NASA

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

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

The NASA C-20A (Gulfstream III), shown here in a file photo, is an aircraft that has been structurally modified and instrumented by NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif., to serve as a versatile, collaborative research platform for the Earth science community and other researchers. NASA/Jim Ross NASA invites media to view a research aircraft and interview scientists in Fairbanks, Alaska, on Thursday, Aug. 22, prior to flights of the agency’s Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE), which seeks a better understanding of the sensitivity of northern ecosystems and communities to climate change. Media also will have the opportunity to tour NASA’s C-20A, a modified Gulfstream III aircraft from the agency’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, and meet scientists and instrument team members using ABoVE’s radar instrument from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. Media are welcome to film researchers on the ground as they communicate with the airborne team. Weather permitting, the ABoVE media availability will take place from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. AKDT at the Omni Logistics aircraft hangar, 6302 Old Airport Road, Fairbanks. Media interested in participating should contact Dr. Elizabeth Hoy, senior support scientist, at elizabeth.hoy@nasa.gov prior to the event. NASA’s media accreditation policy is online. With the help of research aircraft, NASA’s Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE) has sought better understanding of the sensitivity of northern ecosystems and communities to climate change for nearly a decade. This cockpit view was captured during a 2022 ABoVE flight.NASA/Katie Jepson Video: ABoVE and How NASA Decodes Secrets of the Arctic Climate change in the Arctic and boreal regions is unfolding faster than anywhere else on Earth, resulting in reduced Arctic Sea ice, thawing of permafrost soils, decomposition of long-frozen organic matter, widespread changes to lakes, rivers, coastlines, and alterations of ecosystem structure and function. Nearly a decade of ABoVE flights has enabled accurate comparisons over time of permafrost, thermokarst, and boreal forests. The 2024 ABoVE field campaign covers Alaska and western Canada. It is coordinated through NASA’s Terrestrial Ecology Program. For more information on ABoVE, visit: https://above.nasa.gov -end- Rob Garner Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. 301-286-5687 rob.garner@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Aug 14, 2024 EditorRob GarnerContactRob Garnerrob.garner@nasa.govLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related TermsAirborne ScienceClimate ChangeEarth Explore More 3 min read NASA Aircraft Gathers 150 Hours of Data to Better Understand Earth Article 6 days ago 4 min read Tundra Vegetation to Grow Taller, Greener Through 2100, NASA Study Finds Article 1 week ago 4 min read NASA, EPA Tackle NO2 Air Pollution in Overburdened Communities NASA data about nitrogen dioxide, a harmful air pollutant, is available in EJScreen, EPA’s widely… Article 1 week ago View the full article

Credit: NASA NASA has awarded $6 million to 20 teams from emerging research institutions across the United States supporting projects that offer career development opportunities for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students. This is the third round of seed funding awarded through the agency’s MOSAICS (Mentoring and Opportunities in STEM with Academic Institutions for Community Success) program, formerly the Science Mission Directorate Bridge Program. The program seeks to expand access to NASA research opportunities in the science and engineering disciplines, as well as to NASA’s workforce. “The STEM workforce continues to grow, and today’s students, studying at a variety of higher-education institutions — community colleges, primarily undergraduate institutions, and minority-serving institutions — are the STEM workforce of tomorrow, who will work to solve some of our biggest challenges at home while answering some of our biggest questions about our universe,” said Padi Boyd, director of MOSAICS at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Exposing today’s students to the incredibly inspiring and cutting-edge discoveries made through NASA’s space science people and resources ensures that these students get the training they need to persist in STEM careers, while fostering enduring collaborations between NASA researchers and faculty at a wide range of institutions.” NASA’s Science Mission Directorate MOSAICS program funds research projects building relationships between college faculty and researchers at the agency while providing mentorship and training for students in STEM disciplines. The projects support teams at academic institutions that historically have not been part of the agency’s research enterprise — including Hispanic-serving institutions, historically Black colleges and universities, Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institutions, and primarily undergraduate institutions. The program previously awarded seed funding to 11 teams in February and 13 teams in April. This third cohort brings the total number of projects funded to 44 teams at 36 academic institutions in 21 U.S. states and territories, including Washington and Puerto Rico, in collaboration with seven NASA centers. A new opportunity to apply for seed funding is now open until March 28, 2025. The following projects were selected as the third cohort to receive seed funding: “Bridging Fundamental Ice Chemistry Studies and Ocean World Explorations” Principal investigator: Chris Arumainayagam, Wellesley College, Massachusetts NASA center: NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Southern California “Planetary Analog Field Science Experiences for Undergraduates: Advancing Fundamental Research and Testing Field Instrument Operations” Principal investigator: Alice Baldridge, Saint Mary’s College of California NASA center: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland “Building an FSU-JPL Partnership to Advance Science Productivity Through Applications of Deep Learning” Principal investigator: Sambit Bhattacharya, Fayetteville State University, North Carolina NASA center: NASA JPL “CSTAT: Establishing Center for Safe and Trustworthy Autonomous Technologies” Principal investigator: Moitrayee Chatterjee, New Jersey City University NASA center: NASA Goddard “Development of Biomechanics Simulation Tool for Muscle Mechanics in Reduced Gravity to Enhance Astronaut Mission Readiness” Principal investigator: Ji Chen, University of the District of Columbia NASA center: NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Houston “NASA Next Level” Principal investigator: Teresa Ciardi, Santa Clarita Community College District, California NASA center: NASA JPL “Controlled Assembly of Amphiphilic Janus Particles in Polymer Matrix for Novel 3D Printing Applications in Space” Principal investigator: Ubaldo Cordova-Figueroa, Recinto Universitario Mayaguez NASA center: NASA’s Glenn Research Center, Cleveland “Development of a Non-Invasive Sweat Biosensor for Traumatic Brain Injury Compatible With In-Space Manufacturing to Monitor the Health of Astronauts” Principal investigator: Lisandro Cunci, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Pedras NASA center: NASA’s Ames Research Center, Silicon Valley, California “Examining Climate Impacts of Cirrus Clouds Through Past, Present, and Future NASA Airborne Campaigns” Principal investigator: Minghui Diao, San Jose State University Research Foundation, California NASA center: NASA Ames “CSUN-JPL Collaboration to Study Ocean Fronts Using Big Data and Open Science Structures in Coastal North America” Principal investigator: Mario Giraldo, California State University, Northridge NASA center: NASA JPL “Accelerating Electric Propulsion Development for Planetary Science Missions With Optical Plasma Diagnostics” Principal investigator: Nathaniel Hicks, University of Alaska, Anchorage NASA center: NASA JPL “Advancing Students Through Research Opportunities in Los Angeles (ASTRO-LA)” Principal investigator: Margaret Lazzarini, California State University, Los Angeles NASA center: NASA JPL “Bridging Toward a More Inclusive Learning Environment Through Gamma-ray Burst Studies With Machine Learning and Citizen Science” Principal investigator: Amy Lien, University of Tampa, Florida NASA center: NASA Goddard “Hampton University STEM Experience With NASA Langley Research Center: Polarimetry for Aerosol Characterization” Principal investigator: Robert Loughman, Hampton University, Virginia NASA center: NASA’s Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia “Aerocapture Analysis and Development for Uranus and Neptune Planetary Missions” Principal investigator: Ping Lu, San Diego State University NASA center: NASA Langley “Pathways from Undergraduate Research to the Habitable Worlds Observatory” Principal investigator: Ben Ovryn, New York Institute of Technology NASA center: NASA Goddard “Point-Diffraction Interferometer for Digital Holography” Principal investigator: James Scire, New York Institute of Technology NASA center: NASA Goddard “From Sunbeams to Career Dreams: Illuminating Pathways for NMSU Students in Solar-Terrestrial Physics in Partnership With NASA GSFC” Principal investigator: Juie Shetye, New Mexico State University NASA center: NASA Goddard “CONNECT-SBG: Collaborative Nexus for Networking, Education, and Career Training in Surface Biology and Geology” Principal investigator: Gabriela Shirkey, Chapman University, California NASA center: NASA JPL “Multiplexed Phytohormone and Nitrate Sensors for Real-Time Analysis of Plant Responses to Pathogenic Stress in Spaceflight-Like Conditions” Principal investigator: Shawana Tabassum, University of Texas, Tyler NASA center: NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida Learn more about the MOSAICS program at: https://science.nasa.gov/researchers/smd-bridge-program -end- Alise Fisher Headquarters, Washington 202-358-2546 alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Aug 14, 2024 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related TermsMOSAICSScience Mission Directorate View the full article

