The First All Woman Spacewalking Team | NASA

The First All Woman Spacewalking Team | NASA

History Makers Jessica and Christina Suit Up

Oct. 18, 2019: The International Space Station Expedition 61 crew pauses for a photo as NASA Astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch prepare to exit the International Space Station to begin the first all female spacewalk in history on Oct. 18, 2019.

The astronauts replaced a faulty battery charge discharge unit (BCDU) that failed to activate following the Oct. 11 installation of new lithium ion batteries on the space station's exterior structure. The BCDUs regulate the amount of charge put into the batteries that collect energy from the station's solar arrays to power station systems during periods when the station orbits during nighttime passes around Earth. Though the BCDU failure has not impacted station operations or crew safety, it does prevent the new batteries from providing increased station power.

Commander Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA Flight Engineer Andrew Morgan assisted the spacewalkers. Parmitano operated the Canadarm2 robotics arm and Morgan provided airlock and spacesuit support.

It was the first spacewalk for Meir and the fourth for Koch, who now has spent a total of 27 hours and 48 minutes spacewalking. It is the first spaceflight for both women, who were selected in the 2013 astronaut class that had equal numbers of women and men. Koch arrived to the orbiting laboratory in March 2019 and will remain in space for an extended duration mission of 11 months to provide researchers the opportunity to observe effects of long-duration spaceflight on a woman to prepare for human missions to the Moon and Mars.

Meir became the 15th woman to spacewalk, and the 14th U.S. woman. It was the 43rd spacewalk to include a woman. Women have been performing spacewalks since 1984, when Russian cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya spacewalked in July and NASA astronaut Kathryn Sullivan spacewalked in October.

It was the eighth spacewalk outside the station this year. Space station crew members have now conducted 221 spacewalks in support of assembly and maintenance of the orbiting laboratory. Spacewalkers have spent a total of 57 days, 20 hours, and 29 minutes working outside the station.

Credit: NASA/JSC
Image Date: October 18, 2019


#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #EVA #Spacewalk #History #Astronauts #JessicaMeir #ChristinaKoch #AndrewMorgan #ESA #LucaParmitano #Expedition61 #Human #Spaceflight #Women #Spacecraft #UnitedStates #International #STEM #Education

The First All Woman Spacewalking Team | NASA

The First All Woman Spacewalking Team | NASA

History Makers Jessica and Christina Suit Up

Oct. 18, 2019: NASA astronauts Jessica Meir (left) and Christina Koch (right) prepare to leave the hatch of the International Space Station and begin the historic first-ever all-female spacewalk.

The astronauts replaced a faulty battery charge discharge unit (BCDU) that failed to activate following the Oct. 11 installation of new lithium ion batteries on the space station's exterior structure. The BCDUs regulate the amount of charge put into the batteries that collect energy from the station's solar arrays to power station systems during periods when the station orbits during nighttime passes around Earth. Though the BCDU failure has not impacted station operations or crew safety, it does prevent the new batteries from providing increased station power.


It was the first spacewalk for Meir and the fourth for Koch, who now has spent a total of 27 hours and 48 minutes spacewalking. It is the first spaceflight for both women, who were selected in the 2013 astronaut class that had equal numbers of women and men. Koch arrived to the orbiting laboratory in March 2019 and will remain in space for an extended duration mission of 11 months to provide researchers the opportunity to observe effects of long-duration spaceflight on a woman to prepare for human missions to the Moon and Mars.

Meir became the 15th woman to spacewalk, and the 14th U.S. woman. It was the 43rd spacewalk to include a woman. Women have been performing spacewalks since 1984, when Russian cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya spacewalked in July and NASA astronaut Kathryn Sullivan spacewalked in October.

It was the eighth spacewalk outside the station this year. Space station crew members have now conducted 221 spacewalks in support of assembly and maintenance of the orbiting laboratory. Spacewalkers have spent a total of 57 days, 20 hours, and 29 minutes working outside the station.

Credit: NASA/JSC
Image Date: October 18, 2019


#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #EVA #Spacewalk #History #Astronauts #JessicaMeir #ChristinaKoch #Expedition61 #Human #Spaceflight #Women #Spacecraft #UnitedStates #International #STEM #Education

The First All Woman Spacewalking Team | NASA

The First All Woman Spacewalking Team | NASA

History Makers Jessica and Christina Suit Up

Oct. 18, 2019: NASA astronauts Jessica Meir (left) and Christina Koch (right) prepare to leave the hatch of the International Space Station and begin the historic first-ever all-female spacewalk.

