NASA
NASA to Provide Coverage as Dragon Departs Station with Science
NASA and its international partners are set to receive scientific research samples and hardware as a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft departs the International Space Station on Sunday, April 28 weather permitting.
The agency will provide coverage of undocking and departure beginning at 12:45 p.m. EDT on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.
Dragon will undock from the station’s zenith port of the Harmony module at 1:05 p.m. and fire its thrusters to move a safe distance away from the station after receiving a command from ground controllers at SpaceX in Hawthorne, California.
The spacecraft arrived at the station March 23 and delivered more than 6,000 pounds of research investigations, crew supplies, and station hardware after it launched March 21 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA Kennedy.
After re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, the spacecraft will splash down off the coast of Florida. NASA will not broadcast the splashdown, but updates will be posted on the agency’s space station blog.
Dragon will carry back to Earth more than 4,100 pounds of supplies and scientific experiments designed to take advantage of the space station’s microgravity environment. Splashing down off the coast of Florida enables quick transportation of the experiments to NASA’s Space Systems Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, allowing researchers to collect data with minimal sample exposure to Earth’s gravity.
Scientific hardware and samples returning to Earth include Flawless Space Fibers-1, which produced more than seven miles of optical fiber aboard the space station. The investigation tests new hardware and processes for producing high-quality optical fibers in space and drew more than half a mile of fiber in one day, surpassing the previous record of 82 feet for the longest fiber manufactured in space.
Other studies include GEARS (Genomic Enumeration of Antibiotic Resistance in Space), which surveys the space station for antibiotic-resistant organisms. Genetic analysis could show how these bacteria adapt to space, providing knowledge that informs measures designed to protect astronauts on future long-duration missions.
Also returning on Dragon is MISSE-18 (Materials International Space Station Experiment-18-NASA), which analyzes how exposure to space affects the performance and durability of specific materials and components. MISSE-18 includes coatings, quantum dots, a lunar regolith simulant composite, and other materials. The samples returning home were exposed to the harsh environment of space for six months.
Additionally, samples from Immune Cell Activation will return to Earth for analysis. The ESA (European Space Agency) sponsored experiment seeks to understand whether microgravity influences the incorporation of magnetic nanoparticles into immune and melanoma cells. In this experiment, immune cells were modified with nano-vectors that are intended to carry therapeutic agents specifically to their target cells. Results could help develop novel therapeutics targeting central nervous system diseases and skin cancers such as melanoma.
These are just a few of the hundreds of investigations currently being conducted aboard the orbiting laboratory in the areas of biology and biotechnology, physical sciences, and Earth and space science. Advances in these areas will help keep astronauts healthy during long-duration space travel and demonstrate technologies for future human and robotic exploration beyond low Earth orbit to the Moon and Mars through NASA’s Artemis campaign.
Get breaking news, images and features from the space station on Instagram, Facebook, and X.
Learn more about the International Space Station at:
https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/
-end-
Josh Finch / Claire O’Shea
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / claire.a.o’shea@nasa.gov
Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov
Site-Wide Environmental Assessment for Marshall Space Flight Center, Alabama
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Pictured at sunset is Marshall Space Flight Center’s Propulsion R&D Lab, Building 4205.NASA/Charles BeasonThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has prepared a Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) that analyzes the environmental impacts of implementing continuing and future mission support activities at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama.
The EA evaluated the potential environmental effects associated with air quality; climate change and greenhouse gases; land use; water resources; biological resources; geology and soils; noise; traffic and transportation; socioeconomics; children’s environmental health and safety; environmental justice and equity; hazardous materials and wastes, solid waste, and pollution prevention; public and occupational health and safety; utilities and infrastructure; cultural resources; and airspace. The EA found that the Proposed Action would not result in, or contribute to, significant impacts to any of these resources.
Public comments will be accepted through March 4, 2024 and can be submitted to msfc-environmental@mail.nasa.gov or the mailing address below. Copies of the Draft EA are available at the following library locations: Huntsville-Madison County Public Library (915 Monroe Street SW, Huntsville, AL) and the Madison Public Library (142 Plaza Boulevard, Madison, AL). The EA will also be posted on the NASA NEPA Public Reviews webpage (https://nasa.gov/news-release/site-wide-environmental-assessment-for-marshall-space-flight-center-alabama/).
