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By NASA
1 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
“Mustard,” NASA Glenn Center Director Dr. Jimmy Kenyon, Eva the Astronaut mascot, and “Onion” stop for a photo after the hot dog derby at the Guardians’ game. Credit: NASA/Kristen Parker NASA Glenn Research Center’s Director Dr. Jimmy Kenyon threw out the first pitch that started the game between the Cleveland Guardians and San Francisco Giants on July 7. He was joined by Glenn’s Eva the Astronaut mascot, who had a ball hanging out with the Guardians’ Slider mascot during NASA Day at Progressive Field in Cleveland.
Employees, their families, and other Guardians fans enjoyed the first pitch and having Eva represent the center.
NASA Glenn’s Eva the Astronaut mascot and the Guardians’ Slider at NASA Day at Progressive Field in Cleveland. Credit: NASA/Kristen Parker
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By NASA
Michael Zanetti (ST13), Kyle Miller (EV42), and Chris Whetsel (ES52) conducted a technology demonstration and field work with the NASA JSC 5th Joint EVA Test Team (JETT-3) from 5/17-23/24, near SP Crater, Flagstaff, AZ. JETT5 tested full-up mission operations with communication to JSC-Houston, and included astronauts Kate Rubins and Andre Douglas testing ATLAS suits and 4-6 hr. planned traverses near SP-Crater – a former Apollo astronaut geology training site. The Kinematic Navigation and Cartography Knapsack (KNaCK) team members were invited to demonstrate GPS-denied navigation solutions using our person-mounted velocity-sensing LiDAR sensors that provide local position and a ground-track in addition to terrain mapping capabilities using terrain relative navigation and LiDAR SLAM algorithms. KNaCK tests were designed to provide a real-time ground-track to the Joint Augmented Reality (JointAR/JARVIS) heads-up display suit from NASA JSC. Our technology demo had Astronaut Kate Rubins in the JARVIS suit receiving real-time updates of her traverse path. KNaCK provided flawless positioning for 75% of the traverse, with ~2 m local accuracy compared to GPS. The remaining 25% of the run was impacted by algorithm issues in perfectly flat terrain (a rare issue, likely only on Earth, causing 3 restarts to reacquire an accurate ground-track). Overall, the KNaCK tech demo mission was a big success, with Kate Rubins noting Navigation accuracy reducing mental overhead and decreasing traverse time to sampling stations “Definitely giving me what I need. Pretty Cool!”
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By NASA
Eva Granger firmly believes that anyone can launch a career at NASA. As the events and milestones lead for the Orion Program’s strategic communications team, she dedicates her time to engaging with the public and educating them not only about the Orion spacecraft but also about the various opportunities to contribute to the agency’s mission.
“I have met so many people who don’t think aerospace is possible for them, but it’s easy to clear up that assumption. There are artists, nurses, psychologists, administrative assistants, and more working at NASA,” she said. “There are opportunities for everyone to build a life and career here, and telling someone that, and seeing something spark, is always rewarding.”
Eva Granger, events and milestones lead for the Orion Program’s strategic communications team. Image courtesy of Eva Granger When Granger started working as a full-time contractor in October 2023 at Johnson Space Center in Houston, she was already familiar with her role. An internship in 2022 gave her experience with the program’s event planning and coordination, as well as an exciting opportunity to support and staff the Artemis I launch at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
“During those few days, I met individuals who flew from all over the world to watch the launch. The commitment and excitement that I felt from the global audience was tangible, and impressed on me the importance and impact of the work we do,” she said. “It’s one thing to know the world is watching, but it’s a whole different experience to meet them and be told they’re rooting for your program.”
Eva Granger (far left) stands with fellow Orion Program interns and Orion Program Manager Howard Hu in front of the Artemis III crew module in the Neil Armstrong Operations & Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Image courtesy of Eva Granger Granger is an active member of Johnson’s Out & Allied Employee Resource Group (ERG) and is currently working to organize the group’s participation in the Houston Pride Parade. “We want to have fun with the parade, but it also gives us an avenue to put together an event that is visible and that anyone at Johnson can attend and be excited about together,” she said.
