Friends of NASA (FoN) is an independent non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to building international support for peaceful space exploration, commerce, scientific discovery, and STEM education.
In March, the stars of spring lie eastward: Look for the constellations Gemini and Cancer to spot interesting celestial features like star clusters M35 and the Beehive Cluster, and NGC 3923, an oblong elliptical galaxy with an interesting ripple pattern. Keep watching for space-based views of the galaxies.
“Tonight’s Sky” is a monthly video of constellations you can observe in the night sky. The series is produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute, home of science operations for the Hubble Space Telescope, in partnership with NASA’s Universe of Learning.
National Reconnaissance Office NROL-87 Mission | SpaceX
On Wednesday, February 2, 2022, at 12:27 p.m. PST, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the NROL-87 mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, United States.
This was the first launch and landing of this booster, which will be prepared for re-flight on another National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) mission later this year. NROL87 was NRO's 60th launch since 1996.
"When the United States needs eyes and ears in critical places where no human can reach—be it over the most rugged terrain or through the most hostile territory—it turns to the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). The NRO is the U.S. Government agency in charge of designing, building, launching, and maintaining America’s intelligence satellites. Whether creating the latest innovations in satellite technology, contracting with the most cost-efficient industrial supplier, conducting rigorous launch schedules, or providing the highest-quality products to our customers, we never lose focus on who we are working to protect: our Nation and its citizens."
"From our inception in 1961 to our declassification to the public in 1992, we have worked tirelessly to provide the best reconnaissance support possible to the Intelligence Community (IC) and Department of Defense (DoD). We are unwavering in our dedication to fulfilling our vision: Supra Et Ultra: Above and Beyond."
Learn more about the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO):
"The U.S. Space Force defends our country and freedom to operate in space, keeping it secure, stable and accessible for military space power and new waves of innovation.
Once the new frontier, it now defines our daily lives and ways of war—on air, land and sea. From GPS to strategic warning and satellite communications, we defend the ultimate high ground."
February 25, 2022: An update on our Artemis I mission, test firing an Artemis rocket engine, and a resupply mission delivers to the space station . . . a few of the stories to tell you about–This Week at NASA!
This week marked Northrop Grumman’s 17th contracted resupply mission under the second Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA. NASA astronaut Raja Chari commanded the Canadarm2 robotic arm to capture the U.S. Cygnus cargo craft. Robotics controllers on the ground took over shortly afterwards and remotely guided the Canadarm2 with Cygnus attached and installed it to the Unity module to begin three months of cargo operations.
Cygnus launched atop an Antares rocket at 12:40 p.m. EST Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. At about 4:44 a.m., NASA astronaut Raja Chari, along with NASA astronaut Kayla Barron as backup, captured Cygnus, carrying 8,300 pounds of research, hardware, and science experiments to the International Space Station.
Each Cygnus spacecraft is named in honor of an individual who has made great contributions to human spaceflight. For the NG-17 mission, Cygnus celebrates Piers Sellers, a former NASA astronaut and renowned climate scientist.
Producer: Andre Valentine
Editor: David Anderson
Music: Universal Production Music
0:00 Introduction
0:14 Update on Preparations for Artemis I Moon Mission
0:59 Artemis Rocket Engine Test Series Continues
1:21 Commercial Mission Delivers Cargo to Space Station
1:58 The Next GOES Series Earth-Observing Satellite
2:37 60th Anniversary of Glenn’s Historic Flight on Friendship 7
Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
NASA's Mars Curiosity Rover: Intriguing New Images | JPL
Unidentified. Confirmation needed. One analysis so far: This is ". . . an extreme close-up" of ". . . very small and rather unusual concretion features. This [larger] one has been called 'Blackthorn Salt'."
NASA's Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image using its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), located on the turret at the end of the rover's robotic arm, on February 24, 2022, Sol 3396 of the Mars Science Laboratory Mission, at 15:13:29 UTC.
Pareidolia. Dictionaries describe this term as a human tendency to see recognizable shapes in objects or data that are otherwise not familiar to us.
Learn more about pareidolia and Martian "space oddities:"
Week of February 25, 2022: NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
This is Northrop Grumman’s 17th contracted resupply mission under the second Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA. NASA astronaut Raja Chari commanded the Canadarm2 robotic arm to capture the U.S. Cygnus cargo craft. Robotics controllers on the ground took over shortly afterwards and remotely guided the Canadarm2 with Cygnus attached and installed it to the Unity module to begin three months of cargo operations.
Cygnus launched atop an Antares rocket at 12:40 p.m. EST Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. At about 4:44 a.m., NASA astronaut Raja Chari, along with NASA astronaut Kayla Barron as backup, captured Cygnus, carrying 8,300 pounds of research, hardware, and science experiments to the International Space Station.
