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By NASA
Digital content creators are invited to register to attend the launch of the Europa Clipper spacecraft, which will collect data to help scientists determine if Jupiter’s icy moon Europa could support life.
NASA and SpaceX are targeting a launch period opening Thursday, Oct. 10. The mission will launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The Europa Clipper spacecraft will carry nine science instruments on board to gather detailed measurements while performing approximately 50 close flybys of the Jovian moon. Research suggests an ocean twice the volume of all the Earth’s oceans exists under Europa’s icy crust. Detailed exploration of Europa will help scientists better understand the astrobiological potential for habitable worlds beyond our planet.
If your passion is to communicate and engage the world online, then this is the event for you! Seize the opportunity to see and share the Europa Clipper mission launch.
A maximum of 50 social media users will be selected to attend this two-day event and will be given access similar to news media.
NASA Social participants will have the opportunity to:
View a launch of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket and Europa Clipper spacecraft Tour NASA facilities at Kennedy Space Center Meet and interact with Europa Clipper subject matter experts Meet fellow space enthusiasts who are active on social media NASA Social registration for the Europa Clipper launch opens on Tuesday, Sept. 3, and the deadline to apply is at 10 a.m. EDT on Monday, Sept. 9. All social applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
APPLY NOW
Do I need to have a social media account to register?
Yes. This event is designed for people who:
Actively use multiple social networking platforms and tools to disseminate information to a unique audience. Regularly produce new content that features multimedia elements. Have the potential to reach a large number of people using digital platforms, or reach a unique audience, separate and distinctive from traditional news media and/or NASA audiences. Must have an established history of posting content on social media platforms. Have previous postings that are highly visible, respected and widely recognized. Users on all social networks are encouraged to use the hashtag #NASASocial. Updates and information about the event will be shared on X via @NASASocial and @NASAKennedy, and via posts to Facebook and Instagram.
How do I register?
Registration for this event opens on Tuesday, Sept. 3, and closes at 10 a.m. EDT on Monday, Sept. 9. Registration is for one person only (you) and is non-transferable. Each individual wishing to attend must register separately. Each application will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Can I register if I am not a U.S. citizen?
Yes, this event is open for all to apply.
When will I know if I am selected?
After registrations have been received and processed, an email with confirmation information and additional instructions will be sent to those selected. We expect to send the acceptance notifications by Sept. 30.
What are NASA Social credentials?
All social applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Those chosen must prove through the registration process they meet specific engagement criteria.
If you do not make the registration list for this NASA Social, you still can attend the launch offsite and participate in the conversation online. Find out about ways to experience a launch here.
What are the registration requirements?
Registration indicates your intent to travel to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and attend the two-day event in person. You are responsible for your own expenses for travel, accommodations, food, and other amenities.
Some events and participants scheduled to appear at the event are subject to change without notice. NASA is not responsible for loss or damage incurred as a result of attending. NASA, moreover, is not responsible for loss or damage incurred if the event is cancelled with limited or no notice. Please plan accordingly.
Kennedy is a government facility. Those who are selected will need to complete an additional registration step to receive clearance to enter the secure areas.
IMPORTANT: To be admitted, you will need to provide two forms of unexpired government-issued identification; one must be a photo ID and match the name provided on the registration. Those without proper identification cannot be admitted.
For a complete list of acceptable forms of ID, please visit: NASA Credentialing Identification Requirements.
All registrants must be at least 18 years old.
What if the launch date changes?
Many different factors can cause a scheduled launch date to change multiple times. If the launch date changes, NASA may adjust the date of the NASA Social accordingly to coincide with the new target launch date. NASA will notify registrants of any changes by email.
If the launch is postponed, attendees will be invited to attend a later launch date. NASA cannot accommodate attendees for delays beyond 72 hours.
NASA Social attendees are responsible for any additional costs they incur related to any launch delay. We strongly encourage participants to make travel arrangements that are refundable and/or flexible.
