Members Can Post Anonymously On This Site
Euclid: ESA’s mission into the unknown
-
Similar Topics
-
By NASA
5 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
SpaceX Crew-9 members (from left) Mission Specialist Aleksandr Gorbunov from Roscosmos and Commander Nick Hague from NASA pose for an official crew portrait at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.NASA/Josh Valcarel NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov are preparing to launch on the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station.
The flight is the ninth crew rotation mission with SpaceX to the station under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The duo will lift off aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, which previously flew NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4, Axiom Mission 2 and Axiom Mission 3, from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Once aboard the space station, Hague and Gorbunov will become members of the Expedition 72 crew and perform research, technology demonstrations, and maintenance activities. The pair will join NASA astronauts Don Petitt, Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner.
Wilmore and Williams, who launched aboard the Starliner spacecraft in June, will fly home with Hague and Gorbunov in February 2025.
Launch preparations are underway, and teams are working to integrate the spacecraft and the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, including checkouts of a second flight rocket booster for the mission. The integrated spacecraft and rocket will then be rolled to the pad and raised to the vertical position for a dry dress rehearsal with the crew and an integrated static fire test prior to launch.
The Crew
Nick Hague will serve as crew commander for Crew-9, making this his third launch and second mission to the space station. During his first launch in October 2018, Hague and his crewmate, Roscosmos’ Alexey Ovchinin, experienced a rocket booster failure, resulting in an in-flight, post-launch abort, ballistic re-entry, and safe landing in their Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft. Five months later, Hague launched aboard Soyuz MS-12 and served as a flight engineer aboard the space station during Expeditions 59 and 60. Hague has spent 203 days in space and conducted three spacewalks to upgrade space station power systems and install a docking adapter for commercial spacecraft.
Born in Belleville, Kansas, Hague earned a bachelor’s degree in Astronautical Engineering from the United States Air Force Academy and a master’s degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Hague was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 2013. An active-duty colonel in the U.S. Space Force, Hague completed a developmental rotation at the Defense Department and served as the Space Force’s director of test and evaluation from 2020 to 2022. In August 2022, Hague resumed duties at NASA, working on the Boeing Starliner Program until this flight assignment.
Follow @astrohague on X and Instagram.
Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will embark on his first trip to the space station as a mission specialist for Crew-9. Born in Zheleznogorsk, Kursk region, Russia, he studied engineering with qualifications in spacecraft and upper stages from the Moscow Aviation Institute. Gorbunov graduated from the military department with a specialty in operating and repairing aircraft, helicopters, and aircraft engines. Before his selection as a cosmonaut in 2018, he worked as an engineer for Rocket Space Corp. Energia and supported cargo spacecraft launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Gorbunov will serve as a flight engineer during Expedition 71/72 aboard the space station.
Mission Overview
After liftoff, Dragon will accelerate to approximately 17,500 mph to dock with the space station.
Once in orbit, flight control teams from NASA’s Mission Control Center at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and the SpaceX mission control in Hawthorne, California, will monitor a series of automatic maneuvers that will guide Dragon to the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module. The spacecraft is designed to dock autonomously, but the crew can take control and pilot manually if necessary.
After docking, Expedition 71 will welcome Hague and Gorbunov inside the station and conduct several days of handover activities with the departing astronauts of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission. After a handover period, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin of Crew-8 will undock from the space station and splash down off the coast of Florida.
Crew-9 will conduct new scientific research to prepare for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit and benefit humanity on Earth. Experiments include the impact of flame behavior on Earth, studying cells and platelets during long-duration spaceflight, and a B vitamin that could reduce Spaceflight-Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome. They’ll also work on experiments that benefit life on Earth, like studying the physics of supernova explosions and monitoring the effects of different moister treatments on plants grown aboard the station. These are just a few of over 200 scientific experiments and technology demonstrations taking place during their mission.
While aboard the orbiting laboratory, Crew-9 will welcome two Dragon spacecraft, including NASA’s SpaceX’s 31st commercial resupply services mission and NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10, and two Roscosmos-led cargo deliveries on Progress 90 and 91.
