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5 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Members of the AERL design team pose outside the Structures Laboratory at Langley in 1941. Many would later transfer to Cleveland later that year.NASA “[On December 15, 1941] a few shivering, startled Southerners from Langley, the vanguard of those in the Power Plants Division transferring to Cleveland, arrived in the biggest snowstorm in years,” recalled former receptionist Mary Louise Gosney. This vanguard was the first large group of NACA employees to relocate from the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory to the new Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory (AERL). As construction of the AERL proceeded over the next two years, larger factions followed suit. Langley employees not only designed and constructed the AERL but formed the core of the Laboratory’s leadership and research staff for three decades. For the newcomers, the mid-December snowstorm was a dramatic change from Virginia, where temperatures had reached 60 degrees Fahrenheit just days before. The challenge of acclimation to the northern climate, however, paled in comparison to the tumult resulting from Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor and the Philippines just eight days before. The United States was now involved in World War II on two fronts, and there was a new urgency to get the NACA’s new engine research laboratory operational. The military was relying on the AERL to resolve a host of propulsion issues for its aircraft. Nearly a year beforehand, in January 1941, Langley construction engineer Charles Herrmann had relocated to Cleveland with Helen Ford, an administrative assistant from NACA Headquarters. From a 19th-century farmhouse on the barren AERL site, they managed the construction contracting and inspections. Meanwhile, in a room above Langley’s Structural Research Laboratory, a team of civil engineers designed the AERL’s test facilities and other structures. In August 1941, the NACA decided to transfer the Chief of Langley’s Construction Division, Edward Raymond Sharp, to Cleveland to expedite the work. Temporary offices constructed inside the hangar to house the architectural and drafting personnel as well the machines shops.NASA/GRC The Langley arrivals of December 1941, which included inspectors, engineers, draftsmen, mechanics, and administrative staff, were stationed in temporary offices inside the aircraft hangar—the only completed building. Sharp negotiated a key contract with a new construction company in the ensuing weeks that provided a breakthrough in the work. The first test facility was operational in May 1942. One after another, the other buildings and facilities were completed during the following year, and the former Langley staff left the hangar for their permanent offices. In the fall of 1942, units of the Langley engine research staff began transferring to Cleveland. What had been modest-size sections in Langley’s Power Plants Division were expanded to full divisions in Cleveland. These divisions, led by experienced Langley engineers, included Addison Rothrock’s Fuels and Lubrication Division, Benjamin Pinkel’s Thermodynamics Division, Ernest Whitney’s Engine Installation Division, Charles Moore’s Engine Research Division, Oscar Schey’s Supercharger Division, and Joseph Vensel’s Flight Research Division. Ray Sharp in his in December 1946. He began his NACA career at Langley in 1922 and transferred to the Cleveland lab in August 1941.NASA In a somewhat surprising move, the NACA assigned construction manager Ray Sharp the responsibility for running the laboratory on a permanent basis. At Langley and Ames, technically skilled engineers performed that task. Sharp, who had a law degree but no formal scientific or engineering background, was assisted by Executive Engineers Carlton Kemper and Addison Rothrock. Sharp managed the day-to-day activities, while Rothrock and Kemper supervised the research. In 1949, Abe Silverstein, who had helped design and operate Langley’s Full Scale Wind Tunnel, became Chief of Research. Although the AERL was continually hiring new researchers in the 1940s and 1950s, the ex-Langley personnel provided the laboratory’s backbone. With the arrival of the newcomers, more and more of the Langley veterans moved into the management ranks. Nearly all of the division chiefs and upper-management positions during the NACA era were occupied by former Langley people. The relatively small size of the AERL staff and the fact that many of them were new to northeast Ohio resulted in a close community. Everyone knew nearly everyone else, families were started, and lifelong friendships formed. Sharp and his wife Vera were parental figures who looked after the employees and participated in the staff dances, sporting events, and other social activities. Members of the Old Timers Club, all former Langley employees, meet for their annual luncheon in March 1948. Back row, left to right: Harold Gerrish, Achilles Gellales, Clarence Decker, Carlton Kemper, Hampton Foster, William Dewey. Front row, left to right: Emery Gilbert, Charles Moore, Dale McConnaha, Addison Rothrock, Oscar Schey, Arthur Tesman.NASA The transition from the NACA to NASA in 1958 brought a number of changes to the organization, including the transfer of Silverstein and a number of other key Lewis employees to Headquarters and Langley’s Space Task Group. There was also a shift from the NACA’s mostly in-house research to NASA’s management of external development contracts. The new space agency also dramatically increased the size of its staff in the early 1960s. Silverstein, who replaced Sharp as Director in 1961, knew the importance of camaraderie and successfully encouraged the older NACA veterans to interact socially with the new recruits. As NASA’s budgets decreased in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the era of Langley’s influence on Lewis came to a close. To reduce its payroll, NASA began to offer employees incentives to retire. The Langley expatriates—many of whom had over 30 years of service—ebbed away during the final years of the Apollo program. The Center struggled for nearly a decade to redefine itself and its culture. Langley’s legacy is still visible at the Center today in its inductees into the Glenn Hall of Fame, a historic district containing the original facilities, and the campus’s lack of sidewalk plots or tree lawns. The Southerners had not anticipated the need to plow snow when designing the laboratory. Robert S. Arrighi NASA Glenn Research Center This article originally appeared in NASA History News & Notes, Volume 33, Number 4, Fourth Quarter 2016. Explore More 2 min read How NASA Glenn Landed in Cleveland Article 3 years ago 2 min read NASA Glenn History Includes Contributions of Women in Aerospace Research Article 2 years ago 2 min read An Elite Team of Pilots Led Flight Research at NACA’s Cleveland Lab Article 3 years ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA NASA Glenn History Glenn History Articles and Features The History of NASA Langley Research Center The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) View the full article
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2 min read Hubble Observes an Askew Galaxy Coaxing Star Formation from its Partner This new NASA Hubble Space Telescope image features two interacting spiral galaxies collectively called Arp 300. NASA, ESA, J. Dalcanton (University of Washington), and R. Windhorst (Arizona State University); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America) Arp 300 consists of two interacting galaxies, UGC 05028 (the smaller face-on spiral galaxy) and UGC 05029 (the larger face-on spiral). Likely due to its gravitational dance with its larger partner, UGC 05028 has an asymmetric, irregular structure, which is not as visible from ground-based telescopes but is quite distinct in these images from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. The bright knot visible to the southeast of the center of UGC 05028 may be the remnant of another small galaxy that is in the process of merging with that galaxy. If this is the case, that remnant will eventually merge with the bar of stars visible in Hubble images of UGC 05028, forming a central bulge similar to that of Arp 300’s larger companion galaxy, UGC 05029. UGC 05029 has a pronounced spiral structure and multiple hot, blue giant stars visible on the side facing UGC 05028. This enhanced star formation is likely due to the interaction between the two galaxies. Another edge-on spiral galaxy is visible in this image below UGC 05029 but is too faint to be resolved into star-forming regions, while the five objects strung out above it are probably a group of distant background galaxies. Hubble looked at this galaxy pair to study the relationship between the overall physical characteristics of galaxies and their star formation. LEARN MORE: Hubble Science: Galaxy Details and Mergers Hubble Science: Tracing the Growth of Galaxies Media Contact: Claire Andreoli NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD claire.andreoli@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Jan 22, 2024 Editor Andrea Gianopoulos Location Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms Astrophysics Division Galaxies Goddard Space Flight Center Hubble Space Telescope Missions Spiral Galaxies The Universe Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Hubble Space Telescope Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe. Galaxies Stories Stars Stories James Webb Space Telescope Webb is the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It studies every phase in the… View the full article
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NASA Administrator Bill Nelson lays a wreath at the Space Shuttle Challenger Memorial during NASA’s Day of Remembrance, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. Wreaths were laid in memory of those men and women who lost their lives in the quest for space exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani) In honor of the members of the NASA family who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery for the benefit all, the agency will host its annual Day of Remembrance Thursday, Jan. 25. Traditionally held on the fourth Thursday in January each year, NASA Day of Remembrance will commemorate the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, and Associate Administrator Jim Free also will host a town hall at the agency’s headquarters in Washington at 1 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Jan. 23. In a dialogue with employees, the leaders will highlight how NASA safety is the cornerstone to achieving mission success. The town hall will air live on the NASA+ streaming service. Coverage also will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms, including social media. On Jan. 25, Nelson will lead an observance with Melroy and Free at 1 p.m. EST at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, which will begin with a traditional wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, followed by observances for the Apollo 1, Challenger, and Columbia crews. “Our annual Day of Remembrance honors the sacrifice of the NASA family who lost their lives in the pursuit of discovery,” said Nelson. “While it is a solemn day, we are forever thankful that our fallen heroes shared their spirt of exploration with NASA, our country, and the world. Today, and every day, we embrace NASA’s core value of safety as we expand our reach in the cosmos for the benefit of all humanity.” The administrator will send an agencywide message to employees. Additional agency centers also will hold observances for NASA Day of Remembrance: Johnson Space Center, Houston NASA Johnson will hold a commemoration at the Astronaut Memorial Grove at 10 a.m. CST. The ceremony will include remarks by Johnson Director Vanessa Wyche. This event will feature a moment of silence, NASA T-38 flyover, taps performed by the Texas A&M Squadron 17, and a tree dedication for former NASA astronaut Karol Bobko. Kennedy Space Center, Florida NASA Kennedy, in partnership with The Astronauts Memorial Foundation, will host a Day of Remembrance ceremony at the Space Mirror Memorial at Kennedy’s Visitor Complex at 10 a.m. EST. Kathie Fulgham, Astronaut Memorial Foundation chairman and daughter of former NASA astronaut Dick Scobee, will serve as the master of ceremonies. Scobee served as the commander of the space shuttle Challenger. Kennedy’s Associate Director in Management, Burt Summerfield, will provide remarks during the ceremony, which will livestream on Kennedy’s Facebook, X, and YouTube pages. Ames Research Center, California NASA Ames will hold a remembrance ceremony at 1 p.m. PST that includes remarks from Center Director Dr. Eugene Tu, a moment of silence, and bell ringing commemoration. Glenn Research Center, Cleveland NASA Glenn will observe Day of Remembrance with remarks at 1 p.m. EST from Center Director Dr. Jimmy Kenyon followed by wreath placement, moment of silence, and taps at Lewis Field. Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia NASA Langley will hold a remembrance ceremony with Center Director Clayton Turner and Acting Deputy Director Lisa Ziehmann followed by placing flags at the Langley Workers Memorial. Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama NASA Marshall will hold a candle-lighting ceremony and wreath placement at 9 a.m. CST. The ceremony will include remarks from Associate Director Larry Leopard, Bill Hill, director of Marshall’s Office of Safety and Mission Assurance, and an astronaut. Stennis Space Flight Center, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi NASA Stennis and the NASA Shared Services Center (NSSC) will hold a wreath-laying ceremony at 9 a.m. CST with remarks from Stennis’ Associate Director Rodney McKellip and NSSC’s Acting Executive Director Ken Newton. The agency also is paying tribute to its fallen astronauts with special online content, updated on NASA’s Day of Remembrance, at: https://www.nasa.gov -end- Faith McKie / Cheryl Warner Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1600 faith.d.mckie@nasa.gov / cheryl.m.warner@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Jan 19, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related TermsNASA HeadquartersBill Nelson View the full article
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Cameras aboard Peregrine capture the American flag and the NASA insignia on one of the lander’s tanks to signify America’s return to the Moon. Credits: Astrobotic The first flight of NASA’s commercial lunar delivery service carrying agency science and technology, as well as other customer payloads intended for the Moon, has come to an end. After 10 days and 13 hours in space, Astrobotic’s Peregrine Mission One made a controlled re-entry on Earth over open water in the South Pacific at approximately 4:04 p.m. EST on Jan. 18. Astrobotic was the first commercial vendor to launch a mission to the Moon as part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative, which aims to advance capabilities for science, exploration or commercial development of the Moon under the agency’s Artemis campaign. There are seven additional CLPS deliveries awarded to multiple American companies, with more awards expected this year and for years to come. The next CLPS commercial flight is targeted for no earlier than February. Following a successful launch and separation from the rocket on Jan. 8, the spacecraft experienced a propulsion issue preventing Peregrine from softly landing on the Moon. After analysis and recommendations from NASA and the space community, Astrobotic determined the best option for minimizing risk and ensuring responsible disposal of the spacecraft would be to maintain Peregrine’s trajectory toward Earth, where it burned up upon re-entry. (L-R) Hailey Moosebrugger, payload manager, Astrobotic, works with project scientists Maria Banks and Paul Niles, CLPS in Astrobotic’s control center. Credits: Astrobotic “Space exploration is a daring task, and the science and spaceflight data collected from Astrobotic’s lunar lander is better preparing NASA for future CLPS deliveries and crewed missions under Artemis,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “The future of exploration is strengthened by collaboration. Together with our commercial partners, NASA is supporting a growing commercial space economy that will help take humanity back to the Moon, and beyond.” Four out five NASA payloads on Peregrine successfully powered on and collected data while in flight: Linear Energy Transfer Spectrometer (LETS) Near-Infrared Volatile Spectrometer System (NIRVSS) Neutron Spectrometer System (NSS) Peregrine Ion-Trap Mass Spectrometer (PITMS) As NASA’s LRA (Laser Retroreflector Array) instrument is a passive experiment, and operations could only take place on the lunar surface. NASA science teams are currently working to interpret the results. Preliminary data suggests the instruments have measured natural radiation and chemical compounds in the area around the lander. “Astrobotic’s Peregrine mission provided an invaluable opportunity to test our science and instruments in space, optimizing our process for collecting data and providing a benchmark for future missions,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “The data collected in flight sets the stage for understanding how some of our instruments may behave in the harsh environment of space when some of the duplicates fly on future CLPS flights.” NASA is committed to supporting its U.S. commercial vendors as they navigate the challenges of sending science and technology to the surface of the Moon. For more information about CLPS, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/clps -end- Faith McKie / Karen Fox Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1600 faith.d.mckie@nasa.gov / karen.c.fox@nasa.gov Nilufar Ramji Johnson Space Flight Center, Houston 281-383-5111 nilufar.ramji@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Jan 19, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related TermsMissionsArtemisCommercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS)Johnson Space CenterNASA Headquarters View the full article
