NASA's Space to Ground: Handoff | Week of June 1, 2018

NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station. 

Three Expedition 55 crew members are returning to Earth Sunday, but first the Commander will hand over control of the International Space Station in a ceremony Friday afternoon. In the meantime, the crew managed to continue ongoing space research and station maintenance.

Cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, who has been leading the station crew since February, will turn over command of the orbital laboratory to NASA astronaut Drew Feustel during the traditional Change of Command Ceremony at 2:25 p.m. EDT Friday live on NASA TV.

Next, the International Space Station Program turns its attention to the undocking Sunday at 5:16 a.m. of Shkaplerov with crewmates Scott Tingle and Norishige Kanai inside the Soyuz MS-07 spacecraft. The trio will parachute to a landing in Kazakhstan at 8:40 a.m. (6:40 p.m. Kazakh time) after 168 days in space. NASA TV begins it live coverage starting at 1:30 a.m. when the crew says farewell and closes the hatches to their Soyuz vehicle.

Feustel worked throughout Thursday installing improved communications gear inside Europe’s Columbus lab module. Flight Engineer Ricky Arnold strapped himself into an exercise bike to research how exercising in microgravity affects the human body.

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center
Duration: 2 minutes, 13 seconds
Release Date: June 1, 2018

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Astronauts #ScottTingle #RickyArnold #DrewFeustel #NorishigeKanai #Japan #日本 #Soyuz #Physics #ColdAtomLab #CAL #Microgravity #Lab #Technology #Spacecraft #Expedition55 #Human #Spaceflight #JSC #Houston #UnitedStates #Japan #JAXA #Roscosmos #Russia #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Fishing in Green: Southeast Asia | NASA Earth

Thailand & Cambodia

This oblique photograph, taken by an astronaut from the International Space Station, shows the city of Bangkok illuminated by city lights. As the capital and largest city in Thailand, Bangkok is home to more than 9 million people.

The adjacent waters of the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Thailand are illuminated by hundreds of green lights on fishing boats. Fishermen use the lights to attract plankton and fish, the preferred diet of commercially important squid. As the bait swims to the surface, the squid follow to feed and get caught by fishermen. The same fishing practices are used off the Atlantic coast of South America.

In the photo, the border between Thailand and neighboring Cambodia to the east is distinguished by a marked difference in the number of city lights. Cambodia has less urbanized area and its population is smaller than that of neighboring countries. The majority of Cambodia’s population lives in rural farming areas where electricity is sparse. Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city in Cambodia, with a population of approximately 1.5 million people.

Astronaut photograph ISS053-E-451778 was acquired on December 10, 2017, with a Nikon D5 digital camera using a 24 millimeter lens and is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, Johnson Space Center. The image was taken by a member of the Expedition 53 crew. The image has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast, and lens artifacts have been removed. The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory as part of the ISS National Lab to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public.

Image Credit: NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth
Caption: Andi Hollier, Hx5, JETS Contract at NASA-JSC
Image Date: December 10, 2017
Release Date: May 14, 2018
Instrument(s): ISS - Digital Camera
#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Earth #Asia #Thailand #Bangkok #ราชอาณาจักรไทย #กรุงเทพมหานคร #Night #Fishing #FishingBoats #AndamanSea #GulfThailand #Cambodia #ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា #PhnomPenh #រាជធានីភ្នំពេញ #Astronauts #Human #Spaceflight #Spacecraft #UnitedStates #Photography #History #STEM #Education #International #OrbitalPerspective #OverviewEffect #Infographic

Here's How You Can Get Started Stargazing

STEM in 30 | Interested in stargazing, but don't know where to begin? Check out this video for some simple tips on beginning to identify what's in the night sky. 

More info: http://airandspace.si.edu/stemin30

Credit: Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum
Duration: 2 minutes, 38 seconds
Release Date: May 2, 2018

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Skywatching #Stars #Constellations #Stargazing #Moon #Planets #LightPollution #Telescope #Binoculars #Apps #Mobile #Phone #NationalParks #DarkSkies #STEM #Education #Students #Teachers #Learning #Tips #HD #Video

Earth's Western Hemisphere | NOAA/NASA

The first imagery from the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) of NOAA’s GOES-17 satellite has made its public debut. | May 31, 2018: GOES-17 took this stunning, full-disk imagery of Earth’s Western Hemisphere from its checkout position at 12:00 p.m. EDT on May 20, 2018. GOES-17 observes Earth from an equatorial vantage point approximately 22,300 miles above the surface.

