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An international research team led by the University of Vienna has made a major breakthrough. In a study recently published in Nature Astronomy, they describe how they conducted the first direct measurements of stellar wind in three Sun-like star systems. Using X-ray emission data obtained by the ESA’s X-ray Multi-Mirror-Newton (XMM-Newton) of these stars’ “astrospheres,” they measured the mass loss rate of these stars via stellar winds. The study of how stars and planets co-evolve could assist in the search for life while also helping astronomers predict the future evolution of our Solar System.

The research was led by Kristina G. Kislyakova, a Senior Scientist with the Department of Astrophysics at the University of Vienna, the deputy head of the Star and Planet Formation group, and the lead coordinator of the ERASMUS+ program. She was joined by other astrophysicists from the University of Vienna, the Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LAMOS) at the Sorbonne University, the University of Leicester, and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL).

Astrospheres are the analogs of our Solar System’s heliosphere, the outermost atmospheric layer of our Sun, composed of hot plasma pushed by solar winds into the interstellar medium (ISM). These winds drive many processes that cause planetary atmospheres to be lost to space (aka. atmospheric mass loss). Assuming a planet’s atmosphere is regularly replenished and/or has a protective magnetosphere, these winds can be the deciding factor between a planet becoming habitable or a lifeless ball of rock.

Logarithmic scale of the Solar System, Heliosphere, and Interstellar Medium (ISM). Credit: NASA-JPL

While stellar winds mainly comprise protons, electrons, and alpha particles, they also contain trace amounts of heavy ions and atomic nuclei, such as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, and even iron. Despite their importance to stellar and planetary evolution, the winds of Sun-like stars are notoriously difficult to constrain. However, these heavier ions are known to capture electrons from neutral hydrogen that permeates the ISM, resulting in X-ray emissions. Using data from the XXM-Newton mission, Kislyakova and her team detected these emissions from other stars.

These were 70 Ophiuchi, Epsilon Eridani, and 61 Cygni, three main sequence Sun-like stars located 16.6, 10.475, and 11.4 light-years from Earth (respectively). Whereas 70 Ophiuchi and 61 Cygni are binary systems of two K-type (orange dwarf) stars, Epsilon Eridani is a single K-type star. By observing the spectral lines of oxygen ions, they could directly quantify the total mass of stellar wind emitted by all three stars. For the three stars surveyed, they estimated the mass loss rates to be 66.5±11.1, 15.6±4.4, and 9.6±4.1 times the solar mass loss rate, respectively.

In short, this means that the winds from these stars are much stronger than our Sun’s, which could result from the stronger magnetic activity of these stars. As Kislyakova related in a University of Vienna news release:

“In the solar system, solar wind charge exchange emission has been observed from planets, comets, and the heliosphere and provides a natural laboratory to study the solar wind’s composition. Observing this emission from distant stars is much more tricky due to the faintness of the signal. In addition to that, the distance to the stars makes it very difficult to disentangle the signal emitted by the astrosphere from the actual X-ray emission of the star itself, part of which is “spread” over the field-of-view of the telescope due to instrumental effects.”

XMM-Newton X-ray image of the star 70 Ophiuchi (left) and the X-ray emission from the region (“Annulus”) surrounding the star represented in a spectrum over the energy of the X-ray photons (right). Credit: C: Kislyakova et al. (2024)

For their study, Kislyakova and her team also developed a new algorithm to disentangle the contributions made by the stars and their astrospheres to the emission spectra. This allowed them to detect charge exchange signals from the stellar wind oxygen ions and the neutral hydrogen in the surrounding ISM. This constitutes the first time X-ray charge exchange emissions from the extrasolar astrospheres have been directly detected. Moreover, the mass loss rate estimates they derived could be used by astronomers as a benchmark for stellar wind models, expanding on what little observational evidence there is for the winds of Sun-like stars. As co-author Manuel Güdel, also of the University of Vienna, indicated:

“There have been world-wide efforts over three decades to substantiate the presence of winds around Sun-like stars and measure their strengths, but so far only indirect evidence based on their secondary effects on the star or its environment alluded to the existence of such winds; our group previously tried to detect radio emission from the winds but could only place upper limits to the wind strengths while not detecting the winds themselves. Our new X-ray based results pave the way to finding and even imaging these winds directly and studying their interactions with surrounding planets.”

In the future, this method of direct detection of stellar winds will be facilitated by next-generation missions like the European Athena mission. This mission will include a high-resolution X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU) spectrometer, which Athena will use to resolve the finer structure and ratio of faint emission lines that are difficult to distinguish using XMM-Newton’s instruments. This will provide a more detailed picture of the stellar winds and astrospheres of distant stars, helping astronomers constrain their potential habitability while also improving solar evolution models.

Further Reading: University of Vienna, Nature Astronomy

The post Stellar Winds Coming From Other Stars Measured for the First Time appeared first on Universe Today.

Will the sky be clear enough to see the eclipse?

One of the big mysteries about dark matter particles is whether they interact with each other. We still don’t know the exact nature of what dark matter is. Some models argue that dark matter only interacts gravitationally, but many more posit that dark matter particles can collide with each other, clump together, and even decay into particles we can see. If that’s the case, then objects with particularly strong gravitational fields such as black holes, neutron stars, and white dwarfs might capture and concentrate dark matter. This could in turn affect how these objects appear. As a case in point, a recent study looks at the interplay between dark matter and neutron stars.

Neutron stars are made of the most dense matter in the cosmos. Their powerful gravitational fields could trap dark matter and unlike black holes, any radiation from dark matter won’t be trapped behind an event horizon. So neutron stars are a perfect candidate for studying dark matter models. For this study, the team looked at how much dark matter a neutron star could capture, and how the decay of interacting dark matter particles would affect its temperature.

The details depend on which specific dark matter model you use. Rather than addressing variant models, the team looked at broad properties. Specifically, they focused on how dark matter and baryons (protons and neutrons) might interact, and whether that would cause dark matter to be trapped. Sure enough, for the range of possible baryon-dark matter interactions, neutron stars can capture dark matter.

The team then went on to look at how dark matter thermalization could occur. In other words, as dark matter is captured it should release heat energy into the neutron star through collisions and dark matter annihilation. Over time the dark matter and neutron star should reach a thermal equilibrium. The rate at which this occurs depends on how strongly particles interact, the so-called scattering cross-section. The team found that thermal equilibrium is reached fairly quickly. For simple scalar models of dark matter, equilibrium can be reached within 10,000 years. For vector models of dark matter, equilibrium can happen in just a year. Regardless of the model, neutron stars can reach thermal equilibrium in a cosmic blink of an eye.

If this model is correct, then dark matter could play a measurable role in the evolution of neutron stars. We could, for example, identify the presence of dark matter by observing neutron stars that are warmer than expected. Or perhaps even distinguish different dark matter models by the overall spectrum of neutron stars.

Reference: Bell, Nicole F., et al. “Thermalization and annihilation of dark matter in neutron stars.” Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics 2024.04 (2024): 006.

The post Neutron Stars Could be Heating Up From Dark Matter Annihilation appeared first on Universe Today.

On Episode 106 of This Week In Space, Rod and Tariq take you on a tour of the coolest space places on Earth.

Don't rule out primordial black holes as dark matter suspects just yet! Particle-sized black holes may resist evaporation, surviving long enough to account for the universe's most mysterious stuff.

The total solar eclipse on April 8 plunged Syracuse, New York's Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology into darkness for 90 seconds, creating a wondrous and memorable totality.

To test its autonomous software, the JUICE mission team pretended to fly the spacecraft past Jupiter's fourth moon, and passed the exam with flying colors.

The Artemis 2 Orion spacecraft began testing on April 10 in an altitude chamber at NASA. The spacecraft will bring four astronauts around the moon no earlier than 2025.

Just weeks after Starship first reached orbital speed during a spaceflight in March, SpaceX founder Elon Musk outlined what the company wants to do with future spacecraft for Mars missions.

Current partners are encouraged to share their stories with NASA and our local communities. If partners do not have the time to prepare a story for the NRP post, the NRP team encourages partners to submit their latest press release and it can be included in the Post!

Please submit your stories and high quality photos (including captions) to: theodore.r.triano@nasa.gov. 

NRP Post Archives 2022 Issue 1 – IN THIS ISSUE Credits: Editor, Layout & Design by Ted Triano

4 | CMU Designed Satellite Launched Into Low-Earth Orbit
Brandon Lucia’s lab developed the Tartan-Artibeus-1 Satellite, the world’s first battery-less PocketQube satellite, deployed to low-Earth orbit aboard the SpaceX Transporter-3 Rocket

3 | CAL FIRE Operations at NASA Ames
CAL FIRE expands its firefighting and rescue operations at NASA Ames

6 | Breakthrough Initiatives and SETI Finding Signals
The blc1 signal is not alien – but it is a huge leap forward for SETI

10 | Hangar 1 Restoration Begins
Planetary Ventures began restoration efforts to Hangar 1 at NASA Ames

12 | RMV Develops ESD Evaluation Protocols
NASA Industry Partner Develops ESD Evaluation Protocols for Launch Integrity and CubeSat Startup Success
 

2021 Issue 3 – IN THIS ISSUE Credits: Editor, Layout & Design by Ted Triano

3 | Autonomous Systems and Robotics
Intelligent Robotics Group, USGS, and NOAA team demonstrate UAS streamflow mapping over the Sacramento River

4 | Iris Lunar Rover Meets Milestone for Flight
Ribbon cutting for new facility on the Center

6 | Innovatus Capital Partners teams with Verdigris Technologies
Verdigris teams with Capital Partners to reduce energy costs by bringing energy intelligence to its buildings

9 | USGS-Black Swift-NASA Partnership
USGS-Black Swift-NASA partnership to reduce volcanic hazards

12 | RMV Coming to you Virtually
Vermillion innovates a unique virtual platform in place of traditional “hands-on” learning

14 | NASA and USGS Partner to Measure
Stream Flow Remotely with UAS NASA and USGS are developing an autonomous UAS to map stream flow
 

2021 Issue 2 – IN THIS ISSUE Credits: Editor, Layout & Design by Ted Triano

3 | Farewell to Lauren Ladwig NASA Attorney
Mejghan Haider and the NRP Team wish great success to an amazing colleague and friend.

4 | California Air National Guard 129th
Rescue Wing – Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at Moffett Ribbon cutting for new facility on the Center.

