Thursday, May 11, 2023

Tianzhou-6 Cargo Spacecraft Docking | China Space Station

Tianzhou-6 Cargo Spacecraft Docking | China Space Station

According to the China National Space Administration (CNSA), the Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft successfully docked to the rear docking port of the Tianhe Core Module (天和核心舱) on May 10, 2023, at 21:16 UTC (May 11, at 05:16 China Standard Time). Tianzhou-6 (天舟六号) is the fifth cargo mission to the China Space Station (中国空间站).

The Tianzhou-6 cargo ship contains a 22.5-cubic-meter cargo compartment, which has 50 lockers to place daily necessities for the taikonauts and equipment needed for in-orbit experiments. The cargo spacecraft, 10.6 meters in length, consists of two parts—a smaller lower part as its propellant module, and a larger upper part the cargo module.

The Tianzhou-6 cargo craft is the first spacecraft visiting the Shenzhou-15 crew in orbit on the China Space Station. It was sent by a Long March-7 carrier rocket, China's new-generation medium liquid-propellant carrier rocket with "high reliability and safety."

Credit: China National Space Administration (CNSA)/China Central Television (CCTV)

Acknowledgement: SciNews

Release Date: May 11, 2023


#NASA #Space #China #中国 #Earth #Tianzhou6 #天舟六号 #TianheCoreModule #天和核心舱 #MicrogravityExperiments #SpaceResearch #SpaceLaboratory #CSS #ChinaSpaceStation #天和核心舱 #Shenzhou15 #Taikonauts #Astronauts #Commander #FeiJunlong #ZhangLu #DengQingming #CNSA #CMSA #国家航天局 #Science #Technology #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Wednesday, May 10, 2023

Martian Sand Dunes near The North Pole | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Martian Sand Dunes near The North Pole | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter


This image shows several large sand dunes near the North Pole of Mars. The picture was taken in Martian summertime with only small patches of ice remaining at the surface. This shows up as bright, somewhat blue, spots on slopes that provide some shading from the sun.

This image was taken by the NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft’s High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) instrument.

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is a spacecraft designed to study the geology and climate of Mars, to provide reconnaissance of future landing sites, and to relay data from surface missions back to Earth. It was launched on August 12, 2005, and reached Mars on March 10, 2006.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Release Date: May 10, 2023


 #NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Mars #Planet #RedPlanet #NorthPole #SandDunes #Geology #Landscape #Terrain #MRO #HiRISE #Spacecraft #JPL #California #UA #UniversityOfArizona #UnitedStates #SolarSystem #STEM #Education 

NASA Artemis V Moon Rocket Engine May 2023 Test: Preparing for Crewed Missions

NASA Artemis V Moon Rocket Engine May 2023 Test: Preparing for Crewed Missions

An Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-25 rocket engine was tested on the Fred Haise Test Stand (formerly A-1 Test Stand) at the John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, on May 10, 2023, at 18:05 UTC (13:05 CDT, 14:05 EDT). This was the seventh hot fire test in a planned 12-test series of the newly redesigned RS-25 engines that will be used beginning with the Artemis V Moon Mission. The test had a planned duration of 630 seconds, longer than the length of time (500 seconds) the engines must fire during an actual flight of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS).

For information about the Space Launch System, visit: 

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


Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Acknowledgement: SciNews

Duration: 11 minutes

Release Date: May 10, 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



NASA's Espacio a Tierra | En movimiento: 5 de mayo de 2023

NASA's Espacio a Tierra | En movimiento: 5 de mayo 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 de la NASA, suscríbete al boletín semanal: https://www.nasa.gov/suscribete 


Ciencia de la NASA: https://ciencia.nasa.gov/

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Duration: 4 minutes

Release Date: May 10, 2023

#NASA #Space #ISS #Earth #NASAenespañol #español #Science #Astronauts #Cosmonauts #UAE #UAESA #MBRSC #HumanSpaceflight #Technology #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #Microgravity #SpaceResearch #SpaceLaboratory #UnitedStates #Expedition69 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Fires Scorch Western Canada | NASA Terra Earth Satellite

Fires Scorch Western Canada | NASA Terra Earth Satellite

Raging fires destroyed homes in the province of Alberta in Canada and produced towering chimneys of smoke.
More than 100 wildland fires raged across Western Canada in early May 2023, forcing tens of thousands of people in Alberta and British Columbia to evacuate. The fires destroyed homes and produced chimneys of smoke that reached into the upper troposphere.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this image (above) of smoke billowing from fires in the two Canadian provinces on May 6, 2023. On that day, officials in Alberta declared a provincial state of emergency.

