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We’re Now Just Weeks Away from a Stellar Explosion You Can See With Your Own Eyes
I’ve seen some pretty incredible things using my eyes.. First off of course, is the stunning sight of a dark star filled sky, then there is the incredible sight of the Andromeda Galaxy 2.5 million light years away. Planets too can of course be seen as they slowly move across the sky but it’s a little more unusual to see something that reminds us the Universe changes. Well, we have an opportunity in just a few weeks time. The star T Corona Borealis (T CrB) will brighten about 1,500 times so it can be seen with the unaided eye. Miss it though and you will have to wait another 80 years!
It’s always exciting to see something new in the sky. It doesn’t happen all that often but when it does, well it’s definitely an opportunity to get out and enjoy the show. The event is a nova which translates from Latin meaning new. In astronomy, we talk of nova as a number of different phenomena which herald the appearance of something new which is visible in the sky. A supernova is a well known example marking a colossal stellar explosion.
In the case of TCrB it refers to a binary star system where a white dwarf star (the remains of a star like the Sun) is in orbit around another star. I should clarify that statement, they both orbit around a common centre of gravity. At a distance of 3,000 light years, it is one of the closest of its type and so when it goes into outburst, we will get to see it without any telescope or binoculars, just the ‘Mark-1 eyeball.’
The process that leads to the sudden brightening is really quite fascinating. The white dwarf star is a much higher pull of gravity compared to its companion. As a result, it drags material from its stellar neighbour in a process known as accretion. Over time – and in the case of T CrB it takes about 80 years – hydrogen builds up on the white dwarf. The layer of hydrogen is heated up by the white dwarf causing it to heat to critically high temperatures, high enough to initiate hydrogen fusion. The layer of hydrogen detonates and gets ejected from the white dwarf in a brightly glowing, hot shell. Here on Earth, we see this as a sudden brightening of a previously rather inconspicuous star that would ordinarily need a telescope to see.
Nova are generally quite unpredictable, usually occurring once and often leading to the death of a star but in this case, it occurs every 80 years. We call this event a recurrent nova. Its outburst was first seen in 1866 by an astronomer called John Birmingham who, amusingly came from Ireland and not Birmingham. It was seen again in 1946 when there was a drop in brightness before the explosion and it is this drop in brightness that has just been observed over the last couple of months.
This all points to the next nova event being imminent, perhaps just a month or two away so, if you like me, are keen to see this once in a lifetime event then it’s time to get your coat on and get outside. Unfortunately, because we don’t know exactly when it is going to occur the best approach is to simply become familiar with the sky in the region of the constellation Corona Borealis.
Alphecca is the brightest star in a C-shaped pattern of stars: the constellation Corona Borealis. It’s near the bright star Arcturus on the sky’s dome. Credit: EarthSkyThankfully, Corona Borealis is in a fairly ‘quiet’ part of the sky with not too many bright stars. To find it from where you are then use an app on a smartphone to locate Vega in Lyra and Arcturus in Bootes, Corona Borealis is approximately between the two and looks somewhat like a semicircle of stars. Get to know that part of the sky and become familiar with the stars visible to the naked eye. Keep watching over the weeks and months ahead (and of course keep an eye on Universe Today) and at some point soon, you will see a ‘new’ star appear just outside the semicircle.
Good luck and clear skies.
Source : Keep your eyes on the sky for a new star as “once in a lifetime” cosmic explosion looms
The post We’re Now Just Weeks Away from a Stellar Explosion You Can See With Your Own Eyes appeared first on Universe Today.
Sols 4209-4211: Just Out of Reach
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Sols 4209-4211: Just Out of Reach NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image using its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), located on the turret at the end of the rover’s robotic arm, on June 7, 2024, Sol 4207 of the Mars Science Laboratory Mission, at 04:20:07 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Earth planning date: Friday, June 7, 2024
Curiosity is going to have a busy 3-sol weekend. We have one more sol of intense contact science activities at this really beautiful and fascinating location before moving on. What makes this place so special? We are seeing a lot of variety in the rocks in terms of their colors and textures. The MAHLI image is an up-close view of the unusual coloration we’re seeing, which our scientists are busy investigating. In particular, the Whitebark Pass block just in front of us, which we have been investigating for several days, is highly complex. We are evaluating it as a potential drill target, but the spots we might drill are just a little too far away from our current location. Today I am the Tactical Uplink Lead for our planning, and planning today was almost as complex as our workspace!
On the first sol of the plan, Curiosity begins with a lot of imaging. We begin with the first of a series of change detection images on two sand targets (“Ten Lakes” and “Walker Lake”) so that we can characterize the current wind conditions. Then, ChemCam is doing a LIBS mosaic on Rodgers Pass, which is a target on Whitebark Pass. ChemCam also takes a passive mosaic on “Devils Postpile,” which is a another light-toned rock that we can compare to the similar-looking white rocks right in front of us, and a mosaic on the bright white stone field that is about 40m northwest of us. Mastcam takes large mosaics on Recess Peak, Devils Postpile, Whitebark Pass, and the white stones, before doing another round of the change detection images. After a nap, Curiosity wakes up to do a mid-afternoon set of change detection images before going back to sleep.
After the nap, Curiosity wakes up and does a set of late-afternoon change detection images before starting our contact science. This workspace is highly complex, making it challenging to get to all of the interesting science targets, but the Rover Planners managed to get it all into the plan. First, the DRT is used to brush the Grass Lakes target before we take a suite of MAHLI images on it. Next is a suite of images on the “Snow Lakes” target, which is another white rock in our workspace. On Snow Lakes we are investigating three different spots at 5cm above the rock to look at variation within it. Throughout the rest of the afternoon and evening, the rover will wake up to move the APXS to cover all of the contact science targets, Grass Lakes and the 3 spots on Snow Lakes.
