reports the longest demonstration of the wave-like nature of atoms in freefall in space. The Cold Atom Lab science team made their measurements with a quantum tool called an atom interferometer, which can precisely measure gravity, magnetic fields, and other forces. Scientists and engineers on Earth use this tool to study the fundamental nature of gravity and advance technologies that aid aircraft and ship navigation. (Cell phones, transistors, and GPS are just a few other major technologies based on quantum science but do not involve atom interferometry.) Physicists have been eager to apply atom interferometry in space because the microgravity there allows longer measurement times and greater instrument sensitivity, but the exquisitely sensitive equipment has been considered too fragile to function for extended periods without hands-on assistance. The Cold Atom Lab, which is operated remotely from Earth, has now shown it’s possible. “Reaching this milestone was incredibly challenging, and our success was not always a given,” said Jason Williams, the Cold Atom Lab project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “It took dedication and a sense of adventure by the team to make this happen.” Power of Precision Space-based sensors that can measure gravity with high precision have a wide range of potential applications. For instance, they could reveal the composition of planets and moons in our solar system, because different materials have different densities that create subtle variations in gravity. This type of measurement is already being performed by the U.S.-German collaboration GRACE-FO (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-on), which detects slight changes in gravity to track the movement of water and ice on Earth. An atom interferometer could provide additional precision and stability, revealing more detail about surface mass changes. Precise measurements of gravity could also offer insights into the nature of dark matter and dark energy, two major cosmological mysteries. Dark matter is an invisible substance five times more common in the universe than the “regular” matter that composes planets, stars, and everything else we can see. Dark energy is the name given to the unknown driver of the universe’s accelerating expansion. “Atom interferometry could also be used to test Einstein’s theory of general relativity in new ways,” said University of Virginia professor Cass Sackett, a Cold Atom Lab principal investigator and co-author of the new study. “This is the basic theory explaining the large-scale structure of our universe, and we know that there are aspects of the theory that we don’t understand correctly. This technology may help us fill in those gaps and give us a more complete picture of the reality we inhabit.” A Portable Lab NASA’s Cold Atom Lab studies the quantum nature of atoms, the building blocks of our universe, in a place that is out of this world – the International Space Station. This animated explainer explores what quantum science is and why NASA wants to do it in space. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech About the size of a minifridge, the Cold Atom Lab launched to the space station in 2018 with the goal of advancing quantum science by putting a long-term facility in the microgravity environment of low Earth orbit. The lab cools atoms to almost absolute zero, or minus 459 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 273 degrees Celsius). At this temperature, some atoms can form a Bose-Einstein condensate, a state of matter in which all atoms essentially share the same quantum identity. As a result, some of the atoms’ typically microscopic quantum properties become macroscopic, making them easier to study. Quantum properties include sometimes acting like solid particles and sometimes like waves. Scientists don’t know how these building blocks of all matter can transition between such different physical behaviors, but they’re using quantum technology like what’s available on the Cold Atom Lab to seek answers. In microgravity, Bose-Einstein condensates can reach colder temperatures and exist for longer, giving scientists more opportunities to study them. The atom interferometer is among several tools in the facility enabling precision measurements by harnessing the quantum nature of atoms. Due to its wave-like behavior, a single atom can simultaneously travel two physically separate paths. If gravity or other forces are acting on those waves, scientists can measure that influence by observing how the waves recombine and interact. “I expect that space-based atom interferometry will lead to exciting new discoveries and fantastic quantum technologies impacting everyday life, and will transport us into a quantum future,” said Nick Bigelow, a professor at University of Rochester in New York and Cold Atom Lab principal investigator for a consortium of U.S. and German scientists who co-authored the study. More About the Mission A division of Caltech in Pasadena, JPL designed and built Cold Atom Lab, which is sponsored by the Biological and Physical Sciences (BPS) division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. BPS pioneers scientific discovery and enables exploration by using space environments to conduct investigations that are not possible on Earth. Studying biological and physical phenomena under extreme conditions allows researchers to advance the fundamental scientific knowledge required to go farther and stay longer in space, while also benefitting life on Earth.  To learn more about Cold Atom Lab, visit: https://coldatomlab.jpl.nasa.gov/ News Media Contact Calla Cofield Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 626-808-2469 calla.e.cofield@jpl.nasa.gov 2024-106 Share Details Last Updated Aug 13, 2024 Related TermsCold Atom Laboratory (CAL)Biological & Physical SciencesInternational Space Station (ISS)Jet Propulsion LaboratoryScience & Research Explore More 3 min read Station Science Top News: August 9, 2024 Article 21 hours ago 3 min read Earth Educators Rendezvous with Infiniscope and Tour It At the Earth Educator’s Rendezvous, held July 15-19, 2024, NASA’s Infiniscope project from Arizona State… Article 1 day ago 2 min read Astro Campers SCoPE Out New Worlds Teachers at Smokey Mountain Elementary School have collaborated with the NASA Science Activation (SciAct) program’s… Article 4 days ago View the full article

Researchers tested a treatment on cartilage and bone tissue cultures subjected to compressive impact injury and found differences in the metabolites and proteins released by cells in space and on Earth along with partial improvement in both gravity conditions. The findings suggest the treatment is safe and could help ensure the health of crew members on future missions and patients on Earth. Astronauts have high rates of musculoskeletal injuries, and post-traumatic osteoarthritis from joint injuries is a major contributor to disability across all ages on the ground. MVP Cell-06 used cultures of human knee cartilage and bone cells from two donors to study how spaceflight affects musculoskeletal disease. Results could lead to ways to prevent and treat bone and cartilage degradation in astronauts and people on Earth following joint injury. Expedition 60 Flight Engineer Drew Morgan works with the Multi-use Variable-g Platform (MVP) Experiment Module used in the MVP Cell-02 investigation. NASA/Christina Koch NASA and Roscosmos researchers examined brazing of an aluminum-silicon material and found that gravity had a moderate effect with small quantities of the alloy and a more significant effect with larger quantities. The finding could inform techniques for manufacturing on future space missions. SUBSA-BRAINS examined capillary flow, interface reactions, and bubble formation during solidification of brazing alloys in microgravity. Brazing, which bonds similar and dissimilar materials at temperatures above 450°C, is a potential tool for construction, manufacture, and repair of space vehicles and habitats. Roscosmos cosmonaut and Expedition 65 Flight Engineer Oleg Novitskiy swaps hardware inside the U.S. Destiny laboratory module’s Microgravity Science Glovebox for a physics investigation.NASA/Shane Kimbrough Analysis of the pain experience of two Axiom-1 astronauts suggests that spaceflight may affect sensory perception and regulation, a finding similar to previous studies. Researchers recommend developing measurement tools with greater sensitivity and questions that capture previous spaceflight experience and astronaut status (commercial or professional) to assess pain experiences. Astronauts frequently report pain during missions and after returning to Earth, particularly in the back and neck. Microgravity Pain Sensation (Ax-1) assessed how short-term exposure to microgravity affects pain sensation, biomechanics, bone physiology, and the musculoskeletal system. Results suggested that spaceflight may affect various aspects of sensory perception and regulation, and further investigation is needed to support development of countermeasures and treatments. The 11-person crew aboard the International Space Station comprises of (clockwise from bottom right) Expedition 67 Commander Tom Marshburn with Flight Engineers Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveev, Sergey Korsakov, Raja Chari, Kayla Barron, and Matthias Maurer; and Axiom Mission 1 astronauts (center row from left) Mark Pathy, Eytan Stibbe, Larry Conner, and Michael Lopez-Alegria. NASA The 13th annual International Space Station Research and Development Conference (ISSRDC), sponsored by the ISS National Lab, brought together more than 900 leaders in academia, industry, and government to discuss the space station’s role in future research and development. The event was held in Boston July 30 to Aug 1. Speakers included White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Assistant Director for Space Policy Jinni Meehan, NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free, NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen, and representatives from the International Space Station international and commercial partners. View the full article

In this image of the Serpens Nebula from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers found a grouping of aligned protostellar outflows within one small region (the top left corner). Serpens is a reflection nebula, which means it’s a cloud of gas and dust that does not create its own light, but instead shines by reflecting the light from stars close to or within the nebula.NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Klaus Pontoppidan (NASA-JPL), Joel Green (STScI) NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured a phenomenon for the very first time. The bright red streaks at top left of this June 20, 2024, image are aligned protostar outflows – jets of gas from newborn stars that all slant in the same direction. This image supports astronomers’ assumption that as clouds collapse to form stars, the stars will tend to spin in the same direction. Previously, the objects appeared as blobs or were invisible in optical wavelengths. Webb’s sensitive infrared vision was able to pierce through the thick dust, resolving the stars and their outflows. Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Klaus Pontoppidan (NASA-JPL), Joel Green (STScI) View the full article

Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Curiosity Raw Images Images Videos Audio More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions The Solar System The Sun Mercury Venus Earth The Moon Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto & Dwarf Planets Asteroids, Comets & Meteors The Kuiper Belt The Oort Cloud 2 min read Sols 4270-4272: Sample for SAM An image of “Discovery Pinnacle,” a target of the NASA Mars rover Curiosity’s APXS (Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer), taken from about 5 centimeters (about 2 inches) above. Curiosity used the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), located on the turret at the end of the rover’s robotic arm, to capture two to eight images of the target, then used an onboard focusing system to merge those into one image, on sol 4253 — Martian day 4,253 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — July 24, 2024, at 03:10:00 (UTC). NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Earth planning date: Friday, Aug. 9, 2024 The focus for this three-sol weekend plan is delivering a portion of the Kings Canyon drill sample to SAM for Evolved Gas Analysis (EGA), following on from a successful CheMin analysis. The CheMin and SAM analyses, coupled with APXS and ChemCam analyses, will tell us about the composition and mineralogy of this block within the Gediz Vallis channel deposit. We can compare it to the composition and mineralogy of the intriguing Mammoth Lakes drilled sample at Whitebark Pass, which was near the elemental sulfur blocks, and also within the Gediz Vallis deposit, as well as to the bedrock outside the channel and other previous drilled samples. This will help inform the source(s) of the blocks, which could be derived from higher up on Mount Sharp. To further characterize the Kings Canyon block and immediate vicinity, we will acquire three ChemCam LIBS analyses. The “Gabbot Pass” target is on the same light-toned rock as the drill target. “New Army Pass” will investigate the edge of the drilled block, which exhibits textural and tonal similarities to an interesting previous APXS target, “Discovery Pinnacle.” Finally, “Bridalveil Falls” is on a freshly broken, bright rock on the edge of the drilled block. Mastcam will provide documentation imaging of the three targets. Looking further afield, we continue to image the stunning scenery surrounding us from this vantage point. We planned a ChemCam long distance remote imager (LD RMI) mosaic of the Gediz Vallis channel form to the south, and an extension of a Mastcam mosaic of the Milestone Peak area of the deposit. These mosaics will help us to further characterize the Gediz Vallis deposits, and hopefully the processes responsible for their emplacement (e.g., debris flow or rock avalanche). We will also acquire a Mastcam mosaic of the Texoli butte, which represents a cross section of the rock layers that we will eventually drive over when we leave the Gediz Vallis deposit and continue climbing Mount Sharp. It isn’t just about the rocks though! The environmental and atmospheric science team also have several observations in this plan to monitor changes in the atmosphere. These include Mastcam tau and Navcam line of sight observations, as well as Navcam zenith, suprahorizon and dust devil movies. Standard DAN, RAD and REMS activities round out the plan. Written by Lucy Thompson, Planetary Geologist at University of New Brunswick Share Details Last Updated Aug 12, 2024 Related Terms Blogs Explore More 2 min read Sols 4268-4269: Admiring Kings Canyon Article 8 hours ago 3 min read Sols 4266-4267: Happy ‘Landiversary,’ Curiosity Article 5 days ago 3 min read Sols 4263-4265: A Royal Birthday Celebration at Kings Canyon Article 1 week ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It’s the only planet we know of inhabited… All Mars Resources Explore this collection of Mars images, videos, resources, PDFs, and toolkits. Discover valuable content designed to inform, educate, and inspire,… Rover Basics Each robotic explorer sent to the Red Planet has its own unique capabilities driven by science. Many attributes of a… Mars Exploration: Science Goals The key to understanding the past, present or future potential for life on Mars can be found in NASA’s four… View the full article

