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Watch the new trailer for Paramount Pictures' terrifying alien invasion horror film, "A Quiet Place: Day One."

Mice given unlimited access to alcohol recovered faster after consuming a gel based on a milk protein, with the same treatment also preventing intoxication in another group of mice. If proved safe and effective in humans, it could offer a quick way to sober up

Mice given unlimited access to alcohol recovered faster after consuming a gel based on a milk protein, with the same treatment also preventing intoxication in another group of mice. If proved safe and effective in humans, it could offer a quick way to sober up

Outrunning prey over long distances is an efficient method of hunting for humans, and it was widely used until recently, according to an analysis of ethnographic accounts

Outrunning prey over long distances is an efficient method of hunting for humans, and it was widely used until recently, according to an analysis of ethnographic accounts

Hemanth Koralla was working as a software developer for General Motors when he received a LinkedIn message inviting him to apply for a NASA contract position with Jacobs Technology. While unexpected, Koralla seized the opportunity. “You can’t say no to NASA!”

Koralla has spent the last two years helping to develop the Vehicle System Manager (VSM) for Gateway, NASA’s lunar space station. The VSM is vehicle-level software that will allow the station’s different components to communicate with each other and enable both human-directed and autonomous operations. Much of Koralla’s work involves designing prototypes for software that can build Gateway’s autonomous capabilities. He is also part of a design support team that works to “unblock problems” for the VSM team and provide help wherever it is needed.

Hemanth Koralla addresses the audience at Johnson Space Center’s Asians Succeeding in Innovation and Aerospace (ASIA) Employee Resource Group (ERG) Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI) Heritage Month festival in 2023.NASA/Josh Valcarcel

Reflecting on his favorite NASA experiences to date, Koralla declared the community at NASA’s Johnson Space Center to be “much more exciting” than in his previous positions, citing his opportunity to don Cosmo’s inflatable mascot suit for an Artemis I launch event as one example. “I just love how these emails go out asking, who wants to be a part of this? I said, yes, I’m going to do that, and then I just showed up and got to be Cosmo and take pictures with people. I didn’t expect to do that, and it was a really fun experience,” he said.

Koralla has also enjoyed helping to organize the Engineering Directorate’s annual employee picnics, in part because they have allowed him to meet colleagues from across the entire organization. His involvement in the planning created other opportunities, as well. “As a thank you, they invited us to the OSIRIS-REx sample reveal,” he said. “It’s those moments that you step back and realize, wow, we’re working on something really cool here.”

Koralla got active in the ASIA Employee Resource Group (ERG) shortly after arriving at Johnson in 2022, when the chair asked him to join as a cohort member and to help lead the group’s social activities. He was elected as the ERG’s recording secretary for 2023. In that role, Koralla continued to play an important part in the group’s events – including its AA and NHPI Heritage Month festival. He was particularly inspired by NASA astronaut Jonny Kim, whom he got to introduce as the festival’s emcee, and the performers who helped celebrate diversity at Johnson.

Hemanth Koralla (third from left) poses with ASIA ERG board members and NASA astronaut Jonny Kim during the group’s AA and NHPI Heritage Month festival. NASA/Josh Valcarcel

Koralla observed that the festival and other ASIA ERG events help spread cultural awareness, noting, as an example, that he did not know Nowruz was a holiday until the ERG organized a related celebration. An Iftar dinner, the fast-breaking evening meal of Muslims in Ramadan, was another opportunity to engage with Johnson team members. “There’s such a big community at NASA that this opens the door for them to meet each other as well,” he said.

Meeting diverse Johnson colleagues and building connections through the ERG has given Koralla a better picture of NASA’s full scope of work.

Outside of the ERG, Koralla tries to support diversity and inclusion by making sure everyone’s voice is heard. “We do these deep dives where we try to work out a design for something in six to eight weeks. I definitely notice that people who are earlier in their career have a tougher time speaking up, which I can relate to because I’ve been in that situation. In those moments I try to say, let’s see what everyone in the room is thinking.”

