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Webb Webb News Latest News Latest Images Blog (offsite) Awards X (offsite – login reqd) Instagram (offsite – login reqd) Facebook (offsite- login reqd) Youtube (offsite) Overview About Who is James Webb? Fact Sheet Impacts+Benefits FAQ Science Overview and Goals Early Universe Galaxies Over Time Star Lifecycle Other Worlds Observatory Overview Launch Orbit Mirrors Sunshield Instrument: NIRCam Instrument: MIRI Instrument: NIRSpec Instrument: FGS/NIRISS Optical Telescope Element Backplane Spacecraft Bus Instrument Module Multimedia About Webb Images Images Videos What is Webb Observing? 3d Webb in 3d Solar System Podcasts Webb Image Sonifications Team International Team People Of Webb More For the Media For Scientists For Educators For Fun/Learning 6 Min Read NASA’s Webb Reveals Intricate Layers of Interstellar Dust, Gas
This shimmering cosmic curtain shows interstellar gas and dust that has been heated by the flashbulb explosion of a long-ago supernova. The gas then glows infrared light in what is known as a thermal light echo. As the supernova illumination travels through space at the speed of light, the echo appears to expand. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope observed this light echo in the vicinity of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A. Credits:
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Jencson (Caltech/IPAC) Once upon a time, the core of a massive star collapsed, creating a shockwave that blasted outward, ripping the star apart as it went. When the shockwave reached the star’s surface, it punched through, generating a brief, intense pulse of X-rays and ultraviolet light that traveled outward into the surrounding space. About 350 years later, that pulse of light has reached interstellar material, illuminating it, warming it, and causing it to glow in infrared light.
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has observed that infrared glow, revealing fine details resembling the knots and whorls of wood grain. These observations are allowing astronomers to map the true 3D structure of this interstellar dust and gas (known as the interstellar medium) for the first time.
“We were pretty shocked to see this level of detail,” said Jacob Jencson of Caltech/IPAC in Pasadena, principal investigator of the science program.
“We see layers like an onion,” added Josh Peek of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, a member of the science team. “We think every dense, dusty region that we see, and most of the ones we don’t see, look like this on the inside. We just have never been able to look inside them before.”
The team is presenting their findings in a press conference at the 245th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Washington.
“Even as a star dies, its light endures—echoing across the cosmos. It’s been an extraordinary three years since we launched NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Every image, every discovery, shows a portrait not only of the majesty of the universe but the power of the NASA team and the promise of international partnerships. This groundbreaking mission, NASA’s largest international space science collaboration, is a true testament to NASA’s ingenuity, teamwork, and pursuit of excellence,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “What a privilege it has been to oversee this monumental effort, shaped by the tireless dedication of thousands of scientists and engineers around the globe. This latest image beautifully captures the lasting legacy of Webb—a keyhole into the past and a mission that will inspire generations to come.”
Image A: Light Echoes Near Cassiopeia A (NIRCam)
These shimmering cosmic curtains show interstellar gas and dust that has been heated by the flashbulb explosion of a long-ago supernova. The gas then glows infrared light in what is known as a thermal light echo. As the supernova illumination travels through space at the speed of light, the echo appears to expand. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope observed this light echo in the vicinity of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A three separate times, in essence creating a 3D scan of the interstellar material. Note that the field of view in the top row is rotated slightly clockwise relative to the middle and bottom rows, due to the roll angle of the Webb telescope when the observations were taken. NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Jencson (Caltech/IPAC) Video A: Light Echoes Near Cassiopeia A (NIRCam)
This time-lapse video using data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope highlights the evolution of one light echo in the vicinity of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A. A light echo is created when a star explodes or erupts, flashing light into surrounding clumps of interstellar dust and causing them to shine in an ever-expanding pattern. Webb’s exquisite resolution not only shows incredible detail within these light echoes, but also shows their expansion over the course of just a few weeks – a remarkably short timescale considering that most cosmic targets remain unchanged over a human lifetime.
Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Jencson (Caltech/IPAC) Taking a CT Scan
The images from Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) highlight a phenomenon known as a light echo. A light echo is created when a star explodes or erupts, flashing light into surrounding clumps of dust and causing them to shine in an ever-expanding pattern. Light echoes at visible wavelengths (such as those seen around the star V838 Monocerotis) are due to light reflecting off of interstellar material. In contrast, light echoes at infrared wavelengths are caused when the dust is warmed by energetic radiation and then glows.
The researchers targeted a light echo that had previously been observed by NASA’s retired Spitzer Space Telescope. It is one of dozens of light echoes seen near the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant – the remains of the star that exploded. The light echo is coming from unrelated material that is behind Cassiopeia A, not material that was ejected when the star exploded.
