NASA's Langley Research Center Welcomes Area Girl Scouts

NASA's Langley Research Center Welcomes Area Girl Scouts

Girls Scouts tour NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton Virginia

Local Girl Scouts get to go inside an inflatable space habitat at NASA Langley Research Center

Girls Scouts gather round to learn about NASA Langley's research on inflatable space habitats

Two of the scouts, Jocelynn Garcia and Sophie Burgess, were given awards for an essay contest related to Artemis.

NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, was all about girl power Thursday, April 12, 2023. Specifically, the power of women and girls in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Girls ranging from elementary to high school age from Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast visited Langley to hear first-hand from Langley women in STEM careers—nearly all of them former Girl Scouts themselves. Dr. Kimberley Brush, Langley’s Director of STEM Education, started off the day by asking everyone to “Be curious today.”

She then turned the microphone over to Lisa Ziehmann, Langley’s Associate Director, who presented special Space Science badges actually flown in space on NASA’s Artemis I mission. Jocelynn Garcia (grade 9) and Sophie Burgess (grade 7) are two of the 81 national winners of the “To the Moon and Back” essay contest. The contest challenged girls to imagine themselves in space.

“Langley is the birthplace of women in STEM. The home of the hidden figures. They started here and shaped their career journeys here,” said Kris Brown, the agency’s Deputy Associate Administrator for STEM Engagement. She was referring to women such as Katherine Johnson and Dorothy Vaughan, who worked as Langley human computers beginning in the 1940s and ‘50s.

“I’m excited that we’ve reached girls across the country so they can realize there is a place for them in space and STEM,” she said.

After the badges were presented, the girls got to tour some of Langley’s most iconic facilities. They visited an inflatable habitat for astronauts and the center’s 14-by-22 subsonic wind tunnel, where rockets and aircraft are tested.

The two girls who earned their badges were impressed by what they saw.

“I think it’s really cool because I get to see where the work environments are and where they test things and build stuff,” Burgess, an aspiring engineer, said.

Garcia agreed, adding that she’s planning a STEM career in the medical field.

“I want to be a pediatrician when I get older, so science is a big part of what I do, whether it’s at school or at home. Even cooking is science, so it’s definitely a part of my everyday life,” she said.

The girls also learned that several of most recent class of astronauts were Girl Scouts, and that Christina Hammock Koch, recently selected as one of the four Artemis II astronauts, was also a Girl Scout.

“Be open to possibilities and dream big,” Brown told them. “The universe is literally waiting for you.” 

Story Credit: NASA Langley Research Center/April Phillips
Image Credit: Dave Bowman
Release Date: April 13, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #Moon #Aerospace #Aviation #GirlScouts #Girls #Women #Youth #HiddenFigures #History #ArtemisGeneration #ArtemisProgram #NASALangley #LangleyResearchCenter #LRC #Hampton #Virginia #ColonialCoast #UnitedStates #Technology #Engineering #Art #STEM #STEAM #Education

A Sharper Look at the First Image of a Black Hole | NOIRLab

A Sharper Look at the First Image of a Black Hole | NOIRLab

Cosmoview Episode 66: A team of researchers, including an astronomer with the National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab, has developed a new machine-learning technique to enhance the fidelity and sharpness of radio interferometry images. To demonstrate the power of their new approach, which is called PRIMO, the team created a new, high-fidelity version of the iconic Event Horizon Telescope's image of the supermassive black hole at the center of Messier 87, a giant elliptical galaxy located 55 million light-years from Earth.

 

Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/ESO/L. Calçada/M.Kornmesser, ESA/Hubble, RadioAstron, De Gasperin et al., Kim et al., EHT Collaboration, L. Medeiros (Institute for Advanced Study), D. Psaltis (Georgia Tech), T. Lauer (NSF’s NOIRLab), F. Ozel (Georgia Tech), N. Bartmann
Duration: 1 minute, 25 seconds
Release Date: April 13, 2023

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #BlackHoles #Galaxy #Messier87 #Astrophysics #Cosmos #Universe #EHT #EventHorizonTelescope #Hubble #SpaceTelescope #PRIMO #MachineLearning #Computing #NSF #AURA #UnitedStates #ESO #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA’s X-59 Supersonic Aircraft: The Quiet Crew | A Profile of Ray Castner

