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Expedition 70 Astronauts to Share Mission in NASA Welcome Home Event
May 15, 2024
MEDIA ADVISORY: J24-010
NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara along with JAXA astronuat Satoshi Furukawa and ESA astronaut Andreas MogensenNASA
Expedition 70 Astronauts to Share Mission in NASA Welcome Home Event
Four astronauts will participate in a welcome home ceremony at Space Center Houston after recently returning from a mission aboard the International Space Station.
NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara, along with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, will share highlights from their mission beginning at 5:30 p.m. CDT Thursday, May 16 during a free, public event at NASA Johnson Space Center’s visitor center. The crew will also recognize key contributors to its mission success in an awards ceremony following their presentation.
The astronauts will be available for media interviews immediately before the event. Reporters may request an in-person interview no later than 5 p.m. May 16 by emailing Dana Davis at dana.l.davis@nasa.gov.
Moghbeli, Mogensen, Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov launched as part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission, lifting off Aug. 26, 2023. The crew spent 199 days in space, completing hundreds of scientific experiments and maintaining the orbiting laboratory. Mogensen served as commander for Expedition 70. Mogensen and Furukawa have logged 209 and 366 days in space respectively over the course of their careers. It was the first spaceflight for Moghbeli and Borisov. Crew-7 returned to Earth on March 12.
O’Hara flew with an international crew, launching aboard the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft on Sept. 15, 2023. The six-month research mission was the first spaceflight of her career, and she logged 204 days in space across Expedition 69 and 70. She conducted one spacewalk alongside Moghbeli, spending 6 hours, 42 minutes, suited up outside of the space station. She saw the arrival of eight visiting vehicles and the departure of seven over the course of her mission. She returned to Earth on April 6.
Members of the Expedition 70 crew participated in the CIPHER (Complement of Integrated Protocols for Human Exploration Research on Varying Mission Durations) investigation. It examines physiological and psychological changes that humans undergo during spaceflight. The crew also tended to tomato plants grown for the Plant Habitat-06 investigation to see how spaceflight affects plant immune function and production. Expedition 70 also saw the release of two small satellites called CubeSats from the space station. Both were created by students in Japan.
Stay current on space station activities by following @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the station Facebook and Instagram accounts and the space station blog.
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Chelsey Ballarte
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
chelsey.n.ballarte@nasa.gov
Dana Davis
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-244-0933
dana.l.davis@nasa.gov
The Marshall Star for May 15, 2024
Navy Adm. Christopher Grady, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, his wife Christine Grady, and son Luke Grady talk with Nick Benjamin, right, a payload operations director for the International Space Station, at the Payload Operations Integration Center during the vice chairman’s tour of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center on May 6. (NASA/Charles Beason)
Marshall Team Members Honored with Space Flight Awareness Awards
Astronaut Victor Glover, far right, and Bill Hill, second from right, director of safety and mission assurance at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center join Marshall honorees for a photo op at the Space Flight Awareness Honoree Ceremony on May 4 in Orlando, Florida. Honoree awards recognize civil servants and industry partners for outstanding work and dedication to astronaut safety. From left, Cody Goodman, David Starrett, John Ivester, Lisa Hughes, Greg Snell, Megan Vansant, Megan Hines, Karl Nelson, Les Johnson, Shawn Reagan, Hill, and Glover. Marshall honorees also include Maggie Freeman, who was unable to attend the awards event. (NASA)
NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test Eyes Next Launch OpportunityNASA, Boeing, and ULA (United Launch Alliance) teams continue working remaining open tasks in preparation for the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station. The teams now are targeting a launch date of no earlier than 3:43 p.m. CDT May 21, to complete additional testing.
On May 11, the ULA team successfully replaced a pressure regulation valve on the liquid oxygen tank on the Atlas V rocket’s Centaur upper stage. The team also performed re-pressurization and system purges, and tested the new valve, which performed normally.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard is seen as it is rolled out of the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test on May 4 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.NASA/Joel Kowsky
The Atlas V and Starliner remain in the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex-41 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, still in preflight quarantine, returned to Houston on May 10 to spend extra time with their families as prelaunch operations progress. The duo will fly back to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in the coming days.
Wilmore and Williams are the first to launch aboard Boeing’s Starliner to the space station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. The astronauts will spend about a week at the orbiting laboratory before returning to Earth and making a parachute and airbag-assisted landing in the southwestern United States.
After successful completion of the mission, NASA will begin the final process of certifying Starliner and its systems for crewed rotation missions to the space station.
I Am Artemis: Lauren FisherNot many music majors get to be hands-on with building a Moon rocket, but Lauren Fisher has always enjoyed the unusual.
Now a structural materials engineer at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Fisher works on a key adapter for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for the first crewed missions of NASA’s Artemis campaign.
Lauren Fisher stands in front of the launch vehicle stage adapter for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. The hardware will be used for the agency’s Artemis III mission that will land astronauts on the lunar surface. Fisher works with a number of teams across the agency and believes her background in music education has been an asset to her work as an engineer: “Teaching skills help you look at things from a different perspective and helps with understanding how others might approach a situation – all very helpful when I’m working with teams.”NASA/Sam LottManufactured at Marshall by NASA, lead contractor Teledyne Brown Engineering, and the Jacobs Space Exploration Group’s ESSCA contract, the cone-shaped launch vehicle stage adapter partially encloses the rocket’s interim cryogenic propulsion stage and connects it to the core stage below and the Orion stage adapter above. The launch vehicle stage adapter also protects avionics and electrical devices from extreme vibration and acoustic conditions during launch and ascent.
