Friends of NASA: September 2024

Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Shenzhou-18 Crew Celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival | China Space Station

Shenzhou-18 Crew Celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival | China Space Station

The astronauts aboard China's space station Tiangong were not able to personally join the 1.4 billion fellow Chinese in spending the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, but they instead enjoyed their festival feast in-orbit high above the Earth on the occasion of the holiday for family reunion.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most important festivals in Chinese culture. It falls on the 15th day of the eighth month on the Chinese lunar calendar and dates back more than a millennium. As a festival in honor of the Moon and harvest, families reunite on the occasion to admire the bright full moon, light lanterns, and share the holiday pastry of mooncakes.

The Shenzhou-18 crew, stationed in outer space, marked the occasion with a unique celebration, appreciating the Moon from the Tiangong space station, enjoying a festive feast, and sending warm wishes to those on the ground.

Astronaut Ye Guangfu, one of the three crew members, stated that from the space station, they can witness the Moon as it rises and sets 16 times a day, as the station orbits the Earth approximately every 90 minutes.

The Mid-Autumn Festival feast in space was particularly lavish, featuring dishes like spicy mutton, stewed beef with potatoes, braised pork chops, and milky chicken. The ground support team prepared personalized food packages tailored to each astronaut's tastes, with mooncakes as a must-have item.

"Let's open it now and see what our moon cake really looks like. The expected moon cake has come out. It's one filled with lotus seed paste. I hereby also wish you all a happy reunion filled with blessings," Ye said.

On April 25, China launched the Shenzhou-18 manned spaceship, carrying three astronauts - Ye Guangfu, Li Cong, and Li Guangsu - to the space station for a six-month mission.

Shenzhou-18 Crew:

Ye Guangfu (叶光富, commander)

Li Cong (李聪, mission specialist)

Li Guangsu (李广苏, mission specialist)

Video Credit: CCTV

Duration: 49 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 18, 2024

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #China #中国 #Shenzhou18 #神舟十八 #MicrogravityExperiments #MicrogravityResearch #AstronautTraining #Taikonauts #Astronauts #YeGuangfu #LiCong #LiGuangsu #CSS #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #CMSA #国家航天局 #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Mars Images: Summer 2024 | NASA Mars Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers

Mars Images: Summer 2024 | NASA Mars Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers

Mars 2020 - sol 1268

Mars 2020 - sol 1264

Mars 2020 - sol 1251

MSL - sol 4302

MSL - sol 4295

MSL - sol 4307

MSL - sol 4302

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Celebrating 12+ Years on Mars (2012-2024)

Mission Name: Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)

Rover Name: Curiosity

Main Job: To determine if Mars was ever habitable to microbial life.

Launch: Nov. 6, 2011

Landing Date: Aug. 5, 2012, Gale Crater, Mars

Celebrating 3+ Years on Mars

Mission Name: Mars 2020

Rover Name: Perseverance

Main Job: Seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and soil) for return to Earth.

Launch: July 30, 2020

Landing: Feb. 18, 2021, Jezero Crater, Mars

For more information on NASA's Mars missions, visit: mars.nasa.gov

Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS

Processing: Kevin M. Gill

Image Release Dates: Aug. 30-18, 2024

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #Astrobiology #Geology #CuriosityRover #MSL #MountSharp #GaleCrater #PerseveranceRover #Mars2020 #JezeroCrater #Robotics #SpaceTechnology #SpaceEngineering #JPL #Caltech #UnitedStates #CitizenScience #KevinGill #STEM #Education

Journey to Interacting Galaxies Arp 107 in Leo Minor

Journey to Interacting Galaxies Arp 107 in Leo Minor

Enjoy this trip to Arp 107, starting with a view of the constellations Ursa Major and Leo Minor. The journey to Arp 107, seen as we pass thousands of galaxies, would take light 450 million years to complete. As we approach Arp 107, the images transition from those taken by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to the newest image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Webb provides new details into these interacting galaxies, including a view from its Mid-Infrared Instrument, into the supermassive black hole at the center of Arp’s disturbed spiral galaxy.

Credits

Video: NASA, European Space Agency, Canadian Space Agency, Space Telescope Science Institute, Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

Duration: 37 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 18, 2024

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #JWST #Galaxy #Galaxies #Arp107 #InteractingGalaxies #SpiralGalaxy #SeyfertGalaxy #EllipticalGalaxy #LeoMinor #Constellation #Universe #JamesWebb #SpaceTelescope #MIRI #NIRCam #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #CSA #Canada #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

A Tour of Interacting Galaxies Arp 107 in Leo Minor | Webb Telescope

A Tour of Interacting Galaxies Arp 107 in Leo Minor | Webb Telescope

This video tours Arp 107, two galaxies that collided hundreds of millions of years ago. The journey begins and ends on a new mid- and near-infrared image from the James Webb Space Telescope, and includes a fade to the mid-infrared view from Webb.