The astronauts replaced a faulty battery charge discharge unit (BCDU) that failed to activate following the Oct. 11 installation of new lithium ion batteries on the space station's exterior structure. The BCDUs regulate the amount of charge put into the batteries that collect energy from the station's solar arrays to power station systems during periods when the station orbits during nighttime passes around Earth. Though the BCDU failure has not impacted station operations or crew safety, it does prevent the new batteries from providing increased station power.


It was the first spacewalk for Meir and the fourth for Koch, who now has spent a total of 27 hours and 48 minutes spacewalking. It is the first spaceflight for both women, who were selected in the 2013 astronaut class that had equal numbers of women and men. Koch arrived to the orbiting laboratory in March 2019 and will remain in space for an extended duration mission of 11 months to provide researchers the opportunity to observe effects of long-duration spaceflight on a woman to prepare for human missions to the Moon and Mars.

Meir became the 15th woman to spacewalk, and the 14th U.S. woman. It was the 43rd spacewalk to include a woman. Women have been performing spacewalks since 1984, when Russian cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya spacewalked in July and NASA astronaut Kathryn Sullivan spacewalked in October.

It was the eighth spacewalk outside the station this year. Space station crew members have now conducted 221 spacewalks in support of assembly and maintenance of the orbiting laboratory. Spacewalkers have spent a total of 57 days, 20 hours, and 29 minutes working outside the station.

Credit: NASA/JSC
Image Date: October 18, 2019

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #EVA #Spacewalk #History #Astronauts #JessicaMeir #ChristinaKoch #Expedition61 #Human #Spaceflight #Women #Spacecraft #UnitedStates #International #STEM #Education

The First All Woman Spacewalk | This Week @NASA

The First All Woman Spacewalk | This Week @NASA

Week of October 18, 2019: A first aboard the International Space Station, some gear well-suited for the Artemis generation, and ensuring astronaut safety . . . a few of the stories to tell you about—This Week at NASA!

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Duration: 4 minutes, 43 seconds
Release Date: October 18, 2019



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First All-Woman Spacewalk: History Made | NASA's Space to Ground

First All-Woman Spacewalk: History Made 

NASA's Space to Ground

Week of Oct. 18, 2019: NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station.

At 2:55 p.m. EDT, Expedition 61 Flight Engineers Christina Koch and Jessica Meir of NASA concluded their spacewalk, the first with only women. During the 7-hour, 17-minute spacewalk, the two NASA astronauts completed the replacement a failed power charging component, also known as a battery charge-discharge unit (BCDU). The BCDU regulates the charge to the batteries that collect and distribute solar power to the orbiting lab’s systems. Mission control activated the newly installed BCDU and reported it is operating properly.

The astronauts were also able to accomplish some get-ahead tasks including installation of a stanchion on the Columbus module for support of a new external ESA (European Space Agency) payload platform called Bartolomeo scheduled for launch to the station in 2020.

Commander Luca Parmitano of ESA and NASA Flight Engineer Andrew Morgan assisted the spacewalkers. Parmitano operated the Canadarm2 robotics arm and Morgan provided airlock and spacesuit support.

It was the eighth spacewalk outside the station this year. Space station crew members have now conducted 221 spacewalks in support of assembly and maintenance of the orbiting laboratory. Spacewalkers have spent a total of 57 days, 20 hours, and 29 minutes working outside the station.

It was the first spacewalk for Meir and the fourth for Koch, who now has spent a total of 27 hours and 48 minutes spacewalking. It is the first spaceflight for both women, who were selected in the 2013 astronaut class that had equal numbers of women and men. Koch arrived to the orbiting laboratory in March 2019 and will remain in space for an extended duration mission of 11 months to provide researchers the opportunity to observe effects of long-duration spaceflight on a woman to prepare for human missions to the Moon and Mars.

Meir became the 15th woman to spacewalk, and the 14th U.S. woman. It was the 43rd spacewalk to include a woman. Women have been performing spacewalks since 1984, when Russian cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya spacewalked in July and NASA astronaut Kathryn Sullivan spacewalked in October.