6 | CMU Orbital Edge Computing
CMU creating the computing systems to get us to outer space.

8 |USGS Now has Earthquake Early Warning System
Entire U.S. west coast now has access to ShakeAlert® earthquake early warning.

10 |Breakthrough Initiatives Finding Low Mass Planets
Imaging low-mass planets within the habitable zone of Centauri.
 

2021 Issue 1 – IN THIS ISSUE Credits: Editor, Layout & Design by Ted Triano

3 | Geoffrey Ament of STC Receives NASA Ames Contractor of the Year Award
NASA recognizes Mr. Geoffrey Ament’s accomplishments at Ames Research Center

4 | CMU Reducing Interference
ECE researchers were awarded a $1M NSF grant to investigate new ways to avert interference

6 | Breakthrough Initiatives Help to Look for Life in the Clouds of Venus
Initiatives to fund study into search for primitive life in the clouds of Venus

8 |RMV’s Hands on Approach to Education on ESD
RMV’s in person and virtual classes on electrostatic discharge by Bob Vermillion

10 |USGS’s Study on the Movements of Smaller Earthquakes
Study by USGS on how smaller quakes can actually shake more aggressively

2020 Issue 2 – IN THIS ISSUE Credits: Edit, Layout & Design by Ted Triano

3 | RMV to Provide Virtual Training and Risk Mitigation of Covid 19
RMV training for space and defense material han- dling of electronics
4 | Made in Space Acquired by Redwire
SpaceNews announces Redwire acquisition of Made In Space

6 | Collaboration of CMU and Tech Giants in Silicon Valley
Students at the Silicon Valley campus of CMU collaborate with Tech Giants in Silicon Valley

8 | Breakthrough Invite Looking for Signs of Extraterrestrial Life
Thousands of new planets found by TESS will be scanned for “technosignatures” by Breakthrough Listen partner facilities across the globe

10 |AUVSI – One Giant Leap for Silicon Valley
AUVSI Brings Together Industry Heavy-Hitters for Technical Discussions at NASA AMES

12 |CMU-SV Orbital Edge Computing
CMU working on getting humanity into space

14 |Metis Presents at AIAA Scitech Forum 2020
Metis working with NASA assisting in US Coast Guard training

15 | NASA Ames Photo Ops
Photos from the NRP.

2020 Issue 1 – IN THIS ISSUE Credits: Editor, Layout & Design by Ted Triano

3 | NRP Welcomes New Partners
NASA Research Park welcomes new partners Flirtey and AUVSI Silicon Valley to Moffett Field.

4 | Making Tracks in the Desert
Carnegie Mellon University’s Catherine Pavlov testing space rovers in the Atacama Desert.

6 | Coronavirus: Tech Firm Bloom Energy Fixes Broken U.S. Ventilators
Bloom Energy is helping out the effort in the United States by fixing broken ventilators.

8 | Made in Space 3D Printing in Orbit
Made in Space discusses the expanding use of 3D printing to NASA’s Jim Bridenstine.

10 | Producing Hydrogen Peroxide When and Where it’s Needed
Does a material exist that can be used to selectively, reliably, and efficiently form hydrogen peroxide whenever and wherever it’s needed?

12 | Bloom Energy Helps Customers Prepare for Wildfire Season
Bloom Energy launches quick deploy microgrid Program for PSPS Readiness and Power Outage Map.

14 | Eugene Tu Announces New Appointment
Eugene L. Tu announces the appointment of Verron “Ron” Brade as Ames Center Associate Director.

15 | NASA Ames Photo Ops
Photos from the NRP.

Summer 2019 – IN THIS ISSUE Credits: Editor, Layout & Design by Ted Triano

2 | USGS Ribbon Cutting
USGS ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 10th is key milestone for USGS move to Moffett Field
3 | NASA Administrator Visits SimLabs
Jim Bridenstine visits SimLabs flight simulators
5 | NASA Invests in 3D Printing
3D Printing in the aviation field, a future that NASA and CMU wish to be on the forefront
7 | Bob Vermillion Inducted into Military Packaging Hall of Fame
The National Institute of Packaging honor Bob Vermillion with induction into Military Packaging Hall of Fame
9 | Verdigris Helping Save Energy
New technology in familiar app makes it even easier for customers to save energy
11 | CMU Working on Buffering, Burstables, and Better Websites
Joe-Wong and Jiang are working on issues that can help everyone improve their experience on the web
13 | Eugene Tu Announces New Appointments
Janice Fried joined the Director’s staff as Mejghan Haider was appointed the Director of the NASA Research Park
14 | NASA Ames Photo Ops
Photos from the NRP
 

Winter 2019 – IN THIS ISSUE Credits:Editor, Layout & Design by Ted Triano

COVER | USGS & NASA
Collaboration Dr. Jim Reilly, Director of USGS visited Ames on to discus collaborative opportunities with Dr. Tu Director of NASA Ames
2 | Planetary Ventures Building at NASA Ames to Build Bay View Campus
Building of new Bay View Campus on track
3 | Airmap Working on Drone Recognition
Airmap continues to make mass use of drones a reality
5 | Bloom Energy
A closer look at Bloom Enegery
7 | RMV iNARTE® ESD Aerospace &
Defense Engineer
RMW receives highest level of ESD certification and training for NASA
9 | Verdigris Helping Save Energy
Verdigris Technologies announces latest smart building advancement
11 | Vasper – A Better Way to Workout
Vasper showing how a shorter workout using advanced technology is a better workout
13 | Bay Aera Environmental Research Institute
Numerical Model Simulates Entire Evolution of a Solar Flare for First Time
14 | NASA Ames Photo Ops
Photos from the NRP
 

Summer 2018 – IN THIS ISSUE Credits:Editor, Layout & Design by Ted Triano

1 | NASA’s Silicon Valley Housing
Development NASA is narrowing the search for the contractors to build on its Silicon Valley housing development
1 | CMU Team in NASA Mars Ice
Drilling Competition CMU looking to collaborate with NASA in Mars ice drilling
2 | New Partners
NRP Welcomes
2 | Orange Silicon Valley Finds Savings with Verdigris
Verdigris saving companies on energy costs in Silicon Valley
3 | Made In Space Wins Next-Gen
‘Vulcan” Contract Made In Space to make metallic components in space
4 | CMU – Footsteps to Preventing Falls
CMU coming up with technology to help prevent falls
5 | Boeing Investing in
Singularity University Boeing investing in global learning and innovation with Singularity University
5 | Interesting Podcasts
USGS has some interesting pod-casts you should hear
7 | Boreal & Stanford
Exploring Extreme Space Collaboration to explore extreme space environments
8 | Bob Vermillion Receives Lifetime Achievement Award
Bob Vermillion receives James A. Russell Lifetime Achievement Award
9 | Medal of Honor on Display
Moffett Museum has Metal of Honor on display
10 | Made In Space Bid on Archinaut​
Made In Space working on bid for next phase of Archinaut Development Program
11 | Rosenbert’s Mission at CMU
Rosenberg is on a mission at CMU’s Silicon Valley campus
12 | Photo Ops
Photos from the NRP
 

Fall 2017 – IN THIS ISSUE Credits:Editor, Layout & Design by Ted Triano

1 | New Chapter for NanoRacks
NanoRacks and Ixion team up to explore space together
1 | Made In Space 3D Printing
Made In Space continues to prove 3D printing in space does work including testing in a “space-like environment”
3 | Singularity University (SU) Announces SU Ventures
Partners being recognized in Spinoff 2017
4 | Eugene Tu Announces NASA Ames Deputy Center Director
Carol Carrol announced as new Deputy Center Director
5 | RVM Helping ONE NASA Program Managers
NanoRacks announced as Small Business Prime Contractor of the year
6 | CMU-SV Mentor Teens in Hackathon
CMU-SV working with students to make a better society through coding
7 | Moon Express & NanoRacks Working Together Beyond Earth Orbit
Looking for new breakthroughs
8 | USGS Using Real-Time Hydrologic Data
Spinoff features Verdigris and its energy conservation technology at Ames
8 | NanoRacks at Dubai Expo 2020
NanoRacks to attend Dubai Expo in 2020
9 | AirMap & Kespry and Drones
AirMap and Kespry team up on drone research and development
10 | Drones in the Matrix
CMU teaching drones to fly
12 | CMU and USGS Working Together
Crowd-sourced Geodesy to study earthquakes 
 

Fall 2016 – IN THIS ISSUE Credits:Editor, Layout & Design by Ted Triano

1 | Tools of Change
GSP Class talking technology. Where we are now and where it will take us in the future.
1 | First Commercial Interplanetary Mission
Deep Space Industries planning first commercial interplanetary mission
2 | SkyTran Bridge Loan
30 Mil series B financing
3 | Global Entrepreneurship
Lecture panel for 2016 a success
4 | Optical Fiber in Microgravity
Made In Space at the forefront of technologies in microgravity
5 | CMU-SV Wireless to the Rescue
When the wires go down CMU and its drones are there to fix the problem
7 | Wireless Emergency Alert Technology
CMU Working with FCC for Emergency Wireless Alerts
10 | Modern Requirements Management
CMU Teaching future leaders for Fortune 100 companies
11 | CMU-SV’s Welcomes Vivek Wadhwa
Vivek Wadhwa Joins Carnegie Mellon Silicon Valley
12 | Geo Cosmo Honored
GeoCosmo honored at NASA Research Park
12 | Jason Dunn
Jason presented the future of making things in space
12 | Photo Recognition
NRP Photos and Recognition
 

Spring 2016 – IN THIS ISSUE Credits:Editor, Layout & Design by Ted Triano

1 | Next Generation Space Manufacturing Program 
Made In Space chosen to work on next generation of space manufacturing
1 | 3D Printer to Go Into Space
Made In Space to put printer into Internation Space Station
2 | New Partners
NRP Welcomes
2 | Appointment of Janice Fried

Ms. Janice Fried appointed as Director of the NASA Research Park
3 | Energy Tracker by Verdigris
Verdigris announces newest building intelligence platform: Energy Tracker
4 | NASA, Aerodynamics & Sports Balls
Dr. Rabindra Mehta, chief of the Experimental Aero-Physics lecture on sports ball aerodynamics
5 | Carnegie Mellon University – SV

