Friday, February 10, 2023

Zooming into a Spiral Amongst Thousands: LEDA 2046648 | Hubble

Zooming into a Spiral Amongst Thousands: LEDA 2046648 | Hubble

This video takes the viewers on a journey into the field of stars and galaxies surrounding the spiral galaxy LEDA 2046648. Webb’s NIRCam instrument has picked out a profusion of smaller, more distant galaxies and bright stars around this galaxy, demonstrating the telescope’s impressive resolution in infrared wavelengths. Calibration images such as this one were critical to verify the telescope’s capabilities as it was prepared for science operations, and this one doesn’t disappoint.


Credit:

European Space Agency/Webb, NASA & CSA, A. Martel, Dark Energy Survey/DOE/FNAL/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA, DSS, E. Slawik, N. Risinger, D. de Martin, N. Bartmann, M. Zamani  

Duration: 1 minute

Release Date: Feb. 9, 2023


#NASA #JamesWebbSpaceTelescope #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxy #LEDA2046648 #Hercules #Constellation #Galaxies #Cosmos #Universe #JWST #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's Space to Ground: A Multifaceted Module | Week of Feb. 10, 2023

NASA's Space to Ground: A Multifaceted Module | Week of Feb. 10, 2023

NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station. The Expedition 68 crew is looking forward to a delivery mission that will arrive at the International Space Station this weekend.

Nearly three tons of food, fuel, and supplies, is on its way to replenish the seven residents living aboard the orbital outpost. The ISS Progress 83 (83P) resupply ship launched at 1:15 a.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023, and is orbiting Earth racing toward the space station. The 83P will automatically dock to the Zvezda module’s rear port at 3:49 a.m. on Saturday beginning a six-month stay at the station. NASA TV will cover the space freighter’s arrival live on the agency’s website.


Follow Expedition 68 crew updates at: 

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/


Expedition 68 Crew

Station Commander: Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia): Flight Engineers Anna Kikina & Dmitri Petelin

NASA: Flight Engineers Nicole Mann, Frank Rubio & Josh Cassada

JAXA (Japan): Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata


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, 45 seconds

Release Date: Feb. 9, 2023


#NASA #Space #Earth #ISS #Astronauts #NicoleMann #FrankRubio #JoshCassada #KoichiWakata #JAXA #Japan #Cosmonauts #SergeyProkopyev #AnnaKikina #DmitriPetelin #Роскосмос #Russia #Science #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition68 #JSC #UnitedStates #Canada #CSA #Research #Laboratory #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Expedition 68 Russian Cargo Ship Launch | International Space Station

Expedition 68 Russian Cargo Ship Launch | International Space Station

The uncrewed Roscosmos Progress 83 cargo craft launched to the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on February 9, 2023, atop a Soyuz booster rocket. Progress is filled with almost three tons of supplies and cargo. It will dock to the Zvezda service module after completing a two-day rendezvous. The resupply spacecraft will remain docked to the space station until later this year.

Follow Expedition 68 crew updates at: 

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/


Expedition 68 Crew

Station Commander: Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia): Flight Engineers Anna Kikina & Dmitri Petelin

NASA: Flight Engineers Nicole Mann, Frank Rubio & Josh Cassada

JAXA (Japan): Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata


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: 28 minutes

Release Date: Feb. 9, 2023

#NASA #Space #Earth #ISS #Progress #Progress83 #Cargo #Spacecraft #Soyuz #Rocket #BaikonurCosmodrome #Kazakhstan #Astronauts #JAXA #Japan #日本 #Cosmonauts #Роскосмос #Russia #Россия #Science #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition68 #JSC #UnitedStates #Canada #CSA #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Thursday, February 09, 2023

Russian Supply Ship Undocking & Destructive Reentry | International Space Station

Russian Supply Ship Undocking & Destructive Reentry | International Space Station 




The ISS Progress 81 resupply ship from Roscosmos (Russia) is pictured 266 miles above the Pacific Ocean off the coast of the Kuril Islands after undocking from the Zvezda service module's rear port on Monday, Feb. 7, 2023. It would later reenter the Earth's atmosphere above the Pacific Ocean for a safe demise after completing an eight-month International Space Station resupply mission.


