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By European Space Agency
ESA’s Proba-3 will be the first mission to create an artificial total solar eclipse by flying a pair of satellites 150 metres apart. For six hours at a time, it will be able to see the Sun’s faint atmosphere, the corona, in the hard-to-observe region between the Sun’s edge and 1.4 million kilometres from its surface. This new technology combined with the satellite pair’s unique extended orbit around Earth will allow Proba-3 to do important science, revealing secrets of the Sun, space weather and Earth’s radiation belts.
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By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
A group of middle school students engage with a model aircraft while learning from NASA experts in the model lab at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California during an event hosted by NASA’s California Office of STEM Engagement.NASA/Steve Freeman In celebration of National Aviation History Month, experts from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, spoke with middle school students during a recent event hosted by NASA’s California Office of STEM Engagement. NASA Armstrong employees shared stories about the center’s role in aviation history and current research projects while also talking about their own paths to working at NASA. During the virtual and in-person event on Nov. 6, Southern California middle school students were presented with the importance of pursing their passions, the value of internships and exploring diverse career opportunities within NASA.
Kicking off the event, NASA Armstrong Center Director Brad Flick talked about his journey from a small town to becoming a NASA engineer. “I never, in my wildest dreams thought I had the opportunity to work for someplace like NASA,” Flick said. “I’ve been here for almost 40 years and at a little part of NASA that most people don’t know exists, right? Which is really cool that we’re tying this to aviation history month, because this is one of the places where aviation history has been made, is being made and will continue to be made.” Flick encouraged students to participate in STEAM programs that integrate the arts with science, technology, engineering, and math and stressed the importance of asking questions and being curious.
A panel of four NASA Armstrong experts – Laurie Grindle, deputy center director; Troy Asher, director of Flight Operations; Nicki Reid, lead operations engineer; and Julio Trevino, operations engineer – shared their stories about their career paths and experiences at NASA.
NASA Armstrong experts share their stories about their career paths and experiences at NASA to middle school students during an event hosted by NASA’s California Office of STEM Engagement at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. From left to right: Laurie Grindle, Julio Trevino, Nicki Reid and Troy Asher.NASA/Steve Freeman Reid talked about her initial struggle with math and science and how it didn’t stop her from obtaining an engineering degree and applying for internships, which is what ultimately opened the door for her at NASA. “It was a really cool experience because it gives you a chance to decide whether or not you like the job and I got to learn from different people every summer,” Reid said.
Grindle’s dream as a kid was to become an astronaut and although did not happen for her, her interest in aviation and space continued, which ultimately led to working at NASA as a student. “I had a lot of different opportunities working in different roles. I had fun while doing it and did a job I really enjoyed that made it not like work,” Grindle said.
For Asher, determination and commitment helped him become a pilot. “I remember sitting in the back seat of the airplane, looking out and thinking, ‘I love this. I’m doing this forever,’” Asher said. “But it took me five or six years before I had that moment, and it was the commitment the kept me going.”
A group of middle school students and their teachers sit in the control room for a hands-on experience at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California during an event hosted by NASA’s California Office of STEM Engagement for National Aviation History Month.NASA/Steve Freeman Stories and experiences like these are important for students to hear to inspire them in their own journeys into adulthood. Students also received tours around the center with stops in the model lab, life support office and control room.
“This was a wonderful opportunity for my seventh-grade students to learn more about careers and career paths in NASA,” said Shauna Tinich, Tropico Middle School teacher. “They were surprised that people other than astronauts and rocket scientists work for NASA, and this excited many of my students.”
NASA’s California Office of STEM Engagement collaborates with the regional STEM community to provide opportunities like these, with the support of Next Gen STEM, to help students in sparking their interest and inspiring the next generation of leaders. To learn more, visit www.nasa.gov/learning-resources.