In February, Hague, Gorbunov, Wilmore, and Williams will climb aboard Dragon and autonomously undock, depart the space station, and re-enter Earth’s atmosphere. After splashdown off Florida’s coast, a SpaceX recovery vessel will pick up the spacecraft and crew, who then will be helicoptered back to shore.
Commercial crew missions enable NASA to maximize use of the space station, where astronauts have lived and worked continuously for more than 23 years testing technologies, performing research, and developing the skills needed to operate future commercial destinations in low Earth orbit, and explore farther from Earth. Research conducted on the space station provides benefits for people on Earth and paves the way for future long-duration trips to the Moon and beyond through NASA’s Artemis missions.
Get breaking news, images, and features from the space station on Instagram, Facebook, and X.
Learn more about the space station, its research, and crew, at https://www.nasa.gov/station.
Share
Details
Last Updated Sep 19, 2024 Related Terms
Commercial Crew International Space Station (ISS) Explore More
4 min read NASA Astronaut Tracy C. Dyson’s Scientific Mission aboard Space Station
Article 1 day ago 3 min read Station Science Top News: September 13, 2024
Article 3 days ago 4 min read NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 to Conduct Space Station Research
Article 7 days ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics
Missions
Humans in Space
Climate Change
Solar System
View the full article
-
By NASA
4 Min Read NASA’s Webb Provides Another Look Into Galactic Collisions
This composite image of Arp 107 reveals a wealth of information about the star-formation and how these two galaxies collided hundreds of million years ago (full image below). Credits:
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI Smile for the camera! An interaction between an elliptical galaxy and a spiral galaxy, collectively known as Arp 107, seems to have given the spiral a happier outlook thanks to the two bright “eyes” and the wide semicircular “smile.” The region has been observed before in infrared by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope in 2005, however NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope displays it in much higher resolution. This image is a composite, combining observations from Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) and NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera).
Image A: Arp 107 (NIRCam and MIRI Image)
This composite image of Arp 107, created with data from the James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), reveals a wealth of information about the star-formation and how these two galaxies collided hundreds of million years ago. NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI NIRCam highlights the stars within both galaxies and reveals the connection between them: a transparent, white bridge of stars and gas pulled from both galaxies during their passage. MIRI data, represented in orange-red, shows star-forming regions and dust that is composed of soot-like organic molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. MIRI also provides a snapshot of the bright nucleus of the large spiral, home to a supermassive black hole.
Image B: Arp 107 (MIRI Image)
This image of Arp 107, shown by Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), reveals the supermassive black hole that lies in the center of the large spiral galaxy to the right. This black hole, which pulls much of the dust into lanes, also display’s Webb’s characteristic diffraction spikes, caused by the light that it emits interacting with the structure of the telescope itself. NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI The spiral galaxy is classified as a Seyfert galaxy, one of the two largest groups of active galaxies, along with galaxies that host quasars. Seyfert galaxies aren’t as luminous and distant as quasars, making them a more convenient way to study similar phenomena in lower energy light, like infrared.
This galaxy pair is similar to the Cartwheel Galaxy, one of the first interacting galaxies that Webb observed. Arp 107 may have turned out very similar in appearance to the Cartwheel, but since the smaller elliptical galaxy likely had an off-center collision instead of a direct hit, the spiral galaxy got away with only its spiral arms being disturbed.
The collision isn’t as bad as it sounds. Although there was star formation occurring before, collisions between galaxies can compress gas, improving the conditions needed for more stars to form. On the other hand, as Webb reveals, collisions also disperse a lot of gas, potentially depriving new stars of the material they need to form.
Webb has captured these galaxies in the process of merging, which will take hundreds of millions of years. As the two galaxies rebuild after the chaos of their collision, Arp 107 may lose its smile, but it will inevitably turn into something just as interesting for future astronomers to study.
Arp 107 is located 465 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo Minor.