What if I cannot come to the Kennedy Space Center?
If you cannot come to the Kennedy Space Center and attend in person, you should not register for the NASA Social. You can follow the conversation online using #NASASocial.
You can watch the launch on NASA+ or plus.nasa.gov. NASA will provide regular launch and mission updates on @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @NASA_LSP, @NASAJPL and @EuropaClipper as well as on NASA’s Europa Clipper Mission blog.
If you cannot make this NASA Social, don’t worry; NASA is planning many other Socials in the near future at various locations!
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By NASA
5 min read
How Students Learn to Fly NASA’s IXPE Spacecraft
Amelia “Mia” De Herrera-Schnering is an undergraduate student at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and command controller for NASA’s IXPE mission at LASP. The large wall monitor displaying a countdown shows 17 seconds when Amelia “Mia” De Herrera-Schnering tells her teammates “We have AOS,” meaning “acquisition of signal.”
“Copy that, thank you,” Alexander Pichler replies. The two are now in contact with NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-Ray Polarimeter Explorer) spacecraft, transmitting science data from IXPE to a ground station and making sure the download goes smoothly. That data will then go to the science team for further analysis.
At LASP, the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, students at the University of Colorado, Boulder, can train to become command controllers, working directly with spacecraft on pointing the satellites, calibrating instruments, and collecting data. De Herrera-Schnering recently completed her sophomore year, while Pichler had trained as a student and now, having graduated, works as a full-time professional at LASP.
“The students are a key part in what we do,” said Stephanie Ruswick, IXPE flight director at LASP. “We professionals monitor the health and safety of the spacecraft, but so do the students, and they do a lot of analysis for us.”
Students also put into motion IXPE’s instrument activity plans, which are provided by the Science Operations Center at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The LASP student team schedules contacts with ground stations to downlink data, schedules observations of scientific and calibration targets, and generates the files necessary to translate the scientific operations into spacecraft actions. If IXPE experiences an anomaly, the LASP team will implement plans to remediate and resume normal operations as soon as possible.
Exploring the high-energy universe
The students take part in IXPE’s exploration of a wide variety of celestial targets. In October, for example, students monitored the transmission of data from IXPE’s observations of Swift J1727.8-1613, a bright black hole X-ray binary system. This cosmic object had been recently discovered in September 2023, when NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory detected a gamma-ray burst. IXPE’s specialized instruments allow scientists to measure the polarization of X-rays, which contains information about the source of the X-rays as well as the organization of surrounding magnetic fields. IXPE’s follow-up of the Swift object exemplifies how multiple space missions often combine their individual strengths to paint a fuller scientific picture of distant phenomena.
Team members also conduct individual projects. For example, students analyzed how IXPE would fare during both the annular eclipse on Oct. 14, 2023, and the total eclipse that moved across North America on April 8, to make sure that the spacecraft would have adequate power while the Moon partially blocked the Sun.
While most of the students working on IXPE at LASP are engineering majors, some are physics or astrophysics majors. Some didn’t initially start their careers in STEM such as flight controller Kacie Davis, who previously studied art.
Prospective command controllers go through a rigorous 12-week summer training program working 40 hours per week, learning “everything there is to know about mission operations and how to fly a spacecraft,” Ruswick said.
Cole Writer, an aerospace engineering student, remembers this training as “nerve-wracking” because he felt intimidated by the flight controllers. But after practicing procedures on his own laptop, he felt more confident, and completed the program to become a command controller.
“It’s nice to be trained by other students who are in the same boat as you and have gone through the same process,” said Adrienne Pickerill, a flight controller who started with the team as a student and earned a Master’s in aerospace engineering at the university in May .
Sam Lippincott, right, a graduate student lead at LASP, trained as a command controller for NASA’s IXPE spacecraft as an undergraduate. In the background are flight controllers Adrienne Pickerill, left, and Alexander Pichler, who also trained as students. How they got here
As a teenager Writer’s interests focused on flying planes, and he saved money to train for a pilot’s license, earning it the summer after high school graduation. Surprisingly, he has found many overlaps in skills for both activities – following checklists and preventing mistakes. “Definitely high stakes in both cases,” he said.
