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Meet Hector Chavez: Leading Johnson’s Giant Leap into Low Earth Orbit
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By European Space Agency
Image: This image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission reveals the impact of severe flooding following heavy rain that hit Australia’s Northern Territory in March 2024. View the full article
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By NASA
Illustration of NASA’s BioSentinel spacecraft as it enters a heliocentric orbit. BioSentinel collected data during the May 2024 geomagnetic storm that hit Earth to learn more about the impacts of radiation in deep space.NASA/Daniel Rutter In May 2024, a geomagnetic storm hit Earth, sending auroras across the planet’s skies in a once-in-a-generation light display. These dazzling sights are possible because of the interaction of coronal mass ejections – explosions of plasma and magnetic field from the Sun – with Earth’s magnetic field, which protects us from the radiation the Sun spits out during turbulent storms.
But what might happen to humans beyond the safety of Earth’s protection? This question is essential as NASA plans to send humans to the Moon and on to Mars. During the May storm, the small spacecraft BioSentinel was collecting data to learn more about the impacts of radiation in deep space.
“We wanted to take advantage of the unique stage of the solar cycle we’re in – the solar maximum, when the Sun is at its most active – so that we can continue to monitor the space radiation environment,” said Sergio Santa Maria, principal investigator for BioSentinel’s spaceflight mission at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. “These data are relevant not just to the heliophysics community but also to understand the radiation environment for future crewed missions into deep space.”
BioSentinel – a small satellite about the size of a cereal box – is currently over 30 million miles from Earth, orbiting the Sun, where it weathered May’s coronal mass ejection without protection from a planetary magnetic field. Preliminary analysis of the data collected indicates that even though this was an extreme geomagnetic storm, that is, a storm that disturbs Earth’s magnetic field, it was considered just a moderate solar radiation storm, meaning it did not produce a great increase in hazardous solar particles. Therefore, such a storm did not pose any major issue to terrestrial lifeforms, even if they were unprotected as BioSentinel was. These measurements provide useful information for scientists trying to understand how solar radiation storms move through space and where their effects – and potential impacts on life beyond Earth – are most intense.
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare on May 11, 2024. The image shows a subset of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares.NASA/SDO The original mission of BioSentinel was to study samples of yeast in deep space. Though these yeast samples are no longer alive, BioSentinel has adapted and continues to be a novel platform for studying the potential impacts of deep space conditions on life beyond the protection of Earth’s atmosphere and magnetosphere. The spacecraft’s biosensor instrument collects data about the radiation in deep space. Over a year and a half after its launch in Nov. 2022, BioSentinel retreats farther away from Earth, providing data of increasing value to scientists.
“Even though the biological part of the BioSentinel mission was completed a few months after launch, we believe that there is significant scientific value in continuing with the mission,” said Santa Maria. “The fact that the CubeSat continues to operate and that we can communicate with it, highlights the potential use of the spacecraft and many of its subsystems and components for future long-term missions beyond low Earth orbit.”
When we see auroras in the sky, they can serve as a stunning reminder of all the forces we cannot see that govern our cosmic neighborhood. As NASA and its partners seek to understand more about space environments, platforms like BioSentinel are essential to learn more about the risks of surviving beyond Earth’s sphere of protection.
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Last Updated Sep 26, 2024 Related Terms
General Ames Research Center Ames Research Center's Science Directorate Ames Space Biosciences CubeSats NASA Centers & Facilities Science & Research Small Satellite Missions View the full article
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By NASA
Ruidoso, New Mexico lay in an unusual hush on June 20, 2024. During any normal summer day, the village in the southern part of the state lives up to the Spanish translation of its name — noisy.
But the bustle of this vacation hotspot, which attracts nearly 2 million visitors each year, was stifled by a mandatory evacuation order issued as wildfires raged unchecked across Lincoln County and the Mescalero Apache Reservation. After four days of fires, news of the disaster began spreading to surrounding communities.
Wildfires cast an orange haze over the Sierra Blanca mountain range in Ruidoso, New Mexico, on June 20, 2024. Image courtesy of James Herrera At NASA’s White Sands Test Facility (WSTF), Fire Department Deputy Chief James Herrera and his team were on high alert from the moment the blaze began.
“There were so many rumors, so many things going on,” Herrera said. “People were saying the town was completely burning down. We were expecting the worst before we even got there.”
Herrera’s expectations were realistic.
Tinderbox conditions, rough terrain, and winds reaching more than 70 miles per hour fueled the flames raging at the South Fork area west of Ruidoso, devouring nearly 5,000 acres just hours after the fire started.
As first responders expended every resource available to them both on the ground and in the air, a second fire — the Salt Fire — broke out on tribal land south of the village.
Now the twin infernos closed in on Ruidoso like a set of jaws poised to snap shut.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham quickly declared a state of emergency and the early whispers crescendoed into an urgent plea for aid from anyone who would listen.
There was no doubt in Herrera’s mind: WSTF, based 150 miles from Ruidoso in Las Cruces, New Mexico, would answer the call.
“Never once did [WSTF leadership] say ‘Sorry, we can’t help,’” he said. “They asked, ‘What can we do to help? How can we get there as soon as possible?’”
Shift changes made for an earliest possible departure at dawn on June 20. The WSTF Fire Department spent the night preparing their truck, gathering their belongings, and bracing for the uncertain.
“We didn’t know where we were going to sleep, there were no hotels, everything was closed,” Herrera said. “More than likely, we were going to end up sleeping in our engine.”
For the moment, rest was off the table.
“I’m not going to lie, we probably didn’t even sleep. I know I didn’t,” Herrera said. “I closed my eyes, and it was two o’clock in the morning. Time to get going.”
After checking in at the Incident Command Post, Herrera and the WSTF team — Lieutenant Gary Sida, firefighters Steven Olsson and Gabriel Rodriguez, and driver and engineer Tommy Montoya — were deployed to Ruidoso’s Casino Apache Travel Center off Highway 70.
Deputy Chief James Herrera (far left) and his crew (L-R) Driver/Operator Tommy Montoya, Firefighter Gabe Rodriguez (top), Lieutenant Gary Sida, and Firefighter Stephen Olsson return to a hero’s welcome at White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico. NASA/Anthony Luis Quiterio When Herrera and his four-man crew reached the edge of the deserted mountain town, the silence was more than unusual. It was unsettling, as heavy as the smoke suffocating the Sierra Blanca Peak.
“You could not see more than 100 feet,” Herrera said. “The only sign of life was all the fire agencies that were there. It was an eerie feeling.”
NASA’s arrival on scene brought a shift from anxiety to optimism and relief.
“There were tears in some of their eyes because we were showing up to help,” he said. “I could hear people saying, ‘What’s NASA doing here?’” He added, “One gentleman asked us how we got there. I joked that we drove the whole line from Kennedy Space Center.”
By the afternoon, the light-heartedness among comrades was extinguished as escalating winds charged the situation to a fever pitch. The fire, once perched atop the mountains, began hurling down in a landslide of embers, leaping across Highway 70, and forming a nearly complete ring of danger.
Breathing grew difficult as ground crews, with aerial units roaring overhead, battled a relentless assault of heat. WSTF Fire Department’s assignment evolved into an effort to protect anything and everything within reach. “It makes you realize how fast something can be taken away from you,” Herrera said.
The NASA WSTF Fire Department makes engine preparations along U.S. Route 70 at the Ruidoso border. Image courtesy of James Herrera Though disaster descended in an instant, the day itself had been long. Herrera and his team were released from duty after a grueling 12 hours spent providing critical support to wildland units and successfully protecting nearby buildings.
“Once it starts to calm down, you can feel your hands start to shake a little bit because this thing was getting out of control really fast,” Herrera said.
By the weekend, containment efforts were gaining ground thanks to the efforts of a combined 780-strong emergency response force. Eager to rebuild, Ruidoso residents trickled back in, but the village soon encountered another challenge: rain.
Following the South Fork and Salt fires — which claimed an estimated 25,000 acres, 1,400 structures, and two lives — monsoons battered Ruidoso. Throughout July, deluges washed over the region’s burn scars in an ironic insult to injury leaving people trapped in vehicles and homes underwater. As recently as Aug. 7, evacuations continued as the Ruidoso Police Department worked to preemptively clear the Cherokee Mobile Village due to past flash flooding in the area.
In this harsh landscape of crisis and aftermath, Herrera views mutual aid as more than a tactical response, but a vital investment.
“Building goodwill with the community is akin to cultivating fertile ground for growth and success,” he said. “I strongly feel it strengthens the bond between us and our community.”
With the wet season expected to continue through the end of September, Ruidoso’s forecast remains uncertain. Even as storm clouds gather, one thing is clear: if the call comes again, the WSTF Fire Department will always be ready to answer.
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By NASA
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
This image, taken from a data visualization, shows Arctic sea ice minimum extent on September 11, 2024. The yellow boundary shows the minimum extent averaged over the 30-year period from 1981 to 2010. Download high-resolution video and images from NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio: https://svsdev.gsfc.nasa.gov/5382NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio/Trent L. Schindler Arctic sea ice retreated to near-historic lows in the Northern Hemisphere this summer, likely melting to its minimum extent for the year on Sept.11, 2024, according to researchers at NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). The decline continues the decades-long trend of shrinking and thinning ice cover in the Arctic Ocean.
The amount of frozen seawater in the Arctic fluctuates during the year as the ice thaws and regrows between seasons. Scientists chart these swings to construct a picture of how the Arctic responds over time to rising air and sea temperatures and longer melting seasons. Over the past 46 years, satellites have observed persistent trends of more melting in the summer and less ice formation in winter.