The most obvious features in the Webb images are tightly packed sheets. These filaments show structures on remarkably small scales of about 400 astronomical units, or less than one-hundredth of a light-year. (An astronomical unit, or AU, is the average Earth-Sun distance. Neptune’s orbit is 60 AU in diameter.)
“We did not know that the interstellar medium had structures on that small of a scale, let alone that it was sheet-like,” said Peek.
These sheet-like structures may be influenced by interstellar magnetic fields. The images also show dense, tightly wound regions that resemble knots in wood grain. These may represent magnetic “islands” embedded within the more streamlined magnetic fields that suffuse the interstellar medium.
“This is the astronomical equivalent of a medical CT scan,” explained Armin Rest of the Space Telescope Science Institute, a member of the science team. “We have three slices taken at three different times, which will allow us to study the true 3D structure. It will completely change the way we study the interstellar medium.”
Image B: Cassiopeia A (Spitzer with Webb Insets)
This background image of the region around supernova remnant Cassiopeia A was released by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope in 2008. By taking multiple images of this region over three years with Spitzer, researchers were able to examine a number of light echoes. Now, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has imaged some of these light echoes in much greater detail. Insets at lower right show one epoch of Webb observations, while the inset at left shows a Webb image of the central supernova remnant released in 2023. Spitzer Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Y. Kim (Univ. of Arizona/Univ. of Chicago). Cassiopeia A Inset: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Danny Milisavljevic (Purdue University), Ilse De Looze (UGent), Tea Temim (Princeton University). Light Echoes Inset: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Jencson (Caltech/IPAC). Future Work
The team’s science program also includes spectroscopic observations using Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument). They plan to target the light echo multiple times, weeks or months apart, to observe how it evolves as the light echo passes by.
“We can observe the same patch of dust before, during, and after it’s illuminated by the echo and try to look for any changes in the compositions or states of the molecules, including whether some molecules or even the smallest dust grains are destroyed,” said Jencson.
Infrared light echoes are also extremely rare, since they require a specific type of supernova explosion with a short pulse of energetic radiation. NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will conduct a survey of the galactic plane that may find evidence of additional infrared light echoes for Webb to study in detail.
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
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Laura Betz – laura.e.betz@nasa.gov
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Christine Pulliam – cpulliam@stsci.edu
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
Science – Jacob Jencson (Caltech/IPAC)
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Last Updated Jan 14, 2025 Editor Marty McCoy Contact Laura Betz laura.e.betz@nasa.gov Related Terms
Astrophysics Goddard Space Flight Center James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Nebulae Science & Research Supernova Remnants Supernovae The Universe View the full article
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Astronomers have released a set of more than a million simulated images showcasing the cosmos as NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will see it. This preview will help scientists explore a myriad of Roman’s science goals.
“We used a supercomputer to create a synthetic universe and simulated billions of years of evolution, tracing every photon’s path all the way from each cosmic object to Roman’s detectors,” said Michael Troxel, an associate professor of physics at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, who led the simulation campaign. “This is the largest, deepest, most realistic synthetic survey of a mock universe available today.”
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This video begins with a tiny one-square-degree portion of the full OpenUniverse simulation area (about 70 square degrees, equivalent to an area of sky covered by more than 300 full moons). It spirals in toward a particularly galaxy-dense region, zooming by a factor of 75. This simulation showcases the cosmos as NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope could see it, allowing scientists to preview the next generation of cosmic discovery now. Roman’s real future surveys will enable a deep dive into the universe with highly resolved imaging, as demonstrated in this video. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and M. Troxel The project, called OpenUniverse, relied on the now-retired Theta supercomputer at the DOE’s (Department of Energy’s) Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois. The supercomputer accomplished a process that would take over 6,000 years on a typical computer in just nine days.
In addition to Roman, the 400-terabyte dataset will also preview observations from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, which is jointly funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy, and approximate simulations from ESA’s (the European Space Agency’s) Euclid mission, which has NASA contributions. The Roman data is available now here, and the Rubin and Euclid data will soon follow.
The team used the most sophisticated modeling of the universe’s underlying physics available and fed in information from existing galaxy catalogs and the performance of the telescopes’ instruments. The resulting simulated images span 70 square degrees, equivalent to an area of sky covered by more than 300 full moons. In addition to covering a broad area, it also covers a large span of time — more than 12 billion years.