To request additional information or submit written comments, please contact:
Hannah McCarty
Marshall Space Flight Center
Building 4249/Mail Code AS10
Huntsville, AL 35812
Downloads Draft Site-Wide Environmental Assessment for Marshall Space Flight CenterFeb 1, 2024
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Final Site-Wide Environmental Assessment for Marshall Space Flight CenterApr 26, 2024
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Share Details Last Updated Apr 26, 2024 EditorMSFC Environmental Engineering and Occupational Health OfficeContactHannah McCartyLocationMarshall Space Flight Center Related Terms Explore More 6 min read NASA’s Optical Comms Demo Transmits Data Over 140 Million Miles Article 2 days ago 29 min read The Marshall Star for April 24, 2024 Article 3 days ago 4 min read NASA’s Chandra Releases Doubleheader of Blockbuster Hits Article 4 days ago Keep Exploring Discover Related TopicsMissions
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Read More Share Details Last Updated Apr 26, 2024 EditorMSFC Environmental Engineering and Occupational Health OfficeContactHannah McCartyLocationMarshall Space Flight Center Related TermsNASA-Led Study Provides New Global Accounting of Earth’s Rivers
5 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) The Colorado River supplies water to more than 40 million people as it snakes through seven U.S. states, including the part of southeastern Utah seen in this photo snapped by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station. The Colorado basin was identified in a NASA-led study as a region experiencing intense human water use.NASAThe novel approach to estimating river water storage and discharge also identifies regions marked by ‘fingerprints’ of intense water use.
A study led by NASA researchers provides new estimates of how much water courses through Earth’s rivers, the rates at which it’s flowing into the ocean, and how much both of those figures have fluctuated over time — crucial information for understanding the planet’s water cycle and managing its freshwater supplies. The results also highlight regions depleted by heavy water use, including the Colorado River basin in the United States, the Amazon basin in South America, and the Orange River basin in southern Africa.
For the study, which was recently published in Nature Geoscience, researchers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California used a novel methodology that combines stream-gauge measurements with computer models of about 3 million river segments around the world.
A NASA-led study combined stream-gauge measurements with computer models of 3 million river segments to create a global picture of how much water Earth’s rivers hold. It estimated that the Amazon basin contains about 38% of the world’s river water, the most of any hydrological region evaluated. NASAThe scientists estimate that the total volume of water in Earth’s rivers on average from 1980 to 2009 was 539 cubic miles (2,246 cubic kilometers). That’s equivalent to half of Lake Michigan’s water and about 0.006% of all fresh water, which itself is 2.5% of the global volume. Despite their small proportion of all the planet’s water, rivers have been vital to humans since the earliest civilizations.
Although researchers have made numerous estimates over the years of how much water flows from rivers into the ocean, estimates of the volume of water rivers collectively hold — known as storage — have been few and more uncertain, said JPL’s Cédric David, a co-author of the study.
He likened the situation to spending from a checking account without knowing the balance. “We don’t know how much water is in the account, and population growth and climate change are further complicating matters,” David said. “There are many things we can do to manage how we’re using it and make sure there is enough water for everyone, but the first question is: How much water is there? That’s fundamental to everything else.”
The NASA-led study estimated flow through 3 million river segments, identifying locations around the world marked by intense human water use, including parts of the Colorado, Amazon, Orange, and Murray-Darling river basins, shown as gray here. NASAEstimates in the paper could eventually be compared with data from the international Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite to improve measurements of human impacts on Earth’s water cycle. Launched in December 2022, SWOT is mapping the elevation of water around the globe, and changes in river height offer a way to quantify storage and discharge.
‘Fingerprints’ of Water UseThe study identified the Amazon basin as the region with the most river storage, holding about 204 cubic miles (850 cubic kilometers) of water — roughly 38% of the global estimate. The same basin also discharges the most water to the ocean: 1,629 cubic miles (6,789 cubic kilometers) per year. That’s 18% of the global discharge to the ocean, which averaged 8,975 cubic miles (37,411 cubic kilometers) per year from 1980 to 2009.
Although it’s not possible for a river to have negative discharge — the study’s approach doesn’t allow for upstream flow — for the sake of accounting, it is possible for less water to come out of some river segments than went in. That’s what the researchers found for parts of the Colorado, Amazon, and Orange river basins, as well as the Murray-Darling basin in southeastern Australia. These negative flows mostly indicate intense human water use.
“These are locations where we’re seeing fingerprints of water management,” said lead author Elyssa Collins, who conducted the analysis as a JPL intern and doctoral student at North Carolina State University in Raleigh.
A New Way to Quantify RiversFor decades, most estimates of Earth’s total river water were refinements of a 1974 United Nations figure, and no study has illustrated how the amount has varied with time. Better estimates have been hard to come by, David said, due to a lack of observations of the world’s rivers, particularly those far from human populations.
Another issue has been that there are many more stream gauges monitoring the levels and flow of large rivers than there are of small ones. There’s also broad uncertainty in estimates of land runoff — the rainwater and snowmelt that flow into rivers.
