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Live High-Definition Views from the International Space Station (Official NASA Stream)
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By Amazing Space
Live Video from the International Space Station (Seen From The NASA ISS Live Stream)
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By NASA
NASA and Northrop Grumman are preparing to send the company’s next cargo mission to the International Space Station, flying research to support Artemis missions to the Moon and human exploration of Mars and beyond, while improving life on Earth. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will launch Northrop Grumman’s 23rd commercial resupply services mission to the orbiting laboratory.
The investigations aboard the Cygnus spacecraft aim to refine semiconductor crystals for next-generation technologies, reduce harmful microbes, improve medication production, and manage fuel pressure.
NASA, Northrop Grumman, and SpaceX are targeting launch in mid-September from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Read about some of the investigations traveling to the space station:
Better semiconductor crystals
Optical micrograph of a semiconductor composite wafer with embedded semimetal phases extracted from a space grown crystal in the SUBSA facility during Mission 1United Semiconductors LLC Researchers are continuing to fine-tune in-space production of semiconductor crystals, which are critical for modern devices like cellphones and computers.
The space station’s microgravity environment could enable large-scale manufacturing of complex materials, and leveraging the orbiting platform for crystal production is expected to lead to next-generation semiconductor technologies with higher performance, chip yield, and reliability.
“Semiconductor devices fabricated using crystals from a previous mission demonstrated performance gain by a factor of two and device yield enhanced by a factor of 10 compared to Earth-based counterparts,” said Partha S. Dutta, principal investigator, United Semiconductors LLC in Los Alamitos, California.
Dutta highlighted that three independent parties validated microgravity’s benefits for growing semiconductor crystals and that the commercial value of microgravity-enhanced crystals could be worth more than $1 million per kilogram (2.2 pounds).
Space-manufactured crystals could help meet the need for radiation-hardened, low-power, high-speed electronics and sensors for space systems. They also could provide reduced power use, increased speed, and improved safety. The technology also has ground applications, including electric vehicles, waste heat recovery, and medical tools.
Learn more about the SUBSA-InSPA-SSCug experiment.
Lethal light
Germicidal Ultraviolet (UV) light is emitted by an optical fiber running through the center of an agar plateArizona State University Researchers are examining how microgravity affects ultraviolet (UV) light’s ability to prevent the formation of biofilms — communities of microbes that form in water systems. Investigators developed special optical fibers to deliver the UV light, which could provide targeted, long-lasting, and chemical-free disinfection in space and on Earth.
“In any water-based system, bacterial biofilms can form on surfaces like pipes, valves, and sensors,” said co-investigator Paul Westerhoff, a professor at Arizona State University in Tempe. “This can cause serious problems like corrosion and equipment failure, and affect human health.”
The UV light breaks up DNA in microorganisms, preventing them from reproducing and forming biofilms. Preliminary evidence suggests biofilms behave differently in microgravity, which may affect how the UV light reaches and damages bacterial DNA.
“What we’ll learn about biofilms and UV light in microgravity could help us design safer water and air systems not just for space exploration, but for hospitals, homes, and industries back on Earth,” Westerhoff said.
Learn more about the GULBI experiment.
Sowing seeds for pharmaceuticals
NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara displays the specialized sample processor used for pharmaceutical research aboard the International Space StationNASA An investigation using a specialized pharmaceutical laboratory aboard the space station examines how microgravity may alter and enhance crystal structures of drug molecules. Crystal structure can affect the production, storage, effectiveness, and administration of medications.
“We are exploring drugs with applications in cardiovascular, immunologic, and neurodegenerative disease as well as cancer,” said principal investigator Ken Savin of Redwire Space Technologies in Greenville, Indiana. “We expect microgravity to yield larger, more uniform crystals.”
Once the samples return to Earth, researchers at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, will examine the crystal structures.
The investigators hope to use the space-made crystals as seeds to produce significant numbers of crystals on Earth.
“We have demonstrated this technique with a few examples, but need to see if it works in many examples,” Savin said. “It’s like being on a treasure hunt with every experiment.”
This research also helps enhance and expand commercial use of the space station for next-generation biotechnology research and in-space production of medications.
Learn more about the ADSEP PIL-11 experiment.
Keeping fuel cool
iss0NASA astronaut Joe Acaba installs hardware for the first effort in 2017 aboard the International Space Station to test controlling pressure in cryogenic fuel tanksNASA Many spacecraft use cryogenic or extremely cold fluids as fuel for propulsion systems. These fluids are kept at hundreds of degrees below zero to remain in a liquid state, making them difficult to use in space where ambient temperatures can vary significantly. If these fluids get too warm, they turn into gas and boiloff, or slowly evaporate and escape the tank, affecting fuel efficiency and mission planning.
A current practice to prevent this uses onboard fuel to cool systems before transferring fuel, but this practice is wasteful and not feasible for Artemis missions to the Moon and future exploration of Mars and beyond. A potential alternative is using special gases that do not turn into liquids at cold temperatures to act as a barrier in the tank and control the movement of the fuel.
Researchers are testing this method to control fuel tank pressure in microgravity. It could save an estimated 42% of propellant mass per year, according to Mohammad Kassemi, a researcher at NASA’s National Center for Space Exploration Research and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
The test could provide insights that help improve the design of lightweight, efficient, long-term in-space cryogenic storage systems for future deep space exploration missions.
Learn more about the ZBOT-NC experiment.
Download high-resolution photos and videos of the research highlighted in this feature.
Learn more about the research aboard the International Space Station at:
www.nasa.gov/iss-science
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By NASA
NASA NASA astronauts Jonny Kim and Zena Cardman, both Expedition 73 Flight Engineers, pose for a portrait inside the International Space Station‘s Unity module during a break in weekend housecleaning and maintenance activities. Kim and Cardman are both part of NASA Astronaut Group 22 selected in June 2017 with 12 other astronauts, including two Canadian Space Agency astronauts, and affectionately nicknamed “The Turtles.”
In its third decade of continuous human presence, the space station has a far-reaching impact as a microgravity lab hosting technology, demonstrations, and scientific investigations from a range of fields. The research done by astronauts on the orbiting laboratory will inform long-duration missions like Artemis and future human expeditions to Mars.
Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog.
View the full article
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By NASA
Explore Webb Webb News Latest News Latest Images Webb’s Blog Awards X (offsite – login reqd) Instagram (offsite – login reqd) Facebook (offsite- login reqd) Youtube (offsite) Overview About Who is James Webb? Fact Sheet Impacts+Benefits FAQ Webb Timeline Science Overview and Goals Early Universe Galaxies Over Time Star Lifecycle Other Worlds Science Explainers Observatory Overview Launch Deployment Orbit Mirrors Sunshield Instrument: NIRCam Instrument: MIRI Instrument: NIRSpec Instrument: FGS/NIRISS Optical Telescope Element Backplane Spacecraft Bus Instrument Module Multimedia About Webb Images Images Videos What is Webb Observing? 3d Webb in 3d Solar System Podcasts Webb Image Sonifications Webb’s First Images Team International Team People Of Webb More For the Media For Scientists For Educators For Fun/Learning 5 Min Read Glittering Glimpse of Star Birth From NASA’s Webb Telescope
Webb captured this sparkling scene of star birth in Pismis 24. Full image and caption below. Credits:
Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Image Processing: A. Pagan (STScI) This is a sparkling scene of star birth captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. What appears to be a craggy, starlit mountaintop kissed by wispy clouds is actually a cosmic dust-scape being eaten away by the blistering winds and radiation of nearby, massive, infant stars.
Called Pismis 24, this young star cluster resides in the core of the nearby Lobster Nebula, approximately 5,500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Scorpius. Home to a vibrant stellar nursery and one of the closest sites of massive star birth, Pismis 24 provides rare insight into large and massive stars. Its proximity makes this region one of the best places to explore the properties of hot young stars and how they evolve.
