Polaris Dawn Mission Crew: Launch Preparations | NASA's Kennedy Space Center

Polaris Dawn Mission: Launch Preparations | NASA's Kennedy Space Center

From left to right: Anna Menon - Mission Specialist & Medical Officer, Scott Poteet - Mission Pilot, Jared Isaacman - Mission Commander, Sarah Gillis - Mission Specialist

From left to right: Anna Menon - Mission Specialist & Medical Officer, Scott Poteet - Mission Pilot, Jared Isaacman - Mission Commander, Sarah Gillis - Mission Specialist

From left to right: Sarah Gillis - Mission Specialist, Scott Poteet - Mission Pilot, Anna Menon - Mission Specialist & Medical Officer, Jared Isaacman - Mission Commander

Polaris Dawn Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Merritt Island, Florida

On Aug. 25, 2024, the Polaris Dawn Mission crew performed a dress rehearsal at Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) located at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida. Their SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and specially-modified Crew Dragon spacecraft are being prepared for launch 

no earlier than Aug. 27, 2024.

The Polaris Dawn Mission will fly a specially-modified SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft higher than any mission to date since the Apollo program, endeavoring to reach the highest Earth orbit ever flown at approximately 700 kilometers above the Earth. Orbiting through portions of the Van Allen radiation belt, Polaris Dawn will conduct research with the aim of better understanding the effects of spaceflight and space radiation on human health, while testing laser-based communications.

The Polaris Dawn crew is preparing for the mission’s "first commercial spacewalk". This extravehicular activity (EVA) will be the final test for SpaceX’s newly-developed EVA spacesuit.

"Completing the first commercial extravehicular activity in low-Earth orbit is an important first step towards a future where millions of humans are visiting, working, and living on the Moon, Mars, and other destinations in our solar system."

The goals of the spacesuit tests are: 

1. Familiarization with how the spacesuit performs in a vacuum

2. Collection of spacesuit and biometric data to assess the overall system’s performance in a flight-like environment

3. Understanding of general impacts of pressure changes on their body during pressurized operations

4. Insight into thermal states expected throughout the spacewalk

5. An elevated metabolic period for the crew to simulate the expected workload during the spacewalk, as well as a reduced-activity period to understand the trend of body temperatures throughout the operation

Polaris Dawn’s spacewalk will be the first time that four astronauts will be concurrently exposed to the vacuum of space. During the approximately two-hour-long operation, Mission Commander Jared Isaacman and Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis will separately exit the Dragon spacecraft through its forward hatch. Mission Pilot Kidd Poteet and Mission Specialist & Medical Officer Anna Menon will remain seated, managing spacesuit umbilicals and monitoring telemetry on Dragon’s interior displays.

Polaris Dawn Crew

Jared Isaacman - Mission Commander

Scott Poteet - Mission Pilot

Sarah Gillis - Mission Specialist

Anna Menon - Mission Specialist & Medical Officer

Learn more about the Polaris Program:

https://polarisprogram.com

Image Credits: Polaris Program/SpaceX

Image Dates: Aug. 24-25, 2024

#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #PolarisDawn #CrewDragonSpacecraft #EVA #Spacewalk #Spacesuits #SpaceTechnology #Astronauts #JaredIsaacman #ScottPoteet #SarahGillis #AnnaMenon #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #KSC #LC39A #MerrittIsland #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Shenzhou-18 Crew: Experiments & Maintenance Work | China Space Station

Shenzhou-18 Crew: Experiments & Maintenance Work | China Space Station

 

The Shenzhou-18 astronauts, who have been in orbit for about four months, have conducted a series of space science experiments while performing a variety of tasks, including environmental monitoring and equipment maintenance, on China's Tiangong space station, as shown in recently released footage from the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

The three Shenzhou-18 crew members—Ye Guangfu, Li Cong, and Li Guangsu—who boarded the Tiangong space station in late April 2024, used an experimental information management computer and specialized testing software to conduct assessments of their emergency decision-making abilities and in-orbit emotional states. Ground-based researchers will analyze the collected data to evaluate the astronauts' decision-making capabilities and emotional responses, aiming to understand the underlying patterns.

In the field of aerospace medicine, the crew has conducted eye-hand coordination tests, electrical acupoint stimulation and muscle adaptability experiments.

The astronauts used visual coordination testing devices to complete eye-hand coordination tests, including point-to-point tracking and finger movements in mid-air. Ground researchers are expected to use the results to study changes in the stability, accuracy and coordination of the astronauts' fine motor control skills during spaceflight, providing valuable references for future mission procedures and human-machine interface design.

Guided by traditional Chinese medicine theories, the astronauts used portable acupoint stimulation devices for electrical stimulation and completed evaluation forms afterward. This research aims to understand how acupoint stimulation can regulate cardiovascular function and prevent muscle atrophy in microgravity conditions.

In the muscle adaptability experiments, the crew conducted tests on Achilles tendon stiffness, lower-limb kinematics and foot pressure using specialized equipment to gather data on changes in muscle structure and function. Ground researchers will compare pre-flight and post-flight data to clarify the biomechanical effects of long-term weightlessness and in-orbit exercise on the lower limbs.

Additionally, the astronauts underwent regular medical checks, such as body mass measurements, to monitor their health. They also organized supplies, managed waste, and carried out routine cleaning tasks to maintain the space station's living environment.

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 News Agency

Duration: 1 minute, 22 seconds

Release Date: Aug. 25, 2024

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #China #中国 #Shenzhou18 #神舟十八 #ScientificExperiments #SpacePhysics #LifeSciences #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

Polaris Dawn Mission: First Commercial Spacewalk in New SpaceX Spacesuit

Polaris Dawn Mission: First Commercial Spacewalk in New SpaceX Spacesuit

The Polaris Dawn Mission will fly a specially-modified SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft higher than any mission to date since the Apollo program, endeavoring to reach the highest Earth orbit ever flown at approximately 700 kilometers above the Earth. Orbiting through portions of the Van Allen radiation belt, Polaris Dawn will conduct research with the aim of better understanding the effects of spaceflight and space radiation on human health, while testing laser-based communications. Launch is expected no earlier than Aug. 27, 2024.

The Polaris Dawn crew is preparing for the mission’s "first commercial spacewalk". This extravehicular activity (EVA) will be the final test for SpaceX’s newly-developed EVA spacesuit.

"Completing the first commercial extravehicular activity in low-Earth orbit is an important first step towards a future where millions of humans are visiting, working, and living on the Moon, Mars, and other destinations in our solar system."

The goals of the spacesuit tests are: 

1. Familiarization with how the spacesuit performs in a vacuum

2. Collection of spacesuit and biometric data to assess the overall system’s performance in a flight-like environment

3. Understanding of general impacts of pressure changes on their body during pressurized operations

4. Insight into thermal states expected throughout the spacewalk

5. An elevated metabolic period for the crew to simulate the expected workload during the spacewalk, as well as a reduced-activity period to understand the trend of body temperatures throughout the operation

Polaris Dawn’s spacewalk will be the first time that four astronauts will be concurrently exposed to the vacuum of space. During the approximately two-hour-long operation, Mission Commander Jared Isaacman and Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis will separately exit the Dragon spacecraft through its forward hatch. Mission Pilot Kidd Poteet and Mission Specialist & Medical Officer Anna Menon will remain seated, managing spacesuit umbilicals and monitoring telemetry on Dragon’s interior displays.

Polaris Dawn Crew

Jared Isaacman - Mission Commander

Scott Poteet - Mission Pilot

Sarah Gillis - Mission Specialist

Anna Menon - Mission Specialist & Medical Officer

Learn more about the Polaris Program:

https://polarisprogram.com

Image Credits: Polaris Program/SpaceX

Duration: 50 seconds

Image Date: Aug. 22, 2024

#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #PolarisDawn #CrewDragonSpacecraft #EVA #Spacewalk #Spacesuits #SpaceTechnology #Astronauts #JaredIsaacman #ScottPoteet #SarahGillis #AnnaMenon #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #Animation #HD #Video

Uniquely-shaped Galaxy ESO 99-4 in Triangulum Australe | Hubble Space Telescope

Uniquely-shaped Galaxy ESO 99-4 in Triangulum Australe | Hubble Space Telescope

ESO 99-4 is a galaxy with a highly peculiar shape that is probably the remnant of an earlier merger process that has deformed it beyond visual recognition, leaving the main body largely obscured by dark bands of dust. ESO 99-4 lies in a rich field of foreground stars, in the constellation of Triangulum Australe, the Southern Triangle, about 400 million light-years away.

This image is part of a large collection of 59 images of merging galaxies taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and released on the occasion of its 18th anniversary on April 24, 2008.

Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration and A. Evans (University of Virginia, Charlottesville/NRAO/Stony Brook University)

Release Date: April 24, 2008

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Stars #Galaxies #Galaxy #ESO994 #InteractingGalaxies #TriangulumAustrale #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Polaris Dawn Mission: SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket & Crew Dragon at Launchpad

Polaris Dawn Mission: SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket & Crew Dragon at Launchpad

Polaris Mission Patch

On Aug. 24, 2024, the Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft for the Polaris Dawn Mission was made vertical at Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) located at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida. The Dragon spacecraft supporting this mission previously flew Crew-1 to and from the International Space Station, and Inspiration4, the first all-civilian mission to orbit. This will be the fourth flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Crew-8 and two Starlink missions. Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage will land on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. Launch is expected no earlier than Aug. 27, 2024.

