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Views Of The Moon - Lunar Images Taken From Orbit by Nasa Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)
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By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
This summer, NASA welcomed interns with professional teaching experience to help make the agency’s data more interactive and accessible in the classroom. Their efforts are an important step in fostering the education and curiosity of the Artemis Generation of students who will shape the future workforce.
Diane Ripollone: Making Activities Accessible for Low-Vision Students
In the center, Diane Ripollone smiles in a blue jacket with the blue, white, and red NASA logo on the left and a SOFIA patch on the right. Behind Diane is the SOFIA aircraft and her arm rests on a railing beside her. Credit: Diane Ripollone A 35-year-veteran educator, Diane Ripollone teaches Earth science, astronomy, and physics to high school students in North Carolina. In her decades of experience, she’s seen firsthand how students with physical challenges can face difficulties in connecting with lessons. She decided to tackle the issue head-on with her internship.
Ripollone supports the My NASA Data Program, which provides educational materials to interact with live data collected by NASA satellites, observatories, and sensors worldwide. As a NASA intern, she has worked to create physical materials with braille for students with- vision limitations.
“It’s a start for teachers,” Ripollone said. “Although every classroom is different, this helps to provide teachers a jumpstart to make engaging lesson plans centered around real NASA data.” Her NASA internship has excited and inspired her students, according to Ripollone. “My students have been amazed! I see their eyes open wide,” she said. “They say, ‘My teacher is working for NASA!'”
Felicia Haseleu: Improving Reading and Writing Skills
North Dakota teacher Felicia Haseleu never imagined she’d be a NASA intern until a colleague forwarded the opportunity to her inbox. A teacher on her 11th year, she has seen how COVID-19 has affected students: “It’s caused a regression in reading and writing ability,” a shared impact that was seen in students nationwide.
A science teacher passionate about reading and writing, Felicia set out to utilize these in the science curriculum. As an intern with My NASA Data, she’s prepared lesson plans that combine using the scientific method with creative writing, allowing students to strengthen their reading and writing skills while immersing themselves in science.
Haseleu anticipates her NASA internship will provide benefits inside and outside the classroom.
“It’s going to be awesome to return to the classroom with all of these materials,” she said. “Being a NASA intern has been a great experience! I’ve felt really supported and you can tell that NASA is all encompassing and supports one another. From the camaraderie to NASA investing in interns, it’s nice to feel valued by NASA.”
Teri Minami: Hands-on Lesson for Neurodivergent and Artistic Students
Teri Minami poses in a white lab coat, lilac gloves, glasses, and “Dexter” name tag. She is on the right of the image with a coworker on the left. Red school lockers line the wall behind them. Credit: Teri Minami “I’ve never been a data-whiz; I’ve always connected with science hands-on or through art,” said NASA intern Teri Minami, a teacher of 10 years in coastal Virginia. She cites her personal experience in science to guide her to develop lessons using NASA data for neurodivergent students or those with a more artistic background.
Through her NASA internship, she aims to create lesson plans which allow students to engage first-hand with science while outdoors, such as looking at water quality data, sea level ice, and CO2 emissions, taking their own measurements, and doing their own research on top of that.
Although many people associate being an intern with being an undergraduate in college, NASA interns come from all ages and backgrounds. In 2024, the agency’s interns ranged in age from 16 to 61 and included high school students, undergraduates, graduate students, doctoral students, and teachers.
Interested in joining NASA as an intern? Apply at intern.nasa.gov.
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By NASA
ESA/Hubble & NASA, C. Kilpatrick This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image treats viewers to a wonderfully detailed snapshot of the spiral galaxy NGC 3430 that lies 100 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo Minor. Several other galaxies, located relatively nearby to this one, are just beyond the frame of this image; one is close enough that gravitational interaction is driving some star formation in NGC 3430 — visible as bright-blue patches near to but outside of the galaxy’s main spiral structure. This fine example of a galactic spiral holds a bright core from which a pinwheel array of arms appears to radiate outward. Dark dust lanes and bright star-forming regions help define these spiral arms.
NGC 3430’s distinct shape may be one reason why astronomer Edwin Hubble used to it to help define his classification of galaxies. Namesake of the Hubble Space Telescope, Edwin Hubble authored a paper in 1926 that outlined the classification of some four hundred galaxies by their appearance — as either spiral, barred spiral, lenticular, elliptical, or irregular. This straightforward typology proved extremely influential, and the detailed schemes astronomers use today are still based on Edwin Hubble’s work. NGC 3430 itself is a spiral lacking a central bar with open, clearly defined arms — classified today as an SAc galaxy.
Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, C. Kilpatrick
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By European Space Agency
Week in images: 22-26 July 2024
Discover our week through the lens
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By NASA
2 min read
Hubble Images a Classic Spiral
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the majestic spiral galaxy NGC 3430. ESA/Hubble & NASA, C. Kilpatrick This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image treats viewers to a wonderfully detailed snapshot of the spiral galaxy NGC 3430 that lies 100 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo Minor. Several other galaxies, located relatively nearby to this one, are just beyond the frame of this image; one is close enough that gravitational interaction is driving some star formation in NGC 3430 — visible as bright-blue patches near to but outside of the galaxy’s main spiral structure. This fine example of a galactic spiral holds a bright core from which a pinwheel array of arms appears to radiate outward. Dark dust lanes and bright star-forming regions help define these spiral arms.
NGC 3430’s distinct shape may be one reason why astronomer Edwin Hubble used to it to help define his classification of galaxies. Namesake of the Hubble Space Telescope, Edwin Hubble authored a paper in 1926 that outlined the classification of some four hundred galaxies by their appearance — as either spiral, barred spiral, lenticular, elliptical, or irregular. This straightforward typology proved extremely influential, and the detailed schemes astronomers use today are still based on Edwin Hubble’s work. NGC 3430 itself is a spiral lacking a central bar with open, clearly defined arms — classified today as an SAc galaxy.
Astronomer Edwin Hubble pioneered the study of galaxies based simply on their appearance. This “Field Guide” outlines Hubble’s classification scheme using images from his namesake telescope. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center; Lead Producer: Miranda Chabot; Lead Writer: Andrea Gianopoulos
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Hubble’s Galaxies
Astronomer Edwin Hubble
Facebook logo @NASAHubble @NASAHubble Instagram logo @NASAHubble Media Contact:
Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Jul 25, 2024 Editor Andrea Gianopoulos Location NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
Astrophysics Astrophysics Division Galaxies Goddard Space Flight Center Hubble Space Telescope Missions Spiral Galaxies The Universe Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From Hubble
Hubble Space Telescope
Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe.
Hubble’s Galaxies
Hubble Design
Hubble Science Highlights
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By NASA
6 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA’s Perseverance rover discovered “leopard spots” on a reddish rock nicknamed “Cheyava Falls” in Mars’ Jezero Crater in July 2024. Scientists think the spots may indicate that, billions of years ago, the chemical reactions in this rock could have supported microbial life; other explanations are being considered.NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS An annotated version of the image of “Cheyava Falls” indicates the markings akin to leopard spots, which have particularly captivated scientists, and the olivine in the rock. The image was captured by the WATSON instrument on NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover on July 18.NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS The six-wheeled geologist found a fascinating rock that has some indications it may have hosted microbial life billions of years ago, but further research is needed.
A vein-filled rock is catching the eye of the science team of NASA’s Perseverance rover. Nicknamed “Cheyava Falls” by the team, the arrowhead-shaped rock contains fascinating traits that may bear on the question of whether Mars was home to microscopic life in the distant past.
Analysis by instruments aboard the rover indicates the rock possesses qualities that fit the definition of a possible indicator of ancient life. The rock exhibits chemical signatures and structures that could possibly have been formed by life billions of years ago when the area being explored by the rover contained running water. Other explanations for the observed features are being considered by the science team, and future research steps will be required to determine whether ancient life is a valid explanation.
The rock — the rover’s 22nd rock core sample — was collected on July 21, as the rover explored the northern edge of Neretva Vallis, an ancient river valley measuring a quarter-mile (400 meters) wide that was carved by water rushing into Jezero Crater long ago.
“Cheyava Falls” (left) shows the dark hole where NASA’s Perseverance took a core sample; the white patch is where the rover abraded the rock to investigate its composition. A rock nicknamed “Steamboat Mountain” (right) also shows an abrasion patch. This image was taken by Mastcam-Z on July 23.NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS NASA’s Perseverance used its Mastcam-Z instrument to view the “Cheyava Falls” rock sample within the rover’s drill bit. Scientists believe markings on the rock contain fascinating traits that may bear on the question of whether Mars was home to microscopic life in the distant past.NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS “We have designed the route for Perseverance to ensure that it goes to areas with the potential for interesting scientific samples,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “This trip through the Neretva Vallis riverbed paid off as we found something we’ve never seen before, which will give our scientists so much to study.”
Multiple scans of Cheyava Falls by the rover’s SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals) instrument indicate it contains organic compounds. While such carbon-based molecules are considered the building blocks of life, they also can be formed by non-biological processes.
“Cheyava Falls is the most puzzling, complex, and potentially important rock yet investigated by Perseverance,” said Ken Farley,Perseverance project scientist of Caltech in Pasadena. “On the one hand, we have our first compelling detection of organic material, distinctive colorful spots indicative of chemical reactions that microbial life could use as an energy source, and clear evidence that water — necessary for life — once passed through the rock. On the other hand, we have been unable to determine exactly how the rock formed and to what extent nearby rocks may have heated Cheyava Falls and contributed to these features.”
NASA’s Perseverance rover used its Mastcam-Z instrument to capture this 360-degree panorama of a region on Mars called “Bright Angel,” where an ancient river flowed billions of years ago. “Cheyava Falls” was discovered in the area slightly right of center, about 361 feet (110 meters) from the rover.NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS Other details about the rock, which measures 3.2 feet by 2 feet (1 meter by 0.6 meters) and was named after a Grand Canyon waterfall, have intrigued the team, as well.
How Rocks Get Their Spots
In its search for signs of ancient microbial life, the Perseverance mission has focused on rocks that may have been created or modified long ago by the presence of water. That’s why the team homed in on Cheyava Falls.
“This is the kind of key observation that SHERLOC was built for — to seek organic matter as it is an essential component of a search for past life,” said SHERLOC’s principal investigator Kevin Hand of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which manages the mission.
Running the length of the rock are large white calcium sulfate veins. Between those veins are bands of material whose reddish color suggests the presence of hematite, one of the minerals that gives Mars its distinctive rusty hue.
When Perseverance took a closer look at these red regions, it found dozens of irregularly shaped, millimeter-size off-white splotches, each ringed with black material, akin to leopard spots. Perseverance’s PIXL (Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry) instrument has determined these black halos contain both iron and phosphate.
As shown in this graphic, astrobiologists catalog a seven-step scale, called the CoLD (Confidence of Life Detection) scale, to research whether a sample could indicate life. This “Cheyava Falls” sample is an example of Step One: “Detect possible signal.” Much additional research must be conducted to learn more.NASA/Aaron Gronstal “These spots are a big surprise,” said David Flannery, an astrobiologist and member of the Perseverance science team from the Queensland University of Technology in Australia. “On Earth, these types of features in rocks are often associated with the fossilized record of microbes living in the subsurface.”
Spotting of this type on sedimentary terrestrial rocks can occur when chemical reactions involving hematite turn the rock from red to white. Those reactions can also release iron and phosphate, possibly causing the black halos to form. Reactions of this type can be an energy source for microbes, explaining the association between such features and microbes in a terrestrial setting.
In one scenario the Perseverance science team is considering, Cheyava Falls was initially deposited as mud with organic compounds mixed in that eventually cemented into rock. Later, a second episode of fluid flow penetrated fissures in the rock, enabling mineral deposits that created the large white calcium sulfate veins seen today and resulting in the spots.
Another Puzzle Piece
While both the organic matter and the leopard spots are of great interest, they aren’t the only aspects of the Cheyava Falls rock confounding the science team. They were surprised to find that these veins are filled with millimeter-size crystals of olivine, a mineral that forms from magma. The olivine might be related to rocks that were formed farther up the rim of the river valley and that may have been produced by crystallization of magma.
If so, the team has another question to answer: Could the olivine and sulfate have been introduced to the rock at uninhabitably high temperatures, creating an abiotic chemical reaction that resulted in the leopard spots?
“We have zapped that rock with lasers and X-rays and imaged it literally day and night from just about every angle imaginable,” said Farley. “Scientifically, Perseverance has nothing more to give. To fully understand what really happened in that Martian river valley at Jezero Crater billions of years ago, we’d want to bring the Cheyava Falls sample back to Earth, so it can be studied with the powerful instruments available in laboratories.”
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
Karen Fox / Erin Morton
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600 / 202-805-9393
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / erin.morton@nasa.gov
2024-103
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Last Updated Jul 25, 2024 Related Terms
Perseverance (Rover) Astrobiology Jet Propulsion Laboratory Mars Mars 2020 Mars Sample Return (MSR) The Solar System Explore More
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