Friends of NASA

Thursday, March 13, 2025

Orbital Motion | International Space Station

Orbital Motion | International Space Station

Expedition 72 flight engineer and NASA astronaut Don Pettit: "Here is a movie clip (processed by Babak- big thanks) sequentially adding the star trail still frames creating orbital motion."

Expedition 72 Updates:
https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 72 Crew

Station Commander: Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin (Russia)
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Ivan Vagner, Aleksandr Gorbunov
NASA Flight Engineers: Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, Don Pettit, Nick Hague

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada.

Image Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)/D. Pettit
Processing: Babak Tafreshi

Duration: 11 seconds
Release Date: March 12, 2025

#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #Stars #Planet #Earth #Astronauts #DonPettit #AstronautPhotography #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #SpaceLaboratory #MicrogravityResearch #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #InternationalCooperation #Expedition72 #STEM #Education #Timelapse #HD #Video

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 Mission: Crew Walkout | Kennedy Space Center

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 Mission: Crew Walkout | Kennedy Space Center

NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, along with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov of Russia, walk out of NASA's Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of launch of NASA's SpaceX Crew-10. The crew members will launch inside a Dragon spacecraft atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Liftoff is targeted for 7:48 p.m. EDT Wednesday, March 12, 2025.

The flight is the 10th crew rotation with SpaceX to the station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP). While aboard, the international crew will conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to help prepare humans for future missions and benefit people on Earth.

To learn more about NASA and the Kennedy Space Center please visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/kennedy

Video Credit: NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC)
Duration: 1 minute, 18 seconds
Release Date: March 12, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #SpaceXCrew10 #SpaceX #CrewDragonSpacecraft #Falcon9Rocket #Astronauts #AnneMcClain #Crew10MissionCommander #NicholeAyers #TakuyaOnishi #Japan #日本 #Cosmonaut #KirillPeskov #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #Expedition73 #KSC #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Planet Mars Images: March 6-12, 2025 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers

Planet Mars Images: March 6-12, 2025 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers

MSL - sol 4476

MSL - sol 4477

Mars 2020 - sol 1442

MSL - sol 4473

MSL - sol 4477

MSL - Sol 4473

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Celebrating 12+ Years on Mars (2012-2024)

Mission Name: Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)

Rover Name: Curiosity

Main Job: To determine if Mars was ever habitable to microbial life.

Launch: Nov. 6, 2011

Landing Date: Aug. 5, 2012, Gale Crater, Mars

Celebrating 4+ Years on Mars

Mission Name: Mars 2020

Rover Name: Perseverance

Main Job: Seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and soil) for return to Earth.

Launch: July 30, 2020

Landing: Feb. 18, 2021, Jezero Crater, Mars

For more information on NASA's Mars missions, visit: mars.nasa.gov

Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS

Processing: Kevin M. Gill

Image Release Dates: March 6-12, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #Astrobiology #Geology #CuriosityRover #MSL #MountSharp #GaleCrater #PerseveranceRover #Mars2020 #JezeroCrater #Robotics #SpaceTechnology #SpaceEngineering #MSSS #JPL #Caltech #UnitedStates #CitizenScience #KevinGill #STEM #Education

NASA's SPHEREx & PUNCH Missions: SpaceX Falcon 9 Launch at Vandenberg

NASA's SPHEREx & PUNCH Missions: SpaceX Falcon 9 Launch at Vandenberg

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched NASA's SPHEREx and PUNCH Missions from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg in California on March 12, 2025, at 11:10pm Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). Falcon 9’s first stage landed on Landing Zone 4 (LZ-4) at Vandenberg. Falcon 9’s first stage (B1088) previously supported NROL-126 and Transporter-12.

The Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) is NASA’s newest space telescope that “will observe hundreds of millions of galaxies and other objects during its two-year mission, mapping the cosmos in wavelengths invisible to the human eye”. The Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) is a “constellation of four small satellites in a polar (Sun-synchronous) low Earth orbit that will make global, 3D observations of the entire inner heliosphere to learn how the Sun's corona becomes the solar wind”.

