NASA's Space to Ground: It's All About Science | Week of March 24, 2023

NASA's Space to Ground: It's All About Science | Week of March 24, 2023

NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station. The Expedition 68 crew members conducted experiments and maintained equipment aboard the International Space Station while activities for cargo transfers continued.

Follow Expedition 68 crew updates at: https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

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

Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM)

Expedition 68 Crew (March 2023)

Station Commander: Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia): Flight Engineers Dmitri Petelin & Andrey Fedyaev

Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

NASA: Flight Engineers Frank Rubio, Stephen Bowen, Warren Hoburg

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: 2 minutes, 33 seconds

Release Date: March 23, 2023

#NASA #Space #ISS #Earth #Astronauts #Cosmonauts #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition68 #Technology #Engineering #UnitedStates #Russia #UAE #International #Research #Laboratory #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Rocket Lab's Electron Launches Earth Observation Satellites from New Zealand

Rocket Lab's Electron Launches Earth Observation Satellites from New Zealand

Just seven days after a successful Electron mission from Launch Complex 2 in Virginia, USA, Rocket Lab has completed another successful mission from the other side of the planet at Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand, demonstrating responsive launch capability from two hemispheres and setting a new company record for fastest turnaround between Electron missions.

The mission also saw Rocket Lab successfully splash down Electron’s first stage in the ocean as part of the Company’s plan to make Electron a reusable rocket.

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. launched its 35th Electron rocket from Mahia, New Zealand, deploying two multi-spectral Gen-2 satellites to low Earth orbit for BlackSky through launch services provider Spaceflight, Inc.  

The mission, named “The Beat Goes On,” lifted off at 09:14 UTC, March 24, 2023, from Pad B at Launch Complex 1, Rocket Lab’s private launch site on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula.

“The Beat Goes On” mission will deploy two BlackSky high-resolution, multi-spectral, Gen-2 satellites. As a secondary mission, Rocket Lab plans to recover Electron’s first stage after it parachutes back to Earth and splashes down in the ocean.

Credit: Rocket Lab

Release Date: March 24, 2023

#NASA #Space #Earth #Satellites #RocketLab #Electron #Rocket #Launch #BlackSky #EarthObservation #RemoteSensing #GeospatialIntelligence #NewZealand #MahiaPeninsula #CommercialSpace #PeterBeck #Technology #Engineering #STEM #Education

Rocket Lab's Electron Launches Earth Observation Satellites from New Zealand

Rocket Lab's Electron Launches Earth Observation Satellites from New Zealand

Just seven days after a successful Electron mission from Launch Complex 2 in Virginia, USA, Rocket Lab has completed another successful mission from the other side of the planet at Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand, demonstrating responsive launch capability from two hemispheres and setting a new company record for fastest turnaround between Electron missions.   

The mission also saw Rocket Lab successfully splash down Electron’s first stage in the ocean as part of the Company’s plan to make Electron a reusable rocket.

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. launched its 35th Electron rocket from Mahia, New Zealand, deploying two multi-spectral Gen-2 satellites to low Earth orbit for BlackSky through launch services provider Spaceflight, Inc.  

The mission, named “The Beat Goes On,” lifted off at 09:14 UTC, March 24, 2023, from Pad B at Launch Complex 1, Rocket Lab’s private launch site on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula.

“The Beat Goes On” mission will deploy two BlackSky high-resolution, multi-spectral, Gen-2 satellites. As a secondary mission, Rocket Lab plans to recover Electron’s first stage after it parachutes back to Earth and splashes down in the ocean.

Credit: Rocket Lab

Duration: 4 minutes, 30 seconds

Release Date: March 24, 2023

#NASA #Space #Earth #Satellites #RocketLab #Electron #Rocket #Launch #BlackSky #EarthObservation #RemoteSensing #GeospatialIntelligence #NewZealand #MahiaPeninsula #CommercialSpace #PeterBeck #Technology #Engineering #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Panning over Dwarf Galaxy UGCA 307 in Corvus | Hubble

Panning over Dwarf Galaxy UGCA 307 in Corvus | Hubble

UGCA 307 hangs against an irregular backdrop of distant galaxies in this image from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope. This small galaxy consists of a diffuse band of stars containing red bubbles of gas that mark regions of recent star formation, and lies roughly 26 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Corvus. Appearing as just a small patch of stars, UGCA 307 is a diminutive dwarf galaxy without a defined structure—resembling nothing more than a hazy patch of passing cloud.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble & NASA, R. Tully  

Duration: 30 seconds

Release Date: March 23, 2023

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxy #UGCA307 #DwarfGalaxy #Corvus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Pan across a Galactic Jellyfish: Galaxy JW100 | Hubble Space Telescope