She believes that continually being present and engaged is the best way to support and champion an equitable and inclusive environment. “The ERG has been amazing in giving us a structured opportunity to make a difference,” she said. “If we show up at the JSC Chili Cookoff or at intern events, people know that we’re here. It shows our closeted friends that there is a support network here at Johnson, and it allows the greater Johnson community to learn about our group and engage with us.”
Eva Granger (front row, left) with Out & Allied ERG volunteers at the Montrose Center’s Hatch Prom for LGBTQI+ youth. Image courtesy of Eva Granger The ERG also provides valuable professional development resources and networking opportunities. “As a young professional, it is crucial to have mentors, and Out & Allied is full of people who are excited to spend their time building up our members and our community,” Granger said.
She encourages colleagues to connect with others outside their usual social and professional circles as a way to support diversity and inclusion. “There are hundreds of people on campus and all of them have something interesting to share if you stop and say hi,” she said. “Little interactions go a long way.”
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By USH
Over the years, much has been published about the strange things that happen on the dark side of the moon.
The far side of the moon has been a mystery since the dawn of the space age. But is it just a barren, crater-filled wasteland?
Shocking claims from astronauts, whistleblowers, and classified documents suggest there's more to the story. Eerie sounds, inexplicable sightings, and covert missions point to something astounding hidden from public view.
Before delving into the evidence, which ranges from Apollo-era transcripts to insights from modern military insiders, it's worth noting an intriguing paper recently released by Harvard. Titled "The Cryptoterrestrial Hypothesis. This paper proposes among other themes that UAPs (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena) might be the result of activities by intelligent beings hidden here on Earth eventually underground or in nearby areas such as the moon. (Notion: The dark of the side of the moon could be an excellent place to hide.)
But the Harvard paper has suddenly disappeared... though we saved you a copy: https://bit.ly/4b1xk11
The implications are staggering, hinting at a secret history beyond our world.
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By NASA
6 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
This computer-generated 3D model of Venus’ surface shows the volcano Sif Mons, which is exhibiting signs of ongoing activity. Using data from NASA’s Magellan mission, Italian researchers detected evidence of an eruption while the spacecraft orbited the planet in the early 1990s.NASA/JPL-Caltech An analysis of data from Magellan’s radar finds two volcanoes erupted in the early 1990s. This adds to the 2023 discovery of a different active volcano in Magellan data.
Direct geological evidence of recent volcanic activity on Venus has been observed for a second time. Scientists in Italy analyzed archival data from NASA’s Magellan mission to reveal surface changes indicating the formation of new rock from lava flows linked to volcanoes that erupted while the spacecraft orbited the planet. Managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, Magellan mapped 98% of the planet’s surface from 1990 to 1992, and the images it generated remain the most detailed of Venus to date.
“Using these maps as a guide, our results show that Venus may be far more volcanically active than previously thought,” said Davide Sulcanese of d’Annunzio University in Pescara, Italy, who led the study. “By analyzing the lava flows we observed in two locations on the planet, we have discovered that the volcanic activity on Venus could be comparable to that on Earth.”
This latest discovery builds on the historic 2023 discovery of images from Magellan’s synthetic aperture radar that revealed changes to a vent associated with the volcano Maat Mons near Venus’ equator. The radar images proved to be the first direct evidence of a recent volcanic eruption on the planet. By comparing Magellan radar images over time, the authors of the 2023 study spotted changes caused by the outflow of molten rock from Venus’ subsurface filling the vent’s crater and spilling down the vent’s slopes.
Scientists study active volcanoes to understand how a planet’s interior can shape its crust, drive its evolution, and affect its habitability. The discovery of recent volcanism on Venus provides a valuable insight to the planet’s history and why it took a different evolutionary path than Earth.
Before starting its journey to Venus, NASA’s Magellan spacecraft was released while in Earth orbit by Space Shuttle Atlantis’ STS-30 mission. Captured in this May 4, 1989, photo, Magellan was the first planetary spacecraft to be launched from the shuttle.NASA Radar Backscatter
For the new study, published in the journal Nature Astronomy, the researchers likewise focused on archival data from Magellan’s synthetic aperture radar. Radio waves sent by the radar traveled through Venus’ thick cloud cover, then bounced off the planet’s surface and back to the spacecraft. Called backscatter, these reflected radar signals carried information about the rocky surface material they encountered.