Each tiny dot in the image at left is a galaxy simulated by the OpenUniverse campaign. The one-square-degree image offers a small window into the full simulation area, which is about 70 square degrees (equivalent to an area of sky covered by more than 300 full moons), while the inset at right is a close-up of an area 75 times smaller (1/600th the size of the full area). This simulation showcases the cosmos as NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope could see it. Roman will expand on the largest space-based galaxy survey like it – the Hubble Space Telescope’s COSMOS survey – which imaged two square degrees of sky over the course of 42 days. In only 250 days, Roman will view more than a thousand times more of the sky with the same resolution. The project’s immense space-time coverage shows scientists how the telescopes will help them explore some of the biggest cosmic mysteries. They will be able to study how dark energy (the mysterious force thought to be accelerating the universe’s expansion) and dark matter (invisible matter, seen only through its gravitational influence on regular matter) shape the cosmos and affect its fate. Scientists will get closer to understanding dark matter by studying its gravitational effects on visible matter. And by studying the simulation’s 100 million synthetic galaxies, they will see how galaxies and galaxy clusters evolved over eons.
Repeated mock observations of a particular slice of the universe enabled the team to stitch together movies that unveil exploding stars crackling across the synthetic cosmos like fireworks. These starbursts allow scientists to map the expansion of the simulated universe.
This simulation showcases the dynamic universe as NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope could see it over the course of its five-year primary mission. The video sparkles with synthetic supernovae from observations of the OpenUniverse simulated universe taken every five days (similar to the expected cadence of Roman’s High-Latitude Time-Domain Survey, which OpenUniverse simulates in its entirety). On top of the static sky of stars in the Milky Way and other galaxies, more than a million exploding stars flare into visibility and then slowly fade away. To highlight the dynamic physics happening and for visibility at this scale, the true brightness of each transient event has been magnified by a factor of 10,000 and no background light has been added to the simulated images. The video begins with Roman’s full field of view, which represents a single pointing of Roman’s camera, and then zooms into one square.NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and M. Troxel Scientists are now using OpenUniverse data as a testbed for creating an alert system to notify astronomers when Roman sees such phenomena. The system will flag these events and track the light they generate so astronomers can study them.
That’s critical because Roman will send back far too much data for scientists to comb through themselves. Teams are developing machine-learning algorithms to determine how best to filter through all the data to find and differentiate cosmic phenomena, like various types of exploding stars.
“Most of the difficulty is in figuring out whether what you saw was a special type of supernova that we can use to map how the universe is expanding, or something that is almost identical but useless for that goal,” said Alina Kiessling, a research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California and the principal investigator of OpenUniverse.
While Euclid is already actively scanning the cosmos, Rubin is set to begin operations late this year and Roman will launch by May 2027. Scientists can use the synthetic images to plan the upcoming telescopes’ observations and prepare to handle their data. This prep time is crucial because of the flood of data these telescopes will provide.
In terms of data volume, “Roman is going to blow away everything that’s been done from space in infrared and optical wavelengths before,” Troxel said. “For one of Roman’s surveys, it will take less than a year to do observations that would take the Hubble or James Webb space telescopes around a thousand years. The sheer number of objects Roman will sharply image will be transformative.”
This synthetic OpenUniverse animation shows the type of science that astronomers will be able to do with future Roman deep-field observations. The gravity of intervening galaxy clusters and dark matter can lens the light from farther objects, warping their appearance as shown in the animation. By studying the distorted light, astronomers can study elusive dark matter, which can only be measured indirectly through its gravitational effects on visible matter. As a bonus, this lensing also makes it easier to see the most distant galaxies whose light the dark matter magnifies. Caltech-IPAC/R. Hurt “We can expect an incredible array of exciting, potentially Nobel Prize-winning science to stem from Roman’s observations,” Kiessling said. “The mission will do things like unveil how the universe expanded over time, make 3D maps of galaxies and galaxy clusters, reveal new details about star formation and evolution — all things we simulated. So now we get to practice on the synthetic data so we can get right to the science when real observations begin.”
Astronomers will continue using the simulations after Roman launches for a cosmic game of spot the differences. Comparing real observations with synthetic ones will help scientists see how accurately their simulation predicts reality. Any discrepancies could hint at different physics at play in the universe than expected.
“If we see something that doesn’t quite agree with the standard model of cosmology, it will be extremely important to confirm that we’re really seeing new physics and not just misunderstanding something in the data,” said Katrin Heitmann, a cosmologist and deputy director of Argonne’s High Energy Physics division who managed the project’s supercomputer time. “Simulations are super useful for figuring that out.”
OpenUniverse, along with other simulation tools being developed by Roman’s Science Operations and Science Support centers, will prepare astronomers for the large datasets expected from Roman. The project brings together dozens of experts from NASA’s JPL, DOE’s Argonne, IPAC, and several U.S. universities to coordinate with the Roman Project Infrastructure Teams, SLAC, and the Rubin LSST DESC (Legacy Survey of Space and Time Dark Energy Science Collaboration). The Theta supercomputer was operated by the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility, a DOE Office of Science user facility.