The new study started from the premise that runoff flowing into and through a river system should roughly equal the amount that gauges measure downstream. Where the researchers found inconsistencies between simulated runoff from three land surface models and gauge measurements taken from approximately 1,000 locations, they used the gauge measurements to correct the simulated runoff numbers.
Then they modeled the runoff through rivers on a high-resolution global map developed using land-elevation data and imagery from space, including from NASA’s Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. This approach yielded discharge rates, which were used to estimate average and monthly storage for individual rivers and the planet’s rivers in total.
Using a consistent methodology enables comparisons in flow and human drawdown between different regions.
“That way we can see where in the world the most amount of river water is stored, or where the most amount of water is being emptied into oceans from rivers,” said Collins, now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
News Media ContactsAndrew Wang / Jane J. Lee
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
626-379-6874 / 818-354-0307
andrew.wang@jpl.nasa.gov / jane.j.lee@jpl.nasa.gov
2024-051
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Hubble Spots a Magnificent Barred Galaxy
Hubble Spots a Magnificent Barred Galaxy
The magnificent central bar of NGC 2217 (also known as AM 0619-271) shines bright in the constellation of Canis Major (The Greater Dog), in this image taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Roughly 65 million light-years from Earth, this barred spiral galaxy is a similar size to our Milky Way at 100,000 light-years across. Many stars are concentrated in its central region forming the luminous bar, surrounded by a set of tightly wound spiral arms.
The central bar in these types of galaxies plays an important role in their evolution, helping to funnel gas from the disk into the middle of the galaxy. The transported gas and dust are then either formed into new stars or fed to the supermassive black hole at the galaxy’s center. Weighing from a few hundred to over a billion times the mass of our Sun, supermassive black holes are present in almost all large galaxies.
This image was colorized with data from the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS).
Text credit: European Space Agency (ESA)
Media Contact:
Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
Identification of Noise Sources During Launch Using Phased Array Microphone Systems
Identification of Noise Sources During Launch Using Phased Array Microphone Systems
Every part of a launch vehicle, launch pad, and ground operation equipment is subjected to the high acoustic load generated during lift-off [1]. Therefore, many extreme measures are taken to try to suppress this acoustic environment by damping with a water deluge system and diverting engine plumes away from the vehicle via flame trenches. Even single decibel reductions of the acoustic levels can translate into a sizable reduction of acoustic loadings, certification needs, operational costs, and even vehicle weight. Therefore, lowering the acoustic level via various mitigation schemes is an important aspect of a launch pad design.
In 2011 and 2012, the NESC sponsored research into the effectiveness of a microphone phased array (MPA) to identify noise sources and tested the array during an Antares launch from the Wallops Flight Facility [2]. This simple prototype array was able to identify impingement-related noise sources during the launch.
Today, building on this previous work, a new open-space truss MPA architecture is in development and test for use during the Artemis II launch. This truss structure consists of an aluminum tubular frame holding 70 microphones mounted in optimized positions over a dome-shaped surface (Figure 1). The center canister structure holds visible and infrared cameras as well as the amplifier electronics that transfer and relay microphone signals out to data cables that send information to the ground-mounted data acquisition system. The collected data are postprocessed using a functional-orthogonal beamforming routine that minimizes the effects of side lobes and reflections on the acoustic signal [3]. This produces a much cleaner image of primary noise impingement sources emanating from the vehicle and launch pad structures.
Figure 1. Overall view of the MPA, cable bundle, and data acquisition cabinet.The NESC activity is performing verification and validation tests to determine the MPA’s environmental survivability and validate the beamforming capability. This is being done using a phased testing approach. Phase 1 testing performed at ARC elevated the MPA (Figure 2) and used horns and speakers of known intensity to ensure its ability to identify and separate noise sources (Figure 3).
Figure 2. Setup for the outdoor test using a train horn and a long-range acoustic device (LRAD) speaker. The MPA was raised to test heights by a Telehandler. Figure 3. Comparison between different beamform schemes at a fixed f=1338 Hz with array center 100 ft. horizontal and 10 ft. above LRAD speaker.In phase 2, the system was subjected to an actual engine noise environment during a static fire test at SSC. The MPA viewed the A-1 engine test stand during an RS-25 engine test from 460 feet, a similar distance from KSC Pad 39B to the lightning tower, where the MPA will be mounted for Artemis II (Figure 4). Results successfully identified and pinpointed the transient engine acoustic sources during the test (Figure 5).
