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The Marshall Star for April 10, 2024
A group of Marshall and agency team members traveled to Russellville, Arkansas, to help viewers experience the April 8 total solar eclipse through the eyes of NASA.
Science and communication experts from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Stennis Space Center, Kennedy Space Center, and NASA Headquarters provided educational outreach opportunities and participated in panel discussions in Russellville, which experienced an eclipse totality of 4 minutes, 12 seconds.
Marshall Space Flight Center Director Joseph Pelfrey watches the 2024 total solar eclipse from the mezzanine of the Russellville Central Fire Station in downtown Russellville, Arkansas, on April 8. Pelfrey spoke during a press conference the morning of the eclipse, alongside Stennis Space Center Acting Director John Bailey, retired astronaut Mike Massimino, NASA scientists, and Russellville and Pope County community leaders. Pelfrey shared updates on the data that NASA’s Heliophysics Division, based at Marshall, planned to collect from the eclipse to improve life here on Earth. NASA/Hannah MaginotNASA was also joined by experts representing the Arkansas Air National Guard and the Paris Observatory in Muedon, France. More than 100,000 tourists were expected to visit Russellville for the rare experience. Marshall hosted part of the agency’s live television broadcast from the city and conducted several scientific presentations and public events for visitors.
More than 400 NASA employees at 14 locations across the U.S. engaged the public, from Texas to Maine. As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 13 million viewers had watched the broadcast. You can watch NASA’s broadcast coverage of the eclipse here.
Visitors to Russellville, Arkansas, gather to view the total solar eclipse April 8. NASA heliophysics and communication experts traveled to Russellville to engage and educate tourists and residents about the eclipse. Russellville experienced a total eclipse for 4 minutes, 12 seconds. NASA/Jonathan Deal Retired NASA astronaut Mike Massimo, seated left, greets the crowd during the total solar eclipse celebration in Russellville, Arkansas. NASA/Jonathan Deal NASA broadcast host Jasmine Hopkins, center left, and NASA Research and Analysis Lead for Heliophysics Patrick Koehn, center right, provide live commentary during the agency’s eclipse broadcast from Russellville, Arkansas. The broadcast garnered more than 13 million views by Tuesday afternoon. NASA/Christopher Blair A photo of the April 8 solar eclipse as it reaches totality.NASA/Joel Kowsky Student Launch Challenge Returns to Alabama April 13NASA’s 2024 Student Launch challenge will bring students from colleges, universities, high schools, middle schools, and informal education groups to launch amateur rockets and payloads April 13, starting at 8:30 a.m. CDT at Bragg Farms in Toney, Alabama, near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.
Live streaming will begin at 8:20 a.m. CDT on NASA Marshall YouTube and Student Launch Facebook.
Hundreds of students from across the U.S. and Puerto Rico launched amateur rockets near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center during the agency’s 2023 Student Launch competition.NASA/Charles BeasonSeventy teams from 24 states and Puerto Rico are participating this year with 53 teams expected to launch in-person. Any team not traveling to Alabama may conduct final test flights at a home launch field.
NASA also welcomes the return of the Rocket Fair on April 12 from 3-6 p.m. at the Von Braun Center East Hall in downtown Huntsville. This event is free and open to the public as students display their rockets and answer questions from the media and NASA engineers.
Schedule of Events
- April 12: Rocket Fair at the Von Braun Center East Hall.
- April 13: Launch Day, gates open at 7 a.m. The event runs from 8:30 a.m. to approximately 2:30 p.m. (or until the last rocket launch) at Bragg Farms. Lawn chairs are recommended. Pets are not permitted.
- April 14: Tentative rain day on Sunday in case of inclement weather on April 13 starting at 8:30 a.m. at Bragg Farms.
Winners of the student launch will be announced on June 7 during a virtual awards ceremony once all teams’ flight data has been verified.
Student Launch provides relevant, cost-effective research and development of rocket propulsion systems and reflects the goals of NASA’s Artemis campaign, which seeks to put the first woman and first person of color on the Moon.
Each year, the payload component changes to reflect current NASA missions. This year’s payload challenge is inspired by the Artemis missions.