Webb has captured the pair of galaxies in the process of merging. This will take hundreds of millions of years.

Arp 107 is located 465 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo Minor.

Credits

Video: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Danielle Kirshenblat (STScI)

Duration: 2 minutes, 43 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 18, 2024

Pan of Interacting Galaxies Arp 107 in Leo Minor | James Webb Space Telescope

Pan of Interacting Galaxies Arp 107 in Leo Minor | James Webb Space Telescope

This composite image of Arp 107, created with data from the James Webb Space Telescope’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) reveal a wealth of information about the star-formation and how these two galaxies collided hundreds of million years ago. This collision started a new wave of star formation. Although there was star formation occurring before, collisions between galaxies can compress gas, improving the conditions needed for more stars to form. On the other hand, as Webb reveals, collisions also disperse a lot of gas, potentially depriving new stars of the material they need to form.

An interaction between an elliptical galaxy and a spiral galaxy, collectively known as Arp 107, seems to have given the spiral a happier outlook thanks to the two bright “eyes” and the wide semicircular “smile.” Arp 107 is located 465 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo Minor.

Webb has captured these galaxies in the process of merging. This will take hundreds of millions of years. As the two galaxies rebuild after the chaos of their collision, Arp 107 may lose its smile, but it will inevitably turn into something just as interesting for future astronomers to study.

The near-infrared data, shown in white, shows older stars, shining brightly in both galaxies, as well as the tenuous bridge of gas and stars that runs between them. The vibrant background galaxies are also well illuminated in this wavelength.

On the other hand, MIRI data shows the young stars and star-forming regions in vibrant orange and red. Our view in the mid-infrared provides the best view of the collision point, given the noticeable gap at the top of the spiral galaxy.

Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, N. Bartmann (ESA/Webb)

Duration: 30 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 18, 2024

Interacting Galaxies Arp 107 in Leo Minor | James Webb Space Telescope

Interacting Galaxies Arp 107 in Leo Minor | James Webb Space Telescope

Image Credit: NASA, European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency, Space Telescope Science Institute

Release Date: Sept. 18, 2024

Tuesday, September 17, 2024

2024 American Rocketry Challenge National Finals Highlights

2024 American Rocketry Challenge National Finals Highlights

"Witness history in the making at the 2024 American Rocketry Challenge National Finals! 🌟 With our largest registration ever, the first-ever rain date, and a special visit from NASA Astronaut Woody Hoburg—the first American Rocketry Challenge Alumni to go to space—this year’s event was unforgettable!"

"Congratulations to Tharptown High School from Russellville, Alabama, for being crowned National Champions! 🏆 Competing against 100 teams at Great Meadow Foundation in The Plains, VA, they achieved the best score and took home the first-place trophy, $20,000 in prize money, and the honor of representing the USA at the International Rocketry Challenge in London in July."

"With over 5,500 students from 922 teams across 45 states, this year’s competition saw the highest registration in our program’s history."

"Don’t miss these highlights from an event that truly reached for the stars!" 🚀✨

American Rocketry Challenge Website: www.rocketcontest.org

https://rocketcontest.smapply.io/prog/2025_american_rocketry_challenge/

NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg participated in the first-ever American Rocketry Challenge in 2003, then known as the Team America Rocketry Challenge, as a North Allegheny High School (Pennsylvania) team member, alongside his brother.

NASA Astronaut William Hoburg's Biography:

https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/astronauts/warren-hoburg/

https://www.nasa.gov/people/warren-hoburg/

Major Partners:

The National Association of Rocketry:

https://www.nar.org

Aerospace Industries Association of America (AIA):

https://www.aia-aerospace.org

Video Credit: American Rocketry Challenge

Duration: 4 minutes

Release Date: Sept. 11, 2024

#NASA #Space #Rockets #Rocketry #Students #Competition #Challenge #Contest #Champions #HighSchool #MiddleSchool #Science #Physics #Technology #Engineering #Math #ThePlains #Virginia #Astronaut #WoodyHoburg #JSC #UnitedStates #America #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Polaris Dawn Crew Revisit Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center

Polaris Dawn Crew Revisit Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center

From left to right: Jared Isaacman - Mission Commander & Spacewalker, Scott Poteet - Mission Pilot, Sarah Gillis - Mission Specialist & Spacewalker, Anna Menon - Mission Specialist & Medical Officer

On Tuesday, September 17, 2024, the Polaris Dawn crew returned to Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida. This pad, along with Launch Complex 39B, was first constructed in the 1960s to accommodate the Saturn V launch vehicle, and has been used to support NASA crewed space flight missions, including the historic Apollo 11 moon landing and the Space Shuttle. The site is currently leased by SpaceX and supports launches of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets.

After nearly five days on orbit, the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and the Polaris Dawn crew safely splashed down on Sunday, September 15, 2024, off the coast of Dry Tortugas, Florida, completing the first human spaceflight mission of the Polaris Program.

