NASA Mars InSight Atlas V Rocket Prelaunch | ULA

At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the gantry rolls back at Space Launch Complex 3 in preparation for the liftoff of NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, or InSight, Mars lander. InSight will be the first mission to look deep beneath the Martian surface. It will study the planet's interior by measuring its heat output and listening for marsquakes. InSight will use the seismic waves generated by marsquakes to develop a map of the planet's deep interior. The resulting insight into Mars formation will provide a better understanding of how other rocky planets, including Earth, were created. 

For more about the mission, visit: https://mars.nasa.gov/insight

Credit: NASA/Charles Babir
Release Date: May 4, 2018

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Liftoff of NASA's Mars InSight Mission

May 5, 2018: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket lifts off at 4:05 a.m. PDT (7:05 a.m. EDT) from Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California carrying NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, or InSight, Mars lander. InSight will be the first mission to look deep beneath the Martian surface. It will study the planet's interior by measuring its heat output and listen for marsquakes. The spacecraft will use the seismic waves generated by marsquakes to develop a map of the planet’s deep interior. The resulting insight into Mars’ formation will provide a better understanding of how other rocky planets, including Earth, were created.

For more about the mission, visit https://mars.nasa.gov/insight

Credit: NASA/JPL
Duration: 2 minutes, 11 seconds
Release Date: May 5, 2018

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NASA Mars InSight Mission: Prelaunch Briefing | JPL

InSight, the first planetary mission to take off from the West Coast, is targeted to launch at 4:05 a.m. PDT (7:05 a.m. EDT) on May 5 from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California, aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket. The agency hosted a prelaunch briefing on May 3 at VAFB.

Watch the launch: youtube.com/NASAJPL/live

Presenters included:
Jim Green, NASA chief scientist
Tom Hoffman, InSight project manager at JPL
Stu Spath, InSight program manager at Lockheed Martin Space, Denver
Bruce Banerdt, InSight principal investigator at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
Annick Sylvestre-Baron, deputy project manager for InSight seismometer investigation at France's space agency, the Centre National d'Études Spatiales, Paris
Philippe Lognonné - InSight seismometer investigation lead at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, France
Tilman Spohn, investigation lead at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) for the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Probe (HP3), an instrument on InSight, Berlin
Andrew Klesh, MarCO chief engineer at JPL
Anne Marinan, MarCO systems engineer at JPL
Tim Dunn, launch director with NASA's Launch Services Program at Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Scott Messer, ULA program manager for NASA launches, Centennial, Colorado
Col. Michael Hough, commander of the 30th Space Wing at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Central California
1st Lt. Kristina Williams, weather officer for the 30th Space Wing

For more about the mission, visit https://mars.nasa.gov/insight

Credit: NASA/JPL
Duration: 1 hour, 35 minutes
Release Date: May 4, 2018

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NASA Mars InSight Countdown to T-Zero | KSC

Episode 2: Into the Fairing

The launch campaign heats up for NASA’s InSight spacecraft and United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The Mars-bound probe is secured inside its protective payload fairing, then moved overnight to the launch pad, where it’s lifted into position atop the waiting Atlas V. Also on board are two small communications-relay satellites—MarCO-A and MarCO-B—intended to become the first CubeSats to venture into deep space.

For more about the mission, visit: https://mars.nasa.gov/insight

Credit: NASA's Kennedy Space Center
Duration: 3 minutes, 17 seconds
Release Date: May 3, 2018

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Structure for NASA Orion Moon Module Arrives | ESA

May 3, 2018: The structure for Europe’s second service module for NASA’s Orion spacecraft arrived at the Airbus clean room in Bremen, Germany, last week.

Technicians can now start working on installing over 12 km of cables, fuel, water and air tanks, computers, engines and everything else that is needed to support astronauts further from Earth than any human being has been before.

Engineers at Thales Alenia Space in Turin, Italy, packed the “chassis” for its transport earlier this month. This is the real thing—its trip from Turin to Bremen is the start of a voyage that will see the Orion spacecraft launched beyond the Moon before completing a lunar flyby and returning to Earth.

The European Service Module is a crucial element of Orion, providing support to the crew module that will house up to four astronauts. The crew will travel over one million kilometers in total.

