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By NASA
Explore This SectionEarth Home Earth Observer Home Editor’s Corner Feature Articles Meeting Summaries NewsScience in the News Calendars In Memoriam MoreArchives 3 min read
In Memoriam: Berrien Moore III [1941–2024]
Berrien Moore III [1941–2024]Photo credit: Moore’s obituary on the University of Oklahoma’s (OU) website Berrien Moore III, Dean of the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences at the University of Oklahoma (OU), director of the National Weather Center in Norman, OK, and Vice President for Weather and Climate Programs, died on December 17, 2024. Berrien earned an undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina in 1963 and a doctorate degree from the University of Virginia in 1969. After graduating, he taught mathematics at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and became tenured in 1976.
In 1987, Berrien became director of the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space (ISEOS) at UNH. NASA chose ISEOS to be one of the 24 founding members of the “Working Prototype Federation” of Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP) in 1998. Still active more than 25 years later, ESIP is now a thriving nonprofit entity funded by cooperative agreements with NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the U.S. Geological Survey, which brings together interdisciplinary collaborations (among over 170 partners) to share technical knowledge and engage with data users.
Berrien left UNH in 2008, to serve as the founding Executive Director of Climate Central, a think-tank based in Princeton, NJ, which is dedicated to providing objective and understandable information about climate change
Berrien moved to OU in 2010. Given his diverse academic, research, and career experience in global carbon cycle, biogeochemistry, remote sensing, environmental and space policy, and mathematics, Berrien was a natural choice to become the architect and principal investigator for the Geostationary Carbon Cycle Observatory (GeoCARB), a proposed NASA Earth Venture Mission that would have monitored plant health and vegetation stress throughout the Americas from geostationary orbit, probing natural sources, sinks, and exchange processes that control carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and methane in the atmosphere. While the mission was ultimately cancelled, the lessons learned are being applied to similar current and future Earth observing endeavors, e,g, NASA’s ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) mission.
Berrien served on and chaired numerous government-affiliated scientific committees throughout his career. From 1995–1998 he served on the National Research Council’s Committee on Global Change Research, which produced the landmark report, “Global Environment Change: Research Pathways for the Next Decade.” In 2011, he was an author on the National Research Council’s (NRC) decadal survey, “Earth Science and Applications from Space: A Community Assessment and Strategies for the Future.”
Berrien participated on international scientific committees as well. From 1998–2002, he was the chair of the Science Committee of the International Geosphere Biosphere Programme (IGBP). He was also a lead author within the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Third Assessment Report, which was released in 2001.
Berrien served in several roles specific to NASA, including as a committee member and later chair of the organization’s Space and Earth Science Advisory Committee. He served as Chair of the Earth Observing System (EOS) Payload Advisory Committee, member and Chair of NASA’s Earth Science and Applications Committee, and member of the NASA Advisory Council. He was also active at NOAA, having chaired the agency’s Research Review Team and served on the Research and Development Portfolio Review Team for NOAA’s Science Advisory Board.
Berrien received NASA’s highest civilian honor, the Distinguished Public Service Medal, for outstanding service and the NOAA Administrator’s Recognition Award. He also received the 2007 Dryden Lectureship in Research Medal from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and was honored for his contributions to the IPCC when the organization received the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.
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By NASA
NASA’s SPHEREx is situated on a work stand ahead of prelaunch operations at the Astrotech Processing Facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The SPHEREx space telescope will share its ride to space on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with NASA’s PUNCH mission.
Credit: USSF 30th Space Wing/Christopher
NASA will provide live coverage of prelaunch and launch activities for SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer), the agency’s newest space telescope. This will lift off with another NASA mission, Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere, or PUNCH, which will study the Sun’s solar wind.
The launch window opens at 10:09 p.m. EST (7:09 p.m. PST) Thursday, Feb. 27, for the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that will lift off from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Watch coverage on NASA+. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.
The SPHEREx mission will improve our understanding of how the universe evolved and search for key ingredients for life in our galaxy.
The four small spacecraft that comprise PUNCH will observe the Sun’s corona as it transitions into solar wind.
The deadline for media accreditation for in-person coverage of this launch has passed. NASA’s media credentialing policy is available online. For questions about media accreditation, please email: ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov.
NASA’s mission coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations):
Tuesday, Feb. 25
2 p.m. – SPHEREx and PUNCH Science Overview News Conference
Shawn Domagal-Goldman, acting director, Astrophysics Division, NASA Headquarters Joe Westlake, director, Heliophysics Division, NASA Headquarters Nicholeen Viall, PUNCH Mission Scientist, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Rachel Akeson, SPHEREx science data center lead, Caltech/IPAC Phil Korngut, SPHEREx instrument scientist, Caltech The news conference will stream on NASA+. Media may ask questions in person or via phone. Limited auditorium space will be available for in-person participation. For the dial-in number and passcode, media should contact the NASA Kennedy newsroom no later than one hour before the start of the event at ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.
Wednesday, Feb. 26
3:30 p.m. – SPHEREx and PUNCH Prelaunch News Conference
Mark Clampin, acting deputy associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters David Cheney, PUNCH program executive, NASA Headquarters James Fanson, SPHEREx project manager, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Denton Gibson, launch director, NASA’s Launch Services Program Julianna Scheiman, director, NASA Science Missions, SpaceX U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Ina Park, 30th Operations Support Squadron launch weather officer Coverage of the prelaunch news conference will stream live on NASA+.