The Polaris Program is a planned human spaceflight program organized by businessman and commercial astronaut Jared Isaacman. Isaacman, who commanded the first all-civilian spaceflight— Inspiration4—in September 2021, purchased flights from SpaceX in order to create the Polaris Program.

The Polaris Dawn Mission will fly a specially-modified SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft higher than any mission to date since the Apollo program, endeavoring to reach the highest Earth orbit ever flown at approximately 700 kilometers above the Earth. Orbiting through portions of the Van Allen radiation belt, Polaris Dawn will conduct research with the aim of better understanding the effects of spaceflight and space radiation on human health, while testing laser-based communications.

The Polaris Dawn crew is preparing for the mission’s "first commercial spacewalk". This extravehicular activity (EVA) will be the final test for SpaceX’s newly-developed EVA spacesuit.

"Completing the first commercial extravehicular activity in low-Earth orbit is an important first step towards a future where millions of humans are visiting, working, and living on the Moon, Mars, and other destinations in our solar system."

The goals of the spacesuit tests are: 

1. Familiarization with how the spacesuit performs in a vacuum

2. Collection of spacesuit and biometric data to assess the overall system’s performance in a flight-like environment

3. Understanding of general impacts of pressure changes on their body during pressurized operations

4. Insight into thermal states expected throughout the spacewalk

5. An elevated metabolic period for the crew to simulate the expected workload during the spacewalk, as well as a reduced-activity period to understand the trend of body temperatures throughout the operation

Polaris Dawn’s spacewalk will be the first time that four astronauts will be concurrently exposed to the vacuum of space. During the approximately two-hour-long operation, Mission Commander Jared Isaacman and Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis will separately exit the Dragon spacecraft through its forward hatch. Mission Pilot Kidd Poteet and Mission Specialist & Medical Officer Anna Menon will remain seated, managing spacesuit umbilicals and monitoring telemetry on Dragon’s interior displays.

Polaris Dawn Crew

Jared Isaacman - Mission Commander

Scott Poteet - Mission Pilot

Sarah Gillis - Mission Specialist

Anna Menon - Mission Specialist & Medical Officer

Learn more about the Polaris Program:

https://polarisprogram.com

Image Credits: Polaris Program/SpaceX

Image Date: Aug. 24, 2024

#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #PolarisDawn #CrewDragonSpacecraft #Falcon9Rocket #EVA #Spacewalk #Spacesuits #SpaceTechnology #Astronauts #JaredIsaacman #ScottPoteet #SarahGillis #AnnaMenon #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #KSC #LC39A #MerrittIsland #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

The Cat’s Paw Nebula: NGC 6334 in Scorpius | Victor Blanco Telescope

The Cat’s Paw Nebula: NGC 6334 in Scorpius | Victor Blanco Telescope

This image of emission nebula NGC 6334 (the Cat’s Paw Nebula), a star-forming region in the constellation Scorpius, was taken in 2007 using the Mosaic-2 imager on the Blanco 4-meter telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO). The colors of the nebula are reddened by intervening dust in the plane of the Milky Way galaxy. The image was taken as part of a continuing campaign of public-release images using both National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) 4-meter telescopes.

The 4-meter Víctor M. Blanco Telescope was commissioned in 1974. It is a near twin of the Mayall 4-meter telescope on Kitt Peak. In 1995, it was dedicated and named in honor of Puerto Rican astronomer Víctor Manuel Blanco. It is also part of the Dark Energy Survey (DES), a visible and near-infrared survey that aims to probe the dynamics of the expansion of the Universe.

Víctor M. Blanco Telescope:

https://noirlab.edu/science/programs/ctio/telescopes/victor-blanco-4m-telescope

Credit: T.A. Rector/University of Alaska Anchorage, T. Abbott and NOIRLab/NSF/AURA

Release Date: June 30, 2020

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #CatsPawNebula #NGC6334 #Scorpius #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #VictorBlancoTelescope #DECam #CTIO #CerroTololo #Chile #NOIRLab #NSF #AURA #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Polaris Dawn Mission SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Rollout & Pre-launch Briefing

Polaris Dawn Mission SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Rollout & Pre-launch Briefing

From left to right: Scott Poteet - Mission Pilot, Anna Menon - Mission Specialist & Medical Officer, Sarah Gillis - Mission Specialist, Jared Isaacman - Mission Commander

From left to right: Anna Menon - Mission Specialist & Medical Officer, Scott Poteet - Mission Pilot, Jared Isaacman - Mission Commander, Sarah Gillis - Mission Specialist