Fisher and the thermal protection system team develop and apply the spray-on foam that acts as insulation and protects the adapter and all its systems from the extreme pressures and temperatures it’ll face during flight. The thermal protection system for the component, unlike other parts of the rocket, is applied by hand using a spray gun. When first applied, the insulation is yellow, but after time and exposure to the Sun, it turns orange.
“We’re taking the same stuff someone might use to insulate their attic, except making it for cryogenic atmospheres, and spraying it all over a giant piece of hardware that will help launch us to the Moon,” Fisher said. “With my work for NASA’s Space Launch System rocket, I get to play with foam and glue. I like to call it arts and crafts engineering!”
Although engineering runs in her family, Fisher initially graduated from University of Southern Mississippi with a Bachelor of Arts in music performance and an interest in music education. She developed an interest in carbon-based polymers, and decided to go back to school, completing a chemical engineering degree with a polymeric materials track from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Her new degree led to an opportunity to work for the thermal protection system team at Marshall.
When Fisher isn’t in the office, she likes travelling to unusual places and checking items off her self-described “Bizarre Bucket List.” Recently, she went to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to watch the famous groundhog predict an early spring.
Being part of the Artemis Generation is incredibly inspiring for Fisher, who takes pride in her work supporting the first three Artemis missions, including Artemis II, the first crewed mission under Artemis, in 2025.
“I’m literally building the hardware that will send the first woman to deep space,” Fisher says. “Watching our rocket take shape, I’m like ‘you see that thing? I did that; that’s mine. See that one? My team did that one. We did that, and see this?’” She beams with pride. “You can do that, too. Just being a part of the generation that’s changing the workforce and changing the space program — it gives me goosebumps.”
NASA is working to land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with the Orion spacecraft and Gateway in orbit around the Moon and commercial human landing systems, next-generational spacesuits, and rovers on the lunar surface. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single launch.
NASA Licenses 3D-Printable Superalloy to Benefit US EconomyNASA’s investment in a breakthrough superalloy developed for the extreme temperatures and harsh conditions of air and spaceflight is on the threshold of paying commercial dividends.
The agency is licensing its invention, dubbed “GRX-810,” to four American companies, a practice that benefits the United States economy as a return on investment of taxpayer dollars.
The NASA insignia is 3D printed using the GRX-810 superalloy.NASA/Jordan Salkin
GRX-810 is a 3D-printable high-temperature material that will lead to stronger, more durable airplane and spacecraft parts that can withstand more punishment before reaching their breaking point.
The co-exclusive license agreements will allow the companies to produce and market GRX-810 to airplane and rocket equipment manufacturers as well as the entire supply chain.
The four co-exclusive licensees are:
- Carpenter Technology Corporation of Reading, Pennsylvania
- Elementum 3D, Inc. of Erie, Colorado
- Linde Advanced Material Technologies, Inc. of Indianapolis
- Powder Alloy Corporation of Loveland, Ohio
GRX-810 is one example of many new technologies NASA’s Technology Transfer Program managers review and file for patent protection. The team also works with inventors to find partners interested in commercialization.
Darren Tinker, left, from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, and Tim Smith, from the agency’s Glenn Research Center, inspect the GRX-810 nozzle and injector following hot-fire testing in 2023 at Marshall. NASA/Paul Gradl
“NASA invests tax dollars into research that demonstrates direct benefit to the U.S. and transfers its technologies to industry by licensing its patents,” said Amy Hiltabidel, licensing manager at NASA’s Glenn Research Center.
NASA engineers designed GRX-810 for aerospace applications, including liquid rocket engine injectors, combustors, turbines, and hot-section components capable of enduring temperatures over 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
“GRX-810 represents a new alloy design space and manufacturing technique that was impossible a few years ago,” said Tim Smith, materials researcher at NASA Glenn.
Hot-fire testing of GRX-810 injector and nozzle components at Marshall Test Stand 115 using liquid oxygen and liquid methane propellants. NASA
Smith co-invented the superalloy along with his Glenn colleague Christopher Kantzos using a time-saving computer modeling and laser 3D-printing process that fuses metals together, layer-by-layer. Tiny particles containing oxygen atoms spread throughout the alloy enhance its strength.
Compared to other nickel-base alloys, GRX-810 can endure higher temperatures and stress and can last up to 2,500 times longer. It’s also nearly four times better at flexing before breaking and twice as resistant to oxidation damage.
“Adoption of this alloy will lead to more sustainable aviation and space exploration,” said Dale Hopkins, deputy project manager of NASA’s Transformational Tools and Technologies project. “This is because jet engine and rocket components made from GRX-810 will lower operating costs by lasting longer and improving overall fuel efficiency.”
Research and development teams include those from Glenn, NASA’s Ames Research Center, Ohio State University, and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, where the most recent testing included 3D-printed rocket engine parts.
Marshall completed a successful hot-fire test series at Test Stand 115 in 2023. This test series demonstrated GRX-810 injectors and regeneratively cooled nozzles for liquid rocket engines. The center is working to advance additive manufacturing for propulsion applications, but also developing 3D-printing technologies to deploy in space for manufacturing. Marshall has capabilities for the entire design, analysis, manufacturing, hot- fire testing, and certification lifecycle of complex additively manufactured propulsion components and engine systems to enable high performance for NASA, government, and commercial space missions.
NASA develops many technologies to solve the challenges of space exploration, advance the understanding of our home planet, and improve air transportation. Through patent licensing and other mechanisms, NASA has spun off more than 2,000 technologies for companies to develop into products and solutions supporting the American economy.