Media may ask questions in person and via phone. Limited auditorium space will be available for in-person participation. For the dial-in number and passcode, media should contact the Kennedy newsroom no later than one hour before the start of the event at ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.
Thursday, Feb. 27
12 p.m. – SPHEREx and PUNCH Launch Preview will stream live on NASA+.
9:15 p.m. – Launch coverage begins on NASA+.
10:09 p.m. – Launch window opens.
Audio Only Coverage
Audio only of the launch coverage will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, or -1240. On launch day, “mission audio,” countdown activities without NASA+ media launch commentary, will be carried on 321-867-7135.
NASA Website Launch Coverage
Launch day coverage of the mission will be available on the agency’s website. Coverage will include links to live streaming and blog updates beginning no earlier than 9:15 p.m., Feb. 27, as the countdown milestones occur. On-demand streaming video and photos of the launch will be available shortly after liftoff.
For questions about countdown coverage, contact the Kennedy newsroom at 321-867-2468. Follow countdown coverage on the SPHEREx blog.
Attend the Launch Virtually
Members of the public can register to attend this launch virtually. NASA’s virtual guest program for this mission also includes curated launch resources, notifications about related opportunities or changes, and a stamp for the NASA virtual guest passport following launch.
Watch, Engage on Social Media
You can also stay connected by following and tagging these accounts:
X: @NASA, @NASAJPL, @NASAUnivese, @NASASun, @NASAKennedy, @NASA_LSP
Facebook: NASA, NASAJPL, NASA Universe, NASASunScience, NASA’s Launch Services Program
Instagram: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @NASAJPL, @NASAUnivese
For more information about these missions, visit:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/spherex/
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/punch/
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Alise Fisher – SPHEREx
Headquarters, Washington
202-617-4977
alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov
Sarah Frazier – PUNCH
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
202-853-7191
sarah.frazier@nasa.gov
Laura Aguiar
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-593-6245
laura.aquiar@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Feb 18, 2025 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe and Ices Explorer) Missions Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) Science Mission Directorate View the full article
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By NASA
1 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
A still image of a video that shows a plastic rod and cotton-fiberglass fabric being burned during a ground test of the Lunar-g Combustion Investigation (LUCI) experiment.Credit: Voyager Technologies An experiment studying how solid materials catch fire and burn in the Moon’s gravity was launched on Blue Origin’s New Shepard suborbital flight this month.
Developed by NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland together with Voyager Technologies, the Lunar-g Combustion Investigation (LUCI) will help researchers determine if conditions on the Moon – with reduced gravity – might be a more hazardous environment for fire safety.
The video shows a plastic rod and cotton-fiberglass fabric being burned during a ground test of the Lunar-g Combustion Investigation (LUCI) experiment. Scientists will compare the ground test video to the video recorded on the Blue Origin flight.
Credit: Voyager Technologies On this flight, LUCI tested flammability of cotton-fiberglass fabric and plastic rods, and once launched, the payload capsule rotated at a speed to simulate lunar gravity. NASA Glenn researchers will analyze data post-flight.
A plastic rod and cotton-fiberglass fabric that were burned during testing for the Lunar-g Combustion Investigation. New, unburned samples were lit on fire during the flight. Credit: Voyager Technologies LUCI’s findings will help NASA and its partners design safe spacecraft and spacesuits for future Moon and Mars missions.
For more information on LUCI and the mission, visit.
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By NASA
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 members (from left to right) Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, NASA astronauts Nichole Ayers and Anne McClain, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi pictured training at SpaceX in Hawthorne, California.Credit: SpaceX Media accreditation is open for the launch of NASA’s 10th rotational mission of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft, carrying astronauts to the International Space Station for a science expedition. The agency’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission is targeting launch on Wednesday, March 12, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The launch will carry NASA astronauts Anne McClain as commander and Nichole Ayers as pilot, along with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov as mission specialists. This is the first spaceflight for Ayers and Peskov, and the second mission to the orbiting laboratory for McClain and Onishi.
Media accreditation deadlines for the Crew-10 launch as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program are as follows:
International media without U.S. citizenship must apply by 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 13. U.S. media and U.S. citizens representing international media organizations must apply by 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 23. All accreditation requests must be submitted online at:
https://media.ksc.nasa.gov
NASA’s media accreditation policy is online. For questions about accreditation or special logistical requests, email: ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov. Requests for space for satellite trucks, tents, or electrical connections are due by Friday, Feb. 21.
For other questions, please contact NASA Kennedy’s newsroom at: 321-867-2468.
Para obtener información sobre cobertura en español en el Centro Espacial Kennedy o si desea solicitar entrevistas en español, comuníquese con Antonia Jaramillo: 321-501-8425, o Messod Bendayan: 256-930-1371.
For launch coverage and more information about the mission, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew
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Joshua Finch / Claire O’Shea
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / claire.a.o’shea@nasa.gov
Steve Siceloff / Stephanie Plucinsky
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-867-2468
steven.p.siceloff@nasa.gov / stephanie.n.plucinsky@nasa.gov
Kenna Pell
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
kenna.m.pell@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Feb 11, 2025 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Humans in Space Commercial Crew Commercial Space International Space Station (ISS) Johnson Space Center Kennedy Space Center Space Operations Mission Directorate View the full article
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