Artemis I: KSC Aerial View | NASA Astronauts Sunita & Matthew

Artemis I Moon Rocket: KSC Aerial View | NASA Astronauts Sunita & Matthew

NASA Artemis Astronaut Matthew Dominick: "Suni and I flew into NASA's Kennedy Space Center with a view of this giant moon rocket on the pad. People from around the world worked to get this rocket on the pad and now they are working through the weekend to get this beast through final testing."

Artemis I launch is currently scheduled for spring 2022.

NASA Astronaut Sunita L. Williams Official NASA Biography

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/sunita-l-williams/biography

Sunita L. Williams (Suni) was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1998 and is a veteran of two space missions Expeditions 14/15 and 32/33. She is currently training for the first post-certification mission of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft—the second crewed flight for that vehicle—and her third long duration mission aboard the International Space Station.

NASA Artemis Astronaut Matthew Dominick Official NASA Biography

https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis-team/

Matthew Stuart Dominick (born December 7, 1981; LCDR, USN) is a US Navy test pilot and a NASA astronaut candidate of the class of 2017. He has more than 1,600 hours of flight time in 28 aircraft, 400 carrier-arrested landings, 61 combat missions, and almost 200 flight test carrier landings. Matthew is part of an initial team of NASA astronauts—the Artemis Team—to help pave the way for the next lunar missions including sending the first woman and next man to walk on the lunar surface.

The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will be an uncrewed flight test that will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration, and demonstrate NASA's commitment and capability to extend human existence to the Moon and beyond.  It will travel 280,000 miles from Earth, thousands of miles beyond the Moon over the course of about a three-week mission. Orion will stay in space longer than any ship for astronauts has done without docking to a space station and return home faster and hotter than ever before.

Learn more about Artemis I at:

NASA's Artemis Program:

https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-1

Read the Artemis Plan (74-page PDF Free Download): 

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/artemis_plan-20200921.pdf

NASA's Space Launch System (SLS)

https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/index.html

NASA's Orion Spacecraft

https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/orion/about/index.html

Image Credit: Matthew Dominick/Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Image Date: April 1, 2022

#NASA #ESA #Space #Moon #Artemis #ArtemisI #Rocket #Orion #Spacecraft #SLS #Astronauts #SuniWilliams #MatthewDominick #USN #Pilots #Aviators #NorthropT38Talon #T38 #DeepSpace #Astronauts #Mars #JourneyToMars #Science #Engineering #Technology #Exploration #SolarSystem #LaunchComplex39B #Aerial #KSC #Kennedy #Florida #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Mars: Reminiscent of The American West | NASA's Perseverance Rover

Mars: Reminiscent of The American West | NASA's Perseverance Rover

This new panoramic view from NASA's Perseverance Rover of a stark Martian landscape is like a scene from a classic American western film or similar to views of Spain's Tabernas Desert—but without vegetation. You can almost imagine dramatic soundtrack elements from Italian composer, Ennio Morricone, playing in the background like those featured in Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). 

When will the first feature-length "films" be made on Mars?

The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.

Mission Name: Mars 2020

Rover Name: Perseverance

Main Job: Seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and soil) for possible return to Earth.

Launch: July 30, 2020    

Landing: Feb. 18, 2021, Jezero Crater, Mars

Mars Helicopter (Ingenuity) is now in an operations demo phase.

For more about Perseverance:

mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/

nasa.gov/perseverance

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/Kevin M. Gill

Mars2020 - Sol 395 - Mastcam-Z

Release Date: March 18, 2022

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #Astrobiology #Geology #Jezero #Crater #Perseverance #Rover #Sol395 #Western #Films #SergioLeone #EnnioMorricone #History #Music #Culture #Robotics #Technology #Engineering #JPL #Pasadena #California #UnitedStates #Artemis #JourneyToMars #STEM #Education

Tonight's Sky: April 2022

 Tonight's Sky: April 2022

Clear April nights are filled with starry creatures. Near the Big Dipper, you will find several interesting binary stars. You can also spot galaxies like the Pinwheel Galaxy, M82, and M96—the last of which is an asymmetric galaxy that may have been gravitationally disrupted by encounters with its neighbors. Keep watching for space-based views of these celestial objects.