Figure 4. Scaffold system used to mount MPA and location of the array with respect to the SSC A-1 test stand. Right Image Credit: Google Maps Noise sources identified at the indicated third-octave center frequencies using functional-orthogonal beamform.The final test occurred during the NG-19 Antares launch from the Wallops Flight Facility in July 2023. The MPA tracked the plume and acoustic environment during the launch, showing transition from initial engine thrust to the overpressure environment flowing from the flame trench as the vehicle lifted off (Figure 6). The array was able to collect meaningful data while mounted outside, under acoustic conditions similar to those expected during the Artemis II launch and also subjected to heat, humidity, salt air, and extreme weather.
Figure 6. Time evolution of noise source generation during the NG-19 launch. The acoustic intensity of the redirected flow from the flame trench opening evolves to become a much stronger noise source, while acoustics from the plume are effectively mitigated by the sound suppression on the launch pad surface.Next, the MPA will be deployed at KSC for the Artemis II launch to measure the acoustic impingement and identify critical noise sources during that event. The data collected will help further refine and optimize the sound suppression systems for Artemis III and future launches.
References:
- Eldred, K. M. & Jones, G. W., Jr., “Acoustic load generated by the propulsion system,” NASA SP-8072, 1971.
- Panda, J., Mosher, R. N. & Porter, B. J., “Noise Source Identification During Rocket Engine Test Firings and a Rocket Launch,” Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol. 51, No. 4, July-Aug 2014. DOI: 10.2514/1.A32863
- Dougherty, R.P., “Functional Beamforming for Aeroacoustic Source Distributions,” 20th AIAA/CEAS Aeroacoustics Conference, 10.2514/6.2014-3066, 2014.
For more information, contact:
Dr. Jayanta Panda jayanta.panda-1@nasa.gov
Kenneth R. Hamm, Jr. kenneth.r.hamm@nasa.gov
Joel W. Sills joel.w.sills@nasa.gov
NASA Grant Brings Students at Underserved Institutions to the Stars
5 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Julia Chavez examines an experiment within an oxygen-free chamber at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in March. Chavez is one of several students from California State University, Los Angeles who are interning at JPL’s Origins and Habitability Lab.NASA/JPL-Caltech Cathy Trejo (right) shows off a tube filled with pebbles designed to mimic Martian regolith. During experiments, fluid is flushed through the tube many times, giving JPL astrobiology interns like Trejo and Julia Chaves (left) the chance to study how chemicals may have interacted with water on Mars billions of years ago.NASA/JPL-CaltechAt the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, interns from Cal State LA are learning key skills studying the origins of life.
What does wastewater management in Los Angeles have to do with the search for life on Mars? Eduardo Martinez certainly didn’t make the connection when he was pursuing a master’s in civil engineering. Not at first. Then his professor pointed him toward an internship opportunity at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory for astrobiology, the study of life’s origins and the possibility of life beyond Earth.
That professor, Arezoo Khodayari of California State University, Los Angeles, helped Martinez understand the chemistry common to both fields. Soon, Martinez saw that just as phosphorous, nitrogen, and other chemicals in wastewater can fuel algal blooms in the ocean, they can potentially provide energy for microbial life on other planets.
Interns working in JPL’s Origins and Habitability Lab grow fingerlike mineral structures like the one shown here to simulate oceans on early Earth — and possibly other planets. By studying how these structures form in the lab, scientists hope to learn more about potential life-creating chemical reactions. NASA/JPL-Caltech“Once I got a taste of planetary science, I knew I needed more,” said Martinez, who did the internship while finishing his degree at Cal State LA, where more than 70% of students are Latino and few have historically participated in NASA research. “If not for JPL, I would have stopped with my master’s.” Now he’s pursuing a doctorate in geosciences at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
The inspiration that connects both fields lies at the core of a new NASA grant. Khodayari and Laurie Barge, who runs JPL’s Origins and Habitability Laboratory, have received funding for up to six paid JPL internships over two years. The intent is to help develop the next generation of space-minded scientists from the students at Cal State LA.
The grant — one of 11 recently awarded to emerging research universities by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate Bridge Program — helps underrepresented students learn more about astrobiology and perform NASA-sponsored research.
“As a large employer in Southern California, we have a duty to invest in our local communities,” Barge said of JPL’s role in the effort. “It makes NASA and its science more accessible to everyone.”
JPL’s Laurie Barge (far right) and California State University, Los Angeles’ Arezoo Khodayari (second from left) have collaborated for 10 years to bring interns to Barge’s astrobiology lab. JPL’s Jessica Weber (second from right) is also an astrobiologist in the lab; Julia Chavez (far left) and Cathy Trejo (center) are interns.NASA/JPL-Caltech Building CommunityBarge and Khodayari have been informally collaborating for 10 years, designing experiments to try to answer questions in their respective fields. Of the four Cal State LA interns Barge has hosted so far, two — including Martinez — have been lead authors on published research papers.
