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    • By NASA
      4 min read
      Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
      The GUSTO mission successfully launched on a scientific balloon from Antarctica Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m. local time (Dec. 31, 1:30 a.m. EST). GUSTO is flying on a 39 million cubic-foot zero-pressure scientific balloon. The balloon is used to fly missions for long periods of time during the Austral Summer over Antarctica. On Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024, GUSTO broke the record for longest flight of any NASA heavy-lift, long-duration scientific balloon mission.NASA/Scott Battaion Fifty-five days, one hour, and 34 minutes was the NASA record to beat, and the GUSTO (Galactic/Extragalactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory) scientific balloon mission did just that Saturday, Feb. 24, while flying high above the icy surface of Antarctica. GUSTO is now the new record-holder for longest flight of any NASA heavy-lift, long-duration scientific balloon mission.
      “The success of this balloon mission is a fantastic tribute to all the people that support the program,” said Andrew Hamilton, acting chief of NASA’s Balloon Program Office at the agency’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. “From the operations team at Peraton, to our balloon manufacturer at Aerostar, to the National Science Foundation and their support staff in Antarctica, and to the Mission Management team with NASA, every one of them has been vital to the success of this mission which absolutely demonstrates the capability and value of Long Duration Ballooning to the scientific community.”
      GUSTO was launched at 1:30 a.m. EST Dec. 31 from the Long Duration Balloon Camp near McMurdo Station, Antarctica. The balloon mission not only broke the flight record but continues its path circumnavigating the South Pole. The stadium-sized zero-pressure scientific balloon and observatory are currently reaching altitudes above 125,000 feet. “The health of the balloon and the stratospheric winds are both contributing to the success of the mission so far,” said Hamilton. “The balloon and balloon systems have been performing beautifully, and we’re seeing no degradation in the performance of the balloon. The winds in the stratosphere have been very favorable and have provided stable conditions for extended flight.”
      GUSTO’s record-breaking flight claimed the NASA title from the Super-TIGER (Super Trans-Iron Galactic Element Recorder) balloon mission, which launched from Antarctica in December 2012.
      GUSTO, an Astrophysics mission managed by NASA’s Explorers Program Office at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, is led by principal investigator Christopher Walker from the University of Arizona with support from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
      “NASA’s Long Duration Balloon program provides researchers the ability to fly state-of-the art payloads at the very edge of space, affording them the opportunity to make groundbreaking observations of the cosmos more frequently and at a significantly lower cost than conventional orbital missions,” said Walker.
      GUSTO is mapping a large part of the Milky Way galaxy, including the galactic center, and the nearby Large Magellanic Cloud. The telescope is equipped with sensitive detectors for carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen emission lines. Measuring these emission lines gives the GUSTO team insight into the full lifecycle of the interstellar medium, the cosmic material found between stars. GUSTO’s science observations are performed from Antarctica to allow for enough observation time aloft, access to astronomical objects, and solar power provided by the austral summer in the polar region.
      The GUSTO science mission is scheduled to run just over 60 days, and even after the science mission is complete, the balloon will continue to fly and perform technology demonstration work. “After that, we plan to push the limits of the balloon and fly as long as the balloon is capable to really demonstrate the capabilities of Long Duration Ballooning,” said Hamilton.
      NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia manages the agency’s scientific balloon flight program with 10 to 15 flights each year from launch sites worldwide. Peraton, which operates NASA’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility (CSBF) in Texas, provides mission planning, engineering services, and field operations for NASA’s scientific balloon program. The CSBF team has launched more than 1,700 scientific balloons over some 40 years of operations. NASA’s balloons are fabricated by Aerostar. The NASA Scientific Balloon Program is funded by the NASA Headquarters Science Mission Directorate Astrophysics Division. NASA balloon launch operations from Antarctica receive logistical support from the National Science Foundation’s Office of Polar Programs, which leads U.S. research in Antarctica.
      For more information on NASA’s Scientific Balloon Program, click here. Track the GUSTO mission in real-time on NASA’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility website.
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      Last Updated Feb 26, 2024 EditorOlivia F. LittletonContactOlivia F. Littletonolivia.f.littleton@nasa.govLocationWallops Flight Facility Related Terms
      Scientific Balloons Astrophysics Explorers Program GUSTO (Galactic/Extragalactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory) Wallops Flight Facility View the full article
    • By NASA
      5 min read
      Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
      Deep Space Station 13 at NASA’s Goldstone complex in California – part of the agency’s Deep Space Network – is an experimental antenna that has been retrofitted with an optical terminal. In a first, this proof of concept received both radio frequency and laser signals from deep space at the same time.NASA/JPL-Caltech Capable of receiving both radio frequency and optical signals, the DSN’s hybrid antenna has tracked and decoded the downlink laser from DSOC, aboard NASA’s Psyche mission.
