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This wide-field view shows a spectacular region of dark and bright clouds, forming part of a region of star formation in the constellation of Ophiuchus (The Serpent Bearer). This picture was created from images in the Digitized Sky Survey 2.
Distance: about 360 light-years
Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/Digitized Sky Survey 2
Europe: Ready for NASA's Artemis I Moon Mission | ESA
The European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA are working hand-in-hand before the first Artemis mission to the Moon through a series of joint mission simulations. Teams based at the Erasmus Support Facility (ESF) at ESA’s ESTEC facility in The Netherlands, the German Space Operations Center at ESA’s Columbus Control Center in Oberphfaffenhofen and NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston are combining their expertise in a series of exercises to ensure a successful launch.
When it comes to simulations, it is important that not everything goes perfectly right as it recreates—in real time—different stages of the mission to monitor the spacecraft’s position, propulsion, power, avionics and thermal properties. The European team, consisting of 40 people from ESA and industry, apply their considerable expertise from working on the European Service Module (ESM) to any unexpected problems. The ESM will provide power for the Orion spacecraft and propel it along its orbit to the Moon.
NASA's Artemis I Moon Mission: Path to the Pad Trailer
Through Artemis, NASA will once again land humans on the Moon. Before that can happen, we must first launch our Space Launch System (SLS) rocket—the most powerful rocket we have ever built—and Orion spacecraft on an uncrewed flight test around the Moon. Join us as we document this moment in history and watch as we follow SLS and Orion on their path to the pad.
Moonikin “Campos” & The Manikins | NASA's Artemis I Moon Mission
Two manikins have been installed in the passenger seats inside the Artemis I Orion crew module atop the Space Launch System rocket in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 8, 2022. As part of the Matroshka AstroRad Radiation Experiment (MARE) investigation, the two female manikins—Helga and Zohar—are equipped with radiation detectors, while Zohar also wears a radiation protection vest, to determine the radiation risk on its way to the Moon. Moonikin Campos, named after former NASA engineer Arturo Campos, will also be on Artemis I. 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.
Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate NASA’s capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft’s integrated systems before crewed missions. Under Artemis, NASA aims to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon and establish sustainable lunar exploration.
This wide-field view shows the rich region of sky around the Thor’s Helmet Nebula (NGC 2359) in the constellation of Canis Major (The Great Dog). This view was created from images forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2.
Distance:15,000 light years
Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/Digitized Sky Survey 2. Acknowledgement: Davide De Martin
This video takes a close look at a Very Large Telescope (VLT) image of the Thor's Helmet Nebula. This object, also known as NGC 2359, lies in the constellation of Canis Major (The Great Dog). The helmet-shaped nebula is around 15,000 light-years away from Earth and is over 30 light-years across. The helmet is a cosmic bubble, blown as the wind from the bright, massive star near the bubble's center sweeps through the surrounding molecular cloud. This VLT image of the Thor’s Helmet Nebula was taken on the occasion of ESO’s 50th Anniversary with the help of Brigitte Bailleul—winner of a VLT competition.
Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/B. Bailleul
This video sequence starts with a broad view of the Milky Way before closing in on the sky close to the familiar bright star Sirius. The final sequence shows a new VLT image of the Thor's Helmet Nebula taken on the occasion of ESO's 50th Anniversary, October 5, 2012, with the help of Brigitte Bailleul—winner of a VLT competition.
This object, also known as NGC 2359, lies in the constellation of Canis Major (The Great Dog). The helmet-shaped nebula is around 15,000 light-years away from Earth and is over 30 light-years across. The helmet is a cosmic bubble, blown as the wind from the bright, massive star near the bubble's center sweeps through the surrounding molecular cloud. This Very Large Telescope (VLT) image of the Thor’s Helmet Nebula was taken on the occasion of ESO’s 50th Anniversary with the help of Brigitte Bailleul—winner of a VLT competition. The observations were broadcast live over the Internet from the Paranal Observatory in Chile.
Distance:15,000 light years
Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/B. Bailleul
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:
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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