Before handing over to the next sol’s plan, we do two more early morning change detection observations. On the second sol of the plan, we do additional imaging. ChemCam takes a LIBS mosaic of Rodgers Pass and a passive mosaic of “Gem Lakes,” another target on the Whitebark Pass block. After some Navcam atmospheric observations, a dust devil survey and deck monitoring, Mastcam follows up with an image of Rodgers Pass and another set of change detection images.
After the imaging is complete, we do a short forward drive to get more of the Whitebark Pass block into our workspace for additional contact science and evaluation as a potential drilling target. After the drive we will unstow the arm to get a better view of the new workspace as well as to save time in our next plan. After a bit of a nap, there is a MARDI image and Curiosity will go back to sleep.
On the last sol of the plan, Curiosity uses AEGIS to autonomously observe targets on Whitebark Pass after the drive. There are also some additional atmospheric images with Navcam, including a dust devil survey and suprahorizon movie. Just before handing over to Monday’s plan is a set of morning atmospheric observations, including a Mastcam solar tau, and Navcam zenith and suprahorizon movies.
Written by Ashley Stroupe, Mission Operations Engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
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NASA Ames Astrogram – May/June 2024
by Tara Friesen
After ten months in orbit, the Starling spacecraft swarm successfully demonstrated its primary mission’s key objectives, representing significant achievements in the capability of swarm configurations.
Swarms of satellites may one day be used in deep space exploration. An autonomous network of spacecraft could self-navigate, manage scientific experiments, and execute maneuvers to respond to environmental changes without the burden of significant communications delays between the swarm and Earth.
The four CubeSate spacecraft that make up the Starling swarm have demonstrated success in autonomous operations, completing all key mission objectives.
“The success of Starling’s initial mission represents a landmark achievement in the development of autonomous networks of small spacecraft,” said Roger Hunter, program manager for NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology program at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. “The team has been very successful in achieving our objectives and adapting in the face of challenges.”
Sharing the WorkThe Distributed Spacecraft Autonomy (DSA) experiment, flown onboard Starling, demonstrated the spacecraft swarm’s ability to optimize data collection across the swarm. The CubeSats analyzed Earth’s ionosphere by identifying interesting phenomena and reaching a consensus between each satellite on an approach for analysis.
By sharing observational work across a swarm, each spacecraft can “share the load” and observe different data or work together to provide deeper analysis, reducing human workload, and keeping the spacecraft working without the need for new commands sent from the ground.
The experiment’s success means Starling is the first swarm to autonomously distribute information and operations data between spacecraft to generate plans to work more efficiently, and the first demonstration of a fully distributed onboard reasoning system capable of reacting quickly to changes in scientific observations.
Communicating Across the SwarmA swarm of spacecraft needs a network to communicate between each other. The Mobile Ad-hoc Network (MANET) experiment automatically established a network in space, allowing the swarm to relay commands and transfer data between one another and the ground, as well as share information about other experiments cooperatively.
The team successfully completed all the MANET experiment objectives, including demonstrating routing commands and data to one of the spacecraft having trouble with space to ground communications, a valuable benefit of a cooperative spacecraft swarm.
“The success of MANET demonstrates the robustness of a swarm,” said Howard Cannon, Starling project manager at NASA Ames. “For example, when the radio went down on one swarm spacecraft, we ‘side-loaded’ the spacecraft from another direction, sending commands, software updates, and other vital information to the spacecraft from another swarm member.”
Autonomous Swarm NavigationNavigating and operating in relation to one another and the planet is an important part of forming a swarm of spacecraft. Starling Formation-Flying Optical Experiment, or StarFOX, uses star trackers to recognize a fellow swarm member, other satellite, or space debris from the background field of stars, then estimate each spacecraft’s position and velocity.
The experiment is the first-ever published demonstration of this type of swarm navigation, including the ability to track multiple members of a swarm simultaneously and the ability to share observations between the spacecraft, improving accuracy when determining each swarm member’s orbit.
Near the end of mission operations, the swarm was maneuvered into a passive safety ellipse, and in this formation, the StarFOX team was able to achieve a groundbreaking milestone, demonstrating the ability to autonomously estimate the swarm’s orbits using only inter-satellite measurements from the spacecraft star trackers.
Managing Swarm ManeuversThe ability to plan and execute maneuvers with minimal human intervention is an important part of developing larger satellite swarms. Managing the trajectories and maneuvers of hundreds or thousands of spacecraft autonomously saves time and reduces complexity.
The Reconfiguration and Orbit Maintenance Experiments Onboard (ROMEO) system tests onboard maneuver planning and execution by estimating the spacecraft’s orbit and planning a maneuver to a new desired orbit.
The experiment team has successfully demonstrated the system’s ability to determine and plan a change in orbit and is working to refine the system to reduce propellant use and demonstrate executing the maneuvers. The team will continue to adapt and develop the system throughout Starling’s mission extension.
Swarming TogetherNow that Starling’s primary mission objectives are complete, the team will embark on a mission extension known as Starling 1.5, testing space traffic coordination in partnership with SpaceX’s Starlink constellation, which also has autonomous maneuvering capabilities. The project will explore how constellations operated by different users can share information through a ground hub to avoid potential collisions.