As of May 8, there were 29 fires burning out of control in Alberta, which has been hit hardest by the fires. One of the season’s first fires in the province was ignited on May 2, in the Fox Lake community, at the top of this image. The community lost 20 homes in the fires, as well as the town’s police station and the water treatment plant. As of May 8, four fires were burning out of control in British Columbia, near its border with Alberta.

The fires in Alberta have been so intense they have produced towering chimneys of smoke. Using remote sensing, researchers at the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, observed the formation of a pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) cloud billowing from a wildfire west of Edmonton on May 4. Based on measurements from the GOES-18 satellite, temperatures at the top of the cloud were as cold as -61°C (-78°F). These temperatures indicate that the smoke may have reached an altitude of about 12 kilometers (39,000 feet). That would put the top of the pyroCb cloud into the tropopause—the boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere.

Early May is typically the start of the wildland fire season in Alberta, as snowmelt uncovers dead vegetation that can become fuel for fires. This year, an unusually hot and dry spring made it easier for fires to start, according to a news release issued by the government of Alberta.

Although temperatures in Alberta were unusually warm during the first week of May, cooler weather arrived on May 8, which may help firefighters battle the flames.

NASA's Terra satellite was launch in 1999. The name "Terra" comes from the Latin word for Earth. 

Learn more: https://terra.nasa.gov


Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview

Story Credit: Emily Cassidy

Image Date: May 6, 2023


#NASA #Space #Earth #Planet #Satellite #Science #Atmosphere #Canada #Alberta #BritishColumbia #Wildfires #Smoke #TerraSatellite #MODIS #EOSAM1 #EarthObservingSystem #EarthObservation #RemoteSensing #STEM #Education

Planet Uranus’ Large Moons: Four May Hold Water | NASA/JPL

Planet Uranus’ Large Moons: Four May Hold Water | NASA/JPL

New modeling shows that there likely is an ocean layer in four of Uranus' major moons: Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon. Miranda is too small to retain enough heat for an ocean layer.

Re-analysis of data from NASA’s Voyager spacecraft, along with new computer modeling, has led NASA scientists to conclude that four of Uranus’ largest moons likely contain an ocean layer between their cores and icy crusts. Their study is the first to detail the evolution of the interior makeup and structure of all five large moons: Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, Oberon, and Miranda. The work suggests four of the moons hold oceans that could be dozens of miles deep.

In all, at least 27 moons circle Uranus, with the four largest ranging from Ariel, at 720 miles (1,160 kilometers) across, to Titania, which is 980 miles (1,580 kilometers) across. Scientists have long thought that Titania, given its size, would be most likely to retain internal heat, caused by radioactive decay. The other moons had previously been widely considered too small to retain the heat necessary to keep an internal ocean from freezing, especially because heating created by the gravitational pull of Uranus is only a minor source of heat.

The National Academies’ 2023 Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey prioritized exploring Uranus. In preparation for such a mission, planetary scientists are focusing on the ice giant to bolster their knowledge about the mysterious Uranus system. Published in the Journal of Geophysical Research, the new work could inform how a future mission might investigate the moons, but the paper also has implications that go beyond Uranus, said lead author Julie Castillo-Rogez of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

Journal of Geophysical Research article:

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2022JE007432

“When it comes to small bodies—dwarf planets and moons—planetary scientists previously have found evidence of oceans in several unlikely places, including the dwarf planets Ceres and Pluto, and Saturn’s moon Mimas,” she said. “So there are mechanisms at play that we don’t fully understand. This paper investigates what those could be and how they are relevant to the many bodies in the solar system that could be rich in water but have limited internal heat.”