The faulty BCDU is due to return to Earth on the next SpaceX Dragon resupply ship for inspection. Station managers will reschedule the three battery replacement spacewalks for a future date. In the meantime, the five planned spacewalks to repair a cosmic particle detector, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, are still on the calendar for November and December.

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center
Duration: 2 minutes, 14 seconds
Release Date: October 18, 2019

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #EVA #Spacewalk #History #Astronauts #JessicaMeir #ChristinaKoch #Expedition61 #Human #Spaceflight #Women #Spacecraft #Houston #Texas #UnitedStates #International #STEM #Education #HD #Video

First All-Woman Spacewalk on October 18 | NASA

Watch Live on NASA TV: www.nasa.gov/ntv

NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch are set to conduct the first spacewalk to be performed by two women on Friday, Oct. 18, 2019.

They will be replacing a faulty battery charge/discharge unit that failed to activate after a spacewalk Oct. 11. The faulty unit is preventing a set of recently installed batteries from providing increased power. It must be replaced before continuing a series of spacewalks to install new batteries.

Watch live coverage here on NASA TV and nasa.gov/live Friday beginning at 6:30 a.m. Eastern. The spacewalk is scheduled to begin at about 7:50 a.m.

Credit: NASA/JSC
Duration: 1 minute, 12 seconds
Release Date: October 17, 2019


#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #EVA #Spacewalk #History #Astronauts #JessicaMeir #ChristinaKoch #Expedition61 #Human #Spaceflight #Women #Spacecraft #UnitedStates #International #STEM #Education #HD #Video

First Quarter Moon | International Space Station

First Quarter Moon | International Space Station

A first quarter Moon is pictured from the International Space Station just above the Earth's limb.

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)
Image Date: October 5, 2019

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Moon #Artemis #Astronauts #Expedition61 #Human #Spaceflight #Spacecraft #UnitedStates #International #STEM #Education

Spacewalkers Jessica & Christina | NASA

Spacewalkers Jessica & Christina | NASA

Upcoming spacewalking duo Jessica Meir and Christina Koch

Oct. 15, 2019: NASA astronauts Jessica Meir (left) and Christina Koch are inside the Quest airlock of the International Space Station preparing the U.S. spacesuits and tools they will use on their first spacewalk together. The Expedition 61 flight engineers are holding the pistol grip tools they will use to swap out a failed power controller, also known as a battery charge-discharge unit, that regulates the charge to batteries that collect and distribute power to the International Space Station.

Credit: NASA/JSC
Image Date: Oct. 15, 2019


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Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov: Animation | Hubble

Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov: Animation | Hubble

On October 12, 2019, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope observed Comet 2I/Borisov at a distance of approximately 420 million kilometers from Earth. The comet is believed to have arrived here from another planetary system elsewhere in our galaxy.

This is a time-lapse sequence compressing Hubble Space Telescope observations of comet 2I/Borisov, spanning a seven-hour period. As the first confirmed interstellar comet to enter our solar system, comet 2I/Borisov is moving along at a breakneck speed of 110,000 miles per hour. To photograph the comet Hubble has to track it, like a photographer tracking a racetrack horse. Therefore, background stars are streaked in the exposure frames. An artificial satellite also crosses the field of view. Hubble reveals a central concentration of dust around an unseen nucleus. Comet 2I/Borisov is only the second such interstellar object known to have passed through the solar system. In 2017, the first identified interstellar visitor, an object formally named 'Oumuamua, swung within 24 million miles of the Sun before racing out of the solar system.

Credit: NASA, ESA, and J. DePasquale (STScI)
Duration: 11 seconds
Release Date: October 16, 2019

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Comet #Comet2IBorisov #Interstellar #Planets #SolarSystem #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #ESA #Goddard #GSFC #STScI #STEM #Education #Timelapse #Animation #HD #Video

Space is Hard | NASA

Space is Hard | NASA

Space travel is hard and unforgiving, but we have never been more ready to meet the unknown.

Team members from NASA’s Artemis program share the risks and rewards of this next era of exploration. Artemis will push the boundaries of human exploration and send the first woman and next man to the Moon by 2024, preparing for missions to Mars and beyond.