“Starling’s partnership with SpaceX is the next step in operating large networks of spacecraft and understanding how two autonomously maneuvering systems can safely operate in proximity to each other. As the number of operational spacecraft increases each year, we must learn how to manage orbital traffic,” said Hunter.
NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology program, based at Ames and within NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), funds and manages the Starling mission. Blue Canyon Technologies designed and manufactured the spacecraft buses and is providing mission operations support. Rocket Lab USA, Inc. provided launch and integration services. Partners supporting Starling’s payload experiments have included Stanford University’s Space Rendezvous Lab in Stanford, California, York Space Systems (formerly Emergent Space Technologies) of Denver, Colorado, CesiumAstro of Austin, Texas, L3Harris Technologies, Inc., of Melbourne, Florida. Funding support for the DSA experiment was provided by NASA’s Game Changing Development program within STMD. Partners supporting Starling’s mission extension include SpaceX of Hawthorne, California, NASA’s Conjunction Assessment Risk Analysis (CARA) program, and the Department of Commerce. SpaceX manages the Starlink satellite constellation and the Collision Avoidance ground system.
3D-MAT – A thermal protection material for the Artemis Generationby Frank Tavares
The 3-Dimensional Multifunctional Ablative Thermal Protection System (3D-MAT) is a thermal protection material developed as a critical component of Orion, NASA’s newest spacecraft built for human deep space missions. It is able to maintain a high level of strength while enduring extreme temperatures during re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere at the end of Artemis missions to the Moon. 3D-MAT has become an essential piece of technology for NASA’s Artemis campaign that will establish the foundation for long-term scientific exploration at the Moon and prepare for human expeditions to Mars, for the benefit of all.
On the 19th day of the Artemis I mission, the Moon grows larger in frame as Orion prepares for the return powered flyby on Dec. 5, when it will pass approximately 79 miles above the lunar surface. This image includes both the Orion crew module and service module, connected by the compression pad that utilizes the 3D-MAT material.
The 3D-MAT project emerged from a technical problem in early designs of the Orion spacecraft. The compression pad—the connective interface between the crew module, where astronauts reside, and the service module carrying power, propulsion, supplies, and more—was exhibiting issues during Orion’s first test flight, Exploration Flight Test-1, in 2014. NASA engineers realized they needed to find a new material for the compression pad that could hold these different components of Orion together while withstanding the extremely high temperatures of atmospheric re-entry. Using a 3D weave for NASA heat shield materials had been explored, but after the need for a new material for the compression pad was discovered, development quickly escalated.
This led to the evolution of 3D-MAT, a material woven with quartz yarn and cyanate ester resin in a unique three-dimensional design. The quartz yarn used is like a more advanced version of the fiberglass insulation you might have in your attic, and the resin is essentially a high-tech glue. These off-the-shelf aerospace materials were chosen for their ability to maintain their strength and keep heat out at extremely high temperatures. 3D-MAT is woven together with a specialized loom, which packs the yarns tightly together, and then injected with resin using a unique pressurized process. The result is a high-performance material that is extremely effective at maintaining strength when it’s hot, while also insulating the heat from the spacecraft it is protecting.
The 3D-MAT thermal protection material.NASA
Within three years, 3D-MAT went from an early-stage concept to a well-developed material and has now been integrated onto NASA’s flagship Artemis campaign. The use of 3D-MAT in the Orion spacecraft’s compression pad during the successful Artemis I mission demonstrated the material’s essential role for NASA’s human spaceflight efforts. This development was made possible within such a short span of time because of the team’s collaboration with small businesses including Bally Ribbon Mills, which developed the weaving process, and San Diego Composites, which co-developed the resin infusion procedure with NASA.
The team behind its development won the NASA Invention of the Year Award, a prestigious honor recognizing how essential 3D-MAT was for the successful Artemis flight and how significant it is for NASA’s future Artemis missions. The inventor team recognized includes Jay Feldman and Ethiraj Venkatapathy from NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, Curt Wilkinson of Bally Ribbon Mills, and Ken Mercer of Dynovas.
3D-MAT has applications beyond NASA as well. Material processing capabilities enabled by 3D-MAT have led to other products such as structural parts for Formula One racecars and rocket motor casings. Several potential uses of 3D-MAT in commercial aerospace vehicles and defense are being evaluated based on its properties and performance.
Milestones- Winner of NASA Invention of the Year Award in 2023
- Flown on Artemis I in 2022
- Being assessed for use by multiple Department of Defense and commercial aerospace entities
The 3D-MAT project is led out of NASA Ames with the support of various partners, including Bally Ribbon Mills, NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, and NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Viginia, with the support of the Game Changing Development Program through NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate.
U.S. President Joe Biden Arrives Aboard Air Force One President Biden disembarks Air Force One at Moffett Federal Airfield before departing for a series of events in the region on May 9.NASA photo by Dominic Hart 2023 Presidential Rank & NASA Honor Awards Ceremony Held
The annual Presidential Rank & NASA Honor Awards Ceremony was held at Ames, and shown virtually, on May 22 in the Ames Auditorium, in N201. Seventy-three employees were selected for individual Presidential and NASA Honor awards and 27 groups were selected for NASA Group Achievement Awards.
Congratulations to all the recipients. Please see below for the list of awardees.
