Tuesday, August 06, 2024

Cygnus Cargo Spacecraft Arrives at International Space Station

Cygnus Cargo Spacecraft Arrives at International Space Station

The Northrop Grumman Cygnus commercial cargo spacecraft was successfully captured over the south Atlantic Ocean by NASA Astronaut Matthew Dominick on the International Space Station at 3:11am ET, Aug. 6, 2024. The Cygnus spacecraft was then installed to the Unity module’s Earth-facing port on the International Space Station at 5:33 a.m. EDT. The spacecraft carried 8,200 pounds of scientific investigations and cargo to the orbiting laboratory for Northrop Grumman’s 21st commercial resupply mission for NASA. 

The mission launched at 11:02 a.m. Aug. 4 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral in Florida. Cygnus will remain at the space station until January 2025 when it departs the orbiting laboratory. It will then dispose of several thousand pounds of debris through its re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere where it will burn up "harmlessly".

Expedition 71 Updates:

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

Expedition 71 Crew

Station Commander: Oleg Kononenko (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)

NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominick, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps

NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore

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.


Video NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Duration: 2 minutes, 35 seconds

Release Date: Aug. 6, 2024


#NASA #Space #Earth #ISS #Science #NorthropGrumman #SSDickScobee #CygnusCargoSpacecraft #Astronaut #MatthewDominick #UnitedStates #CSA #Canadarm2 #Canada #SpaceTechnology #SpaceLaboratory #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition71 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA Astronauts Dyson & Williams Talk with Society of Women Engineers

NASA Astronauts Dyson & Williams Talk with Society of Women Engineers

Aboard the International Space Station, NASA astronauts Tracy Dyson and Suni Williams discussed life and work aboard the orbital outpost during an in-flight interview August 6, 2024, with the Society of Women Engineers. Dyson and Williams are in the midst of missions aboard the microgravity laboratory to advance scientific knowledge and demonstrate new technologies for future human and robotic exploration flights as part of NASA’s Moon and Mars exploration approach, including lunar missions through NASA’s Artemis program. 

Astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson NASA Biography:

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/tracy-caldwell-dyson

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/tracy-caldwell-dyson/biography

Astronaut Sunita Williams NASA Biography

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/sunita-l-williams/biography

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/williams-s.pdf

Society of Women Engineers

https://swe.org

Expedition 71 Updates:

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

Expedition 71 Crew

Station Commander: Oleg Kononenko (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)

NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominick, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps

NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore

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.


Video NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Duration: 24 minutes

Release Date: Aug. 6, 2024


#NASA #Space #Earth #ISS #Science #Astronauts #TracyDyson #SunitaWilliams #SWE #Engineers #Engineering #WomenInEngineering #WomenInTechnology #UnitedStates #SpaceTechnology #SpaceLaboratory #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition71 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Starburst Galaxy IC 10 in Cassiopeia | Mayall Telescope

Starburst Galaxy IC 10 in Cassiopeia | Mayall Telescope

This striking image from NOIRLab’s Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) presents a portrait of the irregular galaxy IC 10, a disorderly starburst galaxy close to the Milky Way. As well as a population of bright young stars, this irregular galaxy harbors exotic Wolf-Rayet stars and a black hole. IC 10 lies around 2 million light-years from Earth in the direction of the constellation of Cassiopeia. Though this distance seems huge, it puts IC 10 in the ever-growing Local Group of galaxies.

The Nicholas U. Mayall Telescope is a four-meter (158 inches) reflector telescope in Arizona named after the American observational astronomer of the same name. The telescope saw first light on February 27, 1973, and was the second-largest in the world at that time.


Credit: KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA

Data Obtained and Processed by: P. Massey (Lowell Obs.), G. Jacoby, K. Olsen, & C. Smith (NOAO/AURA/NSF)

Image Processing: Travis Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage), Mahdi Zamani & Davide de Martin

Release Date: June 18, 2020


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #Galaxy #IC10 #StarburstGalaxy #IrregularGalaxy #WolfRayetStars #BlackHole #Cassiopeia #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #MayallTelescope #KPNO #Arizona #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Pan of Galaxy Merger Arp-Madore 417-391 in Eridanus | Hubble

Pan of Galaxy Merger Arp-Madore 417-391 in Eridanus | Hubble

The galaxy merger Arp-Madore 417-391 is the spotlight in this image from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope. The Arp-Madore catalogue is a collection of particularly peculiar galaxies spread throughout the southern sky, and includes a collection of subtly interacting galaxies as well as more spectacular colliding galaxies. Arp-Madore 417-391 lies around 670 million light-years away in the constellation Eridanus in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is one such galactic collision. The two galaxies have been distorted by gravity and twisted into a colossal ring, leaving the cores of the two galaxies nestled side by side.