This summer, Arctic sea ice decreased to a its minimum extent on September 11, 2024. According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center this is the 7th lowest in the satellite record). The decline continues the long-term trend of shrinking ice cover in the Arctic Ocean.
Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Tracking sea ice changes in real time has revealed wide-ranging impacts, from losses and changes in polar wildlife habitat to impacts on local communities in the Arctic and international trade routes.
This year, Arctic sea ice shrank to a minimal extent of 1.65 million square miles (4.28 million square kilometers). That’s about 750,000 square miles (1.94 million square kilometers) below the 1981 to 2010 end-of-summer average of 2.4 million square miles (6.22 million square kilometers). The difference in ice cover spans an area larger than the state of Alaska. Sea ice extent is defined as the total area of the ocean with at least 15% ice concentration.
Seventh-Lowest in Satellite Record
This year’s minimum remained above the all-time low of 1.31 million square miles (3.39 million square kilometers) set in September 2012. While sea ice coverage can fluctuate from year to year, it has trended downward since the start of the satellite record for ice in the late 1970s. Since then, the loss of sea ice has been about 30,000 square miles (77,800 square kilometers) per year, according to NSIDC.
Scientists currently measure sea ice extent using data from passive microwave sensors aboard satellites in the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, with additional historical data from the Nimbus-7 satellite, jointly operated by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Today, the overwhelming majority of ice in the Arctic Ocean is thinner, first-year ice, which is less able to survive the warmer months. There is far, far less ice that is three years or older now,
Nathan Kurtz
Chief, NASA's Cryospheric Sciences Laboratory
Sea ice is not only shrinking, it’s getting younger, noted Nathan Kurtz, lab chief of NASA’s Cryospheric Sciences Laboratory at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
“Today, the overwhelming majority of ice in the Arctic Ocean is thinner, first-year ice, which is less able to survive the warmer months. There is far, far less ice that is three years or older now,” Kurtz said.
Ice thickness measurements collected with spaceborne altimeters, including NASA’s ICESat and ICESat-2 satellites, have found that much of the oldest, thickest ice has already been lost. New research out of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California shows that in the central Arctic, away from the coasts, fall sea ice now hovers around 4.2 feet (1.3 meters) thick, down from a peak of 8.8 feet (2.7 meters) in 1980.
Another Meager Winter Around Antarctica
Sea ice in the southern polar regions of the planet was also low in 2024. Around Antarctica, scientists are tracking near record-low sea ice at a time when it should have been growing extensively during the Southern Hemisphere’s darkest and coldest months.
Ice around the continent is on track to be just over 6.6 million square miles (16.96 million square kilometers). The average maximum extent between 1981 and 2010 was 7.22 million square miles (18.71 million square kilometers).
The meager growth so far in 2024 prolongs a recent downward trend. Prior to 2014, sea ice in the Antarctic was increasing slightly by about 1% per decade. Following a spike in 2014, ice growth has fallen dramatically. Scientists are working to understand the cause of this reversal. The recurring loss hints at a long-term shift in conditions in the Southern Ocean, likely resulting from global climate change.
“While changes in sea ice have been dramatic in the Arctic over several decades, Antarctic sea ice was relatively stable. But that has changed,” said Walt Meier, a sea ice scientist at NSIDC. “It appears that global warming has come to the Southern Ocean.”
In both the Arctic and Antarctic, ice loss compounds ice loss. This is due to the fact that while bright sea ice reflects most of the Sun’s energy back to space, open ocean water absorbs 90% of it. With more of the ocean exposed to sunlight, water temperatures rise, further delaying sea ice growth. This cycle of reinforced warming is called ice-albedo feedback.
Overall, the loss of sea ice increases heat in the Arctic, where temperatures have risen about four times the global average, Kurtz said.
About the Author
Sally Younger
Senior Science Writer
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Last Updated Sep 24, 2024 LocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
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By NASA
NASA/JPL-Caltech What will remain of our solar system a few billion years from now? We’re launching the Exoasteroids project to gather some clues. Join this new citizen science project, and help search for variable white dwarfs – bizarre objects that we can catch in the act of disassembling planetary systems.
White dwarfs each pack the mass of a star into a ball the size of a planet. They are also the future of our solar system. A few billion years from now, the Sun will evolve into a red giant and then into a white dwarf, devouring the innermost planets and millions of asteroids in the process.
With the Exoasteroids project, you’ll search for white dwarfs that are growing brighter or dimmer. Such white dwarfs may be remnants of planetary systems still actively munching on asteroids, leading to outbursts detectable in images from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) space telescope.
Help us find planetary remains and disintegrating asteroids in other solar systems!
Anyone with a laptop or cell phone can participate. Participation does not require citizenship in any particular country.
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Last Updated Sep 23, 2024 Related Terms
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