Sam Lippincott, now a graduate student lead after serving as a command controller as an undergraduate, has been a lifelong sci-fi fan, but took a career in space more seriously his sophomore year of college. “For people that want to go into the aerospace or space operations industry, it’s always important to remember that you’ll never stop learning, and it’s important to remain humble in your abilities, and always be excited to learn more,” he said.
De Herrera-Schnering got hooked on the idea of becoming a scientist the first time she saw the Milky Way. On a camping trip when she was 10 years old, she spotted the galaxy as she went to use the outhouse in the middle of the night. “I woke up my parents, and we just laid outside and we were just stargazing,” she said. “After that I knew I was set on what I wanted to do.”
Rithik Gangopadhyay, who trained as an undergraduate command controller and continued at LASP as a graduate student lead, had been interested in puzzles and problem-solving as a kid and had a book about planets that fascinated him.. “There’s so much out there and so much we don’t know, and I think that’s what really pushed me to do aerospace and do this opportunity of being a command controller,” he said.
Coding is key to mission operations, and much of it is done in the Python language. Sometimes the work of flying a spacecraft feels like any other kind of programming — but occasionally, team members step back and consider that they are part of the grand mission of exploring the universe.
“If it’s your job for a couple of years, it starts to be like, ‘oh, let’s go ahead and do that, it’s just another Tuesday.’ But if you step back and think about it on a high-level basis, it’s really something special,” Pichler said. “It’s definitely profound.”
Media Contact
Elizabeth Landau
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0845
elandau@nasa.gov
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By 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.
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By NASA
Learn Home AstroViz: Iconic Pillars of… For Educators Overview Learning Resources Science Activation Teams SME Map Opportunities More Science Stories Science Activation Highlights Citizen Science 4 min read
AstroViz: Iconic Pillars of Creation Star in NASA’s New 3D Visualization
NASA’s Universe of Learning – a partnership among the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), Caltech/IPAC, the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and part of the NASA Science Activation program portfolio – recently released a new 3D visualization of the towering clouds of cosmic dust and gas at the center of the star-forming region known as M16, or the Eagle Nebula. This video, which uses data from NASA’s Hubble, James Webb, and Spitzer space telescopes, as well as the Chandra X-ray Observatory, is the most comprehensive and detailed multiwavelength movie yet of these star-birthing “Pillars of Creation.”
“By flying past and amongst the pillars, viewers experience their three-dimensional structure and see how they look different in the Hubble visible light view versus the Webb infrared light view,” explained principal visualization scientist Frank Summers of STScI in Baltimore. “The contrast helps them understand why we have more than one space telescope to observe different aspects of the same object.” Summers led the video development team.
The Pillars of Creation, made primarily of cool molecular hydrogen and dust, are being eroded by the fierce winds and punishing ultraviolet light of nearby hot, young stars. Finger-like structures larger than the solar system protrude from the tops of the pillars. Within these fingers can be embedded embryonic stars. The tallest pillar stretches across three light-years, three-quarters of the distance between our Sun and the next nearest star.
The movie takes visitors into the three-dimensional structures of the pillars. Rather than an artistic interpretation, the video is based on observational data from a science paper led by Anna McLeod, an associate professor at the University of Durham in the United Kingdom. McLeod also served as a scientific advisor on the movie project.
The 3D structures are approximations for how the pillars are lined up in space like a row of trees, based on observational data. The goal is to give viewers an experiential view, so that they can better interpret the otherwise flat, two-dimensional images from telescopes. This 3D understanding allowed the team to create 3D printable files of the Pillars using the newest data.
