Tokyo, Japan | International Space Station
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Tokyo, Japan, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean, is pictured from the International Space Station as it orbited 260 miles above the island nation.
Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)
Release Date: Oct. 2, 2022
#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #ISS #Astronauts #Earth #Planet #Tokyo #東京都 #Japan #日本 #PacificOcean #Expedition68 #JAXA #宇宙航空研究開発機構 #JSC #UnitedStates #HumanSpaceflight #SolarSystem #Exploration #Art #Photography #STEM #Education
Waxing Crescent Moon | International Space Station
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First Quarter Moon above Indian Ocean | International Space Station
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The First Quarter Moon is pictured above the Earth's horizon as the International Space Station orbited 268 miles above the Indian Ocean south of Australia.
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)
#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #ISS #Astronauts #Artemis #Earth #Planet #IndianOcean #Moon #FirstQuarter #Expedition68 #JSC #UnitedStates #HumanSpaceflight #SolarSystem #Exploration #Art #Photography #STEM #Education
NASA's SpaceX Crew-4: A Scientific Journey | International Space Station
After months aboard the International Space Station, the astronauts of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission are returning home. Traveling back to Earth inside a SpaceX Dragon capsule are NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines, and Jessica Watkins, along with European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti. During their time aboard the orbiting laboratory, these crew members contributed to ongoing and new scientific investigations and technology demonstrations, work that is helping to prepare humans for future space exploration missions and generating innovations and benefits for humanity on Earth.
Learn more: https://go.nasa.gov/3Sv0vkE
Credit: NASA
Duration: 3 minutes, 23 seconds
Release Date: October 11, 2022
#NASA #ESA #ISS #Earth #Planet #Science #SpaceX #SpaceXCrew4 #CrewDragon #Spacecraft #Astronauts #KjellLindgren #JessicaWatkins #BobHines #SamanthaCristoforetti #Italy #Italia #MissionMinerva #Laboratory #Research #Experiments ##Expedition67 #Expedition68 #Technology #STEM #Education #HD #Video
Jupiter's Ocean Moon Europa: Shallow Lakes in Icy Crust Could Erupt | NASA
This image is an artist's concept of a plume of water vapor thought to be ejected off the frigid, icy surface of the Jovian moon Europa, located about 500 million miles (800 million kilometers) from the sun.
In the search for life beyond Earth, subsurface bodies of water in our outer solar system are some of the most important targets. This is why NASA is sending the Europa Clipper spacecraft to Jupiter’s moon Europa. There is strong evidence that under a thick crust of ice, the moon harbors a global ocean that could potentially be habitable.
However, scientists believe the ocean is not the only water on Europa. Based on observations from NASA’s Galileo orbiter, they believe salty liquid reservoirs may reside inside the moon’s icy shell—some of them close to the surface of the ice and some many miles below.
The more scientists understand about the water that Europa may be holding, the more likely they will know where to look for it when NASA sends Europa Clipper in 2024 to conduct a detailed investigation. The spacecraft will orbit Jupiter and use its suite of sophisticated instruments to gather science data as it flies by the moon about 50 times.
Now, research is helping scientists better understand what the subsurface lakes in Europa may look like and how they behave. A key finding in a paper published recently in Planetary Science Journal supports the longstanding idea that water could potentially erupt above the surface of Europa either as plumes of vapor or as cryovolcanic activity (think: flowing, slushy ice rather than molten lava).
The computer modeling in the paper goes further, showing that if there are eruptions on Europa, they likely come from shallow, wide lakes embedded in the ice and not from the global ocean far below.
“We demonstrated that plumes or cryolava flows could mean there are shallow liquid reservoirs below, which Europa Clipper would be able to detect,” said Elodie Lesage, Europa scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California and lead author of the research. “Our results give new insights into how deep the water might be that’s driving surface activity, including plumes. And the water should be shallow enough that it can be detected by multiple Europa Clipper instruments.”
Different Depths, Different Ice
Lesage’s computer modeling lays out a blueprint for what scientists might find inside the ice if they were to observe eruptions at the surface. According to her models, they likely would detect reservoirs relatively close to the surface, in the upper 2.5 to 5 miles (4 to 8 kilometers) of the crust, where the ice is coldest and most brittle.