He appreciates being part of a team that values the sharing of experiences and cultures, as well. “We have created a nice open space where we can talk openly about a lot of things and ask questions without any fear of judgment,” he said, noting that he and his teammates have many conversations about their respective cultures.

Koralla also points to the uniting power of food. “We had a Thanksgiving lunch last year, and most team members brought in typical Thanksgiving food. I didn’t grow up with that American tradition, so I brought in some Indian food instead,” he said. “It was a nice cultural sharing moment. Everyone bonds over food.”

Lego is gearing up to deliver a detailed model of the original "rock and rolling ride," the electric buggy driven by NASA's last three Apollo crews to explore the moon.

We already know that water has existed on the surface of Mars but for how long? Curiosity has been searching for evidence for the long term presence of water on Mars and now, a team of researchers think they have found it. The rover has been exploring the Gale Crater and found it contains high concentrations of Manganese. The mineral doesn’t form easily on Mars so the team think it may have formed as deposits in an ancient lake. It is interesting too that life on Earth helps the formation of Manganese so its presence on Mars is a mystery.

The Mars Curiosity Rover was launched in November 2011. It arrived on 6 August 2012 in the Gale Crater region of Mars. It’s purpose was to explore the geology of the area, climatic conditions and the potential for habitability for future explorers.  We have seen stunning images from the surface of Mars thanks to Curiosity and our understanding of Mars both past and present has been improved as a result of its work. 

New simulations are helping inform the Curiosity rover’s ongoing sampling campaign. Credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

A paper published in the Journal of Geophysical Research : Planets has reported on findings using the ChemCam instrument on board Curiosity. The paper’s lead author Patrick Gasda from the Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Space Science and Application group announced the findings of high levels of manganese in rocks from the base of the crater. It is thought that the Gale Crater is an ancient lake so this poses interesting questions as to its origin. 

On Earth, biological processes are fundamental to the formation of materials like manganese oxide with photosynthesis producing atmospheric oxygen. There are also microbes that act as a catalyst to the oxidisation of manganese. The problem is that there is no such sign other life on Mars so the process that led to the formation of oxygen in the ancient Martian atmosphere is unclear. If we cannot understand the formation of oxygen, then we struggle to understand how manganese oxide might form. Perhaps something relating to large bodies of surface water could be responsible. 

The ChemCam instrument on Curiosity uses a laser to generate small amounts of plasma on the surface of Martian rocks. Light is then collected to enable the composition of the rock to be identified. The team studied sand, silts and muds, the former being more porous than the latter. The majority of the manganese found in the sands is thought to have been the result of ground water percolation. On Earth the manganese is oxidised by atmospheric oxygen in a process that is accelerated by microbes. 

We still don’t have all the answers but but the study has revealed yet again, to an environment that was once suitable for life. That environment seems similar to many places on Earth that also display rich manganese deposits. 

Source : New findings point to an Earth-like environment on ancient Marsh

The post These Rocks Formed in an Ancient Lake on Mars appeared first on Universe Today.

“A dream come true.”
“I never expected this!”
“The most amazing light show I’ve ever seen in my life!”
“Once in a lifetime!”
“No doubt, this weekend will be remembered as ‘that weekend.’”

That’s how people described their views of the Aurora borealis this weekend, which put on a breathtaking celestial show around the world, and at lower latitudes than usual. This allowed hundreds of millions of people to see the northern lights for the first time in their lives. People as far south as Arizona and Florida in the US and France, Germany and Poland in Europe got the views of their life as a series of intense solar storms – the most powerful in more than 20 years – impacted Earth’s atmosphere starting Friday and through the weekend.

As we reported on Friday, a giant Earth-facing sunspot group named AR3664 hurled at least six coronal mass ejections our way, triggering a dazzling display of breathtaking celestial shows over several nights. NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center issued a geomagnetic storm watch in anticipation of G4 or G5 events; G5 is the highest rating on NOAA’s space weather scale. This means not only was there a spectacular sky show, but some electrical grid systems could have experienced blackouts; however, there was no widespread reports of any problems or damage to electrical grids.