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“[In] everyone’s life, they have a pivotal moment when they ask the question, ‘What am I really doing? What am I here for?’ … I’m reminded of a credo that I came up [with] through the evolution of my engagement of a whole bunch of recreational pursuits [including being a marathoner, ultrarunner, and Ironman triathlete] … as well as my professional pursuits. It’s threefold, and here’s what it is: “[First,] I’m here because I want to be able to challenge myself, to see how much I can squeeze out of me – whatever that is, whatever ‘me’ is. [For example,] I applied to the astronaut candidate program twice, but I failed to make it to the second round. I figured I’d give a go at throwing my hat in the ring! Like with [an earlier career experience of failing out of] the Navy Nuclear Power Training Program, failure in one domain just means that you have to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and find a new direction – often pursuing stretch goals that are outside of your comfort zone. “[Second,] I want to serve others. I want to find a way to be of use to others, whether it’s in a structured manner or unstructured manner, whether it’s volunteering or just being a civil servant. I really focus on this service aspect; I did become a supervisor about three years ago, and I really take that role seriously. I really have a service-based leadership philosophy. … That’s why I think [mentoring student interns] represented such a [career] highlight for me, because I felt like I was serving their needs. I was helping to really educate them and [provide] knowledge that I want to … transfer to them, to really inspire that next generation of folks. “… And the third – which I think NASA fits beautifully – is, ‘How do I build the future? How do I help build the future?’ “So again, it’s challenge, service, and building the future. If I don’t do anything else in my entire life except for those three things, I’m at least getting something right. I might be getting everything else entirely wrong, but I can at least work toward those three things.” — Dr. Rodney Martin, Deputy Discovery and Systems Health Technical Area Lead, NASA’s Ames Research Center Image Credit: NASA / Brandon Torres Interviewer: NASA / Michelle Zajac Check out some of our other Faces of NASA. View the full article
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Advanced Curation Systematic Imaging Documentation for OSIRIS-REX Sample Return Mission Physical ExaminationPhoto: NASA/Erika Blumenfeld & Joseph Aebersold The astromaterials curation team at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston has completed the disassembly of the OSIRIS-REx sampler head to reveal the remainder of the asteroid Bennu sample inside. On Jan. 10, they successfully removed two stubborn fasteners that had prevented the final steps of opening the Touch-and-Go-Sample-Acquisition-Mechanism (TAGSAM) head. Erika Blumenfeld, creative lead for the Advanced Imaging and Visualization of Astromaterials (AIVA) and Joe Aebersold, AIVA project lead, captured this photograph of the open TAGSAM head including the asteroid material inside using manual high-resolution precision photography and a semi-automated focus stacking procedure. The result is an image that shows extreme detail of the sample. Next, the curation team will remove the round metal collar and prepare the glovebox to transfer the remaining sample from the TAGSAM head into pie-wedge sample trays. These trays will be photographed before the sample is weighed, packaged, and stored at Johnson, home to the most extensive collection of astromaterials in the world. The remaining sample material includes dust and rocks up to about 0.4 inch (one cm) in size. The final mass of the sample will be determined in the coming weeks. The curation team members had already collected 2.48 ounces (70.3 grams) of asteroid material from the sample hardware before the lid was removed, surpassing the agency’s goal of bringing at least 2.12 ounces (60 grams) to Earth. The curation team will release a catalog of all the Bennu samples later this year, which will allow scientists and institutions around the world to submit requests for research or display. Download high-resolution images here: https://images.nasa.gov/details/jsc2024e006057 View the full article
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3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Alongside experts from academia and industry, leaders from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, will be on hand at the Feb. 25–29 PowerSource Global Summit conference in Orlando. Dr. Christyl Johnson, Goddard’s deputy center director for technology and research investments, will deliver the conference’s keynote address on Feb. 26, sharing insights on space exploration developments as they relate to the 2024 summit’s theme: “Women in STEAM Powering the Metaverse.” “STEAM” adds “arts” to the “STEM” science, technology, engineering, and math acronym. Dr. Christyl Johnson, deputy center director for technology and research investments at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, will provide keynote remarks at the PowerSource Global summit in Orlando at the end of February 2024.NASA “As NASA embarks toward a sustained human presence on the Moon and onward to Mars, it’s critical that we underpin our efforts with a diverse and inclusive community,” Johnson said. “I look forward to sharing NASA’s latest efforts at the conference and to bringing back ideas and perspectives that will help ensure our exploration reflects humanity’s values and aspirations.” Johnson has been a deputy center director at Goddard since 2010. In her current position, she manages the center’s research and development portfolio and formulates the center’s future science mission and technology goals. In addition to Johnson’s keynote, NASA Chief Information Officer Jeff Seaton will attend and present on a panel, “Cybersecurity in a Hackable World,” at 7:30 a.m. EST on Feb. 27. Other Goddard speakers at the conference include Chief Digital Engineer Aaron Comis; research scientist Dr. Bethany Theiling; Dr. Evana Gizzi, an AI research lead at the center; and systems engineer Matthew Vaerewyck. The four will present an interactive panel, “From Vision to Reality,” that showcases Goddard’s digital engineering design capabilities. The panel will be 10:30 a.m. EST on Feb. 26. Dr. Omar Hatamleh, Goddard’s chief adviser for AI and innovation, will participate in a panel discussion, “Medical Technology’s Transformative Impact,” at 11:45 a.m. EST on Feb. 27. The private sector-led PowerSource Global Summit developed out of a 2016 collaboration that Johnson spearheaded to boost female representation in STEM fields. “Continuing dialogue allows us to move the needle forward to ensure a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible workforce where barriers in STEAM careers cease to exist, particularly for women,” Johnson said. “That’s why it’s important for Goddard to participate in summits like PowerSource that convene STEAM professionals to share best practices and learn from one another. We need to engage the next generation, the Artemis Generation, to build a diverse future workforce for exploration.” In the conference’s current form, it allows diverse experts across disciplines to exchange ideas about technology’s influences on society, according to its website. The February conference takes place at World Center Marriott in Orlando. Goddard is NASA’s premiere space flight complex. The center is home to the nation’s largest organization of scientists, engineers and technologists who build spacecraft, instruments and new technology to study Earth, the Sun, our solar system and the universe. Facebook logo @NASAGoddard @NASAGoddard Instagram logo @NASAGoddard Share Details Last Updated Jan 18, 2024 EditorRob GarnerContactRob Garnerrob.garner@nasa.govLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related TermsGoddard Space Flight Center View the full article
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NASA astronaut and Expedition 70 Flight Engineer Loral O’Hara scrubs spacesuit cooling loops in preparation for a round of spacewalks. NASA Students, staff, and researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and two local public schools in Boston will have an opportunity next week to hear from NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara aboard the International Space Station. The Earth-to-space call will air live at 9:55 a.m. EST Tuesday, Jan. 23, on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media. O’Hara will answer prerecorded questions from students at Boston’s Harvard-Kent Elementary and Warren-Prescott School in partnership with Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and researchers involved in NASA’s Complement of Integrated Protocols for Human Exploration Research (CIPHER). The investigation studies neurobehavioral and physiological adaptations to spaceflight aboard the station. Graduate and undergraduate students will facilitate engaging hands-on STEM activities with the participating K-12 students on the day of the event. Media interested in covering the event must RSVP no later than 5 p.m. Monday, Jan. 22, to Brandon Chase at bchase7@mgh.harvard.edu or 617-726-6422. For more than 23 years, astronauts have continuously lived and worked aboard the space station, testing technologies, performing science, and developing the skills needed to explore farther from Earth. Astronauts living aboard the orbiting laboratory communicate with NASA’s Mission Control Center in Houston 24 hours a day through the Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Near Space Network. Important research and technology investigations taking place aboard the International Space Station benefits people on Earth and lays the groundwork for future exploration. As part of the Artemis campaign, NASA will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future human exploration of Mars. Inspiring the next generation of explorers – the Artemis Generation – ensures America will continue to lead in space exploration and discovery. See videos and lesson plans highlighting research on the space station at: https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation -end- Katherine Brown Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1288 katherine.m.brown@nasa.gov Sandra Jones Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Jan 19, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related TermsSTEM Engagement at NASAInternational Space Station (ISS) View the full article
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The new year of 1969 dawned with optimism that NASA would meet President John F. Kennedy’s goal of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. The previous year saw four Apollo missions, two uncrewed and two carrying three astronauts each, test different components of the lunar landing architecture, culminating with Apollo 8’s December flight around the Moon. Challenges remaining for the new year included testing the Lunar Module (LM) with a crew, first in Earth orbit, and then in lunar orbit, a flight that served as a dress rehearsal for the Moon landing that could take place on the following mission. With flights occurring every two months, engineers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida processed three spacecraft and launch vehicles in parallel. Recovering from the fire Left: The Apollo 1 crew of Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, left, Edward H. White, and Roger B. Chaffee. Middle left: Liftoff of the first Saturn V on the Apollo 4 mission. Middle right: The Lunar Module for the Apollo 5 mission. Right: Recovery of the Apollo 6 Command Module. The years 1967 and 1968 proved turbulent for the world. For NASA, the focus remained on recovering from the tragic Apollo 1 fire in time to meet President Kennedy’s fast approaching end of the decade deadline. The fire resulted in a thorough redesign of the Command Module (CM) to reduce flammability risks and to include an easy to open hatch. Engineers also removed flammable materials from the Lunar Module (LM). In November 1967, the first flight of the Saturn V carried Apollo 4 on a nine-hour uncrewed mission to test the CM’s heat shield. Apollo 5 in January 1968 completed an uncrewed test of the LM so successful that NASA decided to cancel a second test. Although fraught with problems, the April 1968 flight of Apollo 6 tested the CM heat shield once again. Managers believed that engineers could solve the problems encountered during this mission and declared that the next Saturn V would carry a crew. Apollo 7 and 8 Left: Apollo 7 astronauts Walter M. Schirra, left, Donn F. Eisele, and R. Walter Cunningham on the recovery ship USS Essex following their 11-day mission. Right: The famous Earthrise photograph from Apollo 8. By October 1968, thorough ground testing of the Apollo spacecraft enabled the first crewed mission since the fire. Apollo 7 astronauts Walter M. Schirra, Donn F. Eisele, and R. Walter Cunningham successfully completed the 11-day test flight, achieving all mission objectives. In August, with LM development running behind schedule, senior NASA managers began discussions of sending Apollo 8 on a circumlunar flight, pending the outcome of Apollo 7. With that hurdle successfully cleared, astronauts Frank Borman, James A. Lovell, and William A. Anders orbited the Moon 10 times during Christmas 1968, taking a giant leap toward achieving the Moon landing. Left: At the White House, Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, James A. Lovell, and William A. Anders present a copy of the Earthrise photograph to President Lyndon B. Johnson. Middle: Accompanied by Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, Borman, Lovell, and Anders take a motorcade from the White House to the Capitol. Right: Borman, left, Lovell, and Anders address a joint meeting of Congress. With their space missions completed, the Apollo 7 and 8 crews remained busy with events celebrating their successes. On Jan. 3, 1969, TIME magazine named Apollo 8 astronauts Borman, Lovell, and Anders their Men of the Year for 1968. Kicking off a whirlwind of events, on Jan. 9, outgoing President Lyndon B. Johnson welcomed them to the White House, where he presented them with NASA Distinguished Service Medals. They in turn presented him with a copy of the famous Earthrise photograph. Accompanied by Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, Borman, Lovell, and Anders rode in a motorcade down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol where the astronauts addressed a joint meeting of Congress. From there, they proceeded to the State Department for a press conference, their day ending with a dinner in their honor at the Smithsonian Institution. Left: Apollo 8 astronauts James A. Lovell, left, Frank Borman, and William A. Anders wave to the crowds assembled along their parade route in New York City. Middle: Borman, Lovell, and Anders address a crowd at Newark airport. Right: In Miami’s Orange Bowl Lovell, left, Borman, and Anders lead the fans in the Pledge of Allegiance at Super Bowl III. On Jan. 10, New York City held a tickertape parade for Borman, Lovell, and Anders. Mayor John V. Lindsay presented them with Medals of the City of New York, after which they attended a luncheon at Lincoln Center, a reception at the United Nations, and dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The next day, in 15-degree weather, they spoke to a crowd of about 1,500 people at Newark Airport before boarding a plane for much warmer Miami, where on Jan. 12 they attended Super Bowl III, and led the Orange Bowl crowd in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Left: In Houston, Apollo 8 astronauts William A. Anders, left, Frank Borman, and James A. Lovell present an Earthrise photograph and flags of Texas to Governor John B. Connally, far right, and Mayor Louie Welch, hidden behind the photograph. Middle: Borman and his family in the parade through downtown Houston, with Lovell and Anders and their families following behind. Right: Lovell, Borman, and Anders wave to the crowds in the parade in Chicago. A crowd estimated at about 250,000 welcomed Borman, Lovell, and Anders home to Houston on Jan. 13. In a ceremony outside the Albert Thomas Convention Center, Mayor Louie Welch presented them with bronze medals for heroism, and the astronauts presented Welch and Texas Governor John B. Connally with plaques bearing Texas flags they had flown to the Moon as well as a framed copy of the Earthrise photograph. The astronauts took part in the largest parade in the city’s history. The next day, the city of Chicago welcomed Borman, Lovell, and Anders. An estimated 1.5 million people cheered them on their parade route to a reception where they received honors from city council. Left: The Apollo 7 Command Module and a Lunar Module mockup on a float in President Richard M. Nixon’s inauguration parade; Apollo 7 astronauts Walter M. Schirra, R. Walter Cunningham, and Donn F. Eisele preceded the float in an open-air limousine. Image credit: courtesy Richard Nixon Library. Right: Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, left, James A. Lovell, and William A. Anders with President Nixon at the White House. On Jan. 20, Apollo 7 astronauts Schirra, Eisele, and Cunningham rode in President Richard M. Nixon’s inauguration parade in Washington, D.C. Their spacecraft and a LM mockup rode on a float behind them. Ten days later, the new President invited Apollo 8 astronauts Borman, Lovell, and Anders to the White House where he announced that Borman and his family would embark on an 18-day goodwill tour of eight European nations, starting on Feb. 2. Apollo 9 The LM remained the one component of the lunar landing architecture not yet tested by astronauts in space. That task fell to James A. McDivitt, David R. Scott, and Russell L. Schweickart, the crew of Apollo 9. They and their backups Charles “Pete” Conrad, Richard F. Gordon, and Alan L. Bean spent many hours in the LM simulators and training for the spacewalk component of the mission. Left: In preparation for the Apollo 9 spacewalk, astronaut Russell L. Schweickart tests the Portable Life Support System backpack in an altitude chamber at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), now NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Middle: Schweickart trains for his spacewalk in MSC’s Water Immersion Facility. Right: Apollo 9 backup astronauts Richard F. Gordon, left, and Alan L. Bean train for the spacewalk in the KC-135 zero-gravity aircraft. Apollo 9’s 10-day mission would take place in the relative safety of low Earth orbit. After docking with the LM, the crew’s first major task involved the first spacewalk of the Apollo program and the only in-space test of the new A7L spacesuit before the Moon landing. McDivitt and Schweickart planned to enter the LM, leaving Scott in the CM. Schweickart and Scott would each perform a