Polaris Dawn Crew

Jared Isaacman - Mission Commander & Spacewalker

Scott Poteet - Mission Pilot

Sarah Gillis - Mission Specialist & Spacewalker

Anna Menon - Mission Specialist & Medical Officer

Polaris Dawn completed the first commercial spacewalks from Crew Dragon. The crew tested Starlink-laser based communications and conducted a wide range of research in microgravity involving ~36 studies and experiments from 31 partner institutions related to human health.

The Polaris Dawn Mission flew a specially-modified SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft that went higher than any mission to date since the Apollo program, reaching the highest Earth orbit ever flown at approximately 700 kilometers above the Earth. Orbiting through portions of the Van Allen radiation belt, Polaris Dawn conducted research with the aim of better understanding the effects of spaceflight and space radiation on human health, while testing laser-based communications.

"Completing the first commercial extravehicular activity in low-Earth orbit is an important first step towards a future where millions of humans are visiting, working, and living on the Moon, Mars, and other destinations in our solar system."

This was the first human spaceflight for Mission Pilot Kidd Poteet, Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis, and Mission Specialist and Medical Officer Anna Menon. Mission Commander Jared Isaacman previously flew to space as commander of Inspiration4. This was the first time two SpaceX employees have been part of a human spaceflight crew, providing valuable insight to future missions on the road to making life multiplanetary.

Learn more about the Polaris Program:

https://polarisprogram.com

Image Credit: Polaris Program/John Kraus

Capture Date: Sept. 17, 2024

#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #PolarisDawn #CrewDragonSpacecraft #EVA #Spacewalks #Spacesuits #SpaceTechnology #Starlink #Astronauts #JaredIsaacman #ScottPoteet #SarahGillis #AnnaMenon #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #KSC #LaunchPad39A #MerrittIsland #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

¿Cómo es que estamos hechos de polvo estelar? Preguntamos a una científica de la NASA

¿Cómo es que estamos hechos de polvo estelar? Preguntamos a una científica de la NASA

¡Es verdad! Nuestro cuerpo contiene distintos elementos como oxígeno, nitrógeno, carbono y muchos otros que se formaron gracias al ciclo de vida de las estrellas. Begoña Vila, astrofísica de la NASA e ingeniera de sistemas de instrumentos de los telescopios espaciales Nancy Grace Roman y James Webb, te explica cómo este proceso que tuvo lugar hace miles de millones de años dio origen a nuestro Sol, la Tierra y nosotros.

Crédito de video: NASA 360

Duration: 2 minutes

Release Date: Sept. 16, 2024

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #NASAenespañol #español #Stars #Supernovae #JamesWebb #JWST #SpaceTelescopes #RomanSpaceTelescope #Cosmos #Universe #UnfoldTheUniverse #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

China's Yutu-2 Lunar Rover Sends Home Latest Images of Moon's Far Side

China's Yutu-2 Lunar Rover Sends Home Latest Images of Moon's Far Side

After its arrival on January 3, 2019, China's Yutu-2 rover has traveled 1,613 meters on the mysterious far side of the Moon as of Tuesday, September 17, 2024. Yutu-2 or Jade Rabbit-2 has sent home the latest images showing diverse features on the lunar surface.

China's Yutu-2 lunar rover has been working on the far side of the Moon for nearly five years and nine months as part of the China Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP). Yutu-2 is currently operational as humanity's longest-lived lunar rover and the first lunar rover traversing the far side of the Moon. This is well beyond its original 3-month design lifespan.

Yutu-2 is the robotic lunar rover component of the China National Space Administration's Chang'e 4 Mission to the Moon, launched on December 7, 2018. Chang'e 4 soft landed in the Von Karman Crater in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the far side of the Moon on January 3, 2019.

Yutu-2 has a radioisotope heater unit to maintain its subsystems during long and cold lunar nights. Electrical power is generated by the rover's solar panels during daylight.

One of the photos beamed back to Earth on Sept 10, 2024, showed the rover left marks on the lunar surface that resembled a mooncake. Zuo Wei, deputy chief designer of the Chang'e-4 mission's ground application system, believed this could symbolize the celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival, one of the most important traditional holidays for Chinese people that falls on Tuesday this year.

"I think maybe it's because the Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, and it wants to draw a mooncake pattern to echo the festive theme," she told CCTV.

The collection of photos highlighted a variety of features of the Moon's surface, including flat areas, hills, impact craters and large rocks.

In addition to Yutu-2, the Chang'e-3 probe and Chang'e-4 lander are also operational on the Moon. While some scientific instruments continue to function and transmit data, researchers are also evaluating their long-term operational capabilities.

"The Moon-based optical telescope onboard Chang'e-3 lander is still operational, performing regular on-off cycles every month, though it is no longer conducting scientific observations. Chang'e-4 is also still active," said Zuo.