Students will design a SAIL (STEMnaut Atmosphere Independent Lander) payload. It must deploy mid-air, safely return to the ground without using a parachute, and be reusable to launch the same day without repairs or modifications. The payload will contain a crew of STEMnauts, four non-living objects representing astronauts. Students will choose metrics to determine the endurance of the lander, considering acceptable descent and landing parameters.
Middle and high school teams can choose to attempt the lander payload or develop their own science or engineering experiment.
Eligible teams compete for prizes and awards and are scored in nearly a dozen categories including safety, vehicle design, social media presence, and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) engagement. Teams can also win the Altitude Award in each division based on how close they get to the altitude they projected their rockets would reach months in advance to launch day.
Marshall’s Office of STEM Engagement hosts Student Launch to encourage students to pursue careers in STEM through real-world experiences. Student Launch is a part of the agency’s Artemis Student Challenges – a variety of activities exposing students to the knowledge and technology required to achieve the goals of the Artemis missions.
In addition to the NASA Office of STEM Engagement’s Next Gen STEM project, NASA Space Operations Mission Directorate, Northrup Grumman, National Space Club Huntsville, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, National Association of Rocketry, Relativity Space and Bastion Technologies provide funding and leadership for the competition.
Hansel Gill Named Director at Michoud Assembly FacilityHansel Gill has been named as director at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility, which is managed by the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center.
Gill has been Michoud’s acting director since December after previously being the facility’s deputy director from 2021 to 2023. He will be responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of one of the world’s largest manufacturing facilities, where key elements of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System), and Orion spacecraft are built. Michoud, a multi-tenant manufacturing site sitting on 829 acres with over 2 million square feet of manufacturing space, also provides facility infrastructure and capacity for federal, state, academic, and technology-based industry partners.
Hansel Gill is the director at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility. NASAFrom 2016 to 2021, Gill served as subsystem manager for production in the SLS Stages Element Office, and later within the Block 1B/EUS (exploration upper stage) Development Office, providing technical leadership for SLS core stage production supporting Artemis I and early development and production planning for the exploration upper stage initiating flight hardware production operations and facility readiness at Michoud.
Gill served as team lead and acting assistant branch chief for the Metals Joining and Processes Branch in Marshall’s Engineering Directorate from 2013 to 2016. He was responsible for materials characterization and process development, product management, and corrosion engineering, supporting advanced exploration and manufacturing capability advancements. While in this position, Gill led the production for the EFT-1 multi-purpose crew vehicle stage adaptor (MSA) providing the structural interface for Orion and the Delta IV launch system supporting the EFT-1 Orion Flight Test.
He joined NASA as a student intern in 1990 and was hired full time in 1996 as materials engineer in Marshall’s Engineering Directorate.
Gill’s awards include Safety Flight Awareness Award – Group Achievement; NASA Honor Award – Exceptional Achievement Medal; Director’s Commendation Honor Award; Materials & Processes Laboratory Peer Award; Systems Engineering Process Management Tiger Team Group Achievement; Black Engineer of the Year Award – Modern Day Technology Leader (24th STEM Global Competitiveness Conference); Director’s Commendation – Carbon Nanotube Technology; and a NASA Group Achievement (Safety Excellence) Award.
He received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Oakwood University in Huntsville before earning his master’s in industrial and systems engineering from the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
A Huntsville native, Gill and his wife of 27 years, Arnissa, reside in Huntsville. They have an adult daughter, Addison.
FIRST Robotics Rocket City Regional ReturnsMore than 1,000 high school students on 47 teams from 10 states and four countries competed in a robotics game called “CRESCENDO” during the 2024 FIRST Robotics Rocket City Regional Tournament.
The event was April 5-6 in Huntsville near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, which supported the regional tournament along with NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement.
Tony Clark, right, deputy manager of the Space Systems Department at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, meets with student teams at the 2024 FIRST Robotics Rocket City Regional Tournament in Huntsville. NASA/Taylor GoodwinFIRST Robotics is a global robotics competition for students in grades 9-12. The competition challenges teams to raise funds, design a team brand, hone teamwork skills, and build and program industrial-sized robots to play a difficult field game against competitors.
District and regional competitions – such as the Rocket City Regional – are held across the country during March and April, providing teams a chance to qualify for the 2024 FIRST Robotics Competition Championship events held in late April in Houston.
NASA and its Robotics Alliance Project provide grants for high school teams and support for FIRST Robotics competitions to address the critical national shortage of students pursuing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) careers.
