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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
That’s a great question. And it’s a question that NASA will seek to answer with the Europa Clipper spacecraft.
Europa is a moon of Jupiter. It’s about the same size as Earth’s Moon, but its surface looks very different. The surface of Europa is covered with a layer of ice, and below that ice, we think there’s a layer of liquid water with more water than all of Earth’s oceans combined.
So because of this giant ocean, we think that Europa is actually one of the best places in the solar system to look for life beyond the Earth.
Life as we know it has three main requirements: liquid water — all life here on Earth uses liquid water as a basis.
The second is the right chemical elements. These are elements like carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, sulfur. They’re elements that create the building blocks for life as we know it on Earth. We think that those elements exist on Europa.
The third component is an energy source. As Europa orbits around Jupiter, Jupiter’s strong gravity tugs and pulls on it. It actually stretches out the surface. And it produces a heat source called tidal heating. So it’s possible that hydrothermal systems could exist at the bottom of Europa’s ocean, and it’s possible that those could be locations for abundant life.
So could there be life on Europa? It’s possible. And Europa Clipper is going to explore Europa to help try to answer that question.
[END VIDEO TRANSCRIPT]
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Last Updated Feb 25, 2025 Related Terms
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By NASA
Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Curiosity Raw Images Images Videos Audio More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions The Solar System The Sun Mercury Venus Earth The Moon Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto & Dwarf Planets Asteroids, Comets & Meteors The Kuiper Belt The Oort Cloud 3 min read
Sols 4314-4315: Wait, What Was That Back There?
A view of the right-middle wheel of NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity, one of the rover’s six well-traveled wheels. Curiosity acquired this image using its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), located on the turret at the end of the rover’s robotic arm, on Sept. 22, 2024, sol 4312 (Martian day 4,312) of the Mars Science Laboratory Mission, at 18:37:41 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Earth planning date: Monday, Sept. 23, 2024
After a busy weekend of activities, Curiosity is ready for another week of planning. One of the activities over the weekend was our periodic check-in on our wheels to see how they are holding up on the rough terrain. The image shows the MAHLI view of the right-middle (RM) wheel, which is still holding up well despite taking some of the worst abuse from Mars.
We are planning contact science with APXS and MAHLI on “Burst Rock,” which is a target that has an interesting texture and has bright-toned clasts and a gray coating. It is part of the Gediz Vallis Ridge channel deposits and will help out understanding of the channel. Unfortunately, it was too rough to brush, but it is clean enough that we can still get good science data.
We are doing a lot of imaging and remote science today. We are taking Mastcam mosaics of multiple targets. “Log Meadow” is a target designed to get a look at the distribution of the white stones in the channel. “Grand Sentinel” is a target on the opposite side of our previous workspace, allowing us to document it from a different angle. “Tunnel Rock” and “Tombstone Ridge” are sedimentary rocks that may have ripple-like layers; examining the layer contours helps inform how rocks were formed. Lastly, “Gravel Ridge” is a target in “Arc Pass” where we are continuing to examine clasts and sedimentary layers. We also take a ChemCam LIBS observation of Log Meadow and a long-distance RMI image of “Chanbank,” another area of white stones. We round it off with a Navcam mosaic of the rover to monitor dust on the deck.
After wrapping up the targeted and contact science, we’re ready to drive. As the science team had time to look a bit more at the data collected in that region, they discovered this target that was worth going back for. We are driving back to the area of the white stones to do more contact science on rocks that look similar to the elemental sulfur we saw earlier this year. Planning ahead, I got to scout this drive on Friday, laying out the safest path and looking for parking spots that were both good for communications as well as for doing contact science. The target “Sheep Creek” is about 50 meters (about 164 feet) to the northeast, which makes the drive a challenge — the resolution of our imagery at that range makes it harder to pinpoint these small rocks. We do have really good imaging in that direction, and the terrain isn’t super scary, so the Rover Planners are going to try to make it in one drive. During the drive, we will be taking a MARDI “sidewalk” movie (a series of images looking below the rover for the entire length of the drive), which will help document the channel. On the second sol of the plan, we do some additional atmospheric and untargeted science. We have a Navcam suprahorizon movie (looking at the crater rim to evaluate dust in the atmosphere) and a dust devil movie. We also have a ChemCam AEGIS observation, where the rover will autonomously select a target to image. Overnight, CheMin does an “empty cell” analysis to confirm that the system is cleaned out and ready for the next sampling campaign.
Written by Ashley Stroupe, Mission Operations Engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
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Last Updated Sep 24, 2024 Related Terms
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By NASA
Lee esta entrevista en español aquí Dr. Ariadna Farrés-Basiana would look up at the sky and marvel at the immensity of space when she was younger. Now, the bounds are limitless as she helps NASA explore the expansive universe by computing the trajectories and maneuvers to get a spacecraft into space.
Name: Dr. Ariadna Farrés-Basiana
Title: Astrodynamics and solar radiation pressure specialist,
Formal Job Classification: Scientific collaborator
Organization Navigation and Mission Design Branch (Code 595)
Dr. Ariadna Farrés-Basiana is an astrodynamics and solar radiation pressure specialist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.Photo courtesy of Ariadna Farrés-Basiana What is your role at Goddard? What do you focus on?
I am part of the flight dynamics team. We are the ones in charge of computing the trajectories, maneuvers, amongst other things to get a spacecraft into space to its final destination. I am currently working on two main projects: the Space Weather Follow On-Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) mission, which is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) mission that will monitor space weather, and NASA’s Roman Space Telescope. I participate in both missions as part of the flight dynamics team. I am in charge of calculating the transfer trajectory, which would be the path through space that these missions must follow to go from Earth to Lagrange points L1 and L2. These are places in space where gravitational forces balance each other and a spacecraft doesn’t need to spend as much fuel to maintain its orbit. In addition to that, I work on station-keeping strategies, which are the routine maneuvers that we must do to keep our telescope in orbit.