In addition, the country's Queqiao and Queqiao-2 relay satellites are working in the orbit around the Moon. Queqiao mainly provides Earth-Moon relay communications for Chang'e-4 and Yutu-2. After completing its mission for Chang'e-6, Queqiao-2 is currently conducting scientific observations in orbit while awaiting the arrival of Chang'e-7, scheduled for launch around 2026.

Direct communication with Earth is impossible on the far side of the Moon, since transmissions are blocked by the Moon. Communications must pass through a communications relay satellite, placed at a location that has a clear view of a landing site and the Earth.

Video Credit: CCTV

Duration: 1 minute, 31 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 17, 2024

#NASA #CNSA #Space #Astronomy #Science #China #中国 #Moon #FarSide #Yuyu2 #玉兔二号#LunarRover #Robotics #SpaceTechnology #Engineering #Change4Mission #嫦娥四号 #LunarLander #Queqiao1Satellite #Queqiao2Satellite #CLEP #History #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Hubble Space Telescope Finds More Black Holes Than Expected in Early Universe

Hubble Space Telescope Finds More Black Holes Than Expected in Early Universe

Scientists do not currently have a complete picture of how the first black holes formed, not long after the Big Bang. It is known that supermassive black holes, that can weigh more than a billion suns, exist at the center of several galaxies less than a billion years after the Big Bang.

This is a new image of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. By comparing Hubble Wide Field Camera 3 near-infrared exposures taken in 2009, 2012, and 2023, astronomers found evidence for flickering supermassive black holes in the hearts of early galaxies. One example is seen as a bright object in the inset. There are supermassive black holes that do not swallow surrounding material constantly, but in fits and bursts, making their brightness flicker. This can be detected by comparing Hubble Ultra Deep Field frames taken at different epochs. The survey found more black holes than predicted.

Black holes play an important role in the lifecycle of all galaxies, but there are major uncertainties in our understanding of how galaxies evolve. In order to gain a complete picture of the link between galaxy and black hole evolution, the researchers used Hubble to survey how many black holes exist among a population of faint galaxies when the Universe was just a few percent of its current age.

The new observational results suggest that some black holes likely formed by the collapse of massive, pristine stars during the first billion years of cosmic time. These types of stars can only exist at very early times in the Universe, because later generations of stars are polluted by the remnants of stars that have already lived and died. Other alternatives for black hole formation include collapsing gas clouds, mergers of stars in massive clusters, and ‘primordial’ black holes that formed (by physically speculative mechanisms) in the first few seconds after the Big Bang. With this new information about black hole formation, more accurate models of galaxy formation can be constructed.

Image Description: This is a Hubble image of a black sky sprinkled with myriad galaxies of all shapes and sizes stretching back to nearly the beginning of the Universe. In the middle of the picture there is an inset box showing one sample pair of early galaxies. One galaxy is spiral-shaped and the other is spindle-shaped because it is a disc galaxy seen edge-on. The spindle-shaped galaxy has an active supermassive black hole that appears as a bright white spot. This is identified by comparing pictures of the same region taken at different epochs.

The image was created from Hubble data from the following proposals: 9978, 10086 (S. Beckwith); 11563 (G. Illingworth); 12498 (R. Ellis); and 17073 (M. Hayes). These images are composites of separate exposures acquired by the ACS and WFC3 instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope.

Credit: NASA, European Space Agency, M. Hayes (Stockholm University), J. DePasquale (STScI)

Release Date: Sept. 17, 2024

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Stars #Supernovae #BlackHoles #Galaxies #Cosmos #Universe #Astrophysics #Cosmology #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #Infographic #STEM #Education

NASA's Europa Clipper Mission: Exploring Jupiter’s Ocean Moon | JPL

NASA's Europa Clipper Mission: Exploring Jupiter’s Ocean Moon | JPL

NASA’s Europa Clipper is the first mission dedicated to studying Jupiter’s icy moon Europa—one of the most promising places in our solar system to find an environment suitable for life outside of Earth. Evidence suggests that beneath Europa’s frozen surface is a global ocean of water, and scientists want to find out if there is also the right chemistry and energy to sustain life.

Europa Clipper is equipped with nine instruments and a gravity experiment. It will orbit Jupiter and make 49 flybys of Europa, gathering data to help scientists understand the moon’s geology, composition, and interior. While not a life-detection mission, Europa Clipper will answer key questions about the moon’s potential habitability.

Europa Clipper is expected to launch in October 2024 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and to arrive at Jupiter in 2030.

