Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Officer Jeff Sidor presents information on FWC’s Port K9 Program to Kennedy Space Center employees in the Space Station Processing Facility Conference Center on April 23, 2019. Officer Sidor brought a special K9, Harry, to demonstrate how FWC is using specially trained dogs in airports, seaports and mail facilities to detect illegal and invasive fish and wildlife species shipping into Florida. This lunch and learn was available for employees to attend as part of Kennedy’s Earth Day events.

Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Officer Jeff Sidor presents information on FWC’s Port K9 Program to Kennedy Space Center employees in the Space Station Processing Facility Conference Center on April 23, 2019. Officer Sidor brought a special K9, Harry, to demonstrate how FWC is using specially trained dogs in airports, seaports and mail facilities to detect illegal and invasive fish and wildlife species shipping into Florida. This lunch and learn was available for employees to attend as part of Kennedy’s Earth Day events.

Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Officer Jeff Sidor presents information on FWC’s Port K9 Program to Kennedy Space Center employees in the Space Station Processing Facility Conference Center on April 23, 2019. Officer Sidor brought a special K9, Harry, to demonstrate how FWC is using specially trained dogs in airports, seaports and mail facilities to detect illegal and invasive fish and wildlife species shipping into Florida. This lunch and learn was available for employees to attend as part of Kennedy’s Earth Day events.

Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) Port K9, Harry, lies inside Kennedy Space Center’s Space Station Processing Facility Conference Center. FWC Officer Jeff Sidor presented information on the commission’s Port K9 Program to Kennedy employees on April 23, 2019, and brought Harry along for a demonstration. Following the presentation, Officer Sidor demonstrated how FWC is using specially trained dogs such as Harry in airports, seaports and mail facilities to detect illegal and invasive fish and wildlife species shipping into Florida. The demonstration involved Harry distinguishing which box, among many, contained a turtle shell. This lunch and learn was available for employees to attend as part of Kennedy’s Earth Day events.

Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) Port K9, Harry, stands in Kennedy Space Center’s Space Station Processing Facility Conference Center. FWC Officer Jeff Sidor presented information on the commission’s Port K9 Program to Kennedy employees on April 23, 2019, and brought Harry along for a demonstration. Following the presentation, Officer Sidor demonstrated how FWC is using specially trained dogs such as Harry in airports, seaports and mail facilities to detect illegal and invasive fish and wildlife species shipping into Florida. The demonstration involved Harry distinguishing which box, among many, contained a turtle shell. This lunch and learn was available for employees to attend as part of Kennedy’s Earth Day events.

Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) K9 Harry rests during FWC Officer Jeff Sidor’s presentation on the commission’s Port K9 Program to Kennedy Space Center employees on April 23, 2019. Following the presentation in the Florida spaceport’s Space Station Processing Facility Conference Center, Officer Sidor demonstrated how FWC is using specially trained dogs such as Harry in airports, seaports and mail facilities to detect illegal and invasive fish and wildlife species shipping into Florida. The demonstration involved Harry distinguishing which box, among many, contained a turtle shell. This lunch and learn was available for employees to attend as part of Kennedy’s Earth Day events.

Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) Port K9, Harry, stands in Kennedy Space Center’s Space Station Processing Facility Conference Center. FWC Officer Jeff Sidor presented information on the commission’s Port K9 Program to Kennedy employees on April 23, 2019, and brought Harry along for a demonstration. Following the presentation, Officer Sidor demonstrated how FWC is using specially trained dogs such as Harry in airports, seaports and mail facilities to detect illegal and invasive fish and wildlife species shipping into Florida. The demonstration involved Harry distinguishing which box, among many, contained a turtle shell. This lunch and learn was available for employees to attend as part of Kennedy’s Earth Day events.

Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) Port K9, Harry, stands in Kennedy Space Center’s Space Station Processing Facility Conference Center. FWC Officer Jeff Sidor presented information on the commission’s Port K9 Program to Kennedy employees on April 23, 2019, and brought Harry along for a demonstration. Following the presentation, Officer Sidor demonstrated how FWC is using specially trained dogs such as Harry in airports, seaports and mail facilities to detect illegal and invasive fish and wildlife species shipping into Florida. The demonstration involved Harry distinguishing which box, among many, contained a turtle shell. This lunch and learn was available for employees to attend as part of Kennedy’s Earth Day events.

Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Officer Jeff Sidor presents information on FWC’s Port K9 Program to Kennedy Space Center employees in the Space Station Processing Facility Conference Center on April 23, 2019. Officer Sidor brought a special K9, Harry, to demonstrate how FWC is using specially trained dogs in airports, seaports and mail facilities to detect illegal and invasive fish and wildlife species shipping into Florida. The demonstration involved Harry distinguishing which box, among many, contained a turtle shell. This lunch and learn was available for employees to attend as part of Kennedy’s Earth Day events.

Inside Kennedy Space Center’s Space Station Processing Facility Conference Center, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) Officer Jeff Sidor and K9 Harry demonstrate how specially trained dogs are used to detect illegal and invasive fish and wildlife species shipping into Florida. The demonstration, held April 23, 2019, involved Harry distinguishing which box, among many, contained a turtle shell. Prior to the demonstration, Officer Sidor presented information on FWC’s Port K9 Program to Kennedy employees. This lunch and learn was available for employees to attend as part of Kennedy’s Earth Day events.

Inside Kennedy Space Center’s Space Station Processing Facility Conference Center, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) Officer Jeff Sidor and K9 Harry demonstrate how specially trained dogs are used to detect illegal and invasive fish and wildlife species shipping into Florida. The demonstration, held April 23, 2019, involved Harry distinguishing which box, among many, contained a turtle shell. Prior to the demonstration, Officer Sidor presented information on FWC’s Port K9 Program to Kennedy employees. This lunch and learn was available for employees to attend as part of Kennedy’s Earth Day events.

Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Officer Jeff Sidor presents information on FWC’s Port K9 Program to Kennedy Space Center employees in the Space Station Processing Facility Conference Center on April 23, 2019. Officer Sidor brought a special K9, Harry, to demonstrate how FWC is using specially trained dogs in airports, seaports and mail facilities to detect illegal and invasive fish and wildlife species shipping into Florida. The demonstration involved Harry distinguishing which box, among many, contained a turtle shell. This lunch and learn was available for employees to attend as part of Kennedy’s Earth Day events.

Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Officer Jeff Sidor presents information on FWC’s Port K9 Program to Kennedy Space Center employees in the Space Station Processing Facility Conference Center on April 23, 2019. Officer Sidor brought a special K9, Harry, to demonstrate how FWC is using specially trained dogs in airports, seaports and mail facilities to detect illegal and invasive fish and wildlife species shipping into Florida. The demonstration involved Harry distinguishing which box, among many, contained a turtle shell. This lunch and learn was available for employees to attend as part of Kennedy’s Earth Day events.

Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Officer Jeff Sidor holds up a piece of turtle shell during a presentation and demonstration to Kennedy Space Center employees in the Space Station Processing Facility Conference Center on April 23, 2019. Officer Sidor brought a special K9, Harry, to demonstrate how FWC is using specially trained dogs in airports, seaports and mail facilities to detect illegal and invasive fish and wildlife species shipping into Florida. The demonstration involved Harry distinguishing which box, among many, contained the turtle shell. This lunch and learn was available for employees to attend as part of Kennedy’s Earth Day events.

Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Officer Jeff Sidor presents information on FWC’s Port K9 Program to Kennedy Space Center employees in the Space Station Processing Facility Conference Center on April 23, 2019. Officer Sidor brought a special K9, Harry, to demonstrate how FWC is using specially trained dogs in airports, seaports and mail facilities to detect illegal and invasive fish and wildlife species shipping into Florida. The demonstration involved Harry distinguishing which box, among many, contained a turtle shell. This lunch and learn was available for employees to attend as part of Kennedy’s Earth Day events.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission worker moves a green sea turtle inside the headquarters building of the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge located on NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The turtle was one of many "stunned" by the recent drop in temperatures in Florida. Many of the turtles were rescued from the Mosquito Lagoon, with others coming from the Indian River Lagoon and Cocoa Beach. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission workers evaluate a green sea turtle at the headquarters building of the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge located on NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The turtle was one of many "stunned" by the recent drop in temperatures in Florida. Many of the turtles were rescued from the Mosquito Lagoon, with others coming from the Indian River Lagoon and Cocoa Beach. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission workers move a green sea turtle into the headquarters building of the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge located on NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The turtle was one of many "stunned" by the recent drop in temperatures in Florida. Many of the turtles were rescued from the Mosquito Lagoon, with others coming from the Indian River Lagoon and Cocoa Beach. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller

A biologist with Herndon Solutions Group, the center’s environmental services contractor, prepares to release Kemp’s ridley sea turtles into the Atlantic Ocean at the Canaveral National Seashore near Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 26, 2021. The rescued and rehabilitated turtles were flown from aquatic centers in Massachusetts and New York to the Launch and Landing Facility, managed by Space Florida. NASA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA Fisheries, Space Florida, and Herndon Solutions Group provided support. The Turtles Fly Too organization provided the flight to Kennedy. All marine turtle footage/images was obtained with the approval of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) under conditions not harmful to marine turtles. Footage was acquired while conducting authorized conservation activities pursuant to: FWC 2021 Consent Permit, MTP-21-005 and MTP-21-114.

Staff with NASA, the National Park Service, Herndon Solutions Group, the center’s environmental services contractor, and others, prepare to release Kemp’s ridley sea turtles into the Atlantic Ocean at the Canaveral National Seashore near Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 26, 2021. The rescued and rehabilitated turtles were flown from aquatic centers in Massachusetts and New York to the Launch and Landing Facility, managed by Space Florida. NASA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA Fisheries, Space Florida, and Herndon Solutions Group provided support. The Turtles Fly Too organization provided the flight to Kennedy. All marine turtle footage/images was obtained with the approval of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) under conditions not harmful to marine turtles. Footage was acquired while conducting authorized conservation activities pursuant to: FWC 2021 Consent Permit, MTP-21-005 and MTP-21-114.

A National Park Service staff member releases a Kemp’s ridley sea turtle into the Atlantic Ocean at the Canaveral National Seashore near Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 26, 2021. The rescued and rehabilitated turtles were flown from aquatic centers in Massachusetts and New York to the Launch and Landing Facility, managed by Space Florida. NASA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA Fisheries, Space Florida, and Herndon Solutions Group provided support. The Turtles Fly Too organization provided the flight to Kennedy. All marine turtle footage/images was obtained with the approval of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) under conditions not harmful to marine turtles. Footage was acquired while conducting authorized conservation activities pursuant to: FWC 2021 Consent Permit, MTP-21-005 and MTP-21-114.

A biologist with Herndon Solutions Group, the center’s environmental services contractor, releases a Kemp’s ridley sea turtle into the Atlantic Ocean at the Canaveral National Seashore near Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 26, 2021. The rescued and rehabilitated turtles were flown from aquatic centers in Massachusetts and New York to the Launch and Landing Facility, managed by Space Florida. NASA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA Fisheries, Space Florida, and Herndon Solutions Group provided support. The Turtles Fly Too organization provided the flight to Kennedy. All marine turtle footage/images was obtained with the approval of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) under conditions not harmful to marine turtles. Footage was acquired while conducting authorized conservation activities pursuant to: FWC 2021 Consent Permit, MTP-21-005 and MTP-21-114.

A National Park Service staff member prepares to release a Kemp’s ridley sea turtle into the Atlantic Ocean at the Canaveral National Seashore near Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 26, 2021. The rescued and rehabilitated turtles were flown from aquatic centers in Massachusetts and New York to the Launch and Landing Facility, managed by Space Florida. NASA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA Fisheries, Space Florida, and Herndon Solutions Group provided support. The Turtles Fly Too organization provided the flight to Kennedy. All marine turtle footage/images was obtained with the approval of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) under conditions not harmful to marine turtles. Footage was acquired while conducting authorized conservation activities pursuant to: FWC 2021 Consent Permit, MTP-21-005 and MTP-21-114.

Staff with NASA, the National Park Service, Herndon Solutions Group, the center’s environmental services contractor, and others, prepare to release Kemp’s ridley sea turtles into the Atlantic Ocean at the Canaveral National Seashore near Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 26, 2021. The rescued and rehabilitated turtles were flown from aquatic centers in Massachusetts and New York to the Launch and Landing Facility, managed by Space Florida. NASA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA Fisheries, Space Florida, and Herndon Solutions Group provided support. The Turtles Fly Too organization provided the flight to Kennedy. All marine turtle footage/images was obtained with the approval of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) under conditions not harmful to marine turtles. Footage was acquired while conducting authorized conservation activities pursuant to: FWC 2021 Consent Permit, MTP-21-005 and MTP-21-114.