Michoud Site Recovery Team Receives NASA’s Silver Group Achievement AwardBy Heather Keller
The High Voltage Hurricane Ida Site Recovery Team at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility was awarded the agency’s Silver Group Achievement Award on March 18. The team of seven was recognized for “exemplary employee dedication and perseverance ensuring the safety of site, SLS (Space Launch System) hardware, and personnel” onsite post landfall of the category 4 storm.
Hurricane Ida made landfall in southeast Louisiana on Aug. 29, 2021, causing catastrophic failure of high voltage infrastructure and leaving most of the city of New Orleans without power for several weeks. Michoud received major damage from the storm’s 112 mph wind gusts and sustained winds of 80 mph. Immediately after landfall, the Michoud High Voltage Team methodically and safely energized the 6 MW emergency generator while procedurally transferring power to the facility’s east and west master substations. The transfer provided critical power to the rocket factory’s final assembly area while coordinating with the SLS Program and Boeing.
The High Voltage Hurricane Ida Site Recovery Team at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility was awarded the agency’s Silver Group Achievement Award on March 18. From left are Shawn Frederick, Shannon Pippen, Raymond Lusich, John Barnett, Joseph Noble, and Dominick Bertucci. Not pictured: Ngoc Nguyen.NASA/Eric BordelonThe critical transfer also provided essential power for SLS purges for Engine Section and Clean Work Areas to ensure the safety of flight hardware components. The team also provided power for lighting, allowing the Boeing teams to conduct critical inspections of flight hardware for damages.
The team also set up and provided emergency generator power for critical site infrastructure, such as the Coast Guard Exchange (CGX), which provided fuel for response and recovery personnel and other necessary supplies.
The High Voltage Team collaborated with Entergy New Orleans to determine a timeline for Michoud to accept line voltage from the site’s generating station and was successful in accepting power five days post-landfall. They systematically worked to safely bring additional loads online as prioritized and requested by Boeing and the SLS Program with more than 35 buildings receiving power approximately eight days post hurricane and allow site opening for tenant access.
Keller, a Manufacturing Technical Solutions Inc. employee, works in communications at Michoud Assembly Facility.
Dr. Sterry: Be Aware of Increase in Alcohol Abuse Rates Post COVIDDear Marshall family,
April is Alcohol Awareness Month, and recent data indicate the rates of alcohol abuse and deaths resulting from it have risen dramatically over the past few years.
Very early during the COVID-19 pandemic it became apparent that sales of alcohol were increasing, and so it has been expected that the negative impacts related to this issue would increase as well. But I don’t think anyone anticipated just how much they would increase. I understand your first inclination might be to skip over this, but it’s a quick read, so please take a moment to consider the situation for the sake of your family, friends, and co-workers.
Data from 2020–2021, published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, indicate that 178,000 people died in the U.S. from alcohol abuse and related health problems during that period. This represents a 29% increase from 2016–2017, when there were an estimated 138,000 deaths. Similarly disturbing, data published by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism indicate that rates of alcohol use disorder rose from 14.5 million adults in the U.S. in 2019 to 29.5 million in 2022.
Since a majority of adults in the U.S. drink alcoholic beverages on occasion, it is becoming even more important to be mindful of how to reduce the risks of negative impacts on our health, and on our lives, in general. The U.S. Department of Agriculture offers guidelines for alcohol consumption geared toward limiting those risks: no more than one standard drink per day for women, and no more than two standard drinks per day for men. While the difference in the numbers may seem unfair, they are based primarily upon body mass and metabolism rates.
What constitutes a “standard drink” depends upon what you’re drinking. For example, for beer, it is 12 fluid ounces, for wine, it is 5 fluid ounces, and for liquor, it is 1.5 fluid ounces. While being mindful of the number of drinks we’re consuming, it’s also important to keep in mind that even within any given category or type of drink, the percentage of alcohol can vary significantly from one product to another. For example, in Alabama, beer can contain up to 13.9% alcohol, and wine can contain up to 24%.
I have two requests of you today. First, please be mindful of how much you’re drinking, and be deliberate in reducing your risks, if needed. If you’d like to do a quick assessment of your drinking, an anonymous self-report test is available at https://auditscreen.org/check-your-drinking. Also, please consider sharing this information with any of your family members and friends that you think might be at risk for the health problems and other dangers associated with alcohol abuse.
