C-141 KAO: University of Texas
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C-141 KAO: University of Texas
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C-141 KAO: University of Texas
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C-141 KAO: University of Texas
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C-141 KAO: University of Texas
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C-141 KAO: University of Texas
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C-141 KAO: University of Texas
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C-141 KAO: University of Texas
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C-141 KAO: University of Texas
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C-141 KAO: University of Texas
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C-141 KAO: University of Texas
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jsc2024e013586 (Feb. 15, 2024) NASA and the Texas A&M University System sign an agreement for a 240-acre Exploration Park on underutilized land at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. From left: NASA Johnson Director Vanessa Wyche, Texas State Rep. Greg Bonnen, Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp, and Texas A&M University President Mark Welsh III. The announcement of the new lease agreement will allow the A&M System and others to use NASA Johnson land to create facilities for a collaborative environment that increases commercial access and enhances the United States’ commercial competitiveness in the space and aerospace industries. The announcement took place at the AIAA-hosted Ascend Texas (ASCENDxTexas) Conference at South Shore Harbour Conference Center.
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jsc2024e013569 (Feb. 15, 2024) NASA and the Texas A&M University System sign an agreement for a 240-acre Exploration Park on underutilized land at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. From left: Texas State Rep. Greg Bonnen, NASA Johnson Director Vanessa Wyche, Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp, and Texas A&M University President Mark Welsh III. The announcement of the new lease agreement will allow the A&M System and others to use NASA Johnson land to create facilities for a collaborative environment that increases commercial access and enhances the United States’ commercial competitiveness in the space and aerospace industries. The announcement took place at the AIAA-hosted Ascend Texas (ASCENDxTexas) Conference at South Shore Harbour Conference Center.
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jsc2024e013573 (Feb. 15, 2024) NASA and the Texas A&M University System sign an agreement for a 240-acre Exploration Park on underutilized land at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. From left: Texas State Rep. Greg Bonnen, NASA Johnson Director Vanessa Wyche, Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp, and Texas A&M University President Mark Welsh III. The announcement of the new lease agreement will allow the A&M System and others to use NASA Johnson land to create facilities for a collaborative environment that increases commercial access and enhances the United States’ commercial competitiveness in the space and aerospace industries. The announcement took place at the AIAA-hosted Ascend Texas (ASCENDxTexas) Conference at South Shore Harbour Conference Center.
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jsc2024e013573 (Feb. 15, 2024) NASA and the Texas A&M University System sign an agreement for a 240-acre Exploration Park on underutilized land at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. From left: Texas State Rep. Greg Bonnen, NASA Johnson Director Vanessa Wyche, Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp, and Texas A&M University President Mark Welsh III. The announcement of the new lease agreement will allow the A&M System and others to use NASA Johnson land to create facilities for a collaborative environment that increases commercial access and enhances the United States’ commercial competitiveness in the space and aerospace industries. The announcement took place at the AIAA-hosted Ascend Texas (ASCENDxTexas) Conference at South Shore Harbour Conference Center.
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JSC2008-E-004100 (11 Jan. 2008) --- John Byard, Wyle Research and Test Operations Safety Officer, runs on the Standalone Zero Gravity Locomotion Simulator (sZLS) at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston, Texas. James Brent Crowell, right, Wyle exercise physiologist, serves as the operator of the device.
Vertical treadmill at UTMB and an interview with Linda Loerch
S127-E-012776 (30 July 2009) --- Backdropped by Earth?s horizon and the blackness of space, a Dual RF Astrodynamic GPS Orbital Navigator Satellite (DRAGONSat) is photographed after its release from Space Shuttle Endeavour?s payload bay by STS-127 crew members. DRAGONSat will look at independent rendezvous of spacecraft in orbit using Global Positioning Satellite data. The two satellites were designed and built by students at the University of Texas, Austin, and Texas A&M University, College Station.
Earth Observations taken by STS-127 Crew
S127-E-012774 (30 July 2009) --- Backdropped by Earth?s horizon and the blackness of space, a Dual RF Astrodynamic GPS Orbital Navigator Satellite (DRAGONSat) is photographed after its release from Space Shuttle Endeavour?s payload bay by STS-127 crew members. DRAGONSat will look at independent rendezvous of spacecraft in orbit using Global Positioning Satellite data. The two satellites were designed and built by students at the University of Texas, Austin, and Texas A&M University, College Station.
Earth Observations taken by STS-127 Crew
Documentation of the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) bed rest study taken for archival purposes.  A participant visits with a guest at the Galveston facility's Flight Analogs Research Unit.
UTMB Bed Rest Study - Archival Purposes
Date: 06-01-2023 Location: Bldg 360 Subject: University of Texas - El Paso (UTEP) Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the Digital Engineering Design Center in Building 360 Lab Photographer: James Blair
Julie Kramer White - Digital Engineering Design Center
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Valerie Cassanto, with Instrumentation Technology Associates, Inc., and Bob McLean, from the Southwest Texas State University, transfer to a new container material from one of the experiments carried on mission STS-107.  Several experiments were found during the search for Columbia debris.  Included in the Commercial ITA Biomedical Experiments payload on mission STS-107 are urokinase cancer research, microencapsulation of drugs, the Growth of Bacterial Biofilm on Surfaces during Spaceflight (GOBBSS), and tin crystal formation.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Valerie Cassanto, with Instrumentation Technology Associates, Inc., and Bob McLean, from the Southwest Texas State University, transfer to a new container material from one of the experiments carried on mission STS-107. Several experiments were found during the search for Columbia debris. Included in the Commercial ITA Biomedical Experiments payload on mission STS-107 are urokinase cancer research, microencapsulation of drugs, the Growth of Bacterial Biofilm on Surfaces during Spaceflight (GOBBSS), and tin crystal formation.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -  From left, Bob McLean, Southwest Texas State University; Valerie Cassanto, Instrumentation Technology Associates, Inc.; and Dennis Morrison, NASA Johnson Space Center, process one of the experiments carried on mission STS-107. Several experiments were found during the search for Columbia debris. Included in the Commercial ITA Biomedical Experiments payload on mission STS-107 are urokinase cancer research, microencapsulation of drugs, the Growth of Bacterial Biofilm on Surfaces during Spaceflight (GOBBSS), and tin crystal formation.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - From left, Bob McLean, Southwest Texas State University; Valerie Cassanto, Instrumentation Technology Associates, Inc.; and Dennis Morrison, NASA Johnson Space Center, process one of the experiments carried on mission STS-107. Several experiments were found during the search for Columbia debris. Included in the Commercial ITA Biomedical Experiments payload on mission STS-107 are urokinase cancer research, microencapsulation of drugs, the Growth of Bacterial Biofilm on Surfaces during Spaceflight (GOBBSS), and tin crystal formation.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Valerie Cassanto, with Instrumentation Technology Associates, Inc., and Bob McLean, from the Southwest Texas State University, work on an experiment found during the search for Columbia debris.  Included in the Commercial ITA Biomedical Experiments payload on mission STS-107 are urokinase cancer research, microencapsulation of drugs, the Growth of Bacterial Biofilm on Surfaces during Spaceflight (GOBBSS), and tin crystal formation.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Valerie Cassanto, with Instrumentation Technology Associates, Inc., and Bob McLean, from the Southwest Texas State University, work on an experiment found during the search for Columbia debris. Included in the Commercial ITA Biomedical Experiments payload on mission STS-107 are urokinase cancer research, microencapsulation of drugs, the Growth of Bacterial Biofilm on Surfaces during Spaceflight (GOBBSS), and tin crystal formation.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -  From left, Bob McLean, Southwest Texas State University, and Valerie Cassanto, Instrumentation Technology Associates, Inc., study one of the experiments carried on mission STS-107. Several experiments were found during the search for Columbia debris. Included in the Commercial ITA Biomedical Experiments payload on mission STS-107 are urokinase cancer research, microencapsulation of drugs, the Growth of Bacterial Biofilm on Surfaces during Spaceflight (GOBBSS), and tin crystal formation.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - From left, Bob McLean, Southwest Texas State University, and Valerie Cassanto, Instrumentation Technology Associates, Inc., study one of the experiments carried on mission STS-107. Several experiments were found during the search for Columbia debris. Included in the Commercial ITA Biomedical Experiments payload on mission STS-107 are urokinase cancer research, microencapsulation of drugs, the Growth of Bacterial Biofilm on Surfaces during Spaceflight (GOBBSS), and tin crystal formation.