“Watches at this level are very rare,” the SWPC said in an advisory on Saturday.

Let’s take a look at the incredible views of our readers and friends, many shared on Universe Today’s Flickr page. Our lead image comes from Julien Looten, who took this photo at the cliffs of Étretat in northern France. Looten said, “These auroras began to be visible around 10:30 PM, even before nightfall… From then on, they were visible to the naked eye until dawn… Without interruption…”

A spectacular light show over North Cascades National Park, Washington state, USA. Credit: Patrick Vallely. Used by permission. A 360° panorama of the May 10/11, 2024 great aurora display, as seen in southern Alberta, Canada. This is a stitch of 20 segments, each 13-second exposures, with “very odd vertical blue and magenta rays.” Credit: Alan Dyer/AmazingSky.com A unique orange and red aurora seen over Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Credit: Karla Thompson.

No doubt this weekend will be remembered as 'that weekend'. Here's my rushed, ordinary photos of an extraordinary event.
Taken locally in Cheshire during the 'spike' at 03:00 Saturday. Zero colour enhancement in post processing. The greens were JUST visible with the naked eye: pic.twitter.com/Z9uQA4fFaW

— Andy Saunders – Apollo Remastered (@AndySaunders_1) May 12, 2024 Ohio’s Aurora 05-10-2024, captured in front of John Chumack’s observatory domes at JBSPO in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Canon 6DDSLR 16mm F2.8 lens, ISO 1250, 10 second exposure. Credit: John Chumack, galacticimages.com. Used by permission.

"Once in a Lifetime" – The Needles, Isle of Wight, UK
Credit @chadpowellphoto pic.twitter.com/NAoi6k9h9E

— Chad Powell (@chadpowellphoto) May 12, 2024 “Bonkers” aurora display in Tucson, Arizona, USA. Credit: Robert Sparks. Used by permission.

8 hrs, 2 camera batteries, 500 photos & a full memory card later, we're home after our epic aurora hunt. Just a magical, magnificent night. Aurora filling the sky at one point, green curtains/ red/pink rays & beams, reflected in the reservoir we were parked next to up nr Shap… pic.twitter.com/0iApnjZ05H

— Stuart Atkinson (@mars_stu) May 11, 2024 Aurora over Raisting Earth Station near near Raisting, Bavaria, Germany. “We experienced three waves of incredibly strong Aurora, especially for our rather Southern latitude. During the second wave we saw individual pulsating filaments dancing over our heads. What a breathtaking experience!” Credit: Simeon Schmauß, used by permission. The aurora as seen in the Rocky Mountains west of Denver on May10-11, 2024, taken with an iPhone. Credit: Carolyn Collins Petersen. This timelapse from May 10-11 shows a fish-eye view of the sky in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Credit: Mark C. Petersen/Loch Ness Productions

I asked a complete stranger to take my photo during the stunning aurora show. I did the same for her.
Seeing the aurora from our location was incredible. We will treasure the memory of our shared experience.
10.05.24 Bedfordshire UK #aurora #auroraUK #StormHour #ThePhotoHour pic.twitter.com/vWwAjSQK2I

— Dawn (@DawnSunrise1) May 12, 2024 This colorful auroral display was visible from Bishopmill, Scotland, UK on May 10, 2024. “It was capped by several beautiful coronae, the holy grail for many aurora photographers. At times, the colours were clearly visible to the unaided eye.” Credit: Alan Tough. Used by permission. A beautiful aurora, with the International Space Station passing by, right at the zenith. Seen south of Peterborough (Keene), Ontario, with tripod mounted Canon EOS 60D and Bower 8mm prime lens with ISO 800 and 10 seconds. “It doesn’t get much better than this, the best display here in 15 years at least!” Credit: Rick Stankiewicz, Peterborough Astronomical Association (PAA).

