Friends of NASA: October 2024

Tuesday, October 01, 2024

Meet NASA Astronaut & SpaceX Crew-9 Commander Nick Hague | NASA Johnson

Meet NASA Astronaut & SpaceX Crew-9 Commander Nick Hague | NASA Johnson

Nick Hague will serve as crew commander for Crew-9, making this his third launch and second mission to the International Space Station. Born in Belleville, Kansas, Hague earned a bachelor’s degree in Astronautical Engineering from the United States Air Force Academy and a master’s degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Hague, an active-duty colonel in the U.S. Space Force, was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2013 and has spent 203 days in space and conducted three spacewalks to upgrade space station power systems and install a docking adapter for commercial spacecraft. Hague will serve as a flight engineer during Expedition 71/72 aboard the space station.

Nick Hague's NASA Biography:

https://www.nasa.gov/people/nick-hague/

Video Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Duration: 3 minutes

Release Date: Oct. 1, 2024

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #SpaceXCrew9 #SpaceX #CrewDragonSpacecraft #Falcon9Rocket #Astronaut #NickHague #Cosmonaut #AleksandrGorbunov #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #CCP #Expedition72 #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Tonight's Sky: October 2024 (Northern Hemisphere)

Tonight's Sky: October 2024 (Northern Hemisphere)

Crisp, clear October nights are full of celestial showpieces. Find Pegasus, the flying horse of Greek myth, to pinpoint dense globular star clusters and galaxies, and keep watching for space-based views of M15, NGC 7331, and the Andromeda Galaxy.

“Tonight’s Sky” is a monthly video of constellations you can observe in the night sky. The series is produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute, home of science operations for the Hubble Space Telescope, in partnership with NASA’s Universe of Learning.

Video Credit: Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)

Duration: 4 minutes, 29 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 18, 2024

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #Planets #SolarSystem #Stars #StarClusters #Nebulae #Constellations #MilkyWayGalaxy #Galaxies #Skywatching #STScI #JPL #Caltech #SSU #UnitedStates #Canada #Mexico #NorthernHemisphere #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Shenzhou-18 Crew: Engineering & Cognitive Experiments | China Space Station

Shenzhou-18 Crew: Engineering & Cognitive Experiments | China Space Station

The Shenzhou-18 mission crew has been meticulously carrying out a variety of experimental tasks on the Tiangong space station that may shape our understanding of material science and low-friction engineering, as well as forming a foundation for effective psychological monitoring in space.

China on April 25, 2024, launched the Shenzhou-18 crewed spacecraft that sent the three astronauts to the Chinese space station for a six-month mission.

Last week, the mission crew finished retrieving an extravehicular exposure device used in experiments that expose materials to outer-space conditions. The team also completed sample recovery and storage.

In another ongoing experiment carried out on behalf of the National Natural Science Fund, a solid-liquid composite lubrication material was placed inside a box. It was also put outside the cabin to be exposed to space. Researchers hope this environment will let it achieve "super lubrication", or near-zero wear of mechanical movement. The experiment may also provide insights into how lubricants impact mechanical processes over time in an outer-space scenario.

Moreover, the mission crew carried out work last week related to real-time monitoring technology used to assess pyschological impacts of an astronauts' workload, including adaptive automated human-machine collaboration technology based on cognitive engineering.

Specifically, the crew members used equipments, such as electroencephalography (EEG) caps, to complete work tasks and simulated space driving tasks to collect EEG, task performance, and subjective scale data throughout the experiment. This allows researchers to further clarify the influence of long-term in-orbit flight on astronaut workload and to establish relevant productivity monitoring models.

In addition, the crew carried out bone metabolism protection and emergency decision-making ability assessments in the orbiting space station.

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, 21 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 29, 2024

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

New Planet Discovered Orbiting Closest Single Star to Our Sun | ESO

New Planet Discovered Orbiting Closest Single Star to Our Sun | ESO

Using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), astronomers have discovered a planet orbiting Barnard’s star, the closest single star to our Sun. The planet, at least half the mass of Venus, was found via the gravitational tug it induces on its host star. This video summarizes the discovery.

Barnard’s Star is a red dwarf star. It is about 10 billion years old, more than twice the current age of the Sun. Red dwarf stars are much cooler and less massive than the Sun, and are expected to live much longer lives because they do not burn through their fuel as fast. Barnard’s Star is one of the closest stars to Earth at a distance of only 6 light-years.

Recent observations have concluded that about 25% of the time, Barnard’s Star unleashes scorching flares. These may damage the atmospheres of planets closely orbiting it. This adds evidence that red dwarfs may present serious challenges for life on their planets.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Directed by: Angelos Tsaousis and Martin Wallner

Editing: Angelos Tsaousis

Written by: Hanna Huysegoms, Alejandro Izquierdo López

Footage and photos: ESO / Luis Calçada, Babak Tafreshi, Martin Kornmesser, Mahdi Zamani, Vladimir Romanyuk

Scientific Consultant: Mariya Lyubenova

Duration: 1 minute