Learn more about the SPHEREx Mission:

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/spherex/

Learn more about the PUNCH Mission:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/punch/

Image Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)

Image Date: March 12, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #SpaceX #Falcon9Rocket #Sun #Corona #SolarWind #Stars #Galaxies #3DMapping #SPHEREx #PUNCH #SpaceTelescopes #Universe #JPL #Caltech #BAESystems #STScI #Vandenburg #California #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

NASA's SPHEREx & PUNCH Astronomy Missions: Trajectory Explainer

NASA's SPHEREx & PUNCH Astronomy Missions: Trajectory Explainer

NASA’s Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) observatory, the size of a compact car, utilizes a wide-field aluminum telescope. NASA’s Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) is made up of four 140-pound small satellites, each about 1 x 2 x 3 feet in size. It will be synchronized to serve as a single “virtual instrument” that spans the whole PUNCH constellation.

SPHEREx is NASA’s newest space telescope that “will observe hundreds of millions of galaxies and other objects during its two-year mission, mapping the cosmos in wavelengths invisible to the human eye”.

Learn more about the SPHEREx Mission:

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/spherex/

PUNCH is a “constellation of four small satellites in a polar (Sun-synchronous) low Earth orbit that will make global, 3D observations of the entire inner heliosphere to learn how the Sun's corona becomes the solar wind”.

Learn more about the PUNCH Mission:

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/punch/

NASA's Launch Services Program (LSP)
https://www.nasa.gov/kennedy/launch-services-program/

Video Credit: NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC)
Duration: 3 minutes
Release Date: March 12, 2025

China Launches 18 Satellites from Hainan Commercial Spacecraft Launch Site

China Launches 18 Satellites from Hainan Commercial Spacecraft Launch Site

Eighteen low-Earth orbit satellites were successfully launched aboard a Long March-8 Y6 carrier rocket from the Hainan commercial spaceport in south China's Hainan province in the early hours of Wednesday, March 12, 2025.

The satellites, the fifth group of its kind, have entered the correct preset orbit, according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). They will become part of China's commercial Internet constellation Spacesail. This megaconstellation of 14,000 satellites being developed by Shanghai SpaceSail Technologies Co., Ltd. will “provide global users with low-latency, high-speed and ultra-reliable satellite broadband internet services”. At least 600 satellites are planned to be in orbit by the end of 2025.

Today's mission marks the inaugural launch from the spaceport's No. 1 launch pad. It follows the first launch from the No. 2 pad on Nov. 30, 2024. It demonstrates the dual-pad readiness of China's first commercial spaceport for large-scale and high-frequency satellite launch missions.

Video Credit: SMG
Duration: 2 minutes, 27 seconds
Release Date: March 12, 2025

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #Satellites #SpaceSailConstellation #QianfanConstellation #千帆星座 #China #中国 #CNSA #中国国家航天局 #LongMarch12 #长征十二号运载火箭 #LongMarch8Y6 #长征八号 #Rockets #MediumLiftRockets #CASC #SpaceTechnology #CommercialSpace #CommercialSpaceflight #Spaceport #Wenchang #Hainan #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's PUNCH Satellites Deploy from SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket

NASA's PUNCH Satellites Deploy from SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket

Deployment of the Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission’s four satellites occurred on Wednesday, March 12, 2025 via two separate operations spaced about thirty seconds apart. Following a 90-day commissioning period, the PUNCH mission is scheduled to conduct science for at least two years.

Learn more about the PUNCH Mission:

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/punch/

Video Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)

Duration: 50 seconds
Release Date: March 12, 2025

NASA's SPHEREx Observatory Separates from SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket

NASA's SPHEREx Observatory Separates from SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket

NASA’s Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) observatory separates from the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket’s second stage on its way to begin its science mission from a sun-synchronous orbit about 404 miles (650 kilometers) above the Earth’s surface on Tuesday, March 11, 2025.

Learn more about the SPHEREx Mission:

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/spherex/

Video Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)

Duration: 1 minute
Release Date: March 12, 2025

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

NASA's SPHEREx & PUNCH Missions: Liftoff on SpaceX Falcon 9 at Vandenberg

NASA's SPHEREx & PUNCH Missions: Liftoff on SpaceX Falcon 9 at Vandenberg

Learn more about the SPHEREx Mission:

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/spherex/

Learn more about the PUNCH Mission:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/punch/

Video Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)

Duration: 30 seconds
Image Date: March 12, 2025

IM-2 Athena Lander on Moon's Surface | NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

IM-2 Athena Lander on Moon's Surface | NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) team has spotted the Athena Lander of the Intuitive Machines IM-2 Mission, now ended, near the center of Mons Mouton near the Moon's south pole.
See the box showing an enlarged view. Athena arrived on March 6, 2025.

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) acquired this close oblique view of the Athena Lander on March 10, 2025, at 14:52 UTC, bringing it into sharper focus. North and nearside to the right, image width 1,175 meters.