For more information on the mission go to: https://europa.nasa.gov/

Download Europa Clipper Ocean World poster:

https://europa.nasa.gov/resources/173/europa-clipper-journey-to-an-ocean-world-poster/

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/KSC/APL

Duration: 4 minutes, 25 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 17, 2024

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Jupiter #Europa #Moon #Ocean #Astrobiology #Biosignatures #Habitability #PlanetaryProtection #Radiation #EuropaClipper #Spacecraft #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #APL #MSFC #GSFC #JPL #KSC #Spaceport #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #Animation #HD #Video

Deer Park Pipeline Fire in Texas | International Space Station

Deer Park Pipeline Fire in Texas | International Space Station

NASA astronaut Don Pettit: "Pipeline fire in Deer Park, TX. ~10 miles north of Johnson Space Center, and even closer to my Earth home."

Deer Park is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area.

Image details: Nikon Z9, 200mm f2, 1/320 sec, ISO 25600

Expedition 71 Updates:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 71 Crew

Station Commander: Oleg Kononenko (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin, Alexey Ovchinin, Ivan Vagner

NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominick, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, Don Pettit

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.

Image Credit: NASA/JSC/D. Pettit

Image Date: Sept. 17, 2024

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Earth #Texas #DeerPark #PipelineFire #Houston #JSC #Astronauts #Astronaut #DonPettit #AstronautPhotography #UnitedStates #Cosmonauts #AlexeiOvchinin #IvanVagner #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #SpaceLaboratory #Expedition71 #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #STEM #Education

Monday, September 16, 2024

Polaris Dawn Crew Dragon Spacecraft Re-entry | International Space Station

Polaris Dawn Crew Dragon Spacecraft Re-entry | International Space Station

NASA astronaut Don Pettit aboard the International Space Station (ISS) captured this image on Sept. 15, 2024: "Polaris Dawn entry . . . I photographed it at 7:23 am GMT from the Cupola on ISS. In addition to the multi-colored entry trail over Florida, the basic cone shape of the Dragon capsule can be seen."

Note: The cupola is a small space station module with seven windows for observing the Earth and activities outside.

Image Details: Nikon Z9, 200mm f2, 1/400th sec, ISO 25600

After nearly five days on orbit, the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and the Polaris Dawn crew safely splashed down at 3:36 a.m. ET on Sunday, September 15, 2024, off the coast of Dry Tortugas, Florida, completing the first human spaceflight mission of the Polaris Program.

Polaris Dawn Crew

Jared Isaacman - Mission Commander & Spacewalker

Scott Poteet - Mission Pilot

Sarah Gillis - Mission Specialist & Spacewalker

Anna Menon - Mission Specialist & Medical Officer

Polaris Dawn has completed the first commercial spacewalks from Crew Dragon. The crew have tested Starlink-laser based communications and conducted a wide range of research in microgravity involving ~36 studies and experiments from 31 partner institutions related to human health.

The Polaris Dawn Mission is flying a specially-modified SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft that flew higher than any mission to date since the Apollo program, reaching the highest Earth orbit ever flown at approximately 700 kilometers above the Earth. Orbiting through portions of the Van Allen radiation belt, Polaris Dawn is conducting research with the aim of better understanding the effects of spaceflight and space radiation on human health, while testing laser-based communications.

This has been the first human spaceflight for Mission Pilot Kidd Poteet, Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis, and Mission Specialist and Medical Officer Anna Menon. Mission Commander Jared Isaacman previously flew to space as commander of Inspiration4. This has also been the first time two SpaceX employees have been part of a human spaceflight crew, providing valuable insight to future missions on the road to making life multiplanetary.

Learn more about the Polaris Program:

https://polarisprogram.com

Image Credit: Polaris Program

Capture Date: Sept. 15, 2024

#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #PolarisDawn #CrewDragon #CrewDragonSpacecraft #Reentry #SpaceTechnology #Astronauts #JaredIsaacman #ScottPoteet #SarahGillis #AnnaMenon #DonPettit #AstronautPhotography #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Polaris Dawn Crew Returns | SpaceX

Polaris Dawn Crew Returns | SpaceX

From left to right: Scott Poteet - Mission Pilot, Anna Menon - Mission Specialist & Medical Officer, Sarah Gillis - Mission Specialist, Jared Isaacman - Mission Commander

Sarah Gillis - Mission Specialist & Spacewalker

Anna Menon - Mission Specialist & Medical Officer

Scott Poteet - Mission Pilot

Jared Isaacman - Mission Commander & Spacewalker

Polaris Dawn Crew Dragon spacecraft on the recovery ship after splashdown on Sept. 15, 2024

Polaris Dawn Crew

Jared Isaacman - Mission Commander & Spacewalker

Scott Poteet - Mission Pilot

Sarah Gillis - Mission Specialist & Spacewalker

Anna Menon - Mission Specialist & Medical Officer

Learn more about the Polaris Program:

https://polarisprogram.com

Image Credit: Polaris Program

Capture Date: Sept. 15, 2024

Star Cluster Messier 68 in Hydra: A Ten Billion Year Stellar Dance | Hubble

Star Cluster Messier 68 in Hydra: A Ten Billion Year Stellar Dance | Hubble

The NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope offers this delightful view of the crowded stellar encampment called Messier 68—a spherical, star-filled region of space known as a globular cluster. Mutual gravitational attraction amongst a cluster’s hundreds of thousands or even millions of stars keeps stellar members in check, allowing globular clusters to hang together for many billions of years.