#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #Artemis #SLS #Rocket #Orion #ISS #CommercialCrew #Mars #JourneyToMars #Moon #Astronauts #Human #Spaceflight #UnitedStates #Future #SolarSystem #Exploration #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Orbital Path of Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov

Orbital Path of Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov

Deep Space Visitor Provides Clues to Birth of Planetary Systems

This illustration shows the path of comet 21/Borisov through our Solar System. This visitor came from interstellar space along a hyperbolic trajectory. It is only the second known intruder to zoom through our Solar System (the interstellar object ‘Oumuamua was detected in 2017).

As the graphic shows, the comet’s straight path across interstellar space is slightly deflected by the gravitational pull of our Sun. The comet is travelling so fast, at over 155 000 kilometers per hour, it will eventually leave the Solar System.

The panel on the right shows the comet’s position relative to Earth when the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope observed it on October 12, 2019, when it was 420 million kilometers from Earth.

Credit: NASA, ESA, J. Olmsted, F. Summers (STScI)

Release Date: October 16, 2019

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Comet #Comet2IBorisov #Interstellar #Planets #SolarSystem #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #ESA #Goddard #GSFC #STScI #Illustration #Art #STEAM #STEM #Education

Comet 2I/Borisov: First Interstellar Comet | Hubble

Comet 2I/Borisov: First Interstellar Comet | Hubble

Deep Space Visitor Provides Clues to Birth of Planetary Systems

Oct. 16, 2019: No one knows where it came from. No one knows how long it has been drifting through the empty, cold abyss of interstellar space. But this year an object called comet 2I/Borisov came in from the cold. It was detected falling past our Sun by a Crimean amateur astronomer. This emissary from the black unknown captured the attention of worldwide astronomers who aimed all kinds of telescopes at it to watch the comet sprout a dust tail. The far visitor is only the second known object to enter our solar system coming from elsewhere in the galaxy, based on its speed and trajectory. Like a racetrack photographer trying to capture a speeding derby horse, Hubble took a series of snapshots as the comet streaked along at 110,000 miles per hour. Hubble provided the sharpest image to date of the fleeting comet, revealing a central concentration of dust around an unseen nucleus. The comet was 260 million miles from Earth when Hubble took the photo.

In 2017, the first identified interstellar visitor, an object formally named 'Oumuamua, swung within 24 million miles of the Sun before racing out of the solar system. Unlike comet 2I/Borisov, 'Oumuamua still defies any simple categorization. It did not behave like a comet, and it has a variety of unusual characteristics. Comet 2I/Borisov looks a lot like the traditional comets found inside our solar system, which sublimate ices, and cast off dust as they are warmed by the Sun. The wandering comet provides invaluable clues to the chemical composition, structure, and dust characteristics of planetary building blocks presumably forged in an alien star system.

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has given astronomers their best look yet at an interstellar visitor—comet 2I/Borisov—whose speed and trajectory indicate it has come from beyond our solar system.

This Hubble image, taken on October 12, 2019, is the sharpest view of the comet to date. Hubble reveals a central concentration of dust around the nucleus (which is too small to be seen by Hubble).

Comet 2I/Borisov is only the second such interstellar object known to have passed through the solar system. In 2017, the first identified interstellar visitor, an object officially named 'Oumuamua, swung within 24 million miles of the Sun before racing out of the solar system. "Whereas 'Oumuamua appeared to be a rock, Borisov is really active, more like a normal comet. It's a puzzle why these two are so different," said David Jewitt of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), leader of the Hubble team who observed the comet.

As the second known interstellar object found to enter our solar system, the comet provides invaluable clues to the chemical composition, structure, and dust characteristics of planetary building blocks presumably forged in an alien star system a long time ago and far away.

"Though another star system could be quite different from our own, the fact that the comet's properties appear to be very similar to those of the solar system's building blocks is very remarkable," said Amaya Moro-Martin of the Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland.

Hubble photographed the comet at a distance of 260 million miles from Earth. The comet is falling past the Sun and will make its closest approach to the Sun on December 7, 2019, when it will be twice as far from the Sun as Earth is.

The comet is following a hyperbolic path around the Sun, and currently is blazing along at an extraordinary speed of 110,000 miles per hour. "It's traveling so fast it almost doesn't care that the Sun is there," said Jewitt.

By the middle of 2020 the comet will streak past Jupiter's distance of 500 million miles on its way back into interstellar space where it will drift for untold millions of years before skirting close to another star system.

Crimean amateur astronomer Gennady Borisov discovered the comet on August 30, 2019. After a week of observations by amateur and professional astronomers all over the world, the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center and JPL's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies computed a trajectory for the comet, which confirms that it came from interstellar space.

