Wednesday, August 30, 2023

Ron McNair, Guy Bluford & Fred Gregory: NASA Astronaut Class of 1978 Members

Ron McNair, Guy Bluford & Fred Gregory: NASA Astronaut Class of 1978 Members

On January 16, 1978, NASA announced the first astronaut class in nine years. Dr. Ronald McNair, Guy Bluford and Fred Gregory were among those selected—the first African Americans in NASA's astronaut program. The Astronaut Class of 1978, otherwise known as the “Thirty-Five New Guys,” was NASA’s first new group of astronauts since 1969. This, the eighth astronaut group, was the first to include not only African Americans, but also women and Asian Americans.

Learn more about the Astronaut Class of 1978: https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/1978-astronaut-class

Over 40 Years of Inspiration: In 1983, NASA’s Guy Bluford broke barriers and made history as the first African American astronaut in space. He was a veteran of four Space Shuttle missions between 1983 and 1992.

Bluford’s first mission was STS-8, which launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on Aug. 30, 1983. This was the third flight for the Challenger orbiter, and the first mission with a night launch and night landing. During the mission, the STS-8 crew deployed the Indian National Satellite (INSAT-1B), operated the Canadian-built RMS with the Payload Flight Test Article (PFTA), operated the Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System (CFES) with live cell samples, conducted medical measurements to understand biophysiological effects of spaceflight, and activated four “Getaway Special” canisters. STS-8 completed 98 orbits of the Earth in 145 hours before landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on Sept. 5, 1983.

Learn more about NASA Astronaut Guy Bluford: 

https://www.nasa.gov/subject/11054/guy-bluford/

NASA Astronaut Guy Bluford Official Biography (PDF)

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/bluford_guion.pdf


Image Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Image Date: Jan. 16, 1978


#NASA #Space #Earth #Astronaut #GuyBluford #Engineer #Pilot #USAF #Veteran #Leaders #Pioneers #AfricanAmericans #SpaceShuttle #STS8 #STS61A #STS39 #ClassOf1978 #Astronauts #RonMcNair #FredGregory #HumanSpaceflight #History #STEM #Education

To Asteroid Bennu and Back: Journey’s End | NASA Goddard

To Asteroid Bennu and Back: Journey’s End | NASA Goddard

OSIRIS-REx is NASA’s first asteroid sample return mission. It launched in September 2016 on a journey to explore a near-Earth asteroid called Bennu. In October 2020, the spacecraft ventured to the asteroid’s surface and collected about 250 grams of material for delivery to Earth. Now, two years and four months after leaving Bennu, OSIRIS-REx is closing in on the place where its journey began. The mission’s thrilling finale will take place on September 24, 2023, as a capsule containing the Bennu samples touches down in Utah’s West Desert. 

Follow the journey to Bennu and back at: https://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rex


Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Dan Gallagher: Producer/Narrator

Walt Feimer: Animation Lead

Michael Lentz: Art Director/Animator

Jonathan North: Animator

Jenny McElligott: Animator

Adriana Manrique Gutierrez: Animator

Kim Dongjae: Animator

Angeles Miron: Animator

Josh Masters: Animator

Kel Elkins: Data Visualizer

Dante Lauretta: Scientist

Jason Dworkin: Scientist

Support: Michael Starobin

Support: Lonnie Shekhtman

Support: Chris Meaney

Support: Ernie Wright

Public Affairs: Rani Gran

Duration: 3 minutes, 45 seconds

Release Date: Aug. 30, 2023


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #OSIRISRExMission #OSIRISRExSpacecraft #Asteroids #AstreroidBennu #ToBennuAndBack #Organics #Minerals #SampleReturn #SpaceTechnology #GSFC #CSA #JAXA #Japan #日本 #UnitedStates #Apophis #OSIRISAPEX #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #STEM #Education #Visualization #Animation #HD #Video

Hurricane Idalia over Florida | International Space Station

Hurricane Idalia over Florida | International Space Station

External cameras on the International Space Station captured views of Hurricane Idalia at 10:35 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023, as the station flew 260 miles overhead. Idalia made landfall just before 8 a.m. near Keaton Beach, Florida, along the state’s Big Bend region as a Category 3 storm packing winds of 125 miles an hour. Idalia had peaked to a Category 4 storm with 130 mile per hour winds prior to landfall. The system is moving to the north-northeast at 18 miles an hour, heading for the southeast United States and then out over the Atlantic Ocean, according to the National Hurricane Center.