NASA Student Ambassadors and Facilitator are seen on a panel at the NASA Education Stakeholders’ Summit One Stop Shopping Initiative (OSSI), Monday, Sep. 13, 2010, at the Westfields Marriott Conference Center in Chantilly, VA.   From left to right are:  Quenton Bonds, University of South Florida; Geoffrey Wawrzyniak, Purdue University; Heriberto Reynoso, University of Texas at Brownsville; Marie Kingbird-Lowry, Leech Lake Tribal College; Kareen Borders, University of Washington; Katelyn Doran, University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Ashanti Johnson, PhD, Executive Director, Institute for Broadening Participation.  (Photo Credit:  NASA/Carla Cioffi)
NASA Education Stakeholder's Summit
NASA/University of Houston (UH) signing of memorandum of understanding. Johnson Space Center (JSC) Director George Abbey signs a memorandum of understanding with University of Houston's President Glenn Goerke and University of Houston Clear Lake President Williams Staples. UH will supply post-doctoral researchers to JSC for more than 15 projects of scientific interest to both JSC and the university. Seated from left are, Abbey, Goerke and Staples. Standing from left are David Criswell, director of the Institute of Space Systems Operations; Texas State Representatives Michael Jackson, Robert Talton and Talmadge Heflin. View appears in Space News Roundup v35 n41 p4, 10-18-96.
NASA/UH signing of memorandum of understanding
S67-19620 (12 Sept. 1962) --- On Sept. 12, 1962, President John F. Kennedy delivers a speech announcing his goals for the nation?s space effort to land a human being on the moon before a crowd of 35,000 people in the football stadium at Rice University in Houston, Texas. Photo credit: NASA
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -  Barry Perlman, Pembroke Pines Charter Middle School in Florida, examines one of the experiments carried on mission STS-107 as Bob McLean, Southwest Texas State University, looks on. Several experiments were found during the search for Columbia debris. Included in the Commercial ITA Biomedical Experiments payload on mission STS-107 are urokinase cancer research, microencapsulation of drugs, the Growth of Bacterial Biofilm on Surfaces during Spaceflight (GOBBSS), and tin crystal formation.  The latter was sponsored by the Pembroke Pines Charter Middle School.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Barry Perlman, Pembroke Pines Charter Middle School in Florida, examines one of the experiments carried on mission STS-107 as Bob McLean, Southwest Texas State University, looks on. Several experiments were found during the search for Columbia debris. Included in the Commercial ITA Biomedical Experiments payload on mission STS-107 are urokinase cancer research, microencapsulation of drugs, the Growth of Bacterial Biofilm on Surfaces during Spaceflight (GOBBSS), and tin crystal formation. The latter was sponsored by the Pembroke Pines Charter Middle School.
Dr. Anita Cochran, Assistant Director, McDonald Observatory at the University of Texas-Austin, speaks during a symposium commemorating a quarter-century of comet discoveries, Friday, Sept. 10, 2010, in the Knight studio at the Newseum in Washington. The International Sun-Earth Explorer-3 (ISEE-3) spacecraft flew past the comet Giacobini-Zinner on Sept. 11, 1985 which established a foundation of discoveries that continue today. Photo Credit: (NASA/Paul E. Alers)
First Comet Encounter
Artemis III Geology Team member, Jose Hurtado from the University of Texas at El Paso, left, and Maria Banks of NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center work in the Science Evaluation Room (SER) during the JETT 5 field test. JETT 5 was a week-long field test in the lunar-like landscape of San Francisco Volcanic Field near Flagstaff, Arizona while a team of flight controllers and scientists at Johnson monitor and guide their activities.  Credit: NASA/Helen Arase Vargas
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STS061-53-001 (4 Dec 1993) --- Astronaut Richard O. Covey mans the commander's station on the Space Shuttle Endeavour during flight day 3 of the eleven-day mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope (HST).  Covey wears a Texas A & M University cap as a salute to members of the training staff who have A & M connections.  The crew was busy on this day preparing for the approach and grapple operations with the HST.
Astronaut Richard Covey at commander's station in Endeavour during STS-61
S72-38465 (19 May 1972) --- In an isolated area of the Manned Spacecraft Center's Lunar Receiving Laboratory, engineer David White (left) and University of Texas geologist/professor William Muehlberger look at a "special" rock brought back from the moon recently by the Apollo 16 astronauts. Lunar sample 61016, better known as "Big Muley," is a large breccia sample, the largest moon rock returned by any Apollo crew, which is named after Muehlberger, the Apollo 16 field geology team leader. Photo credit: NASA
LUNAR SAMPLE - APOLLO XVI - MSC
S66-45615 (23 Sept. 1966) --- Discussing the S-13, Ultraviolet Astronomical Camera Experiment, during the postflight experiments briefing at the Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, Texas, are (left to right) astronauts Charles Conrad Jr., Gemini-11 command pilot; Richard F. Gordon Jr., Gemini-11 pilot; and Dr. Karl Henize, Dearborn Observatory, Northwestern University. Photo credit: NASA
Astronauts Conrad and Gordon - Experiment Discussion - Post-Flight Briefing
S71-36874 (10 June 1971) --- University of Texas geologist/professor William R. Muelhberger (left) talks with astronaut John W. Young, Apollo 16 commander, during an Apollo 16 geology field trip to Mono Crater, Calif. Astronaut Charles Duke, lunar module pilot, is seen at frame center, talking to geologist  David Wones (second left). Astronaut Anthony England, Apollo 16 spacecraft communicator (CAPCOM), is at right. Photo credit: NASA
Apollo-Saturn (AS)-16 Crew - Geology Training - CA
jsc2024e016255 (2/6/2024) --- Justin Murphy is an undergraduate Mechanical Engineering student (graduated May 2023) who has worked on the “Nano Halo” project and gave a poster presentation of his payload at ASGSR 2022 in Houston, Texas. The Nano Particle Haloing Suspension project tests controlled assembly of nanoparticles that could have applications in an enhanced solar cell generation technology known as quantum-dot solar synthesis. Image courtesy of the University of Louisville.
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Lori Magruder, ICESat-2 Science Definition Team Lead, University of Texas, is seen during a NASA Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) prelaunch briefing, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018, at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The ICESat-2 mission will measure the changing height of Earth's ice. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
ICESat-2 Prelaunch Briefing
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Valerie Cassanto and Bob McLean talk to a reporter about experiments found during the search for Columbia debris.  Cassanto is with Instrumentation Technology Associates Inc. and McLean is with the Southwest Texas State University. Included in the Commercial ITA Biomedical Experiments payload on mission STS-107 are urokinase cancer research, microencapsulation of drugs, the Growth of Bacterial Biofilm on Surfaces during Spaceflight (GOBBSS), and tin crystal formation.