Each Cygnus spacecraft is named in honor of an individual who has made great contributions to human spaceflight. For the NG-17 mission, Cygnus celebrates Piers Sellers, a former NASA astronaut and renowned climate scientist.
Cygnus will remain at the International Space Station until May 2022 before it deploys CubeSats, then disposes of several thousand pounds of trash during its re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, which will result in its destruction.
The International Space Station Program’s greatest accomplishment is as much a human achievement as it is a technological one—how best to plan, coordinate, and monitor the varied activities of the Program’s many organizations.
An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the ISS. The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.
Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:
This special rendition of Debussy's Clair de Lune (‘Moonlight’), commissioned by Artemis Music LLC and performed by internationally renowned pianist Wing-Chong Kam, was beamed into space and orbited the Earth aboard the International Space Station on July 28th, 2021, in commemoration of the timeless beauty of Claude Debussy's masterpiece and in celebration of the unity of music for all humankind. Visualizations of the Moon courtesy of the NASA Scientific Visualizations Studio, with digital 3D data captured by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).
The cosmic perspective of space inspires a cognitive shift in humans. Debussy’s Clair de Lune perhaps comes as close as possible to stirring the emotions of awe and wonder experienced by space travelers.
The universe is full of music, and we humans are learning how to use music to not only understand the science of the universe, but to grasp our place in it.
“Music is what happens in the space between the notes.”
- Claude Debussy
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Title: Clair de Lune
Composer: Claude Debussy
Performed by: Wing-Chong Kam
Recording engineer: Sierra Tse
Recording venue: Music Twelve, Hong Kong
Recording date: July 19, 2021
Publisher: Artemis Music LLC
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Background: Claude Debussy’s classic masterpiece ‘Clair de Lune’ (‘Moonlight) became the first non-fungible token (NFT) music to be sent into space and to orbit Earth aboard the International Space Station (ISS) in a test of the Artemis Space Network—a space-based commercial media platform supporting a new era of music and entertainment industry connectivity to outer space. The test occurred on Wednesday, July 28th, 2021, between approximately 12:47pm and 2:28pm Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). To perform the test, Artemis Music Entertainment Inc, a Cape Canaveral based venture founded by space entrepreneur Bob Richards and singer-songwriter Kristopher Houck, partnered with Nanoracks LLC, a leading global provider of commercial space services that provided the first permanent, privately owned and funded, commercial infrastructure to the International Space Station. The company’s “Bishop” airlock, attached to the ISS in December 2020, was the host of the Clair de Lune digital payload as it orbited Earth following transmission from the Nanoracks mission control center in Houston, Texas.
Proceeds from the space-flown recording support the empowerment of young artists, creators, and musicians.
Wing-Chong Kam: A native of Hong Kong, Wing-Chong Kam has performed in major cities on 4 continents and has collaborated with world renowned conductors and orchestras. He won the first prize of the 4th Junior Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, the 1997 Hong Kong International Piano Competition and the second prize of the CSMTA Young Artist Piano Competition.
Kam began his piano studies at the age of 5 and has studied with distinguished pianists and pedagogues Eleanor Wong and Boris Berman. He received full scholarships and awards for his undergraduate and doctoral studies.
Kam has taught at Yale and Hong Kong Summer Music since 2002. He is currently a part-time teaching faculty at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. He has previously served as a chamber music and vocal coach as well as an adjudicator for several local and overseas competitions.
Wing-Chong Kam's profile at the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil):
Cygnus Space Freighter Arrival | International Space Station
Northrop Grumman's Cygnus space freighter approached the International Space Station (ISS) and then was gripped by the Canadarm2 robotic arm as both spacecraft orbited 262 miles above the North Atlantic. This is Northrop Grumman’s 17th contracted resupply mission under the second Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA. NASA astronaut Raja Chari commanded the Canadarm2 robotic arm to capture the U.S. cargo craft. Robotics controllers on the ground took over shortly afterwards and remotely guided the Canadarm2 with Cygnus attached and installed it to the Unity module to begin three months of cargo operations.
Cygnus launched atop an Antares rocket at 12:40 p.m. EST Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. At about 4:44 a.m., NASA astronaut Raja Chari, along with NASA astronaut Kayla Barron as backup, captured Cygnus, carrying 8,300 pounds of research, hardware, and science experiments to the International Space Station.
Highlights of ISS research facilitated by this mission include:
- a study that examines the effects of a drug on breast and prostate cancer cells
- a new combustion facility
- an investigation from Colgate-Palmolive that will leverage the acceleration of skin aging in microgravity to help create and validate an engineered tissue model to serve as a platform for testing potential products to protect aging skin
- a demonstration of a lithium-ion secondary battery capable of safe, stable operation under extreme temperatures and in a vacuum environment
- new hydrogen sensors that will be tested for the space station’s oxygen generation system
- a system that will test hydroponic and aeroponic techniques for plant growth and will allow scientists to observe root growth through video and still images
Each Cygnus spacecraft is named in honor of an individual who has made great contributions to human spaceflight. For the NG-17 mission, Cygnus celebrates Piers Sellers, a former NASA astronaut and renowned climate scientist.