National Hurricane Center:

https://www.nhc.noaa.gov

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.


Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Duration: 13 minutes

Release Date: Aug. 30, 2023


#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #ISS #Earth #Planet #Atmosphere #Weather #Meteorology #Hurricanes #HurricaneIdalia #Florida #Georgia #Astronauts #StephenBowen #FrankRubio #WoodyHoburg #SultanAlneyadi #UAE #Cosmonauts #Russia #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #SpaceLaboratory #Expedition69 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

India's Chandrayaan-3 Vikram Moon Lander Imaged by Pragyan Lunar Rover

India's Chandrayaan-3 Vikram Moon Lander Imaged by Pragyan Lunar Rover


ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 lander, named Vikram, has been imaged by the mission’s rover, named Pragyan, on August 30, 2023, at 05:34 UTC (11:04 IST) in the South Pole region of the Moon at Shiv Shakti Point (69.373 S, 32.319E). The image was taken by the Navigation Camera (NavCam) onboard the rover. You can also see the Chandra's Surface Thermo Physical Experiment (ChaSTE) and the Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA).

The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft is the first to land at the lunar south pole. This region is of special interest for space agencies and private space companies because of the presence of water ice that could support future surface activities.

India has become the fourth country, after the United States, Russia and China, to successfully soft-land on the Moon. 


Credit: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)

Release Date: Aug. 30, 2023


#NASA #ISRO #Space #Astronomy #Science #Moon #SouthPole #India #Chandrayaan3Mission #Chandrayaan3Lander #VikramLander #Chandrayaan3Rover #PragyanRover #ChaSTE #ILSA #Robotics #SpaceTechnology #SpaceExploration #SolarSystem #STEM #Education #BhāratGaṇarājya

India's Chandrayaan-3 Vikram Moon Lander Imaged by Pragyan Lunar Rover

India's Chandrayaan-3 Vikram Moon Lander Imaged by Pragyan Lunar Rover

ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 lander, named Vikram, has been imaged by the mission’s rover, named Pragyan, on August 30, 2023, at 05:34 UTC (11:04 IST) in the South Pole region of the Moon at Shiv Shakti Point (69.373 S, 32.319E). 

The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft is the first to land at the lunar south pole. This region is of special interest for space agencies and private space companies because of the presence of water ice that could support future surface activities.

India has become the fourth country, after the United States, Russia and China, to successfully soft-land on the Moon. 


Credit: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)

Acknowledgement: SciNews

Duration: 1 minute, 32 seconds

Release Date: Aug. 30, 2023

#NASA #ISRO #Space #Astronomy #Science #Moon #SouthPole #India #Chandrayaan3Mission #Chandrayaan3Lander #VikramLander #Chandrayaan3Rover #PragyanRover #Robotics #SpaceTechnology #SpaceExploration #SolarSystem #STEM #Education #BhāratGaṇarājya #HD #Video

Veteran NASA Astronaut Guy Bluford—First African American in Space

Veteran NASA Astronaut Guy Bluford—First African American in Space

NASA Astronaut Guion S. Bluford, Mission Specialist (09-20-1978)

NASA Astronaut Guion S. Bluford, mission specialist for STS-39, wearing an extravehicular mobility unit (EMU) spacesuit, is lowered by a hoist device prior to participating in an underwater rehearsal of a contingency EVA. The scene is in the Johnson Space Center's weightless environment training facility (WET-F) which houses a 25-ft. deep pool (visible in background). (07-19-1990)

