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Simulating Aeolus’s return: mission control feels the heat
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By NASA
NASA and Boeing welcomed Starliner back to Earth following the uncrewed spacecraft’s successful landing at 10:01 p.m. MDT Sept. 6, 2024, at the White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico. Credit: NASA NASA and Boeing safely returned the uncrewed Starliner spacecraft following its landing at 10:01 p.m. MDT Sept. 6 at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico, concluding a three-month flight test to the International Space Station.
“I am extremely proud of the work our collective team put into this entire flight test, and we are pleased to see Starliner’s safe return,” said Ken Bowersox, associate administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Even though it was necessary to return the spacecraft uncrewed, NASA and Boeing learned an incredible amount about Starliner in the most extreme environment possible. NASA looks forward to our continued work with the Boeing team to proceed toward certification of Starliner for crew rotation missions to the space station.”
The flight on June 5 was the first time astronauts launched aboard the Starliner. It was the third orbital flight of the spacecraft, and its second return from the orbiting laboratory. Starliner now will ship to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for inspection and processing.
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program requires a spacecraft to fly a crewed test flight to prove the system is ready for regular flights to and from the orbiting laboratory. Following Starliner’s return, the agency will review all mission-related data.
“We are excited to have Starliner home safely. This was an important test flight for NASA in setting us up for future missions on the Starliner system,” said Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. “There was a lot of valuable learning that will enable our long-term success. I want to commend the entire team for their hard work and dedication over the past three months.”
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched on June 5 aboard Starliner for the agency’s Boeing Crewed Flight Test from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. On June 6, as Starliner approached the space station, NASA and Boeing identified helium leaks and experienced issues with the spacecraft’s reaction control thrusters. Following weeks of in-space and ground testing, technical interchange meetings, and agency reviews, NASA made the decision to prioritize safety and return Starliner without its crew. Wilmore and Williams will continue their work aboard station as part of the Expedition 71/72 crew, returning in February 2025 with the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission.
The crew flight test is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The goal of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station and low Earth orbit. This already is providing additional research time and has increased the opportunity for discovery aboard humanity’s microgravity testbed, including helping NASA prepare for human exploration of the Moon and Mars.
Learn more about NASA’s Commercial Crew program at:
https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew
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Joshua Finch / Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / james.j.russell@nasa.gov
Leah Cheshier
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
leah.d.cheshier@nasa.gov
Steve Siceloff / Danielle Sempsrott / Stephanie Plucinsky
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-867-2468
steven.p.siceloff@nasa.gov / danielle.c.sempsrott@nasa.gov / stephanie.n.plucinsky@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Sep 07, 2024 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Commercial Crew International Space Station (ISS) ISS Research View the full article
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By NASA
Artist’s rendering of NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA will hold a media teleconference at 4 p.m. EDT, Monday, Sept. 9, to provide an update on Europa Clipper, a mission that will study whether Jupiter’s moon Europa could be hospitable to life. The teleconference will occur after a key decision point meeting earlier that day regarding next steps for the mission.
Audio of the teleconference will stream live on the agency’s website at:
https://www.nasa.gov/live
Participants in the teleconference include:
Nicola Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters Laurie Leshin, center director, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Curt Niebur, Europa Clipper program scientist, NASA Headquarters Jordan Evans, Europa Clipper project manager, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory To ask questions during the teleconference, media must RSVP no later than two hours before the event to Molly Wasser at: molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov. NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online.
Europa Clipper’s main science goal is to determine whether there are places below the surface of Jupiter’s icy moon that could support life. The mission’s objectives are to understand the nature of Europa’s ice shell and the ocean beneath it, as well as to study the moon’s composition and geology. A detailed exploration of Europa also will help astrobiologists better understand the potential for habitable worlds beyond our planet.
To learn more about Europa Clipper, visit:
https://europa.nasa.gov
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Karen Fox / Molly Wasser
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov
Gretchen McCartney
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-6215
gretchen.p.mccartney@jpl.nasa.gov
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Last Updated Sep 06, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Europa Clipper Jupiter Science Mission Directorate View the full article
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By NASA
NASA and Boeing teams work around Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft after it landed at White Sands Missile Range’s Space Harbor, May 25, 2022, in New Mexico for the company’s Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2.NASA/Bill Ingalls As NASA and Boeing prepare to return the company’s Starliner spacecraft uncrewed from the International Space Station to Earth, safety and mission success remain as top priorities for the teams. Mission managers will complete a series of operational and weather checks before the spacecraft undocks from the orbital complex.
The Starliner spacecraft is the first American capsule designed to touch down on land, supporting expedited astronaut and cargo recovery on future missions and to aid the company in spacecraft refurbishment. For Starliner missions, NASA and Boeing will use potential landing locations in the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico; Willcox, Arizona; and Dugway Proving Ground, Utah. Edwards Air Force Base in California also is available as a contingency landing site.
Twenty-four hours before undocking, NASA analyzes weather predictions for the various landing sites. Winds at the selected landing site must be 6 mph (approximately 6 knots) or less when flying with crew, and approximately 13 mph (12 knots) or less when uncrewed. Ground temperatures must be warmer than 15 degrees Fahrenheit, and the cloud ceiling must be at least 1,000 feet. One nautical mile of visibility is required, and the area must be clear of precipitation, thunderstorms, and lightning within approximately a 22-mile (35-kilometer) radius.
When teams proceed with undocking, Starliner will complete a series of departure burns, allowing it to reach its landing site in as little as six hours. A final weather check also occurs before the spacecraft’s deorbit burn. Winds must be at or below 10 mph (9 knots). If winds exceed these limits, teams will waive the deorbit burn, and Starliner will target another landing attempt between 24 and 31 hours later.
Once clear to proceed, Starliner executes its deorbit burn, which lasts approximately 60 seconds, slowing it down enough to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and committing the spacecraft to its targeted site. Immediately after the deorbit burn, Starliner repositions for service module disposal, which will burn up during re-entry over the southern Pacific Ocean.
Following service module separation, the command module maneuvers into re-entry position. During re-entry, the capsule experiences plasma buildup – reaching temperatures up to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit – that may interrupt communications with the spacecraft for approximately four minutes.
NASA and Boeing teams work around Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft after it landed at White Sands Missile Range’s Space Harbor, May 25, 2022, in New Mexico for the company’s Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2.NASA/Bill Ingalls Once Starliner re-enters Earth’s atmosphere, the forward heatshield – located on the top of the spacecraft – is jettisoned at 30,000 feet, exposing the two drogue and three main parachutes for deployment. The parachutes will continue to slow the spacecraft down as the base heatshield is jettisoned at 3,000 feet, allowing the six landing bags to inflate. At touchdown, the spacecraft is traveling at approximately 4 mph.
NASA and Boeing teams prepare for the landing of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft at White Sands Missile Range’s Space Harbor, May 25, 2022, in New Mexico for the company’s Orbital Flight Test-2.NASA/Bill Ingalls The NASA and Boeing landing and recovery team is stationed at a holding zone near Starliner’s intended landing site. After landing, a series of five teams move in toward the spacecraft in a sequential order.
The first team to approach the spacecraft is the gold team, using equipment that “sniffs” the capsule for any hypergolic fuels that didn’t fully burn off before re-entry. They also cover the spacecraft’s thrusters. Once given the all-clear, the silver team moves in. This team electrically grounds and stabilizes Starliner before the green team approaches, supplying power and cooling to the crew module since the spacecraft is powered down.
Hazmat teams work around Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft after it landed at White Sands Missile Range’s Space Harbor, May 25, 2022, in New Mexico for the company’s Orbital Flight Test-2. NASA/Bill Ingalls The blue team follows, documenting the recovery for public dissemination and future process review. The red team, which includes Boeing fire rescue, emergency medical technicians, and human factors engineers, then proceed to Starliner, opening the hatch.
Cargo from the International Space Station is pictured inside Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft after it landed at White Sands Missile Range’s Space Harbor, May 25, 2022, in New Mexico for the company’s Orbital Flight Test-2.NASA/Bill Ingalls The landing and recovery team begins unloading time-critical cargo from Starliner. The spacecraft is then transferred to Boeing facilities at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for refurbishment ahead of its next flight.
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is working with the American aerospace industry through a public-private partnership to launch astronauts on American rockets and spacecraft from American soil. The program’s goal is to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation on space station missions, which will allow for additional research time. The space station remains the springboard to NASA’s next great leap in space exploration, including future missions to the Moon and, eventually, to Mars.
For more information about the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew
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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 2 min read
Sol 4294: Return to McDonald Pass
This image was taken by Front Hazard Avoidance Camera (Front Hazcam) aboard NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity on sol 4293 — Martian day 4,293 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — Sept. 3, 2024 at 04:09:27 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech Earth planning date: Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024
Curiosity has returned to “McDonald Pass,” a block within Gediz Vallis that we first spotted about a month ago (as seen in the above Front Hazcam image). The block shows some interesting zonation — the distribution of textures and colors into different areas, or zones. We’re hoping that by studying the well-exposed relationships between white, gray, and tan material at this location that we’ll be able to better understand similar relationships that we’ve observed elsewhere. The drive over the weekend got us back to McDonald Pass, but perhaps one step too far. We realized that the best spot to study these zones is directly beneath the rover, so today’s plan includes contact science and a short bump to position the rover for even more science tomorrow.