The Progress 86 cargo spacecraft approaches the International Space Station’s Poisk module on Dec. 3, 2023, ahead of its docking.Credit: NASA NASA will provide live launch and docking coverage of a Roscosmos cargo spacecraft delivering nearly three tons of food, fuel, and supplies to the Expedition 71 crew aboard the International Space Station. The unpiloted Progress 89 spacecraft is scheduled to launch at 11:20 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, Aug. 14 (8:20 a.m. Baikonur time, Thursday, Aug. 15), on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Live launch coverage will begin at 11 p.m. on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA+ through a variety of platforms including social media. After a two-day in-orbit journey to the station, the spacecraft will autonomously dock to the aft port of the Zvezda service module at 1:56 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 17. NASA’s coverage of rendezvous and docking will begin at 1 a.m., on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. The spacecraft will remain docked at the station for approximately six months before departing for a re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere to dispose of trash loaded by the crew. The International Space Station is a convergence of science, technology, and human innovation that enables research not possible on Earth. For more than 23 years, NASA has supported a continuous U.S. human presence aboard the orbiting laboratory, through which astronauts have learned to live and work in space for extended periods of time. The space station is a springboard for developing a low Earth economy and NASA’s next great leaps in exploration, including missions to the Moon under Artemis and, ultimately, human exploration of Mars. Get breaking news, images and features from the space station on Instagram, Facebook, and X. For more information about the International Space Station, its research, and crew, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/station -end- Jimi Russell / Julian Coltre Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 james.j.russell@nasa.gov / julian.n.coltre@nasa.gov Sandra Jones Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Aug 12, 2024 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related TermsInternational Space Station (ISS)Expedition 71 View the full article