While experts continue to address an issue with the cooling system of the satellite’s imager, new views from GOES-17 show that its ABI is providing beautiful—and useful—imagery of the Western Hemisphere. This imagery was created using two visible bands (blue and red) and one near-infrared “vegetation” band that are functional with the current cooling system performance.

The imagery also incorporates input from one of the ABI’s “longwave” infrared bands that is functional during a portion of the day despite the cooling system issue.

When combined as a “GeoColor” image, depicting the Earth in vivid detail and colors intuitive to human vision, these bands provide valuable information for monitoring dust, haze, smoke, clouds, fog, winds and vegetation. ABI imagery also provides information on cloud motion, helping meteorologists monitor and forecast severe weather and hurricanes. The improved resolution and faster scanning ability of the instrument compared to the previous generation of GOES allow forecasters to more rapidly detect and analyze storms as they are developing and intensifying.

GOES-17 is the second in a series of next-generation geostationary weather satellites. Like GOES-16, its sister satellite operating as GOES East, GOES-17 is designed to provide advanced imagery and atmospheric measurements of Earth from 22,300 miles above the equator.

GOES-17 launched on March 1, 2018, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The satellite is currently in its post-launch checkout and testing phase, the period in which its instruments and systems are calibrated, validated and assessed for operational usage. Imagery released from GOES-17 during the post-launch testing phase should be considered preliminary and non-operational.

NOAA’s operational geostationary constellation—GOES-16, operating as GOES-East, GOES-15, operating as GOES-West and GOES-14, operating as the on-orbit spare—is healthy and monitoring weather across the nation each day.

Note: This is preliminary, non-operational data as GOES-17 undergoes on-orbit testing.

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Credit: NOAA/NASA
Release Date: May 31, 2018

#NASA #NOAA #Earth #Science #Satellite #Weather #Meteorology #GOES17 #ABI #WesternHemisphere #NorthAmerica #SouthAmerica #EarthObservation #RemoteSensing #Goddard #Kennedy #KSC #LockheedMartin #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Earth's Western Hemisphere | NOAA/NASA

The first imagery from the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) of NOAA’s GOES-17 satellite has made its public debut. | May 31, 2018: GOES-17 took this stunning, full-disk imagery of Earth’s Western Hemisphere from its checkout position at 12:00 p.m. EDT on May 20, 2018. GOES-17 observes Earth from an equatorial vantage point approximately 22,300 miles above the surface.

While experts continue to address an issue with the cooling system of the satellite’s imager, new views from GOES-17 show that its ABI is providing beautiful—and useful—imagery of the Western Hemisphere. This imagery was created using two visible bands (blue and red) and one near-infrared “vegetation” band that are functional with the current cooling system performance.

The imagery also incorporates input from one of the ABI’s “longwave” infrared bands that is functional during a portion of the day despite the cooling system issue.

When combined as a “GeoColor” image, depicting the Earth in vivid detail and colors intuitive to human vision, these bands provide valuable information for monitoring dust, haze, smoke, clouds, fog, winds and vegetation. ABI imagery also provides information on cloud motion, helping meteorologists monitor and forecast severe weather and hurricanes. The improved resolution and faster scanning ability of the instrument compared to the previous generation of GOES allow forecasters to more rapidly detect and analyze storms as they are developing and intensifying.

GOES-17 is the second in a series of next-generation geostationary weather satellites. Like GOES-16, its sister satellite operating as GOES East, GOES-17 is designed to provide advanced imagery and atmospheric measurements of Earth from 22,300 miles above the equator.

GOES-17 launched on March 1, 2018, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The satellite is currently in its post-launch checkout and testing phase, the period in which its instruments and systems are calibrated, validated and assessed for operational usage. Imagery released from GOES-17 during the post-launch testing phase should be considered preliminary and non-operational.