2023 Presidential Rank and NASA Honor Award Recipients
Presidential Rank of Meritorious Senior Executive
Michael Hesse
Distinguished Service Medal
Bhavya Lal (A-Suite Nomination)
Thomas R. Norman
Huy K. Tran
2023 Distinguished Service Medal presented to Huy Tran, center, by Center Director Eugene Tu, right, and Deputy Center Director David Korsmeyer, left, in the N201 Auditorium.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Medal
Dora M. Herrera
Parag A. Vaishampayan
2023 Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Medal presented to Dora Herrera, center, by Center Director Eugene Tu, right, and Deputy Center Director David Korsmeyer, left, in the N201 Auditorium.NASA photo by Brandon Torres
Early Career Achievement Medal
Natasha E. Batalha
Mirko E. Blaustein-Jurcan
Athena Chan
Kathryn M. Chapman
Chad J. Cleary
Christine E. Gregg
Supreet Kaur
James R. Koch
Elizabeth L. Lash
Terrence D. Lewis
Garrett G. Sadler
Meghan C. Saephan
Jordan A. Sakakeeny
Lauren M. Sanders
Amanda M. Saravia-Butler
Logan Torres
Lauren E. Wibe
Shannah N. Withrow
Emina Zanacic
Exceptional Achievement Medal
Lauren J. Abbott
Parul Agrawal
Steven D. Beard
Janet E. Beegle
Jose V. Benavides
Divya Bhadoria
Sergio A. Briceno
Holly L. Brosnahan
Karen T. Cate
Fay C. Chinn
William J. Coupe
Frances M. Donovan (Langley Research Center Nomination)
Diana M. Gentry
Lynda L. Haines
Pallavi Hegde
Shu-Chun Y. Lin
Carlos Malpica
Jeffrey W. McCandless
Joshua D. Monk
Mariano M. Perez
Nathan J. Piontak (OPS Nomination)
Vidal Salazar
David W. Schwenke
Eric C. Stern
Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal
Joseph L. Rios
Mark M. Weislogel
Joseph D. Williams
Exceptional Public Achievement Medal
Danielle K. Lopez
Wade M. Spurlock
Sasha V. Weston
Exceptional Public Service Medal
John J. Freitas (OCOMM Nomination)
Michael J. Hirschberg
2023 Exceptional Public Service Medal presented to John J. Freitas, center, by Center Director Eugene Tu, right, and Deputy Center Director David Korsmeyer, left, in the N201 Auditorium.NASA photo by Brandon Torres
Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal
Noah G. Randolph-Flagg
Ju-Mee Ryoo
2023 Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal presented to Ju-Mee Ryoo, center, by Center Director Eugene Tu, right, and Deputy Center Director David Korsmeyer, left, in the N201 Auditorium.NASA photo by Brandon Torres
Exceptional Service Medal
Soheila Dianati
Robert A. Duffy
Shawn A. Engelland
Thomas P. Greene
Paul W. Lam
Bernadette Luna
Andres Martinez
Ramsey K. Melugin
Owen Nishioka
Kathryn B. Packard
Andrzej Pohorille (Posthumously)
Stevan Spremo
Mark S. Washington
2023 Exceptional Service Medal presented to Andres Martinez, center, by Center Director Eugene Tu, right, and Deputy Center Director David Korsmeyer, left, in the N201 Auditorium.NASA photo by Brandon Torres
Exceptional Technology Achievement Medal
Ruslan Belikov
Norbert P. Gillem
Emre Sozer
Outstanding Leadership Medal
Michael D. Barnhardt
William N. Chan
Marilyn Vasques
Silver Achievement Medal
Christine L. Munroe (MSEO – OSBP Nomination)
Juan L. Torres-Pérez (Langley Research Center Nomination)
2023 Silver Achievement Medal presented to Christine L. Munroe, center, by Center Director Eugene Tu, right, and Deputy Center Director David Korsmeyer, left, in the N201 Auditorium.NASA photo by Brandon Torres
Group Achievement Award
ARCTIC 3 Simulation Team
Artemis I Char Loss Anomaly Investigation Team
CapiSorb Visible System Team
Center Engagement Strategy
Convective Processes Experiment-AW and -CV
Design for Maintainability
DIP Planning and Field Test Team
Executive Wildfire Roundtable and Showcase
Flight IACUC
Long Static Pipe Manufacturing Team
Moon to Mars SE&I Verification Compliance Tool
N225 Arc Flash Mishap Investigation Team
NASA Aeronautics Sample Recovery Helicopter Team
NASA Ames SLS CFD Team
Next Generation Life Sciences Data Archive Team
OSHA VPP Recertification Team
Planetary Aeolian Laboratory ROSES Proposal Team
SOFIA Project Closeout Team
Submesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment (S-MODE)
The ACCLIP Team
The DCOTSS Team
The IMPACTS Team
The Meteorological Measurement System (MMS)
UAM eVTOL Vehicle Design and Analysis Team
UAM Side-by-Side 2 Aeroperformance Test Team
Western Diversity Time Series Data Collection Team
Wide Field of View
Ames Veterans Community Outreach Team Receives Federal Employee of the Year Awardby Maria C. Lopez
As part of the Ames Veterans Committee (AVC) employee resource group, Brad Ensign, and James Schwab, who are both Army veterans, work to support other veterans and our local Afghan and Ukrainian war refugee communities. The fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban was especially heart wrenching for Afghan war veterans and created a feeling of discouragement. The war in Ukraine only increased the level of disheartenment for many veterans. Importantly, the Ames Veterans Committee provides a forum to help veterans heal, and just as importantly, help our local community deal with the influx of Afghan and Ukrainian war refugees.