Skywatching Skywatching Home Eclipses What’s Up Explore the Night Sky Night Sky Network More Tips and Guides FAQ 20 Min Read The Next Full Moon is a Supermoon Blue Moon The full moon sets over Homestead National Historic Park in Nebraska. Credits: National Park Service/Homestead The Next Full Moon is a Supermoon, a Blue Moon; the Sturgeon Moon; the Red, Corn, Green Corn, Barley, Herb, Grain, or Dog Moon; Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi Purnima; and Tu B’Av. The full Moon will be Monday afternoon, August 19, 2024, at 2:26 PM EDT. This will be Tuesday morning from Nepal Standard Time eastward across the rest of Asia and Australia to the International Date Line. The Moon will appear full for three days, from Sunday morning through early Wednesday morning. This will be a supermoon. The term “supermoon” was coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979 as either a new or full Moon that occurs when the Moon is within 90% of its closest approach to Earth. Since we don’t really see new Moons, what has caught the public’s attention are full supermoons as they are the biggest and brightest full Moons of the year. This will be the first of four consecutive supermoons this year (with the full Moons in September and October virtually tied for the closest of the year). Although it will not look blue, as the third full Moon in a season with four full Moons, this will be a Blue Moon. The first recorded use of “Blue Moon” in English dates from 1528. Speculations on the origin of the term include an old English phrase that means “betrayer Moon” (because it led to mistakes in setting the dates for Lent and Easter). Or it may be a comparison to rare events such as when dust in the atmosphere makes the Moon actually appear blue. Since the 1940’s the term “Blue Moon” has also been used for the second full Moon in a month that has two full Moons. Although it will not look blue, as the third full Moon in a season with four full Moons, this will be a Blue Moon. The first recorded use of “Blue Moon” in English dates from 1528. Gordon Johnston Retired NASA Program Executive The Maine Farmer’s Almanac began publishing “Indian” names for full Moons in the 1930s and these names have become widely known and used. According to this almanac, as the full Moon in August the Algonquin tribes in what is now the northeastern USA called this the Sturgeon Moon after the large fish that were more easily caught this time of year in the Great Lakes and other major bodies of water. Other names reported for this Moon include the Red Moon, the Corn or Green Corn Moon, the Barley Moon, the Herb Moon, the Grain Moon, and the Dog Moon. A quick note for my Southern Hemisphere readers (as I’ve heard from some recently). Many lunar names and traditions are based on the Northern Hemisphere seasons (I’m interested in learning more about southern traditions). I’ve noticed some publications shifting names like the Sturgeon Moon by 6 months (e.g., using the northern February names for August). Also, for the detailed descriptions below, instead of looking south towards the Moon and planets you will be looking north, so what I describe will be upside down. Finally, the seasons are reversed, so morning and evening twilight times, etc., will be very different. This full Moon corresponds with the Hindu festival Raksha Bandhan, also called Rakhi Purnima, celebrating the bond between brothers and sisters. One of the traditions is for sisters of all ages to tie a rakhi (a cotton bracelet) around their brother’s wrist, receiving a gift from the brother in return as a sign of the continuing bond between them. The term “Raksha Bandhan” translates as “the bond of protection, obligation, or care.” In many traditional Moon-based calendars the full Moons fall on or near the middle of each month. This full Moon is near the middle of the seventh month of the Chinese year of the Dragon, Safar in the Islamic calendar, and Av in the Hebrew calendar. Av corresponds with Tu B’Av, a holiday in modern Israel similar to Valentine’s Day. For Science Fiction fans, a note on the author Theodore Sturgeon (1918-1985) in honor of the Sturgeon Moon. Theodore Sturgeon wrote mostly science fiction but some horror and mystery stories. For Star Trek fans, his scripts introduced important concepts although only “Shore Leave” and “Amok Time” were produced. He introduced “pon far,” the Vulcan hand symbol, “live long and prosper,” and the “Prime Directive” (in a script that was not produced but that influenced later scripts). As usual, the wearing of suitably celebratory celestial attire is encouraged in honor of the full Moon. In addition, enjoy the super blue Moon, keep in touch with your siblings, and consider reading some Theodore Sturgeon. As for other celestial events between now and the full Moon after next (with specific times and angles based on the location of NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC): As Northern Hemisphere summer nears its end the daily periods of sunlight continue shortening, changing at their fastest around the equinox on September 22. On Monday, August 19, (the day of the full Moon), morning twilight will begin at 5:24 AM, sunrise will be at 6:26 AM, solar noon at 1:11 PM when the Sun will reach its maximum altitude of 63.6 degrees, sunset will be at 7:57 PM, and evening twilight will end at 8:58 PM. By Tuesday, September 17, (the day of the full Moon after next), morning twilight will begin at 5:54 AM, sunrise will be at 6:52 AM, solar noon at 1:02 PM when the Sun will reach its maximum altitude of 53 degrees, sunset will be at 7:12 PM, and evening twilight will end at 8:10 PM. This should be the start of a good season for Saturn viewing, especially through a backyard telescope. Saturn will be at its closest and brightest the night of September 7. It will be shifting west each evening, making it higher in the sky and friendlier for evening viewing (particularly for children with earlier bedtimes). Through a telescope you should be able to see Saturn’s bright moon Titan and its rings. The rings are appearing thinner and will be edge-on to the Earth by early 2025. We won’t get the “classic” view of Saturn with its rings until 2026. Meteor Showers Two minor meteor showers are predicted to peak during this lunar cycle, both visible from the Northern Hemisphere. These are minor compared to the Perseids (which peak at 100 meteors per hour the morning of August 12). The Aurigids will peak at 10 meteors per hour the morning of August 31 and the September Epsilon Perseids at 5 meteors per hour the morning of September 9. These will be difficult to see from our light-polluted urban areas (although the Aurigids tend to be brighter meteors). If you are in a dark area with clear skies during the early mornings around these peaks, watch out for a few meteors. The best conditions for viewing these meteors would be if the sky is clear with no clouds or high hazes, you go to a place far from any light sources or urban light pollution, and you have a clear view of a wide expanse of the sky. Give your eyes time to adapt to the dark. Your color vision near the center of your field of view will adapt in about 10 minutes. Your more sensitive black and white vision will improve for an hour or more (improving most in the first 35 to 45 minutes). Since some meteors are faint, you will tend to see more meteors from the “corner of your eye.” Even a short exposure to light (from passing car headlights, etc.) will start the adaptation over again (so no turning on a light or your cell phone to check what time it is). Evening Sky Highlights On the evening of Monday, August 19 (the evening of the full Moon), as twilight ends (at 8:58 PM), the rising Moon will be 7 degrees above the east-southeastern horizon. The only visible planet will be Saturn at 1.5 degrees above the eastern horizon. Bright Venus will set 4 minutes before twilight ends. Before it sets it will be bright enough to see in the glow of dusk on the western horizon. The bright star closest to overhead will be Vega, the brightest star in the constellation Lyra the lyre, at 80 degrees above the eastern horizon. Vega is part of the Summer Triangle along with Deneb and Altair. It is the 5th brightest star in our night sky, about 25 light-years from Earth, has twice the mass of our Sun, and shines 40 times brighter than our Sun. As this lunar cycle progresses, Saturn and the background of stars will appear to shift westward each evening (as the Earth moves around the Sun). The full Moon will pass near Saturn on August 20. Bright Venus will be moving away from the Sun and after August 28 will appear above the horizon when evening twilight ends. The waxing Moon will pass by Venus on September 4 (setting before evening twilight ends), Spica on September 6, Antares on September 9 and 10, and Saturn on September 16. By the evening of Tuesday, September 17 (the evening of the full Moon after next), as twilight ends (at 8:10 PM), the rising Moon will be 11 degrees above the east-southeastern horizon with Saturn to the upper right at 14 degrees above the horizon. Later in the evening the partial shadow of the Earth will cover a small upper part of the Moon. Bright Venus will be 2 degrees above the west-southwestern horizon with the star Spica on the horizon to the lower left. The bright object appearing closest to overhead will still be Vega at 87 degrees above the western horizon. Morning Sky Highlights On the morning of Monday, August 19 (the morning of the full Moon), as twilight begins (at 5:24 AM), the setting Moon will be 5 degrees above the southwestern horizon. The brightest planet in the sky will be Jupiter at 49 degrees above the eastern horizon. Near Jupiter will be Mars at 47 degrees above the horizon. Saturn will be 29 degrees above the southwestern horizon. The bright star appearing closest to overhead will be Capella, the brightest star in the constellation Auriga the charioteer, at 55 degrees above the east-northeastern horizon. Although we see Capella as a single star (the 6th brightest in our night sky), it is actually four stars (two pairs of stars orbiting each other). Capella is about 43 lightyears from us. As this lunar cycle progresses, Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, and the background of stars will appear to shift westward each evening, with Mars moving more slowly, shifting away from Jupiter. Between August 28 and September 17 Mercury will join these planets, rising on the east-northeastern horizon. Mercury will reach its highest (as twilight begins) on September 6 and pass by the bright star Regulus on September 9. The waning Moon will pass by Saturn on August 21, the Pleiades star cluster on August 26, Jupiter on August 27 (forming a triangle with Mars), Mars on August 28, Pollux on August 30, Mercury on September 1, and the waxing full Moon will pass near Saturn on September 17. By the morning of Wednesday, September 18 (the morning of the night of the full Moon after next), as twilight begins (at 5:55 AM), the setting full Moon will be 15 degrees above the west-southwestern horizon. The brightest planet in the sky will be Jupiter at 71 degrees above the south-south eastern horizon. Near Jupiter will be Mars at 61 degrees above the east-southeastern horizon. Saturn will be below the Moon at 1 degree above the western horizon. The bright star appearing closest to overhead will still be Capella at 80 degrees above the northeastern horizon. Detailed Daily Guide Here for your reference is a day-by-day listing of celestial events between now and the full Moon on September 17, 2024. The times and angles are based on the location of NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC, and some of these details may differ for where you are (I use parentheses to indicate times specific to the DC area). If your latitude is significantly different than 39 degrees north (and especially for my Southern Hemisphere readers), I recommend using an astronomy app or a star-watching guide from a local observatory, news outlet, or astronomy club. For the Northern Hemisphere, this should be a good year for the annual Perseids (007 PER) meteor shower, which peaked the morning of Monday, August 12. Moonset will be a little before midnight on August 11 and the radiant will rise higher in the north-northern sky until the sky shows the first signs of dawn (before morning twilight begins at 5:16 AM). The peak is broad, and in past years high activity has been reported well after the peak, so keep an eye on the sky from moonset to the first hints of dawn over the next few mornings. See the meteor shower summary near the beginning of this posting for general information on viewing meteors. Monday morning, August 12, the Moon will reach its first quarter at 11:19 AM EDT (when we can’t see it). Tuesday night, August 13, the bright star Antares will be near the waxing gibbous Moon. Antares will be 2.5 degrees to the upper left as evening twilight ends (at 9:08 PM EDT). By moonset on the southwestern horizon (Wednesday morning at 12:30 AM) Antares will be 1 degree above the Moon. Viewers in the southern part of South America and the Antarctic Peninsula will see the Moon pass in front of Antares. See http://lunar-occultations.com/iota/bstar/0814zc2349.htm for a map and information on areas that can see this occultation. Throughout this lunar cycle Mars will drift towards bright Jupiter. They will be at their closest on Wednesday morning, August 14, just a third of a degree apart, which should be a good show! Jupiter will rise early in the morning (at 1:18 AM EDT) on the east-northeastern horizon below Mars. They will be 45 degrees above the eastern horizon as morning twilight begins 4 hours later (at 5:18 AM). Friday evening, August 16, will be the first evening that Saturn will be above the eastern horizon as evening twilight ends (at 9:03 PM EDT). Sunday evening, August 18, Mercury will be passing between the Earth and the Sun as seen from the Earth, called inferior conjunction. Mercury will be shifting from the evening sky to the morning sky and will begin emerging from the glow of dawn on the east-northeastern horizon at the end of August. As mentioned above, the full Moon will be Monday afternoon, August 19, at 2:26 PM EDT. This will be Tuesday morning from Nepal Standard Time eastward across the rest of Asia and Australia to the International Date Line. The Moon will appear full for about three days around this time, from Sunday morning through early Wednesday morning. As the third full Moon in a season with four full Moons, this will be a Blue Moon (by the older, more traditional definition). It will also be a supermoon. Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, August 20 to 21, Saturn will be very close to the full Moon. As evening twilight ends (at 8:57 PM EDT) they will be 2 degrees above the eastern horizon with Saturn 1 degree to the upper left. They will be at their closest about an hour later. The Moon will reach its highest in the sky Wednesday morning (at 2:32 AM) with Saturn 2 degrees to the right. When morning twilight begins (at 5:26 AM) Saturn will be almost 4 degrees to the lower right of the Moon. See http://lunar-occultations.com/iota/planets/0821saturn.htm for a map and information on the areas that will actually see the Moon pass in front of Saturn. Wednesday morning, August 21, at 1:02 AM EDT, the Moon will be at perigee, its closest to the Earth for this orbit. Sunday night into Monday morning, August 25 to 26, the Pleiades star cluster will appear above the waning half-moon. When the Moon rises on the east-northeastern horizon (at 11:12 PM EDT) the Pleiades will be just 1 degree above the Moon. The Pleiades will be 4 degrees to the upper right as morning twilight begins (at 5:31 AM). Monday morning, August 26, the waning Moon will appear half-full as it reaches its last quarter at 5:26 AM EDT. Tuesday morning, August 27, bright Jupiter will appear below the waning crescent Moon. As Jupiter rises on the east-northeastern horizon (at 12:34 AM EDT) it will be 6 degrees below the Moon. By the time morning twilight begins (at 5:32 AM) Jupiter will be 5.5 degrees to the lower right of the Moon. Wednesday morning, August 28, Mars will appear to the right of the waning crescent Moon. As Mars rises on the east-northeastern horizon (at 12:56 AM EDT) it will be 6 degrees to the right. By the time morning twilight begins (at 5:34 AM) Mars will be 8 degrees to the upper right. Wednesday morning will also be the first morning that Mercury will be above the east-northeastern horizon as morning twilight begins. Thursday evening, August 29, will be the first evening bright Venus will be above the western horizon as evening twilight ends (at 8:42 PM EDT). Friday morning, August 30, the bright star Pollux will be above the waning crescent Moon. When the Moon rises on the northeastern horizon (at 2:50 AM EDT) Pollux will be 3 degrees from the Moon. It will be 4 degrees from the Moon when morning twilight begins (at 5:36 AM). Sunday morning, September 1, you may be able to see the thin, waning crescent Moon with Mercury 4.5 degrees to the lower right. Mercury will rise last (at 5:14 AM) and the Moon will be 6 degrees above the east-northeastern horizon as morning twilight begins 24 minutes later (at 5:38 AM). Monday evening, September 2, at 9:55 PM EDT, will be the new Moon when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun. The day of or the day after the New Moon marks the start of the new month for most lunisolar calendars. The eighth month of the Chinese year of the Dragon starts on Tuesday, September 3. Sundown on Tuesday marks the start of Elul in the Hebrew calendar. Elul is a time of preparation for the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Customs include granting and asking others for forgiveness as well as beginning or ending all letters with the wish that the recipient will have a good year. In the Islamic calendar the months traditionally start with the first sighting of the waxing crescent Moon. Many Muslim communities now follow the Umm al-Qura Calendar of Saudi Arabia, which uses astronomical calculations to start months in a more predictable way. Using this calendar, sundown on Tuesday evening will probably be the beginning of Rabi’ al-Awwal, the month in which many Muslims celebrate Mawlid, the birth of the Prophet Muhammad. Wednesday evening, September 4, will be when Mercury reaches its greatest angular separation from the Sun as seen from the Earth (called greatest elongation). This is not quite the same as when Mercury will appear at its highest as morning twilight begins. Friday morning, September 6, will be when Mercury will appear at its highest (2 degrees) above the east-northeastern horizon as morning twilight begins (at 5:43 AM EDT). Wednesday evening, September 4, you might be able to see the thin, waxing crescent Moon near bright Venus, although you may need binoculars to find the Moon in the glow of dusk. The Moon will be 3 degrees above the western horizon 30 minutes after sunset (at 8:03 PM EDT) with Venus 5 degrees to the upper left. The Moon will set 17 minutes later (at 8:20 PM), 12 minutes before evening twilight ends (at 8:32 PM). Thursday morning, September 5, at 10:55 AM EDT, the Moon will be at apogee, its farthest from the Earth for this orbit. Thursday evening, September 5, the thin, waxing crescent Moon will be 7 degrees to the left of bright Venus. The Moon will be 1 degree above the western horizon as evening twilight ends (at 8:30 PM EDT) with Venus setting first 4 minutes later (at 8:34 PM). Friday evening, September 6, the star Spica will appear 3 degrees to the left of the waxing crescent Moon. As evening twilight ends (at 8:29 PM EDT) the Moon will be 5 degrees above the west-southwestern horizon. Spica will set first 25 minutes later (at 8:54 PM). A small part of Africa will see the Moon pass in front of Spica, see http://lunar-occultations.com/iota/bstar/0906zc1925.htm for a map and information. Saturday night, September 7, Saturn will reach its closest and brightest for the year, called “opposition” because it will be opposite the Earth from the Sun, effectively a “full” Saturn. Saturn will be 10 degrees above the east-southeastern horizon as evening twilight ends (at 8:27 PM EDT), will reach its highest in the sky Sunday morning at 1:09 AM, and will be 11 degrees above the west-southwestern horizon as morning twilight begins (at 5:45 AM). Monday morning, September 9, will be when Mercury and the bright star Regulus will be at their closest, just 0.5 degrees apart. They will be 5 degrees above the east-northeastern horizon as morning twilight begins (at 5:46 AM EDT). Monday evening, September 9, the star Antares will be 7 degrees to the upper left of the waxing crescent Moon. As evening twilight ends (at 8:24 PM EDT) the Moon will be 16 degrees above the southwestern horizon and it will set on the west-southwestern horizon 2 hours later (at 10:26 PM). By Tuesday evening, September 10, the Moon will have shifted to 6 degrees to the left of Antares and the pair will separate as the evening progresses, with Antares setting first (at 10:45 PM EDT). Wednesday morning, September 11, the Moon will appear half-full as it reaches its first quarter at 2:06 AM EDT. Our 24 hour clock is based on the average length of the solar day. Solar noon on Sunday, September 15 to solar noon on Monday, September 16, will be the shortest solar day of the year, 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 38.6 seconds long. Tuesday morning, September 17, will be the last morning that Mercury will be above the horizon as morning twilight begins (at 5:54 AM EDT). Monday night into Tuesday morning, September 16 to 17, Saturn will appear near the full Moon. As evening twilight ends (at 8:12 PM EDT) Saturn will be 6 degrees to the left of the Moon. When the Moon reaches its highest for the night (at 12:17 AM) Saturn will be 4 degrees to the upper left. By the time morning twilight begins (at 5:54 AM) the Moon will be 1 degree above the west-southwestern horizon with Saturn 1 degree above the Moon. For parts of western North America and across the Pacific Ocean towards Australia the Moon will pass in front of Saturn. See http://lunar-occultations.com/iota/planets/0917saturn.htm for a map and information on the areas that will see this occultation. The full Moon after next will be Tuesday night, September 17, at 10:35 PM EDT. This will be on Wednesday from Newfoundland and Greenland Time eastward across Eurasia, Africa, and Australia to the International Date Line. Most commercial calendars are based on Greenwich or Universal Time and will show this full Moon on Wednesday. This will be a partial lunar eclipse. The Moon will start entering the partial shadow of the Earth at 8:41 PM EDT. The slight dimming of the Moon will be difficult to notice until the top edge of the Moon starts entering the full shadow at 10:13 PM. The peak of the eclipse will be at 10:44 PM with just the top 8.4% of the Moon in full shadow. The Moon will finish exiting the full shadow at 11:16 PM and the partial shadow on Wednesday morning at 12:47 AM. This will also be the second of four consecutive supermoons. The Moon will appear full for about three days, from Monday evening through Thursday morning. View the full article

