iss063e062018 (7/29/2020) --- Photo documentation of the Droplet Formation Study inside the U.S. Destiny laboratory module's Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The Droplet Formation Study observes how microgravity shapes water droplets, possibly improving water conservation and water pressure techniques on Earth.

iss063e062021 (July 29, 2020) --- Expedition 63 Commander and NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy installs fluid research hardware inside the U.S. Destiny laboratory module's Microgravity Science Glovebox. Cassidy was working on the Droplet Formation Study that observes how microgravity shapes water droplets possibly improving water conservation and water pressure techniques on Earth.

jsc2022e072961 (9/16/2022) --- Researchers drop a water droplet on the flat surface of hydrophobic fine sand. The water droplet has a contact angle of 120 degrees at the three-phase interface. The water droplet stands up and has a more rounded shape than a flattened shape compared to normal hydrophilic sand. Catastrophic Post-Wildfire Mudflows studies the formation and stability of this bubble-sand structure in microgravity. A better understanding of these phenomena could improve the understanding, modeling, and predicting of mudflows and support development of innovative solutions to prevent catastrophic post-fire events. Image courtesy of the UCSD Geo-Micromechanics Research Group.

A National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) researcher measures the ice thickness on a landing antenna model in the Icing Research Tunnel at the Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory. NACA design engineers added the Icing Research Tunnel to the original layout of the new Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory to take advantage of the massive refrigeration system being built for the Altitude Wind Tunnel. The Icing Research Tunnel was built to study the formation of ice on aircraft surfaces and methods of preventing or eradicating that ice. Ice buildup adds extra weight, effects aerodynamics, and sometimes blocks air flow through engines. The Icing Research Tunnel is a closed-loop atmospheric wind tunnel with a 6- by 9-foot test section. Carrier Corporation refrigeration equipment reduced the internal air temperature to -45 degrees F and a spray bar system injected water droplets into the air stream. The 24-foot diameter drive fan, seen in this photograph, created air flows velocities up to 400 miles per hour. The Icing Research Tunnel began testing in June of 1944. Early testing, seen in this photograph, studied ice accumulation on propellers and antenna of a military aircraft. The Icing Research Tunnel’s designers, however, struggled to develop a realistic spray system since they did not have access to data on the size of naturally occurring water droplets. The system would have to generate small droplets, distribute them uniformly throughout the airstream, and resist freezing and blockage. For five years a variety of different designs were painstakingly developed and tested before the system was perfected.

Chunhui Xu, associate professor at Emory University School of Medicine and principal investigator for the Generation of Cardiomyocytes from Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells experiment, addresses NASA Social participants during a What’s on Board science briefing at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 5, 2020. The briefing provided a closer look at some of the payloads launching on SpaceX’s 20th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-20) mission to the International Space Station. The company’s Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 11:50 p.m. EST on March 6, 2020.

Gene Boland, chief scientist of Techshot, addresses NASA Social participants during a What’s on Board science briefing at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 5, 2020. The briefing provided a closer look at some of the payloads launching on SpaceX’s 20th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-20) mission to the International Space Station. The company’s Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 11:50 p.m. EST on March 6, 2020.

Aaron Beeler, professor of chemistry at Boston University and principal investigator of the Flow Chemistry Platform for Synthetic Reactions on ISS study, addresses NASA Social participants during a What’s on Board science briefing at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 5, 2020. The briefing provided a closer look at some of the payloads launching on SpaceX’s 20th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-20) mission to the International Space Station. The company’s Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 11:50 p.m. EST on March 6, 2020.

Gene Boland, chief scientist of Techshot, participates in a What’s on Board science briefing at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 5, 2020. The briefing provided a closer look at some of the payloads launching on SpaceX’s 20th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-20) mission to the International Space Station. The company’s Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 11:50 p.m. EST on March 6, 2020.

Garry Marty, principal product engineer for Delta Faucet, addresses NASA Social participants during a What’s on Board science briefing at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 5, 2020. The briefing provided a closer look at some of the payloads launching on SpaceX’s 20th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-20) mission to the International Space Station. The company’s Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 11:50 p.m. EST on March 6, 2020.

From left, NASA Communications’ Jennifer Wolfinger, briefing moderator; Jennifer Buchli, deputy chief scientist for NASA’s International Space Station Program Science Office; and Michael Roberts, interim chief scientist for the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory, address NASA Social participants during a What’s on Board science briefing at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 5, 2020. The briefing provided a closer look at some of the payloads launching on SpaceX’s 20th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-20) mission to the International Space Station. The company’s Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 11:50 p.m. EST on March 6, 2020.