The Federal Employee of the Year Award was presented to (left to right) James Schwab, NASA Ames Veteran Committee (AVC); Brad Ensign, NASA AVC by Commander (CDR) Matthew Johns, MPH, Chair of the San Francisco Federal Executive Board and Regional Health Administrator, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Through the AVC Community Outreach Team, Brad Ensign coordinated to donate computers from the Ledios company, which is NASA’s Workplace & Collaboration Services to The Jewish Family & Community Services – East Bay and The Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley. Leidos was awarded the Advanced Enterprise Global Information Technology Solutions (AEGIS) contract by NASA. In addition to AEGIS, Leidos provides enterprise IT services to NASA through the NASA End-User Services and Technologies (NEST) contract. Both contracts support NASA’s overall IT operation and mission. Once an end-user computer reaches the device’s end-of-life cycle per the NEST contract, the computers are repurposed for local charity use. The computers are verified to be in good working condition by the Leidos/NEST team.
Brad Ensign periodically pings the Ames NEST Center Operations manager for available computer donations and the manager verifies that good working computers are available for donation. Brad then contacts various Afghan and Ukrainian war refugee assistance charities to determine their computer needs. Many of these local charities rely on donations and do not have an IT budget. Once a need is determined by local charities, Brad coordinates the number of computers available and a delivery date and time. James Schwab enthusiastically supports this effort and has provided incredible logistical support transporting the computers to the donation location.
Notably in October 2023, Brad and James successfully delivered 25 laptop computers, five desktop computers, and 30 monitors to the Jewish Family & Community Services – East Bay.
The support for the Jewish Family & Community Services continued and in December of 2023, Brad helped deliver groceries to Afghan war refugees. So far this year, Brad, James, the Ledios company, and the NASA Ames Veterans Committee have donated a total of 40 computers and 40 monitors. These computers are extremely helpful for Afghan and Ukrainian war refugees to write resumes, find jobs, communicate with loved ones left behind, assist with personal tasks, stay informed of world and local news, help their children with schoolwork, and for entertainment. Donated computers are a tremendous resource for local war refugees and this initiative helps NASA Ames Veterans ease feelings of distress by making a difference in their community.
On May 9, 2024, Brad and James received a Federal Employee of the Year Award from the San Francisco Federal Executive Board (SFFEB) for Volunteer Excellence based on their leadership on creating opportunities for the Ames Veterans Committee to work together during a trying time for veterans while making an ongoing, positive impact in the local community.
DC-8 Flying Laboratory Makes Farewell Flight Over Ames Prior to Retirement NASA Ames gets an up-close look at the NASA DC-8 Flying Laboratory’s final flyover at 11:17 a.m. PDT on Wednesday, May 15, prior to it’s retirement at Idaho State University in Pocatello, IdahoNASA photo by Brandon Torres
After nearly 40 years of service to science, on May 15 the Ames community had a chance to bid a final farewell to the DC-8 Flying Laboratory as it made its way to retirement in Idaho. NASA Ames, in coordination with NASA Armstrong, had arranged for a low-pass flyover of Ames Research Center at approximately 11:10 a.m. PDT in honor of the staff, scientists, and engineers who enabled the DC-8 to make such a profound impact on Earth science around the globe.
The History of Ames and the DC-8
The NASA DC-8 is a world-class flying laboratory that has played a crucial role in answering fundamental questions across nearly every scientific discipline exploring Earth’s interacting systems, and how they are changing. The versatile research aircraft was unprecedented for its ability to carry multiple instruments and thereby take simultaneous active, passive, and in-situ measurements, while also providing room for 42 investigators onboard and boasting an impressive range of more than 5,000 miles.
Ames has been involved in the science operations of the DC-8 since its arrival at Moffett Field in 1987, including long after the aircraft moved to NASA Armstrong (then NASA Dryden) in the late 1990s. Scientists at Ames continued to lead air quality and climate investigations. The Earth Science Project Office (ESPO) managed complex DC-8 deployments all over the world. And the National Suborbital Research Center (NSRC) provided critical engineering for instrument integration and the upgrading of onboard IT systems and networks, providing global satellite communications to enable real-time science anywhere in the world.
During its first scientific mission, the DC-8 helped to establish the primary cause of the ozone hole over the southern Pacific. Other early missions focused on atmospheric science and developing new instruments for remote sensing. This work ultimately led to the upcoming NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission, launching later this year, which will provide new insights into Earth’s processes.
The DC-8 went on to provide calibration and validation for numerous satellite missions, including the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) series of missions and later for the Aura satellite. The DC-8 also provided critical measurements over both poles as part of Operation IceBridge.
The DC-8 successfully completed its final mission in March of this year, flying atmospheric sampling instruments for the Airborne and Satellite Investigation of Asian Air Quality (ASIA-AQ) campaign. Over the last decade, the DC-8 has also served an important role in training the next generation of Earth scientists and engineers through the Student Airborne Research Program (SARP).
As we bid farewell to this special aircraft, the DC-8 has cleared the runway for the next generation of flying laboratory: the B777. A study performed by the National Academies of Science and Medicine strongly endorsed the need for a NASA flying laboratory to replace the DC-8, resulting in the acquisition of the B777. The team at Ames is working together with NASA Langley and NASA HQ to ensure the B777 will continue to support the science community and exceed the capabilities of the DC-8 with longer range, endurance, and payload capacity: honoring and expanding its legacy for generations of scientists to come.
Hangar 3 Historical Website is Now Live!The Historic Preservation Office at NASA Ames’ Hangar 3 historical web site is now live! Ames Research Center and Planetary Ventures, in consultation with the National Park Service, California State Historic Preservation Office, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation created a website and film that documents the history and features of Hangar 3, provides valuable information for future researchers, and celebrates its local and global impact.