NOAA’s operational geostationary constellation—GOES-16, operating as GOES-East, GOES-15, operating as GOES-West and GOES-14, operating as the on-orbit spare—is healthy and monitoring weather across the nation each day.

Note: This is preliminary, non-operational data as GOES-17 undergoes on-orbit testing.

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Credit: NOAA/NASA
Release Date: May 31, 2018

#NASA #NOAA #Earth #Science #Satellite #Weather #Meteorology #GOES17 #ABI #WesternHemisphere #NorthAmerica #SouthAmerica #EarthObservation #RemoteSensing #Goddard #Kennedy #KSC #LockheedMartin #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

The Alps | International Space Station

Cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov: "The Alps are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately 1,200 km across eight countries: France, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany and Slovenia."

Learn more:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alps

Credit: Cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov
Release Date: May 30, 2018

#NASA #Roscosmos #Space #ISS #Earth #Science #Alps #Mountains #France #Switzerland #Italy #Monaco #Liechtenstein #Austria #Germany #Slovenia #Europe #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #Photography #STEM #Education
#OrbitalPerspective #OverviewEffect

Strait of Gibraltar | International Space Station

U.S. Astronaut Ricky Arnold: "The Strait of Gibraltar between Spain and Morocco. Hercules completed his 10th labor here. I’d prefer to sit in a café along the shore."

The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Gibraltar and Peninsular Spain in Europe from Morocco and Ceuta (Spain) in Africa. The name comes from the Rock of Gibraltar, which in turn originates from the Arabic Jebel Tariq (meaning "Tariq's mountain") named after Tariq ibn Ziyad. It is also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, the Gut of Gibraltar (although this is mostly archaic), STROG (Strait Of Gibraltar) in naval use, and in the ancient world as the "Pillars of Hercules" (Ancient Greek: αἱ Ἡράκλειοι στῆλαι).

Europe and Africa are separated by 7.7 nautical miles (14.3 km; 8.9 mi) of ocean at the strait's narrowest point. The Strait's depth ranges between 300 and 900 meters (160 and 490 fathoms; 980 and 2,950 ft) which possibly interacted with the lower mean sea level of the last major glaciation 20,000 years ago. (Source: Wikipedia)

Credit: NASA Astronaut Ricky Arnold
Release Date: May 30, 2018

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Earth #Strait #Gibraltar #Spain #España #Morocco #المَغرِب‎ #Africa #Europe #Mediterranean #Sea #Astronaut #RickyArnold #Human #Spaceflight #Spacecraft #UnitedStates #Photography #History #STEM #Education #International #OrbitalPerspective #OverviewEffect

Canadarm2 | International Space Station

The Canadian Robotic Arm
Location: Approximately 400 km above Earth
Canadarm2 is a 17 meter-long robotic arm that assembled the International Space Station (ISS) while in space. It is routinely used to move supplies, equipment and even astronauts. As well as supporting the Station's maintenance and upkeep, it is responsible for performing "cosmic catches," the capturing and docking of unpiloted spacecraft that carry everything from science payloads to necessities for the 6-person crew on board the ISS.
Built in Brampton, Ontario by MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA)

Composition: 19 layers of high-strength carbon thermoplastic fibres
Seven degrees of freedom, making it very similar to a human arm:
three joints at the shoulder
one joint at the elbow
three joints at the wrist

Credit: Canadian Space Agency (CSA)

#NASA #Space #Science #Engineering #Robotics #ISS #Canadarm2 #Canada #CSA #SSRMS #MSS #Expedition55 #Astronauts #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #International #Infographic

Canada's Robot "Hand" | International Space Station

Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) | Cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev: "The giant 'hand' of our space house or, in other words, SSRMS, which in translation means 'remote manipulator of the space station.' He has a lot of names, but he always has the same role: moving equipment, helping astronauts when working in open space, he also 'catches' the cargo ships Dragon, Cygnus and HTV to the ISS."

