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NASA Invites Media to SpaceX’s 30th Resupply Launch to Space Station
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By NASA
Unable to render the provided source NASA invites the public to virtually sail along with the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System‘s space journey using NASA’s “Eyes on the Solar System” visualization tool, a digital model of the solar system. This simulation shows the real-time positions of the planets, moons, and spacecraft – including NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System.
Solar sails use the pressure of sunlight for propulsion, angling toward or away from the Sun so that photons bounce off the reflective sail to push a spacecraft. This eliminates the need for heavy propulsion systems and could enable longer duration and lower cost missions. The results from this technology demonstration – including the test of the sail’s composite boom system – will advance future space exploration to expand our understanding of our Sun and solar system.
The Advanced Composite Solar Sail System, which launched in April 2024, and deployed its reflective sail in August, is currently orbiting approximately 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) above Earth and is frequently visible in the night sky to observers in the Northern Hemisphere. Fans of the spacecraft can look for the sail in the night sky using a new feature in the NASA mobile app. Visibility may be intermittent, and the spacecraft could appear at variable levels of brightness as it moves in orbit.
For more mission updates, follow NASA’s Small Satellite Missions blog.
NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, manages the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System project and designed and built the onboard camera diagnostic system. NASA Langley designed and built the deployable composite booms and solar sail system. NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology (SST) program office based at NASA Ames and led by the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), funds and manages the mission. NASA STMD’s Game Changing Development program funded the development of the deployable composite boom technology.
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By NASA
Credit: NASA NASA has selected Metis Technology Solutions Inc. of Albuquerque, New Mexico, to provide engineering services as well as develop and maintain software and hardware used to conduct simulations for aerospace research and development across the agency.
The Aerospace Research, Technology, and Simulations (ARTS) contract is a hybrid cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price contract with an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity component and has a maximum potential value of $177 million. The performance period begins Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, with a one-year base period, and options to extend performance through November 2029.
Under this contract, the company will support the preparation, development, operation, and maintenance of future and existing simulators, integration laboratories, aircraft research systems, simulation work areas, and aircraft research systems. The scope of work also will include the development, testing, and validation of advanced air traffic management automation tools, including, but not limited to, advanced concepts for aviation ecosystems. Work will primarily be performed at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley and NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, as well as other agency or government locations, as needed.
For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov
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Tiernan Doyle
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
tiernan.doyle@nasa.gov
Rachel Hoover
Ames Research Center, Silicon Valley, Calif.
650-604-4789
rachel.hoover@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Oct 10, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
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By NASA
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy visited the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans on Dec. 8, 2021 for tours and briefings on Michoud’s role in the Artemis program and other capabilities that enrich many facets of the nation’s space exploration endeavors. Credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy will lead the agency’s delegation at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) from Monday, Oct. 14, to Thursday, Oct. 17, in Milan.
During the congress, NASA will discuss its Low Earth Orbit Microgravity Strategy, emphasizing the agency’s efforts to advance microgravity science, technology, and exploration. The agency also will highlight its commitment to space sustainability and several missions, including initiatives that support NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration approach and the Artemis Accords.
NASA will amplify the following talks happening at the congress through its YouTube Channel:
Monday, Oct. 147:45 a.m. EDT (1:45 p.m. CEST): One-to-One with Heads of Agencies featuring Nelson. 12:15 p.m. EDT (6:15 p.m. CEST): Host Plenary on Responsible and Sustainable Space Exploration for Moon to Mars featuring Melroy. Wednesday, Oct. 16 9 a.m. EDT (3 p.m. CEST): A New Era in Human Presence featuring Melroy. A full agenda for this year’s IAC is available online.
Members of the media registered for IAC will have three opportunities to meet with NASA leaders. To register, media must apply through the International Astronautical Federation website. Opportunities include:
Monday, Oct. 14 5:30 p.m. CEST (11:30 a.m. EDT): NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, Lisa Campbell, president, CSA (Canadian Space Agency), and Teodoro Valente, president, Italian Space Agency, to discuss the 3rd Annual Heads of Agency meeting of the Artemis Accords Signatories. Tuesday, Oct. 15 5 p.m. CEST (11 a.m. EDT): NASA Administrator Bill Nelson to discuss the agency’s international partnerships in the Artemis era. Wednesday, Oct. 16 5 p.m. CEST (11 a.m. EDT): NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy and Robyn Gatens, director of the International Space Station and acting director of Commercial Spaceflight to discuss NASA’s Low Earth Orbit Microgravity Strategy In addition to the events outlined above, NASA will have an exhibit featuring the first sample of the asteroid Bennu to appear publicly in a non-museum setting, as well as information on the Artemis campaign, NASA’s future in low Earth orbit, and several upcoming science and technology missions. NASA also will host subject matter expert talks throughout the week at its exhibit.
