Expedition Space: Space Launch, Events, News

https://ift.tt/Ihp14vE NASA / Grace Weikert Flames burn orange through green conifers and golden aspen on the slopes of Monroe Mountain in Utah’s Fishlake National Forest, sending gray and brown smoke billowing into the sky in this image from Oct. 9, 2023. This fire was intentionally set with a fire-dripping device suspended from a helicopter. The burn aimed to reintroduce fire to the Monroe Mountain region. Fire promotes aspen regeneration and reduces accumulated brush and dead vegetation that could fuel a larger uncontrolled fire. Scientists from NASA’s FireSense project , along with dozens of others from the Forest Service and other organizations and universities, collected data from the ground and from the sky as part of the Forest Service’s Fire and Smoke Model Evaluation Experiment. Observing a prescribed high-intensity fire gave NASA an opportunity to test technologies and demonstrate their effectiveness in supporting wildland fire manageme...

What's causing those unusual sky arcs? Ice crystals. While crossing a field of fresh snow near Füssen, Bavaria, Germany, earlier this month, the photographer noticed that he had entered an ice fog. For suspended water to freeze into an ice fog requires quite cold temperatures, and indeed the air temperature on this day was measured at well below zero. The ice fog reflected light from the Sun setting behind St. Coleman Church. The result was one of the greatest spectacles the photographer has ever seen. First, the spots in the featured picture are not background stars but suspended ice and snow. Next, two prominent ice halos are visible: the 22-degree halo and the 46-degree halo. Multiple arcs are also visible, including, from top to bottom, antisolar (subsun), circumzenithal, Parry, tangent, and parhelic (horizontal). Finally, the balloon shaped curve connecting the top arc to the Sun is the rarest of all: it is the heliac arc, created by reflection from the sides of hexagonally ...

https://ift.tt/7Mjqr3H 5 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) New Shepard, Blue Origin’s reusable suborbital rocket, rising from the company’s Launch Site One in West Texas, on a previous flight in 2021. The vehicle returned to flight on Dec. 19, 2023, carrying payloads supported by NASA’s Flight Opportunities, enabling researchers to test disruptive solutions for space applications. Blue Origin Living and working in space requires getting ready a bit closer to Earth. Through a suborbital flight test on Dec. 19, 2023 with industry provider Blue Origin, NASA’s Flight Opportunities program is helping 14 research payloads move one step toward future space missions and commercial applications. The flown technologies aim to address some of the opportunities and obstacles presented by humanity’s sustained presence in space. Launched aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard reusable suborbital rocket from the company’s Launch Site One i...

https://ift.tt/9stjM8A Artemis II crew members: NASA astronauts Christina Koch, left, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, right, pose for a group photograph with U.S. President Joe Biden, center, in the White House Oval Office in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023. Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz The first astronauts to fly around the Moon under NASA’s Artemis program visited the White House in Washington Thursday, and met with President Joe Biden in the Oval Office to thank him for his leadership and discuss their upcoming flight test. Artemis II crew members are NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen. The mission is currently targeted for late 2024. After launching on NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the crew will travel aboard the Orion spacecraft on a 10-day m...

https://ift.tt/ie5n2MX Credit: NASA/James Blair The four Artemis II astronauts practiced procedures to exit the Orion spacecraft in an emergency during training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Dec. 15. NASA astronaut Christina Koch (foreground) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen were assisted by Bill Owens, Artemis II spacesuit technician. The training included exiting both the side and top hatches of the spacecraft to ensure the crew will be ready for potential emergency scenarios upon splashdown in the Pacific Ocean that would require them to leave the capsule before the recovery team arrives. The Artemis II mission will send the crew on an approximately 10-day flight test around the Moon. Under Artemis, NASA will return humans to the Moon for long-term exploration and scientific discovery. from NASA https://ift.tt/o9lIBu3

https://ift.tt/nrgpcy0 1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) From left to right: Samone Wilson, Bradley Tyree, Gina Ladner, Louis Thompson. NASA Stennis From left to right: Kris Mobbs, Amy Langdale, Ken Griffey, and Paula Hensarling. NASA Stennis From left to right: Anita Wilson, Katrina Emery, Tom Lipski, and Van Ward. NASA Stennis NASA’s Stennis Space Center brings together people from all backgrounds to support NASA’s mission to explore the secrets of the universe for the benefit of all and inspire the world through discovery. NASA Stennis also supports the agency’s core values of safety, integrity, teamwork, excellence, and inclusion – and in 2023, the south Mississippi site was recognized by Forbes Magazine as the Best Employer in Mississippi. However, one does not need to take the magazine’s word for it – NASA Stennis employees are quick to say the same. They say w...