“It is a great accomplishment to publish in a prestigious, peer-reviewed journal, especially as the first author,” Khodayari said. “It’s inspiring to see students from Cal State LA, which is primarily a teaching institution, provided research opportunities that result in these kinds of journal publications.”
She notes that many of her students work multiple jobs, so a paid internship means they can focus entirely on their studies without sacrificing essential income. And, Khodayari added, “they get exposure to a field far from their reality.”
Tools and SkillsIn Barge’s lab, dark, fingerlike mineral structures grow in beakers of cloudy liquid meant to simulate oceans on early Earth — and possibly on other planets. By studying how these structures form in the lab, scientists like Barge hope to learn more about the potential life-creating chemical reactions that take place around similar structures, called chimneys, that develop on the ocean floor around hydrothermal vents.
“We learned so much in Laurie’s lab,” said Erika Flores, Barge’s first Cal State LA intern. “Not only are you working independently on your own projects, you’re collaborating with other interns and even other divisions at JPL.”
The middle of five children, Flores was the first in her family to graduate from high school. She initially attended University of California, Berkeley but felt isolated. After returning home, she earned her bachelor’s degree and began studying with Khodayari at Cal State LA.
Although she decided not to become a planetary scientist – “I considered it, but I didn’t want to spend another five years on a Ph.D.; I was ready to get a job” – Flores credits the JPL internship with helping her overcome a case of impostor syndrome. Equipped with a master’s that she completed during her internship, she now works for the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, overseeing 13 pumping plants that route wastewater to treatment plants.
Interplanetary ConnectionsLike Flores, current Cal State LA intern Cathy Trejo wants to improve the world through clean water. She’s studying to be an environmental engineer, with a focus beyond wastewater.
But she was excited to see the parallels between Earth-bound science and planetary science during her internship. Learning to use mass spectrometers has even inspired her. NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has a mass spectrometer, the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument, that measures the composition of different gases.
“Understanding the instruments we use on Mars has helped me better understand how we study chemistry here on Earth,” Trejo said.
She is fascinated that cumbersome lab instruments can be miniaturized to be taken to other planets, and that scientists are beginning to miniaturize similar instruments that could identify pollutants at Superfund sites.
Barge isn’t giving up hope that Trejo will stick with planetary science, but she’s just happy to help a budding scientist develop. “I hope these student research opportunities offer an appreciation for planetary exploration and how our work at NASA relates to important questions in other fields,” she said.
News Media ContactsAndrew Good
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-2433
andrew.c.good@jpl.nasa.gov
Karen Fox / Alise Fisher
NASA Headquarters, Washington
301-286-6284 / 202 358-2546
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov
2024-050
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Trajectory Reverse Engineering
A strategy for transferring spacecraft trajectories between flight mechanics tools, called Trajectory Reverse Engineering (TRE), has been developed[1]. This innovative technique has been designed to be generic, enabling its application between any pair of tools, and to be resilient to the differences found in the dynamical and numerical models unique to each tool. The TRE technique was developed as part of the NESC study, Flight Mechanics Analysis Tools Interoperability and Component Sharing, to develop interfaces to support interoperability between several of NASA’s institutional flight mechanics tools.
The development of space missions involves multiple design tools, requiring the transfer of trajectories between them—a task that demands a large amount of trajectory data such as frames, states, state and time parametrizations, and dynamical and numerical models. This is a tedious and time-consuming task that is not always effective, particularly on complex dynamics where small variations in the models can cause trajectories to diverge in the reconstruction process.
The TRE strategy is a trajectory-sharing process that is agnostic to the models used and performed through a common object: the spacecraft and planet kernels (SPK), developed at JPL Navigation and Ancillary Information Facility. The use of this common object aims to lay the groundwork for a global flight mechanics tool interoperability system (Figure 1).
Figure 1. A) Interoperability between flight mechanics tools using standardized trajectory structures. B) Traditional specific tool-to-tool interface design.An SPK file serves as a container object, representing a trajectory as a 6D invariant structure in phase-space, agnostic to gravitational environments, fidelity models, or numerical representation of the system. A judicious kernel scan is used to recover the trajectory in any new tool, with the minimum (or no) information from the generating source. Impulsive maneuvers can be extracted in the form of velocity discontinuities, finite burns can be detected as variations on the energy of the system, and natural bodies conforming the trajectory universe can be directly read from the kernel.