Staff with NASA, the National Park Service, Herndon Solutions Group, the center’s environmental services contractor, and others, prepare to release Kemp’s ridley sea turtles into the Atlantic Ocean at the Canaveral National Seashore near Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 26, 2021. The rescued and rehabilitated turtles were flown from aquatic centers in Massachusetts and New York to the Launch and Landing Facility, managed by Space Florida. NASA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA Fisheries, Space Florida, and Herndon Solutions Group provided support. The Turtles Fly Too organization provided the flight to Kennedy. All marine turtle footage/images was obtained with the approval of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) under conditions not harmful to marine turtles. Footage was acquired while conducting authorized conservation activities pursuant to: FWC 2021 Consent Permit, MTP-21-005 and MTP-21-114.

Staff with NASA, the National Park Service, Herndon Solutions Group, the center’s environmental services contractor, and others, prepare to release Kemp’s ridley sea turtles into the Atlantic Ocean at the Canaveral National Seashore near Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 26, 2021. The rescued and rehabilitated turtles were flown from aquatic centers in Massachusetts and New York to the Launch and Landing Facility, managed by Space Florida. NASA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA Fisheries, Space Florida, and Herndon Solutions Group provided support. The Turtles Fly Too organization provided the flight to Kennedy. All marine turtle footage/images was obtained with the approval of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) under conditions not harmful to marine turtles. Footage was acquired while conducting authorized conservation activities pursuant to: FWC 2021 Consent Permit, MTP-21-005 and MTP-21-114.

A Kemp’s ridley sea turtle swims in the surf after it is released into the Atlantic Ocean at the Canaveral National Seashore near Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 26, 2021. The rescued and rehabilitated turtles were flown from aquatic centers in Massachusetts and New York to the Launch and Landing Facility, managed by Space Florida. NASA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA Fisheries, Space Florida, and Herndon Solutions Group provided support. The Turtles Fly Too organization provided the flight to Kennedy. All marine turtle footage/images was obtained with the approval of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) under conditions not harmful to marine turtles. Footage was acquired while conducting authorized conservation activities pursuant to: FWC 2021 Consent Permit, MTP-21-005 and MTP-21-114.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- An endangered green sea turtle is released into the Mosquito Lagoon, which is part of Florida's Indian River. Workers with NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Innovative Health Applications and the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission rescued more than 300 turtles during this winter's frigid temperatures. Turtles that were stunned multiple times will be released in the Sebastian area of the Indian River, which often offers warmer water and could help prevent future stuns as winter progresses. NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- An endangered green sea turtle is released into the Mosquito Lagoon, which is part of Florida's Indian River. Workers with NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Innovative Health Applications and the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission rescued more than 300 turtles during this winter's frigid temperatures. Turtles that were stunned multiple times will be released in the Sebastian area of the Indian River, which often offers warmer water and could help prevent future stuns as winter progresses. NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- An endangered green sea turtle is released into the Mosquito Lagoon, which is part of Florida's Indian River. Workers with NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Innovative Health Applications and the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission rescued more than 300 turtles during this winter's frigid temperatures. Turtles that were stunned multiple times will be released in the Sebastian area of the Indian River, which often offers warmer water and could help prevent future stuns as winter progresses. NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Hatchlings from endangered loggerhead turtle eggs, brought from beaches along the northern U.S. Gulf Coast, are being released into the Atlantic Ocean at Playalinda Beach, adjacent to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge within NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The release and relocation work is part of an effort by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the National Park Service, NOAA, FedEx and conservationists to help minimize the risk to this year's sea turtle hatchlings from impacts of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. This plan involves carefully moving an anticipated 700 nests deposited on Florida Panhandle and Alabama beaches during the next several months. Note: The photos were shot using an infrared filter to protect the hatchlings. Photo credit: NASA_Dimitri Gerondidakis

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In a climate-controlled facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, newly-hatched Loggerhead turtles emerge from their eggs brought from beaches along the northern U.S. Gulf Coast. The eggs will be monitored by biologists and hatchery workers until incubation is complete. The hatchlings will be released at different points along a 100-mile stretch of the Atlantic Ocean shoreline. That includes beaches adjacent to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, which is located inside Kennedy. The release and relocation work is part of an effort by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the National Park Service, NOAA, FedEx and conservationists to help minimize the risk to this year's sea turtle hatchlings from impacts of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. This plan involves carefully moving an anticipated 700 nests during the next several months. Photo credit: NASA_Troy Cryder