The sky opened over Bear Lake, Utah pic.twitter.com/zW3nSRafZa

— Riding with Robots (@ridingrobots) May 11, 2024 Aurora on May 10/11 2024, taken from Ottawa, Canada with an iPhone 14 Pro Max. Credit: Andrew Symes. Used by permission. Aurora Borealis on May 10, 2024 From British Columbia, Canada. Credit: Debra Ceravolo. Used by permission. “The moment when the Great Aurora of 2024 went from looking average to exploding and filling the entire sky. Until that moment, it looked cool, but nothing I hadn’t seen from this location before. The curious part was it was in the western sky instead of the north when I normally see it. But in this moment, the entirity of the visible sky lit up in the most amazing light show I’ve ever seen in my life. Credit: Dark Arts Astrophotography. Used by permission. Unique view of the KP9 aurora on May 11, 2024 at Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada. Credit: Northern Lights Graffiti. Used by permission

The amount of insane beauty that’s on my memory cards right now is almost overwhelming. Aurora chasing may be my new addiction.

I also will likely release a shot or two in print, so if you want a memento from this event make sure you’re on my email list! pic.twitter.com/OjrthGlqJB

— Andrew McCarthy (@AJamesMcCarthy) May 12, 2024 Aurora and the Moon seen over central Minnesota, USA. Credit: Nancy Atkinson

The post What a Weekend! Spectacular Aurora Photos from Around the World appeared first on Universe Today.

The brains of adults who have raised children appear younger later in life. Child-rearing seemed to have this effect on both mothers and fathers, and it was stronger the more children they had

The brains of adults who have raised children appear younger later in life. Child-rearing seemed to have this effect on both mothers and fathers, and it was stronger the more children they had

Climate models can be a million lines of code long and can take months to run on supercomputers. A new algorithm has dramatically shortened that time.

Certain adults may need to get an additional dose of the measles vaccine. Here’s how to know if you have adequate immunity to measles

The lack of a safety net in the U.S. is a big factor that explains why Americans feel lonelier than Danes or Swedes

 “Trying to do stellar observations from Earth is like trying to do birdwatching from the bottom of a lake.” James B. Odom, Hubble Program Manager 1983-1990.

The fifth and final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, placed in orbit in 1990, took place during the STS-125 mission in May 2009. During the 13-day flight, the seven-member crew rendezvoused with and captured Hubble, conducted five complex spacewalks to service and upgrade the telescope, and redeployed it, giving it greater capabilities than ever before to help scientists unlock the secrets of the universe. The telescope continues to operate, far exceeding the five-year life extension expected from the servicing mission. Joined in space by the James Webb Space Telescope in 2021, the two instruments together can image the skies across a broad range of the electromagnetic spectrum to provide scientists with the tools to gain unprecedented insights into the universe and its formation.

Left: Schematic showing the Hubble Space Telescope’s major components. Middle: Workers inspect the Hubble Space Telescope’s 94-inch diameter primary mirror prior to assembly. Right: Astronauts release the Hubble Space Telescope in April 1990 during the STS-31 mission.

The discovery after the Hubble Space Telescope’s launch in 1990 that its primary mirror suffered from a flaw called spherical aberration disappointed scientists who could not obtain the sharp images they had expected. But thanks to the Hubble’s built-in feature of on-orbit servicing, NASA devised a plan to correct the telescope’s optics during the first planned repair mission in 1993. Three additional servicing missions in 1997, 1999, and 2002, upgraded the telescope’s capabilities. As the shuttle’s retirement in 2011 approached, NASA decided the benefits of extending Hubble’s life outweighed the risks posed by one final servicing mission. To execute the final Hubble Servicing Mission, NASA assigned Commander Scott D. Altman, Pilot Gregory C. Johnson, and Mission Specialists Michael T. Good, K. Megan McArthur, John M. Grunsfeld, Michael J. Massimino, and Andrew J. Feustel. Altman, Grunsfeld, and Massimino had traveled together to Hubble before on the previous servicing mission, STS-109, in 2002, and Grunsfeld had serviced Hubble on an earlier mission, STS-103, three years before that. For Johnson, Good, McArthur, and Feustel, STS-125 marked their first trip into space.