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JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, Houston, Texas ---  STS125-S-001 (December 2007) -- This STS-125 crew patch shows HST along with a representation of its many scientific discoveries. The overall structure and composition of the Universe is shown in blue and filled with planets, stars, and galaxies. The black background is indicative of the mysteries of dark-energy and dark-matter. The new instruments to be installed on HST during this mission, Wide Field Camera-3 and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, will make observations to help understand these unseen components which seem to dominate the structure of the Universe. The red border of the patch represents the red-shifted glow of the early Universe, and the limit of the Hubble's view into the cosmos. Upon completion of STS-125, the fifth mission to service HST, the Hubble will provide even deeper and more detailed views of the Universe. Soaring by the telescope is the space shuttle which initially deployed Hubble and has enabled astronauts to continually upgrade the telescope, significantly contributing to the expansion of human knowledge. The NASA insignia design for shuttle flights is reserved for use by the astronauts and for other official use as the NASA Administrator may authorize. Public availability has been approved only in the form of illustrations by the various news media. When and if there is any change in this policy, which is not anticipated, it will be publicly announced.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the University Research-1 payload developed by Texas Southern University in Houston is being prepared for loading aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft for launch to the International Space Station. The experiment involves an investigation of countermeasures involving research into the efficacy of benzofuran-2-carboxylic acid derivatives as pharmacological countermeasures in mitigating the adverse effects of space flight and the International Space Station radiation environment on the immune system. Scheduled for launch on March 16 atop a Falcon 9 rocket, Dragon will be marking its fourth trip to the space station. The SpaceX-3 mission is the third of 12 flights contracted by NASA to resupply the orbiting laboratory. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/launch/index.html Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
University Research-1 Payload for SpaceX Launch
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the University Research-1 payload developed by Texas Southern University in Houston is being prepared for loading aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft for launch to the International Space Station. The experiment involves an investigation of countermeasures involving research into the efficacy of benzofuran-2-carboxylic acid derivatives as pharmacological countermeasures in mitigating the adverse effects of space flight and the International Space Station radiation environment on the immune system. Scheduled for launch on March 16 atop a Falcon 9 rocket, Dragon will be marking its fourth trip to the space station. The SpaceX-3 mission is the third of 12 flights contracted by NASA to resupply the orbiting laboratory. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/launch/index.html Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
University Research-1 Payload for SpaceX Launch
Members of the audience listen as U.S. Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson, of Texas; Dr. Harriet Jenkins, Former Assistant Administrator for Equal Opportunity Programs at NASA;  Dr. Roger Launius, Associate Director of Collections and Curatorial Affairs at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum; and Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, a professor of sociology at Georgetown University; speak on a panel moderated by Suzanne Malveaux, of CNN, at an event celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 on Monday, June 23, 2014 in the James E. Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. The event highlighted the influence of the Civil Rights Act on NASA. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
NASA Associate Administrator for the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate William Gerstenmaier, left, Dr. Bhavya Lal, a researcher at the Institute for Defense Analysis's Science and Technology Policy Institute, center, and Dr. Elizabeth Cantwell, chief executive officer at the Arizona State University Research Enterprise, right, listen as Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, is seen on screen as he delivers an opening statement during a House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology hearing titled "America's Human Presence in Low-Earth Orbit" on Thursday, May 17, 2018 in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Hearing
Education Specialists Lynn Dotson, left, of the NASA Public Engagement Center, and Lester Morales, right, of Texas State University's NASA STEM Educator Professional Development Collaborative, explain the Rocketry Engineering Design Challenge to teachers participating in the 2017 GE Foundation High School STEM Integration Conference at the Center for Space Education at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. High school teachers from across the country took part in the week-long conference, which is designed to explore effective ways for teachers, schools and districts from across the country to integrate STEM throughout the curriculum. The conference is a partnership between GE Foundation and the National Science Teachers Association.
GE STEM Teacher's Conference
Lori Magruder, ICESat-2 Science Definition Team Lead, University of Texas, left, Tom Neumann, ICESat-2 Deputy Project Scientist, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, and Helen Fricker, ICESat-2 Science Definition Team Member, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, are seen during a NASA Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) prelaunch briefing, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018, at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The ICESat-2 mission will measure the changing height of Earth's ice. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
ICESat-2 Prelaunch Briefing
Lori Magruder, University of Texas at Austin, ICESat-2 science definition team lead, speaks to members of the news media and social media participants during a prelaunch mission briefing for NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2), a mission to measure the changing height of Earth's ice, on Sept. 13, 2018 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California. ICESat-2 will launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II, the rocket’s final mission, from Space Launch Complex 2 at VAFB. Launch is scheduled for 8:46 a.m. EDT (5:46 a.m. PDT).
Delta II ICESat-2 Prelaunch Mission Briefing
S72-38463  (19 May 1972) --- In an isolated area of the Manned Spacecraft Center's Lunar Receiving Laboratory, geologists Don Morrison (left) and Fred Horz flank University of Texas geologist/professor William (Bill) Muehlberger as the three look at a "special" rock brought back from the moon recently by the Apollo 16 astronauts. Lunar sample 61016, better known as "Big Muley," is a large breccia sample, the largest moon rock returned by any Apollo crew, which is named after Muehlberger, the Apollo 16 field geology team leader. Photo credit: NASA
LUNAR SAMPLE - APOLLO XVI - MSC
S121-E-08024 (16 July 2006) --- Astronauts Stephanie D. Wilson and Michael E. Fossum, STS-121 mission specialists, pose for a photo on the aft flight deck of the Space Shuttle Discovery. Fossum, a graduate of Texas A&M University, flashes the traditional "Gig 'Em, Aggies!" sign and wears an A&M cap, while UT alumnus Wilson gives the "Hook 'Em, Horns!" sign and wears the Longhorn cap. The two joked about the long-standing rivalry of their respective alma maters and have expressed looking forward to the Nov. 24 matchup between the two Big Twelve powers.
Fossum and Wilson pose for a picture together on the AFD during STS-121
NASA Associate Administrator for the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate William Gerstenmaier, left, Dr. Bhavya Lal, a researcher at the Institute for Defense Analysis's Science and Technology Policy Institute, center, and Dr. Elizabeth Cantwell, chief executive officer at the Arizona State University Research Enterprise, right, listen as Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, is seen on screen as he delivers an opening statement during a House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology hearing titled "America's Human Presence in Low-Earth Orbit" on Thursday, May 17, 2018 in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Hearing
Edgar Reyes, a materials engineer and recent graduate of The University of Texas at El Paso, visually inspects a crack identified on the outer surface of a composite overwrapped pressure vessel (COPV) following an internal eddy-current through-wall nondestructive inspection conducted at the NASA White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, N.M.  Eddy-current testing is one of many electromagnetic testing methods used in nondestructive testing to identify cracks in COPVS that can potentially threaten spacecraft crew and mission success.   Photo Credit: (NASA/Reed P. Elliott)
Nondestructive Inspection
A science instrument flying aboard the next delivery for NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative could help improve our understanding of the Moon. The Lunar Instrumentation for Subsurface Thermal Exploration with Rapidity, or LISTER, is one of 10 payloads set to be carried to the Moon by the Blue Ghost 1 lunar lander in 2025. Developed jointly by Texas Tech University and Honeybee Robotics, LISTER’s planned mission is to measure the flow of heat from the Moon’s interior using a specialized drill. Investigations and demonstrations, such as LISTER, launched on CLPS flights will help NASA study Earth’s nearest neighbor under Artemis and pave the way for future crewed missions on the Moon. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the development and operations for seven of the 10 CLPS payloads that will be carried on Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander.
NASA CLPS Payload Aims to Probe the Moon
A new NASA-funded study has identified which glaciers in West Greenland are most susceptible to thinning in the coming decades by analyzing how they’re shaped. The research could help predict how much the Greenland Ice Sheet will contribute to future sea level rise in the next century, a number that currently ranges from inches to feet.  “There are glaciers that popped up in our study that flew under the radar until now,” said lead author Denis Felikson, a graduate research assistant at The University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG) and a Ph.D. student in The University of Texas Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics. Felikson’s study was published in Nature Geoscience on April 17.  Read more: <a href="https://go.nasa.gov/2pJJwNA" rel="nofollow">go.nasa.gov/2pJJwNA</a>  Caption: Terminus of Kangerlugssuup Sermerssua glacier in west Greenland  Photo credit: Denis Felikson, Univ. of Texas  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" 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://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
NASA-funded study says glacier shape matters and influences vulnerability to melting
Over a billion of mostly third world people are infected with a roundworm known as ascarids. Ascarids are tiny parasites that infect the intestinal tract of vertebrates. Movement of the larvae into the brain or other parts of the body can prove fatal. Space-based research is providing new hope in combating these parasitic worms. Ascarids are dependent upon a substance known as malic enzyme to regulate certain bodily functions. A new drug designed to interfere with normal functioning of malic enzyme should prove deadly to ascarids. The Center for Macromolecular Crystallography, along with the University of North Texas grew malic enzyme crystals on the USML-1 Spacelab mission. Although these crystals proved to be smaller than ground based ones, they were more perfectly formed, therefore producing better data for drug design.