Follow Expedition 68 crew updates at: 

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/


Expedition 68 Crew

Station Commander: Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia): Flight Engineers Anna Kikina & Dmitri Petelin

NASA: Flight Engineers Nicole Mann, Frank Rubio & Josh Cassada

JAXA (Japan): Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata


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 Date: Feb. 7, 2023


#NASA #ISS #Earth #Science #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #Soyuz #Progress81 #Spacecraft #Resupply #Cargo #Undocking #Reentry #Cosmonauts #Commander #SergeyProkopyev #Russia #Россия #Astronauts #UnitedStates #JSC #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition68 #STEM #Education

The Moon Beckons over Eastern China | International Space Station

The Moon Beckons over Eastern China | International Space Station

The waxing gibbous Moon is pictured above Earth's horizon from the International Space Station as it orbited 260 miles above eastern China near the Yellow Sea coast.

Follow Expedition 68 crew updates at: 

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/


Expedition 68 Crew

Station Commander: Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia): Flight Engineers Anna Kikina & Dmitri Petelin

NASA: Flight Engineers Nicole Mann, Frank Rubio & Josh Cassada

JAXA (Japan): Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata

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 Date: Feb. 2, 2023


#NASA #Space #Earth #ISS #Astronauts #China #中国 #YellowSea #黄海 #Moon #WaxingGibbous #NicoleMann #FrankRubio #JoshCassada #KoichiWakata #JAXA #Japan #日本 #Cosmonauts #Роскосмос #Russia #Россия #Science #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition68 #JSC #UnitedStates #Canada #CSA #Research #Laboratory #STEM #Education

The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer Mission: Launch Prep | European Space Agency

The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer Mission: Launch Prep | European Space Agency

A grand odyssey of exploration is about to begin. Humankind’s next bold mission to the outer Solar System, the European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, Juice, is poised to explore giant planet Jupiter and its largest moons. These intriguing worlds have piqued our curiosity ever since Galileo first raised his telescope to the planet and discovered its four largest moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, three of which are thought to harbor underground oceans.

Early space probes visiting the Jovian system have raised more questions than answers. Thanks to Juice, many of those answers are now within reach. The European Space Agency (ESA) is launching the spacecraft in April 2023 on an eight-year journey to the distant planet.

To uncover the hidden secrets of these mysterious worlds, Juice is equipped with the most powerful science instruments ever sent to the outer Solar System. The spacecraft will face many dangers along the way: radiation, extreme temperatures, and the vast gravitational pull of Jupiter, all while operating hundreds of millions of kilometers from Earth. However, in the safe hands of ESA’s operators to guide it safely through these challenges, the dangers will be worth it for the science that Juice is destined to uncover. 

The countdown to this new era of Jupiter system exploration has begun. Stay tuned: www.esa.int/juice

NASA's Europa Clipper Mission will complement the European Space Agency's JUICE Mission. Juice will fly-by Europa twice and Callisto multiple times before moving into orbit around Ganymede.


Credit: Produced by ESA/ATG medialab

Duration: 3 minutes, 28 seconds

Release Date: Feb. 9, 2023  


#NASA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Planet #Jupiter #Moons #Europa #Callisto #Ganymede #Juice #Mission #Spacecraft #SolarSystem #Exploration #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Saturn's Rings are Acting Strange | Hubble

Saturn's Rings are Acting Strange | Hubble

New images of Saturn from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope herald the start of the planet’s “spoke season” surrounding its equinox, when enigmatic features appear across its rings. The cause of the spokes, as well as their seasonal variability, has yet to be fully explained by planetary scientists.


Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center 

Paul Morris: Lead Producer 

Duration: 2 minutes, 38 seconds

Release Date: Feb. 9, 2023


#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Planet #Saturn #Rings #Spokes #SolarSystem #Exploration #Voyager #Spacecraft #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

New Spokes Spotted on Saturn's Rings | Hubble

New Spokes Spotted on Saturn's Rings | Hubble


Mysterious Features First Seen Decades Ago by NASA's Voyager Spacecraft

Since their discovery by NASA's Voyager mission in the 1980s, temporary "spoke" features across Saturn's rings have fascinated scientists, yet eluded explanation. They have been observed in the years preceding and following the planet's equinox, becoming more prominent as the date approaches.