Agency’s New Mobile Launcher Stacks Up for Future Artemis MissionsThe foundation is set at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for launching crewed missions aboard the agency’s larger and more powerful SLS (Space Launch System) Block 1B rocket in support of Artemis IV and future missions. On May 9, teams with NASA’s EGS (Exploration Ground Systems) Program and contractor Bechtel National Inc. transferred the primary base structure of the mobile launcher 2 to its permanent mount mechanisms using the spaceport’s beast-mode transporter – the crawler.
Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program and primary contractor Bechtel National Inc. continue moving the base structure of mobile launcher 2 to a permanent mount structure where assembly will be completed at Kennedy Space Center. The 355-foot-tall mobile launcher 2 with a two-story base and a tower will be used to assemble and process the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft in the Vehicle Assembly Building on NASA’s upcoming Artemis missions to the Moon beginning with Artemis IV.NASA/Madison Tuttle
The mobile launcher serves as the primary interface between the ground launch systems, SLS rocket, and Orion spacecraft that will launch the SLS Block 1B rocket, with its enhanced upper stage, to the Moon, allowing the agency to send astronauts and heavier cargo into lunar orbit than its predecessor, SLS Block 1. With Artemis, NASA will land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the lunar surface and establish long-term exploration for scientific discovery and to prepare for human missions to Mars.
With NASA’s iconic Vehicle Assembly Building in the background, teams with the agency’s Exploration Ground Systems Program and primary contractor, Bechtel National, Inc. continue construction on the base of the platform for the new mobile launcher.NASA/Isaac Watson
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center manages the SLS Program.
Read more about the mobile launcher.
Chandra Notices the Galactic Center is VentingRecent images show evidence for an exhaust vent attached to a chimney releasing hot gas from a region around the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, as reported in a press release. In the main image of this graphic, X-rays from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory (blue) have been combined with radio data from the MeerKAT telescope (red).
Previously, astronomers had identified a “chimney” of hot gas near the Galactic Center using X-ray data from Chandra and ESA’s XMM-Newton. Radio emission detected by MeerKAT shows the effect of magnetic fields enclosing the gas in the chimney.
These images show evidence for an exhaust vent attached to a chimney releasing hot gas from a region around the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. In the main image of this graphic, X-rays from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory (blue) have been combined with radio data from the MeerKAT telescope (red).X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Chicago/S.C. Mackey et al.; Radio: NRF/SARAO/MeerKAT; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk
The evidence for the exhaust vent is highlighted in the inset, which includes only Chandra data. Several X-ray ridges showing brighter X-rays appear in white, roughly perpendicular to the plane of the Galaxy. Researchers think these are the walls of a tunnel, shaped like a cylinder, which helps funnel hot gas as it moves upwards along the chimney and away from the Galactic Center.
A labeled version of the image gives the locations of the exhaust vent, the chimney, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy (called Sagittarius A*, or Sgr A* for short) and the plane of the galaxy.
This newly discovered vent is located near the top of the chimney about 700 light-years from the center of the Galaxy. To emphasize the chimney and exhaust vent features the image has been rotated by 180 degrees from the conventional orientation used by astronomers, so that the chimney is pointed upwards.
The authors of the new study think that the exhaust vent formed when hot gas rising through the chimney struck cooler gas lying in its path. The brightness of the exhaust vent walls in X-rays is caused by shock waves – like sonic booms from supersonic planes – generated by this collision. The left side of the exhaust vent is likely particularly bright in X-rays because the gas flowing upwards is striking the tunnel wall at a more direct angle and with more force than other regions.
A labeled version of the image.X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Chicago/S.C. Mackey et al.; Radio: NRF/SARAO/MeerKAT; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk
The researchers determined that the hot gas is most likely coming from a sequence of events involving material falling towards Sgr A*. They think eruptions from the black hole then drove the gas upwards along the chimneys, and out through the exhaust vent.
It is unclear how often material is falling onto Sgr A*. Previous studies have indicated that dramatic X-ray flares take place every few hundred years at or near the location of the central black hole, so those could play important roles in driving the hot gas upwards through the exhaust vent. Astronomers also estimate that the Galactic black hole rips apart and swallows a star every 20,000 years or so. Such events would lead to powerful, explosive releases of energy, much of which would be destined to rise through the chimney vent.
The paper describing these results is published in The Astrophysical Journal and a preprint is available online. The authors of the paper are Scott Mackey (University of Chicago), Mark Morris (University of California, Los Angeles), Gabriele Ponti (Italian National Institute of Astrophysics in Merate), Konstantina Anastasopoulou (Italian National Institute of Astrophysics in Palermo), and Samaresh Mondal (Italian National Institute of Astrophysics in Merate).
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Chandra X-ray Center controls science operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts.
Read more from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.
Juno Mission Spots Jupiter’s Tiny Moon AmaltheaNASA’s Juno mission captured new views of Jupiter during its 59th close flyby of the giant planet on March 7. They provide a good look at Jupiter’s colorful belts and swirling storms, including the Great Red Spot. Close examination reveals something more: two glimpses of the tiny moon Amalthea.
NASA’s Juno mission captured these views of Jupiter during its 59th close flyby of the giant planet March 7. They provide a good look at Jupiter’s colorful belts and swirling storms, including the Great Red Spot.Image data: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS. Image processing by Gerald EichstädtWith a radius of just 52 miles, Amalthea has a potato-like shape, lacking the mass to pull itself into a sphere. In 2000, NASA’s Galileo spacecraft revealed some surface features, including impact craters, hills, and valleys. Amalthea circles Jupiter inside Io’s orbit, which is the innermost of the planet’s four largest moons, taking 0.498 Earth days to complete one orbit.
Amalthea is the reddest object in the solar system, and observations indicate it gives out more heat than it receives from the Sun. This may be because, as it orbits within Jupiter’s powerful magnetic field, electric currents are induced in the moon’s core. Alternatively, the heat could be from tidal stresses caused by Jupiter’s gravity.