Learn Home Earth Educators Rendezvous… Earth Science Overview Learning Resources Science Activation Teams SME Map Opportunities More Science Stories Science Activation Highlights Citizen Science 3 min read Earth Educators Rendezvous with Infiniscope and Tour It At the Earth Educator’s Rendezvous, held July 15-19, 2024, NASA’s Infiniscope project from Arizona State University hosted a two-day workshop aimed at empowering Earth educators with the tools to design and build virtual tours (VTs). This hands-on session provided participants with a unique opportunity to experience first-hand how to create immersive virtual tours using Tour It, a free virtual tour creator developed by the NASA Science Activation program’s Infiniscope team. The workshop focused on making the benefits of place-based education more accessible through digital means. One participant remarked, “I have learned more than I could imagine about teaching, communicating, how to be a student, and how to human.” The workshop encouraged participation in a Sunday pre-Rendezvous field trip titled “Crossing the Pennsylvania-New Jersey Fall Zone: from the Neoproterozoic and into the Cenozoic.” The Infiniscope team joined this field trip to gather media that workshop participants could use to create their own VTs. This media included 360-degree images, photos, resource documents, diagrams and video interviews with tour guides, Dr. Lily Pfeifer and Dr. Aaron Barth, both of Rowan University. Throughout the workshop, participants learned to capture media, design for place-based learning, and accommodate the diverse needs of their students, ultimately equipping them to create immersive virtual field experiences that enrich their educational practices. Reflecting on their experience, a participant shared, “I have been exposed to so many things such as the use of place-based learning, creating my own digital content, and publishing – which seemed daunting hitherto, but now, I feel comfortable.” When asked how they might use Tour It in their teaching, one educator responded, “Not only will I finish the work on the Sunday field trip and submit it to the [contributed content] of [Infiniscope], I will actually USE THIS IN MY K-12 classroom. Without a doubt, I have found an excellent way to get kids to experience the geology out there in a personal way that might just spur them to make a trip to see it in real life.” Additionally, another attendee remarked, “I feel much more prepared to make an effective virtual tour for my courses and other courses at my institution or in collaboration with others. I appreciate the acknowledgement that there are cultural aspects to locations that should be included and the rubric offers a framework to build balanced experiences.” The workshop highlighted the power and value of in-person field trips for educators in field sciences while addressing practical challenges, such as lack of transportation and funding. VTs, offering similar educational impacts, can be used more frequently and are not hindered by logistical constraints. Tour It, a user-friendly, NASA-funded tool, was introduced as a solution to the accessibility barriers of creating digital learning experiences. Unlike more complex VT tools, Tour It requires minimal training and operates within a web browser, allowing educators to upload 360° imagery and build comprehensive virtual tours complete with text, image, or video annotations, all VR-compatible. Experience an example of a VT created with Tour It during this workshop. The Infiniscope project is supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number NNX16AD79A and is part of NASA’s Science Activation Portfolio. Learn more about how Science Activation connects NASA science experts, real content, and experiences with community leaders to do science in ways that activate minds and promote deeper understanding of our world and beyond: https://science.nasa.gov/learn Dr. Lily Pfiefer scraping to reveal the KPg boundary in Edleman Fossil Park. Share Details Last Updated Aug 12, 2024 Editor NASA Science Editorial Team Related Terms Earth Science Opportunities For Educators to Get Involved Science Activation Explore More 2 min read Astro Campers SCoPE Out New Worlds Article 3 days ago 2 min read Celebrate Heliophysics Big Year: Free Monthly Webinars on the Sun Touches Everything Article 6 days ago 4 min read AstroViz: Iconic Pillars of Creation Star in NASA’s New 3D Visualization Article 7 days ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA James Webb Space Telescope Webb is the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It studies every phase in the… Perseverance Rover This rover and its aerial sidekick were assigned to study the geology of Mars and seek signs of ancient microbial… Parker Solar Probe On a mission to “touch the Sun,” NASA’s Parker Solar Probe became the first spacecraft to fly through the corona… Juno NASA’s Juno spacecraft entered orbit around Jupiter in 2016, the first explorer to peer below the planet’s dense clouds to… View the full article

Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Curiosity Raw Images Images Videos Audio More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions The Solar System The Sun Mercury Venus Earth The Moon Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto & Dwarf Planets Asteroids, Comets & Meteors The Kuiper Belt The Oort Cloud 2 min read Sols 4268-4269: Admiring Kings Canyon A hole on the Red Planet drilled by NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity and nicknamed “Kings Canyon” produced a soil sample the mission team is studying. This image was taken by Mast Camera (Mastcam) onboard Curiosity on Sol 4263 — Martian day 4,263 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — on Aug. 3, 2024 at 07:56:55 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Earth planning date: Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024 Curiosity is admiring our latest drill hole, “Kings Canyon.” Today’s plan is dedicated to continuing analysis of the drilled sample, including preconditioning for SAM evolved gas analysis (EGA) scheduled for the weekend. In planning today, the environmental (ENV), and the geology and mineralogy (GeoMin) theme groups planned two days of science observations. The ENV science group is making the most of Curiosity remaining stationary for a while and has planned two Mastcam Tau observations to measure the amount of dust in the atmosphere, as well as using Navcam for a total of three dust devil movies — one on the first sol, and two on the second sol. They are also observing clouds in the Martian atmosphere with Navcam suprahorizon and zenith movies. The GeoMin science group is enjoying the view too, extending Mastcam coverage of areas of interest including the Kings Canyon drill hole, and “Fairview Dome.” Looking further ahead, ChemCam planned a long distance RMI view of “Texoli butte,” to investigate the interesting sedimentology and stratigraphy here. To round off our plan, we are taking two ChemCam Laser Induced Bedrock Spectroscopy (LIBS) observations of a bright-toned rock named “Fourth Recess Lake” in an area of rocks that were previously crushed by the rover wheels known as “Sam Mack Meadow.” We are also taking a LIBS observation of the Kings Canyon drill hole. As we await the preliminary results on the analysis of the drill hole, we’ll be enjoying the view as these images downlink to Earth over the next few days. Written by Emma Harris, graduate student at The Natural History Museum, London Share Details Last Updated Aug 12, 2024 Related Terms Blogs Explore More 3 min read Sols 4266-4267: Happy ‘Landiversary,’ Curiosity Article 4 days ago 3 min read Sols 4263-4265: A Royal Birthday Celebration at Kings Canyon Article 7 days ago 2 min read Sols 4261-4262: Drill Sol 1…Take 2 Article 2 weeks ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It’s the only planet we know of inhabited… All Mars Resources Explore this collection of Mars images, videos, resources, PDFs, and toolkits. Discover valuable content designed to inform, educate, and inspire,… Rover Basics Each robotic explorer sent to the Red Planet has its own unique capabilities driven by science. Many attributes of a… Mars Exploration: Science Goals The key to understanding the past, present or future potential for life on Mars can be found in NASA’s four… View the full article

2 min read NASA Explores Industry, Partner Interest in Using VIPER Moon Rover NASA’s VIPER robotic Moon rover is seen here in a clean room at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. NASA/Helen Arase Vargas As part of its commitment to a robust, sustainable lunar exploration program for the benefit of all, NASA issued a Request for Information Friday to seek interest from American companies and institutions in conducting a mission using the agency’s VIPER Moon rover. VIPER, short for Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, was designed to map the location and concentration of potential off-planet resources, like ice, on the South Pole of Earth’s Moon. NASA announced July 17 its intent to discontinue VIPER, and to pursue alternative methods to verify the presence of frozen water at the lunar South Pole, but could contribute the VIPER rover as-is to an interested partner. From July 17 to Aug. 1, NASA accepted expressions of interest from the broader community in using the existing VIPER rover system. The Request for Information now seeks to learn more about how interested parties would use VIPER at minimal to no cost to the government. This Request for Information is open to U.S. organizations and industry. NASA will explore interest from the international community through separate channels. “NASA thanks everyone who provided expressions of interest in using VIPER and looks forward to learning more about how potential partners envision accomplishing NASA’s science and exploration goals with the rover,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “We want to make the best use possible of the engineering, technology, and expertise that have been developed by this project to advance scientific knowledge of the Moon. Partnership opportunities on VIPER would allow us to do this without impacting our future cadence of commercial deliveries to the Moon, to continue lunar science and exploration for everyone’s benefit.” Future CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) deliveries to the lunar surface and instruments on NASA’s crewed missions will progress the agency’s assessment of volatiles across the South Pole region. The Request for Information is available online and will remain open for responses until 11:59 p.m. EDT Monday, Sep. 2. For more information about VIPER, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/viper Media contacts Alise Fisher / Erin Morton Headquarters, Washington 202-358-2546 / 202-805-9393 alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov / erin.morton@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Aug 09, 2024 Related Terms Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) Earth’s Moon VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) Explore More 4 min read NASA, JAXA Bounce Laser Beam Between Moon’s Surface and Lunar Orbit Article 2 weeks ago 3 min read New Evidence Adds to Findings Hinting at Network of Caves on Moon An international team of scientists using data from NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) has discovered… Article 3 weeks ago 5 min read What’s Up: April 2024 Skywatching Tips from NASA Catch Mars and Saturn rising, and Jupiter hangs out with Comet 12P. Plus NASA has… Article 4 months ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