Intuitive Machines Final Update: "The IM-2 mission lunar lander, Athena, landed 250 meters from its intended landing site in the Mons Mouton region of the lunar south pole, inside of a crater."

"Images downlinked from Athena on the lunar surface confirmed that Athena was on her side. After landing, mission controllers were able to accelerate several program and payload milestones, including NASA’s PRIME-1 suite, before the lander’s batteries depleted."

"With the direction of the sun, the orientation of the solar panels, and extreme cold temperatures in the crater, Intuitive Machines does not expect Athena to recharge. The mission has concluded and teams are continuing to assess the data collected throughout the mission."

"This southern pole region is lit by harsh sun angles and limited direct communication with the Earth. This area has been avoided due to its rugged terrain and Intuitive Machines believes the insights and achievements from IM-2 will open this region for further space exploration."

Image Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University
Image Date: March 10, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #Moon #SouthPole #MonsMouton #ArtemisProgram #IntuitiveMachines #IM2 #IM2Mission #IM2Spacecraft #AthenaLunarLander #CommercialSpace #CLPS #LRO #LunarOrbiter #Robotics #SpaceTechnology #MSFC #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Rocket Lab’s Commercial Solution to Mars Sample Return for NASA

Rocket Lab’s Commercial Solution to Mars Sample Return for NASA

Collecting samples from the planet Mars and bringing them back to Earth is a historic undertaking that began with the success of NASA's Perseverance rover in collecting samples on the Martian surface in Jezero Crater over the past four years.

Rocket Lab: "Mars Sample Return doesn’t have to take decades or break the bank. This animation showcases Rocket Lab’s proposed mission architecture to bring Martian samples to Earth."

Learn more about Rocket Lab's proposal: https://www.rocketlabusa.com/missions/mars-sample-return/

Learn about NASA's Mars Sample Return (MSR) Mission objectives:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-sample-return/

Celebrating 4+ Years on Mars

Mission Name: Mars 2020

Rover Name: Perseverance

Main Job: Seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and soil) for return to Earth.

Launch: July 30, 2020

Landing: Feb. 18, 2021, Jezero Crater, Mars

Video Credit: Rocket Lab
Duration: 3 minutes
Release Date: March 11, 2025

#NASA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #Astrobiology #Geology #PerseveranceRover #Mars2020 #MarsSampleReturn #MSR #JezeroCrater #RocketLab #Robotics #Technology #Engineering #JPL #UnitedStates #Europe #MoonToMars #STEM #Education #Animation #HD #Video

NASA's Artemis II ICPS Moon Rocket Stage-2 Arrives at Kennedy Space Center

NASA's Artemis II ICPS Moon Rocket Stage-2 Arrives at Kennedy Space Center

The flight-ready Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage-2 (ICPS-2) has been delivered by United Launch Alliance (ULA) to NASA's Kennedy Space Center for the Artemis II launch. The ICPS-2 was manufactured by ULA in collaboration with Boeing to serve as the upper stage to the Space Launch System (SLS) mega rocket. It will launch an international crew of four astronauts around the Moon on the Artemis II mission.

ULA built the stage at the rocket factory in Decatur, Alabama, then shipped ICPS-2 to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida for final testing and check out activities.

With that work now completed, ICPS-2 was moved from ULA's Delta Operations Center high bay to NASA's Multi-Payload Processing Facility (MPPF) at Kennedy Space Center. Standing more than 45 feet tall and secured in its Vertical Transport Fixture, the ICPS rode aboard an Elevating Platform Transporter that provided hydraulic leveling and precision positioning capabilities along the route.

Technicians at the MPPF will load hydrazine in the ICPS-2's attitude control system to make in-flight maneuvers and prep the stage for its forthcoming transfer to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to undergo stacking operations.

The Artemis II test flight will be sending NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Reid Wiseman, as well as Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back.

Artemis II will launch no earlier than April 2026.

Check the NASA Artemis II Mission page for updates:

https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/

Learn more Space Launch System - Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS):
https://www.nasa.gov/reference/space-launch-system-interim-cryogenic-propulsion-stage-icps-2/
https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/icps_fact_sheet_11172021.pdf

Learn more about NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket: nasa.gov/sls

Follow updates on the Artemis blog: https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/

Image Credit: United Launch Alliance

Image Date: March 11, 2025

#NASA #ESA #Space #Moon #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisII #CrewedMission #Astronauts #NASASLS #SpaceLaunchSystem #ICPS #DeepSpace #MoonToMars #Science #SpaceEngineering #SpaceTechnology #HumanSpaceflight #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #Boeing #ULA #MSFC #KSC #Florida #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Emission Nebula NGC 2264 in Monoceros

Emission Nebula NGC 2264 in Monoceros

The emission nebula NGC 2264 is, in fact, a cluster of young stars—with ages between about one and five million years old—in our Milky Way galaxy about 2,500 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Monoceros. The stars in NGC 2264 are smaller and larger than the Sun, ranging from less than a tenth the mass of the Sun to others containing about seven solar masses.