Image Description: Planet Saturn with bright white rings and multi-colored main sphere. Spoke features on the left side of the rings appear like faint gray smudges against the rings' bright backdrop, about midway from the planet to the rings' outer edge. Above the rings plane, the planet's bands are shades of red and orange, with brighter yellow nearer the equator.

Saturn's upcoming autumnal equinox of the northern hemisphere on May 6, 2025, means that spoke season has come again. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope will be on the job studying the spokes, thanks to time dedicated to Saturn in the mission’s ongoing Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program. Are the smudgy features related to Saturn's magnetic field and its interaction with the solar wind, as prevailing theory suggests? Confirmation could come in this spoke season, as scientists combine archival data from NASA's Cassini mission with new Hubble observations.

Planet Saturn with bright white rings and multi-colored main sphere. Spoke features appear like faint gray smudges against the rings' bright backdrop, about midway from the planet to the rings' outer edge. Above the rings plane, the planet's bands are shades of red and orange, with brighter yellow nearer the equator.

New images of Saturn from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope herald the start of the planet's "spoke season" surrounding its equinox, when enigmatic features appear across its rings. The cause of the spokes, as well as their seasonal variability, has yet to be fully explained by planetary scientists.

Like Earth, Saturn is tilted on its axis and therefore has four seasons, though because of Saturn's much larger orbit, each season lasts approximately seven Earth years. Equinox occurs when the rings are tilted edge-on to the Sun. The spokes disappear when it is near summer or winter solstice on Saturn. (When the Sun appears to reach either its highest or lowest latitude in the northern or southern hemisphere of a planet.) As the autumnal equinox of Saturn's northern hemisphere on May 6, 2025, draws near, the spokes are expected to become increasingly prominent and observable.

The suspected culprit for the spokes is the planet's variable magnetic field. Planetary magnetic fields interact with the solar wind, creating an electrically charged environment (on Earth, when those charged particles hit the atmosphere this is visible in the northern hemisphere as the aurora borealis, or northern lights). Scientists think that the smallest, dust-sized icy ring particles can become charged as well, which temporarily levitates those particles above the rest of the larger icy particles and boulders in the rings.

The ring spokes were first observed by NASA's Voyager mission in the early 1980s. The transient, mysterious features can appear dark or light depending on the illumination and viewing angles.

"Thanks to Hubble's OPAL program, which is building an archive of data on the outer solar system planets, we will have longer dedicated time to study Saturn’s spokes this season than ever before," said NASA senior planetary scientist Amy Simon, head of the Hubble Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program.

Saturn's last equinox occurred in 2009, while NASA's Cassini spacecraft was orbiting the gas giant planet for close-up reconnaissance. With Cassini's mission completed in 2017, and the Voyager spacecrafts long gone, Hubble is continuing the work of long-term monitoring of changes on Saturn and the other outer planets.

"Despite years of excellent observations by the Cassini mission, the precise beginning and duration of the spoke season is still unpredictable, rather like predicting the first storm during hurricane season," Simon said.

While our solar system's other three gas giant planets also have ring systems, nothing compares to Saturn's prominent rings, making them a laboratory for studying spoke phenomena. Whether spokes could or do occur at other ringed planets is currently unknown. "It's a fascinating magic trick of nature we only see on Saturn—for now at least," Simon said.

Hubble's OPAL program will add both visual and spectroscopic data, in wavelengths of light from ultraviolet to near-infrared, to the archive of Cassini observations. Scientists are anticipating putting these pieces together to get a more complete picture of the spoke phenomenon, and what it reveals about ring physics in general.

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA). NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, in Washington, D.C.


Image & Caption Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)

Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

Image Date: Sept. 22, 2022

Release Date: Feb. 9, 2023


#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Planet #Saturn #Rings #Spokes #SolarSystem #Exploration #Voyager #Spacecraft #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Infographic #STEM #Education

How Do We Communicate with Spacecraft? We Asked a NASA Expert

How Do We Communicate with Spacecraft? We Asked a NASA Expert

How do we communicate with spacecraft? For decades, satellites have beamed data back to Earth by way of radio waves, with a network of ground-based antennas collecting the incoming information. Now, we are exploring laser communications, technology that will allow us to receive more data from farther than ever before—faster, too. 

