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NASA's Space to Ground: Laying the Groundwork | Week of June 28, 2024
NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station. Preparations continue for a spacewalk at the International Space Station planned for next week. In the meantime, the orbital residents are rebuilding advanced plumbing gear and servicing video and science hardware.
Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)
NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominick, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps
NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore
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.
Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:
Pan of Spiral Galaxy NGC 3254: A Galactic Powerhouse | Hubble
This image shows the spiral galaxy NGC 3254, observed using Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). WFC3 has the capacity to observe ultraviolet, visible and near-infrared light, and this image is a composite of observations taken in the visible and infrared. In this image, NGC 3254 looks like a typical spiral galaxy, viewed side-on. However, NGC 3254 has a fascinating secret that it is hiding in plain sight—it is a Seyfert galaxy, meaning that it has an extraordinarily active core, known as an active galactic nucleus, which releases as much energy as the rest of the galaxy put together.
Distance:118 million light years
Seyfert galaxies are not rare—about 10% of all galaxies are thought to be Seyfert galaxies. They belong to the class of “active galaxies”—galaxies that have supermassive black holes at their centers that are actively accreting material. They release vast amounts of radiation as it is accreted. There is a second, far more active, type of active galaxy that is known as a quasar. The active cores of Seyfert galaxies, such as NGC 3254, are brightest when observed in light outside the visible spectrum. At other wavelengths, this image would look very different, with the galaxy’s core shining extremely brightly.
Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble & NASA, A. Riess et al.
Spiral Galaxy NGC 3254: A Galactic Powerhouse | Hubble
This image shows the spiral galaxy NGC 3254, observed using Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). WFC3 has the capacity to observe ultraviolet, visible and near-infrared light, and this image is a composite of observations taken in the visible and infrared. In this image, NGC 3254 looks like a typical spiral galaxy, viewed side-on. However, NGC 3254 has a fascinating secret that it is hiding in plain sight—it is a Seyfert galaxy, meaning that it has an extraordinarily active core, known as an active galactic nucleus, which releases as much energy as the rest of the galaxy put together.
Distance:118 million light years
Seyfert galaxies are not rare—about 10% of all galaxies are thought to be Seyfert galaxies. They belong to the class of “active galaxies”—galaxies that have supermassive black holes at their centers that are actively accreting material. They release vast amounts of radiation as it is accreted. There is a second, far more active, type of active galaxy that is known as a quasar. The active cores of Seyfert galaxies, such as NGC 3254, are brightest when observed in light outside the visible spectrum. At other wavelengths, this image would look very different, with the galaxy’s core shining extremely brightly.
Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble & NASA, A. Riess et al.
A Golden Atmospheric Glow Crowns Earth's Horizon | International Space Station
A long exposure shot taken aboard the International Space Station shows a golden atmospheric glow crowning Earth's horizon as the orbiting laboratory soared 267 miles over the South Pacific Ocean.
The orange hue enveloping Earth is known as airglow—diffuse bands of light that stretch 50 to 400 miles into our atmosphere. The phenomenon typically occurs when molecules (mostly nitrogen and oxygen) are energized by ultraviolet (UV) radiation from sunlight. To release that energy, atoms in the lower atmosphere bump into each other and lose energy in the collision. The result is colorful airglow.
Airglow reveals the workings of the upper reaches of our atmosphere. It can help scientists learn about the movement of particles near the interface of Earth and space, including the connections between space weather and Earth weather. Satellites offer one way to study this dynamic zone. NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) satellite, launched in 2019, is helping scientists understand the physical processes at work where Earth’s atmosphere interacts with near-Earth space.
Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)
NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominick, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps
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.
Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:
A Tour of The Serpens Nebula | James Webb Space Telescope
This video tours the Serpens Nebula, a star-forming region that lies 1,300 light-years away from Earth.
A new image of Serpens from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope shows an intriguing group of aligned protostellar outflows within one region of the nebula. Protostellar outflows are formed when jets of gas spewing from newborn stars collide with nearby gas and dust at high speeds.
This region is also home to several captivating features—the flapping shadow of a planet-forming disk, nicknamed the “Bat Shadow,” areas of varying density that appear as crevices, and a special binary protostar.