      An experimental antenna has received both radio frequency and near-infrared laser signals from NASA’s Psyche spacecraft as it travels through deep space. This shows it’s possible for the giant dish antennas of NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN), which communicate with spacecraft via radio waves, to be retrofitted for optical, or laser, communications.
      By packing more data into transmissions, optical communication will enable new space exploration capabilities while supporting the DSN as demand on the network grows.
      A close-up of the optical terminal on Deep Space Station 13 shows seven hexagonal mirrors that collect signals from DSOC’s downlink laser. The mirrors reflect the light into a camera directly above, and the signal is then sent to a detector via a system of optical fiber.NASA/JPL-Caltech The 34-meter (112-foot) radio-frequency-optical-hybrid antenna, called Deep Space Station 13, has tracked the downlink laser from NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) technology demonstration since November 2023. The tech demo’s flight laser transceiver is riding with the agency’s Psyche spacecraft, which launched on Oct. 13, 2023.
      The hybrid antenna is located at the DSN’s Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex, near Barstow, California, and isn’t part of the DSOC experiment. The DSN, DSOC, and Psyche are managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
      “Our hybrid antenna has been able to successfully and reliably lock onto and track the DSOC downlink since shortly after the tech demo launched,” said Amy Smith, DSN deputy manager at JPL. “It also received Psyche’s radio frequency signal, so we have demonstrated synchronous radio and optical frequency deep space communications for the first time.”
      Now that Goldstone’s experimental hybrid antenna has proved that both radio and laser signals can be received synchronously by the same antenna, purpose-built hybrid antennas (like the one depicted here in an artist’s concept) could one day become a reality.NASA/JPL-Caltech During a test of the experimental antenna, this photo of the project team at JPL was downlinked by the DSOC transceiver aboard Psyche. NASA/JPL-Caltech In late 2023, the hybrid antenna downlinked data from 20 million miles (32 million kilometers) away at a rate of 15.63 megabits per second – about 40 times faster than radio frequency communications at that distance. On Jan. 1, 2024, the antenna downlinked a team photograph that had been uploaded to DSOC before Psyche’s launch.
      Two for One
      In order to detect the laser’s photons (quantum particles of light), seven ultra-precise segmented mirrors were attached to the inside of the hybrid antenna’s curved surface. Resembling the hexagonal mirrors of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, these segments mimic the light-collecting aperture of a 3.3-foot (1-meter) aperture telescope. As the laser photons arrive at the antenna, each mirror reflects the photons and precisely redirects them into a high-exposure camera attached to the antenna’s subreflector suspended above the center of the dish.
      The laser signal collected by the camera is then transmitted through optical fiber that feeds into a cryogenically cooled semiconducting nanowire single photon detector. Designed and built by JPL’s Microdevices Laboratory, the detector is identical to the one used at Caltech’s Palomar Observatory, in San Diego County, California, which acts as DSOC’s downlink ground station.
      “It’s a high-tolerance optical system built on a 34-meter flexible structure,” said Barzia Tehrani, communications ground systems deputy manager and delivery manager for the hybrid antenna at JPL. “We use a system of mirrors, precise sensors, and cameras to actively align and direct laser from deep space into a fiber reaching the detector.”
      Tehrani hopes the antenna will be sensitive enough to detect the laser signal sent from Mars at its farthest point from Earth (2 ½ times the distance from the Sun to Earth). Psyche will be at that distance in June on its way to the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter to investigate the metal-rich asteroid Psyche.
      The seven-segment reflector on the antenna is a proof of concept for a scaled-up and more powerful version with 64 segments – the equivalent of a 26-foot (8-meter) aperture telescope – that could be used in the future.
      An Infrastructure Solution
      DSOC is paving the way for higher-data-rate communications capable of transmitting complex scientific information, video, and high-definition imagery in support of humanity’s next giant leap: sending humans to Mars. The tech demo recently streamed the first ultra-high-definition video from deep space at record-setting bitrates.
      Retrofitting radio frequency antennas with optical terminals and constructing purpose-built hybrid antennas could be a solution to the current lack of a dedicated optical ground infrastructure. The DSN has 14 dishes distributed across facilities in California, Madrid, and Canberra, Australia. Hybrid antennas could rely on optical communications to receive high volumes of data and use radio frequencies for less bandwidth-intensive data, such as telemetry (health and positional information).
      “For decades, we have been adding new radio frequencies to the DSN’s giant antennas located around the globe, so the most feasible next step is to include optical frequencies,” said Tehrani. “We can have one asset doing two things at the same time; converting our communication roads into highways and saving time, money, and resources.”
      More About the Mission
      DSOC is the latest in a series of optical communication demonstrations funded by NASA’s Technology Demonstration Missions (TDM) program and the agency’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program. JPL, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages DSOC for TDM within NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate and SCaN within the agency’s Space Operations Mission Directorate.
      For more about NASA’s optical communications projects, visit:
      https://www.nasa.gov/lasercomms/
      NASA’s Deep Space Network Turns 60 and Prepares for the Future NASA’s Tech Demo Streams First Video From Deep Space via Laser Teachable Moment: NASA Cat Video Explained News Media Contact
      Ian J. O’Neill
      Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
      818-354-2649
      ian.j.oneill@jpl.nasa.gov
      2024-012
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      Last Updated Feb 08, 2024 Related Terms
      Deep Space Network Space Communications & Navigation Program Space Communications Technology Space Operations Mission Directorate Space Technology Mission Directorate Technology Demonstration Technology Demonstration Missions Program Explore More
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    • By NASA
      2 min read
      Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
      Graphic depiction of LIFA: Lightweight Fiber-based Antenna for Small Sat-Compatible RadiometryBeijia Zhang Zhang, Beijia Zhang, Beijia
      Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Lincoln Lab
      Very large space-based RF antennas can be large and expensive to manufacture and deploy. These problems become more challenging for cases when an array of antennas are needed such as for correlation interferometers that provide high spatial resolution of Earth and space. The proposal will specifically examine the potential applicability of novel fiber-based antennas to L-band radiometry for the purpose of generating high resolution soil moisture and sea surface salinity data. Initial estimates indicate that a x10 improvement on resolution may be possible with long fiber-based antenna arrays. Lincoln Laboratory has been investigating the ability to produce large flexible RF antenna arrays embedded in polymer fibers. These lightweight fibers are flexible enough to be coiled and uncoiled, thus facilitating transport and deployment. The metal that forms the antenna structure and other conductive elements is embedded inside a polymer boule that is heated and drawn to form a novel type of fiber. The resulting fiber thus has multiple materials embedded inside for the ability to support sensing capabilities and other functionalities. Thus, this fiber fabrication process may also lead to a cost-effective means to create very large antennas. This work will include analysis of the required antenna performance and the ability of fiber-based antennas to meet those requirements, deployment strategies, satellite specifics, space tolerance of components and materials, a preliminary system-level design, and concept of operations.
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    • By NASA
      6 Min Read NASA’s Webb Identifies Tiniest Free-Floating Brown Dwarf
      Webb Telescope's Near-Infrared Camera shows the central portion of the star cluster IC 348. Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, K. Luhman (Penn State University), and C. Alves de Oliveira (ESA) Brown dwarfs are objects that straddle the dividing line between stars and planets. They form like stars, growing dense enough to collapse under their own gravity, but they never become dense and hot enough to begin fusing hydrogen and turn into a star. At the low end of the scale, some brown dwarfs are comparable with giant planets, weighing just a few times the mass of Jupiter.
      What are the smallest stars?
      Astronomers are trying to determine the smallest object that can form in a star-like manner. A team using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has identified the new record-holder: a tiny, free-floating brown dwarf with only three to four times the mass of Jupiter.
      “One basic question you’ll find in every astronomy textbook is, what are the smallest stars? That’s what we’re trying to answer,” explained lead author Kevin Luhman of Pennsylvania State University.
      Search Strategy
      To locate this newfound brown dwarf, Luhman and his colleague, Catarina Alves de Oliveira, chose to study the star cluster IC 348, located about 1,000 light-years away in the Perseus star-forming region. This cluster is young, only about 5 million years old. As a result, any brown dwarfs would still be relatively bright in infrared light, glowing from the heat of their formation.
      The team first imaged the center of the cluster using Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) to identify brown dwarf candidates from their brightness and colors. They followed up on the most promising targets using Webb’s NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph) microshutter array.
      Image: Star Cluster IC438
      This image from the NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope shows the central portion of the star cluster IC 348. The wispy curtains filling the image are interstellar material reflecting the light from the cluster’s stars – what is known as a reflection nebula. The material also includes carbon-containing molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. Winds from the most massive stars in the cluster may help sculpt the large loop seen on the right side of the field of view.NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, K. Luhman (Penn State University), and C. Alves de Oliveira (ESA) Webb’s infrared sensitivity was crucial, allowing the team to detect fainter objects than ground-based telescopes. In addition, Webb’s sharp vision enabled them to determine which red objects were pinpoint brown dwarfs and which were blobby background galaxies.
      This winnowing process led to three intriguing targets weighing three to eight Jupiter masses, with surface temperatures ranging from 1,500 to 2,800 degrees Fahrenheit (830 to 1,500 degrees Celsius). The smallest of these weighs just three to four times Jupiter, according to computer models.
      Explaining how such a small brown dwarf could form is theoretically challenging. A heavy and dense cloud of gas has plenty of gravity to collapse and form a star. However, because of its weaker gravity, it should be more difficult for a small cloud to collapse to form a brown dwarf, and that is especially true for brown dwarfs with the masses of giant planets.
      “It’s pretty easy for current models to make giant planets in a disk around a star,” said Catarina Alves de Oliveira of ESA (European Space Agency), principal investigator on the observing program. “But in this cluster, it would be unlikely this object formed in a disk, instead forming like a star, and three Jupiter masses is 300 times smaller than our Sun. So we have to ask, how does the star formation process operate at such very, very small masses?”
      A Mystery Molecule
      In addition to giving clues about the star-formation process, tiny brown dwarfs also can help astronomers better understand exoplanets. The least massive brown dwarfs overlap with the largest exoplanets; therefore, they would be expected to have some similar properties. However, a free-floating brown dwarf is easier to study than a giant exoplanet since the latter is hidden within the glare of its host star.
      Two of the brown dwarfs identified in this survey show the spectral signature of an unidentified hydrocarbon, or molecule containing both hydrogen and carbon atoms. The same infrared signature was detected by NASA’s Cassini mission in the atmospheres of Saturn and its moon Titan. It has also been seen in the interstellar medium, or gas between stars.
      “This is the first time we’ve detected this molecule in the atmosphere of an object outside our solar system,” explained Alves de Oliveira. “Models for brown dwarf atmospheres don’t predict its existence. We’re looking at objects with younger ages and lower masses than we ever have before, and we’re seeing something new and unexpected.”
      Image: Three Brown Dwarfs
      This image from the NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope shows the central portion of the star cluster IC 348. Astronomers combed the cluster in search of tiny, free-floating brown dwarfs: objects too small to be stars but larger than most planets. They found three brown dwarfs that are less than eight times the mass of Jupiter, which are circled in the main image and shown in the detailed pullouts at right. The smallest weighs just three to four times Jupiter, challenging theories for star formation.NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, K. Luhman (Penn State University), and C. Alves de Oliveira (ESA) Brown Dwarf or Rogue Planet?
      Since the objects are well within the mass range of giant planets, it raises the question of whether they are actually brown dwarfs, or if they’re really rogue planets that were ejected from planetary systems. While the team can’t rule out the latter, they argue that they are far more likely to be a brown dwarf than an ejected planet.
      An ejected giant planet is unlikely for two reasons. First, such planets are uncommon in general compared to planets with smaller masses. Second, most stars are low-mass stars, and giant planets are especially rare among those stars. As a result, it’s unlikely that most of the stars in IC 348 (which are low-mass stars) are capable of producing such massive planets. In addition, since the cluster is only 5 million years old, there probably hasn’t been enough time for giant planets to form and then be ejected from their systems.
      The discovery of more such objects will help clarify their status. Theories suggest that rogue planets are more likely to be found in the outskirts of a star cluster, so expanding the search area may identify them if they exist within IC 348.
      Future work may also include longer surveys that can detect fainter, smaller objects. The short survey conducted by the team was expected to detect objects as small as twice the mass of Jupiter. Longer surveys could easily reach one Jupiter mass.
      These observations were taken as part of Guaranteed Time Observation program 1229. The results were published in the Astronomical Journal.
      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 the Canadian Space Agency.
      Media Contacts

      Laura Betz – laura.e.betz@nasa.gov, Rob Gutro– rob.gutro@nasa.gov
      NASA’s  Goddard Space Flight Center, , Greenbelt, Md.

      Hannah Braun – hbraun@stsci.edu , Christine Pulliam – cpulliam@stsci.edu
      Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.

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      Related Information
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      More Webb News – https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/latestnews/
      More Webb Images – https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/multimedia/images/
      Webb Mission Page – https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/

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      Last Updated Dec 13, 2023 EditorSteve SabiaContactLaura Betz Related Terms
      James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Astrophysics Brown Dwarfs Exoplanets Goddard Space Flight Center Missions Science & Research Stars The Universe 6 Min Read NASA’s Webb Identifies Tiniest Free-Floating Brown Dwarf
      This image from the NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope shows the central portion of the star cluster IC 348. The wispy curtains filling the image are interstellar material reflecting the light from the cluster’s stars – what is known as a reflection nebula. The material also includes carbon-containing molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. Winds from the most massive stars in the cluster may help sculpt the large loop seen on the right side of the field of view. Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, K. Luhman (Penn State University), and C. Alves de Oliveira (ESA) View the full article
    • By European Space Agency
      Discovery helps answer the question: How small can you go when forming stars?
      Brown dwarfs are sometimes called failed stars, since they form like stars through gravitational collapse, but never gain enough mass to ignite nuclear fusion. The smallest brown dwarfs can overlap in mass with giant planets. In a quest to find the smallest brown dwarf, astronomers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have found the new record-holder: an object weighing just three to four times the mass of Jupiter.
      View the full article
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