Partner with Cheetah Mobile to improve mobile advertising
6 | NRP Showcased
NRP showcased in Spinoff Magazine 2016
7 | CMU-SVʼs Karishma Shah
Karishma Show Honored with Forbes 30 Under 30 2016
9 | DMI Brings Wireless to Nepal

DMI helping Nepal bring communication back after earthquake
10 | Making History Again
Made Ins Space featured on NBC Bay Area
11 | NASA Ames Hosts GIDEP
NASA Ames hosts GIDEP for RMV site visit
11 | Connect 2016 a Big Hit
Big ideas make a big hit for Connect 2016
 

Spring 2015 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Spring 2015

1 | Messages from Charles Bolden
Please Welcome Deputy Administrator Dava Newman & Announcement of New Ames Center Director
1 | Messages from Center Director
Selection of NASA Ames Research Center Deputy Center Director
2 | New Partners
NRP Welcomes
2 | NASA Research Park
NASA Research Park Wins Bright Idea Award
3 | SETI Institute
Pascal Lee Wins Children’s Book Prize
4 | Moon Express
An Audacious Plan to Mine the Surface of the Moon
6 | Rhombus Power Inc.
Frost & Sullivan Recognizes Rhombus as New Product Innovation Leader
6 | Rhombus Power Inc.
Mercury Headed to International Space Station
7 | NASA Research Park
NRP & DOC work together for National Event
8 | Singularity University
24-year-old Wins India’s First Smart City Contest; Winning Entry Focuses on Pollution Free Cities for India
10 | Singularity University
Google Pledges $3M to put Students through Singularity University Program
10 | Photozig
PepBlast Motion Pictures, the Slide Show Maker with Music, is Launched
11| Vasper
Liquid Cooling Technology Increases Exercise Efficiency
12 | RMV Technology Group LLC
NRP Research Center Veteran Owned Company Receives SBA Business Award & NIPHLE Packaging Engineering Award
13| Scanadu
Scanadu Raises $35 Million From Fosun, Tencent for Its Health Scanner
13| Made In Space
Made in Space, Now Taking Orders
14 | skyTran
skyTran™, Inc., Entered into an Agreement with Sustainable Systems of Colorado
15 | NeuroVigil
NeuroVigil Closes 2nd Financial Round
16 | NeuroVigil
Neurotech Goes Global: Tens of Thousands of Brains Coming Online
 

Summer 2014 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Summer 2014

1| Innovation Space
1| PocketQube​
2| New Partners
3| A Day at Singularity University
3| CO2 Workshop
7| Singularity University GSP
7| reQall’s reqallable App
8| M2Mi/Electrical Grid
9| M2Mi/Sarah Cooper
9| Taksha University
10| Rhombus
11| Made In Space
12| skyTran
13| OpenNEX
13| Space Development Panel
14| UAV Collaborative
14| CMU Alerts
15| RMV
16| Mars Institute
18| Google Lunar XPRIZE
18| Scanadu/Smartest City
19| LatIPnet
20| CMU Software
21| Planners Collaborative
21| Polish Delegation
22| Connect Bogota
23| Bloom Energy Japan
23| Bloom Energy Earth Day
24| Medical Technology Panel
 

Winter 2014 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Winter 2014

1| NASA’s Solar System Exploration Research Institute (SSERVI)
1| Moon Express
1| The Sky Isn’t the Limit
2| New Partners
5| Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project
6| IPADE Business School Visit
7| LatIPnet: Sustainability and Living Lab
8| NRP Lecture: Planetary Sustainability for Survival and Profit
9| CMU Names Bob Iannucci to Head SV Campus
9| KleenSpeed Collaborates with Oracle Team USA
10| Space Portal Leaders at AIAA Space 2013
11| ‘Maker’ Ideas Wanted for First 3D Printer in Space
11| BASF Extends Agreement with Apprion
12| Scanadu: Tricorders and the Idea of Mapping One’s Body
13| RMV Capabilities
14| NASA Begins Exploring Quantum Computing
16| Getting City Commuters Out of Their Car—SkyTran
17| Wyle Sponsors Rocket Launch
18| Kentucky Space
19| Vasper: Biomimicry and Cooling Technologies for Sports Rehabilitation
20| reQall Rover App
21| Singularity University Features Female Entrepreneurs at CROWDFUNDxWOMEN
21| Intrinsyx’s Wireless Technology for Space Applications
23| NeuroVigil Opens Satellite Research Lab
 

Summer 2013 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Summer 2013

1| 2013 West Summit
1| NASA’s IRIS Launched with Antennas from CMU-SV Startup X5 Systems
1| Made in Space Bringing 3D Printing to Space 
2| New Partners 
4| Managing Irrigation from Space 3 World’s First Mission to Moon’s South Pole 
6| CMU-SV Director Martin Griss to Step Down, Continue as Research Scientist 
7| Space Artists Converge on the NASA Research Park 
8| CREST/SCU Program Recognized by the National Academy of Engineering
8| Santa Clara University and Space Portal Aerospace Innovation Events 
9| NASA’s Newest Virtual Institute Celebrates First Anniversary 
10| First Field Simulation of Human Exploration of Near-Earth Asteroids, Phobos, & Deimos 
10| Mars Institute: Educating Future Mars Explorers
11| Bloom Energy in Japan
14| NewSpace 2013 and AIAA Joint Propulsion Conference
14| Verdigris Technologies Named Founder.org Winner
15| Real-Life ‘Star Trek’ Tricorder Project Raises $1 Million
17| Quantum Supercomputer
18| NASA ROSES Seagrass/Coral Reef Project
19| Singularity University’s Graduate Studies Program
20| RMV Technology Group Invited to Chair G-19 & G-21 Sub-Committee Packaging Engineering Working Groups
 

Spring 2013 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Spring 2013

1| Google Starting Construction on New Campus
1| BBC TV Visits NRP
2| New Partners 
2| New Company in NRP Brings Back Former NASA Employee 
3| BBC World News Launches New Series of Horizons 
3| Space Portal Delivers 
6| NASA Invites Media to Showcase of Solutions Finalists
7| May 23 Showcase of Solutions for Planetary Sustainability
7| What if You Could Mine the Moon?
9| Wattminder, Inc. Building Stem Education Resources
10| STC’s Education Outreach 
11| Tibion’s Bionic Leg 
12| NASA Ames and Swedish National Space Board Join Forces to Integrate and Test AAC Microtec 6U Satellite
12| PepBlast eCards App Approved by Apple iTunes App Store 
13| First ICES Workshop Held Among USGS, NASA and CMU-SV
13| Newly Renovated Carnegie Mellon Innovations Laboratory Unveiled 
14| M2Mi Celebrates 7 Years with NRP 
15| Kentucky Space Announces Space Tango
15| NASA Pod Transports Are Close to Reality—in Tel Aviv
16| Intrinsyx Technologies Corp. Empowers Biological Research on the ISS 
17| Chandah Collaborations Underway
18| University Associates Silicon Valley
 

Winter 2013 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Winter 2013

1| Singularity Hub Acquired! Now Part Of Singularity University
1| Personal Health Tricorders Made at NASA Ames
2| New Partners
2| NASA Research Park Post Editor’s Farewell
3| Peter Diamandis Inspires Crowd at December 2012 NRP Lecture
5| Carnegie Mellon University Silicon Valley Holds 3rd Annual DMI Workshop
5| Entrepreneurship Program at CMUSV Opens with Idea Workshop 
6| CMUSV and NASA Researchers Map Underground Faults Using UAS
9| Wyle Employees Receive 2012 Agency Honor Award from NASA
10| Verdigris Technology Plans Smart Grid Shakeup with Building AI
11| AAC Microtec-Supported 1U CubeSat Successfully Launched from ISS in October
12| Mars Institute: We are Go for Mars 
14| RMV Developments 
15| IntraPoint Continues to Establish itself as the Global Leader in Enterprise Resiliency
15| ARCTek 3
 

Summer 2012 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Summer 2012

1| CMUSV 10th Anniversary
1| President of Bulgaria Visits NRP
2| New Partners
4| NASA Earth Exchange
5| Airship Venture’s Zeppelin Airship Pilot School
6| NASA Lunar Science Forum
8| NASA Roses Seagrass/Coral Reef Project
9| Hangar One UAV Project
10| Kentucky Space Developments
11| PepBlast Animated eCards
12| KleenSpeed Wins Refuel 2012
12| KleenSpeed Battery
13| NRP Hosts UN leaders
14| Bloom Energy Brings on Big Customers
15| Singularity University’s Summer Graduate Studies Program
15| Google’s Cyborg Glasses
16| Moon Express New Hires
 

Spring 2012 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Spring 2012

1| N-CITE to Enhance NASA NRP Collaborations
1| Photozig–New Apps, Programs, & Webnovela
2| New Partners
3| CMUSV Tenth Anniversary
4| Singularity University Brings in Gabriel Baldinucci 
5| NASA Awards Moon Express New Task
6| Moon Express: A New Breed of Space Explorers
6| AAC Microtec & Ames’ First Plug-and-Play Compatible Spacecraft
7| Ray Kurzweil Talks About ‘Singularity’
8| G​aryAir Participates in Technical Interchange Meeting
9| NASA and CMUSV Host “Big Data Management”
11| Is Vasper Really the Exercise of the Future?
14| NRP Lecture Series Hosts Disaster Resiliency Panel
17| STC Sponsors First Journal of Small Satellites
17| STC’s Science and Technology International Education Program
17| Taksha University Courses 
18| In Memoriam: Rich Davies
 

Winter 2012 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Winter 2012

1| Proposal Featuring SkyTran Wins Judges’ Choice
1| New Partner Scanadu
3| Next NRP Lecture
4| FutureMed Program
5| Singularity University’s New CEO
6| Eureka is Back at Moett
7| Disaster Management Technologies
8| NASA WRAP in Next-Gen EOC
8| CMUSV Designated CUDA Research Center
9| SkyTran’s Magnetic Pods
10| reQall’s N. Rao Machiragu
10| Photozig’s New App
11| Bloom Energy
12| KleenSpeed KAR
13| KleenSpeed E-BIKE
14| A Rewarding Year for Intrinsyx
15| Intrinsyx Open House
15| ACE Manufacturing Developers visit NRP
15| Students and Professors Meet NRP Innovators
16| Delegation from Mexico Visits NRP
 