Sarah Gillis - Mission Specialist

Anna Menon - Mission Specialist & Medical Officer

Jared "Rook" Isaacman - Mission Commander

Scott Poteet - Mission Pilot

Polaris Dawn Mission Overview Briefing | From left to right: SpaceX vice president Bill Gerstenmaier (a former NASA official responsible for the agency’s human spaceflight programs), Jared Isaacman - Mission Commander, Anna Menon - Mission Specialist & Medical Officer, Scott Poteet - Mission Pilot, Sarah Gillis - Mission Specialist 

Polaris Dawn Crew Leave for NASA's Kennedy Space Center

From left to right: Anna Menon - Mission Specialist & Medical Officer, Sarah Gillis - Mission Specialist, Scott Poteet - Mission Pilot, Jared Isaacman - Mission Commander

The Polaris Program is a planned human spaceflight program organized by businessman and commercial astronaut Jared Isaacman. Isaacman, who commanded the first all-civilian spaceflight— Inspiration4—in September 2021, purchased flights from SpaceX in order to create the Polaris Program.

The Polaris Dawn Mission will fly a specially-modified SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft higher than any mission to date since the Apollo program, endeavoring to reach the highest Earth orbit ever flown at approximately 700 kilometers above the Earth. Orbiting through portions of the Van Allen radiation belt, Polaris Dawn will conduct research with the aim of better understanding the effects of spaceflight and space radiation on human health, while testing laser-based communications.

The Polaris Dawn crew is preparing for the mission’s "first commercial spacewalk". This extravehicular activity (EVA) will be the final test for SpaceX’s newly-developed EVA spacesuit. Launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft is expected no earlier than Aug. 27, 2024. 

"Completing the first commercial extravehicular activity in low-Earth orbit is an important first step towards a future where millions of humans are visiting, working, and living on the Moon, Mars, and other destinations in our solar system."

The goals of the spacesuit tests are: 

1. Familiarization with how the spacesuit performs in a vacuum

2. Collection of spacesuit and biometric data to assess the overall system’s performance in a flight-like environment

3. Understanding of general impacts of pressure changes on their body during pressurized operations

4. Insight into thermal states expected throughout the spacewalk

5. An elevated metabolic period for the crew to simulate the expected workload during the spacewalk, as well as a reduced-activity period to understand the trend of body temperatures throughout the operation

Polaris Dawn’s spacewalk will be the first time that four astronauts will be concurrently exposed to the vacuum of space. During the approximately two-hour-long operation, Mission Commander Jared Isaacman and Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis will separately exit the Dragon spacecraft through its forward hatch. Mission Pilot Kidd Poteet and Mission Specialist & Medical Officer Anna Menon will remain seated, managing spacesuit umbilicals and monitoring telemetry on Dragon’s interior displays.

Polaris Dawn Crew

Jared Isaacman - Mission Commander

Scott Poteet - Mission Pilot

Sarah Gillis - Mission Specialist

Anna Menon - Mission Specialist & Medical Officer

Learn more about the Polaris Program:

https://polarisprogram.com

Image Credits: Polaris Program/SpaceX

Release Dates: Aug. 19-23, 2024

#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #PolarisDawn #CrewDragonSpacecraft #FalconRocket #EVA #Spacewalk #Spacesuits #SpaceTechnology #Astronauts #JaredIsaacman #ScottPoteet #SarahGillis #AnnaMenon #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #KSC #LC39A #MerrittIsland #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Polaris Dawn Mission SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket & Crew Dragon Pre-launch

Polaris Dawn Mission SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket & Crew Dragon Pre-launch

SpaceX Falcon 9 & specially modified Crew Dragon spacecraft

SpaceX Falcon 9 & specially modified Crew Dragon spacecraft

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket moving to Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) located at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida

Polaris Dawn crew signing Falcon 9 booster

Crew Dragon training at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California | From left to right: Anna Menon - Mission Specialist & Medical Officer, Scott Poteet - Mission Pilot, Jared Isaacman - Mission Commander, Sarah Gillis - Mission Specialist

Polaris Mission Patch

The Polaris Program is a planned human spaceflight program organized by businessman and commercial astronaut Jared Isaacman. Isaacman, who commanded the first all-civilian spaceflight— Inspiration4—in September 2021, purchased flights from SpaceX in order to create the Polaris Program.

The Polaris Dawn Mission will fly a specially-modified SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft higher than any mission to date since the Apollo program, endeavoring to reach the highest Earth orbit ever flown at approximately 700 kilometers above the Earth. Orbiting through portions of the Van Allen radiation belt, Polaris Dawn will conduct research with the aim of better understanding the effects of spaceflight and space radiation on human health, while testing laser-based communications.

The Polaris Dawn crew is preparing for the mission’s "first commercial spacewalk". This extravehicular activity (EVA) will be the final test for SpaceX’s newly-developed EVA spacesuit. Launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft is expected no earlier than Aug. 27, 2024. 