NASA space communications expert Risha George tells us more: https://www.nasa.gov/lasercomms


Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Producers: Scott Bednar, Jessica Wilde

Editor: James Lucas

Duration: 2 minutes

Release Date: Feb. 8, 2023


#NASA #Space #Earth #ISS #Moon #Artemis #Spacecraft #Satellites #SolarSystem #Exploration #Communications #Telecommunications #RadioCommunications #LaserCommunications #DataCommunications #DeepSpaceNetwork #Technology #Engineering #DSN #GSFC #JPL #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Wednesday, February 08, 2023

NASA Artemis V Moon Rocket Engine Tests: Preparing for Crewed Missions

NASA Artemis V Moon Rocket Engine Tests: Preparing for Crewed Missions

NASA’s newly redesigned RS-25 engine for future flights of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, underwent its first hot fire test of the year on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023, at the agency’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

The series of testing supports production of new RS-25 engines by lead SLS engine contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne. The new engines will help power future Artemis missions to the Moon beginning with Artemis V as NASA explores the universe for the benefit of all.

The single-engine hot fire on the Fred Haise Test Stand followed a confidence test in 2022, which tested whether all was ready to proceed with the certification series.

During the latest test, engineers fired the RS-25 engine for a full duration of about eight and a half minutes (500 seconds), the same amount of time the engines must operate to help power SLS to space. The RS-25 engine also operated at 111% power for most of the test, the same level needed to help lift SLS to orbit. The test featured a range of new components, most of which were installed for the December hot fire. One additional component—a new nozzle—was installed prior to the most recent hot fire. 

Four RS-25 engines fire simultaneously to generate a combined 1.6 million pounds of thrust at launch and 2 million pounds of thrust during ascent to help power each SLS flight. NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne modified 16 engines remaining from the Space Shuttle Program, which were proven flightworthy at Stennis for Artemis missions I through IV.

Every RS-25 engine that will help power SLS will be tested at NASA Stennis. RS-25 tests at the site are conducted by a combined team of NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne, and Syncom Space Services operators. Syncom Space Services is the prime contractor for Stennis facilities and operations.

Through Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars.

For information about the Space Launch System, visit: 

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


Credit: NASA Stennis

Acknowledgement: SciNews

Duration: 9 minutes

Release Date: Feb. 8, 2023


#NASA #Space #Artemis #ArtemisV #Moon #Rocket #SpaceLaunchSystem #SLS #Engine #RS25 #AerojetRocketdyne #MoonToMars #DeepSpace #Propulsion #Engineering #Technology #NASAStennis #Mississippi #MSFC #UnitedStates #SolarSystem #Exploration #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Footprints of Mass Star Migration into The Andromeda Galaxy | NOIRLab

Footprints of Mass Star Migration into The Andromeda Galaxy | NOIRLab

Cosmoview Episode 62: A team of researchers led by astronomers at the National Science Foundation's NOIRLab has uncovered striking new evidence for a mass migration of stars into the Andromeda Galaxy. Intricate patterns in the motions of stars reveal an immigration history very similar to that of the Milky Way. The new results were obtained with the U.S. Department of Energy's Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument on the Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab.


Credits:

Images and Videos: CTIO/KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/R.T. Sparks/E. Slawik/M. Zaman/N. Bartmann  

Image Processing: KPNO/NOIRLab/AURA/NSF/E. Slawik/D. de Martin/M. Zamani  

Duration: 1 minute, 24 seconds

Release Date: Feb. 8, 2023


#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Galaxies #Galaxy #AndromedaGalaxy #M31 #Andromeda #Constellation #Stars #Migration #Cosmos #Universe #MayallTelescope #KittPeakNationalObservatory #NOIRLab #NSF #DOE #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's Curiosity Rover Finds New Clues to Mars’ Watery Past | JPL

NASA's Curiosity Rover Finds New Clues to Mars’ Watery Past | JPL

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has discovered lots of evidence of ancient lakes on the Red Planet—and this recent panorama shows intriguing new clues. 