What was your path to NASA?
My Ph.D. focused on solar sails, which is a way of navigating through space using the force of light emitted by the Sun as if it were wind that drives the sails of the spacecraft. I always thought that my contribution to NASA would be as a researcher or as a professor at a university. I had always dreamed of joining NASA, but I never thought it was possible. At the time, I was trying to find a position as a tenured professor at the University of Barcelona. While I was waiting, a professor of mine who had collaborated with people at NASA back in the ’90s called his former colleagues and told them that he had a Ph.D. student who was looking for a summer internship; then he asked if I could intern with them for a few months. And they said yes. I came to Goddard one summer as an intern and it was amazing. In the end I didn’t get the position as a tenured professor in Spain, and when I told my colleagues that I didn’t have a job, they asked me if I wanted to come and finish the research project I had started here, and after that I continued to extend my internship. In May 2017, I joined Goddard for the second time, this time as a full-time employee. What would have been only seven months of internship ended up being seven years that I have been here.
What made you interested in mathematics and specialize in it?
When it came time to choose what I wanted to major in, I was deciding between two majors: aerospace engineering, because I’ve always had space on my mind, or mathematics because I really enjoyed it. I chose mathematics, mainly because I could stay in my country. About 20 to 25 years ago, research in aerospace was not a thing in Spain; specializing in space engineering would have meant moving from my hometown and going to Madrid, which is where the only university I knew I could do that was. So, I ended up choosing math and decided it would be cool to learn more about it.
You mentioned that you were interested in space since you were a child. What fascinated you about the sky?
I remember looking at the sky, looking at the Moon and wondering what’s out there. My dad was also into science, and he would explain things regarding space. He had a friend that had a telescope and from time to time, we’d go observe it which was fascinating. There was something about the immensity of space and the fact that we don’t know much about it that interested me.
How do you feel about getting to work on two different telescopes, having been inspired by telescopes when you were younger?
It is very gratifying to know that my work will help these telescopes go to space and operate from there. Finding solutions for this makes me very proud of what I do. I feel like all the knowledge I have is being applied to something physical, practical, that will be in space and that will help other scientists make great discoveries.
What story or tradition from your hometown makes you smile when you think about it?
The most beautiful day is the Sant Jordi festival, it is a precious day. It’s the day of the book and the rose. It’s not a holiday, but everyone is looking for an excuse, any time of the day to go out and buy a book and a rose for their loved ones. The atmosphere is beautiful during those days. Also, my brother’s name is Jordi, so it’s a special day because we all celebrate it together.
“My dad was also into science, and he would explain things regarding space,” said Ariadna. “He had a friend that had a telescope and from time to time, we’d go observe it which was fascinating. There was something about the immensity of space and the fact that we don’t know much about it that interested me.”Photo courtesy of Ariadna Farrés-Basiana Are you involved in other activities outside of your work at NASA?
I am part of the Hypatia project. It encourages scientific vocations among girls who are potentially interested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. We do analog missions in the Utah desert, which simulates day-to-day life on Mars. Who has not dreamed of going to space, or has simply wondered what a trip to Mars or life on Mars would be like? With these simulations we help bring these dreams closer to students. What I like most about this initiative is being able to go to schools to explain our experiences to them. It is important to show different women who do research. This helps change the ideology of many who imagine that to be a scientist you must be a man with glasses and a white coat. There are few women in the space field. Many times, you have the feeling that you have to prove that you are worth more, show that you are there because you deserve it. It’s nice to be involved in projects like Hypatia, because I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about gender in STEM disciplines. It is my contribution so that the next generations are not so afraid to try to pursue a STEM career.
Where do you see yourself in the next five years?
I see myself here at NASA, working on different missions, perhaps taking on a role with a little more leadership or more responsibility.
By Alexa Figueroa
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Conversations With Goddard is a collection of Q&A profiles highlighting the breadth and depth of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center’s talented and diverse workforce. The Conversations have been published twice a month on average since May 2011. Read past editions on Goddard’s “Our People” webpage.
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Last Updated Aug 02, 2024 EditorMadison OlsonContactRob Garnerrob.garner@nasa.govLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
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By USH
On May 12, 1994 astronomers Michael Irwin and Anna Jitk were working at the observatory in the Canary Islands observing the Kuiper Belt when they spotted something and it glowed and dimmed in a regular rhythm every 5 and a half hours and according to science this object shouldn't even exist.
On April 7, 2016, the NASA team running NASA’s New Horizons mission were waiting nervously. The spacecraft was about to enter the outermost reaches of our solar system.
They'd aimed toward Pluto. Which lives in a region of the solar system called the Kuiper Belt. Just before arriving at the dwarf planet, the team noticed an object, discovered by the astronomers in 1994, nearby. And it was acting very strange. This object, whatever it was, was spinning faster than everything else around it. Too fast. Artificially fast. And the object reflected light in an odd way.
New Horizons changed course to do a fly-by. They wanted a better look at this bizarre behavior. But as the spacecraft approached the object, all communications went down.
The New Horizons spacecraft suddenly put itself into safe mode. Nothing was broken but NASA wasn't able to see or hear anything.
Something or someone was controlling it and blocking the signal and if there is someone controlling the object, they don't want to be seen and of all the places in the solar system the Kuiper belt is the best place to hide.
Whoever it was did not want NASA to know they were here and that they’ve been watching us for a very long. time.
Even though NASA did lose contact with New Horizon at one point in time it is not a surprise that there's no official record of New Horizons breaking down.
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