Summer 2011 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Summer 2011

1| Kentucky Space on ISS
1| Moon Express Lunar Lander
2| New Partners
3| Google Lunar X Names New Chief
4| KleenSpeed EV-X11
4| KleenSpeed Eiata
6| CMUSV Disaster Management
8| FutureMed Executive Program
9| Packing for Mars NRP Lecture
10| Benetech – Technology for Humanity
11| Intrinsyx Showcase
12| Pete Conrad Spirit of Innovation Award
13| Airship Ventures Tour
13| Taksha University
14| Five9 Network Systems
15| ReQall Rover
16| Moon Express Announces Chief Scientist
 

Winter 2011 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Winter 2011

1| Vasper Systems California, LLC
1| E-Green Technologies, Inc.
2| New Partners
3| NRP Lecture Series with Dr. KR Sridhar
4| LatIPNet with Dr. Meyya Meyyappan
5| TakshaShila University
8| Silicon Valley Space Business Round Table with Dr. Peter Diamandis
9| interACT Presidential Summit
10| Carnegie Mellon Silicon Valley
11| Intrinsyx
11| Gary Air
13| Women @ the Frontier
13| Purdue University’s West Coast Partnership Center
14| JUSTAP Conference
14| Kentucky Space
15| BloomBoxes at Adobe HQ
16| Dignitaries Visit NRP
16| Exploration of Phobos & Deimos
 

Summer 2010 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Summer 2010

1| NASA Ames/ NASA Research Park
1| KleenSpeed
1| Singularity University
2| New Partners
3| UCSC Silicon Valley Initiatives: Gordon Ringold
4| Carnegie Mellon Silicon Valley
8| Kentucky Space/ Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation
9| United Negro College Fund Special Programs
9| Google: Tiff any Montague
11| RMV Technology Group
12| reQall
14| Airship Ventures
 

Spring 2010 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Spring 2010

1| Bloom Energy
2| CMSV: Advanced Communications & Disaster Management
6| Unimodal Systems LLC 5 California Native Gardens
7| Space Business Roundtable: Cureton Event
8| Airship Earth
9| Space Systems/LORAL: Propulsion System for Moon Exploration
10| Bright Green Energy, USA
11| Singularity University 2010 Graduate Studies Program
12| Khalid Al-AliAppointed Executive Director of UARC
12| NASA 70th Anniversary Gala
13| Tibion Corp New CEO 
13| Dan Bolfi ng/Zystech
15| CMU: 1991 Cold-Case Criminal Investigation
16| Yuri’s Night
17| Conrad Foundations 2010 Spirit of Innovation Awards
18| Airship Ventures
20| Economics Benefit Study
20| Moffett Museum Open House
 

Winter 2009 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Winter 2009

1| NRP’s Center for Robotic Exploration and Space Technologies
1| SV STAR, Inc. brings Green Aviation Research to Ames
2| CREST Aerospace Innovation Competition
3| Next Generation Inventors Win $750,000 in Robotic Digging Competition
4| NASA Ames: Water Found on the Moon
5| NASA Partner to Revolutionize Personal Transportation
5| reQall, Evernote Work Together to Retrieve your Notes
6| Kris Kimel, Innovator, Educator, Visionary
6| Kentucky Space Part of Venture Involving Space Station
7| Responsive Access to Space Technology Exchange Coming to the NASA Research Park in 2010
8| University Associates-Silicon Valley, LLC Selects Team Led by TMG Partners and The Related Companies
8| University Associates – Silicon Valley LLC Delivering the Future, a Sustainable Community for Research, Education and Innovation
9| Scientists Conduct Successful First Test Flight of X-SCAV UAV
10| How Time Flies– Happy First Anniversary Airship Ventures!
11| NASA Conducts Airborne Science Aboard Zepplin Airship
12| Pascal Lee Delivers Mars Lecture, Part of NRP Public Lecture Series
13| Ecliptic CEO Ridenoure Draws Crowd for November LCROSS Lecture in NRP Public Lecture Series
13| NRP’s Green Trail Energy Supports Desert Rats
15| Students Celebrate Diwali on Campus
16| NRP Leaders Discuss STEM Education Initiatives
16| Dante Zeviar, VP Electric Technology, wishes everyone a Happy and Prosperous New Year from the KleenSpeed team!
 

Summer 2009 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Summer 2009

1| NASA Research Park Hosts Exploration and Sustainability EXPO
2| University Affiliates, LLC – RFQ Submittals Announcement
3| NRP and NASA HIghlights at Exploration and Sustainability EXPO
5| Santa Clara University Students Operate PharmaSat​
5| KleenSpeed/Thruxar Electric Race Car Wins 1st Overall at Laguna Seca Alternative Vehicle Time Trials
6| Civilization in a Box
6| The Other Kind of Green (it’s about the money)
7| KleenSpeed – Does it Move You?
8| m2mi Helps Reboot Computing with the Magic and Beauty of Computer Science
8| LCROSS Spacecraft to Search for Water on the Moon 
9| California Space Authority Unveils Plans to Support Lunar Rover Development
9| NewSpace 2009 Conference at NRP
10| Carnegie Mellon Names Martin L. Griss to Head Innovative Silicon Valley Campus
10| Second Age of Carnegie Mellon in Silicon Valley
12| 2009 NSTI Summer Scholars and Faculty Fellows
14| AV’s Zeppelin NT – Multi-tasking at its Best!
15| Singularity University Panel on Humanity’s Grand Challenges
16| The World’s Best and Brightest are Here — International Space University and Singularity University Sessions Underway
18| NRP Deputy Director Report from ISU HQ
18| Blue Agaves Planted by Bldg. 19
19| Hands-On with Electrostatic Discharge — ESD and Tribocharge Measurements at NASA’s Science Technology Showcase are for Kids, Too
19| Transportation Leaders Discuss Unimodal Personal Rapid Transit for NRP
19| Lunar Science Forum at NRP
20| Honors for reQall, Inc
20| KleenSpeed Board Announcement
 

Spring 2009 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Spring 2009

1| NASA, Universities Unveil Plans to Build New Campus at NASA Research Park
2| Looking for Water on the Moon
2| NRP Welcomes New Tenants
2| RMV Brings Electrostatic Mitigation Expertise to NRP
3| KleenSpeed Technologies, Inc. — a Mission to Develop Scalable Electric Propulsion Systems for the Transportation Industry
4| Driving Across Northwest Passage to Make Polar History
5| Tibion Corporation – Redefining Mobility 
5| NRP Partner Tibion, Winner of Emerging Medical Device Award, Featured on ABC 7 News Robotic Knee Can Reprogram Brain
6| NASA Research Park Home to Newly Launched Singularity University
6| ISU Countdown – International Space University Space Studies Program 2009
7| Western Disaster Center Local Facilitator of ISU Summer Session Team Project
8| NASA and NRP Partner Google Launch Virtual Exploration of Mars
8| NRP’s UNCFSP-NSTI Information Technology and Emerging Technology (UNITE) Research Cluster arrives at NASA Ames Research Center
8| Exciting New Program for Faculty from Minority Institutions Comes to NASA Ames 
10| NASA Ames and Airship Ventures Increase Cooperation
12| Sensor Andrew – Carnegie Mellon Silicon Valley’s ‘Smartest’ Project
13| An Evolving Campus Constructing Facilities of the Future 
14| Changene Lab Granted Australian Patent
14| UAV Collaborative Seeks FAA Approval for UAVs
15| The Latest in Technology from the NY Times — NRP’s reQall Adds Location-Based Reminders
16| NRP Presents “Exploration and Sustainability” EXPO
16| TopQuadrant Offers Webinars “Using SPARQL for Dynamic Business Applications” 
16| International Space University Space Studies Program 2009: NASA Research Park NASA Ames Research Center
16| 2nd Annual Lunar Science Forum July 21–23, 2009
 

Fall 2008 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Fall 2008

1| Ames and Airship Ventures Celebrate Moffett Field’s 75th Anniversary and Airship’s Return
2| NASA Ames Team Wins the San Jose Business Journal “Deal of the Year” Award for Google Lease 
2| NRP Welcomes New Tenants
3| Tibion Wins Silicon Valley Emerging Technology Award (ETA) for Medical Devices
3| Intrinsyx Technologies Receives NASA Ames 2008 Award for Small Business Subcontractor of the Year
4| Intelligent Systems Research and Development Support Contract Goes to Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies (SGT, Inc.) 
4| GaryAir Partners with Ames’ Flight Deck Display Research Lab (FDDRL)
5| Kentucky Space Celebrates Successful Launch
5| reQall Shines at Stanford Summit CEO Showcase
6| Carnegie Mellon Silicon Valley Grads Toss Hats at NASA Research Park 
6| CMIL’s MAX Goes to the Arctic Alone
8| Historic Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery at NASA Research Park
9| The Future Comes to NASA
10| A Challenging Golf Experience at Your Doorstep
 

Summer 2008 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Summer 2008

1| NRP Partners Shine at Yuri’s Night
1| NASA and Google Announce Lease at Ames Research Center
2| NRP Welcomes New Tenants
3| Airship Ventures and Moffett Field – a Natural Partnership
4| NASA’s Lunar Science Institute at NRP
5| Planners Collaborative, Inc. receives NASA Honor Award for Public Service Group Achievement 
5| Tibion Collaborates with Stanford University’s Biomechanical Engineering Group
6| Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation and NASA Ames Collaboration In Full Swing
7| Apprion Names Mike Bradley CEO
7| NASA Ames Partners with m2mI for Small Satellite Development
8| Carnegie Mellon West Announces Launch of a new Full-time MS Software Engineering Program
8| Carnegie Mellon West and UC Berkeley Hosted One-Day Conference on The Mobile Future
10| UCSC Deeply Invested in Silicon Valley
10| UCSC and NASA: Allies in Innovation
11| Campus and Industry Representatives Discuss Benefits of Partnerships in Silicon Valley
12| NASA Research Park Historic Building 20 Restoration
14| LifeZig Personalized Reminiscence Video with Free Slideshows and Music for Individuals with Alzheimer’s and Dementia
 

Winter 2007-2008 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Winter 2007-2008