NASA will provide photos and updates about its participation in the International Astronautical Congress from its @NASAExhibit account on X.
For more information about NASA participation at IAC, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/nasa-at-iac
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Amber Jacobson
Headquarters, Washington
240-298-1832
amber.c.jacobson@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Oct 10, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
artemis accords Bill Nelson Pamela A. Melroy View the full article
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By NASA
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
On Sept. 19, the imaging spectrometer on the Carbon Mapper Coalition’s Tanager-1 satellite detected this methane plume in Karachi, Pakistan, extending nearly 2½ miles (4 kilometers) from a landfill. The spectrometer was designed at NASA JPL.Carbon Mapper/Planet Labs PBC Extending about 2 miles (3 kilometers) from a coal-fired power plant, this carbon dioxide plume in Kendal, South Africa, was captured Sept. 19 by the imaging spectrometer on the Carbon Mapper Coalition’s Tanager-1 satellite.Carbon Mapper/Planet Labs PBC This methane plume was captured south of Midland, Texas, in the Permian Basin, one of the world’s largest oil fields. The imaging spectrometer on the Carbon Mapper Coalition’s Tanager-1 satellite made the detection on Sept. 24.Carbon Mapper/Planet Labs PBC The imaging spectrometer aboard the Carbon Mapper Coalition’s Tanager-1 satellite identified methane and carbon dioxide plumes in the United States and internationally.
Using data from an instrument designed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, the nonprofit Carbon Mapper has released the first methane and carbon dioxide detections from the Tanager-1 satellite. The detections highlight methane plumes in Pakistan and Texas, as well as a carbon dioxide plume in South Africa.
The data contributes to Carbon Mapper’s goal to identify and measure greenhouse gas point-source emissions on a global scale and make that information accessible and actionable.
Enabled by Carbon Mapper and built by Planet Labs PBC, Tanager-1 launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Aug. 16 and has been collecting data to verify that its imaging spectrometer, which is based on technology developed at NASA JPL, is functioning properly. Both Planet Labs PBC and JPL are members of the philanthropically funded Carbon Mapper Coalition.
“The first greenhouse gas images from Tanager-1 are exciting and are a compelling sign of things to come,” said James Graf, director for Earth Science and Technology at JPL. “The satellite plays a crucial role in detecting and measuring methane and carbon dioxide emissions. The mission is a giant step forward in addressing greenhouse gas emissions.”
The data used to produce the Pakistan image was collected over the city of Karachi on Sept. 19 and shows a roughly 2.5-mile-long (4-kilometer-long) methane plume emanating from a landfill. Carbon Mapper’s preliminary estimate of the source emissions rate is more than 2,600 pounds (1,200 kilograms) of methane released per hour.
The image collected that same day over Kendal, South Africa, displays a nearly 2-mile-long (3-kilometer-long) carbon dioxide plume coming from a coal-fired power plant. Carbon Mapper’s preliminary estimate of the source emissions rate is roughly 1.3 million pounds (600,000 kilograms) of carbon dioxide per hour.
The Texas image, collected on Sept. 24, reveals a methane plume to the south of the city of Midland, in the Permian Basin, one of the largest oilfields in the world. Carbon Mapper’s preliminary estimate of the source emissions rate is nearly 900 pounds (400 kilograms) of methane per hour.
In the 1980s, JPL helped pioneer the development of imaging spectrometers with AVIRIS (Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer), and in 2022, NASA installed the imaging spectrometer EMIT (Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation), developed at JPL, aboard the International Space Station.
A descendant of those instruments, the imaging spectrometer aboard Tanager-1 can measure hundreds of wavelengths of light reflected from Earth’s surface. Each chemical compound on the ground and in the atmosphere reflects and absorbs different combinations of wavelengths, which give it a “spectral fingerprint” that researchers can identify. Using this approach, Tanager-1 will help researchers detect and measure emissions down to the facility level.
Once in full operation, the spacecraft will scan about 116,000 square miles (300,000 square kilometers) of Earth’s surface per day. Methane and carbon dioxide measurements collected by Tanager-1 will be publicly available on the Carbon Mapper data portal.