If you’d like to get more information about alcohol abuse, and the dangers associated with it, a few good resources include:
- https://rethinkingdrinking.niaaa.nih.gov/
- https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohols-effects-health/alcohol-topics/alcohol-facts-and-statistics
- https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/index.htm
- https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/features/excessive-alcohol-deaths.html
As always, the Employee Assistance Program is here to support Marshall team members in any way that we can, related to mental health and well-being. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me by phone at 256-544-7549 or email terry.w.sterry@nasa.gov.
Take care,
Dr. Terry Sterry
Licensed psychologist and Marshall Employee Assistance Program coordinator
The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is available to assist Marshall team members with challenges, or to simply facilitate discussions related to mental health and well-being. For more information, team members can visit the Employee Assistance Program page on Inside Marshall.
NASA Achieves Milestone for Engines to Power Future Artemis MissionsNASA achieved a major milestone April 3 for production of new RS-25 engines to help power its Artemis campaign to the Moon and beyond with completion of a critical engine certification test series at NASA’s Stennis Space Center.
The 12-test series represents a key step for lead engines contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company, to build new RS-25 engines, using modern processes and manufacturing techniques, for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rockets that will power future lunar missions, beginning with Artemis V.
NASA conducted a full-duration RS-25 hot fire April 3 on the Fred Haise Test Stand at the agency’s Stennis Space Center, achieving a major milestone for future Artemis flights of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. It marked the final test of a 12-test series to certify production of new RS-25 engines by lead contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company, to help power SLS on Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond, beginning with Artemis V.NASA/Danny Nowlin“The conclusion of the certification test series at NASA Stennis is just the beginning for the next generation of RS-25 engines that will help power human spaceflight for Artemis,” said Johnny Heflin, SLS liquid engines manager. “The newly produced engines on future SLS rockets will maintain the high reliability and safe flight operational legacy the RS-25 is known for while enabling more affordable high-performance engines for the next era of deep space exploration.”
Through Artemis, NASA will establish the foundation for long-term scientific exploration at the Moon; land the first woman, first person of color, and first international partner astronaut on the lunar surface; and prepare for human expeditions to Mars for the benefit of all.
Contributing to that effort, the NASA Stennis test team conducted a full-duration, 500-second hot fire to complete the 12-test series on developmental engine E0525, providing critical performance data for the final RS-25 design certification review. The April 3 hot fire completed a test series that began in October 2023.
RS-25 engines are evolved space shuttle main engines, upgraded with new components to produce the additional power needed to help launch NASA’s SLS rocket. The first four Artemis missions are using modified space shuttle main engines also tested at NASA Stennis. For each Artemis mission, four RS-25 engines, along with a pair of solid rocket boosters, power the SLS rocket, producing more than 8.8 million pounds of total combined thrust at liftoff.
“This was a critical test series, and credit goes to the entire test team for their dedication and unique skills that allowed us to meet the schedule and provide the needed performance data,” said Chip Ellis, project manager for RS-25 testing at NASA Stennis. “The tests conducted at NASA Stennis help ensure the safety of our astronauts and their future mission success. We are proud to be part of the Artemis mission.”
Crews transport RS-25 developmental engine E0525 to the Fred Haise Test Stand on Aug. 30, 2023, for the second and final certification test series.NASA/Danny NowlinThe E0525 developmental engine featured new key components – including a nozzle, hydraulic actuators, flex ducts, and turbopumps – that matched design features of those used during an initial certification test series completed at NASA Stennis last summer.
The two certification test series helped verify the new engine components meet all Artemis flight requirements moving forward. Aerojet Rocketdyne is using techniques such as 3D printing to produce new RS-25 engines more efficiently, while maintaining high performance and reliability. NASA has awarded the company contracts to provide 24 new engines, supporting SLS launches for Artemis V through Artemis IX.
“Successfully completing this rigorous test series is a testament to the outstanding work done by the team to design, implement and test this upgraded version of the RS-25 that reduces the cost by 30% from the space shuttle program,” said Mike Lauer, RS-25 program director at Aerojet Rocketdyne. “We tested the new RS-25 engines to the extreme limits of operation to ensure the engines can operate at a higher power level needed for SLS and complete the mission with margin.”
