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June 1 marks the beginning of the 2024 hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean. NASA observes and studies hurricanes from space, both with views from the space station and with satellites. This vantage point helps scientists understand how climate change impacts hurricanes and learn how communities can better prepare for tropical cyclones in a warmer world.

On Aug. 29, 2023, one of the International Space Station’s external high-definition cameras captured Hurricane Idalia in the Gulf of Mexico. Idalia was a category 1 storm over the Gulf of Mexico with sustained winds of 140 kilometers (85 miles) per hour. As the storm moved north over the Gulf, it quickly strengthened and made landfall over the Big Bend region of Florida on the morning of August 30, 2023, as a category 3 storm.

Image Credit: NASA

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Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) An illustration created by Luis Rivera Hernandez depicting his interpretation of the Mars Aerial and Ground Global Intelligent Explorer (MAGGIE), a novel aerospace concept study led by Ge-Cheng Zha with Coflow Jet, LLC

Space technology might look a bit different decades from now. The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program studies innovative, technically credible, advanced projects that could one day “change the possible” in aerospace. To help people understand what these innovations might look like, NIAC has turned to artists and graphic designers in a global contest to create posters to visualize future technologies under development.

The NASA Space Tech Art Challenge: Imagine Tomorrow received 480 entries from 39 countries. Nine submissions were awarded an even share of the $3,000 prize. The winning submissions from the following individuals depict what the technology might look like, and how and where the concepts might be used in future exploration.

• Rizky Irawan, Indonesia
• Luis Rivera, USA
• Yi Cai, USA
• Holly Pascal, USA
• Beatriz Bronoski, Brazil
• Matthew Turner, United Kingdom
• Joseph Henney, USA
• Bertrand Dano, USA
• Hadley Nicole D., USA

The NASA Tournament Lab – part of the Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing program within the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate – managed the challenge. The NASA Tournament Lab facilitates crowdsourcing to tackle agency science and technology challenges, engaging the global community to seek new ideas and approaches that will ultimately benefit all of humanity. Freelancer.com administered the challenge for NASA.

To learn more about NASA prizes and challenges opportunities, visit:

www.nasa.gov/get-involved

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NASA Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing

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Details Last Updated May 31, 2024 EditorLoura Hall Related Terms

• NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Program
• Space Technology Mission Directorate

A small fern found only on a few Pacific islands has more than 100 metres of DNA in every single cell, more than any other organism that we know of

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4 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)

It’s not just rising air and water temperatures influencing the decades-long decline of Arctic sea ice. Clouds, aerosols, even the bumps and dips on the ice itself can play a role. To explore how these factors interact and impact sea ice melting, NASA is flying two aircraft equipped with scientific instruments over the Arctic Ocean north of Greenland this summer. The first flights of the field campaign, called ARCSIX (Arctic Radiation Cloud Aerosol Surface Interaction Experiment), successfully began taking measurements on May 28.

Two NASA aircraft are taking coordinated measurements of clouds, aerosols and sea ice in the Arctic this summer as part of the ARCSIX field campaign. In this image from Thursday, May 30, NASA’s P-3 aircraft takes off from Pituffik Space Base in northwest Greenland behind the agency’s Gulfstream III aircraft.Credit: NASA/Dan Chirica

“The ARCSIX mission aims to measure the evolution of the sea ice pack over the course of an entire summer,” said Patrick Taylor, deputy science lead with the campaign from NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. “There are many different factors that influence the sea ice. We’re measuring them to determine which were most important to melting ice this summer.”

On a completely clear day over smooth sea ice, most sunlight would reflect back into the atmosphere, which is one way that sea ice cools the planet. But when the ice has ridges or darker melt ponds — or is dotted with pollutants — it can change the equation, increasing the amount of ice melt. In the atmosphere, cloudy conditions and drifting aerosols also impact the rate of melt.

“An important goal of ARCSIX is to better understand the surface radiation budget — the energy interacting with the ice and the atmosphere,” said Rachel Tilling, a campaign scientist from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

About 75 scientists, instrument operators, and flight crew are participating in ARCSIX’s two segments based out of Pituffik Space Base in northwest Greenland. The first three-week deployment, in May and June of this year, is timed to document the start of the ice melt season. The second deployment will occur in July and August to monitor late summer conditions and the start of the freeze-up period.

“Scientists from three key disciplines came together for ARCSIX: sea ice surface researchers, aerosol researchers, and cloud researchers,” Tilling said. “Each of us has been working to understand the radiation budget in our specific area, but we’ve brought all three areas together for this campaign.”