On the same day or the visualization release, Dr. Frank Summers led a live-streamed panel discussion with attendees covering “A Deep Dive into the Creation of the Pillars of Creation” at the AstroViz Community Practice meetup. The panelists and attendees engaged in a deep dive into the transformation of 2D views of the Pillars of Creation into a scientifically-vetted 3D visualization.
The new visualization helps viewers experience how of the world’s most powerful space telescopes work together to provide a more complex portrait of the pillars. Hubble sees objects that glow in visible light at thousands of degrees. Webb’s infrared vision, which is sensitive to cooler objects with temperatures of just hundreds of degrees, pierces through obscuring dust to see stars embedded in the pillars.
Experience the Visualization: Pillars of Creation Access the 3D-Printable Pillars of Creation Model Explore Pillars of Creation Resource Watch AstroViz Community Meet Up Recording: Astrophysical Artistry | AstroViz Community Meetup | June 2024 As of July 25, 2024, the visualization has received 2,457,930 views, made 467,318 impressions, and been featured in 755 online media articles reaching 3.8 billion potential readers. A variety of additional learning resources related to the Pillars of Creation and star-forming regions, including the 3D print files, sonification, and interactive to explore the Pillars in different wavelengths, can be found on the NASA’s Universe of Learning website.
NASA’s Universe of Learning s supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number NNX16AC65A 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
Credits:
Visualization and video: Greg Bacon (STScI), Ralf Crawford (STScI), Joseph DePasquale (STScI), Leah Hustak (STScI), Danielle Kirshenblat (STScI), Christian Nieves (STScI), Joseph Olmsted (STScI), Alyssa Pagan (STScI), Frank Summers (STScI), Robert L. Hurt (Caltech, IPAC) Subject Matter Expert: Anna McLeod (Durham University) Script Writer and narration: Frank Summers (STScI) Music: Joseph DePasquale (STScI) 3D Model: NASA, STScI, R. Crawford, L. Hustak
Side-by-side images of the Pillars of Creation from Hubble (left) and Webb (right)
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Last Updated Aug 05, 2024 Editor NASA Science Editorial Team Location Jet Propulsion Laboratory Related Terms
Astrophysics Chandra X-Ray Observatory For Educators Hubble Space Telescope James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Jet Propulsion Laboratory Nebulae Science Activation Spitzer Space Telescope Explore More
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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
In Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Michael Williams of United Space Alliance paints the NASA logo — known as the “meatball” — on the left wing of space shuttle Endeavour in 2012.Credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis NASA’s logo turns 65 on Monday, July 15, and media are invited to its birthday celebration in Cleveland, the city where the iconic symbol was designed.
To mark the logo’s birthday, NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland will host a series of activities celebrating the city’s connection to one of the most recognized logos in the world from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET on July 15 at Great Lakes Science Center, home of Glenn’s visitor center. Admission to the Science Center will be free, and the event is open to the public.
A birthday celebration and cake-cutting ceremony will begin at 10:30 a.m. and feature remarks from center leadership, a visit from the logo designer’s family, and special presentations from the city and state. Other activities include:
History and Symbolism of NASA Insignia Presentation, noon and 2 p.m. NASA Creatives Presentation featuring Glenn’s award-winning photographers and videographers, 1 p.m. Coloring contest, 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Coloring contest winners announced, 2 p.m. Eva the Astronaut mascot appearance and photo ops, 1 to 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. NASA Creatives Presentation featuring retired NASA Glenn photographer Marv Smith, 3 p.m. The round blue, white, and red logo affectionately nicknamed the “meatball” became official in 1959 and was designed by the late James Modarelli, a Cleveland Institute of Art graduate and employee of Lewis Research Center (now NASA Glenn).
Media interested in covering the event should contact Jacqueline Minerd at jacqueline.minerd@nasa.gov.
For more information on NASA Glenn events, visit:
https:www.nasa.gov/glenn-communityengagement/
-end-
Jacqueline Minerd
Glenn Research Center, Cleveland
216-433-6036
jacqueline.minerd@nasa.gov
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