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By NASA
5 Min Read Scientists Share Early Results from NASA’s Solar Eclipse Experiments
On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse swept across a narrow portion of the North American continent from Mexico’s Pacific coast to the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland, Canada. This photo was taken from Dallas, Texas. Credits:
NASA/Keegan Barber On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse swept across North America, from the western shores of Mexico, through the United States, and into northeastern Canada. For the eclipse, NASA helped fund numerous research projects and called upon citizen scientists in support of NASA’s goal to understand how our home planet is affected by the Sun – including, for example, how our star interacts with Earth’s atmosphere and affects radio communications.
At a press briefing on Tuesday, Dec. 10, scientists attending the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union in Washington, D.C., reported some early results from a few of these eclipse experiments.
“Scientists and tens of thousands of volunteer observers were stationed throughout the Moon’s shadow,” said Kelly Korreck, eclipse program manager at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Their efforts were a crucial part of the Heliophysics Big Year – helping us to learn more about the Sun and how it affects Earth’s atmosphere when our star’s light temporarily disappears from view.”
Changes in the Corona
On April 8, the Citizen CATE 2024 (Continental-America Telescopic Eclipse) project stationed 35 observing teams from local communities from Texas to Maine to capture images of the Sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona, during totality. Their goal is to see how the corona changed as totality swept across the continent.
On Dec. 10, Sarah Kovac, the CATE project manager at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, reported that, while a few teams were stymied by clouds, most observed totality successfully — collecting over 47,000 images in all.
These images were taken in polarized light, or light oriented in different directions, to help scientists better understand the processes that shape the corona.
This preliminary movie from the Citizen CATE 2024 project stitches together polarized images of the solar corona taken from different sites during the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. SwRI/Citizen CATE 2024/Dan Seaton/Derek Lamb Kovac shared the first cut of a movie created from these images. The project is still stitching together all the images into the final, hour-long movie, for release at a later time.
“The beauty of CATE 2024 is that we blend cutting-edge professional science with community participants from all walks of life,” Kovac said. “The dedication of every participant made this project possible.”
Meanwhile, 50,000 feet above the ground, two NASA WB-57 aircraft chased the eclipse shadow as it raced across the continent, observing above the clouds and extending their time in totality to approximately 6 minutes and 20 seconds.
On board were cameras and spectrometers (instruments that analyze different wavelengths of light) built by multiple research teams to study the corona.
This image of the total solar eclipse is a combination of 30 50-millisecond exposures taken with a camera mounted on one of NASA’s WB-57 aircraft on April 8, 2024. It was captured in a wavelength of light emitted by ionized iron atoms called Fe XIV. This emission highlights electrified gas, called plasma, at a specific temperature (around 3.2 million degrees Fahrenheit) that often reveals arch-like structures in the corona. B. Justen, O. Mayer, M. Justen, S. Habbal, and M. Druckmuller On Dec. 10, Shadia Habbal of the University of Hawaii, who led one of the teams, reported that their instruments collected valuable data, despite one challenge. Cameras they had mounted on the aircraft’s wings experienced unexpected vibrations, which caused some of the images to be slightly blurred.
However, all the cameras captured detailed images of the corona, and the spectrometers, which were located in the nose of the aircraft, were not affected. The results were so successful, scientists are already planning to fly similar experiments on the aircraft again.
“The WB-57 is a remarkable platform for eclipse observations that we will try to capitalize on for future eclipses,” Habbal said.
Affecting the Atmosphere
On April 8, amateur or “ham” radio operators sent and received signals to one another before, during, and after the eclipse as part of the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) Festivals of Eclipse Ionospheric Science. More than 6,350 amateur radio operators generated over 52 million data points to observe how the sudden loss of sunlight during totality affects their radio signals and the ionosphere, an electrified region of Earth’s upper atmosphere.
Students from Case Western Reserve University operate radios during the 2024 total solar eclipse. HamSCI/Case Western Reserve University Radio communications inside and outside the path of totality improved at some frequencies (from 1-7 MHz), showing there was a reduction in ionospheric absorption. At higher frequencies (10 MHz and above), communications worsened.
Results using another technique, which bounced high-frequency radio waves (3-30 MHz) off the ionosphere, suggests that the ionosphere ascended in altitude during the eclipse and then descended to its normal height afterward.
“The project brings ham radio operators into the science community,” said Nathaniel Frissell, a professor at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania and lead of HamSCI. “Their dedication to their craft made this research possible.”
Also looking at the atmosphere, the Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project organized student groups across the U.S. to launch balloons into the shadow of the Moon as it crossed the country in April 2024 and during a solar eclipse in October 2023. Teams flew weather sensors and other instruments to study the atmospheric response to the cold, dark shadow.
The eclipse’s shadow was captured from a camera aboard Virginia Tech’s balloon as part of the Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project on April 8, 2024. Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project/Virginia Tech This research, conducted by over 800 students, confirmed that eclipses can generate ripples in Earth’s atmosphere called atmospheric gravity waves. Just as waves form in a lake when water is disturbed, these waves also form in the atmosphere when air is disturbed. This project, led by Angela Des Jardins of Montana State University in Bozeman, also confirmed the presence of these waves during previous solar eclipses. Scientists think the trigger for these waves is a “hiccup” in the tropopause, a layer in Earth’s atmosphere, similar to an atmospheric effect that is observed during sunset.
“Half of the teams had little to no experience ballooning before the project,” said Jie Gong, a team science expert and atmospheric scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “But their hard work and research was vital in this finding.”
By Abbey Interrante and Vanessa Thomas
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
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By NASA
On flight day 13, Orion reached its maximum distance from Earth during the Artemis I mission when it was 268,563 miles away from our home planet. Orion has now traveled farther than any other spacecraft built for humans.NASA The Artemis II test flight will be NASA’s first mission with crew under the Artemis campaign and will pave the way to land astronauts on the Moon on Artemis III and future missions. The crew of four aboard the agency’s Orion spacecraft will travel around the Moon and back to confirm the spacecraft’s systems operate as designed with crew aboard in the actual environment of deep space. Through Artemis, NASA will send astronauts – including the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut – to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build the foundation for crewed missions to Mars.
On Dec. 5, NASA updated its timelines for the missions and shared the results of an investigation into the Orion heat shield after it experienced an unexpected loss of charred material during re-entry of the Artemis I uncrewed test flight in late 2022.
Here are some frequently asked questions about Artemis II, NASA’s recent updates, and the agency’s path to the Moon and Mars.
What is Orion?
NASA’s Orion spacecraft is where our crew live while traveling to and from deep space. Orion is built to take humans farther than they’ve ever gone before. On Artemis missions, Orion will carry crews of four astronauts from Earth to space, provide emergency abort capability, sustain them as they venture to the Moon, and safely return them to Earth from deep space speeds and temperatures.
What is a heat shield and why is it important?
When Orion travels back from deep space, its journey through Earth’s atmosphere generates intense temperatures of up to 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit on parts of the spacecraft. The 16-foot diameter protective heat shield on the bottom of the capsule is designed to dissipate that heat and keep the crew inside safe. Orion’s heat shield is primarily composed of Avcoat, a material designed to wear away as it heats up.
What abnormal behavior did you see on the Artemis I heat shield?
NASA flew the uncrewed Artemis I mission in late 2022 to test Orion, the agency’s SLS rocket, and the ground systems needed to launch them, testing these elements together for the first time to ensure engineers understand everything about the systems before flights with astronauts. The successful test flight sent Orion past the Moon and provided valuable data to ensure our deep space spacecraft and other systems are ready for crewed missions. When Orion returned to Earth, engineers saw variations across Orion’s heat shield they did not expect. Some of the charred material had broken off. If a crew had been aboard the flight, they would have remained safe, but understanding the phenomenon has been the subject of an extensive investigation since the test flight.
