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International Congratulations on China Space Station's Completion
The Tiangong space station has been hailed as a 'remarkable achievement' for China and the world. Both the United Nations (UN) and International Astronautical Federation (IAF) sent their congratulations and best wishes for the China Space Station. CGTN reporter Wu Lei has spoken to the acting director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), and the executive director of the International Astronautical Federation. Take a listen.
The Next Crew Headed to the International Space Station | This Week at NASA
The next crew headed to the space station, black holes on a collision course, and an anniversary on Mars . . . a few of the stories to tell you about—This Week at NASA!
Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Cosmic Contortions: Massive Galaxy Cluster in Cetus | Hubble
A massive galaxy cluster in the constellation Cetus dominates the center of this image from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope. This image is populated with a serene collection of elliptical and spiral galaxies, but galaxies surrounding the central cluster—which is named SPT-CL J0019-2026—appear stretched into bright arcs, as if distorted by a gargantuan magnifying glass. This cosmic contortion is called gravitational lensing, and it occurs when a massive object like a galaxy cluster has a sufficiently powerful gravitational field to distort and magnify the light from background objects. Gravitational lenses magnify light from objects that would usually be too distant and faint to observe, and so these lenses can extend Hubble’s view even deeper into the Universe.
Distance: 5 billion light years
Image Description: A cluster of large galaxies, surrounded by various stars and smaller galaxies on a dark background. The central cluster is mostly made of bright elliptical galaxies that are surrounded by a warm glow. Nearby the cluster is the stretched, distorted arc of a galaxy, gravitationally lensed by the cluster.
This observation is part of an ongoing project to fill short gaps in Hubble’s observing schedule by systematically exploring the most massive galaxy clusters in the distant Universe, in the hopes of identifying promising targets for further study with both Hubble and the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. This particular galaxy cluster lies at a vast distance of 4.6 billion light years from Earth.
Each year, the Space Telescope Science Institute is inundated with observing proposals for Hubble, in which astronomers suggest targets for observation. Even after selecting only the very best proposals, scheduling observations of all of Hubble’s targets for a year is a formidable task. There is sometimes a small fraction of observing time left unused in Hubble’s schedule, so in its ‘spare time’ the telescope has a collection of objects to explore—including the lensing galaxy cluster shown in this image.
Meet Astronaut Steve Bowen: NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 Commander
The first submarine officer ever selected to be a NASA astronaut, who flew on three space shuttle missions in less than two and a half years, is the commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station. Meet Steve Bowen, a Massachusetts native and graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, and hear him talk about his childhood and a Navy career that led to three construction trips to space (and seven spacewalks!), and his excitement about returning to the space station to take part in the science mission that is paving the way for future exploration beyond low Earth orbit.
NASA Astronaut Stephen Bowen's Official Biography:
NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than 1:45 a.m. EST Monday, Feb. 27, 2023, for the launch of the agency’s Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center.
The four Crew-6 crewmates—Commander Stephen Bowen, Pilot Warren “Woody” Hoburg, Mission Specialist United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Mission Specialist Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev (Russia)—will dock the Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, to the forward port on the space station’s Harmony module about 23 hours after liftoff.
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.
Meet Astronaut Woody Hoburg: NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 Pilot
Teen model rocket maker. Rock climber and aircraft designer. MIT student and later professor. And now, pilot of NASA’s Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station. A childhood dream of flying in space is about to come true for Pennsylvania native Woody Hoburg; join him for a look at his incredible path of aeronautics and engineering and computer science and robotics—and time as an EMT with Yosemite Search and Rescue—that has brought him to a launch pad in Florida for the culmination of a dream of a lifetime.
NASA Astronaut William Hoburg's Official Biography:
NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than 1:45 a.m. EST Monday, Feb. 27, 2023, for the launch of the agency’s Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center.
The four Crew-6 crewmates—Commander Stephen Bowen, Pilot Warren “Woody” Hoburg, Mission Specialist United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Mission Specialist Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev (Russia)—will dock the Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, to the forward port on the space station’s Harmony module about 23 hours after liftoff.
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.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 Final Launch Operations Rehearsal | Kennedy Space Center
Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev (Russia), left, NASA astronaut Warren “Woody" Hoburg, second from left, NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen, second from right, and United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, right, wearing SpaceX spacesuits, are seen as they prepare to depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building for Launch Complex 39A during a dress rehearsal prior to the Crew-6 mission launch, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida
The vehicles carrying NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren "Woody" Hoburg, UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev are seen as they depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building for Launch Complex 39A
The Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission arrives at SpaceX’s hangar at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida on Feb. 19, 2023
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft Endeavour at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A
Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev (Russia), NASA astronaut Warren “Woody" Hoburg, NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen, and United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, wearing SpaceX spacesuits, are seen as they prepare to depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building for Launch Complex 39A during a dress rehearsal prior to the Crew-6 mission launch, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission is the sixth crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Bowen, Hoburg, Alneyadi, and Fedyaev are scheduled to launch no earlier than 1:45 a.m. EST on Feb. 27, 2023, from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.
The four Crew-6 crewmates will dock the Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, to the forward port on the space station’s Harmony module about 23 hours after liftoff.
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.
NASA's Space to Ground: 4 for 6 | Week of Feb. 24, 2023
NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station.
NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than 1:45 a.m. EST Monday, Feb. 27, 2023, for the launch of the agency’s Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station.
The four Crew-6 crewmates—Commander Stephen Bowen, Pilot Warren “Woody” Hoburg, Mission Specialist UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Mission Specialist Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev—will dock the Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, to the forward port on the space station’s Harmony module about 23 hours after liftoff.
Crew-6’s science mission includes cutting edge research aimed at keeping astronauts and spacecraft safe during deep space exploration, and studies that could lead to improved medical treatments for humans back on Earth. Experiments will include studies of how particular materials burn in microgravity, tissue chip research on heart, brain, and cartilage functions, and an investigation that will collect microbial samples from the outside of the space station. These are just some of the more than 200 science experiments and technology demonstrations that will take place during their mission.
Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:
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.
NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 Arrival | Kennedy Space Center
The crew launching on the Agency’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission arrived at Kennedy Space Center in preparation for their upcoming launch on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than 1:45 a.m. EST Monday, Feb. 27, 2023, for the launch of the agency’s Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station. The four Crew-6 crewmates—Commander Stephen Bowen, Pilot Warren “Woody” Hoburg, Mission Specialist UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Mission Specialist Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev—will dock the Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, to the forward port on the space station’s Harmony module about 23 hours after liftoff.
Crew-6’s science mission includes cutting edge research aimed at keeping astronauts and spacecraft safe during deep space exploration, and studies that could lead to improved medical treatments for humans back on Earth. Experiments will include studies of how particular materials burn in microgravity, tissue chip research on heart, brain, and cartilage functions, and an investigation that will collect microbial samples from the outside of the space station. These are just some of the more than 200 science experiments and technology demonstrations that will take place during their mission.
Astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi from the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center (UAE) will make history by being the first astronaut from the Arab world to spend six months on the International Space Station (ISS).
NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 Mission to the International Space Station
NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than 1:45 a.m. EST Monday, Feb. 27, 2023, for the launch of the agency’s Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station.
The four Crew-6 crewmates—Commander Stephen Bowen, Pilot Warren “Woody” Hoburg, Mission Specialist UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Mission Specialist Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev – will dock the Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, to the forward port on the space station’s Harmony module about 23 hours after liftoff.
Crew-6’s science mission includes cutting edge research aimed at keeping astronauts and spacecraft safe during deep space exploration, and studies that could lead to improved medical treatments for humans back on Earth. Experiments will include studies of how particular materials burn in microgravity, tissue chip research on heart, brain, and cartilage functions, and an investigation that will collect microbial samples from the outside of the space station. These are just some of the more than 200 science experiments and technology demonstrations that will take place during their mission.
Astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi from the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center (UAE) will make history by being the first astronaut from the Arab world to spend six months on the International Space Station (ISS). AlNeyadi has undergone a 20-month long rigorous training for the Crew-6 mission. AlNeyadi began his training in September 2018, at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center at Star City in Moscow, Russia.
Cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev (Russia)
Andrey Valerievich Fediaev (Russian Cyrillic: Андрей Валерьевич Федяев; born February 26, 1981) is a Russian cosmonaut. Fediaev received his an engineering degree in air transport and Air Traffic Control from the Balashov Military Aviation School in 2004. Following graduation, Fediaev joined the Russian Air Force in the 317th mixed aviation segment. He obtained the rank of major before his retirement in 2013. He logged over 500 hours in Russian aircraft.
Fediaev was selected as a cosmonaut in 2012. He reported to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in 2012 and was named a test cosmonaut on June 16, 2014.
On July 15, 2022, he was assigned to the SpaceX Crew-6 mission after a recent crew swap agreement between NASA and Roscosmos.
NASA Astronaut William Hoburg's Official Biography:
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.
This is an image centered on a relatively nearby galaxy cluster dubbed Abell 3158; light from these galaxies had a redshift value of 0.059, meaning that it traveled approximately 825 million years on its journey to Earth. The image is a small part of the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys—a monumental six-year survey covering nearly half the sky.
The largest two-dimensional map of the sky ever made has grown even larger with the tenth data release from the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys—a monumental six-year survey covering nearly half the sky. This new data release adds increased sky and wavelength coverage to the already completed surveys made with data from the National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab telescopes at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona and Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile.
The Universe is teeming with galaxies, each brimming with billions of stars. Though all galaxies shine brightly, many are cloaked in dust while others are so distant that to observers on Earth they appear as little more than faint smudges. By creating comprehensive maps of even the dimmest and most-distant galaxies, astronomers are better able to study the structure of the Universe and unravel the mysterious properties of dark matter and dark energy. The largest such map to date has just grown even larger, with the tenth data release from the DOE’s Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Legacy Imaging Survey.
The DESI Legacy Imaging Survey expands on the data included in two earlier companion surveys: the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) Legacy Survey and the Beijing-Arizona Sky Survey. Jointly these three surveys imaged 14,000 square degrees of the sky visible from the northern hemisphere using telescopes at NSF’s NOIRLab’s Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) and Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in Chile.
This ambitious six-year effort involved three telescopes, one petabyte (1000 trillion bytes) of data, and 100 million CPU hours on one of the world’s most powerful computers at the US Department of Energy’s National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center.
Credit: DESI Legacy Imaging Survey/KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA; Image processing: M. Zamani & D. de Martin (NSF’s NOIRLab)
NASA’s Next-Generation Spacesuits: A Behind-The-Scenes Look | CNBC
NASA has been using the current spacesuits on the International Space Station for decades and they are showing their age. The agency has had issues not only with finding the proper sizes to fit its increasingly diverse astronaut corps, but also with degradation of some suit components. Now NASA is turning to two commercial companies: Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace, a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies, to build and maintain its new generation of spacesuits. Under the Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services Contract, or xEVAS, NASA is providing Collins and Axiom, along with a number of their industry partners, with up to $3.5 billion through 2034. CNBC got a behind-the-scenes look at the new suit that Collins Aerospace is designing in collaboration with partners ILC Dover and Oceaneering. NASA hopes to use this new suit on the International Space Station by 2026.
Chapters:
00:00 — Intro
02:39 — Dire need
08:00 — The Collins suit
12:48 — Future missions
Video Credit: CNBC
Produced by: Magdalena Petrova
Supervising Producer: Jeniece Pettitt
Graphics: Christina Locopo, Mallory Brangan
Additional Camera: Andrew Evers
Post-production Support: Katie Tarasov, Erin Black
Giant Black Holes on Collision Course | NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory
Astronomers have discovered the first evidence for giant black holes in dwarf galaxies on a collision course. This result from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory has important ramifications for understanding how the first wave of black holes and galaxies grew in the early universe.
Collisions between the pairs of dwarf galaxies have pulled gas towards the giant black holes they each contain, causing the black holes to grow. Eventually the likely collision of the black holes will cause them to merge into much larger black holes. The pairs of galaxies will also merge into one.
Scientists think the universe was awash with small galaxies, known as “dwarf galaxies,” several hundred million years after the Big Bang. Most merged with others in the crowded, smaller volume of the early universe, setting in motion the building of larger and larger galaxies now seen around the local universe.
Dwarf galaxies by definition contain stars with a total mass less than about 3 billion times that of the Sun, compared to a total mass of about 60 billion Suns estimated for the Milky Way.
The earliest dwarf galaxies are impossible to observe with current technology because they are extraordinarily faint at their large distances. Astronomers have been able to observe two in the process of merging at much closer distances to Earth, but without signs of black holes in both galaxies.
Astronomers have found many examples of black holes on collision courses in large galaxies that are relatively close by, but searches for them in dwarf galaxies are much more challenging and until now had failed.
The new study overcame these challenges by implementing a systematic survey of deep Chandra X-ray observations and comparing them with infrared data from NASA’s Wide Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, telescope and optical data from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope.
Using this technique, a group of researchers identified two pairs of merging dwarf galaxies in separate galaxy clusters. The first is Abell 133, which is located about 760 million light-years away. The second is the galaxy cluster Abell 1758S, which is about 3.2 billion light-years from Earth.
Astronomers will use these systems as analogs for ones in the early universe, so they can drill down into questions about the first galaxies, their black holes, and star formation the collisions caused many billions of years ago.
Credits:
X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Alabama/M. Micic et al.;
Optical: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA
A Sparkling New View of The Carina Nebula | Hubble
This sparkling new image depicts a small section of the Carina Nebula, one of the NASA Hubble Space Telescope’s most-imaged objects. The Carina Nebula, NGC 3372, is an enormous cloud of gas and dust home to several massive and bright stars, including at least a dozen that are 50 to 100 times the mass of our Sun. It is an emission nebula, meaning that the intense radiation from its stars ionizes the gas and causes it to glow. This gas is widely and thinly spread out over a large area, earning it the added designation of a diffuse nebula. Carina is a dynamic area of the sky with bursts of star formation occurring alongside star death. As stars form and produce ultraviolet radiation, their stellar winds disperse the gas and dust around them, sometimes forming dark, dusty cloaks and sometimes creating empty patches for the stars to become clearly visible.
Image Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), and A. Kraus (University of Texas at Austin); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)
NASA Artemis V Moon Rocket Engine Test: Preparing for Crewed Missions
NASA’s newly redesigned RS-25 engine for future flights of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket beginning with Artemis V, underwent its second hot fire test of the year on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, at the agency’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. This is part of a planned 12-test series of the newly redesigned RS-25 engines. The engine operated at up to 111% power level—the same level needed to help power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS). The test had a duration of 600 seconds, more than the length of time the engines must fire during an actual flight (about eight-and-a-half minutes).
The testing series 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.
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:
Pluto: A Blue Farewell | NASA's New Horizons Mission
This is the highest-resolution color departure shot of Pluto's receding crescent from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, taken when the spacecraft was 120,000 miles (200,000 kilometers) away from Pluto.
A blue halo glows around Pluto’s receding crescent in this parting image taken by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft on July 14, 2015. At the time of this shot, New Horizons was 120,000 miles (200,000 kilometers) away from Pluto.
Shown in approximate true color, the picture was constructed from a mosaic of six black-and-white images from the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager, with color added from a lower resolution Ralph/Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera color image.
Scientists believe the haze is a smog resulting from the action of sunlight on methane and other molecules in Pluto's atmosphere. This reaction produces a complex mixture of hydrocarbons that accumulate into small haze particles which scatter blue light. As they settle down through the atmosphere, the haze particles form numerous intricate horizontal layers that extend to altitudes of over 120 miles (200 kilometers).
Image Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute
