NASA

NASA / Michael DeMocker Artemis II NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch of NASA, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen view the core stage for the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket at the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans on Nov. 16. The three astronauts, along with NASA’s Victor Glover, will launch atop the rocket stage to venture around the Moon on Artemis II, the first crewed flight for Artemis. The SLS core stage, towering at 212 feet, is the backbone of the Moon rocket and includes two massive propellant tanks that collectively hold 733,000 gallons of propellant to help power the stage’s four RS-25 engines. NASA, Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, along with Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company and the RS-25 engines lead contractor, are in the midst of conducting final integrated testing on the fully assembled rocket stage. At launch and during ascent to space, the Artemis astronauts inside NASA’s Orion spacecraft will feel the power of the rocket’s four RS-25 engines producing more than 2 million pounds of thrust for a full eight minutes. The mega rocket’s twin solid rocket boosters, which flank either side of the core stage, will each add an additional 3.6 million pounds of thrust for two minutes. NASA / Michael DeMocker The astronauts’ visit to Michoud coincided with the first anniversary of the launch of Artemis I. The uncrewed flight test of SLS and Orion was the first in a series of increasingly complex missions for Artemis as the agency works to return humans to the lunar surface and develop a long-term presence there for discovery and exploration. NASA is working to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with the Orion spacecraft, advanced spacesuits and rovers, the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, and commercial human landing systems. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission. News Media Contact Corinne Beckinger Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. 256.544.0034 corinne.m.beckinger@nasa.gov View the full article

5 min read NASA Mission Excels at Spotting Greenhouse Gas Emission Sources Flaring, in which excess natural gas is intentionally burned into the air, is one way methane is released from oil and gas facilities. NASA’s EMIT mission, in more than a year in operation, has shown a proficiency at spotting emissions of methane and other greenhouse gases from space.Adobe Stock/Ilya Glovatskiy Since launching 16 months ago, the EMIT imaging spectrometer aboard the International Space Station has shown an ability to detect more than just surface minerals. More than a year after first detecting methane plumes from its perch aboard the International Space Station, data from NASA’s EMIT instrument is now being used to identify point-source emissions of greenhouse gases with a proficiency that has surprised even its designers. Short for Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation, EMIT was launched in July 2022 to map 10 key minerals on the surface of the world’s arid regions. Those mineral-related observations, which are already available to researchers and the public, will help improve understanding of how dust that gets lofted into the atmosphere affects climate. Detecting methane was not part of EMIT’s primary mission, but the instrument’s designers did expect the imaging spectrometer to have the capability. Now, with more than 750 emissions sources identified since August 2022 – some small, others in remote locations, and others persistent in time – the instrument has more than delivered in that regard, according to a new study published in Science Advances. “We were a little cautious at first about what we could do with the instrument,” said Andrew Thorpe, a research technologist on the EMIT science team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California and the paper’s lead author. “It has exceeded our expectations.” EMIT identified a cluster of 12 methane plumes within a 150-square-mile (400-square-kilometer) area of southern Uzbekistan on Sept. 1, 2022. The instrument captured the cluster within a single shot, called a scene by researchers. NASA/JPL-Caltech By knowing where methane emissions are coming from, operators of landfills, agriculture sites, oil and gas facilities, and other methane producers have an opportunity to address them. Tracking human-caused emissions of methane is key to limiting climate change because it offers a comparatively low-cost, rapid approach to reducing greenhouse gases. Methane lingers in the atmosphere for about a decade, but during this span, it’s up to 80 times more powerful at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, which remains for centuries. Surprising Results EMIT has proven effective at spotting emission sources both big (tens of thousands of pounds of methane per hour) and surprisingly small (down to the hundreds of pounds of methane per hour). This is important because it permits identification of a greater number of “super-emitters” – sources that produce disproportionate shares of total emissions. The new study documents how EMIT, based on its first 30 days of greenhouse gas detection, can observe 60% to 85% of the methane plumes typically seen in airborne campaigns. In a remote corner of southeastern Libya, EMIT on Sept. 3, 2022, detected a methane plume that was emitting about 979 pounds (444 kilograms) per hour. It’s one of the smallest sources detected so far by the instrument.NASA/JPL-Caltech From several thousand feet above the ground, methane-detecting instruments on aircraft are more sensitive, but to warrant sending a plane, researchers need prior indication that they’ll detect methane. Many areas are not examined because they are considered too remote, too risky, or too costly. Additionally, the campaigns that do occur cover relatively limited areas for short periods. On the other hand, from about 250 miles (400 kilometers) altitude on the space station, EMIT collects data over a large swath of the planet – specifically the arid regions that fall between 51.6 degrees north and south latitude. The imaging spectrometer captures 50-mile-by-50-mile (80-kilometer-by-80-kilometer) images of the surface – researchers call them “scenes” – including many regions that have been beyond the reach of airborne instruments. This time-lapse video shows the Canadarm2 robotic arm of the International Space Station maneuvering NASA’s EMIT mission onto the exterior of the station. Extraction from the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft began around 5:15 p.m. PDT on July 22 and was completed at 10:15 a.m. PDT on July 24. Portions of the installation have been omitted, while others have been speeded up. Credit: NASA “The number and scale of methane plumes measured by EMIT around our planet is stunning,” said Robert O. Green, a JPL senior research scientist and EMIT’s principal investigator. Scene-by-Scene Detections To support source identification, the EMIT science team creates maps of methane plumes and releases them on a website, with underlying data available at the joint NASA-United States Geological Survey Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC). The mission’s data is available for use by the public, scientists, and organizations. Since EMIT began collecting observations in August 2022, it has documented over 50,000 scenes. The instrument spotted a cluster of emissions sources in a rarely studied region of southern Uzbekistan on Sept. 1, 2022, detecting 12 methane plumes totaling about 49,734 pounds (22,559 kilograms) per hour. In addition, the instrument has spotted plumes far smaller than expected. Captured in a remote corner of southeastern Libya on Sept. 3, 2022, one of the smallest sources so far was emitting 979 pounds (444 kilograms) per hour, based on estimates of local wind speed. More About the Mission EMIT was selected from the Earth Venture Instrument-4 solicitation under the Earth Science Division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and was developed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California. The instrument’s data is available at the NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center for use by other researchers and the public. To learn more about the mission, visit: https://earth.jpl.nasa.gov/emit/ See EMIT in 3D on the International Space Station with NASA's Eyes on the Earth News Media Contacts Andrew Wang / Jane J. Lee Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 626-379-6874 / 818-354-0307 andrew.wang@jpl.nasa.gov / jane.j.lee@jpl.nasa.gov 2023-172 Share Details Last Updated Nov 17, 2023 Related Terms Dust StormsEarthEarth Science DivisionEMIT (Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation)Greenhouse GasesJet Propulsion Laboratory Explore More 7 min read NASA’s Cold Atom Lab Sets Stage for Quantum Chemistry in Space Article 2 days ago 10 min read Satellite Data Can Help Limit the Dangers of Windblown Dust Dust storms present a growing threat to the health and safety of U.S. populations. Article 2 days ago 6 min read NASA Data Reveals Possible Reason Some Exoplanets Are Shrinking Article 2 days ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

Earth science researcher Dr. Antonia Gambacorta earned the 2023 Goddard IRAD Technology Leadership award for pioneering new ways to measure lower layers of Earth’s atmosphere from space. The award from the chief technologist of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, recognizes Gambacorta’s work demonstrating how hyperspectral microwave sounding, the measurement of hundreds of thousands of wavelengths of microwave light, could dissect Earth’s atmospheric planetary boundary layer (PBL). She also conceptualized a microwave photonics radiometer instrument to reveal these measurements. NASA / Christopher Gunn The part of Earth’s atmosphere people live in, and have the most experience studying, is the hardest to measure from space due to the volume and complex behavior of the air above it, Gambacorta said. Developing the ability to probe and measure the boundary layer on a global, routine basis is important to better understanding its connections to the rest of our atmosphere, the land surface, and the oceans. “The unique challenge of the PBL requires a novel path forward that will bring together traditionally disparate observing system components in order to enable transformative scientific advances in Earth system science,” said fellow researcher Joseph Santanello. “To that end, Dr. Gambacorta’s efforts extend beyond individual technology developments, and are represented in her aspirational vision of PBL sounding as ‘the tie that binds.’ Just as notably, Dr. Gambacorta’s passion, enthusiasm, and respect for her colleagues has been evident through each of stage of the project’s development.” In seeking solutions to measure the boundary layer, Gambacorta stepped up to lead Goddard’s hyperspectral microwave projects and became the face of the center’s Decadal Survey Incubation (DSI) efforts. Through multiple Internal Research and Development, or IRAD grants, she and her team performed fundamental research to show the effectiveness of hyperspectral microwave sounding, conceptualized a microwave photonics radiometer instrument, and more recently began developing a framework to integrate data from multiple sensors for boundary layer science observations. Photonics Integrated Chips like this one being tested in a Goddard Lab will be able to translate microwave signals into infrared light for more efficient processing of more wavelengths than current technology. This chip can process thousands of microwave bandwidths compared to existing, much larger processors. NASA / Christopher Gunn “Antonia’s innovation rises above her individual successes as a capable and creative innovator,” said Goddard Chief Technologist Peter Hughes. “She capitalized on multiple programs to incubate new technology while engaging expertise from across agencies and around the world to connect to other resources.” Her cutting-edge innovations and research earned support from NASA’s Earth Science Technology Office and from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Specifically, Gambacorta built on her IRAD successes to secure an Earth Science Technology Office Instrument Incubator Program (IIP) project award to further develop her team’s microwave photonics radiometer concept and DSI funding to advance the multi-sensor fusion framework. Additionally, her momentum enabled a DSI-funded airborne instrument project attempting to transform CoSMIR, Goddard’s Conical Scanning Millimeter-wave Radiometer, into a hyperspectral sensor. That project is led by up-and-coming instrument scientist Rachael Kroodsma. This entire portfolio that Gambacorta now manages also culminated in a successful NOAA Broad Agency Announcement proposal to demonstrate hyperspectral microwave radiometry. Through her engagement with colleagues in ESTO, NOAA, and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, Hughes said Goddard’s hyperspectral microwave and PBL initiatives are regarded globally as the trusted strategy for understanding the planetary boundary layer. Goddard is widely viewed as a pioneer in the use of integrated photonics for Earth remote sensing due to Gambacorta’s leadership, he added. “Antonia serves as a true inspiration to the technologists and scientists on her teams,” her colleague Santanello added. “Her innovation and contribution to Goddard and the larger community can also be measured in each of these ways.” By Karl B. Hille NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Share Details Last Updated Nov 17, 2023 Related Terms Goddard Space Flight CenterOffice of Technology, Policy and Strategy (OTPS)People of GoddardPeople of NASAScience & ResearchScience-enabling TechnologyTechnologyTechnology Research Explore More 3 min read Hubble Images Galaxy with an Explosive Past This image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope features the spiral galaxy NGC 941, which lies about 55… Article 6 hours ago 2 min read Backyard Worlds Volunteers Complete Ten Million Classifications in an Epic Search for New Objects Among the Nearest Stars The Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 and Backyard Worlds: Cool Neighbors projects invite members of the public to search images… Article 24 hours ago 4 min read NASA’s Hubble Measures the Size of the Nearest Transiting Earth-Sized Planet NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has measured the size of the nearest Earth-sized exoplanet that passes… Article 1 day ago View the full article

NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility supported the launch of two suborbital sounding rockets on Nov. 15, 2023, for Navy Strategic Systems Programs (SSP), and the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), in coordination with Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (NSWC Crane) and the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Test Resource Management Center (TRMC) Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonic Test Bed (MACH TB). This subscale test was executed by Sandia National Laboratories. Data collected from this test will be used to inform the development of the Navy’s Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS), MDA’s hypersonic defensive capability, and to mature other hypersonic technologies. A 3 stage sounding rocket was launched from Wallops Island Nov. 2023Courtesy Photo Share Details Last Updated Nov 17, 2023 Editor Amy L. Barra Contact Amy L. Barraamy.l.barra@nasa.gov Location Wallops Flight Facility Related Terms Wallops Flight Facility Explore More 1 min read NASA Wallops to Support Sounding Rocket Launches Article 3 days ago 4 min read NASA C-130 Makes First-Ever Flight to Antarctica for GUSTO Balloon Mission Article 3 weeks ago 3 min read NASA Retires UHF SmallSat Tracking Site Ops at Wallops Article 3 weeks ago View the full article

5 Min Read The Heat is On! NASA’s “Flawless” Heat Shield Demo Passes the Test The Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator, or LOFTID, spacecraft is pictured after its atmospheric re-entry test in November 2022. Credits: NASA / Greg Swanson A little more than a year ago, a NASA flight test article came screaming back from space at more than 18,000 mph, reaching temperatures of nearly 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit before gently splashing down in the Pacific Ocean. At that moment, it became the largest blunt body — a type of reentry vehicle that creates a heat-deflecting shockwave — ever to reenter Earth’s atmosphere. The Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) launched on Nov. 10, 2022, aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket and successfully demonstrated an inflatable heat shield. Also known as a Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (HIAD) aeroshell, this technology could allow larger spacecraft to safely descend through the atmospheres of celestial bodies like Mars, Venus, and even Saturn’s moon, Titan. “Large-diameter aeroshells allow us to deliver critical support hardware, and potentially even crew, to the surface of planets with atmospheres. This capability is crucial for the nation’s ambition of expanding human and robotic exploration across our solar system,” said Trudy Kortes, director of the Technology Demonstrations Missions (TDM) program within the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) at NASA Headquarters in Washington. NASA has been developing HIAD technologies for over a decade, including two smaller scale suborbital flight tests before LOFTID. In addition to this successful tech demo, NASA is investigating future applications, including partnering with commercial companies to develop technologies for small satellite reentry, aerocapture, and cislunar payloads. “This was a keystone event for us, and the short answer is: It was highly successful,” said LOFTID Project Manager Joe Del Corso. “Our assessment of LOFTID concluded with the promise of what this technology may do to empower the exploration of deep space.” Due to the success of the LOFTID tech demo, NASA announced under its Tipping Point program that it would partner with ULA to develop and deliver the “next size up,” a larger 12-meter HIAD aeroshell for recovering the company’s Vulcan engines from low Earth orbit for reuse. A Successful Test in the Books, A Video Recap The LOFTID team recently held a post-flight analysis assessment of the flight test at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Their verdict? Upon recovery, the team discovered LOFTID appeared pristine, with minimal damage, meaning its performance was, as Del Corso puts it, “Just flawless.” Here are some interesting visual highlights from LOFTID’s flight test. NASA To get to atmospheric reentry, LOFTID had to go through an intricate sequence of events. Del Corso compared it to a Rube Goldberg device, a complex machine designed to carry out simple tasks through a series of chain reactions. Video captured the moment LOFTID deployed the HIAD (on the left), compared to a preflight animation developed by NASA Langley’s Advanced Concepts Lab (on the right). Inflation happens at the bottom of the video as LOFTID flies over the African continent. NASA As it flew over the Mediterranean Sea, LOFTID separated from the ULA Centaur upper stage. On the left, LOFTID is seen from Centaur’s forward-facing camera. The composite image on the right is from cameras around LOFTID’s center body, looking forward and outboard at the orange inflatable HIAD structure. In the center, looking back at Centaur, LOFTID is seen from an aft-facing camera. NASA As LOFTID reentered Earth’s atmosphere and reached nearly 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit, the extreme heat caused gases around it to ionize and form plasma. On the right, the images from the center body cameras became extremely bright in the visible spectrum, while the Earth is visible on infrared cameras as the vehicle rotated. The camera captured footage of the plasma quickly changing colors from orange to purple. Why the color change? “We’re still investigating exactly what causes that,” said John DiNonno, LOFTID chief engineer. The animation on the left shows an artist’s concept of what the front side may have looked like. NASA This video, captured by NASA Langley’s Scientifically Calibrated In-Flight Imagery team, shows LOFTID during peak deceleration as the plasma recedes. On the left, LOFTID streaks through the night sky over the Pacific Ocean. On the right, the purple coloration flares up on the back side of LOFTID. In the second part of the video, the left shifts to one of the cameras looking at the back of the aeroshell, with the receding plasma streaking at its edge. NASA After slowing down from more than 18,000 mph to less than 80 mph, LOFTID deployed its parachutes. From an infrared camera aboard the recovery ship, this video shows the parachute deployment and splashdown just over the horizon. The preflight animation is provided on the right for comparison. NASA LOFTID splashed down in the Pacific Ocean several hundred miles off the east coast of Hawaii and only about eight miles from the recovery ship’s bow — almost exactly as modeled. A crew got on a small boat and retrieved and hoisted LOFTID onto the recovery ship. Here is an image from the first contact with LOFTID after it splashed down. “The LOFTID mission was important because it proved the cutting-edge HIAD design functioned successfully at an appropriate scale and in a relevant environment,” said Tawnya Laughinghouse, manager of the TDM program office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The LOFTID demonstration was a public private-partnership with ULA funded by STMD and managed by the Technology Demonstration Mission Program, executed by NASA Langley with contributions from across NASA centers. Multiple U.S. small businesses contributed to the hardware. NASA’s Launch Services Program was responsible for NASA’s oversight of launch operations. For more information on LOFTID, click here. Share Details Last Updated Nov 17, 2023 Related Terms Langley Research CenterLOFTID (Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator)Technology Demonstration Explore More 4 min read NASA Technologies Receive Multiple Nods in TIME Inventions of 2023 Article 3 weeks ago 4 min read Aviones de movilidad aérea avanzada: un viaje suave en el futuro Article 3 weeks ago 5 min read NASA’s First Two-way End-to-End Laser Communications Relay System Article 3 weeks ago View the full article

2 min read Hubble Images Galaxy with an Explosive Past A NASA Hubble Space Telescope image of the spiral galaxy NGC 941. ESA/Hubble & NASA, C. Kilpatrick This image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope features the spiral galaxy NGC 941, which lies about 55 million light-years from Earth. Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) collected the data that created this image. Beautiful NGC 941 is undoubtedly the main attraction in this view; however, the hazy-looking galaxy was not the motivation for collecting the data. That distinction belongs to an astronomical event that took place in the galaxy years before: the supernova SN 2005ad. The location of this faded supernova was observed as part of a study of multiple hydrogen-rich supernovae, also known as type II supernovae, to better understand the environments in which certain types of supernovae take place. While the study was conducted by professional astronomers, SN 2005ad itself owes its discovery to a distinguished amateur astronomer named Kōichi Itagaki, who has discovered over 170 supernovae. This might raise the question of how an amateur astronomer could spot something like a supernova event before professional astronomers who have access to telescopes such as Hubble. The detection of supernovae is a mixture of skill, facilities, and luck. Most astronomical events happen over time spans that dwarf human lifetimes, but supernova explosions are extraordinarily fast, appearing very suddenly and then brightening and dimming over a period of days or weeks. Another aspect is time – data from a few hours of observations with telescopes like Hubble might take weeks, months, or sometimes even years to process and analyze. Amateur astronomers can spend much more time actively observing the skies, and sometimes have extremely impressive systems of telescopes, computers, and software they can use. Because amateurs like Itagaki spot so many supernovae, there is actually an online system set up to report them (the Transient Name Server). This system is a big help to professional astronomers, because time is truly of the essence with supernovae events. After the reported discovery of SN 2005ab, professional astronomers were able to follow up with spectroscopic studies and confirm it as a type II supernova, which eventually led to Hubble to study its location. Such a study wouldn’t be possible without a rich library of cataloged supernovae, built with the keen eyes of amateur astronomers. 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 Nov 16, 2023 Editor Andrea Gianopoulos Location Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms Astrophysics Astrophysics Division Galaxies Goddard Space Flight Center Hubble Space Telescope Missions Science & Research Science Mission Directorate Spiral Galaxies The Universe Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Hubble Space Telescope Galaxies Stories Stars Stories Exoplanets View the full article

6 min read NASA’s Deep Space Optical Comm Demo Sends, Receives First Data NASA’s Psyche spacecraft is shown in a clean room at the Astrotech Space Operations facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Dec. 8, 2022. DSOC’s gold-capped flight laser transceiver can be seen, near center, attached to the spacecraft.NASA/Ben Smegelsky DSOC, an experiment that could transform how spacecraft communicate, has achieved ‘first light,’ sending data via laser to and from far beyond the Moon for the first time. NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment has beamed a near-infrared laser encoded with test data fromnearly 10 million miles (16 million kilometers) away – about 40 times farther than the Moon is from Earth – to the Hale Telescope at Caltech’s Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, California. This is the farthest-ever demonstration of optical communications. Riding aboard the recently launched Psyche spacecraft, DSOC is configured to send high-bandwidth test data to Earth during its two-year technology demonstration as Psyche travels to the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California manages both DSOC and Psyche. The tech demo achieved “first light” in the early hours of Nov. 14 after its flight laser transceiver – a cutting-edge instrument aboard Psyche capable of sending and receiving near-infrared signals – locked onto a powerful uplink laser beacon transmitted from the Optical Communications Telescope Laboratory at JPL’s Table Mountain Facility near Wrightwood, California. The uplink beacon helped the transceiver aim its downlink laser back to Palomar (which is 100 miles, or 130 kilometers, south of Table Mountain) while automated systems on the transceiver and ground stations fine-tuned its pointing. Learn more about how DSOC will be used to test high-bandwidth data transmission beyond the Moon for the first time – and how it could transform deep space exploration. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU “Achieving first light is one of many critical DSOC milestones in the coming months, paving the way toward higher-data-rate communications capable of sending scientific information, high-definition imagery, and streaming video in support of humanity’s next giant leap: sending humans to Mars,” said Trudy Kortes, director of Technology Demonstrations at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Test data also was sent simultaneously via the uplink and downlink lasers, a procedure known as “closing the link” that is a primary objective for the experiment. While the technology demonstration isn’t transmitting Psyche mission data, it works closely with the Psyche mission-support team to ensure DSOC operations don’t interfere with those of the spacecraft. “Tuesday morning’stest was the first to fully incorporate the ground assets and flight transceiver, requiring the DSOC and Psyche operations teams to work in tandem,” said Meera Srinivasan, operations lead for DSOC at JPL. “It was a formidable challenge, and we have a lot more work to do, but for a short time, we were able to transmit, receive, and decode some data.” Before this achievement, the project needed to check the boxes on several other milestones, from removing the protective cover for the flight laser transceiver to powering up the instrument. Meanwhile, the Psyche spacecraft is carrying out its own checkouts, including powering up its propulsion systems and testing instruments that will be used to study the asteroid Psyche when it arrives there in 2028. First Light and First Bits With successful first light, the DSOC team will now work on refining the systems that control the pointing of the downlink laser aboard the transceiver. Once achieved, the project can begin its demonstration of maintaining high-bandwidth data transmission from the transceiver to Palomar at various distances from Earth. This data takes the form of bits (the smallest units of data a computer can process) encoded in the laser’s photons – quantum particles of light. After a special superconducting high-efficiency detector array detects the photons, new signal-processing techniques are used to extract the data from the single photons that arrive at the Hale Telescope. The DSOC experiment aims to demonstrate data transmission rates 10 to 100 times greater than the state-of-the-art radio frequency systems used by spacecraft today. Both radio and near-infrared laser communications utilize electromagnetic waves to transmit data, but near-infrared light packs the data into significantly tighter waves, enabling ground stations to receive more data. This will help future human and robotic exploration missions and support higher-resolution science instruments. The flight laser transceiver operations team for NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) technology demonstration works in the Psyche mission support area at JPL in the early hours of Nov. 14, when the project achieved “first light.” NASA/JPL-Caltech DSOC ground laser transmitter operators pose for a photo at the Optical Communications Telescope Laboratory at JPL’s Table Mountain Facility near Wrightwood, California, shortly after the technology demonstration achieved “first light” on Nov. 14.NASA/JPL-Caltech “Optical communication is a boon for scientists and researchers who always want more from their space missions, and will enable human exploration of deep space,” said Dr. Jason Mitchell, director of the Advanced Communications and Navigation Technologies Division within NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program. “More data means more discoveries.” While optical communication has been demonstrated in low Earth orbit and out to the Moon, DSOC is the first test in deep space. Like using a laser pointer to track a moving dime from a mile away, aiming a laser beam over millions of miles requires extremely precise “pointing.” The demonstration also needs to compensate for the time it takes for light to travel from the spacecraft to Earth over vast distances: At Psyche’s farthest distance from our planet, DSOC’s near-infrared photons will take about 20 minutes to travel back (they took about 50 seconds to travel from Psyche to Earth during the Nov. 14 test). In that time, both spacecraft and planet will have moved, so the uplink and downlink lasers need to adjust for the change in location. “Achieving first light is a tremendous achievement. The ground systems successfully detected the deep space laser photons from DSOC’s flight transceiver aboard Psyche,” said Abi Biswas, project technologist for DSOC at JPL. “And we were also able to send some data, meaning we were able to exchange ‘bits of light’ from and to deep space.” More About the Mission DSOC is the latest in a series of optical communication demonstrations funded by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate and the Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program within the agency’s Space Operations Mission Directorate. The Psyche mission is led by Arizona State University. JPL is responsible for the mission’s overall management, system engineering, integration and test, and mission operations. Psyche is the 14th mission selected as part of NASA’s Discovery Program under the Science Mission Directorate, managed by the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center, managed the launch service. Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California, provided the high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis. For more information about DSOC, visit: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/dsoc News Media Contact Ian J. O’Neill Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 818-354-2649 ian.j.oneill@jpl.nasa.gov 2023-171 Share Details Last Updated Nov 16, 2023 Related Terms Psyche MissionSpace Communications & Navigation ProgramSpace Operations Mission DirectorateSpace Technology Mission DirectorateTech Demo Missions Explore More 5 min read Cube Quest Concludes: Wins, Lessons Learned from Centennial Challenge Article 3 hours ago 2 min read Pale Blue Dot: Visualization Challenge Article 1 day ago 4 min read Volunteers Worldwide Successfully Tracked NASA’s Artemis I Mission Article 1 day ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

November 1968 proved pivotal to achieving the goal of landing a man on the Moon before the end of the decade. The highly successful Apollo 7 mission that returned American astronauts to space provided the confidence for NASA to decide to send the next flight, Apollo 8, on a trip to orbit the Moon in December. At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, the Saturn V rocket and the Apollo spacecraft for that mission sat on Launch Pad 39A undergoing tests for its upcoming launch. In the nearby Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), the three stages of the Saturn V for the Apollo 9 mission sat stacked awaiting the addition of its spacecraft undergoing final testing. Also in the VAB, workers had begun stacking the Apollo 10 Saturn V, while the Apollo 10 spacecraft arrived for testing. As the Apollo 8 and 9 crews continued their training, NASA named the crew for Apollo 10 and announced the science experiments that the first Moon landing astronauts would deploy. Left: President Lyndon B. Johnson, second from left, presents Apollo 7 astronauts Walter M. Schirra, left, Donn F. Eisele, and R. Walter Cunningham with Exceptional Service Medals at the LBJ Ranch. Middle: Entertainer Bob Hope, second from right, taped an episode of his show at the Manned Spacecraft Center, now NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, with guests the “Voice of Mission Control” Paul P. Haney, left, Apollo 7 astronauts Schirra, Cunningham, and Eisele, and television star Barbara Eden. Right: The Apollo 7 Command Module on display at the Frontiers of Flight Museum at Dallas Love Field. Following their highly successful flight, Apollo 7 astronauts Walter M. Schirra, Donn F. Eisele, and R. Walter Cunningham returned to Houston’s Ellington Air Force Base on Oct. 26. On Nov. 2, President Lyndon B. Johnson presented the astronauts with Exceptional Service Medals at the LBJ Ranch in Johnson City, Texas. Four days later, comedian Bob Hope filmed an episode of his weekly television variety show in the auditorium of the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), now the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Hope saluted the Apollo 7 astronauts in a skit that included actress Barbara Eden, star of the television series “I Dream of Jeannie” that featured fictional astronauts. Paul P. Haney, MSC Director of Public Affairs and the “Voice of Mission Control,” also participated in the skit. Following the recovery of Apollo 7, the prime recovery ship U.S.S. Essex sailed for Norfolk Naval Air Station in Virginia, where on Oct. 27 workers offloaded the Command Module (CM), and placed it aboard a cargo plane to fly it to California for return to its manufacturer, North American Rockwell Space Division in Downey, for postflight inspection. On Jan. 20, 1969, the Apollo 7 astronauts as well as their spacecraft took part in President Richard M. Nixon’s first inauguration parade. In 1970, NASA transferred the Apollo 7 spacecraft to the Smithsonian Institution that loaned it to the National Museum of Science and Technology in Ottawa, Canada, for display. Following its return to the United States in 2004, it went on display at the Frontiers of Flight Museum at Love Field in Dallas. Left: The circumlunar trajectory of Apollo 8. Middle: Apollo 8 astronauts William A. Anders, left, James A. Lovell, and Frank Borman during a press conference shortly after the announcement of their mission to orbit the Moon. Right: Anders, left, Lovell, and Borman in the Command Module simulator. On Nov. 12, 1968, NASA Headquarters put out the following statement: “The National Aeronautics and Space Administration today announced that the Apollo 8 mission would be prepared for an orbital flight around the Moon.” That momentous statement ended weeks of intense internal agency deliberations and public speculation about Apollo 8’s targeted mission. The original mission plan called for Apollo 8 to conduct the first test of the Lunar Module (LM) in Earth orbit, but when the LM fell behind schedule, NASA managers in August began contemplating sending the Apollo 8 crew on a lunar orbital test of the Command Module (CM). The decision hinged partly on a successful Apollo 7 mission, and with that milestone passed, NASA Administrator James E. Webb approved the daring plan. On only the second crewed Apollo mission, the first crew to launch on the Saturn V, and only the third launch of the mighty Moon rocket, with the second of those experiencing some serious anomalies, the decision weighed the risks against the benefits of achieving the Moon landing goal before the end of the decade. With the Dec. 21 launch date fast approaching, the Apollo 8 crew of Frank Borman, James A. Lovell, and William A. Anders and their backups Neil A. Armstrong, Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, and Fred W. Haise had begun training for the lunar mission even before the official announcement. During a Nov. 16 press conference, Borman, Lovell, and Anders discussed their preparations for the historic mission. On Nov. 19, at KSC’s Launch Complex 39, engineers completed the Flight Readiness Test to validate the launch vehicle, spacecraft, and ground systems. Left: The Apollo 9 prime crew of James A. McDivitt, left, David R. Scott, and Russell L. Schweickart, not pictured, prepares for an altitude chamber test of their Command Module (CM) in the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Middle: McDivitt, emerging from the CM, Schweickart, at left in the raft, and Scott complete water egress training in the Gulf of Mexico. Right: The Apollo 9 backup crew of Charles “Pete” Conrad, left, Richard F. Gordon, and Alan L. Bean prepares for their water egress training. The LM formed a critical component to the Moon landing effort. Delays in preparing LM-3 for flight resulted in the crewed test to slip to Apollo 9 in early 1969. The three stages of the Apollo 9 Saturn V stood stacked on Mobile Launcher 2 in High Bay 3 of the VAB. The Apollo 9 spacecraft components, CSM-104 and LM-3, continued testing in the KSC’s Manned Spacecraft Operations Building (MSOB). The prime crew of James A. McDivitt, David R. Scott, and Russell L. Schweickart, as well as their backups Charles “Pete” Conrad, Richard F. Gordon, and Alan L. Bean completed several altitude chamber tests with CSM-104 during the month of November. On Nov. 30, workers placed LM-3 inside its Spacecraft LM Adapter, topping it with CSM-104 to complete the spacecraft for its Dec. 3 rollover to the VAB for mating with the Saturn V. McDivitt, Scott, and Schweickart conducted water egress training in the Gulf of Mexico near Galveston, Texas. On Nov. 25, workers aboard the Motor Vessel M/V Retriever lowered a mockup CM with the crew inside into the water in a nose-down position. Flotation bags inflated to right the spacecraft to a nose-up position. The astronauts then exited the capsule onto life rafts and recovery personnel hoisted them aboard a helicopter. Backups Conrad, Gordon, and Bean completed the test on Dec. 6. Left: The Apollo 10 prime crew of Eugene A. Cernan, left, John W. Young, and Thomas P. Stafford. Right: The Apollo 10 backup crew of L. Gordon Cooper, Edgar D. Mitchell, and Donn F. Eisele. On Nov. 13, NASA announced the crew for the Apollo 10 mission planned for the spring of 1969. The fourth crewed Apollo mission would involve the launch of a CM and LM on a Saturn V rocket. Depending on the success of earlier missions, Apollo 10 planned to test the CM and LM either in Earth orbit or in lunar orbit, the latter a dress rehearsal for the actual Moon landing likely to follow on Apollo 11. NASA designated Thomas P. Stafford, John W. Young, and Eugene A. Cernan as the prime crew, the first all-veteran three person crew. The trio had served as the backup crew on Apollo 7 and had flight experience in the Gemini program. As backups, NASA assigned L. Gordon Cooper, Donn F. Eisele, and Edgar D. Mitchell. Cooper had flown previously on Mercury 9 and Gemini VIII, Eisele had just returned from Apollo 7, while this marked the first crew assignment for Mitchell. As support crew members, NASA named Joe H. Engle, James B. Irwin, and Charles M. Duke. Left: The Apollo 10 Command Module, left, and Service Module arrive at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Middle: The Apollo 10 S-IC first stage arrives at KSC’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). Right: Workers in the VAB stack the Apollo 10 first stage on its Mobile Launcher. Flight hardware in support of Apollo 10 continued to arrive at KSC. Following delivery of LM-4 in October, on Nov. 2 workers mated its two stages and placed the vehicle in one of the MSOB’s altitude chambers. Stafford and Cernan carried out a sea level run on Nov. 22. The CM-106 and SM-106 for Apollo 10 arrived at KSC on Nov. 23 and workers trucked them to the MSOB where they mated the two modules three days later. In the VAB, the Saturn V’s S-IC first stage arrived on Nov. 27 and workers erected it on Mobile Launcher 3 in High Bay 2, awaiting the arrival of the upper stages. Left: A mockup of the laser ranging retroreflector (LRRR) experiment. Middle left: A mockup of the passive seismic experiment package (PSEP). Middle right: A mockup of the solar wind composition (SWC) experiment. Right: A suited technician deploys mockups of the Apollo 11 experiments – the SWC, far left, the PSEP, and the LRRR, during a test session. On Nov. 19, NASA announced that when Apollo astronauts first land on the Moon, possibly as early as during the Apollo 11 mission in the summer of 1969, they would deploy three scientific experiments – a passive seismometer experiment package (PSEP), a laser ranging retro-reflector (LRRR), and a solar wind composition (SWC) experiment – during their 2.5-hour excursion on the lunar surface. The PSEP will provide information about the Moon’s interior by recording any seismic activity. The passive LRRR consists of an array of precision optical reflectors that serve as a target for Earth-based lasers for highly precise measurements of the Earth-Moon distance. The SWC consists of a sheet of aluminum foil that the astronauts deploy at the beginning of their spacewalk and retrieve at the end for postflight analysis. During the exposure, the foil traps particles of the solar wind, especially noble gases. Left: The Lunar Module Test Article-8 (LTA-8) inside Chamber B of the Space Environment Simulation Laboratory (SESL) at the Manned Spacecraft Center, now NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Middle: Astronaut James B. Irwin inside LTA-8 during one of the altitude runs. Right: Workers remove LTA-8 from SESL’s Chamber B at the conclusion of the altitude tests. On Nov. 14, engineers in MSC’s Space Environment Simulation Laboratory (SESL) completed a series of altitude tests with LM Test Article-8 (LTA-8) to certify the vehicle for lunar missions. Astronaut Irwin and Grumman Aircraft Corporation consulting pilot Gerald P. Gibbons completed the final test, the last in a series of five that started on Oct. 14. Grumman pilot Glennon M. Kingsley paired up with Gibbons for three of the tests. During the tests that simulated various portions of the LM’s flight profile, the chamber maintained a vacuum simulating an altitude of about 150 miles and temperatures as low as -300o F. Strip heaters attached to the LTA’s surface provided the simulated solar heat. NASA transferred the LTA-8 to the Smithsonian Institution in 1978 and it is now on public display at Space Center Houston. Depiction of Zond 6’s circumlunar trajectory. Image credit: courtesy RKK Energia. Left: A Proton rocket with a Zond spacecraft on the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Right: Zond 6 photographed the Earth as it looped around the Moon. Image credits: courtesy RKK Energia. Depiction of Zond 6’s skip reentry trajectory flown. Image credit: courtesy RKK Energia. In another reminder that the race to the Moon still existed, on Nov. 10 the Soviet Union launched the Zond 6 spacecraft. Although it launched uncrewed, the Zond spacecraft, essentially a Soyuz without the forward orbital compartment and modified for flights to lunar distances, could carry a crew of two cosmonauts. A cadre of cosmonauts trained for such missions. Similar to the Zond 5 mission in September, Zond 6 entered a trajectory that looped it around the Moon on Nov. 13, passing within 1,500 miles of the lunar surface. The spacecraft took photographs of the Moon’s near and far sides and of the distant Earth. As it neared Earth during its return journey, trouble developed aboard the spacecraft as a faulty hatch seal caused a slow leak and it began to lose atmospheric pressure. Ground controllers initially steadied the pressure loss and performed a final midcourse maneuver that allowed Zond 6 to perform a skip reentry to land in Soviet territory on Nov. 17. However, the spacecraft continued to lose pressure and a buildup of static electricity created a coronal discharge that triggered the spacecraft’s soft landing rockets to fire and cut the parachute lines while it was still descending through 5,300 meters altitude. Although the capsule hit the ground at a high velocity, rescue forces were able to recover the film containers. The Soviets at the time did not reveal either the depressurization or the crash but claimed the flight was a successful circumlunar mission. With two apparently successful uncrewed circumlunar flights and the resumption of crewed missions with Soyuz 3 in October, these Soviet activities perhaps played a part in the decision to send Apollo 8 to the Moon. News from around the world in November 1968: Nov. 5 – Richard M. Nixon elected as the 37th U.S. President. Nov. 5 – Shirley A. Chisolm of Brooklyn, New York, becomes the first African American woman elected to the U.S. Congress. Nov 8 – The United States launches Pioneer 9 into solar orbit to monitor solar storms that could be harmful to Apollo astronauts traveling to the Moon. Nov. 13 – The HL-10 lifting body aircraft with NASA pilot John A. Manke at the controls made its first successful powered flight after being dropped from a B-52 bomber at Edwards Air Force Base in California’s Mojave Desert. Nov. 14 – Yale University announces it is going co-ed beginning in the 1969-1970 academic year. Nov. 22 – The Beatles release the “The Beatles” (better known as the White Album), the band’s only double album. Explore More 12 min read 50 Years Ago: Launch of Skylab 4, The Final Mission to Skylab Article 19 mins ago 7 min read 65 Years Ago: NASA Formally Establishes The Space Task Group Article 1 week ago 3 min read Halloween on the International Space Station Article 2 weeks ago View the full article

