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Tracing the Origin and Energization of Plasma inthe Heliosphere
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By NASA
NASA’s ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) identical dual spacecraft are inspected and processed on dollies in a high bay of the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, Aug. 22. As the first multi-spacecraft orbital science mission to Mars, ESCAPADE’s twin orbiters will take simultaneous observations from different locations around the planet and reveal the real-time response to space weather and how the Martian magnetosphere changes over time.Credits: NASA/Kim Shiflett NASA and Blue Origin are preparing for the agency’s ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) mission, which begins on the inaugural launch of the company’s New Glenn rocket. The mission will study the solar wind’s interaction with the magnetosphere on Mars.
Blue Origin is targeting no earlier than Sunday, Oct. 13, for the launch of New Glenn-1 from Space Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Media interested in covering ESCAPADE launch activities for both NASA and Blue Origin must apply for media credentials. Deadlines for accreditation are as follows:
U.S. media and U.S. citizens representing international media must apply by 5 p.m. EDT on Monday, Sept. 30. International media without U.S. citizenship must apply by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 10. Media accreditation requests should be submitted online at:
https://media.ksc.nasa.gov
A copy of NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online. For questions about accreditation, please email: ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov. For other mission questions, please contact NASA Kennedy’s newsroom: 321-867-2468.
The ESCAPADE mission will use two identical spacecraft to investigate how the solar wind interacts with the hybrid magnetosphere on Mars and how this interaction drives the planet’s atmospheric escape. The mission is funded by NASA’s Heliophysics Division and is part of the NASA Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration program. The ESCAPADE mission is led by the University of California, Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratory, and the spacecraft is designed by Rocket Lab. The agency’s Launch Services Program, based at NASA Kennedy, secured the launch service under the VADR (Venture-class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare) contract.
NASA will post updates on launch preparations for the twin Martian orbiters on the ESCAPADE blog.
For more information about ESCAPADE, visit:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/escapade
Para obtener información sobre cobertura en español en el Centro Espacial Kennedy o si desea solicitar entrevistas en español, comuníquese con Antonia Jaramillo at: antonia.jaramillobotero@nasa.gov, 321-501-8425, o Messod Bendayan, 256-930-1371.
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Karen Fox
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.fox@nasa.gov
Laura Aguiar / Leejay Lockhart
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-867-2468
laura.aguiar@nasa.gov / leejay.lockhart@nasa.gov
Sarah Frazier
Goddard Space Flight Center
202-853-7191
sarah.frazier@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Aug 26, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
EscaPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) Commercial Space Goddard Space Flight Center Kennedy Space Center Science Mission Directorate View the full article
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By NASA
A timelapse of the Twin Rockets to Investigate Cusp Electrodynamics (TRICE-2) mission launching from Andøya Space Center in Andenes, Norway on Dec. 8, 2018. NASA/Jamie Adkins When it comes to discoveries about our upper atmosphere, it pays to know your surroundings.
Using data from the Twin Rockets to Investigate Cusp Electrodynamics (TRICE-2) rocket launch, NASA scientist Francesca Di Mare and Gregory Howes from the University of Iowa studied waves traveling down Earth’s magnetic field lines into the polar atmosphere. These waves were known to accelerate electrons, which pick up speed as they “surf” along the electric field of the wave. But their effect on ions — a more heterogenous group of positively charged particles, which exist alongside electrons — was unknown.
By estimating the ion mixture they were flying through — predominantly protons and singly-charged oxygen ions — the scientists discovered that these waves were accelerating protons as they circle about the Earth’s magnetic field lines as well as electrons as they surf the waves. The findings reveal a new way our upper atmosphere is energized.
Read more about the new results in Physical Review Letters.
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By NASA
3 min read
NASA Mission to Study Mysteries in the Origin of Solar Radio Waves
NASA’s CubeSat Radio Interferometry Experiment, or CURIE, is scheduled to launch July 9, 2024, to investigate the unresolved origins of radio waves coming from the Sun.
CURIE will investigate where solar radio waves originate in coronal mass ejections, like this one seen in 304- and 171-angstrom wavelengths by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientists first noticed these radio waves decades ago, and over the years they’ve determined the radio waves come from solar flares and giant eruptions on the Sun called coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, which are a key driver of space weather that can impact satellite communications and technology at Earth. But no one knows where the radio waves originate within a CME.
The CURIE mission aims to advance our understanding using a technique called low frequency radio interferometry, which has never been used in space before. This technique relies on CURIE’s two independent spacecraft — together no bigger than a shoebox — that will orbit Earth about two miles apart. This separation allows CURIE’s instruments to measure tiny differences in the arrival time of radio waves, which enables them to determine exactly where the radio waves came from.
“This is a very ambitious and very exciting mission,” said Principal Investigator David Sundkvist, a researcher at the University of California, Berkeley. “This is the first time that someone is ever flying a radio interferometer in space in a controlled way, and so it’s a pathfinder for radio astronomy in general.”
CURIE team members work on integrating the satellites into the CubeSat deployer. ExoLaunch The spacecraft, designed by a team from UC Berkeley, will measure radio waves ranging 0.1 to 19 megahertz to pinpoint the radio waves’ solar origin. These wavelengths are blocked by Earth’s upper atmosphere, so this research can only be done from space.
CURIE will launch aboard an ESA (European Space Agency) Ariane 6 rocket in early July from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana. The rocket will take CURIE to 360 miles above Earth’s surface, where it can get a clear view of the Sun’s radio waves.
Once in its circular orbit, the two adjoined CURIE spacecraft will establish communication with ground stations before orienting and separating. When the separated satellites are in formation, their dual eight-foot antennas will deploy and start collecting data.
CURIE is sponsored by NASA’s Heliophysics Flight Opportunities for Research and Technology (H-FORT) Program and is the sole mission manifested on the NASA CubeSat Launch Initiative’s ELaNa (Educational Launch of Nanosatellites) 43 mission. As a pathfinder, CURIE will demonstrate a proof-of-concept for space-based radio interferometry in the CubeSat form factor. CURIE will also pave the way for the upcoming Sun Radio Interferometer Space Experiment, or SunRISE, mission. SunRISE will employ six CubeSats to map the region where the solar radio waves originate in 2-D.
By Mara Johnson-Groh
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
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Last Updated Jul 08, 2024 Editor Abbey Interrante Related Terms
CubeSat Launch Initiative CubeSats ELaNa (Educational Launch of Nanosatellites) Goddard Space Flight Center Heliophysics Heliophysics Division Heliophysics Research Program Science Mission Directorate Small Satellite Missions SunRISE (Sun Radio Interferometer Space Experiment) The Sun The Sun & Solar Physics Explore More
5 min read First of NASA’s SunRISE SmallSats Rolls Off Production Line
Six of these small satellites will work together, creating the largest radio telescope ever launched…
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By NASA
Dennis Gallagher (ST13) reports receiving on 3/1/24, one gram of Apollo 16 regolith of 1 mm and smaller dust regolith from the Johnson Space Center (JSC) Apollo Archive. The material request is motivated by the planned NASA Artemis missions to the Moon’s south polar region where the surface is generally expected to be like that found at the Apollo 16 landing site. Electrostatic charging driven by the solar wind and ultraviolet light from the Sun is known to be important for small particles of lunar regolith that must be understood for potentially dust coated struts of the Human Lander System (HLS) that will cycle between the surface and Gateway. Presently, the charging properties of individual dust grains are not adequately characterized for this purpose. The measurements to be obtained by the MSFC Dusty Plasma Laboratory using Apollo 16 dust are intended to fill this knowledge gap are being obtained in support of the Gateway Cis-Lunar Dust Transfer Modeling and Analysis Task and HLS at JSC.
The surface of the Moon.View the full article
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By NASA
A NASA-funded commercial space station, Blue Origin’s Orbital Reef, recently completed testing milestones for its critical life support system as part of the agency’s efforts for new destinations in low Earth orbit.
The four milestones are part of a NASA Space Act Agreement originally awarded to Blue Origin in 2021 and focused on the materials and designs for systems to clean, reclaim, and store the air and water critical for human spaceflight.
NASA is working closely with commercial companies to develop new space stations capable of providing services to NASA and others, which will ensure that the U.S. maintains a continuous human presence in low Earth orbit and provides direct benefits for people on Earth.
“These milestones are critical to ensuring that a commercial destination can support human life so NASA astronauts can continue to have access to low Earth orbit to conduct important scientific research in the unique microgravity environment,” said Angela Hart, manager of NASA’s Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Program. “Additionally, each milestone that is completed allows NASA to gain insight into our partner’s progress on station design and development.”
Humans living and working in space do so in a closed environment that must be monitored and controlled. On the International Space Station, components for the environmental control and life support system maintain clean air and water for astronauts. The regenerative system recycles and reclaims most of the water and oxygen produced by normal human activities. This significantly reduces the amount of mass that would have to be launched to the orbiting laboratory for these functions.
Orbital Reef will have a similar system in place. All four milestones tested different parts of the system, including a trace contaminant control test, water contaminant oxidation test, urine water recovery test, and water tank test.
The trace contaminant control test screened materials to remove harmful impurities from the air. The water containment oxidation test, urine water recovery test, and water tank test all focused on potential cleaning, reclaiming, and storing technologies.
NASA is supporting the design and development of multiple commercial space stations, including Blue Origin’s Orbital Reef, through funded and unfunded agreements. The current design and development phase will be followed by the procurement of services from one or more companies, where NASA aims to be one of many customers for low Earth orbit destinations.
NASA’s commercial strategy for low Earth orbit will provide the government with reliable and safe services at a lower cost and enable the agency to focus on Artemis missions to the Moon in preparation for Mars, while also continuing to use low Earth orbit as a training and proving ground for those deep space missions.
For more information about NASA’s commercial space strategy, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/commercial-space/
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