Left: The STS-125 crew of Michael J. Massimino, left, Michael T. Good, Gregory C. Johnson, Scott D. Altman, K. Megan McArthur, John M. Grunsfeld, and Andrew J. Feustel. Middle: The STS-125 crew patch. Right: The STS-400 crew of Christopher J. Ferguson, upper left, Eric A. Boe, R. Shane Kimbrough, and Stephen G. Bowen.

In January 2004, in the wake of the Columbia accident NASA Administrator Sean C. O’Keefe canceled the fifth and final Hubble Servicing Mission. O’Keefe believed the mission too risky, citing the lack of a safe haven and rescue capability in case the shuttle suffered damage similar to Columbia’s. In October 2006, his successor Administrator Michael D. Griffin reversed the decision, reinstating the mission targeting launch in May 2008. Delays in development caused the target launch date to slip to October. Griffin approved the flight with the constraint that another shuttle, in this case Endeavour, would stand ready to launch in the very unlikely event Atlantis’ crew needed rescuing. Griffin believed that the risk reduction that the rescue mission presented justified the additional science gained from extending Hubble’s on orbit lifetime. NASA designated the standby mission STS-400 and initially assigned NASA astronauts Dominic L. Gorie, Gregory H. Johnson, Robert L. Behnken, and Michael J. Foreman, the flight deck crew from the recently flown STS-123, to train for the launch-on-need rescue. After STS-126, NASA replaced them with that mission’s flight deck crew of Christopher J. Ferguson, Eric A. Boe, R. Shane Kimbrough, and Stephen G. Bowen.

Left: In the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers lift Atlantis to mate it to its External Tank and Solid Rocket Boosters. Middle: Shuttles on two pads for the first launch attempt, Atlantis on Pad 39A, left, and Endeavour on Pad 39B. Right: Atlantis rolls back into the VAB.

Although Griffin’s approval cleared the biggest hurdle to flying the final Hubble servicing mission, actually getting it off the ground faced additional challenges. At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, Atlantis rolled out to Launch Pad 39A on Sept. 4, 2008, and Endeavour rolled out to Launch Pad 39B on Sept. 18, marking the first time since 2001 that shuttles occupied both pads. The Hubble servicing payload arrived at Pad 39A on Sept. 22, and workers installed it into Atlantis’ payload bay three days later. The seven astronauts arrived at KSC on Sept. 21 to participate in the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, a dress rehearsal for the launch planned for Oct. 14. Fate intervened when on Sept. 27, the Science Instrument Command and Data Handling (SIC&DH) Unit aboard Hubble failed. Two days later, NASA decided to delay the servicing mission to February 2009 to include replacement of the failed unit as part of the servicing. This resulted in Atlantis rolling back to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) on Oct. 20. Endeavour rolled around from Pad B to Pad A three days later and launched on the STS-126 mission on Nov. 14.

Left: The payload canister, left, arrives at Launch Pad 39A, where Atlantis awaits for the second launch attempt. Middle left: The Hubble Servicing Mission payloads installed in Atlantis’ payload bay. Middle right: Once again, shuttles on two pads, Atlantis on 39A, left, and Endeavour on 39B. Right: The STS-125 crew arrives at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for launch.