At the heart of this glittering cluster is the brilliant Pismis 24-1. It is at the center of a clump of stars above the jagged orange peaks, and the tallest spire is pointing directly toward it. Pismis 24-1 appears as a gigantic single star, and it was once thought to be the most massive known star. Scientists have since learned that it is composed of at least two stars, though they cannot be resolved in this image. At 74 and 66 solar masses, respectively, the two known stars are still among the most massive and luminous stars ever seen.
Image A: Pismis 24 (NIRCam Image)
Webb captured this sparkling scene of star birth in Pismis 24, a young star cluster about 5,500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Scorpius. This region is one of the best places to explore the properties of hot young stars and how they evolve. Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Image Processing: A. Pagan (STScI) Captured in infrared light by Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera), this image reveals thousands of jewel-like stars of varying sizes and colors. The largest and most brilliant ones with the six-point diffraction spikes are the most massive stars in the cluster. Hundreds to thousands of smaller members of the cluster appear as white, yellow, and red, depending on their stellar type and the amount of dust enshrouding them. Webb also shows us tens of thousands of stars behind the cluster that are part of the Milky Way galaxy.
Super-hot, infant stars –some almost 8 times the temperature of the Sun – blast out scorching radiation and punishing winds that are sculpting a cavity into the wall of the star-forming nebula. That nebula extends far beyond NIRCam’s field of view. Only small portions of it are visible at the bottom and top right of the image. Streamers of hot, ionized gas flow off the ridges of the nebula, and wispy veils of gas and dust, illuminated by starlight, float around its towering peaks.
Dramatic spires jut from the glowing wall of gas, resisting the relentless radiation and winds. They are like fingers pointing toward the hot, young stars that have sculpted them. The fierce forces shaping and compressing these spires cause new stars to form within them. The tallest spire spans about 5.4 light-years from its tip to the bottom of the image. More than 200 of our solar systems out to Neptune’s orbit could fit into the width its tip, which is 0.14 lightyears.
In this image, the color cyan indicates hot or ionized hydrogen gas being heated up by the massive young stars. Dust molecules similar to smoke here on Earth are represented in orange. Red signifies cooler, denser molecular hydrogen. The darker the red, the denser the gas. Black denotes the densest gas, which is not emitting light. The wispy white features are dust and gas that are scattering starlight.
Video A: Expedition to Star Cluster Pismis 24
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This scientific visualization takes viewers on a journey to a glittering young star cluster called Pismis 24. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope captured this fantastical scene in the heart of the Lobster Nebula, approximately 5,500 light-years from Earth. Video: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Leah Hustak (STScI), Christian Nieves (STScI); Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI); Script Writer: Frank Summers (STScI); Narration: Frank Summers (STScI); Music: Christian Nieves (STScI); Audio: Danielle Kirshenblat (STScI); Producer: Greg Bacon (STScI); Acknowledgment: VISTA Video B: Zoom to Pismis 24
This zoom-in video shows the location of the young star cluster Pismis 24 on the sky. It begins with a ground-based photo of the constellation Scorpius by the late astrophotographer Akira Fujii. The sequence closes in on the Lobster Nebula, using views from the Digitized Sky Survey. As the video homes in on a select portion, it fades to a VISTA image in infrared light. The zoom continues in to the region around Pismis 24, where it transitions to the stunning image captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in near-infrared light.
Video: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Alyssa Pagan (STScI); Narration: Frank Summers (STScI); Script Writer: Frank Summers (STScI); Music: Christian Nieves (STScI); Audio: Danielle Kirshenblat (STScI); Producer: Greg Bacon (STScI); Acknowledgment: VISTA, Akira Fujii, DSS The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
To learn more about Webb, visit:
https://science.nasa.gov/webb
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Media Contacts
Laura Betz – laura.e.betz@nasa.gov
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Ann Jenkins – jenkins@stsci.edu
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
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