1| International Space Station National Lab Workshop “Going Where Our Intuition No Longer Applies”
1| Apprion Provides “Cheapsat” Communication
1| Nobel Laureate on NRP Lecture Panel
2| NASA Ames Spacecraft to Search for Lunar Water Ice
2| NRP Welcomes New Tenants
2| 21st Century Information Management at UCSC
3| UAV Collaborative at NRP
4| Yuri’s Night at NASA Ames Research Center
4| Kentucky Space Express Mission Update
5| Photozig Albums Express Receives “Killer Download” Award 
6| Moffett Field Museum
10| Carnegie Mellon West Grads Toss Hats at NRP 
10| Carnegie Mellon Tartan Racing Wins DARPA Urban Challenge and goes for Lunar X Prize
11| Carnegie Mellon Appoints Dr. Khalid Al-Ali Director of Research at West Coast Campus
11| Carnegie Mellon West & NASA Collaborate on Sub Vocal Control
12| CMIL’s Award-Winning Research Faculty
16| NRP Photos
 

Summer 2007- IN ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Summer 2007

1| Silicon Valley Center for Robotic Exploration and Space Technologies (CREST) Open House
1| The Carnegie Mellon Innovations Lab (CMIL)
1| Technology Showcase Attracts Silicon Valley Companies, Highlights Collaboration
2| New NRP Partner Terra Global Capital Collaborating with NASA World Wind Project
2| Entrepreneurial Space Summit at Space Portal
2| NRP Welcomes New Tenants
2| In Memoriam
3| AWC Supports Great Quake Exercise
5| He Was a Bold Man Who First Ate an Oyster
7| CREST Students & Western Disaster Center at USGS
7| Apprion Names VP of World Wide Sales
7| m2mi Update
7| Enroll at CMU West
10| UCSC Advanced Studies Lab Proposal Solicitation 
10| IISc Global Conference
10| UCSC Summer Courses
10| UCSC Fall Courses
 

Winter 2007 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Winter 2007

1| NASA and Google Sign Formal Agreement
1| CREST Evolves from Space Technology Center
1| NRP Partner Changene Granted Patent
2| NRP Exploration Lecture Astronaut Tom Jones
2| Apprion Receives Trade Accolade
2| NRP Welcomes New Tenant 
2| QTech Launches Voice-activated Memory Solution
3| Space Portal Update
3| NASA Ames Partnership Office presents Technology Showcase
4| Carnegie Mellon West Launches Masters in Software Management
4| UCSC Expands Academic Program at NRP
5| Opportunity Knocks at UNCFSP Online Registration
5| Carnegie Mellon West and UC Berkeley Host April Conference on the New Software Industry
7| Agenda set for Planetary Defense Conference
7| Photozig Commercial Release
7| Advanced Wireless Communications at NRP 
8| Tibion Accelerates PowerKnee Development
10| Other News
10| Upcoming Events
10| NASA Ames Partnership Office at Space 2006

Summer 2006 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Summer 2006

1| NASA Research Park Welcomes M2Mi
1| SPACE PORTAL your Friendly Front Door to Commercial Space
1| NASA Science and Technology Institute for Minority Institutions at NASA Research Park
2| NRP Welcomes New Tenants!
2| Photozig Releases the Ultimate Digital Photo Album for Consumer
2| Good News for Changene Patent Process
3| NASA AND U.S. Forest Service Test Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Wildfire Capabilities
3| NRP Annual Summer Picnic
4| Bigelow Spacecraft Carries NASA ‘Genebox’ for Test in Orbit
4| e4Xchange Corporation Obtains CA State Certification
5| Carnegie Mellon West
5| University of California Silicon Valley Center
5| UCSC regularly offers Information System Management (ISM) classes at NRP, Bldg. 19.
6| All NRP Partners are eligible to use the Ames Child Care Center
6| Upcoming Events
6| The Value Proposition for Space

Conservationists think tweaking pandas’ diets might shift their gut microbiomes in a way that could encourage them to mate

Conservationists think tweaking pandas’ diets might shift their gut microbiomes in a way that could encourage them to mate

After a journey lasting about two billion years, photons from an extremely energetic gamma-ray burst (GRB) struck the sensors on the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope on October 9th, 2022. The GRB lasted seven minutes but was visible for much longer. Even amateur astronomers spotted the powerful burst in visible frequencies.

It was so powerful that it affected Earth’s atmosphere, a remarkable feat for something more than two billion light-years away. It’s the brightest GRB ever observed, and since then, astrophysicists have searched for its source.

NASA says GRBs are the most powerful explosions in the Universe. They were first detected in the late 1960s by American satellites launched to keep an eye on the USSR. The Americans were concerned that the Russians might keep testing atomic weapons despite signing 1963’s Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

Now, we detect about one GRB daily, and they’re always in distant galaxies. Astrophysicists struggled to explain them, coming up with different hypotheses. There was so much research into them that by the year 2,000, an average of 1.5 articles on GRBs were published in scientific journals daily.

There were many different proposed causes. Some thought that GRBs could be released when comets collided with neutron stars. Others thought they could come from massive stars collapsing to become black holes. In fact, scientists wondered if quasars, supernovae, pulsars, and even globular clusters could be the cause of GRBs or associated with them somehow.

GRBs are confounding because their light curves are so complex. No two are identical. But astrophysicists made progress, and they’ve learned a few things. Short-duration GRBs are caused by the merger of two neutron stars or the merger of a neutron star and a black hole. Longer-duration GRBs are caused by a massive star collapsing and forming a black hole.

This sample of 12 GRB light curves shows how no two are the same. Image Credit: NASA

New research in Nature examined the ultra-energetic GRB 221009A, dubbed the “B.O.A.T: Brightest Of All Time,” and found something surprising. When it was initially discovered, scientists said it was caused by a massive star collapsing into a black hole. The new research doesn’t contradict that. But it presents a new mystery: why are there no heavy elements in the newly uncovered supernova?

The research is “JWST detection of a supernova associated with GRB 221009A without an r-process signature.” The lead author is Peter Blanchard, a Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) postdoctoral fellow.

“The GRB was so bright that it obscured any potential supernova signature in the first weeks and months after the burst,” Blanchard said. “At these times, the so-called afterglow of the GRB was like the headlights of a car coming straight at you, preventing you from seeing the car itself. So, we had to wait for it to fade significantly to give us a chance of seeing the supernova.”

“When we confirmed that the GRB was generated by the collapse of a massive star, that gave us the opportunity to test a hypothesis for how some of the heaviest elements in the universe are formed,” said lead author Blanchard. “We did not see signatures of these heavy elements, suggesting that extremely energetic GRBs like the B.O.A.T. do not produce these elements. That doesn’t mean that all GRBs do not produce them, but it’s a key piece of information as we continue to understand where these heavy elements come from. Future observations with JWST will determine if the B.O.A.T.’s ‘normal’ cousins produce these elements.”

Scientists know that supernova explosions forge heavy elements. They’re an important source of elements from oxygen (atomic number 8) to rubidium (atomic number 37) in the interstellar medium. They also produce heavier elements than that. Heavy elements are necessary to form rocky planets like Earth and for life itself. But it’s important to note that astrophysicists don’t completely understand how heavy elements are produced.

This periodic table from the NASA Scientific Visualization Studio shows where the elements come from, though scientists still have some uncertainty. Image Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Scientists naturally wondered if an extremely luminous GRB like GRB 221009A would produce even more heavy elements. But that’s not what they found.

“This event is particularly exciting because some had hypothesized that a luminous gamma-ray burst like the B.O.A.T. could make a lot of heavy elements like gold and platinum,” said second author Ashley Villar of Harvard University and the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. “If they were correct, the B.O.A.T. should have been a goldmine. It is really striking that we didn’t see any evidence for these heavy elements.”

Stars forge heavy elements by nucleosynthesis. Three processes are responsible for that: the p-process, the s-process and the r-process (proton capture process, slow neutron capture process, and the rapid neutron capture process.) The r-process captures neutrons faster than the s-process and is responsible for about half of the elements heavier than iron. The r-process is also responsible for the most stable isotopes of these heavy elements.

That’s all to illustrate the importance of the r-process in the Universe.

The researchers used the JWST to get to the bottom of GRB 221009A. The GRB was obscured by the Milky Way, but the JWST senses infrared light and saw right through the Milky Way’s gas and dust. The telescope’s NIRSpec (Near Infrared Spectrograph) senses elements like oxygen and calcium, usually found in supernovae. But the signatures weren’t very bright, a surprise considering how bright the supernova was.

“It’s not any brighter than previous supernovae,” lead author Blanchard said. “It looks fairly normal in the context of other supernovae associated with less energetic GRBs. You might expect that the same collapsing star producing a very energetic and bright GRB would also produce a very energetic and bright supernova. But it turns out that’s not the case. We have this extremely luminous GRB, but a normal supernova.”

Confirming the presence of the supernova was a big step to understanding GRB 221009A. But the lack of an r-process signature is still confounding.

Scientists have only confirmed the r-process in the merger of two neutron stars, called a kilonova explosion. But there are too few neutron star mergers to explain the abundance of heavy elements.

This artist’s illustration shows two neutron stars colliding. Known as a “kilonova” event, they’re the only confirmed location of the r-process that forges heavy elements. Credits: Elizabeth Wheatley (STScI)

“There is likely another source,” Blanchard said. “It takes a very long time for binary neutron stars to merge. Two stars in a binary system first have to explode to leave behind neutron stars. Then, it can take billions and billions of years for the two neutron stars to slowly get closer and closer and finally merge. But observations of very old stars indicate that parts of the universe were enriched with heavy metals before most binary neutron stars would have had time to merge. That’s pointing us to an alternative channel.”

Researchers have wondered if luminous supernovae like this can account for the rest. Supernovae have an inner layer where more heavy elements could be synthesized. But that layer is obscured. Only after things calm down is the inner layer visible.

“The exploded material of the star is opaque at early times, so you can only see the outer layers,” Blanchard said. “But once it expands and cools, it becomes transparent. Then you can see the photons coming from the inner layer of the supernova.”

All elements have spectroscopic signatures, and the JWST’s NIRSpec is a very capable instrument. But it couldn’t detect heavier elements, even in the supernova’s inner layer.

“Upon examining the B.O.A.T.’s spectrum, we did not see any signature of heavy elements, suggesting extreme events like GRB 221009A are not primary sources,” lead author Blanshard said. “This is crucial information as we continue to try to pin down where the heaviest elements are formed.”

Scientists are still uncertain about the GRB and its lack of heavy elements. But there’s another feature that might offer a clue: jets.