spacewalk from their respective spacecraft. Scott would only stand in the open CM hatch while Schweickart would exit via the LM’s front hatch onto its porch, translate over to the CM using handrails, retrieve materials samples mounted on the spacecraft’s exterior and return back to the LM, spending two hours outside. This spacewalk tested the ability of crews to transfer through open space, in case a malfunction with the tunnel or hatches between the two spacecraft prevented an internal transfer. The day after the spacewalk, McDivitt and Schweickart planned to undock the LM, leaving Scott in the CM, fly it up to 100 miles away, testing its descent and ascent stages before returning to Scott in the CM who would perform the rendezvous and docking. At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, three views of the Apollo 9 rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39A. The first of the three vehicles in processing flow at KSC, Apollo 9 rolled out from High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to Launch Pad 39A on Jan. 3, just 13 days after Apollo 8 launched from the same facility, causing relatively minor damage. Stages of the Apollo 9 Saturn V had arrived at KSC during the spring and summer of 1968, the LM arrived in June and the Command and Service Modules (CSM) in October. Workers completed stacking of the Saturn V in October, adding the Apollo spacecraft in early December. On Jan. 8, NASA announced Feb. 28, 1969, as the planned launch date for Apollo 9. Left: Apollo 9 astronauts James A. McDivitt, front, David R. Scott, and Russell L. Schweickart depart crew quarters for the ride to Launch Pad 39A for emergency escape training. Middle: Scott, left, Schweickart, and McDivitt in the White Room during the pad emergency escape drill. Right: Scott, left, McDivitt, and Schweickart pose with their mission patch following a press conference at Grumman Aircraft and Engineering Corporation in Bethpage, New York. Workers at the pad immediately began to prepare the vehicle for flight, including software integration tests with the Mission Control Center at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), now NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. On Jan. 15, the prime and backup crews conducted emergency egress training from their spacecraft at Launch Pad 39A. Launch controllers at KSC successfully completed the Flight Readiness Test, the final major overall test of the vehicle’s systems, between Jan. 19 and 22. During a Jan. 25 press conference at the Grumman Aircraft and Engineering Corporation in Bethpage, New York, manufacturer of the LM, the Apollo 9 astronauts provided reporters with an overview of their mission. Apollo 10 Assuming Apollo 9 met its objectives and the LM proved space worthy in Earth orbit, in May Apollo 10 would repeat many of those tests in lunar orbit, including flying to within nine miles of the Moon’s surface. Left: Apollo 10 backup astronauts L. Gordon Cooper, front, and Edgar D. Mitchell arrive in the vacuum chamber in the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building (MSOB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a Lunar Module (LM) altitude test. Middle: Engineers in the MSOB conduct a docking test between the LM and the Command Module (CM) docking test. Right: Engineers prepare the CM for an altitude test. In November 1968, just six months before the planned launch date, NASA officially named the Apollo 10 crew. The prime crew consisted of Thomas P. Stafford, John W. Young, and Eugene A. Cernan. All had flown Gemini missions and had recently served as the Apollo 7 backup crew. L. Gordon Cooper, Donn F. Eisele, and Edgar D. Mitchell served as their backups. Left: In High Bay 2 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, the three stages of the Apollo 10 Saturn V await the arrival of the spacecraft. Middle left: In KSC’s Manned Spacecraft Operations Building (MSOB), workers remove the Lunar Module (LM) from an altitude chamber. Middle right: Workers in the MSOB lower the LM onto the base of the Spacecraft LM Adapter (SLA). Right: After installing the main engine bell, workers lift the Command and Service Module for mating with the SLA. In the VAB’s High Bay 2, workers had completed stacking the Apollo 10 Saturn V’s three stages by the final days of 1968, while their colleagues prepared to roll Apollo 9’s rocket to the pad a few days later. In the nearby Manned Spacecraft Operations Building (MSOB), prime and backup crews completed altitude tests of the LM in December and workers conducted a docking test between the LM and the CM. On Jan. 16, Stafford, Young, and Cernan completed their altitude test of the CM, followed by Cooper, Eisele, and Mitchell the next day. Workers removed the spacecraft from the altitude chamber in preparation for its rollover to the VAB in early February for stacking onto the rocket. Apollo 11 Assuming Apollo 9 and 10 accomplished their objectives, Apollo 11 would attempt the first Moon landing in July. Should Apollo 11 not succeed, NASA would try again with Apollo 12 in September and even Apollo 13 in November or December. Spacecraft and rocket manufacturers continued building components to meet that aggressive schedule. Apollo 11 crew of Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, left, Neil A. Armstrong, and Michael Collins. On Jan. 9, a mere six months before the planned launch date, NASA formally announced the Apollo 11 crew, the second all-veteran three-person crew after Apollo 10 – and the last all-veteran crew until STS-26 in 1988. The next day, NASA introduced the Apollo 11 crew during a press conference at MSC. The prime crew consisted of Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin. Each astronaut had flown one Gemini mission. Armstrong and Aldrin had served on the backup crew for Apollo 8 while Collins was initially a member of the prime Apollo 8 crew until a bone spur in his neck requiring surgery sidelined him. He fully recovered from the operation, and NASA included him in the Apollo 11 crew. The Apollo 11 backup crew consisted of James A. Lovell, William A. Anders, and Fred W. Haise. Lovell and Anders had just completed the Apollo 8 lunar orbit mission with Haise a backup crew member on that flight. When Anders announced that he would retire from NASA in August 1969 to join the National Space Council, Thomas K. “Ken” Mattingly began training in parallel with Anders in case the mission slipped past that date. Left: The Lunar Module for Apollo 11 arrives at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Middle: The Apollo 11 Command Module, left, and Service Module, in KSC’s Manned Spacecraft Operations Building shortly after their arrival. Right: The S-IVB third stage for Apollo 11’s Saturn V rocket arrives at KSC. Hardware began to arrive at KSC for Apollo 11. With the Apollo 10 CSM still undergoing testing in the MSOB, the Apollo 11 LM’s ascent and descent stages arrived Jan. 8 and 12, respectively, followed by the CM and SM on Jan. 23. Workers in the MSOB prepared the spacecraft for vacuum chamber testing. The Saturn V’s S-IVB third stage arrived on Jan. 19. Workers trucked it to the VAB where it awaited the arrival of the first two stages, scheduled for February. Lunar Receiving Laboratory Left: Schematic of the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) showing its major functional areas. Right: A mockup Command Module in the spacecraft storage area, part of the Crew Reception Area, in the LRL. With the Moon landing possibly just six months away, NASA continued to prepare key facilities designed to receive astronauts returning from the Moon. The 83,000-square-foot Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL), residing in MSC’s Building 37, was specially designed and built to isolate the astronauts, their spacecraft, and lunar samples to prevent back-contamination of the Earth by any possible lunar micro-organisms, and to maintain the lunar samples in as pristine a condition as possible. The building was completed in 1967, and over the next year, workers outfitted its laboratories and other facilities. A 10-day simulation in the facility in November 1968 found some deficiencies that NASA addressed promptly. On Jan. 23, 1969, workers brought a mockup Apollo CM into the LRL’s spacecraft storage area for fit checks. Left: Workers at the Norfolk Naval Air Station in Virginia hoist the Mobile Quarantine facility (MQF) onto the USS Guadalcanal. Middle: The flexible tunnel set up between the MQF and a mockup Command Module. Right: Workers in Norfolk load the MQF onto a C-141 cargo plane for the return flight to Ellington Air Force Base in Houston. An integral component of the back-contamination prevention process was the Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF). Following lunar landing missions, the MQF housed astronauts and support personnel from their arrival onboard the prime recovery ship shortly after splashdown through transport to the LRL. Under contract to NASA, Melpar, Inc., of Falls Church, Virginia, converted four 35-foot Airstream trailers into MQFs, delivering the first unit in March 1968 and the last three in the spring of 1969. The first unit was used extensively for testing, with lessons learned incorporated into the later models. On Jan. 21, 1969, workers loaded the MQF aboard a U.S. Air Force C-141 cargo plane at Ellington Air Force Base near MSC to transport it to the Norfolk Naval Air Station in Virginia. Six recovery specialists from MSC spent 10 days inside the MQF, first aboard the helicopter landing-platform USS Guadalcanal (LPH-7), including attaching a flexible tunnel to a boilerplate Apollo CM, and then aboard the destroyer USS Fox (DLG-33). The overall exercise, successfully completed on Feb. 3, tested all MQF systems aboard ships and aircraft to simulate recovery operations after a lunar landing mission. To be continued … With special thanks to Ed Hengeveld for imagery expertise. News from around the world in January 1969: Jan. 7 – Congress doubles the President’s salary from $100,000 to $200,000 a year. Jan. 9 – First test flight of the Franco-British Concorde supersonic jetliner in Bristol, U.K. Jan. 12 – In Super Bowl III, played in Miami’s Orange Bowl, the New York Jets beat the Baltimore Colts 16 to 7. Jan. 16 – The Soviet Union conducts the first docking between two crewed spacecraft and the first crew transfer by spacewalking cosmonauts during the Soyuz 4 and 5 missions. Jan. 20 – Richard M. Nixon inaugurated as the 37th U.S. President. Jan. 30 – The Beatles perform their last live gig, a 42-minute concert on the rooftop of Apple Corps Headquarters in London. Explore More 8 min read 50 Years Ago: Skylab 4 Astronauts Begin Record-Breaking Third Month in Space Article 1 week ago 6 min read 10 Years Ago: The First Operational Cygnus Cargo Mission to the Space Station Article 1 week ago 5 min read NASA’s Deep Space Network Turns 60 and Prepares for the Future Article 4 weeks ago View the full article
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2 min read Hubble Views a Galactic Supernova Site This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image is of the small galaxy known as UGC 5189A. ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Filippenko This image features a relatively small galaxy known as UGC 5189A, which is located about 150 million light-years away in the constellation Leo. This galaxy was observed by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to study a supernova explosion in 2010 known as SN 2010jl. This particular supernova is notable because it was an exceptionally luminous supernova event. In fact, over a period of three years, SN 2010jl released at least 2.5 billion times more visible energy than our Sun emitted over the same timeframe across all wavelengths. Even after supernovae fade to non-observable levels, it is still interesting to study the environments where they occurred. Such studies can provide astronomers with valuable information: supernovae can take place for a variety of reasons and understanding the environments in which they occur helps improve our understanding of the conditions that triggered them. Follow-up studies after supernovae also improve our understanding of the immediate aftermath of such events: from their potent effects on the gas and dust around them, to the stellar remnants they leave behind. Hubble has observed UGC 5189A many times since 2010. This image is from data collected in three of the latest Hubble studies of UGC 5189A. These studies also examined several other relatively nearby galaxies that recently hosted supernovae – ‘relatively nearby’, in this context, means roughly 100 million light-years away. Text credit: European Space Agency Media Contact: Claire Andreoli NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD claire.andreoli@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Jan 18, 2024 Editor Andrea Gianopoulos Location Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms Astrophysics Astrophysics Division Galaxies Goddard Space Flight Center Hubble Space Telescope Missions Supernovae The Universe Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Hubble Space Telescope Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe. Galaxies Stories Stars Stories James Webb Space Telescope Webb is the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It studies every phase in the… View the full article
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Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3), the third all private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, lifts off at 4:49 p.m. EST on Thursday, Jan. 18, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.NASA As part of NASA’s efforts to enable more access to space, four private astronauts are in orbit following the successful launch of the third all private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. Axiom Space astronauts lifted off at 4:49 p.m. EST on Thursday from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket propelled the company’s Dragon spacecraft carrying Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) crew members Commander Michael López-Alegría, Pilot Walter Villadei, and Mission Specialists Marcus Wandt and Alper Gezeravci into orbit. The crew will spend about two weeks conducting microgravity research, educational outreach, and commercial activities aboard the space station. “Congratulations to Axiom and SpaceX on a successful launch! Together with our commercial partners, NASA is supporting a growing commercial space economy and the future of space technology,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “During their time aboard the International Space Station, the Ax-3 astronauts will carry out more than 30 scientific experiments that will help advance research in low-Earth orbit. As the first all-European commercial astronaut mission to the space station, the Ax-3 crew is proof that the possibility of space unites us all.” Beginning at 2:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 20, NASA will provide coverage of the SpaceX Dragon’s docking, hatch opening, and welcoming remarks on the NASA+ streaming service. Coverage also will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms, including social media. The Dragon spacecraft will dock autonomously to the forward port of the station’s Harmony module as early as 4:19 a.m. Saturday. Hatches between Dragon and the station are expected to open after 6 a.m., allowing the Axiom crew to enter the complex for a welcoming ceremony and start their stay aboard the orbiting laboratory. Once aboard the station, Expedition 70 crew members, including NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Furukawa Satoshi, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Konstantin Borisov, Oleg Kononenko, and Nikolai Chub, will welcome the Ax-3 crew. The Ax-3 astronauts are expected to depart the space station Saturday, Feb. 3, pending weather, for a return to Earth and splashdown at a landing site off the coast of Florida. NASA’s efforts, including private astronaut missions, are opening access to low Earth orbit for private industry allowing the agency to become one of many customers in a thriving commercial economy in space. As NASA enables commercial space, the agency also is readying for Artemis missions to the Moon in preparation for Mars. For more information about NASA’s commercial low Earth orbit economy development, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/commercial-space/ -end- Julian Coltre Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 julian.n.coltre@nasa.gov Rebecca Turkington Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 rebecca.turkington@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Jan 18, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related TermsHumans in SpaceCommercial CrewCommercial SpaceInternational Space Station (ISS)ISS Research View the full article
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This Hubble Picture of the Week features Arp 122, a peculiar galaxy that in fact comprises two galaxies — NGC 6040, the tilted, warped spiral galaxy and LEDA 59642, the round, face-on spiral — that are in the midst of a collision. This dramatic cosmic encounter is located at the very safe distance of roughly 570 million light-years from Earth.ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Dalcanton, Dark Energy Survey/DOE/FNAL/DECam/CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA Acknowledgement: L. Shatz This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features Arp 122, a peculiar galaxy that in fact comprises two galaxies – NGC 6040, the tilted, warped spiral galaxy and LEDA 59642, the round, face-on spiral – that are in the midst of a collision. This dramatic cosmic encounter is located at the very safe distance of roughly 570 million light-years from Earth. Peeking in at the lower-left corner is the elliptical galaxy NGC 6041, a central member of the galaxy cluster that Arp 122 resides in, but otherwise not participating in this monster merger. Galactic collisions and mergers are monumentally energetic and dramatic events, but they take place on a very slow timescale. For example, the Milky Way is on track to collide with its nearest galactic neighbor, the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), but these two galaxies have a good four billion years to go before they actually meet. The process of colliding and merging will not be a quick one either: it might take hundreds of millions of years to unfold. These collisions take so long because of the truly massive distances involved. Galaxies are composed of stars and their solar systems, dust, gas, and invisible dark matter. In galactic collisions, therefore, these constituent components may experience enormous changes in the gravitational forces acting on them. In time, this completely changes the structure of the two (or more) colliding galaxies, and sometimes ultimately results in a single, merged galaxy. That may well be what results from the collision pictured in this image. Galaxies that result from mergers are thought to have a regular or elliptical structure, as the merging process disrupts more complex structures (such as those observed in spiral galaxies). It would be fascinating to know what Arp 122 will look like once this collision is complete… but that will not happen for a long, long time. Text credit: European Space Agency Media Contact: Claire Andreoli NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD claire.andreoli@nasa.gov View the full article
