Month: March 2024

The Marshall Star for March 6, 2024

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26 Min Read The Marshall Star for March 6, 2024 Marshall Supports NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 Launch By Jessica Barnett Team members at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center celebrated another successful launch as astronauts on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission began the journey to the International Space Station in the late hours of March 3. Marshall’s support team is part of the agency’s CCP (Commercial Crew Program) team, which partners with private companies, such as SpaceX, to develop commercial crew space transportation capabilities to and from the space station. A SpaceX Falcon…

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NASA taps Nikon cameras to help Artemis astronauts photograph the moon

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When the Apollo astronauts snapped some 18,000 photographs on the moon in the 1960s, they did so with some very 1960s camera technology. Lacking viewfinders, the astronauts had to attach their cameras to their spacesuits’ chests. Reliant on photographic film, the astronauts needed separate equipment entirely to capture video. If all goes to plan, Artemis astronauts will soon be taking their own trips to the moon. As such, NASA plans to equip them with some very 2020s camera technology — and the space agency will do so with the help…

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‘Constellation’ season 1 episode 5 review: Less paranoia, more reveals

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If there’s one perfect word to describe “Constellation” so far, it’s “uneven” (as much as it pains me to say it). After an explosive three-episode premiere that left us worried about the show’s long-term appeal – despite the stunning artistry and acting on display – episode 4 turned things slightly around with compelling character drama and some neat tricks. With Oliver Hirschbiegel once again in the director’s chair, episode 5 (‘Five Miles Out, the Sound Is Clearest’) feels too meandering and unengaging to keep the momentum going, instead shifting back…

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April 8 total solar eclipse boosts ticket sales for United Airlines

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Delta isn’t the only airline in the United States generating business from next month’s total solar eclipse.  United Airlines has seen a significant increase in travel to destinations in the path of totality of the solar eclipse, which will occur on April 8. As of the beginning of March, the company’s bookings have jumped considerably compared to last year.  Cities like Cleveland, San Antonio and Little Rock, Arkansas will not just be welcoming viewers to events to watch the solar eclipse in the path of totality; they also will have…

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Earn Awards for Doing NASA Science with GLOBE Observer

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2 min read Earn Awards for Doing NASA Science with GLOBE Observer GLOBE Observer, the mobile app of the Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program , gives anyone who wants to (in 120+ GLOBE countries) the opportunity to do NASA science by making environmental observations that complement NASA satellite observations and help scientists study Earth and the global environment.  On March 6, 2024, the GLOBE Observer team released a new way to appreciate and celebrate volunteer contributions: My Achievements! This new section of the GLOBE Observer…

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More Planets than Stars: Kepler’s Legacy

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4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) The Kepler mission enabled the discovery of thousands of exoplanets, revealing a deep truth about our place in the cosmos: there are more planets than stars in the Milky Way galaxy. The road to this fundamental change in our understanding of the universe, however, required almost 20 years of persistence before the mission became a reality with its selection in 2001. The Kepler spacecraft at Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colorado. The Kepler mission surveyed a region…

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Asteroid Apophis will swing past Earth in 2029 — could a space rock collision make it hit us?

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The asteroid Apophis, infamous because it’s headed to brush past Earth in 2029, most likely isn’t something to worry about, a new study finds. This space rock, scientists calculated, will not collide with other space rocks that could worryingly alter its orbit and redirect it toward Earth — at least until the day it swings past our planet, that is. Apophis is a peanut-shaped, near-Earth asteroid leftover from the formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. It wobbles back and forth even while spinning on its axis…

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SWOT Satellite Catches Coastal Flooding During California Storms

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4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) This image shows SWOT satellite data for water surface height in part of Mendocino County, Northern California, on Jan. 15, before several atmospheric rivers arrived, and on Feb. 4, after the first storms. Light blue and green indicate the highest water levels relative to mean sea level. (Inland water heights include the underlying ground elevation.) NASA/JPL-Caltech Operated by NASA and the French space agency, the Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission provides a new view of water on land,…

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