At the time that the first of these two images was taken, the Juno spacecraft was about 165,000 miles above Jupiter’s cloud tops, at a latitude of about 5 degrees north of the equator.
A close examination of the views of Jupiter reveals two glimpses of the tiny moon Amalthea, highlighted in this image.Image data: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS. Image processing by Gerald Eichstädt
Citizen scientist Gerald Eichstädt made these images using raw data from the JunoCam instrument, applying processing techniques to enhance the clarity of the images.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech, manages the Juno mission for the principal investigator, Scott Bolton, of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. Juno is part of NASA’s New Frontiers Program, which is managed at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate. The Italian Space Agency (ASI) funded the Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built and operates the spacecraft.
Learn more about NASA citizen science.
Hubble Glimpses a Star-Forming FactoryThe celestial object showcased in an image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope is the spiral galaxy UGC 9684, which lies around 240 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Boötes. This image shows an impressive example of several classic galactic features, including a clear bar in the galaxy’s center, and a halo surrounding its disk.
This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope highlights the spiral galaxy UGC 9684. ESA/Hubble & NASA, C. Kilpatrick
The data for this Hubble image came from a study of Type-II supernovae host galaxies. These cataclysmic stellar explosions take place throughout the universe, and are of great interest to astronomers, so automated surveys scan the night sky and attempt to catch sight of them. The supernova which brought UGC 9684 to Hubble’s attention occurred in 2020. It has since faded from view and is not visible in this image, which was taken in 2023.
Remarkably, the 2020 supernova isn’t the only one that astronomers have seen in this galaxy – UGC 9684 has hosted four supernova-like events since 2006, putting it up there with the most active supernova-producing galaxies. It turns out that UGC 9684 is a quite active star-forming galaxy, calculated as producing one solar mass worth of stars every few years. The most massive of these stars are short-lived, a few million years, and end their days as supernova explosions. This high level of star formation makes UGC 9684 a veritable supernova factory, and a galaxy to watch for astronomers hoping to examine these exceptional events.
Cosmic butterfly or interstellar burger? This planet-forming disk is the largest ever seen
New Answers for Mars’ Methane Mystery
Planetary scientists perk up whenever methane is mentioned. Methane is produced by living things on Earth, so it’s considered to be a potential biosignature elsewhere. In recent years, MSL Curiosity detected methane coming from the surface of Gale Crater on Mars. So far, nobody’s successfully explained where it’s coming from.
NASA scientists have some new ideas.
Ever since Curiosity landed on Mars in 2012, it’s been sensing methane. But the methane displays some odd characteristics. It only comes out at night, it fluctuates with the seasons, and sometimes, the amount of methane jumps to 40 times more than the regular level.
The ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter entered a science orbit around Mars in 2018, and scientists fully expected it to detect methane in the planet’s atmosphere. But it didn’t, and it has never been detected elsewhere on Mars’ surface.
If life was producing the methane, it appears to be restricted to the subsurface under Gale Crater.
There’s no convincing evidence that life exists on Mars. It may have in the past, and it’s possible that some extant life clings to a tenuous existence in subsurface brines or something. But we lack evidence, so life is basically ruled out as the methane source. Especially since the evidence shows life would have to be under Gale Crater and nowhere else.
Scientists have been trying to determine the source of methane, but so far, they haven’t come up with a specific answer. It has something to do with subsurface geological processes involving water, most likely.
This image illustrates possible ways methane might get into Mars’ atmosphere and also be removed from it: microbes (left) under the surface that release the gas into the atmosphere, weathering of rock (right), and stored methane ice called a clathrate. Ultraviolet light can work on surface materials to produce methane as well as break it apart into other molecules (formaldehyde and methanol) to produce carbon dioxide. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SAM-GSFC/Univ. of Michigan“It’s a story with a lot of plot twists,” said Ashwin Vasavada, Curiosity’s project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which leads Curiosity’s mission.
Alexander Pavlov is a planetary scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center who leads a group of NASA scientists studying the Martian Methane Mystery. In recent research, they suggested that the methane is stored underground. They didn’t explain what produced it, but they showed that methane can be sealed underground by salt solidified in the Martian regolith.
This figure from research published in 2024 illustrates how a salt cap could form and trap methane under the Martian surface. There’s strong evidence of subsurface water on Mars, and it can migrate to the surface and evaporate. Some of the salt in the ground is transported to the surface with the water. Once the water or ice is gone, the salt is left behind in the upper few centimetres of soil. The researchers hypothesized that the salt can become cemented into the same type of duricrust that the InSight lander struggled with. Image Credit: Pavlov et al. 2024.They suggested that the methane could be released from its subsurface reservoir by the weight of the Curiosity rover itself. The rover’s weight could break the salt seal and release methane in puffs. That’s an interesting proposition, but it doesn’t explain the seasonal and diurnal fluctuations. That makes sense since the Gale Crater is one of only two regions where a rover is working. The other is Jezero Crater, where the Perseverance Rover is working, but it doesn’t have a methane detector. (Neither will the ESA’s Rosalind Franklin rover, which is scheduled to land on Mars in 2029.)
The research group addressed those fluctuations by suggesting that seasonal and daily heating could also break the seal and release methane.
Their potential explanations stem from research Pavlov conducted in 2017. He grew bacteria called halophiles, which grow in salty conditions, in simulated Martian permafrost. The simulated soil was infused with salt, replicating conditions on much of Mars. The microbe growth was inconclusive, but the researchers noticed something else. As the salty ice sublimated, a layer of solidified salt remained, forming a crust.