The module provides structural rigidity to the Orion spacecraft much like the chassis of a car. It absorbs the vibrations and energy from launch and protects them from micrometeoroids and space debris.

Connecting the crew module to the launcher it also absorbs the vibrations from NASA’s Space Launch System rocket that has the equivalent thrust of 34 Jumbo Jets—holding everything together for the wild ride into space.

Astronauts will fly Orion 70,000 km beyond the Moon before completing a lunar flyby and returning to Earth. The mission will take a minimum of eight days.

The service module for the first mission—without astronauts—is nearing completion and set to ship to the USA this summer. The production schedule for the service module is going at full speed with Airbus technicians working in shifts 24 hours a day.

“The arrival of the second flight model structure is an emotional moment for the people working on this unique spacecraft—from here on things get real and things start to take shape—we are sending people beyond the Moon,” says Anthony Thirkettle, ESA’s production manager for the service module.

“It is an exciting adventure for European space industry to be part of this mission to the Moon in transatlantic cooperation,” adds Bas Theelen, Orion program manager at Airbus.

The Orion spacecraft is built by NASA with ESA providing the service module. The arrangement stems from the international partnership for the International Space Station.

Credit & Copyright: Airbus
Release Date: May 3, 2018

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May the Forest Be with You: GEDI | NASA

NASA's GEDI (pronounced like "Jedi") is a first-of-its kind laser instrument that will map Earth's forests from the International Space Station in 3-D. 

(Star Wars: We suppose it could be used on Endor, too...)
Happy Star Wars Day!
#MayThe4thBeWithYou

May 4, 2018: The Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation—or GEDI, pronounced like "Jedi," of Star Wars fame—instrument is undergoing final integration and testing this spring and summer at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland. The instrument is expected to launch aboard SpaceX's 16th commercial resupply services mission, targeted for late 2018. GEDI is being led by the University of Maryland, College Park; the instrument is being built at NASA Goddard.

From its perch on the exterior of the orbiting laboratory, GEDI will be the first space-borne laser instrument to measure the structure of Earth's tropical and temperate forests in high resolution and three dimensions. These measurements will help fill in critical gaps in scientists' understanding of how much carbon is stored in th e world's forests, the potential for ecosystems to absorb rising concentrations of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere, and the impact of forest changes on biodiversity.

Learn more: http://go.nasa.gov/2FL790c

Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Duration: 36 seconds
Release Date: May 4, 2018

LK Ward (USRA): Lead Producer
Patrick Lynch (NASA/GSFC): Lead Writer
John Caldwell (AIMM): Videographer
Music: "Navigating the Nebulae" by Or Kribos and Udi Harpaz

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Beggar's Canyon, Tatooine? | International Space Station

NASA Astronaut Randy Bresnik: "Got this great shot of Beggar's Canyon last fall when we were flying over Tatooine! Ah, wishful thinking, actually it's Africa, but looks so similar. We're working hard to get us there someday."
Happy Star Wars Day!
#MayThe4thBeWithYou

Credit: U.S. Astronaut Randy Bresnik
‏Release Date: May 4, 2018

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NASA's Space to Ground: Releasing Dragon

May 4, 2018: NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station. 

During Expedition 55, researchers are studying Earth atmospherics, the effects of microgravity on bone marrow, materials’ responses to space environments, and biological samples’ responses to simulated gravity.

Credit: NASA Johnson (JSC)
Duration: 2 minutes, 4 seconds
Release Date: May 4, 2018

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Great Lakes Region | International Space Station

U.S. Astronaut A.J. (Drew) Feustel: "On Monday, I captured this amazing image of all the places I called home for the first 32 years of my life. Many of my family and friends are in this photo, somewhere."

Drew Feustel is currently a part of the Expedition 55 crew that launched to the International Space Station in March 2018.

Andrew J. Feustel was selected by NASA in 2000. He has been assigned to Expedition 55/56, scheduled to launch in March 2018. The Lake Orion, Michigan native has a Ph.D. in the Geological Sciences, specializing in Seismology, and is a veteran of two spaceflights. In 2009, Dr. Feustel served on STS-125. This mission launched on Atlantis and was the fifth and final mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope that improved the observatory's capabilities through 2014. Dr. Feustel also served on STS-134, launching on Endeavour to deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and an ExPress Logistics Carrier to the International Space Station. Dr. Feustel has logged more than 29 days in space with over 42 hours in spacewalks.