The STS-8 crew poses at Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) during a session with the news media. From left to right are Astronauts Dale A. Gardner, Guion S. Bluford, and Dr. William E. Thornton, all mission specialists; Daniel C. Brandenstein, pilot; and Richard F. Truly, crew commander. (08-15-1983)

Guy Bluford, the first African-American astronaut, launched into space on shuttle Challenger's STS-8 mission on August 30, 1983.
Astronaut Michael L. Coats (right) addresses the news media after arriving at the Shuttle Landing Facility along with his six fellow crewmembers. From left are astronauts Richard J. Hieb, L. Blaine Hammond, Guion S. Bluford, Charles L. (Lacy) Veach, Gregory J. Harbaugh and Donald R. McMonagle. The Space Shuttle mate/demate stand is seen in the background.
(05-06-1991)
This 1985 international space shuttle Challenger crew represented the largest number of persons (eight) to occupy an orbiting spacecraft at the same time. Posing with the mission insignia are (front row, left to right) Reinhard Furrer, German payload specialist; Bonnie J. Dunbar, mission specialist; James F. Buchli, mission specialist; and Henry W. Hartsfield Jr., commander; and (back row, left to right) Steven R. Nagel, pilot; Guion S. Bluford, mission specialist; Ernst Messerschmid, German payload specialist; and Wubbo J. Ockels, Dutch payload specialist. (09-23-1985)
These five astronauts were assigned to fly aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in December 1992.  Pictured are, left to right (front), Guion S. Bluford and James S. Voss, mission specialists; and (back row) David M. Walker, mission commander; Robert D. Cabana, pilot and Michael R. U. (Rich) Clifford, mission specialist. The photograph was made in the new Space Center Houston (SCH) facility. (12-09-1992)
Official Portrait of NASA Astronaut Guion S. Bluford
(Oct. 23, 1992)

Over 40 Years of Inspiration: In 1983, NASA’s Guy Bluford broke barriers and made history as the first African American astronaut in space. He was a veteran of four Space Shuttle missions between 1983 and 1992.

Bluford’s first mission was STS-8, which launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on Aug. 30, 1983. This was the third flight for the Challenger orbiter, and the first mission with a night launch and night landing. During the mission, the STS-8 crew deployed the Indian National Satellite (INSAT-1B), operated the Canadian-built RMS with the Payload Flight Test Article (PFTA), operated the Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System (CFES) with live cell samples, conducted medical measurements to understand biophysiological effects of spaceflight, and activated four “Getaway Special” canisters. STS-8 completed 98 orbits of the Earth in 145 hours before landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on Sept. 5, 1983.

Learn more about NASA Astronaut Guy Bluford: 

https://www.nasa.gov/subject/11054/guy-bluford/

NASA Astronaut Guy Bluford Official Biography (PDF)

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/bluford_guion.pdf


Image Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Image Dates: 1978-1992


#NASA #Space #Earth #Astronauts #Astronaut #GuyBluford #Engineer #Pilot #USAF #Veteran #Leader #Pioneer #AfricanAmerican #SpaceShuttle #STS8 #STS61A #STS39 #HumanSpaceflight #History #STEM #Education

NASA Astronaut Guy Bluford—First African American in Space

NASA Astronaut Guy Bluford—First African American in Space

40 Years of Inspiration: In 1983, NASA’s Guy Bluford broke barriers and made history as the first African American astronaut in space. Hear from Bluford himself, see footage from his Space Shuttle missions, and celebrate the milestones that forever changed the landscape of space exploration. 

