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    • By NASA
      4 min read
      Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
      NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara is returning home after six months aboard the International Space Station. During her time on the orbiting laboratory, O’Hara contributed to dozens of scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to prepare for future space exploration missions and generate innovations and benefits for humanity on Earth.
      Here is a look at some of the scientific activities O’Hara conducted during her mission:
      Biking for Better Health
      NASA NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara is among the first astronauts participating in the CIPHER (Complement of Integrated Protocols for Human Exploration Research on Varying Mission Durations) investigation. CIPHER examines physiological and psychological changes that humans undergo during spaceflight. One of the protocols measures changes in cardiorespiratory and muscle fitness during exercise. Collecting data from crew members on missions of different durations supports development of ways to protect crew member health on a long mission such as a trip to Mars.
      Tending the Space Garden
      NASA NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara works with tomato plants grown for Plant Habitat-06, an investigation using genetic analysis to examine how spaceflight affects plant immune function and production. Results could support development of crops to provide food and other services on future space missions. On Earth, pathogens are responsible for up to 40% of global crop loss, and insight into the interaction between gravity and how plants respond to pathogens could inform strategies to enhance crop growth and productivity.
      Reading Radiation Exposure
      NASA Crew members pose with active dosimeters: left to right, Andreas Mogensen of ESA (European Space Agency), NASA astronauts Loral O’Hara and Jasmin Moghbeli, and Satoshi Furukawa of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency). These devices monitor individual radiation exposure for the International Space Station Internal Radiation Monitoring investigation, which aims to keep ionizing radiation exposure at levels acceptable for maintaining crew member health and safety and ensuring the success of their missions.
      Understanding Bone Loss
      NASA Bone loss is a major problem of aging on Earth and a serious health concern for astronauts. MABL-A (Microgravity Associated Bone Loss-A) examines the effect of microgravity on bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, which produce bone-forming cells and play a role in making and repairing skeletal tissues. NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara works inside the Life Science Glovebox for the investigation, which could improve understanding of the mechanisms behind bone loss and support development of ways to better protect crew members and people on Earth from its effects.
      Bringing in the Cold
      NASA NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara pose in front of the Cold Atom Lab. The lab produces clouds of atoms so cold that they have almost no motion, allowing researchers to observe their fundamental behaviors and quantum characteristics. Physicists have long pursued ever colder temperatures, and microgravity may make it possible to achieve those temperatures for longer periods of time. The Cold Atom Lab research could facilitate the development of new quantum technology.
      Taking Out the Heat
      NASA NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara works on MaRVIn-PCIM (Microgravity Research for Versatile Investigations-Phase Change in Mixtures), which examines the dynamics of liquid and vapor flow inside a wickless heat pipe. These devices, used to dissipate heat to cool satellites and electronics, operate differently in microgravity than on Earth. Results could support development of lighter and more efficient cooling devices for future space exploration.
      Preparing for a Walk in Space
      NASA NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara tests components of her spacesuit in preparation for a spacewalk. O’Hara and NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli conducted a spacewalk together on Nov 1, 2023. It took the duo six hours and 42 minutes to complete tasks that included working on hardware that enables the space station’s solar arrays to track the Sun, helping to provide power for scientific operations on the orbiting lab.
      Creating Cardiac Tissues
      NASA NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara works on the Redwire Cardiac Bioprinting Investigation (BFF Cardiac), which studies bio-printed cardiac tissues. Higher-quality 3D tissues can be printed in microgravity, where density layers, settling, and other effects of gravity are absent. This technology supports development of ways to print food and medicine on demand on future missions, reducing mass and cost at launch and improving crew health and safety. Results also could advance technologies to create replacement organs and tissues for transplant on Earth, helping to alleviate shortages.
      Melissa Gaskill
      International Space Station Research Communications Team
      Johnson Space Center
      Search this database of scientific experiments to learn more about those mentioned above.
      Download full-resolution versions of all photos in this article.