NASA’s X-59 Supersonic Aircraft: The Quiet Crew | A Profile of Ray Castner

In this episode of The Quiet Crew, you will meet Ray Castner, NASA's propulsion lead for the Quesst mission. Ray has been with NASA 32 years and has worked on every X-59 research project at NASA Glenn Research Center. As a child, Ray loved to take things apart. These days, he likes to spend his time vacationing out west with his family or building and flying RC airplanes. He is part of the crew on a mission to transform aviation as NASA and communities work together to verify that the X-59’s quiet, supersonic design can turn a sonic boom into a sonic thump. This new technology, along with a potential change in regulations, will allow airliners to fly faster over land, cutting passenger travel time in half without disturbing people on the ground.

For more information about NASA's quiet supersonic mission, visit http://www.nasa.gov/Quesst

Hablas español? Visita: https://ciencia.nasa.gov/el-x-59-se-asemeja-una-aeronave-real para aprender mas sobre la mision Quesst

X-59 Free Maker Bundle (STEM Education):
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/x-59-maker-bundle-v8.pdf

Credit: NASA Video
Duration: 2 minutes, 13 seconds
Release Date: April 14, 2023

 

#NASA #Aerospace #SupersonicFlight #X59 #Sonicboom #QuietAviation #Aviation #QuesstMission #RayCastner #AerospaceEngineer #Science #Physics #Engineering #Research #Aeronautical #FlightTests #LockheedMartin #NASAGlenn #NASAArmstrong #AFRC #EdwardsAFB #California #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

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

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

MSL - sol 3798

MSL - sol 3793

Mars2020 - sol 762

Mars2020 - sol 762

MSL - sol 3798

MSL - sol 3798

MSL - sol 3796

Support FriendsofNASA.org 

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

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

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

Processing: Kevin M. Gill

Image Release Dates: April 11-14, 2023

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

NASA’s Juno Mission Marks 50 Orbits Around Jupiter (2016-2023)

NASA’s Juno Mission Marks 50 Orbits Around Jupiter (2016-2023)

On April 8, 2023, NASA’s Juno mission completed its 50th close pass by Jupiter since the spacecraft arrived at the giant planet in 2016. In celebration of 50 orbits, this graphic contains 50 images that provide just a small sampling of the data Juno has returned so far, including images from several different instruments, and spectacular views of Earth, Jupiter, and Jupiter’s large moons Ganymede, Europa, and Io.

Visit here for brief descriptions and credits for all 50 images, along with links to the full captions and full-size images:
https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu/news/nasa-s-juno-mission-marks-50-orbits-around-jupiter

Learn about NASA's Juno Mission
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/juno/main/index.html
https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu

NASA's upcoming Europa Clipper Mission will conduct a detailed survey to determine whether Jupiter’s icy moon Europa harbors conditions suitable for life. The spacecraft, in orbit around Jupiter, will make nearly 50 flybys of Europa, shifting its flight path for each time to soar over a different location so that it eventually scans nearly the entire moon. It is expected to launch to Jupiter’s icy moon Europa in 2024.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Juno mission for the principal investigator, Scott J. Bolton, of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. Juno is part of NASA’s New Frontiers Program, which is managed at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built and operates the spacecraft.

Image Credit: NASA
Release Date: April 15, 2023

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Jupiter #Planet #50OrbitAnniversary #Atmosphere #Weather #Meteorology #Europa #Moon #OceanMoon #Astrobiology #Biosignatures #Habitability #JunoMission #JunoSpacecraft #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #JPL #MSFC #SwRI #UnitedStates #Poster #STEM #Education

Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer Mission Launch: New Images | European Space Agency

Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer Mission Launch: New Images | European Space Agency

The European Space Agency’s JUICE mission (JUpiter ICy Moons Explorer) was successfully launched by an Ariane 5 launch vehicle from Ariane Launch Complex No. 3 (ELA 3) at Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana, on April 14, 2023, at 12:14 UTC (09:14 local time).

The European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) spacecraft is embarking on an eight-year cruise to Jupiter after its successful launch on April 14, 2023. 

The JUICE spacecraft is humankind’s next bold mission to the outer Solar System. This ambitious mission will characterize Ganymede, Callisto and Europa with a powerful suite of remote sensing, geophysical and in situ instruments to discover more about these compelling destinations as potential habitats for past or present life. JUICE will monitor Jupiter’s complex magnetic, radiation and plasma environment in depth and its interplay with the moons, studying the Jupiter system as an archetype for gas giant systems across the Universe.

On its journey, JUICE will make a series of flybys of Earth, the Earth-Moon system and Venus to set it on course for its July 2031 rendezvous in the Jovian system.

The JUICE launch itself was a historical milestone for more reasons than one. It was the final launch for Ariane 5, ending the launcher's nearly three-decade run as one of the world’s most successful heavy-lift rockets. Its duties are being taken over by Ariane 6.

Learn more about the JUICE Mission: https://bit.ly/JuiceESAScience

Image Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Arianespace

Capture Date: April 14, 2023

#NASA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Planet #Jupiter #Moons #Europa #Callisto #Ganymede #ESAJUICE #JUICEMission #JUICESpacecraft #Arianespace #Ariane5Rocket #FlightVA260 #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #GuianaSpaceCentre #KourouSpaceport #FrenchGuiana #SouthAmerica #Europe #STEM #Education

X-59 Experimental Supersonic Airplane Milestone Achieved | This Week @NASA

X-59 Experimental Supersonic Airplane Milestone Achieved | This Week @NASA

 

"A milestone for our experimental supersonic airplane, stretching Orion’s wings before the next flight, and technologies to help fight wildfires . . . a few of the stories to tell you about—This Week at NASA!"

For more information about NASA's quiet supersonic mission, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/Quesst

www.nasa.gov/quesst-supersonic-stem-toolkit
https://www.nasa.gov/flightlog

 

Learn more about the Artemis II Mission: https://nasa.gov/specials/artemis-ii 

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Duration: 2 minutes, 21 seconds

Release Date: April 14, 2023

 

#NASA #Space #Earth #Moon #OrionSpacecraft #ArtemisProgram #Aviation #Aerospace #Aeronautics #Supersonic #XPlane #X59 #Aircraft #Technology #Engineering #SonicBoom #CommercialAviation #QueSST #NASAArmstrong #LockheedMartin #Research #California #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

JUICE Spacecraft’s Journey & Jupiter System Tour | European Space Agency

JUICE Spacecraft’s Journey & Jupiter System Tour | European Space Agency

The European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) spacecraft has embarked on an eight-year cruise to Jupiter following its successful launch on April 14, 2023. The mission will investigate the emergence of habitable worlds around gas giants and the Jupiter system as an archetype for the numerous giant planets now known to orbit other stars.

This animation depicts JUICE’s journey to Jupiter and highlights from its foreseen tour of the giant planet and its large ocean-bearing moons. It depicts JUICE’s journey from leaving Earth’s surface in a launch window 5–25 April 2023 and performing multiple gravity assist flybys in the inner Solar System, to arrival at Jupiter (July 2031), flybys of the Jovian moons Europa, Callisto and Ganymede, orbital insertion at Ganymede (December 2034), and eventual impact on this moon’s surface (late 2035).

A series of gravity assist flybys of Earth, the Earth-Moon system and Venus will set the spacecraft on course for its July 2031 arrival at Jupiter. These flybys are shown here in order – Earth-Moon (August 2024), Venus (August 2025), Earth (September 2026, January 2029) – interspersed by Juice’s continuing orbits around the Sun. JUICE’s flyby of the Earth-Moon system, known as a Lunar-Earth gravity assist (LEGA), is a world first: by performing this maneuver—a gravity assist flyby of the Moon followed just 1.5 days later by one of Earth—JUICE will save a significant amount of propellant on its journey.

JUICE will start its science mission about six months prior to entering orbit around Jupiter, making observations as it approaches its destination. Once in the Jovian system, a gravity assist flyby of Jupiter’s largest moon Ganymede— also the largest moon in the Solar System—will help Juice enter orbit around Jupiter, where the spacecraft will spend four years observing the gas giant and three of its moons: Ganymede, Callisto and Europa.

JUICE will make two flybys of Europa (July 2032), which has strong evidence for an ocean of liquid water under its icy shell. JUICE will look at the moon’s active zones, its surface composition and geology, search for pockets of liquid water under the surface, and study the plasma environment around Europa, also exploring the moon’s tiny atmosphere and hunting for plumes of water vapor (as have been previously detected erupting into space by NASA's Galileo spacecraft).

A sequence of Callisto flybys will be used to study this ancient, cratered world that may too harbour a subsurface ocean, also changing the angle of JUICE’s orbit with respect to Jupiter’s equator, making it possible to explore Jupiter’s higher latitudes (2032–2034).

A sequence of Ganymede and Callisto flybys will adjust JUICE’s orbit – properly orienting it while minimizing the amount of propellant expended – so that it can enter orbit around Ganymede in December 2034, making it the first spacecraft to orbit another planet’s moon. JUICE’s initial elliptical orbit will be followed by a 5000 km-altitude circular orbit, and later a 500 km-altitude circular orbit.

Ganymede is the only moon in the Solar System to have a magnetosphere. Juice will investigate this phenomenon and the moon’s internal magnetic field, and explore how its plasma environment interacts with that of Jupiter. JUICE will also study Ganymede’s atmosphere, surface, subsurface, interior and internal ocean, investigating the moon as not only a planetary object but also a possible habitat.

Over time, JUICE’s orbit around Ganymede will naturally decay due to lack of propellant, and it will make a grazing impact onto the surface (late 2035).

The JUICE launch itself will be a historical milestone for more reasons than one. It will be the final launch for Ariane 5, ending the launcher's nearly three-decade run as one of the world’s most successful heavy-lift rockets. Its duties are being taken over by Ariane 6.

Learn more about the JUICE Mission: https://bit.ly/JuiceESAScience

Credit: ESA/Lightcurve Films/R. Andres

Duration: 4 minutes, 41 seconds

Release Date: March 29, 2022

#NASA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Planet #Jupiter #Moons #Europa #Callisto #Ganymede #ESAJUICE #JUICEMission #JUICESpacecraft #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #Europe #STEM #Education #Animation #HD #Video

JUICE Spacecraft’s Journey to Jupiter | European Space Agency

JUICE Spacecraft’s Journey to Jupiter | European Space Agency

The European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) spacecraft is embarking on an eight-year cruise to Jupiter after its successful launch on April 14, 2023. This mission will investigate the emergence of habitable worlds around gas giants and the Jupiter system as an archetype for the numerous giant planets now known to orbit other stars.

On its journey, JUICE will make a series of flybys of Earth, the Earth-Moon system and Venus to set it on course for its July 2031 rendezvous in the Jovian system.

JUICE will make three Earth flybys during its cruise: one of the Earth-Moon system in August 2024, one of Earth in September 2026, and once again one of Earth in January 2029.

In total, JUICE will spend approximately eight years cruising to Jupiter. It will reach Jupiter in July 2031, but will already begin making scientific observations six months before entering orbit around Jupiter. JUICE will go on to spend many months orbiting Jupiter, making 35 flybys of icy moons Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, and finally conducting an orbital tour of Ganymede.

JUICE will make detailed observations of Jupiter and its three large ocean-bearing moons—Ganymede, Callisto and Europa—with a suite of instruments. The mission will characterize these moons as both planetary objects and possible habitats, explore Jupiter’s complex environment in depth, and study the wider Jupiter system as an archetype for gas giants across the Universe.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)
Release Date: December 21, 2022

#NASA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Planet #Jupiter #Moons #Europa #Callisto #Ganymede #ESAJUICE #JUICEMission #JUICESpacecraft #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #Europe #Infographic #STEM #Education

What is an Annular Eclipse? | NASA Goddard

What is an Annular Eclipse? | NASA Goddard

On Oct. 14, 2023, an annular solar eclipse will cross North, Central, and South America. Visible in parts of the United States, Mexico, and many countries in South and Central America, millions of people in the Western Hemisphere can experience this eclipse. What is an annular eclipse? Why does it happen? And why does it create a “ring of fire” in the sky?

Video credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
Producer: Joy Ng (KBRwyle)
Writer: Vanessa J. Thomas (KBRwyle)
Editor: Beth Anthony (KBRwyle)
Animator: Beth Anthony (KBRwyle)
Scientist: Michael S. Kirk (GSFC)
Duration: 1 minute, 44 seconds
Release Date: April 14, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #Planet #SolarEclipse #AnnularEclipse #Sun #Moon #Corona #Atmosphere #Heliophysics #Coronagraph #NorthAmerica #GSFC #UnitedStates #Mexico #CentralAmerica #SouthAmerica #STEM #Education #Animation #HD #Video

NASA's Space to Ground: Packing Up | Week of April 14, 2023

NASA's Space to Ground: Packing Up | Week of April 14, 2023

NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station. After the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft completes its mission at the orbital lab, the crew’s four astronauts and three cosmonauts will relax on Sunday before turning their attention to a series of spacewalks set to begin on Tuesday, April 18.

Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin will exit the station’s Poisk airlock in their Russian Orlan spacesuits. From there, the duo will maneuver to the Earth-facing side of the station and start the work of moving a radiator and an experiment module from the Rassvet module to the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module. Roscosmos Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev will assist the spacewalkers operating the European robotic arm (ERA) from inside Nauka.

The trio from Roscosmos has spent the last few weeks gearing up for the logistics spacewalks, reviewing the procedures, and practicing the ERA robotics maneuvers. The three cosmonauts have also found time for some research and maintenance activities while readying the Orlan spacesuits, collecting spacewalking tools, and organizing Poisk’s airlock.

Follow Expedition 69 updates here:
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 69 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.

Image Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)
Duration: 5 minutes
Release Date: April 14, 2023

#NASA #Space #ISS #Earth #Science #SpaceXCrewDragon #CRS27 #Astronauts #Cosmonauts #EVA #Spacewalk #HumanSpaceflight #Europe #Canada #Japan #日本 #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #UAE #Microgravity #SpaceResearch #SpaceLaboratory #UNOOSA #InternationalCooperation #Expedition69 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer Mission Launch | European Space Agency

Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer Mission Launch | European Space Agency

The European Space Agency’s JUICE mission (JUpiter ICy Moons Explorer) was successfully launched by an Ariane 5 launch vehicle from Ariane Launch Complex No. 3 (ELA 3) at Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana, on April 14, 2023, at 12:14 UTC (09:14 local time).

Image Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Arianespace

Capture Date: April 14, 2023

#NASA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Planet #Jupiter #Moons #Europa #Callisto #Ganymede #ESAJUICE #JUICEMission #JUICESpacecraft #Arianespace #Ariane5Rocket #FlightVA260 #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #GuianaSpaceCentre #KourouSpaceport #FrenchGuiana #SouthAmerica #Europe #STEM #Education

Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer Mission Launch | European Space Agency

Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer Mission Launch | European Space Agency

The European Space Agency’s JUICE mission (JUpiter ICy Moons Explorer) was launched by an Ariane 5 launch vehicle from Ariane Launch Complex No. 3 (ELA 3) at Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana, on April 14, 2023, at 12:14 UTC (09:14 local time).

Video Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Arianespace
Acknowledgment: SciNews
Duration: 4 minutes, 35 seconds
Release Date: April 14, 2023

#NASA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Planet #Jupiter #Moons #Europa #Callisto #Ganymede #ESAJUICE #JUICEMission #JUICESpacecraft #Ariane5Rocket #FlightVA260 #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #GuianaSpaceCentre #KourouSpaceport #FrenchGuiana #SouthAmerica #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Celebrates 50 Flights | JPL

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Celebrates 50 Flights | JPL

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter made history when it achieved the first powered, controlled flight on another planet on April 19, 2021. Since then, it has exceeded expectations and most recently executed its 50th flight on Mars. This video highlights Ingenuity’s flights, captured by the Perseverance Rover’s WATSON and Mastcam-Z cameras, as well as Ingenuity’s color Return to Earth (RTE) camera and its black-and-white navigation camera.

Learn more: http://mars.nasa.gov/ingenuity

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

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Credit for WATSON images: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Credit for Mastcam-Z images: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS
Duration: 1 minute
Release Date: April 13, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #JezeroCrater #Astrobiology #Geology #PerseveranceRover #Mars2020 #IngenuityHelicopter #Flights #Robotics #Technology #Engineering #JPL #UnitedStates #MoonToMars #STEM #Education #History #HD #Video

NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover Gets a Major Software Upgrade | JPL

NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover Gets a Major Software Upgrade | JPL

Over ten years after landing on Mars, NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover will drive faster and reduce wear on its wheels thanks to two of the new capabilities included with a major software update that was completed on April 7, 2023. Seen here is the rover’s view of a hill nicknamed “Bolívar,” with Gale Crater’s vast floor in the upper right.

This update brings loads of improvements, the most significant being new driving capabilities.