RS-25 Final Certification Test Series by the Numbers
All RS-25 engines are tested and proven flightworthy at NASA Stennis prior to use on Artemis missions. RS-25 tests at the center are conducted by a diverse team of operators from NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne, and Syncom Space Services, prime contractor for site facilities and operations.
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center manages the SLS Program.
Agency Selects Companies to Advance Moon Mobility for Artemis MissionsNASA has selected Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, and Venturi Astrolab to advance capabilities for a lunar terrain vehicle (LTV) that Artemis astronauts will use to travel around the lunar surface, conducting scientific research during the agency’s Artemis campaign at the Moon and preparing for human missions to Mars.
The awards leverage NASA’s expertise in developing and operating rovers to build commercial capabilities that support scientific discovery and long-term human exploration on the Moon. NASA intends to begin using the LTV for crewed operations during Artemis V.
An artist’s concept design of NASA’s lunar terrain vehicle.NASA“We look forward to the development of the Artemis generation lunar exploration vehicle to help us advance what we learn at the Moon,” said Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center. “This vehicle will greatly increase our astronauts’ ability to explore and conduct science on the lunar surface while also serving as a science platform between crewed missions.”
NASA will acquire the LTV as a service from industry. The indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, milestone-based Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services contract with firm-fixed-price task orders has a combined maximum potential value of $4.6 billion for all awards.
Each provider will begin with a feasibility task order, which will be a year-long special study to develop a system that meets NASA’s requirements through the preliminary design maturity project phase. The agency will issue a subsequent request for task order proposal to eligible provider(s) for a demonstration mission to continue developing the LTV, deliver it to the surface of the Moon, and validate its performance and safety ahead of Artemis V. NASA anticipates making an award to only one provider for the demonstration. NASA will issue additional task orders to provide unpressurized rover capabilities for the agency’s moonwalking and scientific exploration needs through 2039.
The LTV will be able to handle the extreme conditions at the Moon’s South Pole and will feature advanced technologies for power management, autonomous driving, and state of the art communications and navigation systems. Crews will use the LTV to explore, transport scientific equipment, and collect samples of the lunar surface, much farther than they could on foot, enabling increased science returns.
Between Artemis missions, when crews are not on the Moon, the LTV will operate remotely to support NASA’s scientific objectives as needed. Outside those times, the provider will have the ability to use their LTV for commercial lunar surface activities unrelated to NASA missions.
“We will use the LTV to travel to locations we might not otherwise be able to reach on foot, increasing our ability to explore and make new scientific discoveries,” said Jacob Bleacher, chief exploration scientist in the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. “With the Artemis crewed missions, and during remote operations when there is not a crew on the surface, we are enabling science and discovery on the Moon year around.”
NASA provided technical requirements, capabilities, and safety standards needed for LTV development and operations, and the selected companies have agreed to meet the key agency requirements. The contract request for proposal required each provider to propose a solution to provide end-to-end services, including LTV development, delivery to the Moon, and execution of operations on the lunar surface.
Through Artemis, NASA will send astronauts – including the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut – to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, technology evolution, economic benefits, and to build the foundation for crewed missions to Mars. Advanced rovers, along with the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft, commercial human landing systems and next-generation spacesuits, and Gateway are NASA’s foundation for deep space exploration.
Hubble Peers at Pair of Closely Interacting GalaxiesAn image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope features Arp 72, a very selective galaxy group that only includes two galaxies interacting due to gravity: NGC 5996 (the large spiral galaxy) and NGC 5994 (its smaller companion, in the lower left of the image).
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features Arp 72.ESA/Hubble & NASA, L. Galbany, J. Dalcanton, Dark Energy Survey/DOE/FNAL/DECam/CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURABoth galaxies lie approximately 160 million light-years from Earth, and their cores are separated from each other by a distance of about 67,000 light-years. The distance between the galaxies at their closest points is even smaller, closer to 40,000 light-years.
While this might sound vast, in galactic separation terms it is quite close. For comparison, the distance between the Milky Way and its nearest independent galactic neighbor Andromeda is around 2.5 million light-years. Alternatively, the distance between the Milky Way and its largest and brightest satellite galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud (satellite galaxies orbit around another galaxy), is about 162,000 light-years.