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is managed at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, with participation by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Caltech/IPAC in Southern California, the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, and a science team comprising scientists from various research institutions. The primary industrial partners are BAE Systems, Inc in Boulder, Colorado; L3Harris Technologies in Rochester, New York; and Teledyne Scientific & Imaging in Thousand Oaks, California.
Download high-resolution video and images from NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio
By Ashley Balzer
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Media Contact:
Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
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Last Updated Jan 14, 2025 EditorAshley BalzerContactAshley Balzerashley.m.balzer@nasa.govLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Astrophysics Dark Energy Dark Matter Galaxies Galaxies, Stars, & Black Holes Galaxies, Stars, & Black Holes Research Galaxy clusters Goddard Space Flight Center High-Tech Computing Science & Research Stars Supernovae Technology The Universe Explore More
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By NASA
Measurements from space support wildfire risk predictions
Researchers demonstrated that data from the International Space Station’s ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) instrument played a significant role in the ability of machine learning algorithms to predict wildfire susceptibility. This result could help support development of effective strategies for predicting, preventing, monitoring, and managing wildfires.
As the frequency and severity of wildfires increases worldwide, experts need reliable models of fire susceptibility to protect public safety and support natural resource planning and risk management. ECOSTRESS measures evapotranspiration, water use efficiency, and other plant-water dynamics on Earth. Researchers report that its water use efficiency data consistently emerged as the leading factor in predicting wildfires, with evaporative stress and topographic slope data also significant.
This ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station evapotranspiration image of California’s Central Valley in May 2022 shows high water use (blue) and dry conditions (brown). NASA Combining instruments provides better emissions data
Scientists found that averaging data from the International Space Station’s OCO‐3 and EMIT external instruments can accurately measure the rate of carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. This work could improve emissions monitoring and help communities respond to climate change.
Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion make up nearly a third of human-caused emissions and are a major contributor to climate change. In many places, though, scientists do not know exactly how much carbon dioxide these sources emit. The Orbiting Carbon Observatory-3 or OCO-3 can quantify emissions over large areas and Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation data can help determine emissions from individual facilities. The researchers suggest future work continue to investigate the effect of wind conditions on measurements.
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The The Orbiting Carbon Observatory-3 data showing carbon dioxide concentrations in Los Angeles. NASA Thunderstorm phenomena observed from space
Observations by the International Space Station’s Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM) instrument during a tropical cyclone in 2019 provide insight into the formation and nature of blue corona discharges often observed at the tops of thunderclouds. A better understanding of such processes in Earth’s upper atmosphere could improve atmospheric models and weather and climate predictions.
Scientists do not fully understand the conditions that lead to formation of blue corona discharges, bursts of electrical streamers, which are precursors to lightning. Observations from the ground are affected by scattering and absorption in the clouds. ASIM, a facility from ESA (European Space Agency), provides a unique opportunity for observing these high-atmosphere events from space.
View of Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor, the white and blue box on the end of the International Space Station’s Columbus External Payload Facility. NASAView the full article
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By NASA
7 min read
Newly Selected Citizen Science Proposals: A Peek at What’s Next
Last year, the NASA citizen science community saw a prize from the White House and two prizes from professional societies: one from the Division of Planetary Sciences and one from the American Astronomical Society. Our teams published two papers in the prestigious journal, Nature, one on a planetary crash and one about a distant world that seems to have auroras. 2024 was a year of 5000 comets, two solar eclipses and plenty of broken records.
But we’re not stopping to rest on our laurels. In 2024, NASA selected 25 new citizen science proposals for funding that will lead to new projects and new results to look forward to in 2025 and beyond. Here’s a roundup of those selections and the principal investigators (PIs) of each team—a sneak peek at what’s coming next in NASA citizen science! Note that these investigations are research grants–some of them will result in new opportunities for the public, others will use results from earlier citizen science projects or develop new tools.