Pan across a Galactic Jellyfish: Galaxy JW100 | Hubble Space Telescope

The galaxy JW100 features prominently in this image from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope, with streams of star-forming gas dripping from the disc of the galaxy like streaks of fresh paint. These tendrils of bright gas are formed by a process called ram pressure stripping, and their resemblance to dangling tentacles has led astronomers to refer to JW100 as a ‘jellyfish’ galaxy. It is located in the constellation Pegasus, over 800 million light-years away.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble & NASA, M. Gullieuszik and the GASP team

Duration: 30 seconds

Release Date: March 23, 2023

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxy #JW100 #Galaxies #IC 5337 #IC5338 #Pegasus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 Visits Kennedy Space Center to Thank Employees

NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 Visits Kennedy Space Center to Thank Employees

NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren (left) presents a photo to Kennedy Space Center Deputy Director Kelvin Manning on March 22, 2023, on behalf of the astronaut corps to thank Kennedy employees for supporting NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 launch. To the right of Manning are NASA astronauts Bob Hines and Jessica Watkins. Lindgren, Hines, and Watkins, along with the European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, launched to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft on April 27, 2022, from the Florida spaceport’s Launch Complex 39A. The crew remained at the orbiting laboratory for approximately six months, conducting critical science as part of the fourth crew rotation mission for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Release Date: March 22, 2023

#NASA #Space #Earth #ISS #Science #SpaceX #CrewDragon #CrewDragonFreedom #SpaceXCrew4 #Spacecraft #Astronauts #KjellLindgren #JessicaWatkins #RobertHines #HumanSpaceflight #JSC #KSC #KennedySpaceCenter #Spaceport #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Planet Uranus: Nov. 2014 & Nov. 2022 | Hubble Space Telescope

Planet Uranus: Nov. 2014 & Nov. 2022 | Hubble Space Telescope

Planetary oddball Uranus rolls around the Sun on its side as it follows its 84-year orbit, rather than spinning in a more ’vertical’ position as Earth does. Its weirdly tilted ‘horizontal’ rotation axis is angled just eight degrees off the plane of the planet’s orbit. One recent theory proposes that Uranus once had a massive moon that gravitationally destabilized it and then crashed into it. Other possibilities include giant impacts during the formation of the planets, or even giant planets exerting resonant torques on each other over time. The consequences of Uranus’s tilt are that for stretches of time lasting up to 42 years, parts of one hemisphere are completely without sunlight. When the Voyager 2 spacecraft visited during the 1980s, the planet’s south pole was pointed almost directly at the Sun. Hubble’s latest view shows the northern pole now tipping toward the Sun.

[LEFT] - This is a Hubble view of Uranus taken in 2014, seven years after the northern spring equinox when the Sun was shining directly over the planet’s equator, and shows one of the first images from the OPAL program. Multiple storms with methane ice-crystal clouds appear at mid-northern latitudes above the planet’s cyan-tinted lower atmosphere. Hubble photographed the ring system edge-on in 2007, but the rings are seen starting to open up seven years later in this view. At this time, the planet had multiple small storms and even some faint cloud bands.

[RIGHT] - As seen in 2022, Uranus’s north pole shows a thickened photochemical haze that looks similar to the smog over cities. Several little storms can be seen near the edge of the polar haze boundary. Hubble has been tracking the size and brightness of the north polar cap and it continues to get brighter year after year. Astronomers are disentangling multiple effects—from atmospheric circulation, particle properties, and chemical processes—that control how the atmospheric polar cap changes with the seasons. At the Uranian equinox in 2007, neither pole was particularly bright. As the northern summer solstice approaches in 2028 the cap may grow brighter still, and will be aimed directly toward Earth, allowing good views of the rings and the north pole; the ring system will then appear face-on. This image was taken on November 10, 2022.

Image Description: Two views of the tipped planet Uranus appear side-by-side for comparison.

Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), STScI, A. Simon (NASA-GSFC), M. H. Wong (UC Berkeley), J. DePasquale (STScI)

Release Date: March 23, 2023

#NASA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Hubble #Planet #Jupiter #Moon #Io #SolarSystem #Exploration #HST #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #Infographic #STEM #Education

Planet Jupiter & Io Moon: Nov. 2022 | Hubble Space Telescope

Planet Jupiter & Io Moon: Nov. 2022 | Hubble Space Telescope

The forecast for Jupiter is for stormy weather at low northern latitudes. A prominent string of alternating storms is visible, forming a ‘vortex street’ as some planetary astronomers call it. This is a wave pattern of nested cyclones and anticyclones, locked together like the alternating gears of a machine moving clockwise and counterclockwise. If the storms get close enough to each other and merge together, they could build an even larger storm, potentially rivalling the current size of the Great Red Spot. The staggered pattern of cyclones and anticyclones prevents individual storms from merging. Activity is also seen interior to these storms; in the 1990s Hubble did not see any cyclones or anticyclones with built-in thunderstorms, but these storms have sprung up in the last decade. Strong color differences indicate that Hubble is seeing different cloud heights and depths as well.