Bluford’s first mission was STS-8, which launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on Aug. 30, 1983. This was the third flight for the Challenger orbiter, and the first mission with a night launch and night landing. During the mission, the STS-8 crew deployed the Indian National Satellite (INSAT-1B), operated the Canadian-built RMS with the Payload Flight Test Article (PFTA), operated the Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System (CFES) with live cell samples, conducted medical measurements to understand biophysiological effects of spaceflight, and activated four “Getaway Special” canisters. STS-8 completed 98 orbits of the Earth in 145 hours before landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on Sept. 5, 1983.

Learn more about NASA Astronaut Guy Bluford: https://www.nasa.gov/subject/11054/guy-bluford/

NASA Astronaut Guy Bluford Official Biography (PDF)

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/bluford_guion.pdf


Video Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Producer: Jori Kates

Editor: Sonnet Apple

Duration: 1 minute, 47 seconds

Release Date: Aug. 30, 2023


#NASA #Space #Earth #Astronauts #Astronaut #GuyBluford #Engineer #Pilot #USAF #Veteran #Leader #Pioneer #AfricanAmerican #SpaceShuttle #STS8 #STS61A #STS39 #HumanSpaceflight #History #STEM #Education #HD #Video

European Southern Observatory Telescopes Help Solve Pulsar Puzzle

European Southern Observatory Telescopes Help Solve Pulsar Puzzle


ESOcast 266 Light: With a remarkable observational campaign that involved 12 telescopes both on the ground and in space, including three European Southern Observatory (ESO) facilities, astronomers have uncovered the strange behavior of a pulsar, a super-fast-spinning dead star. This video summarizes the discovery.

A pulsar is a fast-rotating, magnetic, dead star that emits a beam of electromagnetic radiation into space. As it rotates, this beam sweeps across the cosmos—much like a lighthouse beam scanning its surroundings—and is detected by astronomers as it intersects the line of sight to Earth. This makes the star appear to pulse in brightness as seen from our planet.

PSR J1023+0038, or J1023 for short, is a special type of pulsar with a bizarre behavior. Located about 4,500 light-years away in the Sextans constellation, it closely orbits another star. Over the past decade, the pulsar has been actively pulling matter off this companion, which accumulates in a disc around the pulsar and slowly falls towards it. 

Since this process of accumulating matter began, the sweeping beam virtually vanished and the pulsar started incessantly switching between two modes. In the ‘high’ mode, the pulsar gives off bright X-rays, ultraviolet and visible light, while in the ‘low’ mode it is dimmer at these frequencies and emits more radio waves. The pulsar can stay in each mode for several seconds or minutes, and then switch to the other mode in just a few seconds. This switching has thus far puzzled astronomers.  

In the low mode, matter flowing towards the pulsar is expelled in a narrow jet perpendicular to the disc. Gradually, this matter accumulates closer and closer to the pulsar and, as this happens, it is hit by the wind blowing from the pulsating star, causing the matter to heat up. The system is now in a high mode, glowing brightly in the X-ray, ultraviolet and visible light. Eventually, blobs of this hot matter are removed by the pulsar via the jet. With less hot matter in the disc, the system glows less brightly, switching back into the low mode.


Credits: ESO

Directed by: Angelos Tsaousis and Martin Wallner

Editing: Angelos Tsaousis

Web and technical support: Gurvan Bazin and Raquel Yumi Shida

Written by: Claudia Sciarma and Tom Howarth

Footage and photos:  ESO / M. Kornmesser, Angelos Tsaousis, UHD Team, C. Malin, Theofanis Matsopoulos

Scientific consultant: Paola Amico, Mariya Lyubenova

Duration: 1 minute, 27 seconds

Release Date: Aug. 30, 2023


#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Pulsars #Star #Pulsar #PSRJ10230038 #J1023 #Sextans #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Astrophysics #ESOTelescopes #Chile #SouthAmerica #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Tuesday, August 29, 2023

NASA Psyche Mission Power Electronics Engineer Meena Sreekantamurthy | JPL

NASA Psyche Mission Power Electronics Engineer Meena Sreekantamurthy | JPL

Behind the Spacecraft: Meet Meena Sreekantamurthy, a power electronics engineer on NASA’s Psyche mission, which will be the first to explore a metal-rich asteroid, also named Psyche. In this video, Sreekantamurthy, from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, explains how power is critical for gathering the mission’s science data. She also talks about her passion for painting and drawing.