NASA astronaut Don Pettit during crew qualification exams at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.Credits: GCTC/Roscosmos NASA astronaut Don Pettit is available for limited interview opportunities beginning at 10 a.m. EDT, Friday, Aug. 16, to discuss his upcoming mission to the International Space Station in September. The virtual interviews will stream live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA+ through a variety of platforms including social media. Interested media must submit a request no later than 12 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 15, to the newsroom at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston at 281-483-5111 or jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov. Pettit will launch on the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft, accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner. The trio will spend approximately six months aboard the orbital laboratory before returning to Earth in the spring of 2025. During his time in orbit, Pettit will conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to help prepare the crew for future space missions and provide benefits to people on Earth. Pettit will participate in several of the hundreds of experiments happening during his mission, including studying how spaceflight affects blood clotting, continuing tests of technology to produce human stem cells in space, and contributing his unique photography skills to the long-running Crew Earth Observations study of how Earth is changing over time. NASA selected Pettit as an astronaut in 1996. A veteran of three spaceflights, he has contributed to integral advancements in technology and demonstrations for human space exploration. He served as a science officer for Expedition 6 in 2003, operated the robotic arm for STS-126 space shuttle Endeavour in 2008, and served as a flight engineer for Expedition 30/31 in 2012. Pettit has logged 370 days in space and conducted two spacewalks totaling 13 hours and 17 minutes. A native from Silverton, Oregon, Pettit holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Oregon State University, Corvallis, and a doctorate degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Arizona, Tucson. Prior to his career with NASA, Pettit worked as a staff scientist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. For more than two decades, humans have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge, and making research breakthroughs that are not possible on Earth. The station is a critical testbed for NASA to understand and overcome the challenges of long-duration spaceflight and to expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit. As commercial companies focus on providing human space transportation services and destinations as part of a robust low Earth orbit economy, NASA is able to focus more of its resources on deep space missions to the Moon and Mars. Get breaking news, images and features from the space station on the station blog, Instagram, Facebook, and X. Learn more about International Space Station research and operations at: https://www.nasa.gov/station -end- Joshua Finch / Claire O’Shea Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / claire.a.o’shea@nasa.gov Courtney Beasley Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 courtney.m.beasley@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Aug 09, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related TermsInternational Space Station (ISS)AstronautsDonald R. PettitHumans in SpaceISS ResearchJohnson Space CenterNASA Headquarters View the full article

Learn Home Astro Campers SCoPE Out New… Astrophysics Overview Learning Resources Science Activation Teams SME Map Opportunities More Science Stories Science Activation Highlights Citizen Science 2 min read Astro Campers SCoPE Out New Worlds Teachers at Smokey Mountain Elementary School have collaborated with the NASA Science Activation (SciAct) program’s Smoky Mountains STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Collaborative (SMSC) and project coordinator, Randi Neff, to create a summer camp for students who are passionate about STEM topics. What started as a small summer camp has since evolved into Astro Camp, a two-week community program from the NASA Astro Camp Community Partners (part of the NASA SciAct program infrastructure) with many engaging student activities. Many students have enjoyed this camp from the beginning, and those who have participated annually have become increasingly interested in more challenging and robust activities to continue their learning adventures. With the help of SciAct’s NASA SCoPE (the NASA Science Mission Directorate Community of Practice for Education) team, Neff was able to connect teachers with a NASA Subject Matter Expert, Dr. Alissa Bans, to help draft new, challenging activities for the students who were ready to take them on in June 2024. Of course, new attendees and learners continued to excitedly engage in the foundational Astro Camp activities, as appropriate for their learning levels. Thanks to Dr. Bans and the ongoing collaboration of these three SciAct teams, returning campers took on new challenges identifying and observing goldilocks exoplanets and zones (habitable planets outside our solar system and zones where conditions might be just right – neither too hot nor too cold – for life) and exploring the various conditions that might support life on a planet. Having the opportunity to seek out and tackle more advanced STEM topics, learners developed critical thinking skills and found satisfaction in expanding their science identities. The Smoky Mountains STEM Collaborative, NASA SCoPE, and NASA Astro Camp Community Partners projects are supported by NASA as part of the Science Activation program portfolio. Learn more about how Science Activation connects NASA science experts, real content, and experiences with community leaders to do science in ways that activate minds and promote deeper understanding of our world and beyond: https://science.nasa.gov/learn Dr. Alissa Bans, a NASA Subject Matter Expert with NASA SCoPE, leads an activity with a group of students during Astro Camp. Share Details Last Updated Aug 09, 2024 Editor NASA Science Editorial Team Related Terms Astrophysics Community Partners Opportunities For Students to Get Involved Planetary Science Science Activation Explore More 2 min read Hubble Spotlights a Supernova Article 3 hours ago 2 min read Celebrate Heliophysics Big Year: Free Monthly Webinars on the Sun Touches Everything Article 3 days ago 6 min read Quantum Scale Sensors used to Measure Planetary Scale Magnetic Fields Article 3 days ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA James Webb Space Telescope Webb is the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It studies every phase in the… Perseverance Rover This rover and its aerial sidekick were assigned to study the geology of Mars and seek signs of ancient microbial… Parker Solar Probe On a mission to “touch the Sun,” NASA’s Parker Solar Probe became the first spacecraft to fly through the corona… Juno NASA’s Juno spacecraft entered orbit around Jupiter in 2016, the first explorer to peer below the planet’s dense clouds to… View the full article

4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) By Jessica Barnett From Earth, one might be tempted to view the Sun as a unique celestial object like no other, as it’s the star our home planet orbits and the one our planet relies on most for heat and light. But if you took a step back and compared the Sun to the other stars NASA has studied over the years, how would it compare? Would it still be so unique? The Full-sun Ultraviolet Rocket SpecTrograph (FURST) aims to answer those questions when it launches aboard a Black Brant IX sounding rocket Aug. 11 at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. “When we talk about ‘Sun as a star’, we’re treating it like any other star in the night sky as opposed to the unique object we rely on for human life. It’s so exciting to study the Sun from that vantage point,” said Adam Kobelski, institutional principal investigator for FURST and a research astrophysicist at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The Full-sun Ultraviolet Rocket SpecTrograph (FURST) undergoes testing at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico in preparation for launch on Aug. 11. FURST will be launched aboard a Black Bryant IX sounding rocket and will observe the Sun in vacuum ultraviolet (VUV). The instrument was designed and built at Montana State University. NASA Marshall provided the camera, supplied avionics, and designed and built its calibration system. Credit: Montana State University FURST will obtain the first high-resolution spectra of the “Sun as a star” in vacuum ultraviolet (VUV), a light wavelength that is absorbed in Earth’s atmosphere meaning it can only be observed from space. Astronomers have studied other stars in the vacuum ultraviolet with orbiting telescopes, however these instruments are too sensitive to be pointed to the Sun. The recent advancements in high-resolution VUV spectroscopy now allow for the same observations of our own star, the Sun. “These are wavelengths that Hubble Space Telescope is really great at observing, so there is a decent amount of Hubble observations of stars in ultraviolet wavelengths, but we don’t have comparable observations of our star in this wavelength range,” said Kobelski. Marshall was the lead field center for the design, development, and construction of the Hubble Space Telescope. Because Hubble is too sensitive to point at Earth’s Sun, new instruments were needed to get a spectrum of the entire Sun that is of a similar quality to Hubble’s observations of other stars. Marshall built the camera, supplied avionics, and designed and built a new calibration system for the FURST mission. Montana State University (MSU), which leads the FURST mission in partnership with Marshall, built the optical system, which includes seven optics that will feed into the camera that will essentially create seven exposures, covering the entire ultraviolet wavelength range. Charles Kankelborg, a heliophysics professor at MSU and principal investigator for FURST, described the mission as a very close collaboration with wide-ranging implications. “Our mission will obtain the first far ultraviolent spectrum of the Sun as a star,” Kankelborg said. “This is a key piece of information that has been missing for decades. With it, we will place the Sun in context with other stars.” Kobelski echoed the sentiment. “How well do the observations and what we know about our Sun compare to our observations or what we know of other stars?” Kobelski said. “You’d expect that we know all this information about the Sun – it’s right there – but it turns out, we actually don’t. If we can get these same observations or same wavelengths as we’ve observed from these other sources, we can start to connect the dots and connect our Sun to other stars.” Montana State University alumnus Jake Davis, left, Professor Charles Kankelborg, and doctoral students Catharine “Cappy” Bunn and Suman Panda, pose at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, where they are preparing for the launch of the FURST rocket mission to observe the sun in far ultraviolet.Credit: Montana State University FURST will be the third launch led by Marshall for NASA’s Sounding Rocket Program within five months, making 2024 an active year for the program. Like the Hi-C Flare mission that launched in April, the sounding rocket will launch and open during flight to allow FURST to observe the Sun for approximately five minutes before closing and falling back to Earth’s surface. Marshall team members will be able to calibrate the instruments during launch and flight, as well as retrieve data during flight and soon after landing. Kobelski and Kankelborg each said they’re grateful for the opportunity to fill the gaps in our knowledge of Earth’s Sun. The launch will be livestreamed on Sunday, Aug. 11, with a launch window of 11:40 a.m.– 12:40 p.m. CDT. Tune in on NASA’s White Sands Test Facility Launch Channel. The FURST mission is led by Marshall in partnership with Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana, with additional support from the NASA’s Sounding Rockets Office and the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research’s High Altitude Observatory. Launch support is provided at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico by NASA’s Johnson Space Center. NASA’s Sounding Rocket Program is managed by the agency’s Heliophysics Division. Lane Figueroa Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. 256.544.0034 lane.e.figueroa@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Aug 09, 2024 EditorBeth RidgewayLocationMarshall Space Flight Center Related TermsMarshall Space Flight CenterSounding RocketsSounding Rockets ProgramWallops Flight Facility Explore More 4 min read NASA to Launch 8 Scientific Balloons From New Mexico Article 2 hours ago 4 min read This Rocks! NASA is Sending Student Science to Space Article 21 hours ago 23 min read The Marshall Star for August 7, 2024 Article 2 days ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program, in preparation for the agency’s Artemis II crewed mission to the Moon, begin installing the first of four emergency egress baskets on the mobile launcher at Launch Complex 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024. The baskets, similar to gondolas on ski lifts, are used in the case of a pad abort emergency to enable astronauts and other pad personnel a way to quickly escape away from the mobile launcher to the base of the pad and where waiting emergency transport vehicles will then drive them away.NASA/Isaac Watson Recently, teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) Program at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center met with engineering teams at a central Florida amusement park to share knowledge on a new braking system NASA is using for its launch pad emergency egress system for Artemis missions. “We have a new magnetic braking system for the Artemis emergency egress system and NASA hasn’t used this technology on the ground infrastructure side before to support launches,” said Jesse Berdis, mobile launcher 1 deputy project manager for EGS. “I realized we have neighbors 50 miles from us in Orlando that are essentially the world experts on magnetic braking systems.” For Artemis, teams will use a track cable that connects the mobile launcher to the terminus site near the perimeter of NASA Kennedy’s Launch Pad 39B, where four baskets, similar to gondola lifts, can ride down. This is where the magnetic braking system operates to help control the acceleration of the baskets in multiple weight and environmental conditions. At the pad terminus site, armored emergency response vehicles are stationed to take personnel safely away from the launch pad to a designated safe site at Kennedy. Many roller coaster manufacturers employ the use of an “eddy current braking system,” which involves using magnetics to help slow down a vehicle. Though the applications used on the roller coasters differ slightly from what the EGS teams are using for Artemis, the concept is the same, explained Amanda Arrieta, mobile launcher 1 senior element engineer. However, unlike roller coasters which are typically in use daily for multiple hours on end, the Artemis emergency egress system is there for emergency situations only. “We don’t plan to ever run our system unless we’re testing it or performing maintenance,” Berdis said. Regardless of this, teams at Kennedy have ensured the system is able to function for years to come to support future Artemis missions. “The maintenance crews [at the amusement park] were awesome because they showed us their nightly, monthly, and yearly inspections on what they were doing,” Berdis said. “That gave our operations teams a really good foundation and baseline knowledge of what to expect when they maintain and operate this system for the Artemis missions.” Some of the conversations and suggestions teams shared include adding an acceleration sensor in the emergency egress baskets during testing. The sensor will help detect how fast the baskets are going when they ride down. The emergency egress system is one of several new additions the EGS team is implementing to prepare for future crewed missions starting with Artemis II, and this system especially emphasizes the importance of safety. “We have a mission, and a part of that mission is in case of an emergency, which we don’t expect, is to protect our astronauts and supporting teams at the launch pad,” Berdis said. “We want our teams to be safe and, for any scenario we put them in, especially on the ground infrastructure side, it’s important for us to do our due diligence. That includes talking to other groups that are the experts in their field to ensure we have looked at all possibilities across the board to ensure our mission is a safe one for our teams.” During the Space Shuttle Program, teams used a similar system for the escape route astronauts and other personnel take in the event of an emergency during a launch countdown. However, instead of using a magnetic braking system for the baskets, teams used a mechanical braking system, which involved using a catch net and drag chain to slow and then halt the baskets sliding down the wire. For the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, SpaceX also uses a catch net and drag chain for its slidewire cable at NASA Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A pad and a deployable chute at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Boeing and United Launch Alliance also use a slidewire, but instead of baskets, the team deploys seats, like riding down a zip line, that ride down the slide wires at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Under NASA’s Artemis campaign, the agency will establish the foundation for long-term scientific exploration at the Moon, land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the lunar surface, and prepare for human expeditions to Mars for the benefit of all. 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Research astrophysicist Regina Caputo puzzles out how the universe works by studying the most extreme events in the cosmos. ​​Name: Regina Caputo Title: Research Astrophysicist Organization: Astroparticle Physics Laboratory (Code 661) Regina Caputo is a research astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. She focuses on technology development and support for gamma-ray telescopes.Photo credit: NASA/David Friedlander What do you do and what is most interesting about your role here at Goddard? I’m a research astrophysicist in the particle astrophysics lab at Goddard. I’m really interested in the most extreme events that happen in the universe, so I work on current gamma-ray missions and develop technology for future gamma-ray telescopes. The most exciting part of my work is trying to figure out how the universe works and how it got the way it is today. What is your educational background? In 2006, I got my bachelor’s degree in engineering physics from the Colorado School of Mines. Then, in 2011 I got my Ph.D. in particle physics from Stony Brook University. I’ve always been inclined to bridge the gap between science and engineering, so my undergraduate education was where I learned to build things, develop instruments, and analyze data. Then, through my Ph.D. program, I started trying to understand the fundamental building blocks of matter. Eventually, I found my way to astro-particle physics. Particles on the ground are cool, but particles in space are even cooler! What brought you to Goddard? I arrived at Goddard in 2017, and I think it was a natural confluence of building telescopes, doing high energy astrophysics, and working in a collaborative environment. What were the most exciting moments of your career? I am very fortunate because there have been a couple exciting moments. I was a student working on CERN’s Large Hadron Collider when the Higgs Boson was discovered, so that was really exciting. Then, after I had gotten into particle astrophysics, we discovered in 2017 that merging neutron stars created gravitational waves and gamma-ray bursts. Around the same time, we discovered an active galaxy that produced neutrinos with ultra-high-energy gamma-ray flares. This was like the birth of multi-messenger astrophysics, so it felt like a whole new era of discovery. I really felt like the universe was telling me something. How does your work involve different teams? I’m on a few different teams on different scales. On the science side, I’m a part of the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) collaboration — an international group of scientists supporting Fermi, analyzing data, and doing science. I’m also a Swift Observatory project scientist. I support the mission by making sure it’s fulfilling its obligations to the public and various stakeholders. The technology development teams are the ones that I’m leading in preparation for a next-generation gamma-ray telescope. I have a group of postdocs, students, and other scientists — 10 or 15 people around the world. We are developing and characterizing silicon CMOS detectors, called AstroPix, to make sure that they meet our requirements, and think about the next steps to implement them in different experiments. The other team, called Compton-Pair Telescope (ComPair), built a prototype gamma-ray telescope that was launched as a balloon payload last summer. Right now, we’re working on the next generation of it. Regina Caputo at the August 2023 ComPair balloon launch in Fort Sumter, New Mexico. ComPair is a prototype gamma-ray telescope that can measure and detect gamma-rays.Photo courtesy of Regina Caputo What is challenging about your position? I think one of the most challenging things is communicating effectively with an international group of people. You have to be like an events coordinator to make sure people have the resources they need. What role do you serve for early career scientists? I think it’s really important that scientists think about the next generation of scientists and technically minded people. It’s really important to me to make sure that we are giving junior folks the field opportunities they need to achieve their goals. What science outreach do you do? I really enjoy science outreach, so I like to jump in whenever there’s an opportunity — like Black Hole Week, career days, or public talks. I like to be able to say, “Hey, you’re paying us to explore the universe — here’s what we found!” What goals do you have for the future? It would be so cool to see the detectors we develop to be in a next-generation gamma-ray telescope that flies and takes data. It’s a hard goal, but hey, I shoot for the stars. By Laine Havens NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Conversations With Goddard is a collection of Q&A profiles highlighting the breadth and depth of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center’s talented and diverse workforce. The Conversations have been published twice a month on average since May 2011. Read past editions on Goddard’s “Our People” webpage. Share Details Last Updated Aug 09, 2024 EditorMadison OlsonContactRob Garnerrob.garner@nasa.govLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related TermsPeople of GoddardAstrophysicsGoddard Space Flight CenterPeople of NASAThe Universe Explore More 7 min read Bindu Rani Explores Black Holes, Mothers Hard, Balances Life Article 3 days ago 6 min read Rebekah Hounsell: Tracking Cosmic Light to Untangle the Universe’s Darkest Mysteries Article 3 weeks ago 6 min read There Are No Imaginary Boundaries for Dr. Ariadna Farrés-Basiana Article 7 days ago View the full article

