Artemis II Astronauts Check Out Their Ride to the Moon | This Week @NASA

Artemis II Astronauts Check Out Their Ride to the Moon | This Week @NASA

The Artemis II astronauts check out their ride to the Moon, practicing post-splashdown recovery operations for Artemis II, and the Webb Space Telescope checks out a record-breaking star . . . a few of the stories to tell you about—This Week at NASA!

The Artemis II crew—NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Hammock Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen—visited the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on Aug. 8, 2023. The crew module is undergoing acoustic testing ahead of integration with the European Service Module. Artemis II is the first crewed mission on NASA’s path to establishing a long-term lunar presence for science and exploration under Artemis. 

Artemis II will be NASA’s first crewed flight test of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft around the Moon to verify today’s capabilities for humans to explore deep space and pave the way for long-term exploration and science on the lunar surface.

Artemis II will launch no earlier than December 2024.

Learn more about the Artemis II Mission:

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-ii

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Video Producer, Video Editor & Narrator: Andre Valentine

Duration: 3 minutes

Release Date: August 11, 2023

#NASA #ESA #CSA #Space #Moon #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIIMission #ArtemisII #OrionSpacecraft #DeepSpace #Astronauts #VictorGlover #ChristinaKoch #JeremyHansen #ReidWiseman #MoonToMars #Science #SpaceExploration #HumanSpaceflight #KSC #NASAKennedy #Florida #UnitedStates #Canada #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

World's Largest Telescope Dome Takes Shape | ESO's Extremely Large Telescope

World's Largest Telescope Dome Takes Shape | ESO's Extremely Large Telescope

The dome of the European Southern Observatory's Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is beginning to take shape. This is the largest telescope dome ever built. The structure is about 88 meters in diameter and nearly 80 meters high, giving the dome a footprint roughly equivalent to that of a football field. The giant ELT dome will house the telescope and its interior structure, providing protection from the extreme environment of Chile's Atacama Desert.

The Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) will have a 39-meter mirror (almost half the length of a football pitch) and will thus be by far the biggest telescope in the world to observe in the visible and the near-infrared (there are larger radio telescopes). The current largest optical telescopes have diameters of up to ten meters, and the ELT's diameter will thus be four times greater. This diameter was chosen because it is the minimum diameter needed to achieve some of the driving science cases. For example, the ELT will be able to image rocky exoplanets and to characterise their atmospheres, while the existing ESO Very Large Telecope (VLT) can only indirectly detect such Earth-like planets. Moreover, the ELT will be able to directly measure the acceleration of the expansion of the Universe. Adaptive optics systems are fully incorporated into the design of the telescope to compensate for the fuzziness in the stellar images introduced by atmospheric turbulence. The ELT will have more than 5,000 actuators that can change the shape of its mirrors a thousand times per second.

Altitude: 3046 meters

Planned year of technical first light: 2027

Learn more about ESO’s ELT at: https://elt.eso.org 

Video Credits: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Directed by: Angelos Tsaousis

Editing: Angelos Tsaousis

Web and technical support: Gurvan Bazin and Raquel Yumi Shida

Written by: Bárbara Ferreira

Consultants: M. Wallner, R. Tamai

Footage and photos: ESO, G. Hüdepohl (atacamaphoto.com), L. Calcada, A. Tsaouis, J. Porte, M. Nadjar, I. Casas del Valle

Acknowledgement: CIMOLAI

Duration: 1 minute

Release Date: Aug. 11, 2023

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #ExtremelyLargeTelescope #ELT #Nebulae #Stars #Exoplanets #Galaxies #Cosmos #Universe #CerroArmazones #AtacamaDesert #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Expedition 69 Astronaut Frank Rubio Talks with ABC’s Good Morning America

Expedition 69 Astronaut Frank Rubio Talks with ABC’s Good Morning America

Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Frank Rubio of NASA discussed life and work aboard the orbital outpost during an in-flight interview August 11, 2023, with ABC’s “Good Morning America”. Rubio is in the midst of a record breaking 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 the agency’s Artemis missions, which will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future expeditions to Mars. When Rubio returns to Earth on September 27 he will have spent a total of 371 days in space—the longest single spaceflight by a US astronaut.

NASA Astronaut Frank Rubio Official NASA Biography

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/frank-rubio

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/frank-rubio/biography

Follow Expedition 69 updates here:

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

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.