Two aircraft will fly over the Arctic during each deployment. NASA’s P-3 Orion aircraft from the agency’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, will fly below the clouds at times to document the surface properties of the ice and the amount of energy radiating off it. The team will also fly the aircraft through the clouds to sample aerosol particles, cloud optical properties, chemistry, and other atmospheric components.

A Gulfstream III aircraft, managed by NASA Langley, will fly higher in the atmosphere to observe properties of the tops of the clouds, take profiles of the atmosphere above the ice, and add a perspective similar to that of orbiting satellites.

The teams will also compare airborne data with satellite data. Satellite instruments like the Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer will provide additional information about clouds and aerosol particles, while the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite 2 will provide insights into the ice topography below both satellites and aircraft.

The aircraft will fly coordinated routes to take measurements of the atmosphere above ice in three-dimensional space, said Sebastian Schmidt, the mission’s science lead with the University of Colorado Boulder.

“The area off the northern coast of Greenland can be considered the last bastion of multi-year sea ice, as the Arctic transitions to a seasonally ice-free ocean,” Schmidt said. “By observing here, we will gain insight into cloud-aerosol-sea ice-interaction processes of the ‘old’ and ‘new’ Arctic — all while improving satellite-based remote sensing by comparing what we’re seeing with the airborne and satellite instruments.” 

By Kate Ramsayer

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

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Details Last Updated May 31, 2024 EditorKate D. RamsayerContactKate D. Ramsayerkate.d.ramsayer@nasa.govLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related Terms

• Earth
• Airborne Science
• Goddard Space Flight Center
• Ice & Glaciers
• Langley Research Center
• Sea Ice
• Wallops Flight Facility

Explore More 5 min read Antarctic Sea Ice Near Historic Lows; Arctic Ice Continues Decline Article 2 months ago 5 min read Arctic Sea Ice 6th Lowest on Record; Antarctic Sees Record Low Growth

Arctic sea ice likely reached its annual minimum extent on September 19, 2023, making it…

Article 8 months ago 4 min read NASA Ice Scientists Take Flight from Greenland to Study Melting Arctic Ice Article 2 years ago

Japan's Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) mission failed to respond to a signal sent Monday — but all hope is not lost.

Mathematicians are working on ways to use their field to tackle major social issues, such as social inequality and the need for gender equity

4 Min Read Space Station Research Advances NASA’s Plans to Explore the Moon, Mars The full moon is pictured as the International Space Station orbited 254 miles above the Pacific Ocean northeast of Guam. Credits: NASA

Space, the saying goes, is hard. And the farther humans go, the harder it can get.

Some of the challenges on missions to explore the Moon and Mars include preventing microbial contamination of these destinations, navigating there safely, protecting crew members and hardware from radiation, and maintaining and repairing equipment.

Research on the International Space Station is helping NASA scientists develop tools and processes to ensure success on these important missions. Here are highlights from some of the investigations making space a little easier.

Tracking Tiny Stowaways

Bacteria and fungi live in and on all humans and all around us on Earth. Most of these microorganisms are beneficial or harmless but introducing them to other celestial bodies could adversely affect our ability to study ecosystems on those other worlds.

Crew members will conduct a spacewalk to collect samples near space station life support system vents for ISS External Microorganisms, an investigation to assess whether the orbiting laboratory releases microorganisms into space. Results could provide insight into the potential for organisms to survive and reproduce in space and help researchers determine which microbes would most likely contaminate other planetary bodies visited by crewed missions.

NASA astronaut Victor Glover trains for the ISS External Microorganisms spacewalk in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory pool at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.NASA

A miniature, hand-held digital microscope designed to make in-flight medical diagnoses, the Moon Microscope, also can test water, food, and surfaces for contamination. The device images samples at high resolution and processes data on web-enabled devices such as phones or tablets. Multiple users can access the microscope simultaneously, and some applications run autonomously.

Getting There and Back

Spacecraft must have sophisticated high-tech systems for navigating. Sextant Navigation tests the function of sextants in microgravity as an emergency backup navigation technique for Artemis and other future exploration missions. These mechanical devices have guided navigators for centuries, and Gemini and Apollo missions demonstrated they were useful for astronauts.

Astronaut Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency) tests the Sextant Navigation device.NASA

Refining Radiation Detection

Missions beyond low Earth orbit increase exposure to radiation, which can pose a hazard to human health and interfere with equipment operation. As NASA prepares for future missions, providing adequate protection is vital.