States or control points are found at predetermined time intervals or strategic points along the trajectory (e.g., periapsis, apoapsis, flybys closest approach), which are then used to reconstruct the trajectory timeline. The trajectory can be propagated forward in time using the selected set of control points. Due to the discrepancy between tool models, small or large discontinuities might appear between the integrated legs, which can be smoothed by the implementation of a multiple-shooting algorithm (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Multiple-shooting algorithm, utilizing strategic control points and a forward-backward propagation scheme.The TRE strategy was successfully implemented for Monte and Copernicus in the form of Python scripts (examples of reconstructed trajectories from SPK for each of these tools are shown in Figure 3). Through an optional user input file, a user can configure their specific problem. User-defined constraints are also possible, but their implementation would depend on the specific tool. The benefits of this effort include cost reduction through the sharing of capabilities, acceleration of the turnaround process involving various analysis tools at different stages of mission development, improved design solutions through multi-tool mission designs, and a reduction in development redundancy.
Reference:
- Restrepo, R. L., “Trajectory Reverse Engineering: A General Strategy for Transferring Trajectories Between Flight Mechanics Tools” AAS 23-312, January 2023.
For information, contact Heather Koehler heather.koehler@nasa.gov and Ricardo L. Restrepo ricardo.l.restrepo@jpl.nasa.gov.
NASA’s Hubble Pauses Science Due to Gyro Issue
2 min read
NASA’s Hubble Pauses Science Due to Gyro Issue The Hubble Space Telescope as seen from the space shuttle Atlantis (STS-125) in May 2009, during the fifth and final servicing of the orbiting observatory.NASANASA is working to resume science operations of the agency’s Hubble Space Telescope after it entered safe mode April 23 due to an ongoing gyroscope (gyro) issue. Hubble’s instruments are stable, and the telescope is in good health.
The telescope automatically entered safe mode when one of its three gyroscopes gave faulty readings. The gyros measure the telescope’s turn rates and are part of the system that determines which direction the telescope is pointed. While in safe mode, science operations are suspended, and the telescope waits for new directions from the ground.
This particular gyro caused Hubble to enter safe mode in November after returning similar faulty readings. The team is currently working to identify potential solutions. If necessary, the spacecraft can be re-configured to operate with only one gyro, with the other remaining gyro placed in reserve . The spacecraft had six new gyros installed during the fifth and final space shuttle servicing mission in 2009. To date, three of those gyros remain operational, including the gyro currently experiencing fluctuations. Hubble uses three gyros to maximize efficiency, but could continue to make science observations with only one gyro if required.
NASA anticipates Hubble will continue making groundbreaking discoveries, working with other observatories, such as the agency’s James Webb Space Telescope, throughout this decade and possibly into the next.
Launched in 1990, Hubble has been observing the universe for more than three decades and recently celebrated its 34th anniversary. Read more about some of Hubble’s greatest scientific discoveries and visit nasa.gov/hubble for updates.
Media Contact:
Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
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NASA’s Commercial Partners Deliver Cargo, Crew for Station Science
NASA partners with commercial companies to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation of cargo and crew members to and from the International Space Station. A platform for long-duration research in microgravity, the station has operated continuously for more than 23 years, its crew members conducting a broad range of technology demonstrations and thousands of experiments in many scientific fields.
Human TransportationNASA’s Commercial Crew Program provides systems capable of carrying astronauts to low Earth orbit and the space station through industry partners who design, build, test, and operate these systems. Crew members providing hands-on operation of scientific research is one of the unique advantages of the orbiting laboratory. Human operators monitor events on Earth in real time, swap out experiment samples, observe results firsthand, assess when conditions are favorable for data collection, and troubleshoot and otherwise manage and maintain scientific activities. Crew members also pack experiment samples to return to the ground for detailed analysis.
NASA commercial partner Boeing is launching NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on a Crew Flight Test of its Starliner spacecraft in May 2024. The spacecraft launches to the space station on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. This mission paves the way for NASA to certify the Starliner spacecraft for long-duration rotation missions to the space station.
Crew members Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams in the Boeing Starliner simulator at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.NASA/Robert MarkowitzSpaceX, another commercial partner, conducted an uncrewed Demo-1 flight in March 2019, and in May 2020, the Demo-2 flight carried NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley to the space station. The first operational mission, Crew-1, launched in November 2020. Since then, SpaceX has regularly sent crews to the orbiting laboratory for scientific missions. The Dragon spacecraft launches on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Crew-1 launches to the International Space Station in a Dragon spacecraft on Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020.NASA/Joel KowskyNASA’s commercial crew flights have significantly increased the amount of crew time available for research and expanded the potential for commercial use of the orbiting laboratory. More crew members mean more time for scientific research and technology demonstrations, and ultimately, more scientific results. To date, results generated by space station research range from improvements in the development of pharmaceuticals to better disaster response, improved materials manufacturing, advances in robotics, bioprinting human tissue, and more.
NASA astronaut Megan McArthur works with experiment samples with JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide.NASABy enabling regular rotation of crew members, commercial crew flights also contribute to research on how long-duration missions affect human health, helping to prepare for exploration missions to the Moon and Mars.