Although ground controllers at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, put Hubble back in service by Oct. 30, NASA announced that the hardware to replace the failed SIC&DH unit could not meet a February launch, delaying the servicing mission to May. This required the destacking of Atlantis from its External Tank (ET) and Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) – they would be used to fly Discovery on STS-119 in March – and returning it to the Orbiter Processing Facility for maintenance. On March 23, Atlantis returned to the VAB for stacking with a new ET and SRBs, and rolled out to Pad 39A eight days later. On April 20, Endeavour took up its position on Pad 39B, and once again shuttles occupied both pads. The Flight Readiness Review on April 30 cleared Atlantis to begin its Hubble Servicing Mission on May 11. The seven-member crew arrived on May 8 to begin final preparations for the flight.

Left: With space shuttle Endeavour in the foreground, space shuttle Atlantis takes off to begin the STS-125 fifth and final Hubble Servicing Mission. Middle: STS-125 Commander Scott D. Altman maneuvers Atlantis close to Hubble. Right: Hubble during the rendezvous maneuvers.

Left: STS-125 astronaut K. Megan McArthur at the controls of the Remote Manipulator System (RMS), preparing to grapple Hubble. Middle: McArthur has grappled Hubble with the RMS. Right: Hubble secured in Atlantis’ payload bay.

Following a smooth countdown, space shuttle Atlantis and its seven-member crew lifted off on time from Launch Pad 39A on May 11, 2009, at 2:01 p.m. EDT. Following a smooth ride to orbit, the astronauts began orbital operations by opening the payload bay doors, deploying the Ku-band antenna, and performed a survey of the payload bay using cameras on the Remote Manipulator System (RMS), or robotic arm. They also removed their bulky Launch and Entry Suits (LESs). The astronauts spent much of their second day in space conducting a thorough inspection of the orbiter thermal protection system, using the RMS and the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS), to ensure it didn’t suffer any damage during launch. They prepared the Flight Support System (FSS), used to berth Hubble following its capture, and began checking out the tools they would use during the upcoming spacewalks. On Flight Day 3, Altman and Johnson performed rendezvous maneuvers to bring Atlantis to within 35 feet of Hubble. McArthur grappled the telescope with the RMS and berthed it on the FSS.

First spacewalk. Left: Andrew J. Feustel carries the Wide Field and Planetary Camera-2 (WFPC-2) that he and John M. Grunsfeld removed from Hubble. Middle: Grunsfeld floats next to Hubble, with a large opening where he and Feustel removed WFPC-2 and later installed the Wide Field Camera-3 (WFC-3). Right: Grunsfeld, bottom, and Feustel remove the WFC-3 from its stowage location.

Grunsfeld and Feustel conducted the first spacewalk of the mission on May 10, the flight’s fourth day. McArthur operated the RMS, as she did on all five spacewalks, using it to maneuver one of the spacewalkers perched on the Manipulator Foot Restraint at the end of the arm. After gathering their tools, Grunsfeld and Feustel completed the first major task by removing the Wide Field and Planetary Camera-2, installed during STS-61, the first servicing mission in 1993. After stowing the old camera in the payload bay, they replaced it with the Wide Field Camera-3, allowing Hubble to take large-scale, clear, and detailed images over a wider range of colors than the old instrument. Grunsfeld and Feustel then replaced the SIC&DH unit, the item that failed in September 2008, delaying the servicing mission by seven months. The final task of the first spacewalk involved installing the Soft-Capture Mechanism that included a Low Impact Docking System to allow future spacecraft to dock with to service the telescope or to deorbit it at the end of its useful life. Grunsfeld and Feustel spent seven hours and 20 minutes outside.

Second spacewalk. Left: Michael J. Massimino, bottom, and Michael T. Good prepare to open the panel to begin replacing the gyroscope Rate Sensor Units (RSUs). Middle: Massimino assists Good in replacing the telescope’s three RSUs. Right: Good replacing one of Hubble’s batteries.

The team of Massimino and Good performed the second spacewalk, on Flight Day 5. Their primary task involved removing and replacing Hubble’s three gyroscope Rate Sensing Units (RSUs). Each RSU contained two gyroscopes to allow the telescope to properly orient itself. After initial problems installing one of the units, Massimino and Good installed a spare unit, accomplishing the major task of the spacewalk. They next replaced one of the telescope’s batteries before ending the spacewalk after seven hours and 56 minutes.

