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Friday, August 12, 2022

NASA's Space to Ground: Space Gardening | Week of August 12, 2022

NASA's Space to Ground: Space Gardening | Week of August 12, 2022

NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station. Healing wounds in space and growing crops in low-Earth orbit and beyond were among the major research topics aboard the International Space Station this week. Meanwhile, the Expedition 67 crew was also packing a U.S. cargo craft, SpaceX 's CRS-25, and preparing for a Russian spacewalk next week.

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.

Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science

For more information about STEM on Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Duration: 2 minutes, 46 seconds

Release Date: August 12, 2022

#NASA #ESA #ISS #Earth #Planet #Plants #Science #Astronauts #KjellLindgren #JessicaWatkins #BobHines #SamanthaCristoforetti #Italy #Italia #Minerva #MissionMinerva #Laboratory #Research #Experiments #Expedition67 #Technology #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Binary Star System R Aquarii: Wide-field View | ESO

Binary Star System R Aquarii: Wide-field View | ESO

While testing a new subsystem on the SPHERE planet-hunting instrument on the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), astronomers were able to capture dramatic details of the turbulent stellar relationship in the binary star R Aquarii with unprecedented clarity—even compared to observations from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope.

The image is a color composite made from exposures from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2), and shows the region surrounding R Aquarii, the vivid orange point at the center of the image.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/Digitized Sky Survey 2

Acknowledgment: Davide De Martin

Release Date: December 12, 2018

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #BinaryStars #Stars #RAquarii #Cederblad211 #Nebula #Aquarius #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #VLT #SPHERE #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

Changing Brightness of R Aquarii Binary Star System | ESO

Changing Brightness of R Aquarii Binary Star System | ESO

In 1810, astronomers discovered that the brightness of the star R Aquarii periodically changes and it has subsequently been found to vary with a period of approximately a year. During these cycles, R Aquarii has been seen to fade into obscurity and then become so bright as to almost be visible to the naked eye. This animation is an artistic representation of this change in brightness.

Credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser

Duration: 17 seconds

Release Date: December 12, 2018

Thursday, August 11, 2022

A Red Giant Star Dancing with the Enemy | ESO

A Red Giant Star Dancing with the Enemy | ESO

ESOcast 188 Light: While testing a new subsystem on the SPHERE planet-hunting instrument on European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), astronomers were able to capture dramatic details of the turbulent stellar relationship in the binary star R Aquarii with unprecedented clarity—even compared to observations from Hubble.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Directed by: Nico Bartmann

Editing: Nico Bartmann

Web and technical support: Mathias André and Raquel Yumi Shida

Written by: Sara Rigby and Calum Turner

Music: tonelabs – Orion Fog

Footage and photos: ESO, Digitized Sky Survey 2, N. Risinger, Schmid et al., ESA, Hubble, M. Kornmesser, T. Liimets et al.

Scientific consultant: Paola Amico

Executive producer: Lars Lindberg Christensen

Duration: 1 minute, 27 seconds

Release Date: December 12, 2018

Zooming in on R Aquarii | ESO

Zooming in on R Aquarii | ESO

This zoom video starts with a wide view of the Milky Way and ends with a close-up look at the chaotic and fascinating binary star system R Aquarii.

The image shown in this final image of this video is data from the SPHERE/ZIMPOL instrument on the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), and shows the binary star itself, as well as the jets of material spewing from the interacting stellar couple.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO), Digitized Sky Survey 2, ESA/Hubble, Nick Risinger

Music: astral electronic

Duration: 50 seconds

Release Date: December 12, 2018

Binary Star System R Aquarii | ESO

Binary Star System R Aquarii | ESO

This image reveals a dramatic binary star system named R Aquarii, located 700 light-years from Earth, as seen by the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT).

R Aquarii is a so-called “symbiotic binary”, comprising two stars surrounded by a large, dynamic cloud of gas (a nebula). Systems like this contain two stars in an unequal and complex relationship. R Aquarii is made up of one hot white dwarf and one red giant. The red giant is losing matter to its small companion and occasionally ejecting matter in weird spurts, loops and trails, forming the intriguing shapes seen here.