Cargo ResupplyThrough NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services program, partners SpaceX and Northrop Grumman fly cargo to the space station on rockets and spacecraft the companies developed.
Northrop Grumman transports scientific investigations and cargo on its Cygnus spacecraft. The company’s first resupply mission launched in 2013 and it had reached 20 missions by January 2024. When a Cygnus departs from the space station, it disposes of several thousand pounds of waste that burn up during re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere.
A Northrop Grumman Cygnus approaches the International Space Station as they orbit above the south Pacific Ocean.NASADeparting Cygnus spacecraft also provide safe platforms to perform research that could create hazards if conducted on the space station, such as the Spacecraft Fire Safety Experiments (Saffire). This eight-year series of investigations studied flame growth and material flammability in space. The experiments were ignited in the cargo vehicles after their departure from the station and before re-entry to Earth, avoiding potential risk to the space station and its crew.
SpaceX launched its first Dragon cargo mission in October 2012 and by March 2024, had sent 30 commercial resupply services missions to the space station. Dragon is a reusable spacecraft that also returns samples from scientific investigations conducted on the space station. Beginning in 2021, these return flights started splashing down near Kennedy rather than in the Pacific Ocean. This capability allows scientists quick access to samples to make additional observations and analyses before the effects of gravity fully kick back in. Many researchers also conduct more in-depth analysis later in their home labs.
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A SpaceX Dragon splashes down in the Atlantic Ocean off the Florida coast. Credit: NASANASA also is working with Sierra Space to develop the Dream Chaser spacecraft to transport cargo to and from the space station. The reusable, winged spacecraft is designed to use commercial runways and its cargo is subject to reduced gravitational forces on the return flight. Sierra Space conducted an autonomous atmospheric test flight in 2017.
These commercial partnerships build a strong American commercial space industry, as NASA focuses on developing the next generation of rockets and spacecraft for deep space missions and to put the first woman and first person of color on the Moon.
Melissa Gaskill
International Space Station Research Communications Team
NASA’s Johnson Space Center
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NASA’s ORCA, AirHARP Projects Paved Way for PACE to Reach Space
It took the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission just 13 minutes to reach low-Earth orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in February 2024. It took a network of scientists at NASA and research institutions around the world more than 20 years to carefully craft and test the novel instruments that allow PACE to study the ocean and atmosphere with unprecedented clarity.
In the early 2000s, a team of scientists at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, prototyped the Ocean Radiometer for Carbon Assessment (ORCA) instrument, which ultimately became PACE’s primary research tool: the Ocean Color instrument (OCI). Then, in the 2010s, a team from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), worked with NASA to prototype the Hyper Angular Rainbow Polarimeter (HARP), a shoebox-sized instrument that will collect groundbreaking measurements of atmospheric aerosols.
Neither PACE’s OCI nor HARP2 — a nearly exact copy of the HARP prototype — would exist were it not for NASA’s early investments in novel technologies for Earth observation through competitive grants distributed by the agency’s Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO). Over the last 25 years, ESTO has managed the development of more than 1,100 new technologies for gathering science measurements.
“All of this investment in the tech development early on basically made it much, much easier for us to build the observatory into what it is today,” said Jeremy Werdell, an oceanographer at NASA Goddard and project scientist for PACE.
Charles “Chuck” McClain, who led the ORCA research team until his retirement in 2013, said NASA’s commitment to technology development is a cornerstone of PACE’s success. “Without ESTO, it wouldn’t have happened. It was a long and winding road, getting to where we are today.”
Left to right: Gerhard Meister, Bryan Monosmith, and Chuck McClain are shown here at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., in 2015 with the Ocean Radiometer for Carbon Assessment (ORCA) prototype that led to the Ocean Color Instrument (OCI) aboard NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission.NASA/Bill HrybykIt was ORCA that first demonstrated a telescope rotating at a speed of six revolutions per second could synchronize perfectly with an array of charge-coupled devices — microchips that transform telescopic projections into digital images. This innovation made it possible for OCI to observe hyperspectral shades of ocean color previously unobtainable using space-based sensors.
But what made ORCA especially appealing to PACE was its pedigree of thorough testing. “One really important consideration was technology readiness,” said Gerhard Meister, who took over ORCA after McClain retired and serves as OCI instrument scientist. Compared to other ocean radiometer designs that were considered for PACE, “we had this instrument that was ready, and we had shown that it would work.”
Technology readiness also made HARP an appealing solution to PACE’s polarimeter challenge. Mission engineers needed an instrument powerful enough to ensure PACE’s ocean color measurements weren’t jeopardized by atmospheric interference, but compact enough to fly on the PACE observatory platform.