Hubble used its Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) to capture this scene—the instrument is optimized to hunt for galaxies and galaxy clusters in the ancient Universe. Hubble’s ACS has been contributing to scientific discovery for 20 years, and throughout its lifetime it has been involved in everything from mapping the distribution of dark matter to studying the evolution of galaxy clusters.

Image Description: Two galaxies right of center form a ring shape. The ring is narrow and blue, and the cores of the two galaxies form a bulge on the ring’s side. A bright, orange star lies above the ring. Two smaller spiral galaxies appear left of center, as well as a few stars. The background is black and speckled with very small stars and galaxies.


Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, Dark Energy Survey/DOE/FNAL/DECam/CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA, J. Dalcanton

Duration: 30 seconds

Release Date: Nov. 21, 2022


#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #Galaxy #AM0417391 #GalacticMergers #Eridanus #Constellation #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Galaxy Merger Arp-Madore 417-391 in Eridanus | Hubble

Galaxy Merger Arp-Madore 417-391 in Eridanus | Hubble


The galaxy merger Arp-Madore 417-391 is the spotlight in this image from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope. The Arp-Madore catalogue is a collection of particularly peculiar galaxies spread throughout the southern sky, and includes a collection of subtly interacting galaxies as well as more spectacular colliding galaxies. Arp-Madore 417-391 lies around 670 million light-years away in the constellation Eridanus in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is one such galactic collision. The two galaxies have been distorted by gravity and twisted into a colossal ring, leaving the cores of the two galaxies nestled side by side.

Hubble used its Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) to capture this scene—the instrument is optimized to hunt for galaxies and galaxy clusters in the ancient Universe. Hubble’s ACS has been contributing to scientific discovery for 20 years, and throughout its lifetime it has been involved in everything from mapping the distribution of dark matter to studying the evolution of galaxy clusters.

Image Description: Two galaxies right of center form a ring shape. The ring is narrow and blue, and the cores of the two galaxies form a bulge on the ring’s side. A bright, orange star lies above the ring. Two smaller spiral galaxies appear left of center, as well as a few stars. The background is black and speckled with very small stars and galaxies.


Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, Dark Energy Survey/DOE/FNAL/DECam/CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA, J. Dalcanton

Release Date: Nov. 21, 2022


#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #Galaxy #AM0417391 #GalacticMergers #Eridanus #Constellation #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Monday, August 05, 2024

Sun Releases Second Strong Solar Flare on Same Day | NASA SDO

Sun Releases Second Strong Solar Flare on Same Day | NASA SDO



The Sun emitted a second strong solar flare, peaking at 11:27 a.m. ET on Aug. 5, 2024. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory watches the Sun constantly and it captured an image of the event.

The bright flash of a solar flare appears on the Sun's lower left in an ultraviolet view of the Sun. The Sun is dotted with darker and brighter regions and wispy loops of bright solar material.

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare—seen as the bright flash on the lower left of the first image–on Aug. 5, 2024. The image shows a subset of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares. It is colorized in gold. 

The Sun's outer atmosphere, the corona, is structured by strong magnetic fields. Where these fields are closed, often above sunspot groups, the confined solar atmosphere can suddenly and violently release bubbles of gas and magnetic fields called coronal mass ejections (CMEs). A large CME can contain a billion tons of matter that can be accelerated to several million miles per hour in a spectacular explosion. Solar material streams out through the interplanetary medium, impacting any planet or spacecraft in its path. CMEs are sometimes associated with flares but can occur independently.

Solar flares are powerful bursts of energy. Flares and solar eruptions can impact radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals, and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts.

To see how such space weather may affect Earth, please visit NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center https://spaceweather.gov, the U.S. government’s official source for space weather forecasts, watches, warnings, and alerts. 

NASA works as a research arm of the nation’s space weather effort. NASA observes the Sun and our space environment constantly with a fleet of spacecraft that study everything from the Sun’s activity to the solar atmosphere, and to the particles and magnetic fields in the space surrounding Earth.


Image Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Release Date: Aug. 5, 2024


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #SpaceWeather #Sun #Star #Solar #SolarFlare #XFlare #Ultraviolet #Science #Plasma #MagneticField #Astrophysics #Heliophysics #Physics #Spacecraft #Satellite #SDO #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

NASA Pays Tribute to Hidden Figure Dorothy J. Vaughan: A Computing Pioneer

NASA Pays Tribute to Hidden Figure Dorothy J. Vaughan: A Computing Pioneer

This tribute is narrated by Octavia Spencer. She starred in the landmark 2016 film "Hidden Figures".

