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International Space Station Research: Annual Highlights 2022 | NASA Johnson
"For over 20 years, the International Space Station has conducted research in microgravity to develop technologies, unlock biological phenomena, and more! In 2022 the station’s unique laboratory enabled measurements of the Earth’s surface temperature, paved the way in experimental quantum physics, and conducted hundreds of experiments across scientific disciplines."
The Annual Highlights of Results from the International Space Station publication shares some of the space station’s outstanding achievements of 2022. The full publication is available for download at: www.nasa.gov/stationresultsresourcelibrary
Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:
Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) Education
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. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.
NASA's Space to Ground: SpaceX Crew-6 | Week of Jan. 27, 2023
NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station. The four crew members of the SpaceX Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station are Mission Specialist Sultan Al Nedayi (UAE), Mission Specialist Andrey Fedyaev (Russia), Pilot William Hoburg, and Commander Stephen Bowen. The quartet are scheduled to lift off aboard SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour at 2:07 a.m. EST on Feb. 26, 2023, and dock to the Harmony module’s space-facing port just over half-a-day later.
Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:
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. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP) works with the American aerospace industry to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station on American-made rockets and spacecraft launching from American soil.
Artemis II Crewed Moon Mission: European Service Module | Kennedy Space Center
Technicians at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida begin installing the orbital maneuvering system engine nozzle and heat shield for the Artemis II European Service Module inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building on Jan. 13, 2023. Artemis II will be the first crewed flight test of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft. The service module will provide the power necessary to propel Orion on a trip around the Moon, including the in-space maneuvering capability and other commodities necessary to sustain crew for the duration of the mission.
With Artemis, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon and establish long-term exploration in preparation for missions to Mars. SLS and NASA’s Orion spacecraft, along with the commercial human landing system and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, are NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission.
Snoopy Handover from NASA's Artemis I Moon Mission Team to Peanuts Crew
Snoopy is officially handed over to Melissa Menta, senior vice president with Peanuts Worldwide LLC, inside Launch Control Center Firing Room 1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 18, 2023. Snoopy served as the zero-gravity indicator during the Artemis I mission. Snoopy was secured inside Orion during the mission, a journey beyond the Moon and back to prepare for crewed missions to the Moon.
Artemis I launched atop the Space Launch System rocket on Nov. 16, 2022 from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B. Orion returned to Earth for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on Dec. 11, 2022, after traveling more than 1.4 million miles. NASA has held an association with Snoopy since the Apollo Era—the character has contributed to the excitement for NASA human spaceflight missions, helping inspire generations to dream big, and is a symbol of NASA’s safety culture and mission success.
The Artemis I mission was the first integrated test of NASA’s deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, the SLS rocket, and Kennedy Space Center's Exploration Ground Systems.
Astronauts Nicole & Koichi on First Spacewalk | International Space Station
Astronaut Koichi Wakata (Japan) during a seven-hour and 21-minute spacewalk
Astronaut Koichi Wakata (Japan) takes a "space-selfie" during a spacewalk
Astronaut Koichi Wakata (Japan) during a seven-hour and 21-minute spacewalk
Expedition 68 crew members after a spacewalk
Astronaut Nicole Mann in her spacesuit after a spacewalk
Astronaut Koichi Wakata (Japan) in his spacesuit after a spacewalk
Expedition 68 crew members after a spacewalk
Mann and Wakata completed work left over from a previous spacewalk for a platform on which a set of International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays (iROSAs) for the station’s 1B power channel will be installed later this year, as well as most of the work to install a similar mounting platform for a set of iROSAs for the 1A power channel.
The installation is part of a series of spacewalks to augment the International Space Station’s power channels with new iROSAs. Four iROSAs have been installed so far, and two more will be mounted to the platforms installed during this spacewalk in the future.
NASA astronaut Nicole Mann and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata concluded their spacewalk at 3:35 p.m. EST after 7 hours and 21 minutes. It was the 258th spacewalk in support of space station assembly, upgrades, and maintenance, the first spacewalk of 2023, and the first spacewalk for both astronauts.
Station Commander: Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos (Russia)
Roscosmos (Russia): Flight Engineers Anna Kikina & Dmitri Petelin
NASA: Flight Engineers Nicole Mann, Frank Rubio & Josh Cassada
JAXA (Japan): Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata
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. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.
Planet Mars: A New Impact Event | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
This impact disturbed dust over an area more than two kilometers wide, large enough to be visible in Mars Color Imager (MARCI) daily global images. The largest new crater is about 35 meters in diameter, making it the about the 16th largest new crater found on Mars. By “new crater” we mean that its formation is documented by before and after images, usually acquired by MRO’s Context Camera. There are many other new craters formed up to a kilometer away from the biggest crater. These appear unusual for secondary craters produced by the main 35-meter crater, and are probably more like primary craters resulting from fragmentation of the bolide high in the Martian atmosphere.