The two locations studied were the volcano Sif Mons in Eistla Regio and the western part of Niobe Planitia, which is home to numerous volcanic features. By analyzing the backscatter data received from both locations in 1990 and again in 1992, the researchers found that radar signal strength increased along certain paths during the later orbits. These changes suggested the formation of new rock, most likely solidified lava from volcanic activity that occurred during that two-year period. But they also considered other possibilities, such as the presence of micro-dunes (formed from windblown sand) and atmospheric effects that could interfere with the radar signal.
To help confirm new rock, the researchers analyzed Magellan’s altimetry (surface height) data to determine slope of the topography and locate obstacles that lava would flow around.
“We interpret these signals as flows along slopes or volcanic plains that can deviate around obstacles such as shield volcanoes like a fluid,” said study co-author Marco Mastrogiuseppe of Sapienza University of Rome. “After ruling out other possibilities, we confirmed our best interpretation is that these are new lava flows.”
Using flows on Earth as a comparison, the researchers estimate new rock that was emplaced in both locations to be between 10 and 66 feet (3 and 20 meters) deep, on average. They also estimate that the Sif Mons eruption produced about 12 square miles (30 square kilometers) of rock — enough to fill at least 36,000 Olympic-size swimming pools. The Niobe Planitia eruption produced about 17 square miles (45 square kilometers) of rock, which would fill 54,000 Olympic swimming pools. As a comparison, the 2022 eruption of Mauna Loa in Hawaii, Earth’s largest active volcano, produced a lava flow with enough material to fill 100,000 Olympic pools.
“This exciting work provides another example of volcanic change on Venus from new lava flows that augments the vent change Dr. Robert Herrick and I reported last year,” said Scott Hensley, senior research scientist at JPL and co-author of the 2023 study. “This result, in tandem with the earlier discovery of present-day geologic activity, increases the excitement in the planetary science community for future missions to Venus.”
Figuring Out Volcanoes
Hensley is the project scientist for NASA’s upcoming VERITAS mission, and Mastrogiuseppe is a member of its science team. Short for Venus Emissivity, Radio science, InSAR, Topography, And Spectroscopy, VERITAS is slated to launch early next decade, using a state-of-the-art synthetic aperture radar to create 3D global maps and a near-infrared spectrometer to figure out what Venus’ surface is made of while also tracking volcanic activity. In addition, the spacecraft will measure the planet’s gravitational field to determine its internal structure.
“These new discoveries of recent volcanic activity on Venus by our international colleagues provide compelling evidence of the kinds of regions we should target with VERITAS when it arrives at Venus,” said Suzanne Smrekar, a senior scientist at JPL and principal investigator for VERITAS. “Our spacecraft will have a suite of approaches for identifying surface changes that are far more comprehensive and higher resolution than Magellan images. Evidence for activity, even in the lower-resolution Magellan data, supercharges the potential to revolutionize our understanding of this enigmatic world.”
More About the Mission
NASA’s VERITAS mission was selected in 2021 under NASA’s Discovery Program. Mission partners include Lockheed Martin Space, the Italian Space Agency, the German Aerospace Center, and Centre National d’Études Spatiales in France. The Discovery Program is managed by the Planetary Missions Program Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the Planetary Science Division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
News Media Contacts
Ian J. O’Neill
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-2649
ian.j.oneill@jpl.nasa.gov
Karen Fox / Charles Blue
NASA Headquarters
202-358-1600 / 202-802-5345
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / charles.e.blue@nasa.gov
Giuseppina Piccirilli
Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
+39 06 85 67 431 / 887 / 655
stampa@asi.it
2024-073
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Last Updated May 27, 2024 Related Terms
Jet Propulsion Laboratory Magellan Planetary Geosciences & Geophysics Planetary Science Planetary Science Division Venus VERITAS (Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography & Spectroscopy) Volcanoes Explore More
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