Astronomers can measure the ages of globular clusters by looking at the light of their constituent stars. The chemical elements leave signatures in this light, and the starlight reveals that globular clusters' stars typically contain fewer heavy elements, such as carbon, oxygen and iron, than stars like the Sun. Since successive generations of stars gradually create these elements through nuclear fusion, stars having fewer of them are relics of earlier epochs in the Universe. Indeed, the stars in globular clusters rank among the oldest on record, dating back more than 10 billion years.

More than 150 of these objects surround our Milky Way galaxy. On a galactic scale, globular clusters are indeed not all that big. In Messier 68's case, its constituent stars span a volume of space with a diameter of little more than a hundred light-years. The disc of the Milky Way, on the other hand, extends over some 100,000 light-years or more.

Messier 68 is located about 33,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Hydra (The Female Water Snake). French astronomer Charles Messier notched the object as the sixty-eighth entry in his famous catalog in 1780.

Hubble added Messier 68 to its own impressive list of cosmic targets in this image using the Wide Field Camera of Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. The image, combining visible and infrared light, has a field of view of approximately 3.4 by 3.4 arcminutes.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA

Release Date: July 30, 2012

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #StarClusters #M68 #Messier68 #GSC #Hydra #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Pan of Spiral Galaxy NGC 1559 in Reticulum | Hubble Space Telescope

Pan of Spiral Galaxy NGC 1559 in Reticulum | Hubble Space Telescope

This is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Reticulum near the Large Magellanic Cloud at approximately 35 million light-years from Earth. The brilliant light captured in this image offers a wealth of information. This picture is composed of ten images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, each filtered to collect light from a specific wavelength or range of wavelengths. It spans Hubble’s sensitivity to light, from ultraviolet around 275 nanometers through blue, green and red to near-infrared at 1600 nanometers. This allows information about many astrophysical processes in the galaxy to be recorded. A notable example is the red 656-nanometer filter used here. Hydrogen atoms that are ionized can emit light at this particular wavelength, called H-alpha emission.

New stars forming in a molecular cloud, made mostly of hydrogen gas, emit copious amounts of ultraviolet light that is absorbed by the cloud. This becomes ionized causing it to glow with H-alpha light. Therefore, filtering to detect only this light provides a reliable means to detect areas of star formation (called H II regions), shown in this image by bright red and pink colors of the blossoming patches filling NGC 1559’s spiral arms.

These ten images come from six different observing programs with Hubble, running from 2009 all the way up to the present year. These programs were led by teams of astronomers studying ionized gas and star formation, following up on a supernova, and tracking variable stars as a contribution to calculating the Hubble constant.

Image Description: A spiral galaxy, tilted at an angle, with irregularly-shaped arms. It appears large and close-up. The center glows in a yellowish color, while the disc around it is a bluer color, due to light from older and newer stars. Dark reddish threads of dust cover the galaxy, and there are many large, shining pink spots in the disc where stars are forming.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, F. Belfiore, W. Yuan, J. Lee and the PHANGS-HST Team, A. Riess, K. Takáts, D. de Martin & M. Zamani (ESA/Hubble), N. Bartmann (ESA/Hubble)

Duration: 30 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 16, 2024

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC1559 #Spiral #Barred #Reticulum #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Sun Releases Strong X4.5 Flare | NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory

Sun Releases Strong X4.5 Flare | NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory

The Sun emitted a strong solar flare, peaking at 11:29 a.m. ET on Sept. 14, 2024. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory watches the Sun constantly and it captured an image of the event. Strong (G3) geomagnetic storms are likely to be experienced on Earth on September 16, 2024. In the United States, aurora may be visible as low in latitude as Pennsylvania and Oregon.

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare—seen as the bright flash near the center of the image—on Sept. 14, 2024. The image shows a subset of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares. It is colorized in gold and red.

Solar flares are powerful bursts of energy. Flares and solar eruptions can impact radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals, and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts.

This is classified as an X4.5 flare. X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength.

Image Description: A combination of multiple ultraviolet wavelengths shows the Sun with bright loops of material extending off of the surface. A bright flash erupts on the Sun's lower left, and a burst of material is thrown off of the Sun into space.

To see how such space weather may affect Earth, please visit the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center https://spaceweather.gov, the U.S. government’s official source for space weather forecasts, watches, warnings, and alerts.

NASA works as a research arm of the nation’s space weather effort. NASA observes the Sun and our space environment constantly with a fleet of spacecraft that study everything from the Sun’s activity to the solar atmosphere, and to the particles and magnetic fields in the space surrounding Earth.