Given this and the fact that NGC 5996 is comparable in size to the Milky Way, it is not surprising that NGC 5996 and NGC 5994 – separated by only about 40,000 light-years – are interacting with one another. In fact, the interaction likely distorted NGC 5996’s spiral shape. It also prompted the formation of the very long and faint tail of stars and gas curving away from NGC 5996, up to the top right of the image. This “tidal tail” is a common phenomenon that appears when galaxies closely interact and is visible in other Hubble images of interacting galaxies.
What happened when the moon 'turned itself inside out' billions of years ago?
NASA, Japan Advance Space Cooperation, Sign Agreement for Lunar Rover
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Japan’s Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) Masahito Moriyama have signed an agreement to advance sustainable human exploration of the Moon.
Japan will design, develop, and operate a pressurized rover for crewed and uncrewed exploration on the Moon. NASA will provide the launch and delivery of the rover to the Moon as well as two opportunities for Japanese astronauts to travel to the lunar surface.
Today, President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida also announced, “a shared goal for a Japanese national to be the first non-American astronaut to land on the Moon on a future Artemis mission, assuming important benchmarks are achieved.”
The pressurized lunar rover is intended to enable astronauts to travel farther and work for longer periods on the lunar surface. The signing took place April 9 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Along with Nelson and Moriyama, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) President Hiroshi Yamakawa also participated in the signing.
“The quest for the stars is led by nations that explore the cosmos openly, in peace, and together. This is true for the United States and Japan under the leadership of President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida,” said Nelson. “America no longer will walk on the Moon alone. With this new rover, we will uncover groundbreaking discoveries on the lunar surface that will benefit humanity and inspire the Artemis Generation.”
An enclosed and pressurized rover will enable astronauts to travel farther and conduct science in geographically diverse areas by serving as a mobile habitat and laboratory for the astronauts to live and work for extended periods of time. It will be able to accommodate two astronauts for up to 30 days as they traverse the area near the lunar South Pole. NASA currently plans to use the pressurized rover on Artemis VII and subsequent missions over an approximate 10-year lifespan.
“It was an honor to sign the historic implementing arrangement that will be long remembered as the symbol of the new era of Japan-U.S. partnership for the lunar exploration,” said Moriyama. “Under the partnership stronger than ever, we will drive the initiative together with JAXA, including the development of the pressurized rover that vastly extends the exploration capability on the lunar surface, to realize the shared goal for Japanese and American astronauts to, together, explore the moon.”
The arrangement falls under the “Framework Agreement Between the Government of Japan and the Government of the United States of America for Cooperation in Space Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, For Peaceful Purposes,” which was signed in January 2023 and recognizes the nations’ mutual interest in peaceful exploration.
The framework agreement facilitates a broad swath of joint activities between the countries, including space science, Earth science, space operations and exploration, aeronautical science and technology, space technology, space transportation, safety, and mission assurance, and much more. In addition to the agreement for lunar surface exploration, the partners will build on the framework agreement with future agreements for Japan’s participation in NASA’s Dragonfly mission and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. The U.S. and Japan also intend to collaborate on JAXA’s Next-generation Solar-observing Satellite, SOLAR-C, which will investigate the mysteries of solar atmospheres by conducting observations of ultraviolet radiation from the Sun.
“The pressurized rover will be a powerful contribution to the overall Artemis architecture as Japan and the U.S. go hand in hand with international and industry partners to the lunar surface and beyond,” said Yamakawa. “JAXA is ready to assist MEXT and push this forward with our science and technological expertise to establish sustainable human presence on the Moon.”
Under the Gateway Implementing Arrangement signed in 2022, NASA will also provide an opportunity for a Japanese astronaut to serve as a Gateway crew member on a future Artemis mission and Japan will provide Gateway’s environmental control and life support systems and cargo transportation.
Through Artemis, NASA will land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon, make new scientific discoveries, and explore more of the lunar surface than ever before for the benefit of all.
Learn more about NASA’s Artemis campaign at:
– end-
Faith McKie / Kathryn Hambleton
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
faith.d.mckie@nasa.gov / kathryn.hambleton@nasa.gov
More Than 36,000 Volunteers Helped Do NASA Eclipse Science
Clinton Lewis from New Harmony, IN/Western Kentucky University
Thank you for helping us out! Over 36,000 people helped do NASA Science during Monday’s total solar eclipse. Together, these volunteers submitted more than 60,000 vital pieces of eclipse data to NASA science projects.