Bright green glow observed from Texas on June 1, 2024, by Stephen Hummel. A new grant to the Spritacular project team will support citizen science research on this newly-discovered phenomenon. Stephen Hummel Citizen Science Seed Funding Program (CSSFP)
The CSSFP aims to support scientists and other experts to develop citizen science projects and to expand the pool of scientists who use citizen science techniques in their science investigations. Four divisions of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate are participating in the CSSFP: the Astrophysics Division, the Biological and Physical Sciences Division, the Heliophysics Division, and the Planetary Science Division. Nine new investigations were recently selected through this program:
Astrophysics Division
SuPerPiG Observing Grid, PI Rachel Huchmala, Boise State University. Use a small telescope to monitor exoplanets to improve our knowledge of their orbits. Understanding the Nature of Clumpy Galaxies with Clump-Scout 2: a New Citizen-Science Project to Characterize Star-Forming Clumps in Nearby Galaxies. PI Claudia Scarlata, University of Minnesota. Label clumps of distant galaxies to help us understand Hubble Space Telescope data. ‘Backyard Worlds: Binaries’ — Discovering Benchmark Brown Dwarfs Through Citizen Science. PI Aaron Meisner, NSF’s NOIRLab. Search for planet-like objects called brown dwarfs that orbit nearby stars. Mobile Toolkits to Enable Transient Follow-up Observations by Amateur Astronomers. PI Michael Coughlin, University of Minnesota. Use your own telescope to observe supernovae, kilonovae and other massive explosions. Planetary Science Division
A Citizen Scientist Approach to High Resolution Geologic Mapping of Intracrater Impact Melt Deposits as an input to Numerical Models, PI Kirby Runyon, Planetary Science Institute. Help map lunar craters so we can better understand how meteor impacts sculpt the moon’s surface. Identifying Active Asteroids in Public Datasets, PI Chad Trujillo, Northern Arizona University, Search for icy, comet-like bodies hiding in the asteroid belt using new data from the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope. Heliophysics Division
Enabling Magnetopause Observations With Informal Researchers (EMPOWR). PI Mo Wenil, Johns Hopkins University. Investigate plasma layers high above the Earth using data from NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission and the Zooniverse platform. High-resolution Ionospheric Imaging using Dual-Frequency Smartphones. PI Josh Semeter, Boston University. Study the upper atmosphere using cell phone signals. Large Scale Structures Originating from the Sun (LASSOS) multi-point catalog: A citizen project connecting operations to research. PI Cecelia Mac Cormack, Catholic University of America. Help build a catalog of structures on the Sun. Comet Identification and Image Annotation Modernization for the Sungrazer Citizen Science Project. PI Oliver Gerland. Search for comets in data from ESA and NASA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) mission using new web tools. Heliophysics Citizen Science Investigations (HCSI)
The HCSI program supports medium-scale citizen science projects in the Heliophysics Division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. Six investigations were recently selected through this program:
Investigation of green afterglow observed above sprite and gigantic jet tops based on Spritacular project database, PI Burcu Kosar. Photograph electric phenomena above storm clouds to help us understand a newly discovered green glow and learn about atmospheric chemistry. Machine Learning competition for Solar Wind prediction in preparation of solar maximum. PI Enrico Camporeale, University of Colorado, Boulder. Take part in a competition to predict the speed of the solar wind using machine learning. A HamSCI investigation of the bottomside ionosphere during the 2023 annular and 2024 total solar eclipses. PI Gareth Perry, New Jersey Institute of Technology. Use Ham Radio data to investigate the effects of solar eclipses on the ionosphere. Dynamic footprint in mid-latitude mesospheric clouds. PI Chihiko Cullens, University of Colorado, Boulder. Collect and analyze data on noctilucent clouds, rare high-altitude clouds that shine at night. Monitoring Solar Activity During Solar Cycle 25 with the GAVRT Solar Patrol Science and Education Program. PI Marin Anderson, Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Track solar activity during the period leading up to and including solar maximum. What is the total energy input to the heliosphere from solar jets? PI Nour Rawafi, The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Identify solar jets in images from the Solar Dynamics Observatory Citizen Science for Earth Systems Program (CSESP)
CSESP opportunities focus on developing and implementing projects that harness contributions from members of the general public to advance our understanding of Earth as a system. Proposals for the 2024 request were required to demonstrate a clear link between citizen science and NASA observation systems to advance the agency’s Earth science mission. Nine projects received funding.