Image Credit: Uwe Kamin

Release Date: March 9, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Nebulae #Nebula #NGC2264 #StarCluster #StellarNursery #Monoceros #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Astrophotography #UweKamin #Astrophotographer #Cosmos #Universe #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Planet Mars: Fluvial Fan on a Crater Floor | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Planet Mars: Fluvial Fan on a Crater Floor | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

This observation by the HiRISE camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows a terrific fan-shaped deposit, beginning where the channel enters a crater. This is suggestive of a delta—a deposit that forms when water in a channel flows into a larger area (such as an ocean or a lake). As the water spreads out, it moves slower and drops the sediment that it is carrying, forming the delta. (e.g., a famous Earth example is the Nile River delta.)

HiRISE, or the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, is a powerful camera that takes pictures covering vast areas of Martian terrain while being able to see features as small as a kitchen table.

The resolution of HiRISE helps scientists determine the topography of the region that is needed for establishing the stratigraphic relations and flow direction of the area.

Image cutout is less than 5 km (3 mi) top to bottom and the spacecraft altitude was 292 km (182 mi) and north is to the right.

Image acquisition date: November 17, 2011

Local Mars time: 14:34

Latitude (centered): 35.151°

Longitude (East): 304.531°

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is a spacecraft designed to study the geology and climate of Mars, to provide reconnaissance of future landing sites, and to relay data from surface missions back to Earth. It was launched on August 12, 2005, and reached Mars on March 10, 2006.

The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates HiRISE. It was built by BAE Systems in Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.

For more information on MRO, visit:

https://mars.nasa.gov/mro

science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-reconnaissance-orbiter
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/MRO/mission/index.html

Video Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Narrator: Tre Gibbs
Caption Credit: HiRISE Science Team

Duration: 49 seconds
Release Date: Jan. 3, 2012

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #Planet #RedPlanet #Geology #Landscape #Terrain #Geoscience #Crater #FluvialFan #Delta #MRO #MarsOrbiter #MarsSpacecraft #HiRISECamera #JPL #Caltech #BallAerospace #MSSS #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's SPHEREx & PUNCH Science Missions on SpaceX Falcon 9 at Vandenberg

NASA's SPHEREx & PUNCH Science Missions on SpaceX Falcon 9 at Vandenberg

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying NASA’s Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) observatory and Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) satellites, is vertical at Space Launch Complex 4 East from Vandenberg in California. SpaceX is now targeting Tuesday, March 11, 2025, with liftoff targeted for 8:10 pm Pacific Daylight Time (PDT)/11:10 pm Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). SPHEREx will use its telescope to provide an all-sky spectral survey, creating a 3D map of the entire sky to help scientists investigate the origins of our universe. PUNCH will study origins of the Sun’s outflow of material, or the solar wind, capturing continuous 3D images of the Sun’s corona and the solar wind’s journey into the solar system.

Learn more about the SPHEREx Mission:

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/spherex/

Learn more about the PUNCH Mission:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/punch/

Image Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)
Image Date: March 8, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #SpaceX #Falcon9Rocket #Sun #Corona #SolarWind #Stars #Galaxies #3DMapping #SPHEREx #PUNCH #SpaceTelescopes #Cosmos #Universe #JPL #Caltech #BAESystems #STScI #Vandenburg #California #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

NASA's SpaceX Falcon 9 & Crew-10 Dragon Pre-launch | Kennedy Space Center

NASA's SpaceX Falcon 9 & Crew-10 Dragon Pre-launch | Kennedy Space Center

NASA's SpaceX Crew-10 is targeted to launch at 7:48 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The four crew members are preparing for a long-duration stay aboard the International Space Station. NASA astronauts Commander Anne McClain and Pilot Nichole Ayers, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Mission Specialist Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Mission Specialist Kirill Peskov of Russia will join astronauts and cosmonauts at the orbiting laboratory.

Image Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)
Release Dates: March 9 & 11, 2025

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