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    • By NASA
      4 min read
      Three-Year Study of Young Stars with NASA’s Hubble Enters New Chapter
      In the largest and one of the most ambitious Hubble Space Telescope programs ever executed, a team of scientists and engineers collected information on almost 500 stars over a three-year period. This effort offers new insights into the stars’ formation, evolution, and impact on their surroundings. 
      This comprehensive survey, called ULLYSES (Ultraviolet Legacy Library of Young Stars as Essential Standards), was completed in December 2023, and provides a rich spectroscopic dataset obtained in ultraviolet light that astronomers will be mining for decades to come. Because ultraviolet light can only be observed from space, Hubble is the only active telescope that can accomplish this research. 
      The ULLYSES program studied two types of young stars: super-hot, massive, blue stars and cooler, redder, less massive stars than our Sun. The top panel is a Hubble Space Telescope image of a star-forming region containing massive, young, blue stars in 30 Doradus, the Tarantula Nebula. Located within the Large Magellanic Cloud, this is one of the regions observed by ULLYSES. The bottom panel shows an artist’s concept of a cooler, redder, young star that less massive than our Sun. This type of star is still gathering material from its surrounding, planet-forming disk. NASA, ESA, STScI, Francesco Paresce (INAF-IASF Bologna), Robert O’Connell (UVA), SOC-WFC3, ESO
      Download this image

      “I believe the ULLYSES project will be transformative, impacting overall astrophysics – from exoplanets, to the effects of massive stars on galaxy evolution, to understanding the earliest stages of the evolving universe,” said Julia Roman-Duval, Implementation Team Lead for ULLYSES at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland. “Aside from the specific goals of the program, the stellar data can also be used in fields of astrophysics in ways we can’t yet imagine.”
      The ULLYSES team studied 220 stars, then combined those observations with information from the Hubble archive on 275 additional stars. The program also included data from some of the world’s largest, most powerful ground-based telescopes and X-ray space telescopes. The ULLYSES dataset is made up of stellar spectra, which carry information about each star’s temperature, chemical composition, and rotation. 
      One type of stars studied under ULLYSES is super-hot, massive, blue stars. They are a million times brighter than the Sun and glow fiercely in ultraviolet light that can easily be detected by Hubble. Their spectra include key diagnostics of the speed of their powerful winds. The winds drive galaxy evolution and seed galaxies with the elements needed for life. Those elements are cooked up inside the stars’ nuclear fusion ovens and then injected into space as a star dies. ULLYSES targeted blue stars in nearby galaxies that are deficient in elements heavier than helium and hydrogen. This type of galaxy was common in the very early universe. “ULLYSES observations are a stepping stone to understanding those first stars and their winds in the universe, and how they impact the evolution of their young host galaxy,” said Roman-Duval.  
      The other star category in the ULLYSES program is young stars less massive than our Sun. Though cooler and redder than our Sun, in their formative years they unleash a torrent of high-energy radiation, including blasts of ultraviolet light and X-rays. Because they are still growing, they are gathering material from their surrounding planet-forming disks of dust and gas. The Hubble spectra include key diagnostics of the process by which they acquire their mass, including how much energy this process releases into the surrounding planet-forming disk and nearby environment. The blistering ultraviolet light from young stars affects the evolution of these disks as they form planets, as well as the chances of habitability for newborn planets. The target stars are located in nearby star-forming regions in our Milky Way galaxy.
      The ULLYSES concept was designed by a committee of experts with the goal of using Hubble to provide a legacy set of stellar observations. “ULLYSES was originally conceived as an observing program utilizing Hubble’s sensitive spectrographs. However, the program was tremendously enhanced by community-led coordinated and ancillary observations with other ground- and space-based observatories,” said Roman-Duval. “Such broad coverage allows astronomers to investigate the lives of stars in unprecedented detail and paint a more comprehensive picture of the properties of these stars and how they impact their environment.”
      To that end, STScI hosted a ULLYSES workshop March 11–14 to celebrate the beginning of a new era of research on young stars. The goal was to allow members of the astronomical community to collaborate on the data, so that they could gain momentum in the ongoing analyses, or kickstart new ideas for analysis. The workshop was one important step in exploiting this legacy spectral library to its fullest potential, fulfilling the promise of ULLYSES.
      The Hubble Space Telescope has been operating for over three decades and continues to make ground-breaking discoveries that shape our fundamental understanding of the universe. Hubble is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope and mission operations. Lockheed Martin Space, based in Denver, Colorado, also supports mission operations at Goddard. The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, conducts Hubble science operations for NASA.
      Media Contacts:
      Claire Andreoli
      NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
      claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
      Ann Jenkins / Ray Villard
      Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD
      Science Contact:
      Julia Roman-Duval
      Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD
      Share








      Details
      Last Updated Mar 28, 2024 Editor Andrea Gianopoulos Related Terms
      Astrophysics Astrophysics Division Goddard Space Flight Center Hubble Space Telescope Missions Stars The Universe Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
      Hubble Space Telescope


      Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe.


