Thursday, May 24, 2018

Orbital ATK CRS-9 Space Station Mission



What's On Board? | May 23, 2018: Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft launched to the International Space Station aboard an Antares rocket on May 21, and is scheduled to arrive at the orbiting laboratory in the early morning hours of May 24. Among the research it will deliver to the station is the Cold Atom Lab (CAL), a facility to create a spot ten billion times colder than the vacuum of space, which could help answer some big questions in modern physics. Zaiput Flow Technologies will seek to validate a liquid-liquid separator to enhance flow chemistry production in space. Researchers from Penn State University are sending an experiment to investigate and understand the complex process of cement solidification, which could address the high priority need for lightweight space structures for habitats that protect crew members. A fleet of CubeSats spanning everything from Earth science to educational outreach is also heading to the orbiting laboratory for deployment into low-Earth orbit.

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Duration: 3 minutes, 45 seconds
Release Date: May 23, 2018


#NASA #Space #ISS #Earth #Science #OrbitalATK #Physics #ColdAtomLab #CAL #Microgravity #Research #Lab #Cygnus #Spacecraft #CRS9 #Commercial #Cargo #CubeSats #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

The Very Large Telescope & Milky Way | ESO

Night begins and a radiant Milky Way appears in the clear skies of the Atacama desert. The European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT), situated in the Cerro Amazones (left) of Paranal (Chile) starts its night observations.

The two laser beams from the VLT are pointed towards the sky and create "fake stars". These fake stars are part of the technique known as Adaptive optics, and are detected by sensors, which use them to measure atmospheric distortions. Once the distortions are known, this information can be used to correct astronomical images, greatly improving their quality.

Credit: G. Hüdepohl (atacamaphoto.com)/ESO
Release Date: May 23, 2018


#ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Stars
#Astrophotography #Art #VLT #Telescope #Laser #StarGuide #AdaptiveOptics #Earth #Atmosphere #Chile #CerroAmazones #Atacama #Paranal #Observatory #STEM #Education

NASA's Curiosity Rover: Collecting Mars Rocks

Success: First Drilled Mars Sample Since 2016 | JPL
A close-up image of a 2-inch-deep hole produced using a new drilling technique for NASA's Curiosity rover. The hole is about 0.6 inches across (1.6 centimeters). This image was taken by Curiosity's Mast Camera (Mastcam) on Sol 2057. It has been white balanced and contrast enhanced.
May 23, 2018: Engineers working with NASA's Curiosity Mars rover have been hard at work testing a new way for the rover to drill rocks and extract powder from them. This past weekend, that effort produced the first drilled sample on Mars in more than a year.

Curiosity tested percussive drilling this past weekend, penetrating about 2 inches (50 millimeters) into a target called "Duluth."

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, has been testing this drilling technique since a mechanical problem took Curiosity's drill offline in December of 2016. This technique, called Feed Extended Drilling, keeps the drill's bit extended out past two stabilizer posts that were originally used to steady the drill against Martian rocks. It lets Curiosity drill using the force of its robotic arm, a little more like the way a human would drill into a wall at home.

"The team used tremendous ingenuity to devise a new drilling technique and implement it on another planet," said Curiosity Deputy Project Manager Steve Lee of JPL. "Those are two vital inches of innovation from 60 million miles away. We're thrilled that the result was so successful."

Drilling is a vitally important part of Curiosity's capabilities to study Mars. Inside the rover are two laboratories that are able to conduct chemical and mineralogical analyses of rock and soil samples. The samples are acquired from Gale Crater, which the rover has been exploring since 2012.

Curiosity's science team has been eager to get the drill working before the rover leaves its current location near Vera Rubin Ridge. Fortunately, it was near enough to drill targets like Duluth to drive back down the ridge. Sunday's drill sample represents a quick taste of the region before Curiosity moves on.

Demonstrating that Curiosity's percussive drilling technique works is a milestone in itself. But that doesn't mean the work is over for engineers at JPL.

"We've been developing this new drilling technique for over a year, but our job isn't done once a sample has been collected on Mars," JPL's Tom Green, a systems engineer who helped develop and test Curiosity's new drilling method. "With each new test, we closely examine the data to look for improvements we can make and then head back to our testbed to iterate on the process."

There's also the next step to work on: delivering the rock sample from the drill bit to the two laboratories inside the rover. Having captured enough powder inside the drill, engineers will now use the rover's cameras to estimate how much trickles out while running the drill backwards. The drill's percussion mechanism is also used to tap out powder.

As soon as this Friday, the Curiosity team will test a new process for delivering samples into the rover's laboratories.