Whether the asteroid Psyche is the partial core of a planetesimal (a building block of the rocky planets in our solar system) or primordial material that never melted, scientists expect the mission to help answer fundamental questions about Earth’s own metal core and the formation of our solar system. 

This is the second episode in a weekly, five-part video series called “Behind the Spacecraft.” Each Psyche team member will tell the story of how they came to the mission.

Psyche’s launch period opens Oct. 5, 2023. The spacecraft will begin orbiting the asteroid Psyche in 2029.

Learn all about our first-of-its-kind Psyche Mission at: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/psyche

For more information about NASA’s Psyche mission go to: www.nasa.gov/psyche and psyche.asu.edu


Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Produced by: NASA 360 Productions

Duration: 1 minute, 50 seconds

Release Date: Aug. 29, 2023


#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #MissionToPsyche #PsycheMission #PsycheAsteroid #16Psyche #Asteroids #PsycheSpacecraft #SolarElectricPropulsion #Planets #Mars #Jupiter #AsteroidBelt #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #JHUAPL #JPL #Caltech #ASU #MaxarTechnologies #JPL #Caltech #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's SpaceX Crew-8 in Training | International Space Station

NASA's SpaceX Crew-8 in Training | International Space Station

From left, are Mission Specialist Aleksandr Grebenkin from Roscosmos (Russia), and Pilot Michael Barratt, Commander Matthew Dominick, and Mission Specialist Jeanette Epps, all from NASA



SpaceX Crew-8 Mission Insignia

NASA's SpaceX Crew-8 poses for group photos after completing the first full week of training at SpaceX in Hawthorne, California. SpaceX Crew 8 members are Mission Specialist Aleksandr Grebenkin from Roscosmos (Russia), Pilot Michael Barratt, Commander Matthew Dominick, and Mission Specialist Jeanette Epps—the last three all from NASA. They will join Expedition 70 and 71 crew members aboard the International Space Station in early 2024 to conduct a wide-ranging set of operational and research activities.

This will be Epps’ first trip to the International Space Station. She is from Syracuse, New York, and earned a bachelor’s in physics from LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York, and a master’s in science and a doctorate in aerospace engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park. Prior to joining NASA, she worked at Ford Motor Company and the Central Intelligence Agency. She was selected as an astronaut in July 2009, and has served on the Generic Joint Operation Panel working on space station crew efficiency, as a crew support astronaut for two expeditions, and as lead capsule communicator in the Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Epps previously was assigned to NASA’s Boeing Starliner-1 mission. NASA reassigned Epps to allow Boeing time to complete development of Starliner while also continuing plans for astronauts to gain spaceflight experience for future mission needs.

This will also be the first spaceflight for Dominick, who became a NASA astronaut in 2017. He is from Wheat Ridge, Colorado, and earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of San Diego, California, and a master’s in systems engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. He is an active-duty U.S. Navy astronaut. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Maryland, and then served as a test pilot specializing in testing landing on and catapult launches from U.S. Navy aircraft carriers.

This will be Barratt’s third trip to the space station. In 2009, Barratt served as a flight engineer for Expeditions 19 and 20 as the station transitioned its standard crew complement from three to six, and performed two spacewalks. He flew aboard the space shuttle Discovery in 2011 on STS-133, which delivered the Permanent Multipurpose Module and fourth Express Logistics Carrier. He has spent a total of 212 days in space. Born in Vancouver, Washington, he considers Camas, Washington, to be his hometown. Barratt earned a bachelor’s in zoology from the University of Washington, Seattle, and a doctor of medicine from Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois. He completed residencies in internal medicine at Northwestern and aerospace medicine along with a master’s degree at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. After nine years as a NASA flight surgeon and project physician, Barratt joined the astronaut corps in 2000.