Dorothy J. Vaughan was a pioneer human computer and visionary. She was essential to the expansion of a diverse workforce across NASA. She began her career with the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in 1943 as part of the segregated West Area Computing Unit—an all-black group of female mathematicians. Their ground-breaking work and remarkable contributions changed the NASA community.

Promoted to lead the West Area Computers in 1949, Vaughan was NACA’s first black supervisor and one of its few female supervisors. She was a steadfast advocate for the women that worked as human computers, and for all the people under her leadership.

Dorothy Vaughan helmed West Computing for nearly a decade. In 1958, when the NACA made the transition to NASA, segregated facilities, including the West Computing office, were abolished. Dorothy Vaughan and many of the former West Computers joined the new Analysis and Computation Division (ACD), a racially and gender-integrated group on the frontier of electronic computing. Dorothy Vaughan became an expert FORTRAN programmer, and she also contributed to the Scout Launch Vehicle Program.

Through her exceptional leadership and dedication to the betterment of all individuals—particularly women of color, her legacy informed the agency’s current diverse workforce. 

Innovators like Vaughan laid the foundation for NASA to revisit the Moon for the first time since the Apollo era, this time with the first woman and first person of color under the Artemis program.

Date of Birth: September 20, 1910

Hometown: Kansas City, MO

Education: B.A., Mathematics, Wilberforce University, 1929

Hired by NACA: December 1943

Retired from NASA: 1971

Date of Death: November 10, 2008

Learn more about Dorothy J. Vaughan:

https://www.nasa.gov/people/dorothy-vaughan/


Credit: NASA

Producer: Sonnet Apple

Duration: 2 minutes, 28 seconds

Release Date: Aug. 5, 2024


#NASA #NACA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #Moon #Aerospace #Aviation #Pioneers #Leaders #DorothyJVaughan #Computing #Programming #Women #BlackWomen #AfricanAmericans #Segregation #CivilRights #HiddenFigures #NASALangley #Hampton #Virginia #UnitedStates #Technology #Engineering #History #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA Astronaut Captures "Heavenly Views" | International Space Station

NASA Astronaut Captures "Heavenly Views" | International Space Station

NASA Astronaut Matthew Dominick: "Experimenting with time lapses out of different windows around the ISS. This is one of a few windows that face away from earth in a compartment in the service module called the ПхО. ISO is cranked high and the exposure is a possibly too long (1.6s) as you can see the stars starting to streak. Considering cranking ISO higher and dropping exposure for crisper stars but I don’t want to lose nebulosity. Thoughts?"

Video details: 1.6s exposure, f1.4, ISO 12800, 2s intervalometer.

Expedition 71 Updates: 

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

Expedition 71 Crew
Station Commander: Oleg Kononenko (Russia)
Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)
NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominick, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps
NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore

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)


Image Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)/Astronaut Matthew Dominick

Duration: 30 seconds

Release Date: Aug. 4, 2024


#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Stars #MilkyWayGalaxy #Galaxies #Earth #ISS #SpaceXDragon #SpaceTechnology #SpaceLaboratory #Astronauts #UnitedStates #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #Expedition71 #STEM #Education #Timelapse #HD #Video

Strong X1.7 Solar Flare Erupts from Sun | NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory

Strong X1.7 Solar Flare Erupts from Sun | NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory



The Sun emitted a strong solar flare, peaking at 9:40 a.m. ET on Aug. 5, 2024. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory watches the Sun constantly and it captured an image of the event. Given the source location, an Earth-directed coronal mass ejection (CME), produced as a result, is unlikely. 

The Sun, shown in teal, against a black background. On the right side of the star, it a bright "X" shape—the solar flare. 
This flare is classified as an X1.7 flare. X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength.

The Sun's outer atmosphere, the corona, is structured by strong magnetic fields. Where these fields are closed, often above sunspot groups, the confined solar atmosphere can suddenly and violently release bubbles of gas and magnetic fields called coronal mass ejections (CMEs). A large CME can contain a billion tons of matter that can be accelerated to several million miles per hour in a spectacular explosion. Solar material streams out through the interplanetary medium, impacting any planet or spacecraft in its path. CMEs are sometimes associated with flares but can occur independently.

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare—seen as the bright flash on the right—on Aug. 5, 2024. The image shows a subset of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares and which is colorized in teal.

Solar flares are powerful bursts of energy. Flares and solar eruptions can impact radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals, and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts.