Credits:
Video: Danielle Kirshenblat (STScI)
Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI
Science: Klaus Pontoppidan (NASA-JPL), Joel Green (STScI)
When an unfortunate star in the constellation Delphinus came too close to the supermassive black hole at the center of its home galaxy, it was stretched more and more by the enormous tidal forces until it was finally disrupted. Half of the stellar debris was flung back into space, while the remaining part formed a rotating accretion disk where two strong outflows of matter shot up and down. The system acts as a powerful natural particle accelerator. Scientists caught a single neutrino hurled towards Earth by this system.
Note: Multi-messenger astronomy is the coordinated observation and interpretation of multiple signals received from the same astronomical event.
DESY, short for Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (English: German Electron Synchrotron), is a national research center for fundamental science located in Hamburg and Zeuthen near Berlin in Germany. It operates particle accelerators used to investigate the structure, dynamics and function of matter, and conducts a broad spectrum of interdisciplinary scientific research in four main areas: particle and high energy physics; photon science; astroparticle physics; and the development, construction and operation of particle accelerators.
Science Mission Recap: China's Chang'e-6 Returns Far Side Moon Samples to Earth
China's Chang'e-6 probe has made history after completing its 53-day mission on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, becoming the first spacecraft to successfully retrieve and return precious samples from the mysterious far side of the Moon and bringing mankind closer to understanding our enigmatic celestial neighbor.
The return capsule touched down at the designated landing site in the Siziwang Banner of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at 14:07 (Beijing Time) Tuesday, with the China National Space Administration (CNSA) declaring the mission a complete success, marking another remarkable achievement in China's space exploration endeavors.
The momentous Chang'e-6 mission was considered one of the most complex and challenging undertakings in China's space exploration efforts to date, as the country attempted to complete a feat never dared before.
Consisting of an orbiter, a returner, a lander and an ascender, the probe was launched from the tropical southern island province of Hainan on May 3, 2024, with the mission overcoming many obstacles during its key stages, including completing the near-moon braking maneuver to enter lunar orbit and seeing the separation of the lander-ascender combination and the orbiter-returner combination. All went as planned.
Supported by the Queqiao-2 relay satellite—put into position shortly before the mission to aid communication with the 'dark side' of the Moon—the lander-ascender combination landed at the designated lunar landing area in the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin on June 2 and began its pivotal sampling work.
After two days on the lunar surface, the ascender took off from the moon and entered lunar orbit. A further two days later, it completed rendezvous and docking with the orbiter-returner combination and carefully transferred the precious cargo to the return vehicle. The ascender then separated from the combination and later landed on the moon under the guidance of the ground control team.
The orbiter-returner combination then spent 13 days in lunar orbit, awaiting the right window of opportunity to make its return to Earth. After completing two Moon-Earth transfer maneuvers and one orbital correction, the returner separated from the orbiter and began its journey back to Earth, culminating in Tuesday's historic touchdown.
US Weather Satellite GOES-U Successfully Launched to Orbit | Lockheed Martin
The GOES-U weather observation satellite we built for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) successfully launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center at 5:26 p.m. ET on June 25, 2024.
GOES-U, the final satellite in NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) - R series of four satellites, will provide advanced weather imagery, atmospheric measurements and real-time mapping of lightning activity, in addition to critical space weather observations.
Following GOES-U, we were selected by NASA to develop the nation's next generation weather satellite constellation, Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO), for NOAA. GeoXO's new capabilities will deliver more accurate weather forecasting and address emerging environmental issues and challenges. GeoXO, the GOES-R series and the nation's weather satellites are vital infrastructure for national resilience.
Chang'e-6 Mission Far Side South Pole Moon Samples Arrive in Beijing
The returner of the Chang'e-6 lunar probe was opened at a ceremony in Beijing on Wednesday afternoon, June 26, 2024. It touched down safely to Earth, June 25, in Siziwang Banner, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. It brought back the world's first samples collected from the Moon's far side south polar region. These are critical for a better understanding of the Moon's origin, its geological history, and its interactions with our planet.
Launched on May 3, 2024, the Chang'e-6 spacecraft has successfully completed its complex and challenging 53-day mission. It included landing on the Moon's far side, collecting south polar region samples, ascending, docking, and returning.
Samples were collected from the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin (43°±2° south latitude, 154°±4° west longitude)—a large impact crater on the far side of the Moon. At roughly 2,500 km (1,600 mi) in diameter and between 6.2 and 8.2 km (3.9–5.1 mi) deep, it is the largest, oldest, and deepest basin recognized on the Moon.
The Chang'e-6 Moon mission featured scientific instruments from France, Italy, Sweden, and Pakistan. The international scientific payloads carried by the Chang'e-6 mission included the French radon gas detector (CNES), the European Space Agency/Swedish ion analyzer, and the Italian laser corner reflector (Italian Space Agency), as well as the Pakistani ICUBE-Q cube lunar satellite.
On March 20, 2024, the Queqiao-2 lunar relay satellite was launched and put into orbit in order to facilitate Chang'e-6 mission communications between the far side of the Moon and the Earth.
Credit: China Central Television (CCTV) Video News Agency
China's Chang'e-6 Mission Returns First Samples from Moon's Far Side to Earth
The returner of the Chang'e-6 probe touched down safely on Earth Tuesday, June 25, 2024, in Siziwang Banner, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. It brought back the world's first samples collected from the Moon's far side south polar region. These are critical for a better understanding of the Moon's origin, its geological history, and its interactions with our planet.
Launched on May 3, 2024, the Chang'e-6 spacecraft has successfully completed its complex and challenging 53-day mission. It included landing on the Moon's far side, collecting south polar region samples, ascending, docking, and returning.
Samples were collected from the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin (43°±2° south latitude, 154°±4° west longitude)—a large impact crater on the far side of the Moon. At roughly 2,500 km (1,600 mi) in diameter and between 6.2 and 8.2 km (3.9–5.1 mi) deep, it is the largest, oldest, and deepest basin recognized on the Moon.
The Chang'e-6 Moon mission featured scientific instruments from France, Italy, Sweden, and Pakistan. The international scientific payloads carried by the Chang'e-6 mission included the French radon gas detector (CNES), the European Space Agency/Swedish ion analyzer, and the Italian laser corner reflector (Italian Space Agency), as well as the Pakistani ICUBE-Q cube lunar satellite.
On March 20, 2024, the Queqiao-2 lunar relay satellite was launched and put into orbit in order to facilitate Chang'e-6 mission communications between the far side of the Moon and the Earth.
Image Credit: China National Space Administration (CNSA)
The Vela Supernova Remnant in The Milky Way Galaxy | ESO
The image shows the remnants of a supernova explosion. It appears as a wispy structure of pink and orange clouds. While there are clouds that look like thin filaments all over the image, one major pink column can be seen going from the top of the image to the bottom. Meanwhile, an orange colored column of clouds stretches from left to right in the bottom half of the image. Throughout the image, there are also many stars, shining with white, orange, and blue light. A number of these stars are much brighter and larger than others.
Around 11,000 years ago a massive star ended its life in a powerful explosion, known as a supernova. During explosions like this, shock waves ripple out through the surrounding gas, compressing it into intricate thread-like structures. The energy released during a supernova then heats these threads, causing them to shine brightly. The result is what we can see: the Vela supernova remnant.
This picture is just a small chunk of a much larger image, taken with the OmegaCAM instrument on the VLT Survey Telescope (VST), which is hosted at the European Southern Observatory’s Paranal Observatory. At only 800 light-years from Earth, the Vela supernova remnant is one of the closest examples of these dramatic events. Thanks to its proximity we can study this object in great detail, to help us understand what happens when massive stars reach the end of their life in spectacular fashion.
Credit: ESO/VPHAS+ team. Acknowledgement: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit
The Unfurling Spiral Arms of Galaxy NGC 3981 | Victor Blanco Telescope
This unbarred spiral galaxy in the constellation Crater features a bright central core, where a supermassive black hole lies, surrounded by a disk of hot, young stars and spiral arms laced with streams of dust and more young stars. The irregular, outstretched shape of its arms is likely due to gravitational influence from an encounter with one of its galactic neighbors. NGC 3981 is a member of the NGC 4038 Group of galaxies. The NGC 4038 Group is a small component of the Virgo Supercluster, the immense collection of galaxies that hosts our own Milky Way Galaxy.
Distance:65 million light years
The unfurling arms of NGC 3981 appear to dissolve right into the cosmos in this image captured by the DOE-built Dark Energy Camera (DECam) on the 4-meter Víctor M. Blanco Telescope at the U.S. National Science Foundation Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), a Program of the National Science Foundation (NSF) NOIRLab.