Hangar 3 at Moffett Field
You also can find additional historical information at NASA Ames and Moffett Field here, including buildings and districts listed in the National Register of Historic Places, information about Hangar 1 and Hangar 3, historical resources associated with the Space Shuttle and NASA Ames, and much more!
In Memoriam … Fred Martwick, Senior Engineer at Ames, Passes AwayIt is with great sadness we share with you the news that our good friend and colleague, Fred G. Martwick, passed away on April 29, 2024, after a brief illness. A Celebration of Life service will be held on Tuesday, June 11, at 1 p.m. at the Calvary Church, 16330 Los Gatos Blvd, Los Gatos, California 95032. The event is open to all who wish to attend. In addition, everyone is invited to a flag ceremony to honor Fred on Tuesday, June 25, at 10:30 a.m. PDT in front of the N-200 flagpole at NASA Ames.
Fred Martwick hiking in the High Sierras.
Graduating in 1985 with a BS in mechanical engineering from San Jose State, Fred began his career with IBM in south San Jose. After a few years, he came on-board at NASA Ames as a support service contractor in the Engineering Division. His abilities and personal work ethic were recognized, and he was quickly recruited for civil service (CS) conversion, first becoming an Army CS employee in the early 1990s, and later transitioning to NASA CS.
In the 1990s, Fred supported and then led several successful space sciences projects. Concurrently, he served as one of the Ames representatives of the Aerospace Mechanisms Symposium organizing committee, consisting of representatives from the other NASA centers and Lockheed Martin. This group organized and sponsored the symposium on a set rotation within the NASA centers.
In the late 1990s, after an offsite contractor failed to meet NASA’s specifications and timeline, the successful partnership of Fred and Dave Ackard managed the onsite manufacture and assembly of the SOFIA Cavity Door. In the 2000s, Fred managed the planning, design, and prototype fabrication of a nano-satellite and deployment system in conjunction with Stanford. Fred then managed the challenging procurement and fabrication of an intricate powered wind tunnel model of the Orion Crew Escape System. The model and subsequent tests were key elements for the analysis test verification of the Escape System.
In the 2010s, Fred had established an intricate manufacturing documentation control system, creating a contracting “war room” in the mezzanine above the N211 Fabrication Shop. From here, large amounts of space flight certified animal hardware were planned, contracted, tracked, assembled, and certified for flight to the International Space Station. Fred’s procurement and documentation control system greatly impressed visiting customers from NASA/JSC management. In 2014, Fred was awarded the coveted Silver Snoopy Award in recognition of his outstanding performance in space flight system development and manufacturing.
By the 2020s, Fred had moved to the Chief Engineers Office in Code D supporting project oversight while keeping an eye on his upcoming retirement. Fred’s dedication to NASA had pushed his retirement out a few times but was well within sight with the purchase of a beautiful home near Spokane, Washington. He was very involved with the organization Assist International and enjoyed working with the project Caminul Felix in Romania. Additionally, he worked with the Calvary Church ministry with junior high school kids. He was bus driver for the kids at the ministry, taking them to Hume Lake Christian Camp where he was the waterskiing boat driver for the kids as they waterskied behind the boat around the lake.
Fred will be greatly missed by the many people who have worked with him over his 30 plus years of outstanding service. He will be remembered as a man of unwavering faith, a shrewd negotiator, an excellent project manager and systems engineer capable of diving into and clearly documenting the details while not losing sight of the big picture. His ability to “get things done” makes his passing a great loss for NASA.
All of Fred’s many friends from his NASA family are welcome to attend the memorial service and flag ceremony.
NASA wants new ideas for its troubled Mars Sample Return mission
NASA Invites Media to Rollout Event for Artemis II Moon Rocket Stage
NASA will roll the fully assembled core stage for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that will launch the first crewed Artemis mission out of NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans in mid-July. The 212-foot-tall stage will be loaded on the agency’s Pegasus barge for delivery to Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Media will have the opportunity to capture images and video, hear remarks from agency and industry leadership, and speak to subject matter experts with NASA and its Artemis industry partners as crews move the rocket stage to the Pegasus barge.
NASA will provide additional information on specific timing later, along with interview opportunities. This event is open to U.S. and international media. International media must apply by June 14. U.S. media must apply by July 3. The agency’s media credentialing policy is available online.
Interested media must contact Corinne Beckinger at corinne.m.beckinger@nasa.gov and Craig Betbeze at craig.c.betbeze@nasa.gov. Registered media will receive a confirmation by email.
The rocket stage with its four RS-25 engines will provide more than 2 million pounds of thrust to send astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis II mission. Once at Kennedy, teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program will finish outfitting the stage and prepare it for stacking and launch. Artemis II is currently scheduled for launch in September 2025.
Building, assembling, and transporting the core stage is a collaborative process for NASA, Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, and lead RS-25 engines contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3 Harris Technologies company.
NASA is working to land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon under the agency’s Artemis campaign. The SLS rocket is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with the Orion spacecraft, supporting ground systems, advanced spacesuits and rovers, the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, and commercial human landing systems. The SLS rocket is the only rocket designed to send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single launch.
Learn more about NASA’s Artemis campaign:
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Rachel Kraft
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
rachel.h.kraft@nasa.gov
Corinne Beckinger
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-544-0034
corinne.m.beckinger@nasa.gov
NASA Selects Contractor for Lifecycle Services Support
NASA has selected Amentum Services Inc. of Chantilly, Virginia, to provide program, science, engineering, operations, and project management support at the agency’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley.