This is because the subsurface ice there does not allow for expansion: As the pockets of water freeze and expand, they are able to break the surrounding ice and trigger eruptions, much like a can of soda in a freezer explodes. And pockets of water that do burst through would likely be wide and flat like pancakes.
Reservoirs deeper in the ice layer—with floors more than 5 miles (8 kilometers) below the crust—would push against warmer ice surrounding them as they expand. That ice is soft enough to act as a cushion, absorbing the pressure rather than bursting. Rather than acting like a can of soda, these pockets of water would behave more like a liquid-filled balloon, where the balloon simply stretches as the liquid within it freezes and expands.
Sensing Firsthand
Scientists on the Europa Clipper mission can use this research when the spacecraft arrives at Europa in 2030. For example, the radar instrument—called Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-surface (REASON)—is one of the key instruments that will be used to look for water pockets in the ice.
“The new work shows that water bodies in the shallow subsurface could be unstable if stresses exceed the strength of the ice and could be associated with plumes rising above the surface,” said Don Blankenship, of the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics in Austin, Texas, who leads the radar instrument team. “That means REASON could be able to see water bodies in the same places that you see plumes.”
Europa Clipper will carry other instruments that will be able to test the theories of the new research. The science cameras will be able to make high-resolution color and stereoscopic images of Europa; the thermal emission imager will use an infrared camera to map Europa’s temperatures and find clues about geologic activity – including cryovolcanism. If plumes are erupting, they could be observable by the ultraviolet spectrograph, the instrument that analyzes ultraviolet light.
More About the Mission
Missions such as Europa Clipper contribute to the field of astrobiology, the interdisciplinary research field that studies the conditions of distant worlds that could harbor life as we know it. While Europa Clipper is not a life-detection mission, it will conduct a detailed exploration of Europa and investigate whether the icy moon, with its subsurface ocean, has the capability to support life. Understanding Europa’s habitability will help scientists better understand how life developed on Earth and the potential for finding life beyond our planet.
Managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California, JPL leads the development of the Europa Clipper mission in partnership with APL for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. APL designed the main spacecraft body in collaboration with JPL and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The Planetary Missions Program Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, executes program management of the Europa Clipper mission.
More information about Europa can be found here:
Credit: NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Caltech
Release Date: October 11, 2022
#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Jupiter #Europa #Moon #Ocean #IcyCrust #Lakes #Eruptions #Astrobiology #Biosignatures #Habitability #Radiation #EuropaClipper #Spacecraft #SolarSystem #Exploration #JHUAPL #MSFC #JPL #California #UnitedStates #Art #Illustration #STEM #Education
Giant Leaps Start Here | NASA's Johnson Space Center
The first word uttered by astronauts in space before history is made—big or small—is “Houston…” NASA’s Johnson Space Center has served as the iconic setting to some of humankind’s greatest achievements. For nearly 60 years, as part of NASA’s nationwide team, Johnson has led the world in human space exploration. Today, we push forward to the Moon. Tomorrow, we leap to greater heights and new destinations. There is history to be made. Giant Leaps Start Here!
Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)
Duration: 1 minute, 15 seconds
Release Date: October 11, 2022
#NASA #Space #Moon #Apollo #Artemis #ArtemisI #Astronauts #MoonToMars #JourneyToMars #Mars #Science #Engineering #Technology #Exploration #SolarSystem #JSC #Houston #Texas #UnitedStates #History #STEM #Education #HD #Video
NASA's DART Mission Successfully Changes Asteroid Orbit
The first results of NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) indicate that the orbit of asteroid Dimorphos around asteroid Didymos was changed, altering the orbit of the binary asteroid system around the Sun.
On Monday, Sept. 26, 2022, DART successfully impacted its asteroid target in the world’s first planetary defense technology demonstration. As a part of NASA’s overall planetary defense strategy, DART’s impact with the asteroid Dimorphos will help to determine whether asteroid deflection using a kinetic impactor spacecraft is a viable mitigation technique for protecting the planet from an Earth-bound asteroid or come threat were discovered.
Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab (APL) manages the DART mission for NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office as a project of the agency's Planetary Missions Program Office. Neither DART’s target asteroid, Dimorphos, nor its larger asteroid parent, Didymos, poses a hazard to Earth.
DART update panel:
• Lori Glaze, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington
• Tom Statler, DART program scientist at NASA Headquarters
• Nancy Chabot, DART coordination lead at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland
More on DART: https://nasa.gov/dart
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)/Italian Space Agency (ASI)
Acknowledgement: SciNews
Duration: 7 minutes, 46 seconds
Release Date: October 11, 2022
#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #DARTMission #DARTSpacecraft #Asteroids #Dimorphos #Didymos #Earth #PlanetaryDefense #Test #SolarSystem #JHUAPL #UnitedStates #ASI #Italy #Italia #STEM #Education #HD #Video
NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 Astronauts Discuss Mission | International Space Station
The Crew-4 astronauts have been living and working aboard the station since April 27. During their mission, they contributed to hundreds of experiments and technology demonstrations, including: documenting how improvements to the space diet affect immune function and the gut microbiome, determining the effect of fuel temperature on the flammability of a material, exploring possible adverse effects on astronaut hearing from equipment noise and microgravity, and studying whether additives increase or decrease the stability of emulsions. The astronauts also investigated microgravity-induced changes in the human immune system similar to aging, tested a novel water-reclamation membrane, and examined a concrete alternative made with a material found in lunar and Martian dust.
For more information about Crew-4, visit:
Credit: NASA Video
Duration: 27 minutes
Release Date: October 11, 2022
#NASA #ESA #ISS #Earth #Planet #Science #SpaceXCrew4 #CrewDragon #Spacecraft #Astronauts #KjellLindgren #JessicaWatkins #BobHines #SamanthaCristoforetti #Italy #Italia #MissionMinerva #Laboratory #Research #Experiments #Expedition68 #Technology #STEM #Education #HD #Video
The Needle Galaxy: IC 2233 | Hubble
Typical spiral galaxies like the Milky Way are usually made up of three principal visible components: the disc where the spiral arms and most of the gas and dust is concentrated; the halo, a rough and sparse sphere around the disc that contains little gas, dust or star formation; and the central bulge at the heart of the disc, which is formed by a large concentration of ancient stars surrounding the Galactic Center.
However, IC 2233 is far from being typical. This object is a prime example of a super-thin galaxy, where the galaxy’s diameter is at least ten times larger than the thickness. These galaxies consist of a simple disc of stars when seen edge on. This orientation makes them fascinating to study, giving another perspective on spiral galaxies. An important characteristic of this type of objects is that they have a low brightness and almost all of them have no bulge at all.
The bluish color that can be seen along the disc gives evidence of the spiral nature of the galaxy, indicating the presence of hot, luminous, young stars, born out of clouds of interstellar gas. In addition, unlike typical spirals, IC 2233 shows no well-defined dust lane. Only a few small patchy regions can be identified in the inner regions both above and below the galaxy’s mid-plane.
Lying in the constellation of Lynx, IC 2233 is located about 40 million light-years away from Earth. This galaxy was discovered by British astronomer Isaac Roberts in 1894.
This image was taken with the Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys, combining visible and infrared exposures. The field of view in this image is approximately 3.4 by 3.4 arcminutes.
Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble & NASA
Acknowledgement: Luca Limatola
Release Date: December 27, 2012
#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Galaxy #IC2233 #Spiral #Lynx #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #Astronomer #IsaacRoberts #STEM #Education
A Bright Bar of Light: Galaxy NGC 2217 | Hubble
The central bar in these types of galaxies plays an important role in their evolution, helping to funnel gas from the disc into the middle of the galaxy. The transported gas and dust are then either formed into new stars or fed to the supermassive black hole at the galaxy's center. Weighing from a few hundred to over a billion times the mass of our Sun, supermassive black holes are present in almost all large galaxies.
This image was colorized with data from the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS).
Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble & NASA, J. Dalcanton
Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt (Geckzilla)
Release Date: December 23, 2020
#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Galaxy #NGC2217 #AM0619271 #Spiral #Barred #CanisMajor #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education
The Black Eye Galaxy: Messier 64 | Hubble
Fine details of the dark band are revealed in this image of the central portion of M64 obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope. M64 is well known among amateur astronomers because of its appearance in small telescopes. It was first cataloged in the 18th century by the French astronomer Messier. Located in the northern constellation Coma Berenices, M64 resides roughly 17 million light-years from Earth.
Credit: NASA/European Space Agency (ESA) and The Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI)
Release Date: February 5, 2004
#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Galaxy #BlackEyeGalaxy #M64 #Messier64 #Spiral #ComaBerenices #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education
The Caribbean Island Country of Cuba | International Space Station
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"Cuba, ¿qué bolá? Despite some clouds, a sunglint makes the island of Cuba and the surrounding Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean gleam."
The Republic of Cuba is an island country consisting of the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and Atlantic Ocean meet. Cuba is located east of the Yucatán Peninsula (Mexico), south of both the American state of Florida and the Bahamas, west of Hispaniola (Haiti/Dominican Republic), and north of both Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.
Population: 11 million
Learn about Samantha's Minerva Mission: https://bit.ly/MissionMinerva
Samantha Cristoforetti's Biography (ESA)
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 (ESA)/NASA-S. Cristoforetti
#NASA #Space #ISS #Earth #Planet #Cuba #Island #Sunglint #Country #Caribbean #CaribbeanSea #AtlanticOcean #ESA #Astronaut #SamanthaCristoforetti #MissionMinerva #Italy #Italia #ASI #Photography #Art #Science #HumanSpaceflight #Astronauts #Expedition68 #Europe #UnitedStates #International #STEM #Education
NASA's Venus Aerobot Prototype Aces Test Flights over Nevada | JPL
In July 2022, technologists from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California and Near Space Corporation in Tillamook, Oregon, carried out two successful flights of an aerial robotic balloon, or aerobot, over Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. The prototype is a scaled-down version of an aerobot that could one day take to Venus’ skies, exploring an atmospheric region too low for orbiters.
During the flights, the aerobot was able to raise and lower its altitude by pumping helium from an inner reservoir into the surrounding outer balloon. As the flexible outer balloon material expanded, the aerobot gained buoyancy and increased in altitude; as helium was pumped back into the reservoir, the balloon’s buoyancy decreased, lowering its altitude.
More about JPL’s Venus aerobot project:
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/jpls-venus-aerial-robotic-balloon-prototype-aces-test-flights
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Near Space Corporation
Duration: 1 minute, 25 seconds
Release Date: October 10, 2022
#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Venus #Planet #Atmosphere #Aerobot #Robotics #Balloon #Prototype #FlightTest #Spacecraft #SolarSystem #Exploration #JPL #Caltech #Nevada #UnitedStates #Technology #Engineering #STEM #Education #HD #Video
Hubble Captures Fading of The Stingray Nebula
This video morphs archival data from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope to reveal that the nebula Hen 3-1357, nicknamed the Stingray Nebula, has faded precipitously over just the past two decades. Witnessing such a swift rate of change in a planetary nebula is exceedingly rare, say researchers.
The video presents the Stingray Nebula as it was observed by Hubble in 2016 and then fades to Hubble's view from 1996. When compared, these Hubble images show a nebula that has drastically dimmed in brightness and changed shape. Bright blue shells of gas near the center of the nebula have all but disappeared, and the wavy edges that earned this nebula its aquatic-themed name are virtually gone. The young nebula no longer pops against the black velvet background of the distant Universe.
Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), B. Balick (University of Washington), M. Guerrero (Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía), and G. Ramos-Larios (Universidad de Guadalajara), M. Kornmesser (ESA/Hubble)
Duration: 20 seconds
Release Date: December 3, 2020
#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Nebula #PlanetaryNebula #StingrayNebula #Hen31357 #Ara #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video
Zooming into The Stingray Nebula | Hubble
This video zooms into the nebula Hen 3-1357, nicknamed the Stingray Nebula, which has faded precipitously over just the past two decades. Witnessing such a swift rate of change in a planetary nebula is exceedingly rare, say researchers.
Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble, Digitized Sky Survey, Nick Risinger
Duration: 50 seconds
Release Date: December 3, 2020
#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Nebula #PlanetaryNebula #StingrayNebula #Hen31357 #Ara #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video
The Stingray Nebula | Hubble
This image captured by Hubble in 1996 demonstrates how the nebula appeared before it dimmed drastically in brightness and changed shape. At this time, it was characterized by bright blue shells of gas near the center of the nebula.
Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), B. Balick (University of Washington), M. Guerrero (Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía), and G. Ramos-Larios (Universidad de Guadalajara)
Release Date: December 3, 2020
#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Nebula #PlanetaryNebula #StingrayNebula #Hen31357 #Ara #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education