Microgravity
STS-89 Mission Specialist Bonnie Dunbar, Ph.D., smiles as she completes the donning of her launch/entry suit in the Operations and Checkout (O&C) Building. Dr. Dunbar completed her doctorate at the University of Houston in Texas. Her multi-disciplinary dissertation (materials science and physiology) involved evaluating the effects of simulated space flight on bone strength and fracture toughness. She and six fellow crew members will shortly depart the O&C and head for Launch Pad 39A, where the Space Shuttle Endeavour will lift off during a launch window that opens at 9:43 p.m. EST, Jan. 22. STS-89 is the eighth of nine planned missions to dock the Space Shuttle with Russia's Mir space station
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NASA's freshly painted Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) 747SP aircraft sits outside a hangar at L-3 Communications Integrated Systems' facility in Waco, Texas. The observatory, which features a German-built 100-inch (2.5 meter) diameter infrared telescope weighing 20 tons, is approaching the flight test phase as part of a joint program by NASA and DLR Deutsches Zentrum fuer Luft- und Raumfahrt (German Aerospace Center). SOFIA's science and mission operations are being planned jointly by Universities Space Research Association (USRA) and the Deutsches SOFIA Institut (DSI). Once operational, SOFIA will be the world's primary infrared observatory during a mission lasting up to 20 years, as well as an outstanding laboratory for developing and testing instrumentation and detector technology.
NASA's newly painted Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy 747SP is pushed back from L-3 Communications' Integrated Systems hangar in Waco, Texas
NASA's freshly painted Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) 747SP is shown at L-3 Communications Integrated Systems' facility in Waco, Texas, where major modifications and installation was performed. The observatory, which features a German-built 100-inch (2.5 meter) diameter infrared telescope weighing 20 tons, is approaching the flight test phase as part of a joint program by NASA and DLR Deutsches Zentrum fuer Luft- und Raumfahrt (German Aerospace Center). SOFIA's science and mission operations are being planned jointly by Universities Space Research Association (USRA) and the Deutsches SOFIA Institut (DSI). Once operational, SOFIA will be the world's primary infrared observatory during a mission lasting up to 20 years, as well as an outstanding laboratory for developing and testing instrumentation and detector technology.
NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy 747SP shows off its new blue-and-white livery at L-3 Communications' Integrated Systems in Waco, Texas
STS-42 closeup view shows Student Experiment 81-09 (SE 81-09), Convection in Zero Gravity experiment, with radial pattern caused by convection induced by heating an oil and aluminum powder mixture in the weightlessness of space. While the STS-42 crewmembers activated the Shuttle Student Involvement Program (SSIP) experiment on Discovery's, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103's, middeck, Scott Thomas, the student who designed the experiment, was able to observe the procedures via downlinked television (TV) in JSC's Mission Control Center (MCC). Thomas, now a physics doctoral student at the University of Texas, came up with the experiment while he participated in the SSIP as a student at Richland High School in Johnstown, Pennsylvia.
STS-42 closeup view shows SE 81-09 Convection in Zero Gravity experiment
From left: Robert Lightroot. NASA Associate Administrator; Dr. Roger Launius, Associate Director of Collections and Curatorial Affairs at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum; Dr. Harriett Jenkins, Former Assistant Administrator for Equal Opportunity Programs at NASA; Brenda Manuel, Associate Administrator for Diversity and Equal Opportunity at NASA; Suzanne Malveaux, CNN Correspondent and panel moderator; U.S. Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson, of Texas; Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, professor of sociology at Georgetown University; and Charles Bolden, NASA Administrator; pose for a picture following an event celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 on Monday, June 23, 2014 in the James E. Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC.  The event highlighted the influence of the Civil Rights Act on NASA. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, a professor of sociology at Georgetown University, left; speaks as part of a panel discussion at an event celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 on Monday, June 23, 2014 in the James E. Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC.  The panel was moderated by Suzanne Malveaux, a correspondent with CNN, left; and also included U.S. Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson, of Texas, second from left; Dr. Harriet Jenkins, Former Assistant Administrator for Equal Opportunity Programs at NASA, third from left; and Dr. Roger Launius, Associate Director of Collections and Curatorial Affairs at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, second from right.  The event highlighted the influence of the Civil Rights Act on NASA. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer took this image on May 21 and 22, 2003. The image was made from data gathered by the two channels of the spacecraft camera during the mission's "first light" milestone. It shows about 100 celestial objects in the constellation Hercules. The reddish objects represent those detected by the camera's near ultraviolet channel over a 5-minute period, while bluish objects were detected over a 3-minute period by the camera's far ultraviolet channel.  The Galaxy Evolution Explorer's first light images are dedicated to the crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia. The Hercules region was directly above Columbia when it made its last contact with NASA Mission Control on February 1, over the skies of Texas.  The Galaxy Evolution Explorer launched on April 28 on a mission to map the celestial sky in the ultraviolet and determine the history of star formation in the universe over the last 10 billion years. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA04281
GALEX 1st Light Near and Far Ultraviolet -100
JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSTON, TEXAS -- STS-31 CREW PATCH – The mission insignia for NASA’s STS-31 mission features the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in its observing configuration against a background of the universe it will study.  The cosmos includes a stylistic depiction of galaxies in recognition of the contribution made by Sir Edwin Hubble to our understanding of the nature of galaxies and the expansion of the universe.  The STS-31 crew points out that it is in honor of Hubble’s work “that this great observatory in space bears his name.”  The depicted Space Shuttle trails a spectrum symbolic of both the red shift observations that were so important to Hubble’s work and now information which will be obtained with the HST.  Encircling the art work, designed by the crew, are the names of its members: Loren J. Shriver, mission commander; Charles F. Bolden, pilot; and Steven A. Hawley, Bruce McCandless II and Kathryn D. Sullivan, mission specialists.  The NASA insignia design for Shuttle flights is reserved for use by the astronauts and for other official use as the NASA Administrator may authorize.  Public availability has been approved only in the form of illustrations by the various news media. When and if there is any change in this policy, which is not anticipated, it will be publicly announced.
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This radar image of the Midland/Odessa region of West Texas, demonstrates an experimental technique, called ScanSAR, that allows scientists to rapidly image large areas of the Earth's surface. The large image covers an area 245 kilometers by 225 kilometers (152 miles by 139 miles).  It was obtained by the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) flying aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on October 5, 1994. The smaller inset image is a standard SIR-C image showing a portion of the same area, 100 kilometers by 57 kilometers (62 miles by 35 miles) and was taken during the first flight of SIR-C on April 14, 1994. The bright spots on the right side of the image are the cities of Odessa (left) and Midland (right), Texas. The Pecos River runs from the top center to the bottom center of the image. Along the left side of the image are, from top to bottom, parts of the Guadalupe, Davis and Santiago Mountains. North is toward the upper right. Unlike conventional radar imaging, in which a radar continuously illuminates a single ground swath as the space shuttle passes over the terrain, a Scansar radar illuminates several adjacent ground swaths almost simultaneously, by "scanning" the radar beam across a large area in a rapid sequence. The adjacent swaths, typically about 50 km (31 miles) wide, are then merged during ground processing to produce a single large scene. Illumination for this L-band scene is from the top of the image. The beams were scanned from the top of the scene to the bottom, as the shuttle flew from left to right. This scene was acquired in about 30 seconds. A normal SIR-C image is acquired in about 13 seconds. The ScanSAR mode will likely be used on future radar sensors to construct regional and possibly global radar images and topographic maps. The ScanSAR processor is being designed for 1996 implementation at NASA's Alaska SAR Facility, located at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and will produce digital images from the forthcoming Canadian RADARSAT satellite.  http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01787
Space Radar Image of West Texas - SAR Scan