By the time Vanderlei Martins, an atmospheric scientist at UMBC, first spoke to Werdell about incorporating a version of HARP into PACE in 2016, he had proven the technology with AirHARP, an airplane-mounted version of HARP, and was using an ESTO award to prepare HARP CubeSat for space.
HARP2 relies on the same optical system developed through AirHARP and HARP CubeSat. A wide-angle lens observes Earth’s surface from up to 60 different viewing angles with a spatial resolution of 1.62 miles (2.6kilometers) per pixel, all without any moving parts. This gives researchers a global view of aerosols from a tiny instrument that consumes very little energy.
HARP2, short for Hyper Angular Rainbow Polarimeter 2, undergoes calibration testing prior to launch aboard PACE.NASA/Denny HenryWere it not for NASA’s early support of AirHARP and HARP CubeSat, said Martins, “I don’t think we would have HARP2 today.” He added: “We achieved every single goal, every single element, and that was because ESTO stayed with us.”
That support continues making a difference to researchers like Jessie Turner, an oceanographer at the University of Connecticut who will use PACE to study algal blooms and water clarity in the Chesapeake Bay.
“For my application that I’m building for early adopters of PACE data, I actually think that polarimeters are going to be really useful because that’s something we haven’t fully done before for the ocean,” Turner said. “Polarimetric data can actually help us see what kind of particles are in the water.”
Without the early development and test-drives of the instruments from McClain’s and Martins’ teams, PACE as we know it wouldn’t exist.
“It all kind of fell in place in a timely manner that allowed us to mature the instruments, along with the science, just in time for PACE,” said McClain.
To explore current opportunities to collaborate with NASA on new technologies for studying Earth, visit ESTO’s open solicitations page here.
By Gage Taylor
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
NASA Finds New Homes for Artemis Generation of ‘Moon Trees’ Across US
After careful review of hundreds of applications, NASA has selected organizations from across the country to receive ‘Moon Tree’ seedlings that flew around the Moon on the agency’s Artemis I mission in 2022, to plant in their communities. Notifications to selected institutions will be made in phases, with the first beginning this spring, followed by notifications in fall 2024, spring 2025, and fall 2025.
NASA chose institutions based on criteria that evaluated their suitability to care for the various tree species and their ability to maximize educational opportunities around the life and growth of the tree in their communities.
“A new era of Moon trees will one day stand tall in communities across America,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “NASA is bringing the spirit of exploration back down to Earth because space belongs to everyone. The Artemis Generation will carry forth these seedlings that will be fertile ground for creativity, inspiration, and discovery for years to come.”
To commemorate the Artemis I Moon Trees, Artemis II NASA astronaut Christina Koch visited her home state of North Carolina and participated in a tree dedication ceremony at the Governor’s Mansion on April 24. She will be honored by her alma mater White Oak High School, one of many Moon Tree recipients, on Thursday. Since returning to Earth, the tree seeds have been germinating under the care of the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) Forest Service, as NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement’s Next Generation STEM project and the agency’s Office of Strategic Infrastructure’s Logistics Management division worked to identify their new homes.
“Together, NASA and the Forest Service will deliver a piece of science history to communities across our nation,” said Mike Kincaid, associate administrator, NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement. “Through this partnership, future explorers, scientists, and environmentalists will have the opportunity to nurture and be inspired by these Artemis artifacts in the community where they live, work, and learn.”
The Artemis I Moon Trees, rooted in the legacy of the original Moon Trees flown by NASA astronaut Stuart Roosa during Apollo 14, journeyed 270,000 miles from Earth aboard the Orion spacecraft. A diverse array of tree species, including sycamores, sweetgums, Douglas firs, loblolly pines, and giant sequoias, were flown around the surface of the Moon. The first batch of seedlings will ship to almost 50 institutions across 48 contiguous U.S. states.
“What an incredible journey these future Moon Trees have already been on, and we’re excited for them to begin the final journey to permanent homes on campuses and institutions across the country,” said Forest Service Chief Randy Moore. “We hope these trees will stand for centuries to come for the public’s enjoyment, inspiring future generations of scientists and land stewards.”
Moon Tree recipients will be invited to share their efforts to engage with the public and K-12 learners at quarterly virtual gatherings beginning in summer 2024. Information on educational resources and activities available to educators to share the story and science of Moon Trees with their students can be found online.
Next Gen STEM is a project within NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement, which develops unique resources and experiences to spark student interest in science, technology, engineering, and math, and build a skilled and diverse next generation workforce.
For the latest NASA STEM events, activities, and news, visit:
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Gerelle Dodson
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-4637
gerelle.q.dodson@nasa.gov