Third spacewalk. Left: Andrew J. Feustel, left, and John M. Grunsfeld remove the Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement (COSTAR) instrument. Middle: Feustel carries COSTAR to its stowage location. Right: Feustel, left, and Grunsfeld repair the Advanced Camera for Surveys.

Grunsfeld and Feustel ventured outside again for the mission’s third spacewalk on May 16. Their first task involved removing the Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement (COSTAR), installed during the first servicing mission to correct the mirror’s spherical aberration. Grunsfeld and Feustel easily removed COSTAR, stowing it in the payload bay, and replaced it with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph instrument. Running about one hour ahead of the timeline, they moved on to the repair of the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), an instrument that failed in 2007 but not designed for in-orbit repair. Using tools specially designed for the tasks, Grunsfeld and Feustel removed an access panel, replaced the camera’s four circuit boards, and installed a new power supply. They ended their second spacewalk after six hours and 36 minutes.

Fourth spacewalk. Left: Michael T. Good, left, and Michael J. Massimino repair Hubble’s Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS). Middle: Good, left, and Massimino continue repairs of STIS. Right: Massimino, outside, says Hi to K. Megan McArthur.

For the mission’s fourth spacewalk, Massimino and Good ventured out again on May 17. They spent much of the excursion working on the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS), an instrument that failed in 2004 due to a power failure. Like the ACS, designers had not intended STIS for in-orbit repair, posing a challenge to the astronauts as the fix required the removal of more than 100 screws. In addition to that time-consuming challenge, Massimino could not remove one of the handrails, causing him to use brute force to remove it. They completed the repair of the STIS although the tasks took much longer than planned, resulting in a spacewalk lasting eight hours and two minutes.

Fifth spacewalk. Left: Andrew J. Feustel, left, and John M. Grunsfeld replace a Fine Guidance Sensor. Middle: Grunsfeld at the end of the Remote Manipulator System. Right: Grunsfeld, left, and Feustel prepare to enter the airlock to conclude the final Hubble servicing spacewalk.

On Flight Day 8, Grunsfeld and Feustel exited the airlock for their third and the mission’s fifth and final spacewalk. They replaced a second battery and removed and replaced a Fine Guidance Sensor. Working about one hour ahead of the timeline, they had time to remove three degraded thermal blankets, replacing them with three new ones, before ending the final Hubble servicing spacewalk after seven hours and two minutes. That brought the total spacewalking time for the mission to 36 hours 56 minutes.

Left: Astronaut K. Megan McArthur grapples the Hubble Space Telescope. Middle left: McArthur lifts the telescope off its cradle prior to release. Middle right: Hubble begins its departure from Atlantis. Right: Hubble at a greater distance.

On May 19, with five consecutive days of complex and arduous spacewalks behind them, the astronauts turned their focus on releasing the newly refurbished space telescope. Using the RMS, McArthur grappled Hubble and lifted it off its FSS and out of the payload bay. As Atlantis flew over Africa, McArthur released the telescope and Altman called down to Houston, “Hubble has been released, it’s safely back on its journey of exploration.” Firing the orbiter’s thrusters, Johnson nudged Atlantis away from Hubble as it sailed over the crew compartment. After a separation burn, the astronauts watched as the telescope drifted away. They turned their attention to completing the late inspection of the shuttle’s heat shield, finding it undamaged.

Left: Inflight photo of the STS-125 crew. Middle: The STS-125 crew provides testimony via television to a Congressional committee. Right: Commander Scott D. Altman, left, assists Pilot Gregory C. Johnson during a computer-based landing simulation.