“We didn’t think much of it at the moment,” Pavlov said.
But he remembered it when MSL Curiosity detected an unexplained burst of methane on Mars in 2019.
“That’s when it clicked in my mind,” Pavlov said. Then, he and a team of researchers began testing conditions that could form the hardened salt seals and then break them open.
Perchlorate is a chemical salt that’s widespread on Mars. Pavlov and his fellow researchers recreated different simulated Martian permafrosts with varying amounts of perchlorate. Inside a Mars simulation chamber, they subjected the samples to different temperatures and atmospheric pressures to see if they would form seals.
In their experiments, they used neon as a methane analog and injected it under the soil. Then, they measured the gas pressure below and above the soil. They found that the pressure was higher under the soil, meaning the gas was being trapped by the salty permafrost. Furthermore, they found that seals formed in samples containing as little as 5% or 10% perchlorate, and they formed within 3 to 13 days. Those are compelling results.
This image shows one of the Mars analog samples with a hardened crust of salt sealing the surface. The lighter colour is where the sample has been scratched. The lighter colour indicates drier soil, and once it was exposed to air outside the Mars Chamber, it quickly absorbed moisture and turned brown. Image Credit: Pavlov et al. 2018.While 5-10% perchlorate doesn’t sound like much, it’s actually a higher concentration than in Gale Crater, where the methane has been detected. But perchlorate isn’t the only salt in Martian regolith. It also contains sulphates, another type of salt mineral. Pavlov says he and his team will test sulphates next for their ability to form a seal.
The Martian Methane Mystery is commanding a lot of attention. It’s a juicy mystery, and once it’s solved, our understanding of methane as a biosignature or false positive will be much improved. NASA’s 2022 Planetary Mission Senior Review recommended that the issue of methane production and destruction at Mars be investigated further.
The type of work that Pavlov and his colleagues are doing is important, but it’s being held back. Pavlov says that they need more consistent methane measurements. The problem is that Curiosity’s SAM (Sample Analysis at Mars) instrument, which senses the methane, is busy with other tasks. It only checks for methane a few times per year. It’s mostly occupied with drilling samples and testing them, a critical and time-consuming part of the rover’s mission.
The Tunable Laser Spectrometer is one of the tools within the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) laboratory on NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover. By measuring the absorption of light at specific wavelengths, it measures concentrations of methane, carbon dioxide and water vapour in Mars’ atmosphere. (Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)“Methane experiments are resource intensive, so we have to be very strategic when we decide to do them,” said Goddard’s Charles Malespin, SAM’s principal investigator.
Curiosity’s mission wasn’t designed to measure methane fluctuations. In 2017, NASA said its SAM instrument only sampled the atmosphere 10 times in 20 months. That’s a very inconsistent sample that leaves lots of unanswered questions.
Scientists think another mission is needed to advance their understanding of Martian methane. Rather than one sensor taking irregular methane readings from one location, we need multiple testing stations on the surface that regularly monitor the atmosphere. Nothing like it is in the works.
“Some of the methane work will have to be left to future surface spacecraft that are more focused on answering these specific questions,” Vasavada said.
The post New Answers for Mars’ Methane Mystery appeared first on Universe Today.
NASA Invites Media to View NOAA’s Newest Environmental Satellite
NASA will host a media availability to view NOAA’s (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s) GOES-U (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite U) spacecraft Thursday June 6, at the Astrotech Space Operations payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida.
NASA is targeting a two-hour launch window opening at 5:16 p.m. EDT Tuesday, June 25, for the launch of GOES-U on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Ahead of the launch, media will have an opportunity to photograph the satellite and speak with subject-matter experts. As the fourth and final satellite in the GOES-R Series, GOES-U will continue weather observations and include a new compact coronagraph that will image the outer layer of the Sun’s atmosphere to detect and characterize coronal mass ejections.
Media interested in participating in the June 6 event must RSVP by 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, May 29, and submit their request online at:
NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online. For questions about accreditation, please email: ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov.
Facility Access
Due to spacecraft cleanliness requirements, this invitation is open to a limited number of media with no more than two requests per media organization. This event is open to U.S. citizens who possess an unexpired government-issued photo identification, such as a driver’s license, and proof of U.S. citizenship, such as a passport or birth certificate.
Media who attend this event must comply with cleanroom guidelines. This includes wearing specific cleanroom garments; avoiding cologne, cosmetics, and high-heeled shoes; cleaning camera equipment under the supervision or assistance of contamination control specialists; and placing all electronics in airplane mode in the designated areas near the spacecraft. NASA will provide detailed guidance to approved media.
About GOES-U
The GOES-R series has improved the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property, and the nation’s economic health and prosperity.
The advanced instruments on the GOES-R series of satellites provide images of Earth’s weather, oceans, and environment with sharper resolution and rapid-refresh imagery, as well as real-time mapping of lightning activity and improved monitoring of solar activity and space weather.
NASA and NOAA collaborate on various missions to enhance our understanding of Earth, its climate, and its environment, enhancing the safety and well-being of all humanity. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the acquisition of the spacecraft and instruments and built the Magnetometer instrument for GOES-T and GOES-U. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy Space Center, manages the launch services for the GOES missions. Lockheed Martin designs, builds, and tests the GOES-R series satellites. L3Harris Technologies provides the primary instrument, the Advanced Baseline Imager, along with the ground system, which includes the antenna system for data reception.
The GOES-U spacecraft is the last of the GOES-R Series satellites, which are planned to operate into the 2030s. Looking forward, NOAA is working with NASA to develop the next generation of operational satellites in geostationary orbit, called Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO). This program will provide new and improved observations of the atmosphere, weather, and ocean to help address emerging environmental issues, respond to the effects of Earth’s changing climate, and improve forecasting and warning of severe weather and hazards. NASA will manage the development of the GeoXO satellites and launch them for NOAA.