Image Credit: NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)

Caption Credit: Sarah Frazier

Release Date: Sept. 16, 2024

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #SpaceWeather #Sun #Star #Solar #SolarFlare #XFlare #Ultraviolet #Science #Plasma #MagneticField #Astrophysics #Heliophysics #Physics #Spacecraft #Satellite #SDO #GSFC #UnitedStates #Animation #GIF #STEM #Education

Spiral Galaxy NGC 1559 in Reticulum | Hubble Space Telescope

Spiral Galaxy NGC 1559 in Reticulum | Hubble Space Telescope

The galaxy featured here is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Reticulum near the Large Magellanic Cloud at approximately 35 million light-years from Earth. The brilliant light captured in this image offers a wealth of information. This picture is composed of ten images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, each filtered to collect light from a specific wavelength or range of wavelengths. It spans Hubble’s sensitivity to light, from ultraviolet around 275 nanometers through blue, green and red to near-infrared at 1600 nanometers. This allows information about many astrophysical processes in the galaxy to be recorded. A notable example is the red 656-nanometer filter used here. Hydrogen atoms that are ionized can emit light at this particular wavelength, called H-alpha emission.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, F. Belfiore, W. Yuan, J. Lee and the PHANGS-HST Team, A. Riess, K. Takáts, D. de Martin & M. Zamani (ESA/Hubble)

Release Date: Sept. 16, 2024

Lost in a Giant Stellar Nursery: Nebula IC 2948 in Centaur | ESO

Lost in a Giant Stellar Nursery: Nebula IC 2948 in Centaur | ESO

Do you feel lost looking at this picture? Exploring the gas cloud known as IC 2948 means finding your way across countless nascent stars born in this enormous stellar nursery. And yet, this is just a snippet of a much larger object—the Running Chicken Nebula. This nebula spans an area on the night sky close to 25 full moons, and yet, the area you see here is not even a third of a full moon. Obtaining such a detailed snippet of the nebula was possible thanks to a 1.5-billion-pixel image taken by the VLT Survey Telescope (VST), hosted and operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO).

Located in the constellation of the Centaur (Centaurus), the Running Chicken Nebula is a labyrinth of gas, dust and young stars whose highly intense radiation erodes away the surrounding material. The gas cloud IC2948 is the brightest region of the nebula. Here, we find creeping dark clouds, shaped like open hands about to grab their surrounding blooming stars.

First discovered more than a century ago, this gas cloud is helping us understand how stars form and behave during their infancy. To spot IC 2948 within the much larger Running Chicken Nebula, locate the chicken’s rear end (or its head, as some people claim). In your search, you may come across other areas like the stunning GUM 41 nebula.

Image Description: The image is dominated by a nebula with pink to crimson colors, splattered with yellow, red, white and blue dots of different sizes that represent stars. A big yellow-colored star is located on the bottom left, with red and green rays extending more than twice the size of the dot itself. Dark brown clouds are located in the center, resembling an open hand. From it extend other, fainter dust clouds with amorphous shapes.

Credit: ESO/VPHAS+ team

Acknowledgement: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit (CASU)

Release Date: Sept. 16, 2024

#NASA #ESO #Space #Astronomy #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #IC2948 #RunningChickenNebula #StellarNursery #Centaur #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #VLTSurveyTelescope #ParanalObservatory #Chile #SouthAmerica #Europe #STEM #Education

Sunday, September 15, 2024

Twisted Spiral Galaxy NGC 3718 in Ursa Major | Mayall Telescope

Twisted Spiral Galaxy NGC 3718 in Ursa Major | Mayall Telescope

This image was obtained with the wide-field view of the Mosaic camera on the Mayall 4-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona. NGC 3718 is the twisted spiral galaxy in the upper-right corner of the image. Its distinctive shape is likely the result of gravitational interactions with the smaller spiral galaxy, NGC 3729, to the left. Below and to the right of NGC 3718 is the Hickson Compact Group 56. It consists of five interacting galaxies. These galaxies are not smaller. Instead, they are about eight times further away than NGC 3718 and NGC 3729.

The image was generated with observations in the U (violet), B (blue), V (green), I (orange) and Hydrogen-Alpha (red) filters. This image is rotated 35 degrees counterclockwise from North is up, East is left.

Credit: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage) and H. Schweiker (WIYN and NOIRLab/NSF/AURA)

Release Date: June 30, 2020

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC3718 #NGC3729 #SpiralGalaxy #InteractingGalaxies #HicksonCompactGroup56 #UrsaMajor #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #MayallTelescope #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #KittPeak #KPNO #Tucson #Arizona #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

BBC Star Diary: A Supermoon Eclipse (September 16-22, 2024)

BBC Star Diary: A Supermoon Eclipse (September 16-22, 2024)

A partial lunar eclipse will cross the face of the Supermoon this week. Find out when you can see the sight for yourself, as well as all the latest stargazing highlights, in this week’s Star Diary podcast, from the makers of BBC Sky at Night Magazine.