The next day, their 10th in space, the astronauts had most of the day off, having accomplished their mission to refurbish the Hubble Space Telescope. They took the traditional in-orbit crew photographs, held a press conference with reporters around the world, spoke with the Expedition 19 crew aboard the space station, and took a congratulatory call from President Barack H. Obama. After reviewing the late inspection imagery, Mission Control formally cleared Atlantis for entry and landing, planned for two days later, although meteorologists kept a wary eye on the weather forecast for Florida, advising the astronauts to conserve power in case they needed to stay in orbit a little longer. The following day, in preparation for landing, Altman, Johnson, and McArthur tested Atlantis’ auxiliary power units, reaction control system thrusters, and flight control surfaces, and the entire crew began stowing items no longer needed in the cabin. Altman and Johnson practiced landing the shuttle using a laptop based simulator. For the first time in history, the entire crew testified before a congressional committee. Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies, and Senator C. William “Bill” Nelson of Florida spoke with the crew about the importance of spaceflight in general and the repair of Hubble in particular. The STS-125 astronauts held another news conference, primarily with domestic media. Based on the results of the late inspection that showed no damage to Atlantis’ heat shield, Mission Control officially released Endeavour from its standby role as a rescue vehicle, allowing workers to begin preparing it for its next mission, STS-127.

Left: The San Francisco and Monterey area in California. Middle: The western half of the Houston metropolitan area. Right: The Cape Canaveral area in Florida.

Weather in Florida did not cooperate with the STS-125 astronauts on May 22, their 12th and planned landing day. Mission Control passed on both landing opportunities at KSC, advising the crew to stay in orbit one more day, and called up Edwards Air Force Base as a backup site for the next day, providing six landing opportunities, three at each site. On Flight Day 13, Mission Control passed on all the opportunities, but with a strong desire to bring Atlantis home to KSC, extended the mission one more day, hoping for better weather in Florida. The astronauts meanwhile added to their already rich store of photographs of planet Earth.

Left: Atlantis lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Middle: The STS-125 crew poses in front of Atlantis at Edwards after their successful mission. Right: Atlantis atop its Shuttle Carrier Aircraft during its return to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

With two opportunities at each landing site on May 24, Mission Control concluded Florida’s dynamic weather as unsuitable and elected to bring Atlantis home to California. The astronauts donned their LESs and prepared for the return to Earth. They closed the payload bay doors and fired Atlantis’ OMS engines to bring them out of orbit. Just before landing, Johnson lowered the craft’s landing gear and Altman guided Atlantis to a smooth touchdown on concrete runway 22, concluding a flight of 12 days, 21 hours, 37 minutes. They circled the Earth 197 times. It marked the last landing at Edwards for Atlantis.

Timeline of the Hubble Space Telescope’s instruments and their replacements during servicing missions.

The STS-125 crew’s work left the Hubble Space Telescope in its best condition ever, carrying a suite of instruments far more advanced than its original complement. As it continues to operate, Hubble far exceeded the five-year extension their servicing mission expected to provide. The repairs and upgrades to the Hubble Space Telescope enabled it to continue operating until the James Webb Space Telescope joined it in space in 2021. The two telescopes together give astronomers the ability to study the universe from the ultraviolet through visible light and into the infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum. During the five servicing missions between 1993 and 2009, 16 spacewalking astronauts conducted 23 spacewalks totaling more than 165 hours, or just under 7 days, to make repairs and improvements to the telescope’s capabilities. To summarize the discoveries made by scientists using data from the Hubble Space Telescope reaches well beyond the scope of this article. Suffice it to say that during its more than 30 years of operation, information and images returned by Hubble continue to revolutionize astronomy, literally causing scientists to rewrite textbooks, and have dramatically altered how the public views the wonders of the universe. On the technical side, the launch of Hubble and the servicing missions to maintain and upgrade its capabilities have proven conclusively the value of maintainability of space-based scientific platforms. Although the now-retired space shuttle provided a unique platform to service Hubble, astronauts during STS-125 attached a soft capture mechanism, holding out the possibility of future servicing missions by other vehicles.

Watch the STS-125 crew narrate a video of their Hubble servicing mission.

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