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1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA Glenn Research Center’s Spectrum Manager Wayne White, center, supports the U.S. Delegation at the 2023 World Radiocommunication Conference.Credit: International Telecommunications Union Reliable space communication and navigation systems are critical to every NASA mission. From the Voyager mission exploring beyond our solar system to astronauts aboard the International Space Station, space communications provide the crucial connection to our home planet. Without proper management of radio spectrum allocation and use, NASA’s ability to communicate with spacecraft and operate science instruments could be substantially limited. Doreen Bogdan-Martin, secretary general of the International Telecommunications Union, shares closing remarks with delegates during the 2023 World Radiocommunication Conference signing and closing ceremony. Credit: International Telecommunications Union In December, members of NASA Glenn Research Center’s Space Communications and Spectrum Management Office provided critical support during the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Glenn’s team helped the United States delegation track 12 international issues of interest at this year’s conference. International treaty negotiations are conducted every three to four years, and the next WRC is planned for 2027. Already looking ahead to WRC-27, Glenn’s continuous support of this conference plays a critical role in ensuring secure and consistent communications for NASA’s missions and the agency’s global partners. Explore More 1 min read Employees Spread Joy With Toys for Tots Drive Article 14 mins ago 1 min read Two NASA Glenn Senior Leaders Retire Article 15 mins ago 7 min read Monitoring Microorganisms Article 3 hours ago View the full article
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1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Members of the Marine Corps Reserve (3rd Battalion, 25th Marine unit) stand in front of 10 boxes of toys donated by NASA Glenn Research Center employees. Credit: NASA/Bridget Caswell NASA’s Glenn Research Center continued a decades-long tradition of participating in the Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program during the 2023 holiday season. On Dec. 11, members of the Marine Corps Reserve (3rd Battalion, 25th Marine unit) picked up 10 boxes of toys donated by employees from NASA Glenn’s Lewis Field in Cleveland and Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky. The Glenn Veterans Employee Resource Group led the donation drive. The Toys for Tots campaign collects and distributes new, unwrapped toys to less fortunate children in the area for Christmas. Explore More 1 min read Glenn Supports World Radiocommunication Conference Article 13 mins ago 1 min read Two NASA Glenn Senior Leaders Retire Article 15 mins ago 5 min read Engage with NASA Glenn Article 6 days ago View the full article
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1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Two members of NASA Glenn Research Center’s senior leadership retired on Dec. 30, 2023. Timothy McCartney Credit: NASA Timothy P. McCartney, director of Aeronautics, retired with 38 1/2 years of NASA service. He was responsible for the project management, workforce planning, budget oversight, and executive leadership of NASA Glenn’s aeronautics research and development activities in support of the agency’s Aeronautics Research Mission. Dr. Ajay Misra Credit: NASA Dr. Ajay Misra, deputy director of Research and Engineering, retired with 29 years of NASA service. He shared responsibility with the director of Research and Engineering for leading and managing approximately 1,000 scientists, engineers, and administrative staff supporting NASA’s missions. He led a team dedicated to NASA Glenn’s research and development in propulsion, communications, power, and materials and structures for extreme environments. Explore More 1 min read Glenn Supports World Radiocommunication Conference Article 13 mins ago 1 min read Employees Spread Joy With Toys for Tots Drive Article 14 mins ago 5 min read Engage with NASA Glenn Article 6 days ago View the full article
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7 Min Read Monitoring Microorganisms iss070e049644 (Dec. 30, 2023) — A set of the International Space Station's main solar arrays, slightly obscuring the smaller roll-out solar arrays, and the Kibo laboratory module with its exposed facility, a research platform that hosts external experiments, are pictured 261 miles above the Pacific Ocean. Credits: NASA Science in Space January 2024 Crew members on the International Space Station have a lot of company – millions of bacteria and other microbes. The human body contains 10 times more microbes than human cells, and bacteria and fungi grow in and on just about everything around us on Earth. Most bacteria are harmless, and many are beneficial or even essential to human functioning and well-being. But microgravity can make some microbes more likely to cause disease and bacteria and fungi may affect the function of spacecraft systems, by, for example, corroding metal. These organisms also could contaminate other planetary bodies that spacecraft and humans land on. Some microbes inevitably come along for the ride on crew members and cargo traveling to the space station, and it is important to identify and control those that may be harmful – especially in a closed environment like a spacecraft. Multiple investigations have tracked, identified, and analyzed the station’s tiniest residents to help keep crew members and equipment – and even other planets – safe from any potential threats. A current investigation, ISS Boeing Antimicrobial Coating, tests surface coatings designed to inhibit the growth of microbes to protect crew members and equipment on a spacecraft. On Earth, such coatings could help reduce diseases transmitted from touching surfaces in aircraft cabins, health care facilities, public transportation, and other settings. NASA astronaut Megan McArthur documents touch panels installed for the ISS Boeing Antimicrobial Coating investigation.NASA Microbial Observatory-1 was one of the first investigations to monitor the types of microbes present on the space station. Researchers produced the genomes of multiple microorganisms, including some that may act as pathogens and cause disease. Published results include a comprehensive catalog of bacteria and fungi1 deposited into the NASA GeneLab system. NASA astronaut Scott Kelly collects samples for Microbial Observatory-1.NASA The Microbial Tracking-2 investigation continued a series monitoring the types of microbes on the space station and attempted to catalog and characterize any with disease-causing potential. Researchers produced whole-genome sequences of 94 fungal strains2 and 96 bacterial strains of 14 species3. The data also revealed that Staphylococcus and Malassezia species were the most common bacteria and fungi, respectively, on the space station and that, overall, microorganisms associated with the human skin dominated the surface microbiome4. A Microbial Tracking-2 device collects air samples.NASA BioRisk-MSV, a long-running Roscosmos investigation, examined physical and genetic changes in bacteria and fungi on interior and exterior surfaces of the space station. Researchers found that microorganisms not only survive in this extreme environment but retain their reproductive ability as well. Most microorganisms also exhibited increased biochemical activity and resistance to antibiotics5. These findings have implications for developing planetary quarantine methods and biomedical safety systems for future missions. The TEST investigation from Roscomos examined samples from the exterior surface of the space station and in life support systems. This work demonstrated that it was possible to collect data on viable microorganisms from open space and identified specific non-spore-forming bacteria found there6. Researchers also found land and marine bacteria in cosmic dust samples collected during a spacewalk. These microbes may transfer from the upper atmosphere via the global electric circuit (a continuous movement of electric charge carriers such as ions) or they may have originated in space7. NASA’s ISS External Microorganisms plans to continue this work, collecting samples near life support system vents outside the station to examine whether the spacecraft releases microorganisms and, if so, how many and how far they may travel. Myco, an investigation from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), evaluated whether fungi inhaled by crew members or that adhere to their skin can act as allergens. The data revealed an increased relative abundance of a common fungus associated with seborrheic dermatitis (an itchy skin rash), and the presence of several types of fungi not common on the skin8. Results also showed an abundance of a yeast that may have adhered to the skin of some crew members preflight, suggesting that a specific or uncommon microorganism can proliferate in a closed environment. This study was the first to reveal changes over time in the skin fungal microbiota of astronauts9. NASA astronaut Cady Coleman processes samples for the Myco Experiment. NASA JAXA also conducted a series of experiments, Microbe-I, Microbe-III, and Microbe-IV, monitoring the abundance and diversity of fungi and bacteria in Kibo, the station’s Japanese Experiment module. This work resulted in multiple publications reporting on the type and numbers of microorganisms detected10,11. ISS Internal Environments provided a baseline of the contaminants on the space station. These data provide insight into the microbes present from the initial stages of construction through ongoing habitation of the orbiting lab. This and other research on the microorganisms in and around the space station are helping to ensure that crew members remain in safe company on current and future missions. John Love, ISS Research Planning Integration Scientist Expedition 70 Citations: 1 Checinska Sielaff A, Urbaniak C, Mohan GB, Stepanov VG, Tran Q, Wood JM, Minich J, McDonald D, Mayer T, Knight R, Karouia F, Fox GE, Venkateswaran KJ. Characterization of the total and viable bacterial and fungal communities associated with the International Space Station surfaces. Microbiome. 2019 April 8; 7(1): 50. DOI: 10.1186/s40168-019-0666-x. 2 Simpson AC, Urbaniak C, Bateh JR, Singh NK, Wood JM, Debieu M, O’Hara NB, Houbraken J, Mason CE, Venkateswaran KJ. Draft genome sequences of fungi isolated from the International Space Station during the Microbial Tracking-2 experiment. Microbiology Resource Announcements. 2021 September 16; 10(37): e00751-21. DOI: 10.1128/MRA.00751-21. 3 Simpson AC, Urbaniak C, Singh NK, Wood JM, Debieu M, O’Hara NB, Mason CE, Venkateswaran KJ. Draft genome sequences of various bacterial phyla isolated from the International Space Station. Microbiology Resource Announcements. 2021 April 29; 10(17): e00214-21. DOI: 10.1128/MRA.00214-21. 4 Urbaniak C, Morrison MD, Thissen J, Karouia F, Smith DJ, Mehta SK, Jaing C, Venkateswaran KJ. Microbial Tracking-2, a metagenomics analysis of bacteria and fungi onboard the International Space Station. Microbiome. 2022 June 29; 10(1): 100. DOI: 10.1186/s40168-022-01293-0. 5 Sychev VN, Novikova ND, Poddubko SV, Deshevaya EA, Orlov OI. The biological threat: The threat of planetary quarantine failure as a result of outer space exploration by humans. Doklady Biological Sciences. 2020 January; 490(1): 28-30. DOI: 10.1134/S0012496620010093.PMID: 32342323. Russian Text © The Author(s), 2020, published in Doklady Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk. Nauki o Zhizni, 2020, Vol. 490, pp. 105–108. 6 Deshevaya EA, Shubralova EV, Fialkina SV, Guridov AA, Novikova ND, Tsygankov OS, lianko PS, Orlov OI, Morzunov SP, Rizvanov AA, Nikolaeva IV. Microbiological investigation of the space dust collected from the external surfaces of the International Space Station. BioNanoScience. 2020 March 1; 10(1): 81-88. DOI: 10.1007/s12668-019-00712-1. 7 Grebennikova TV, Syroeshkin AV, Shubralova EV, Eliseeva OV, Kostina LV, Kulikova NY, Latyshev OE, Morozova MA, Yuzhakov AG, Zlatskiy IA, Chichaeva MA, Tsygankov OS. The DNA of bacteria of the world ocean and the Earth in cosmic dust at the International Space Station. The Scientific World Journal. 2018 20187360147. DOI: 10.1155/2018/7360147. 8 Sugita T, Yamazaki TQ, Cho O, Furukawa S, Mukai C. The skin mycobiome of an astronaut during a 1-year stay on the International Space Station. Medical Mycology. 2021 January; 59(1): 106-109. DOI: 10.1093/mmy/myaa067.PMID: 32838424. 9 Sugita T, Yamazaki TQ, Makimura K, Cho O, Yamada S, Ohshima H, Mukai C. Comprehensive analysis of the skin fungal microbiota of astronauts during a half-year stay at the International Space Station. Medical Mycology. 2016 March; 54(3): 232-239. DOI: 10.1093/mmy/myv121. 10 Yamaguchi N, Ichijo T, Nasu M. Bacterial monitoring in the International Space Station-“Kibo” based on rRNA gene sequence. Transactions of the Japan Society for Aeronautical and Space Sciences, Aerospace Technology Japan. 2016 14(ists30): Pp_1-Pp_4. DOI: 10.2322/tastj.14.Pp_1. 11 Satoh K, Alshahni MM, Umeda Y, Komori A, Tamura T, Nishiyama Y, Yamazaki TQ, Makimura K. Seven years of progress in determining fungal diversity and characterization of fungi isolated from the Japanese Experiment Module KIBO, International Space Station. Microbiology and Immunology. 2021 November; 65(11): 463-471. DOI: 10.1111/1348-0421.12931. Keep Exploring Discover More Topics Latest News from Space Station Research Station Science 101: Biology and Biotechnology Microbiology Program Space Station Research and Technology View the full article
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4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Dr. Darayas Patel (left), professor of mathematics and computer science at Oakwood University, and four Oakwood University students record data related to their NASA STTR research.Oakwood University Transitioning cutting-edge research from the lab to life-changing technology in the market is no easy feat and the cost of failure is high, especially for small businesses. One of the ways NASA helps is through its Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program, which supports small businesses, and their research institution partners during early-stage research and development on a range of technologies that can benefit all. After proving their concepts during Phase I, and finalizing negotiations, NASA announced Thursday 21 small businesses will receive Phase II awards worth up to $850,000 each. The funds will go toward developing, demonstrating, and delivering innovative technologies over the next 24 months, bringing them one step closer to infusion into a NASA mission or commercialization in the marketplace. Each small business will collaborate with a research institution such as a university or Federally Funded Research and Development Center on their work—a requirement of STTR and a key differentiator from its sister program, Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR). “The STTR program exists to unlock the power and innovative thinking enabled by partnership between small businesses and research institutions, said Jenn Gustetic, director of Early Stage Innovation and Partnerships under the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) at the NASA Headquarters in Washington. “NASA is committed to creating equitable opportunities and removing barriers for underrepresented audiences, so we’re proud that in this batch of awards, one-third of the partnering research institutions are Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs).” One of the awardees is SSS Optical Technologies, LLC, a Huntsville, Alabama, small business partnering with Oakwood University, a Historically Black Colleges and University also based in Huntsville. Together they will use the Phase II award to develop an innovative protective coating that absorbs damaging UV radiation and converts it into energy to power solar cells. The team prepared for their journey by participating in M-STTR—now the MUREP Partnership Learning Award Notification (MPLAN)—an initiative that connects MSIs with NASA to maximize the potential for long term collaborations and enhance future funding opportunities. Building off that early success, they won an STTR Phase I award, during which they demonstrated a 5% gain in efficiency while reducing radiation damage by 400%. The team will now focus their Phase II period on optimizing coating factors (composition, structure, and application method) for better efficiency and operational lifetime. If successful, their technology could find use in NASA’s Advanced Solar Sailing Technologies arena or in solar panels used in the commercial market. “Our program is in a unique position to support small businesses and their research institution partners to de-risk their technologies with funding and guidance,” said Jason Kessler, program executive for NASA’s SBIR/STTR program. “We want these awards to give each team the backing needed to showcase the impact the technologies can have inside and outside NASA’s walls.” This includes small businesses like Air Company Holdings, whichwas selected for a Phase II award to develop an alternative to fossil fuels. Based in Brooklyn, New York, the company is partnering with New York University to create a carbon dioxide hydrogenation technology that NASA can use to produce sustainable rocket fuel. The team will use their Phase II period to expand on the process model created in Phase I and optimize their fuel production and downstream processing, ensuring the produced fuel meets international standards. In addition to use as rocket fuel, this sustainable fuel could be used on Earth to address greenhouse gas emissions in the aviation industry or on Mars to produce a stable and storable fuel in-situ—using only the Martian atmosphere, water, and solar photovoltaic electricity—which could be used to power habitats, and more. The NASA SBIR/STTR program is part of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate and is managed by NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. To learn more about the NASA SBIR/STTR program, visit: https://sbir.nasa.gov Facebook logo @NASATechnology @NASA_Technology Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) / Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Technology Ames Research Center Share Details Last Updated Jan 18, 2024 EditorLoura Hall Related TermsSpace Technology Mission DirectorateSBIR STTRTechnology View the full article