Video Credit: BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Duration: 15 minutes

Release Date: Sept. 15, 2024

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #Supermoon #Moon #Planets #SolarSystem #Stars #Constellations #StarClusters #MilkyWayGalaxy #Universe #Skywatching #BBC #UK #Britain #Europe #UnitedStates #Canada #NorthernHemisphere #STEM #Education #Podcast #HD #Video

Night Lights of Asia | International Space Station

Night Lights of Asia | International Space Station

NASA Astronaut Matthew Dominick: "Timelapse traveling Northeast over Southeast Asia."

"In order of appearance:

* So many lightning strikes

* Colored lights from fishing boats—one of my favorite things to see at night from the ISS

* Juxtaposition of city lights on the Korean Peninsula

* Red lights North of mainland Japan. Does anyone know what they are?"

* Orbital sunrise

Expedition 71 Updates:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 71 Crew

Station Commander: Oleg Kononenko (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin, Alexey Ovchinin, Ivan Vagner

NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominick, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, Don Pettit

Video Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center/M. Dominick

Duration: 1 minute, 26 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 14, 2024

#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #Planet #Earth #Asia #Indonesia #Vietnam #China #中国 #SouthKorea #대한민국 #NorthKorea #Russia #Astronauts #AstronautPhotography #UnitedStates #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition71 #InternationalCooperation #STEM #Education #Timelapse #HD #Video

Shenzhou-18 Crew Update: Research, Maintenance & Training | China Space Station

Shenzhou-18 Crew Update: Research, Maintenance & Training | China Space Station

The Shenzhou-18 crew members on board China's orbiting Tiangong space station have been performing a variety of tasks, including scientific experiments as well as regular maintenance and training, as showed in videos released by the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) on Sunday, September 15, 2024.

The crew conducted research on the impact of long-duration manned space missions on astronauts' operational performance in the Tiangong space station. The projects selected were based on the characteristics of long-duration in-orbit space station missions, alongside other tasks, for instance in-orbit training and experiments.

After completing each project, each astronaut filled out reports detailing the operation time and scales to record their fatigue levels and to assess their workload. Subsequently, researchers on the ground collected and analyzed the astronauts' in-orbit operational performance data to preliminarily grasp the characteristics and patterns of changes in astronauts' operational skills during space missions.

Of course, the China space station is a national space laboratory. Experiments in areas, such as space materials science, fluid dynamics in microgravity, and combustion science, are being carried out. The crew has regularly replaced experiment samples as part of these experiments.

Meanwhile, in close coordination with researchers on the ground, the three astronauts successfully completed the return of external payloads using the automatic payload ingress and egress function.

Additionally, the crew conducted personal noise exposure measurements and acoustic testing to assess and improve the acoustic environment within the space station.

Tasks related to equipment inspection and maintenance, including the transfer of a pre-cooling device for biological experiment samples, have been carried out in the space station as well.

The pre-cooling device, resembling a small refrigeration unit, ensures that the samples remain "fresh" throughout the return journey to Earth.

The astronauts also routinely conducted system-wide pressure emergency drills to strengthen and further enhance their emergency response capabilities and their ability to coordinate between space and ground.

One of the drills simulated the process of three astronauts responding to an internal depressurization scenario within the space station.

Last week, the crew conducted in-orbit medical aid training. This included further familiarizing themselves with equipment locations, reviewing usage methods, and reinforcing operational procedures and skills, helping them become accustomed to rescue operations in a microgravity environment.

In terms of health maintenance, the three astronauts have performed activities involving eye pressure and fundus examinations, as well as neuromuscular stimulation, to monitor and maintain their physical condition.

Furthermore, the crew frequently completed other crucial tasks, like cleaning, arranging supplies, plus garbage transfer and storage to maintain a clean environment inside the space station.

On April 25, 2024, China launched the Shenzhou-18 crewed spacecraft, carrying three astronauts—Ye Guangfu, Li Cong, and Li Guangsu—to the space station for a six-month mission.

Shenzhou-18 Crew:

Ye Guangfu (叶光富, commander)

Li Cong (李聪, mission specialist)

Li Guangsu (李广苏, mission specialist)

Video Credit: CCTV

Duration: 2 minutes

Release Date: Sept. 15, 2024

Polaris Dawn Crew Back Home | SpaceX

Polaris Dawn Crew Back Home | SpaceX

Polaris Dawn Crew

Jared Isaacman - Mission Commander & Spacewalker

Scott Poteet - Mission Pilot

Sarah Gillis - Mission Specialist & Spacewalker

Anna Menon - Mission Specialist & Medical Officer

Learn more about the Polaris Program:

https://polarisprogram.com

Image Credit: Polaris Program

Capture Date: Sept. 15, 2024

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