The Fully Integrated Lifecycle Mission Support Services 2 contract is a single award, hybrid contract, consisting of cost-plus-fixed-fee core requirements and indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity task orders. With a maximum value of $256 million, the contract’s period of performance will begin Monday, June 17 with a 60-day phase-in period, followed by a two-year base period and three one-year options. Southeastern Universities Research Association Inc. of Washington is a subcontractor under this award.
Work under the contract will include biosciences flight development projects (including mission implementation, instrument development, and technology advancement efforts), collaborative science programs (e.g., astrobiology, virtual institutes), aeronautics research projects, and specialized technical and professional support for various NASA Ames offices.
For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:
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Abbey Donaldson
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
abbey.a.donaldson@nasa.gov
Rachel Hoover
Ames Research Center, Silicon Valley, Calif.
650-604-4789
rachel.hoover@nasa.gov
Globular Clusters Should Contain More Intermediate-mass Black Holes
We live in a Universe studded with black holes. Countless stellar mass and supermassive ones exist in our galaxy and most others. It’s likely they existed as so-called “primordial” black holes in the earliest epochs of cosmic history. Yet, there seems to be a missing link category: intermediate-mass black holes (IMBH). Astronomers have searched for these rare beasts for years and there’s only one possible observation thanks to gravitational-wave data. So, where are they?
IMBH might be hidden away in the hearts of globular clusters. But, given the tightly packed nature of those compact collections of stars, how would we know if they contained any IMBH? Teams of researchers in Japan and China came up with a couple of ways to search them out. One is to look for fast-moving stars ejected from globular clusters. The other is to do simulations of collisions of stars in the hearts of newly forming clusters. Both methods may point the way to more IMBH discoveries.
What Are Intermediate-mass Black Holes?These rare objects are pretty much what their name says: black holes with masses somewhere between their stellar-mass cousins and the supermassive behemoths at the hearts of galaxies. They can contain as little as a thousand times the mass of the Sun, which would be fairly “small”, up to maybe a million solar masses. Beyond that are the supermassive monsters with millions or billions of times the mass of the Sun. The IMBH don’t come from supernova explosions, since there’s no massive star big enough to collapse to produce an IMBH. The birth of an IMBH should involve multiple massive objects coalescing together. This makes them more like their big supermassive black hole siblings.
So, where would such a collisional event happen? It would help if you had a dense agglomeration of stars tightly packed together. That describes globular clusters to a T. They’re crowded with stars, and likely have a good collection of very massive ones. Those are the stars that explode as supernovae and collapse down to produce a stellar-mass black hole. If enough of them exist in the cluster, they could merge and create an IMBH. Another suggestion to create an IMBH is for massive stars to collide to create a single more-massive object.
Many globular clusters orbit the core of the Milky Way Galaxy. Some of the densest ones have millions of stars pulled together by gravity. The cluster Messier 15 (M15) is a good example. It contains more than 100,000 stars crammed into an area of space about 175 light-years across. If runaway star collisions or stellar-mass black hole mergers occurred in M15, that could be enough to create an IMBH.
Simulating Globular Clusters and Intermediate-Mass Black Hole GrowthAnother idea is to explore the formation of globulars to see if it produces any clues to the origins and existence of IMBH. That’s what a team of scientists at the University of Tokyo did. They created advanced simulations of star cluster formation to see if massive-star collisions could occur and lead to the birth of IMBH. It’s not an easy task. Previous simulations suggested stellar winds would blow away the needed masses to create these missing black holes.
“Star cluster formation simulations were challenging because of the simulation cost,” said team leader Michiko Fujii. “We, for the first time, successfully performed numerical simulations of globular cluster formation, modeling individual stars. By resolving individual stars with a realistic mass for each, we could reconstruct the collisions of stars in a tightly packed environment. For these simulations, we have developed a novel simulation code, in which we could integrate millions of stars with high accuracy.”
A simulated star cluster forming in a giant molecular cloud. Could this visualization help astronomers understand the formation of intermediate-mass black holes in clusters? Courtesy: Takaaki Takeda (VASA Entertainment, Inc.)The resulting simulation run showed that runaway collisions brought very massive stars together. These are perfect candidates to end up as IMBH candidates. “Our final goal is to simulate entire galaxies by resolving individual stars,” Fujii points to future research. “It is still difficult to simulate Milky Way-size galaxies by resolving individual stars using currently available supercomputers. However, it would be possible to simulate smaller galaxies such as dwarf galaxies. We also want to target the first clusters, star clusters formed in the early universe. First clusters are also places where IMBHs can be born.”
Runaway Stars and IMBHOkay, so simulations show that such IMBH could be possible in the globular cluster environment, but what’s the physical proof they actually exist? No one has actually detected the collisions of stellar-mass black holes inside a cluster to create an IMBH. Nor have they seen stellar collisions that might create a monster object — although the Japanese simulations proved they can happen. The trick now is to observe both types of event. Until that happens, astronomers can figure out if IMBH exist through indirect means.
A Chinese research team, led by Yang Huang of the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, recently posted a paper about a high-velocity star fleeing the scene of a collision in the heart of Messier 15. The star, called J0731+3717, was ejected by an encounter with an intermediate-mass black hole embedded very close to the center of the cluster.