Grebenkin, who graduated from Irkutsk High Military Aviation School, Irkutsk, Russia, majoring in engineering, maintenance, and repair of aircraft radio navigation systems, is flying on his first mission, too. He graduated from Moscow Technical University of Communications and Informatics with a degree in radio communications, broadcasting, and television.

NASA Astronaut Jeanette Epps Official Biography:

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/jeanette-j-epps

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/jeanette-j-epps/biography

NASA Astronaut Matthew Dominick Official Biography

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/matthew-dominick

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/matthew-dominick/biography

NASA Astronaut Michael Barratt Official Biography

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/michael-reed-barratt/biography

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/barratt_michael.pdf

This is the eighth rotational mission to the space station under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which works with the American aerospace industry to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the orbital outpost on American-made rockets and spacecraft launching from American soil.

For more than 22 years, humans have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and demonstrating new technologies, making research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. As a global endeavor, 244 people from 19 countries have visited the unique microgravity laboratory that has hosted more than 3,000 research and educational investigations from researchers in 108 countries and areas.

The station is a critical testbed for NASA to understand and overcome the challenges of long-duration spaceflight and to expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit. As commercial companies focus on providing human space transportation services and destinations as part of a robust low Earth orbit economy, NASA is able to more fully focus its resources on deep space missions to the Moon and Mars.

Find more information on NASA’s Commercial Crew Program at:

https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew

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.


Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)/NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Image Release Dates: Aug. 18-21, 2023


#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #SpaceX #SpaceXCrew8 #Earth #Astronauts #MatthewDominick #MichaelBarratt #JeanetteEpps #Cosmonaut #AleksandrGrebenkin #LongDurationMission #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #SpaceLaboratory #Expedition70 #Expedition71 #STEM #Education

Hurricane Franklin in Atlantic Ocean | International Space Station

Hurricane Franklin in Atlantic Ocean | International Space Station

External cameras on the International Space Station captured views of major Hurricane Franklin at 9:56 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023, as the station flew 260 miles overhead. Franklin was located over the Atlantic Ocean well out to sea at the time of the flyover, packing winds of 130 miles an hour. Franklin is moving north-northeast over the Atlantic, according to the National Hurricane Center.

National Hurricane Center:

https://www.nhc.noaa.gov

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.


Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Duration: 9 minutes, 26 seconds

Release Date: Aug. 29, 2023


#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #ISS #Earth #Planet #Atmosphere #Weather #Meteorology #Hurricanes #HurricaneFranklin #Astronauts #StephenBowen #FrankRubio #WoodyHoburg #SultanAlneyadi #UAE #Cosmonauts #Russia #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #SpaceLaboratory #Expedition69 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Australian Outback & NASA's Search for Life on Mars | NASA Astrobiology

The Australian Outback & NASA's Search for Life on Mars | NASA Astrobiology

How will we know if there is life on Mars? What geological clues can our Martian orbiters and rovers search for and collect samples of to return home to Earth?

Stromatolites in the Pilbara region of Western Australia may hold the answer.

In June 2023, members of NASA's Mars Exploration Program, the Australian Space Agency, the European Space Agency, and the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), joined together on an expedition to visit three incredible field locations containing stromatolites, fossils of ancient microbial life, and the oldest, most convincing evidence for life on Earth.

Stromatolites are rock features that are usually dome or cone-shaped, and are caused by photosynthetic lifeforms precipitating minerals throughout their life cycle, while continuously climbing upwards towards their energy source of the sun. Over time these microbial communities begin to form layers of rock that rise up to form strange shapes in the geological record that cannot be formed in any other way. Could these structures be found on other planets? On Mars?