For more information about the GOES-U mission, visit:
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Liz Vlock
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
elizabeth.a.vlock@nasa.gov
Leejay Lockhart
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-747-8310
leejay.lockhart@nasa.gov
Cameras inspired by insect eyes could give robots a wider view
Cameras inspired by insect eyes could give robots a wider view
To better predict volcanic eruptions, you have to dig deep — very deep
Maintenance on High-Speed Wind Tunnel
During April and May 2024, maintenance is being conducted within the Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel (UPWT) complex at NASA Ames Research Center. One key part of this maintenance is the inspection of stators in the 3-stage compressor. Stators are fixed blades that control the flow of air, which can reach a speed of Mach 1.4 (about 1100 miles per hour in air at 100F) within the UPWT. Blade resonance of the stators may be responsible for significant wear on the compressor. The figure below shows the opening of the stator clamshell to enable that inspection.
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NASA Honors Three Chroniclers for Helping Tell America’s Space Story
Through decades of hard work, three storytellers brought out of this world news down to Earth, providing a lens through which young and old could watch space exploration unfold. This week, NASA recognized the contributions of these Chroniclers during a May 15, 2024, ceremony at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Associate Director of Management Burt Summerfield was at the spaceport’s Press Site for the unveiling of three brass plates bearing the names of the 2024 honorees – Dan Billow, Michael R. Brown, and Margaret (Maggie) Persinger.
Dan Billow, Mike Brown, and Maggie Persinger were honored May 15, 2024, during the 2024 Kennedy Chroniclers ceremony at the Press Site at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Three brass plates bearing their names were added to the wall of the “bullpen,” where reporters traditionally gather to cover launches and events at NASA Kennedy. Photo credit: NASA/Glenn Benson
“The Chroniclers ceremony is one of Press Site’s greatest traditions,” Summerfield said. “We get a chance to extend our deepest thank you to members of the media – and our NASA and industry communicators – who go above and beyond to tell our story to the world,”
The inductees join the list of 82 other Chroniclers awardees whose names hang proudly on the wall in the “bullpen” at Kennedy’s Press Site, where journalists, photographers and broadcasters have gathered to cover the space industry since 1962.
The honorees were nominated by other members of the news media and selected by a panel of NASA officials and current space reporters.
Dan Billow was born in 1960 in Orange County, California. He earned his bachelor’s degree in 1982 in radio and television from California State University in Fullerton and completed a certificate in meteorology from Mississippi State University in 2008.
Dan began his career in 1982 as a news reporter at KRCR-TV in Redding, California. From 1985 to 1987, he worked as a news reporter with KLAS-TV in Las Vegas, Nevada. In 1987, Dan took a job with WESH-TV in Orlando, Florida, as a news reporter and meteorologist. While there, he covered all space shuttle missions from 1988-2011. He also covered NASA’s Earth and other planetary missions, including Mars landings, spacecraft flights to Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, the Sun, and Earth’s moon. Dan experienced weightlessness in a NASA KC-135 aircraft in 1998, and he even experienced simulated space shuttle landings in a Shuttle Training Aircraft commanded by astronaut Chris Ferguson in 2011.
Dan earned the Society of Professional Journalists Silver Medallion in 2003 and the duPont-Columbia Award in 2004 for coverage of the Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy, as well as three regional Emmy awards.
Dan retired in 2021, settling in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia with his wife of 41 years, Rebecca. They have three adult children: Alex, Jordan, and Marie.
“Spaceflight is romance – there’s an element of grandeur to it – and that’s the way I covered it,” Billow said. “Spaceflight is beauty, and I will continue to watch the next generation of reporters covering it.”
Michael R. Brown served in the United States Navy from 1968 to 1972. Following his Navy service, Michael studied photography at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale from 1974 to 1976 and launched his career as a photojournalist beginning with the Thomasville Times in Georgia in 1977.
In 1978, Michael accepted a job with Florida Today as a photojournalist. He had many notable accomplishments during his 34-year career with Florida Today, including covering all 135 Space Shuttle launches as well as the launches of hundreds of expendable rockets. Notably, he was recognized as a finalist for the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for his photo coverage of the Space Shuttle Challenger tragedy. Michael now lives and works in Florida as a freelance photographer.
“We had a lot of fun setting up remote cameras during shuttle days to get just the right shots,” Brown said. “If we had an idea for a photo, the people here bent over backwards to make sure we could get what we needed. But working with the people here was what I really enjoyed most.”
Margaret (Maggie) Persinger began her career at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida as an archivist assistant in 1975. As a result of her in-depth research of the space program at Kennedy, she was hired by Technicolor to work as a film file at the Motion Picture Lab at Patrick Air Force Base in Florida from 1978 to 1986. Maggie then moved to the Photo Lab at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida where she worked until 1992, ending her time as lead of the Film File Library.
In 1992, Margaret transferred to Kennedy’s Press Site, providing still imagery to newspapers, wires, and magazines via black and white as well as color photos, slides, and transparencies. With the rise of the digital era, imagery transitioned to include photo CDs and eventually to digital images on the internet. These shifts in technology required learning brand new techniques, procedures, computers, and programs. With her knowledge and experience, Maggie became the Photo Editor at Kennedy.