Video: Tour the Arp 107 Image
Video tour transcript
Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Danielle Kirshenblat (STScI) 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).
Downloads
Right click any image to save it or open a larger version in a new tab/window via the browser’s popup menu.
View/Download all image products at all resolutions for this article from the Space Telescope Science Institute.
Media Contacts
Laura Betz – laura.e.betz@nasa.gov, Rob Gutro – rob.gutro@nasa.gov
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Matthew Brown – mabrown@stsci.edu, Christine Pulliam – cpulliam@stsci.edu
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
Related Information
Video: What happens when galaxies collide?
Interactive: Explore “Interacting Galaxies: Future of the Milky Way”
Other images: Hubble’s view of Arp 107 and Spitzer’s view of Arp 107
Video: Galaxy Collisions: Simulations vs. Observations
Article: More about Galaxy Evolution
Video: Learn more about galactic collisions
More Webb News
More Webb Images
Webb Science Themes
Webb Mission Page
Related For Kids
What is a galaxy?
What is the Webb Telescope?
SpacePlace for Kids
En Español
¿Qué es una galaxia?
Ciencia de la NASA
NASA en español
Space Place para niños
Keep Exploring Related Topics
James Webb Space Telescope
Webb is the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It studies every phase in the…
Galaxies
Galaxies Stories
Universe
Share
Details
Last Updated Sep 17, 2024 Editor Marty McCoy Contact Laura Betz laura.e.betz@nasa.gov Related Terms
Active Galaxies Astrophysics Galaxies Galaxies, Stars, & Black Holes Goddard Space Flight Center James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Science & Research Seyfert Galaxies The Universe View the full article
-
By European Space Agency
Hera asteroid mission launch kit
Everything you'd ever want to know about ESA's first planetary defence mission
View the full article
-
By NASA
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson smiles for a portrait in the vestibule between the Kibo laboratory module and the Harmony module aboard space station.NASA NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson is returning home after a six-month mission aboard the International Space Station. While on orbit, Dyson conducted an array of experiments and technology demonstrations that contribute to advancements for humanity on Earth and the agency’s trajectory to the Moon and Mars.
Here is a look at some of the science Dyson conducted during her mission:
Heart-Shaped Bioprints
NASA NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson operates the BioFabrication Facility for the Redwire Cardiac Bioprinting Investigation, which 3D prints cardiovascular tissue samples. In microgravity, bio inks used for 3D printing are less likely to settle and retain their shape better than on Earth. Cardiovascular disease is currently the number one cause of death in the United States, and findings from this space station investigation could one day lead to 3D-printed organs such as hearts for patients awaiting transplants.
Wicking in Weightlessness
NASA NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson handles hardware for the Wicking in Gel-Coated Tubes (Gaucho Lung) experiment. This study uses a tube lined with various gel thicknesses to simulate the human respiratory system. A fluid mass known as a liquid plug is then observed as it either blocks or flows through the tube. Data regarding the movement and trailing of the liquid plug allows researchers to design better drug delivery methods to address respiratory ailments.
Programming for Future Missions
NASA NASA NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson runs student-designed software on the free-flying Astrobee robot. This technology demonstration is part of Zero Robotics, a worldwide competition that engages middle school students in writing computer code to address unique specifications. Winning participants get to run their software on an actual Astrobee aboard the space station. This educational opportunity helps inspire the next generation of technology innovators.
Robo-Extensions
NASA As we venture to the Moon and Mars, astronauts may rely more on robots to ensure safety and preserve resources. Through the Surface Avatar study, NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson controls a robot on Earth’s surface from a computer aboard station. This technology demonstration aims to toggle between manipulating multiple robots and “diving inside” a specific bot to control as an avatar. This two-way demonstration also evaluates how robot operators respond their robotic counterparts’ efficiency and general output. Applications for Earth use include exploration of inhospitable zones and search and rescue missions after disasters.