Years in the making, a major software update that has been installed on NASA’s Curiosity rover will enable the Mars robot to drive faster and reduce wear and tear on its wheels. Those are just two of about 180 changes implemented during the update, which required the team to put Curiosity’s science and imaging operations on hold between April 3 and April 7.

“The flight software is essential to our mission, so this is a big deal for our team,” said Curiosity Project Manager Kathya Zamora-Garcia of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “This is a major software update, and we had to make sure we did it right.”

Planning for this update goes back to 2016, when Curiosity last received a software overhaul. Some changes this time around are as small as making corrections to the messages the rover sends back to mission controllers on Earth. Others simplify computer code that has been altered by multiple patches since Curiosity touched down in 2012. The biggest changes will help keep Curiosity rolling more efficiently for years to come.

The rover can now do more of what the team calls “thinking while driving”—something NASA’s newest Mars rover, Perseverance, can perform in a more advanced way to navigate around rocks and sand traps. When Perseverance drives, it constantly snaps pictures of the terrain ahead, processing them with a dedicated computer so it can autonomously navigate during one continuous drive.

Curiosity doesn’t have a dedicated computer for this purpose. Instead, it drives in segments, halting to process imagery of the terrain after each segment. That means it needs to start and stop repeatedly over the course of a long drive. The new software will help the venerable rover process images faster, allowing it to spend more time on the move.

“This won’t let Curiosity drive as quickly as Perseverance, but instead of stopping for a full minute after a drive segment, we’re stopping for just a moment or two,” said Jonathan Denison of JPL, Curiosity’s engineering operations team chief. “Spending less time idling between drive segments also means we use less energy each day. And even though we’re almost 11 years old, we’re still implementing new ideas to use more of our available energy for science activities.”
Wheel Wear

The team also wants to maintain the health of Curiosity’s aluminum wheels, which began showing signs of broken treads in 2013. When engineers realized that sharp rocks were chipping away at the treads, they came up with an algorithm to improve traction and reduce wheel wear by adjusting the rover’s speed depending on the rocks it’s rolling over.

The new software goes further by introducing two new mobility commands that reduce the amount of steering Curiosity needs to do while driving in an arc toward a specific waypoint. With less steering required, the team can reach the drive target quicker and decrease the wear that inherently comes with steering.

“That ability was actually dreamed up during the Spirit and Opportunity days,” Denison said. “It was a ‘nice to have’ they decided not to implement.”

Overall, the new software will streamline the task of Curiosity’s human drivers, who have to write complex plans containing hundreds of commands. The software update will also enable them to upload software patches more easily than in past. And it will help engineers plan the motions of Curiosity’s robotic arm more efficiently and point its “head” atop the mast more accurately.

"As with any major software update, there is a sense of relief to see it working as designed," Denison said.

“The idea of hitting the install button was a little scary,” he added. “Despite all our testing, we never know exactly what will happen until the software is up there.”

More About the Mission
Curiosity was built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California. JPL leads the mission on behalf of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

For more about Curiosity, visit: http://mars.nasa.gov/msl

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

 

Credit: NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
Release Date: April 13, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Planet #Mars #RedPlanet #Astrobiology #Geology #CuriosityRover #MSL #MountSharp #GaleCrater #SoftwareUpdate #SoftwareUpgrade #Robotics #Technology #Engineering #JPL #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Expedition 69 Astronaut Sultan Alneyadi Talks with United Arab Emirates Media

Expedition 69 Astronaut Sultan Alneyadi Talks with United Arab Emirates Media

Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) discussed life and work aboard the orbital outpost during an in-flight interview April 12, 2023, with members of the media. Alneyadi is in the midst of his first long-duration mission living and working aboard the microgravity laboratory to advance scientific knowledge and demonstrate new technologies for future human and robotic exploration missions. Such research benefits people on Earth and lays the groundwork for future human exploration through NASA’s Artemis missions, which will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future expeditions to Mars.

Sultan Alneyadi is making history as the first astronaut from the Arab world to spend six months aboard the International Space 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.

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)
Duration: 24 minutes
Release Date: April 12, 2023

#NASA #Space #Earth #Science #Astronaut #SultanAlneyadi #UAE #Arab #MBRSC #HumanSpaceflight #Europe #Canada #Japan #日本 #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #Research #Laboratory #UNOOSA #InternationalCooperation #Expedition68 #STEM #Education #MediaInterviews #HD #Video