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity recorded the dawn of the rover's 4,999th Martian day, or sol, with its Panoramic Camera (Pancam) on Feb. 15, 2018, yielding this processed, approximately true-color scene.  The view looks across Endeavour Crater, which is about 14 miles (22 kilometers) in diameter, from the inner slope of the crater's western rim. Opportunity has driven a little over 28.02 miles (45.1 kilometers) since it landed in the Meridiani Planum region of Mars in January, 2004, for what was planned as a 90-sol mission. A sol lasts about 40 minutes longer than an Earth day.  This view combines three separate Pancam exposures taken through filters centered on wavelengths of 601 microns (red), 535 microns (green) and 482 microns (blue). It was processed at Texas A&M University to correct for some of the oversaturation and glare, though it still includes some artifacts from pointing a camera with a dusty lens at the Sun. The processing includes radiometric correction, interpolation to fill in gaps in the data caused by saturation due to Sun's brightness, and warping the red and blue images to undo the effects of time passing between each of the exposures through different filters.  https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22221
New Day for Longest-Working Mars Rover
Pluto has long been a mystery, a dot at our solar system’s margins. The best images, even with NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, were fuzzy and pixelated. In July 2015, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft flew past Pluto and captured the sharpest views of the dwarf planet to date. One of the most striking areas, informally named &quot;Sputnik Planum,&quot; is a sweeping, frozen plain the size of Texas and ringed by mountains of ice. Its smooth deposits are unmarred by impact craters, a stark contrast to the rest of Pluto’s battered surface. As a result, scientists believe the region formed recently, within the last few hundred million years. This contradicts past depictions of Pluto as an unchanging world. By analyzing images taken during the flyby, scientists hope to unravel more of the dwarf planet’s history. Watch the video for an up-close look at Pluto.  Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center  Video courtesy of NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/S. Robbins
A Close Look At Pluto
JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSTON, TEXAS -- STS-109 INSIGNIA -- STS-109 is the fourth mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope (HST).  The mission patch depicts the Hubble Space Telescope and the Space Shuttle Columbia over the North American continent.  During the 11-day mission, the crew of Columbia will rendezvous with the telescope and grapple and berth it to the Space Shuttle using the remote manipulator system.  Then, a series of spacewalks will be performed to significantly upgrade HST's scientific capabilities and power system.  Inside of HST's aperture is a portrayal of the spectacular Hubble Deep Field Image, representing the billions of stars and galaxies in the Universe.  This Deep Field Image symbolizes all the major discoveries made possible by the Hubble Space Telescope over the last 10 years, and all those to come following the installation of the Advanced Camera for surveys (ACS) by the crew of STS-109.  The ACS is the major scientific upgrade for this servicing mission and will dramatically increase HST's ability to see deeper into our universe.  To further extend HST's discovery potential, a new cooling system will be added that will restore HST's infrared capability.  The telescope is also shown with the smaller, sturdier, and more efficient solar arrays that will be installed during the spacewalks on STS-109.  When combined with a new Power Control Unit, these solar arrays will provide more power for use by the telescope and allow multiple scientific instruments to operate concurrently.    The NASA insignia design for Space Shuttle flights is reserved for use by the astronauts and for other official use as the NASA Administrator may authorize.  Public availability has been approved only in the form of illustrations by the various news media.  When and if there is any change in this policy, which we do not anticipate, it will be publicly announced
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Kelly Latimer is a research pilot in the Flight Crew Branch of NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif. Latimer joined NASA in March 2007 and will fly the T38, T-34, G-III, C-17 and the "Ikhana" Predator B. Latimer is Dryden's first female research test pilot. Prior to joining NASA, Latimer was on active duty with the U.S. Air Force. She has accumulated more than 5,000 hours of military and civilian flight experience in 30 aircraft.  Latimer's first association with NASA was while attending graduate school at George Washington University, Washington, D.C. Her studies included work with the Joint Institute for the Advancement of Flight Sciences at NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va.  She flew an Air Force C-17 during a 2005 NASA study to reduce aircraft noise. A team of California Polytechnic State University students and Northrop Grumman personnel were stationed on Rogers Dry Lake located at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., to record the noise footprint of the aircraft as it made various landing approaches to Edwards' runway.  Latimer completed undergraduate pilot training at Reese Air Force Base, Texas, in 1990. She remained at Reese as a T-38 instructor pilot until 1993. She was assigned as a C-141 aircraft commander at McCord Air Force Base, Tacoma, Wash., until 1996.  Latimer graduated from the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards in Class 96B. She served as a C-17 and C-141 experimental test pilot at Edwards until 2000. She then became the chief of the Performance Branch and a T-38 instructor pilot at The Air Force Test Pilot School.  She returned to McCord in 2002, where she was a C-17 aircraft commander and the operations officer for the 62nd Operations Support Squadron. In 2004, Latimer became the commander of Edwards' 418th Flight Test Squadron and director of the Global Reach Combined Test Force. Following that assignment, she deployed to Iraq as an advisor to the Iraqi Air Force. Her last active duty tour was as an instructor a
Kelly Latimer
James Barrilleaux is the assistant chief pilot for ER-2s in the Flight Crew Branch of NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The ER-2s--civilian variants of the military U-2S reconnaissance aircraft--are part of NASA's Airborne Science program. The ER-2s can carry airborne scientific payloads of up to 2,600 pounds to altitudes of about 70,000 feet to investigate such matters as earth resources, celestial phenomena, atmospheric chemistry and dynamics, and oceanic processes. Barrilleaux has held his current position since February 1998.  Barrilleaux joined NASA in 1986 as a U-2/ER-2 pilot with NASA's Airborne Science program at Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California. He flew both the U-2C (until 1989) and the ER-2 on a wide variety of missions both domestic and international. Barrilleaux flew high-altitude operations over Antarctica in which scientific instruments aboard the ER-2 defined the cause of ozone depletion over the continent, known as the ozone hole. He has also flown the ER-2 over the North Pole.  Barrilleaux served for 20 years in the U.S. Air Force before he joined NASA. He completed pilot training at Reese Air Force Base, Lubbock, Texas, in 1966. He flew 120 combat missions as a F-4 fighter pilot over Laos and North Vietnam in 1970 and 1971. He joined the U-2 program in 1974, becoming the commander of an overseas U-2 operation in 1982. In 1983, he became commander of the squadron responsible for training all U-2 pilots and SR-71 crews located at Beale Air Force Base, Marysville, California.  He retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel in 1986. On active duty, he flew the U-2, F-4 Phantom, the T-38, T-37, and the T-33. His decorations included two Distinguished Flying Crosses, 12 Air Medals, two Meritorious Service Medals, and other Air Force and South Vietnamese awards.  Barrilleaux earned a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from Texas A&M University, College Station, in 1964 and a master of science
Pilot James Barrilleaux with ER-2 aircraft on ramp
David A. Wright is associate director for Center Operations at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif. He was formerly director of Flight Operations. He is also a research pilot, flying NASA's ER-2 and T-38. The ER-2s are civilian variants of the military U-2S reconnaissance aircraft and carry scientific instruments to study the Earth during worldwide deployments. Wright has more than 4,500 hours in six different aircraft. He held the position of deputy director of the Airborne Science Program at Dryden from 2002 until 2004.  Wright came to Dryden after retiring from the U.S. Air Force as a lieutenant colonel. His final assignment was to the Joint Staff J3, Directorate of Operations at the Pentagon from November 1996 until August 1999. Prior to the Pentagon assignment, he served as commander of the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron at Beale Air Force Base near Marysville, Calif., the unit responsible for training all U-2 pilots.  He was the operations officer for one the largest U-2 operations in history, flying combat missions against Iraq and managing an unprecedented U-2 flying schedule during the 1991 Desert Storm conflict. He was selected for the Air Force U-2 program in 1987 following duty as an aircraft commander in the E-3A AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) aircraft. Wright was a T-38 instructor for three years at Reese Air Force Base, Lubbock, Texas, following completion of pilot training in 1978.  He graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics and computer science. Wright earned a Master of Arts in Adult Education from Troy State University, Montgomery, Ala., in 1987, and a Master of Science in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College, Newport, R.I., in 1995.
David A. Wright in ER-2
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – An educational news conference to explore "Why Mars Excites and Inspires Us" begins in NASA Kennedy Space Center's Press Site auditorium in Florida during prelaunch activities for the agency’s Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) launch.  Participants are, from left, Leland Melvin, NASA associate administrator for Education; Clara Ma, student, NASA contest winner for naming Curiosity, Shawnee Mission East High School, Prairie Village, Kansas; Scott Anderson, teacher and science department chairman, Da Vinci School for Science and the Arts, El Paso, Texas; Lauren Lyons, graduate student, Harvard University, FIRST robotics alumna; and Veronica McGregor, manager, Media Relations Office, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.  MSL's car-sized Martian rover, Curiosity, has 10 science instruments designed to search for signs of life, including methane, and help determine if the gas is from a biological or geological source. Ma's entry was selected the winner from 9,000 entries in NASA's nationwide student contest to name the rover. At the time, she was a twelve-year-old sixth-grade student at the Sunflower Elementary school in Lenexa, Kansas.  Liftoff of MSL aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is planned during a launch window which extends from 10:02 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. EST on Nov. 26. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/msl. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California test an engineering model of a high-frequency (HF) radar antenna that makes up part of NASA's Europa Clipper radar instrument on Dec. 17, 2019. The antenna is a 59-foot-long (18-meter-long) narrow copper tube held straight by several cables and a cross bar on the tower at right. In space, the copper tube will stick out straight on its own, but in Earth's gravity, the antenna requires supports to keep it straight for testing. The mobile tower at left holds a model of the VHF (very high-frequency) antenna so that engineers could measure the amount of energy coupled from one antenna to the other.  Europa Clipper's radar instrument is called Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-surface, or REASON. As the spacecraft orbits Jupiter and surveys its icy moon Europa, REASON will use HF and VHF radio signals to penetrate up to 18 miles (30 kilometers) into the icy shell that covers Europa. The radio waves will bounce off subsurface features and return to the spacecraft to create images of the ice layers' internal structure. REASON will help scientists look for the moon's suspected ocean, measure ice thickness, and better understand the icy shell's interior. The instrument will also study the elevation, properties, and roughness of Europa's surface, and will prowl Europa's upper atmosphere for signs of plume activity.  The antennae were built for NASA by Heliospace Corporation in Berkeley, California, and the University of Texas at Austin is the lead institution for REASON. The testing was conducted at JPL's Mesa Antenna Measurement Facility, which sits on a high plateau.  With an internal global ocean twice the size of Earth's oceans combined, Europa may have the potential to harbor life. The Europa Clipper orbiter will swoop around Jupiter on an elliptical path, dipping close to the moon on each flyby to collect data. Understanding Europa's habitability will help scientists better understand how life developed on Earth and the potential for finding life beyond our planet. Europa Clipper is aiming for a launch readiness date of 2024.  https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24323
Europa Clipper REASON Testing on the Mesa
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – An educational news conference to explore "Why Mars Excites and Inspires Us" is under way in NASA Kennedy Space Center's Press Site auditorium in Florida during prelaunch activities for the agency’s Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) launch.  Participants are, from left, moderator George Diller, NASA Public Affairs, NASA Kennedy Space Center; Leland Melvin, NASA associate administrator for Education; Clara Ma, student, NASA contest winner for naming Curiosity, Shawnee Mission East High School, Prairie Village, Kansas; Scott Anderson, teacher and science department chairman, Da Vinci School for Science and the Arts, El Paso, Texas; Lauren Lyons, graduate student, Harvard University, FIRST robotics alumna; and Veronica McGregor, manager, Media Relations Office, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.  MSL's car-sized Martian rover, Curiosity, has 10 science instruments designed to search for signs of life, including methane, and help determine if the gas is from a biological or geological source. Ma's entry was selected the winner from 9,000 entries in NASA's nationwide student contest to name the rover. At the time, she was a twelve-year-old sixth-grade student at the Sunflower Elementary school in Lenexa, Kansas.  Liftoff of MSL aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is planned during a launch window which extends from 10:02 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. EST on Nov. 26. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/msl. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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Technicians inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida install and test antennas on a solar array on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, for the agency’s Europa Clipper spacecraft which will study Jupiter’s icy moon Europa to determine if the planet has conditions that could support life. The REASON, (Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-surface) instrument will use the antennas to send both High Frequency (HF) and Very High Frequency (VHF) radio waves to penetrate up to 18 miles (30 kilometers) deep and search the ocean, measure ice thickness, and study the topography, composition, and roughness of Europa’s surface. The Europa Clipper spacecraft will ship to Florida later this year from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Southern California in preparation for launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A targeting October.
NASA’s Europa Clipper Solar Array Antenna Install
On Wednesday, March 20, 2024, a technician inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida carries an antenna that will attach to a solar array for the agency’s Europa Clipper spacecraft, which will study Jupiter’s icy moon Europa to determine if the planet has conditions that could support life. The REASON, (Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-surface) instrument will use the antennas to send both High Frequency (HF) and Very High Frequency (VHF) radio waves to penetrate up to 18 miles (30 kilometers) deep and search the ocean, measure ice thickness, and study the topography, composition, and roughness of Europa’s surface. The Europa Clipper spacecraft will ship to Florida later this year from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Southern California in preparation for launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A targeting October 2024.
NASA’s Europa Clipper Solar Array Antenna Install
Technicians inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida install and test one of several antennas on a solar array Wednesday, March 20, 2024, for the agency’s Europa Clipper spacecraft which will study Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, to determine if the planet can support life. REASON, (Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-surface) instrument will use the antennas to send both very high frequency radio waves and high frequency to penetrate up to 18 miles (30 kilometers) deep to search the ocean, measure ice thickness, and study the topography, composition, and roughness of Europa’s surface. The Europa Clipper spacecraft will ship to Florida later this year from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Southern California in preparation for launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A targeting October 2024.
NASA’s Europa Clipper Solar Array Antenna Install
Technicians inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida install and test one of several antennas on a solar array Wednesday, March 20, 2024, for the agency’s Europa Clipper spacecraft which will study Jupiter’s icy moon Europa to determine if the planet has conditions that could support life. REASON, (Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-surface) instrument will use the antennas to send both High Frequency (HF) and Very High Frequency (VHF) radio waves to penetrate up to 18 miles (30 kilometers) deep and search the ocean, measure ice thickness, and study the topography, composition, and roughness of Europa’s surface. The Europa Clipper spacecraft will ship to Florida later this year from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Southern California in preparation for launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A targeting October 2024.
NASA’s Europa Clipper Solar Array Antenna Install
On March 20, technicians working inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida installed and began to test antennas on a solar array for NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft. The spacecraft will ship to Florida later this year from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Southern California in preparation for launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A. Europa Clipper is the largest spacecraft NASA has ever developed for a planetary mission, and it will seek to determine whether there are places below the surface of Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, that could support life.
NASA’s Europa Clipper Solar Array Antenna Install
Technicians inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida test antennas on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, shortly before installing them on a solar array for the agency’s Europa Clipper spacecraft, which will study Jupiter’s icy moon Europa to determine if the planet has conditions that could support life. The REASON, (Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-surface) instrument will use the antennas to send both High Frequency (HF) and Very High Frequency (VHF) to penetrate up to 18 miles (30 kilometers) deep and search the ocean, measure ice thickness, and study the topography, composition, and roughness of Europa’s surface. The Europa Clipper spacecraft will ship to Florida later this year from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Southern California in preparation for launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A targeting October 2024.
NASA’s Europa Clipper Solar Array Antenna Install
Technicians inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida install and test one of several antennas on a solar array Wednesday, March 20, 2024, for the agency’s Europa Clipper spacecraft which will study Jupiter’s icy moon Europa to determine if the planet has conditions that could support life. REASON, (Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-surface) instrument will use the antennas to send both High Frequency (HF) and Very High Frequency (VHF) radio waves to penetrate up to 18 miles (30 kilometers) deep and search the ocean, measure ice thickness, and study the topography, composition, and roughness of Europa’s surface. The Europa Clipper spacecraft will ship to Florida later this year from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Southern California in preparation for launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A targeting October 2024.
NASA’s Europa Clipper Solar Array Antenna Install
Technicians inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida install and test one of several antennas on a solar array Wednesday, March 20, 2024, for the agency’s Europa Clipper spacecraft which will study Jupiter’s icy moon Europa to determine if the planet has conditions that could support life. REASON, (Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-surface) instrument will use the antennas to send both High Frequency (HF) and Very High Frequency (VHF) radio waves to penetrate up to 18 miles (30 kilometers) deep and search the ocean, measure ice thickness, and study the topography, composition, and roughness of Europa’s surface. The Europa Clipper spacecraft will ship to Florida later this year from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Southern California in preparation for launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A targeting October 2024.
NASA’s Europa Clipper Solar Array Antenna Install
Technicians inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida install and test antennas on a solar array on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, for the agency’s Europa Clipper spacecraft which will study Jupiter’s icy moon Europa to determine if the planet has conditions that could support life. The REASON, (Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-surface) instrument will use the antennas to send both both High Frequency (HF) and Very High Frequency (VHF)  radio waves to penetrate up to 18 miles (30 kilometers) deep and search the ocean, measure ice thickness, and study the topography, composition, and roughness of Europa’s surface. The Europa Clipper spacecraft will ship to Florida later this year from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Southern California in preparation for launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A targeting October.