As we search the solar system and beyond for biosignatures, or signs of life, it is crucial that we know as much as possible about the nature of life on Earth. Knowing how quickly life took hold on our planet, and how that life evolved over time, will help NASA scientists understand the possibilities for life on other worlds and how best to search for them. Mars and Earth may have had very similar pasts, and the surface of Mars shares many qualities with the stromatolite outcrops in Western Australia.

If life could take a foothold on Earth 3.5 billion years ago, could it also have taken a hold on Mars?

NASA acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea, and community. We pay out respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.

Learn more about the NASA Astrobiology Program:

https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/


Video Credits: NASA Astrobiology

Directed, Shot, & Edited by Mike Toillion, NASA Astrobiology

Produced by Tahira Allen, NASA

Featuring:

Eric Ianson, NASA Mars Exploration Program

Dr. Mitch Schulte, NASA Mars Exploration Program

Dr. Lindsay Hays, NASA Mars Sample Return & Astrobiology

Dr. Martin Van Kranendonk, University of New South Wales

Duration: 4 minutes, 32 seconds

Release Date: Aug. 24, 2023


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #SolarSystem #Planets #Planet #Earth #Geology #Australia #Pilbara #Stromatolites #Fossils #Mars #Biosignatures #MSR #Rovers #Orbiters #Astrobiology #ESA #Europe #CSIRO #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA Astronaut Loral O’Hara Discusses Her International Space Station Mission

NASA Astronaut Loral O’Hara Discusses Her International Space Station Mission

[Video Replay]: NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara discussed her upcoming mission to the International Space Station during live interviews on August 23, 2023. O’Hara, along with Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub (both of Russia), is scheduled to launch to the space station Friday, Sept. 15, 2023, aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. She will be a flight engineer and member of the Expedition 70 station crew. Long duration missions such as O’Hara’s help to advance scientific knowledge and demonstrate new technologies for future human and robotic exploration missions. 

O’Hara is making her first spaceflight after selection as part of the 2017 NASA astronaut class. The Texas native earned a Bachelor of Science degree in aerospace engineering at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, and a Master of Science degree in aeronautics and astronautics from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

At the time of her astronaut selection, O’Hara was a research engineer at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, where she spent eight years working on the engineering and operations of underwater vehicles such as the human-occupied research submersible Alvin and the remotely operated vehicle Jason.

Astronaut Loral O’Hara Official NASA Biography:

https://www.nasa.gov/content/loral-o-hara-nasa-astronaut

Follow updates on Expedition 70 at:

https://www.nasa.gov/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.


Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Duration: 1  hour, 22 minutes

Release Date: Aug. 23, 2023


#NASA #Space #Earth #ISS #Science #Astronaut #LoralOHara #FlightEngineer #AerospaceEngineer #Robotics #Women #Leaders #Pioneers #HumanSpaceflight #AstronautTraining #StarCity #GagarinCosmonautTrainingCenter #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #Expedition69 #Expedition70 #JSC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Science of NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 Mission | International Space Station

The Science of NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 Mission | International Space Station


After launching to the International Space Station on March 2, 2023, NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 mission is wrapping up its time in orbit, with a return to Earth in early September 2023. 

NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg, United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev of Russia spent their months on the orbiting lab conducting scientific investigations and technology demonstrations, including running a student robotic challenge, studying plant genetic adaptations to space, and monitoring human health in microgravity to prepare for exploration beyond low Earth orbit and to benefit life on Earth. 

The astronauts also released Saskatchewan's first satellite, which tests a new radiation detection and protection system derived from melanin.

Learn more: https://go.nasa.gov/3OOOR3l

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.


Credit: NASA 

Duration: 2 minutes

Release Date: Aug. 29, 2023


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The Strait of Hormuz | International Space Station

The Strait of Hormuz | International Space Station

In the right foreground, is the Soyuz MS-23 crew ship docked to the Prichal docking module. At bottom left, is a portion of the Northrop Grumman Cygnus space freighter and one of its cymbal-shaped UltraFlex solar arrays.

