Month: January 2024

Former STEM Enhancement in Earth Science Interns Receive Prestigious Awards

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3 min read Former STEM Enhancement in Earth Science Interns Receive Prestigious Awards The STEM Enhancement in Earth Science (SEES) Summer Intern Program is a nationally competitive STEM program for high school students. The program provides selected students with exposure to Earth and Space research. Interns learn how to interpret NASA satellite data while working with scientists and engineers in their chosen area of work. This content knowledge, coupled with hands-on experiences, allows the intern to gain experience in authentic NASA research through field investigation and data analysis. Several former…

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NASA Shares Assignments for its SpaceX Crew-9 Space Station Mission

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Official NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 portraits with Zena Cardman, Nick Hague, Stephanie Wilson and Aleksandr Gorbunov NASA As part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission, four crew members are preparing to launch to the International Space Station and conduct a wide-ranging set of operational and research activities for the benefit of all. Launching aboard the Dragon spacecraft, NASA astronauts Commander Zena Cardman, Pilot Nick Hague, and Mission Specialist Stephanie Wilson, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Mission Specialist Aleksandr Gorbunov, will join Expedition 71 and 72 crew members no earlier than August. They will arrive…

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Cygnus Flies to the International Space Station

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A successful liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida as Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft, atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, heads to the International Space Station for the 20th Northrop Grumman resupply mission on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024. The spacecraft is expected to reach the space station Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024, bringing 8,200 pounds of science investigations, supplies, and equipment for the international crew.

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Watch NASA celebrate (and mourn) its Mars helicopter Ingenuity in this free livestream today

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With NASA’s pioneering Mars helicopter Ingenuity grounded forever after a hard landing, the time has come to mourn the first flying machine every to soar on another world and you can watch it live online today (Jan. 31).  NASA will hold a free livestream at 1 p.m. EST (1800 GMT) today to honor the achievements and legacy of Ingenuity, which ended its mission last week after suffering rotor damage during its 72nd flight on Jan. 18. The livestream will be webcast live on NASA’s YouTube channel and you can watch…

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Watch private Cygnus cargo ship arrive at the ISS early Feb. 1 (video)

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Northrop Grumman’s robotic Cygnus spacecraft will arrive at the International Space Station early Thursday morning (Feb. 1), and you can watch the rendezvous live. The Cygnus launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Tuesday (Jan. 30), kicking off a 40-hour orbital chase. That chase will come to an end around 4:15 a.m. EST (0915 GMT) on Thursday, when NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli captures Cygnus using the International Space Station‘s (ISS) Canadarm2 robotic arm. You can watch the action live here at Space.com,…

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NASA Puts Next-Gen Exoplanet-Imaging Technology to the Test

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6 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) JPL scientist Vanessa Bailey stands behind the Nancy Grace Roman Coronagraph , which has been undergoing testing at JPL. About the size of a baby grand piano, the Coronagraph is designed to block starlight and allow scientists to see the faint light from planets outside our solar system. A cutting-edge tool to view planets outside our solar system has passed two key tests ahead of its launch as part of the agency’s Roman Space Telescope by 2027. The Coronagraph…

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Watch extremely rare ‘aurora curls’ ripple through the northern lights (video)

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Astrophotographer Jeff Dai, captured a remarkably rare sight while watching the northern lights on Jan.16, above Kerid Crater, south Iceland.  The rippling green aurora curls dancing overhead result from large waves traveling through Earth’s magnetic field, causing our magnetosphere to “ring like a bell”, according to Spaceweather.com.  “Imagine that Earth’s magnetic field is like a guitar string,” Xing-Yu Li, a ULF wave expert at Peking University in Beijing, China, told Dai, as reported on Spaceweather.com. In this image, “we are seeing vibrations in that string.” Li estimates that their wavelength…

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NASA’s Fission Surface Power Project Energizes Lunar Exploration

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4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) A concept image of NASA’s Fission Surface Power Project. Credit: NASA NASA is wrapping up the initial phase of its Fission Surface Power Project, which focused on developing concept designs for a small, electricity-generating nuclear fission reactor that could be used during a future demonstration on the Moon and to inform future designs for Mars. NASA awarded three $5 million contracts in 2022, tasking each commercial partner with developing an initial design that included the reactor; its power conversion, heat…

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Hubble Observes a Galactic Distortion

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1 min read Hubble Observes a Galactic Distortion The galaxy NGC 5427 shines in this new NASA Hubble Space Telescope image. NASA, ESA, and R. Foley (University of California – Santa Cruz); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America) The galaxy NGC 5427 shines in this new NASA Hubble Space Telescope image. It’s part of the galaxy pair Arp 271, and its companion NGC 5426 is located below this galaxy and outside of this image’s frame. However, the effects of the pair’s gravitational attraction is visible in the galactic distortion…

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NASA Releases STEM Toolkit for Advanced Air Mobility

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2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Students who pursue careers in these areas, among many others, could contribute to transforming aviation by developing and deploying Advanced Air Mobility solutions to the challenges of 21st century flight. NASA / Lillian Gipson NASA Aeronautics has released a new STEM toolkit focusing on Advanced Air Mobility for educators and students of all ages. The toolkit, comprised of numerous educational activities, is a free resource for anyone who is interested in learning more about the Advanced Air Mobility mission’s…

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