NASA’s Europa Clipper Solar Array Antenna Install
Technicians inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida install and test antennas on a solar array on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, for the agency’s Europa Clipper spacecraft which will study Jupiter’s icy moon Europa to determine if the planet has conditions that could support life. The REASON, (Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-surface) instrument will use the antennas to send both High Frequency (HF) and Very High Frequency (VHF) radio waves to penetrate up to 18 miles (30 kilometers) deep and search the ocean, measure ice thickness, and study the topography, composition, and roughness of Europa’s surface. The Europa Clipper spacecraft will ship to Florida later this year from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Southern California in preparation for launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A targeting October.
NASA’s Europa Clipper Solar Array Antenna Install
An antenna for the REASON, (Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-surface) instrument attaches to a solar array for NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, March 20, 2024. The Europa Clipper spacecraft will study Jupiter’s icy moon Europa, and the REASON instrument will use the antennas to send both both High Frequency (HF) and Very High Frequency (VHF)  radio waves to penetrate up to 18 miles (30 kilometers) deep and search the ocean, measure ice thickness, and study the topography, composition, and roughness of Europa’s surface. The Europa Clipper spacecraft will ship to Florida later this year from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Southern California in preparation for launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A, targeting October.
NASA’s Europa Clipper Solar Array Antenna Install
Technicians inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida install and test one of several antennas on a solar array Wednesday, March 20, 2024, for the agency’s Europa Clipper spacecraft which will study Jupiter’s icy moon Europa to determine if the planet has conditions that could support life. REASON, (Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-surface) instrument will use the antennas to send both High Frequency (HF) and Very High Frequency (VHF) radio waves to penetrate up to 18 miles (30 kilometers) deep and search the ocean, measure ice thickness, and study the topography, composition, and roughness of Europa’s surface. The Europa Clipper spacecraft will ship to Florida later this year from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Southern California in preparation for launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A targeting October 2024.
NASA’s Europa Clipper Solar Array Antenna Install
Technicians inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida install and test antennas on a solar array on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, for the agency’s Europa Clipper spacecraft which will study Jupiter’s icy moon Europa to determine if the planet has conditions that could support life. The REASON, (Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-surface) instrument will use the antennas to send both High Frequency (HF) and Very High Frequency (VHF) radio waves to penetrate up to 18 miles (30 kilometers) deep and search the ocean, measure ice thickness, and study the topography, composition, and roughness of Europa’s surface. The Europa Clipper spacecraft will ship to Florida later this year from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Southern California in preparation for launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A targeting October.
NASA’s Europa Clipper Solar Array Antenna Install
Technicians inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida install and test one of several antennas on a solar array Wednesday, March 20, 2024, for the agency’s Europa Clipper spacecraft which will study Jupiter’s icy moon Europa to determine if the planet has conditions that could support life. REASON, (Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-surface) instrument will use the antennas to send both High Frequency (HF) and Very High Frequency (VHF) radio waves to penetrate up to 18 miles (30 kilometers) deep and search the ocean, measure ice thickness, and study the topography, composition, and roughness of Europa’s surface. The Europa Clipper spacecraft will ship to Florida later this year from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Southern California in preparation for launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A targeting October 2024.
NASA’s Europa Clipper Solar Array Antenna Install
Caption: A NASA-funded sounding rocket launches into an aurora in the early morning of March 3, 2014, over Venetie, Alaska. The GREECE mission studies how certain structures – classic curls like swirls of cream in coffee -- form in the aurora.  Credit: NASA/Christopher Perry  More info: On March 3, 2014, at 6:09 a.m. EST, a NASA-funded sounding rocket launched straight into an aurora over Venetie, Alaska. The Ground-to-Rocket Electrodynamics – Electron Correlative Experiment, or GREECE, sounding rocket mission, which launched from Poker Flat Research Range in Poker Flat, Alaska, will study classic curls in the aurora in the night sky.    The GREECE instruments travel on a sounding rocket that launches for a ten-minute ride right through the heart of the aurora reaching its zenith over the native village of Venetie, Alaska. To study the curl structures, GREECE consists of two parts: ground-based imagers located in Venetie to track the aurora from the ground and the rocket to take measurements from the middle of the aurora itself.   At their simplest, auroras are caused when particles from the sun funnel over to Earth's night side, generate electric currents, and trigger a shower of particles that strike oxygen and nitrogen some 60 to 200 miles up in Earth's atmosphere, releasing a flash of light. But the details are always more complicated, of course. Researchers wish to understand the aurora, and movement of plasma in general, at much smaller scales including such things as how different structures are formed there. This is a piece of information, which in turn, helps paint a picture of the sun-Earth connection and how energy and particles from the sun interact with Earth's own magnetic system, the magnetosphere.   GREECE is a collaborative effort between SWRI, which developed particle instruments and the ground-based imaging, and the University of California, Berkeley, measuring the electric and magnetic fields. The launch is supported by a sounding rocket team from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va. The Poker Flat Research Range is operated by the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.  “The conditions were optimal,” said Marilia Samara, principal investigator for the mission at Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. “We can’t wait to dig into the data.”   For more information on the GREECE mission visit:   <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nasa-funded-sounding-rocket-to-catch-aurora-in-the-act/." rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nasa-funded-sounding-rocket-  </a>.<b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" 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://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
GREECE Mission Launching Into Aurora
Caption: A NASA-funded sounding rocket launches into an aurora in the early morning of March 3, 2014, over Venetie, Alaska. The GREECE mission studies how certain structures – classic curls like swirls of cream in coffee -- form in the aurora.  Credit: NASA/Christopher Perry  More info: On March 3, 2014, at 6:09 a.m. EST, a NASA-funded sounding rocket launched straight into an aurora over Venetie, Alaska. The Ground-to-Rocket Electrodynamics – Electron Correlative Experiment, or GREECE, sounding rocket mission, which launched from Poker Flat Research Range in Poker Flat, Alaska, will study classic curls in the aurora in the night sky.    The GREECE instruments travel on a sounding rocket that launches for a ten-minute ride right through the heart of the aurora reaching its zenith over the native village of Venetie, Alaska. To study the curl structures, GREECE consists of two parts: ground-based imagers located in Venetie to track the aurora from the ground and the rocket to take measurements from the middle of the aurora itself.   At their simplest, auroras are caused when particles from the sun funnel over to Earth's night side, generate electric currents, and trigger a shower of particles that strike oxygen and nitrogen some 60 to 200 miles up in Earth's atmosphere, releasing a flash of light. But the details are always more complicated, of course. Researchers wish to understand the aurora, and movement of plasma in general, at much smaller scales including such things as how different structures are formed there. This is a piece of information, which in turn, helps paint a picture of the sun-Earth connection and how energy and particles from the sun interact with Earth's own magnetic system, the magnetosphere.   GREECE is a collaborative effort between SWRI, which developed particle instruments and the ground-based imaging, and the University of California, Berkeley, measuring the electric and magnetic fields. The launch is supported by a sounding rocket team from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va. The Poker Flat Research Range is operated by the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.  “The conditions were optimal,” said Marilia Samara, principal investigator for the mission at Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. “We can’t wait to dig into the data.”   For more information on the GREECE mission visit:   <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nasa-funded-sounding-rocket-to-catch-aurora-in-the-act/." rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nasa-funded-sounding-rocket-  </a>.<b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" 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://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
GREECE Mission Launching Into Aurora