Location:
Latitude (centered)
37.804°
Longitude (East)
44.787°
The 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.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.
Touring Tempestuous Young Stars in The Orion Nebula | Hubble
The bright variable star V 372 Orionis takes center stage in this image from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope, which has also captured a smaller companion star in the upper left of this image. Both stars lie in the Orion Nebula, a colossal region of star formation roughly 1,450 light years from Earth.
Image Description: Two very bright stars with cross-shaped diffraction spikes are prominent: the larger is slightly lower-right of center, the smaller lies towards the upper-left corner. Small red stars with short diffraction spikes are scattered around them. The background is covered nearly completely by gas: smoky, bright blue gas around the larger star in the center and lower-right, and wispier red gas elsewhere.
V 372 Orionis is a particular type of variable star known as an Orion Variable. These young stars experience some tempestuous moods and growing pains, which are visible to astronomers as irregular variations in luminosity. Orion Variables are often associated with diffuse nebulae, and V 372 Orionis is no exception; the patchy gas and dust of the Orion Nebula pervade this scene.
This image overlays data from two of Hubble’s instruments. Data from the Advanced Camera for Surveys and Wide Field Camera 3 at infrared and visible wavelengths were layered to reveal rich details of this corner of the Orion Nebula. Hubble also left its own subtle signature on this astronomical portrait in the form of the diffraction spikes surrounding the bright stars. These prominent artefacts are created by starlight interacting with Hubble’s inner workings, and as a result they reveal hints of Hubble’s structure. The four spikes surrounding the stars in this image are created by four vanes inside Hubble supporting the telescope’s secondary mirror. The diffraction spikes of the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope, on the other hand, are six-pointed as a result of Webb’s hexagonal mirror segments and 3-legged support structure for the secondary mirror.
Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble & NASA, J. Bally, M. Robberto
NASA remembers the crews of Apollo 1, space shuttles Challenger and Columbia during the agency's Day of Remembrance on Jan. 26, 2023. Feb. 1 marks the 20th anniversary of the Columbia STS-107 accident.
NASA's Day of Remembrance honors all members of the NASA family who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery.
Meet Peggy Whitson: Ax-2 Mission Commander | Axiom Space
"Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) will be Axiom Space’s second all-private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS), marking another pivotal step toward Axiom Station, the world’s first commercial space station and a successor to the ISS. Axiom Space’s Director of Human Spaceflight Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut and ISS commander, will lead the privately funded mission."
"The Ax-2 crew is currently scheduled to launch in the spring of 2023. The four-person Axiom Space crew will fly to space in SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft atop its Falcon 9 rocket to participate in a 12-day mission, including 10 days working and living on the orbiting laboratory to implement a full mission manifest of science, outreach, and commercial activities."
"With more than 35 years of experience in space and science, Peggy Whitson is an Axiom astronaut slated as the backup commander of Ax-1 and the commander of Ax-2—the first-ever private missions to the International Space Station (ISS). Positions she held during a historic NASA astronaut career include Chief of the Astronaut Office, Commander of the International Space Station (twice), Chair of the Astronaut Selection Board, Science Officer, Operations Branch Chief, Deputy Division Chief for both Medical Sciences and the Astronaut Office, and co-chair of the US/Russian Mission Science Working Group."
"Peggy flew on three long-duration missions to the ISS (Expeditions 5, 16, 50/51/52) and spent more cumulative time in space than any US astronaut or any woman in the world (665 days). She has conducted 10 Extra-Vehicular Activities (EVA, spacewalks), with over 60 EVA hours to her credit, and performed hundreds of research experiments on board the ISS."
"A holder of B.S. degrees in biology and chemistry from Iowa Wesleyan and a doctoral degree in biochemistry from Rice University, she has been honored with various NASA medals in Leadership, Outstanding Leadership, and Exceptional Service, as well as Glamour’s Woman of the Year (2017), TIME 100 Most Influential People in the World (2018), and Women in Aviation Lifetime Achievement Award (2017)."
"Peggy A. Whitson, Ph.D. holds the titles of Astronaut and Director of Human Space Flight at Axiom Space."
Former NASA Astronaut Peggy Whitson's Official Biography:
"Aviator John Shoffner of Knoxville, Tennessee, will serve as the Ax-2 pilot. The two mission specialists will be announced at a later date."
"Axiom Space is guided by the vision of a thriving home in space that benefits every human, everywhere. The leader in providing space infrastructure as a service, Axiom offers end-to-end missions to the International Space Station today while privately developing its successor—a permanent commercial destination in Earth’s orbit that will sustain human growth off the planet and bring untold benefits back home."