Drew's Official NASA Biography
http://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/andrew-j-feustel/biography

Credit: A.J. (Drew) Feustel
Image Date: April 30, 2018
‏Release Date: May 2, 2018

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NASA Mars InSight Mission Launch Countdown: From the West Coast to the Red Planet

NASA's next Red Planet explorer has arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California—a big step forward in the countdown to T-zero. The spacecraft is called InSight—short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport—and it's being tested, fueled and encapsulated for launch aboard the powerful United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The upcoming liftoff will mark the first time an interplanetary mission has launched from the West Coast.

For more about the mission, visit: https://mars.nasa.gov/insight

Credit: NASA's Kennedy Space Center
Duration: 3 minutes, 25 seconds
Release Date: May 2, 2018

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Take a 360 Tour inside Boeing's Starliner Factory

Starliner will launch NASA Astronauts again from U.S. soil "One, two, three Boeing CST-100 Starliners are coming together inside this historic spacecraft factory at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The goal of the commercially developed and operating spacecraft is to return crew launch capabilities to NASA and the United States."

Learn more: http://www.boeing.com/space/starliner/

Credit: Boeing
Duration: 8 minutes, 10 seconds
Release Date: April 19, 2018

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Training NASA's 'Guardian Angels' | Commercial Crew

American Astronauts will soon launch again from U.S.

U.S. Air Force “Guardian Angel” Pararescue specialists secure a covered life raft, during an astronaut rescue training exercise off of Florida’s eastern coast in April 2018. The specially designed 20-person life raft is equipped with enough food, water and medical supplies to sustain both rescuers and crew for up to three days, if necessary.

Ted Mosteller, leader of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program Landing and Recovery Team, described the multi-agency operation as “like insurance. You have insurance on your car or house, but you hope you never have to use it.”

Rescue and recovery involves meticulous planning and close coordination between NASA, the Department of Defense, and company recovery teams from NASA's commercial partners, Boeing and SpaceX. Boeing's Starliner and SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft are being developed and tested to fly astronauts to and from the International Space Station, from U.S. soil. In the event of a variety of contingency landings, an elite team is prepared to rescue the crew anywhere in the world.

Image Credit: NASA
Image Date: April 17, 2018

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NASA Astronauts Prepare for SpaceX Crew Dragon

American Astronauts will soon launch again from U.S. soil

Commercial Crew Program astronauts, from the left Doug Hurley, Eric Boe, Bob Behnken and Suni Williams, pose just outside Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The astronauts toured the pad for an up-close look at modifications that are in work for the SpaceX Crew Dragon flight tests. The tower modifications included removal of the space shuttle era rotating service structure. Future integration of the crew access arm will allow for safe crew entry for launch and exit from the spacecraft in the unlikely event a pad abort is required.

Image Credit: SpaceX
Image Date: March 27, 2018

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Stellar Camping in Kyrgyzstan

The sky is lit by the setting Moon. Panoramic shot during our last camping night on the bank of Lake iIssuk-Kul on a 2017 trip to Kyrgyzstan.

Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked country with mountainous terrain. It is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west and southwest. (Source: Wikipedia)

Credit: Mike Reva (Михаил Рева)
Location: Issuk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan
Release Date: May 2, 2018

Technical details:
Canon6D+Samyang 24mm F2.0 ISO 2500 20s - 18 shot panorama

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Exoplanet WASP-107b: Artist’s impression

The exoplanet WASP-107b is a gas giant, orbiting a highly active K-type main sequence star. The star is about 200 light-years from Earth. Using spectroscopy, scientists were able to find helium in the escaping atmosphere of the planet—the first detection of this element in the atmosphere of an exoplanet.

Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA, M. Kornmesser
Duration: 15 seconds
Release Date: May 2, 2018
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Hubble detects helium in exoplanet atmosphere for first time

May 2, 2018: Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have detected helium in the atmosphere of the exoplanet WASP-107b. This is the first time this element has been detected in the atmosphere of a planet outside the Solar System. The discovery demonstrates the ability to use infrared spectra to study exoplanet extended atmospheres.

Image Description:
The exoplanet WASP-107b is a gas giant, orbiting a highly active K-type main sequence star. The star is about 200 light-years from Earth. Using spectroscopy, scientists were able to find helium in the escaping atmosphere of the planet—the first detection of this element in the atmosphere of an exoplanet.