“A second proposed site of the r-process is in rapidly rotating cores of massive stars that collapse into an accreting black hole, producing similar conditions as the aftermath of a BNS merger,” the authors write in their paper. “Theoretical simulations suggest that accretion disk outflows in these so-called ‘collapsars’ may reach the neutron-rich state required for the r-process to occur.”

The “accretion disk outflows” the researchers refer to are relativistic jets. The narrower the jets are, the brighter and more focused their energy is.

Could they play a role in forging heavy elements?

“It’s like focusing a flashlight’s beam into a narrow column, as opposed to a broad beam that washes across a whole wall,” Laskar said. “In fact, this was one of the narrowest jets seen for a gamma-ray burst so far, which gives us a hint as to why the afterglow appeared as bright as it did. There may be other factors responsible as well, a question that researchers will be studying for years to come.”

The researchers also used NIRSpec to gather a spectrum from the GRB’s host galaxy. It has the lowest metallicity of any galaxy known to host a GRB. Could that be a factor?

“This is one of the lowest metallicity environments of any LGRB, which is a class of objects that prefer low-metallicity galaxies, and it is, to our knowledge, the lowest metallicity environment of a GRB-SN to date,” the authors write in their research. “This may suggest that very low metallicity is required to produce a very energetic GRB.”

The host galaxy is also actively forming stars. Is that another clue?

“The spectrum shows signs of star formation, hinting that the birth environment of the original star may be different than previous events,” Blanshard said.

Yijia Li is a graduate student at Penn State and a co-author of the paper. “This is another unique aspect of the B.O.A.T. that may help explain its properties,” Li said. “The energy released in the B.O.A.T. was completely off the charts, one of the most energetic events humans have ever seen. The fact that it also appears to be born out of near-primordial gas may be an important clue to understanding its superlative properties.”

This is another case where solving one mystery leads to another unanswered one. The JWST was launched to answer some of our foundational questions about the Universe. By confirming that a supernova is behind the most powerful GRB ever detected, it’s done part of its job.

But it also found another mystery and has left us hanging again.

The JWST is working as intended.

The post The Brightest Gamma Ray Burst Ever Seen Came from a Collapsing Star appeared first on Universe Today.

It’s an exciting time for the fields of astronomy, astrophysics, and cosmology. Thanks to cutting-edge observatories, instruments, and new techniques, scientists are getting closer to experimentally verifying theories that remain largely untested. These theories address some of the most pressing questions scientists have about the Universe and the physical laws governing it – like the nature of gravity, Dark Matter, and Dark Energy. For decades, scientists have postulated that either there is additional physics at work or that our predominant cosmological model needs to be revised.

While the investigation into the existence and nature of Dark Matter and Dark Energy is ongoing, there are also attempts to resolve these mysteries with the possible existence of new physics. In a recent paper, a team of NASA researchers proposed how spacecraft could search for evidence of additional physical within our Solar Systems. This search, they argue, would be assisted by the spacecraft flying in a tetrahedral formation and using interferometers. Such a mission could help resolve a cosmological mystery that has eluded scientists for over half a century.

The proposal is the work of Slava G. Turyshev, an adjunct professor of physics and astronomy at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and research scientist with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He was joined by Sheng-wey Chiow, an experimental physicist at NASA JPL, and Nan Yu, an adjunct professor at the University of South Carolina and a senior research scientist at NASA JPL. Their research paper recently appeared online and has been accepted for publication in Physical Review D.

A new study shows how measuring the Sun’s gravitational field could search for additional physics. Credit: NASA/ESA

Turyshev’s experience includes being a Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission science team member. In previous work, Turyshev and his colleagues have investigated how a mission to the Sun’s solar gravitational lens (SGL) could revolutionize astronomy. The concept paper was awarded a Phase III grant in 2020 by NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program. In a previous study, he and SETI astronomer Claudio Maccone also considered how advanced civilizations could use SGLs to transmit power from one solar system to the next.

To summarize, gravitational lensing is a phenomenon where gravitational fields alter the curvature of spacetime in their vicinity. This effect was originally predicted by Einstein in 1916 and was used by Arthur Eddington in 1919 to confirm his General Relativity (GR). However, between the 1960s and 1990s, observations of the rotational curves of galaxies and the expansion of the Universe gave rise to new theories regarding the nature of gravity over larger cosmic scales. On the one hand, scientists postulated the existence of Dark Matter and Dark Energy to reconcile their observations with GR.

On the other hand, scientists have advanced alternate theories of gravity (such as Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND), Modified Gravity (MOG), etc.). Meanwhile, others have suggested there may be additional physics in the cosmos that we are not yet aware of. As Turyshev told Universe Today via email:

“We are eager to explore questions surrounding the mysteries of dark energy and dark matter. Despite their discovery in the last century, their underlying causes remain elusive. Should these ‘anomalies’ stem from new physics—phenomena yet to be observed in ground-based laboratories or particle accelerators—it’s possible that this novel force could manifest on a solar system scale.”

Artist’s impression of a proposed Solar Gravity Lens telescope. Credit: The Aerospace Corporation

For their latest study, Turyshev and his colleagues investigated how a series of spacecraft flying in a tetrahedral formation could investigate the Sun’s gravitational field. These investigations, said Turyshev, would search for deviations from the predictions of general relativity at the Solar System scale, something that has not been possible to date:

“These deviations are hypothesized to manifest as nonzero elements in the gravity gradient tensor (GGT), fundamentally akin to a solution of the Poisson equation. Due to their minuscule nature, detecting these deviations demands precision far surpassing current capabilities—by at least five orders of magnitude. At such a heightened level of accuracy, numerous well-known effects will introduce significant noise. The strategy involves conducting differential measurements to negate the impact of known forces, thereby revealing the subtle, yet nonzero, contributions to the GGT.”

The mission, said Turyshev, would employ local measurement techniques that rely on a series of interferometers. This includes interferometric laser ranging, a technique demonstrated by the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO) mission, a spacecraft pair that relies on laser range finding to track Earth’s oceans, glaciers, rivers, and surface water. The same technique will also be used to investigate gravitational waves by the proposed space-based Laser Interferometry Space Antenna (LISA).

The spacecraft will also be equipped with atom interferometers, which use the wave character of atoms to measure the difference in phase between atomic matter waves along different paths. This technique will allow the spacecraft to detect the presence of non-gravitational noise (thruster activity, solar radiation pressure, thermal recoil forces, etc.) and negate them to the necessary degree. Meanwhile, flying in a tetrahedral formation will optimize the spacecraft’s ability to compare measurements.

“Laser ranging will offer us highly accurate data on the distances and relative velocities between spacecraft,” said Turyshev. “Furthermore, its exceptional precision will allow us to measure the rotation of a tetrahedron formation relative to an inertial reference frame (via Sagnac observables), a task unachievable by any other means. Consequently, this will establish a tetrahedral formation leveraging a suite of local measurements.”

Artist’s impression of the path of the star S2 as it passes very close to the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. Credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser

Ultimately, this mission will test GR on the smallest of scales, which has been sorely lacking to date. While scientists continue to probe the effect of gravitational fields on spacetime, these have been largely confined to using galaxies and galaxy clusters as lenses. Other instances include observations of compact objects (like white dwarf stars) and supermassive black holes (SMBH) like Sagittarius A* – which resides at the center of the Milky Way.

“We aim to enhance the precision of testing GR and alternative gravitational theories by more than five orders of magnitude. Beyond this primary objective, our mission has additional scientific goals, which we will detail in our subsequent paper. These include testing GR and other gravitational theories, detecting gravitational waves in the micro-Hertz range—a spectrum not reachable by existing or envisioned instruments— and exploring aspects of the solar system, such as the hypothetical Planet 9, among other endeavors.”

Further Reading: Physical Review D

The post Formation-Flying Spacecraft Could Probe the Solar System for New Physics appeared first on Universe Today.

Vulcan, United Launch Alliance's new heavy-lift rocket, was not the result of being exposed to gamma rays or the bite of a radioactive spider, but it does have an origin story worthy of a comic book.

5 Min Read The April 8 Total Solar Eclipse: Through the Eyes of NASA

A total solar eclipse is seen in Dallas on April 8, 2024. A total solar eclipse swept across a narrow portion of the North American continent from Mexico’s Pacific coast to the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland, Canada. A partial solar eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent along with parts of Central America and Europe.

Credits:
NASA/Keegan Barber

On April 8, 2024, the Moon’s shadow swept across North America, treating millions to a breathtaking view of a total solar eclipse. As the Moon passed in front of the Sun, it revealed the Sun’s wispy white outer atmosphere — the corona.

This composite image of multiple exposures shows the progression of a total solar eclipse in Dallas on April 8, 2024. NASA/Keegan Barber

Pictures of total solar eclipses are beautiful — they capture a moment happening so far away, yet feels so close at the same time. But being there in person, you experience it in 3D. The eclipse doesn’t just appear in the sky. You feel it all around you. The light slowly dims, then suddenly engulfs you in darkness from every angle, while the Sun’s corona emerges in the sky.

Although you know totality is coming, its arrival can still be overwhelming. For some people, their hearts race or their eyes well up with tears. You try to absorb everything you can in those minutes: from the corona, to the planets peeking out around the eclipse, to the temperature drop, to cheers of excitement from the community around you, even changes in animal behaviors.

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Crowds react to the solar eclipse in Dallas; Carbondale, Illinois; and Indianapolis. Credits: Summer Lawrence, Laurie Elliott, and NASA/Rose Brunning

For years, people have reported how animals behave differently during eclipses. Birds may return to their nests, thinking it’s nighttime, or nocturnal animals begin to wake up. A NASA-funded project called Eclipse Soundscapes collected data from participants across the path who recorded the reactions of wildlife before, during, and after this celestial event.

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Amy Van Artsdalen attaches a device to capture recordings of animal behavior before, during, and after the total solar eclipse. NASA/Joy Ng

Total solar eclipses are a great reminder that humans are animals — we, too, feel the strangeness that causes other animals to have unusual behaviors. When experiencing the sudden change to darkness, and the sudden restoration of light, it can feel eerie and special. The world returns to normal around you, but those minutes of totality were anything but.

This timelapse video shows the dimming of light during the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, in Dallas.
NASA/Rachel Lense

On April 8, millions of people gathered across the path of totality, including at 14 NASA “SunSpot” locations where attendees could speak to NASA experts and engage in educational activities. At many locations, visitors set up blankets, lawn chairs, and picnics as they prepared to watch the Sun turn into a crescent until its bright face completely disappeared.