More About Carbon Mapper
Carbon Mapper is a nonprofit organization focused on facilitating timely action to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Its mission is to fill gaps in the emerging global ecosystem of methane and carbon dioxide monitoring systems by delivering data at facility scale that is precise, timely, and accessible to empower science-based decision making and action. The organization is leading the development of the Carbon Mapper constellation of satellites supported by a public-private partnership composed of Planet Labs PBC, JPL, the California Air Resources Board, Arizona State University, and RMI, with funding from High Tide Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, and other philanthropic donors.
News Media Contacts
Andrew Wang / Jane J. Lee
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
626-379-6874 / 818-354-0307
andrew.wang@jpl.nasa.gov / jane.j.lee@jpl.nasa.gov
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Last Updated Oct 10, 2024 Related Terms
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5 min read NASA-Funded Study Assesses Pollution Near Los Angeles-Area Warehouses
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By NASA
4 Min Read Lunar Autonomy Mobility Pathfinder Workshop: A NASA Chief Technologist Sponsored Workshop
OVERVIEW
The NASA chief technologist’s team, within the Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy (OTPS), is hosting a Lunar Autonomy Mobility Pathfinder (LAMP) workshop on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, to provide a community forum to discuss modeling and simulation testbeds in this domain. The workshop is in coordination with NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate.
With the Artemis campaign, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon, using innovative technologies to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before. Technologies like trusted autonomy are necessary to support these types of sustained operations. Trusted autonomy is a more robust level of autonomy designed for long-term operational use.
The LAMP workshop will be held on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. PST at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) Black Fire Innovation Facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Black Fire Innovation Center Building is located at 8400 W. Sunset Blvd. Las Vegas, NV 89113, approximately 20 minutes from the UNLV main campus.
This workshop has been designed to coincide with the 2024 Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium fall meeting (also taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada).
The OTPS solver-in-residence is the main organizer and facilitator for this workshop.
PROGRAM
The LAMP workshop will provide a forum for a discussion on topics that include:
A modeling and simulation (M&S) pathfinder to explore an integrated sim environment for lunar stakeholders from commercial industry, other U.S. government agencies, international partners and academia, to simulate their systems that would eventually operate in the lunar environment and to test interoperability between systems. How to leverage the planned rover missions to 1) calibrate and improve this M&S environment over time, and 2) potentially use them as autonomy testbeds to safely mature algorithms in a relevant environment. Please RSVP for in-person or virtual attendance by registering at the following site:
https://nasaevents.webex.com/weblink/register/rdf4dd38bc3bf176dc32d147513f7b77c
*Please note registration is on an individual basis. If attending with multiple guests, each guest must register for the event separately.
LAMP Workshop Agenda
(All times listed are in PST and subject to change)
10:00 a.m. – 12:00p.m.Modeling and Simulation (M&S) showcase (In-person only & optional)
This is an opportunity for interested participants to show their lunar simulation capabilities inside of UNLV’s Blackfire Innovation esports arena. Space is limited. Please indicate if you are interested in participating when you register, and we will reach out with additional information. 1:00 –2:00p.m.Challenges to Developing Trusted Autonomy
NASA will discuss the challenges of maturing autonomy that can be trusted to operate over long periods of time and how we can work together to overcome those challenges.2:00 –3:00p.m.Pre-Formulation Discussion of a Lunar Autonomy Mobility Pathfinder Modeling and Simulation Environment
Subject matter experts (SMEs) from NASA will layout thoughts on what a digital transformation pathfinder would look like that benefits lunar autonomy efforts across the globe. 3:00 – 3:15p.m.Break3:15 – 4:15p.m.Lunar Testbeds Discussion
This will be a discussion focused on how assets on the moon could be used as testbeds to generate truth data for Earth-based simulations and to validate that autonomy can be trusted in the lunar environment.4:15 – 5:00p.m.Polling and Discussions
Audience feedback will be solicited on various topics. This will include a pre-formulated series of questions and real time polls. CONTACT
For questions, please email:
Dr. Adam Yingling
2024 OTPS Solver-in-Residence
Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy (OTPS)
NASA Headquarters
Email: adam.j.yingling@nasa.gov
The Solver-in-Residence (SiR) program is a one-year detail position with the chief technologist in NASA’s Office of Technology Policy and Strategy. The program enables a NASA civil servant to propose a one-year investigation on a specific technology challenge and then work to identify solutions to address those challenges.
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Last Updated Oct 10, 2024 EditorBill Keeter Related Terms
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