Engaging Citizen Scientists for Inclusive Earth Systems Monitoring, PI Duan Biggs, Northern Arizona University. Measure trees in tropical regions south of the equator with the GLOBE Observer App to improve models of vegetation structure and biomass models from NASA’s Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) mission. Integrating Remote Sensing and Citizen Science to Support Conservation of Woodland Vernal Pools, PI Laura Bourgeau-Chavez, Michigan Technological University. Map and monitor shallow, seasonal wetlands in Michigan, Wisconsin and New York to better understand these key habitats of amphibians and other invertebrates. Citizen-Enabled Measurement of PM2.5 and Black Carbon: Addressing Local Inequities and Validating PM Composition from MAIA, Albert Presto/Carnegie Mellon University. Deploy sensors to measure sources of fine airborne particle pollution filling gaps in data from NASA’s Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols (MAIA) mission. Expanding Citizen Science Hail Observations for Validation of NASA Satellite Algorithms and Understanding of Hail Melt, PI Russ Schumacher, Colorado State University. Measure the sizes and shapes of hailstones, starting in the southeastern United States, using photographs and special pads to help us understand microwave satellite data. X-Snow: A Citizen-Science Proposal for Snow in the New York Area, PI, Marco Tedesco, Columbia University. Measure snow in the Catskill and Adirondacks regions of New York to help improve NASA’s models of snow depth and water content. Coupling Citizen Science and Remote Sensing Observations to Assess the Impacts of Icebergs on Coastal Arctic Ecosystems, PI, Maria Vernet, University of California, San Diego. Measure phytoplankton samples in polar regions to understand how icebergs and their meltwater affect phytoplankton concentration and biodiversity. Forecasting Mosquito-Borne Disease Risk in a Changing Climate: Integrating GLOBE Citizen Science and NASA Earth System Modeling, PI Di Yang, University of Florida, Gainesville. Using data on mosquitoes from the GLOBE Observer App to predict future changes in mosquito-borne disease risk. Ozone Measurements from General Aviation: Supporting TEMPO Satellite Validation and Addressing Air Quality Issues in California’s San Joaquin Valley with Citizen Science, PI Emma Yates, NASA Ames Research Center. Deploy air-quality sensors around Bakersfield, California and compare the data to measurements from NASA’s Tropospheric Emissions Monitoring of Pollution instrument (TEMPO). Under the Canopy: Capturing the Role of Understory Phenology on Animal Communities Using Citizen Science, PI Benjamin Zuckerberg, University of Wisconsin, Madison. Measure snow depth, temperature, and sound in forest understories to improve satellite-based models of vegetation and snow cover for better modeling of wildlife communities. For more information on citizen science awards from previous years, see articles from:
September 2023 August 2022 July 2021 For more information on NASA’s citizen science programs, visit https://science.nasa.gov/citizenscience.
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Last Updated Jan 13, 2025 Related Terms
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By NASA
Following the historic year of 1969 that saw two successful Moon landings, 1970 opened on a more sober note. Ever-tightening federal budgets forced NASA to rescope its future lunar landing plans. The need for a Saturn V to launch an experimental space station in 1972 forced the cancellation of the final Moon landing mission and an overall stretching out of the Moon landing flights. Apollo 13 slipped to April, but the crew of James Lovell, Thomas “Ken” Mattingly, and Fred W. Haise and their backups John Young, John “Jack” Swigert, and Charles Duke continued intensive training for the landing at Fra Mauro. Training included practicing their surface excursions and water egress, along with time in spacecraft simulators. The three stages of the Apollo 14 Saturn V arrived at the launch site and workers began the stacking process for that mission now planned for October 1970. Scientists met in Houston to review the preliminary findings from their studies of the lunar samples returned by Apollo 11.
Apollo Program Changes
Apollo Moon landing plans in early 1970, with blue indicating completed landings, green planned landings at the time, and red canceled landings. Illustration of the Apollo Applications Program, later renamed Skylab, experimental space station then planned for 1972. On Jan. 4, 1970, NASA Deputy Administrator George Low announced the cancellation of Apollo 20, the final planned Apollo Moon landing mission. The agency needed the Saturn V rocket that would have launched Apollo 20 to launch the Apollo Applications Program (AAP) experimental space station, renamed Skylab in February 1970. Since previous NASA Administrator James Webb had precluded the building of any additional Saturn V rockets in 1968, this proved the only viable yet difficult solution.
In other program changes, on Jan. 13 NASA Administrator Thomas Paine addressed how NASA planned to deal with ongoing budgetary challenges. Lunar landing missions would now occur every six months instead of every four, and with the slip of Apollo 13 to April, Apollo 14 would now fly in October instead of July. Apollo 15 and 16 would fly in 1971, then AAP would launch in 1972, and three successive crews would spend, 28, 56, and 56 days aboard the station. Lunar landing missions would resume in 1973, with Apollo 17, 18, and 19 closing out the program by the following year.
Top NASA managers in the Mission Control Center, including Sigurd “Sig” Sjoberg, third from left, Christopher Kraft, sitting in white shirt, and Dale Myers, third from right. Wernher von Braun in his office at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. In addition to programmatic changes, several key management changes took place at NASA in January 1970. On Nov. 26, 1969, Christopher Kraft , the director of flight operations at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), now NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, assumed the position of MSC deputy director. On Dec. 28, MSC Director Robert Gilruth named Sigurd “Sig” Sjoberg, deputy director of flight operations since 1963, to succeed Kraft. At NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight George Mueller resigned his position effective Dec. 10, 1969. To replace Mueller, on Jan. 8, NASA Administrator Paine named Dale Myers, vice president and general manager of the space shuttle program at North American Rockwell Corporation. On Jan. 27, Paine announced that Wernher von Braun, designer of the Saturn family of rockets and director of the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, since its establishment in 1960, would move to NASA Headquarters and assume the position of deputy associate administrator for planning.