The third and final crewed mission to the Skylab space station, Skylab 4, got underway on Nov. 16, 1973, with a thunderous launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Docking eight hours later, astronauts Gerald P. Carr, Edward G. Gibson, and William R. Pogue began a planned 56-day mission that program managers extended to a record-breaking 84 days. During their first month, as they adjusted to weightlessness and their new surroundings, they completed the first of four spacewalks. They began an extensive science program, investigating the effects of long-duration spaceflight on human physiology, examining the Sun, conducting observations of the Earth, as well as technology and student-led experiments. They began their systematic observations of recently discovered Comet Kohoutek as it approached the Sun. Left: Crew patch of the third and final crewed mission to Skylab. Middle: Official photo of the Skylab 4 crew of Gerald P. Carr, left, Edward G. Gibson, and William R. Pogue. Right: The Skylab 4 backup crew of Vance D. Brand, left, William B. Lenoir, and Don L. Lind. In January 1972, NASA announced the astronauts it had selected for the Skylab program. For Skylab 4, the third crewed mission and at the time planned to last 56 days, NASA named Carr as commander, Gibson as science pilot, and Pogue as pilot to serve as the prime crew, the first all-rookie prime crew since Gemini VIII in 1966. For the backup crew, NASA designated Vance D. Brand, William B. Lenoir, and Don L. Lind, who also served as the backup crew for Skylab 3. Brand and Lind would serve as the two-person crew for a possible rescue mission. Left: The S-IB first stage for the Skylab 4 mission’s SA-208 Saturn IB rocket arrives at the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Middle: The two S-IVB second stages for the Skylab 4 SA-208 rocket, right, and the SA-209 Skylab rescue rocket sit side by side in the VAB. Right: Workers in the VAB stack the second stage onto the first stage for the Skylab 4 Saturn IB. Preparations at KSC for the Skylab 4 mission began on Nov. 4, 1971, with the arrival of the S-IVB second stage of the SA-208 Saturn IB rocket. Workers placed it in long-term storage in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). The rocket’s S-IB first stage arrived on June 20, 1973. Workers in the VAB mounted it on Mobile Launcher 1 on July 31, adding the second stage later that same day. Left: The arrival of the Skylab 4 Command Module (CM), front, and Service Module, partly hidden at left, in the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building (MSOB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Middle left: The Skylab 4 astronauts conduct an altitude test aboard their CM in the MSOB. Middle right: Rollout of the Skylab 4 vehicle from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B. Right: Workers at Launch Pad 39B replace the eight stabilization fins on the Saturn IB rocket’s first stage. Meanwhile, Command and Service Module-118 (CSM-118) for the mission arrived in KSC’s Manned Spacecraft and Operations Building (MSOB) on Feb. 10, 1973, where engineers placed it inside a vacuum chamber. The prime and backup crews conducted altitude tests of the CSM in early August. With the thruster problems aboard the Skylab 3 spacecraft docked to the space station, managers accelerated the processing flow for the Skylab 4 vehicle to enable a launch as early as Sept. 9 in case they had to implement a rescue mission. Workers mated CSM-118 to the Saturn rocket on Aug. 10 and rolled the stack to Launch Pad 39B four days later. By this time, the need for a rescue had diminished and the processing flow readjusted to enable a launch on need within nine days until the Skylab 3 splashdown on Sept. 25. Normal processing then resumed for a planned Nov. 9 launch, later adjusted to Nov. 11. Carr, Gibson, and Pogue entered their preflight health stabilization plan quarantine on Oct. 20. On Nov. 6, workers found hairline cracks in the mounting brackets of the Saturn IB’s stabilizing fins, requiring a slip of the launch date to Nov. 16 to complete their replacement at the pad. The Skylab 4 countdown began on Nov. 14, the day after the astronauts arrived at KSC. Left: Skylab 4 astronauts William R. Pogue, left, Edward G. Gibson, and Gerald P. Carr training in the Skylab training mockup. Middle: Gibson, left, Carr, and Pogue display a model of the Skylab space station at the conclusion of their preflight press conference. Right: Gibson, left, Carr, and Pogue pose in front of a T-38 Talon aircraft at Ellington Air Force Base in Houston prior to their departure for NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the launch. Left: Skylab 4 astronauts William R. Pogue, left, Edward G. Gibson, and Gerald P. Carr enjoy the traditional prelaunch breakfast. Middle: Carr, front, Gibson, and Pogue test the pressure integrity of their spacesuits before launch. Right: Carr, front, Gibson, and Pogue exit crew quarters to board the transfer van for the ride to Launch Pad 39B. Liftoff of Skylab 4! The third and final mission to the Skylab space station got underway on Nov. 16, 1973, with a thunderous liftoff from KSC’s Launch Pad 39B. Although officially planned as a 56-day mission for several years, mission managers had confidence of an extension to 84 days and planned accordingly, with the astronauts bringing additional food, supplies, and science experiments. Left: Skylab during the rendezvous and docking. Right: Left by the Skylab 3 crew before their departure from the station, three astronaut manikins wear the Skylab 4 crew’s flight overalls. Eight hours after launch, and following two unsuccessful attempts, Carr hard docked the spacecraft to the space station. Pogue, who on Earth appeared resistant to all forms of motion sickness, developed a case of space motion sickness during the crew’s first evening, requiring several days to fully recover. This incident along with an overly packed timeline caused the astronauts to fall behind in accomplishing their tasks as they adjusted to weightlessness and learned their way around the large space station. The astronauts spent their first night in space aboard the Command Module, opening the hatch the next morning to begin reactivating Skylab. To their surprise, the station appeared to already have three occupants. As a joke, before they left the station in September, the Skylab 3 crew stuffed their successors’ flight suits with used clothing and left them in strategic places throughout the workshop. Carr, Gibson, and Pogue began settling into the routine aboard Skylab, preparing meals, exercising, and starting the large number of experiments. They continued the science program begun by the previous two Skylab crews, including biomedical investigations on the effects of long-duration space flight on the human body, Earth observations using the Earth Resources Experiment Package (EREP), and solar observations with instruments mounted on the Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM). With the prediction earlier in the year that newly discovered Comet Kohoutek would make its closest approach to the Sun in late December, scientists added cometary observations to the crew’s already busy schedule. The astronauts brought a Far Ultraviolet Electronographic Camera, the backup to the instrument deployed on the Moon during Apollo 16, to Skylab especially for observations of the comet, and used it for cometary photography during two spacewalks added to the mission. Left: Edward G. Gibson, left, William R. Pogue, and Gerald P. Carr prepare a meal in the Skylab wardroom. Middle: Carr uses the Thornton treadmill to exercise. Right: Carr “weighs” himself in weightlessness using the body mass measurement device. One of the lessons learned from the first two Skylab missions indicated that the onboard bicycle ergometer alone did not provide enough exercise to maintain leg and back muscle mass and strength. To remedy this problem, physician and Skylab support astronaut Dr. William E. Thornton designed a makeshift treadmill that the third crew brought with them to the station. The treadmill device consisted of a teflon-coated aluminum plate bolted to the floor of the workshop. Bungee cords attached to the floor and to the ergometer harness supplied the downward force for the back and leg muscles with the astronauts sliding over the teflon-coated plate while walking or jogging in stocking feet. Because the exercise provided quite a strenuous workout, the crew dubbed it “Thornton’s revenge.” They also increased the overall amount of time they spent exercising. Left: William R. Pogue replaces film in the Apollo Telescope Mount during the mission’s first spacewalk. Middle: Gerald P. Carr flies the Astronaut Maneuvering Unit. Right: Overall view showing the large volume of the Skylab Orbital Workshop. In addition to the heavy science experiment load, the astronauts spent the first week in orbit preparing for the first spacewalk of the mission. On Nov. 22, their seventh day in space and also Thanksgiving Day, Gibson and Pogue suited up and stepped outside the space station with Gibson exclaiming, “Boy, if this isn’t the great outdoors.” During this six-hour 33-minute spacewalk, they replaced film canisters in the ATM and deployed an experiment package on the ATM truss. They took photographs with a camera that had originally been intended for the airlock now blocked by the sunshade that the first crew deployed in May to help cool the station. Gibson and Pogue accomplished all the tasks planned for this first spacewalk. Back inside the station, the astronauts settled in for the first Thanksgiving meal in space. For their dinner, Carr selected prime rib, Gibson went with traditional turkey, and Pogue chose chicken. Left: The S-IB first stage for Saturn-IB SA-209, the Skylab 4 rescue mission, arrives at the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Middle left: The S-IVB second stage for SA-209 inside the VAB. Middle right: Workers stack the Command and Service Module CSM-119, the Skylab 4 rescue spacecraft, atop SA-209. Right: The Skylab 4 rescue vehicle at Launch Pad 39B. The inclusion of two docking ports on the Skylab space station enabled an in-flight rescue capability for the first time in human spaceflight history. In case a failure of the docked CSM stranded the onboard three-person crew, a two-person crew would launch in a second Apollo spacecraft specially configured with two extra couches to return all five astronauts. For the first two Skylab missions, the rocket and spacecraft for the subsequent mission served as the potential rescue vehicle. The failure of two Service Module thruster groups during Skylab 3 nearly required the rescue capability. Since Skylab 4 was the final mission, NASA procured an additional Saturn IB rocket, SA-209, and Apollo spacecraft, CSM-119, for the rescue role. The spacecraft arrived at KSC on May 2, 1973, and workers placed it in storage in the MSOB. In September, the backup crew of Brand, Lenoir, and Lind completed altitude chamber tests with the CSM, although only Brand and Lenoir would fly any the rescue mission. The S-IVB second stage for Saturn IB SA-209 arrived at KSC on Jan. 12, 1972, and workers placed it in storage in the VAB. The S-IB first stage arrived on Aug. 20, 1973. Because only one Mobile Launcher included the milkstool to launch a Saturn IB, assembly of the rescue vehicle had to await its return from the launch pad the day after the Skylab 4 liftoff. Assembly of the rocket in the VAB began on Nov. 26, and workers topped the rocket off with the spacecraft four days later. The stacked vehicle rolled out to Launch Pad 39B on Dec. 3 where engineers prepared the vehicle so that after Dec. 20, it could support a launch within nine days, should the need arise. The vehicle remained at the pad until Feb. 14, 1974, six days after the Skylab 4 splashdown. Left: Gerald P. Carr monitors Edward G. Gibson during a lower body negative pressure test of his cardiovascular system. Middle: Gibson works out on the bicycle ergometer during a test of his cardiopulmonary function. Right: Gibson in the rotating chair to test his vestibular system. To add to their packed timeline, one of the station’s three control moment gyros (CMGs) failed the day after the first spacewalk. Skylab used CMGs to control the station’s attitude without expending precious attitude control gas, a non-renewable resource heavily depleted early in the station’s life. Engineers on the ground worked out a plan to control the station’s attitude using only the two working CMGs, thereby enabling completion of the remaining science, especially the Earth resource passes and comet Kohoutek observations. Pogue made the first measurements of Comet Kohoutek on Nov. 23 from inside the station using a photometric camera brought to Skylab especially to observe the comet. The astronauts practiced flying the Astronaut Maneuvering Unit, a precursor of the Manned Maneuvering Unit used during the space shuttle program to retrieve satellites, inside the large dome of the workshop. Left: Edward G. Gibson at the controls of the Apollo Telescope Mount. Right: William R. Pogue, left, and Gerald P. Carr at the control panel for the Earth Resources Experiment package inside the Multiple Docking Adapter. Left: Image of a massive solar flare taken by one of the Apollo Telescope Mount instruments. Middle: Earth Resources Experiment Package photograph of the San Francisco Bay area. Right: Crew handheld photograph of a cyclone in the South Pacific. On Dec. 13, the mission’s 28th day, program officials assessed the astronauts’ performance and the status of the station and fully expected that they could complete the nominal 56-day mission and most likely the full 84 days. Despite being overworked and often behind the timeline, Carr, Gibson, and Pogue had already accomplished 84 hours of solar observations, 12 Earth resources passes, 80 photographic and visual Earth observations, all of the scheduled medical experiments, as well as numerous other activities such as student experiments, and science demonstrations. The astronaut’s major concern centered around the timelining process that had not given them time to adjust to their new environment and did not take into account their on-orbit daily routine. Despite the crew sending taped verbal messages to the ground asking for help in fixing these issues, the problem persisted. Skylab 4 Lead Flight Director Neil B. Hutchinson later admitted that the ground team learned many lessons about timelining long duration missions during the first few weeks of Skylab 4. For more insight into the Skylab 4 mission, read Carr’s, Gibson’s, and Pogue’s oral histories with the JSC History Office. To be continued … With special thanks to Ed Hengeveld for his expert contributions on Skylab imagery. Explore More 12 min read 55 Years Ago: Eight Months Before the Moon Landing Article 18 mins ago 7 min read 65 Years Ago: NASA Formally Establishes The Space Task Group Article 1 week ago 3 min read Halloween on the International Space Station Article 2 weeks ago View the full article