About this Series

“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.

Credit: Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)

Duration: 5 minutes

Release Date: March 29, 2022

#NASA #Astronomy #Hubble #Space #Science #Skywatching #Galaxies #Pinwheel #M101 #M82 #M96 #Earth #Moon #Planets #Saturn #Venus #Mars #Jupiter #SolarSystem #Stars #BigDipper #Mizar #Alcor #Binary #DoubleStar #UrsaMajor #Leo #Constellations #MilkyWay #Galaxy #STScI #UnitedStates #Canada #Mexico #NorthernHemisphere #Skywatching #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The President’s Budget and the State of NASA | This Week @NASA

The President’s Budget and the State of NASA | This Week @NASA

This Week @NASA – April 1, 2022: What the President’s budget means for NASA, a record-setting astronaut returns safely to Earth, and the next Commercial Crew mission to the space station . . . a few of the stories to tell you about—This Week at NASA!

0:00 Introduction

0:14 The President’s Budget and the State of NASA

1:21 Record-Setting U.S. Astronaut Returns to Earth

1:47 NASA Previews SpaceX Crew-4 Mission

2:16 Final Test Ahead of Artemis I Moon Mission

2:43 Hubble Spots Farthest Star Ever Seen

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 

Producer: Andre Valentine

Editor: Sonnet Apple

Music: Universal Production Music

Duration: 3 minutes, 38 seconds

Release Date: April 1, 2022

#NASA #Space #SpaceX #CrewDragon #CCP #Budget #BillNelson #ISS #Astronaut #MarkVandeHei #Cosmonauts #AntonShkaplerov #PyotrDubrov #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #Soyuz #Spacecraft #Science #Technology #Engineering #Research #Laboratory #Russia #Россия #Kazakhstan #космонавт #UnitedStates #Expedition66 #International #Human #Spaceflight #CommercialCrew #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Happy Trails: NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover Looks Back | JPL

Happy Trails: NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover Looks Back | JPL 

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover looks back at its wheel tracks on March 17, 2022, the 381st Martian day, or sol, of the mission.

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover is trying to cover more distance in a single month than any rover before it—and it is doing so using artificial intelligence. On the path ahead are sandpits, craters, and fields of sharp rocks that the rover will have to navigate around on its own. At the end of the 3-mile (5-kilometer) journey, which began March 14, 2022, Perseverance will reach an ancient river delta within Jezero Crater, where a lake existed billions of years ago.

This delta is one of the best locations on Mars for the rover to look for signs of past microscopic life. Using a drill on the end of its robotic arm and a complex sample collection system in its belly, Perseverance is collecting rock cores for return to Earth—the first part of the Mars Sample Return campaign.

“The delta is so important that we’ve actually decided to minimize science activities and focus on driving to get there more quickly,” said Ken Farley of Caltech, Perseverance’s project scientist. “We’ll be taking lots of images of the delta during that drive. The closer we get, the more impressive those images will be.”

 A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).

Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with European Space Agency (ESA), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.

The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.

JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.

Mission Name: Mars 2020

Rover Name: Perseverance

Main Job: Seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and soil) for possible return to Earth.

Launch: July 30, 2020    

Landing: Feb. 18, 2021, Jezero Crater, Mars

Mars Helicopter (Ingenuity) is now in an operations demo phase.

For more about Perseverance:

mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/

nasa.gov/perseverance

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Release Date: March 18, 2022

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #Astrobiology #Geology #Jezero #Crater #Perseverance #Rover #Sol381 #Ingenuity #Helicopter #Robotics #Technology #Engineering #JPL #Pasadena #California #UnitedStates #JourneyToMars #STEM #Education

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Captures Puff, Whir, Zap Sounds from Mars | JPL

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Captures Puff, Whir, Zap Sounds from Mars | JPL

Listen closely to new sounds from Mars recorded by NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover, including puffs and pings from a rover tool, light Martian wind, the whirring of the agency's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, and laser zaps. Most of the sounds – best heard through headphones with the sound up – were recorded using the microphone belonging to Perseverance’s SuperCam instrument, mounted on the head of the rover’s mast. Other sounds, including the puffs and pings from the rover’s Gaseous Dust Removal Tool, or gDRT, blowing shavings off rock faces, were recorded by another microphone mounted on the chassis of the rover. 

A new study based on recordings made by the rover reveals that the speed of sound is slower on the Red Planet than on Earth and that, mostly, a deep silence prevails in the much thinner atmosphere. For more information on the study go to: 

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/what-sounds-captured-by-nasas-perseverance-rover-reveal-about-mars

Mission Name: Mars 2020

Rover Name: Perseverance

Main Job: Seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and soil) for possible return to Earth.

Launch: July 30, 2020    

Landing: Feb. 18, 2021, Jezero Crater, Mars

Mars Helicopter (Ingenuity) is now in an operations demo phase.

For more about Perseverance go to mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/ and nasa.gov/perseverance.

Credit: NASA/ JPL-Caltech / ASU / MSSS / LANL / CNES / IRAP

Duration: 1 minute, 29 seconds

Release Date: April 1, 2022

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #Atmosphere #Wind #Astrobiology #Geology #Jezero #Crater #Perseverance #Rover #gDRT #Audio #Sound #Microphone #Ingenuity #Helicopter #Robotics #Technology #Engineering #JPL #Pasadena #California #UnitedStates #JourneyToMars #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA Astronaut Mark Vande Hei Arrives in Houston

 NASA Astronaut Mark Vande Hei Arrives in Houston

After a record-setting 355-day mission to the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei arrives to Ellington Field in Houston on Thursday, March 31, 2022, following his return to Earth on Wednesday, March 30. Vande Hei now holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by an American. His extended mission will provide researchers the opportunity to observe the effects of long-duration spaceflight on humans as the agency plans to return to the Moon under the Artemis program and prepare for exploration of Mars.

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Duration: 3 minutes

Release Date: March 31, 2022

#NASA #Space #ISS #Astronaut #MarkVandeHei #Cosmonauts #AntonShkaplerov #PyotrDubrov #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #Soyuz #Spacecraft #MS19 #Science #Technology #Engineering #Research #Laboratory #Russia #Россия #Kazakhstan #космонавт #UnitedStates #Expedition66 #International #Human #Spaceflight #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's Space to Ground: Back to the World

NASA's Space to Ground: Back to the World

Week of April 1, 2022: NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Expedition 67 is officially underway following Wednesday’s undocking of three International Space Station crew members. Meanwhile, the seven orbital residents had a full schedule of human research and lab maintenance tasks on Thursday, March 31, 2022.

NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei returned to Houston on Thursday, following his landing in Kazakhstan on Wednesday at 7:28 a.m. EDT with cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov. The trio undocked from the station’s Rassvet module in their Soyuz MS-19 crew ship just over four hours earlier officially ending the Expedition 66 mission.

The station’s new commander, NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn, assumed command of the station from Shkaplerov the day before and will lead Expedition 67 until his departure. 

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (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.

Expedition 67 Crew 

New Commander: Thomas Marshburn

Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Sergey Korsakov, Oleg Artemyev, and Denis Matveev

European Space Agency (ESA) Flight Engineer Matthias Maurer (DLR/German Aerospace Center)

NASA (U.S.) Flight Engineers: Raja Chari & Kayla Barron

Learn more about the important research being operated on the International Space Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science 

For more information about STEM on Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation

Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) Education

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Duration: 2 minutes, 43 seconds

Release Date: April 1, 2022

#NASA #Space #ISS #Astronauts #Astronaut #MarkVandeHei #ThomasMarshburn #Cosmonaut #AntonShkaplerov #ESA #Europe #FlightEngineers #Science #Technology #Engineering #Research #Laboratory #Soyuz #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #Russia #Россия #UnitedStates #Expedition67 #Human #Spaceflight #International #STEM #Education #HD #Video

What's Up for April 2022: Skywatching Tips from NASA

What's Up for April 2022: Skywatching Tips from NASA

What are some skywatching highlights in April 2022? 

The gathering of planets in the morning sky increases from three to four, as Jupiter joins the party. Two close conjunctions—between Mars and Saturn, and Venus and Jupiter—provide highlights at the beginning and end of the month. And the Big Dipper hosts a surprise: a double star you just might be able to "split" with your own eyes.

0:00 Intro

0:09 Morning planets & TWO conjunctions!

1:28 The Big Dipper's hidden "double star"

3:09 April moon phases

Credit: NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

Duration: 3 minutes, 32 seconds

Date: March 31, 2022

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Skywatching #Earth #Moon #Planets #Saturn #Venus #Mars #Jupiter #SolarSystem #Stars #BigDipper #Mizar #Alcor #Binary #DoubleStar #Constellations #MilkyWay #Galaxy #JPL #Pasadena #California #UnitedStates #Canada #Mexico #NorthernHemisphere #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 News Conference | International Space Station

NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 News Conference | International Space Station

March 31, 2022: NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts discuss their upcoming mission to the International Space Station and take questions from media. The mission will carry NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, and Jessica Watkins as well as European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket to the space station. Launch is scheduled for no earlier than Wednesday, April 20, 2022.

Samantha Cristoforetti's Biography (ESA)

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Astronauts/Samantha_Cristoforetti

Jessica Watkins' Biography (NASA)

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/jessica-watkins/biography

Kjell Lindgren's Biography (NASA)

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/kjell-n-lindgren/biography

Robert Hines' Biography (NASA)

https://www.nasa.gov/content/bob-hines-nasa-astronaut

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the  International Space Station (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 ISS: https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science 

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Duration: 57 minutes

Release Date: March 31, 2022

#NASA #ESA #Space #ISS #SpaceX #Dragon #CrewDragon #SpaceXCrew4 #Astronauts #LaunchAmerica #Commercial #CCP #Science #Technology #Kennedy #KSC #Florida #UnitedStates #Photography #STEM #Education #SamanthaCristoforetti #JessicaWatkins #KjellLindgren #RobertHines #Human #Spaceflight #UnitedStates #Europe #Russia #Japan #Canada #JSC #Expedition67 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

SpaceX Starship Super Heavy: New Graphical Images & Data

SpaceX Starship Super Heavy: New Graphical Images & Data

"SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket (collectively referred to as Starship) represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond. Starship will be the world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, with the ability to carry in excess of 100 metric tonnes to Earth orbit."

Key Parameters:

Height: 120m/394ft

Diameter: 9m/30ft

Payload to LEO: 100+t/220+klb

Capabilities:

Satellites: "Starship is designed to deliver satellites further and at a lower marginal cost per launch than our current Falcon vehicles. With a payload compartment larger than any fairing currently in operation or development, Starship creates possibilities for new missions, including space telescopes even larger than the James Webb."

Landing on Mars: "Starship will enter Mars’ atmosphere at 7.5 kilometers per second and decelerate aerodynamically. The vehicle’s heat shield is designed to withstand multiple entries, but given that the vehicle is coming into Mars' atmosphere so hot, we still expect to see some ablation of the heat shield (similar to wear and tear on a brake pad)."

Starship's Engines: Raptors

"The Raptor engine is a reusable methalox staged-combustion engine that powers the Starship launch system. Raptor engines began flight testing on the Starship prototype rockets in July 2019, becoming the first full-flow staged combustion rocket engine ever flown."

Raptor Engine Parameters:

Diameter: 1.3m/4ft

Height: 3.1m/10.2ft

Thrust: 230tf/500 klbf

First Lunar Private Mission

"In 2023, Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa and the crew of dearMoon will become the first civilian passengers on a lunar Starship mission, featuring a fly-by of the Moon during their week-long journey. This flight is an important step toward enabling access for people who dream of traveling to space."

Download the Free Starship User Guide (PDF): 

https://www.spacex.com/media/starship_users_guide_v1.pdf

Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX)

Release Date: March 16, 2022

#NASA #SpaceX #ElonMusk #Space #Moon #Mars #Starship #SuperHeavy #Earth #Science #Technology #Engineering #Human #Spaceflight #Crew #Cargo #Commercial #BocaChica #Texas #Kennedy #KSC #Spaceport #CapeCanaveral #Florida #SolarSystem #Exploration #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #Illustration

Artemis II Preview: Earthrise from Lunar Orbit | Japan's SELENE Mission

Artemis II Preview: Earthrise from Lunar Orbit | Japan's SELENE Mission

This is the kind of spectacular view (1080P/4K) astronauts will enjoy on NASA's Artemis II orbital mission around the Moon. Launching in 2023, Artemis II will be the first crewed flight since the Apollo missions. During a roughly ten-day mission, NASA's Orion spacecraft will loop around the Moon before heading back to Earth.

Japan's SELENE Mission: "The largest lunar mission since the Apollo program" (2007-2009)

On Oct. 31, 2007, Kaguya’s two main high definition TV (HDTV) cameras, each a 2.2 megapixel CCD HDTV camera, took the first high-definition images of the Moon. A week later on Nov. 7, the spacecraft took spectacular footage of an “Earthrise,” the first since the Apollo missions in the 1970s.

The SELenological and ENgineering Explorer "KAGUYA" (SELENE), Japan’s first large lunar explorer, was launched by a H-IIA carrier rocket from Tanegashima Space Center on September 14, 2007 (JST). It was better known in Japan by its nickname Kaguya. It was the second Japanese lunar orbiter spacecraft following the Hiten probe. It was produced by Japan's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) and the National Space Development Agency (NASDA).

Learn more about Japan's historic SELENE mission here:

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/kaguya/in-depth/

https://global.jaxa.jp/projects/sas/selene/

Note: This film is protected by copyright. Illegal distribution is prohibited.

Credit: JAXA/NHK Kaguya Orbiter Archive

Video Processing: Seán Doran

Technical notes: "Source was denoised, repaired, graded, retimed & upscaled for this film."

Music Credit: 'Satya Yuga' by Jesse Gallagher / http://www.youtube.com/nightimegallagher

Duration: 11 minutes, 12 seconds

Release Date: April 10, 2021

#NASA #Apollo #Artemis #ArtemisII #Space #Astronomy #Japan #SELENE #Kaguya #かぐや #Moon #Earth #Earthrise #Spacecraft #Lunar #Orbiter #JAXA #宇宙航空研究開発機構 #日本 #NASDA #ISAS #Science #Exploration #SolarSystem #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #SeánDoran #4K #HDTV #HD #Video

Comet Hale-Bopp: 25-Year Anniversary

Comet Hale-Bopp: 25-Year Anniversary

"It is the 25th Anniversary of Hale-Bopp!"

Comet Hale–Bopp was one of the most widely observed of the 20th century and one of the brightest seen for many decades. Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp discovered Comet Hale–Bopp separately on July 23, 1995, before it became visible to the naked eye. It passed perihelion, the point nearest to the sun in the path of an orbiting celestial body, on April 1, 1997.

This image was captured by astrophotographer, Sebastian Voltmer, on April 1, 1997

Technical details:

Scanned photograph taken from Gornergrat, Switzerland: 300 mm lens, 1997 April 1, 15-min exposure on Kodak GPY 400 (hyp.) film.

Image Credit: Sebastian Voltmer

Voltmer's website: https://www.voltmer.de

Image Date: April 1, 1997

Release Date: March 30, 2022

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Comet #HaleBopp #AlanHale #ThomasBopp #C1995O1 #Sun #SolarSystem #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #Gornergrat #Switzerland #Suisse #Europe #Astrophotography #STEM #Education

Significant Solar Flare Erupts From Sun | NASA SDO

Significant Solar Flare Erupts From Sun | NASA SDO

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured this image of a solar flare—as seen in the bright flash in the top right portion of the image—on March 30, 2022. The image shows a subset of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares and which is colorized in yellow (AIA 171).

Solar flares are powerful bursts of energy. Flares and solar eruptions can impact radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals, and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts.

This flare is classified as an X-Class flare. X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength. An X2 is twice as intense as an X1, an X3 is three times as intense, etc. More info on how flares are classified can be found here: 

https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/phenomena/solar-flares-radio-blackouts

To see how such space weather may affect Earth, please visit Space Weather Prediction Center at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) https://spaceweather.gov, the U.S. government’s official source for space weather forecasts, watches, warnings, and alerts. NASA works as a research arm of the nation’s space weather effort. NASA observes the Sun and our space environment constantly with a fleet of spacecraft that study everything from the Sun’s activity to the solar atmosphere, and to the particles and magnetic fields in the space surrounding Earth.    

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Release Date: March 30, 2022

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #SpaceWeather #Earth #Sun #Solar #SolarFlare #Ultraviolet #Plasma #MagneticField #Astrophysics #Spacecraft #SDO #Goddard #GSFC #Greenbelt #Maryland #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

NASA's Curiosity Rover: New Mars Images | JPL

NASA's Curiosity Rover: New Mars Images | JPL

NASA’s rovers are putting their gears in drive on Mars, making discoveries along the way. NASA's Curiosity rover captured some interesting images on Mount Sharp while exploring an area called Greenheugh Pediment. 

     

 

    

Mission Name: Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)

Rover Name: Curiosity

Main Job: To determine if Mars was ever habitable to microbial life. 

Launch: November 6, 2011

Landing: August 5, 2012, Gale Crater, Mars

For more information on NASA's Mars missions, visit mars.nasa.gov

Image Credit: 

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS)/Kevin M. Gill

Image Release Dates: March 24-29, 2022

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #Astrobiology #Life #Geology #MountSharp #GaleCrater #Habitability #Curiosity #Rover #MSL #MSSS #Robotics #Technology #Engineering #JPL #Caltech #Pasadena #California #UnitedStates #JourneyToMars #STEM #Education

Welcome Home, Mark! NASA Astronaut Mark Vande Hei Lands in Kazakhstan

Welcome Home, Mark! NASA Astronaut Mark Vande Hei Lands in Kazakhstan

NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei ended his record-breaking time on the International Space Station with a parachute-assisted landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan, southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan, at 7:28 a.m. EDT (5:28 p.m. Kazakhstan time). Vande Hei, along with Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov, began the journey back to Earth in the early morning hours on the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft.

Vande Hei arrived at the International Space Station on April 9, 2021, spending 355 days in low-Earth orbit, breaking the previous record held by retired NASA astronaut Scott Kelly by 15 days.

“Mark’s mission is not only record-breaking, but also paving the way for future human explorers on the Moon, Mars, and beyond,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Our astronauts make incredible sacrifices in the name of science, exploration, and cutting-edge technology development, not least among them time away from loved ones. NASA and the nation are proud to welcome Mark home and grateful for his incredible contributions throughout his year-long stay on the International Space Station.”

During his 355 days aboard the station, Vande Hei experienced:

Approximately 5,680 orbits of Earth

Approximately 150,619,530 statute miles traveled (equivalent of approximately 312 round trips to the Moon and back)

Fifteen spacecraft or modules visited the International Space Station, including three Russian Progress cargo ships, two Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo craft, three Russian Soyuz, two SpaceX crew Dragons, three SpaceX cargo Dragons, and the two new Russian modules (the Nauka Multipurpose Laboratory Module and the Prichal Node Module).

Expedition 67 formally began aboard the station after undocking, with new station Commander Tom Marshburn, NASA astronauts Raja Chari and Kayla Barron, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveev, and Sergey Korsakov.

The Soyuz MS-19 crew will now split up, as per standard crew return practice, with Vande Hei returning to his home in Houston, while the cosmonauts fly back to their training base in Star City, Russia.

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (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.

Expedition 66 Crew (now Expedition 77):

New Commander: Thomas Marshburn

Former Commander: Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos (Russia) [Returned to Earth]

Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Pyotr Dubrov [Returned to Earth], Sergey Korsakov, Oleg Artemyev, and Denis Matveev

European Space Agency (ESA) Flight Engineer Matthias Maurer (DLR/German Aerospace Center)

NASA (U.S.) Flight Engineers: Raja Chari, Kayla Barron, and Mark Vande Hei [Returned to Earth]

Learn more about the important research being operated on the International Space Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science 

For more information about STEM on Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation

Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) Education

Credit: NASA/Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Release Date: March 30, 2022

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