The International Space Station’s “window to the world” is pictured from the Nauka Multipurpose Laboratory Module.NASA The cupola is a small module designed for the observation of operations outside the station such as robotic activities, the approach of vehicles, and spacewalks. Its six side windows and a direct nadir viewing window provide spectacular views of Earth and celestial objects. The windows are equipped with shutters to protect them from contamination and collisions with orbital debris or micrometeorites. The cupola house the robotic workstation that controls the Canadarm2. View the full article

4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) A scientific balloon is inflated for the Salter Test Flight before being released during NASA’s 2023 fall balloon campaign. The test flight returns for the 2024 campaign in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, carrying several smaller payloads.NASA/Andrew Hynous NASA’s Scientific Balloon Program has kicked off its annual fall balloon campaign at the agency’s balloon launch facility in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. Eight balloon flights carrying scientific experiments and technology demonstrations are scheduled to launch from mid-August through mid-October. The flights will support 16 missions, including investigations in the fields of astrophysics, heliophysics, and atmospheric research. “The annual Fort Sumner campaign is the cornerstone of the NASA Balloon Program operations,” said Andrew Hamilton, acting chief of NASA’s Balloon Program Office. “Not only are we launching a large number of missions, but these flights set the foundation for follow-on missions from our long-duration launch facilities in Antarctica, New Zealand, and Sweden. The Fort Sumner campaign is also a strong focus for our student-based payloads and is an excellent training opportunity for our up-and-coming scientists and engineers.” Returning to the fall lineup is the EXCITE (Exoplanet Climate Infrared Telescope) mission led by Peter Nagler, principal investigator, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. EXCITE features an astronomical telescope developed to study the atmospheric properties of Jupiter-type exoplanets from near space. EXCITE’s launch was delayed during the 2023 campaign due to weather conditions. “The whole EXCITE team is looking forward to our upcoming field campaign and launch opportunity from Fort Sumner,” said Nagler. “We’re bringing a more capable instrument than we did last year and are excited to prove EXCITE from North America before we bring it to the Antarctic for our future long-duration science flight.” Some additional missions scheduled to launch include: Salter Test Flight: The test flight aims to verify system design and support several smaller payloads on the flight called piggyback missions. HASP 1.0 (High-Altitude Student Platform): This platform supports up to 12 student payloads and assists in training the next generation of aerospace scientists and engineers. It is designed to flight test compact satellites, prototypes, and other small payloads. HASP 2.0 (High-Altitude Student Platform 2): This engineering test flight of the upgraded gondola and systems for the HASP program aims to double the carrying capability of student payloads. DR-TES (mini-Dilution Refrigerator and a Transition Edge Sensor): This flight will test a cooling system and a gamma-ray detector in a near-space environment. TIM Test Flight (Terahertz Intensity Mapper): This experiment will study galaxy evolution and the history of cosmic star formation. THAI-SPICE (Testbed for High-Acuity Imaging ­­– ­­­Stable Photometry and Image-motion Compensation Experiment): The goal of this project is to build and demonstrate a fine-pointing system for stratospheric payloads with balloon-borne telescopes. TinMan (Thermalized Neutron Measurement Experiment): This hand-launch mission features a 60-pound payload designed to help better understand how thermal neutrons may affect aircraft electronics. An additional eight piggyback missions will ride along on flights to support science and technology development. Three of these piggyback missions are technology demonstrations led by the balloon program team at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Their common goal is to enhance the capabilities of NASA balloon missions. CASBa (Comprehensive Avionics System for Balloons) aims to upgrade the flight control systems for NASA balloon missions. DINGO (Dynamics INstrumentation for GOndolas) and SPARROW-5 (Sensor Package for Attitude, Rotation, and Relative Observable Winds – Five) are technology maturation projects designed to provide new sensing capabilities to NASA balloon missions. Zero-pressure balloons, used in this campaign, are in thermal equilibrium with their surroundings as they fly. They maintain a zero-pressure differential with ducts that allow gas to escape to prevent an increase in pressure from inside the balloons as they rise above Earth’s surface. This zero-pressure design makes the balloons very robust and well-suited for short, domestic flights, such as those in this campaign. The loss of lift gas during the day-to-night cycle affects the balloon’s altitude after repeated day-to-night cycles; however, this can be overcome by launching from the polar regions, such as Sweden or Antarctica, where the Sun does not set on the balloon in the summer. To follow the missions in the 2024 Fort Sumner fall campaign, visit NASA’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility website for real-time updates of balloons’ altitudes and locations during flight. NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia manages the agency’s scientific balloon flight program with 10 to 15 flights each year from launch sites worldwide. Peraton, which operates NASA’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility (CSBF) in Palestine, Texas, provides mission planning, engineering services, and field operations for NASA’s Scientific Balloon Program. The CSBF team has launched more than 1,700 scientific balloons over some 40 years of operations. NASA’s balloons are fabricated by Aerostar. The NASA Scientific Balloon Program is funded by the Science Mission Directorate’s Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. For more information on NASA’s Scientific Balloon Program, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/scientificballoons By Olivia Littleton NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va. Share Details Last Updated Aug 09, 2024 EditorOlivia F. LittletonContactOlivia F. Littletonolivia.f.littleton@nasa.govLocationWallops Flight Facility Related TermsScientific BalloonsAstrophysicsGoddard Space Flight CenterWallops Flight Facility Explore More 7 min read NASA Balloons Head North of Arctic Circle for Long-Duration Flights Article 3 months ago 4 min read GUSTO Breaks NASA Scientific Balloon Record for Days in Flight Article 6 months ago 6 min read NASA Scientific Balloons Ready for Flights Over Antarctica Article 9 months ago View the full article