More than 30,000 volunteers with the SunSketcher project pointed their smartphones toward the Sun and recorded pictures of Bailey’s beads, flashes of Sunlight coming through valleys on the moon. These pictures will reveal the size and shape of the Sun to high precision.
Volunteers with GLOBE Observer (GO) submitted more than 35,000 data points to the GO Eclipse, GO Clouds, and GO Landcover projects, taking eclipse data using their cell phones and sometimes thermometers. These data show the effect of the eclipse on our atmosphere.
Many more volunteers used specialized gear—DSLR cameras, telescopes, audiomoth recorders, and Ham Radio sets—taking data for the Dynamic Eclipse Broadcast Initiative, the Eclipse Megamovie project, Citizen CATE 2024, Eclipse Soundscapes, and the HamSCI project. These data will trace plumes and ejections of matter in the solar corona, track waves in the ionosphere, and reveal how animals, birds and insects reacted to the eclipse.
“I’m fascinated by the idea that the eclipse can affect the behavior of animals!” said one Eclipse Soundscapes volunteer. “I hope you all get a good data set and am still very excited to see the results! It was awesome!” said a SunSketcher volunteer.
Science is a methodical process and sometimes a slow process. Data are still arriving from cell phones and computers around the country. It will probably take months or even years for scientists to check and analyze the data, compare it with data on previous eclipses, and publish it in the refereed scientific literature.
But stay tuned as the Heliophysics Big Year continues! There will probably be some beautiful pictures coming out in the days and weeks to come thanks to your efforts.
Facebook logo @DoNASAScience @DoNASAScience Share Details Last Updated Apr 10, 2024 Related TermsA Langley Intern Traveled 1,340 Miles to View a Total Solar Eclipse. Here’s What She Saw.
Emma Friedman, an Office of Communications intern at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, understood that the total solar eclipse on April 8th, 2024, was an out-of-this-world opportunity she couldn’t miss.
Equipped with the proper eye protection, I traveled over one thousand miles to Dallas, Texas, to be in the eclipse’s path of totality. As I got situated in a park near the city, I was excited—I’d read books and seen photos of what an eclipse looked like and knew what to expect, but I also knew that seeing it in person would be something greater than fiction. Slowly but surely, the Moon took more and more “bites” out of the sun, until I saw the last little peek of light before the darkness; this is known as the “diamond ring effect.”
As she waited for 100% totality during the 2024 total solar eclipse, Emma captured this image of crescent-shaped shadows cast by tree leaves. During an eclipse, light from the Sun passes through small gaps between tree leaves, creating a natural pinhole camera effect; images of the eclipse are then projected onto the surface below.NASA / Emma FriedmanBefore I had time to process any of it, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. A silence fell across the park—even the birds stopped chirping—and I held my breath. All you could hear was the rustling of branches. What was a warm spring day was now a cold, dark dusk. It felt like the world had flipped on its head—first slowly, and then all at once. What the Sun had just seconds before lit was now a black void. The glow I saw around the Sun was its outer atmosphere, known as the corona. It was a moving sight, but why did I travel so far to experience it? Surely a viewing of a total eclipse was not in need of a plane ride.
It’s actually more complicated than simply waiting for the Moon to drift in front of the Sun. You have to be in the right place at the right time in a region called the “path of totality.”
The total solar eclipse will be visible along a narrow track stretching from Texas to Maine on April 8, 2024. A partial eclipse will be visible throughout all 48 contiguous U.S. states. Want to download this map and view other versions? Visit NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio.NASA’s Scientific Visualization StudioAs a Maryland local, seeing a total solar eclipse from my home would be impossible during this eclipse. Despite eclipses being relatively common, it is a bit more challenging to see the Moon totally block out our Sun.
I spoke to Atmospheric Scientist and expert, Marilé Colón Robles, about the so-called “eclipse chasing” people like me took part in.
“Solar eclipses happen every eighteen months or so, so they are pretty common. To see a total solar eclipse is more challenging because a limited amount of the Earth’s surface is in the path of totality at any given time. Because the world is mostly made up of oceans, your chances of seeing a total eclipse from where you live is small. If, by chance, a total eclipse is happening near you, it’s best to travel to it.”
