June 2024 – Page 20 – NeRDs Moonbase

Moon Tree Planted at U.S. Capitol Marks Enduring NASA, Artemis Legacy

June 4, 2024 NeRD

NASA astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman provides remarks at a Moon Tree dedication ceremony Tuesday, June 4, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. The American Sweetgum tree was grown from a seed that flew around the Moon during the agency’s Artemis I mission in 2022. In April, NASA announced the agency selected organizations from across the country to receive ‘Moon Tree’ seedlings to plant in their communities. Since returning to Earth, the tree seeds have been germinating under the care of the United States Department of Agriculture Forest…

Crews Unpack NASA’s Europa Clipper Spacecraft

June 4, 2024 NeRD

Technicians inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida prepare to rotate the agency’s largest planetary mission spacecraft, Europa Clipper, to a vertical position on Tuesday, May 28, 2024, as part of prelaunch processing. Slated to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket later this year from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy, Europa Clipper will help determine if conditions exist below the surface Jupiter’s fourth largest moon, Europa, that could support life.

NASA Awards University Research Projects to Support Agency Missions

June 4, 2024 NeRD

Credits: NASA NASA announced the recipients of the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) grants, which will support scientific and technical research projects for more than 20 universities and organizations across the United States. “NASA’s EPSCoR awards are a tool to strengthen research capacity in areas across our nation that have historically been underrepresented in government research,” said Torry Johnson, deputy associate administrator of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Engagement Programs at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “The goal with each award is to provide institutions a long-term and…

Aerospace Trailblazer: Shirley Holland-Hunt’s Visionary Leadership Transforms Space Exploration

June 4, 2024 NeRD

From pioneering space initiatives to championing diversity and innovation, Shirley Holland-Hunt’s multifaceted leadership at NASA exemplifies the future of aerospace exploration. Her efforts have driven technological advancements and advocated for the inclusion of women and minorities in STEM fields. Holland-Hunt currently serves as the associate division chief for Houston’s Johnson Space Center Aeroscience and Flight Mechanics Division, where she drives engineering design, development, testing, and evaluation for all phases of space flight. She supports the identification and establishment of center partnerships and Space Act Agreements that drive the research and…

‘Star Trek: The Illustrated Oral History: The Original Cast’ reveals how William Shatner felt about tribbles (exclusive)

June 4, 2024 NeRD

Even if you’re not a hardcore Trekkie, you’re likely familiar with that unscrupulous galactic trader Cyrano Jones and his furry multiplying marvels known as the tribbles from “Star Trek: The Original Series.” That comedic fan-favorite chapter from “The Original Series” Season 2 first aired Dec. 29, 1967 and was written by David Gerrold. Now Titan Books will honor those bountiful balls with a standout section inside its upcoming retrospective hardback, “Star Trek: The Illustrated Oral History: The Original Cast,” and we’ve got an exclusive interview excerpt featuring Gerrold and episode…

Sun unleashes giant plasma plume and reels it back in apparent ‘failed eruption’ (video)

June 4, 2024 NeRD

The sun erupted in a dazzling spectacle on Monday (June 3), firing off an intense solar flare captured in stunning detail by a NASA solar observatory. But when you look closely at the eruption, it appears that much of the solar material in the vast plasma plume didn’t manage to escape the grasp of the sun. In the video, captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory during an M-class solar flare, you can see a huge plasma plume rise from the sun’s surface, only to be reeled back in during an…

Mars is more prone to devastating asteroid impacts than we thought, new study hints

June 4, 2024 NeRD

Mars may face more than twice as many close encounters with potentially dangerous asteroids as Earth does, according to a new study. This could imperil exploratory missions to the Red Planet, but also provide insight into how the inner solar system formed. Asteroids constitute the biggest threat from space to our planet — the 2013 Chelyabinsk meteor, for example, generated shock waves that injured over 1,000 people and caused more than $33 million in damage to infrastructure. Astronomers and citizen asteroid hunters have detected around 33,000 similar space rocks that whiz closely past Earth…

NASA Updates Coverage for Crew Flight Test Launch, Docking to Station

June 3, 2024 NeRD

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is pictured from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will launch aboard Starliner for the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test. Credits: NASA/Joel Kowsky NASA will provide live coverage of launch activities for the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test, which will carry NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to and from the International Space Station. Launch of the ULA (United Launch Alliance) Atlas V rocket and…

NASA Invites Media to Discuss Hubble Operations Update

June 3, 2024 NeRD

An STS-125 crew member aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis captured this image of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope on May 19, 2009. Credit: NASA NASA will hold a media teleconference at 4 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, June 4, to provide an update on operations for NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. NASA anticipates Hubble will continue making discoveries, working with other observatories such as the agency’s James Webb Space Telescope, throughout this decade and into the next. Audio of the teleconference will stream live on the agency’s website at: https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv/ Participants in the teleconference include:…

Winners Announced in Gateways to Blue Skies Aeronautics Competition

June 3, 2024 NeRD

4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Team “Rumble Ready” from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, comprised of (from left to right) Professor Mark Gonda, Nicole Xie, Junaid Bodla, Jordan Ragsac, Krishi Gajjar, Gerald McAllister III, and Leara Dominguez, took home first place at the 2024 Gateways to Blue Skies Forum held May 30-31 at NASA Ames Research Center. National Institute of Aerospace The California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, team, with their project titled “Aero-Quake Emergency Response Network,” took first place at the third annual Gateways…