"Completing the first commercial extravehicular activity in low-Earth orbit is an important first step towards a future where millions of humans are visiting, working, and living on the Moon, Mars, and other destinations in our solar system."

The goals of the spacesuit tests are: 

1. Familiarization with how the spacesuit performs in a vacuum

2. Collection of spacesuit and biometric data to assess the overall system’s performance in a flight-like environment

3. Understanding of general impacts of pressure changes on their body during pressurized operations

4. Insight into thermal states expected throughout the spacewalk

5. An elevated metabolic period for the crew to simulate the expected workload during the spacewalk, as well as a reduced-activity period to understand the trend of body temperatures throughout the operation

Polaris Dawn’s spacewalk will be the first time that four astronauts will be concurrently exposed to the vacuum of space. During the approximately two-hour-long operation, Mission Commander Jared Isaacman and Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis will separately exit the Dragon spacecraft through its forward hatch. Mission Pilot Kidd Poteet and Mission Specialist & Medical Officer Anna Menon will remain seated, managing spacesuit umbilicals and monitoring telemetry on Dragon’s interior displays.

Polaris Dawn Crew

Jared Isaacman - Mission Commander

Scott Poteet - Mission Pilot

Sarah Gillis - Mission Specialist

Anna Menon - Mission Specialist & Medical Officer

Learn more about the Polaris Program:

https://polarisprogram.com

Image Credits: Polaris Program/SpaceX

Release Dates: Feb. 2022-Aug. 23, 2024

#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #PolarisDawn #CrewDragonSpacecraft #FalconRocket #EVA #Spacewalk #Spacesuits #SpaceTechnology #Astronauts #JaredIsaacman #ScottPoteet #SarahGillis #AnnaMenon #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #KSC #LC39A #MerrittIsland #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Polaris Dawn Crew: Ready for SpaceX Launch & First Commercial Spacewalk

Polaris Dawn Crew: Ready for SpaceX Launch & First Commercial Spacewalk

Sarah Gillis - Mission Specialist

Anna Menon - Mission Specialist & Medical Officer

Jared "Rook" Isaacman - Mission Commander

Scott Poteet - Mission Pilot

From left to right: Jared Isaacman - Mission Commander, Sarah Gillis - Mission Specialist, Anna Menon - Mission Specialist & Medical Officer, Scott Poteet - Mission Pilot

From left to right: Jared Isaacman - Mission Commander, Anna Menon - Mission Specialist & Medical Officer, Sarah Gillis - Mission Specialist, Scott Poteet - Mission Pilot

From left to right: Jared Isaacman - Mission Commander, Sarah Gillis - Mission Specialist, Anna Menon - Mission Specialist & Medical Officer, Scott Poteet - Mission Pilot

From left to right: Jared Isaacman - Mission Commander, Anna Menon - Mission Specialist & Medical Officer, Sarah Gillis - Mission Specialist, Scott Poteet - Mission Pilot

The Polaris Program is a planned human spaceflight program organized by businessman and commercial astronaut Jared Isaacman. Isaacman, who commanded the first all-civilian spaceflight— Inspiration4—in September 2021, purchased flights from SpaceX in order to create the Polaris Program.

This Dragon mission will fly higher than any mission to date since the Apollo program, endeavoring to reach the highest Earth orbit ever flown at approximately 700 kilometers above the Earth. Orbiting through portions of the Van Allen radiation belt, Polaris Dawn will conduct research with the aim of better understanding the effects of spaceflight and space radiation on human health, while testing laser-based communications.

The Polaris Dawn crew is preparing for the mission’s "first commercial spacewalk". This extravehicular activity (EVA) will be the final test for SpaceX’s newly-developed EVA spacesuit. Launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft is expected no earlier than Aug. 27, 2024. 

"Completing the first commercial extravehicular activity in low-Earth orbit is an important first step towards a future where millions of humans are visiting, working, and living on the Moon, Mars, and other destinations in our solar system."

The goals of the spacesuit tests are: 

1. Familiarization with how the spacesuit performs in a vacuum

2. Collection of spacesuit and biometric data to assess the overall system’s performance in a flight-like environment

3. Understanding of general impacts of pressure changes on their body during pressurized operations

4. Insight into thermal states expected throughout the spacewalk

5. An elevated metabolic period for the crew to simulate the expected workload during the spacewalk, as well as a reduced-activity period to understand the trend of body temperatures throughout the operation

Polaris Dawn’s spacewalk will be the first time that four astronauts will be concurrently exposed to the vacuum of space. During the approximately two-hour-long operation, Mission Commander Jared Isaacman and Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis will separately exit the Dragon spacecraft through its forward hatch. Mission Pilot Kidd Poteet and Mission Specialist & Medical Officer Anna Menon will remain seated, managing spacesuit umbilicals and monitoring telemetry on Dragon’s interior displays.