5 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) This panorama shows the area NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover will climb in coming months to crest Jezero Crater’s rim. It is made up of 59 images taken by the rover’s Mastcam-Z on Aug. 4.NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS After 2½ years exploring Jezero Crater’s floor and river delta, the rover will ascend to an area where it will search for more discoveries that could rewrite Mars’ history. NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover will soon begin a monthslong ascent up the western rim of Jezero Crater that is likely to include some of the steepest and most challenging terrain the rover has encountered to date. Scheduled to start the week of Aug. 19, the climb will mark the kickoff of the mission’s new science campaign — its fifth since the rover landed in the crater on Feb. 18, 2021. “Perseverance has completed four science campaigns, collected 22 rock cores, and traveled over 18 unpaved miles,” said Perseverance project manager Art Thompson of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “As we start the Crater Rim Campaign, our rover is in excellent condition, and the team is raring to see what’s on the roof of this place.” Two of the priority regions the science team wants to study at the top of the crater are nicknamed “Pico Turquino” and “Witch Hazel Hill.” Imagery from NASA’s Mars orbiters indicates that Pico Turquino contains ancient fractures that may have been caused by hydrothermal activity in the distant past. One of the navigation cameras aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover captured this view looking back at the “Bright Angel” area on July 30, the 1,224th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. NASA/JPL-Caltech Orbital views of Witch Hazel show layered materials that likely date from a time when Mars had a very different climate than today. Those views have revealed light-toned bedrock similar to what was found at “Bright Angel,” the area where Perseverance recently discovered and sampled the “Cheyava Falls” rock, which exhibits chemical signatures and structures that could possibly have been formed by life billions of years ago when the area contained running water. It’s Sedimentary During the river delta exploration phase of the mission, the rover collected the only sedimentary rock ever sampled from a planet other than Earth. Sedimentary rocks are important because they form when particles of various sizes are transported by water and deposited into a standing body of water; on Earth, liquid water is one of the most important requirements for life as we know it. A study published Wednesday, Aug. 14, in AGU Advances chronicles the 10 rock cores gathered from sedimentary rocks in an ancient Martian delta, a fan-shaped collection of rocks and sediment that formed billions of years ago at the convergence of a river and a crater lake. The core samples collected at the fan front are the oldest, whereas the rocks cored at the fan top are likely the youngest, produced when flowing water deposited sediment in the western fan. “Among these rock cores are likely the oldest materials sampled from any known environment that was potentially habitable,” said Tanja Bosak, a geobiologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge and member of Perseverance’s science team. “When we bring them back to Earth, they can tell us so much about when, why, and for how long Mars contained liquid water and whether some organic, prebiotic, and potentially even biological evolution may have taken place on that planet.” This map shows the route NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover will take (in blue) as it climbs the western rim of Jezero Crater, first reaching “Dox Castle,” then investigating the “Pico Turquino” area before approaching “Witch Hazel Hill.” NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona Onward to the Crater Rim As scientifically intriguing as the samples have been so far, the mission expects many more discoveries to come. “Our samples are already an incredibly scientifically compelling collection, but the crater rim promises to provide even more samples that will have significant implications for our understanding of Martian geologic history,” said Eleni Ravanis, a University of Hawaiì at Mānoa scientist on Perseverance’s Mastcam-Z instrument team and one of the Crater Rim Campaign science leads. “This is because we expect to investigate rocks from the most ancient crust of Mars. These rocks formed from a wealth of different processes, and some represent potentially habitable ancient environments that have never been examined up close before.” Reaching the top of the crater won’t be easy. To get there, Perseverance will rely on its auto-navigation capabilities as it follows a route that rover planners designed to minimize hazards while still giving the science team plenty to investigate. Encountering slopes of up to 23 degrees on the journey (rover drivers avoid terrain that would tilt Perseverance more than 30 degrees), the rover will have gained about 1,000 feet (300 meters) in elevation by the time it summits the crater’s rim at a location the science team has dubbed “Aurora Park.” Then, perched hundreds of meters above a crater floor stretching 28 miles (45 kilometers) across, Perseverance can begin the next leg of its adventure. More Mission Information A key objective of Perseverance’s mission on Mars is astrobiology, including caching samples that may contain signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet’s geology and past climate, to help pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet and as the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith. NASA’s Mars Sample Return Program, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), is designed to send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis. The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover. For more about Perseverance: science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-2020-perseverance News Media Contacts DC Agle Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 818-393-9011 agle@jpl.nasa.gov Alise Fisher / Erin Morton NASA Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1600 alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov / erin.morton@nasa.gov 2024-107 Share Details Last Updated Aug 14, 2024 Related TermsPerseverance (Rover)Jet Propulsion LaboratoryMarsMars 2020Mars Sample Return (MSR)The Solar System Explore More 5 min read NASA Demonstrates ‘Ultra-Cool’ Quantum Sensor for First Time in Space Article 24 hours ago 20 min read The Next Full Moon is a Supermoon Blue Moon The Next Full Moon is a Supermoon, a Blue Moon; the Sturgeon Moon; the Red,… Article 2 days ago 2 min read NASA Explores Industry, Partner Interest in Using VIPER Moon Rover As part of its commitment to a robust, sustainable lunar exploration program for the benefit… Article 5 days ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

Name: Xiaoyi Li Title: Instrument Systems Engineer (ISE) of Venus Atmospheric Structure Investigation (VASI) for the Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging (DAVINCI) and Deputy ISE of Comprehensive Auroral Precipitation Experiment (CAPE) instrument for the Geospace Dynamics Constellation (GDC) mission Formal Job Classification: Instrument Systems Engineer Organization: Instrument/Payload Systems Engineering Branch, Engineering Directorate (Code 592) Xiaoyi Li is an instrument systems engineer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. “My role involves not only managing technical tasks but also blending a variety of technical skills and personalities,” she said. “Understanding of the technical connections between different components is essential to ensure the integrated systems meet requirements. In addition, helping to cultivate collaboration and synthesize diverse expertise is vital. I find the process of learning about and achieving integration of different personalities within the team particularly rewarding.”Photo Courtesy Xiaoyi Li What do you do and what is most interesting about your role here at Goddard? I have two roles. As the instrument systems engineer of VASI, I lead the technical team to develop a sensor suite for this component of NASA’s upcoming DAVINCI mission to Venus. I am also the deputy instrument systems engineer of CAPE where I assist the lead for developing the CAPE instrument for the Geospace Dynamics Constellation mission. The most intriguing aspect of my job is to collaborate with two talented and diverse technical teams, learn from team members, and come up with solutions to resolve technical challenges within budget and schedule. What is your educational background? I received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Tongji University in Shanghai, China. I furthered my education at the University of New South Wales, Australia, where I earned a master’s in mechanical engineering. After I moved to the U.S., I received a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Central Florida in Orlando. My doctorate was funded by a NASA grant to design, build and test a spaceflight cryocooler. Why did you become a mechanical engineer? I grew up in an engineering family. My mother was a chemical engineer. My father was an architect and structural engineer. I grew up watching them build large factories. While I would like to think I would have become an engineer without their influence, growing up with such incredible role models gave me access to, and an understanding of engineering disciplines that I never really considered any other profession. What brought you to Goddard? Upon completing my Ph.D. in 2005, I started out as a mission analyst for launch service programs at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In 2009, I began working as a thermal engineer for NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. In 2010, I came across a position that brought me back to my Ph.D. days and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. I joined the Cryogenics and Fluids Branch at Goddard. What did you do at Goddard before your current position? I contributed to multiple engineering and science studies, proposals, and projects as a cryogenics engineer. Notably, I served as the principal investigator for two IRAD studies. One of the studies was submitted to the Patent Office and later was granted a new patent. Additionally, I was a co-inventor for another patent. Prior to joining my current group, I held the position of instrument cryogenics lead for the Roman Space Telescope. I served as the associate branch head in my current organization before devoting full time as an instrument systems engineer. What are your main responsibilities as the instrument systems engineer for CAPE and VASI? As the deputy instrument systems engineer for CAPE, my main responsibility is to assist the lead to coordinate multiple technical teams. The main focus is to work with the mechanical, electrical, thermal, structural, and other engineers to build electron/ion analyzers. For the VASI instrument, which has a smaller team, I take a more direct role in organizing and coordinating the technical work. This position allows me to engage in hands-on engineering tasks, which is extremely gratifying being able to get “my hands dirty.” My role involves not only managing technical tasks but also blending a variety of technical skills and personalities. Understanding of the technical connections between different components is essential to ensure the integrated systems meet requirements. In addition, helping to cultivate collaboration and synthesize diverse expertise is vital. I find the process of learning about and achieving integration of different personalities within the team particularly rewarding. How do you coordinate between all the different systems and personalities? My experience includes over eight years in leadership roles, supported by extensive training and a robust technical background. This includes a one-year detail assignment in Goddard’s Science Mission Directorate. In this role, I facilitate collaboration within the engineering team, as well as between the engineers and the scientists to ensure that the instrument meets scientific objectives while adhering to well established engineering best practices and principles. Additionally, I empower our subject matter experts to pursue their innovative ideas while guiding them toward a unified direction through a shared vision. Although individual approaches may vary, we are all committed to the collective goal of a successful mission. Who were your mentors and what did they advise? I am grateful for the guidance of two mentors who have been instrumental in my development. Mr. Dave Everett, a systems engineer by trade and the current head of our branch, has been my technical mentor. He taught me, among many other things, the importance of understanding the overall system. Ms. Maria So, my leadership mentor, is a former senior executive service (SES) member at Goddard. As a fellow Chinese woman and engineer, her influence has been profound. She has guided me and acted as a sounding board for some very exciting but challenging decisions these past years. She also taught me the importance of seeing the bigger picture and the critical organizational leadership role to systems engineering, which has shaped my approach to leadership. In turn, I apply these teachings and ideas when I informally mentor the younger engineers on my team. I encourage them to tackle problems independently by providing the necessary background knowledge and allowing them the autonomy to make decisions. I guide them when needed, but I believe in balance and the importance of learning through one’s own mistakes. Li with her leadership mentor, Maria So, at a Goddard “Taste of Asia” event celebrating Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. “Her influence has been profound,” Li said. “She has guided me and acted as a sounding board for some very exciting but challenging decisions these past years. She also taught me the importance of seeing the bigger picture and the critical organizational leadership role to systems engineering, which has shaped my approach to leadership.”Photo courtesy Xiaoyi Li What is your involvement with the Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Employee Resource Group (AANHPI)? I have been actively involved with the group, and I recently served as co-chair for three years. Our group is dedicated to advocating for the wellness of the Asian American community within Goddard. Our group also addresses any concerns from the community members by reporting directly to Goddard senior management. In addition, we foster a sense of community and support among members through community events including our annual “Taste of Asia and the Pacific Islands” lunch event at Goddard. What do you do for fun? I enjoy cooking a variety of cuisines, including Chinese and Thai (which I learned in Australia), as well as classic American dishes. My favorite culinary challenge is a rib roast using suis vide method, which involves 18 hours of slow cooking before finishing it in the oven! Additionally, I enjoy playing video games with my family and friends, which is a great way to relax and connect. By Elizabeth M. Jarrell NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Conversations With Goddard is a collection of Q&A profiles highlighting the breadth and depth of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center’s talented and diverse workforce. The Conversations have been published twice a month on average since May 2011. Read past editions on Goddard’s “Our People” webpage. Share Details Last Updated Aug 14, 2024 EditorRob GarnerContactRob Garnerrob.garner@nasa.govLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related TermsPeople of GoddardDAVINCI (Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging)Geospace Dynamics Constellation (GDC)People of NASA View the full article

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is pictured docked to the International Space Station. This long-duration photograph was taken at night from the orbital complex as it soared 258 miles above western China. Credit: NASA NASA will host a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, Aug. 14, to provide an update on the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test. Mission managers continue to evaluate the Starliner spacecraft’s readiness in advance of decisional meetings no earlier than next week regarding the return of NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. Audio of the teleconference will stream live on the agency’s website at: https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv Participants include: Ken Bowersox, associate administrator, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate Joel Montalbano, deputy associate administrator, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate Russ DeLoach, chief, NASA’s Office of Safety and Mission Assurance NASA chief astronaut Joe Acaba Emily Nelson, chief flight director, NASA’s Flight Operations Directorate To ask questions during the teleconference, media must RSVP no later than two hours prior to the start of the call to Jimi Russell at: james.j.russell@nasa.gov. NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online. NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test launched on June 5 on a ULA (United Launch Alliance) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. It is an end-to-end test of the Starliner system as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Through partnership with American private industry, NASA is opening access to low Earth orbit and the space station to more people, science, and commercial opportunities. For NASA’s blog and more information about the mission, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew -end- Josh Finch / Jimi Russell Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / james.j.russell@nasa.gov Courtney Beasley / Leah Cheshier Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 courtney.m.beasley@nasa.gov / leah.d.cheshier@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Aug 13, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related TermsInternational Space Station (ISS)Commercial CrewHumans in SpaceISS ResearchJohnson Space CenterSpace Operations Mission Directorate View the full article