The Mobile Servicing System (MSS), is a robotic system on board the International Space Station (ISS). Launched to the ISS in 2001, it plays a key role in station assembly and maintenance; it moves equipment and supplies around the station, supports astronauts working in space, and services instruments and other payloads attached to the ISS and is used for external maintenance. Astronauts receive specialized training to enable them to perform these functions with the various systems of the MSS.

The MSS is composed of three components—the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS), known as Canadarm2, the Mobile Remote Servicer Base System (MBS) and the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM, also known as Dextre or Canada hand). The system can move along rails on the Integrated Truss Structure on top of the US provided Mobile Transporter cart which hosts the MRS Base System. The system's control software was written in the Ada 95 programming language.

The MSS was designed and manufactured by MDA Space Missions (previously called MD Robotics; previously called SPAR Aerospace) for the Canadian Space Agency's contribution to the International Space Station. (Source: Wikipedia)

Learn more:
http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/iss/canadarm2/data-sheet.asp

Credit: Cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev
Release Date: May 29, 2018

#NASA #Space #Science #Engineering #Robotics #ISS #Canadarm2 #Canada #CSA #SSRMS #MSS #Expedition55 #Cosmonaut #OlegArtemyev #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #Russia #Россия #Astronauts #Photography #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #International #OrbitalPerspective #OverviewEffect

New Zealand | International Space Station

U.S. Astronaut Ricky Arnold: "Magnificent Fiordland National Park on the South Island of New Zealand. Captain James Cook visited here in 1773 in his ship Endeavour. Last time Astronaut Drew Feustel visited the International Space Station, he flew on a ship with the same name."

Fiordland National Park, South Island, New Zealand
www.fiordland.org.nz/about-fiordland/fiordland-national-park/
www.newzealand.com/ca/feature/national-parks-fiordland/

Credit: NASA Astronaut Ricky Arnold
Release Date: May 29, 2018

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Earth #NewZealand #Fiordland #NationalPark #Astronaut #RickyArnold #Human #Spaceflight #Spacecraft #UnitedStates #Photography #History #Endeavour #JamesCook #STEM #Education #International #OrbitalPerspective #OverviewEffect

An Eye-Catching Circle of Cloud | NASA Earth

May 29, 2018: While clouds are an important topic of research for climatologists and meteorologists, sometimes the atmosphere churns up peculiar-looking cloud formations that are as notable for aesthetic reasons as they are for scientific ones.

That was the case in May when this circular swirl of clouds drifted over Lake Balkhash in eastern Kazakhstan.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired the image at roughly 12:05 local time (06:05 Universal Time) on May 22, 2018, and the MODIS on Aqua acquired a similar image roughly two hours later.

While the MODIS sensors are affixed to polar-orbiting satellites and take an image of each part of Earth once per day, the Indian Space Research Organization operates a geostationary satellite—INSAT-3DR—that keeps its gaze fixed on this part of the world and captures new images every 26 minutes. Imagery from INSAT-3DR helps fill in the gaps before, after, and between the two MODIS images. The INSAT-3DR imagery suggests that a few hours before Terra MODIS acquired the image, the circular feature was linked to an area of convection to the southwest over the western Tien Shan mountains.

Cyclonic wind flow drew the clouds into the circular pattern, which had a radius of roughly 200 kilometers (100 miles)—small enough that meteorologists would classify it as a mesoscale feature. In contrast, synoptic scale features have horizontal lengths greater than 1,000 kilometers, while microscale features have widths less than 1 kilometer.

Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory image by Joshua Stevens, using MODIS data from LANCE/EOSDIS Rapid Response
Story Credit: Adam Voiland
Instrument(s): Terra - MODIS
#NASA #Earth #Satellite #Science #Atmosphere #Clouds #LakeBalkhash #БалқашКөлі #ОзероБалхаш #Kazakhstan #CentralAsia #Qazaqstan #Terra #MODIS #EarthObservation #RemoteSensing #STEM #Education

The Very Large Telescope in action | ESO

Happy 20th Anniversary Very Large Telescope!

One of the Unit Telescopes of European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT) is producing artificial stars in the skies above the Atacama Desert, above the Milky Way. In May 2018, the VLT celebrated 20 years of operations.