To see how such space weather may affect Earth, please visit NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center https://spaceweather.gov, the U.S. government’s official source for space weather forecasts, watches, warnings, and alerts. 

NASA works as a research arm of the nation’s space weather effort. NASA observes the Sun and our space environment constantly with a fleet of spacecraft that study everything from the Sun’s activity to the solar atmosphere, and to the particles and magnetic fields in the space surrounding Earth.


Image Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Release Date: Aug. 5, 2024


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #SpaceWeather #Sun #Star #Solar #SolarFlare #XFlare #Ultraviolet #Science #Plasma #MagneticField #Astrophysics #Heliophysics #Physics #Spacecraft #Satellite #SDO #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Miranda Engine: 3+ Minute Hot Fire Test for Medium-lift Rocket | Firefly Aerospace

Miranda Engine: 3+ Minute Hot Fire Test for Medium-lift Rocket | Firefly Aerospace

On July 12, just 24 hours after completing a 60 second hot fire, the Firefly team completed mission duty cycle on its full-length Miranda engine with a 206 second hot fire, matching the longest engine burn during flight.

" . . . Miranda is building on the success of Lightning (15,759 lbf) and Reaver (45,000 lbf) with proven engine scalability. Miranda uses the same engine architecture, injector design, and patented tap-off cycle as the Reaver and Lightning engines that power Firefly’s orbital Alpha vehicle. Miranda also incorporates a scaled-up version of Reaver’s turbopump, fluid systems, and valve technology." 

Learn more: https://fireflyspace.com/news/firefly-aerospace-completes-risk-reduction-testing-for-critical-miranda-engine-components/


Video Credit: Firefly Aerospace

Duration: 3 minutes, 41 seconds

Release Date: July 24, 2024


#NASA #Space #Science #Satellites #FireflyAerospace #MirandaEngine #HotFire #RocketTest #MediumLift #SpaceTechnology #Engineering #CommercialSpace #Briggs #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Pinwheel-shaped Galaxy NGC 1309 in Eridanus | Hubble

Pinwheel-shaped Galaxy NGC 1309 in Eridanus | Hubble


The NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope captured details of this face-on spiral galaxy, cataloged as NGC 1309, in this color image. NGC 1309 was home to supernova SN 2002fk. Its light reached Earth in September 2002. NGC 1309 resides 100 million light-years (30 Megaparsecs) from Earth. It is one of about 200 galaxies that make up the Eridanus group of galaxies.


Credit: NASA, ESA, The Hubble Heritage Team, (STScI/AURA) and A. Riess (STScI)

Release Date: Feb. 7, 2006


#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #NGC1309 #SpiralGalaxy #Supernovae #SN2002fk #Eridanus #Constellation #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Sunday, August 04, 2024

BBC Star Diary: Saturn Rises High in the Sky (August 5 to 11, 2024)

BBC Star Diary: Saturn Rises High in the Sky (August 5 to 11, 2024)

The ringed planet will be high in the sky this week, making it a great time to spot the gas giant. Find out how to see the sight for yourself by listening to this week’s episode of Star Diary, the podcast from the makers of BBC Sky at Night Magazine. 

Transcript: www.skyatnightmagazine.com/podcasts/star-diary-5-aug-2024


Video Credit: BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Duration: 17 minutes

Release Date: Aug. 4, 2024


#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #Meteors #Planets #Saturn #Moon #SolarSystem #Comets #Stars #Constellations #StarClusters #MilkyWayGalaxy #Universe #Skywatching #BBC #UK #Britain #Europe #UnitedStates #Canada #NorthernHemisphere #STEM #Education #Podcast #HD #Video

CRS-21 Resupply Mission Launch on SpaceX Falcon 9 | International Space Station

CRS-21 Resupply Mission Launch on SpaceX Falcon 9 | International Space Station






Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft launched to the International Space Station atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 11:02 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral in Florida. Cygnus, named the S.S. Francis R. “Dick” Scobee and carrying nearly 8,200 pounds of cargo, is planned to take a day-and-a-half trip around Earth before arriving at the International Space Station for its robotic capture by the Canadian Space Agency's Canadarm2 on Tuesday, Aug. 6.

Aboard the Cygnus spacecraft are tests of water recovery technology, a process to produce stem cells in microgravity, studies of the effects of spaceflight on microorganism DNA, liver tissue growth, and live science demonstrations for students.

This is Northrop Grumman’s 21st commercial resupply mission for NASA.