In 1995, Maggie’s responsibilities grew to include video, motion picture film, and audio tape releases to the media. Originally this entailed research into the subject matter on VHS, beta tapes, and audio tapes used by TV, motion picture film productions, and radio. It wasn’t long before technology growth changed the nature of her job again with the introduction of high-definition capability and tapes, which added to the already extensive library. Hard copy tapes eventually gave way to digital formats, requiring Maggie to edit video clips that could be rapidly released to the media via computer, thumb drives, or large capacity decks enabling a vast amount of footage. Without a requirement to mail tapes, videos shot at Kennedy to be edited and viewed quickly around the world.
Maggie’s career saw many advances in film and technology, allowing her the rare opportunity to work with many types of media – newspapers, wires, magazines, TV, documentaries, motion picture film productions, and social media.
“I was so proud of what NASA is doing and that I could help get word out to the public,” Persinger said. “Back when we worked with print photos and tape, I remember meeting reporters at all hours and at locations like the bowling alley to be sure they had what they needed for their stories.”
The Chroniclers ceremony is typically held in early May to honor the first U.S. human spaceflight, Mercury-Redstone 3, or Freedom 7, on May 5, 1961. The 15-minute, 28-second flight sent astronaut Alan Shepard into orbit around Earth, ending with a successful splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean.
For more listings of all The Chroniclers, visit: The Chroniclers – NASA
5 Things to Know About NASA’s Tiny Twin Polar Satellites
Called PREFIRE, this CubeSat duo will boost our understanding of how much heat Earth’s polar regions radiate out to space and how that influences our climate.
Twin shoebox-size climate satellites will soon be studying two of the most remote regions on Earth: the Arctic and Antarctic. The NASA mission will measure the amount of heat the planet emits into space from these polar regions — information that’s key to understanding the balance of energy coming into and out of Earth and how that affects the planet’s climate.
The data from the Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment (PREFIRE) mission will help improve our understanding of the greenhouse effect at the poles — specifically, the capacity of water vapor, clouds, and other elements of Earth’s atmosphere to trap heat and keep it from radiating into space. Researchers will use this information to update climate and ice models, which will lead to better predictions of how sea level, weather, and snow and ice cover are likely to change in a warming world.
Each of PREFIRE’s cube satellites, or CubeSats, will use a thermal infrared spectrometer to measure the heat, in the form of far-infrared energy, radiated into space by Earth’s surface and atmosphere.
Here are five things to know about this small but mighty mission:
1. The PREFIRE CubeSats will provide new information on how Earth’s atmosphere and ice influence the amount of heat being radiated out to space from the Arctic and Antarctic.
The CubeSats will gather data over the poles using sensors that are sensitive to 10 times more infrared wavelengths than any similar instrument. Information gathered by the mission will advance our understanding of when and where the poles shed heat into space, as well as why the Arctic has warmed more than 2½ times faster than the rest of the planet since the 1970s.
2. This mission will focus on the far-infrared portion of the heat Earth emits into space.
Just beyond the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum sits the infrared, a spectrum of longer-wavelength light that can be sensed as heat. Essentially all of Earth’s heat emissions happen at infrared wavelengths between 4 and 100 micrometers. At the planet’s cold polar regions, 60% of the heat emissions occur at far-infrared wavelengths (longer than 15 micrometers). Researchers have relatively little data on which parts of the Arctic and Antarctic are shedding this heat. PREFIRE will help address this lack of knowledge, giving scientists a better idea of how efficiently far-infrared heat is emitted by things like snow and sea ice, and how clouds influence the amount of far-infrared radiation that escapes to space.
3. Data from PREFIRE will help improve polar and global climate models.
By filling in gaps in our knowledge of Earth’s energy budget, PREFIRE will sharpen our understanding of what drives the loss of polar ice on land and sea, and related questions of sea level rise. This will help researchers better predict how the heat exchange between Earth and space will change in the future, and how those changes will affect things like ice sheet melting, atmospheric temperatures, and global weather. PREFIRE data will be available to the public through NASA’s Atmospheric Science Data Center.
4. The PREFIRE CubeSats are designed to answer critical questions using a platform that’s lower-cost than a full-size satellite.
The PREFIRE CubeSats use advances in spectrometry to measure processes associated with ice melt and formation, snow melt and accumulation, and changes in cloud cover. A single satellite that revisits the same region of Earth every several days can monitor seasonal changes that researchers can use to improve climate models. But following the interactions between Earth’s surface and atmosphere, such as the amount of cloud cover temporarily effecting the temperature of the area beneath it, requires more frequent measurements. Two satellites in asynchronous near-polar orbits — passing over a given spot on Earth at different times, looking at the same area within hours of each other — could catch some of these shorter-time-scale phenomena.
5. The PREFIRE mission is helping to train the next generation of satellite climate scientists.
NASA developed PREFIRE with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, including team members from the universities of Michigan and Colorado. The mission engages a diverse group of undergraduate and graduate students, who make up a significant portion of the science team.
More About the MissionNASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages PREFIRE for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate and provided the spectrometers. Blue Canyon Technologies built the CubeSats and the University of Wisconsin-Madison will process the data the instruments collect. The launch services provider, Rocket Lab USA Inc. of Long Beach, California, will launch both PREFIRE CubeSats from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand.
To learn more about PREFIRE, visit:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/prefire/
Get the PREFIRE fact sheet News Media ContactsJane J. Lee / Andrew Wang
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-0307 / 626-379-6874
jane.j.lee@jpl.nasa.gov / andrew.wang@jpl.nasa.gov
Karen Fox / Elizabeth Vlock
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100 / 202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / elizabeth.a.vlock@nasa.gov
2024-067
Share Details Last Updated May 15, 2024 Related Terms Explore More 5 min read NASA’s Juno Provides High-Definition Views of Europa’s Icy Shell Article 18 hours ago 5 min read How ‘Glowing’ Plants Could Help Scientists Predict Flash Drought Article 2 days ago 4 min read NASA Teammates Recall Favorite Memories Aboard Flying Laboratory Article 2 days agoNASA’s X-59 Passes Milestone Toward Safe First Flight
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Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA and Lockheed Martin test pilots inspect the painted X-59 as it sits on the ramp at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California. The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which seeks to solve one of the major barriers to supersonic flight over land, currently banned in the United States, by making sonic booms quieter.NASA / Steve Freeman
NASA has taken the next step toward verifying the airworthiness for its quiet supersonic X-59 aircraft with the completion of a milestone review that will allow it to progress toward flight.
