Month: May 2024

NASA Names Deputy Station Manager, Operations Integration Manager

NeRD

NASA has selected Dina Contella, left, as the International Space Station Program deputy manager, based at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Contella succeeds Dana Weigel, who became the space station program manager in April. NASA has also selected Bill Spetch, right, as the space station operations integration manager, a role most recently held by Contella. Credits: NASA NASA selected Dina Contella as the deputy program manager and Bill Spetch as the operations integration manager for the agency’s International Space Station Program, effective Sunday, June 2. “Dina’s depth of…

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This time, we take it from no one: Why opening the High Frontier of space can be different (op-ed)

NeRD

As we move closer to the greatest revolution of all time, the opening of the High Frontier of space to humanity, some assert this is somehow a bad thing. Based on inaccurate understandings of history and misplaced projections of those misunderstood times to the future, they are spreading ridiculous and possibly dangerous ideas that what is happening in what I call the Space Revolution is a repeat of the conquests and colonization of history. Wrong. Aside from the fact that we are not taking space from anyone, this time, for…

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What Is… Earth’s Atmosphere?

NeRD

10 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) The sun’s last rays illuminate Earth’s atmosphere in this photograph of an orbital sunset from the International Space Station as it soared 261 miles above the Pacific Ocean off the northern coast of Japan. The layers are clearly visible as thin bands extending from the surface out into space. NASA When we talk about the Earth’s Atmosphere, what do we mean? Imagine a layer cake, wrapping around the Earth. That is essentially what the Earth’s atmosphere is like: layers…

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‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ reinvigorates an aging ‘Apes’ franchise (review)

NeRD

One of the most underappreciated and longest-running franchises in Hollywood history is “Planet of the Apes,” that imaginative science fiction property which began with the Charlton Heston-led classic from 1968 directed by Franklin J. Schaffner.   Adapted from the 1963 French novel by Pierre Boulle, the plotline centered around astronauts crash landing on a planet in the far future where intelligent simians rule the world and humans are mute feral creatures subjected to all kinds of cruelties. The twist ending of course is that this is no remote alien world,…

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SpaceX Starship’s next launch ‘probably 3 to 5 weeks’ away, Elon Musk says

NeRD

We’re likely still a month or so away from the next launch of SpaceX’s Starship megarocket. That was the timeline Elon Musk offered in a post on X over the weekend, saying Starship’s next test flight is “probably 3 to 5 weeks” away. “Objective is for the ship to get past max heating, or at least further than last time,” the billionaire entrepreneur added.  The 400-foot-tall (122 meters) Starship is the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built. It consists of two elements, both of which are designed to be…

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Aurora over Idaho

NeRD

NASA/Bill Dunford The aurora paints the sky near Malad City, Idaho, red, purple, and green in this May 11, 2024, image. This aurora was sparked by multiple eruptions of solar material—called coronal mass ejections—colliding with Earth’s magnetic field. This interaction with Earth’s magnetic field can spark a geomagnetic storm and send particles from space rocketing down magnetic field lines toward Earth, where they excite molecules in our planet’s upper atmosphere, releasing light and creating auroras. Image Credit: NASA/Bill Dunford

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Meet NASA Women Behind World’s Largest Flying Laboratory

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5 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA’s DC-8 aircraft – the world’s largest flying science laboratory – began its science missions in 1987 and since then, has flown in service of the science community over places like Antarctica, Greenland, and Thailand. Aircraft like the DC-8 have enabled scientists to ask questions about life on Earth and explore them in a way that only NASA’s Airborne Science program can make happen. After 37 years, the DC-8 will retire to Idaho State University, where it will serve…

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Station Science 101 | Research in Microgravity: Higher, Faster, Longer

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5 Min Read Station Science 101 | Research in Microgravity: Higher, Faster, Longer NASA astronaut Megan McArthur services donor cells inside the Kibo laboratory module’s Life Science Glovebox for the Celestial Immunity study. Credits: NASA The International Space Station provides unique features that enable innovative research, including microgravity, exposure to space, a unique orbit, and hands-on operation by crew members. Microgravity The space station provides consistent, long-term access to microgravity. Eliminating the effects of Earth’s gravity on experiments is a game-changer across many disciplines, including research on living things and…

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NASA Names First Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer

NeRD

Credit: NASA NASA Administrator Bill Nelson on Monday named David Salvagnini as the agency’s new chief artificial intelligence (AI) officer, effective immediately. The role is an expansion of Salvagnini’s current role as chief data officer. A wide variety of AI tools are used by NASA to benefit humanity from supporting missions and research projects across the agency, analyzing data to reveal trends and patterns, and developing systems capable of supporting spacecraft and aircraft autonomously.  “Artificial intelligence has been safely used at NASA for decades, and as this technology expands, it…

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How a giant sunspot created aurora mayhem this weekend

NeRD

2024 has been quite the year for spectacular space shows, some of them visible from our own backyards. First, it was the total solar eclipse at the beginning of April. Then, late last week, the sun became the “star” attraction yet again: A huge sunspot launched a series of solar storms that supercharged the aurora, making the ethereal sight visible from much of the United States, Europe and many other parts of the globe. Personally, after being completely overwhelmed with emotion experiencing the total solar eclipse in Dallas, I thought…

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