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In a secure, climate-controlled facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, newly-hatched Loggerhead turtles emerge from their eggs brought from beaches along the northern U.S. Gulf Coast. The eggs will be monitored by biologists and hatchery workers until incubation is complete. The hatchlings will be released at different points along a 100-mile stretch of the Atlantic Ocean shoreline. That includes beaches adjacent to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, which is located inside Kennedy. The release and relocation work is part of an effort by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the National Park Service, NOAA, FedEx and conservationists to help minimize the risk to this year's sea turtle hatchlings from impacts of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. This plan involves carefully moving an anticipated 700 nests during the next several months. Photo credit: NASA_Troy Cryder

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. In a secure facility located at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, two Styrofoam boxes containing endangered sea turtle eggs brought from beaches along the northern U.S. Gulf Coast are being monitored in a climate-controlled room until incubation is complete. Jane Provancha, lead biologist at the hatchery is heading-up the project at Kennedy. After hatching, the turtles will be set free on a Kennedy Space Center_Canaveral National Seashore beach. The Northern Gulf Rescue Operations relocation and release work effort is supported by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the National Park Service, NOAA, FedEx and conservationists to help minimize the risk to this year's sea turtle hatchlings from impacts of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Photo credit: NASA_Troy Cryder

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Several endangered green sea turtles that were "stunned" during two cold snaps in December 2010 are ready for release into the Mosquito Lagoon, which is part of Florida's Indian River. Workers with NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Innovative Health Applications and the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission rescued more than 300 turtles during this winter's frigid temperatures. Turtles that were stunned multiple times will be released in the Sebastian area of the Indian River, which often offers warmer water and could help prevent future stuns as winter progresses. NASA/Kim Shiflett

Staff with NASA and partner agencies help to unpack the containers of Kemp’s ridley and other sea turtles from the PC12 aircraft that arrived at the Launch and Landing Facility, managed by Space Florida, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 26, 2021. The rescued and rehabilitated turtles were flown from aquatic centers in Massachusetts and New York. The containers of turtles will be transferred to vehicles for the short trip to the Canaveral National Seashore, where they will be released into the Atlantic Ocean. NASA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA Fisheries, Space Florida, and Herndon Solutions Group, the center’s environmental services contractor, provided support. The Turtles Fly Too organization provided the flight to Kennedy. All marine turtle footage/images was obtained with the approval of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) under conditions not harmful to marine turtles. Footage was acquired while conducting authorized conservation activities pursuant to: FWC 2021 Consent Permit, MTP-21-005 and MTP-21-114.

Staff with NASA and partner agencies help to unpack the containers of Kemp’s ridley and other sea turtles from the PC12 aircraft that arrived at the Launch and Landing Facility, managed by Space Florida, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 26, 2021. The rescued and rehabilitated turtles were flown from aquatic centers in Massachusetts and New York. The containers of turtles will be transferred to vehicles for the short trip to the Canaveral National Seashore, where they will be released into the Atlantic Ocean. NASA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA Fisheries, Space Florida, and Herndon Solutions Group, the center’s environmental services contractor, provided support. The Turtles Fly Too organization provided the flight to Kennedy. All marine turtle footage/images was obtained with the approval of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) under conditions not harmful to marine turtles. Footage was acquired while conducting authorized conservation activities pursuant to: FWC 2021 Consent Permit, MTP-21-005 and MTP-21-114.

Staff with NASA and partner agencies help to unpack the containers of Kemp’s ridley and other sea turtles from the PC12 aircraft that arrived at the Launch and Landing Facility, managed by Space Florida, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 26, 2021. The rescued and rehabilitated turtles were flown from aquatic centers in Massachusetts and New York. The containers of turtles will be transferred to vehicles for the short trip to the Canaveral National Seashore, where they will be released into the Atlantic Ocean. NASA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA Fisheries, Space Florida, and Herndon Solutions Group, the center’s environmental services contractor, provided support. The Turtles Fly Too organization provided the flight to Kennedy. All marine turtle footage/images was obtained with the approval of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) under conditions not harmful to marine turtles. Footage was acquired while conducting authorized conservation activities pursuant to: FWC 2021 Consent Permit, MTP-21-005 and MTP-21-114.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A new batch of endangered sea turtle eggs brought from beaches along the northern U.S. Gulf Coast arrive at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Nests of Kemp’s ridley and Loggerhead turtle eggs from Gulf Shores, Ala., and various Florida Gulf Coast beaches are being transported by a specially equipped FedEx truck to a secure, climate-controlled facility at Kennedy. They will be monitored by biologists and hatchery workers until incubation is complete. The hatchlings will be released at different points along a 100-mile stretch of the Atlantic Ocean shoreline. That includes beaches adjacent to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, which is located inside Kennedy. The release and relocation work is part of an effort by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the National Park Service, NOAA, FedEx and conservationists to help minimize the risk to this year’s sea turtle hatchlings from impacts of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. This plan involves carefully moving an anticipated 700 nests during the next several months. Photo credit: NASA_Ben Smegelsky