For more about Curiosity, visit:
https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Release Date: May 23, 2018


#NASA #Mars #Science #Curiosity #Rover #Drilling #Rocks #Duluth #Robotics #RedPlanet #Planet #Engineering #Technology #JPL #Pasadena #California #UnitedStates #Discovery #SolarSystem #Exploration #STEM #Education

SpaceX Crew Dragon for NASA Astronauts

Commercial Crew astronaut Suni Williams wearing a SpaceX spacesuit while training with a mock-up of the Crew Dragon in Hawthorne, California, United States.

Crew Dragon, SpaceX’s "next-generation spacecraft designed to carry humans to the International Space Station and other destinations."

"With four windows, passengers can take in views of Earth, the Moon, and the wider Solar System right from their seats, which are made from the highest-grade carbon fiber and Alcantara cloth. Crew Dragon features an advanced emergency escape system (tested in Spring 2015) to swiftly carry astronauts to safety if something were to go wrong, experiencing about the same G-forces as a ride at Disneyland. Crew Dragon’s displays will provide real-time information on the state of the spacecraft’s capabilities—anything from Dragon’s position in space, to possible destinations, to the environment on board. Crew Dragon has an Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) that provides a comfortable and safe environment for crew members. During their trip, astronauts on board can set the spacecraft’s interior temperature to between 65 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Crew Dragon will be a fully autonomous spacecraft that can also be monitored & controlled by on board astronauts and SpaceX mission control in Hawthorne, California, USA."

Learn more: www.spacex.com/crew-dragon

Credit: SpaceX
Release Date: May 18, 2018


#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Dragon #Spacecraft #ISS #CrewDragon #Testing #Astronaut #SunitaWilliams #SuniWilliams #Commercial #ElonMusk #Hawthorne #California #UnitedStates #LaunchAmerica #KSC #Kennedy #Moon #SolarSystem #Exploration #STEM #Education

SpaceX Crew Dragon for NASA Astronauts




Elon Musk: "SpaceX Crew Dragon ship in anechoic chamber for EMI testing before being sent to NASA's Plum Brook vacuum chamber."

Crew Dragon, SpaceX’s "next-generation spacecraft designed to carry humans to the International Space Station and other destinations."

"With four windows, passengers can take in views of Earth, the Moon, and the wider Solar System right from their seats, which are made from the highest-grade carbon fiber and Alcantara cloth. Crew Dragon features an advanced emergency escape system (tested in Spring 2015) to swiftly carry astronauts to safety if something were to go wrong, experiencing about the same G-forces as a ride at Disneyland. Crew Dragon’s displays will provide real-time information on the state of the spacecraft’s capabilities—anything from Dragon’s position in space, to possible destinations, to the environment on board. Crew Dragon has an Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) that provides a comfortable and safe environment for crew members. During their trip, astronauts on board can set the spacecraft’s interior temperature to between 65 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Crew Dragon will be a fully autonomous spacecraft that can also be monitored & controlled by on board astronauts and SpaceX mission control in Hawthorne, California, USA."

Learn more: www.spacex.com/crew-dragon

Credit: Elon Musk/SpaceX
Release Date: May 20, 2018


#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Dragon #Spacecraft #ISS #CrewDragon #Testing #Astronauts #ElonMusk #UnitedStates #LaunchAmerica #KSC #Kennedy #Glenn #PlumBrook #STEM #Education

Honduran Coast | International Space Station

Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov: "The Caribbean coast of Honduras and the Bay Islands (Islas de la Bahía) from the International Space Station."

Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras (Spanish: República de Honduras), is a republic in Central America. It has at times been referred to as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became modern-day Belize. Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, and to the north by the Gulf of Honduras, a large inlet of the Caribbean Sea. The Bay Islands (Spanish: Islas de la Bahía) is a group of islands off the coast of Honduras. (Source: Wikipedia)

Anton is a Russian cosmonaut. Former colonel of the Russian Air Force—fighter pilot. Experience: International Space Station Expeditions 29/30 and 42/43, 54/55.

Credit: Cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov
Release Date: May 23, 2018


#NASA #Roscosmos #Space #ISS #Earth #Science #Honduras #Caribbean #Atlantic #Islas #Bahía #CentralAmerica #Роскосмос #Cosmonaut #AntonShkaplerov #Russia #Россия #Photography #STEM #Education #OrbitalPerspective #OverviewEffect

Jupiter: A New Perspective | NASA Juno

This extraordinary view of Jupiter was captured by NASA’s Juno spacecraft on the outbound leg of its 12th close flyby of the gas giant planet.

This new perspective of Jupiter from the south makes the Great Red Spot appear as though it is in northern territory. This view is unique to Juno and demonstrates how different our view is when we step off the Earth and experience the true nature of our three-dimensional universe.

