NASA's Mars Curiosity Rover Landscape Panorama | JPL

NASA's Mars Curiosity Rover Landscape Panorama | JPL

This newly-processed panorama was originally captured by NASA's Mars Curiosity rover on Sol 1099 on September 9, 2015. The rover landed on Mars in August 2012.

Curiosity Rover Update: Sols 3493-3495

"Everywhere you look in the Navcam mosaic (above) there's something interesting to see!

We're up close to a nifty layered outcrop, which is getting lots of imaging including ChemCam LIBS on targets 'Rukumata' and 'Guarico,' a ChemCam mosaic on 'Kamakusa,' MAHLI dogs-eye imaging of 'Tabaco' and the DRT location 'Issano,' which will also have APXS on it.

Mastcam will also be imaging Issano pre- and post-DRT for comparison, and taking a mosaic of the outcrop as a whole. Off the outcrop, ChemCam is also doing LIBS on 'Sisipelin,' which Mastcam will also image, and ChemCam and Mastcam are both taking mosaics further afield towards the Gediz Vallis Ridge.

I . . . was very excited to see the great view we have of the north crater rim, especially since we've been spending so much time recently in among lots of terrain blocking this view. Imaging the crater rim can help us to characterise the amount of dust in the atmosphere, which is especially important in the dusty season.

Aside from the crater rim observations, we are also trying to catch dust devils with a dust devil survey and movie, keeping an eye on the clouds with a few cloud movies, and taking Mastcam tau observations as an additional way to quantify the amount of dust in the atmosphere.

After this marathon of observations, we'll drive about 30 m further and finish up the weekend with a morning ENV block with our weekly AM cloud and dust observations."

Caption Credit: Alex Innanen/JPL

Release Date: June 7, 2022

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/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill

Release Date: June 13, 2022

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #Astrobiology #Geology #Crater #MountSharp #GaleCrater #Curiosity #Rover #Robotics #Technology #Engineering #JPL #Pasadena #California #UnitedStates #JourneyToMars #CitizenScience #STEM #Education

NASA's Artemis I Moon Rocket: "Fly Me to The Moon" | Kennedy Space Center

NASA's Artemis I Moon Rocket: "Fly Me to The Moon" | Kennedy Space Center

Image Credit: NASA/Cory Huston

Image Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

Image Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

A full Moon is in view from Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 14, 2022. The Artemis I Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft, atop the mobile launcher, are being prepared for a wet dress rehearsal to practice timelines and procedures for launch. The first in an increasingly complex series of missions, Artemis I will test SLS and Orion as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon. Through Artemis, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and using the Moon as a steppingstone on the way to Mars. 

Artemis I launch is currently scheduled for 2022.

"Fly Me to the Moon", originally titled "In Other Words", is a song written in 1954 by Bart Howard. Kaye Ballard made the first recording of the song the year it was written. Frank Sinatra's 1964 version was closely associated with the Apollo missions to the Moon. [Wikipedia]

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:

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: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

Image Date: June 14, 2022

#NASA #ESA #Space #Moon #Artemis #ArtemisI #SLS #Boeing #Rocket #DeepSpace #LockheedMartin #Orion #Spacecraft #Astronauts #Mars #JourneyToMars #Science #Engineering #Technology #Exploration #SolarSystem #LaunchComplex39B #KSC #Kennedy #Florida #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Expedition 67 Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti Answers European Student Questions

Expedition 67 Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti Answers European Student Questions

Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 67 Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency (ESA) discussed living and working in space during an in-flight interview as part of a multi-site educational event June 14, 2022. Cristoforetti launched in April 2022 on the SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom for a long-duration science mission to advance scientific knowledge and demonstrate new technologies for future human and robotic exploration missions. 

Samantha Cristoforetti's Biography (ESA)

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

Expedition 67 Crew

Commander Oleg Artemyev (Russia)

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

NASA Flight Engineers: Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, Jessica Watkins (USA)

European Space Agency (ESA) Flight Engineer: Samantha Cristoforetti (Italy)

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.

Credit: NASA Video

Duration: 21 minutes

Release Date: June 14, 2022

#NASA #Space #ISS #Earth #Planet #Students #Belgium #Belgique #België #Indonesia #ESA #Astronaut #SamanthaCristoforetti #FlightEngineer #Minerva #Italy #Italia #ASI #Science #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition67 #Europe #UnitedStates #International #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Waxing Gibbous Moon Above Earth's Horizon | International Space Station

The Waxing Gibbous Moon Above Earth's Horizon | International Space Station

The waxing gibbous Moon is photographed above Earth's horizon from the International Space Station as it orbited 261 miles above Turkey.