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Duration: 19 minutes

Release Date: Aug. 11, 2023

#NASA #Space #Earth #Science #Astronauts #Astronaut #FrankRubio #LongDurationMission #WoodyHoburg #HumanSpaceflight #UAE #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #MicrogravityResearch #SpaceResearch #SpaceLaboratory #UNOOSA #InternationalCooperation #UnitedStates #Expedition69 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NOAA Releases Updated 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook

NOAA Releases Updated 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook

Due to current ocean and atmospheric conditions, such as record-warm sea surface temperatures, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center—a division of the National Weather Service—has increased their prediction for the ongoing 2023 Atlantic hurricane season to an “above normal” level of activity from a “near normal” level with their most recent update. 

The outlook now includes a 70% chance of 14-21 named storms, of which 6-11 could become hurricanes, and 2-5 could become major hurricanes. The updated outlook also states that current conditions are likely to counterbalance the usually limiting atmospheric conditions associated with the ongoing El Niño event.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is a Washington, D.C.–based scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce, a United States federal government department. The agency is charged with forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, charting the seas, conducting deep sea exploration, and managing fishing and protection of marine mammals and endangered species in the U.S. exclusive economic zone.

Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES)

NOAA GOES weather satellites provide the kind of continuous monitoring necessary for intensive data analysis. They circle the Earth in a geosynchronous orbit, which means they orbit the equatorial plane of the Earth at a speed matching the Earth's rotation. This allows them to hover continuously over one position on the surface. The geosynchronous plane is about 35,800 km (22,300 miles) above the Earth, high enough to allow the satellites a full-disc view of the Earth.

Because GOES satellites stay above a fixed spot on the surface, they provide a constant vigil for the atmospheric "triggers" for severe weather conditions such as tornadoes, flash floods, hail storms, and hurricanes. When these conditions develop the GOES satellites are able to monitor storm development and track their movements. GOES satellite imagery is also used to estimate rainfall during the thunderstorms and hurricanes for flash flood warnings, as well as estimates snowfall accumulations and overall extent of snow cover.

Such data help meteorologists issue winter storm warnings and spring snow melt advisories. Satellite sensors also detect ice fields and map the movements of sea and lake ice.

Credits: NOAA, NASA, Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA)

Duration: 2 minutes, 16 seconds

Release Date: Aug. 11, 2023

#NASA #NOAA #NWS #Space #Science #Satellite #GOESEast #GOES16 #Earth #Planet #Atmosphere #UnitedStates #Canada #NorthAmerica #Mexico #AtlanticOcean #Hurricanes #Storms #ElNiño #Weather #Meteorology #RemoteSensing #EarthObservation #LockheedMartin #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's Space to Ground: "Your Package Has Arrived" | Week of Aug. 11, 2023

NASA's Space to Ground: "Your Package Has Arrived" | Week of Aug. 11, 2023

NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station. Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft docking at the International Space Station was completed on Friday, August 4, 2023. Cygnus, carrying over 8,200 pounds of cargo and science experiments, launched atop the company’s Antares rocket at 8:31 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. At 5:52 a.m., Aug. 4, NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg, along with NASA astronaut Frank Rubio as backup, captured Cygnus using the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm.

Follow Expedition 69 updates here: https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 69 Crew (August 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.

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)

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Duration: 2 minutes, 50 seconds

Release Date: Aug. 10, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #ISS #NorthropGrumman #CygnusSpacecraft #CRS19 #Astronauts #StephenBowen #FrankRubio #WoodyHoburg #SultanAlneyadi #UAE #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #MicrogravityResearch #SpaceLaboratory #Expedition69 #STEM #Education  

Devastation in Maui: Hawaii’s Second-largest Island | Landsat 8 Earth Satellite

Devastation in Maui: Hawaii’s Second-largest Island | Landsat 8 Earth Satellite

A fast-moving wildfire has devastated the historic town of Lahaina on Maui, Hawaii’s second-largest island. This infrared image shows the signature of the fire at 10:25 p.m. local time on August 8, 2023, as observed by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on the Landsat 8 satellite. Much of Lahaina, a town with a resident population of nearly 13,000 people, appeared to be on fire at the time of the image. Another large fire burned northwest of Kihei.

The image was composed from OLI observations of shortwave infrared light (band 6). Infrared observations are useful for distinguishing the locations of active fires, shown here in yellow. The shortwave infrared data were overlaid on a natural-color mosaic image based on Landsat 8 observations for added geographic detail.

The fires occurred during a period of strong winds and dry conditions in Maui. Between August 7-9, 2023, the island experienced peak gusts that ranged from 45 to 67 miles (72 to 107 kilometers) per hour, according to the National Weather Service. The presence of a strong high-pressure area to north of the island and Hurricane Dora to the south may have helped fuel the winds. An analysis by the U.S. Drought Monitor shows that the southwestern part of the island was in the midst of moderate to severe drought at the time of the fires.

Maui County has reported damage to hundreds of structures, with widespread damage in the Lahaina harbor area. On August 9, authorities were continuing to conduct search and rescue operations.

NASA’s Earth Applied Sciences Disasters program area has been activated in support of the fires in Hawaii. As new information becomes available, the team will be posting maps and data products on its open-access mapping portal.

Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey

Caption Credit: Adam Voiland

Release Date: Aug. 11, 2023

#NASA #Space #Satellites #Science #Planet #Earth #Hawaii #Maui #Lahaina #LandsatProgram #Landsat8 #OLI #USGS #Weather #Meteorology #ClimateChange #GlobalHeating #Climate #Environment #GreenhouseGases #GHG #EarthObservation #RemoteSensing #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Orbital Night over Italy | International Space Station

Orbital Night over Italy | International Space Station

City lights glow in Italy as the International Space Station orbited 260 miles above during orbital nighttime. Light can be seen reflecting off the station's solar panels in the upper left corner of this image.

Follow Expedition 69 updates here: https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 69 Crew (August 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)

Image Date: July 24, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Stars #Planet #Earth #Italy #Night #Italia #Europe #ISS #Astronauts #StephenBowen #FrankRubio #WoodyHoburg #SultanAlneyadi #UAE #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #OverviewEffect #OrbitalPerspective #Expedition69 #STEM #Education

The Lights of Mecca: Islam's Holiest City in Saudi Arabia | International Space Station

The Lights of Mecca: Islam's Holiest City in Saudi Arabia | International Space Station

The city lights of Mecca, Islam's holiest city in the desert valley of western Saudi Arabia, are pictured from the International Space Station as it orbited 259 miles above. Mecca is the third-most populated city in Saudi Arabia after Riyadh and Jeddah.

Hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca. It is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey, and of supporting their family during their absence from home.

United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center is making history as the first astronaut from the Arab world to spend six months on the International Space Station as part of a long-duration human spaceflight mission.

Follow Expedition 69 updates here: https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the  International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Image Date: July 26, 2023

#NASA #Space #Earth #ISS #Science #Mecca #Night #SaudiArabia #Islam #Muslims #Religion #Hajj #Astronauts #Astronaut #SultanAlneyadi #UAE #UAESA #MBRSC #Cosmonauts #HumanSpaceflight #Technology #Russia #Роскосмос #SpaceResearch #SpaceLaboratory #UnitedStates #Expedition69 #STEM #Education #مكة # حَجّ #قِبْلَة

How Do You Test the Legs of NASA's Heaviest Mars Spacecraft? | NASA/JPL

How Do You Test the Legs of NASA's Heaviest Mars Spacecraft? | NASA/JPL

As part of a NASA-European Space Agency campaign to return rock and soil samples from Mars to Earth, engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) are designing a lander which will be the heaviest spacecraft ever to touch down on the Red Planet. Engineers are dropping prototype lander legs and footpads to measure how they absorb the shock of hitting Martian ground. One test involves a model that is roughly one-third the size of the spacecraft’s final design. Meanwhile, in a sandbox, a full-size foot pad is being dropped into simulated Martian soil.

Mars Sample Return will revolutionize our understanding of Mars by returning scientifically selected samples to Earth for study using the most sophisticated instrumentation around the world.

For more information on the testing, visit https://go.nasa.gov/3s7ML7n

For more information on Mars Sample Return, visit mars.nasa.gov/msr/ 

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Duration: 1 minute, 48 seconds

Release Date: Aug. 10, 2023

#NASA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #Astrobiology #Geology #Mars2020 #PerseveranceRover #JezeroCrater #LanderTesting #MarsSampleReturn #MSR #Robotics #SpaceTechnology #SpaceEngineering #JPL #Caltech #UnitedStates #Europe #MoonToMars #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Celebrating the Success of Virgin Galactic’s Second Commercial Spaceflight

Celebrating the Success of Virgin Galactic’s Second Commercial Spaceflight

Galactic 02—Virgin Galactic’s second commercial spaceflight—was launched from Spaceport America, New Mexico, on August 10, 2023, with VSS Unity being released from VMS Eve at 15:17 UTC (09:17 local time). VSS Unity, the second SpaceShipTwo, transported three private passengers: Jon Goodwin, Keisha Schahaff, Anastatia (Ana) Mayers; as well as Beth Moses (Chief Astronaut Instructor), CJ Sturckow (Pilot)  and Kelly Latimer (Pilot). VMS Eve was piloted by Nicola Pecile and Mike Masucci.

Keisha Schahaff and Ana Mayers have become the first mother-daughter duo to reach the edge of space, travelling on a Virgin Galactic rocket plane. 

Both wear the flags of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Barbuda is a sovereign island country in the West Indies. It lies at the conjuncture of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the Leeward Islands part of the Lesser Antilles.

Credit: Illustration, images & video footage courtesy of Virgin Galactic

Acknowledgement: SciNews

Duration: 6 minutes

Release Date: Aug. 10, 2023

#NASA #Space #Earth #CommercialSpaceflight #VirginGalactic #VSSUnity #Galactic02 #SpaceShipTwoVehicle #SuborbitalFlight #JonGoodwin #KeishaSchahaff #AnastatiaMayers #Antigua #Barbuda #BethMoses #CJSturckow #KellyLatimer #VMSEve #SpaceportAmerica #NewMexico #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Our Solar System: Confirmed Interstellar Object Paths | NOIRLab

Our Solar System: Confirmed Interstellar Object Paths | NOIRLab

This video shows the paths through our Solar System of two confirmed interstellar objects—'Oumuamua (formally known as 1I/2017 U1), discovered in 2017, and the comet 2I/Borisov, discovered in 2019. The paths of these objects are markedly different than the orbits of objects in our Solar System, making them easy to differentiate as interstellar objects. Rubin Observatory and the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) will provide data that enables scientists to identify many interstellar objects early in the survey.

Credit: Rubin Observatory/National Science Foundation (NSF)/Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA)/J. Pinto

Duration: 36 seconds

Release Date: Aug. 4, 2023

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #SolarSystem #InterstellarObjects #Oumuamua #1I2017U1 #Comet2IBorisov #Cosmos #Universe #RubinObservatory #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #CerroPachón #Chile #ESO #Europe #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

An Enigmatic Cosmic Crime Scene | NOIRLab

An Enigmatic Cosmic Crime Scene | NOIRLab

Buried within NOIRLab’s unWISE archive lies a remarkable tidal disruption event, overlooked for many years because of its unusual location and characteristics. In galaxy NGC 7392 located just 137 million light-years away, astronomers witnessed a burst of electromagnetic radiation as a supermassive black hole pulled apart and devoured a star. The event, named WTP14adbjsh, was seen as a bright infrared flare.

This discovery suggests that we may be missing other tidal disruption events (TDEs), because we are not looking in the right part of the electromagnetic spectrum. This could help explain the TDEs we have detected to date.

Video Credits:

Images and Videos: ESO/M. Kornmesser, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Chris Smith (USRA/GESTAR), Th. Matsopoulos/NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/CI Lab

Duration: 1 minute

Release Date: Aug. 9, 2023

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC7392 #SpiralGalaxy #BlackHole #Star #WTP14adbjsh #TDE #Aquarius #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #SOARTelescope #Infrared #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #CerroPachon #Chile #ESO #Europe #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's "Espacio a Tierra" | Bucear profundo: 4 de agosto de 2023

NASA's "Espacio a Tierra" | Bucear profundo: 4 de agosto 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: 5 minutes, 47 seconds

Release Date: Aug. 9, 2023

#NASA #Space #Earth #Science #NASAenespañol #español #ISS #CygnusSpacecraft #CRS19 #NBL #AstronautTraining #Astronauts #StephenBowen #FrankRubio #WoodyHoburg #Cosmonauts #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #UAE #SpaceResearch #SpaceLaboratory #Expedition69 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Meet the Mars Perseverance Rover Sample—Kukaklek (Sample 16) | NASA/JPL

Meet the Mars Perseverance Rover Sample—Kukaklek (Sample 16) | NASA/JPL

Meet one of the Martian samples that has been collected and is awaiting return to Earth as part of the Mars Sample Return campaign. As of late July 2023, NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover has collected and sealed 20 scientifically selected samples inside pristine tubes. The next stage is to get them back for study.

Considered one of the highest priorities by the scientists in the Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey 2023-2032, Mars Sample Return would be the first mission to return samples from another planet and provides the best opportunity to reveal the early evolution of Mars, including the potential for ancient life. NASA is teaming with the European Space Agency (ESA) on this important endeavor. 

Learn more about Sample No. 16—“Kukaklek”—a sedimentary rock core collected from a rock at the Jezero Crater “Delta Front.” This sample came from a rock with various textures and colors of the mineral sulfate, possibly indicating that it interacted with water more than once. Was Jezero Crater filled with water multiple times? This rock may hold clues to Mars’ watery past.

Read about all the carefully selected samples: https://mars.nasa.gov/mars-rock-samples

Learn more about the Mars Sample Return campaign: https://mars.nasa.gov/msr 

A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover characterizes the planet's geology and past climate, paves the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and is the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Duration: 57 seconds 

Release Date: Aug. 9, 2023

#NASA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #Astrobiology #Geology #Mars2020 #PerseveranceRover #JezeroCrater #Kukaklek #SedimentaryRock #MarsSampleReturn #MSR #Robotics #SpaceTechnology #SpaceEngineering #JPL #Caltech #UnitedStates #Europe #MoonToMars #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Jupiter 'Ocean Moon' Mission: Testing Europa Clipper’s Magnetometer | NASA/JPL

Jupiter 'Ocean Moon' Mission: Testing Europa Clipper’s Magnetometer | NASA/JPL

Join team members from NASA’s Europa Clipper mission in a clean room at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to learn about testing of the spacecraft’s magnetometer, which will help scientists answer the question, “Does Europa have an ocean?” 

The magnetometer is made up of a long, 28-foot (6.5-meter) boom and three fluxgate sensors, which are compressed in a canister on the side of the spacecraft until the boom is deployed after launch. The electronics for the instrument are contained in the vault of the spacecraft, along with electronics for the other science instruments. 

Europa Clipper will explore this icy moon of Jupiter to see if there are conditions suitable for life. Scientists have evidence that a global ocean lies under the moon’s surface, and the mission aims to confirm the existence of the ocean.

The spacecraft needs to be hardy enough to survive a 1.6-billion-mile, six-year journey to Jupiter – and sophisticated enough to perform a detailed science investigation of Europa once it arrives at the Jupiter system in 2030.

Europa Clipper is expected to launch in October 2024 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 

For more information on the mission go to: https://europa.nasa.gov/

Download Europa Clipper Ocean World poster: go.nasa.gov/3Gsjzt5

Missions such as Europa Clipper contribute to the field of astrobiology, the interdisciplinary research on the variables and conditions of distant worlds that could harbor life as we know it. While Europa Clipper is not a life-detection mission, it will conduct detailed reconnaissance of Europa and investigate whether the icy moon, with its subsurface ocean, has the capability to support life. Understanding Europa’s habitability will help scientists better understand how life developed on Earth and the potential for finding life beyond our planet.

Managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California, JPL leads the development of the Europa Clipper mission in partnership with APL for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Planetary Missions Program Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, executes program management of the Europa Clipper mission.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Duration: 2 minutes, 49 seconds

Release Date: Aug. 9, 2023

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Jupiter #Europa #Moon #OceanMoon #Astrobiology #Biosignatures #Habitability #Radiation #EuropaClipper #EuropaClipperSpacecraft #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #APL #Marshall #MSFC #JPL #Caltech #Pasadena #California #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Annual Meteor Shower: The Perseids from Perseus

Annual Meteor Shower: The Perseids from Perseus

This is a good week to see meteors. Comet dust will rain down on planet Earth, streaking through dark skies during peak nights of the annual Perseid Meteor Shower. This composite image was taken during the 2018 Perseids from the Poloniny Dark Sky Park in Slovakia. The dome of the observatory in the foreground is on the grounds of Kolonica Observatory. Although the comet dust particles travel parallel to each other, the resulting shower meteors clearly seem to radiate from a single point on the sky in the eponymous constellation Perseus. The radiant effect is due to perspective, as the parallel tracks appear to converge at a distance, like train tracks. The Perseid Meteor Shower is expected to reach its highest peak on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023, after midnight. Since a crescent Moon will rise only very late that night, cloudless skies will be darker than usual, making a high number of faint meteors potentially visible this year.

The Perseids, which peak during mid-August, are considered the best meteor shower of the year. With very fast and bright meteors, Perseids frequently leave long "wakes" of light and color behind them as they streak through Earth's atmosphere. The Perseids are one of the most plentiful showers (50-100 meteors seen per hour) and occur with warm summer nighttime weather, allowing sky watchers to easily view them.

Perseids are also known for their fireballs. Fireballs are larger explosions of light and color that are brighter and can persist longer than an average meteor streak. This is due to the fact that fireballs originate from larger particles of cometary material.

Image Credit & Copyright: Petr Horálek/Institute of Physics in Opava

Petr's website: https://www.petrhoralek.com

Institute of Physics in Opava (Czech Republic): https://www.slu.cz/phys/en/

Release Date: Aug. 9, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #Planet #Atmosphere #Meteors #ThePerseids #Perseids #Meteor #Fireballs #Perseus #Constellation #Astrophotography #PetrHorálek #Astrophotographer #CitizenScience #SolarSystem #KolonicaObservatory #Slovakia #PoloninyDarkSkyPark #CzechRepublic #Europe #NorthernHemisphere #STEM #Education #APoD