Juno took the images used to produce this color-enhanced image on April 1 between 3:04 a.m. PDT (6:04 a.m. EDT) and 3:36 a.m. PDT (6:36 a.m. EDT). At the time the images were taken, the spacecraft was between 10,768 miles (17,329 kilometers) to 42,849 miles (68,959 kilometers) from the tops of the clouds of the planet at a southern latitude spanning 34.01 to 71.43 degrees.

Citizen scientists Gerald Eichstädt and Seán Doran created this image using data from the spacecraft’s JunoCam imager. The view is a composite of several separate JunoCam images that were re-projected, blended, and healed.

JunoCam's raw images are available for the public to peruse and process into image products at: www.missionjuno.swri.edu/junocam

More information about Juno is at:
www.nasa.gov/juno and http://missionjuno.swri.edu

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Gerald Eichstäd/Seán Doran
Image Date: April 1, 2018
Release Date: May 21, 2018

#NASA #Astronomy #Science #Space #Jupiter #Planet #Atmosphere #GRS #GreatRedSpot #Clouds #Weather #Juno #Spacecraft #JunoCam #Malin #SwRI #JPL #STEM #Education #CitizenScience

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Greece | International Space Station



"If I am a poet…the air of Greece has made me one." —Lord Byron

Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, historically also known as Hellas, is a country located in Southern Europe. Greece is at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Situated on the southern tip of the Balkan Peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, the Cretan Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin. (Source: Wikipedia)

Credit: NASA Astronaut Ricky Arnold
‏Image Date: May 21, 2018


#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Earth #Greece #Ελλάδα #Mediterranean #Sea #Europe #Astronaut #RickyArnold #Expedition55 #Human #Spaceflight #Spacecraft #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #International #OrbitalPerspective #OverviewEffect

Solar Orbit | International Space Station


Oleg: a "period now begins, it is called 'Solar orbits'—this is when the Sun does not go beyond the horizon of the Earth, and the station does not hide in the shadow."

Credit: Cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev
Release Date: May 20, 2018


#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Earth #Orbit #Solar #Sun #Expedition55 #Cosmonaut #OlegArtemyev #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #Russia #Россия #Astronauts #Photography #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #International #OrbitalPerspective #OverviewEffect

Monday, May 21, 2018

Jupiter Cloud Animation | NASA Juno



Animation extrapolating the movement of the clouds from JunoCam imagery taken on April 1, 2018. Gerald Eichstädt, a mathematician working as a software professional, has taken two images from JunoCam and reprojected them to the same vantage point to enable a direct comparison between the images and show the subtle motions within the atmosphere. By modelling the movement of individual pixels in the images, he has created an animation that extrapolates the swirling evolution of the vortices in the atmosphere.

Eichstädt explains: “This animation represents a ‘feasibility test’. Building on this initial work, we can add in more variables that will give us a more detailed description and physical understanding of Jupiter’s atmosphere.”

Credit: NASA/JPL/SwRI/MSSS/Gerald Eichstädt
Image Date: May 18, 2018
Duration: 8 seconds

Details: www.europlanet-eu.org/new-views-of-jupiter-showcases-swirling-clouds-on-giant-planet/


#NASA #Astronomy #Science #Space #Jupiter #Planet #Atmosphere #Clouds #Weather #Juno #Spacecraft #JunoCam #Malin #SwRI #JPL #STEM #Education #CitizenScience #Visualization #Animation #HD #Video #APoD

Saturday, May 19, 2018

Flight Through the Orion Nebula—NASA 360 Video

Use a mouse to scroll the view when using a computer. For full immersion, watch using a virtual reality device and a 360 video player.

This visualization explores the Orion Nebula using both visible-light observations from the Hubble Space Telescope and infrared-light observations from the Spitzer Space Telescope. The contrast between visible and infrared views of the nebula is examined using two spatially matched, three-dimensional models. As the camera flies into the star-forming region, the sequence cross-fades back and forth between the visible and infrared views.

The glowing gaseous landscape has been illuminated and carved by the high-energy radiation and strong stellar winds from the massive hot stars in the center of the nebula. The infrared observations generally show cooler gas at a deeper layer of the nebula that extends well beyond the visible image. In addition, the infrared view showcases many faint stars that shine primarily at longer wavelengths. The higher resolution visible observations show finer details including wispy bow shocks and tadpole-shaped protoplanetary disks (or proplyds). In this manner, the video illustrates the contrasting features uncovered by multi-wavelength astronomy.