Astronaut Reid Wiseman reacts to a guest dressed as an astronaut at the Kerrville eclipse festival in Kerrville, Texas, on Monday, April 8, 2024. Use the arrows to flip through different images from eclipse events across the path. NASA/Aubrey Gemignani

Guests visit the “Explore Humans in Space” exhibit during the Kerrville eclipse festival in Kerrville, Texas, on Monday, April 8, 2024. NASA/Aubrey Gemignani

Guests work on art projects during the Kerrville eclipse festival in Kerrville, Texas, on Monday, April 8, 2024. NASA/Aubrey Gemignani

Guests learn about the total solar eclipse from NASA staff at the Dallas Arboretum, on Monday, April 8, 2024, in Dallas. NASA/Keegan Barber

Crowds gather at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden as the solar eclipse begins on April 8, 2024. NASA/Abbey Interrante

Attendees at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway view NASA exhibits ahead of the total solar eclipse, Monday, April 8, 2024, in Indianapolis. NASA/Joel Kowsky

Attendees at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway view NASA exhibits ahead of the total solar eclipse, Monday, April 8, 2024, in Indianapolis. NASA/Joel Kowsky

During totality, viewers could spot planets. In this view from Dallas, Venus and Jupiter were very bright. Their brief appearance in the middle of the day were reminders of Earth’s place in the solar system.

In Dallas, viewers were able to spot Venus and Jupiter during totality.
NASA/Abbey Interrante

Viewers could also see bright pink prominences flowing out from the Sun. Prominences are unstable clouds of plasma suspended above the Sun by strong magnetic forces. The prominences spotted during the eclipse were many times larger than Earth itself. It’s rare to be able to spot prominences from the ground unaided by a telescope, so seeing these prominences with just your eyes was a unique opportunity for those on the ground.

Baily’s Beads and solar prominences are seen just after totality in Dallas on Monday, April 8, 2024. NASA/Keegan Barber

While we were watching the eclipse from the ground, a NASA spacecraft was watching from above. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured this image of the Sun a few minutes before totality in Dallas at 1:37 p.m. CDT (18:37 UTC). From SDO’s position in space, the Sun was completely visible, while for people on Earth, the Sun was blocked by the Moon. The prominences seen in this image were what viewers on the ground were able to see with the naked eye.

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured this image of the Sun on April 8, 2024, a few minutes before totality in Dallas. NASA/SDO

Astronauts on the International Space Station also had an exclusive view of the eclipse from 261 miles above Earth. Due to their place in space, they could see the Moon’s shadow travel across Earth. While those of us on Earth watched the Moon pass in front of the Sun, astronauts on the International Space Station watched its shadow pass over Earth.

The Moon’s shadow, or umbra, is pictured covering portions of the Canadian provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick and the American state of Maine in this photograph from the International Space Station as it soared into the solar eclipse from 261 miles above.

NASA’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) imager on the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite captured these views of Earth between 12:02 and 4:32 p.m. EDT (16:02 and 20:32 UTC) from about 1 million miles from Earth. DSCOVR is a joint NASA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and U.S. Air Force satellite.

NASA’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) imager on the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite captured these views of Earth during the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024.
NASA

Much closer to Earth, pilots aboard NASA’s WB-57 jets flew at 50,000 feet, chasing the Moon’s shadow briefly to extend the time scientific experiments could study the eclipse. This research will help contribute to scientists’ understanding of the Sun’s corona and Earth’s atmosphere.

A pilot flying a WB-57 jet during the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024.
NASA/Mallory Yates

From the ground, in Earth’s atmosphere, and in space, the total solar eclipse was a breathtaking experience for millions of people. The effects of the total solar eclipse on Earth and on us will be remembered by many for years to come.

This composite image of multiple exposures shows the progression of a total solar eclipse in Dallas on April 8, 2024. NASA/Keegan Barber

While the eclipse is a powerful reminder of our place in the universe, it also reminds us of our place in our communities. During the alignment of the Sun, Moon, and Earth, people across North America also aligned with families, friends, classes, colleagues, and even strangers as they took in this celestial event in the sky and all around them.

By Abbey Interrante and Joy Ng
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

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Apr 15, 2024

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• 2024 Solar Eclipse
• Citizen Science
• Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR)
• Eclipses
• Goddard Space Flight Center
• Heliophysics
• Heliophysics Division
• International Space Station (ISS)
• Science Mission Directorate
• Skywatching
• Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)
• Solar Eclipses
• The Sun
• The Sun & Solar Physics
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Enterprise, the first space shuttle orbiter that NASA built, arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on April 10, 1979. Although not space worthy, as a pathfinder Enterprise carried out tasks critical to ensuring the success of the space shuttle program. During its four-month stay at KSC, Enterprise validated procedures for the assembly of the space shuttle stack and interfaces at the launch pad. The tests proved valuable in preparing the shuttle for its first orbital mission. Earlier, Enterprise proved the flight worthiness of the shuttle during atmospheric tests and certified the vehicle’s structure to handle launch loads. Enterprise played small supporting roles in the Challenger and Columbia accident investigations. After a lengthy stay in storage, a fully restored Enterprise went on public display, first near Washington, D.C., and then in New York where it currently resides.

Left: NASA Administrator James C. Fletcher, left, presents President Richard M. Nixon with a model  of the space shuttle in January 1972. Right: Enterprise under construction in 1976.

Enterprise’s story began on Jan. 5, 1972, when President Richard M. Nixon directed NASA to build the reusable space shuttle, formally called the Space Transportation System (STS), stating that “it would revolutionize transportation into near space.” NASA Administrator James C. Fletcher hailed the President’s decision as “an historic step in the nation’s space program,” adding that it would change what humans can accomplish in space. After Congress authorized the funds, on July 26 NASA awarded the contract to the North American Rockwell Corporation of Downey, California, to begin construction of the first vehicles. Manufacture of the first components of Orbital Vehicle-101 (OV-101) at Rockwell’s Downey plant began on June 4, 1974. 

Left: NASA Administrator James C. Fletcher, left, poses with several cast members and creator of the TV series “Star Trek” at Enterprise’s rollout. Right: Astronauts C. Gordon Fullerton, left, Fred W. Haise, Joe H. Engle, and Richard H. Truly pose in front of Enterprise on the day of its rollout.

NASA originally chose the name Constitution for OV-101, the first space shuttle vehicle designed not to fly in space but for ground and atmospheric tests. However, a determined write-in campaign by fans of the science fiction TV series “Star Trek” convinced NASA to rename this first vehicle Enterprise, after the fictional starship made famous by the show. When the orbiter made its public rollout at Rockwell’s Palmdale, California, facility, on Sept. 17, 1976, it bore the name Enterprise. Several “Star Trek” cast members as well as the show’s creator attended the event, accompanied by NASA Administrator Fletcher and the four astronauts assigned to conduct the Approach and Landing Tests (ALT) with Enterprise– Fred W. Haise, C. Gordon Fullerton, Joe H. Engle, and Richard H. Truly.

Left: Workers tow space shuttle Enterprise through the streets of Lancaster, California, on the way to NASA’s Dryden, now Armstrong, Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base. Middle: Enterprise moments after release from the back of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft during the first Approach and Landing Test free flight. Right: At NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for vibration tests, a shuttle orbiter joins an External Tank and twin Solid Rocket Boosters for the first time.

In January 1977, workers trucked Enterprise 36 miles overland from Palmdale to NASA’s Dryden, now Armstrong, Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) in California, for the ALT program, a series of increasingly complex flights to evaluate the shuttle’s air worthiness. At Dryden, workers placed Enterprise on the back of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), a modified Boeing 747. The duo began taxi runs in February, followed by the first captive inactive flight later that month. The first captive active flight with a crew aboard the orbiter took place in June, and Enterprise made its first independent flight on Aug. 12 with Haise and Fullerton at the controls. Four additional approach and landing flights completed the ALT program by October. In March 1978, Enterprise began its first cross-country trip. Riding atop the SCA, Enterprise left Edwards, and after a weekend stopover at Houston’s Ellington AFB, arrived at the Redstone Arsenal’s airfield in Huntsville, Alabama. Workers trucked Enterprise to the adjacent NASA Marshall Space Flight Center where engineers for the first time mated it with an External Tank (ET) and inert Solid Rocket Boosters (SRB) in the Dynamic Structural Test Facility. For the next year, engineers conducted a series of vibration tests on the combined vehicle, simulating conditions expected during an actual launch.

Left: Enterprise atop its Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) touches down on the runway at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Middle: Workers remove Enterprise from the SCA in the Mate-Demate Device. Right: Workers tow Enterprise into the Vehicle Assembly Building.

Following the year-long series of tests at Marshall, on April 10, 1979, NASA ferried Enterprise atop its SCA to KSC. Its sister ship Columbia, the first shuttle destined for orbital flight, had arrived there just two weeks earlier. The SCA/Enterprise vehicle remained on display at the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) for five days to give more than 75,000 KSC employees, their families, and the general public a chance to view the new reusable spacecraft. Workers at the SLF then removed the orbiter from the back of the SCA in the Mate-Demate Device, and towed it into High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) where on April 25 they completed attaching it to an ET and inert SRBs on a Mobile Launch Platform (MLP) repurposed from carrying Saturn rockets. These activities enabled verification of towing, assembly, and checkout procedures. 

Left: At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers in the Vehicle Assembly Building prepare to lift Enterprise. Middle: Enterprise in the vertical position. Right: Workers lower Enterprise for attachment to the External Tank and Solid Rocket Boosters.

Rollout of Enterprise from the VAB to Launch Pad 39A occurred on May 1, and again KSC employees and their families came out to view the event. The assembled vehicle including the MLP weighed about 11 million pounds. Technicians drove the stack atop the Crawler Transporter at varying speeds to determine the optimum velocity to minimize vibration stress on the vehicle. The 3.5-mile rollout took about eight hours to complete. Once at the pad, engineers used Enterprise to conduct fit checks and to validate launch pad procedures. During the critical countdown demonstration test, workers filled the ET with super-cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The significant discovery that ice built up at the top of the ET during this process led to the addition of the gaseous oxygen vent hood (familiarly known as the “beanie cap”) to the launch pad facility and a procedure to retract it just a few minutes before liftoff. This prevented the dangerous buildup of ice during the countdown and ranks as perhaps one of Enterprise’s greatest contributions as a test vehicle during its time at the launch pad.