NASA Explorers Season 6, Episode 2: Bennu’s Surprises

NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and Gateway Program will hold a Utilization Town Hall for the international science community at 3 p.m., Jan. 31, 2024. Members of the global science community, academia, and public are invited to participate in this virtual Webex event by registering below. The purpose of this event is to provide all interested international science communities with an opportunity to learn about anticipated Gateway capabilities and opportunities during the Artemis era. Participants will be invited to attend informal presentations from participating agencies, panel discussions and breakout sessions. Registration to the Webex is free but required for event information and communication. Date: Jan. 31, 2024 Time: 3 p.m.ET Location (WebEx): Agenda and Link to Webex Forthcoming Registration: Gateway Utilization Town Hall Deadline to Register: Open until Jan. 24, 2024, 11:59 p.m. ET. The Heliophysics Environmental and Radiation Measurement Experiment Suite (HERMES), one of three science payloads selected to fly on Gateway. The European Radiation Sensors Array (ERSA), one of three science payloads selected to fly on Gateway.View the full article

NASA offers its unique capabilities and resources for use by commercial industries, academic institutions, U.S. Government agencies and international entities. Many NASA partnerships are attributable to direct communication between the potential partner and a NASA Center and are not derived from a formal Partnership Announcement. Therefore, the Partnership Announcements listed below are not inclusive of all partnership opportunities at NASA In the majority of cases, equal access to NASA resources is provided through non-exclusive arrange­ments where NASA may enter into similar agreements for the same or similar purpose with other private or public entities. In addition to responding to Partnership Announcements, please feel free to contact us if you are interested in partnering with NASA or have a partnership idea. To learn more about NASA’s capabilities, please refer to the NASA Centers/Facilities and Capabilities. Upcoming Events NASA & Partners Small Business and HBCU Summit April 27 in New Orleans Partnership Announcements RFI – Concepts for Operation and Utilization of Launch Complex 48 (LC-48) Research Opportunities for International Space Station (ISS) Utilization NRA Partnering with NASA STEM Engagement For a complete list of the Partnership Announcements, please consult the SAM.gov page. Capabilities Sought through Crowd Sourcing and Prize Competitions https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/centennial_challenges/index.html https://www.nasa.gov/coeci/ntl View the full article

