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By NASA
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Aaron Yazzie’s dream of being part of humanity’s exploration of space took him on a journey from his childhood home on the Navajo Nation to working at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California. His journey reflects not only his personal ambition, but also a commitment to elevating Indigenous representation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.
“Getting an internship at NASA was the culmination of a lot of work done by myself, and many of the Indigenous trailblazers that came before me, to make a path and a space for Indigenous peoples at places where there might not have been any Indigenous Peoples in any rooms,” said Yazzie.
Born in Tuba City, Arizona, Yazzie is of the Salt Clan and born for the Bitter Water Clan, which reflect his maternal and paternal lineage, respectively. The Navajo clan system communicates family heritage and where their families come from.
Yazzie’s path to NASA began with a passion for engineering, which he pursued at Stanford University in Stanford, California, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 2008. NASA is a dream job for many, from artists to engineers, and Yazzie was no exception. Securing an internship at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 2008 marked a significant milestone for him, particularly as an Indigenous person in STEM where Indigenous people are underrepresented. Throughout his academic and professional journey, he frequently found himself as the only Indigenous voice in the room with Indigenous people representing less than 0.6% of the American STEM workforce.
Yazzie’s work at NASA is deeply intertwined with his cultural identity. In the Navajo culture, traditional stories tell how the Diné (the people) came to exist in Dinétah (Navajo homelands).
Yazzie’s contributions to missions exploring Mars, including testing the Curiosity Rover’s sample acquisition system and developing drill bits for the Perseverance Rover, resonate with the Navajo creation story, which emphasizes nurturing life on a developing Earth—paralleling his efforts to support the possibility of life on Mars. He approaches his role with a sense of purpose, reflecting on the importance of understanding origins–both of the Earth and of life itself.
“By studying Mars, we learn about how rocky, terrestrial planets, like Mars and Earth, formed over billions of years,” said Yazzie, “And by searching for ancient microbial life on Mars, we might learn how life on Earth originated. I am proud to be doing what my ancestors have been doing before me.”
Emphasizing a commitment to lifelong learning, Yazzie advises future interns to “embrace the opportunities of growth and learning that come with working at NASA.” His advice: learn how to be a good learner. Yazzie’s diverse responsibilities, from test engineer to systems engineer, keep him engaged and continuously evolving.
“I think I am most proud of the outreach work I have been able to do, especially to Indigenous communities,” said Yazzie, “I want to help Indigenous students understand that they can exist and thrive at places like NASA.”
Yazzie’s work has been recognized with awards from NASA JPL, Stanford University, and his own tribe, reinforcing his role as a trailblazer for generations. As he continues to contribute to humanity’s understanding of Mars and its potential for past life, he honors his ancestors by paving the way for a more inclusive future in space exploration. Through his work, Yazzie inspires a new generation of Diné scientists and engineers, proving their voices have an essential place in the story of the cosmos.
Like Yazzie, NASA is devoted to mentoring the next generation of Indigenous doers, thinkers, and innovators. Anyone interested in following his footsteps may consider applying for a NASA Internship. Outside of internships NASA offers numerous routes to help Indigenous students get involved with STEM. Additionally, through NASA’s Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP), the agency provides financial assistance via competitive awards to Minority Serving Institutions. The MUREP American Indian and Alaska Native STEM Engagement (MAIANSE) program offers funding dedicated to supporting Indigenous students launch their careers at NASA.
Want to learn more about interns at NASA? Read More View the full article
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By Space Force
Astronauts aboard the ISS conducted an educational downlink, a communication signal from the spacecraft back to Earth, for Denver School of Science and Technology students.
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By NASA
6 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA’s SPHEREx observatory undergoes integration and testing at BAE Systems in Boulder, Colorado, in April 2024. The space telescope will use a technique called spectroscopy across the entire sky, capturing the universe in more than 100 colors. BAE Systems The space telescope will detect over 100 colors from hundreds of millions of stars and galaxies. Here’s what astronomers will do with all that color.
NASA’s SPHEREx mission won’t be the first space telescope to observe hundreds of millions of stars and galaxies when it launches no later than April 2025, but it will be the first to observe them in 102 colors. Although these colors aren’t visible to the human eye because they’re in the infrared range, scientists will use them to learn about topics that range from the physics that governed the universe less than a second after its birth to the origins of water on planets like Earth.
“We are the first mission to look at the whole sky in so many colors,” said SPHEREx Principal Investigator Jamie Bock, who is based jointly at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Caltech, both in Southern California. “Whenever astronomers look at the sky in a new way, we can expect discoveries.”
Short for Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer, SPHEREx will collect infrared light, which has wavelengths slightly longer than what the human eye can detect. The telescope will use a technique called spectroscopy to take the light from hundreds of millions of stars and galaxies and separate it into individual colors, the way a prism transforms sunlight into a rainbow. This color breakdown can reveal various properties of an object, including its composition and its distance from Earth.