Apollo 11 Lunar Science Symposium
Sign welcoming scientists to the Apollo 11 Lunar Science Conference. Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin addresses a reception at the First Lunar Science Conference. Between Jan. 5 and 8, 1970, several hundred scientists, including all 142 U.S. and international principal investigators provided with Apollo 11 samples, gathered in downtown Houston’s Albert Thomas Exhibit and Convention Center for the Apollo 11 Lunar Science Conference. During the conference, the scientists discussed the chemistry, mineralogy, and petrology of the lunar samples, the search for carbon compounds and any evidence of organic material, the results of dating of the samples, and the results returned by the Early Apollo Surface Experiments Package (EASEP). Senior NASA managers including Administrator Paine, Deputy Administrator Low, and Apollo Program Director Rocco Petrone attended the conference, and Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin gave a keynote speech at a dinner reception. The prestigious journal Science dedicated its Jan. 30, 1970, edition to the papers presented at the conference, dubbing it “The Moon Issue”. The Lunar Science Conference evolved into an annual event, renamed the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in 1978, and continues to attract scientists from around the world to discuss the latest developments in lunar and planetary exploration.
Apollo 12
Apollo 12 astronaut Richard Gordon riding in one of the Grand Marshal cars in the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California. Actress June Lockhart, left, interviews Apollo 12 astronauts Charles “Pete” Conrad, Gordon, and Alan Bean during the Rose Parade.courtesy emmyonline.com Apollo 12 astronauts and their wives visiting former President and Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson at the LBJ Ranch in Texas. On New Year’s Day 1970, Apollo 12 astronauts Charles “Pete” Conrad, Richard Gordon, and Alan Bean led the 81st annual Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California, as Grand Marshals. Actress June Lockhart, an avid space enthusiast, interviewed them during the TV broadcast of the event. As President Richard Nixon had earlier requested, Conrad, Gordon, and Bean and their wives paid a visit to former President Lyndon B. Johnson and First Lady Lady Bird Johnson at their ranch near Fredericksburg, Texas, on Jan. 14, 1970. The astronauts described their mission to the former President and Mrs. Johnson.
The Apollo 12 Command Module Yankee Clipper arrives at the North American Rockwell (NAR) facility in Downey, California. Yankee Clipper at NAR in Downey. A technician examines the Surveyor 3 camera returned by the Apollo 12 astronauts. Managers released the Apollo 12 Command Module (CM) Yankee Clipper from quarantine and shipped it back to its manufacturer, the North American Rockwell plant in Downey, California, on Jan. 12. Engineers there completed a thorough inspection of the spacecraft and eventually prepared it for public display. NASA transferred Yankee Clipper to the Smithsonian Institution in 1973, and today the capsule resides at the Virginia Air & Space Center in Hampton, Virginia. NASA also released from quarantine the lunar samples and the parts of the Surveyor 3 spacecraft returned by the Apollo 12 astronauts. The scientists received their allocated samples in mid-February, while after initial examination in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) the Surveyor parts arrived at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, for detailed analysis.
Apollo 13
As the first step in the programmatic rescheduling of all Moon landings, on Jan. 7, NASA announced the delay of the Apollo 13 launch from March 12 to April 11. The Saturn V rocket topped with the Apollo spacecraft had rolled out the previous December to Launch Pad 39A where workers began tests on the vehicle. The prime crew of Lovell, Mattingly, and Haise, and their backups Young, Swigert, and Duke, continued to train for the 10-day mission to land in the Fra Mauro region of the Moon.
During water recovery exercises, Apollo 13 astronauts (in white flight suits) Thomas “Ken” Mattingly, left, Fred Haise, and James Lovell in the life raft after emerging from the boilerplate Apollo capsule. Apollo 13 astronaut Lovell suits up for a spacewalk training session. Apollo 13 astronaut Haise during a spacewalk simulation. Apollo 13 prime crew members Lovell, Mattingly, and Haise completed their water egress training in the Gulf of Mexico near the coast of Galveston, Texas, on Jan. 24. With support from the Motorized Vessel Retriever, the three astronauts entered a boilerplate Apollo CM. Sailors lowered the capsule into the water, first in the Stable 2 or apex down position. Three self-inflating balloons righted the spacecraft into the Stable 1 apex up position within a few minutes. With assistance from the recovery team, Lovell, Mattingly, and Haise exited the spacecraft onto a life raft. A helicopter lifted them out of the life rafts using Billy Pugh nets and returned them to Retriever. Later that day, the astronauts returned to the MSC to examine Moon rocks in the LRL that the Apollo 12 astronauts had returned the previous November.