5 min read Cube Quest Concludes: Wins, Lessons Learned from Centennial Challenge Small satellites, called CubeSats, are shown secured inside NASA’s Orion stage adapter at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 5, 2021. One of these CubeSats belonged to Team Miles, one of the three finalists in the Cube Quest Centennial Challenge. The ring-shaped stage adapter was connected to the Space Launch System’s Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage, with the Orion spacecraft secured on top. The CubeSats’ mission was to detach from the stage adapter, then fly near and beyond the Moon to conduct a variety of science experiments and technology demonstrations to expand our knowledge of the lunar surface during the Artemis I mission.NASA/Cory Huston By Savannah Bullard Artemis I launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 16, 2022, penning a new era of space exploration and inching the agency closer to sending the first woman and first person of color to the lunar surface. Aboard the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket were 10 small satellites, no bigger than shoeboxes, whose goal was to detach and capably perform operations near and beyond the Moon. One of those satellites was a product of the Cube Quest Challenge, a NASA-led prize competition that asked citizen innovators to design, build, and deliver flight-qualified satellites called CubeSats that could perform its mission independently of the Artemis I mission. Cube Quest is the agency’s first in-space public prize competition. Opened in 2015, the challenge began with four ground-based tournaments, which awarded almost $500,000 in prizes. Three finalists emerged from the ground competition with a ticket to hitch a ride aboard the SLS as a secondary payload – and win the rest of the competition’s $5 million prize purse, NASA’s largest-ever prize offering to date – in 2022. Of the three finalists, Team Miles was the sole team to make the trip on Artemis I successfully. Shortly after a successful deployment in space, controllers detected downlink signals and processed them to confirm whether the CubeSat was operational. This remains the latest update for the Team Miles CubeSat. “We’re still celebrating the many wins that were borne out of Cube Quest,” said Centennial Challenges Program Manager Denise Morris. “The intent of the challenge was to reward citizen inventors who successfully advance the CubeSat technologies needed for operations on the Moon and beyond, and I believe we accomplished this.” Innovation rarely comes without error, but according to Challenge Manager Naveen Vetcha, who supports Centennial Challenges through Jacobs Space Exploration Group, even after everything goes as expected, there is no guarantee that scientists will reach their desired outcomes. “Given the magnitude of what we can and do accomplish every day at NASA, it comes with the territory that not every test, proposal, or idea will come out with 100 percent success,” Vetcha said. “We have set ambitious goals, and challenging ourselves to change what’s possible will inevitably end with examples of not meeting our stretch goals. But, with each failure comes more opportunities and lessons to carry forward. In the end, our competitors created technologies that will enable affordable deep space CubeSats, which, to me, is a big win.” Advancements in Commercial Space Research Although Team Miles may have made it furthest in the Cube Quest Challenge, having launched its CubeSat as a secondary payload aboard Artemis I, the team continues to participate in the challenge long after launch. “From Team Miles, Miles Space LLC was created and is still in business,” said Jan McKenna, Team Miles’ project manager and safety lead. “Miles Space is developing and selling the propulsion system designed for our craft to commercial aerospace companies, and we’ve expanded to be able to create hardware for communications along with our CubeSat developments.” The next steps for Miles Space LLC include seeing through their active patent applications, establishing relationships with potential clients, and continuing to hunt for a connection with their flying CubeSat. Another finalist team, Cislunar Explorers, is currently focused on using their lessons learned to benefit the global small satellite community. “I utilized the contacts I made through Cube Quest and the other Artemis Secondary Payloads for my thesis research,” said Aaron Zucherman, Cislunar Explorers’ project manager. “This has enabled me to find partnerships and consulting work with other universities and companies where I have shared my experiences learning the best ways to build interplanetary CubeSats.” Inspiring a Generation of Space Scientists This challenge featured teams from diverse educational and commercial backgrounds. Several team members credited the challenge as a catalyst in their graduate thesis or Ph.D. research, but one young innovator says Cube Quest completely redirected his entire career trajectory. Project Selene team lead, Braden Oh, competed with his peers at La Cañada High School in La Cañada, California. Oh’s team eventually caught the attention of Kerri Cahoy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the designs were similar enough that Cahoy invited the two teams to merge. The exposure gained through this partnership was a powerful inspiration for Oh and his peers. “I originally intended to apply to college as a computer science major, but my experiences in Cube Quest inspired me to study engineering instead,” Oh said. “I saw similar stories unfold for a number of my teammates; one eventually graduated from MIT and another now works for NASA.” Cube Quest is managed out of NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. The competition is a part of NASA’s Centennial Challenges, which is housed at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Centennial Challenges is a part of NASA’s Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing program in the Space Technology Mission Directorate. Learn more about Cube Quest Facebook logo @NASAPrize @NASAPrize Instagram logo @NASAPrize Jonathan Deal NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center 256-544-0034 jonathan.e.deal@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Nov 16, 2023 Related Terms Centennial ChallengesCentennial Challenges NewsMarshall Space Flight CenterPrizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing Program Explore More 4 min read NASA Telescope Data Becomes Music You Can Play Article 1 day ago 2 min read Pale Blue Dot: Visualization Challenge Article 1 day ago 4 min read Rocket Exhaust on the Moon: NASA Supercomputers Reveal Surface Effects Article 2 days ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

NASA / Kevin Davis and Chris Coleman In this photo, NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS), carrying the Orion spacecraft, lifts off the pad at Launch Complex 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:47 a.m. EST on Nov. 16, 2022. Set on a path to the Moon, this officially began the Artemis I mission. Over the course of 25.5 days, Orion performed two lunar flybys, coming within 80 miles (129 kilometers) of the lunar surface. At its farthest distance during the mission, Orion traveled nearly 270,000 miles (435,000 kilometers) from our home planet. On Dec. 11, 2022, NASA’s Orion spacecraft successfully completed a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific Ocean at 12:40 p.m. EST as the final major milestone of the Artemis I mission. Artemis I was the first in a series of increasingly complex missions that will enable human exploration at the Moon and future missions to Mars. Following the success of Artemis I, humans will fly around the Moon on Artemis II. Image Credit: NASA/Kevin Davis and Chris Coleman View the full article

3 min read NASA and UC Berkeley Host Discussion on the Future of AI at Work David Korsmeyer, acting deputy center director, speaks at the “The Future of Skills in the AI Era” symposium, Sept. 22, 2023, at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. Korsmeyer highlighted the opportunities to utilize AI during missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond.NASA/Donald B. Richey What does the rise of artificial intelligence mean for the workers of tomorrow? What could it mean for NASA? Leaders from government, academia, and commercial industries gathered earlier this fall to learn, discuss, and collaborate at the inaugural “The Future of Skills in the AI Era” symposium at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. The one-day event was organized by Ames, UC Berkeley’s Fisher Center for Business Analytics in the Haas School of Business, and the new College of Computing, Data Science, and Society. The event sought to drive dialogue around what the future of artificial intelligence could look like across different sectors and solutions for possible challenges. David Korsmeyer, Ames’ acting deputy center director, spoke to attendees about the history of AI and autonomous technology at NASA and how the agency could use it in the future. He highlighted the ways AI could support work on Earth. “AI tools can help parse through massive amounts of data and bring trends and information to light,” said Korsmeyer, who also discussed the role AI would play in future space exploration, including pre-training spacecraft to identify potential hazards and make decisions autonomously. “When planning missions to places like Mars, a spacecraft and its crew must be ‘Earth independent’ – it can’t come back, there’s no turning around.” Vincent Vanhoucke, senior director of robotics, Google DeepMind, discusses the application of AI in robotics as part of a panel discussion alongside Alexandre Bayen, associate provost for Moffett Field program development at UC Berkeley, Jeremy Frank, group lead of planning and scheduling at NASA Ames, and Terry Fong, chief roboticist at NASA Ames.NASA/Donald B. Richey The role of AI as a tool for school and business was a key theme of the symposium. Annette Bernhardt, director of the technology and work program at the UC Berkeley Labor Center, emphasized the balance between worker privacy and the benefit of highly productive AI tools. Frederick Wehrle, associate dean for academic affairs at UC Berkeley, spoke about the future of education in the era of advancing technology innovation. Alonso Vera, NASA Ames senior scientist for distributed collaborative systems, dug deeper into the relationship between humans and AI, and the unique roles each needs to play when doing complex work. “Artificial intelligence is not on the same path as human intelligence. They’re both superior in different ways,” said Vera. “If you don’t understand a human’s role with AI, you won’t be able to develop and improve the right AI technologies.” AI and autonomous design are embedded in the expanding partnership between Ames and UC Berkeley. The two organizations shared efforts aim to expand learning opportunities in aerospace research and development, including programs like NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility effort, which seeks to develop capabilities for autonomous vehicles to transport cargo and passengers. This area of research is a focus of future collaborations between the two institutions following the recent announcement of plans to develop the Berkeley Space Center at Ames. For news media: Members of the news media interested in covering this topic should reach out to the NASA Ames newsroom. About the AuthorTara Friesen Share Details Last Updated Nov 16, 2023 Related Terms Ames Research CenterGeneral Explore More 27 min read The Marshall Star for November 15, 2023 Article 20 hours ago 3 min read NASA Engineer Earns Goddard Innovation Award for Sun-studying Photon Sieves Goddard Engineer Kevin Denis receives innovation award for photon sieves. Article 23 hours ago 4 min read NASA Telescope Data Becomes Music You Can Play Article 23 hours ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Missions In order to study the Earth as a whole system and understand how it is changing, NASA develops and supports… Humans In Space Our Solar System Overview Our planetary system is located in an outer spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy. We call it the… Technology The Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) takes on the technical challenges of Earth observations by funding, developing and demonstrating cutting-edge… View the full article

2 min read Backyard Worlds Volunteers Complete Ten Million Classifications in an Epic Search for New Objects Among the Nearest Stars A few Backyard Worlds volunteers. Credit: Backyard Worlds Top (l-r): Arttu Sainio, Frank Kiwy, Jean Marc Gantier, Marianne Michaels, Les Hamlet, Melina Thévenot, 2nd row (l-r): Kevin Apps, Nikolaj Stevnbak Andersen, Rebekah Russwurm, Jörg Schümann, Guoyou Sun, Tom Bickle 3rd row (l-r): Michiharu Hyogo, Katharina Doll, Hugo Durantini-Luca, Yadukrishna Raghu, Hiro Higashimura, 4th row (l-r): Ben Pumphrey, Zbigniew Wedracki, Guillaume Colin, Anya Frazer, Dan Caselden 4th row (l-r): Kristin Grant, Maurizio Ventura, Harshdeep Singh, Celso Pessanha Machado, Austin Rothermich 6th row (l-r): Edoardo Antonini, Peter Jalowiczor, Leopold Gramaize, Hunter Brooks, William Pendrill The Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 and Backyard Worlds: Cool Neighbors projects invite members of the public to search images from NASA’s Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission to find new objects among the nearest stars. These projects share a science team and many volunteers–a total of more than 175,000 participants from more than 167 countries. Last week, the combined efforts of this giant Backyard Worlds team reached an incredible milestone: a total of 10,000,000 classifications of WISE mission image sets. Since 2017, when the first Backyard Worlds project (Planet 9) launched, these projects have discovered more than 3800 nearby objects, including 12% of all the known stellar and substellar objects out to a distance of 60 light years. Those objects include many rare brown dwarfs, balls of gas that are not massive enough to become stars. Among them are roughly 15 Y dwarfs–the rarest kind of brown dwarf (only about 50 are known). The discoveries also include an entirely new kind of object, the “extreme T subdwarfs,” relics from our Galaxy’s earliest days. This work has resulted in 20 refereed publications, with more than 40 volunteers named as co-authors on those refereed publications. It has also led to 11 research notes and 25 presentations at meetings of the American Astronomical Society. Several project volunteers have participated in observing runs at NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility and even won time on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Best of all, there’s much more data to explore, and the WISE mission continues to scan the skies! So come join the fun and make your own discoveries at backyardworlds.org and coolneighbors.org! Facebook logo @DoNASAScience @DoNASAScience Share Details Last Updated Nov 16, 2023 Related Terms Astrophysics Citizen Science View the full article

Even growing up in the heart of Washington, D.C., stargazer Oliver Ortiz felt a connection to space from a young age and always wondered what was beyond the city lights. Now a seasoned engineer with Northrop Grumman, he is contributing to a new era of space exploration with Gateway, humanity’s first space station in lunar orbit, and a critical part of NASA’s Artemis missions that will establish a long-term presence at the Moon. Oliver Ortiz poses for a portrait, Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, at the NASA Headquarters Mary W. Jackson Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls) Ortiz leads Northrop Grumman’s systems engineering team focused on the integration of Gateway’s foundational elements, HALO (Habitation and Logistics Outpost) and the Power and Propulsion Element. HALO is set to launch with the Power and Propulsion Element on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket ahead of the Artemis IV mission, providing living quarters and the space station’s power and orbital control. He embarked on his engineering journey at the University of Maryland College Park, obtaining both his undergraduate and master’s degrees in aerospace engineering. He joined Northrop Grumman as an intern in 2014 and quickly rose through the ranks, shaping his career in systems engineering while making significant contributions to various space programs, including commercial resupply missions to the International Space Station. Ortiz’s path to the world of space engineering was not clear. He first set out to be an astronomer, but changed course toward a career in engineering that now has him leading a team of engineers responsible for ensuring the systems of Gateway’s first two elements are well-integrated and ready to be the building blocks of the lunar outpost. “I’ve loved space since I was in elementary school and initially wanted to be an astronomer,” said Ortiz. “My undergrad English professor was married to an astronomer and offered to introduce me to her husband. It was in that coffee shop meet and greet that I realized I did not want to be an astronomer. I wanted to be an aerospace engineer and I’m forever grateful that he and fate pointed me in the direction of my true passion.” It was Ortiz’s involvement in designing Next Step-1, a precursor to HALO, that defined his current trajectory when Northrop Grumman was chosen as Gateway’s prime contractor responsible for designing and fabricating HALO. Since 2016, Ortiz has dedicated his career to the creation of the world’s first habitat designed to support sustainable life outside Earth orbit. “Sustainability for me means we can learn enough from living on and around the Moon that we can ultimately go to Mars,” Ortiz said. “The Moon is the steppingstone to what’s next and we have to learn how to build a safe environment in an economically efficient way.” Built with commercial and international partnerships, Gateway is a vital component of the Artemis missions, helping NASA and its partners test the technologies and capabilities for a sustained human presence in deep space. Primary article author: Tiffany Travis P View the full article