Left: Enterprise exiting the Vehicle Assembly Building. Middle: Enterprise on its Mobile Launch Platform during the rollout to the pad. Right: Enterprise at Launch Pad 39A.

On July 23, after three months of fit checks and testing, workers rolled Enterprise back from Launch Pad 39A to High Bay 1 in the VAB. The activities conducted at the pad proved instrumental in paving the way for its sister ship Columbia to make its first launch in 1981. John Bell, who managed the activities at JSC said of the test program, “Overall, it was a very successful venture and well worth it.” Launch Pad 39A Site Manager John J. “Tip” Talone added, “Having [Enterprise] out here really saved the program a lot of time in getting things ready for [Columbia].” In the VAB, workers removed Enterprise from its ET on July 25 and towed it to the SLF on Aug. 3 where it awaited the arrival of the SCA. The ferry flight back to Dryden took place between Aug. 10 and 16 making six stops along the way – Atlanta, St. Louis, Tulsa, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Vandenberg AFB in California. Up to 750,000 people came out to see the orbiter and SCA. Back at Dryden, workers demated Enterprise and on Oct. 30 trucked it back to the Palmdale plant where engineers removed computers and instruments to be refurbished and used in other orbiters then under construction. Previous plans to convert Enterprise into an orbital vehicle proved too costly and NASA abandoned the idea.

Left: Astronaut support engineer Richard W. Nygren stands at Launch Pad 39A with astronauts Richard H. Truly, John W. Young, Robert L. Crippen, and Joe H. Engle, the prime and backup crews assigned to the first space shuttle mission. Middle left: Pilot’s eye view of the launch tower looking up through Enterprise’s forward windows. Middle right: Enterprise rolls back into the Vehicle Assembly Building. Right: Enterprise departs NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.

Because Enterprise’s future remained uncertain, NASA returned it to Edwards on Sep. 6, 1981, for long-term storage. On July 4, 1982, NASA used it as a backdrop for President Ronald W. Reagan to welcome home the STS-4 crew. The following year, NASA sent Enterprise on a European tour, departing Dryden on May 13, 1983, with stops in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and France for the annual Paris Air Show. Enterprise made a stop in Ottawa, Canada, on its return trip to Dryden, arriving there June 13. Workers once again placed it in temporary storage. 

Left: Enterprise as the backdrop for President Reagan welcoming home the STS-4 crew at NASA’s Dryden, now Armstrong, Flight Research Center in July 1982. Right: Enterprise atop the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft arriving at the Paris Air Show in May 1983.

For its next public appearance, NASA ferried Enterprise to Mobile, Alabama, from there transported it by barge to New Orleans, and placed it on public display in the U.S. pavilion of the World’s Fair between April and November 1984. After the World’s Fair, NASA ferried Enterprise to Vandenberg AFB in California to conduct fit checks at the Space Launch Complex-6 (SLC-6), that NASA had planned to use for polar orbiting shuttle missions. NASA used Enterprise to conduct tests at SLC-6 similar to the 1979 tests at KSC’s Launch Complex 39. The tests at Vandenberg completed, NASA ferried Enterprise back to Dryden on May 24, 1985, but this time for only a very short-term storage.

Left: Enterprise on display at the World’s Fair in New Orleans in 1984. Right: Enterprise during static pad tests at Space Launch Complex-6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in 1985.

On Sep. 20, 1985, NASA ferried Enterprise to KSC and placed it on temporary public display near the VAB, next to the Saturn V already displayed there. On Oct. 30, Enterprise “saw” its sister ship Challenger fly into space on the STS-61A mission. After two months on display at KSC, NASA flew Enterprise to Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., arriving on Nov. 18. NASA officially retired Enterprise and transferred ownership to the Smithsonian Institution that had plans to build a large aircraft museum annex at the airport. The Smithsonian placed Enterprise in storage in a hangar, awaiting the completion of its new home. That turned into an 18-year wait.

Left: Launch of STS-61A in October 1985, with Enterprise and the Saturn V in the foreground. Middle: Enterprise in long-term storage at the Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, Virginia. Right: Enterprise during arresting barrier testing at Dulles International Airport.

But even during that 18-year wait, NASA found practical use for the venerable Enterprise. In 1987, the agency studied how to handle an orbiter returning from space should it suffer a brake failure. To test the efficacy of an arresting barrier, workers slowly winched Enterprise into a landing barrier they had set up at Dulles to see if the vehicle suffered any damage. Later that same year, NASA used Enterprise to test various crew bailout procedures being developed in the wake of the Challenger accident. In 1990, experimenters used Enterprise’s cockpit windows to test mount an antenna for the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment, with no other orbiters available. Periodically, engineers removed parts from Enterprise to test for materials durability, and also evaluated the structural integrity of the vehicle including its payload bay doors and found it to be in sound condition even after years in storage. In April 2003, in the wake of the Columbia accident, investigators borrowed Enterprise’s left landing gear door and part of the port wing for foam impact tests. The tests provided solid evidence for the foam strike as the cause of the accident.

Left: Space shuttle Enterprise undergoes restoration at the Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum (NASM) in Chantilly, Virginia. Note the missing wing leading edge, donated for the Columbia accident investigation. Right: Enterprise on display at the Hazy Center. Image credits: courtesy NASM.

On Nov. 20, 2003, workers towed Enterprise from its storage facility into a newly completed display hangar at the Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum at Dulles in Chantilly, Virginia. Specialists spent eight months restoring the orbiter and the museum placed it on public display on Dec. 15, 2004.

Left: Space shuttle orbiters Enterprise, left, and Discovery meet nose-to-nose at the Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, Virginia. Right: Actor Leonard Nimoy greets Enterprise at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.

In 2011, NASA retired the space shuttle fleet and donated the vehicles to various museums around the country. The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City acquired Enterprise, and on Apr. 19, 2012, workers removed the orbiter from its display at the Hazy Center – replacing it with the orbiter Discovery – and placed it atop a SCA for the final time. Eight days later, after a short flight from Dulles and a flyaround of New York and several of its famous landmarks, Enterprise landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Actor Leonard Nimoy, who played Mr. Spock in the original “Star Trek” television series, and attended Enterprise’s first rollout in 1976, greeted the orbiter on the runway. Workers lifted the orbiter from the SCA and placed it on a barge. It eventually arrived at the Intrepid Museum on June 3 and went on public display July 19. Enterprise suffered minor damage during Superstorm Sandy in October 2012, but workers fully restored it.

Enterprise in the Shuttle Pavilion at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City. Image credit: courtesy Intrepid Museum.

Read recollections about the Enterprise ALT flight in oral histories that Haise, Fullerton, and Engle conducted with the JSC History Office.

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On Earth Day, Learn How NASA Investigates the Blue in Our Blue Planet

This Earth Day, join us in person and online to learn how NASA studies the ocean from space. Explore the complex connections between sea, air, land, and climate through a mix of in-person and virtual activities, talks, and trivia.

Discover more about NASA’s Earth and ocean-observing fleet during an in-person and virtual Earth Day celebration on April 18 and 19.NASA

For nearly five decades, the agency and its partners have collected data across all of the world’s ocean basins with satellites, airplane-mounted instruments, and space shuttles and stations.

On April 11, NASA released the first images from the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite, which was launched on Feb. 8, 2024, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. PACE joined the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite and Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich in helping NASA revolutionize our understanding of our oceans. You can see one of the images below, in which bright pink and green colors indicate different communities of phytoplankton.

NASA’s PACE satellite’s Ocean Color Instrument (OCI) detects light across a hyperspectral range, which gives scientists new information to differentiate communities of phytoplankton – a unique ability of NASA’s newest Earth-observing satellite. This first image released from OCI identifies two different communities of these microscopic marine organisms in the ocean off the coast of South Africa on Feb. 28, 2024. The central panel of this image shows Synechococcus in pink and picoeukaryotes in green. The left panel of this image shows a natural color view of the ocean, and the right panel displays the concentration of chlorophyll-a, a photosynthetic pigment used to identify the presence of phytoplankton.NASA

Discover more about PACE and NASA’s Earth-observing fleet during an in-person celebration. The event will be hosted at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., on April 18 and 19, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. EDT. The event will include:

• More than a dozen hands-on Earth science activities, such as a 3D glacier puzzle and natural hazards trivia
• Instructions for creating animated GIFs using NASA Earth science imagery
• Opportunities to engage with the Earth Information Center, which offers data-rich visualizations and immersive experiences that show how our planet is changing.
• Two new stories that will screen on the Earth Information Center’s Hyperwall. One highlights how local African communities use NASA Earth science data in partnership with the Jane Goodall Institute to monitor forest habitat for chimpanzees and agricultural land use over time. The other explores how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency monitors methane emissions from landfills with NASA remote-sensing data.  

Online, explore how NASA works to understand our oceans at a global scale. Visit science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-day/ for dozens of resources, including:

• Downloadable guides for creating ocean currents in a test tube and a flip book showing how rivers change over time
• Activities that show the importance of water on our planet and how researchers study our oceans and waterways

   

NASA’s exploration of our oceans from space spans a rich history. Delving into the depths of our oceans unveils the mysteries of our own planet, our home. Therefore, NASA remains steadfast in leading the way in oceanic research.
Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Scientific Visualization Studio
Download this video in HD formats from NASA Goddard’s Scientific Visualization Studio

NASA’s in-person and virtual Earth Day events are free and open to the public.

You can also celebrate Earth Day as a NASA citizen scientist. Play the NeMO-Net iPad game to help NASA classify coral reefs, or download the GLOBE Observer app to help monitor clouds, water, and plants in your area. NASA’s citizen science projects have led to thousands of observations and several discoveries, with more than 410 NASA citizen scientists named as co-authors on peer-reviewed scientific publications. NASA citizen science is open to everyone around the world, not just U.S. residents.

NASA’s innovative tools and data inform decision-makers around the world as they monitor our changing climate and work to address environmental challenges. NASA partners with state and local governments, international space agencies, and federal agencies including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). NASA is committed to making data accessible, inclusive, and transparent for everyone — an approach known as “open science.”

To learn more about NASA’s Earth Day activities, visit: https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-day/.

By Julia Tilton

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

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Details Last Updated Apr 12, 2024 EditorJennifer M. FadoulContactEllen Grayellen.t.gray@nasa.govLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms

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