One team from NASA Langley did something similar by traveling to Houlton, Maine, to broadcast the eclipse in the path of totality. The broadcast showcases the moments before, during, and after the total solar eclipse. Another team of researchers from NASA Langley traveled to Fort Drum, N.Y., also located in the path of totality, to study changes in the weather during the total solar eclipse using a specially modified drone flying at 10,000 feet.
You can see my time lapse of the total solar eclipse below. Needless to say, the plane ride was worth it, and I was fortunate to enjoy one of the most cinematic and humbling phenomena that an Earthling can experience.
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Emma captured a time lapse as she observed the 2024 total solar eclipse in Dallas, Texas.April 8th was the last total solar eclipse to cross the U.S. for another 20 years. You can watch NASA’s broadcast of the eclipse here.
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Did the Eclipse Give You the Amateur Astronomy Bug? Here’s How to Get Started
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How Much of Venus’s Atmosphere is Coming from Volcanoes?
There’s a lot we don’t know about the planet nearest to us. Venus is shrouded in clouds, making speculation about what’s happening on its surface a parlor game for many planetary scientists for decades. But one idea that always seems to come up in those conversations – volcanoes. It’s clear that Venus has plenty of volcanoes – estimates center around about 85,000 of them in total. However, science is still unclear as to whether there is any active volcanism on Venus or not. A new set of missions to the planet will hopefully shed some light on the topic – and a new paper from researchers from Europe looks at how we might use information from those missions to do so.
The authors break the question of whether there is active volcanism on Venus into two distinct approaches. First, can Venus maintain its current atmospheric composition without adding gases from volcanic sources? Second, is there any evidence for “transient” effects that would only be possible if active volcanoes existed?
Let’s explore the first approach first. One major data point to consider with this approach is the variability of sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere over periods as long as decades. Some researchers have pointed to this variability as clear evidence of volcanism. Still, some take a more nuanced view and point out that the variability could be caused by unknown surface-atmosphere interactions or even interactions between two layers of the atmosphere itself.
Fraser has a particular interest in Venus – here’s why.Transient effects in the atmosphere could include any number of features, ranging from water vapor to particulate matter (e.g., volcanic ash). So far, data collected on this has been limited and mainly done with remote sensing missions. However, at least a few of the new missions to Venus will involve taking data as they descend through the atmosphere.
One of those – DAVINCI – plans to take measurements in situ in the atmosphere. It will come with a couple of spectrometers, inertial measurement units, and high-tech cameras to collect data in the planet’s lower atmosphere. The spectrometers themselves should be able to directly and clearly detect trace volcanic gases in the atmosphere. Ionic concentrations, such as the deuterium/hydrogen ratio, would also indicate ongoing volcanic outgassing.
But what about gases higher up in the atmosphere? EnVision, another mission, will specialize in that area of the planet using different types of near-IR and ultraviolet spectroscopy. It might help solve some mysteries in Venus’ cloud tops, including where an unknown reservoir of sulfur dioxide is located, as it seems to be a feedstock to an unknown process taking place in the clouds that defies current modeling efforts.
Venera was one of the previous efforts to map the surface of Venus. Fraser discusses its history here.Though it is beyond the scope of the current paper, another potentially interesting sensor on a cloud-based platform would be an infrasound sensor – as it would be able to directly detect pressure differences caused by volcanic eruptions. Unfortunately, no current planned mission would maintain position in the atmosphere for long enough for such a sensor to do its work, though a few have been proposed in recent years.
There’s still going to be a long wait time before any of these analytical techniques can be put to good use. Of the three main missions heading to Venus shortly, the earliest – DAVINCI – isn’t planned to launch for at least another five years, with arrival at Venus a few years later. That’s plenty of time for theorists to fine-tune their ideas about what the mission might find. And hopefully, it will help us answer the question of volcanism on our closest neighbor once and for all.
Learn More:
Wilson et al. – Possible Effects of Volcanic Eruptions on the Modern Atmosphere of Venus
UT – Potentially Active Volcanoes Have Been Found on Venus
UT – We Now Have a Map of all 85,000 Volcanoes on Venus
UT – Volcanoes on Venus May Still Be Active
Lead Image:
Maat Mons Volcano on Venus
Credit – NASA / JPL
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