From left, NASA Communications’ Leah Martin; Environmental Planning Group Lead in Kennedy Space Center's Environmental Management Branch Don Dankert; Kennedy Environmental Protection Specialist Jeff Collins; Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Officer Stanley Howater; and Stennis Space Center's Kelly McCarthy participate in an environmentally focused Earth Day briefing inside the News Auditorium at the Florida spaceport on April 20, 2023. As part of NASA’s NextGen STEM project, students from Florida’s Montverde Academy, Storm Grove Middle School, and Whispering Pines School, as well as a homeschool collective from Georgia, participated in person during the briefing, while middle- and high-school students across the country had the opportunity to ask questions of the panel via phone to discuss how technology and science coexist with nature at Kennedy.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A gopher tortoise searches for food at the edge of a road near Launch Pad 39A. Their primary food sources are low-growing grasses and herbs, with their favorite foods being gopher apple and saw palmetto berries. They will eat the pads, fruits, and flowers of prickly pear cactus as well. They will occasionally also eat bones from dead animals, presumably to get calcium. The gopher tortoise is a cold-blooded reptile that averages 10 inches in length and 9 pounds in weight. Wild tortoises may live from 40 - 60 years, while tortoises in captivity can live more than 100 years. Their range extends from southeastern Louisiana to southeastern South Carolina and throughout all 67 counties in Florida. The gopher tortoise is federally protected as a threatened species except in Florida, where it is listed as a Species of Special Concern by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Lands surrounding the Kennedy Space Center are part of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Approximately one half of the Refuge's 140,000 acres consists of brackish estuaries and marshes. The remaining lands consist of coastal dunes, scrub oaks, pine forests and flatwoods, and palm and oak hammocks. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Thornsley

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A gopher tortoise searches for food at the edge of a road near Launch Pad 39A. Their primary food sources are low-growing grasses and herbs, with their favorite foods being gopher apple and saw palmetto berries. They will eat the pads, fruits, and flowers of prickly pear cactus as well. They will occasionally also eat bones from dead animals, presumably to get calcium. The gopher tortoise is a cold-blooded reptile that averages 10 inches in length and 9 pounds in weight. Wild tortoises may live from 40 - 60 years, while tortoises in captivity can live more than 100 years. Their range extends from southeastern Louisiana to southeastern South Carolina and throughout all 67 counties in Florida. The gopher tortoise is federally protected as a threatened species except in Florida, where it is listed as a Species of Special Concern by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Lands surrounding the Kennedy Space Center are part of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Approximately one half of the Refuge's 140,000 acres consists of brackish estuaries and marshes. The remaining lands consist of coastal dunes, scrub oaks, pine forests and flatwoods, and palm and oak hammocks. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Thornsley

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A gopher tortoise searches for food at the edge of a road near Launch Pad 39A. Their primary food sources are low-growing grasses and herbs, with their favorite foods being gopher apple and saw palmetto berries. They will eat the pads, fruits, and flowers of prickly pear cactus as well. They will occasionally also eat bones from dead animals, presumably to get calcium. The gopher tortoise is a cold-blooded reptile that averages 10 inches in length and 9 pounds in weight. Wild tortoises may live from 40 - 60 years, while tortoises in captivity can live more than 100 years. Their range extends from southeastern Louisiana to southeastern South Carolina and throughout all 67 counties in Florida. The gopher tortoise is federally protected as a threatened species except in Florida, where it is listed as a Species of Special Concern by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Lands surrounding the Kennedy Space Center are part of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Approximately one half of the Refuge's 140,000 acres consists of brackish estuaries and marshes. The remaining lands consist of coastal dunes, scrub oaks, pine forests and flatwoods, and palm and oak hammocks. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Thornsley