Credit: NASA, ESA, F. Summers, G. Bacon, Z. Levay, J. DePasquale, L. Hustak, L. Frattare, M. Robberto and M. Gennaro (STScI), R. Hurt (Caltech/IPAC); Acknowledgement: R. Gendler
Music: Dvorak – "Serenade for Strings Op22 in E Major Larghetto", performed by The Advent Chamber Orchestra, CC BY-SA
Duration: 2 minutes, 16 seconds
Release Date: May 16, 2018


#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Science #Space #Nebula #Orion #Cosmos #Universe #Ultraviolet #Spitzer #Telescope #ESA #STScI #STEM #Education #HD #Visualization #360Video #Video

Hubble’s 28th Anniversary | NASA

On April 24, 2018, the Hubble Space Telescope celebrated its 28th year in orbit. Even after all these years, Hubble continues to expand humanity’s knowledge of the universe. These are a few science achievements from Hubble’s latest year in orbit.

Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Emmalee Mauldin
Music Credits: “Hurricanes Wrap my Heart” by Joshua Robert Moore from stockmusic.net
Duration: 3 minutes, 12 seconds
Release Date: May 2, 2018


#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Science #Space #Nebula #Lagoon #Galaxy #Stars #Galaxies #Cosmos #Universe #Ultraviolet #Telescope #ESA #STScI #STEM #Education #HD #Video

ESA Euronews: Gaia’s revolution in astronomy

May 18, 2018: Astronomy is undergoing a revolution with the release of precision data on 1.7 billion stars in our galaxy from the Gaia space telescope. We head to the historic Observatory of Paris and the European Space Agency's ESTEC base in the Netherlands to find out more.

It's fair to say that science has been waiting for centuries, or even millennia for such a detailed survey of the Milky Way, and right now star-gazers are swamped with fresh, high-quality data that they can use to answer every question about the galaxy they ever wanted to ask.

Learn more: http://bit.ly/GaiaRickestStarMap

This video is also available in the following languages:
German: https://youtu.be/I7EHdEnXGi4
French: https://youtu.be/dJRPGaS3VB4
Italian: https://youtu.be/hyOdUHRCDYA
Spanish: https://youtu.be/BCP4xg6sGeY
Portuguese: https://youtu.be/OeBMRQmojXc
Greek: https://youtu.be/Ra0BOhFJ4NU
Hungarian: https://youtu.be/-PYmrCk1iwM

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)
Duration: 8 minutes, 48 seconds
Release Date: May 18, 2018


#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxies #Cosmos #Universe #Gaia #Telescope #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Clear Skies over London | NASA


Happy Wedding Day Prince Harry & Meghan Markle!

Image from space captures clear skies for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal wedding day

NASA’s Terra satellite captured clear skies over London, England, today, Saturday, May 19, 2018, the day of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal wedding day.

This natural-color satellite image was collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument that flies aboard the Terra satellite. The image shows mostly clear skies over London and allowed MODIS a nearly unobstructed view of the site of the royal wedding.

According to Met Office, the UK's national weather service, an area of high pressure over the North Sea will bring largely dry and mild conditions to the United Kingdom on Saturday, May 19, 2018.

Credit: NASA/Goddard/MODIS/Terra
Release Date: May 19, 2018


#NASA #Space #Satellite #Earth #Science #London #UK #England #Terra #MODIS #UnitedStates #RoyalWedding #PrinceHarry #MeghanMarkle #STEM #Education

Inside NASA's Kennedy Space Center | Week of May 18, 2018

This week in space news, college students converge on the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex for the 9th annual Robotic Mining Competition, and the Advanced Plant Habitat base is readied for its flight to the International Space Station aboard the Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft.

Credit: NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC)
Duration: 1 minute, 41 seconds
Credit: May 18, 2018


#NASA #Space #Earth #Science #Robotics #Mining #Students #OrbitalATK #Cygnus #ISS #Astronauts #Technology #Engineering #Spacecraft #SLS #Kennedy #KSC #Florida #USA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Red Lagoon | International Space Station

Anton: "Laguna Colorada, also known as the Red Lagoon, is located in the southwestern part of Bolivia near the border with Chile. The red color of the water is due to sedimentary rocks, as well as the pigmentation of algae growing there. Our planet does not cease to amaze!"

Laguna Colorada (Red Lagoon) is a shallow salt lake in the southwest of the altiplano of Bolivia, within Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve and close to the border with Chile. (Source: Wikipedia)

Anton is a Russian cosmonaut. Former colonel of the Russian Air Force—fighter pilot. Experience: International Space Station Expeditions 29/30 and 42/43, 54/55.

Credit: Cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov
Release Date: May 18, 2018


#NASA #Roscosmos #Space #ISS #Earth #Science #LagunaColorada #RedLagoon #Bolivia #Chile #SouthAmerica #Роскосмос #Cosmonaut #AntonShkaplerov #Russia #Россия #Photography #STEM #Education #OrbitalPerspective #OverviewEffect