J0731+3717 got tossed out on its high-speed journey about 21 million years ago. The team examined its metallicity (that is, its ratios of hydrogen and heavier elements (called “metals” by astronomers)) and found that it matches the stars in M15. The rogue star moves away from the cluster at a velocity of about 550 kilometers per second and once “lived” at a distance of about 1 AU from the cluster’s core. The team analyzed those measurements and did reverse orbital calculations of that star (and others within 5 kpc of the Sun). Based on their calculations, they concluded the star had a too-close encounter with an intermediate-mass black hole containing about 100 solar masses.
The team suggests that this method be used to prove the existence of other IMBH in similar environments. They conclude their paper with a look at future observations to prove the concept. “With the increasing power of ongoing Gaia and large-scale spectroscopic surveys, we expect to discover dozens of cases within the 5kpc volume and ten times more within a 10kpc volume, which should shed light on the understanding of the evolutionary path from stellar-mass BHs to SMBHs.”
For More InformationSimulations Yield New Intermediate Mass Black Holes Recipe
Medium and Mighty: Intermediate-mass Black Holes Can Survive in Globular Clusters
A High-velocity Star Recently Ejected by an Intermediate-mass Black Hole in M15
The post Globular Clusters Should Contain More Intermediate-mass Black Holes appeared first on Universe Today.
What Are You Looking At?
What Are You Looking At?
A Florida redbelly turtle looks warily at the camera in this photo from Feb. 29, 2000. This image was captured on the grounds of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, which shares a border with the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge contains 92,000 acres that are a habitat for more than 330 species of birds, 31 mammals, 117 fishes, and 65 amphibians and reptiles – including suspicious turtles.
Image Credit: NASA
NASA Exploring Alternative Mars Sample Return Methods
NASA is moving forward with 10 studies to examine more affordable and faster methods of bringing samples from Mars’ surface back to Earth as part of the agency’s Mars Sample Return Program. As part of this effort, NASA will award a firm-fixed-price contract for up to $1.5 million to conduct 90-day studies to seven industry proposers.
Additionally, NASA centers, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, and Johns Hopkins’ Applied Physics Laboratory are producing studies. Once completed, NASA will assess all studies to consider alterations or enhancements to the Mars Sample Return architecture.
“Mars Sample Return will be one of the most complex missions NASA has undertaken, and it is critical that we carry it out more quickly, with less risk, and at a lower cost,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “I’m excited to see the vision that these companies, centers and partners present as we look for fresh, exciting, and innovative ideas to uncover great cosmic secrets from the Red Planet.”
Over the last quarter century, NASA has engaged in a systematic effort to determine the early history of Mars and how it can help us understand the formation and evolution of habitable worlds, including Earth. As part of that effort, Mars Sample Return has been a long-term goal of international planetary exploration for the past two decades. NASA’s Perseverance rover has been collecting samples for later collection and return to Earth since it landed on Mars in 2021.
The following companies and proposals were selected from among those that responded to an April 15 request for proposals:
- Lockheed Martinin Littleton, Colorado: “Lockheed Martin Rapid Mission Design Studies for Mars Sample Return”
- SpaceX in Hawthorne, California: “Enabling Mars Sample Return With Starship”
- Aerojet Rocketdyne in Huntsville, Alabama: “A High-Performance Liquid Mars Ascent Vehicle, Using Highly Reliable and Mature Propulsion Technologies, to Improve Program Affordability and Schedule”
- Blue Origin in Monrovia, California: “Leveraging Artemis for Mars Sample Return”
- Quantum Space, in Rockville, Maryland: “Quantum Anchor Leg Mars Sample Return Study”
- Northrop Grumman in Elkton, Maryland: “High TRL MAV Propulsion Trades and Concept Design for MSR Rapid Mission Design”
- Whittinghill Aerospace in Camarillo, California: “A Rapid Design Study for the MSR Single Stage Mars Ascent Vehicle”
NASA’s Mars Sample Return is a strategic partnership with ESA (the European Space Agency). Returning scientifically selected samples to Earth for study using the most sophisticated instruments around the world can revolutionize our understanding of Mars and would fulfill one of the highest priority solar system exploration goals as identified by the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine.
For more information on Mars Sample Return, visit:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-sample-return/
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Dewayne Washington
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
dewayne.a.washington@nasa.gov
Virgin Galactic launches VSS Unity space plane on final suborbital spaceflight with crew of 6 (photos)
NASA Crew Flight Test Astronauts to Call White House, NASA Leaders
Following their safe arrival at the International Space Station, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will participate in a pair of Earth to space calls Monday, June 10, regarding their historic mission aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft:
Known as NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test, the duo will speak first at 1 p.m. EDT with NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, Associate Administrator Jim Free, and Johnson Space Center Director Vanessa Wyche.
Coverage of the call will stream live on NASA+, NASA Television, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.
At 2:40 p.m., the astronauts will participate in a Q&A moderated by Chirag Parikh, deputy assistant to President Joe Biden and executive secretary for the White House’s National Space Council.
Coverage of the call will stream live on NASA+, NASA Television, and the agency’s website.
Wilmore and Williams launched at 10:52 a.m. June 5, on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida for NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test mission. They docked to the orbiting laboratory at 1:34 p.m., June 6, and will remain for a week-long stay, testing Starliner and its subsystems as the next step in the spacecraft’s certification for rotational missions as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is delivering on its goal of safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station from the United States through a partnership with American private industry. This partnership is opening access to low-Earth orbit and the International Space Station to more people, science, and commercial opportunities. The space station remains the springboard to NASA’s next great leap in space exploration, including future missions to the Moon under Artemis, and ultimately, to Mars.
For more information about the mission, visit:
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Faith McKie / Josh Finch
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
faith.d.mckie@nasa.gov / joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov