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By NASA
X-ray: NASA/CXC; Infrared: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, P. Zeilder, E.Sabbi, A. Nota, M. Zamani; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare and K. Arcand Since antiquity, wreaths have symbolized the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. It is fitting then that one of the best places for astronomers to learn more about the stellar lifecycle resembles a giant holiday wreath itself.
The star cluster NGC 602 lies on the outskirts of the Small Magellanic Cloud, which is one of the closest galaxies to the Milky Way, about 200,000 light-years from Earth. The stars in NGC 602 have fewer heavier elements compared to the Sun and most of the rest of the galaxy. Instead, the conditions within NGC 602 mimic those for stars found billions of years ago when the universe was much younger.
This new image combines data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory with a previously released image from the agency’s James Webb Space Telescope. The dark ring-like outline of the wreath seen in Webb data (represented as orange, yellow, green, and blue) is made up of dense clouds of filled dust.
Meanwhile, X-rays from Chandra (red) show young, massive stars that are illuminating the wreath, sending high-energy light into interstellar space. These X-rays are powered by winds flowing from the young, massive stars that are sprinkled throughout the cluster. The extended cloud in the Chandra data likely comes from the overlapping X-ray glow of thousands of young, low-mass stars in the cluster.
X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: Clow, M.; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare and K. Arcand In addition to this cosmic wreath, a new version of the “Christmas tree cluster” is also now available. Like NGC 602, NGC 2264 is a cluster of young stars between one and five million years old. (For comparison, the Sun is a middle-aged star about 5 billion years old — about 1,000 times older.) In this image of NGC 2264, which is much closer than NGC 602 at a distance of about 2,500 light-years from Earth, Chandra data (red, purple, blue, and white) has been combined with optical data (green and violet) captured from by astrophotographer Michael Clow from his telescope in Arizona in November 2024.
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Chandra X-ray Center controls science operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts.
Read more from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.
Learn more about the Chandra X-ray Observatory and its mission here:
https://www.nasa.gov/chandra
https://chandra.si.edu
Visual Description
This release includes two composite images, each featuring a star cluster that strongly resembles holiday greenery.
The first image depicts star cluster NGC 602 in vibrant and festive colors. The cluster includes a giant dust cloud ring, shown in greens, yellows, blues, and oranges. The green hues and feathery edges of the ring cloud create the appearance of a wreath made of evergreen boughs. Hints of red representing X-rays provide shading, highlighting layers within the wreath-like ring cloud.
The image is aglow with specks and dots of colorful, festive light, in blues, golds, whites, oranges, and reds. These lights represent stars within the cluster. Some of the lights gleam with diffraction spikes, while others emit a warm, diffuse glow. Upon closer inspection, many of the glowing specks have spiraling arms, indicating that they are, in fact, distant galaxies.
The second image in today’s release is a new depiction of NGC 2264, known as the “Christmas Tree Cluster”. Here, wispy green clouds in a conical shape strongly resemble an evergreen tree. Tiny specks of white, blue, purple, and red light, stars within the cluster, dot the structure, turning the cloud into a festive, cosmic Christmas tree!
News Media Contact
Megan Watzke
Chandra X-ray Center
Cambridge, Mass.
617-496-7998
mwatzke@cfa.harvard.edu
Lane Figueroa
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
256-544-0034
lane.e.figueroa@nasa.gov
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By NASA
5 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
The Orion Environmental Test Article photographed inside the Thermal Vacuum Chamber on April 11, 2024, in the Space Environments Complex at NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio. Credit: NASA/Quentin Schwinn Making the voyage 1.4 million miles around the Moon and back — the farthest a spacecraft built for humans has ever gone — the Orion spacecraft has faced a battery of tests over the years. Though Orion successfully proved its capabilities in the harsh environment of space during the Artemis I mission, Orion’s evaluation did not end at splashdown.
The crew module, now known as the Orion Environmental Test Article (ETA), returned to NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio, in January 2024 and completed an 11-month test campaign necessary for the safety and success of Artemis II, the first crewed mission under NASA’s Artemis campaign.
Engineers and technicians from NASA and Lockheed Martin subjected the test article to the extreme conditions Orion may experience in a launch abort scenario. In the event of an emergency, Orion — and astronauts inside — will jettison away from the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for a safe landing in the ocean.
Experts at NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio, conducted a lightning test, which simulates the electromagnetic effects of a lightning strike to the vehicle on the launch pad awaiting liftoff. The Feb. 20, 2024 test proved the grounding path of the vehicle is operating as designed and protecting the vehicle from damage to any of its equipment or systems. Credit: NASA/Quentin Schwinn Experts installed NASA’s Launch Abort System, designed to carry the crew to safety in the event of an emergency during launch or ascent. The Orion test article was subjected to acoustic levels simulating both a nominal ascent and a launch abort scenario. The acoustic test chamber at NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio, blasted the test article at a volume of almost 164 decibels on Sept. 9, 2024. Credit: NASA/Jordan Salkin On Nov. 11, 2024, experts successfully at NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility completed the docking mechanism jettison test, designed to connect and disconnect the Orion spacecraft to Gateway, a small space station that will orbit the Moon. They also completed the forward bay cover jettison test on Nov. 23, 2024, which is the last piece that must eject right before parachutes deploy, and successfully tested Orion’s uprighting system. Credit: NASA/Jordan Salkin “This event would be the maximum stress and highest load that any of the systems would see,” said Robert Overy, Orion ETA project manager, NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. “We’re taking a proven vehicle from a successful flight and pushing it to its limits. The safety of the astronaut crew depends on this test campaign.”
Experts conducted tests that simulated the noise levels of an abort during launch in addition to the electromagnetic effects of lightning strikes. The test campaign also jettisoned the test article’s docking module and parachute covers, as well as the crew module uprighting system, which consists of five airbags on top of the spacecraft that inflate upon splashdown.
“It’s been a successful test campaign,” Overy said. “The data has matched the prediction models, and everything operated as expected after being subjected to nominal and launch abort acoustic levels. We are still analyzing data, but the preliminary results show the vehicle and facility operated as desired.”
On. Nov. 23, 2024, after subjecting the Orion test article to launch abort-level acoustics, experts tested the functionality of the forward bay cover, which is the last piece that must eject before parachutes deploy. Credit: NASA/Jordan Salkin and Quentin Schwinn Testing Orion at such high acoustic levels was a major milestone for Artemis. The Reverberant Acoustic Test Facility, the world’s most powerful spacecraft acoustic test chamber, was built in 2011 in anticipation of this specific test campaign.
“These tests are absolutely critical because we have to complete all of these tests to say the spacecraft design is safe and we’re ready to fly a crew for the first time on Artemis II,” said Michael See, ETA vehicle manager, Orion Program. “This is the first time we’ve been able to test a spacecraft on the ground in such an extreme abort-level acoustic environment.”
The Orion Environmental Test Article with Launch Abort System installed moves to the Reverberant Acoustic Test Facility, the most powerful spacecraft acoustic test chamber in the world, on Sept. 9, 2024, at NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio. Credit: NASA/Jordan Salkin and Quentin Schwinn Part of NASA Glenn, Armstrong Test Facility is home to the world’s largest and most powerful space environment simulation chambers capable of testing full-sized spacecraft for all the extreme conditions of launch and spaceflight. The facility not only houses an acoustic test chamber, but also a thermal-vacuum chamber and spacecraft vibration system.
“The facility is unique because there’s no other place in the world capable of testing spacecraft like this,” Overy said. “Armstrong Test Facility is a one-stop-shop for all your testing needs to prepare your spacecraft for the severe and challenging journey to and from space.”
Orion’s Round-Trip Journey to Ohio
This is not the first time Orion has been inside the walls of the Space Environments Complex at Armstrong Test Facility. The spacecraft underwent mission-critical testing in 2019, where it was subjected to extreme temperatures and an electromagnetic environment before it launched on Artemis I in 2022.
“I remember when it first arrived, the gravity of its importance really hit home,” said Joshua Pawlak, test manager, NASA Glenn. “I thought to myself, on future Artemis missions, astronauts will be inside Orion heading to the Moon, and they’ll be depending on it for survival.”
Pawlak was a mechanical test engineer when Orion made its first trip to the Sandusky facility. He participated in planning and coordinating testing of the vehicle and trained personnel. He managed the vehicle from the moment it arrived, through testing, and up until it departed for NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Joshua Pawlak poses in front of the Artemis I Space Launch System rocket on Nov. 16, 2022, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Credit: Joshua Pawlak “When it returned, I felt like I had a small part in this really big and exciting thing,” Pawlak said. “Seeing it come back blackened and scarred from the harsh environment of space was incredible. Space is not a friendly space, and I felt proud knowing that if there were astronauts on that vehicle, they would have survived.
After the Orion test article departs from Glenn, it will head to Kennedy for additional testing.
“When Artemis II launches and those astronauts are sitting on board, I’ll know that I did everything I could to ensure the vehicle is ready for them and going to perform as expected,” Pawlak said. “That’s why I do what I do.”
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By USH
The ongoing mystery and debate surrounding UFO and drone sightings across the U.S. continue to captivate public attention. The lack of transparency and definitive answers from government agencies combined with the apparent absence of military action against these drones, has fueled speculation about possible cover-ups or incompetence.
Local, county, and state governments seem to have no knowledge of who is operating these drones, where they originate, or their purpose. Despite this, officials confidently assert that "there is no credible threat." This raises the question: how can they be so certain? The reality suggests they cannot.
Recently, the Pentagon issued a statement following claims by a New Jersey congressman that Iran had deployed a "mothership" off the U.S. East Coast, launching drones. The Pentagon denied any military origin for the drones and ruled out links to known foreign entities, but questions persist about whether critical information is being withheld.
If these drones are not linked to Iran, the U.S., Russia, China, or any other nation, some experts propose they may be part of clandestine "deep state" programs. These programs could involve advanced aerospace technologies being tested by private companies under classified initiatives.
Witness accounts, including those from a New Jersey sheriff and Coast Guard officials, suggest the drones exhibit highly unusual behaviors. These include emerging from the ocean and performing movements like abrupt 90-degree turns—characteristics that could imply the use of advanced propulsion systems not publicly known.
Another theory posits that the drones may not be physical objects at all but rather holographic projections, akin to the controversial "Project Blue Beam" concept. If true, this would explain why attempts to intercept them could fail—they might not physically exist.
The sheer number, endurance, and sophistication of these drones hint at a coordinated operation. Some theorists believe this might be part of a psychological operation designed to distract from pressing political, economic, or social issues. The timing of such events often appears suspiciously aligned with periods of public, economic unrest or uncertainty.
In the event that the "deep state" is orchestrating these phenomena, some fear it could be a prelude to a false flag operation, with motives and consequences yet to be revealed.
The situation remains shrouded in speculation, leaving the public to grapple with more questions than answers.
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By NASA
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
The mystery of why life uses molecules with specific orientations has deepened with a NASA-funded discovery that RNA — a key molecule thought to have potentially held the instructions for life before DNA emerged — can favor making the building blocks of proteins in either the left-hand or the right-hand orientation. Resolving this mystery could provide clues to the origin of life. The findings appear in research recently published in Nature Communications.
Proteins are the workhorse molecules of life, used in everything from structures like hair to enzymes (catalysts that speed up or regulate chemical reactions). Just as the 26 letters of the alphabet are arranged in limitless combinations to make words, life uses 20 different amino acid building blocks in a huge variety of arrangements to make millions of different proteins. Some amino acid molecules can be built in two ways, such that mirror-image versions exist, like your hands, and life uses the left-handed variety of these amino acids. Although life based on right-handed amino acids would presumably work fine, the two mirror images are rarely mixed in biology, a characteristic of life called homochirality. It is a mystery to scientists why life chose the left-handed variety over the right-handed one.
A diagram of left-handed and right-handed versions of the amino acid isovaline, found in the Murchison meteorite.NASA DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is the molecule that holds the instructions for building and running a living organism. However, DNA is complex and specialized; it “subcontracts” the work of reading the instructions to RNA (ribonucleic acid) molecules and building proteins to ribosome molecules. DNA’s specialization and complexity lead scientists to think that something simpler should have preceded it billions of years ago during the early evolution of life. A leading candidate for this is RNA, which can both store genetic information and build proteins. The hypothesis that RNA may have preceded DNA is called the “RNA world” hypothesis.
If the RNA world proposition is correct, then perhaps something about RNA caused it to favor building left-handed proteins over right-handed ones. However, the new work did not support this idea, deepening the mystery of why life went with left-handed proteins.
The experiment tested RNA molecules that act like enzymes to build proteins, called ribozymes. “The experiment demonstrated that ribozymes can favor either left- or right-handed amino acids, indicating that RNA worlds, in general, would not necessarily have a strong bias for the form of amino acids we observe in biology now,” said Irene Chen, of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Samueli School of Engineering, corresponding author of the Nature Communications paper.
In the experiment, the researchers simulated what could have been early-Earth conditions of the RNA world. They incubated a solution containing ribozymes and amino acid precursors to see the relative percentages of the right-handed and left-handed amino acid, phenylalanine, that it would help produce. They tested 15 different ribozyme combinations and found that ribozymes can favor either left-handed or right-handed amino acids. This suggested that RNA did not initially have a predisposed chemical bias for one form of amino acids. This lack of preference challenges the notion that early life was predisposed to select left-handed-amino acids, which dominate in modern proteins.
“The findings suggest that life’s eventual homochirality might not be a result of chemical determinism but could have emerged through later evolutionary pressures,” said co-author Alberto Vázquez-Salazar, a UCLA postdoctoral scholar and member of Chen’s research group.
Earth’s prebiotic history lies beyond the oldest part of the fossil record, which has been erased by plate tectonics, the slow churning of Earth’s crust. During that time, the planet was likely bombarded by asteroids, which may have delivered some of life’s building blocks, such as amino acids. In parallel to chemical experiments, other origin-of-life researchers have been looking at molecular evidence from meteorites and asteroids.
“Understanding the chemical properties of life helps us know what to look for in our search for life across the solar system,” said co-author Jason Dworkin, senior scientist for astrobiology at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and director of Goddard’s Astrobiology Analytical Laboratory.
Dworkin is the project scientist on NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission, which extracted samples from the asteroid Bennu and delivered them to Earth last year for further study.
“We are analyzing OSIRIS-REx samples for the chirality (handedness) of individual amino acids, and in the future, samples from Mars will also be tested in laboratories for evidence of life including ribozymes and proteins,” said Dworkin.
The research was supported by grants from NASA, the Simons Foundation Collaboration on the Origin of Life, and the National Science Foundation. Vázquez-Salazar acknowledges support through the NASA Postdoctoral Program, which is administered by Oak Ridge Associated Universities under contract with NASA.
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Last Updated Nov 21, 2024 EditorWilliam SteigerwaldContactNancy N. Jonesnancy.n.jones@nasa.govLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
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