Polaris Dawn Crew

Jared Isaacman - Mission Commander

Scott Poteet - Mission Pilot

Sarah Gillis - Mission Specialist

Anna Menon - Mission Specialist & Medical Officer

Learn more about the Polaris Program:

https://polarisprogram.com

Image Credits: Polaris Program/SpaceX

Release Dates: Aug. 7-23, 2024

#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #PolarisDawn #CrewDragonSpacecraft #FalconRocket #EVA #Spacewalk #Spacesuits #SpaceTechnology #Astronauts #JaredIsaacman #ScottPoteet #SarahGillis #AnnaMenon #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #KSC #LC39A #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

NASA's ESCAPADE Mars Mission

NASA's ESCAPADE Mars Mission

Over billions of years, a relentless flow of particles from the Sun—the solar wind—has slowly stripped away the Martian atmosphere, causing surface water to evaporate. How did this happen? 

NASA's new ESCAPADE mission aims to find out. Launching no earlier than Oct. 13, 2024, the Escape and Plasma Acceleration Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) mission will be studying Mars' real-time response to the solar wind, helping us better understand Mars' climate history. 

The mission is set to launch no earlier than late 2024 on Blue Origin's inaugural New Glenn rocket flight. It will take ESCAPADE about 11 months to arrive at Mars after leaving Earth’s orbit.

The ESCAPADE mission is managed by the Space Sciences Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, with key partners Rocket Lab, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Advanced Space LLC, and Blue Origin.

Learn more about NASA's ESCAPADE Mission:

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/escapade

https://escapade.ssl.berkeley.edu

https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=ESCAPADE

Video Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Animation Credit: James Rattray/Rocket Lab USA; Blue Origin

Producer: Beth Anthony (eMITS)

Duration: 1 minute

Release Date: Aug. 23, 2024

#NASA #RocketLab #BlueOrigin #Space #Astronomy #Science #Star #Sun #SpaceWeather #Planet #Mars #Magetosphere #Atmosphere #Radiation #ESCAPADEMission #ESCAPADESpacecraft #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #GSFC #SSL #UCBerkeley #ERAU #AdvancedSpace #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #Animation #HD #Video

Chinese Scientists Uncover Method to Extract Abundant Water from Lunar Soil

Chinese Scientists Uncover Method to Extract Abundant Water from Lunar Soil

In a great step forward for space research, Chinese scientists have unveiled pioneering methods to extract ample water from lunar soil following an analysis of samples retrieved by the country's Chang'e-5 mission, marking a major breakthrough. This could revolutionize future Moon missions and advance plans for a potential lunar station.

Researchers at the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering under the Chinese Academy of Sciences have formulated an innovative approach that would be capable of yielding up to 76 kilograms of water from around one ton of lunar soil, setting the stage for the establishment of future lunar research stations.

Their remarkable achievement was unveiled in the prestigious internationally peer-reviewed academic journal Innovations on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024:

"Massive Water Production from Lunar Ilmenite through Reaction with Endogenous Hydrogen"

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666675824001280

"As we heated the titanium iron ore in lunar soil, anticipating the release of helium, we were instead astonished by the bubbles filling the screen," said Chen Xiao, one of the researchers.

Delving deeper, researchers discovered that lunar soil minerals, enriched over billions of years by solar wind exposure, harbor substantial hydrogen reserves. When subjected to high temperatures, hydrogen interacts with iron oxides within the minerals, yielding elemental iron and copious amounts of water. The lunar soil liquefies at temperatures exceeding 1,000 degrees Celsius, liberating water vapor produced during this transformative reaction.

Extensive analyses by the research team prove that this innovative water extraction method can generate approximately 51 to 76 milligrams of water from a single gram of lunar soil. By extrapolation, a ton of lunar soil can yield around 51 to 76 kilograms of water—equivalent to over 100 bottles of 500 milliliters each—capable of satisfying the daily hydration needs of 50 individuals.

While earlier investigations focused on identifying traces of water within lunar soil minerals, the scarcity of water content posed challenges for its extraction and application on the lunar surface. Consequently, experts say the exploration of novel lunar water resources and extraction methodologies will undoubtedly steer the course of future lunar exploration endeavors.

"This is a completely new method of water production. The naturally occurring water on the moon is typically between 0.0001 percent and 0.02 percent, making extraction incredibly difficult. Through this method, the water content we obtain can exceed 5 percent of the lunar soil weight, at least 250 times more than the natural water content. In the future, if we conduct research on the moon, we can utilize this method to meet the fundamental needs of human survival," said Wang Junqiang, another researcher at the Ningbo institute.

The work was completed thanks to the samples brought back by the Chang'e-5 probe, which returned to Earth in December 2020 after retrieving a total of 1,731 grams of primarily rocks and soil from the lunar surface.