Capturing Earth’s Essence
NASA For Crew Earth Observations, astronauts take pictures of Earth from space for research purposes. NASA astronauts Suni Williams (left) and Tracy C. Dyson (right) contribute by aiming handheld cameras from the space station’s cupola to photograph our planet. Images help inform climate and environmental trends worldwide and provide real-time natural disaster assessments. More than four million photographs have been taken of Earth by astronauts from space.
Multi-faceted Crystallization Processor
NASA NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson holds a cassette for Pharmaceutical In-Space Laboratory – 04 (ADSEP-PIL-04), an experiment to crystallize the model proteins lysozyme and insulin. Up to three cassettes with samples can be processed simultaneously in the Advanced Space Experiment Processor (ADSEP), each at an independent temperature. Because lysozyme and insulin have well-documented crystal structures, they can be used to evaluate the hardware’s performance in space. Successful crystallization with ADSEP could lead to production and manufacturing of versatile crystals with pharmaceutical applications.
Cryo Care
NASA NASA astronauts Tracy C. Dyson and Matthew Dominick preserve research samples in freezers aboard the space station. Cryopreservation is essential for maintaining the integrity of samples for a variety of experiments, especially within the field of biology. The orbiting laboratory has multiple freezer options with varying subzero temperatures. Upon return, frozen samples are delivered back to their research teams for further analysis.
Welcoming New Science
NASA NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson is pictured between the Unity module and Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft in preparation for depressurization and departure from the International Space Station. On long-duration missions, visiting vehicles provide necessities for crew daily living as well as new science experiments and supplies for ongoing research. This vehicle brought experiments to test water recovery technology, produce stem cells in microgravity, study the effects of spaceflight on microorganism DNA, and conduct science demonstrations for students.
Diana Garcia
International Space Station Research Communications Team
NASA’s Johnson Space Center
Keep Exploring Discover More Topics
Latest News from Space Station Research
Humans in Space
Station Science 101
Expedition 71
Expedition 71 began on April 5, 2024 and ends in September 2024. This crew will explore neuro-degenerative diseases and therapies,…
View the full article
-
By NASA
6 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
This artist’s concept depicts NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft in orbit around Jupiter. The mission is targeting an Oct. 10, 2024, launch.NASA/JPL-Caltech The first NASA spacecraft dedicated to studying an ocean world beyond Earth, Europa Clipper aims to find out if the ice-encased moon Europa could be habitable.
NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft, the largest the agency has ever built for a planetary mission, will travel 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion kilometers) from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to Europa, an intriguing icy moon of Jupiter. The spacecraft’s launch period opens Thursday, Oct. 10.
Learn more about how NASA’s Europa Clipper came together – and how it will explore an ocean moon of Jupiter. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Data from previous NASA missions has provided scientists with strong evidence that an enormous salty ocean lies underneath the frozen surface of the moon. Europa Clipper will orbit Jupiter and conduct 49 close flybys of the moon to gather data needed to determine whether there are places below its thick frozen crust that could support life.
Here are eight things to know about the mission:
1. Europa is one of the most promising places to look for currently habitable conditions beyond Earth.
There’s scientific evidence that the ingredients for life — water, the right chemistry, and energy — may exist at Europa right now. This mission will gather the information scientists need to find out for sure. The moon may hold an internal ocean with twice the water of Earth’s oceans combined, and it may also host organic compounds and energy sources under its surface. If the mission determines that Europa is habitable, it would mean there may be more habitable worlds in our solar system and beyond than we have imagined.
2. The spacecraft will fly through one of the most punishing radiation environments in our solar system — second only to the Sun’s.
Jupiter is surrounded by a gigantic magnetic field 20,000 times stronger than Earth’s. As the field spins, it captures and accelerates charged particles, creating radiation that can damage spacecraft. Mission engineers designed a spacecraft vault to shield sensitive electronics from radiation, and they plotted orbits that will limit the time Europa Clipper spends in most radiation-heavy areas around Jupiter.