NASA’s SPHEREx mission will use spectroscopy — the splitting of light into its component wavelengths — to study the universe. Watch this video to learn more about spectroscopy. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Here are the three key science investigations SPHEREx will conduct with its colorful all-sky map.
Cosmic Origins
What human eyes perceive as colors are distinct wavelengths of light. The only difference between colors is the distance between the crests of the light wave. If a star or galaxy is moving, its light waves get stretched or compressed, changing the colors they appear to emit. (It’s the same with sound waves, which is why the pitch of an ambulance siren seems to go up as its approaches and lowers after it passes.) Astronomers can measure the degree to which light is stretched or compressed and use that to infer the distance to the object.
SPHEREx will apply this principle to map the position of hundreds of millions of galaxies in 3D. By doing so, scientists can study the physics of inflation, the event that caused the universe to expand by a trillion-trillion fold in less than a second after the big bang. This rapid expansion amplified small differences in the distribution of matter. Because these differences remain imprinted on the distribution of galaxies today, measuring how galaxies are distributed can tell scientists more about how inflation worked.
Galactic Origins
SPHEREx will also measure the collective glow created by all galaxies near and far — in other words, the total amount of light emitted by galaxies over cosmic history. Scientists have tried to estimate this total light output by observing individual galaxies and extrapolating to the trillions of galaxies in the universe. But these counts may leave out some faint or hidden light sources, such as galaxies too small or too distant for telescopes to easily detect.
With spectroscopy, SPHEREx can also show astronomers how the total light output has changed over time. For example, it may reveal that the universe’s earliest generations of galaxies produced more light than previously thought, either because they were more plentiful or bigger and brighter than current estimates suggest. Because light takes time to travel through space, we see distant objects as they were in the past. And, as light travels, the universe’s expansion stretches it, changing its wavelength and its color. Scientists can therefore use SPHEREx data to determine how far light has traveled and where in the universe’s history it was released.
Water’s Origins
SPHEREx will measure the abundance of frozen water, carbon dioxide, and other essential ingredients for life as we know it along more than 9 million unique directions across the Milky Way galaxy. This information will help scientists better understand how available these key molecules are to forming planets. Research indicates that most of the water in our galaxy is in the form of ice rather than gas, frozen to the surface of small dust grains. In dense clouds where stars form, these icy dust grains can become part of newly forming planets, with the potential to create oceans like the ones on Earth.
The mission’s colorful view will enable scientists to identify these materials, because chemical elements and molecules leave a unique signature in the colors they absorb and emit.
Big Picture
Many space telescopes, including NASA’s Hubble and James Webb, can provide high-resolution, in-depth spectroscopy of individual objects or small sections of space. Other space telescopes, like NASA’s retired Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), were designed to take images of the whole sky. SPHEREx combines these abilities to apply spectroscopy to the entire sky.
By combining observations from telescopes that target specific parts of the sky with SPHEREx’s big-picture view, scientists will get a more complete — and more colorful — perspective of the universe.
More About SPHEREx
SPHEREx is managed by JPL for NASA’s Astrophysics Division within the Science Mission Directorate in Washington. BAE Systems (formerly Ball Aerospace) built the telescope and the spacecraft bus. The science analysis of the SPHEREx data will be conducted by a team of scientists located at 10 institutions across the U.S. and in South Korea. Data will be processed and archived at IPAC at Caltech, which manages JPL for NASA. The mission principal investigator is based at Caltech with a joint JPL appointment. The SPHEREx dataset will be publicly available.
For more information about the SPHEREx mission visit:
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/spherex/
News Media Contact
Calla Cofield
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
626-808-2469
calla.e.cofield@jpl.nasa.gov
2024-152
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Last Updated Oct 31, 2024 Related Terms
SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe and Ices Explorer) Astrophysics Galaxies Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Search for Life The Universe Explore More
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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Hundreds of students, scientists, and other stakeholders listen in person and online as NASA leaders discuss the Artemis missions during the 2023 von Braun Space Exploration Symposium held Oct. 25–27 at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. NASA / Charles Beason Media are invited to attend the 2024 von Braun Space Exploration Symposium Monday Oct. 28 to Wednesday, Oct. 30 at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
Organized by the American Astronautical Society in collaboration with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, the annual symposium gathers leaders from across government, industry, policy, and academia to discuss the current landscape of space exploration and chart a path forward amid the challenges that lie ahead.
The theme of this year’s event is “Expanding Exploration: From Vision to Reality,” focusing on NASA’s and Marshall’s plans for the future and the broader discourse about exploration and discovery, technology, the workforce, and other elements of the space ecosystem.
Media members interested should register with the astronautical society as a media representative under these guidelines for in-person or online attendance.