A Flight Readiness Review board composed of independent experts from across NASA has completed a study of the X-59 project team’s approach to safety for the public and staff during ground and flight testing. The review board looked in detail at the project team’s analysis of potential hazards, focusing on safety and risk identification.
Flight Readiness Review is the first step in the flight approval process. The board’s work will provide the X-59 team with insights and recommendations toward systems checkouts on the ground and first flight.
“It’s not a pass-fail,” said Cathy Bahm, NASA’s Low Boom Flight Demonstrator project manager. “We’ll be getting actions from the board and will work with them to resolve those and work toward the Airworthiness and Flight Safety Review.”
NASA and prime contractor Lockheed Martin are developing the X-59 to reduce the sound of a sonic boom to a quieter “thump.” The aircraft is at the center of NASA’s Quesst mission, which will use it to gather data that could revolutionize air travel, potentially paving the way for a new generation of commercial aircraft that can travel faster than the speed of sound.
Commercial supersonic flight over land has been banned for more than 50 years because of the noise of sonic booms.
X-59 Team Update“The Flight Readiness Review focused on specific aspects of the X-59 team’s work on the aircraft, but also served as an overview and update on the entire project,” said Jay Brandon, chief engineer for the Low Boom Flight Demonstrator project.
“It gave us the opportunity to stop working for a minute and gather what we’ve done so we could tell our story, not just to the board, but to the whole project team,” Brandon said.
With the Flight Readiness Review complete, the upcoming Airworthiness and Flight Safety Review will be the next safety milestone.
The Airworthiness and Flight Safety Review board includes senior leaders from several NASA centers and Lockheed Martin. It will review findings from the Flight Readiness Review, as well as the project team’s response to those filings. The board will send a recommendation to NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center’s director, who signs the airworthiness certificate.
Finally, the team will provide a technical brief to another review board based on test objectives, how the tests are being carried out, the risks involved, and the risk-mitigation actions the team has taken. The X-59 team would have to address any issues raised in the brief before the board, led by NASA Armstrong chief engineer Cynthia J. “CJ” Bixby, will sign a flight request.
“It’s really an exciting time on the project,” Bahm said. “It’s not an easy road, but there’s a finite set of activities that are in front of us.”
Artist illustration of the X-59 in flight over land.Lockheed Martin The Path Forward
There are significant steps to be completed before flights can begin. The X-59 team is preparing for upcoming major ground tests focused on systems integration engine runs, and electromagnetic interference.
The X-59 aircraft is a bold, new design, but many of its components are from well-established aircraft, including landing gear from an Air Force F-16 fighter, a cockpit canopy from a NASA T-38 trainer, and a control stick from an Air Force F-117 stealth fighter are among those parts.
“None of these systems have ever worked and played together before,” said Brad Neal, chairman for the X-59 Airworthiness and Flight Safety Review board. “It’s a brand-new thing that we are developing, even though they’re components that have been on different legacy aircraft. As we get into integration testing here, it’s going to be a great opportunity to learn.’’
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Share Details Last Updated May 15, 2024 EditorLillian GipsonContactKristen Hatfieldkristen.m.hatfield@nasa.govJim Bankejim.banke@nasa.gov Related TermsArtemis Accords Reach 40 Signatories as NASA Welcomes Lithuania
A milestone was reached on Wednesday as Lithuania became the 40th nation to join NASA and the international coalition in pursuit of safer space exploration by signing the Artemis Accords. The ceremony took place at the Radisson Blu Lietuva hotel in Vilnius, Lithuania, and signifies a continued push toward transparency and peace as more nations traverse farther into space.
“Welcome to the Artemis Accords family, Lithuania,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Our nations are strong partners – and now we expand this partnership to the cosmos. In just four years, a remarkable 40 countries have signed the Artemis Accords. Together, as a global coalition, we will explore the stars openly, responsibly, and in peace.”
United States Ambassador Kara C. McDonald attended the ceremony to speak on behalf of the U.S., and Aušrinė Armonaitė, Lithuanian Minister of Economy and Innovation, signed the Accords.
“The Lithuanian space sector has been growing steadily, with our innovative companies working in this field making significant strides,” Armonaitė said. “The Artemis Accords mark a new chapter and chart a course for future space exploration, underscoring our commitment to a responsible, sustainable, and cooperative presence in space.”
Remarks from NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy also played before the signing.
“Today is a pivotal day for Lithuania,” Melroy said. “We are living in the golden age of space. The days of one nation exploring the cosmos alone are gone. Today, we go together, and we go with international partners.”
The Artemis Accords align with NASA’s Artemis campaign, that will send astronauts including the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build the foundation for crewed missions to Mars.
NASA, along with the Department of State and seven other nations, established the Artemis Accords in 2020 to lay out a set of principles grounded in the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 and three related space treaties. With the commitment of now 40 nations, the accords community will facilitate a long-term and peaceful presence of deep space exploration for the benefit of humanity.
To learn more about the Artemis Accords, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-accords/
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Faith McKie / Lauren Low
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
faith.d.mckie@nasa.gov / Lauren.e.low@nasa.gov