Learn about NASA's Commercial Resupply Services Program:

Image Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)
Capture Date: Aug. 4, 2024

#NASA #Space #ISS #NorthropGrumman #CygnusSpacecraft #CommercialCargo #CRS21 #NG21 #SSDickScobee #SpaceX #Falcon9Rocket #CommercialResupply #CommercialSpace #Expedition71 #HumanSpaceflight #NASAKennedy #KSC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Shenzhou-18 Crew Completes In-Orbit Test & Experiments | China Space Station

Shenzhou-18 Crew Completes In-Orbit Test & Experiments | China Space Station

The Shenzhou-18 crew—in orbit for over three months—more than half of their six-month mission period, successfully carried out equipment tests and multiple space science experiments last week.

The three Shenzhou-18 crew members aboard China's orbiting Tiangong space station—Ye Guangfu, Li Cong, and Li Guangsu—tested the smoke detection sensors in the space station to verify the functionality of the fire alarm system, and collected blood samples for research, according to the latest footage released by the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

The crew used specialized tools to test the temperature and smoke detectors in the station, activating the fire alarm system including voice, lights, and instrument alerts.

Meanwhile, the trio collected blood samples for routine tests and aerospace medicine studies. Samples were frozen for later analysis on the Earth, aiming to develop health risk prediction models and study physiological changes during long-duration spaceflight.

The three astronauts conducted in-orbit research on blood samples to monitor physiological indicators. They centrifuged samples and analyzed plasma with a molecular probe spectrometer, verifying the feasibility of detecting organic compounds like proteins via this method in space.

They also performed maintenance tasks and medical exams during their mission.

China launched the Shenzhou-18 crewed spaceship to send the three astronauts to its orbiting Tiangong space station for a six-month mission on April 25, 2024. This is the 32nd flight mission of the country's crewed space program.

Shenzhou-18 Crew:

Ye Guangfu (叶光富, commander)

Li Cong (李聪, mission specialist)

Li Guangsu (李广苏, mission specialist)


Video Credit: China Central Television (CCTV) Video 

Duration: 1 minute, 52 seconds

Release Date: Aug 4, 2024


#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #China #中国 #Shenzhou18 #神舟十八 #ScientificExperiments #Health #HumanPhysiology #Taikonauts #Astronauts #YeGuangfu #LiCong #LiGuangsu #CSS #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #CMSA #国家航天局 #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Liftoff: CRS-21 Resupply Mission on SpaceX Falcon 9 | International Space Station

Liftoff: CRS-21 Resupply Mission on SpaceX Falcon 9 | International Space Station


Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft launched to the International Space Station atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 11:02 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral in Florida. Cygnus, carrying nearly 8,200 pounds of cargo, is planned to take a day-and-a-half trip around Earth before arriving at the International Space Station for its robotic capture by the Canadian Space Agency's Canadarm2.

Aboard the Cygnus spacecraft are tests of water recovery technology, a process to produce stem cells in microgravity, studies of the effects of spaceflight on microorganism DNA, liver tissue growth, and live science demonstrations for students.

Learn about NASA's Commercial Resupply Services Program:

Video Credit: NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC)
Duration: 27 seconds
Capture Date: Aug. 4, 2024

#NASA #Space #ISS #NorthropGrumman #CygnusSpacecraft #CommercialCargo #CRS21 #NG21 #SSDickScobee #SpaceX #Falcon9Rocket #CommercialResupply #CommercialSpace #Expedition71 #HumanSpaceflight #NASAKennedy #KSC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Planet Mars Images: Summer 2024 | NASA Curiosity & Perseverance Mars Rovers

Planet Mars Images: Summer 2024 | NASA Curiosity & Perseverance Mars Rovers

Mars 2020 - sol 1201
Mars 2020 - sol 1217
Mars 2020 - sol 1219
Mars 2020 - sol 1225
MSL - sol 4255
MSL - sol 4255 (Note: slight image misalignment)
Mars 2020 - sol 1218

Image 1: NASA’s Perseverance rover discovered “leopard spots” on a reddish rock nicknamed “Cheyava Falls” in Mars’ Jezero Crater in July 2024. Scientists think the spots may indicate that, billions of years ago, the chemical reactions in this rock could have supported microbial life; other explanations are being considered. 

Other explanations for the observed features are being considered by the science team, and future research steps will be required to determine whether ancient life is a valid explanation.

Support FriendsofNASA.org

Celebrating 11+ Years on Mars (2012-2024)

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

Celebrating 3+ Years on 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 return to Earth.
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: July 24-Aug. 2, 2024

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #Astrobiology #Geology #CuriosityRover #MSL #MountSharp #GaleCrater #PerseveranceRover #Mars2020 #JezeroCrater #Robotics #SpaceTechnology #SpaceEngineering #JPL #Caltech #UnitedStates #CitizenScience #KevinGill #STEM #Education