      Stars Stories



      Galaxies Stories



      Universe


      View the full article
    • By Space Force
      U.S. Space Force Lt. Col. Deane L. Lake assumed command of U.S. Space Forces Central Combat Detachment 3-1 during an activation and assumption of command ceremony at an undisclosed location within the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, March 12, 2024.

      View the full article
    • By NASA
      NASA astronaut Don Pettit poses for a crew portrait at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.NASA During his fourth mission to the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Don Pettit will serve as a flight engineer and member of the Expedition 71/72 crew. After blasting off to space, Pettit will conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to help prepare crew for future space missions.
      Pettit will launch on the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft in September 2024, accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner. The trio will spend approximately six months aboard the orbital laboratory.
      NASA selected Pettit as an astronaut in 1996. A veteran of three spaceflights, he made integral advancements in technology and demonstrations for human exploration. He served as a science officer for Expedition 6 in 2003, operated the robotic arm for STS-126 space shuttle Endeavour in 2008, and served as a flight engineer for Expedition 30/31 in 2012. Pettit has logged 370 days in space and conducted two spacewalks totaling 13 hours and 17 minutes.
      The Expedition 6 crew launched on STS-113 space shuttle Endeavour expecting to return on STS-114 space shuttle Discovery after a two and a half month mission. Following the space shuttle Columbia accident that grounded the shuttle fleet, the crew returned on the Soyuz TMA-1 spacecraft after five and a half months, landing in Kazakhstan. On his next 16-day mission, STS-126, Pettit helped expand the living quarters of the space station and installed a regenerative life support system to reclaim potable water from urine. During Expedition 30/31, Pettit also captured the first commercial cargo spacecraft, the SpaceX Dragon, using the robotic arm.
      A native from Silverton, Oregon, Pettit holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Oregon State University, Corvallis, and a doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Arizona, Tucson. Prior to his career with NASA, Pettit worked as a staff scientist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.
      For more than two decades, humans have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and making research breakthroughs that are not possible on Earth. The station is a critical testbed for NASA to understand and overcome the challenges of long-duration spaceflight and to expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit. As commercial companies focus on providing human space transportation services and destinations as part of a robust low Earth orbit economy, NASA is able to focus more of its resources on deep space missions to the Moon and Mars.
      Get breaking news, images and features from the space station on the station blog, Instagram, Facebook, and X.
      Learn more about International Space Station research and operations at:
      https://www.nasa.gov/station
      -end-
      Julian Coltre / Claire O’Shea
      Headquarters, Washington
      202-358-1100
      julian.n.coltre@nasa.gov / claire.a.o’shea@nasa.gov
      Courtney Beasley
      Johnson Space Center, Houston
      281-483-5111
      courtney.m.beasley@nasa.gov
      Share
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      Last Updated Mar 27, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
      International Space Station (ISS) Humans in Space ISS Research Missions View the full article
    • By NASA
      NASA astronaut and backup Soyuz MS-25 Flight Engineer Don Pettit poses for a crew portrait at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.NASA During his fourth mission to the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Don Pettit will serve as a flight engineer and member of the Expedition 71/72 crew. After blasting off to space, Pettit will conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to help prepare crew for future space missions.
      Pettit will launch on the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft in September 2024, accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner. The trio will spend approximately six months aboard the orbital laboratory.
      NASA selected Pettit as an astronaut in 1996. A veteran of three spaceflights, he made integral advancements in technology and demonstrations for human exploration. He served as a science officer for Expedition 6 in 2003, operated the robotic arm for STS-126 space shuttle Endeavour in 2008, and served as a flight engineer for Expedition 30/31 in 2012. Pettit has logged 370 days in space and conducted two spacewalks totaling 13 hours and 17 minutes.
      The Expedition 6 crew launched on STS-113 space shuttle Endeavour expecting to return on STS-114 space shuttle Discovery after a two and a half month mission. Following the space shuttle Columbia accident that grounded the shuttle fleet, the crew returned on the Soyuz TMA-1 spacecraft after five and a half months, landing in Kazakhstan. On his next 16-day mission, STS-126, Pettit helped expand the living quarters of the space station and installed a regenerative life support system to reclaim potable water from urine. During Expedition 30/31, Pettit also captured the first commercial cargo spacecraft, the SpaceX Dragon, using the robotic arm.
      A native from Silverton, Oregon, Pettit holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Oregon State University, Corvallis, and a doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Arizona, Tucson. Prior to his career with NASA, Pettit worked as a staff scientist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.
      For more than two decades, humans have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and making research breakthroughs that are not possible on Earth. The station is a critical testbed for NASA to understand and overcome the challenges of long-duration spaceflight and to expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit. As commercial companies focus on providing human space transportation services and destinations as part of a robust low Earth orbit economy, NASA is able to focus more of its resources on deep space missions to the Moon and Mars.
      Get breaking news, images and features from the space station on the station blog, Instagram, Facebook, and X.
      Learn more about International Space Station research and operations at:
      https://www.nasa.gov/station
      -end-
      Julian Coltre / Claire O’Shea
      Headquarters, Washington
      202-358-1100
      julian.n.coltre@nasa.gov / claire.a.o’shea@nasa.gov
      Courtney Beasley
      Johnson Space Center, Houston
      281-483-5111
      courtney.m.beasley@nasa.gov
      View the full article
    • By NASA
      NASA and the OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security – Regolith Explorer) mission team have won the National Aeronautic Association’s (NAA) Robert J. Collier Trophy. NAA awards the trophy annually for what it determines is “the greatest achievement in aerospace and astronautics in America.” The OSIRIS-REx team will be celebrated at an award dinner on June 13, 2024, in Washington, D.C. 
      The NAA bestowed the Robert J. Collier Trophy on the team behind NASA’s OSIRIS-REx, acknowledging the mission’s place in aerospace history by being the first U.S. mission to collect a sample from an asteroid and deliver it to Earth for study.
      A top-down view of the OSIRIS-REx Touch-and-Go-Sample-Acquisition-Mechanism (TAGSAM) head with the lid removed, revealing the remainder of the asteroid sample inside. Erika Blumenfeld, creative lead for the Advanced Imaging and Visualization of Astromaterials (AIVA) and Joe Aebersold, project management lead, captured this picture using manual high-resolution precision photography and a semi-automated focus stacking procedure. The result is an image that can be zoomed in on to show extreme detail of the sample. The remaining sample material includes dust and rocks up to about .4 in (one cm) in size.NASA/Erika Blumenfeld & Joseph Aebersold “Congratulations to the OSIRIS-REx team on this well-deserved honor,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “By successfully designing, building, and carrying out the first U.S. mission to collect an asteroid sample, NASA proved once again that we do big things. Things that inspire the world. We look forward to the incredible science to come that will tell us more about our solar system and help protect humanity here on Earth.”
      Established more than a century ago, the award has marked major achievements in the timeline of flight, including Orville Wright in 1913 for developing the automatic stabilizer; Air Force test pilot Chuck Yeager for his sound-barrier-breaking 1947 flight of the X-1 rocket plane; the crews of NASA’s Apollo 8, 11, and 15 for their missions to the Moon in the late 1960s and early ’70s; and NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter.
      The OSIRIS-REx team includes NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; Lockheed Martin in Littleton, Colorado; University of Arizona, Tucson; and KinetX in Tempe, Arizona.
      The sample from the ancient asteroid Bennu that OSIRIS-REx delivered to Earth in September 2023 will give researchers worldwide a glimpse into the earliest days of our solar system, offering insights into planet formation and the origin of organics essential for life on Earth. Data collected by the spacecraft combined with future analysis of the Bennu sample will also aid our understanding of asteroids that could impact Earth.
      The Collier Trophy adds to the recent Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy received by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx team in March 2024.
      Following its successful sample return, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft was renamed OSIRIS-APEX and will now enter an extended mission to visit and study near-Earth asteroid Apophis in 2029.
      NASA Goddard provides overall mission management, systems engineering, and the safety and mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx. Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona, Tucson, is the principal investigator. The university leads the science team and the mission’s science observation planning and data processing. Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado, built the spacecraft and provides flight operations. Goddard and KinetX Aerospace are responsible for navigating the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Processing and curation for OSIRIS-REx’s Bennu sample takes place at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. International partnerships on this mission include the OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter instrument from CSA (the Canadian Space Agency) and asteroid sample science collaboration with JAXA’s (the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Hayabusa2 mission. OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASA’s New Frontiers Program, managed by the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
      Find more information about NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission at:
      https://science.nasa.gov/mission/osiris-rex
      Rob Gutro
      NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
      Robert.j.gutro@nasa.gov 
      Karen Fox / Charles Blue
      Headquarters, Washington
      202-358-1257 / 202-802-5345 
      Share
      Details
      Last Updated Mar 26, 2024 Related Terms
      OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer) Asteroids Goddard Space Flight Center Johnson Space Center View the full article
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