In this clip, engineers are testing the the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope’s Deployable Aperture Cover. This component is responsible for keeping light out of the telescope barrel. It will be deployed once in orbit using a soft material attached to support booms and remains in this position throughout the observatory’s lifetime. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center The “visor” for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope recently completed several environmental tests simulating the conditions it will experience during launch and in space. Called the Deployable Aperture Cover, this large sunshade is designed to keep unwanted light out of the telescope. This milestone marks the halfway point for the cover’s final sprint of testing, bringing it one step closer to integration with Roman’s other subsystems this fall. Designed and built at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, the Deployable Aperture Cover consists of two layers of reinforced thermal blankets, distinguishing it from previous hard aperture covers, like those on NASA’s Hubble. The sunshade will remain folded during launch and deploy after Roman is in space via three booms that spring upward when triggered electronically. “With a soft deployable like the Deployable Aperture Cover, it’s very difficult to model and precisely predict what it’s going to do — you just have to test it,” said Matthew Neuman, a Deployable Aperture Cover mechanical engineer at Goddard. “Passing this testing now really proves that this system works.” After a successful test deployment at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., clean room technicians inspect the Deployable Aperture Cover for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.NASA/Chris Gunn During its first major environmental test, the sunshade endured conditions simulating what it will experience in space. It was sealed inside NASA Goddard’s Space Environment Simulator — a massive chamber that can achieve extremely low pressure and a wide range of temperatures. Technicians placed the DAC near six heaters — a Sun simulator — and thermal simulators representing Roman’s Outer Barrel Assembly and Solar Array Sun Shield. Since these two components will eventually form a subsystem with the Deployable Aperture Cover, replicating their temperatures allows engineers to understand how heat will actually flow when Roman is in space. When in space, the sunshade is expected to operate at minus 67 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 55 degrees Celsius. However, recent testing cooled the cover to minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 70 degrees Celsius — ensuring that it will work even in unexpectedly cold conditions. Once chilled, technicians triggered its deployment, carefully monitoring through cameras and sensors onboard. Over the span of about a minute, the sunshade successfully deployed, proving its resilience in extreme space conditions. “This was probably the environmental test we were most nervous about,” said Brian Simpson, project design lead for the Deployable Aperture Cover at NASA Goddard. “If there’s any reason that the Deployable Aperture Cover would stall or not completely deploy, it would be because the material became frozen stiff or stuck to itself.” Brian Simpson, product design lead at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, adjusts sensors on the Deployable Aperture Cover for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. The sensors will collect data on the DAC’s response to testing.NASA/Chris Gunn If the sunshade were to stall or partially deploy, it would obscure Roman’s view, severely limiting the mission’s science capabilities. After passing thermal vacuum testing, the sunshade underwent acoustic testing to simulate the launch’s intense noises, which can cause vibrations at higher frequencies than the shaking of the launch itself. During this test, the sunshade remained stowed, hanging inside one of Goddard’s acoustic chambers — a large room outfitted with two gigantic horns and hanging microphones to monitor sound levels. With the sunshade plastered in sensors, the acoustic test ramped up in noise level, eventually subjecting the cover to one full minute at 138 decibels — louder than a jet plane’s takeoff at close range! Technicians attentively monitored the sunshade’s response to the powerful acoustics and gathered valuable data, concluding that the test succeeded. Technicians prepare for acoustic testing at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. During testing, the Deployable Aperture Cover for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope was suspended in the air and exposed to 138 decibels for one full minute to simulate launch’s intense noise.NASA/Chris Gunn “For the better part of a year, we’ve been building the flight assembly,” Simpson said. “We’re finally getting to the exciting part where we get to test it. We’re confident that we’ll get through with no problem, but after each test we can’t help but breathe a collective sigh of relief!” Next, the Deployable Aperture Cover will undergo its two final phases of testing. These assessments will measure the sunshade’s natural frequency and response to the launch’s vibrations. Then, the Deployable Aperture Cover will integrate with the Outer Barrel Assembly and Solar Array Sun Shield this fall. For more information about the Roman Space Telescope, visit NASA’s website. To virtually tour an interactive version of the telescope, visit: https://roman.gsfc.nasa.gov/interactive 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. Download high-resolution video and images from NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio By Laine Havens NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Media contact: Claire Andreoli claire.andreoli@nasa.gov NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. 301-286-1940 Explore More 6 min read NASA’s Roman Mission Gets Cosmic ‘Sneak Peek’ From Supercomputers Article 2 months ago 3 min read NASA’s Roman Space Telescope’s ‘Eyes’ Pass First Vision Test Article 4 months ago 3 min read NASA Begins Integrating ‘Nervous System’ for Roman Space Telescope Article 12 months ago Share Details Last Updated Aug 09, 2024 EditorAshley BalzerContactAshley Balzerashley.m.balzer@nasa.govLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related TermsNancy Grace Roman Space TelescopeGoddard Space Flight CenterScience-enabling TechnologySpace Communications Technology View the full article

2 min read Hubble Spotlights a Supernova This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image reveals the galaxy LEDA 857074. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. J. Foley This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the galaxy LEDA 857074, located in the constellation Eridanus. LEDA 857074 is a barred spiral galaxy, with partially broken spiral arms. The image also captured a supernova, named SN 2022ADQZ, shining brightly on the right side of the galaxy’s bar. Several evolutionary paths can lead to a supernova explosion. One is the death of a supermassive star. When a supermassive star runs out of its hydrogen fuel, it begins a stage where it fuses the remaining elements to heavier and heavier ones. These final fusion reactions generate less and less outward force (radiation pressure) to balance the star’s gravitational tug inward. As heavier elements form in the star’s core, the core itself begins to fully collapse under its own gravity, and the star’s outer layers blast away in a supernova explosion. Depending on the star’s original mass, its core may collapse to nothing but neutrons, leaving behind a neutron star, or its gravity may be so great that it collapses to a black hole. Astronomers detected supernova SN 2022ADQZ with an automated survey in late 2022. This discovery led them to look at the supernova’s host galaxy, LEDA 857074, with Hubble in early 2023. Hubble’s sharp vision means that it can see supernovae that are billions of light years away and difficult for other telescopes to study. A supernova image from the ground usually blends in with the image of its host galaxy, but Hubble can distinguish a supernova’s light from its host galaxy’s, measuring the supernova directly. Astronomers detect thousands of supernovae annually, but the chance that they spot one in any particular galaxy of the millions that are cataloged is slim. Thanks to this supernova, LEDA 857074 joins the ranks of other celestial objects with its own Hubble image. Download Image Explore More Hubble’s Galaxies Facebook logo @NASAHubble @NASAHubble Instagram logo @NASAHubble Media Contact: Claire Andreoli NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD claire.andreoli@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Aug 09, 2024 Related Terms Astrophysics Astrophysics Division Goddard Space Flight Center Hubble Space Telescope Missions Science & Research Science Mission Directorate Supernovae The Universe 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. Galaxies Hubble’s Galaxies Hubble News View the full article

This final image captured by NASA’s NEOWISE shows part of the Fornax constellation in the Southern Hemisphere. Processed by IPAC at Caltech, this is the mission’s 26,886,704th exposure. It was taken by the spacecraft just before 3 a.m. EDT on Aug. 1, when the mission’s survey ended.Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/IPAC/UCLA Engineers on NASA’s NEOWISE (Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) mission commanded the spacecraft to turn its transmitter off for the last time Thursday. This concludes more than 10 years of its planetary defense mission to search for asteroids and comets, including those that could pose a threat to Earth. The final command was sent from the Earth Orbiting Missions Operation Center at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, with mission members past and present in attendance alongside officials from the agency’s headquarters in Washington. NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System then relayed the signal to NEOWISE, decommissioning the spacecraft. As NASA previously shared, the spacecraft’s science survey ended on July 31, and all remaining science data was downlinked from the spacecraft. “The NEOWISE mission has been an extraordinary success story as it helped us better understand our place in the universe by tracking asteroids and comets that could be hazardous for us on Earth,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. “While we are sad to see this brave mission come to an end, we are excited for the future scientific discoveries it has opened by setting the foundation for the next generation planetary defense telescope.” NASA ended the mission because NEOWISE will soon drop too low in its orbit around Earth to provide usable science data. An uptick in solar activity is heating the upper atmosphere, causing it to expand and create drag on the spacecraft, which does not have a propulsion system to keep it in orbit. Now decommissioned, NEOWISE is expected to safely burn up in our planet’s atmosphere in late 2024. During its operational lifetime, the infrared survey telescope exceeded scientific objectives for not one but two missions, starting with the WISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) mission. Managed by JPL, WISE launched in December 2009 with a seven-month mission to scan the entire infrared sky. By July 2010, WISE had accomplished this with far greater sensitivity than previous surveys. A few months later, the telescope ran out of the coolant that kept heat produced by the spacecraft from interfering with its infrared observations. (Invisible to the human eye, infrared wavelengths are associated with heat.) NASA extended the mission under the name NEOWISE until February 2011 to complete a survey of the main belt asteroids, at which point the spacecraft was put into hibernation. Analysis of this data showed that although the lack of coolant meant the space telescope could no longer observe the faintest infrared objects in the universe, it could still make precise observations of asteroids and comets that generate a strong infrared signal from being heated by the Sun as they travel past our planet. NASA brought the telescope out of hibernation in 2013 under the Near-Earth Object Observations Program, a precursor for the agency’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office, to continue the NEOWISE survey of asteroids and comets in the pursuit of planetary defense. “The NEOWISE mission has been instrumental in our quest to map the skies and understand the near-Earth environment. Its huge number of discoveries have expanded our knowledge of asteroids and comets, while also boosting our nation’s planetary defense,” said Laurie Leshin, director, NASA JPL. “As we bid farewell to NEOWISE, we also celebrate the team behind it for their impressive achievements.” By repeatedly observing the sky from low Earth orbit, NEOWISE created all-sky maps featuring 1.45 million infrared measurements of more than 44,000 solar system objects. Of the 3,000-plus near-Earth objects it detected, 215 were first spotted by NEOWISE. The mission also discovered 25 new comets, including the famed comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE that streaked across the night sky in the summer of 2020. In addition to leaving behind a trove of science data, the spacecraft has helped inform the development of NASA’s first infrared space telescope purpose-built for detecting near-Earth objects: NEO Surveyor. “The NEOWISE mission has provided a unique, long-duration data set of the infrared sky that will be used by scientists for decades to come,” said Amy Mainzer, principal investigator for both NEOWISE and NEO Surveyor at the University of California, Los Angeles. “But its additional legacy is that it has helped lay the groundwork for NASA’s next planetary defense infrared space telescope.” Also managed by JPL, NEO Surveyor will seek out some of the hardest-to-find near-Earth objects, such as dark asteroids and comets that don’t reflect much visible light, as well as objects that approach Earth from the direction of the Sun. The next-generation infrared space telescope will greatly enhance the capabilities of the international planetary defense community, which includes NASA-funded ground surveys. Construction of NEO Surveyor is already well under way, with a launch date set for no earlier than 2027. More Mission Information The NEOWISE and NEO Surveyor missions support the objectives of NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office at the agency’s headquarters. The NASA Authorization Act of 2005 directed NASA to discover and characterize at least 90% of the near-Earth objects more than 460 feet (140 meters) across that come within 30 million miles (48 million kilometers) of our planet’s orbit. Objects of this size can cause significant regional damage, or worse, should they impact the Earth. NASA JPL manages and operates the NEOWISE mission for the agency’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office within the Science Mission Directorate. The Space Dynamics Laboratory in Logan, Utah, built the science instrument. BAE Systems of Boulder, Colorado, built the spacecraft. Science data processing, archiving, and distribution is done at IPAC at Caltech in Pasadena, California. Caltech manages JPL for NASA. To learn more about NEOWISE, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/neowise -end- Karen Fox / Alana Johnson Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1600 karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / alana.r.johnson@nasa.gov Ian J. O’Neill Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 818-354-2649 ian.j.oneill@jpl.nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Aug 08, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related TermsNEOWISEJet Propulsion LaboratoryNASA HeadquartersNEO Surveyor (Near-Earth Object Surveyor Space Telescope)Planetary Defense Coordination OfficePlanetary Science DivisionScience & ResearchScience Mission DirectorateWISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) View the full article