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Image Date: June 12, 2022

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #ISS #Earth #Planet #Türkiye #Turkey #Moon #WaxingGibbous #Artemis #Astronauts #Photography #FlightEngineers #Science #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition67 #UnitedStates #SolarSystem #Exploration #STEM #Education

NASA Astronaut Bob Hines Image Gallery | International Space Station

NASA Astronaut Bob Hines Image Gallery | International Space Station

Bob Hines is a NASA astronaut and flight engineer part of Expedition 67 on the International Space Station (ISS). Bob has served over 21 years in the United States Air Force (USAF) as an instructor pilot, fighter pilot, and a test pilot. Before his selection as an astronaut candidate in 2017, he was serving as a Research Pilot at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.  Bob has accumulated more than 3,500 hours of flight time in 50 different types of aircraft and has flown 76 combat missions in 3 different aircraft types while supporting contingency operations around the world. Bob Hines was the pilot for NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 mission to the ISS that launched on April 27, 2022.

Robert Hines' Biography (NASA)

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/bob-hines

Expedition 67 Flight Engineer and NASA astronaut Bob Hines works on U.S. spacesuits inside the International Space Station's Quest airlock.

Image Date: May 17, 2022

NASA astronaut and Expedition 67 Flight Engineer Bob Hines conducts a robotics test using the U.S. Destiny laboratory module's robotics workstation aboard the International Space Station. The test is part of the Behavioral Core Measures investigation that explores how working on the surface of Mars might affect a crew member’s performance.

Image Date: May 31, 2022

NASA astronaut and Expedition 67 Flight Engineer Bob Hines enjoys a personal size pizza during dinner time aboard the International Space Station.

Image Date: May 27, 2022

NASA astronaut and Expedition 67 Flight Engineer Bob Hines familiarizes himself with systems and procedures aboard the International Space Station having been aboard the orbiting lab for just a few days.

Image Date: May 1, 2022

Expedition 67 Crew

Commander Oleg Artemyev (Russia)

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

NASA Flight Engineers: Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, Jessica Watkins (USA)

European Space Agency (ESA) Flight Engineer: Samantha Cristoforetti (Italy)

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.

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Image Dates: May 1-31, 2022

#NASA #Space #ISS #Earth #Planet #Astronaut #RobertHines #BobHines #FlightEngineer #Pilot #USAF #Military #Science #HumanSpaceflight #Astronauts #Expedition67 #UnitedStates #International #STEM #Education

Jupiter with Moons Europa & Io | NASA Juno Probe

Jupiter with Moons Europa & Io | NASA Juno Mission

An image of Jupiter and two of its moons, Europa and Io (see upper left-hand corner), captured by NASA's Juno probe on May 23, 2022. 

Juno Mission

Launched: Aug. 5, 2011

Arrival at Jupiter:  July 4, 2016

Goal: Understand origin and evolution of Jupiter, look for solid planetary core, map magnetic field, measure water and ammonia in deep atmosphere, observe auroras.

Juno is the second spacecraft to orbit Jupiter, after the nuclear powered Galileo orbiter, which orbited between 1995 and 2003. Unlike earlier spacecraft sent to the outer planets, Juno is powered by solar panels. Radioisotope thermoelectric generators are commonly used for missions to the outer Solar System and beyond. For Juno, the three largest solar panel wings ever deployed on a planetary probe play an integral role in stabilizing the spacecraft as well as in generating power. [Wikipedia]

More information about Juno:

https://www.nasa.gov/juno 

https://missionjuno.swri.edu 

For more about Juno's science results: 

https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu/science-findings

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS

Processing: Elisabetta Bonora & Marco Faccin

Release Date: June 14, 2022

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Jupiter #Planet #Io #Europa #Moons #Juno #Spacecraft #Exploration #SolarSystem #Technology #Engineering #UnitedStates #LockheedMartin #JPL #MSFC #Marshall #SwRI #CitizenScience #STEM #Education

NASA Mars Perseverance Rover Finds "Hardware" | JPL

NASA Mars Perseverance Rover Finds "Hardware" | JPL

This picture was taken by the Mastcam-Z left camera aboard NASA's Perseverance rover on sol 467 (June 13, 2022) at 10:05 am Martian local time. We are to assume this is debris from the rover's landing. Perseverance has traveled a total distance of over 7.31 miles or 11.76 km since its landing in February 2021.

