NASA Ames Astrogram – September/October 2024

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TIME Recognizes the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System In October, the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System a project managed at NASA Ames, was recognized by TIME Magazine as a “Top Invention of 2024”! TIME Magazine also recognized two other NASA missions this year: Europa Clipper, and the Deep Space Optical Communications experiment.    The Advanced Composite Solar Sail System is a demonstration of technologies that enable spacecraft to “sail on sunlight,” using solar radiation for propulsion. Results from this mission could provide an alternative to chemical and electric propulsion systems and guide the…

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NASA still mum about SpaceX Crew-8 astronaut’s medical issue

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NASA is not yet ready to tell us why one of its astronauts was hospitalized shortly after returning to Earth last month. That astronaut was one of the four members of SpaceX‘s Crew-8 mission to the International Space Station (ISS), which ended with a splashdown off the coast of Florida on Oct. 25. Everything appeared to go well with the landing. Shortly thereafter, however, all four astronauts — NASA’s Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt and Jeanette Epps, and Alexander Grebenkin of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos — were taken to a Florida hospital for…

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NASA Named one of America’s Best Employers for Veterans 

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NASA SkillBridge Veterans touring Johnson Space Center’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory. Credit: NASA NASA is one of America’s Best Employers for Veterans, according to Forbes and Statista. Statista surveyed more than 24,000 military veterans – having served in the United States Armed Forces – working for companies with a minimum of 1,000 employees. Veterans were asked to share opinions about their employer on factors such as working conditions, salary and pay, and topics of interest to the veteran community.  This is the fourth consecutive year NASA has earned this recognition.   “NASA…

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I Am Artemis: Joe Vermette

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NASA HLS (Human Landing System) Program strategic communicator and U.S. Navy Reservist Public Affairs Officer Joe Vermette brings a wealth of public service to Artemis communication activities. NASA/Ken Hall Coming from a Navy family, Vermette was inspired to military service by the example of his brother, uncles and father, who admired President John Kennedy’s call to land on the Moon and for citizens to do what they can for our country. Photo courtesy Joe Vermette While some stand on the sidelines and witness history, others are destined to play a…

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Powerful New US-Indian Satellite Will Track Earth’s Changing Surface

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6 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) The NISAR mission will help researchers get a better understanding of how Earth’s surface changes over time, including in the lead-up to volcanic eruptions like the one pictured, at Mount Redoubt in southern Alaska in April 2009. R.G. McGimsey/AVO/USGS Data from NISAR will improve our understanding of such phenomena as earthquakes, volcanoes, and landslides, as well as damage to infrastructure. We don’t always notice it, but much of Earth’s surface is in constant motion. Scientists have used satellites and…

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NASA Kennedy’s Applied Chemistry Lab Achieves Agency First

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Dr. Annie Meier (second from left) and her team inside the Applied Chemistry Lab at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida began supplementing their normal workload in mid-2023 with efforts to improve the lab’s sustainable practices. In 2024, the laboratory became the first at NASA to receive certification from the non-profit My Green Lab for its efforts in sustainability. NASA/Kim Shiflett NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida has a long record of achievements in sustainability and recently added another to the list when the spaceport’s Applied Chemistry Lab became the…

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Saturn and the moon put on a celestial show Sunday night. Here’s how to see it

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Saturn gets close to the moon tonight, and skywatchers in Florida, northwestern South America, the Caribbean and Central America will see the ringed planet briefly disappear behind our lunar companion. When a celestial body, such as a moon, planet or an asteroid passes in front of another celestial body, blocking its view, we call that an occultation. The word is derived from the Latin occultäre, to conceal or hide.  Occultations of planets by the moon are fairly rare events for any given location on Earth, but when they do occur,…

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Milky Way swirls over famous Easter Island statutes in stunning photo

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Sometimes a photo can captivate so powerfully that you are transported to another place and time. When photographer Josh Dury traveled to Easter Island for last month’s annular solar eclipse, he wasn’t going to let a single moment go to waste. Although primarily there with a group of expert Astro Trails eclipse chasers for the day-time event, Dury also managed to capture some images overnight, with some of the island’s famous statues, known as Moai. Due to its remote location, Easter Island has one of the darkest skies on Earth.…

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Oral History with Stephen G. Jurczyk, 1962 – 2023

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1 Min Read Oral History with Stephen G. Jurczyk, 1962 – 2023 NASA Acting Administrator Stephen G. Jurczyk Credits: NASA Steve Jurczyk’s NASA career began in 1988 at Langley Research Center as an engineer in the Electronic Systems Branch. During his time at Langley, he served in other roles, including director of engineering and director of research and technology.  Jurczyk was named as director of Langley in 2014, then in 2015 he left Langley to serve as the associate administrator for the Space Technology Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters.  He…

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