Expedition 68 NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 | International Space Station
Leaders from NASA, SpaceX, Roscosmos and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) presented an overview of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station. The mission will carry NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren Hoburg as well as UAE astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev aboard a Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket to the space station. Launch is scheduled for no earlier than Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023.
The four crew members of the SpaceX Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station are Mission Specialist Sultan Al Nedayi (UAE), Mission Specialist Andrey Fedyaev (Russia), Pilot William Hoburg, and Commander Stephen Bowen.
Astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi from the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center (United Arab Emirates) will make history by being the first astronaut from the Arab world to spend six months on the International Space Station (ISS). AlNeyadi has undergone a 20-month long rigorous training for the Crew-6 mission. AlNeyadi began his training in September 2018, at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center at Star City in Moscow, Russia.
Cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev (Russia)
Andrey Valerievich Fediaev (Russian Cyrillic: Андрей Валерьевич Федяев; born February 26, 1981) is a Russian cosmonaut. Fediaev received his an engineering degree in air transport and Air Traffic Control from the Balashov Military Aviation School in 2004. Following graduation, Fediaev joined the Russian Air Force in the 317th mixed aviation segment. He obtained the rank of major before his retirement in 2013. He logged over 500 hours in Russian aircraft.
Fediaev was selected as a cosmonaut in 2012. He reported to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in 2012 and was named a test cosmonaut on June 16, 2014.
On July 15, 2022, he was assigned to the SpaceX Crew-6 mission after a recent crew swap agreement between NASA and Roscosmos.
NASA Astronaut William Hoburg's Official Biography:
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP) works with the American aerospace industry to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station on American-made rockets and spacecraft launching from American soil.
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. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.
Has COVID Affected Climate Change? We Asked a NASA Scientist
Greenhouse gas emissions decreased a little during the first year of COVID-19, but not enough to make a lasting impact.
Less travel and cars on the road meant improved air quality. However, greenhouse gases that cause climate change only decreased a little because we were still heating and cooling our homes, so these gases continued to build up in our atmosphere. NASA climate change scientist Lesley Ott tells us more about what scientists discovered.
Mission Recap: To the Black | Alpha FLTA002 | Firefly Aerospace
On October 1, 2022, Firefly Aerospace made history by performing a successful launch into orbit on its second attempt. Firefly's Alpha FLTA002 mission successfully reached orbit and deployed customer payloads, after lifting off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Firefly's rocket can deliver payloads in the 1300kg payload lift class.
Rocket Lab Launches First Electron Rocket from Virginia | NASA Wallops
Rocket Lab performed its long-awaited first Electron launch from Virginia Jan. 24, 2023, placing three HawkEye 360 satellites into orbit. The Electron rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 2 at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia, at 6 p.m. Eastern. Electron carried three satellites for HawkEye 360, the Herndon, Virginia-based company that offers radio-frequency (RF) intelligence services. The “Cluster 6” satellites, deployed into a 550-kilometer orbit at an inclination of 40.5 degrees, will join the company’s constellation to locate and monitor terrestrial RF sources.
The mission, called “Virginia Is For Launch Lovers” by Rocket Lab, was the company’s first launch from LC-2. The company’s previous 32 Electron launches took place from its Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand. Rocket Lab had been working for years to set a U.S. launch site to support government and other customers who wanted to launch domestically. The launch is the first of the year for Rocket Lab, which said in a November earnings call it was planning approximately 14 Electron launches in 2023 after conducting nine in 2022. The company projected that four to six of those launches would take place from Wallops, including two launches in the spring to deploy NASA’s four Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) cubesats under a task order NASA announced in November.
Planet Mars: Going with the Flow | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Harmakhis Vallis is an approximately 800-kilometer long outflow channel located in eastern Hellas. The valley probably formed by a combination of surface collapse and flowing water.
Black and white images are less than 5 km across; enhanced color images are less than1 km.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.
The 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.
NASA Astronaut Nicole Mann on First Spacewalk | International Space Station
NASA astronaut and Expedition 68 Flight Engineer Nicole Mann is pictured in her Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or spacesuit, during her first spacewalk on Jan. 20, 2023. She and fellow spacewalker Koichi Wakata (out of frame) of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency installed a modification kit on the International Space Station's starboard truss structure that will enable the future installation of the orbiting lab's next roll-out solar array.
NASA astronaut Nicole Mann and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata concluded their spacewalk at 3:35 p.m. EST after 7 hours and 21 minutes. It was the 258th spacewalk in support of space station assembly, upgrades, and maintenance, the first spacewalk of 2023, and the first spacewalk for both astronauts.
Station Commander: Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos (Russia)
Roscosmos (Russia): Flight Engineers Anna Kikina & Dmitri Petelin
NASA: Flight Engineers Nicole Mann, Frank Rubio & Josh Cassada
JAXA (Japan): Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata
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. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.
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