What did NASA’s find as the cause of the issue?
Engineers determined that as Orion was returning from its uncrewed mission around the Moon, gases generated inside the heat shield’s ablative outer material called Avcoat were not able to vent and dissipate as expected. This allowed pressure to build up and horizontal cracking to occur near the surface of the charred layer, causing some charred material to break off in several locations.
For Artemis II, engineers will limit how long Orion spends in the temperature range in which the Artemis I heat shield phenomenon occurred by modifying how far Orion can fly between when it enters Earth atmosphere and lands. Engineers already are assembling and integrating the Orion spacecraft for Artemis III based on lessons learned from Artemis I and implementing enhancements to how heat shields for crewed returns from lunar landing missions are manufactured to achieve uniformity and consistent permeability. A more detailed description is here.
Why did NASA decide to use the current heat shield?
Extensive data from the investigation has given engineers confidence the heat shield for Artemis II can be used to safely fly the mission’s crew around the Moon and back. NASA will modify the trajectory by shortening how far Orion can fly between when it enters Earth’s atmosphere and splashes down in the Pacific Ocean. This will limit how long Orion spends in the temperature range in which the Artemis I heat shield phenomenon occurred. The heat shield for the test flight is already attached to Orion.
When will Artemis II take place?
The Artemis II test flight will be NASA’s first mission with crew aboard the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft and will pave the way to land astronauts on the Moon on Artemis III. Artemis II builds on the success of the uncrewed Artemis I mission and will demonstrate a broad range of capabilities needed on lunar missions. The 10-day flight will help to confirm all of the spacecraft’s systems operate as designed with crew aboard in the actual environment of deep space. The mission is targeted for April 2026.
The updated timeline for the Artemis II flight is informed by technical issues engineers are troubleshooting including with an Orion battery issue and its environmental control system. The heat shield was installed in June 2023 and the root cause investigation took place in parallel to other assembly and testing activities to preserve as much schedule as possible.
What are the astronauts doing during the mission delay?
NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen will continue training for the mission. More intensive training will begin about six months before launch.
About the Artemis Campaign
What is Artemis?
NASA is establishing a long-term presence at the Moon for scientific exploration and discovery with our commercial and international partners, learning how to live and work far from home, and preparing for future human exploration of Mars – we call this endeavor Artemis. Under Artemis, NASA will land the first woman, first person of color, and first international partner astronaut on the Moon, using innovative technologies to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before.
Why is NASA going back to the Moon?
NASA is going back to the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and inspiration for a new generation of explorers: the Artemis Generation. Artemis is a new approach to America’s space exploration efforts — it is the most technically challenging, collaborative, international endeavor humanity has ever set out to do. What we learn from expanding scientific knowledge and developing new technologies will be applied to improve life on Earth. Samples from the lunar South Pole could tell us more about the formation of our planet and origins of our solar system. We are meeting this challenge by investing in American ingenuity and leadership to advance our understanding of the universe for the benefit of all.
What makes Artemis different from Apollo?
The Apollo Program successfully landed 12 men near the equator of the Moon in the 1960s and 1970s. Under Artemis, NASA is going to the lunar South Pole region, where no humans have ever set foot, in new ways with commercial and international partners. The agency is leading the largest international coalition in space to push humanity farther than ever before for the benefit of all, developing capabilities for astronauts to live and work on the Moon before our next giant leap – human exploration of Mars.
What happens after Artemis II?
Artemis III will build on the crewed Artemis II flight test, adding new capabilities with the human landing system and advanced spacesuits to send the first humans to explore the lunar South Pole region. Over the course of about 30 days a crew of four will launch atop the Space Launch System rocket in Orion and travel to a special lunar orbit where they will dock with SpaceX’s Starship human landing system. Two Artemis crew members will transfer from Orion to Starship and descend to the lunar surface. There, they will collect samples, perform science experiments, and observe the Moon’s environment before returning in Starship to Orion waiting in lunar orbit. The mission is planned for mid-2027.
NASA is also working with SpaceX to further develop the company’s Starship lander requirements for Artemis IV. These requirements include landing more mass on the Moon and docking with the agency’s Gateway lunar space station for crew transfer. NASA will use Blue Origin’s human landing system for Artemis V.
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By NASA
Imagine designing technology that can survive on the Moon for up to a decade, providing a continuous energy supply. NASA selected three companies to develop such systems, aimed at providing a power source at the Moon’s South Pole for Artemis missions.
Three companies were awarded contracts in 2022 with plans to test their self-sustaining solar arrays at the Johnson Space Center’s Space Environment Simulation Laboratory (SESL) in Houston, specifically in Chamber A in building 32. The prototypes tested to date have undergone rigorous evaluations to ensure the technology can withstand the harsh lunar environment and deploy the solar array effectively on the lunar surface.
The Honeybee Robotics prototype during lunar VSAT (Vertical Solar Array Technology) testing inside Chamber A at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.NASA/David DeHoyos The Astrobotic Technology prototype during lunar VSAT testing inside Chamber A at Johnson Space Center. NASA/James Blair In the summer of 2024, both Honeybee Robotics, a Blue Origin company from Altadena, California and Astrobotic Technology from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania put their solar array concepts to the test in Chamber A.
Each company has engineered a unique solution to design the arrays to withstand the harsh lunar environment and extreme temperature swings. The data collected in the SESL will support refinement of requirements and the designs for future technological advancements with the goal to deploy at least one of the systems near the Moon’s South Pole.
The contracts for this initiative are part of NASA’s VSAT (Vertical Solar Array Technology) project, aiming to support the agency’s long-term lunar surface operations. VSAT is under the Space Technology Mission Directorate Game Changing Development program and led by the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, in collaboration with Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.
“We foresee the Moon as a hub for manufacturing satellites and hardware, leveraging the energy required to launch from the lunar surface,” said Jim Burgess, VSAT lead systems engineer. “This vision could revolutionize space exploration and industry.”
Built in 1965, the SESL initially supported the Gemini and Apollo programs but was adapted to conduct testing for other missions like the Space Shuttle Program and Mars rovers, as well as validate the design of the James Webb Space Telescope. Today, it continues to evolve to support future Artemis exploration.
Johnson’s Front Door initiative aims to solve the challenges of space exploration by opening opportunities to the public and bringing together bold and innovative ideas to explore new destinations.
“The SESL is just one of the hundreds of unique capabilities that we have here at Johnson,” said Molly Bannon, Johnson’s Innovation and Strategy specialist. “The Front Door provides a clear understanding of all our capabilities and services, the ways in which our partners can access them, and how to contact us. We know that we can go further together with all our partners across the entire space ecosystem if we bring everyone together as the hub of human spaceflight.”
Chamber A remains as one of the largest thermal vacuum chambers of its kind, with the unique capability to provide extreme deep space temperature conditions down to as low as 20 Kelvin. This allows engineers to gather essential data on how technologies react to the Moon’s severe conditions, particularly during the frigid lunar night where the systems may need to survive for 96 hours in darkness.
“Testing these prototypes will help ensure more safe and reliable space mission technologies,” said Chuck Taylor, VSAT project manager. “The goal is to create a self-sustaining system that can support lunar exploration and beyond, making our presence on the Moon not just feasible but sustainable.”
The power generation systems must be self-aware to manage outages and ensure survival on the lunar surface. These systems will need to communicate with habitats and rovers and provide continuous power and recharging as needed. They must also deploy on a curved surface, extend 32 feet high to reach sunlight, and retract for possible relocation.
“Generating power on the Moon involves numerous lessons and constant learning,” said Taylor. “While this might seem like a technical challenge, it’s an exciting frontier that combines known technologies with innovative solutions to navigate lunar conditions and build a dynamic and robust energy network on the Moon.”
Watch the video below to explore the capabilities and scientific work enabled by the thermal testing conducted in Johnson’s Chamber A facility.
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