3. Europa Clipper will orbit Jupiter, studying Europa while flying by the moon dozens of times.
The spacecraft will make looping orbits around Jupiter that bring it close to Europa for 49 science-dedicated flybys. On each orbit, the spacecraft will spend less than a day in Jupiter’s dangerous radiation zone near Europa before zipping back out. Two to three weeks later, it will repeat the process, making another flyby.
4. Europa Clipper features NASA’s most sophisticated suite of science instruments yet.
To determine if Europa is habitable, Europa Clipper must assess the moon’s interior, composition, and geology. The spacecraft carries nine science instruments and a gravity experiment that uses the telecommunications system. In order to obtain the best science during each flyby, all the science instruments will operate simultaneously on every pass. Scientists will then layer the data together to paint a full picture of the moon.
5. With antennas and solar arrays fully deployed, Europa Clipper is the largest spacecraft NASA has ever developed for a planetary mission.
The spacecraft extends 100 feet (30.5 meters) from one end to the other and about 58 feet (17.6 meters) across. That’s bigger than a basketball court, thanks in large part to the solar arrays, which need to be huge so they can collect enough sunlight while near Jupiter to power the instruments, electronics, and other subsystems.
6. It’s a long journey to Jupiter.
Jupiter is on average some 480 million miles (about 770 million kilometers) from Earth; both planets are in motion, and a spacecraft can carry only a limited amount of fuel. Mission planners are sending Europa Clipper past Mars and then Earth, using the planets’ gravity as a slingshot to add speed to the spacecraft’s trek. After journeying about 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion kilometers) over 5½ years, the spacecraft will fire its engines to enter orbit around Jupiter in 2030.
7. Institutions across the U.S. and Europe have contributed to Europa Clipper.
Currently, about a thousand people work on the mission, including more than 220 scientists from both the U.S. and Europe. Since the mission was officially approved in 2015, more than 4,000 people have contributed to Europa Clipper, including teams who work for contractors and subcontractors.
8. More than 2.6 million of us are riding along with the spacecraft, bringing greetings from one water world to another.
As part of a mission campaign called “Message in a Bottle,” the spacecraft is carrying a poem by U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón, cosigned by millions of people from nearly every country in the world. Their names have been stenciled onto a microchip attached to a tantalum metal plate that seals the spacecraft’s electronics vault. The plate also features waveforms of people saying the word “water” in over 100 spoken languages.
More About Europa Clipper
Europa Clipper’s three main science objectives are to determine the thickness of the moon’s icy shell and its interactions with the ocean below, to investigate its composition, and to characterize its geology. The mission’s detailed exploration of Europa will help scientists better understand the astrobiological potential for habitable worlds beyond our planet.
Managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory leads the development of the Europa Clipper mission in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The main spacecraft body was designed by APL in collaboration with JPL and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. The Planetary Missions Program Office at Marshall executes program management of the Europa Clipper mission.
NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy, manages the launch service for the Europa Clipper spacecraft, which will launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy.
Find more information about Europa here:
https://europa.nasa.gov
Europa Clipper Teachable Moment See Europa’s Chaos Terrain in Crisp Detail Europa Clipper Gets Its Super-Size Solar Arrays News Media Contacts
Gretchen McCartney
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-6215
gretchen.p.mccartney@jpl.nasa.gov
Karen Fox / Molly Wasser
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov
2024-125
Share
Details
Last Updated Sep 17, 2024 Related Terms
Europa Clipper Jet Propulsion Laboratory Jupiter The Solar System Explore More
4 min read NASA’s Artemis II Crew Uses Iceland Terrain for Lunar Training
At first glance, it seems like a scene from an excursion on the Moon’s surface…except…
Article 4 days ago 3 min read NASA to Develop Lunar Time Standard for Exploration Initiatives
Article 5 days ago 23 min read The Next Full Moon is a Partial Lunar Eclipse; a Supermoon; the Corn Moon; and the Harvest Moon
The next full Moon will be Tuesday, September 17, 2024, at 10:35 PM EDT. The…
Article 6 days ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics
Missions
Humans in Space
Climate Change
Solar System
View the full article
-
-
Check out these Videos
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.