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Overview As NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) constellation approaches retirement, partnerships with commercial industry will play a critical role in the development of future space communications and navigation architecture. Over the next decade, NASA missions will transition towards adopting commercial space-based relay services to fulfil their near-Earth communications needs. The Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program is working to ensure that future missions will continue to have reliable, resilient space and ground communications and navigation infrastructure. Wideband polylingual terminals could become a key technology supporting that infrastructure, by providing seamless roaming capabilities that could allow missions to receive communication signals from multiple SATCOM service providers through the use of software defined radios (SDR). Developed over the last decade, SDR technology enables waveform change in-orbit, allowing for the adoption of new and evolving commercial services by missions as they become available. Near Space Network antennas at the Alaska Satellite Facility in Fairbanks, Alaska.NASA Interoperability to Advance Science The goal of NASA’s Wideband User Terminal project is to provide interoperability between government and commercial owned networks for near-Earth services in the near-term by leveraging traditional NASA assets with new commercial infrastructure. Cellphone providers adopted roaming technology long ago, allowing devices to jump from network to network without interrupting service. Wideband terminals aim to enable similar roaming capabilities for space communications applications, a capability that has not been available to missions in the past. Wideband interoperability technology was developed and tested at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, where the first successful test of roaming between multiple network providers was conducted in 2021. Commercialization Transition Interoperability between industry and government owned network providers could play a key role in NASA’s transition towards commercialization. NASA has relied on the TDRS system to provide near-constant communication links between the ground and satellites in low-Earth orbit for almost 40 years, but the infrastructure was not originally designed for interoperability between networks. SCaN is developing wideband technology to help the mission user community transition towards relying on commercial providers, by providing the safeguard option of connecting to the reliable TDRS network while private industry continue to develop and mature their space-based services over the next decade. There are numerous potential benefits of providing missions with interoperability between NASA’s legacy TDRS networks and new commercial satcom services, including reducing the risk of data loss and communication delays. Providing missions with a selection of network providers can also help avoid vendor lock-in and keep mission execution on schedule when unexpected circumstances arise. PExT Demonstration The Polylingual Experimental Terminal at Johns Hopkins UniversityJohns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory NASA’s Wideband Terminal Project is collaborating with Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory to test the prototype Polylingual Experimental Terminal (PExT). Mission objectives include demonstrating interoperability through contact and link management, and forward and return link data flow while roaming between NASA’s TDRS network and three commercial relay networks. The PExT Wideband Terminal will be the first flight demonstration of roaming across government and commercial networks from a single terminal. PExT will be integrated with a York Space Systems S-class Bus and launched on the SpaceX Falcon 9 Transporter-11 flight, currently planned for June 2024. The terminal will demonstrate various mission scenarios during its six-month testing period, including: self-pointing capabilities long-term schedule execution intra-/inter-network link handoff waveform adaptation and reloading command stack protection (crypto) link fault recovery The Wideband Project is currently providing opportunities for the mission user community to take part in extended operation experiments using Wideband technology. Please contact Wideband Technology Lead marie.t.piasecki@nasa.gov for more information. PExT Key Features Wide frequency covers the entire range of commercial and government Ka-Band allocations, including 17.7 GHz to 23.55 GHz Forward, and 27 GHz to 31 GHz Return Initial data rates reach up to 90 Mbps Forward and 375 Mbps Return. Future data rates are projected up to 490 Mbps Forward and 1 Gbps Return Supports both NASA and commercial waveforms – including DVB-S2 and CCSDS TDRSS The body-mounted 0.6-meter antennas are scalable for other missions Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) 46.21 dBW minimum Gain to Noise G/T ration approximately 6dB/K Team members from the Polylingual Experimental Terminal project and Applied Physics Laboratory stand next to PExT after preparing the terminal for vibration testing. Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics LaboratoryView the full article
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3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA completed a full-duration, 500-second hot fire of an RS-25 certification engine Jan. 17, continuing a critical test series to support future SLS (Space Launch System) missions to the Moon and beyond as NASA explores the secrets of the universe for the benefit of all.NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA completed a full-duration, 500-second hot fire of an RS-25 certification engine Jan. 17, continuing a critical test series to support future SLS (Space Launch System) missions to the Moon and beyond as NASA explores the secrets of the universe for the benefit of all.NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA completed a full-duration, 500-second hot fire of an RS-25 certification engine Jan. 17, continuing a critical test series to support future SLS (Space Launch System) missions to the Moon and beyond as NASA explores the secrets of the universe for the benefit of all.NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA completed a full-duration, 500-second hot fire of an RS-25 certification engine Jan. 17, continuing a critical test series to support future SLS (Space Launch System) missions to the Moon and beyond as NASA explores the secrets of the universe for the benefit of all.NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA continued a critical test series for future flights of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket in support of the Artemis campaign on Jan. 17 with a full-duration hot fire of the RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Data collected from the test series will be used to certify production of new RS-25 engines by lead contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company, to help power the SLS rocket on future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond, beginning with Artemis V. Teams are evaluating the performance of several new engine components, including a nozzle, hydraulic actuators, flex ducts, and turbopumps. The current series is the second and final series to certify production of the upgraded engines. NASA completed an initial 12-test certification series with the upgraded components in June 2023. During the Jan. 17 test, operators followed a “test like you fly” approach, firing the engine for the same amount of time – almost eight-and-a-half minutes (500 seconds) – needed to launch SLS and at power levels ranging between 80% to 113%. The Jan. 17 test comes three months after the current series began in October. During three tests last fall, operators fired the engine for durations from 500 to 650 seconds. The longest planned test of the series occurred on Nov. 29 when crews gimbaled, or steered, the engine during an almost 11-minute (650 seconds) hot fire. The gimbaling technique is used to control and stabilize SLS as it reaches orbit. Each SLS flight is powered by four RS-25 engines, firing simultaneously during launch and ascent to generate over 2 million pounds of thrust. The first four Artemis missions with SLS are using modified space shuttle main engines that can power up to 109% of their rated level. The newly produced RS-25 engines will power up to the 111% level to provide additional thrust. Testing to the 113% power level provides an added margin of operational safety. With the completion of the test campaign in 2024, all systems are expected to be “go” for production of 24 new RS-25 engines for missions beginning with Artemis V. Through Artemis, NASA will establish a long-term presence at the Moon for scientific exploration with commercial and international partners, learn how to live and work away from home, and prepare for future human exploration of Mars. Photo cutline (use the same cutline for all four images): NASA completed a full-duration, 500-second hot fire of an RS-25 certification engine Jan. 17, continuing a critical test series to support future SLS (Space Launch System) missions to the Moon and beyond as NASA explores the secrets of the universe for the benefit of all. Photo Credit: NASA/Danny Nowlin For information about NASA’s Stennis Space Center, visit: Stennis Space Center – NASA -end- Share Details Last Updated Jan 18, 2024 EditorNASA Stennis CommunicationsContactC. Lacy Thompsoncalvin.l.thompson@nasa.gov / (228) 688-3333LocationStennis Space Center Related TermsStennis Space CenterMarshall Space Flight CenterSpace Launch System (SLS) Explore More 28 min read The Marshall Star for January 17, 2024 Article 18 hours ago 4 min read NASA’s IXPE Helps Researchers Maximize ‘Microquasar’ Findings Article 2 days ago 5 min read Brr, It’s Cold in Here! NASA’s Cryo Efforts Beyond the Atmosphere Article 7 days ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Doing Business with NASA Stennis About NASA Stennis Visit NASA Stennis NASA Stennis Media Resources View the full article
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5 min read Laser Instrument on NASA’s LRO Successfully ‘Pings’ Indian Moon Lander For the first time at the Moon, a laser beam was transmitted and reflected between an orbiting NASA spacecraft and an Oreo-sized device on ISRO’s (Indian Space Research Organisation) Vikram lander on the lunar surface. The successful experiment opens the door to a new style of precisely locating targets on the Moon’s surface. At 3 p.m. EST on Dec. 12, 2023, NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) pointed its laser altimeter instrument toward Vikram. The lander was 62 miles, or 100 kilometers, away from LRO, near Manzinus crater in the Moon’s South Pole region, when LRO transmitted laser pulses toward it. After the orbiter registered light that had bounced back from a tiny NASA retroreflector aboard Vikram, NASA scientists knew their technique had finally worked. ISRO’s (Indian Space Research Organization) Vikram lander, with a NASA retroreflector on it, touched down on the Moon on Aug. 23, 2023. The camera aboard NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) took this picture four days later. The lander is in the center of the image, its dark shadow visible against the bright halo around it. The halo formed after rocket plume interacted with the fine-grained regolith (similar to soil) on the Moon’s surface. The image shows an area that’s 1 mile, or 1.7 kilometers, wide. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Arizona State University Sending laser pulses toward an object and measuring how long it takes the light to bounce back is a commonly used way to track the locations of Earth-orbiting satellites from the ground. But using the technique in reverse – to send laser pulses from a moving spacecraft to a stationary one to determine its precise location – has many applications at the Moon, scientists say. “We’ve showed that we can locate our retroreflector on the surface from the Moon’s orbit,” said Xiaoli Sun, who led the team at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, that developed the retroreflector on Vikram as part of a partnership between NASA and ISRO. “The next step is to improve the technique so that it can become routine for missions that want to use these retroreflectors in the future.” Only 2 inches, or 5 centimeters, wide, NASA’s tiny but mighty retroreflector, called a Laser Retroreflector Array, has eight quartz-corner-cube prisms set into a dome-shaped aluminum frame. The device is simple and durable, scientists say, requiring neither power nor maintenance, and can last for decades. Its configuration allows the retroreflector to reflect light coming in from any direction back to its source. Only 2 inches, or 5 centimeters, wide, NASA’s Laser Retroreflector Array has eight quartz-corner-cube prisms set into a dome-shaped aluminum frame. This configuration allows the device to reflect light coming in from any direction back to its source. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Retroreflectors can be used for many applications in science and exploration and, indeed, have been in use at the Moon since the Apollo era. By reflecting light back to Earth, the suitcase-size retroreflectors revealed that the Moon is moving away from our planet at a rate of 1.5 inches (3.8 centimeters) per year. This new generation of tiny retroreflectors has even more applications than their larger predecessors. On the International Space Station, they’re used as precision markers that help cargo-delivery spacecraft dock autonomously. In the future, they could guide Artemis astronauts to the surface in the dark, for example, or mark the locations of spacecraft already on the surface, helping astronauts or uncrewed spacecraft land next to them. But there’s more work to do before retroreflectors can light up the Moon. The biggest hurdle to their immediate adoption is that LRO’s altimeter, which has operated for 13 years beyond its primary mission, is the only laser instrument orbiting the Moon for now. But the instrument wasn’t designed to pinpoint a target; since 2009, the altimeter – called LOLA – has been responsible for mapping the Moon’s topography to prepare for missions to the surface. “We would like LOLA to point to this Oreo-sized target and hit it every time, which is hard,” said Daniel Cremons, a NASA Goddard scientist who works with Sun. It took the altimeter eight tries to contact Vikram’s retroreflector. LOLA works by dispatching five laser beams toward the Moon and measuring how long it takes each one to bounce back (the quicker the light returns, the less distance between LOLA and the surface, and thus the higher the elevation in that area). Each laser beam covers an area 32 feet, or 10 meters, wide, from a 62-mile, or 100-kilometer, altitude. Because there are large gaps between the beams, there is only a small chance that the laser pulse can contact a retroreflector during each pass of the lunar orbiter over the lander. Altimeters are great for detecting craters, rocks, and boulders to create global elevation maps of the Moon. But they aren’t ideal for pointing to within one-hundredth of a degree of a retroreflector, which is what’s required to consistently achieve a ping. A future laser that slowly and continuously rakes the surface without any gaps in coverage would help tiny retroreflectors meet their potential. For now, the team behind NASA’s miniature retroreflectors will continue to use LRO’s laser altimeter to help refine the position of targets on the surface, especially landers. Several NASA retroreflectors are slated to fly aboard public and private Moon landers, including one on JAXA’s (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) SLIM lander, due to land on the Moon on Jan. 19, 2024, and one built by Intuitive Machines, a private company scheduled to launch its spacecraft to the Moon in mid-February. Intuitive Machines will carry six NASA payloads, including the retroreflector, under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. Lonnie Shekhtman NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD Media contact: Nancy Neal Jones, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD Share Details Last Updated Jan 18, 2024 Related Terms Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) View the full article