At bottom left, is a portion of the Northrop Grumman Cygnus space freighter and one of its cymbal-shaped UltraFlex solar arrays.


The Strait of Hormuz connects the Gulf of Oman with the Persian Gulf in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 262 miles above. This strait provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean. The Persian Gulf is a mediterranean sea in West Asia. It is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.

Follow Expedition 69 updates here: https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 69 Crew (August 2023)

Station Commander: Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia): Flight Engineers Dmitri Petelin & Andrey Fedyaev

Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

NASA: Flight Engineers Frank Rubio, Stephen Bowen, Warren Hoburg

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.


Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Image Date: Aug. 14, 2023


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The Whirlpool Galaxy: M51 | James Webb Space Telescope

The Whirlpool Galaxy: M51 | James Webb Space Telescope

The graceful winding arms of the grand-design spiral galaxy M51 stretch across this image from the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope. M51—also known as NGC 5194—lies about 27 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Canes Venatici, and is trapped in a tumultuous relationship with its near neighbor, the dwarf galaxy NGC 5195. The interaction between these two galaxies has made these galactic neighbors one of the better-studied galaxy pairs in the night sky. The gravitational influence of M51’s smaller companion is thought to be partially responsible for the stately nature of the galaxy’s prominent and distinct spiral arms.  It was the first galaxy to be classified as a spiral galaxy.

Unlike the menagerie of weird and wonderful spiral galaxies with ragged or disrupted spiral arms, grand-design spiral galaxies boast prominent, well-developed spiral arms like the ones showcased in this image. This galactic portrait is a composite image that integrates data from Webb’s Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI).

In this image the dark red regions trace the filamentary warm dust permeating the medium of the galaxy. The red regions show the reprocessed light from complex molecules forming on dust grains, while colors of orange and yellow reveal the regions of ionized gas by the recently formed star clusters. Stellar feedback has a dramatic effect on the medium of the galaxy and create complex network of bright knots as well as cavernous black bubbles.

Image Description: A large spiral galaxy takes up the entirety of the image. The core is mostly bright white, but there are also swirling, detailed structures that resemble water circling a drain. There is white and pale blue light that emanates from stars and dust at the core’s center, but it is tightly limited to the core. The rings feature colors of deep red and orange and highlight filaments of dust around cavernous black bubbles.

This Webb observation of M51 is one of a series of observations collectively titled Feedback in Emerging extrAgalactic Star clusTers, or FEAST. The FEAST observations were designed to shed light on the interplay between stellar feedback and star formation in environments outside of our own galaxy, the Milky Way. Stellar feedback is the term used to describe the outpouring of energy from stars into the environments which form them, and is a crucial process in determining the rates at which stars form. Understanding stellar feedback is vital to building accurate universal models of star formation.

The aim of the FEAST observations is to discover and study stellar nurseries in galaxies beyond our own Milky Way. Before Webb became operative, other observatories, such as the Atacama Large Millimetre Array in the Chilean desert and Hubble, have given us a glimpse of star formation either at the onset (tracing the dense gas and dust clouds where stars will form) or after the stars have destroyed with their energy their natal gas and dust clouds. Webb is opening a new window into the early stages of star formation and stellar light, as well as the energy reprocessing of gas and dust. Scientists are seeing star clusters emerging from their natal cloud in galaxies beyond our local group for the first time. They will also be able to measure how long it takes for these stars to pollute with newly formed metals and to clean out the gas (these time scales are different from galaxy to galaxy). By studying these processes, we will better understand how the star formation cycle and metal enrichment are regulated within galaxies as well as what are the time scales for planets and brown dwarfs to form. Once dust and gas is removed from the newly formed stars, there is no material left to form planets.


Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, A. Adamo (Stockholm University) and the FEAST JWST team

Release Date: Aug. 29, 2023


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