The study revisited findings from NASA’s Voyager 2 flybys of Uranus in the 1980s and from ground-based observations. The authors built computer models infused with additional findings from NASA’s Galileo, Cassini, Dawn, and New Horizons (each of which discovered ocean worlds), including insights into the chemistry and the geology of Saturn’s moon Enceladus, Pluto and its moon Charon, and Ceres—all icy bodies around the same size as the Uranian moons.

What Lies Above and Beneath

The researchers used that modeling to gauge how porous the Uranian moons’ surfaces are, finding that they’re likely insulated enough to retain the internal heat that would be needed to host an ocean. In addition, they found what could be a potential heat source in the moons’ rocky mantles, which release hot liquid, and would help an ocean maintain a warm environment—a scenario that is especially likely for Titania and Oberon, where the oceans may even be warm enough to potentially support habitability.

By investigating the composition of the oceans, scientists can learn about materials that might be found on the moons’ icy surfaces as well, depending on whether substances underneath were pushed up from below by geological activity. There is evidence from telescopes that at least one of the moons, Ariel, has material that flowed onto its surface, perhaps from icy volcanoes, relatively recently.

In fact, Miranda, the innermost and fifth largest moon, also hosts surface features that appear to be of recent origin, suggesting it may have held enough heat to maintain an ocean at some point. The recent thermal modeling found that Miranda is unlikely to have hosted water for long: It loses heat too quickly and is probably frozen now.

However, internal heat would not be the only factor contributing to a moon’s subsurface ocean. A key finding in the study suggests that chlorides, as well as ammonia, are likely abundant in the oceans of the icy giant’s largest moons. Ammonia has been long known to act as antifreeze. In addition, the modeling suggests that salts likely present in the water would be another source of antifreeze, maintaining the bodies’ internal oceans.

Of course, there still are a lot of questions about the large moons of Uranus, Castillo-Rogez said, adding that there is plenty more work to be done: “We need to develop new models for different assumptions on the origin of the moons in order to guide planning for future observations.”

Digging into what lies beneath and on the surfaces of these moons will help scientists and engineers choose the best science instruments to survey them. For instance, determining that ammonia and chlorides may be present means that spectrometers, which detect compounds by their reflected light, would need to use a wavelength range that covers both kinds of compounds.

Likewise, they can use that knowledge to design instruments that can probe the deep interior for liquid. Searching for electrical currents that contribute to a moon’s magnetic field is generally the best way to find a deep ocean, as Galileo mission scientists did at Jupiter’s moon Europa. However, the cold water in the interior oceans of moons such as Ariel and Umbriel could make the oceans less able to carry these electrical currents and would present a new kind of challenge for scientists working to figure out what lies beneath.


Credit: NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

Release Date: May 4, 2023


#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #SolarSystem #Planet #Uranus #UranianSystem #Moons #Ariel #Umbriel #Titania #Oberon #OceanWorlds #Astrobiology #VoyagerSpacecraft #JPL #Caltech #UnitedStates #SpaceExploration #Illustration #Infographic #STEM #Education

Tianzhou-6 Cargo Spacecraft Long March 7 Rocket Launch | China Space Station

Tianzhou-6 Cargo Spacecraft Long March 7 Rocket Launch | China Space Station

The Long March-7 Y7 carrier rocket, carrying the Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft, successfully blasted off from Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China's island province of Hainan at 21:22 (Beijing Time) on Wednesday, May 10, 2023.

The Tianzhou-6 cargo ship contains a 22.5-cubic-meter cargo compartment, which has 50 lockers to place daily necessities for the taikonauts and equipment needed for in-orbit experiments.

The Tianzhou-6 cargo craft is the first spacecraft visiting the Shenzhou-15 crew in orbit on the China Space Station. It was sent by a Long March-7 carrier rocket, China's new-generation medium liquid-propellant carrier rocket with high reliability and safety.

With a total length of 53.1 meters and a diameter of 3.35 meters, the rocket is bundled with four boosters, and has a takeoff weight of nearly 600 tonnes and a payload capacity of about 14 tonnes to low-Earth orbit.

The Tianzhou-6 mission is the 7th launch for the Long March-7 rocket.

Credit: China Global Television Network (CGTN)

Duration: 1 minute, 33 seconds

Release Date: May 10, 2023


#NASA #Space #China #中国 #Earth #LongMarch7Rocket #Tianzhou6 #MicrogravityExperiments #SpaceResearch #SpaceLaboratory #CSS #ChinaSpaceStation #天和核心舱 #Shenzhou15 #Taikonauts #Astronauts #Commander #FeiJunlong #ZhangLu #DengQingming #CNSA #CMSA #国家航天局 #Science #Technology #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education #HD #Video

China's Cargo Spacecraft Tianzhou-6 Ready for Launch | China Space Station

China's Cargo Spacecraft Tianzhou-6 Ready for Launch | China Space Station

China's cargo spacecraft, Tianzhou-6, is ready for launch, May 10, 2023, according to the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in China's southern island province of Hainan. The Tianzhou-6 cargo ship contains a 22.5-cubic-meter cargo compartment, which has 50 lockers to place daily necessities for the taikonauts and equipment needed for in-orbit experiments.

What is prominent on the packing list this time is that about 70 kilograms of fresh fruit are to be delivered, roughly twice the weight of that carried by Tianzhou-5.

"We plan to send a large refrigerator to the space station to ensure that the supply for the taikonauts contains not only fruits but also some frozen food," Wang Ran, lead designer of cargo spacecraft systems at China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), told China Media Group (CMG). "For example, in the future if they wish to eat grilled steak, we will freeze the beef on the ground and deliver it to the space station."

"We will bolster our ability gradually to ensure a better life for the taikonauts," said Wang.

Besides food, the cargo ship will also deliver other daily necessities such as clothes, holiday supplies and sanitation supplies, as well as experimental equipment for the taikonauts.

Jia Dongyong, chief mechanical designer for the Tianzhou cargo spacecraft system at CAST, told CMG that the Tianzhou-6 cargo ship is the most capable space cargo ship currently in service.

With a maximum launch mass of 14 tonnes, the Tianzhou-6 spacecraft now has a payload ratio of 0.53, said Jia.

The payload ratio refers to the proportion of cargo weight to the total weight of the whole spacecraft. The higher

The Tianzhou-6 cargo ship contains a 22.5-cubic-meter cargo compartment.

The Tianzhou-6 cargo craft will be the first of a new batch of China's cargo ships—from Tianzhou-6 to Tianzhou-11—to boost their loading capacity from the previous 6.9 tonnes to 7.4 tonnes.

The cargo spacecraft, 10.6 meters in length, consists of two parts—a smaller lower part as its propellant module, and a larger upper part the cargo module.

The Tianzhou-6 cargo craft is the first spacecraft visiting the Shenzhou-15 crew in orbit. It will be sent by a Long March-7 carrier rocket, the country's new-generation medium liquid-propellant carrier rocket with high reliability and safety.

With a total length of 53.1 meters and a diameter of 3.35 meters, the rocket is bundled with four boosters, and has a takeoff weight of nearly 600 tonnes and a payload capacity of about 14 tonnes to low-Earth orbit.

The Tianzhou-6 mission is the 7th launch for the Long March-7 rocket.


Credit: GLOBALink/New China TV

Duration: 55 seconds

Release Date: May 9, 2023


#NASA #Space #China #中国 #Earth #LongMarch7Rocket #Tianzhou6 #MicrogravityExperiments #SpaceResearch #SpaceLaboratory #CSS #ChinaSpaceStation #天和核心舱 #Shenzhou15 #Taikonauts #Astronauts #Commander #FeiJunlong #ZhangLu #DengQingming #CNSA #CMSA #国家航天局 #Science #Technology #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education #HD #Video

International Space Science Projects Head to China Space Station

International Space Science Projects Head to China Space Station

The China Space Station is now ready to host international science projects. It is expected to become a major platform for scientific research in outer space, and officials promise a spirit of openness and cooperation.

Shenzhou-15 Crew Members: 

Fei Junlong (commander), Zhang Lu (taikonaut), and Deng Qingming (taikonaut) 


Credit: China Global Television Network (CGTN)

Duration: 1 minute, 43 seconds

Release Date: May 9, 2023

#NASA #Space #China #中国 #Earth #Tianzhou6 #MicrogravityExperiments #SpaceResearch #SpaceLaboratory #CSS #ChinaSpaceStation #天和核心舱 #Shenzhou15 #Taikonauts #Astronauts #Commander #FeiJunlong #ZhangLu #DengQingming #CNSA #CMSA #国家航天局 #Science #Technology #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Tuesday, May 09, 2023

Recientemente: Un nuevo socio para la exploración espacial | NASA

Recientemente: Un nuevo socio para la exploración espacial | NASA

Recientemente en la NASA, la versión en español de las cápsulas This Week at NASA, te informa semanalmente de lo que está sucediendo en la NASA. 

Ciencia de la NASA: https://ciencia.nasa.gov/

En español: https://www.nasa.gov/suscribete


Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Duration: 2 minutes, 27 seconds

Broadcast Date: May 5, 2023 

Release Date: May 8, 2023


#NASA #NASAenespañol #español #Space #Astronomy #Science #Moon #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisAccords #CzechRepublic #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #Astrobiology #Geology #PerseveranceRover #Mars2020 #MarsSampleReturn #MSR #JezeroCrater #Robotics #Technology #Engineering #JPL #UnitedStates #Europe #MoonToMars #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center Supports Robotics Competition

NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center Supports Robotics Competition

Helping develop the next generation of engineers and technicians, volunteers from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, assisted students competing in the Aerospace Valley Regional Robotics Competition.

NASA Armstrong sponsored several Antelope Valley teams during the event March 30 through April 1, 2023, and employee volunteers served as mentors and judges, and the mobile fabrication shop helped with team repairs. 

For more information on NASA Armstrong's contributions: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-armstrong-supports-robotics-competition

For more information about NASA's Robotics Alliance Project, visit: http://robotics.nasa.gov

Information on Aerospace Valley Regional, visit: https://www.avregional.org

For more information about FIRST robotic competitions, visit: https://www.firstinspires.org


Credit: NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC)

Duration: 1 minute, 46 seconds

Release Date: May 9, 2023


#NASA #NASAArmstrong #AFRC #Robotics #FirstRobotics #StudentCompetitions #Students #Youth #Diversity #GenderEquity #EdwardsAirForceBase #Edwards #AerospaceValley #AntelopeValley #California #UnitedStates #Volunteers #Sponsors #Science #Technology #Engineering #ComputerScience #Aerospace #STEM #Education

Profile of NASA Life Sciences Project Scientist Dr. Gioia Massa | NASA Kennedy

Profile of NASA Life Sciences Project Scientist Dr. Gioia Massa | NASA Kennedy

In this close-up video, Dr. Gioia Massa, Life Sciences Project Scientist at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC), shares her inspirations that led to her passion for studying and growing plants. Dr. Massa describes how work helps astronauts grow edible plants on the International Space Station.

Learn about growing plants in space: https://www.nasa.gov/content/growing-plants-in-space


Credit: NASAeClips

Duration: 2 minutes, 36 seconds

Release Date: May 9, 2023


#NASA #Space #ISS #Earth #Science #Scientist #GioiaMassa #LifeSciences #Biology #Plants #Veggie #WomenInSTEM  #Astronauts #HumanSpaceflight #Technology #Microgravity #SpaceResearch #SpaceLaboratory #KSC #NASAKennedy #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Pan over Ghostly Galactic Jellyfish Galaxy JO175 | Hubble

Pan over Ghostly Galactic Jellyfish Galaxy JO175 | Hubble

The jellyfish galaxy JO175 appears to hang suspended in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. This galaxy lies over 650 million light-years from Earth in the appropriately-named constellation Telescopium, and was captured in crystal-clear detail by Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3. A handful of more distant galaxies are lurking throughout the scene, and a bright four-pointed star lies to the lower right side.


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

Duration: 30 seconds

Release Date: May 9, 2023

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxy #JellyfishGalaxy #JO175 #Spiral #Telescopium #Indus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

A Day in the Life of an Astronomical Observatory | NOIRLab

A Day in the Life of an Astronomical Observatory | NOIRLab

CosmoView Episode 67: There is more to working at an observatory than meets the eye. Gone are the days of a lone astronomer cooped up in a mountaintop dome. Instead, a range of specialized teams work cohesively from sunrise to sunset to ensure NOIRLab facilities can continue enabling and sharing breakthrough discoveries in astronomy and astrophysics.


Credit: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/KPNO/R.T. Sparks, CTIO/T. Puzia (PUC), International Gemini Observatory/Kwon O Chul, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, T. Matsopoulos, N. Bartmann

Duration: 1 minute, 24 seconds

Release Date: May 9, 2023


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Observatories #Stars #Galaxies #Nebulae #Cosmos #Universe #CerroTololoInterAmericanObservatory #CTIO #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #Chile #SouthAmerica #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Mysterious Material in Martian Depressions | NASA's Mars Reconnaisance Orbiter

Mysterious Material in Martian Depressions | NASA's Mars Reconnaisance Orbiter

This observation shows us enigmatic smooth material, usually occurring in depressions on Mars. It also seems to occur in strange, discrete blobs. The darker areas are colloquially referred to as “spiders” because of their shapes.

This image is located in Promethei Planum, near the South Pole of Mars. It is an an area seasonally covered with a more than 3,500 meters-thick layer of ice.

This is a non-narrated clip with ambient sound. Image is less than 5 km (3 mi) across and the spacecraft altitude was 249 km (155 mi).

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is a spacecraft designed to study the geology and climate of Mars, to provide reconnaissance of future landing sites, and to relay data from surface missions back to Earth. It was launched on August 12, 2005, and reached Mars on March 10, 2006. 

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.


Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Duration: 2 minutes

Release Date: May 9, 2023


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Mars #Planet #RedPlanet #SouthPole #PrometheiPlanum #Depressions #UnidentifiedMaterial #Geology #Landscape #Terrain #MRO #HiRISE #Spacecraft #JPL #Caltech #California #UA #UniversityOfArizona #UnitedStates #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Testing NASA's New Snake Robot | Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Testing NASA's New Snake Robot | Jet Propulsion Laboratory

A team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is creating and testing a snake-like robot called EELS (Exobiology Extant Life Surveyor). Inspired by a desire to descend vents on Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus and enter its subsurface ocean, this versatile robot is being developed to autonomously map, traverse, and explore previously inaccessible destinations on Earth, the Moon, and other worlds in our solar system.

The robot has been put to the test in sandy, snowy, and icy environments, including the Mars-like terrain at JPL’s Mars Yard, a “robot playground” created at a ski resort in the snowy mountains of Southern California, and even an indoor ice rink. 

Because of the long communications lag time between Earth and deep space, EELS is designed to autonomously sense its environment, calculate risk, travel, and gather data with yet-to-be-determined science instruments. When something goes wrong, the goal is for the robot to recover on its own, without human assistance. 

The project team began building the first prototype in 2019, and has been making continual revisions. They’ve been trying out white, 3D-printed plastic screws for testing on looser terrain like sand and soft snow, as well as sharper, black metal screws for ice. In its current form, the EELS 1.0 robot weighs about 220 pounds (100 kilograms) and is 13 feet (4 meters) long. 

EELS is funded by the Office of Technology Infusion and Strategy at JPL in Southern California through a technology accelerator program called JPL Next. JPL is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California. The EELS team has worked with a number of university partners on the project, including Arizona State University, Carnegie Mellon University, and University of California, San Diego. The robot is not currently part of any NASA mission.


Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Duration: 2 minutes

Release Date: May 8, 2023


#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Engineering #Technology #Robotics #EELS #Exobiology #Astrobiology #ResearchPrototype #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #Software #SolarSystem #Planet #PlanetaryExploration #SpaceExploration #JPL #Caltech #California #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video