Cygnus will remain at the International Space Station until May 2022 before it deploys CubeSats, then disposes of several thousand pounds of trash during its re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, which will result in its destruction.
NASA's Mars Curiosity Rover Spots Clouds over Mont Mercou | JPL
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover captured these clouds just after sunset on March 19, 2021, the 3,063rd Martian day, or sol, of the rover’s mission. The image is made up of 21 individual images stitched together and color corrected so that the scene appears as it would to the human eye. The clouds are drifting over “Mont Mercou,” a cliff face that Curiosity has been studying.
The rover captured the image using its Mast Camera, or Mastcam. Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego built and operates Mastcam. A division of Caltech, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California built the Curiosity rover and manages the Curiosity rover for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
The Curiosity Rover landed in Mars' Gale Crater on August 6, 2012.
"Cropped and processed to brighten the darks to have a look into this dark overhang."
Release Date: February 20, 2022
Image 5
MSL (Curiosity) - Sol 3356 - MastCam
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill
Release Date: January 15, 2022
Image 6 (bottom, last image)
Curiosity's View From the Top of the 'Greenheugh Pediment'
Stitched together from 28 images, this view from NASA's Curiosity Mars rover was captured on April 9, 2020, the 2,729th Martian day, or sol, of the mission after the rover ascended a steep slope, part of a geologic feature called "Greenheugh Pediment." In the foreground is the crusty sandstone cap that stretches the length of the pediment, forming an overhanging ledge in some parts. At center is the "clay-bearing unit," a region with a unique story to tell about the history of water on Mount Sharp, the 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer-tall) mountain Curiosity has been ascending since 2014. In the distance at the top of the image is the floor of Gale Crater, which is 96 miles (154 kilometers) wide.
The rover's Mast Camera, or Mastcam, provided the panorama. Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego built and operates Mastcam. A division of Caltech, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California built the Curiosity rover and manages the Mars Science Laboratory mission for the agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
The panorama has been white-balanced so that the colors of the rock materials resemble how they would appear under daytime lighting conditions on Earth.
The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover landed February 18, 2021 in Jezero Crater on Mars.
The Curiosity Rover landed in Mars' Gale Crater on August 6, 2012.
These images from the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter shows part of possibly the largest single source of dust on Mars: a wind-sculpted feature known as the Medusae Fossae Formation, or MFF.
The MFF is not only a veritable dust factory, but also remarkably extensive—it is the largest sedimentary deposit on the planet and stretches out discontinuously for more than 5,000 km, covering an area about the size of India. It is named for the Greek mythological Gorgon Medusa, who was able to turn those who looked into her eyes to stone, with the suffix ‘fossae’ being Latin for trenches or hollows.
The formation is found along the boundary between Mars’ southern highlands and northern lowlands (known as the martian dichotomy), and sits between the planet’s two most prominent volcanic regions (Tharsis and Elysium). It also contains the Eumenides Dorsum mountain range, the edges of which can be seen in the gentle elevation extending out of the bottom right of the frame (northeast).
Wind is a powerful sculptor on the Red Planet—as well as here on Earth. Mars Express has spied several other landscapes on Mars that have been significantly shaped by wind, such as Nili Fossae, Arabia Terra, Syrtis Major, southern dunes, and Schiaparelli crater.
In fact, this region likely formed as a result of wind moving material around on Mars’ surface. The MFF is thought to consist of ash released by the volcanoes in the nearby Tharsis region—including Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the Solar System—that has been deposited either through the air or via fast-moving ‘pyroclastic’ flows of lava, gas and rocky debris.
The crescent-shaped depressions are also the doing of martian winds. These saucer- or trough-shaped hollows, known as blowouts, are apparently carved into the sand by wind erosion. To create a blowout, sand-laden wind whips along and erodes the smooth surface until it hits an obstacle—a buried object such as a rock or more resistant patch of sediment, for example. The wind is then forced around and beneath the object, creating an eddy, before finally heading back upwards, lifting sand with it as it goes.
Wind erosion is thought to be the latest stage of erosional processes acting on the MFF. This is evidenced by the general lack of craters seen on the formation’s surface; if wind erosion had occurred long ago only, we would expect to see more recent craters atop the wind-sculpted terrain. Overall, the fact that only a few craters are visible here, sitting alongside underlying older rock that has subsequently been covered and draped in dust, implies that the region’s surface is young.