Until now, all cataloged comets have come from either a ring of icy debris at the periphery of our solar system, called the Kuiper belt, or the hypothetical Oort cloud, a shell of comets about a light-year from the Sun, defining the dynamical edge of our solar system.

Borisov and 'Oumuamua are only the beginning of the discoveries of interstellar objects paying a brief visit to our solar system, say researchers. According to one study there are thousands of such interlopers here at any given time, though most are too faint to be detected with current-day telescopes.

Observations by Hubble and other telescopes have shown that rings and shells of icy debris encircle young stars where planet formation is underway. A gravitational "pinball game" between these comet-like bodies or planets orbiting other stars can hurtle them deep into space where they go adrift among the stars.

Future Hubble observations of 2I/Borisov are planned through January 2020, with more being proposed.

"New comets are always unpredictable," said Max Mutchler, another member of the observing team. "They sometimes brighten suddenly or even begin to fragment as they are exposed to the intense heat of the Sun for the first time. Hubble is poised to monitor whatever happens next with its superior sensitivity and resolution."

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy in Washington, D.C.

Credits: NASA, ESA, and D. Jewitt (UCLA)

Release Date: October 16, 2019


#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Comet #Comet2IBorisov #Interstellar #Planets #SolarSystem #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #ESA #Goddard #GSFC #STScI #STEM #Education

NASA’s New Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU)

NASA’s New Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU)

Oct. 15, 2019: Kristine Davis, a spacesuit engineer at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, wearing a ground prototype of NASA’s new Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU), is seen during a demonstration of the suit, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The xEMU suit improves on the suits previous worn on the Moon during the Apollo era and those currently in use for spacewalks outside the International Space Station and will be worn by first woman and next man as they explore the Moon as part of the agency’s Artemis program.

Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
Image Date: October 15, 2019

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #SLS #Rocket #Orion #ISS #CommercialCrew #Mars #Artemis #Moon #Astronauts #Spacesuit #Engineering #Women #OCSS #Human #Spaceflight #JourneyToMars #UnitedStates #SolarSystem #Exploration #STEM #Education

Introducing Artemis Generation Spacesuits | NASA

Introducing Artemis Generation Spacesuits | NASA

Oct. 15, 2019: NASA invited the media to get an up-close look at the next generation spacesuits the first woman and next man to explore the Moon will wear as part of the agency’s Artemis program.

NASA is preparing to send astronauts to the Moon by 2024 and is moving forward with design and development of the suits astronauts will wear on the lunar surface and other destinations, including Mars.

The public event took place on Tuesday, Oct. 15 at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. and featured NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, who hosted a demonstration with spacesuit engineers.

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Duration: 53 minutes, 22 seconds
Capture Date: October 15, 2019


#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #SLS #Rocket #Orion #ISS #CommercialCrew #Mars #Artemis #Moon #Astronauts #Spacesuit #OCSS #Human #Spaceflight #JourneyToMars #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's Orion Crew Survival System

NASA's Orion Crew Survival System

Dustin Gohmert, Orion Crew Survival Systems Project Manager at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, poses for a portrait while wearing the Orion Crew Survival System (OCSS) suit, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019 at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. The Orion suit is designed for a custom fit and incorporates safety technology and mobility features that will help protect astronauts on launch day, in emergency situations, high-risk parts of missions near the Moon, and during the high-speed return to Earth.

Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
Image Date: October 15, 2019


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A Galactic Portal: Galaxy NGC 4380 | Hubble

A Galactic Portal: Galaxy NGC 4380 | Hubble

The galaxy NGC 4380 looks like a special effect straight out of a science fiction or fantasy film in this Hubble Picture of the Week, swirling like a gaping portal to another dimension.

In the grand scheme of things, though, the galaxy is actually quite ordinary. Spiral galaxies like NGC 4380 are one of the most common types of galaxy in the Universe. These colossal collections of stars, often numbering in the hundreds of billions, are shaped like a flat disc, sometimes with a rounded bulge in the center. Graceful spiral arms outlined by dark lanes of dust wind around the bulging core, which glows brightly and has the highest concentration of stars in the galaxy.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, P. Erwin
Release Date: October 14, 2019


#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxy #NGC4380 #Spiral #Virgo #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #ESA #Goddard #GSFC #STScI #STEM #Education