Curiosity, which landed on Mars in 2012, is currently exploring a unique feature known as the “Marker Band” in the foothills of Mount Sharp. Rocks in this area show the clearest evidence yet for waves the mission has ever seen: rippled textures that formed billions of years ago, as waves on the surface of a shallow lake stirred up sediment on the lake bottom.

Farther up the mountain, Curiosity can see more evidence of ancient water: wet landslides caused boulders and other debris to slip down into a valley. Curiosity caught a glimpse of this debris from a distance, but the rover's team hopes to get a closer look later in 2023.

Celebrating 10 Years+ on Mars! (2012-2023)

Mission Name: Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)

Rover Name: Curiosity

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

Launch: Nov. 6, 2011

Landing Date: Aug. 5, 2012, Gale Crater, Mars


For more information on NASA's Curiosity rover, visit mars.nasa.gov/msl

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


Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/University of Arizona

Duration: 3 minutes, 10 seconds

Release Date: Feb. 8, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #Water #Astrobiology #Geology #CuriosityRover #MSL #MountSharp #GaleCrater #Robotics #Technology #Engineering #JPL #UnitedStates #MoonToMars #CitizenScience #KevinGill #STEM #Education #HD #Video

New Mars Images: Feb. 2023 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers | JPL

New Mars Images: Feb. 2023 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers | JPL


MSL - Sol 868 - MAHLI


Mars2020 - Sol 696 - Mastcam-Z


MSL - Sol 3732 - Mastcam


Mars2020 - Sol 697 - Watson


MSL - Sol 3732 - Mastcam


Mars2020 - Sol 697 - Watson


MSL - Sol 3730 - Mastcam

MSL - Sol 3733 - Mastcam


Support FriendsofNASA.org | For more information on NASA's Mars missions, visit: mars.nasa.gov


Celebrating 10 Years+ on Mars! (2012-2023)

Mission Name: Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)

Rover Name: Curiosity

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

Launch: Nov. 6, 2011

Landing Date: Aug. 5, 2012, Gale Crater, 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.

Mars Helicopter (Ingenuity)

Launch: July 30, 2020    

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


Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS

Processing: Kevin M. Gill

Image Release Dates: Feb. 5-7, 2023


#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #Astrobiology #Geology #CuriosityRover #MSL #MountSharp #GaleCrater #PerseveranceRover #Mars2020 #JezeroCrater #Robotics #Technology #Engineering #JPL #UnitedStates #MoonToMars #CitizenScience #KevinGill #STEM #Education

SpaceX Amazonas Nexus Satellite Mission | Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

SpaceX Amazonas Nexus Satellite Mission | Cape Canaveral Space Force Station




SpaceX successfully launched the Amazonas Nexus telecoms satellite Feb. 6, 2023, which will fuel Spanish operator Hispasat’s Americas expansion while carrying a payload for the U.S. Space Force.

Amazonas Nexus lifted off on a Falcon 9 at 8:32 p.m. Eastern from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, after being delayed a day because of poor weather conditions.

The satellite separated from the rocket about 36 minutes later to begin its journey to geostationary orbit over the next few months using onboard electric propulsion.

Signal acquisition was successfully achieved at 9.26 p.m. Eastern, according to Hispasat spokesperson Víctor Inchausti.

Just over eight minutes after lift-off, the Falcon 9’s first stage landed on a droneship in the Atlantic Ocean for reuse. 

SpaceX had previously used the booster to launch the SES-22 broadcast satellite, a lunar lander for ispace, and three Starlink broadband missions.

It marked SpaceX’s 170th landing of an orbital class rocket, including Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy missions.

Amazonas Nexus is due to replace and expand the capacity of Hispasat’s Amazonas 2 satellite at 61 degrees west, covering the Americas, Greenland, and North Atlantic transportation routes.

Built by Europe’s Thales Alenia Space, Amazonas Nexus is designed to primarily provide high-throughput Ku-band capacity to Hispasat’s aviation, maritime, and rural broadband customers. The 4,500-kilogram satellite uses Ka-band feeder links for telemetry and control.

Also onboard is a high-bandwidth protected communications transponder for the Space Force called Pathfinder 2.

The hosted payload is the third Pathfinder mission designed to use existing commercial technologies to provide wideband alternatives for the Space Force’s satellite communications needs.

View full article: https://spacenews.com/spacex-launches-hispasats-amazonas-nexus-communications-satellite/


Image Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX)

Article Credit: Jason Rainbow of SpaceNews


#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #SpaceX #ElonMusk #Satellite #AmazonasNexus #Communications #ThalesAleniaSpace #Spaceflight #Technology #Engineering #CommercialSpace #Spaceport #CapeCanaveral #Florida #SpaceForce #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

NASA Astronaut Nicole Mann Talks with U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs

NASA Astronaut Nicole Mann Talks with U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs

The first Indigenous woman from NASA has gone to space!

Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 68 Flight Engineer Nicole Mann of NASA discussed life and work aboard the orbital outpost during an in-flight event Feb. 7, 2023, with members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. Mann is the first Native American woman to fly in space for NASA and is in the midst of a science mission living and working aboard the microgravity laboratory to advance scientific knowledge and demonstrate new technologies. Such research benefits people on Earth and lays the groundwork for future human exploration through the agency’s Artemis missions, which will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future expeditions to Mars. 


A California native, Nicole Mann holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering. Mann is a Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps and served as a test pilot in the F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet. She deployed twice aboard aircraft carriers in support of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Astronaut Nicole Mann Official NASA Biography:

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/nicole-a-mann

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/nicole-a-mann/biography


Follow Expedition 68 crew updates at:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 68 Crew

Station Commander: Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia): Flight Engineers Anna Kikina & Dmitri Petelin

NASA: Flight Engineers Nicole Mann, Frank Rubio & Josh Cassada

JAXA (Japan): Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata

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)

Duration: 14 minutes

Release Date: Feb. 7, 2023


#NASA #Space #Earth #ISS #Astronauts #NicoleMann #Leader #Pilot #Aviator #USMarines #Engineer #Aboriginal #NativeAmerican #Science #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition68 #JSC #UnitedStates #Canada #CSA #Research #Laboratory #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Tuesday, February 07, 2023

Nicole & Koichi on Second Spacewalk | International Space Station

Nicole & Koichi on Second Spacewalk | International Space Station


NASA astronaut Nicole Mann during her second spacewalk





Nicole takes a "space-selfie"


Nicole takes a "space-selfie"


JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata (Japan) takes a "space-selfie"



Koichi Wakata (Japan) during his second spacewalk


NASA astronaut Nicole Mann and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata concluded their spacewalk at 2:26 p.m. EST, Feb. 2, 2023, after six hours and 41 minutes. Mann and Wakata completed their major objective which was to complete the construction of a mounting platform on the 1A power channel that was started during a spacewalk on Jan. 20. In addition, they relocated an articulating portable foot restraint from the P6 truss for future spacewalk tasks and deployed cables for the installation of the next pair of International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays (iROSAs). 

Mann, designated extravehicular crew member 1, was wearing a suit with red stripes. Wakata, designated extravehicular crew member 2, was wearing an unmarked suit. This spacewalk is the second for both Mann and Wakata.

The installation was part of a series of spacewalks to augment the station’s power channels with new iROSAs. Four iROSAs have been installed so far, and two additional arrays will be mounted to the installed platforms during future spacewalks following their arrival later this year on SpaceX’s 28th commercial resupply services mission for NASA.

It was the 259th spacewalk in support of space station assembly, upgrades, and maintenance, the second spacewalk of 2023.

Mann and Wakata are in the midst of a planned six-month science mission living and working aboard the microgravity laboratory to advance scientific knowledge and demonstrate new technologies for future human and robotic exploration missions, including to the Moon through NASA’s Artemis missions.

Follow Expedition 68 crew updates at:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/


Expedition 68 Crew

Station Commander: Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia): Flight Engineers Anna Kikina & Dmitri Petelin

NASA: Flight Engineers Nicole Mann, Frank Rubio & Josh Cassada

JAXA (Japan): Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata


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 Date: Feb. 2, 2023


#NASA #Space #Earth #ISS #Astronauts #EVA #Spacewalk #NicoleMann #KoichiWakata #FrankRubio #JoshCassada #JAXA #Japan #Cosmonauts #Роскосмос #Russia #Science #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition68 #JSC #UnitedStates #Canada #CSA #STEM #Education