The Hybrid Electronic Radiation Assessor, or HERA, was built to serve as a primary radiation detection system for the Orion spacecraft, which will carry crews into orbit around the Moon. The International Space Station Hybrid Electronic Radiation Assessor investigation modified the system to operate on the space station to provide researchers input for use on future exploration missions.

Artemis HERA on Space Station further modified the radiation detection system so researchers could continue to evaluate the hardware in the space radiation environment prior to Artemis II.

ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet holds a mobile unit for the ESA-Active-Dosimeters experiment.NASA

Active-Dosimeters, an investigation led by ESA (European Space Agency), tested a wearable system to measure radiation exposure to crew members on the space station and how it changes with the station’s orbit and altitude. Data from the wearable dosimeter improved radiation risk assessments and could lead to better protection for astronauts, including the ability to quickly respond to changes in exposure throughout future exploration missions.

Robot Helpers

On future exploration missions, robotic technology can help crew members with basic tasks, monitor and maintain equipment, and conduct operations such as sample collection, reducing the need to expose astronauts to harsh environments. Integrated System for Autonomous and Adaptive Caretaking demonstrates using autonomous robots to transfer and unpack cargo and to track and respond to maintenance issues such as leaks and fires, which could protect valuable equipment and reduce costly repairs on future missions. The investigation uses the space station’s Astrobee and Robonaut robots.

NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy sets up a test with an Astrobee robotic assistant.NASA

Multi-Resolution Scanning uses the station’s Astrobees to test sensors and robotics to support automated 3D sensing, mapping, and situational awareness functions. On future Gateway and lunar surface missions, such systems could automatically detect defects and conduct remote maintenance and autonomous operation of vehicles such as rovers.

ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti practices maneuvers for the Surface Avatar investigation.NASA

Surface Avatar evaluates crew operation of multiple autonomous robots in space. The investigation also assesses crew member responsiveness to feedback on the consoles used to operate robots remotely, which supports design of effective setups for operating robots on the ground from a spacecraft orbiting above. Results contribute to the development of other uses of robotic assistance such as returning samples from Mars and asteroids.

Melissa Gaskill
International Space Station Research Communications Team
NASA’s Johnson Space Center

Search this database of scientific experiments to learn more about those mentioned above.

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Station Science 101: Biology and Biotechnology

Living in Space

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Details Last Updated May 30, 2024 Related Terms

• ISS Research
• Biological & Physical Sciences
• Cell and Molecular Biology
• General
• Human Research Program
• Humans in Space
• International Space Station (ISS)
• Johnson Space Center
• Microbiology
• Science & Research

Rocket Lab will launch the second of two cubesats for NASA's PREFIRE climate change mission tonight (May 31), and you can watch the action live.

Astronomers have detected giant, magnetic stars outside the Milky Way for the first time. These infant stars in the Magellanic Clouds could reveal details of early stellar evolution.

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2 min read

Hubble Views the Lights of a Galactic Bar This Hubble Space Telescope image reveals details in the barred spiral galaxy NGC 4731. ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Thilker

This new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the broad and sweeping spiral galaxy NGC 4731. It lies in the constellation Virgo and is located 43 million light-years from Earth. This highly detailed image uses data collected from six different filters. The abundance of color illustrates the galaxy’s billowing clouds of gas, dark dust bands, bright pink star-forming regions and, most obviously, the long, glowing bar with trailing arms.

Barred spiral galaxies outnumber both regular spirals and elliptical galaxies put together, numbering around 60% of all galaxies. The visible bar structure is a result of orbits of stars and gas in the galaxy lining up, forming a dense region that individual stars move in and out of over time. This is the same process that maintains a galaxy’s spiral arms, but it is somewhat more mysterious for bars: spiral galaxies seem to form bars in their centers as they mature, which helps explain the large number of bars we see today, but they can also lose them if the accumulated mass along the bar grows unstable. The orbital patterns and the gravitational interactions within a galaxy that sustain the bar also transport matter and energy into it, fueling star formation. Indeed, the observing program studying NGC 4731 seeks to investigate this flow of matter in galaxies.

Beyond the bar, the spiral arms of NGC 4731 stretch out far past the confines of this close-in Hubble view. Astronomers think the galaxy’s elongated arms are the result of gravitational interactions with other, nearby galaxies in the Virgo cluster.

Text Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)

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Media Contact:

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

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May 31, 2024

Editor Andrea Gianopoulos Location NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

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• Astrophysics
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