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

Perseverance Rover Update:

Perseverance has continued into Hawksbill Gap, making remote sensing observations of small portions of outcropping rock layers in search of a good place to collect a sample. Since Perseverance is in the Shenandoah quadrangle, we are using target names from Shenandoah National Park. Some of the names this past week included “Bald_Face_Mountain,” “Little_Devil_Stairs,” “Sunset_Hill,” “Luck_Hollow,” and “Moody_Creek.” Perseverance logged nearly 400 meters of driving progress for the week of May 15-21, accumulating a total distance since landing of over 11.8 km as of Sol 446.

Caption Credit: Eleni Ravanis, Student Collaborator at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Release Date: June 2, 2022

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

Image Credit: NASA / Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Caltech / Arizona State University (ASU) / Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS) / Thomas Appéré

Release Date: June 14, 2022

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #Rock #Hardware #Curiosities #Astrobiology #Geology #Jezero #Crater #Perseverance #Rover #Robotics #Technology #Engineering #JPL #Pasadena #California #UnitedStates #JourneyToMars #CitizenScience #STEM #Education

NASA Mars Perseverance Rover: Another View of a Rock's Balancing Act | JPL

NASA Mars Perseverance Rover: Another View of a Rock's Balancing Act | JPL

This picture was taken by NASA's Mars Perseverance rover with its Mastcam-Z Right camera on sol 466 (June 12th, 2022) at 12:20 Martian local time.

Perseverance Rover Update:

Perseverance has continued into Hawksbill Gap, making remote sensing observations of small portions of outcropping rock layers in search of a good place to collect a sample. Since Perseverance is in the Shenandoah quadrangle, we are using target names from Shenandoah National Park. Some of the names this past week included “Bald_Face_Mountain,” “Little_Devil_Stairs,” “Sunset_Hill,” “Luck_Hollow,” and “Moody_Creek.” Perseverance logged nearly 400 meters of driving progress for the week of May 15-21, accumulating a total distance since landing of over 11.8 km as of Sol 446.

Caption Credit: Eleni Ravanis, Student Collaborator at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Release Date: June 2, 2022

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

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

Image Credit: NASA / Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Caltech / Arizona State University (ASU) / Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS) / Thomas Appéré

Release Date: June 13, 2022

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #Rock #Rocks #Curiosities #Astrobiology #Geology #Jezero #Crater #Perseverance #Rover #Robotics #Technology #Engineering #JPL #Pasadena #California #UnitedStates #JourneyToMars #CitizenScience #STEM #Education

The Hawaiian Islands | International Space Station

 The Hawaiian Islands | International Space Station

The volcanic islands of Hawaii as seen from the International Space Station and captured by European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti.

The Hawaiian Islands (Hawaiian: Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) from the island of Hawaiʻi in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll. [Wikipedia]

Expedition 67 Crew

Commander Oleg Artemyev (Russia)

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

NASA Flight Engineers: Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, Jessica Watkins (USA)

European Space Agency (ESA) Flight Engineer: Samantha Cristoforetti (Italy)

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.

Credit: European Space Agency Astronaut Samantha Crisotoforetti

Image Date: June 4, 2022

#NASA #Space #ISS #Earth #Planet #Hawaii #Hawaiian #Islands #Archipelago #Volcanic #PacificOcean #ESA #Astronaut #SamanthaCristoforetti #Minerva #Italy #Italia #ASI #Photography #Art #Science #HumanSpaceflight #Astronauts #Expedition67 #Europe #UnitedStates #International #STEM #Education

NASA Artemis Crew Transportation Vehicle (CTV) Demo | Kennedy Space Center

NASA Artemis Crew Transportation Vehicle (CTV) Demo | Kennedy Space Center

This is an example of the type of vehicle NASA's Artemis astronauts will use on the drive to the launchpad for crewed missions to the Moon starting with Artemis II & Artemis III at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Canoo Technologies Inc., was awarded a contract to design and provide the next generation of Crew transportation vehicles (CTVs) for the Artemis crewed missions.

Representatives with Canoo were at the spaceport demonstrating the environmentally friendly fleet of vehicles. Artemis II will be the first Artemis mission flying crew aboard the Orion spacecraft. NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the Moon on Artemis II, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars.

Canoo's website: https://www.canoo.com

Learn more about 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

Credit: NASA's Kennedy Space Center/Kim Shiflett

Capture Date: May 11, 2022

#NASA #ESA #Space #Moon #Artemis #ArtemisII #ArtemisIII #SLS #Rocket #DeepSpace #Orion #Spacecraft #Astronauts #Mars #JourneyToMars #MoonToMars #Science #Engineering #Technology #SolarSystem #Exploration #KSC #CTV #Canoo #CrewVehicle #Florida #Spaceport #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

How Will China's Xuntian Survey Space Telescope Differ from Hubble?

How Will China's Xuntian Survey Space Telescope Differ from Hubble?

Welcome to another episode of the Dongfang Hour! In this episode, we provide an overview of the Xuntian Space Telescope (launching in 2023), and compare it to the Hubble Space Telescope operated by the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA. As always, lots of fun facts & cool physics! 

Xuntian, also known as the Chinese Survey Space Telescope or Chinese Space Station Telescope, is a planned Chinese space telescope currently under development. It will feature a 2-meter (6.6 foot) diameter primary mirror and is expected to have a field of view 300–350 times larger than the 32 year old Hubble Space Telescope. This will allow the telescope to image up to 40 percent of the sky using its 2.5 gigapixel camera over ten years.

Xuntian is planned for launch in 2024 on China's Long March 5B rocket. It will to co-orbit with China's new Tiangong Space Station in slightly different orbital phases, allowing for periodic docking with the station.

If you like our content, please consider supporting Dongfang Hour at: patreon.com/dongfanghour

Friends of NASA is a Dongfang Hour supporter. 

Credits for various visuals: CCTV, CGTN, NASA, CAST, Celestrak, CNSA

Video Credit: Dongfang Hour

Duration: 13 minutes

Release Date: June 5, 2022

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #China #中国 #Xuntian #巡天 #巡天号空间望远镜 #SurveyTelescope #Constellations #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Science #Astrophysics #Physics #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #Research #International #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover—New June 2022 Images | JPL

NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover—New June 2022 Images | JPL

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

Release Date: June 10, 2022

Mars2020 - Sol 466 - Mastcam-Z

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

Mars2020 - Sol 466 - Mastcam-Z

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

Mars2020 - Sol 466 - SuperCam

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/IRAP/Kevin M. Gill

Perseverance Rover Update:

Perseverance has continued into Hawksbill Gap, making remote sensing observations of small portions of outcropping rock layers in search of a good place to collect a sample. Since Perseverance is in the Shenandoah quadrangle, we are using target names from Shenandoah National Park. Some of the names this past week included “Bald_Face_Mountain,” “Little_Devil_Stairs,” “Sunset_Hill,” “Luck_Hollow,” and “Moody_Creek.” Perseverance logged nearly 400 meters of driving progress for the week of May 15-21, accumulating a total distance since landing of over 11.8 km as of Sol 446.

Caption Credit: Eleni Ravanis, Student Collaborator at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Release Date: June 2, 2022

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

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

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #Astrobiology #Geology #Jezero #Crater #MountSharp #GaleCrater #Perseverance #Curiosity #Rovers #Robotics #Technology #Engineering #JPL #Pasadena #California #UnitedStates #JourneyToMars #CitizenScience #STEM #Education

Cosmic Treasure Chest: Globular Cluster Terzan 9 | Hubble

Cosmic Treasure Chest: Globular Cluster Terzan 9 | Hubble

This star-studded image shows the globular cluster Terzan 9 in the constellation Sagittarius, towards the center of the Milky Way. The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captured this glittering scene using its Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys. 

Globular clusters are stable, tightly bound groupings of tens of thousands to millions of stars. As this image demonstrates, the hearts of globular clusters can be densely packed with stars; the night sky in this image is strewn with so many stars that it resembles a sea of sequins or a vast treasure chest crammed with gold.

This starry snapshot is from a Hubble program investigating globular clusters located towards the heart of the Milky Way. The central region of our home galaxy contains a tightly packed group of stars known as the Galactic bulge, which is also rich in interstellar dust. This dust has made globular clusters near the Galactic center difficult to study, as it absorbs starlight and can even change the apparent colours of the stars in these clusters. Hubble's sensitivity at both visible and infrared wavelengths has allowed astronomers to measure how the colors of these globular clusters have been changed by interstellar dust, and thereby to establish their ages.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. Cohen

Release Date: June 13, 2022

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #GlobularCluster #Terzan9 #Sagittarius #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Science #Astrophysics #Physics #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #ESA #Europe #STEM #Education

Astra Rocket Static Fire Test for NASA's TROPICS Mission

Astra Rocket Static Fire Test for NASA's TROPICS Mission

The Final System Test, also known as the “hot fire” engine test for Astra's Launch Vehicle 0010 for NASA's TROPICS Mission. The NASA TROPICS mission consists of a constellation of six small satellites that will observe tropical cyclones, aiming to improve the scientific community’s understanding of these dangerous weather events. 

The current launch window opens June 12, 2022, at 12pm ET. The launch site is Space Launch Complex 46 (SLC-46) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Cape Canaveral, in Florida.

Launch Vehicle: Rocket 3.3

Target Orbital Inclination: 29.75 degrees

Target Altitude: 550 kilometers

Payload: 2x TROPICS 3U CubeSats

The NASA Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) mission is a constellation of state-of-the-science observing platforms that will measure temperature and humidity soundings and precipitation with spatial resolution comparable to current operational passive microwave sounders but with unprecedented temporal resolution (median revisit time of 50 minutes). Each SmallSat hosts a 12-channel passive microwave spectrometer. The primary mission objective of TROPICS is to relate temperature, humidity, and precipitation structure to the evolution of tropical cyclone intensity.

Learn more at:

astra.com/missions/tropics-1

https://tropics.ll.mit.edu/CMS/tropics/Mission-Overview

Credit: Astra

Duration: 29 seconds

Release Date: June 8, 2022

#NASA #Space #Satellites #SmallSats #CubeSats #Earth #Planet #Atmosphere #Weather #Meteorology #Cyclones #Tropical #TROPICS #Climate #Environment #Astra #Rocket #CapeCanaveral #Florida #UnitedStates #Science #Technology #Engineering #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Astra Prepares to Launch NASA's TROPICS Mission

Astra Prepares to Launch NASA's TROPICS Mission

The NASA TROPICS mission consists of a constellation of six small satellites that will observe tropical cyclones, aiming to improve the scientific community’s understanding of these dangerous weather events. Current launch window opens June 12, 2022, at 12pm ET. The launch site is Space Launch Complex 46 (SLC-46) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Cape Canaveral, in Florida. 

Launch Vehicle: Rocket 3.3

Target Orbital Inclination: 29.75 degrees

Target Altitude: 550 kilometers

Payload: 2x TROPICS 3U CubeSats

The NASA Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) mission is a constellation of state-of-the-science observing platforms that will measure temperature and humidity soundings and precipitation with spatial resolution comparable to current operational passive microwave sounders but with unprecedented temporal resolution (median revisit time of 50 minutes). Each SmallSat hosts a 12-channel passive microwave spectrometer. The primary mission objective of TROPICS is to relate temperature, humidity, and precipitation structure to the evolution of tropical cyclone intensity. 

Learn more at:

astra.com/missions/tropics-1

https://tropics.ll.mit.edu/CMS/tropics/Mission-Overview

Credit: Astra

Release Date: June 8, 2022

#NASA #Space #Satellites #SmallSats #CubeSats #Earth #Planet #Atmosphere #Weather #Meteorology #Cyclones #Tropical #TROPICS #Climate #Environment #Astra #Rocket #CapeCanaveral #Florida #UnitedStates #Science #Technology #Engineering #STEM #Education

Russian Progress 79 Resupply Ship Reenters Earth's Atmosphere to Self-Destruct

Russian Progress 79 Resupply Ship Reenters Earth's Atmosphere to Self-Destruct

The trash-filled International Space Station Progress 79 resupply ship from Roscosmos undocks and leaves a plasma trail as it reenters Earth's atmosphere for a fiery, but safe demise above the Pacific Ocean on June 1, 2022. 

In October 2021, Progress 79 delivered 5,623 pounds (2,550 kilograms) of supplies for seven Expedition 66 crewmembers on the International Space Station. The cargo included 3,351 pounds (1,520 kg) of dry goods, 1,212 pounds (550 kg) of rocket propellant, 926 pounds (420 kg) of water, 106 pounds (48 kg) of air and 28 pounds (13 kg) of nitrogen. 

Expedition 67 Crew

Commander Oleg Artemyev (Russia)

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

NASA Flight Engineers: Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, Jessica Watkins (USA)

European Space Agency (ESA) Flight Engineer: Samantha Cristoforetti (Italy)

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.

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Capture Date: June 1, 2022

#NASA #Space #ISS #Astronauts #FlightEngineers #Cosmonauts #Progress79 #Cargo #Spacecraft #Undocking #HumanSpaceflight #Science #Technology #Engineering #JSC #UnitedStates #Italy #Italia #Europe #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #Expedition67 #International #STEM #Education