This June, China's historic Chang'e-6 probe returned 1,935 grams of samples from the far side of the moon—a first for mankind—marking another milestone in the country's space exploration endeavors.

China has announced plans to realize a manned lunar landing by 2030 to carry out lunar scientific exploration and related technological experiments.

Utilizing in-situ resources on the Moon will lay a foundation for establishing a long-term lunar station. China aims to build the basic model of an international lunar research station by 2035.

Chang'e-5 Moon Landing Site: Mons Rümker, region of Oceanus Procellarum—a vast lunar mare on the western edge of the near side of the Moon.

The Chang'e-5 lunar sample return mission was the first of its kind since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976. This successful mission made China the third country to return samples from the Moon after the United States and the former Soviet Union.

Video Credit: China Central Television (CCTV) Video News Agency

Duration: 1 minute, 21 seconds

Release Date: Aug. 22, 2024

#NASA #China #中国 #Space #Astronomy #Science #Moon #Water #H2O #WaterResources #HumanSpaceflight #Change5Mission #嫦娥五号 #CNSA #中国国家航天局 #SampleReturnMission #Spacecraft #Orbiter #Lander #Ascender #Robotics #SpaceTechnology #Engineering #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #CAS #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Earth from Orbit: Hurricane Ernesto | NOAA

Earth from Orbit: Hurricane Ernesto | NOAA

Even with the storm hundreds of miles offshore, Hurricane Ernesto was still being felt Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024, along much of the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, with dangerous rip currents forcing public beaches to close during one of the final busy weekends of the summer season.

Hurricane specialist Philippe Papin from the National Hurricane Center said Ernesto was a “pretty large” hurricane with a “large footprint of seas and waves” affecting the central Florida Atlantic coastline all the way north to Long Island in New York, with tropical-storm-force winds extending outward up to 230 miles from the storm’s center.

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

Duration: 2 minutes, 19 seconds

Release Date: Aug 22, 2024

#NASA #NOAA #Space #Satellites #GOES16 #JPSS #Science #Planet #Earth #Weather #Meteorology #Hurricanes #HurricaneErnesto #Storms #AtlanticOcean #Florida #Bermuda #PuertoRico #ClimateChange #GlobalHeating #GreenhouseGases #EarthObservation #RemoteSensing #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Crewmembers Train in Russia for International Space Station Mission | NASA

Crewmembers Train in Russia for International Space Station Mission | NASA

At the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, the prime crew for the Soyuz MS-26 launch to the International Space Station, NASA’s Don Pettit and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexei Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, and their backups, NASA’s Jonny Kim, Sergei Ryzhikov and Alexei Zubritskiy, conducted qualification training Aug. 20 and 21 for their upcoming trip to the orbital outpost. Pettit, Ovchinin and Vagner are scheduled to launch on Sept. 11, 2024, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a planned six-month mission to the complex.

NASA Astronaut Donald R. Pettit Biography:

https://www.nasa.gov/people/donald-r-pettit/

https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/astronauts/donald-r-pettit/

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 Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Duration: 8 minutes, 24 seconds

Release Date: Aug. 23, 2024

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Earth #SoyuzMS26 #SoyuzCrewSpacecraft #CrewTraining #Astronaut #DonPettit #UnitedStates #Cosmonauts #AlexeiOvchinin #IvanVagner #GCTC #StarCity #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #SpaceLaboratory #Expedition72 #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #Expedition #HD #Video

A Milky Way 'Twin': Galaxy NGC 6744 in Pavo | Victor Blanco Telescope

A Milky Way 'Twin': Galaxy NGC 6744 in Pavo | Victor Blanco Telescope

Behold NGC 6744, a spiral galaxy bearing similarities to our home galaxy, the Milky Way. This cosmic twin is captured here in stunning detail by the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) on the Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at the U.S. National Science Foundation Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), a Program of NSF NOIRLab in Chile. 

Located around 30 million light-years away in the constellation Pavo, NGC 6744 exhibits a luminous core and spiral arms spanning 175,000 light-years across, a larger but similar anatomy to our Milky Way. Moreover, to the lower right of NGC 6744, at the end of the spiral arm, is a faint blob. This is its companion galaxy known as NGC 6744A. The companionship between these galaxies is analogous to that between the Milky Way and its dwarf companion the Large Magellanic Cloud. 

Though it is impossible to get an external view of our galaxy, these similarities offer insight into how the Milky Way might look to a distant observer.

This is one of the deepest images of NGC 6744 ever taken, and keen observers can spy the faint extended arm on the left hand side of the galaxy—rarely visible in most images.

This image is part of the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys, an ambitious effort to construct the largest 3D map of the night sky with the U.S. Department of Energy-built DECam on the Blanco Telescope at NSF CTIO and other Programs of NSF NOIRLab.