NASA’s Human Lander Challenge, or HuLC, is now open and accepting submissions for its second year. As NASA aims to return astronauts to the Moon through its Artemis campaign in preparation for future missions to Mars, the agency is seeking ideas from college and university students for evolved supercold, or cryogenic, propellant applications for human landing systems. As part of the 2025 HuLC competition, teams will aim to develop innovative solutions and technology developments for in-space cryogenic liquid storage and transfer systems as part of future long-duration missions beyond low Earth orbit. “The HuLC competition represents a unique opportunity for Artemis Generation engineers and scientists to contribute to groundbreaking advancements in space technology,” said Esther Lee, an aerospace engineer leading the navigation sensors technology assessment capability team at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. “NASA’s Human Lander Challenge is more than just a competition – it is a collaborative effort to bridge the gap between academic innovation and practical space technology. By involving students in the early stages of technology development, NASA aims to foster a new generation of aerospace professionals and innovators.” The Goal Through Artemis, NASAis working to send the first woman, first person of color, and first international partner astronaut to the Moon to establish long-term lunar exploration and science opportunities. Artemis astronauts will descend to the lunar surface in a commercial Human Landing System. The Human Landing System Program is managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Cryogenic, or super-chilled, propellants like liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen are integral to NASA’s future exploration and science efforts. The temperatures must stay extremely cold to maintain a liquid state. Current state-of-the-art systems can only keep these substances stable for a matter of hours, which makes long-term storage particularly problematic. For NASA’s HLS mission architecture, extending storage duration from hours to several months will help ensure mission success. “NASA’s cryogenics work for HLS focuses on several key development areas, many of which we are asking proposing teams to address,” said Juan Valenzuela, a HuLC technical advisor and aerospace engineer specializing in cryogenic fuel management at NASA Marshall. “By focusing research in these key areas, we can explore new avenues to mature advanced cryogenic fluid technologies and discover new approaches to understand and mitigate potential problems.” The Competition Interested teams from U.S.-based colleges and universities should submit a non-binding Notice of Intent (NOI) by Oct. 6, 2024, and submit a proposal package by March 3, 2025. Based on proposal package evaluations, up to 12 finalist teams will be selected to receive a $9,250 stipend to further develop and present their concepts to a panel of NASA and industry judges at the 2025 HuLC Forum in Huntsville, Alabama, near NASA Marshall, in June 2025. The top three placing teams will share a prize purse of $18,000. Teams’ potential solutions should focus on one of the following categories: On-Orbit Cryogenic Propellant Transfer, Microgravity Mass Tracking of Cryogenics, Large Surface Area Radiative Insulation, Advanced Structural Supports for Heat Reduction, Automated Cryo-Couplers for Propellant Transfer, or Low Leakage Cryogenic Components. NASA’s Human Lander Challenge is sponsored by the Human Landing System Program within the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate and managed by the National Institute of Aerospace. For more information on NASA’s 2025 Human Lander Challenge, including how to participate, visit the HuLC Website. News Media Contact Corinne Beckinger Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. 256.544.0034 corinne.m.beckinger@nasa.gov View the full article

NASA This view of the Earth’s crest over the lunar horizon was taken on July 29, 1971, during the Apollo 15 lunar landing mission. Astronauts David Scott, Alfred Worden, and James Irwin launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a Saturn V launch vehicle. Designed to explore the Moon over longer periods, greater ranges, and with more instruments for the collection of scientific data than before, Apollo 15 included the introduction of a $40 million lunar roving vehicle (LRV) that reached a top speed of 10 mph (16 kph) across the Moon’s surface. Upon landing on the Moon at the Hadley-Apennine site, Scott and Irwin conducted four spacewalks, including three excursions using the LRV, for a combined total of 19 hours. Worden remained in orbit aboard the command module Endeavour. See more photos from the Apollo 15 mission. Image credit: NASA View the full article

This photo shows the Wide Field Instrument for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope arriving at the big clean room at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. About the size of a commercial refrigerator, this instrument will help astronomers explore the universe’s evolution and the characteristics of worlds outside our solar system. Unlocking these cosmic mysteries and more will offer a better understanding of the nature of the universe and our place within it.NASA/Chris Gunn The primary instrument for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is a sophisticated camera that will survey the cosmos from the outskirts of our solar system all the way out to the edge of the observable universe. Called the Wide Field Instrument, it was recently delivered to the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The camera’s large field of view, sharp resolution, and sensitivity from visible to near-infrared wavelengths will give Roman a deep, panoramic view of the universe. Scanning much larger portions of the sky than astronomers can with NASA’s Hubble or James Webb space telescopes will open new avenues of cosmic exploration. Roman is designed to study dark energy (a mysterious cosmic pressure thought to accelerate the universe’s expansion), dark matter (invisible matter seen only via its gravitational influence), and exoplanets (worlds beyond our solar system). “This instrument will turn signals from space into a new understanding of how our universe works,” said Julie McEnery, the Roman senior project scientist at Goddard. “To achieve its main goals, the mission will precisely measure hundreds of millions of galaxies. That’s quite a dataset for all kinds of researchers to pull from, so there will be a flood of results on a vast array of science.” Technicians inspect NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope’s Wide Field Instrument upon delivery to the big clean room at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.NASA/Chris Gunn About 1,000 people contributed to the Wide Field Instrument’s development, from the initial design phase to assembling it from around a million individual components. The WFI’s design was a collaborative effort between Goddard and BAE Systems in Boulder, Colorado. Teledyne Imaging Sensors, Hawaii Aerospace Corporation, Applied Aerospace Structures Corporation, Northrop Grumman, Honeybee Robotics, CDA Intercorp, Alluxa, and JenOptik provided critical components. Those parts and many more, made by other vendors, were delivered to Goddard and BAE Systems, where they were assembled and tested prior to the instrument’s delivery to Goddard this month. “I am so happy to be delivering this amazing instrument,” said Mary Walker, Roman’s Wide Field Instrument manager at Goddard. “All the years of hard work and the team’s dedication have brought us to this exciting moment.” NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is a next-generation observatory that will survey the infrared universe from beyond the orbit of the Moon. The spacecraft’s giant camera, the Wide Field Instrument, will be fundamental to this exploration. Data it gathers will enable scientists to discover new and uniquely detailed information about planetary systems around other stars. The instrument will also map how matter is structured and distributed throughout the cosmos, which could ultimately allow scientists to discover the fate of the universe. Watch this video to see a simplified version of how the Wide Field Instrument works. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Seeing the Bigger Picture After Roman launches by May 2027, each of the Wide Field Instrument’s 300-million-pixel images will capture a patch of the sky bigger than the apparent size of a full moon. The instrument’s large field of view will enable sweeping celestial surveys, revealing billions of cosmic objects across vast stretches of time and space. Astronomers will conduct research that could take hundreds of years using other telescopes. And by observing from space, Roman’s camera will be very sensitive to infrared light –– light with longer wavelengths than our eyes can see –– from far across the cosmos. This ancient cosmic light will help scientists address some of the biggest cosmic mysteries, one of which is how the universe evolved to its present state. From the telescope, light’s path through the instrument begins by passing through one of several optical elements in a large wheel. These elements include filters, which allow specific wavelengths of light to pass through, and a grism and prism, which split light into all of its individual colors. These detailed patterns, called spectra, reveal information about the object that emitted the light. Then, the light travels on toward the camera’s set of 18 detectors, which each contain 16 million pixels. The large number of detectors and pixels gives Roman its large field of view. The instrument is designed for accurate, stable images and exquisite precision in measuring the exact amount of light in every pixel of every image, giving Roman unprecedented power to study dark energy. The detectors will be held at about minus 300 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 184 degrees Celsius) to increase sensitivity to the infrared universe. “When the light reaches the detectors, that marks the end of what may have been a 10-billion-year journey through space,” said Art Whipple, an aerospace engineer at Goddard who has contributed to the Wide Field Instrument’s design and construction for more than a decade. Once Roman begins observing, its rapid data delivery will require new analysis techniques. “If we had every astronomer on Earth working on Roman data, there still wouldn’t be nearly enough people to go through it all,” McEnery said. “We’re looking at modern techniques like machine learning and artificial intelligence to help sift through Roman’s observations and find where the most exciting things are.” Now that the Wide Field Instrument is at Goddard, it will be tested to ensure everything is operating as expected. It will be integrated onto the instrument carrier and mated to the telescope this fall, bringing scientists one step closer to making groundbreaking discoveries for decades to come. One panel on the Wide Field Instrument for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope contains hundreds of names of team members who helped design and build the instrument.BAE Systems To virtually tour an interactive version of the telescope, visit: https://roman.gsfc.nasa.gov/interactive The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is managed at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, with participation by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Caltech/IPAC in Southern California, the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, and a science team comprising scientists from various research institutions. The primary industrial partners are BAE Systems, Inc. in Boulder, Colorado; L3Harris Technologies in Rochester, New York; and Teledyne Scientific & Imaging in Thousand Oaks, California. By Ashley Balzer NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Media contact: Claire Andreoli claire.andreoli@nasa.gov NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. 301-286-1940 Explore More 3 min read NASA’s Roman Space Telescope’s ‘Eyes’ Pass First Vision Test Article 4 months ago 6 min read How NASA’s Roman Space Telescope Will Chronicle the Active Cosmos Article 9 months ago 5 min read NASA Tests Deployment of Roman Space Telescope’s ‘Visor’ Article 4 days ago Share Details Last Updated Aug 13, 2024 EditorAshley BalzerContactAshley Balzerashley.m.balzer@nasa.govLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related TermsNancy Grace Roman Space TelescopeDark EnergyDark MatterExoplanetsGoddard Space Flight CenterScience-enabling TechnologyThe Universe View the full article