Image Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA, M. Kornmesser

The international team of astronomers, led by Jessica Spake, a PhD student at the University of Exeter in the UK, used Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 to discover helium in the atmosphere of the exoplanet WASP-107b This is the first detection of its kind.

Spake explains the importance of the discovery: “Helium is the second-most common element in the Universe after hydrogen. It is also one of the main constituents of the planets Jupiter and Saturn in our Solar System. However, up until now helium had not been detected on exoplanets—despite searches for it.”

The team made the detection by analysing the infrared spectrum of the atmosphere of WASP-107b [1]. Previous detections of extended exoplanet atmospheres have been made by studying the spectrum at ultraviolet and optical wavelengths; this detection therefore demonstrates that exoplanet atmospheres can also be studied at longer wavelengths.

“The strong signal from helium we measured demonstrates a new technique to study upper layers of exoplanet atmospheres in a wider range of planets,” says Spake “Current methods, which use ultraviolet light, are limited to the closest exoplanets. We know there is helium in the Earth’s upper atmosphere and this new technique may help us to detect atmospheres around Earth-sized exoplanets—which is very difficult with current technology.”

WASP-107b is one of the lowest density planets known: While the planet is about the same size as Jupiter, it has only 12% of Jupiter’s mass. The exoplanet is about 200 light-years from Earth and takes less than six days to orbit its host star.

The amount of helium detected in the atmosphere of WASP-107b is so large that its upper atmosphere must extend tens of thousands of kilometers out into space. This also makes it the first time that an extended atmosphere has been discovered at infrared wavelengths.

Since its atmosphere is so extended, the planet is losing a significant amount of its atmospheric gases into space—between ~0.1-4% of its atmosphere’s total mass every billion years [2].

As far back as the year 2000, it was predicted that helium would be one of the most readily-detectable gases on giant exoplanets, but until now, searches were unsuccessful.

David Sing, co-author of the study also from the University of Exeter, concludes: “Our new method, along with future telescopes such as the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, will allow us to analyse atmospheres of exoplanets in far greater detail than ever before.”

Notes:
[1] The measurement of an exoplanet’s atmosphere is performed when the planet passes in front of its host star. A tiny portion of the star’s light passes through the exoplanet’s atmosphere, leaving detectable fingerprints in the spectrum of the star. The larger the amount of an element present in the atmosphere, the easier the detection becomes.

[2] Stellar radiation has a significant effect on the rate at which a planet’s atmosphere escapes. The star WASP-107 is highly active, supporting the atmospheric loss. As the atmosphere absorbs radiation it heats up, so the gas rapidly expands and escapes more quickly into space.

More information:
The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA.

The study was published in the paper “Helium in the eroding atmosphere of an exoplanet”, published in Nature.

Science paper:
www.spacetelescope.org/static/archives/releases/science_papers/heic1809/heic1809a.pdf

The international team of astronomers in this study consists of J. J. Spake (University of Exeter, UK), D. K. Sing (University of Exeter, UK; Johns Hopkins University, USA), T. M. Evans (University of Exeter, UK), A. Oklopčić (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, USA), V. Bourrier (Observatoire de l’Université de Genève, Switzerland), L. Kreidberg (Harvard Society of Fellows, USA; Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, USA), B. V. Rackham (University of Arizona, USA), J. Irwin (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, USA), D. Ehrenreich (Observatoire de l’Université de Genève, Switzerland), A. Wyttenbach (Observatoire de l’Université de Genève, Switzerland), H. R. Wakeford (Space Telescope Science Institute, USA), Y. Zhou (University of Arizona, USA), K. L. Chubb (University College London, UK), N. Nikolov (University of Exeter, UK), J. Goyal (University of Exeter, UK), G. W. Henry (Tennessee State University, USA), M. H. Williamson (Tennessee State University, USA), S. Blumenthal (Space Telescope Science Institute, USA), D. Anderson (Keele University, UK), C. Hellier (Keele University, UK), D. Charbonneau (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, USA), S. Udry (Observatoire de l’Université de Genève, Switzerland), and N. Madhusudhan (University of Cambridge, UK)

Article Credit: NASA, ESA
Release Date: May 2, 2018

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