There is a lot going on between the performers in this cosmic double act. The red giant is a variable star, with a brightness that changes by a factor of 750 every year and three weeks. The faint nebula is named Cederblad 211 and is thought to be the result of a violent nova 250 years ago. Also visible is a narrow, vertical, S-shaped feature, with blobs of superheated material moving outward at tremendous speeds of 600 to 850 kilometers per second.

R Aquarii was also imaged 15 years ago—and several times in the intervening period—to track its ongoing activity. The system is very dynamic and complex, and has expanded and evolved significantly in recent years.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Release Date: December 10, 2018

Artemis I Moonikin Campos | NASA

Moonikin Campos, named after former NASA engineer Arturo Campos, will be on Artemis I, an uncrewed flight test of the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. Moonikin Campos, along with two phantom manikins, Helga and Zohar, will allow us to measure radiation, acceleration, and vibration data throughout the mission; the information gathered from these human body replicas will inform future crewed missions.

Teams from Johnson Space Center, Exploration Ground Systems, and Jacobs TOSC conduct final inspections of Moonikin “Campos” inside the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Moonikin “Campos” will be installed into the Orion crew spacecraft. Technicians checked connectivity and performed fit checks on his flight suit to ensure he is ready for flight aboard the Artemis flight test. Artemis I will be an uncrewed test flight of the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. Under Artemis, NASA aims to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon and establish sustainable lunar exploration.

Learn more about NASA's Artemis I Mission: https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-1

Credit: NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC)

Image Date: November 9, 2021

#NASA #ESA #Space #Moon #MoonikinCampos #Artemis #ArtemisI #Orion #Spacecraft #SLS #Rocket #DeepSpace #Orion #Spacecraft #Astronauts #HumanSpaceflight #JourneyToMars #Science #Engineering #Technology #Exploration #SolarSystem #KSC #Spaceport #Florida #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Planetary Nebula NGC 2899: Wide-field View | ESO

Planetary Nebula NGC 2899: Wide-field View | ESO

This image shows the sky around the location of NGC 2899, which is visible at the very center of the frame. This picture was created from images in the Digitized Sky Survey 2.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/Digitized Sky Survey 2

Acknowledgement: Davide De Martin

Release Date: July 30, 2020

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Nebula #PlanetaryNebula #NGC2899 #Vela #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #VLT #FORS #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

Planetary Nebula NGC 2899: Stunning Space Butterfly | ESO

Planetary Nebula NGC 2899: Stunning Space Butterfly | ESO

ESOcast 227 Light: Astronomers using European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT) have imaged a 'space butterfly', a planetary nebula known as NGC 2899. This video offers stunning views of this object and the science behind it.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Directed by: Herbert Zodet

Editing: Herbert Zodet

Web and technical support: Gurvan Bazin and Raquel Yumi Shida

Written by: Stephanie Rowlands, Emma Foxell and Bárbara Ferreira

Music: Stan Dart—The Long Way

Footage and photos: ESO, C. Malin, Digitized Sky Survey 2 and Nick Risinger

Scientific consultants: Paola Amico and Mariya Lyubenova

Duration: 1 minute, 26 seconds

Release Date: July 30, 2020

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Nebula #PlanetaryNebula #NGC2899 #Vela #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #VLT #FORS #ParanalObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Zooming in on Planetary Nebula NGC 2899 | ESO

Zooming in on Planetary Nebula NGC 2899 | ESO

This video sequence starts from a wide field of the region of the sky around NGC 2899 and closes in on the planetary nebula. The final very detailed view comes from the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope at the Paranal Observatory in Chile.

Credits: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/Digitized Sky Survey 2/N. Risinger

Music: Astral Electronic

Duration: 50 seconds

Release Date: July 30, 2020

NGC 2899 Planetary Nebula | ESO

NGC 2899 Planetary Nebula | ESO

This highly detailed image of the fantastic NGC 2899 planetary nebula was captured using the FORS instrument on European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in northern Chile. This object has never before been imaged in such striking detail, with even the faint outer edges of the planetary nebula glowing over the background stars.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Release Date: July 30, 2020

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Nebula #PlanetaryNebula #NGC2899 #Vela #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #VLT #FORS #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

Planetary Nebula Fleming 1: Wide-field View | ESO

Planetary Nebula Fleming 1: Wide-field View | ESO

This wide-field view shows the sky around planetary nebula Fleming 1 in the constellation of Centaurus (The Centaur). This view was created from images forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2.