Bill Corely, left, director of business development for Airbus Defence and Space, and Andreas Schütte, Bartolomeo project manager, address NASA Social participants during a What’s on Board science briefing at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 5, 2020. The briefing provided a closer look at some of the payloads launching on SpaceX’s 20th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-20) mission to the International Space Station. The company’s Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 11:50 p.m. EST on March 6, 2020.

Chunhui Xu, left, associate professor at Emory University School of Medicine and principal investigator for the Generation of Cardiomyocytes from Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells experiment, and Gene Boland, chief scientist of Techshot, address NASA Social participants during a What’s on Board science briefing at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 5, 2020. The briefing provided a closer look at some of the payloads launching on SpaceX’s 20th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-20) mission to the International Space Station. The company’s Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 11:50 p.m. EST on March 6, 2020.

Jennifer Buchli, deputy chief scientist for NASA’s International Space Station Program Science Office, addresses NASA Social participants during a What’s on Board science briefing at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 5, 2020. The briefing provided a closer look at some of the payloads launching on SpaceX’s 20th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-20) mission to the International Space Station. The company’s Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 11:50 p.m. EST on March 6, 2020.

Paul Patton, senior manager, front end innovation and regulatory for Delta Faucet, addresses NASA Social participants during a What’s on Board science briefing at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 5, 2020. The briefing provided a closer look at some of the payloads launching on SpaceX’s 20th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-20) mission to the International Space Station. The company’s Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 11:50 p.m. EST on March 6, 2020.

NASA Communications’ Jennifer Wolfinger moderates a What’s on Board science briefing at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 5, 2020. During the briefing, NASA Social participants had the opportunity to hear from principal investigators for payloads launching on SpaceX’s 20th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-20) mission. CRS-20 is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 on March 6, 2020. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and cargo Dragon spacecraft are targeting an instantaneous liftoff at 11:50 p.m. EST.

Aaron Beeler, professor of chemistry at Boston University and principal investigator of the Flow Chemistry Platform for Synthetic Reactions on ISS study, addresses NASA Social participants during a What’s on Board science briefing at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 5, 2020. The briefing provided a closer look at some of the payloads launching on SpaceX’s 20th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-20) mission to the International Space Station. The company’s Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 11:50 p.m. EST on March 6, 2020.

Michael Roberts, interim chief scientist for the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory, addresses NASA Social participants during a What’s on Board science briefing at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 5, 2020. The briefing provided a closer look at some of the payloads launching on SpaceX’s 20th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-20) mission to the International Space Station. The company’s Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 11:50 p.m. EST on March 6, 2020.

Paul Patton, left, senior manager, front end innovation and regulatory for Delta Faucet, and Garry Marty, principal product engineer for Delta Faucet, address NASA Social participants during a What’s on Board science briefing at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 5, 2020. The briefing provided a closer look at some of the payloads launching on SpaceX’s 20th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-20) mission to the International Space Station. The company’s Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 11:50 p.m. EST on March 6, 2020.

On June 26, 2016, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this natural-color image of cloud gravity waves off the coast of Angola and Namibia. “I [regularly] look at this area on Worldview because you quite often have these gravity waves,” said Bastiaan Van Diedenhoven, a researcher for Columbia University and NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies interested in cloud formations. “On this day, there was so much going on—so many different waves from different directions—that they really started interfering.” A distinctive criss-cross pattern formed in unbroken stretches hundreds of kilometers long. Similar to a boat’s wake, which forms as the water is pushed upward by the boat and pulled downward again by gravity, these clouds are formed by the rise and fall of colliding air columns. Off of west Africa, dry air coming off the Namib desert—after being cooled by the night—moves out under the balmy, moist air over the ocean and bumps it upwards. As the humid air rises to a higher altitude, the moisture condenses into droplets, forming clouds. Gravity rolls these newly formed clouds into a wave-like shape. When moist air goes up, it cools, and then gravity pushes it down again. As it plummets toward the earth, the moist air is pushed up again by the dry air. Repeated again and again, this process creates gravity waves. Clouds occur at the upward wave motions, while they evaporate at the downward motions. Such waves will often propagate in the morning and early afternoon, said Van Diedenhoven. During the course of the day, the clouds move out to sea and stretch out, as the dry air flowing off the land pushes the moist ocean air westward. NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen, using data from the Land Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE). via @NASAEarth <a href="http://go.nasa.gov/29Btxcy" rel="nofollow">go.nasa.gov/29Btxcy</a> <b><a href="http://go.nasa.gov/29BtHR6" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b> <b><a href="http://go.nasa.gov/29BtDku" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. <b>Follow us on <a href="http://go.nasa.gov/29BtVrn" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b> <b>Like us on <a href="http://go.nasa.gov/29BtygK" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b> <b>Find us on <a href="http://go.nasa.gov/29Bu0vu" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>