The orange moon Io photobombs this view of Jupiter’s multicolored cloud tops, casting a shadow toward the planet’s western limb. Hubble’s resolution is so sharp that it can see Io’s mottled-orange appearance, the result of its numerous active volcanoes. These volcanoes were first discovered when the Voyager 1 spacecraft flew by in 1979. The moon’s molten interior is overlaid by a thin crust through which the volcanoes eject material. Sulphur takes on various hues at different temperatures, which is why Io’s surface is so colorful. This photo was taken on November 12, 2022.

Image Description: Jupiter looms large in this image. Set against a black background, the planet is banded in stripes of brownish orange, light gray, soft yellow, and shades of cream. White and cream colored ovals punctuate the planet at all latitudes.

Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), A. Simon (NASA-GSFC), M. H. Wong (UC Berkeley), J. DePasquale (STScI)

Release Date: March 23, 2023

#NASA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Hubble #Planet #Jupiter #Moon #Io #SolarSystem #Exploration #HST #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Planet Jupiter & Ganymede Moon: Jan. 2023 | Hubble Space Telescope

Planet Jupiter & Ganymede Moon: Jan. 2023 | Hubble Space Telescope

Jupiter’s legendary Great Red Spot takes center stage in this view. Though this vortex is big enough to swallow Earth, it has actually shrunk to the smallest size it has ever been according to observation records dating back 150 years. Jupiter’s icy moon Ganymede can be seen transiting the giant planet at lower right. Slightly larger than the planet Mercury, Ganymede is the largest moon in the Solar System. It is a cratered world and has a mainly water-ice surface with apparent glacial flows driven by internal heat. This image was taken on January 6, 2023.

Image Description: Jupiter looms large in this image. Set against a black background, the planet is banded in stripes of brownish orange, light gray, soft yellow, and shades of cream. White and cream colored ovals punctuate the planet at all latitudes. The icy moon Ganymede appears as a gray, mottled orb crossing the face of Jupiter.

Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), A. Simon (NASA-GSFC), M. H. Wong (UC Berkeley), J. DePasquale (STScI)

Release Date: March 23, 2023

#NASA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Hubble #Planet #Jupiter #Moon #Ganymede #SolarSystem #Exploration #HST #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

New Views of Planets Jupiter & Uranus | Hubble Space Telescope

New Views of Planets Jupiter & Uranus | Hubble Space Telescope

This video showcases Hubble’s observations of Jupiter and Uranus.

The outer planets beyond Mars do not have solid surfaces to affect weather as on Earth. And sunlight is much less able to drive atmospheric circulation. Nevertheless, these are ever-changing worlds. And Hubble—in its role as interplanetary meteorologist —is keeping track, as it does every year. Jupiter’s weather is driven from the inside out, as more heat percolates up from its interior than it receives from the Sun. This heat indirectly drives colour-change cycles in the clouds, like the cycle that’s currently highlighting a system of alternating cyclones and anticyclones. Uranus has seasons that pass by at a snail’s pace because it takes 84 years to complete one orbit about the Sun. But those seasons are extreme, because Uranus is tipped on its side. As summer approaches in the northern hemisphere, Hubble sees a growing polar cap of high-altitude photochemical haze that looks similar to the smog over cities on Earth.

Credit: NASA, European Space Agency, STScI, A. Simon (NASA-GSFC), M. H. Wong (UC Berkeley), J. DePasquale (STScI), N. Bartmann (ESA/Hubble)  

Duration: 40 seconds

Release Date: March 23, 2023

#NASA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Hubble #Planets #Jupiter #Uranus #SolarSystem #Exploration #HST #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Zoom onto part of The Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy | Hubble

Zoom onto part of The Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy | Hubble

This video zoom takes a closer look at the Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy. The video starts with a ground-based view of the sky, from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 and slowly zooms on the constellation of Sculptor. There it first shows the Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy as it was observed by the 2.2-meter MPG/European Southern Observatory (ESO) telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile and finishes with the tiny part of the galaxy observed with the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO), DSS, Hubble

Duration: 50 seconds

Release Date: Dec. 19, 2017

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #DwarfGalaxy #Galaxy #SculptorDwarfGalaxy #Sculptor #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #ESA #ESO #Chile #SouthAmerica #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy: Can You Spot It? | Hubble Wide-field Image

The Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy: Can You Spot It? | Hubble Wide-field Image

This image of the sky around the Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy was created from images from the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The galaxy appears as a small faint cloud, close to the center of the image.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble, Digitized Sky Survey 2

Release Date: Nov. 27, 2017

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #DwarfGalaxy #Galaxy #SculptorDwarfGalaxy #Sculptor #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Behind the Mission: Julia Roman-Duval | Space Telescope Science Institute

Behind the Mission: Julia Roman-Duval | Space Telescope Science Institute

Dr. Julia Roman-Duval works on the Hubble Space Telescope mission at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. She also leads the ULLYSES program, which is dedicated to the production of an ultraviolet spectroscopic library of young high- and low-mass stars in the local universe.

Watch as she explains what studying the universe means to her. 

Credit: Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)

Duration: 2 minutes

Release Date: March 22, 2023

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Art #ArtInScience #JuliaRomanDuval #Astronomer #ULLYSESProgram #Women #WomensHistoryMonth #WomenInScience #WomenInSTEM #JamesWebb #Hubble #SpaceTelescopes #HST #JWST #Cosmos #Universe #UnfoldTheUniverse #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's Espacio A Tierra | Pasado, presente, futuro: 17 de marzo de 2023

NASA's Espacio A Tierra | Pasado, presente, futuro: 17 de marzo de 2023

Espacio a Tierra, la versión en español de las cápsulas Space to Ground de la NASA, te informa semanalmente de lo que está sucediendo en la Estación Espacial Internacional. 

Para obtener más información sobre la ciencia en la estación espacial, visítenos en: https://ciencia.nasa.gov/ciencia-en-la-estacion

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Duration: 4 minutes

Release Date: March 22, 2023

#NASA #Space #Earth #ISS #SpaceXCrew5 #Astronauts #NicoleMann #JoshCassada #KoichiWakata #JAXA #Japan #Cosmonauts #AnnaKikina #Роскосмос #Russia #Science #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition68 #JSC #UnitedStates #Canada #CSA #Research #Laboratory #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Star Trails | International Space Station

Star Trails | International Space Station

A composite of a series of images photographed from a mounted camera on the Earth-orbiting International Space Station.

Stars leave streaks of light in concentric circles in this March 16, 2012, view from the International Space Station. To create this composite long exposure, NASA astronaut Don Pettit combined multiple 30-second exposures from a mounted camera on the space station into one image.

The orbiting laboratory travels 5 miles per second, traveling around our planet every 90 minutes.

Image Credit: NASA/Don Pettit

Image Date: March 16, 2012

Release Date: March 22, 2023

#NASA #Space #Earth #Science #ISS #Astronaut #DonPettit #Expedition30 #Expedition31 #Astronauts #Cosmonauts #HumanSpaceflight #Europe #Canada #Japan #日本 #Russia #Россия #Research #Laboratory #HumanSpaceflight #Timelapse #Photography #STEM #Education

Earth Science: Tracking Carbon from Wildfires to Ocean Blooms | NASA Goddard

Earth Science: Tracking Carbon from Wildfires to Ocean Blooms | NASA Goddard

Between September 2019 and March 2020, wildfires killed billions of animals and decimated more than 200 thousand square kilometers of Australian forest, an area larger than Nebraska. Later, thousands of kilometers away in the Southern Ocean, massive algae blooms covered a surface larger than the area of Australia itself. The connection between these major wildfires and the subsequent explosion of phytoplankton production is an example of the events NASA's upcoming Plankton, Aerosols, Clouds, and ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission will help investigate. PACE's suite of instruments will allow scientists to get a clearer picture of carbon as it links land use and fires, atmospheric aerosols and marine communities, and ultimately improves those uncertain the data we put into climate models.

Ryan Fitzgibbons (KBRwyle):

Lead Producer

Lead Writer

Narrator

Jeremy Werdell (NASA/GSFC):

Lead Scientist

Chris Burns (KBRWyle):

Lead Animator

Greg Shirah (NASA/GSFC):

Lead Visualizer

Kel Elkins (USRA):

Lead Visualizer

Rob Andreoli (AIMM):

Lead Videographer

Duration: 5 minutes

Release Date: March 22, 2023

#NASA #Space #Satellite #Science #Earth #Planet #Atmosphere #Oceans #Phytoplankton #Land #PACEMission #EarthObservation #RemoteSensing #Weather #Climate #ClimateChange #GlobalHeating #Wildfires #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video