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Last Updated Dec 02, 2024 EditorDede DiniusContactElena Aguirreelena.aguirre@nasa.govLocationArmstrong Flight Research Center Related Terms
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By NASA
Many team members at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston may recognize Alicia Baker as the talented flutist in the Hispanic Employee Resource Group’s Mariachi Celestial band. Or, they may have worked with Baker in her role as a spacesuit project manager, testing NASA’s prototype spacesuits and preparing Johnson’s test chambers to evaluate vendor spacesuits.
Alicia Baker in a spacesuit test chamber at Johnson Space Center.NASA/David DeHoyos They might be surprised to learn that Baker juggled these responsibilities and more while also caring for her late husband, Chris, as he fought a terminal illness for 16 years.
“It was hard taking care of a loved one with cancer and working full-time,” Baker said. “My husband was also disabled from a brain tumor surgery, so I had to help him with reading, writing, walking, and remembering, while managing the household.”
Baker worked closely with her manager to coordinate schedules and get approval to telework so that she could work around her husband’s medical appointments and procedures. She also took medical leave when her husband entered hospice care in 2020. Baker said her manager’s flexibility “saved her job” and allowed her to continue providing for her family. She was even able to advance from project engineer to test director to project manager during this time period.
Alicia Baker and her husband Chris on their wedding day. Image courtesy of Alicia Baker Baker is one of the many Johnson employees who are or have been a caregiver for a loved one. These caregivers provide help to a person in need who often has a medical condition or injury that affects their daily functioning. Their needs may be temporary or long-term, and they could be physical, medical, financial, or domestic in nature.
Recognizing the challenging and critical role caregivers play in their families, the Johnson community provides a variety of resources to support team members through the Employee Assistance Program. Additionally, Johnson’s No Boundaries Employee Resource Group (NoBo) supports caregivers through its programs and initiatives.
Baker participates in both the support group and NoBo activities and takes comfort in sharing her and her husband’s story with others. “I would do it all over again,” she said of her caregiver role.
Now she looks forward to future missions to the Moon, when NASA astronauts will conduct spacewalks on the lunar surface while wearing new spacesuits. “Then I can say I helped make that possible!” Throughout all of her experiences, Baker has learned to never give up. “If you have a dream, keep fighting for it,” she said.
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By NASA
Dec. 2, 2024
NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Mike Barratt, Jeanette Epps, and Tracy C. DysonNASA RELEASE: J24-015
Expedition 71 Astronauts to Discuss Mission in NASA Welcome Home Event
Four NASA astronauts will participate in a welcome home ceremony at Space Center Houston after recently returning from a mission aboard the International Space Station.
NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Mike Barratt, Jeanette Epps, and Tracy C. Dyson will share highlights from their mission beginning at 6 p.m. CST Wednesday, Dec. 4, during a free, public event at NASA Johnson Space Center’s official visitor center. The crew will also recognize key contributors to mission success in an awards ceremony following the presentation.
The astronauts will be available at 5 p.m. for media interviews before the event. Media may request an in-person interview no later than 5 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 3, by emailing Dana Davis at dana.l.davis@nasa.gov.
Expedition 71
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission launched to the space station in March 2024 as the eighth commercial crew rotation mission. The crew spent 235 days in space, traveled 100 million miles, and completed 3,760 orbits around the Earth, splashing down off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, on Oct. 25, 2024. This was the first spaceflight for Dominick and Epps and the third spaceflight for Barratt, who has logged 447 days in space over the course of his career. The crew also saw the arrival and departure of eight visiting vehicles during their mission.
Dyson flew with an international crew, launching aboard the Soyuz MS-25 in March 2024. The six-month research mission was the third spaceflight of her career, and her second long-duration spaceflight. Dyson’s third spaceflight covered 2,944 orbits of the Earth and a journey of 78 million miles as an Expedition 70/71 flight engineer. She has now logged a total of 373 days in space, including more than 23 hours in four spacewalks. Dyson and her crewmembers landed safely in Kazakhstan on Sept. 24, 2024.
While aboard the station, the Expedition 71 crew contributed to hundreds of technology demonstrations and experiments including the bioprinting of human tissues. These higher quality tissues printed in microgravity could help advance the production of organs and tissues for transplant and improve 3D printing of foods and medicines on future long-duration space missions. The crew also looked at neurological organoids, created with stem cells from patients to study neuroinflammation, a common feature of neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson’s disease. The organoids provide a platform to study these diseases and their treatments and could help address how extended spaceflight affects the brain.
Stay current on space station activities by following @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the station Facebook and Instagram accounts and the space station blog.
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Jaden Jennings
Johnson Space Center, Houston
713-281-0984
jaden.r.jennings@nasa.gov
Dana Davis
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-244-0933
dana.l.davis@nasa.gov
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By NASA
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft departs the International Space Station as it orbits 264 miles above the south Pacific Ocean northeast of New Zealand.Credit: NASA NASA and its international partners are set to receive scientific research samples and hardware as a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft departs the International Space Station on Thursday, Dec. 5, for its return to Earth.
NASA’s live coverage of undocking and departure begins at 10:50 a.m. EST on NASA+. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.
The Dragon spacecraft will undock from the forward port of the space station’s Harmony module at 11:05 a.m., and fire its thrusters to move a safe distance away from the station after receiving a command from ground controllers at SpaceX.
After re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, the spacecraft will splash down off the coast of Florida. NASA will not stream the splashdown and will post updates on the agency’s space station blog.
Filled with nearly 6,000 pounds of crew supplies, science investigations, and equipment, the spacecraft arrived to the orbiting laboratory Nov. 5 after it launched Nov. 4 on a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the agency’s SpaceX 31st commercial resupply services mission.
Dragon will carry back to Earth thousands of pounds of supplies and scientific experiments designed to take advantage of the space station’s microgravity environment. Splashing down off the coast of Florida enables quick transportation of the experiments to NASA’s Space Systems Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center, allowing researchers to collect data with minimal sample exposure to Earth’s gravity.
Scientific hardware and samples returning to Earth include GISMOS (Genes in Space Molecular Operations and Sequencing), which successfully conducted in-orbit sequencing of microbial DNA from the space station water system, and marks the first real look at the microbial population of the water system. In addition, SpaceTED (Space Tissue Equivalent Dosimeter) returns to Earth after collecting data on crew radiation exposure and characterizes the space radiation environment. The dosimeter is a student-developed technology demonstration and effectively operated for 11 months on station – six months longer than intended because of its success.
Additionally, two specimens printed with ESA’s (European Space Agency) Metal 3D Printer, will go to researchers for post-processing and analysis. Researchers will compare the specimens printed in microgravity with those printed on Earth. The goal is to demonstrate the capability to perform metal deposition, or the layering of metals, in 3D under sustained microgravity conditions and manufacture test specimens. Researchers aim to understand the performance and limitations of the chosen technology and become familiar with crewed and remote operations of the instrument onboard a space habitat.
Also returning on spacecraft is the International Space Art and Poetry Contest, which invited students and educators around the world to submit drawings, paintings, or poems. Winning art submissions were printed on station, photographed in the cupola, and will be returned to their creators on Earth. In addition, Plasmonic Bubbles researchers will observe high-speed video of bubble behavior in microgravity to understand fundamental processes that occur on a heated bubble surface. Results may improve understanding of how molecules are deposited on bubble surfaces and enhance detection methods for health care and environmental industries.
For more than two decades, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge, and making research breakthroughs that are not possible on Earth. The station is a critical testbed for NASA to understand and overcome the challenges of long-duration spaceflight and to expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit. As commercial companies focus on providing human space transportation services and destinations as part of a robust low Earth orbit economy, NASA is focusing more resources on deep space missions to the Moon as part of its Artemis campaign in preparation for future human missions to Mars.
Get breaking news, images and features from the space station on Instagram, Facebook, and X.
Learn more about the International Space Station at:
https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station
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Claire O’Shea / Joshua Finch
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
claire.a.o’shea@nasa.gov / joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov
Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Dec 02, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
International Space Station (ISS) Commercial Resupply ISS Research Johnson Space Center SpaceX Commercial Resupply View the full article
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