The Four Laser Guide Star Facility (4LGSF) shines four 22-watt laser beams into the sky to create artificial guide stars by making sodium atoms in the upper atmosphere glow so that they look just like real stars. The artificial stars allow the adaptive optics systems to compensate for the blurring caused by the Earth’s atmosphere and so that the telescope can create sharp images.

Credit: ESO/P. Horálek
Release Date: February 21, 2018

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

Tonight's Sky: June 2018 | HubbleSite

In June, the constellations Boӧtes, Corona Borealis and Draco, and the planets Venus, Jupiter, Mars and Saturn are all visible from the Northern Hemisphere.

“Tonight’s Sky” is produced by HubbleSite.org, online home of the Hubble Space Telescope.

Credit: HubbleSite
Duration: 7 minutes, 47 seconds
Release Date: May 23, 2018

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Earth #Planets #Venus #Jupiter #Mars #Saturn #Stars #Constellations #SolarSystem #Skywatching #STEM #Education #UnitedStates #NorthernHemisphere #HD #Video

Earthlings United | International Space Station

Credit: Cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev
Release Date: May 25, 2018

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

A green cosmic arc | Hubble

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows a cluster of hundreds of galaxies located about 7.5 billion light-years from Earth. The brightest galaxy within this cluster named SDSS J1156+1911 and known as the Brightest Cluster Galaxy (BCG), is visible in the lower middle of the frame. It was discovered by the Sloan Giant Arcs Survey which studied data maps covering huge parts of the sky from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: it found more than 70 galaxies that look to be significantly affected by a cosmic phenomenon known as gravitational lensing.

Gravitational lensing is one of the predictions of Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. The mass contained within a galaxy is so immense that it can actually wrap and bend the very fabric of its surroundings (known as spacetime), forcing the light to travel along curved paths. As a result, the image of a more distant galaxy appears distorted and amplified to an observer, as the light from it has been bent around the intervening galaxy. This effect can be very useful in astronomy, allowing astronomers to see galaxies that are either obscured or too distant for us to be otherwise detected by our current instruments.

Galaxy clusters are giant structures containing hundreds to thousands of galaxies with masses of about over one million billion times the mass of the Sun! SDSS J1156+1911 is only roughly 600 billion times the mass of the Sun, making it less massive than the average galaxy. However, it is massive enough to produce the fuzzy greenish streak seen just below the brightest galaxy—the lensed image of a more distant galaxy.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA
Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt (Geckzilla)
Release Date: May 28, 2018

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Science #Space #Galaxy #Cluster #SDSSJ11561911 #BrightestClusterGalaxy #BCG #Arc #GravitationalLensing #Stars #Galaxies #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #ESA #STScI #STEM #Education

A Hidden Galactic Core: NGC 5643 | ESO

This is the center of a galaxy named NGC 5643. This galaxy is located 55 million light-years from Earth in the constellation of Lupus (The Wolf), and is known as a Seyfert galaxy. Seyfert galaxies have very luminous centers—thought to be powered by material being accreted onto a supermassive black hole lurking within—that can also be shrouded and obscured by clouds of dust and intergalactic material.

As a result, it can be difficult to observe the active center of a Seyfert galaxy. NGC 5643 poses a further challenge; it is viewed at a high inclination, making it even trickier to view its inner workings. However, scientists have used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) together with archival data from the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) instrument on the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope to reveal this view of NGC 5643—complete with energetic outflowing ionized gas pouring out into space.

These impressive outflows stretch out on either side of the galaxy, and are caused by matter being ejected from the accretion disc of the supermassive black hole at NGC 5643’s core. Combined, the ALMA and VLT data show the galaxy’s central region to have two distinct components: a spiraling, rotating disc (visible in red) consisting of cold molecular gas traced by carbon monoxide, and the outflowing gas, traced by ionized oxygen and hydrogen (in blue-orange hues) perpendicular to the inner nuclear disc.

Credit: ESO/A. Alonso-Herrero et al.; ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)
Release Date: May 28, 2018

#ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxy #NGC5643 #Lupus #Seyfert #BlackHole #Cosmos #Universe #ALMA #MUSE #Europe #STEM #Education