Live Video from the International Space Station (Official NASA Stream)

Live High-Definition Views from the International Space Station (Official NASA Stream)

2 min read NASA Selects Awardees for New Aviation Maintenance Challenge NASA is addressing a key challenge for sustaining the future of aviation – the skills that will be needed by aviation maintenance technicians working on new kinds of aircraft with new technologies. NASA / Lillian Gipson / Getty Images NASA has selected three university-led teams for the first round of a new technical challenge pursuing innovative aviation maintenance practices. These university teams will receive funding from NASA for a two-year research term exploring aviation maintenance challenges related to NASA’s strategic vision for aeronautics. The awardees will research new maintenance techniques and procedures, as well as how aviation maintenance technical schools could amend or expand their activities to educate students on these new practices. Their work will culminate in a final report outlining potential solutions for future aviation maintenance including new educational curricula, new standards and technologies, and other anticipated challenges associated with new types of aircraft such as drones, air taxis, or ultra-efficient airliners. In the spirit of similar NASA awards, the university teams will engage students from multiple levels and include them in meaningful work and research. Not only will graduate and undergraduate students be included, but also students at aviation maintenance technical schools. Each awardee must also collaborate with industry partners to best understand the needs of the aviation industry and maintenance ecosystem, as well as work with real-world technology. “This new award expands NASA’s university research partnerships,” said Koushik Datta, manager for the University Innovation project overseeing the awards. “Now even more students, including those from aviation maintenance schools, can participate in NASA’s aeronautics research.” The three teams and their topics are: Clemson University “Revolutionizing the Future of Aviation Maintenance: A Workforce Development Plan to Navigate the Complexities of a New Aviation Maintenance Ecosystem” University of California, Davis “Future Aviation Maintenance Technical Challenges for Electric and Hybrid-Powered Fixed Wing and Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing Aircraft” Wichita State University “Adoption of Transformative Technologies and Workforce Development for Maintenance and Repair of Advanced Air Mobility Airframe Structures” Complete details on this award and other solicitations, such as what to include in a proposal and how to submit it, can be found on the NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate solicitations page. Facebook logo @NASA@NASAaero@NASA_es @NASA@NASAaero@NASA_es Instagram logo @NASA@NASAaero@NASA_es Linkedin logo @NASA Explore More 2 min read Modeling Turbofan Engines to Understand Aircraft Noise Article 22 hours ago 4 min read NASA Completes Key Step in Aviation Safety Research Article 2 weeks ago 4 min read NASA, Partners Explore Sustainable Fuel’s Effects on Aircraft Contrails Article 2 weeks ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Missions Humans In Space Solar System Exploration Solar System Overview Our solar system has one star, eight planets, five officially recognized dwarf planets, at least 290 moons,… Explore NASA’s History Share Details Last Updated Nov 16, 2023 Editor Lillian Gipson Contact Jim Bankejim.banke@nasa.gov Related Terms AeronauticsAeronautics Research Mission DirectorateFlight InnovationTransformative Aeronautics Concepts ProgramUniversity Innovation View the full article

9 Min Read Temperatures Across Our Solar System An illustration of our solar system. Planets and other objects are not to scale. Credits: NASA What’s the weather like out there? We mean waaaay out there in our solar system – where the forecast might not be quite what you think. Let’s look at the mean temperature of the Sun, and the planets in our solar system. The mean temperature is the average temperature over the surface of the rocky planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. Dwarf planet Pluto also has a solid surface. But since the gas giants don’t have a surface, the mean is the average temperature at what would be equivalent at sea level on Earth. An illustration of planets in our solar system showing their mean temperatures. Planets and dwarf planet Pluto are not to scale. NASA Let’s start with our Sun. You already know the Sun is hot. OK, it’s extremely hot! But temperatures on the Sun also are a bit puzzling. An image of the Sun taken Oct. 30, 2023, by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. NASA/SDO The hottest part of the Sun is its core, where temperatures top 27 million°F (15 million°C). The part of the Sun we call its surface – the photosphere – is a relatively cool 10,000° F (5,500°C). In one of the Sun’s biggest mysteries, the Sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona, gets hotter the farther it stretches from the surface. The corona reaches up to 3.5 million°F (2 million°C) – much, much hotter than the photosphere. So some temperatures on the Sun are a bit upside down. How about the planets? Surely things are cooler on the planets that are farther from the Sun. Well, mostly. But then there’s Venus. As it sped away from Venus, NASA’s Mariner 10 spacecraft captured this seemingly peaceful view of a planet the size of Earth, wrapped in a dense, global cloud layer. But, contrary to its serene appearance, the clouded globe of Venus is a world of intense heat, crushing atmospheric pressure and clouds of corrosive acid. NASA/JPL-Caltech Venus is the second closest planet to the Sun after Mercury, with an average distance from the Sun of about 67 million miles (108 million kilometers). It takes sunlight about six minutes to travel to Venus. Venus also is Earth’s closest neighbor and is similar in size. It has even been called Earth’s twin. But Venus is shrouded in clouds and has a dense atmosphere that acts as a greenhouse and heats the surface to above the melting point of lead. It has a mean surface temperature of 867°F (464°C). So Venus – not Mercury – is the hottest planet in our solar system. Save that bit of info for any future trivia contests. Maybe Venus is hotter, but Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. Surely it gets hot, too? Mercury as seen from NASA’s MESSENGER, the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury. NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington Mercury is about 36 million miles (57 million kilometers) from the Sun. From this distance, it takes sunlight about three minutes to travel to Mercury. Even though it’s sitting right next to the Sun – relatively speaking – Mercury gets extremely cold at night. It has a mean surface temperature of 333°F (167°C). Daytime temperatures get much hotter than the mean, and can reach highs of 800°F (430°C). But without an atmosphere thick enough to hold in the heat at night, temperatures can dip as low as -290°F (-180°C). Ahhh, Earth. We know about the weather here, right? Even Earth has some temperatures you may not have heard about. An image of Earth from the Deep Space Climate Observatory, or DSCOVR. NASA Earth is an average of 93 million miles (150 million kilometers) from the Sun. It takes about eight minutes for light from the Sun to reach our planet. Our homeworld is a dynamic and stormy planet with everything from clear, sunny days, to brief rain showers, to tornados, to raging hurricanes, to blizzards, and dust storms. But in spite of its wide variety of storms – Earth generally has very hospitable temperatures compared to the other planets. The mean surface temperature on Earth is 59°F (15°C). But Earth days have some extreme temperatures. According to NOAA, Death Valley holds the record for the world’s highest surface air temperature ever recorded on Earth: 134°F (56.7°C) observed at Furnace Creek (Greenland Ranch), California, on July 10, 1913. Earth’s lowest recorded temperature was -128.6°F (89.2°C) at Vostok Station, Antarctica, on July 21, 1983, according to the World Meteorological Organization. NASA missions have found lots of evidence that Mars was much wetter and warmer, with a thicker atmosphere, billions of years ago. How about now? Side-by-side animated images show how a 2018 global dust storm enveloped the Red Planet. The images were taken by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Mars is an average distance of 142 million miles (228 million kilometers) from the Sun. From this distance, it takes about 13 minutes for light to travel from the Sun to Mars. The median surface temperature on Mars is -85°F (-65°C). Because the atmosphere is so thin, heat from the Sun easily escapes Mars. Temperatures on the Red Planet range from the 70s°F (20s°C) to -225°F (-153°C). Occasionally, winds on Mars are strong enough to create dust storms that cover much of the planet. After such storms, it can be months before all of the dust settles. Two NASA rovers on Mars have weather stations. You can check the daily temps at their locations: Mars Weather Report From Perseverance Curiosity Daily Weather Report The ground temperature around the Perseverance rover ranges from about -136°F to 62°F (-93°C to 17°C). The air temperature near the surface ranges from about -118°F to 8°F (-83°C to -13°C). As planets move farther away from the Sun, it really cools down fast! Since gas giants Jupiter and Saturn don’t have a solid surface, temperatures are taken from a level in the atmosphere equal in pressure to sea level on Earth. The same goes for the ice giants Uranus and Neptune. NASA’s Juno spacecraft took this image during a flyby of Jupiter. This view highlights Jupiter’s most famous weather phenomenon, the persistent storm known as the Great Red Spot. Citizen scientist Kevin M. Gill created this image using data from the spacecraft’s JunoCam imager. Enhanced image by Kevin M. Gill (CC-BY) based on images provided courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS Jupiter’s stripes and swirls are beautiful, but they are actually cold, windy clouds of ammonia and water, floating in an atmosphere of hydrogen and helium. The planet’s iconic Great Red Spot is a giant storm bigger than Earth that has raged for hundreds of years. The mean temperature on Jupiter is -166°F (-110°C). Jupiter is an average distance of 484 million miles (778 million kilometers) from the Sun. From this distance, it takes sunlight 43 minutes to travel from the Sun to Jupiter. Jupiter has the shortest day in the solar system. One day on Jupiter takes only about 10 hours (the time it takes for Jupiter to rotate or spin around once), and Jupiter makes a complete orbit around the Sun (a year in Jovian time) in about 12 Earth years (4,333 Earth days). Jupiter’s equator is tilted with respect to its orbital path around the Sun by just 3 degrees. This means the giant planet spins nearly upright and does not have seasons as extreme as other planets do. As we keep moving out into the solar system, we come to Saturn – the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in our solar system. Saturn orbits the Sun from an average distance of 886 million miles (1.4 billion kilometers). It takes sunlight 80 minutes to travel from the Sun to Saturn. This series of images from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft shows the development of the largest storm seen on Saturn since 1990. These true-color and composite near-true-color views chronicle the storm from its start in late 2010 through mid-2011, showing how the distinct head of the storm quickly grew large but eventually became engulfed by the storm’s tail. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute Like fellow gas giant Jupiter, Saturn is a massive ball made mostly of hydrogen and helium and it doesn’t have a true surface. The mean temperature is -220°F (-140°C). In addition to the bone-chilling cold, the winds in the upper atmosphere of Saturn reach 1,600 feet per second (500 meters per second) in the equatorial region. In contrast, the strongest hurricane-force winds on Earth top out at about 360 feet per second (110 meters per second). And the pressure – the same kind you feel when you dive deep underwater – is so powerful it squeezes gas into a liquid. This colorful movie made with images from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft is the highest-resolution view of the unique six-sided jet stream at Saturn’s north pole known as “the hexagon.” NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI/Hampton University Saturn’s north pole has an interesting atmospheric feature – a six-sided jet stream. This hexagon-shaped pattern was first noticed in images from the Voyager I spacecraft and was more closely observed by the Cassini spacecraft. Spanning about 20,000 miles (30,000 kilometers) across, the hexagon is a wavy jet stream of 200-mile-per-hour winds (about 322 kilometers per hour) with a massive, rotating storm at the center. There is no weather feature like it anywhere else in the solar system. Crane your neck to the side while we go check out the weather on Uranus, the sideways planet. This is an image of the planet Uranus taken by the spacecraft Voyager 2 in 1986. NASA/JPL-Caltech The seventh planet from the Sun with the third largest diameter in our solar system, Uranus is very cold and windy. It has a mean temperature of -320°F (-195°C). Uranus rotates at a nearly 90-degree angle from the plane of its orbit. This unique tilt makes Uranus appear to spin sideways, orbiting the Sun like a rolling ball. And like Saturn, Uranus has rings. The ice giant is surrounded by 13 faint rings and 27 small moons. Now we move on to the last major planet in our solar system – Neptune. What’s the weather like there? Well you would definitely need a windbreaker if you went for a visit. Dark, cold, and whipped by supersonic winds, giant Neptune is the eighth and most distant major planet orbiting our Sun. The mean temperature on Neptune is -330°F (-200°C). And not to be outdone by Jupiter and its Great Red Spot, Neptune has the Great Dark Spot – and Scooter. Yep, Scooter. Voyager 2 photographed these features on Neptune in 1989. NASA/JPL-Caltech This photograph of Neptune was created from two images taken by NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft in August 1989. It was the first and last time a spacecraft came close to Neptune. The image shows three of the features that Voyager 2 monitored. At the north (top) is the Great Dark Spot, accompanied by bright, white clouds that undergo rapid changes in appearance. To the south of the Great Dark Spot is the bright feature that Voyager scientists nicknamed “Scooter.” Still farther south is the feature called “Dark Spot 2,” which has a bright core. More than 30 times as far from the Sun as Earth, Neptune is not visible to the naked eye. In 2011, Neptune completed its first 165-year orbit of the Sun since its discovery. That wraps up forecasting for the major planets. But there is one more place we need to check out. Beyond Neptune is a small world, with a big heart – dwarf planet Pluto. New Horizons scientists use enhanced color images to detect differences in the composition and texture of Pluto’s surface. NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI With a mean surface temperature of -375°F (-225°C), Pluto is considered too cold to sustain life. Pluto’s interior is warmer, however, and some think there may be an ocean deep inside. From an average distance of 3.7 billion miles (5.9 billion kilometers) away from the Sun, it takes sunlight 5.5 hours to travel to Pluto. If you were to stand on the surface of Pluto at noon, the Sun would be 1/900 the brightness it is here on Earth. There is a moment each day near sunset here on Earth when the light is the same brightness as midday on Pluto. So the next time you’re complaining about the weather in your spot here on Earth, think about Pluto and all the worlds in between. Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

2 Min Read NSSC Small Business Program The NSSC Small Business Office is responsible for providing outreach and liaison support to industry (both large and small businesses) and other members of the private sector. These activities are accomplished through a combination of individual counseling sessions, dissemination of information on upcoming NSSC procurement opportunities, and participation in local small business outreach events. The NSSC small business specialist also serves as the primary advisor to the NSSC acquisition community on all matters related to small business. The Vision of the NSSC Small Business Office is to promote and integrate all small businesses into the competitive base of contactors that pioneer the future of space exploration, scientific discovery, and aeronautics research. The Mission of the NSSC Small Business Office is to: Advise the NSSC acquisition community on all matters related to small business Promote the development and management of NASA programs that assists all categories of small business Develop small businesses in high-tech areas that includes technology transfer and commercialization of technology Provide small business maximum practicable opportunities to participate in NSSC prime contracts and subcontracts It is important to note the NSSC small business specialist: Cannot assist contractors in the preparation of proposals Cannot in any way guarantee receipt of a contract award Serves as an advisor to the Contracting Officer who has final authority over contractual matters Is not involved in the personnel decisions of a contractor, including the hiring of new employees The Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP) website will identify the following: ​How to do Business with NASA Business Development and Technology Small Business Program How to Partner with NASA Outreach Awards and Achievement NSSC Small Business Goals Small Business Resources Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP) NASA Vendor Database Small Business Administration (SBA) Small Business Marketing Guide SBA Table of Small Business Size Standards Acquisition Forecast View the full article

3 min read NASA’s Hubble Measures the Size of the Nearest Transiting Earth-Sized Planet This is an artist’s concept of the nearby exoplanet LTT 1445Ac, which is the size of Earth. The planet orbits a red dwarf star. The star is in a triple system, with two closely orbiting red dwarfs seen at upper right. The black dot in front of the bright light-red sphere at image center is planet LTT 1445Ac transiting the face of the star. The planet has a surface temperature of roughly 500 degrees Fahrenheit. In the foreground at lower left is another planet in the system, LTT 1445Ab. The view is from 22 light-years away, looking back toward our Sun, which is the bright dot at lower right. Some of the background stars are part of the constellation Boötes. NASA, ESA, Leah Hustak (STScI) NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has measured the size of the nearest Earth-sized exoplanet that passes across the face of a neighboring star. This alignment, called a transit, opens the door to follow-on studies to see what kind of atmosphere, if any, the rocky world might have. The diminutive planet, LTT 1445Ac, was first discovered by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) in 2022. But the geometry of the planet’s orbital plane relative to its star as seen from Earth was uncertain because TESS does not have the required optical resolution. This means the detection could have been a so-called grazing transit, where a planet only skims across a small portion of the parent star’s disk. This would yield an inaccurate lower limit of the planet’s diameter. “There was a chance that this system has an unlucky geometry and if that’s the case, we wouldn’t measure the right size. But with Hubble’s capabilities we nailed its diameter,” said Emily Pass of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Hubble observations show that the planet makes a normal transit fully across the star’s disk, yielding a true size of only 1.07 times Earth’s diameter. This means the planet is a rocky world, like Earth, with approximately the same surface gravity. But at a surface temperature of roughly 500 degrees Fahrenheit, it is too hot for life as we know it. The planet orbits the star LTT 1445A, which is part of a triple system of three red dwarf stars that is 22 light-years away in the constellation Eridanus. The star has two other reported planets that are larger than LTT 1445Ac. A tight pair of two other dwarf stars, LTT 1445B and C, lies about 3 billion miles away from LTT 1445A, also resolved by Hubble. The alignment of the three stars and the edge-on orbit of the BC pair suggests that everything in the system is co-planar, including the known planets. “Transiting planets are exciting since we can characterize their atmospheres with spectroscopy, not only with Hubble but also with the James Webb Space Telescope. Our measurement is important because it tells us that this is likely a very nearby terrestrial planet. We are looking forward to follow-on observations that will allow us to better understand the diversity of planets around other stars,” said Pass. This research has been accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, in Washington, D.C. Media Contacts: Claire Andreoli NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD claire.andreoli@nasa.gov Ray Villard Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland Science Contact: Emily Pass Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, Cambridge, Massachusetts Share Details Last Updated Nov 16, 2023 Editor Andrea Gianopoulos Location Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms Astrophysics Astrophysics Division Earth-like Exoplanets Exoplanets Goddard Space Flight Center Hubble Space Telescope Missions Science & Research Science Mission Directorate Terrestrial Exoplanets TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) The Universe Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Hubble Space Telescope Exoplanets Stars Stories Our Solar System View the full article

Farther and Faster: NASA's Journey to the Moon with Artemis

NASA’s Jim Free and Cathy KoernerNASA NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced Wednesday Jim Free’s promotion to associate administrator for the agency at NASA Headquarters in Washington, effective when his predecessor Bob Cabana retires on Sunday, Dec. 31. Since September 2021, Free has served as the associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD). Nelson also announced Free’s deputy, Catherine Koerner, will succeed him as the next head of the mission directorate. “So many of us in the NASA family have worked with Jim and have been inspired by his character and intellect. Pam, Bob, and I strongly believe that his wealth of experience and expertise will bring exceptional guidance and perspective to our leadership team in his new role as associate administrator, enhancing our collective efforts toward achieving bold goals for the benefit of all humanity,” said Administrator Nelson. “Cathy’s experience as the ESDMD deputy associate administrator – including her leadership in establishing and defining future space exploration architectures while overseeing the development of our deep space transportation systems – has prepared her for this new role as associate administrator for ESDMD. Cathy’s leadership will help NASA continue to extend humanity’s reach in the cosmos. Congratulations, Jim and Cathy!” As associate administrator, Free will become NASA’s third highest-ranking executive, as well as highest-ranking civil servant. This role serves as a senior advisor to Nelson and Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy. When he assumes his role, Free also will lead the agency’s 10 center directors, and five mission directorate associate administrators at NASA Headquarters. He will act as the agency’s chief operating officer for more than 18,000 employees and an annual budget of more than $25 billion. Before his appointment to associate administrator of Exploration Systems Development in 2021, Free spent several years in various private sector roles. He left NASA in 2017 after serving as the agency’s deputy associate administrator for technical in the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. Prior to joining NASA Headquarters, he worked his way up to center director at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Ohio, where he was responsible for planning, organizing, and directing the activities required in accomplishing the missions assigned to the center.  Free has served a variety of roles at NASA centers since beginning his career in 1990 at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. A native of Northeast Ohio, Free earned his bachelor’s degree in aeronautics from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and his master’s degree in space systems engineering from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.  Free is the recipient of the Presidential Rank Award, NASA Distinguished Service Medal, NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, NASA Exceptional Service Medal, NASA Significant Achievement Medal, and numerous other awards.  In her new role as the associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, Koerner will assume responsibility for the development of NASA’s Moon to Mars architecture, defining and managing the systems development for Artemis missions, and planning for integrated deep space exploration approach. As deputy associate administrator for the mission directorate, Koerner provides leadership and management of human spaceflight development and operations related to NASA’s Moon and Mars exploration goals. She currently is responsible for establishing and defining future space exploration architectures while overseeing development of new space transportation systems and supporting capabilities that are critical for human-led deep space exploration and scientific research.  Prior to her positions at NASA Headquarters, Koerner was NASA’s Orion Program manager at NASA Johnson, where she was responsible for oversight of design, development, and testing of the Orion spacecraft. Before leading the Orion Program, Koerner served as the director of Human Health and Performance Directorate, focusing on enhancing crew health and performance and mitigating risks associated with human spaceflight. As a former NASA flight director, Koerner led teams in NASA’s mission control during space shuttle and International Space Station missions. She also previously held several leadership positions within the space station program during its assembly phase and managed NASA’s cargo resupply services contracts for it, helping foster a commercial space industry in low Earth orbit. Before Johnson, she worked at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. Koerner earned her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has received numerous awards including a Presidential Rank Award in 2019, two Outstanding Leadership Medals (2006, 2013), NASA’s Exceptional Service Medal (2007), Johnson’s Center Director Commendation (2017) and numerous Group Achievement Awards. For more about NASA’s missions, visit: https://www.nasa.gov -end- Jackie McGuinness / Cheryl Warner Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1600 jackie.mcguinness@nasa.gov / cheryl.m.warner@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Nov 15, 2023 Editor Jennifer M. Dooren Location NASA Headquarters Related Terms NASA Headquarters View the full article