Marshall Center Director Joseph Pelfrey will deliver opening remarks on Oct. 28, followed by panels on Artemis, artificial intelligence, and workforce development. NASA Deputy Associate Administrator Casey Swails will deliver a keynote address to close out the first day.
Panels on, Oct. 29, will focus on space nuclear propulsion, science, and lunar logistics and mobility. Col. Eric Zarybnisky, Office of Space Launch director at the National Reconnaissance Office, will provide the luncheon keynote.
The third and final day of the symposium Oct. 30, will include discussions on nuclear propulsion, space technology, and human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit. NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free and Wayne Hale, who retired in 2010 as the deputy associate administrator of strategic partnerships at NASA Headquarters in Washington, will lead a discussion and present awards at the closing luncheon.
To arrange interviews with NASA Marshall speakers, contact Hannah Maginot, 256-932-1937, or Molly Porter, 256-424-5158.
For more information on NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/marshall
Hannah Maginot
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
hannah.l.maginot@nasa.gov
256-932-1937
Molly Porter
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
molly.a.porter@nasa.gov
256-424-5158
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Last Updated Oct 23, 2024 EditorBeth RidgewayContactMolly Portermolly.a.porter@nasa.govLocationMarshall Space Flight Center Related Terms
Marshall Space Flight Center Explore More
19 min read The Marshall Star for October 23, 2024
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By NASA
Representatives of the Artemis Accords signatories, including NASA leadership, met Oct. 14, 2024, for a principals meeting in Milan, during the International Astronautical Congress. With 42 of 45 signatories participating in the event, established and emerging spacefaring nations from every region of the world were represented. Credit: UAE Space Agency A record number of Artemis Accords signatories, including the United States, gathered at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC), the world’s largest global space conference taking place in Milan this week, furthering discussions on the safe and responsible use of space for the benefit of all.
During the space conference, top space agency leaders and other government representatives met Oct. 14 to continue advancing implementation of the Artemis Accords, marking the most comprehensive engagement yet among Accords signatories.
“As we send humans further into the solar system, collaboration and shared responsibility among nations are more critical than ever,” said NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy. “The Artemis Accords provide a common sense set of principles to guide our work together, and our recent efforts to further their implementation is fostering a remarkable environment of trust and cooperation where all nations can contribute to and benefit from these endeavors.”
The high-level meeting was co-chaired by NASA, CSA (Canadian Space Agency) and Italian Space Agency. With 42 of 45 signatories participating, established and emerging spacefaring nations from every region of the world were represented to help create a foundation for future space exploration for the Artemis Generation.
Leaders from each nation reflected on how the group can contribute to and advance existing multilateral forums, further technical discussions to inform policy deliberations, and promote and encourage the participation of emerging space nations including the adoption of the Artemis Accords by additional countries. They agreed on recommendations on non-interference, interoperability, release of scientific data, long-term sustainability guidelines, and registration to advance implementing the Artemis Accords. A method of operations was established for the ongoing work of the signatories.
“Promoting the participation of emerging space nations and encouraging the adoption of the Artemis Accords is crucial for the entire space,” said Teodoro Valente, president of the Italian Space Agency. “This is a matter of strategic importance in order to ensure the active and meaningful engagement of emerging space nations, both those already part of the Artemis Accords, and those poised to join in the future.”
The conversation in Milan built on previous work during a workshop in Montreal in May 2024, where participantsdelved into the topics such as non-interference and interoperability.
“Canada is pleased to be part of a growing group of countries committed to the safety and sustainability of outer space activities,” said Lisa Campbell, CSA president. “We are strong supporters of the Artemis Accords and are pleased to have hosted the most recent workshop that advanced work on key aspects of the Artemis Accords. We look forward to continuing this important work in the coming months and years.”
In October 2023, signatories agreed on an initial set of mission data parameters to advance transparency and non-interference in conducting space activities. The data parameters identify relevant information about planned lunar surface missions including expected launch dates, the general nature of activities, and landing locations. Recent progress also included work on a database to house them. Several space agencies, including NASA, have submitted mission data to the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs for dissemination.
Potential focus areas for the next year include further advancing sustainability, including debris management for both lunar orbit and the surface of the Moon.
In 2020, the United States and seven other nations were the first to sign the Artemis Accords, which identified a set of principles promoting the beneficial use of space for humanity. The Artemis Accords are grounded in the Outer Space Treaty and other agreements including the Registration Convention, the Rescue and Return Agreement, as well as best practices and norms of responsible behavior that NASA and its partners have supported, including the public release of scientific data.
The commitments of the Artemis Accords and efforts by the signatories to advance implementation of these principles support the safe and sustainable exploration of space.
Learn more about the Artemis Accords at:
https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-accords
-end-
Amber Jacobson / Elizabeth Shaw
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
amber.c.jacobson@nasa.gov / elizabeth.a.shaw@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Oct 18, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
artemis accords Opportunities For International Participants to Get Involved Science of Space Exploration View the full article
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