Month: September 2024

NASA Data Helps Protect US Embassy Staff from Polluted Air

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4 Min Read NASA Data Helps Protect US Embassy Staff from Polluted Air This visualization of aerosols shows dust (purple), smoke (red), and sea salt particles (blue) swirling across Earth’s atmosphere on Aug. 23, 2018, from NASA’s GEOS-FP (Goddard Earth Observing System forward processing) computer model. Credits: NASA’s Earth Observatory United States embassies and consulates, along with American citizens traveling and living abroad, now have a powerful tool to protect against polluted air, thanks to a collaboration between NASA and the U.S. State Department. Since 2020, ZephAir has provided real-time…

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Hubble Lights the Way with New Multiwavelength Galaxy View

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Hubble Space Telescope Home Hubble Lights the Way with New… Hubble Space Telescope Hubble Home Overview About Hubble The History of Hubble Hubble Timeline Why Have a Telescope in Space? Hubble by the Numbers At the Museum FAQs Impact & Benefits Hubble’s Impact & Benefits Science Impacts Cultural Impact Technology Benefits Impact on Human Spaceflight Astro Community Impacts Science Hubble Science Science Themes Science Highlights Science Behind Discoveries Hubble’s Partners in Science Universe Uncovered Explore the Night Sky Observatory Hubble Observatory Hubble Design Mission Operations Missions to Hubble Hubble vs…

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NASA, NAACP Partner to Advance Diversity, Inclusion in STEM Fields

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3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NAACP Board Chair Leon Russell, left, and NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, right, sign a Space Act Agreement between NASA and the NAACP during a 5th Annual Hidden Figures Street Naming Anniversary event Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. NASA/Keegan Barber During an event Thursday, NASA and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) signed a Space Act Agreement to increase engagement and equity for underrepresented students pursuing science,…

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NASA Sets Coverage for Astronaut Tracy C. Dyson, Crewmates Return

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The Roscosmos Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft is pictured docked to the International Space Station’s Prichal module in this long-duration photograph as it orbited 258 miles above Nigeria. Credit: NASA NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson, accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Nikolai Chub and Oleg Kononenko, will depart from the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft, and return to Earth. Dyson, Chub, and Kononenko will undock from the orbiting laboratory’s Prichal module at 4:37 a.m. EDT Monday, Sept. 23, heading for a parachute-assisted landing at 8 a.m. (5 p.m. Kazakhstan time) on…

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SpaceX blasts proposed FAA fines in complaint letter to Congress

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SpaceX has taken its dispute with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to Capitol Hill. On Tuesday (Sept. 17), the FAA announced that it plans to fine SpaceX $630,000 for allegedly skirting regulations on two launches last year. SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk responded to the news that same day, declaring on X (formerly Twitter) that the company intends to sue the FAA “for regulatory overreach.”  Now, the company has sent a letter to Congress contesting the proposed fine and calling out the agency for moving too slowly. The two…

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55 Years Ago: Celebrations for Apollo 11 Continue as Apollo 12 Prepares to Revisit the Moon

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In September 1969, celebrations continued to mark the successful first human Moon landing two months earlier, and NASA prepared for the next visit to the Moon. The hometowns of the Apollo 11 astronauts held parades in their honor, the postal service recognized their accomplishment with a stamp, and the Smithsonian put a Moon rock on display. They addressed Congress and embarked on a 38-day presidential round the world goodwill tour. Eager scientists received the first samples of lunar material to study in their laboratories. Meanwhile, NASA prepared Apollo 12 for…

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NASA’s Hidden Figures Honored with Congressional Gold Medals

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4 Min Read NASA’s Hidden Figures Honored with Congressional Gold Medals Sen. Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV), delivers remarks during a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony recognizing NASA’s Hidden Figures, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Emancipation Hall at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Credits: NASA/Joel Kowsky A simple turn of phrase was all it took for U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of Katherine Johnson’s home state of West Virginia to capture the feeling in Emancipation Hall at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. “It’s been said that Katherine Johnson counted everything,” she said.…

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Europe’s Mars ‘fetch rover’ nails sample pick-up test in the field (video)

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European aerospace giant Airbus has taken two of its Mars rovers out for field tests in a quarry near London, showcasing for the first time a new robotic arm for autonomous sample collection on alien planets. The company also experimented with a model of its ExoMars rover, hoping to improve its navigation system to enable the robot to travel faster and explore more terrain once it reaches the Red Planet in 2028.  During the tests, the Mars Sample Fetch Rover demonstrator model named Codi received coordinates from a simulated ground…

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NASA’s Europa Clipper on track for Oct. 10 launch to Jupiter’s icy moon despite radiation worries

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Three weeks from now, NASA’s Europa Clipper probe will lift off and embark on a long-awaited mission to study Jupiter’s icy moon Europa, which scientists think is one of the most promising places to look for life beyond Earth. The launch appears to still be on track for Oct. 10, as per the agency’s original schedule, which comes as a relief to scientists after the team discovered a few possibly defective transistors just months prior that threatened to imperil the mission. Any signs of life on Europa would likely be…

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