During their 33.5 hours on the Moon’s surface, Lovell and Haise planned to conduct two four-hour spacewalks to set up the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiment Package (ALSEP), a suite of five investigations designed to collect data about the lunar environment after the astronauts’ departure, and to conduct geologic explorations of the landing site. Mattingly planned to remain in the Command and Service Module (CSM), conducting geologic observations from lunar orbit including photographing potential future landing sites. Lovell and Haise conducted several simulations of the spacewalk timelines, including setting up the ALSEP equipment, practicing taking core samples, and photographing their activities for documentation purposes. They and their backups conducted practice sessions with the partial gravity simulator, also known as POGO, an arrangement of harnesses and servos that simulated walking in the lunar one-sixth gravity. Lovell and Young completed several flights in the Lunar Landing Training Vehicle (LLTV) that simulated the flying characteristics of the Lunar Module (LM) for the final several hundred feet of the descent to the surface.
A closed Apollo 13 rock box. An open rock box, partially outfitted with core sample tubes and sample container dispenser. A technician holds the American flag that flew aboard Apollo 13. In the LRL, technicians prepared the Apollo Lunar Sample Return Containers (ALSRC), or rock boxes, for Apollo 13. Like all missions, Apollo 13 carried two ALSRCs, with each box and lid manufactured from a single block of aluminum. Workers placed sample containers and bags and two 2-cm core sample tubes inside the two ALSRCs. Once loaded, technicians sealed the boxes under vacuum conditions so that they would not contain pressure greater than lunar ambient conditions. Engineers at MSC prepared the American flag that Lovell and Haise planned to plant on the Moon for stowage on the LM’s forward landing strut.
Apollo 14
Workers lower the Apollo 14 Lunar Module (LM) ascent stage onto the Command Module (CM) in a preflight docking test. Workers prepare the Apollo 14 LM descent stage for mating with the ascent stage. Workers prepare the Apollo 14 LM ascent stage for mating with the descent stage. As part of the rescheduling of Moon missions, NASA delayed the launch of the next flight, Apollo 14, from July to October 1970. The CSM and the LM had arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida late in 1969 and technicians conducted tests on the vehicles in the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building (MSOB). On Jan. 12, workers lowered the ascent stage of the LM onto the CSM to perform a docking test – the next time the two vehicles docked they would be on the way to the Moon and the test verified their compatibility. Workers mated the two stages of the LM on Jan. 20.
The first stage of Apollo 14’s Saturn V inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. The second stage of Apollo 14’s Saturn V arrives at the VAB. The third stage of Apollo 14’s Saturn V arrives at KSC. The three stages of the Apollo 14 Saturn V arrived in KSC’s cavernous Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) in mid-January and while workers stacked the first stage on its Mobile Launch Platform on Jan. 14, they delayed stacking the remainder of the rocket stages until May 1970. That decision proved fortunate, since engineers needed to modify the second stage engines following the pogo oscillations experienced during the Apollo 13 launch.
Apollo 14 backup Commander Eugene Cernan prepares for a vacuum chamber test in the Space Environment Simulation Lab (SESL). Apollo 14 backup crew member Joe Engle during a vacuum chamber test in the SESL. Apollo 14 astronauts Alan Shepard, Stuart Roosa, and Edgar Mitchell and their backups Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans, and Joe Engle continued training for their mission. In addition to working in spacecraft simulators, Shepard, Mitchell, Cernan, and Engle conducted suited vacuum chamber runs in MSC’s Space Environmental Simulation Laboratory (SESL) and completed their first familiarization with deploying their suite of ALSEP investigations.
NASA engineer William Creasy, kneeling in sport coat, and the technical team that built the Modular Equipment Transporter (MET), demonstrate the prototype to Roundup editor Sally LaMere. Apollo 14 support astronaut William Pogue tests the MET during parabolic flight. The Apollo 14 astronauts made the first use of the Modular Equipment Transporter (MET), a golf-cart like wheeled conveyance to transport their tools and lunar samples. A team led by project design engineer William Creasy developed the MET based on recommendations from the first two Moon landing crews on how to improve efficiency on the lunar surface. Creasy and his team demonstrated the MET to Sally LaMere, editor of The Roundup, MSC’s employee newsletter. Three support astronauts, William Pogue, Anthony “Tony” England, and Gordon Fullerton tested the MET prototype in simulated one-sixth lunar gravity during parabolic aircraft flights.
To be continued …
News from around the world in January 1970:
January 1 – President Richard Nixon signs the National Environmental Protection Act into law.
January 4 – The Beatles hold their final recording session at Abbey Road Studios in London.
January 5 – Daytime soap opera All My Children premieres.
January 11 – The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Minnesota Vikings 23-7 in Super Bowl IV, played in Tulane Stadium in New Orleans.
January 22 – Pan American Airlines flies the first scheduled commercial Boeing-747 flight from New York to London.
January 14 – Diana Ross and the Supremes perform their final concert in Las Vegas.
January 25 – The film M*A*S*H, directed by Robert Altman, premieres.
January 26 – Simon & Garfunkel release Bridge Over Troubled Water, their fifth and final album.
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