3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA’s C-20A aircraft completed more than 150 hours of international science flights from May 20 to July 24 in support of an Earth science deployment series. The aircraft, owned and operated by NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, overcame several challenges throughout the missions.NASA/Carla Thomas Operating internationally over several countries this summer, NASA’S C-20A aircraft completed more than 150 hours of science flights across two months in support of Earth science research and overcame several challenges throughout its missions. Based at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research in Edwards, California, the C-20A research aircraft has been modified to support the Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar and SAR-fusion camera. The instruments, built and operated by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, collect data and images of Earth’s surface for use in understanding global ecosystems, natural hazards, and land surface changes. From May 20 to July 24, the team crossed the Atlantic and deployed to several locations in Africa, as well as Germany, for two campaigns. They included the Africa Synthetic Aperture Radar (AfriSAR) mission, in collaboration with the European Space Agency, and the Germany Bistatic Experiment, in collaboration with the German Aerospace Center. For the AfriSAR mission, researchers collected airborne data over African forests, savannas, and wetlands for use in studies of Earth’s ecosystems. Datasets collected over Germany will be used to develop land surface height maps. NASA team members pose in front of the C-20A aircraft while in Sao Tome, Africa, May 24, 2024. From left, Kirt Stallings, Joe Piotrowski Jr., Adam Vaccaro, Carrie Worth, Tim Miller, Otis Allen, Roger “Todd” Renfro, Edgar Aragon-Torres, Ryan Applegate, and Isac Mata.NASA The flight team successfully achieved its missions despite several challenges, including mechanical and technical issues with the aircraft. Despite the challenges, the team resolved issues quickly and worked to minimize impacts to the science schedule and objectives. “We prepared for the unexpected and we expected to be unprepared,” said Shawn Kern, NASA Armstrong’s director of safety and mission assurance and a C-20A pilot. “With that mindset, we were ready to adapt and change the plans as needed, and met challenges with a lot of resilience, a lot of innovation, and a lot of improvised solutions to get things done despite some significant roadblocks.” The team included aircraft mechanics, avionics technicians, quality assurance representatives, science leads and instrument operators, operation engineers, mission managers, and pilots. They were also supported by project management, safety, logistics, weather, and maintenance personnel at NASA Armstrong. NASA pilots Kirt “Skirt” Stallings and Carrie Worth fly the C-20A aircraft over Africa on July 9, 2024.NASA “It was really the teamwork, improvisation, and creativity that resolved these unexpected challenges that made the mission a success.” Kern added. Gathering scientific data in unique regions and conditions is necessary to understanding climate on the global scale. Data generated from these two airborne campaigns can be used to support the calibration and validation of data from future satellite-based missions like NISAR (NASA ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar). “Airborne campaigns like these are essential for enabling space-based technology. There are often measurements and science that simply cannot be achieved from satellites alone, and so they require airborne data collection.” said Gerald Bawden, program scientist for studies of Earth’s surface and interior at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “This deployment advanced both of these areas and was enabled by this team.” Share Details Last Updated Aug 08, 2024 EditorDede DiniusContactElena Aguirreelena.aguirre@nasa.govLocationArmstrong Flight Research Center Related TermsArmstrong Flight Research CenterAeronauticsEarthEarth ScienceEarth Science DivisionEarth's AtmosphereJet Propulsion LaboratoryNASA AircraftScience in the AirScience Mission Directorate Explore More 4 min read This Rocks! NASA is Sending Student Science to Space Article 2 hours ago 5 min read Here’s How Curiosity’s Sky Crane Changed the Way NASA Explores Mars Article 1 day ago 4 min read Tundra Vegetation to Grow Taller, Greener Through 2100, NASA Study Finds Article 2 days ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center Armstrong Programs & Projects Armstrong Technologies Armstrong Flight Research Center History View the full article

4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) A Terrier Improved Malemute sounding rocket carrying RockSat-X student developed experiments being raised on the launch rail on Wallops IslandNASA NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia is scheduled to launch a sounding rocket carrying student-developed experiments for the RockSat-X mission on Tuesday, Aug. 13. The Terrier-Improved Malemute rocket is expected to reach an altitude of about 100 miles (162 kilometers) before descending by parachute into the Atlantic Ocean to be recovered. The launch window for the mission is 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. EDT, Aug. 13, with backup days of Aug. 14, 15, and 16. The Wallops Visitor Center’s launch viewing area will open at 5 a.m. for launch viewing. A livestream of the mission will begin 15 minutes before launch on the Wallops YouTube channel. Launch updates are also available via the Wallops Facebook page. The launch may be visible in the Chesapeake Bay region. The rocket will carry experiments developed by nine university and community college teams as part of NASA’s RockSat programs. “The RockSat program provides unique hands-on experiences for students in the development of scientific experiments and working in teams, so these students are ready to enter STEM careers,” said Dr. Joyce Winterton, Wallops senior advisor for education and leadership development. These circular areas show where and when people may see the rocket launch in the sky, depending on cloud cover. The different colored sections indicate the time (in seconds) after liftoff that the sounding rocket may be visible.NASA/Christian Billie RockSat-X 2024 Flight Projects The University of Alabama Huntsville is flying two primary experiments: Joint Union of Payload Information and Technology between Experiments and Rockets (JUPITER), a custom spacecraft bus-like system that connects experiment hardware with existing launch vehicle electronics. SwingSat will increase the technology readiness level of momentum exchange tether technology in the context of satellite constellation deployments. The University of Alberta will demonstrate instruments for characterizing plasma wave activity and electron microburst precipitation, specifically by resolving precipitating relativistic and sub-relativistic electrons. The project will be capable of measuring magnetic plasma wave oscillations, including chorus waves and ground-based Very Low Frequency transmitters. The outcome of this mission will improve the Technology Readiness Level. Clemson University’s experiment will measure electron density and temperature of the E region ionosphere, between 56- 93 miles (90-150 kilometers). The College of the Canyons experiment will deploy three capsules to gather data on greenhouse gases in the upper atmosphere to aid in the fight against climate change. The Community Colleges of Colorado, a collaboration of Arapahoe and Red Rocks Community Colleges, aims to evaluate how microgravity affects the mechanical properties of lunar regolith simulants sintered during suborbital flight. The mission will also create a cost-efficient star tracker using off-the-shelf materials and open-source software. Northwest Nazarene University is testing a space-rated robotic arm capable of tracking and capturing objects. The arm will deploy and catch three balls, then stow itself for reentry, and will also capture video footage of all the catch attempts. The University of Puerto Rico will collect environmental data of the atmosphere using humidity, temperature, and pressure sensors. Using an Ultra High Frequency antenna, telecommunications will use open-source protocols to beam down data to ground stations at Wallops. Uninterrupted Virtual Reality footage of flight will be used for STEM engagement. Virginia Tech’s experiment tests a space tether that provides a small CubeSat with power and a mechanical connection. West Virginia Space Collaboration, a collaboration of five West Virginia universities, will conduct nine independent experiments flying on the 2024 RockSat-X mission. Included are: Lower Ionosphere Electric Field Double Probes (LIEF), which will study plasma and electric field densities throughout the flight. A mycelium properties experiment that will study the mechanical properties of mycelium under space flight conditions. A flight dynamics module that will record data on rocket and space flight conditions. A Geiger counter to detect radiation density during flight. A heat study that will analyze heat dissipation during space flight and reentry. A study on the effect of spaceflight on microbes in soil during flight and reentry. Power generation using type K thermocouples. Spectrometric and photographic data of the Sun. Creation of a 3D model of flight using LiDAR tracking and flight data. A student participant integrating a RockSat-X experimentNASA/Berit Bland NASA’s Sounding Rocket Program is conducted at the agency’s Wallops Flight Facility, which is managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. NASA’s Heliophysics Division manages the sounding rocket program for the agency. Share Details Last Updated Aug 08, 2024 EditorAmy BarraContactAmy Barraamy.l.barra@nasa.govLocationWallops Flight Facility Related TermsWallops Flight FacilityNASA Centers & FacilitiesSounding RocketsSounding Rockets Program Explore More 5 min read NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility to Launch Student Experiments Article 2 months ago 4 min read Double Header: NASA Sounding Rockets to Launch Student Experiments NASA's Wallops Flight Facility is scheduled to launch two sounding rockets carrying student developed experiments… Article 1 year ago 6 min read Students Rock’n with NASA on Suborbital Space Flight Article 2 years ago View the full article

Interior of the 20-foot diameter vacuum tank at the NASA Lewis Research Center’s Electric Propulsion Laboratory. The Electric Propulsion Laboratory, which began operation in 1961, contained two large vacuum tanks capable of simulating a space environment. The tanks were designed especially for testing ion and plasma thrusters and spacecraft. The larger 25-foot diameter tank included a 10-foot diameter test compartment to test electric thrusters with condensable propellants. The portals along the chamber floor lead to the massive exhauster equipment that pumped out the air to simulate the low pressures found in space. Lewis researchers had been studying different electric rocket propulsion methods since the mid-1950s. Harold Kaufman created the first successful ion engine, the electron bombardment ion engine, in the early 1960s. These engines used electric power to create and accelerate small particles of propellant material to high exhaust velocities. Electric engines have a very small thrust, but can operate for long periods of time. The ion engines are often clustered together to provide higher levels of thrust. NASA View the full article