Distance: 10,000 light years

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/Digitized Sky Survey 2

Acknowledgement: Davide De Martin

Release Date: November 8, 2012

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Nebula #PlanetaryNebula #Fleming1 #Centaurus #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

A Close-up View of Planetary Nebula Fleming 1 | ESO

A Close-up View of Planetary Nebula Fleming 1 | ESO

The planetary nebula Fleming 1 seen with European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope.

Distance: 10,000 light years

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/H. Boffin

Music: delmo "acoustic"

Duration: 56 seconds

Release Date: November 8, 2012

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Nebula #PlanetaryNebula #Fleming1 #Centaurus #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #VLT #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Expedition 67 Crew Photos: Summer 2022 | International Space Station

Expedition 67 Crew Photos: Summer 2022 | International Space Station

NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins holding a Plate Habitat (PHAB) at -20°C prior to insertion into the Space Automated Bioproduct Laboratory (SABL) incubator aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The goal of the Protein Manufacturing project is to demonstrate the use of a novel bioreactor technology for growing high-protein food on the International Space Station (ISS).

Image Date: July 22, 2022

Expedition 67 Flight Engineer and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti packs experiment containers for the Biofilms investigation aboard the International Space Station. The biotechnology study explores ways to protect astronaut health and maintain spacecraft safety from microbes living in the orbiting's lab environment.

Image Date: August 2, 2022

NASA astronaut Bob Hines is shown performing Genes in Space-9 aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Cell-free technology is a platform for protein production that does not include living cells. GIS-9 evaluates two approaches for using this technology in microgravity: cell-free protein production and biosensors that can detect specific target molecules. The technology could provide a portable, low-resource, and low-cost tool with potential applications for medical diagnostics, on-demand production of medicine and vaccines, and environmental monitoring on future space missions.

Image Date: July 21, 2022

NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren is seen performing Forward Osmosis Membrane operations. Assessing the Performance of Urease-phospholipid Reactive Forward Osmosis Membranes for Water Reclamation Aboard the ISS (Forward Osmosis Membrane) tests reactive membranes for water reclamation in microgravity as compared to 1g on Earth.

Image Date: July 19, 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)

Learn more about the important research being operated on the station:

https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science

For more information about STEM on Station: https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation

STEM is an acronym for the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Image Date: July 31, 2022

#NASA #ESA #ISS #Earth #Planet #Science #Astronauts #KjellLindgren #JessicaWatkins #BobHines #SamanthaCristoforetti #Italy #Italia #Minerva #MissionMinerva #Laboratory #Research #Experiments #Expedition67 #Technology #STEM #Education

Zooming in on Planetary Nebula Fleming 1 | ESO

Zooming in on Planetary Nebula Fleming 1 | ESO

This video starts with a wide field view of the spectacular southern part of the Milky Way. We close in gradually on a small bubble of glowing gas in the constellation of Centaurus (The Centaur). This is the planetary nebula Fleming 1, glowing gas shells and symmetrical jets around an aging pair of stars. The final detailed view comes from the FORS2 instrument on the Very Large Telescope at ESO's Paranal Observatory in Chile.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/Digitized Sky Survey 2/Nick Risinger

Music: delmo "acoustic"

Duration: 56 seconds

Release Date: November 8, 2012

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Nebula #PlanetaryNebula #Fleming1 #Centaurus #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #VLT #FORS2 #ParanalObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Planetary Nebula Fleming 1 | ESO’s Very Large Telescope

Planetary Nebula Fleming 1 | ESO’s Very Large Telescope

This European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope (VLT) image shows the planetary nebula Fleming 1 in the constellation of Centaurus (The Centaur). This striking object is a glowing cloud of gas around a dying star. Observations have shown that it is likely that a very rare pair of white dwarf stars lies at the heart of this object. Their orbital motions can fully explain the remarkably symmetric structures of the jets in the surrounding gas clouds in this and similar objects.

Distance: 10,000 light years

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/H. Boffin

Release Date: November 8, 2012

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Nebula #PlanetaryNebula #Fleming1 #Centaurus #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #VLT #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

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Friday, August 12, 2022

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