Exploring the surface features and geology of Mars is a key objective of Mars Express. Launched in 2003, the spacecraft has been orbiting the Red Planet for nearly two decades; it has since been joined by the ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), which arrived in 2016, while the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover and its accompanying surface science platform are scheduled for launch in 2022. Together, this fleet of martian explorers is working towards a fuller understanding of Mars and its intriguing landscapes.
Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/German Aerospace Center (DLR)/Free University of Berlin (FU Berlin)
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope: Exploring the TRAPPIST-1 System
During its first operating cycle, the James Webb Space Telescope will set its sights on the TRAPPIST-1 system, an incredible collection of seven rocky exoplanets 41 light years away from Earth.
Astrobiologists, like Dr. Giada Arney from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, are excited about this system because TRAPPIST-1 is a perfect laboratory for studying habitability! It consists of seven rocky planets, distributed across the system’s habitable zone, or the area around a star where it is not too hot and not too cold for liquid water to exist on the surface of surrounding planets. Webb will characterize the atmospheres of these planets and help scientists learn more about planetary formation and habitability.
A spectacular head-on collision between two galaxies fueled an unusual triangular-shaped star-birthing frenzy, as captured in a new image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.
The interacting galaxy duo is collectively called Arp 143. The pair contains the glittery, distorted, star-forming spiral galaxy NGC 2445 at right, along with its less flashy companion, NGC 2444 at left.
A spectacular head-on collision between two galaxies has been captured by the NASA/European Space Agency (ESA) Hubble Space Telescope, which has the unusual triangular-shaped star-birthing frenzy.
The interacting galaxy duo is collectively called Arp 143. The pair contains the distorted, star-forming spiral galaxy NGC 2445, at right, along with its less flashy companion, NGC 2444, at left. This frenzied action takes place against the tapestry of distant galaxies. Some of them can be seen through the interacting pair.
Credit:
NASA, ESA, STScI, and J. Dalcanton (Center for Computational Astrophysics/Flatiron Inst., UWashington)
NASA ScienceCasts: The International Space Station's New Solar Arrays
The new ISS Roll Out Solar Arrays (iROSA) being installed on the International Space Station are providing power to the station with improved efficiency. ROSA technology will also help power the NASA Lunar Gateway outpost, and the DART mission as it makes its way to the Didymos asteroid system.
These solar arrays are lightweight, flexible power sources for spacecraft designed and developed by Redwire. Redwire Corporation is an American aerospace manufacturer and space infrastructure technology company headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.
This new type of solar array provides much more energy than traditional solar arrays at much less mass. Traditional solar panels used to power satellites are bulky, with heavy panels folded together using mechanical hinges. Given a space-bound payload is limited in its mass and volume by necessity, ROSA is 20 percent lighter (with a mass of 325 kg (717 lb)) and one-fourth the volume of rigid panel arrays with the same performance.
ROSA is a flexible and rollable solar array that operates the same way a measuring tape unwinds on its spool. The new solar array design rolls up to form a compact cylinder for launch with significantly less mass and volume, potentially offering substantial cost savings as well as an increase in power for satellites.
ROSA has a center wing made of a flexible material which support the strings of photovoltaic cells that produce electricity. Both the sides of the wing have a narrow arm that extends through the length of the wing to provide support to the array, called a high strain composite boom. The booms look like split tubes made of a stiff composite material, flattened and rolled up lengthwise.
The array does not need any motor to unfurl. This is achieved using the potential energy stored in the booms that is released as each boom transitions from a coil shape to a straight support arm. The solar wings are then deployed due to strain energy in rolled booms that are present at the two ends of the structure.
Solar Orbiter Captures Giant Solar Eruption | ESA/NASA
The Full Sun Imager of the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager on board the European Space Agency/NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft captured a giant solar eruption on February 15, 2022.
Solar prominences are large structures made of tangled magnetic field lines that keep dense concentrations of solar plasma suspended above the Sun’s surface and often take the form of arching loops.
This is the largest solar prominence eruption ever observed in a single image together with the full solar disc. They are often associated with coronal mass ejections, which if directed towards Earth, can wreak havoc with our technology and everyday lives.
This coronal mass ejection was not directed at Earth. In fact, it was traveling away from us.
Two stars shine through the center of a ring of cascading dust in this image taken by the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope. The star system is named DI Cha, and while only two stars are apparent, it is actually a quadruple system containing two sets of binary stars.
As this is a relatively young star system it is surrounded by dust. The young stars are moulding the dust into a wispy wrap.
The host of this alluring interaction between dust and star is the Chamaeleon I dark cloud—one of three such clouds that comprise a large star-forming region known as the Chamaeleon Complex. DI Cha's juvenility is not remarkable within this region. In fact, the entire system is among not only the youngest but also the closest collections of newly formed stars to be found and so provides an ideal target for studies of star formation.