3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA Life Support Technician Mathew Sechler provides support as the X-59’s ejection seat is installed into the aircraft at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works’ facilities in Palmdale, California. Completion of the seat’s installation marks an integration milestone for the aircraft as it prepares for final ground tests.Lockheed Martin The team preparing NASA’s X-59 continues through testing in preparation for the quiet supersonic aircraft to make its first flight. This includes a trio of important structural tests and critical inspections on the path to flight. The X-59 is an experimental plane that will fly faster than the speed of sound without a loud sonic boom. It will be the first of its kind to fly, with the goal of gathering sound data for NASA’s Quesst mission, which could open the door to commercial supersonic overland flight in the future. Because of its unique design, the X-59’s engineering team must do all it can to predict every aspect of it before it ever takes off, including how its fuselage, wings, and the control surfaces will behave together in flight. That means testing on the ground to give the team the data it needs to validate the models they’ve developed. “The testing not only tells us how structurally sound the aircraft is, but also what kind of forces it can take once it is in the air. WALT SILVA Senior Research Scientist at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, who serves as structures lead for the X-59. The X-59’s structural tests provide the team with valuable feedback. From 2022 to –2024 the engineers collected data on the forces that the aircraft will experience in flight and the potential effects of vibrations on the plane. “You do these tests, you get the data, and things compare well in some areas and in other areas you want to improve them,” Silva said. “So, you figure that all out and then you work towards making it better.” Lockheed Martin technicians temporarily remove the canopy from the X-59 in preparation for final installation of the ejection seat into the aircraft. Lockheed Martin Earlier this year, the X-59 underwent structural coupling tests that saw its control surfaces, including its ailerons, flaps and rudder, moved by computer. It was the last of three vital structural tests. In 2023, engineers applied “shakers” to parts of the plane to evaluate its response to vibrations, and in early 2022 they conducted a proof test to ensure the aircraft would absorb the forces it will experience during flight. This year the X-59 ejection seat was installed and passed inspection. The ejection seat is an additional safety measure that is critical for pilot safety during all aspects of flight. With structural tests and ejection seat installation complete, the aircraft will advance toward a new milestone, starting up its engines for a series of test runs on the ground. Also ahead for the X-59 is testing the airplane’s avionics and extensive wiring for potential electromagnetic interference, imitating flight conditions in a ground test environment, and finally, completing taxi tests to validate ground mobility before first flight. “First flights are always very intense,” said Natalie Spivey, aerospace engineer at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. “There’s lots of anticipation, but we’re ready to get there and see how the aircraft responds in the air. It’ll be very exciting.” Facebook logo @NASA@NASAaero@NASA_es @NASA@NASAaero@NASA_es Instagram logo @NASA@NASAaero@NASA_es Linkedin logo @NASA Explore More 2 min read Automated Technology Developed at Glenn Launches to Space Article 35 mins ago 1 min read Cleveland High School Students Land STEM Career Exploration Experience Article 35 mins ago 1 min read NASA Lands at National Cherry Festival Article 35 mins ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Missions Humans In Space Supersonic Flight Explore NASA’s History Share Details Last Updated Aug 13, 2024 EditorLillian GipsonContactKristen Hatfieldkristen.m.hatfield@nasa.gov Related TermsAeronauticsAeronautics Research Mission DirectorateAmes Research CenterArmstrong Flight Research CenterGlenn Research CenterLangley Research CenterLow Boom Flight DemonstratorQuesst (X-59)Quesst: The VehicleSupersonic Flight View the full article

2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Engineer Adam Gannon works on the development of Cognitive Engine-1 in the Cognitive Communications Lab at NASA’s Glenn Research Center.Credit: NASA Automated technology developed in Cleveland has launched to space aboard the Technology Education Satellite 11 mission. The flight test aims to confirm the precision and accuracy of this new technology developed at NASA’s Glenn Research Center. The Cognitive Communications Project was founded by NASA in 2016 to develop autonomous space communications systems for the agency. Autonomous systems use technology that can react to its environment to implement updates during a mission, without needing any human interaction. The project first collaborated with the Technology Education Satellite (TES) program at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley back in 2022 to launch the TES-13 CubeSat, which sent the first neuromorphic processor to space. A neuromorphic processor is a piece of technology built to act in ways that replicate how the human brain functions. Through TES-13, the cognitive team was able to test their advanced technology in space successfully for the first time. Researchers at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley assemble the Technology Education Satellite-11 CubeSat inside of a laboratory.Credit: NASA After the success of TES-13, the team compiled each of their unique capabilities into one end-to-end system, called Cognitive Engine 1, or CE-1. CE-1 is a space and ground software system that automates normal aspects of spacecraft communications, like service scheduling and planning reliable priority-based data transfers. Cognitive technology launched to space for the second time on July 3 on TES-11 aboard Firefly Aerospace’s Noise of Summer mission. TES-11 was one of eight small satellites launched during the mission. It was created as a part of the Technology Education Satellite program at NASA Ames, which organizes collaborative projects and missions that pair college and university students with NASA researchers to evaluate how new technologies work on small satellites, known as CubeSats. Image of various CubeSats deployed in space from the International Space Station. Credit: NASA TES-11 is testing the components of CE-1 that allow satellites to independently schedule time with ground stations and download data without human interaction. Results from the TES-11 mission will be used by the Cognitive Communications team to finalize their CE-1 design, to ensure that the technology is ready to be adopted by future NASA missions. The Cognitive Communications Project is funded by the Space Communications and Navigation program at NASA Headquarters in Washington and managed out of NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. Return to Newsletter Explore More 1 min read Cleveland High School Students Land STEM Career Exploration Experience Article 5 mins ago 1 min read NASA Lands at National Cherry Festival Article 5 mins ago 1 min read Local Creators Learn About NASA’s Iconic Logo Article 5 mins ago View the full article

1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA Glenn Research Center’s Amber Krauss talks to students about how NASA uses ground integration units to prepare for flight science operations. Credit: NASA/Jef Janis This summer, 10 Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) students landed the opportunity to participate in the NASA Glenn High School Career Exploration and Research Experience program at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. High school students were paired with a mentor in their field of study who they shadowed for eight weeks during a hands-on workplace experience exploring their interests. The students prepared presentations to highlight their experiences and discussed how the program will impact their career choices. NASA Glenn Research Center’s Henry Nahra shares details about Glenn’s ISS Payload Operations Center with Glenn Career Exploration and Research Experience program students.Credit: NASA/Jef Janis “This opportunity has substantially helped me develop my soft skills and technical skills,” said CSMD participant JayLeesa Jones. “I have come to realize that I can reach new heights as an intern, team member, and aspiring engineer!” This unique, paid STEM engagement learning experience is part of a series of NASA Glenn programs focused on attracting and retaining a diverse, skilled workforce. The Glenn Career Exploration and Research Experience program is made possible through a Space Act Agreement between NASA Glenn and Youth Opportunities Unlimited.  Return to Newsletter Explore More 2 min read Automated Technology Developed at Glenn Launches to Space Article 4 mins ago 1 min read NASA Lands at National Cherry Festival Article 5 mins ago 1 min read Local Creators Learn About NASA’s Iconic Logo Article 5 mins ago View the full article

1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) National Cherry Festival visitors line up to explore NASA Glenn’s Journey to Tomorrow traveling exhibit. Credit: NASA/Heather Brown NASA’s Glenn Research Center staff traveled across the Midwest to share the NASA mission with visitors at the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City, Michigan, June 26–29. The team participated in several activities including visiting a Pit Spitters baseball game and showcasing the Journey to Tomorrow traveling exhibit stationed in the center of the Cherry Festival. Eva the Astronaut mascot and NASA employee Tricia Mack tagged up to share information on NASA exploration with the public during the National Cherry Festival. Credit: NASA/Heather Brown Michigan native Tricia Mack, who works in NASA’s Transportation Integration Office within the International Space Station Program, joined the team. Mack taught six crews of astronauts how to perform spacewalks and served as a flight controller and director of the Human Space Flight Program in Russia for six years. During the trip to Michigan, she supported multiple engagements. Return to Newsletter Explore More 2 min read Automated Technology Developed at Glenn Launches to Space Article 4 mins ago 1 min read Cleveland High School Students Land STEM Career Exploration Experience Article 5 mins ago 1 min read Local Creators Learn About NASA’s Iconic Logo Article 5 mins ago View the full article

1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Local creators representing food, tourism, apparel, and professional sports industries tour several of NASA Glenn Research Center’s facilities. They stop to pose in the Aero-Acoustic Propulsion Laboratory, a world-class facility for conducting aero-propulsion noise reduction research. Credit: NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna NASA’s Glenn Research Center has made contributions to nearly every NASA mission since the agency’s inception. These contributions go beyond science and engineering to include designing NASA’s iconic logo. Affectionally called the “meatball,” it was created in Cleveland at the lab that would become NASA Glenn by graphic artist James Modarelli. This timeless brand symbol turned 65 last month. In honor of the occasion, NASA Glenn’s Office of Communications (OCOMM) hosted a Cleveland Creators Tour on July 10 and welcomed creators representing food, tourism, apparel, and professional sports industries to the center. During the event, they learned about NASA Glenn’s work and ways they can appropriately use NASA’s iconic logo. Like Modarelli, their creative interpretations could engage a new generation of creators, explorers, and space lovers. Local creatives learn about ways they can appropriately use NASA’s iconic logo. Credit: NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna Deputy Center Director Dawn Schaible provided a welcome and center overview, followed by NASA Merchandising and Branding Manager Aimee Crane, who explained how to work with the agency to use NASA brand symbols. Tours of several Glenn research facilities highlighted how Cleveland is improving flight and exploring space. Return to Newsletter Explore More 2 min read Automated Technology Developed at Glenn Launches to Space Article 4 mins ago 1 min read Cleveland High School Students Land STEM Career Exploration Experience Article 5 mins ago 1 min read NASA Lands at National Cherry Festival Article 5 mins ago View the full article

1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) “Mustard,” NASA Glenn Center Director Dr. Jimmy Kenyon, Eva the Astronaut mascot, and “Onion” stop for a photo after the hot dog derby at the Guardians’ game. Credit: NASA/Kristen Parker NASA Glenn Research Center’s Director Dr. Jimmy Kenyon threw out the first pitch that started the game between the Cleveland Guardians and San Francisco Giants on July 7. He was joined by Glenn’s Eva the Astronaut mascot, who had a ball hanging out with the Guardians’ Slider mascot during NASA Day at Progressive Field in Cleveland. Employees, their families, and other Guardians fans enjoyed the first pitch and having Eva represent the center. NASA Glenn’s Eva the Astronaut mascot and the Guardians’ Slider at NASA Day at Progressive Field in Cleveland. Credit: NASA/Kristen Parker Return to Newsletter Explore More 2 min read Automated Technology Developed at Glenn Launches to Space Article 4 mins ago 1 min read Cleveland High School Students Land STEM Career Exploration Experience Article 5 mins ago 1 min read NASA Lands at National Cherry Festival Article 5 mins ago View the full article

1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) A NASA logo-themed cake serves as a centerpiece for the event. Credit: NASA/Jef Janis Over 4,300 visitors joined in the fun to commemorate the 65th birthday of NASA’s iconic logo on July 15 at Great Lakes Science Center (GLSC) in downtown Cleveland. The birthday celebration featured a cake-cutting ceremony and special NASA activities throughout the day, including presentations from NASA’s Glenn Research Center photographers and videographers, a talk from a NASA librarian on the history of the logo, photo opportunities with Glenn’s Eva the Astronaut mascot, a coloring contest, a performance by the NASA Glenn Band, live science shows, and more. Three of NASA Glenn Research Center’s photographers and videographers talk about their careers and the intersection of art and science. Credit: NASA/Steven Logan   The iconic symbol, known affectionately as “the meatball,” was developed at NASA’s Lewis Research Center in Cleveland (now called NASA Glenn). Employee James Modarelli, who started his career at the center as an artist and technical illustrator, was its chief designer. Left to right: James Modarelli III, Vice President of STEM Learning at GLSC Scott Vollmer, James Modarelli IV, and NASA Glenn Deputy Center Director Dawn Schaible participate in a cake-cutting ceremony. Credit: NASA/Jef Janis NASA Glenn Deputy Center Director Dawn Schaible, GLSC Vice President of STEM Learning Scott Vollmer, and members of the Modarelli family cut the special NASA logo-themed cake. Participants explored the many activities and presentations honoring the history and significance of NASA’s logo. Return to Newsletter Explore More 2 min read Automated Technology Developed at Glenn Launches to Space Article 4 mins ago 1 min read Cleveland High School Students Land STEM Career Exploration Experience Article 5 mins ago 1 min read NASA Lands at National Cherry Festival Article 5 mins ago View the full article

1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Cast and crew members from Back to the Future: The Musical and NASA’s Glenn Research Center engineer Kyle Johnson, back row, pose with different types of tires in NASA Glenn’s Simulated Lunar Operations Laboratory. Credit: NASA/Jef Janis Cast and crew members from Back to the Future: The Musical learned how NASA is tackling challenges and preparing for future missions during a tour at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland on July 1. The tour included stops at the Icing Research Tunnel (IRT), where technicians test the effects of icing conditions on aircraft, and the Simulated Lunar Operations Lab, an indoor laboratory that mimics lunar and planetary surface operations. NASA’s Glenn Research Center Director Dr. Jimmy Kenyon, center, shares details on the Icing Research Tunnel with Back to the Future: The Musical cast and crew members while on tour. Credit: NASA/Jef Janis Center Director Dr. Jimmy Kenyon welcomed the visitors at the IRT and provided additional information about the facility. Back to the Future: The Musical was performed at KeyBank State Theatre in Cleveland from June 11 to July 7. Return to Newsletter Explore More 2 min read Automated Technology Developed at Glenn Launches to Space Article 4 mins ago 1 min read Cleveland High School Students Land STEM Career Exploration Experience Article 5 mins ago 1 min read NASA Lands at National Cherry Festival Article 5 mins ago View the full article

Learn Home New TEMPO Cosmic Data Story… Astrophysics Overview Learning Resources Science Activation Teams SME Map Opportunities More Science Stories Science Activation Highlights Citizen Science 3 min read New TEMPO Cosmic Data Story Makes Air Quality Data Publicly Available On May 30th, 2024, NASA and the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian announced the public release of “high-quality, near real-time air quality data” from NASA’s TEMPO (Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution) mission. The NASA Science Activation program’s Cosmic Data Stories team, led by Harvard University in Cambridge, MA, has since released a new “Data Story” – an interactive, digital showcase of new science imagery, including ideas for exploration and scientific highlights shared in a brief video and narrative text – that provides a quick and easy way for the public to visualize this important, large data set from TEMPO. TEMPO allows unprecedented monitoring of air quality down to neighborhood scales, with its hourly daytime scans over North America. Air pollutants like NO2, produced, for example, by the burning of fossil fuels, can trigger significant health issues, especially among people with pre-existing illnesses such as asthma. The interactive views in the TEMPO Data Story provide public access to the same authentic data that scientists use and invite the public to explore patterns in their local air quality. For example, how do NO2 emissions vary in our area throughout the day and week? What are possible sources of NO2 in our community? How does our air quality compare with that of other communities with similar population densities, or with nearby urban or rural communities? TEMPO’s hyper-localized data will allow communities to make informed decisions and take action to improve their air quality. The Cosmic Data Story team is grateful to TEMPO scientists, Xiong Liu and Caroline Nowlan, for providing the team with early access to the data and guidance on NO2 phenomena that learners can explore in the data. The TEMPO Data Story, featured on TEMPO’s webpage for the public, adds Earth science data to the portfolio of Cosmic Data Stories that is already making astrophysics data accessible to the public. TEMPO Team Atmospheric Physicist from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Caroline Nowlan, had this to say: “TEMPO produces data that are really useful for scientists, but are also important for the general public and policy makers. We are thrilled that the Cosmic Data Stories team has made a tool that allows everyone to explore TEMPO data and learn about pollution across North America and in their own communities.” The Cosmic Data Stories project is supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number 80NSSC21M0002 and is part of NASA’s Science Activation Portfolio. Learn more about how Science Activation connects NASA science experts, real content, and experiences with community leaders to do science in ways that activate minds and promote deeper understanding of our world and beyond: https://science.nasa.gov/learn A view from the TEMPO Data Story, shows TEMPO’s NO2 data overlaid on a map of North America. A large plume of NO2, caused by large wildfires, arcs from Northern California all the way to Idaho. Other “hot spots” of NO2 are seen over cities across the US, Canada, and Mexico. Users can view any available date, as well as explore some featured dates and locations that describe phenomena of interest that are visible in the data. Share Details Last Updated Aug 13, 2024 Editor NASA Science Editorial Team Related Terms Astrophysics Earth Science Science Activation Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) Explore More 3 min read Earth Educators Rendezvous with Infiniscope and Tour It Article 1 day ago 2 min read Astro Campers SCoPE Out New Worlds Article 4 days ago 2 min read Hubble Spotlights a Supernova Article 4 days ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA James Webb Space Telescope Webb is the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It studies every phase in the… Perseverance Rover This rover and its aerial sidekick were assigned to study the geology of Mars and seek signs of ancient microbial… Parker Solar Probe On a mission to “touch the Sun,” NASA’s Parker Solar Probe became the first spacecraft to fly through the corona… Juno NASA’s Juno spacecraft entered orbit around Jupiter in 2016, the first explorer to peer below the planet’s dense clouds to… View the full article

NASA’s Cold Atom Lab, shown where it’s installed aboard the International Space Station, recently demonstrated the use of a tool called an atom interferometer that can precisely measure gravity and other forces — and has many potential applications in space.NASA/JPL-Caltech Future space missions could use quantum technology to track water on Earth, explore the composition of moons and other planets, or probe mysterious cosmic phenomena. NASA’s Cold Atom Lab, a first-of-its-kind facility aboard the International Space Station, has taken another step toward revolutionizing how quantum science can be used in space. Members of the science team measured subtle vibrations of the space station with one of the lab’s onboard tools — the first time ultra-cold atoms have been employed to detect changes in the surrounding environment in space. The study, which appeared in Nature Communications on Aug. 13, also reports the longest demonstration of the wave-like nature of atoms in freefall in space. The Cold Atom Lab science team made their measurements with a quantum tool called an atom interferometer, which can precisely measure gravity, magnetic fields, and other forces. Scientists and engineers on Earth use this tool to study the fundamental nature of gravity and advance technologies that aid aircraft and ship navigation. (Cell phones, transistors, and GPS are just a few other major technologies based on quantum science but do not involve atom interferometry.) Physicists have been eager to apply atom interferometry in space because the microgravity there allows longer measurement times and greater instrument sensitivity, but the exquisitely sensitive equipment has been considered too fragile to function for extended periods without hands-on assistance. The Cold Atom Lab, which is operated remotely from Earth, has now shown it’s possible. “Reaching this milestone was incredibly challenging, and our success was not always a given,” said Jason Williams, the Cold Atom Lab project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “It took dedication and a sense of adventure by the team to make this happen.” Power of Precision Space-based sensors that can measure gravity with high precision have a wide range of potential applications. For instance, they could reveal the composition of planets and moons in our solar system, because different materials have different densities that create subtle variations in gravity. This type of measurement is already being performed by the U.S.-German collaboration GRACE-FO (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-on), which detects slight changes in gravity to track the movement of water and ice on Earth. An atom interferometer could provide additional precision and stability, revealing more detail about surface mass changes. Precise measurements of gravity could also offer insights into the nature of dark matter and dark energy, two major cosmological mysteries. Dark matter is an invisible substance five times more common in the universe than the “regular” matter that composes planets, stars, and everything else we can see. Dark energy is the name given to the unknown driver of the universe’s accelerating expansion. “Atom interferometry could also be used to test Einstein’s theory of general relativity in new ways,” said University of Virginia professor Cass Sackett, a Cold Atom Lab principal investigator and co-author of the new study. “This is the basic theory explaining the large-scale structure of our universe, and we know that there are aspects of the theory that we don’t understand correctly. This technology may help us fill in those gaps and give us a more complete picture of the reality we inhabit.” A Portable Lab NASA’s Cold Atom Lab studies the quantum nature of atoms, the building blocks of our universe, in a place that is out of this world – the International Space Station. This animated explainer explores what quantum science is and why NASA wants to do it in space. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech About the size of a minifridge, the Cold Atom Lab launched to the space station in 2018 with the goal of advancing quantum science by putting a long-term facility in the microgravity environment of low Earth orbit. The lab cools atoms to almost absolute zero, or minus 459 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 273 degrees Celsius). At this temperature, some atoms can form a Bose-Einstein condensate, a state of matter in which all atoms essentially share the same quantum identity. As a result, some of the atoms’ typically microscopic quantum properties become macroscopic, making them easier to study. Quantum properties include sometimes acting like solid particles and sometimes like waves. Scientists don’t know how these building blocks of all matter can transition between such different physical behaviors, but they’re using quantum technology like what’s available on the Cold Atom Lab to seek answers. In microgravity, Bose-Einstein condensates can reach colder temperatures and exist for longer, giving scientists more opportunities to study them. The atom interferometer is among several tools in the facility enabling precision measurements by harnessing the quantum nature of atoms. Due to its wave-like behavior, a single atom can simultaneously travel two physically separate paths. If gravity or other forces are acting on those waves, scientists can measure that influence by observing how the waves recombine and interact. “I expect that space-based atom interferometry will lead to exciting new discoveries and fantastic quantum technologies impacting everyday life, and will transport us into a quantum future,” said Nick Bigelow, a professor at University of Rochester in New York and Cold Atom Lab principal investigator for a consortium of U.S. and German scientists who co-authored the study. More About the Mission A division of Caltech in Pasadena, JPL designed and built Cold Atom Lab, which is sponsored by the Biological and Physical Sciences (BPS) division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. BPS pioneers scientific discovery and enables exploration by using space environments to conduct investigations that are not possible on Earth. Studying biological and physical phenomena under extreme conditions allows researchers to advance the fundamental scientific knowledge required to go farther and stay longer in space, while also benefitting life on Earth.  To learn more about Cold Atom Lab, visit: https://coldatomlab.jpl.nasa.gov/ News Media Contact Calla Cofield Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 626-808-2469 calla.e.cofield@jpl.nasa.gov 2024-106 Share Details Last Updated Aug 13, 2024 Related TermsCold Atom Laboratory (CAL)Biological & Physical SciencesInternational Space Station (ISS)Jet Propulsion LaboratoryScience & Research Explore More 3 min read Station Science Top News: August 9, 2024 Article 21 hours ago 3 min read Earth Educators Rendezvous with Infiniscope and Tour It At the Earth Educator’s Rendezvous, held July 15-19, 2024, NASA’s Infiniscope project from Arizona State… Article 1 day ago 2 min read Astro Campers SCoPE Out New Worlds Teachers at Smokey Mountain Elementary School have collaborated with the NASA Science Activation (SciAct) program’s… Article 4 days ago View the full article

Researchers tested a treatment on cartilage and bone tissue cultures subjected to compressive impact injury and found differences in the metabolites and proteins released by cells in space and on Earth along with partial improvement in both gravity conditions. The findings suggest the treatment is safe and could help ensure the health of crew members on future missions and patients on Earth. Astronauts have high rates of musculoskeletal injuries, and post-traumatic osteoarthritis from joint injuries is a major contributor to disability across all ages on the ground. MVP Cell-06 used cultures of human knee cartilage and bone cells from two donors to study how spaceflight affects musculoskeletal disease. Results could lead to ways to prevent and treat bone and cartilage degradation in astronauts and people on Earth following joint injury. Expedition 60 Flight Engineer Drew Morgan works with the Multi-use Variable-g Platform (MVP) Experiment Module used in the MVP Cell-02 investigation. NASA/Christina Koch NASA and Roscosmos researchers examined brazing of an aluminum-silicon material and found that gravity had a moderate effect with small quantities of the alloy and a more significant effect with larger quantities. The finding could inform techniques for manufacturing on future space missions. SUBSA-BRAINS examined capillary flow, interface reactions, and bubble formation during solidification of brazing alloys in microgravity. Brazing, which bonds similar and dissimilar materials at temperatures above 450°C, is a potential tool for construction, manufacture, and repair of space vehicles and habitats. Roscosmos cosmonaut and Expedition 65 Flight Engineer Oleg Novitskiy swaps hardware inside the U.S. Destiny laboratory module’s Microgravity Science Glovebox for a physics investigation.NASA/Shane Kimbrough Analysis of the pain experience of two Axiom-1 astronauts suggests that spaceflight may affect sensory perception and regulation, a finding similar to previous studies. Researchers recommend developing measurement tools with greater sensitivity and questions that capture previous spaceflight experience and astronaut status (commercial or professional) to assess pain experiences. Astronauts frequently report pain during missions and after returning to Earth, particularly in the back and neck. Microgravity Pain Sensation (Ax-1) assessed how short-term exposure to microgravity affects pain sensation, biomechanics, bone physiology, and the musculoskeletal system. Results suggested that spaceflight may affect various aspects of sensory perception and regulation, and further investigation is needed to support development of countermeasures and treatments. The 11-person crew aboard the International Space Station comprises of (clockwise from bottom right) Expedition 67 Commander Tom Marshburn with Flight Engineers Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveev, Sergey Korsakov, Raja Chari, Kayla Barron, and Matthias Maurer; and Axiom Mission 1 astronauts (center row from left) Mark Pathy, Eytan Stibbe, Larry Conner, and Michael Lopez-Alegria. NASA The 13th annual International Space Station Research and Development Conference (ISSRDC), sponsored by the ISS National Lab, brought together more than 900 leaders in academia, industry, and government to discuss the space station’s role in future research and development. The event was held in Boston July 30 to Aug 1. Speakers included White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Assistant Director for Space Policy Jinni Meehan, NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free, NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen, and representatives from the International Space Station international and commercial partners. View the full article

In this image of the Serpens Nebula from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers found a grouping of aligned protostellar outflows within one small region (the top left corner). Serpens is a reflection nebula, which means it’s a cloud of gas and dust that does not create its own light, but instead shines by reflecting the light from stars close to or within the nebula.NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Klaus Pontoppidan (NASA-JPL), Joel Green (STScI) NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured a phenomenon for the very first time. The bright red streaks at top left of this June 20, 2024, image are aligned protostar outflows – jets of gas from newborn stars that all slant in the same direction. This image supports astronomers’ assumption that as clouds collapse to form stars, the stars will tend to spin in the same direction. Previously, the objects appeared as blobs or were invisible in optical wavelengths. Webb’s sensitive infrared vision was able to pierce through the thick dust, resolving the stars and their outflows. Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Klaus Pontoppidan (NASA-JPL), Joel Green (STScI) View the full article

Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Curiosity Raw Images Images Videos Audio More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions The Solar System The Sun Mercury Venus Earth The Moon Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto & Dwarf Planets Asteroids, Comets & Meteors The Kuiper Belt The Oort Cloud 2 min read Sols 4270-4272: Sample for SAM An image of “Discovery Pinnacle,” a target of the NASA Mars rover Curiosity’s APXS (Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer), taken from about 5 centimeters (about 2 inches) above. Curiosity used the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), located on the turret at the end of the rover’s robotic arm, to capture two to eight images of the target, then used an onboard focusing system to merge those into one image, on sol 4253 — Martian day 4,253 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — July 24, 2024, at 03:10:00 (UTC). NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Earth planning date: Friday, Aug. 9, 2024 The focus for this three-sol weekend plan is delivering a portion of the Kings Canyon drill sample to SAM for Evolved Gas Analysis (EGA), following on from a successful CheMin analysis. The CheMin and SAM analyses, coupled with APXS and ChemCam analyses, will tell us about the composition and mineralogy of this block within the Gediz Vallis channel deposit. We can compare it to the composition and mineralogy of the intriguing Mammoth Lakes drilled sample at Whitebark Pass, which was near the elemental sulfur blocks, and also within the Gediz Vallis deposit, as well as to the bedrock outside the channel and other previous drilled samples. This will help inform the source(s) of the blocks, which could be derived from higher up on Mount Sharp. To further characterize the Kings Canyon block and immediate vicinity, we will acquire three ChemCam LIBS analyses. The “Gabbot Pass” target is on the same light-toned rock as the drill target. “New Army Pass” will investigate the edge of the drilled block, which exhibits textural and tonal similarities to an interesting previous APXS target, “Discovery Pinnacle.” Finally, “Bridalveil Falls” is on a freshly broken, bright rock on the edge of the drilled block. Mastcam will provide documentation imaging of the three targets. Looking further afield, we continue to image the stunning scenery surrounding us from this vantage point. We planned a ChemCam long distance remote imager (LD RMI) mosaic of the Gediz Vallis channel form to the south, and an extension of a Mastcam mosaic of the Milestone Peak area of the deposit. These mosaics will help us to further characterize the Gediz Vallis deposits, and hopefully the processes responsible for their emplacement (e.g., debris flow or rock avalanche). We will also acquire a Mastcam mosaic of the Texoli butte, which represents a cross section of the rock layers that we will eventually drive over when we leave the Gediz Vallis deposit and continue climbing Mount Sharp. It isn’t just about the rocks though! The environmental and atmospheric science team also have several observations in this plan to monitor changes in the atmosphere. These include Mastcam tau and Navcam line of sight observations, as well as Navcam zenith, suprahorizon and dust devil movies. Standard DAN, RAD and REMS activities round out the plan. Written by Lucy Thompson, Planetary Geologist at University of New Brunswick Share Details Last Updated Aug 12, 2024 Related Terms Blogs Explore More 2 min read Sols 4268-4269: Admiring Kings Canyon Article 8 hours ago 3 min read Sols 4266-4267: Happy ‘Landiversary,’ Curiosity Article 5 days ago 3 min read Sols 4263-4265: A Royal Birthday Celebration at Kings Canyon Article 1 week ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It’s the only planet we know of inhabited… All Mars Resources Explore this collection of Mars images, videos, resources, PDFs, and toolkits. Discover valuable content designed to inform, educate, and inspire,… Rover Basics Each robotic explorer sent to the Red Planet has its own unique capabilities driven by science. Many attributes of a… Mars Exploration: Science Goals The key to understanding the past, present or future potential for life on Mars can be found in NASA’s four… View the full article

The Progress 86 cargo spacecraft approaches the International Space Station’s Poisk module on Dec. 3, 2023, ahead of its docking.Credit: NASA NASA will provide live launch and docking coverage of a Roscosmos cargo spacecraft delivering nearly three tons of food, fuel, and supplies to the Expedition 71 crew aboard the International Space Station. The unpiloted Progress 89 spacecraft is scheduled to launch at 11:20 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, Aug. 14 (8:20 a.m. Baikonur time, Thursday, Aug. 15), on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Live launch coverage will begin at 11 p.m. on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA+ through a variety of platforms including social media. After a two-day in-orbit journey to the station, the spacecraft will autonomously dock to the aft port of the Zvezda service module at 1:56 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 17. NASA’s coverage of rendezvous and docking will begin at 1 a.m., on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. The spacecraft will remain docked at the station for approximately six months before departing for a re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere to dispose of trash loaded by the crew. The International Space Station is a convergence of science, technology, and human innovation that enables research not possible on Earth. For more than 23 years, NASA has supported a continuous U.S. human presence aboard the orbiting laboratory, through which astronauts have learned to live and work in space for extended periods of time. The space station is a springboard for developing a low Earth economy and NASA’s next great leaps in exploration, including missions to the Moon under Artemis and, ultimately, human exploration of Mars. Get breaking news, images and features from the space station on Instagram, Facebook, and X. For more information about the International Space Station, its research, and crew, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/station -end- Jimi Russell / Julian Coltre Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 james.j.russell@nasa.gov / julian.n.coltre@nasa.gov Sandra Jones Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Aug 12, 2024 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related TermsInternational Space Station (ISS)Expedition 71 View the full article

Skywatching Skywatching Home Eclipses What’s Up Explore the Night Sky Night Sky Network More Tips and Guides FAQ 20 Min Read The Next Full Moon is a Supermoon Blue Moon The full moon sets over Homestead National Historic Park in Nebraska. Credits: National Park Service/Homestead The Next Full Moon is a Supermoon, a Blue Moon; the Sturgeon Moon; the Red, Corn, Green Corn, Barley, Herb, Grain, or Dog Moon; Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi Purnima; and Tu B’Av. The full Moon will be Monday afternoon, August 19, 2024, at 2:26 PM EDT. This will be Tuesday morning from Nepal Standard Time eastward across the rest of Asia and Australia to the International Date Line. The Moon will appear full for three days, from Sunday morning through early Wednesday morning. This will be a supermoon. The term “supermoon” was coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979 as either a new or full Moon that occurs when the Moon is within 90% of its closest approach to Earth. Since we don’t really see new Moons, what has caught the public’s attention are full supermoons as they are the biggest and brightest full Moons of the year. This will be the first of four consecutive supermoons this year (with the full Moons in September and October virtually tied for the closest of the year). Although it will not look blue, as the third full Moon in a season with four full Moons, this will be a Blue Moon. The first recorded use of “Blue Moon” in English dates from 1528. Speculations on the origin of the term include an old English phrase that means “betrayer Moon” (because it led to mistakes in setting the dates for Lent and Easter). Or it may be a comparison to rare events such as when dust in the atmosphere makes the Moon actually appear blue. Since the 1940’s the term “Blue Moon” has also been used for the second full Moon in a month that has two full Moons. Although it will not look blue, as the third full Moon in a season with four full Moons, this will be a Blue Moon. The first recorded use of “Blue Moon” in English dates from 1528. Gordon Johnston Retired NASA Program Executive The Maine Farmer’s Almanac began publishing “Indian” names for full Moons in the 1930s and these names have become widely known and used. According to this almanac, as the full Moon in August the Algonquin tribes in what is now the northeastern USA called this the Sturgeon Moon after the large fish that were more easily caught this time of year in the Great Lakes and other major bodies of water. Other names reported for this Moon include the Red Moon, the Corn or Green Corn Moon, the Barley Moon, the Herb Moon, the Grain Moon, and the Dog Moon. A quick note for my Southern Hemisphere readers (as I’ve heard from some recently). Many lunar names and traditions are based on the Northern Hemisphere seasons (I’m interested in learning more about southern traditions). I’ve noticed some publications shifting names like the Sturgeon Moon by 6 months (e.g., using the northern February names for August). Also, for the detailed descriptions below, instead of looking south towards the Moon and planets you will be looking north, so what I describe will be upside down. Finally, the seasons are reversed, so morning and evening twilight times, etc., will be very different. This full Moon corresponds with the Hindu festival Raksha Bandhan, also called Rakhi Purnima, celebrating the bond between brothers and sisters. One of the traditions is for sisters of all ages to tie a rakhi (a cotton bracelet) around their brother’s wrist, receiving a gift from the brother in return as a sign of the continuing bond between them. The term “Raksha Bandhan” translates as “the bond of protection, obligation, or care.” In many traditional Moon-based calendars the full Moons fall on or near the middle of each month. This full Moon is near the middle of the seventh month of the Chinese year of the Dragon, Safar in the Islamic calendar, and Av in the Hebrew calendar. Av corresponds with Tu B’Av, a holiday in modern Israel similar to Valentine’s Day. For Science Fiction fans, a note on the author Theodore Sturgeon (1918-1985) in honor of the Sturgeon Moon. Theodore Sturgeon wrote mostly science fiction but some horror and mystery stories. For Star Trek fans, his scripts introduced important concepts although only “Shore Leave” and “Amok Time” were produced. He introduced “pon far,” the Vulcan hand symbol, “live long and prosper,” and the “Prime Directive” (in a script that was not produced but that influenced later scripts). As usual, the wearing of suitably celebratory celestial attire is encouraged in honor of the full Moon. In addition, enjoy the super blue Moon, keep in touch with your siblings, and consider reading some Theodore Sturgeon. As for other celestial events between now and the full Moon after next (with specific times and angles based on the location of NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC): As Northern Hemisphere summer nears its end the daily periods of sunlight continue shortening, changing at their fastest around the equinox on September 22. On Monday, August 19, (the day of the full Moon), morning twilight will begin at 5:24 AM, sunrise will be at 6:26 AM, solar noon at 1:11 PM when the Sun will reach its maximum altitude of 63.6 degrees, sunset will be at 7:57 PM, and evening twilight will end at 8:58 PM. By Tuesday, September 17, (the day of the full Moon after next), morning twilight will begin at 5:54 AM, sunrise will be at 6:52 AM, solar noon at 1:02 PM when the Sun will reach its maximum altitude of 53 degrees, sunset will be at 7:12 PM, and evening twilight will end at 8:10 PM. This should be the start of a good season for Saturn viewing, especially through a backyard telescope. Saturn will be at its closest and brightest the night of September 7. It will be shifting west each evening, making it higher in the sky and friendlier for evening viewing (particularly for children with earlier bedtimes). Through a telescope you should be able to see Saturn’s bright moon Titan and its rings. The rings are appearing thinner and will be edge-on to the Earth by early 2025. We won’t get the “classic” view of Saturn with its rings until 2026. Meteor Showers Two minor meteor showers are predicted to peak during this lunar cycle, both visible from the Northern Hemisphere. These are minor compared to the Perseids (which peak at 100 meteors per hour the morning of August 12). The Aurigids will peak at 10 meteors per hour the morning of August 31 and the September Epsilon Perseids at 5 meteors per hour the morning of September 9. These will be difficult to see from our light-polluted urban areas (although the Aurigids tend to be brighter meteors). If you are in a dark area with clear skies during the early mornings around these peaks, watch out for a few meteors. The best conditions for viewing these meteors would be if the sky is clear with no clouds or high hazes, you go to a place far from any light sources or urban light pollution, and you have a clear view of a wide expanse of the sky. Give your eyes time to adapt to the dark. Your color vision near the center of your field of view will adapt in about 10 minutes. Your more sensitive black and white vision will improve for an hour or more (improving most in the first 35 to 45 minutes). Since some meteors are faint, you will tend to see more meteors from the “corner of your eye.” Even a short exposure to light (from passing car headlights, etc.) will start the adaptation over again (so no turning on a light or your cell phone to check what time it is). Evening Sky Highlights On the evening of Monday, August 19 (the evening of the full Moon), as twilight ends (at 8:58 PM), the rising Moon will be 7 degrees above the east-southeastern horizon. The only visible planet will be Saturn at 1.5 degrees above the eastern horizon. Bright Venus will set 4 minutes before twilight ends. Before it sets it will be bright enough to see in the glow of dusk on the western horizon. The bright star closest to overhead will be Vega, the brightest star in the constellation Lyra the lyre, at 80 degrees above the eastern horizon. Vega is part of the Summer Triangle along with Deneb and Altair. It is the 5th brightest star in our night sky, about 25 light-years from Earth, has twice the mass of our Sun, and shines 40 times brighter than our Sun. As this lunar cycle progresses, Saturn and the background of stars will appear to shift westward each evening (as the Earth moves around the Sun). The full Moon will pass near Saturn on August 20. Bright Venus will be moving away from the Sun and after August 28 will appear above the horizon when evening twilight ends. The waxing Moon will pass by Venus on September 4 (setting before evening twilight ends), Spica on September 6, Antares on September 9 and 10, and Saturn on September 16. By the evening of Tuesday, September 17 (the evening of the full Moon after next), as twilight ends (at 8:10 PM), the rising Moon will be 11 degrees above the east-southeastern horizon with Saturn to the upper right at 14 degrees above the horizon. Later in the evening the partial shadow of the Earth will cover a small upper part of the Moon. Bright Venus will be 2 degrees above the west-southwestern horizon with the star Spica on the horizon to the lower left. The bright object appearing closest to overhead will still be Vega at 87 degrees above the western horizon. Morning Sky Highlights On the morning of Monday, August 19 (the morning of the full Moon), as twilight begins (at 5:24 AM), the setting Moon will be 5 degrees above the southwestern horizon. The brightest planet in the sky will be Jupiter at 49 degrees above the eastern horizon. Near Jupiter will be Mars at 47 degrees above the horizon. Saturn will be 29 degrees above the southwestern horizon. The bright star appearing closest to overhead will be Capella, the brightest star in the constellation Auriga the charioteer, at 55 degrees above the east-northeastern horizon. Although we see Capella as a single star (the 6th brightest in our night sky), it is actually four stars (two pairs of stars orbiting each other). Capella is about 43 lightyears from us. As this lunar cycle progresses, Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, and the background of stars will appear to shift westward each evening, with Mars moving more slowly, shifting away from Jupiter. Between August 28 and September 17 Mercury will join these planets, rising on the east-northeastern horizon. Mercury will reach its highest (as twilight begins) on September 6 and pass by the bright star Regulus on September 9. The waning Moon will pass by Saturn on August 21, the Pleiades star cluster on August 26, Jupiter on August 27 (forming a triangle with Mars), Mars on August 28, Pollux on August 30, Mercury on September 1, and the waxing full Moon will pass near Saturn on September 17. By the morning of Wednesday, September 18 (the morning of the night of the full Moon after next), as twilight begins (at 5:55 AM), the setting full Moon will be 15 degrees above the west-southwestern horizon. The brightest planet in the sky will be Jupiter at 71 degrees above the south-south eastern horizon. Near Jupiter will be Mars at 61 degrees above the east-southeastern horizon. Saturn will be below the Moon at 1 degree above the western horizon. The bright star appearing closest to overhead will still be Capella at 80 degrees above the northeastern horizon. Detailed Daily Guide Here for your reference is a day-by-day listing of celestial events between now and the full Moon on September 17, 2024. The times and angles are based on the location of NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC, and some of these details may differ for where you are (I use parentheses to indicate times specific to the DC area). If your latitude is significantly different than 39 degrees north (and especially for my Southern Hemisphere readers), I recommend using an astronomy app or a star-watching guide from a local observatory, news outlet, or astronomy club. For the Northern Hemisphere, this should be a good year for the annual Perseids (007 PER) meteor shower, which peaked the morning of Monday, August 12. Moonset will be a little before midnight on August 11 and the radiant will rise higher in the north-northern sky until the sky shows the first signs of dawn (before morning twilight begins at 5:16 AM). The peak is broad, and in past years high activity has been reported well after the peak, so keep an eye on the sky from moonset to the first hints of dawn over the next few mornings. See the meteor shower summary near the beginning of this posting for general information on viewing meteors. Monday morning, August 12, the Moon will reach its first quarter at 11:19 AM EDT (when we can’t see it). Tuesday night, August 13, the bright star Antares will be near the waxing gibbous Moon. Antares will be 2.5 degrees to the upper left as evening twilight ends (at 9:08 PM EDT). By moonset on the southwestern horizon (Wednesday morning at 12:30 AM) Antares will be 1 degree above the Moon. Viewers in the southern part of South America and the Antarctic Peninsula will see the Moon pass in front of Antares. See http://lunar-occultations.com/iota/bstar/0814zc2349.htm for a map and information on areas that can see this occultation. Throughout this lunar cycle Mars will drift towards bright Jupiter. They will be at their closest on Wednesday morning, August 14, just a third of a degree apart, which should be a good show! Jupiter will rise early in the morning (at 1:18 AM EDT) on the east-northeastern horizon below Mars. They will be 45 degrees above the eastern horizon as morning twilight begins 4 hours later (at 5:18 AM). Friday evening, August 16, will be the first evening that Saturn will be above the eastern horizon as evening twilight ends (at 9:03 PM EDT). Sunday evening, August 18, Mercury will be passing between the Earth and the Sun as seen from the Earth, called inferior conjunction. Mercury will be shifting from the evening sky to the morning sky and will begin emerging from the glow of dawn on the east-northeastern horizon at the end of August. As mentioned above, the full Moon will be Monday afternoon, August 19, at 2:26 PM EDT. This will be Tuesday morning from Nepal Standard Time eastward across the rest of Asia and Australia to the International Date Line. The Moon will appear full for about three days around this time, from Sunday morning through early Wednesday morning. As the third full Moon in a season with four full Moons, this will be a Blue Moon (by the older, more traditional definition). It will also be a supermoon. Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, August 20 to 21, Saturn will be very close to the full Moon. As evening twilight ends (at 8:57 PM EDT) they will be 2 degrees above the eastern horizon with Saturn 1 degree to the upper left. They will be at their closest about an hour later. The Moon will reach its highest in the sky Wednesday morning (at 2:32 AM) with Saturn 2 degrees to the right. When morning twilight begins (at 5:26 AM) Saturn will be almost 4 degrees to the lower right of the Moon. See http://lunar-occultations.com/iota/planets/0821saturn.htm for a map and information on the areas that will actually see the Moon pass in front of Saturn. Wednesday morning, August 21, at 1:02 AM EDT, the Moon will be at perigee, its closest to the Earth for this orbit. Sunday night into Monday morning, August 25 to 26, the Pleiades star cluster will appear above the waning half-moon. When the Moon rises on the east-northeastern horizon (at 11:12 PM EDT) the Pleiades will be just 1 degree above the Moon. The Pleiades will be 4 degrees to the upper right as morning twilight begins (at 5:31 AM). Monday morning, August 26, the waning Moon will appear half-full as it reaches its last quarter at 5:26 AM EDT. Tuesday morning, August 27, bright Jupiter will appear below the waning crescent Moon. As Jupiter rises on the east-northeastern horizon (at 12:34 AM EDT) it will be 6 degrees below the Moon. By the time morning twilight begins (at 5:32 AM) Jupiter will be 5.5 degrees to the lower right of the Moon. Wednesday morning, August 28, Mars will appear to the right of the waning crescent Moon. As Mars rises on the east-northeastern horizon (at 12:56 AM EDT) it will be 6 degrees to the right. By the time morning twilight begins (at 5:34 AM) Mars will be 8 degrees to the upper right. Wednesday morning will also be the first morning that Mercury will be above the east-northeastern horizon as morning twilight begins. Thursday evening, August 29, will be the first evening bright Venus will be above the western horizon as evening twilight ends (at 8:42 PM EDT). Friday morning, August 30, the bright star Pollux will be above the waning crescent Moon. When the Moon rises on the northeastern horizon (at 2:50 AM EDT) Pollux will be 3 degrees from the Moon. It will be 4 degrees from the Moon when morning twilight begins (at 5:36 AM). Sunday morning, September 1, you may be able to see the thin, waning crescent Moon with Mercury 4.5 degrees to the lower right. Mercury will rise last (at 5:14 AM) and the Moon will be 6 degrees above the east-northeastern horizon as morning twilight begins 24 minutes later (at 5:38 AM). Monday evening, September 2, at 9:55 PM EDT, will be the new Moon when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun. The day of or the day after the New Moon marks the start of the new month for most lunisolar calendars. The eighth month of the Chinese year of the Dragon starts on Tuesday, September 3. Sundown on Tuesday marks the start of Elul in the Hebrew calendar. Elul is a time of preparation for the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Customs include granting and asking others for forgiveness as well as beginning or ending all letters with the wish that the recipient will have a good year. In the Islamic calendar the months traditionally start with the first sighting of the waxing crescent Moon. Many Muslim communities now follow the Umm al-Qura Calendar of Saudi Arabia, which uses astronomical calculations to start months in a more predictable way. Using this calendar, sundown on Tuesday evening will probably be the beginning of Rabi’ al-Awwal, the month in which many Muslims celebrate Mawlid, the birth of the Prophet Muhammad. Wednesday evening, September 4, will be when Mercury reaches its greatest angular separation from the Sun as seen from the Earth (called greatest elongation). This is not quite the same as when Mercury will appear at its highest as morning twilight begins. Friday morning, September 6, will be when Mercury will appear at its highest (2 degrees) above the east-northeastern horizon as morning twilight begins (at 5:43 AM EDT). Wednesday evening, September 4, you might be able to see the thin, waxing crescent Moon near bright Venus, although you may need binoculars to find the Moon in the glow of dusk. The Moon will be 3 degrees above the western horizon 30 minutes after sunset (at 8:03 PM EDT) with Venus 5 degrees to the upper left. The Moon will set 17 minutes later (at 8:20 PM), 12 minutes before evening twilight ends (at 8:32 PM). Thursday morning, September 5, at 10:55 AM EDT, the Moon will be at apogee, its farthest from the Earth for this orbit. Thursday evening, September 5, the thin, waxing crescent Moon will be 7 degrees to the left of bright Venus. The Moon will be 1 degree above the western horizon as evening twilight ends (at 8:30 PM EDT) with Venus setting first 4 minutes later (at 8:34 PM). Friday evening, September 6, the star Spica will appear 3 degrees to the left of the waxing crescent Moon. As evening twilight ends (at 8:29 PM EDT) the Moon will be 5 degrees above the west-southwestern horizon. Spica will set first 25 minutes later (at 8:54 PM). A small part of Africa will see the Moon pass in front of Spica, see http://lunar-occultations.com/iota/bstar/0906zc1925.htm for a map and information. Saturday night, September 7, Saturn will reach its closest and brightest for the year, called “opposition” because it will be opposite the Earth from the Sun, effectively a “full” Saturn. Saturn will be 10 degrees above the east-southeastern horizon as evening twilight ends (at 8:27 PM EDT), will reach its highest in the sky Sunday morning at 1:09 AM, and will be 11 degrees above the west-southwestern horizon as morning twilight begins (at 5:45 AM). Monday morning, September 9, will be when Mercury and the bright star Regulus will be at their closest, just 0.5 degrees apart. They will be 5 degrees above the east-northeastern horizon as morning twilight begins (at 5:46 AM EDT). Monday evening, September 9, the star Antares will be 7 degrees to the upper left of the waxing crescent Moon. As evening twilight ends (at 8:24 PM EDT) the Moon will be 16 degrees above the southwestern horizon and it will set on the west-southwestern horizon 2 hours later (at 10:26 PM). By Tuesday evening, September 10, the Moon will have shifted to 6 degrees to the left of Antares and the pair will separate as the evening progresses, with Antares setting first (at 10:45 PM EDT). Wednesday morning, September 11, the Moon will appear half-full as it reaches its first quarter at 2:06 AM EDT. Our 24 hour clock is based on the average length of the solar day. Solar noon on Sunday, September 15 to solar noon on Monday, September 16, will be the shortest solar day of the year, 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 38.6 seconds long. Tuesday morning, September 17, will be the last morning that Mercury will be above the horizon as morning twilight begins (at 5:54 AM EDT). Monday night into Tuesday morning, September 16 to 17, Saturn will appear near the full Moon. As evening twilight ends (at 8:12 PM EDT) Saturn will be 6 degrees to the left of the Moon. When the Moon reaches its highest for the night (at 12:17 AM) Saturn will be 4 degrees to the upper left. By the time morning twilight begins (at 5:54 AM) the Moon will be 1 degree above the west-southwestern horizon with Saturn 1 degree above the Moon. For parts of western North America and across the Pacific Ocean towards Australia the Moon will pass in front of Saturn. See http://lunar-occultations.com/iota/planets/0917saturn.htm for a map and information on the areas that will see this occultation. The full Moon after next will be Tuesday night, September 17, at 10:35 PM EDT. This will be on Wednesday from Newfoundland and Greenland Time eastward across Eurasia, Africa, and Australia to the International Date Line. Most commercial calendars are based on Greenwich or Universal Time and will show this full Moon on Wednesday. This will be a partial lunar eclipse. The Moon will start entering the partial shadow of the Earth at 8:41 PM EDT. The slight dimming of the Moon will be difficult to notice until the top edge of the Moon starts entering the full shadow at 10:13 PM. The peak of the eclipse will be at 10:44 PM with just the top 8.4% of the Moon in full shadow. The Moon will finish exiting the full shadow at 11:16 PM and the partial shadow on Wednesday morning at 12:47 AM. This will also be the second of four consecutive supermoons. The Moon will appear full for about three days, from Monday evening through Thursday morning. View the full article