Caption: A NASA-funded sounding rocket launches into an aurora in the early morning of March 3, 2014, over Venetie, Alaska. The GREECE mission studies how certain structures – classic curls like swirls of cream in coffee -- form in the aurora.  Credit: NASA/Christopher Perry  More info: On March 3, 2014, at 6:09 a.m. EST, a NASA-funded sounding rocket launched straight into an aurora over Venetie, Alaska. The Ground-to-Rocket Electrodynamics – Electron Correlative Experiment, or GREECE, sounding rocket mission, which launched from Poker Flat Research Range in Poker Flat, Alaska, will study classic curls in the aurora in the night sky.    The GREECE instruments travel on a sounding rocket that launches for a ten-minute ride right through the heart of the aurora reaching its zenith over the native village of Venetie, Alaska. To study the curl structures, GREECE consists of two parts: ground-based imagers located in Venetie to track the aurora from the ground and the rocket to take measurements from the middle of the aurora itself.   At their simplest, auroras are caused when particles from the sun funnel over to Earth's night side, generate electric currents, and trigger a shower of particles that strike oxygen and nitrogen some 60 to 200 miles up in Earth's atmosphere, releasing a flash of light. But the details are always more complicated, of course. Researchers wish to understand the aurora, and movement of plasma in general, at much smaller scales including such things as how different structures are formed there. This is a piece of information, which in turn, helps paint a picture of the sun-Earth connection and how energy and particles from the sun interact with Earth's own magnetic system, the magnetosphere.   GREECE is a collaborative effort between SWRI, which developed particle instruments and the ground-based imaging, and the University of California, Berkeley, measuring the electric and magnetic fields. The launch is supported by a sounding rocket team from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va. The Poker Flat Research Range is operated by the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.  “The conditions were optimal,” said Marilia Samara, principal investigator for the mission at Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. “We can’t wait to dig into the data.”   For more information on the GREECE mission visit:   <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nasa-funded-sounding-rocket-to-catch-aurora-in-the-act/." rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nasa-funded-sounding-rocket-  </a>.<b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" 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://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
GREECE Mission Launching Into Aurora
Caption: A NASA-funded sounding rocket launches into an aurora in the early morning of March 3, 2014, over Venetie, Alaska. The GREECE mission studies how certain structures – classic curls like swirls of cream in coffee -- form in the aurora.  Credit: NASA/Christopher Perry  More info: On March 3, 2014, at 6:09 a.m. EST, a NASA-funded sounding rocket launched straight into an aurora over Venetie, Alaska. The Ground-to-Rocket Electrodynamics – Electron Correlative Experiment, or GREECE, sounding rocket mission, which launched from Poker Flat Research Range in Poker Flat, Alaska, will study classic curls in the aurora in the night sky.    The GREECE instruments travel on a sounding rocket that launches for a ten-minute ride right through the heart of the aurora reaching its zenith over the native village of Venetie, Alaska. To study the curl structures, GREECE consists of two parts: ground-based imagers located in Venetie to track the aurora from the ground and the rocket to take measurements from the middle of the aurora itself.   At their simplest, auroras are caused when particles from the sun funnel over to Earth's night side, generate electric currents, and trigger a shower of particles that strike oxygen and nitrogen some 60 to 200 miles up in Earth's atmosphere, releasing a flash of light. But the details are always more complicated, of course. Researchers wish to understand the aurora, and movement of plasma in general, at much smaller scales including such things as how different structures are formed there. This is a piece of information, which in turn, helps paint a picture of the sun-Earth connection and how energy and particles from the sun interact with Earth's own magnetic system, the magnetosphere.   GREECE is a collaborative effort between SWRI, which developed particle instruments and the ground-based imaging, and the University of California, Berkeley, measuring the electric and magnetic fields. The launch is supported by a sounding rocket team from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va. The Poker Flat Research Range is operated by the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.  “The conditions were optimal,” said Marilia Samara, principal investigator for the mission at Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. “We can’t wait to dig into the data.”   For more information on the GREECE mission visit:   <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nasa-funded-sounding-rocket-to-catch-aurora-in-the-act/." rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nasa-funded-sounding-rocket-  </a>.<b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" 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://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
GREECE Mission Launching Into Aurora
Caption: A NASA-funded sounding rocket launches into an aurora in the early morning of March 3, 2014, over Venetie, Alaska. The GREECE mission studies how certain structures – classic curls like swirls of cream in coffee -- form in the aurora.  Credit: NASA/Christopher Perry  More info: On March 3, 2014, at 6:09 a.m. EST, a NASA-funded sounding rocket launched straight into an aurora over Venetie, Alaska. The Ground-to-Rocket Electrodynamics – Electron Correlative Experiment, or GREECE, sounding rocket mission, which launched from Poker Flat Research Range in Poker Flat, Alaska, will study classic curls in the aurora in the night sky.    The GREECE instruments travel on a sounding rocket that launches for a ten-minute ride right through the heart of the aurora reaching its zenith over the native village of Venetie, Alaska. To study the curl structures, GREECE consists of two parts: ground-based imagers located in Venetie to track the aurora from the ground and the rocket to take measurements from the middle of the aurora itself.   At their simplest, auroras are caused when particles from the sun funnel over to Earth's night side, generate electric currents, and trigger a shower of particles that strike oxygen and nitrogen some 60 to 200 miles up in Earth's atmosphere, releasing a flash of light. But the details are always more complicated, of course. Researchers wish to understand the aurora, and movement of plasma in general, at much smaller scales including such things as how different structures are formed there. This is a piece of information, which in turn, helps paint a picture of the sun-Earth connection and how energy and particles from the sun interact with Earth's own magnetic system, the magnetosphere.   GREECE is a collaborative effort between SWRI, which developed particle instruments and the ground-based imaging, and the University of California, Berkeley, measuring the electric and magnetic fields. The launch is supported by a sounding rocket team from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va. The Poker Flat Research Range is operated by the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.  “The conditions were optimal,” said Marilia Samara, principal investigator for the mission at Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. “We can’t wait to dig into the data.”   For more information on the GREECE mission visit:   <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nasa-funded-sounding-rocket-to-catch-aurora-in-the-act/." rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nasa-funded-sounding-rocket-  </a>.<b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" 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://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
GREECE Mission Launching Into Aurora
A stereographic view of NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) in a clean room at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, on Aug. 16, 2018. ICON will launch on a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL vehicle, attached beneath the company's L-1011 Stargazer aircraft, from the Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Launch is scheduled for Oct. 26. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.
Pegasus ICON Sterographic Photos
Phoenix Footpad Up Close
Phoenix Footpad Up Close
Gravity is the force that is responsible for the weight of an object and is determined by how the material that makes up the Earth is distributed throughout the Earth.
New Views of Earth Gravity Field from GRACE
This image shows the vast plains of the northern polar region of Mars, as seen by NASA Phoenix Mars Lander shortly after touching down on the Red Planet. The flat landscape is strewn with tiny pebbles and shows polygonal cracking.
Looking out Across the Martian Polar Plains
This image shows how NASA three-legged Phoenix Mars Lander is able to get a better look at its footing and the physical characteristics of the underlying soil on the surface of the Red Planet.
How Phoenix Gets a Look at its Footing
This figure shows the effect of the December 2004 great Sumatra earthquake on the Earth’s gravity field as observed by NASA GRACE.
Earthquake Signal Visible in GRACE Data
NASA Phoenix Mars Lander used its Robotic Arm during the mission 15th Martian day since landing June 9, 2008 to test a prinkle method for delivering small samples of soil to instruments on the lander deck.
Sprinkle Test by Phoenix Robotic Arm Movie
This single frame from a sequence of six images of an animation shows sunspots as viewed by NASA Curiosity Mars rover from April 4 to April 15, 2015. From Mars, the rover was in position to see the opposite side of the sun.  The images were taken by the right-eye camera of Curiosity's Mast Camera (Mastcam), which has a 100-millimeter telephoto lens. The view on the left of each pair in this sequence has little processing other than calibration and putting north toward the top of each frame. The view on the right of each pair has been enhanced to make sunspots more visible. The apparent granularity throughout these enhanced images is an artifact of this processing.  These sunspots seen in this sequence eventually produced two solar eruptions, one of which affected Earth.  http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19802
Tracking Sunspots from Mars, April 2015 Animation
This visualization of a gravity model was created with data from NASA Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment and shows variations in the gravity field across the Americas.
Global Gravity: North and South America
This single frame from a sequence of images shows sunspots as viewed by NASA Curiosity Mars rover from June 27 to July 8, 2015; the rover was in position to see the opposite side of the sun from the side facing Earth during this period.  One sunspot seen in this series emerged while under Curiosity's view, subsequently rotated out of view over the July 4 weekend. That sunspot's location showed up a few days later observable from Earth's point of view as an area of solar eruptions and source of a coronal mass ejection. The coronal mass ejection affected interplanetary space weather, though not in Earth's direction.  The images were taken by the right-eye camera of Curiosity's Mast Camera (Mastcam), which has a 100-millimeter telephoto lens. The view on the left of each pair in this sequence has little processing other than calibration and putting north toward the top of each frame. The view on the right of each pair has been enhanced to make sunspots more visible. The apparent granularity throughout these enhanced images is an artifact of this processing.   http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19801
Tracking Sunspots from Mars, Summer 2015 Animation
This image shows the evolution of the trench called Snow White that NASA Phoenix Mars Lander began digging on the 22nd Martian day of the mission after the May 25, 2008, landing.
Snow White Trench Animation