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28 Min Read The Marshall Star for January 17, 2024 ‘Be King’: Team Redstone Invites All to Honor Civil Rights Icon’s Legacy By Jessica Barnett Several accomplished speakers took to the stage Jan. 11 at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center to share how Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and legacy helped shape their lives. The event was hosted by Marshall’s ODEO (Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity), along with the FBI and U.S. Army, in the center’s Activities Building 4316 as a way of honoring King, a minister and activist from Atlanta who rose to national prominence as a key figure in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. King would have been 95 on Jan. 15. Several guest speakers took to the stage Jan. 11 at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center to share how Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and legacy impacted them personally, as well as how others can continue his legacy by being like King today. Pictured here, from left, are Tora Henry, director of Marshall’s Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity; Kenny Anderson, director of Huntsville City’s Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; Jacquelyn Gates Shipe, CEO of Global Ties Alabama; Darell Ezell, social scientist, professor, administrator, and corporate strategist; Bryan Samuel, vice president of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at the University of Alabama in Huntsville; and Larry Leopard, associate center director, technical, at Marshall. NASA/Alex Russell Marshall ODEO Deputy Director Carolyn Magsby and Associate Center Director-Technical Larry Leopard kicked off the event before welcoming Kenny Anderson, Huntsville City’s director of the Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Though the theme for the event was “It Starts with Me,” Anderson helped set the tone by encouraging everyone to honor King by “being King” and choosing peace, compassion, and education over violence, criticism, and ignorance. Following Anderson’s remarks, Bill Marks, who serves as deputy director of Marshall’s Office of Center Operations, moderated a panel featuring Darrell Ezell, a social scientist, administrator, professor, and corporate strategist; Jacquelyn Gates Shipe, CEO of Global Ties Alabama; and Bryan Samuel, vice president of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at the University of Alabama at Huntsville. Kenny Anderson, director of Huntsville City’s Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, speaks about Martin Luther King Jr. during an Jan. 11 event honoring King’s life and legacy ahead of what would have been the civil rights icon’s 95th birthday. Joining Anderson on stage are, from left, Global Ties CEO Jacquelyn Gates Shipe; social scientist and professor Darell Ezell; and Bryan Samuel, vice president of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.NASA/Alex Russell The panelists each shared King’s impact on their personal lives, from school desegregation to interactions with foreign visitors to how they work to highlight and overcome injustice in their community. They also discussed the impacts of social media, cross-cultural connections, and access to education on the injustices faced by minority communities. Marshall ODEO Director Tora Henry said she looks forward to the event inspiring courageous conversations throughout 2024. Barnett, a Media Fusion employee, supports the Marshall Office of Communications. › Back to Top National Mentor Month: Navigating Mentorship with Michoud’s Cynthia Spraul and Marie Allain By Celine Smith As a mentor at NASA’s MAF (Michoud Assembly Facility), Cynthia Spraul says her goal is the success of her mentee, Marie Allain. “It feels really good to pass on my experience to somebody who can get there faster and go beyond,” Spraul said. Mentor and Michoud Assembly Facility integrations lead Cynthia Spraul, left, smiles with mentee, Marie Allain, project coordinator, at a holiday party in 2022. NASA/Courtesy of Marie Allain For some, a mentorship may seem daunting. A mentee looking for a mentor in a new environment can find it difficult to find someone they trust to guide their career and personal growth. Meanwhile, mentors may feel discouraged, thinking they might not have enough knowledge to be in their role. Hoping their experience can help others during National Mentor Month, Spraul and Allain shared their insight about finding and starting a mentorship. Spraul worked for Lockheed Martin at Michoud on the Space Shuttle Program’s External Tank for 20 years. For the past 17 years, she has worked for NASA at Michoud, where she is currently the integrations lead. “I work on strategic site management, resource management, and contract management,” Spraul said. Allain graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from LSU (Louisiana State University) in 2021. “I got involved with the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics at LSU, an aerospace professional society, which is how I really got into aerospace,” she said. Allain now works as a project coordinator on Spraul’s integrations team. She performs project management in the Michoud Directorate and contract administration along with Component Processing Facility management. Spraul was asked to coordinate the summer internship program at Michoud, which is how she got started as a mentor. Spraul was the program’s first mentor at MAF. So, when Allain approached her requesting mentorship, she gladly took her on. Question: What does mentorship mean to you? Spraul: Seeing someone’s interest in what you do, like Marie taking an interest in my past experience, reinvigorates my love for my job and my desire to work. Mentoring makes work fun for me again. I might be doing the same things, but since I’m teaching somebody while I’m doing it, I get to listen to myself when I talk. It makes me go, ‘Oh, wow, I really get to do this.’ I get excited about my work all over again. Allain: My mentor makes me feel like I’m starting my career with the insight a person at the peak of their career wishes they had when they started. This mentorship gives me an opportunity to start on the right foot. I get to start out with tools that will help me later down the line. It gives me the opportunity to glean a lot of insight from people who have been at Michoud for a long time. They know the history of the place firsthand. A lot of people in this office are getting near retirement, and before too long, we’re going to have a lot of information, a lot of our history, that’s lost. I get the opportunity to retain some of that history from somebody who experienced it firsthand. Question: What impact has mentorship had on you and your career? Spraul: Someone having an interest in what I’m doing is a catalyst for me and my own career growth. The more I get reinterested in what I’m doing, the more I ask myself, ‘What’s my next step and how do I get there?’ Especially because Allain’s watching me. It’s always better to perform when someone’s watching you. There’s a reason to do better and grow because young people are watching. I also tend to turn my focus on the coming generations, because they’re going to be here when I’m gone. Allain: Before going into this mentorship, I struggled visualizing what my career could look like. Especially coming right out of college, nobody knows what jobs actually exist. Spraul knows what our organization is and what exists in it, and what it’s like to work in different roles in the organization. The kind of insight she provided completely changed how I feel about my career. I have an actual vision of where I’m headed. Beforehand, I felt I was somewhat free floating in space. Question: How did you find and connect with your mentor/mentee? Spraul: After mentoring college interns over the years, I’m always excited when I learn something new from them. When Marie came to me requesting mentorship, she had already taught me so many things that I thought it was a great idea to expand our dialogue. Allain: It was natural for us.After the first few months of working together on projects, we would have lunch together. We’d spend some time together and talk. I started to realize she and I have a lot in common. Question: What steps did you take to approach your mentor/mentee to initiate the partnership? Allain: I started asking her for insight about her experience and her career. The mentorship relationship developed from there. It started with discussions during lunch and developed into conversations about everything from work stories to life experience. Spraul: Allain asked introspective questions that would lead us on a good tangent while we worked together as well. We also started staying after work so I could have longer conversations with Allain about a path for her future. Question: What advice do you have for someone else considering finding or being a mentor? Allain: For mentees, find somebody you look up to in your organization and just ask. Most potential mentors see it as a huge compliment. The worst thing that can happen is being told no. I think most people at NASA would say yes. Don’t feel like you’re putting somebody out by asking them to mentor you. Also, don’t sit around assuming mentors are going to come to you. Spraul: I would suggest that mentees observe other people above them. Mentees should watch how potential mentors conduct themselves to see who they would like to model themselves after. For mentors, a lot of work goes into being mentor. It’s more than showing up. Be prepared by knowing what you’re going to have your mentee do and try. Being a mentor does take some work, but you receive tenfold in your own career and the enjoyment of your day. Don’t be afraid is my best advice. Even showing up is valuable to the mentee. You’ll get results from anything else you put into it. Editor’s note: This is the first in a Marshall Star series during National Mentor Month in January. Marshall team members can learn more about the benefits of mentoring on Inside Marshall. Smith, a Media Fusion employee, supports the Marshall Office of Communications. › Back to Top NASA Shares Progress Toward Early Artemis Moon Missions with Crew NASA announced Jan. 9 updates to its Artemis campaign that will establish the foundation for long-term scientific exploration at the Moon, land the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface, and prepare for human expeditions to Mars for the benefit of all. To safely carry out these missions, agency leaders are adjusting the schedules for Artemis II and Artemis III to allow teams to work through challenges associated with first-time developments, operations, and integration. NASA will now target September 2025 for Artemis II, the first crewed Artemis mission around the Moon, and September 2026 for Artemis III, which is planned to land the first astronauts near the lunar South Pole. Artemis IV, the first mission to the Gateway lunar space station, remains on track for 2028. From left, Artemis II crew members CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, and NASA astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and Reid Wiseman walk out of Astronaut Crew Quarters inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building to the Artemis crew transportation vehicles prior to traveling to Launch Pad 39B as part of an integrated ground systems test at Kennedy Space Center on Sept. 20, to test the crew timeline for launch day.NASA “We are returning to the Moon in a way we never have before, and the safety of our astronauts is NASA’s top priority as we prepare for future Artemis missions,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “We’ve learned a lot since Artemis I, and the success of these early missions relies on our commercial and international partnerships to further our reach and understanding of humanity’s place in our solar system. Artemis represents what we can accomplish as a nation – and as a global coalition. When we set our sights on what is hard, together, we can achieve what is great.” Ensuring crew safety is the primary driver for the Artemis II schedule changes. As the first Artemis flight test with crew aboard the Orion spacecraft, the mission will test critical environmental control and life support systems required to support astronauts. NASA’s testing to qualify components to keep the crew safe and ensure mission success has uncovered issues that require additional time to resolve. Teams are troubleshooting a battery issue and addressing challenges with a circuitry component responsible for air ventilation and temperature control. NASA’s investigation into unexpected loss of char layer pieces from the spacecraft’s heat shield during Artemis I is expected to conclude this spring. Teams have taken a methodical approach to understand the issue, including extensive sampling of the heat shield, testing, and review of data from sensors and imagery. The new timeline for Artemis III aligns with the updated schedule for Artemis II, ensures the agency can incorporate lessons learned from Artemis II into the next mission, and acknowledges development challenges experienced by NASA’s industry partners. As each crewed Artemis mission increases complexity and adds flight tests for new systems, the adjusted schedule will give the providers developing new capabilities – SpaceX for the HLS (human landing system) and Axiom Space for the next-generation spacesuits – additional time for testing and any refinements ahead of the mission. “We are letting the hardware talk to us so that crew safety drives our decision-making. We will use the Artemis II flight test, and each flight that follows, to reduce risk for future Moon missions,” said Catherine Koerner, associate administrator, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. “We are resolving challenges associated with first-time capabilities and operations, and we are closer than ever to establishing sustained exploration of Earth’s nearest neighbor under Artemis.” In addition to the schedule updates for Artemis II and III, NASA is reviewing the schedule for launching the first integrated elements of Gateway, previously planned for October 2025, to provide additional development time and better align that launch with the Artemis IV mission in 2028. NASA also shared that it has asked both Artemis human landing system providers – SpaceX and Blue Origin – to begin applying knowledge gained in developing their systems as part of their existing contracts toward future variations to potentially deliver large cargo on later missions. “Artemis is a long-term exploration campaign to conduct science at the Moon with astronauts and prepare for future human missions to Mars. That means we must get it right as we develop and fly our foundational systems so that we can safely carry out these missions,” said Amit Kshatriya, deputy associate administrator of Exploration Systems Development, and manager of NASA’s Moon to Mars Program Office at headquarters. “Crew safety is and will remain our number one priority.” NASA leaders emphasized the importance of all partners delivering on time so the agency can maximize the flight objectives with available hardware on a given mission. NASA regularly assesses progress and timelines and as a part of integrated programmatic planning to ensure the agency and its partners can successfully accomplish its Moon to Mars exploration goals. With Artemis, NASA will explore more of the Moon than ever before, learn how to live and work away from home, and prepare for future human exploration of the Red Planet. NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, exploration ground systems, and Orion spacecraft, along with the human landing system, next-generation spacesuits, Gateway lunar space station, and future rovers are NASA’s foundation for deep space exploration. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center manages the SLS and HLS programs. NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility, which is managed by Marshall, manufactures several Artemis components, including the SLS core stage. › Back to Top IXPE Helps Researchers Maximize ‘Microquasar’ Findings By Rick Smith The powerful gravity fields of black holes can devour whole planets’ worth of matter – often so violently that they expel streams of particles traveling near the speed of light in formations known as jets. Scientists understand that these high-speed jets can accelerate these particles, called cosmic rays, but little is definitively known about that process. Recent findings by researchers using data from NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) spacecraft give scientists new clues as to how particle acceleration happens in this extreme environment. The observations came from a “microquasar,” a system comprised of a black hole siphoning off material from a companion star. This composite image of the Manatee Nebula captures the jet emanating from SS 433, a black hole devouring material embedded in the supernova remnant which spawned it. Radio emissions from the remnant are blue-green, whereas X-rays combined from IXPE, XMM-Newton, and Chandra are highlighted in bright blue-purple and pinkish-white against a backdrop of infrared data in red. The black hole emits twin jets of matter traveling in opposite directions at nearly the speed of light, distorting the remnant’s shape. The jets become bright about 100 light years away from the black hole, where particles are accelerated to very high energies by shocks within the jet. The IXPE data shows that the magnetic field, which plays a key role in how particles are accelerated, is aligned parallel to the jet – aiding our understanding of how astrophysical jets accelerate these particles to high energies.X-ray: (IXPE): NASA/MSFC/IXPE; (Chandra): NASA/CXC/SAO; (XMM): ESA/XMM-Newton; IR: NASA/JPL/Caltech/WISE; Radio: NRAO/AUI/NSF/VLA/B. Saxton. (IR/Radio image created with data from M. Goss, et al.); Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk & K.Arcand This composite image of the Manatee Nebula captures the jet emanating from SS 433, a black hole devouring material embedded in the supernova remnant which spawned it. Radio emissions from the remnant are blue-green, whereas X-rays combined from IXPE, XMM-Newton, and Chandra are highlighted in bright blue-purple and pinkish-white against a backdrop of infrared data in red. The black hole emits twin jets of matter traveling in opposite directions at nearly the speed of light, distorting the remnant’s shape. The jets become bright about 100 light years away from the black hole, where particles are accelerated to very high energies by shocks within the jet. The IXPE data shows that the magnetic field, which plays a key role in how particles are accelerated, is aligned parallel to the jet – aiding our understanding of how astrophysical jets accelerate these particles to high energies.X-ray: (IXPE): NASA/MSFC/IXPE; (Chandra): NASA/CXC/SAO; (XMM): ESA/XMM-Newton; IR: NASA/JPL/Caltech/WISE; Radio: NRAO/AUI/NSF/VLA/B. Saxton. (IR/Radio image created with data from M. Goss, et al.); Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk & K.Arcand The microquasar in question – Stephenson and Sanduleak 433, or SS 433 – sits in the center of the supernova remnant W50 in the constellation Aquila, some 18,000 light-years from Earth. SS 433’s powerful jets, which distort the remnant’s shape and earned it the nickname the “Manatee Nebula,” have been clocked at roughly 26% of the speed of light, or more than 48,000 miles per second. Identified in the late 1970s, SS 433 is the first microquasar ever discovered. IXPE’s three onboard telescopes measure a special property of X-ray light called polarization, which tells scientists about the organization and alignment of electromagnetic waves at X-ray frequencies. X-ray polarization helps researchers understand the physical processes taking place within extreme regions of our universe – such as the environment around black holes – and how particles get accelerated in these regions. IXPE spent 18 days in April and May of 2023 studying one such acceleration site in the eastern lobe of SS 433, where emissions are made by energetic electrons spiraling in a magnetic field – a process called synchrotron radiation. “The IXPE data show that the magnetic field near the acceleration region points in the direction the jets are moving,” said astrophysicist Philip Kaaret of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, and principal investigator of the IXPE mission, along with lead author of a new paper about the findings at SS 433. “The high level of polarization seen with IXPE shows that the magnetic field is well ordered, with at least half of the field aligned in the same direction,” Kaaret said. That finding was unexpected, he said. Researchers have long theorized that the interaction between the jet and the interstellar medium – the environment of gas and dust between stars – likely creates a shock, leading to disordered magnetic fields. The data suggests a new possibility, Kaaret said – that the magnetic fields within the powerful jets may be “trapped” and stretched when they collide with interstellar matter, directly impacting their alignment in the region of particle acceleration. Since the 1980s, researchers have surmised that SS 433’s jets act as particle accelerators. In 2018, observers at the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory in Puebla, Mexico, verified the jets’ acceleration effect, and scientists used NASA’s NuSTAR (Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array) and the European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton observatories to pinpoint the region of acceleration. As researchers continue to assess IXPE findings and study new targets in space, its data also could help determine whether the same mechanism acts to align magnetic fields in outflows expelled by a variety of phenomena – from black hole jets streaming away from supernova remnants to debris ejected from exploded stars such as blazars. “This very delicate measurement was made possible by the imaging capabilities of IXPE’s X-ray polarimeters, making possible the detection of the tenuous signal in a small region of the jet 95 light-years from the central black hole,” said Paolo Soffitta, Italian principal investigator for the IXPE mission. The new paper, detailing IXPE’s observations at SS 433, is available in the latest edition of The Astrophysical Journal. IXPE is a collaboration between NASA and the Italian Space Agency with partners and science collaborators in 12 countries. IXPE is led by Marshall. Smith, an Aeyon/MTS employee, supports the Marshall Office of Communications. › Back to Top NASA Shares Lessons Learned in Low Earth Orbit Through Payload Workshop By Jessica Barnett NASA welcomed commercial partners from around the globe to Marshall Space Flight Center for a three-day workshop last fall, highlighting what the agency has learned during its more than 20 years in Low Earth orbit. Through tours, panels, and one-on-one discussions, the workshop provided an overview and best practices of what NASA does to prepare International Space Station payloads for operations, so commercial partners can leverage NASA’s knowledge and experience as they build their own space stations and presence in Low Earth orbit. NASA experts discuss International Space Station payload operations during a three-day workshop held Nov. 7-9 at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. The workshop provided NASA’s commercial partners an overview and NASA’s best practices for preparing space station payloads for operations.NASA/Sherresa Lockett “We have so much history and knowledge, and we want to impart on them what we know so they can think about it, and see what applies to them and what doesn’t,” said Eleasa Kim, who serves as the Payload Operations Lead for NASA’s Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Program, also known as CLDP, supporting Marshall’s Human Exploration Development and Operations Division. NASA’s CLDP is supporting the development of commercially owned and operated Low Earth orbit destinations from which NASA, along with other customers, can purchase services and stimulate the growth of commercial activities. As commercial Low Earth orbit destinations become available, NASA intends to implement an orderly transition from current space station operations to these new commercial destinations. More than 70 people joined the workshop in person and online. Attendees were able to listen to experts discuss a litany of topics, from a general overview of the payload life cycle to safety reviews and flight readiness checks to real-time support and anomaly response. Among the attendees, was John Selmarten, senior manager, Payload Project Management at Axiom Space. Selmarten said the workshop offered invaluable help to the company. “The CLDP workshop offered industry access to, and an overview of, NASA’s wide variety of subject matter experts, tools, and facilities currently utilized to operate payloads on the ISS,” Selmarten said. “This information is invaluable to Axiom Space as we begin the transformation of low-Earth orbit into a global marketplace through research, in-space manufacturing, and tech demos.” For Alex Stuetz and Denis Healy of Los Angeles-based aerospace company Vast, it was an amazing opportunity to hear from people with decades of experience. “I certainly benefited from the breadth of topics covered,” said Healy, who serves as Vast’s mission operations engineer II. “It wasn’t three or four very specific, niche areas, but there was a good scope of subjects covered, and the details and nuance as it relates to each.” The pair also took part in the tours and one-on-one discussions made available through the workshop. Kirt Costello, standing, speaks to a room of NASA’s commercial partners during the Payload Operations Workshop. Costello is the utilization manager for the commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Program.NASA/Jessica Barnett “It’s incredibly helpful to be able to have face-to-face conversations and get a tour of the facilities, to see the hardware,” said Stuetz, Vast’s mission manager. “It’s these types of events that really push everything forward rapidly and in a collaborative manner.” Marshall team members were equally excited to share their knowledge with NASA’s commercial partners. “It’s a chance to share and build something new, to continue the Low Earth orbit presence,” said Joe Kitchen, operations discipline lead for the Planning and Analysis Branch of the Payload Mission Operations Division at Marshall. “Commercializing is really the only way to enable it, so it’s cool to be part of this.” Marty O’Toole, the Starlab payloads lead on the Voyager team, also shared his appreciation for the MSFC Payload Ops team and the workshop. “It was a very informative briefing on all aspects of ISS payload operations, from early integration activities through planning, certification, real-time ops and return,” said O’Toole. “The presentation format with a group of experienced individuals assuming their CADRE (Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration) roles helped to demonstrate and emphasize the detailed coordination needed across all the ops functions. This exercise stimulated lots of discussion and thinking about how Starlab can implement and streamline its operations program going forward.” Kim explained that the workshop is the first of its kind for her team, which spent three months preparing, including dry runs on each Friday of the final month leading up to the workshop. In addition to preparing tours and panels, they arranged social events, networking opportunities, case studies with filmed simulations, and more for the commercial partners. Learn more about Commercial Destinations in Low Earth Orbit. Barnett, a Media Fusion employee, supports the Marshall Office of Communications. › Back to Top Brr, It’s Cold in Here! NASA’s Cryo Efforts Beyond the Atmosphere Establishing sustained operations at the Moon and Mars presents a multitude of opportunities and challenges NASA has yet to encounter. Many of these activities require new technologies and processes to ensure the agency is prepared for its ambitious Artemis missions and those beyond. One of those challenges is working with cryogenic fluids, meaning fluids existing in a liquid state between minus 238 degrees Fahrenheit and absolute zero (minus 460 F). These fluids – liquid hydrogen (the most difficult to work with), methane, and oxygen – are vital to spacecraft propulsion and life support systems. The fluids may also be produced in the future on the lunar and Martian surfaces via ISRU (in-situ resource utilization). A 2019 image of the SHIIVER tank sitting inside the In-Space Propulsion Facility’s vacuum chamber at NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio. The tank was part of a Cryogenic Fluid Management project effort to test the tank at extreme temperatures and ensure the new technologies kept the propellants inside cold and in a liquid state.Credit: NASA Human exploration in deep space requires storing large amounts of cryogenic fluids for weeks, months, or longer, as well as transferring between spacecraft or fuel depots in orbit and on the surface. Each aspect is challenging, and, to date, large amounts of cryogenic fluids have only been stored for hours in space. Engineers working in NASA’s Cryogenic Fluid Management, or CFM, Portfolio – led by Technology Demonstration Missions within the Space Technology Mission Directorate and managed at the agency’s Glenn Research Center and Marshall Space Flight Center – are solving those issues ahead of future missions. “This is a task neither NASA, nor our partners, have ever done before,” said Lauren Ameen, deputy CFM Portfolio manager. “Our future mission concepts rely on massive amounts of cryogenic fluids, and we have to figure out how to efficiently use them over long durations, which requires a series of new technologies far exceeding today’s capabilities.” For a cryogenic fluid to be useable, it must remain in a frigid, liquid state. However, the physics of space travel – moving in and out of sunlight and long stays in low gravity – make keeping those fluids in a liquid state and knowing how much is in the tank complicated. The heat sources in space – like the Sun and the spacecraft’s exhaust – create a hot environment inside and around storage tanks causing evaporation or “boiloff.” When fluid evaporates, it can no longer efficiently fuel a rocket engine. It also increases the risk of leakage or, even worse, a tank rupture. Being unsure of how much gas is left in the tank isn’t how our explorers want to fly to Mars. Low gravity is challenging because the fuel wants to float around – also known as “slosh” – which makes accurately gauging the amount of liquid and transferring it very difficult. “Previous missions using cryogenic propellants were in space for only a few days due to boiloff or venting losses,” Ameen noted. “Those spacecraft used thrust and other maneuvers to apply force to settle propellant tanks and enable fuel transfers. During Artemis, spacecraft will dwell in low gravity for much longer and need to transfer liquid hydrogen in space for the first time, so we must mitigate boiloff and find innovative ways to transfer and measure cryogenic propellants.” NASA’s CFM portfolio encompasses 24 development activities and investments to reduce boiloff, improve gauging, and advance fluid transfer techniques for in-space propulsion, landers, and ISRU. There are four near-term efforts taking place on the ground, in near-Earth orbit, and soon on the lunar surface. Flight Demos In 2020, NASA awarded four CFM-focused Tipping Point contracts to American industry – Eta Space, Lockheed Martin, SpaceX, and United Launch Alliance – to assist in developing and demonstrating CFM technologies in space. Each company is scheduled to launch its respective demonstration in either 2024 or 2025, performing multiple tests using liquid hydrogen to validate technologies and processes. Radio Frequency Mass Gauge To improve gauging, NASA has developed RFMG (Radio Frequency Mass Gauges) to allow for more accurate fluid measurement in low-gravity or low-thrust conditions. Engineers do this by measuring the electromagnetic spectrum, or radio waves, within a spacecraft’s tank throughout the mission, comparing them to fluid simulations to accurately gauge remaining fuel. The RFMG has been proven in ground tests, sub-orbital parabolic flight, and on the International Space Station, and it will soon be tested on the Moon during an upcoming Commercial Lunar Payload Services flight with Intuitive Machines. Once demonstrated in the lunar environment, NASA will continue to develop and scale the technology to enable improved spacecraft and lander operations. Cryocoolers Cryocoolers act like heat exchangers for large propellant tanks to mitigate boiloff when combined with innovative tank insulation systems. With industry partners, like Creare, NASA has begun testing high-capacity cryocooler systems that pump the “working” fluid through a network of tubes installed on the tank to keep it cool. NASA plans to increase tank size and capabilities to meet mission requirements before conducting future flight demonstrations. CryoFill NASA is also developing a liquefaction system to turn gaseous oxygen into liquid oxygen on the surface of the Moon or Mars to refuel landers using propellant produced in situ. This approach uses various methods to cool oxygen down to critical temperature (at least minus 297 degrees Fahrenheit), where it condenses, turning from a gas to a liquid. Initial development and testing have proven NASA can do this efficiently, and the team continues to scale the technology to relevant tank sizes and quantities for future operations. Ultimately, NASA efforts to develop and test CFM systems that are energy-, mass-, and cost-efficient are critical to the success of the agency’s ambitious missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. For more info, view the CFM fact sheet. › Back to Top Astronomers Find Spark of Star Birth Across Billions of Years Four images from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes represent a sample of galaxy clusters that are part of the largest and most complete study to learn what triggers stars to form in the universe’s biggest galaxies, as described in a press release. This research showed that the conditions for stellar conception in these exceptionally massive galaxies have not changed over the last ten billion years. These images represent a sample of galaxy clusters that are part of the largest and most complete study to learn what triggers stars to form in the universe’s biggest galaxies. Clusters of galaxies are the largest objects in the universe held together by gravity and contain huge amounts of hot gas seen in X-rays. This research, made using Chandra and other telescopes, showed that the conditions for stellar conception in these exceptionally massive galaxies have not changed over the last ten billion years. In these images, X-rays from Chandra are shown along with optical data from Hubble.X-ray: NASA/CXC/MIT/M. Calzadilla el al.; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk & J. Major Galaxy clusters are the largest objects in the universe held together by gravity and contain huge amounts of hot gas seen in X-rays. This hot gas weighs several times the total mass of all the stars in all the hundreds of galaxies typically found in galaxy clusters. In the four galaxy cluster images in this graphic, X-rays from hot gas detected by Chandra are in purple and optical data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, mostly showing galaxies in the clusters, are yellow and cyan. In this study, researchers looked at the brightest and most massive class of galaxies in the universe, called BCGs (brightest cluster galaxies), in the centers of 95 clusters of galaxies. The galaxy clusters chosen are themselves an extreme sample – the most massive clusters in a large survey using the SPT (South Pole Telescope), with funding support from the National Science Foundation and Department of Energy – and are located between 3.4 and 9.9 billion light-years from Earth. The four galaxy clusters shown here at located at distances of 3.9 billion (SPT-CLJ0106-5943), 5.6 billion (SPT-CLJ0307-6225), 6.4 billion (SPT-CLJ0310-4647) and 7.7 billion (SPT-CLJ0615-5746) light-years from Earth, and the images are 1.7 million, 2 million, 2.4 million and 2.2 million light-years across, respectively. By comparison our galaxy is only about 100,000 light-years across. In SPT-CLJ0307-6225 the BCG is near the bottom right of the image and in the other images they are near the centers. Some of the long, narrow features are caused by gravitational lensing, where mass in the clusters is warping the light from galaxies behind the clusters. The images have been rotated from standard astronomer’s configuration of North up by 20 degrees clockwise (SPT-CLJ0106-5943), 6.2 degrees counterclockwise (SPT-CLJ0307-6225), 29,2 degrees counterclockwise (SPT-CLJ0310-4647) and 24.2 degrees clockwise (SPT-CLJ0615-5746). The team found that the precise trigger for stars to form in the galaxies that they studied is when the amount of disordered motion in the hot gas – a physical concept called “entropy” – falls below a critical threshold. Below this threshold, the hot gas inevitably cools to form new stars. In addition to the X-ray data from Chandra X-ray Observatory and radio data from the SPT already mentioned, this result also used radio data from the Australia Telescope Compact Array, and the Australian SKA Pathfinder Telescope, infrared data from NASA’s WISE satellite, and several optical telescopes. The optical telescopes used in this study were the Magellan 6.5-m Telescopes, the Gemini South Telescope, the Blanco 4-m Telescope (DECam, MOSAIC-II) and the Swope 1m Telescope. A total of almost 50 days of Chandra observing time was used for this result. Michael Caldazilla of MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) presented these results at the 243rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society in New Orleans, Louisana. In addition, there is a paper submitted to The Astrophysical Journal led by Caldazilla on this result. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Chandra X-ray Center controls science operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts. Read more about Chandra. › Back to Top NASA Selects 12 Companies for Space Station Services Contract NASA has selected 12 companies to provide research, engineering, and mission integration services for the International Space Station Program. The $478 million Research, Engineering & Mission Integration Services-2 or REMIS-2 contract will support the work of the International Space Station Program based at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. The companies will provide spaceflight, ground hardware and software, sustaining engineering functions and services, payload facility integration, and research mission integration operations services. Each company will receive a multiple-award, indefinite-quantity contract with firm-fixed price and cost-plus-fixed-fee task orders. The seven-year contract extends through Sept. 30, 2030, with an option to extend through Sept. 30, 2032. The companies selected are: Aegis Aerospace, Inc., Houston Axient Corp, Huntsville, Alabama Cimarron Software Services, Houston Consolidated Safety Services, Exploration Park, Florida JES Tech, Houston KBR Wyle, Fulton, Maryland Leidos, Webster, Texas Metis, Albuquerque, New Mexico Oceaneering, Houston Tec-Masters, Huntsville Teledyne Brown Engineering, Huntsville University of Alabama at Birmingham, Alabama The majority of the work will take place at contractor facilities across the country. Services also may be required at other NASA centers, contractor or subcontractor locations, or vendor facilities as requirements warrant. The contract also includes a small business reserve, which was fulfilled by selecting Aegis, Cimarron, Consolidated Safety Services, JES Tech, Metis, and Tec-Masters. › Back to Top View the full article
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The four crew members representing NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission to the International Space Station pose for an official portrait at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. NASA will host a pair of news conferences Thursday, Jan. 25, from the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to highlight upcoming crew rotation missions to the International Space Station. A mission overview news conference will begin at 1 p.m. EST and cover NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission to the microgravity laboratory and Expeditions 70/71. A crew news conference will start at 2:30 p.m., followed by individual astronaut interviews at 3:30 p.m. Both news conferences will be available on the NASA+ streaming service via the web or NASA app, and will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media. The Crew-8 mission, targeted to launch in mid-February, will carry NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeannette Epps, as well as Alexander Grebenkin of Roscosmos to the space station. NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson, scheduled to launch to the space station on the Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft on March 21, also will participate in the crew briefing and interviews. For the Crew-8 mission, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the crew aboard a Dragon spacecraft from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on the company’s eighth crew rotation mission for NASA. Dyson will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. This event is the final media opportunity to speak to the Crew-8 astronauts before they travel to Kennedy for launch. Media wishing to participate in person or seeking a remote interview with the crew must request credentials no later than 5 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 24, from the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 or jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov. Media interested in participating by phone must contact the Johnson newsroom by 9:45 a.m. the day of the event. Briefing participants include (all times Eastern): 1 p.m.: Mission Overview News Conference Ken Bowersox, associate administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, NASA Johnson Joel Montalbano, manager, International Space Station Program, NASA Johnson Sarah Walker, director, Dragon Mission Management, SpaceX Sergei Krikalev, executive director, Human Space Flight Programs, Roscosmos 2:30 p.m.: Crew News Conference Tracy Dyson, flight engineer Matthew Dominick, spacecraft commander Michael Barratt, pilot Jeanette Epps, mission specialist Alexander Grebenkin, mission specialist 3:30 p.m.: Individual Crew Interview Opportunities Crew-8 members and Dyson available for a limited number of interviews More about space station crew Full crew biographies are linked above. Below are highlights of their spaceflight experience. NASA selected Tracy C. Dyson as an astronaut in June 1998, and during her previous two flights, she logged more than 188 days in space. Dyson first launched aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on STS-118 in 2007, serving as a mission specialist. During the mission, the crew added the starboard-5 truss segment to the station’s “backbone” and a new gyroscope. In 2010, Dyson served as flight engineer for Expedition 23/24 and performed three spacewalks, logging 22 hours and 49 minutes outside the station as she helped remove and replace a failed pump module for one of two external ammonia circulation loops that keep internal and external equipment cool. Matthew Dominick will serve as commander for Crew-8, his first spaceflight after being selected as an astronaut in 2017. During Expedition 70/71 aboard the space station, he will serve as a mission specialist. Follow @dominickmatthew on X. Michael Barratt is the Crew-8 pilot, making his third visit to the space station. In 2009, Barratt served as a flight engineer for Expeditions 19/20 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. Barratt has spent a total of 212 days in space. During Expedition 70/71, he will serve as a mission specialist. Jeanette Epps was selected by NASA as an astronaut in 2009 and is a mission specialist aboard Crew-8, her first spaceflight, working with the commander and pilot to monitor the spacecraft during the dynamic launch and re-entry phases of flight. She will serve as a flight engineer during Expeditions 70/71. Follow @Astro_Jeanette on X. Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin is flying on his first mission. He will serve as a flight engineer during Expeditions 70/71. Learn more about how NASA innovates for the benefit of humanity through NASA’s Commercial Crew Program at: https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew -end- Joshua Finch Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov Leah Cheshier Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 leah.d.cheshier@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Jan 17, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related TermsInternational Space Station (ISS) View the full article
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NASA/Lauren Dauphin and Wanmei Liang; NOAA The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite sensor on the NOAA-NASA Suomi NPP satellite captured this image of the aurora borealis, or northern lights, over western Canada at 3:23 a.m. MST (5:23 a.m. EST) on November 5, 2023. Auroras are colorful ribbons of light appearing in night skies, incited by a strong geomagnetic storm in Earth’s magnetosphere. Multiple coronal mass ejections from the Sun sent a surge of charged particles toward Earth. After colliding with Earth’s magnetosphere, some particles trapped in the magnetic field are accelerated into Earth’s upper atmosphere where they excite nitrogen and oxygen molecules and release photons of light, known as the aurora. If you like watching displays such as these, you can help scientists verify aurora sightings so they can analyze and include them in space weather models. Image Credit: NASA/Lauren Dauphin and Wanmei Liang, NOAA View the full article
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Research engineer Christine Gregg inspects a Mobile Metamaterial Internal Co-Integrator (MMIC-I) builder robot. These simple robots are part of a hardware and software system NASA researchers are developing to autonomously build and maintain high-performance large space structures comprised of building blocks. MMIC-I works by climbing though the interior space of building blocks and bolting them to the rest of the structure during a build or unbolting during disassembly.NASA/Dominic Hart If they build it, we will go – for the long-term. Future long-duration and deep-space exploration missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond will require a way to build large-scale infrastructure, such as solar power stations, communications towers, and habitats for crew. To sustain a long-term presence in deep space, NASA needs the capability to construct and maintain these systems in place, rather than sending large pre-assembled hardware from Earth. NASA’s Automated Reconfigurable Mission Adaptive Digital Assembly Systems (ARMADAS) team is developing a hardware and software system to meet that need. The system uses different types of inchworm-like robots that can assemble, repair, and reconfigure structural materials for a variety of large-scale hardware systems in space. The robots can do their jobs in orbit, on the lunar surface, or on other planets – even before humans arrive. Researchers at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley recently performed a laboratory demonstration of the ARMADAS technology and analyzed the system’s performance. During the tests, three robots worked autonomously as a team to build a meters-scale shelter structure – roughly the size of a shed – using hundreds of building blocks. The team published their results today in Science Robotics. Research engineer Taiwo Olatunde, left, and intern Megan Ochalek, right, observe as robots move and assemble composite building blocks into a structure. The robots worked on their own to complete the structure in a little over 100 hours of operations. To facilitate the team’s watchful monitoring of the robots’ performance, the demonstration was split over several weeks of regular working hours. NASA/Dominic Hart “The ground assembly experiment demonstrated crucial parts of the system: the scalability and reliability of the robots, and the performance of structures they build. This type of test is key for maturing the technology for space applications,” said Christine Gregg, ARMADAS chief engineer at NASA Ames. The high strength, stiffness, and low mass of the structural product is comparable to today’s highest-performance structures, like long bridges, aircraft wings, and space structures – such as the International Space Station’s trusses. Such performance is a giant leap for the field of robotically reconfigurable structures. A Scaling Omnidirectional Lattice Locomoting Explorer (SOLL-E) builder robot carries a soccer ball-sized building block called a voxel – short for volumetric pixel – during a demonstration of NASA’s Automated Reconfigurable Mission Adaptive Digital Assembly Systems (ARMADAS) technology at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley. The voxels are made of strong and lightweight composite materials formed into a shape called a cuboctahedron.NASA/Dominic Hart Programmable, Reconfigurable Structures “‘Mission adaptive’ capabilities allow a system to be reused for multiple purposes, including ones that adopt hardware from completed activities, decreasing the cost of new missions,” said Kenny Cheung, ARMADAS principal investigator at NASA Ames. “‘Digital assembly systems’ refers to the use of discrete building blocks, as a physical analog to the digital systems that we use today.” Many people use digital systems to view photos or text on a display, like a smartphone screen. A digital image uses a small set of pixel types to form almost any image on a high-resolution display. You can think of pixels as building blocks for 2D space. The ARMADAS system can use a small set of 3D building blocks – called voxels, short for volumetric pixels – to form almost any structure. Just like digital images, the ARMADAS system is ‘programmable,’ meaning that it can self-reconfigure to meet evolving needs, with the help of the robots. The voxels used in the demonstration were made of strong and lightweight composite materials formed into a shape called a cuboctahedron. The voxels resemble a wire-frame soccer ball with flat faces and highly precise geometry. “It’s surprising how strong and stiff these systems are, given how they look,” said Cheung. “Making large structures from small building blocks allows us to use good materials at the lowest cost. The size of the structures that can be made is only limited by the number of building blocks that can be supplied.” This kind of scalability is revolutionary in comparison to current methods of fabricating spacecraft in factories, or even 3D printing. A Scaling Omnidirectional Lattice Locomoting Explorer (SOLL-E) builder robot carries a small building block called a voxel – short for volumetric pixel – as it maneuvers, stepping inchworm-style, along the exterior of a mechanical metamaterial structure, foreground, while a SOLL-E and a Mobile Metamaterial Internal Co-Integrator (MMIC-I) fastening robot attach a voxel to the structure, background. The highly predictable nature of the structure built by the robots allows them to build very precise structures that are much larger than themselves, unlike typical factory produced products.NASA/Dominic Hart A Reliable System Relies on Building Blocks Building blocks are also key to the robotic system autonomy and reliability. “Generally, it’s very hard to develop robust autonomous robots that can operate in unstructured environments, like a typical construction site. We turn that problem on its head by making very simple and reliable robots that operate in an extremely structured lattice environment,” said Gregg. For the demonstration, the ARMADAS team provided plans for the structure, but they didn’t micromanage the robots’ work. Software algorithms did the job of planning the robots’ tasks. The system practiced the build sequence in simulation before the actual run started. While in operation, two robots – stepping inchworm style – walked on the exterior of the structure, moving one soccer ball-sized voxel at a time. One robot fetched the voxels from a supply station and passed them to the second robot that, in turn, placed each voxel on its target location. A third robot followed these placements, climbing though the interior space of the voxels and bolting each new voxel to the rest of the structure. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Time-lapse showing robots, working autonomously as a team, to assemble a meters-scale shelter structure using hundreds of building blocks during a technology demonstration at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley. Credits: NASA “Because the robots align each small step to the structure in what is essentially a 3D grid, simple algorithms with low computation and sensing requirements can achieve high-level autonomy goals. The system builds and error-corrects on its own with no machine vision or external means of measurement,” said Gregg. Future work will expand the library of voxel types that the robots work with, to include solar panels, electrical connections, shielding, and more. Each new module type will dramatically expand the possible applications because the robots can mix and match them to meet specific needs and locations. The ARMADAS team is also working on new robot capabilities, such as inspection tools, to ensure that autonomously constructed facilities are safe and sound before astronauts arrive. ARMADAS’ technology approach increases what we can do with equipment sent for most deep space exploration missions, and how long we can use them. When a mission completes, robots can disassemble space structures, repurpose the building blocks, and construct designs of the future. This concept shows a team of robots, working autonomously, constructing a solar array on the lunar surface using modular components. Because the angle of the Sun is perpetually low at future Artemis exploration destinations near the South Pole of the Moon, powering a lunar base station with sunlight requires solar panels to be arrayed vertically and high enough to avoid shadows from the lunar terrain. The robots walk on and climb through the open lattice wall structure as they build it. Also shown here is a robotically-built railway system that enables supply of modular components – in this case structural building blocks and solar panels – for the robotic job site. It also functions as conduit for electrical power and data service.NASA This artist’s concept shows landing pads being autonomously reconfigured by robots while cargo is being offloaded from a lander onto a robotically built rail system. Future lunar supply spacecraft will need landing pads with ejecta shields to avoid kicking up dust and debris that can damage space systems. Landers may serve as permanent facilities at landing sites, and infrastructure such as these shields can be repurposed. Here robots are disassembling the ejecta shield (foreground) and reassembling it in a new location (left background).NASA Artist’s concept of an autonomously optimized, assembled, and maintained lunar cave habitat and laboratory complex. Lunar caves could protect astronauts from the most difficult environmental factors governing life and work on the Moon – space radiation, micrometeoroid impacts, and extreme temperature changes. The mechanical metamaterial structures shown in this concept are constructed by simple robots using lightweight and strong building blocks. Desired performance can be achieved using building blocks made from a wide variety of materials, including ones made from lunar soil. The structures support the cave for safety and serve to isolate the facility from moonquakes, which happen often and can last for hours. The system connects to other autonomous surface activities via a robotically assembled rail system. NASA This artist’s concept shows the autonomous assembly of critical infrastructure needed for a long-duration human presence on the Moon. Here robots are using modular building blocks to construct structures (left, center) that can protect crew, science facilities, or equipment from space radiation and micrometeoroids. Robots are building a large antenna atop a tower (right) as part of a lunar communications network. NASA For news media: Members of the news media interested in covering this topic should reach out to the NASA Ames newsroom. View the full article