      Keep Exploring Discover More Topics
      Latest News from Space Station Research
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      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
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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
      Artist’s concept of an Artemis astronaut deploying an instrument on the lunar surface.Credits: NASA NASA has chosen the first science instruments designed for astronauts to deploy on the surface of the Moon during Artemis III. Once installed near the lunar South Pole, the three instruments will collect valuable scientific data about the lunar environment, the lunar interior, and how to sustain a long-duration human presence on the Moon, which will help prepare NASA to send astronauts to Mars.
      “Artemis marks a bold new era of exploration, where human presence amplifies scientific discovery. With these innovative instruments stationed on the Moon’s surface, we’re embarking on a transformative journey that will kick-start the ability to conduct human-machine teaming – an entirely new way of doing science,” said NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy. “These three deployed instruments were chosen to begin scientific investigations that will address key Moon to Mars science objectives.”
      The instruments will address three Artemis science objectives: understanding planetary processes, understanding the character and origin of lunar polar volatiles, and investigating and mitigating exploration risks. They were specifically chosen because of their unique installation requirements that necessitate deployment by humans during moonwalks. All three payloads were selected for further development to fly on Artemis III that’s targeted to launch in 2026, however, final manifesting decisions about the mission will be determined at a later date. Members of these payload teams will become members of NASA’s Artemis III science team.
      The Lunar Environment Monitoring Station (LEMS) is a compact, autonomous seismometer suite designed to carry out continuous, long-term monitoring of the seismic environment, namely ground motion from moonquakes, in the lunar south polar region. The instrument will characterize the regional structure of the Moon’s crust and mantle, which will add valuable information to lunar formation and evolution models. LEMS previously received four years of NASA’s Development and Advancement of Lunar Instrumentation funding for engineering development and risk reduction. It is intended to operate on the lunar surface from three months up to two years and may become a key station in a future global lunar geophysical network. LEMS is led by Dr. Mehdi Benna, from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
      Lunar Effects on Agricultural Flora (LEAF) will investigate the lunar surface environment’s effects on space crops. LEAF will be the first experiment to observe plant photosynthesis, growth, and systemic stress responses in space-radiation and partial gravity.  Plant growth and development data, along with environmental parameters measured by LEAF, will help scientists understand the use of plants grown on the Moon for both human nutrition and life support on the Moon and beyond. LEAF is led by Christine Escobar of Space Lab Technologies, LLC, in Boulder, Colorado.
      The Lunar Dielectric Analyzer (LDA) will measure the regolith’s ability to propagate an electric field, which is a key parameter in the search for lunar volatiles, especially ice. It will gather essential information about the structure of the Moon’s subsurface, monitor dielectric changes caused by the changing angle of the Sun as the Moon rotates, and look for possible frost formation or ice deposits. LDA, an internationally contributed payload, is led by Dr. Hideaki Miyamoto of the University of Tokyo and supported by JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency).
      “These three scientific instruments will be our first opportunity since Apollo to leverage the unique capabilities of human explorers to conduct transformative lunar science,” said Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “These payloads mark our first steps toward implementing the recommendations for the high-priority science outlined in the Artemis III Science Definition Team report.”
      Artemis III, the first mission to return astronauts to the surface of the Moon in more than 50 years, will explore the south polar region of the Moon, within 6 degrees of latitude from the South Pole. Several proposed landing regions for the mission are located among some of the oldest parts of the Moon. Together with the permanently shadowed regions, they provide the opportunity to learn about the history of the Moon through previously unstudied lunar materials.
      With the Artemis campaign, NASA will land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon, and establish long-term exploration for scientific discovery and preparation for human missions to Mars for the benefit of all.
      For more information on Artemis science, visit:
      https://science.nasa.gov/lunar-science
      -end-
      Karen Fox / Erin Morton
      Headquarters, Washington
      202-358-1257 / 202-805-9393
      karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / erin.morton@nasa.gov  
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      Last Updated Mar 26, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
      Artemis Artemis 3 Earth's Moon Science & Research Technology 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 
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      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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