The 4-meter Víctor M. Blanco Telescope was commissioned in 1974. It is a near twin of the Mayall 4-meter telescope on Kitt Peak. In 1995 it was dedicated and named in honor of Puerto Rican astronomer Víctor Manuel Blanco. It is also part of the Dark Energy Survey (DES), a visible and near-infrared survey that aims to probe the dynamics of the expansion of the Universe.

Víctor M. Blanco Telescope:

https://noirlab.edu/science/programs/ctio/telescopes/victor-blanco-4m-telescope

Credit: Dark Energy Survey / DOE / FNAL / DECam / CTIO / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA

Image Processing: R. Colombari & M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab)

Release Date: Aug. 21, 2024

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC6744 #NGC6744A #Pavo #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #VictorBlancoTelescope #DECam #CTIO #CerroTololo #Chile #NOIRLab #NSF #AURA #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Europe's Jupiter Probe: Earth & Moon Flyby Views | ESA

Europe's Jupiter Probe: Earth & Moon Flyby Views | ESA

Moon & Earth flyby: This image was taken by JUICE monitoring camera 1 (JMC1) just at 02:53 CEST on August 21, 2024, as JUICE was heading towards its closest approach to Earth.

Lunar flyby: This image was taken by JUICE monitoring camera 1 (JMC1) at 23:25 CEST on August 19, 2024, soon after JUICE made its closest approach to the Moon. This successful flyby of the Moon slightly redirected JUICE’s path through space to put it on course for a flyby of Earth on August 20, 2024.

The image shows some sign of real color differences in the large-scale features on the lunar surface.

Lunar flyby: This image was taken by JUICE monitoring camera 2 (JMC2) at 23:15 CEST on August 19, 2024, soon after JUICE made its closest approach to the Moon. This successful flyby of the Moon slightly redirected Juice’s path through space to put it on course for a flyby of Earth on August 20, 2024.

Earth flyby: This image was taken by JUICE monitoring camera 1 (JMC1) just at 00:09 CEST on August 21, 2024, as JUICE was heading towards its closest approach to Earth. This successful flyby of Earth redirected JUICE’s path through space to put it on course for a flyby of Venus in August 2025.

Earth flyby: This image was taken by JUICE monitoring camera 1 (JMC1) just at 23:48 CEST on August 20, 2024, as JUICE was heading towards its closest approach to Earth. This successful flyby of Earth redirected Juice’s path through space to put it on course for a flyby of Venus in August 2025.

This spacecraft ‘braking’ maneuver will take JUICE on a shortcut to Jupiter via Venus.

JUICE includes 10 dedicated scientific instruments, a radiation monitor (RADEM) and the Planetary Radio Interferometer & Doppler Experiment (PRIDE).

The European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) returned to the Earth-Moon system on August 19–20, 2024, to complete the world's first Lunar-Earth gravity assist. Flight controllers will guide the spacecraft past the Moon and then Earth itself, ‘braking’ the spacecraft. This maneuver may seem counterintuitive but it will allow JUICE to take a shortcut via Venus on its way to Jupiter in August 2025.

JUICE has already traveled more than a billion km to the giant planet. However, it still has a long way to go although Jupiter is on average ‘just’ 800 million km away from Earth.

JUICE launched on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou in April 2023. It has an eight-year cruise with flybys of Earth and Venus to slingshot it to Jupiter. It will make 35 flybys of the three large moons while orbiting Jupiter, before changing orbits to Ganymede.

JUICE is a mission under European Space Agency leadership with contributions from NASA, JAXA and the Israel Space Agency. It is the first Large-class mission in ESA’s Cosmic Vision program.

The JUICE monitoring cameras were designed to monitor the spacecraft’s various booms and antennas, especially during the challenging deployment period following launch.

They were not designed to carry out science or image the Moon and Earth. A scientific camera called JANUS is providing high-resolution imagery during the cruise phase flybys of Earth, Moon and Venus, and of Jupiter and its icy moons once in the Jupiter system in 2031.

JMC1 is located on the front of the spacecraft and looks diagonally up into a field of view that sees deployed antennas, and depending on their orientation, part of one of the solar arrays. 

Follow the JUICE Mission: www.esa.int/juice

Learn more:

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Juice/Juice_s_lunar-Earth_flyby_all_you_need_to_know

https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Operations/Juice_why_s_it_taking_sooo_long

Image Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/JUICE/JMC; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

Image Processing: Simeon Schmauß, Mark McCaughrean

Image Dates: Aug. 20-21, 2024

#NASA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Moon #Planets #Earth #Jupiter #Moons #Europa #Callisto #Ganymede #JUICE #JUICEMission #Spacecraft #LunarEarth #GravitationalAssists #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #Europe #Infographics #STEM #Education