Today was a rare one-sol plan, to account for the U.S. holiday yesterday. I was on shift as the Long Term Planner and it was a fairly straightforward day once we established the best locations for contact science. The plan starts with a DRT and APXS on the central part of the slab, at a target named “Erin Lake.” Then we have a remote sensing block, which begins with some environmental monitoring to search for dust devils, measure atmospheric opacity, and monitor the movement of fines on the rover deck. The Geology Theme group planned ChemCam LIBS on the darker gray rim of this block at “Paris Lake,” along with a ChemCam passive observation on an interesting dark float block nearby. There’s also a long distance RMI mosaic to assess the yardang unit higher on Mount Sharp, and a Mastcam mosaic to evaluate the textures in a row of large clasts. Later in the afternoon, Curiosity will acquire MAHLI images of Erin Lake and another target, “Picture Puzzle,” which captures the white, gray, and tan zones. Then Curiosity will take a short drive back about 1 meter (about 3.3 feet) to position a white and gray clast in our workspace for even more contact science tomorrow.
Will McDonald Pass be the key to understanding the zonation observed in blocks throughout this region? Stay tuned!
Written by Lauren Edgar, Planetary Geologist at USGS Astrogeology Science Center
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Last Updated Sep 05, 2024 Related Terms
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Data from one of the two CubeSats that comprise NASA’s PREFIRE mission was used to make this data visualization showing brightness temperature — the intensity of infrared emissions — over Greenland. Red represents more intense emissions; blue indicates lower intensities. The data was captured in July.
NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio The PREFIRE mission will help develop a more detailed understanding of how much heat the Arctic and Antarctica radiate into space and how this influences global climate.
NASA’s newest climate mission has started collecting data on the amount of heat in the form of far-infrared radiation that the Arctic and Antarctic environments emit to space. These measurements by the Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-Infrared Experiment (PREFIRE) are key to better predicting how climate change will affect Earth’s ice, seas, and weather — information that will help humanity better prepare for a changing world.
One of PREFIRE’s two shoebox-size cube satellites, or CubeSats, launched on May 25 from New Zealand, followed by its twin on June 5. The first CubeSat started sending back science data on July 1. The second CubeSat began collecting science data on July 25, and the mission will release the data after an issue with the GPS system on this CubeSat is resolved.
The PREFIRE mission will help researchers gain a clearer understanding of when and where the Arctic and Antarctica emit far-infrared radiation (wavelengths greater than 15 micrometers) to space. This includes how atmospheric water vapor and clouds influence the amount of heat that escapes Earth. Since clouds and water vapor can trap far-infrared radiation near Earth’s surface, they can increase global temperatures as part of a process known as the greenhouse effect. This is where gases in Earth’s atmosphere — such as carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor — act as insulators, preventing heat emitted by the planet from escaping to space.
“We are constantly looking for new ways to observe the planet and fill in critical gaps in our knowledge. With CubeSats like PREFIRE, we are doing both,” said Karen St. Germain, director of the Earth Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “The mission, part of our competitively-selected Earth Venture program, is a great example of the innovative science we can achieve through collaboration with university and industry partners.”
Earth absorbs much of the Sun’s energy in the tropics; weather and ocean currents transport that heat toward the Arctic and Antarctica, which receive much less sunlight. The polar environment — including ice, snow, and clouds — emits a lot of that heat into space, much of which is in the form of far-infrared radiation. But those emissions have never been systematically measured, which is where PREFIRE comes in.
“It’s so exciting to see the data coming in,” said Tristan L’Ecuyer, PREFIRE’s principal investigator and a climate scientist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. “With the addition of the far-infrared measurements from PREFIRE, we’re seeing for the first time the full energy spectrum that Earth radiates into space, which is critical to understanding climate change.”
This visualization of PREFIRE data (above) shows brightness temperatures — or the intensity of radiation emitted from Earth at several wavelengths, including the far-infrared. Yellow and red indicate more intense emissions originating from Earth’s surface, while blue and green represent lower emission intensities coinciding with colder areas on the surface or in the atmosphere.
The visualization starts by showing data on mid-infrared emissions (wavelengths between 4 to 15 micrometers) taken in early July during several polar orbits by the first CubeSat to launch. It then zooms in on two passes over Greenland. The orbital tracks expand vertically to show how far-infrared emissions vary through the atmosphere. The visualization ends by focusing on an area where the two passes intersect, showing how the intensity of far-infrared emissions changed over the nine hours between these two orbits.
The two PREFIRE CubeSats are in asynchronous, near-polar orbits, which means they pass over the same spots in the Arctic and Antarctic within hours of each other, collecting the same kind of data. This gives researchers a time series of measurements that they can use to study relatively short-lived phenomena like ice sheet melting or cloud formation and how they affect far-infrared emissions over time.
More About PREFIRE
The PREFIRE mission was jointly developed by NASA and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the mission for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and provided the spectrometers. Blue Canyon Technologies built and now operates the CubeSats, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison is processing and analyzing the data collected by the instruments.
To learn more about PREFIRE, visit:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/prefire/
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