Credit: Dark Energy Survey / DOE / FNAL / DECam / CTIO / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA
Image Processing: R. Colombari & M. Zamani (NSF’s NOIRLab)
The Pillars of Creation and The Interplay of Stars & Dust | NASA Goddard
This scientific visualization explores the iconic Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula and the various ways that stars and dust are intertwined in the process of star formation. In developing the contextual story and the three-dimensional model, the video uses data from science papers, the Hubble Space Telescope, the Webb Space Telescope, the Spitzer Space Telescope, and the Chandra X-ray Observatory.
The sequence begins with zoom from our Milky Way Galaxy down to the Pillars of Creation, a scale change of more than a factor of 10,000. Along the way, the general distribution of stars and dust clouds on the sky leads to the specific details of the star-forming Eagle Nebula. The stellar winds and high energy light from hot young stars at the center of the nebula are responsible for creating the pillars' shapes.
The video then enters a journey into the three-dimensional structure of the pillars. Based on scientific results, astronomers and artists modeled this striking formation in three dimensions and created a sequence that flies past and amongst the pillars. What can look like 3 connected pillars in a two-dimensional image separates into four dust clouds with ionized gas streaming away from each.
As the virtual camera files through the model, the view shifts back and forth between Hubble's visible light and Webb's infrared light perspectives. The audience gains an appreciation of the contrasting observations and how the telescopes complement each other by probing different scientific aspects of the clouds.
The Pillars of Creation nickname derives from the fact that stars are forming within these clouds. The visual tour highlights various stages of star formation including an embedded protostar at the top of the central pillar, bipolar jets from a unseen forming star in the upper part of the left pillar, and a newborn star in the middle of the left pillar.
This visualization is a product of the AstroViz Project of NASA's Universe of Learning. A shorter non-narrated visualization that focuses on the experiential flythrough of the pillars is available as "The Pillars of Creation: A 3D Multiwavelength Exploration".
NOAA GOES-U Weather Satellite Launch: SpaceX Falcon Heavy | NASA Kennedy
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket carries NOAA's GOES-U Weather Satellite to geostationary orbit from NASA's Kennedy Space Center
Falcon Heavy’s two side boosters (B1072 and B1086) prepare to land at SpaceX’s Landing Zones 1 and 2 (LZ-1 and LZ-2) at Cape Canaveral
Falcon Heavy’s two side boosters (B1072 and B1086) prepare to land at SpaceX’s Landing Zones 1 and 2 (LZ-1 and LZ-2) at Cape Canaveral
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket carrying the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) GOES-U (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite U) lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, June 25, 2024. The GOES-U satellite is the final satellite in the GOES-R series. It serves a critical role in providing continuous coverage of the Western Hemisphere, including monitoring tropical systems in the eastern Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
On board GOES-U is a suite of seven instruments for collecting advanced imagery and atmospheric measurements, providing real-time mapping of lightning activity, and detecting approaching space weather hazards. Also onboard for the first time is the compact coronagraph that will observe the Sun’s outermost layer, called the corona, for large explosions of plasma that could produce geomagnetic solar storms.
NOAA GOES-U Weather Satellite Separates from SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-U) was launched atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, June 25, 2024. Watch as GOES-U separates from the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket ahead of insertion into geostationary orbit.
The GOES-U satellite will be the final satellite in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) GOES-R series satellite program and the bridge to another future age of advanced satellite technology. For nearly 50 years, NOAA and NASA have partnered to develop and advance NOAA’s geostationary satellites as part of "the most sophisticated weather-observing, environmental monitoring, and space weather monitoring satellite system in the world."
The most recent U.S. weather satellite generation is the GOES-R series that first launched in 2016 with GOES-R or GOES-16. This series came with new instruments such as the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) and the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI). GOES-U, the final satellite of the series, also has the Compact Coronagraph-1 (CCOR-1) to monitor the Sun’s corona for space weather forecasts.
After GOES-U launches, its successor will be a series called Geostationary Extended Observations, or GeoXO. The first satellite in the series is expected to launch in the early 2030s. GeoXO will continue NOAA’s five decades of critical Earth-observing data with new instruments onboard.
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